Continuing with Human Snape - Harry and Snape + Sluggy's Party

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 135779

I think this is the last post I have today, so I'll have to shut up
for about two hours.. LOL

The Spinners End scenes reveal cracks in Snapes cold act, and show
something of the humanity we've never been so privy to in this
enigmatic character. It doesn't end there, either. Heres another
couple of interesting things for us to ponder about the Snape we see
in HBP.

First there's something interesting about Snape when Harry arrives at
Hogwarts, the Professor actually might be, by all accounts, arriving
too early to collecting Harry.

Heres how the scene plays out.

As Harry lays on the floor of the Hogwarts express, some ten to twenty
minutes passes before Tonks finds him (about how long it takes for a
train to be readied for the return journey). It takes a similar amount
of time for the Students to get to the feast so lets place the First
year students at the doorway, preparing for their Sorting at around
the time Tonks revives Harry from the curse Malfoy put on him. Tonks
heals Harry shortly afterward and sends her Patronus after they jump
out of the doors onto the platform. By now it's likely that the
Sorting and Feast are about to start. Hagrid hasn't arrived yet, but
as Hermione says, he was only a "few minutes late". 

While the Patronus is wending its way to Hogwarts the students are
chattering amongst themselves, Snape is seated in his usual spot at
the head of the Hall looking over the House tables. 

Now I put to you, does Snape see the Patronus first, or the absence of
Harry and the boasting of Draco?

Given the timeline, it is fractionally possible that Snape noticed
Harry was missing first. 

Why? 

Because Tonks Patronus leaves the station around about when the
Teachers are seated at the tables already, and Snape uses Hagrids
absence as an excuse for coming to collect Harry, but Hagrid arrived
at the Hall at *about the same time* as the Patronus will have arrived. 

Did Snape leave to look for Harry before Tonks Patronus even got
there? He's clearly busted using a flawed alibi for being the one to
recieve the patronus message from Tonks..

I'll let you decide, if you believe that. But just in anticipation of
some counter canon, yes Snape might have intercepted the Patronus on
his way out of Hogwarts, and feeling quite satisfied that the boy ws
alright he waited in the shadows for the long walk that it took Harry
and Tonks to arrive so as not to seem too overly eager to arrive and
to make Harry wait in the cold a little longer, since he wasn't in
danger anymore.

While you ponder canon to shoot down that one, I'll go on with another
interesting little Snape trip up. When Snape and Harry begin walking
to the doors it is interesting that Snape doesn't speak for a few
minutes, during this time Harry is projecting hot hatred at Snape that
he find it hard to believe that Snape can't feel. 

That's interesting. Harry is projecting so hard at Snape that he
expects him to feel it? Could this be the Occlumency lessons finally
sinking in? Could we liken this to Snapes heart on a sleeve lecture in
OOtP? Maybe we could, especially given that Harry porjects his anger
and blame and resentment at Snape for several minutes and then Snape
cooly begins taking Gryffindor points away from him.. Since when has
Snape ever *waited* for the chance to take points? Since Occlumency,
maybe? Since he realised that, left alone, Harry would tell him
everything and hide nothing anyway?

Another few minutes silence with Harry projecting like a madman at
Snape and imagining how preferable it would be to be choked by his own
blood all the way back to London than tell Snape *Why* he was late...

And again Snape appears to be listening in.. because he answers that
question. "I suppose you wanted to make a Grand Entrance.. [is *why*]"
he says..

Hang about... You're not minding your business are you Sevvie..

Harry remains silent a bit longer thinking Snape only came to collect
him so he could needle him some before the feast. Then he thinks to
himself maybe I can slip on my cloak..

"No Cloak.." says Snape.. 

Oh you really are interested aren't you Sevvie..

Then a really fascinating turn, Snapes listening all this while,
knowing Harry, confronted with Harry's modesty in undeniable fashion
and what does he do....

D.E.N.I.A.L. HA! He's human after all!


I am not sure if I've missed one, between these two, if I have I'll
catch up. Lets go on to Sluggys Party.

When we catch up with Snape he's his usual charming self all the way,
then something odd happens.. so odd even Harry notices.. Snape looks
afraid. 

Why is that so odd? Hasn't Harry ever seen Snape afraid before..?
Evidently, not. What grips the *Human* Half Blood Prince with fear
that he momentarily cannot hide from Harry? 

It was Draco getting caught sneaking into Slughorns office. 

Now this is a can of worms with almost every interpretation possible..
Sevvie could be frightened that Draco would be expelled and will get
killed by Voldie for failure to finish his job.. (I don't buy that one
and I'll tell you why in a minute)or he could be frightened that Draco
has just made an attempt on DD's life that he had *no* knowledge of
and can't intercept.. oh perhaps.. or you can put whatever other spin
you like on it.. In any case there's no denying, something scared
Severus. 

He and Draco sneak off to another room to have a little chat.. Ok not
so interesting.. maybe.. But the first thing Harry hears Snape say
was.. "If you get expelled -" 

NO! That's not right... Snapes not worried about that at all.. he
couldn't be.. Dumbledore would not allow it. And since Dumbledore has
given orders to Snape already (the necklace happened before this and
DD says he knew it was Draco) to watch over Draco and ensure his
safety from Voldemort. And besides, Draco only crashed a drunk Horace
Slughorn's party, Hermione later points out that Sluggy's a pretty
consistent person in his habits, and Snape was ex Slug Club, he could
easily have guessed that Horace wasn't going to expel Draco at
Christmas.. In other words.. Snape *KNOWS* that Draco isn't going to
be expelled for sneaking into the office! He isn't worried about that
in the least.. So why is he saying he is.. LIAR LIAR... 

This of course doesn't rule out that he wants DD dead, maybe he's just
concerned that if Draco does accidentally kill somebody else that
he'll not be able to protect him anymore, so he's just trying to
figure out what Draco was up to. Draco didn't seem too pleased to be
let in to the party, Snape will have noticed it, like Harry did. It as
perfectly obvious he was there for another reason. It is not a stretch
of canon to conclude that in that particular scene, for whatever
motivation you like, Harry.. Lupin, Arthur and Molly would have been
spot on, he was only trying to get Draco to tell him what he was up to.

Further on there's a few interesting other points in this
conversation. Snape was putting Crabbe and Goyle in detention. This is
a clever move for a double agent. Total deniability is created. In
DD's eyes he's hindering Draco's efforts, and in LV's eyes he's just
trying to get the boy to accept the help of a professional to ensure
his success, rather than a pair of dunderheads.
Whichever motivation you like, as I said. 


The best for last however.. 
Draco says to Snape "Put me in detention! Report me to Dumbledore!"
and Snape pauses.. The pause is interesting, because it's not
necessary really, unless Snape has something to hide..
He replies quite truthfully: "You know perfectly well that I do not
wish to do either of those things."

This just begs a critical analysis. Lets look at the many sides of
Snape shall we and analyse the meaning of these words.

Snape is LV's man: He doesn't want to put Draco in detention and be
reported openly trying to stop Draco in his mission. He doesn't want
to report Draco to Dumbledore because he wants Draco to succeed in a
surprise attack on DD.

The things wrong with this are: There is no surprise on DD and Snape
knows it. DD is expecting an attack from Draco.. he's already put
Snape delicately on the case. And with the detention thing.. he'd be
doing this anyway as Dumbledores man so it proves nothing.

Snape is Dumbledores man: He doesn't want to put Draco in detention
and be reported openly trying to stop Draco in his mission,
jeopardising both their lives. He doesn't want to report Draco to
Dumbledore because it's pointless, Dumbledore already knows.

The things wrong with this are: umm 

Snape is his own man: He doesn't want to put Draco in detention
because he wants him to succeed. He doesn't want to report him to
Dumbledore because he wants him to succeed. 

The things wrong with this are: I can't seem to make it fit.. He's
already put Crabbe and Goyle in detention, Dumbledore knows that
Malfoy is after him... is it just bias or is there really no way this
means Snape's out for himself?


That will do for now. But believe me, there is more Human Snape to come..

Valky