Snape's part in death of Sirius

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 107989

> Potioncat:
> <snip>
> But let's face it.  There are holes.  Whether the trip into the 
> forest happened at either at 2000 or 2200 depends on whether you 
> base it on sunset or dinner.  If dinner is happening, it has to be 
> even earlier than 2000.  And as I read the events when the DA 
agrees 
> to clear the hallways, it doesn't take hours at all.  In fact, I 
> dont' think it could take more than an hour. 
> 
> Someone used 1700 as a time for all this to start.  I came up with 
> 1600 for the end of the exam (assuming 2 hours for it).  And in the 
> past, IIRC, dinner was served at 1700.  (Harry eats before going to 
> Occlumency IIRC)  Would dinner be served for more than 2 hours?
> 
> So I don't think any of the HPFGU-timelines can prove or disprove 
> that Snape was delaying. (But, boy, are they fun to read!) I agree 
> with Bookworm that JKR may not have worked out Snape's timeline.  I 
> really do think he is a much less important character to her than 
to 
> many of us.
> <snip>

Potioncat, I wish to differ. JKR timeline is quite simple, consistent 
and well described in canon. There are only 3 facts that we need to 
remember:

1. The time of Umbridge, Harry and Hermione leaving the DADA office 
for the forest is dinnertime, and is most clearly before sunset ("sun 
falling towards the tops of the trees"). This is also the time Snape 
notifies the Order for the first time.

2. Harry & Co take off from the forest to London immediately after 
sunset ("twilight fell"). In Scotland in June this is around 2200.

3. Harry is back to Hogwarts at first light of dawn, which can be 
also placed quite accurately at 0400. 

All the rest is really not that important for the argument. You can 
play with dinnertime, making it 1700 or 2000 as you find reasonable. 
It will only affect the time Harry spent in the forest, and add or 
detract 3 hrs from the period Snape must have waited, but this period 
is quite long in any case. Similarly, you can ascribe any reasonable 
time for the travel time to London, or the time it took the Order 
members to reach the DoM, or the time it took them to battle the DEs, 
and so on. It doesn't make much difference for the end result. The 
time Snape had waited would still be at the very minimum 4 hrs after 
contacting HQ the first time, much more reasonably 5 hrs, and could 
easily be as long as 7 hrs.

JKR made sure to highlight the above times. All three of them are 
mentioned right at the opening of the corresponding three chapters 
(Ch. 33, Ch. 34 and Ch. 37). I'd estimate she decided on this timing 
already when she wrote the outline of these chapters, even before 
OotP was actually written. 

I think it would be quite strange if JKR didn't notice how much time 
it takes Snape to become "worried" according to her timeline, since 
his actions and responsibility for Sirius death are questioned by 
Harry in the Ch. 37. I know, you are thinking about the order of the 
Potter's deaths in the Priori Incantatum, or the ages of the Charlie 
and Bill, or the number of Students at Hogwarts, but these cases are 
different. In all of them there was/is a glaring contradiction within 
canon. In our case there is no contradiction within canon. There's 
only a "contradiction" between canon and what you would like it to be.

Blaming it on JKR's carelessness whenever you don't like canon will 
be the end of the term "canon" as we use it. Until JKR correct 
this "mistake", I consider it canon that Snape waited several 
critical hours before telling HQ that Harry is missing.

Furthermore, all this haggling about the timeline does not change the 
fact that, when Snape first contacted HQ, he didn't bother to tell 
them that Harry had a false vision from Voldy's mind about Sirius 
held hostage in the DoM. And according to DD, Snape did realize this 
part. 

Avoiding just one of the above two mistakes would have likely 
prevented the DoM battle and Sirius' death.  

Neri