Reposted in hopes of new discussion: TBAY: Amanda Binns Explains It All

[Amanda Geist]

No: HPFGUIDX 133732

This was so long ago I had honestly forgotten I predicted it--enough to be
shocked when Snape did what he did. I also had forgotten how many threads it
tied together. It's rather long, and I apologize for that, but I post it in
its entirety for three reasons:

(1) I'm not sure the bits would make sense without the context
(2) There are aspects to this that I'd love to see what the current active
membership think of
(3) I don't know how to do those cool internal links to posts.

For those of you hardy enough to read on, I salute thee!

(And by the way--for those of you who tried so hard to make him a
vampire--pbbtthhh! Told you so, neener, neener! To those of you who saw the
light, bowed to me, and then recanted? A balloon coming your way, sometime
soon, I just have to teach the owls to hold it *gently.*)

~A.Geist

-------------------------------

Post 47077, from November 24, 2002:
TBAY: Amanda Binns Explains It All (was loads of Snape stuff)


Amandageist drifted down from the ceiling and made a quick pass of the room,
swooping through everyone and giving them the cold chills. She cleared her
throat with a small sound like chalk snapping.

"I," she announced, "have had a Thought. More accurately, I had a blinding
insight where several people's thoughts came together. I was browsing over
on the main list, since nobody seems to want to talk to me here, and I read
something that Jodel said:

<<< And I agree with Pip that the test of Snape bringing him
>  Dumbledore's head on a platter is one very strong possibility. (I
>  remember posting something very like it on the AOL board (IIRC) a
>  year or so ago.) And, what's more, I can see Dumbledore agreeing to
>  it. Particularly if there is a chance of buying his side some major
>  magical protective advantage by his willing sacrifice. >>

"You may all know," the Geist continued, "that in another plane of existence
I am married to my own dead-sexy version of a Inscrutable Dark-Haired Man.
Some months ago he had his own original thought, which I reproduce for you
here."

She waved a hand and a large, floating screen appeared. It had several holes
burned in it. "Ah, yes," Amandageist said. "Sorry about that. Sometimes my
irritation with those blinking and pop-up ads overcomes me...and the quote
is rather long, sorry."

Several people, having some experience with the Geist's lectures, began
edging to the exits. She regally ignored them. Words took shape on the
screen:

> Message 39315, Love as a Spell Component:
>
> My beloved, Jan, is a long ponderer and came to me today with a Harry
Potter
> thought (as he calls them). He has braided several threads together and
> presented me with several novel takes on things, which I will now proceed
to
> share.
>
> There has been general dissatisfaction with the idea that Lily's dying for
> Harry was what saved him from Voldemort. Plenty of people must have flung
> themselves in front of others in Voldemort's long career as a Bad Wizard;
> why should this one time be special or different?
>
> We are told the Potters knew Voldemort was after them. Jan suggests that
the
> Potters did more than hide. He suggested that Dumbledore worked with Lily,
> who was very good at charms, far in advance to set a spell on Harry that
> would be activated in a worst-case scenario when there was no other way to
> protect him. A shield or protection that required Lily to do what she did,
> integrating her love into the rest of the spell and completing it.
>
> I mentioned the thread of Stoned!Harry and all the alchemical symbolism to
> him, and he said this fits, as Lily's love was transmuted into a
protection.
> The achievement of the Stone is via transmutation, and the process of
> achieving it is intended not to get a Stone, but to transmute the
alchemist
> himself to a higher state of being. It is a process of self-perfection,
not
> a way to obtain gold or live forever, which is presumably why all the many
> would-be's who tried it for the latter goals all failed. But I digress.
>
> This thought of Jan's nicely reduced the aggravation factor of Lily's
> Sacrifice, as it added the extra edge I thought must be required. I
> mentioned to Jan that the (accurate) distinction had been made that Lily's
> love was not, after all, identified as what kept off Voldemort, but as
what
> kept off *Quirrell.* Nor have I understood why Voldemort's spell
> *rebounded,* rather than just not working. Jan's theory also adds reason
for
> Lily to refuse to move aside; in addition to mother love, she was
willingly
> providing the key element to the last-line and strongest parts of Harry's
> protection. We already know Dumbledore has set up other parts (the ancient
> magic that protects him at the Dursleys, and probably more). Dumbledore is
a
> very powerful wizard, and was very involved with the Potters, which is why
> we figured he helped Lily work this out.
>
> Okay. That was good. I was happy. But Jan continued. Flamel. Flamel was to
> set his affairs in order and then he would die. Ah, but here we are
talking
> about the achiever of the Stone, the one who has achieved the higher state
> of being. Here is one who is also dying willingly for a noble cause. Has
his
> love or purity of purpose, I wonder, been transmuted into any other type
of
> protective spell? A very good thought by Jan.
>
> And now here comes Cindy with this ludicrous disloyalty idea about Snape.
> But the reason she gives--that Dumbledore has to die, and being betrayed
is
> the only way--hmmm. Dumbledore has to die, eh? Yeah, I agree, he probably
> will. But if Jan is right, and there is a charm or spell that can
transmute
> a willing and loving death into a powerful protection, I can see another
way
> Dumbledore could exit. A very likely way.
> ----------------------------

"Okay," the Geist continued, making another chilly pass through everyone to
wake them up, "here's two parts, then:

"1. A willing death can be a part of an extremely powerful spell.
"2. We already thought Dumbledore was likely to die, simply for
character-development reasons; Jan offers a reason--for the furtherance of
defenses, achievable in no other way.

"Oh, hush," she said, hearing the mutinous, impatient murmurs. "Of *course*
this has to do with Snape. But Snape as he is an very involved thread in the
whole series. *Do* keep your pants on. Or thongs. Whatever....Read this."

The floating scroll cleared, and new words formed:

> Message 41341, A New Thought! A New Thought! Several!:
>
> Jan has again done the impossible, thought of something I have not seen
> discussed on the list. I'm impressed.
>
> He thinks that part of the closeness between Snape and Dumbledore is that
> Dumbledore himself is skilled with potions. I asked him where he got that.
> He referred me back to the description on the wizard card:
>
> "Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard
> Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's
blood
> and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel." (p. 77, PS)
>
> Jan points out that those last two, researching the uses of dragon's blood
> and alchemy, both would seem to have a very strong potions element. He
says
> that any Potions master under Dumbledore would have to be very good,
> indeed, because two of the things Dumbledore is famous for are
> potions-related. I think he has, as usual, made a great observation.
>
> So, thoughts? Alchemy does involve great amounts of intricate mixing and
> blending and simmering, and not a lot of foolish wand-waving (to our
> knowledge). I'm betting that analysis of dragon's blood did, too. Do we
> think Dumbledore is no slouch when it comes to potions, and they share a
> professional interest? And has this interesting thought sparked any other
> random connections in anyone?
>
> Jan also mentions that the card obliquely introduces another angle:
> professors do another thing besides teach. They do research. He thinks
Snape
> may be a research professor, perhaps working on something with Dumbledore.
> This ties a bit into his "love as a spell component" theory I put out
> earlier. Snape's teaching style is not the best, we pretty much all agree
on
> that--but what if teaching is not the primary reason he is at Hogwarts at
> all? What if he's working on some project?
>
> And my related thought--what if Lily's sacrifice, as a component of
Harry's
> protection, was a product of such research by Snape? Jan's thought was
that
> Harry's protection, the reason he survived, was not simply that Lily died
> for him, but that her willing sacrifice was the final element of a spell
> that created the strong protection. What if Snape, having access to the
> wizard likely to throw that spell, and access to Dumbledore, was
> instrumental in crafting that spell?
>
> The other willing death we have seen, or that was strongly intimated, is
> Flamel's himself. And what if a willing sacrifice *can* be incorporated
into
> a strong protective spell, and what if Dumbledore and Snape *are* working
on
> that.....? And what if Snape's task is to seem to betray Dumbledore, whose
> own willing death will be a component in Voldemort's defeat?
> ------------------------------

Amandageist gazed out over the sea of glazed eyes. "OKAY," she said loudly,
as the screen blanked and then showed a variety of Graphic Visual Aids,
"Here we have all we need to support the 'Dumbledore's Head On a Platter'
theory, because it gels with all the following:

"(1) Snape returned to Voldemort (likely).

 "(2) Voldemort set him a task to prove himself (likely).

"(3) The task will be something that will be hard for Snape (or it wouldn't
be proof) and good for Voldemort (probably). Ergo, Snape won't be sent after
Sirius Black or Karkaroff. Killing? Hardly a challenge, in Voldemort's eyes.
Killing an enemy? Candy. And neither Black nor Karkaroff are strategic
targets for Voldemort. But killing Dumbledore? Proof *and* the removal of
Voldemort's greatest obstacle. Likely.

"(4) Snape, in canon, is a character whose every move and word is subject to
varying interpretations. Valid motives, varying by 180 degrees, can be
ascribed to him. Therefore, any task he must do *must* be something that is
wildly misinterpretable. Most importantly, misinterpretable by Harry, such
that Harry's belief leads him to do things which actually obstruct the
ultimate objective (of which he is unaware), and such that a Bang that is
heard across the planes will be heard when the truth is revealed.

 Look at this through the Harry-filter, which is how we will see it in the
books: Harry has seen Dumbledore thwart Snape's desires many times. He has
seen Dumbledore apparently enjoying a truly upset Snape. He has seen Snape
smirk and give a very ambiguous response to Draco's suggestion that he
should be headmaster. He "knows" that Snape wants the DADA position and that
Dumbledore does not give it to him. This could easily, in Harry's mind, be
assembled into a pattern of cause, motive, for Snape to finally turn on
Dumbledore. For Harry already seriously doubts Dumbledore's wisdom in
trusting Snape, now that he knows Snape was a Death Eater."

Amandageist looked away from the diagrams and arrows on the screen, and
noted the glint in the eyes of the BloodthirstyHappyToKill!Snapetheorists.
She arched an eyebrow. She must clarify this at once.

"Let me state for the record, that *my* take on Snape does not include him
being homicidal for pleasure. I think he is entirely capable of killing,
when there is a very good reason for it. But I don't think he will actually
kill Dumbledore himself, unless it is some scenario that Dumbledore stages
where Snape does so without meaning to (and we all know how Dumbledore loves
moving the pieces around, so I'd have to put this in the 'likely' column)."
The watchers could see, through the Geist's head, the visual aids on the
screen adjusting themselves as she spoke.

"I believe that, however Dumbledore dies, both Harry and Voldemort will
*believe* that Snape is responsible. Snape will foster this belief in
Voldemort; it will be an unfortunate conclusion drawn by Harry (who for
whatever reason--Dumbledore's general lack of any desire to explain
anything, a misunderstood conversation, a missed message, etc.--will not
know or will refuse to believe that Snape did not do it).

"At this point, Snape and Dumbledore will have accomplished two key things:
--Snape will have proven himself to Voldemort and will be reinstated with
full DE honors or whatever, in the inner circle. Even if he wasn't in the
Inner inner circle before, I think he will be now, because (a) Voldemort's
followers have diminshed somewhat and (b) Snape now has a very useful
position.
--The spell, whatever it is, to which Dumbledore's death is integral, will
have been completed (or nearly so).

"These are key because Snape will now be in a *superb* position to implement
or otherwise set in motion or effect, the spell. Having a tremendous spell
ready is of no use at all, if the spell cannot be cast or implemented due to
lack of access. Access is of no use without a weapon. Snape will have both
the access and the means."

Amandageist waved the screen away. The sighs of relief that filled the room
blew her across the room; she glared at the assembly as she returned to
hovering just over the bar. A book materialized where the screen had been
and flipped open; a section of type enlarged itself. Everyone read

 'To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and
Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, *very* long day.
After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great
adventure.' (PS, p. 215)

"See?" Amandageist asked. "It's right there in the first book. Dumbledore
does not fear death. And in canon, he has already accepted a willing death
(two actually, both Flamels) to achieve a greater good. Further, if the
Pensieve shows nothing else, it does show that Dumbledore has a
well-organized mind. [And quite possibly the Pensieve can be left to another
after he dies; although it may go dark and empty if its source is gone.]

"I know, I know," the Geist sighed. "This is Major, you want more Bangs.
Okay, here.

"Harry, given his age and past, will be unable to accept Dumbledore's death
as anything but tragedy--a further detriment to his interpretation of
Snape's role, and an opening for Bangs when he finds out the truth and/or
struggles to accept it. Harry will be forced to the point where Snape was,
in the Shrieking Shack--given the opportunity to recognize that an object of
hatred had been misunderstood and was, in actuality, as much a victim as
himself. Snape rejected Lupin as another to whom Dumbledore's second chance
meant the world; it didn't even seem to register. Will Harry fail where
Snape did, or will Harry be able to get around his own hatred for Snape and
accept the truth? Bang.

"And Snape himself. He is also very young, and to quote Jan one last time,
'has a past with a capital P.' While he will be old enough to accept what
Dumbledore is doing/has made him do, on an *intellectual* level, he will be
having massive problems of his own on the *emotional* level. He's already
pretty unsteady there as it is. Snape's own difficulties with what
transpires will further confuse things--he has his own reactions to deal
with on top of everything else. I think that Dumbledore's death will
devastate Snape, for I believe that to Snape as to Lupin, Dumbledore's trust
has meant everything. Leaving room for a loud Bang when Snape *must* deal
with all this."

Amandageist glanced over at Cindy, to see if all this Banging pleased her,
and was irked to see her head down on the bar beside her drink, gently
snoring.

The Geist clapped her hands and the book disappeared as well. She glanced
down at the bar. "It'd be nice, it would, to be able to drink after all
that," she sighed. "Oh, well. I'll be available for questions if anyone
needs me; in the meantime, I'll be making myself useful."

 She zoomed up to the ceiling and busied herself filling balloons with
garlic water to drop on the Vampire!Snapetheorists.

~Amanda