DD's unfinished sentence (Was: Snape Survey, Snapeity, Dumbledore's sacrifice)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 149319

Deb wrote:
> Suggested ending for DD's unfinished remark to Young Malfoy:
> 
> Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but ...
> 
> (1) he left out the vital information that he was working for the
Order all the time.
> (2) I'm sure he didn't mention that his unrequited love for your
mother made it impossible for him to refuse.
<snip what I take to be tongue-in-cheek explanations>


Carol responds:
Since Dumbledore has just stated that Snape was acting on his orders
and since the "but" follows "Of course that is what he would tell you,
Draco," what follows the "but" must relate to why Snape used the
promise to Narcissa rather than DD's orders to explain his attempts to
interfere with Draco's plans. (His "help" so far has amounts to giving
Crabbe and Goyle detention and telling Draco that he wants to talk to
him in his office.) So number one, which could also be worded "he
[Snape] could hardly tell you that he was working for me [DD]," is
both the simplest and most logical alternative.

My point is simply that DD is right: *Of course* Snape couldn't tell
Draco that he was really working for the Order (or DD directly); Snape
was posing as a loyal Death Eater and to tell the whole truth would
blow his cover (which would certainly mean his death and probably
Draco's, setting aside the disruption in DD's plans for Snape at the
end of the year). Note that Snape (in "The Unbreakable Vow") didn't
even tell Draco that he had promised to help him, only to protect him.
Snape is telling partial truths and suppressing key information, the
same tactic he uses in "Spinner's End"--and again with the Death
Eaters when he orders them off the Hogwarts grounds. 

In short, *of course* Snape would use his promise to Narcissa (in
which he has placed his own life on the line) rather than his loyalty
to Dumbledore as his reason for watching over Draco. It would be
suicide to do otherwise.

Carol, noting that the "but" is perfectly compatible with DD's
previous knowledge of all three provisions of the UV, and he was
almost certainly aware of the first