It's over, Snape is evil (was: Dumbledore and Snape again)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 138634

Lupinlore:

How do we know the body is in any way an anomaly? 

Pippin:
Because Dumbledore says it is. "the Avada Kedavra curse does not 
usually leave any sign of damage....The exception sits before
me." We're not experts, but Dumbledore is. 

Lupinlore:
 Besides, having DD appear a certain way after death has a 
literary impact, which I expect concerns JKR much more
than the physics of AK death.

Pippin:
Sheer speculation. Backflipping, if you will.  Besides, who 
determines the physics of AK death? She does. She could 
easily arrange  the  rules to  allow the literary effect she 
wants, as she did with the thestrals. Why state a rule if 
the big death scene she's obviously foreshadowing all 
through the book is going to contradict it? And in the same 
book?

Lupinlore:
What times are you referring to with regard to Snape/Dumbledore
disagreements? At least some of them, such as the hissy fit Snape
through in PoA, speak more against Snape than for him.

Pippin:
All of them. What does Evil!Snape have to gain by arguing
with Dumbledore about anything whatsoever? Nothing that
would be worth the risk of arousing Dumbledore's
suspicions. Snape usually presses his point until he's told, 
"that will do, Severus" or words to that effect, but  Fake!Moody
lets himself be silenced with a word.("Alastor!") Evil!Snape
would have been wise to follow the same strategy.

Now, maybe Snape couldn't help himself, but then 
you'd have to do some contortions to explain how someone 
with such poor self-control could be good enough at 
occlumency to fool Dumbledore.


Lupinlore:
You are right that the Order members know Snape's Patronus. But if
that is a concrete piece of evidence in Snape's favor, why doesn't
anyone bring it up at the end of HBP? 

Pippin:
If Snape's patronus would give too much away, then the Order
would have orders not to reveal it, and they're not going to
stop following orders just because Dumbledore is dead.


Lupinlore:
All of these people who know Snape's patronus readily rush to 
believe Harry and accept that Snape killed Dumbledore.

Pippin:
I don't agree. Lupin accepts it at once, along with Tonks who 
would naturally support him. But Lupin has a grievance,
no matter how politely expressed.

Hagrid certainly doesn't believe it  readily and neither does  
McGonagall. We do not see her first reaction. She  has already talked 
to Hagrid when she speaks to Harry, and yet she still says outright 
she can't believe it.  Slughorn  says, "I thought I knew him" -- 
almost the same words Lupin used earlier about Sirius. 

Hagrid moves the body before the ministry arrives, apparently
at McGonagall's orders -- something you might do in case of 
a natural death, but not if you thought a crime had been 
committed.

I think, if anyone knows the rest of the Snape story, it's Hagrid. 
He was utterly sure that Snape had not attacked Harry in PS/SS, 
and wouldn't believe that Snape was trying to steal the stone.


I don't think either McGonagall or Hagrid would express any doubts  
to Harry without conclusive evidence. Harry  clearly believes he is 
telling the truth, and he has suffered enough by being doubted. 
I'm sure they  feel a little guilty that they didn't, or couldn't, 
do more to support Harry during his year of trial. Even if they 
wanted to forget, there are scars on Harry's hand to remind them.

Many readers seem to feel the same way, that Harry deserves
to be right after having been doubted so unfairly.  

But...There is canon that Dumbledore meant a great deal to all of 
these people, especially Lupin and Hagrid.   So why is it nobody 
except Harry is talking about getting revenge on Snape...not 
Hagrid, who was ready to beat up Karkaroff merely for insulting 
DD, and swore he would tear Sirius limb from limb if he'd known,
or Lupin, who would have killed Pettigrew on the spot?



Pippin