Dumbledore's pleading

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 141453

zgirnius:
> <SNIP>
> > All that is needed to 
> > establish DDM!Snape, though, is for an order to be received and 
> > understood.
> > 
> > I used the scene in HBP where Snape sees the Advanced Potions
> > text in Harry's mind as my model. Using no more than that
> > ability of Snape's to see images in the mind of DD, I think DD
> > ought to be quite capable of making his wishes clear. 
> <SNIP>

> Alla:
> I think you ARE quite convincing in 141410. I CAN buy that type of 
> images transferring occur, absolutely. Bravo! There are some 
> additional problems I see though even with that "conversation"
> First of all, what if Snape misunderstands the images. What if
> with the image of potion DD really wants to say something else? I
> don't know that he needs to drink another portion of that potion
> and Snape needs to bring it to him now or later?
<snip>
> So, "images" work MUCH better with canon, but still could be 
> ambiguous, IMO. Besides, what about timing? Only couple of seconds
> passed and that was MORE than one image to show. Don't you think
> that it was still not enough time to do so?

Jen: I'd vote against legilimency for the reason that Snape could be 
left with images in his mind for Voldemort to discover and exploit. 
I don't believe Dumbledore would blow Snape's cover for anything, 
unless of course he realized there was no cover to blow in the first 
place. But *if* Dumbeldore had any shred of belief that Snape was at 
least on the side of destroying Voldemort, whether he was loyal to 
Harry or the Order, DD wouldn't risk blowing it for him.

Back to the moment between Dumbledore and Snape. I learned the hard 
way with the gum wrappers that sometimes JKR is writing a wonderful 
character moment and in my haste to uncover plot clues, the intended 
poignancy is lost. I think this moment between Snape and Dumbledore 
was more symbolic than a plot clue. Both men knew exactly what the 
other was 'saying' in that moment without the need for legilimency. 
And I'm not saying they had prepared for this exact moment to take 
place or the like, simply that both knew each other well enough to 
understand what was taking place (even if we do not!).

Oh, I'm not saying this well!  Since we can't ever know what Snape's 
up to, I look at it from Dumbledore's perspective, and feel certain 
he understood Snape in that moment, understood what he was about to 
do and why. And most important, if Snape's actions required it, 
Dumbledore forgave him in a way Snape didn't forgive himself, from 
the painful look on his face in front of Hagrid's burning hut. That 
was the very poignant part to me, that somehow even if Snape did 
betray Dumbledore in the end, Dumbledore still *believed* in him to 
do the right thing and get the DE's/Draco out of Hogwarts and ensure 
Harry's safety.

This isn't as exciting as legilimency, yet in a way is more 
powerful. That somehow these two men, from such very different 
backgrounds, beliefs, and agendas could look at each other in that 
moment and understand each other so completely, as well as know 
beyond a shadow of a doubt what needed to happen....now *that* would 
be something, to me anyway.

Jen, who thinks if legilimency did pass between the two, zgirnius 
nailed the explanation why!