Snape on the tower (Was: Cohesion)

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 162330

> >>Neri:
> Snape was alone on the tower against four DEs because he had chosen 
> to be. 

Betsy Hp:
I think you're giving Snape the benefit of too much prescience.  
Snape had no idea what he was going to find.  He just knew there were 
Death Eaters inside Hogwarts (something I think neither he nor 
Dumbledore ever imagined happening) and that something big was going 
down.

> >>Neri:
> All his actions show this. He stupefies Flitwick, then he leaves    
> both Hermione and Luna to take care of him, although he knows that 
> they fought DEs in the past and can be useful in a battle.

Betsy Hp:
I boggle at this, Neri.  You're suggesting Snape should have taken a 
sixteen year old and a fifteen year old into *battle*?!?  Please keep 
in mind that the older girl barely survived her brush with Death 
Eaters last year. I can't imagine a more irresponsible move than to 
bring two children along to "assist" in an Order vs. Death Eater 
throw-down.

> >>Neri:
> He doesn't even send them to call more reinforcements (say, Hagrid 
> and/or the Aurors in Hogsmeade).
> <snip>
> But he obviously knows one thing: that he doesn't want any of the  
> good guys around.

Betsy Hp:
I agree. Considering the game both Snape and Dumbledore seem to be 
playing I think Snape probably felt the less players around, the 
better.  There's a possibility he can talk the Death Eaters out of 
Hogwarts, but not with a bunch of Aurors or Order members around.

And we also have the rather heavily hinted probability that Snape 
knows he's going to have to kill Dumbledore (or allow him to die) at 
some point in the near future.  That the dreaded time is now is 
another possibility Snape has to be considering as he races up to the 
Tower.

And finally, there's the Draco situation.  Snape is the only other 
person in on that particular secret.  Dumbledore has already risked a 
great deal to save Draco from Voldemort.  And it's yet another reason 
to keep the good guys away.

> >>Neri:
> So if it's DDM!Snape following The Plan, then this hypothetical plan
> was obviously decided long before, with no regard to Dumbledore's
> specific situation at the time of execution.

Betsy Hp:
Personally, since I think Dumbledore is dying from the start of HBP, 
I think this "plan" *has* been in place for a long while.  As 
Dumbledore's physician, Snape would realize that Dumbledore's death 
would come with no regard for the specific situation.  Especially as 
more and more time passed.

> >>Neri:
> Still, it seems strange how Snape is suddenly so sure that this    
> time is *now*.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
Really? There are Death Eaters *inside* Hogwarts.  The impossible has 
just occured.  *Something* big is about to happen, and the Death Mark 
floating above the Tower is fairly indicative that it's going to be 
ugly.

But in either case, even if Dumbledore is safely off on one of his 
horcrux hunts, Snape has a better chance of doing good while on his 
own.

> >>Neri:
> But to me Snape's actions read simply like those of a desperate man
> who has just realized that the game is over. Draco is obviously     
> making his final attempt at Dumbledor's life, and if he fails      
> and/or get hurt, Snape is dead. Nothing else matters anymore. Snape 
> must somehow get to Dumbledore, wherever he is, make sure that      
> Draco kills him or kill Dumbledore himself, and then somehow get   
> Draco out of this mess unhurt. There's no plan. There's just       
> staying alive.

Betsy Hp:
But Snape staying alive is a big part of the plan.  So is keeping 
Draco safe.  

I agree that Snape is desperate, but not in the sense that he's 
panicking.  I think his emotional breakdown afterwards, the scene 
where he's compared to a dog being burned to death, speaks to the 
emotional turmoil Dumbledore's task has put him through.  This is the 
moment Snape has to walk through fire to fully realize his 
redemption.  And the best thing he can do is keep the bystanders and 
possible innocent victims to a bare minimum.  Something he does 
admirably well, IMO.

Betsy Hp