Snape on the tower (Was: Cohesion)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 162390

 
> Neri:
> Actually it's not even certain he knows they are in the tower. It
> depends on whether McGonagall sends Flitwick *after* the DEs ran up
> the tower, and if so, whether Flitwick includes this detail in his
> report to Snape. More probably Snape only knows that the DEs are in
> the seventh floor.  

Pippin:
If he can detect the barrier, then he knows that DE's are on the
tower. If he can't detect the barrier, then he can hardly be blamed
for not dissolving it. But the way the story is told Snape arrives
just after Neville charges the barrier and gets thrown into the air.

So let's say he knows the barrier is there because he sees
Neville bouncing off it. However, if the barrier is
protecting Draco, not least from the wild aim of the 
loose cannon DE who is firing AK's at random, Snape can't 
dissolve it without violating his vow.

Neri:
 or at least that The Plan was to save him from dying 
because of the Vow.

Pippin:
I'll  concede that. Dumbledore doesn't want any of his
men to die needlessly. But the Plan far predates the Vow,
IMO.

The Plan, which we saw Snape agree to in GoF, was to
reinstate himself as a Death Eater, to what end we do
not know, but I'm sure there was more to it than
getting information from the DE camp.

 > Pippin:
> > But if Snape doesn't know where Draco is, his
> > best effort requires him to find out, and that means he doesn't
> > have time to wait for reinforcements to arrive, nor can he linger
> > to help the contingent fighting at the base of the tower. 
> >
> 
> Neri:
> He doesn't have to wait or linger for anything. On the contrary, it
> would have taken him *less* time not to Stupefy Flitwick, 

Pippin:
When did it become canon that Flitwick was Stupefied? That's
Hermione's assumption, based on ESE!Snape. It's possible that
Flitwick collapsed exactly as Snape reported, in which case tasking the
two girls to go to his aid was the right thing to do and makes
perfect sense. Flitwick could have been suffering a stroke or
a coronary, and Snape could not stay to help him. 
> 
> > Pippin:
> > Obviously whether Snape followed it or not there was a plan, or
> >  Dumbledore's 'Severus please' was just a craven plea for mercy, 
> > which is ridiculous, IMO.
> 
> Neri:
> Rather weak evidence for a plan, IMO. It could also mean "Severus,
> please don't rip your soul" or "Severus, please remember your Debt"

Pippin:
But someone eventually has to explain to us what "Severus, please!"
meant. Since Snape is the only one who is likely to know that, he
has to have understood, either through legilimency or because 
Dumbledore was asking Snape to do something as planned. 

 
> Neri:
". None of these would have taken him more than ten seconds.
> 
Pippin:
And if because of those ten seconds Draco dies, Snape is toast. Snape has
vowed to watch over Draco as he attempts to carry out his task, and 
protect him to the best of his ability. I agree with you, it would be
clear to Snape that Draco must be attempting to carry out his task, 
so Snape had no choice except to die or to go at once to Draco 
and protect him. 

Snape's mistake, I suppose, was to care about Draco too much. He
was trapped when he said that he might be able to help him. If he
had refused to take the vow after saying that, then Narcissa would
have concluded that he never meant to help her, that he was trying
to take advantage of her desperation for some purpose of his own, 
and who knows what she would have done. I wouldn't underestimate 
the power of a witch who can dominate Bella.

Pippin