Draco, the UV, and the First Time - The Overblown Vow

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 141638

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at y...>
wrote:
>
> Steve (bboyminn) wrote:
> > 
> <snip> I think this whole Unbreakable Vow 'thing' is way overrated.
> I think unless you construct and word the Vow with iron-clad 
> certainty and precision, it is pretty much worthless.
> >
> > <snip quote>
> >
> > ...edited...
> > 
> > Overal, I see the whole Unbreakable Vow process riddled with
> > loopholes, and these specific Vows are certainly vague and
> > uncertain. <snip>
 
> Carol responds:
> ...edited...
> 
> ... What I'd like to know is what you make of Snape's decisions on 
> the tower. If the vow isn't binding, why bother to rush upstairs? 
> Why not just reveal his loyalties and fight with the Order or the 
> Death Eaters if he's not going to drop dead for failing to keep the 
> vow? And why kill Dumbledore at all? Why not let someone else take 
> the fall if he's not bound by an oath to do it?
> 
> It makes no sense to me that he would murder Dumbledore for no
> reason, after having saved his life earlier in the year. 
> ...edited...
> 

bboyminn:

I think you will find the answer to your question here -

From: "Steve" <bboyminn>
Date: Tue Oct 11, 2005  2:34 pm
Subject: Re: Dumbledore's pleading - Forgive and Forget, or Not
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/141462

In short, it easy to say Snape should do this or that, but Snape is
outmanned and outgunned. He is facing 4 vicious battle-enraged Death
Eaters and Draco, with more DE's waiting down in the hallway. Harry is
frozen, and Dumbledore is weak, helpless, and wandless. So what's
Snape going to do? Stick with Death Eaters and maintain his valuable
position among that and maintain his new position as Voldemort's
favorite, or is he going to go down fighting, in which case, he,
Harry, Dumbledore, and in all likelihood, Draco are all lost? And,
that probable creates a good chance that the war will be lost.

The question is, do Snape and Dumbledore except that they have lost
this battle and let themselves both die fighting, or do the salvage as
much of the situation as they can, and fight again another day? Snape
is in a pretty valuable position which would have been lost if he had
fought the DEs; a fight he would have likely lost. If they salvage
that position, it could be the deciding factor that wins the war.
Winning the War is much higher priority that winning this one battle,
and I think Dumbledore accepted this; he accepted that he must be a
casualty of war so that the final and greatest battle could be won
once and for all.

Also, you'll notive that in my 'salvage what you can' scenario, the
Vow is not involved at all.

> Carol:
>
> And to throw in a point from an unrelated thread, you were talking
> about shortcuts to the Horcruxes. I think Harry will go to the ROR 
> to retrieve the HBP's Potions book, find the Mirror of Erised there,
> and see his heart's desire, the location of that mysterious 
> Ravenclaw Horcrux, which will turn out to be the tiara he used to 
> mark the location of the Potions book. Shortcut enough for you? Or 
> just cheating?
> 
> Carol, 

bboyminn:

Now that is just about the best shortcut I've heard so far. Simple,
easy, and very likely; I like it.

Steve/bboyminn