Is Harry an idiot because he thinks Snape is guilty? Was: Why wizards are

[lebeto033]

No: HPFGUIDX 140579

> Deb:
> GOF page 638 (Amer h.b. edition)
> <snip> A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, 
> and he heard something heavy fall to the round beside him; the 
> pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and 
> then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see he 
> opened his stinging eyes.
>   Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He 
> was dead. <snipped rest of quote>

lebeto:

Not to nitpick here but Harry never saw that curse nor what it 
did to Cedric's body as evident by the light "blaz(ing) through 
Harry's eyelids".

 
>  from GOF page 217 (Amer. h.b edition) -spider AK
>  " "Avada Kadavra!" Moody roared.
>    There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing 
> sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring 
> through the air -- instantaneously the spider rolled onto its 
> back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead".

lebeto:

Another small point but the spider did seem to roll onto his back, 
he didn't just fall, so it is some precedent for movement of the 
body surely not to the scale that happened to Dumbledore, but of 
course different body size, who knows.

> Deb again:
>  HBP page 596 (Amer. h.b. edition)
> "Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
>  "Avada Kadavra" 
>   A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape's wand and 
> hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry's scream of horror 
> never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as 
> **Dumbledore was blasted into the air**. For a split second he 
> seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull and then he 
> fell slowly backward, like a great rag doll, over the 
> battlements and out of sight".  (added emphasis my own).
> 
> <snip> Whatever curse, hex, jinx or spell he threw at DD up 
> there on the tower <snip> it did NOT act like an AK. While it 
> had the external appearance of one (the green light- but in 
> HBP described as a "jet" and not as a "blinding flash"), it 
> caused DD to be "blasted into the air". Where as in the other 
> incidences we the readers know of.. and the ones that Harry 
> has direct knowledge of .... the effect of the AK was to 
> cause "instantaneous" death. And the victim, be it spider or 
> Hogwarts student or anyone else, drops in his, her, its 
> tracks! They do NOT go blasting into the air.     

lebeto:

Sometimes I wonder if the lack of a good explanation of the AK 
was always to promote discussion of this scene.  If so I cannot 
believe the genius of JKR.  Frankly, in all of the text it never 
seems to do the same thing twice.  

OOTP p 813 US version

"'You have irked me too ofter, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA....
The spell merely glanced off its chest as the statue flung out 
its arms, protecting Harry."

"He sent another killing curse at Dumbledore but missed, instead
hitting the security guard's desk, which burst into flame."

OOTP p 814

"Another jet of green light flew....This time is it was the one-
armed centaur...that took the blast and shattered into a hundered 
pieces.

Here it is not specifically called a killing curse but it appears 
that Voldemort keeps shooting AKs and this one and the one Fawkes 
swallowed are both described as jets.  The killing curse seems to 
not have any specific way of acting, only that it doesn't leave a 
mark on the body.

 It doesn't really say if more emotion can cause movement of the 
body or in this case burning of desks and blowing up of statues.  
All it leaves is no discernable cause of death.  It seems to me 
that Harry wouldn't have any real clue about what the curse does 
in action only the end results.  No one can absolutely say that 
Snape cast an AK or not because I don't think the AK has been 
described in detail.  But I do think that Harry is not jumping to 
conclusions when he said Snape murdered Dumbledore.  He might not 
have all the information but right now he has the most of anyone 
but Snape and DD and has come to a solid conclusion.