Gone a while - question about Snape

[Ken Hutchinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 154530

> > SSSusan:
> > Can you say more on this, Potioncat?  I don't quite follow WHY a 
> > Snape who had "come back to our side" would *then* go on to deliver 
> > the prophecy to Voldy, nor do I understand why DD would have 
> > discussed the delivery with a reformed Snape.
> > 
> > IOW, what would have there been to gain by delivering the prophecy 
> to 
> > Voldy?  
> 
> zgirnius:
> I don't buy this theory myself, but as I understand it, the theory 
> says that Snape and Dumbledore deliberately told Voldemort just the 
> first part of the Prophecy to draw Voldemort into a false move (the 
> attack on the One, causing Voldemort to 'mark him as his equal' and 
> creating an antagonist capable of defeating him).
> 

I think a more general answer to this question is that it was a
calculated move on DD's part to goad LV into a foolish move that would
expose him to defeat and capture. The intent probably was not to
specifically tempt him to mark anyone as his equal. DD does not seem
to attach much importance to the prophecy itself, after all. He
correctly guesses that LV will and correctly guesses that LV will
stumble over it. He may have thought that the Longbottoms were
adequately protected and he took steps to protect the Potters. If this
was the plan it both succeeded and went horribly wrong at the same
time. DD does admit that he makes mistakes and big ones. If this
theory is true this would certainly count as one of his big mistakes. 

DD thought he could contain the situation. I doubt he intended for LV
to get as far as to mark either child as this would have been
incredibly dangerous, no matter the precautions. LV would have been
intent on murdering, not marking, the child. I doubt he would have
stopped with Harry either. Neville would have been next. Why take
chances? I'm sure that in his mind LV didn't choose Harry as The One,
he merely chose to kill Harry first.

The theory is that Snape (who had already returned to DD's side or had
been a DDM all along) agreed to help implement the plan by passing on
the partial information. He may or may not have agreed that it was a
good risk to take. If he had been dead set against it and then agreed
to do it anyway at DD's urging he would have been quite devestated by
the way it turned out. 

Given the connection between LV and Harry and Harry's inability to
block it, DD cannot tell Harry any of this. It would be Snape's death
warrant and the destruction of any plans DD and Snape had for the
future. So he has to give Harry the cover story. DD may have once told
Harry he wouldn't lie to him but in this case I think he is because he
has to. It is a choice that is neither right nor easy and that is the
kind of choice that adults have to make on occasion.

Ken