Cabinet first - a not-so-serious thought

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 157792

Random832 wrote:
> 
> How about exactly what went down - unbreakable vow and all? I.e.
> voldemort finds out (from draco or not) about the cabinet, manipulates
> Bellatrix and Narcissa into having Snape do the unbreakable vow, makes
> sure that Draco is feeling too much pressure and can't do it himself,
> etc, etc, etc.
> 
> After all, all that is supported in the text, being as it's what 
_happened_.
> 

Julie:
That works beautifully, except that there is absolutely no 
indication Voldemort knew about the cabinet in the beginning
(though he must have by the end, to send the DEs through), there
is no evidence he manipulated Bellatrix and Narcissa into having
Snape take the Unbreakable Vow (how exactly would Voldemort know
Narcissa is likely to consider an Unbreakable Vow, let alone
one demanding Snape complete the task if Draco can't?), and 
while I can see him putting pressure on Draco (Draco must have
gone from proud of the task assigned him to fearful for the 
lives of himself and his family because of something Voldemort
or one of the DEs said to him), I'm lost on how Voldemort can
actually be sure Draco can't do the task (other than suspecting
from the beginning that Draco was neither skilled enough nor
bloodthirsty enough to complete the task), particularly when
he's made it clear Draco is now fighting for his own life (and
those of his family). IMO, by using death threats Voldemort is
actually giving Draco more incentive to *succeed* than fail,
even if Draco does prove unable to do it in the end (thanks to
Dumbledore's compassionate response).  

Granted, some or all of your points *may* end up being the case,
but this is hardly the straightforward version of what happened
in the text (or the "Faith" version, as it were). That version
is no more than Voldemort giving Draco a task at which he will
likely fail with the cost being his life (per Narcissa, Snape, 
Draco and Dumbledore), Narcissa eliciting an Unbreakable Vow from 
Snape out of desperate love for her only child, and Draco trying
with increasing desperation--and repeated failure--to complete
that assigned task. And everything in the plot indicates the 
task is to kill Dumbledore (or die trying).  That's all we have
now and if that's all we have after Book 7, well, then I guess 
we won't be arguing about it anymore (er, yeah, right ;-)

Julie