Snape, Voldemort, and teaching (was: Question..)

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 135363

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "mooseming" <josturgess at e...> 
wrote:
<snip>

> The timeline for Snape's change of heart, the protection of GH and 
> Voldy's attack on same is difficult to explain in terms of good!
> Snape but I've come up with a model.
> 
> The problems are:
> 
> Why did Voldy wait so long to attack after the prophecy?
> Why didn't the Potters go into hiding immediately?
> Why was the secret keeper thingy only activated a week before 
> Voldy's attack?
> Why did DD accept Snape as a teacher when he did?
> 
> Essentially this timeline is based on a completely non canon 
> assumption that the *only* record of births is kept at Hogwarts. 
> Plus the entirely cannon justified second spy Wormtail known from 
> POA to have been operating for a year.
> 
> After the prophecy Voldy has to wait to see who fit's the 
criteria, 
> even if he identifies one candidate he cannot be sure it is the 
> *only* candidate (given the portion Snape overhears they can't 
even 
> identify gender). So he needs to identify all potentials and rule 
> some out, or attack multiples simultaneously. Gathering 
information 
> on the ground would be time consuming and also would never be 
> conclusive (there may always remain another yet to be identified). 
> This means he needs to get into Hogwarts to access the complete 
> record of births
> 
> The Potters/Longbottoms don't go into hiding precisely because 
this 
> would mark Harry/Neville as a/the prophecy boy.
>  
>  So timeline is:
>  
>  Snape overhears prophecy
>  Tells Voldy 
> Voldy needs to identify who is prophecy boy
>  Something happens to Snape/Voldy dynamic which makes DETraitor!
Snape
> Snape joins DD becomes double agent
>  Voldy sends Snape to find info on babies at Hogwarts (possibly at 
> Snape's suggestion)
>  Snape fails to get info from Hogwarts citing DD mistrust as reason
>  Voldy sends in Wormtail to get info, he is successful
>  Snape learns of Voldy update, tips off DD
>  Secret keeper made
>  Secret keeper blabs
>  Snape goes to GH to warn Potters but James doesn't believe him  
> ('You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you  
> might be mistaken in Black' Snape in POA)
>  Harry + Voldy = Vapour!Mort
> Snape remains at Hogwarts
>  Voldy reborn
>  Snape pays a visit and has a lot of explaining to do, but he is 
> skilled in Occlumency and there's an antidote to Veritaserum. So 
he 
> could pull it off. Snape reactivated as double agent.

Marianne:

You know, I've read some reviews/impressions of HBP stating that not 
much new happens, everything can be figured out pretyy easily, etc.,
but this list keeps coming up with convoluted problems that leave us 
all scratching our heads.  

In response to one of your questions and one of your assumptions 
about the Potters not going into hiding, JKR refutes this in her 
recent interview.  When speaking of Harry's baptism she says that it 
had to be a very small gathering because Harry was already in danger 
and the Potters already had gone into hiding.  So, it seems that the 
Potters were in hiding from at least Harry's birth to his parents' 
death 15 months later.

Perhaps during this period of hiding is when they defied the Dark 
Lord 3 times. 

I like the idea of someone checking up on baby information in 
Hogwarts.  I don't think I've seen that proposed before.  ESE!
McGonagall, anyone? 

Marianne