Secondary thought on Patronuses

[juli17ptf]

No: HPFGUIDX 145541

CH3ed wrote:
> 
> Also if the form of the patronus is the only way to identify who 
> sent it then Snape shouldn't have recognized Tonks' changed patronus 
> in HBP. So I agree with Steve/bboyminn that there are other features 
> in the message-delivering patronus that helps identify it beside its 
> shape. 
> 


Julie:
This is a good point. But it is possible Snape identified Tonks' 
changed patronus *after the fact.* When he saw that she was the one 
escorting Harry, he knew it was her patronus--one he didn't associate 
with her until that moment. I found it interesting that his snarky 
comment about her new patronus being "weak" was said as something of an 
afterthought. (And again, this brief mention was pointless to the plot 
of HBP, but there must be some reason JKR introduced the concept!)

Julie