Moral, Immoral, and Amoral: Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape

[Merry Kinsella]

No: HPFGUIDX 139164


merylanna at yahoo says:

apologies for another "non-reply" post but I want to sum up my sense of the Spinner's End dynamic.   I think we saw the two women outside Snape's home first for a reason - so we could see the dynamic between them - a dynamic I think Snape already knows and uses to his advantage to control Bellatrix when the two are in his home.

Narcissa is in charge of the sisters.  Bellatrix is all evil bluster, always running off at the mouth, chicken-littling, etc.  Control Narcissa, you can control Bellatrix.  And Bellatrix needs to be controlled, and Snape has something Narcissa wants (the promise of protection for Draco)

Narcissa has one thing on her mind - Draco.  She makes it absolutely clear she will AK Bellatrix on the spot if Bellatrix gets in her way, and this rocks Bellatrix. Bellatrix does not threaten her back - she's all Cissy this and Cissy that and please Cissy and you must not.  

Bellatrix is kind of like an even meaner Quirrell, IMO - she is palpitating for recognition from the Dark Lord, for him to see her as THE loyal servant, THE one who will do anything for him, and man does she bleat about Snape.  Narcissa has more focus.  She also has the money.  And greater status in the dark world.  Bellatrix is still jockeying for her status.

So, when the two women are in Snape's home, Snape, IMO, is well aware Narcissa runs the show.  If he protects Draco (a promise that, I suspect, cost him nothing since he'd already vowed every essential to Dumbledore), Narcissa will keep Bellatrix in line - shut her up, IOW.  Make her keep quiet with her "whispers to the Dark Lord" about Snape's treachery.  If Snape promises to protect Draco, and Bella threatens that protection by undermining Snape to Voldy, Bellatrix will be AK'd to kingdom by Narcissa - if she's lucky.

I think that was all that was going on in Spinner's End - the action there was Snape "taking care of" the troublesome Bellatrix.  For viewers, it was our first glimpse of the unbreakable vow concept - which I suspect had come into play for Snape prior to the opening chapter of HBP.  AND it was our glimpse into how Snape operates as a double agent.

Bellatrix is in line with all the other diarhea-of-the-mouth Lord Voldy minion-wannabes - losers like Peter Pettigrew, Quirrell.  They cause all kinds of trouble.

I definitely believe he knew exactly what Draco's orders were.   The Dark Lord had just recently failed to kill Dumbledore (at the ministry) - which Bellatrix starts to blurt before the hand clap to the mouth (or whatever she did).  Whoever does the deed will have glory beyond imagining.  I knew it was Dumbledore and not Harry, because of the ministry, and because Dumbledore has to go before Voldy can GET Harry.

The twitch, IMO, was a clue to Snape's emotional state of being - he knew what he was vowing - he'd already vowed it to D - but it was very, very difficult for him.