Unbreakable Vow Truly Unbreakable

[lealess]

No: HPFGUIDX 138902

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboyminn at y...> wrote:
> I'm not quite sure I follow. Are you saying that rather.. a penalty
> of death for not acting, the Unbreakable Vow /compells/ a person to
> act in a way that fulfulls the Vow? Or, rather are you saying .. the
> creation of a Vow sets into motion..irrevocable destiny, in a sense,
> implying that Dumbledore was dead the minute the Vow was made
> regardless of the method or cause of his death?
> 
< MASSIVE SNIP OF ALL I AGREE WITH, and thank you for putting so well!

I am suggesting that the Vow is its own agent, it cannot be broken, it
has a will of its own to completion.

If the Vow made Dumbledore's death inevitable... then it would be like
the DADA curse: within the space of one year, regardless of who was in
the position, the curse worked to fulfill itself and eliminate the
professor.  (Houyhnhnm in post 138891 gave an interesting parallel to
the geise, a magical injunction that seems to bind individuals to a
certain outcome.)

I guess what I am saying is that Snape made his choice when he made
the Vow, and after that, he was unable to make a further choice about
whether or not to complete Draco's mission. The Vow, and the alignment
of all the players in the Astronomy Tower, negated Snape's will.

As for death: had Snape tried to kill Dumbledore, but failed, then
Snape might have died.  But, given the circumstances in the tower,
i.e., the revelation of Draco's task and his obvious failure, the Vow
gave Snape no choice but to try to kill Dumbledore or die trying... is
what I am saying.

I agree that the Vow was not a legal contract.  First of all, who is
are the contracting parties?  Snape and ... Fate, on behalf of the
Malfoys?  Who will exact punishment if Snape fails to fulfill the
contract?  Not Narcissa or Bella, certainly.  Once you bring Fate into
it, then the Unbreakability of the Vow seems even more likely.

Assuming it was a contract of some kind, in my world, the elements of
a contract are the making of an offer, the acceptance of the offer,
and existence of some kind of consideration.  Factoring into this are
capacity to enter into the contract (Snape wasn't crazy, but he might
not have been firing on all cylinders), legality of the contract (they
weren't dealing drugs, but if death was involved, it was probably
illegal), whether it is in a proper form (the binder-rings of fire
thing seems to cinch that), and probably something I am forgetting, as
I am not an attorney.

Making of an offer: will you make a vow?  He thought the vow was to
look after Draco and see that Draco comes to no harm.

Acceptance: taking the vow? How valid if the tasks are not spelled out
specifically?

Consideration: Malfoy gratitude? Chance to be a big man?  Or more
likely, from Snape's point of view, a chance to receive critical
information on Voldemort's plans.  In any event, consideration is not
explicitly discussed.

There wasn't really a "meeting of the minds" in the formation of the
contract, if a Vow is a contract (in my world, a pledge is a
contract).  As you noted, the third part of the Vow was unknown.  Yet,
all parties were adults and all contracts involve risk.  Hmm... Snape
might have been able to challenge the contract in a court.

Which court has the authority to overrule an Unbreakable Vow?  The
court of Fate (or Death)?  I think the Vow was extra-legal, existing
in the world of magic, not law.

Hope I've been able to express this clearly.  I feel like the Luna
Lovegood of posters, most times.

lealess