CHAPDISC: HBP 2, Spinner's End

[maryh10000]

No: HPFGUIDX 142206

All quotes are from "potioncat" 

There has been quite a bit of discussion on these questions already, 
so I will only respond to the ones where I haven't seen my point of 
view expressed.
 
> 4. Snape's tiny sitting room is lined with leather bound books and 
> contains a threadbare sofa, an old armchair and a rickety table. 
It 
> had the "feeling of a dark, padded cell." A padded cell is used 
for 
> someone who needs protection from himself. What does this room, or 
> the house and neighborhood, tell us about Snape? Do you think this 
is 
> his usual home away from Hogwarts?

I think JKR is using these terms to color our perception of Snape 
and the location. Snape's appearance is always described negatively. 
Meeting him at "home", his home is also dark and confining, like the 
man. 

What thoughts would we have had about Snape if JKR had described the 
room as "a cozy library, stuffed with books from floor to ceiling, 
furnished with sofa and armchair, neglected but comfortable." Snape 
is a bookish loner. His sitting room looks exactly how you would 
expect it look. 

I bring up the point because JKR consistently distracts us from what 
Snape actually DOES with her scene setting, descriptions, and 
negative POV characters (the latter not the case in this chapter). 
We are always set up to distrust Snape, and she continues the setup 
here.

> 
> 7. This is a serious chapter, with lots of dark images. It's 
> informative too, but it's difficult to decide which information is 
> truth and which is deception. What images or feelings made an 
> impression on you? How do they affect your interpretation of the 
> story? 

I thought "Finally! We get to see Snape in something more like his 
natural element." However, with Pettigrew spying, and a DE and the 
wife of a DE visiting him, I changed my mind to think we're just 
seeing the side he shows to DE's.

> 8. Narcissa asks Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow and Bella 
> is "astonished" that he agrees. It looks like a wedding ceremony, 
and 
> is obviously very serious. <snip> None of us can really understand 
why Snape agreed, <snip> 

I have a theory about this I haven't seen anybody else bring up (my 
apologies if I missed it). I think that Snape's strategy in this 
scene is to discredit Bella and get her in trouble with LV. I don't 
think Snape has stopped Pettigrew from listening -- in fact I think 
he's counting on it, and counting on Pettigrew telling LV everything 
that happened. Note that before we get to the part with the UV, 
Snape has already had Bella confessing that she thinks LV 
is "mistaken" about something (trusting Snape), and she as much as 
admits that Snape must be a better at Occlumency than LV is a 
Legilmency.

In the UV itself, though, Snape has gone further to make Bella an 
active participant in something that LV may not approve of. Narcissa 
clearly thinks she is going around LV to get protection of her son. 
Snape agrees with her that LV probably gave Draco the task because 
he wanted to punish the Malfoys for Lucius' failures, and expects 
(maybe wants?) Draco to be killed. Snape also mentions that if Snape 
carries out the task, Snape will no longer be able to be a spy for 
LV at Hogwarts. Bella, who appears not to be in such good standing 
with LV as she used to be, has to wonder whether LV would approve of 
this UV. In a sense, it could be that Snape trapped Bella with the 
UV as well as ending up trapped himself.

If this is was what Snape was aiming for, then he would have to have 
known what the task was, and to have known that LV would not 
actually be upset if he took this vow. This is hinted at where Snape 
says that he thinks the Dark Lord intends Snape to do it in the end. 
Otherwise, Snape would be in as much trouble by LV hearing about the 
UV as Bella would be.

I do think that Snape was not expecting the third part of the vow, 
and would have rethought his strategy if he had anticipated it. 
Whether he originally intended on killing DD or not, he would not 
want to have his options limited by such a vow. However, I think he 
figured he'd come up with some way around it. If he's DDM or OFH, 
the best way might just be getting rid of LV. If LV is dead, perhaps 
Draco no longer has to perform his task, so Snape no longer has to 
make sure the task is successful.

In addition, I don't think Snape ever told DD about the UV. Snape is 
proud enough not to want to tell DD about his mistake with the third 
part of the vow, and thinks enough of his own skills to think he'll 
be able to find a way around it on his own. I strongly feel that the 
UV is usually done in three parts, from the way it is presented, 
which is why I think Snape didn't even tell DD those parts. DD would 
have asked about the third part. By not bringing up the first two 
parts (which are not so important anyway), Snape doesn't put himself 
in the position of having to lie to DD, which he probably tries to 
avoid if at all possible.

So I come to the opposite conclusion of every poster I have read so 
far: LV knew about the full UV (through Pettigrew), and DD heard 
second hand about part of the UV, if he knew about it all (and not 
through Snape).

Maryh
-- attempting my first post here