Another Curse-Breaker

[rtbthw_mom]

No: HPFGUIDX 145025

There have been several mentions lately of Harry's need for curse-
breaking in Book 7, and usually the one who has mentioned this need 
suggests Bill Weasley as an obvious choice to fill this roll.  
Several others have also suggested that Harry may need to learn/may 
already have the power to do this.  I've been rereading HBP and in 
chapter 12, p. 252 (Scholastic edition) HRH have just witnessed 
Katie Bell's cursing and Hagrid has taken her back to Hogwarts.  
This jumped out at me:

Harry looked up.  Sure enough, Professor McGonagall was hurrying 
down the stone steps through swirling sleet to meet them.

"Hagrid says you four saw what happened to Katie Bell -- upstairs to 
my office at once, please!  What's that you're holding, Potter?"

"It's the thing she touched," said Harry.

"Good Lord," said Professor McGonagall, looking alarmed asshe took 
the necklace from Harry.  "no, no, Filch, they're with me!" she 
added hastily, as Filch came shuffling eagerly across the entrance 
hall holding his Secrecy Sensor aloft.  "Take this necklace to 
*Professor Snape* (emphasis mine) at once, but be sure not to touch 
it, keep it wrapped in the scarf!"

Then, at the beginning of Chapter 13, p. 259, we have this exchange 
in Dumbledore's office:

"You have had a busy time while I have been away," Dumbledore 
said.  "I believe you witnessed Katie's accident." 

"Yes, sir.  How is she?"

"Still very unwell, although she was relatively lucky.  She appears 
to have brushed the necklace with the smallest possible amount of 
skin: There was a tiny hole in her glove.  Had she put it on, had 
she even held it in her ungloved hand, she would have died, perhaps 
instantly.  Luckily Professor Snape was able to do enough to prevent 
a rapic spread of the curse --"

"Why him?" asked Harry quickly.  "Why not Madam Pomfrey?"

"Impertinent," said a soft voice from one of the portraits on the 
wall, and Phineas Nigellus Black, Sirius's great-great-grandfather, 
raised his head from his arms where he had appeared to be 
sleeping.  "I would not have permitted a student to question the way 
Hogwarts operated in my day."

"Yes, thank you, Phineas," said DUmbledore quellingly.  "Professor 
Snape knows much more about the Dark Arts than Madam Pomfrey, Harry."

(end quotes)

Snape has many talents - although teaching is certainly the most 
debated :o) - but I haven't seen anyone mentioning this talent in 
curse-breaking.  We have seen it discussed how Snape helped 
Dumbledore, off-page, but the references are there in canon.  But 
this shows that his knowledge in curse-breaking was known not only 
to Dumbledore, but also by McGonagall: possibly even by all the 
teaching staff at Hogwarts.  I don't know that I'm all that sure 
where I'm going with this, but I'm drawn to where this could lead in 
Book 7.  Any further thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Pat