Snape in the Shrieking Shack (Was: Are appearances important to Snape?)

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 142349


> zgirnius:
> I think it is pretty clear that Dolores Dearest did not plan for 
the 
> Dementors to kill Harry. The resisting arrest story would not fly-
he 
> was not being arrested! The presence of Dementors, as pointed out 
at 
> Harry's hearing, was not authorized. So Harry was not being 
arrested. 
> 
> It seems to me her plan was to have the Dementors show up and 
provoke 
> Harry into some spectacular display of magic. This would be his 
> second breach of the Underage Magic rules (and probably also a 
breach 
> of wizarding secrecy). And Harry's use of the dementor defense, 
when 
> there *clearly* could not be dementors there, would confirm the 
> stories that he's an attention-seeking show-off with a bee in his 
> bonnet about Dark Creatures and Dark Lords.

I don't think so. Umbridge couldn't know that Harry was able to cast 
Patronus. As for the presence of the Dementors it was authorized by 
Umbridge. Of course, her authorization was an abuse of power, so she 
wasn't about to admit it at the hearing. 

What good would it be for her to provoke Harry to do some underage 
magic? OK so she would be able to get him expelled. That would 
neither discredit him (underage magic and considerably harmless at 
that), no silence him. It would only make him more dangerous and 
less inhibited – no carrot, no sticks, so to speak, to manipulate 
him. 

No, I think colebiancardi got it right: she wanted to silence Harry 
for good. But she couldn't very well just send a Dementor to the 
Privet Drive and desoul the Boy Who Lived. There would to be an 
outcry. If, however, she would managed to discredit him somehow – 
present him to the public as a raving lunatic who tuned on his own 
muggle family, for instance – that would be a nice and tidy 
solution. 

And how, by that way it's clear, that Umbridge did not seek to kill 
Harry? 

a_svirn