Snape's part in death of Sirius - Revised Time

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 108095

> Asian_lovr2:
> 
> Here I take acception to this secondary point. Umbridge's office 
is just as restricted as all the other fireplaces in Hogwarts. The
 difference is that the Floo Regulation Department is not 
monitoring her private office fireplace. Floo Regulation is not 
monitoring but Hogwarts is still restricting.
> 
> The overal series implies strongly and repeatedly that 
Hogwarts is protected from entrance and exit by magical means. 
Dumbledore is the exception, since he is Headmaster, he 
controls the protections and the exceptions.
> 

Pippin:
Now this is interesting. How *did* the Death Eaters think Harry 
was going to get to the Ministry? Not by thestral, surely. And 
when?  Harry could have arrived much sooner if he'd gone 
through the Honeyduke's passage, broken into a house in 
Hogsmeade, and flooed to the Ministry.  Wormtail knows all 
about the One Eyed witch. If I was the DE's that's what I'd expect. 
Much faster than brooms,  and Harry wouldn't have to 
wait till nightfall to avoid being seen. Thestrals? Who knew?

You see what I'm saying? Even if Snape had notified the Order in 
his first message, the DE's would have been at the ministry first. 
Whatever the cause, however long it was, Snape's delay  
*saved* lives. The Order was fighting a losing battle before 
Dumbledore got there--if they'd engaged the DE's sooner, they'd 
*all* have died. The DE's would likely have spotted the Order 
before the Order found them, but whether they engaged the 
Order at once or waited for Harry's arrival, Order members would 
have died. 

The only chance  would have been to intercept Harry before he 
reached the Ministry--but there was little chance of Snape doing 
that,no matter how Harry chose to leave. Snape knows or 
suspects where the entrance to the Witch passage is, but he 
doesn't know where it  leads or how to get into it. 

 As for  the Forest, the centaurs are armed with bows--they 
certainly wouldn't make it easy for Snape to circle over the woods 
on a broomstick hunting for Potter, day or night.  Of course, if 
Snape is a vampire, that would explain why he only *intended* to 
search the forest. He had to wait till it got dark enough <veg>.

Pippin