ACID POPS and Teenager Draco

[snow15145]

No: HPFGUIDX 157663



Snow:

Sorry for the late reply. It's only been three days and yet this 
thread became contagious and spawned the currant topic (which came 
first the chicken or the egg, no that isn't it
 the cabinet or the 
task), which was introduced with this post from Steve. 

Snow (me previously):
>
> Buy then it would simply be an act of revenge! I feel
> confident that Voldemort would make more of such a
> situation than that. ...


bboyminn:

While I am not discrediting all the things that have been 
said so far, but let us not forget that Draco went to 
Voldemort with the Vanishing Cabinet Plan. I suspect Draco 
thought he would get big time credit for bringing this info 
to the Dark Lord, but he didn't necessarily expect to have 
to carry out any plan. 

Snow:

Totally agree that Draco in his haste to take revenge on his father's 
recent incarceration approached the Dark Lord with his newfound 
enlightenment of a way in which Voldemort could penetrate the castle. 
Voldemort seized his opportunity to both use Draco at his parents' 
detriment and also test the loyalty of one Severus Snape. Even Snape 
would agree with me. HBP pg. 34

"He intends me to do it in the end, I think. "

Steve:

Suddenly, Voldemort leaves it up to Draco to fix the cabinet 
and as an added special treat decides to induct him into the 
Death Eaters. I'm not sure that's what Draco expected, but 
fixing the cabinet and letting the DE's do the dirty work 
might not be so bad. Plus, he has alway assumed he would 
eventually be a DE, so it is just coming a little sooner.

Snow:

I totally agree with you here as well. If you look at the cocky 
attitude Draco has in Borgins when he threatens him with Fenrir and 
better than that is Draco's statement to his mates on the train when 
he tells them: HBP pg. 152

"I've just said, haven't I? Maybe he doesn't care if I'm qualified. 
Maybe the job he wants me to do isn't something that you need to be 
qualified for," said Malfoy quietly.

At this point Malfoy is under the impression that he need not be 
qualified for what he is being asked to do. Now does this sound like 
someone being ordered to kill the most powerful wizard of all time 
himself? 

It doesn't sound that way to me. At this point all we can be certain 
of is that Malfoy is looking into fixing the cabinets and has the 
Dark Mark on his arm, unless someone is under the assumption that it 
would not take any qualified skill to kill the Headmaster; Even Draco 
wouldn't be that cocky to assume he could do the nasty to Dumbledore 
without skill. 

Steve:

But Voldemort is a master manipulator with his own agenda, 
once Draco is in too deep, Voldemort present Draco with 
the extreme priviledge and treat of killing Dumbledore 
himself. I doubt Draco had bargained on that, but now that 
he was in, he knew he couldn't refuse and he knew he couldn't 
negotiate.

I think Voldemort also took Draco's standard resources away 
from him to make the task harder; no Crabbe and Goyle, no 
Snape, and no running to mummy. He was assigned a few DE to 
assist him and be his outside contacts, and that was it. 

Snow:

Sounds like a fairly accurate assumption to me especially since we 
see that Draco's cocky attitude gives way to crying to Myrtle over 
halfway through the book, what changed? 

Even Dumbledore himself notices upon reflection to Draco that his 
feeble attempts at killing him seemed almost like his heart wasn't in 
it. That would be because at the point that he attempted to kill 
Dumbledore via the necklace and mead, Draco was more interested in 
the cabinets
why would that be unless he was yet to be informed of 
his actual mission?

Steve:

I further think that only involved people knew specifically 
what the plan was. Narcissa may or may NOT have know the 
plan. Certainly she knew there was a dark and dangerour 
plan that centered around her son, and to a mother, that 
alone is enough to worry you. I suspect the same it true 
of Bella, she knew generally but not specifically. Yes, I 
know some will cite 'Spinners End', but no one in that 
scene actually reveals what they know. 

Snow:

Alas, someone who reads this scene as skeptical as myself. Too much 
can be inferred or denied depending on your read. 

Steve:

I still say that a substantial part of Draco's stress was 
Secrecy. He couldn't go to Snape or his mother for help. 
He couldn't reveal to his best friends and helpers the 
secret of his mission. Though I readily admit to the teen 
angst, urge to grow up and prove himself, desire for glory 
and recognition, and all the other aspects that others have 
spoke of. But I think the up-front limiting factor on Draco 
was secrecy; he couldn't reveal the secret because to do 
so surely meant death.

Snow:

I do think that others agree with this since Draco's adolescent 
behavior has matured. Most people like to bask in the glory and a 
young person would be more eager than most. Draco was fixated with 
fixing the cabinets way beyond the `plan' we are under the assumption 
had been ordered from the beginning. 

The problem is Draco's secrecy about his cabinet venture, even from 
his mother, caused him greater problems. Draco was not expecting such 
a mediocre backup group of deatheaters as he well acknowledged to 
Dumbledore when the fact that Fenrir was inside the school of Draco's 
friends. 

Steve:

Some see Draco out of character in this book, but Draco is 
also out of his characteristic situation. Up until now all 
he had to think about were schoolboy pranks, now the stakes 
are extremely high. Much much much higher than Draco has 
ever had to operate at before. It is easy to be smug and 
arrogant when the stakes are a few lines or a detention or 
two, but Voldemort will not give 'lines' for failure.

Draco fancied himself getting into Voldemort's good graces 
with the information about the cabinet, but I suspect 
Voldemort, step by step, raised the stakes to far beyond 
what Draco ever imagined. Yes, part of that was vindictive. 
He was putting tremendous pressure on Draco, perhaps even 
putting him in harms way as a way of tormenting Draco, his 
mother, and his father. But that was not the objective, that 
was just a side benefit. Naturally with a completely secret 
way into the castle, the Dark Lord would want to use it. 
The School and Dumbledore are prime strategic targets for 
Voldemort; he simply couldn't pass it up.

Snow:

I agree with the majority of your scenario until the end where we 
must part company because as I stated above Snape was Voldemort's 
bigger target and Snape knew it! Dumbledore was quite aware of it 
also. 

Steve:

I think he kept Snape out of it because he didn't want to 
compromise Snape's spy status. By leaving Snape out, no 
suspicion could fall on him regardless of the out come. 
That way he would always have his inside man at Hogwarts. 
Also, if Draco really did fail this year, he could always 
come back next year, and with Snape help then, fix the 
cabinet. Or have Snape fix it over the summer. Draco's 
failure itself doesn't close the door. Although Draco 
getting caught most certainly would.

Snow:

This is exactly why I think this part of the scenario is a bust; If 
Dumbledore is killed by entering Hogwarts through the passage Draco 
provides, then why would Snape be necessary to stay on
to spy on 
who?  

Just a couple more thoughts

Snow