Snape's Attack on Flitwick

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 139513

Valky:
> With that to start I am already getting a sense that Flitty is
> just that, flitty. The foreshadowing indicates that he doesn't 
> have big guns in battle > (Snip snip snip)> Not really on the
> fence, but on the fence... not...

> mhbobbin replies:
> Valiant attempt, Valky, but Flitwick's battle hardiness (assuming 
> he's weak and that canon deliberately misleads) does not give 
> Snape a legitimate pro-Order anti-Voldemort reason to take
> Flitwick out unless you are saying Snape knocks Flitwick out of
> the battle "for his own good".  This seems like a stretch.  

Jen: A couple of thoughts here. I doubt Dumbledore expected his non-
Order professors to be battling the DE's, which is why he fortified 
the castle with Order members when leaving the grounds. The rest of 
the teachers were probably expected to assist McGonagall and look 
after the students in case of an emergency. 

So McGonagall sent Flitwick for Snape, the only Order professor not 
aware of the battle. One suggestion for Snape Stupefying Flitwick 
(see more below ) is when Snape heard DE's were in the castle, he 
knew he would have to assume his DE-persona and didn't want Flitwick 
following him and interfering if he appeared to be on the DE side.

mhbobbin:
> Unless Flitwick truly just fainted and it wasn't Snape's fault at 
> all.

Jen: I was wondering about that too, he seems fine by the time the 
Heads of Houses meet with McGonagall. The only thing countering a 
fainting incident was Hermione saying Snape 'Stupefied' Flitwick and 
she usually knows her spells. 

But it's a little odd no one bothered to ask Flitwick any questions, 
since he could confirm what happened. Maybe McGonagall planned to 
ask him in private after the meeting in the headmistress office. I 
wonder if Flitwick saw something Snape didn't want him to see? And 
Snape memory-charmed him before Stupefying him?


And there's more mystery: Snape is *sleeping*. Since when does he 
ever sleep? Mr. Prowl-Around-The-Castle guy? But Dumbledore 
confirmed it when he and Harry arrive on the tower: "Go and wake 
Severus." Now either everyone knows Snape goes to bed right after 
dinner and sleeps for a few hours, then is up all night guarding the 
castle, or DD (and thus McGonagall) knows that on this particular 
night, Severus is sleeping because DD made it so by a potion or 
spell. A spell is more probable, Snape could sniff out a potion. 

The only possible motive for DD to do this, and it's tenuous at 
best, would be if Snape was trying to actively keep Dumbledore from 
going after the cave Horcrux. Maybe Dumbledore told Snape he'd found 
another Horcrux and was planning to take Harry with him and Snape 
argued, sneering about Harry being a liability. So DD resorted to a 
sleeping spell for just that night. The argument against this idea 
is DD would want Snape fully functional every time he leaves the 
castle.

Jen