Was Snape asleep? (was Re: What Came First: Task or Cabinet?...

[snow15145]

No: HPFGUIDX 157793





Snow (me previously):

Well making a secret entrance to the castle can greatly affect the 
lives of many including the headmaster. 

Snape being asleep when he is aware that Dumbledore is out of the 
castle and the Order is on full guard while all along realizing 
what `the plan' is and he is to protect his charge, `is' a bid deal 
in either version. 

Julie:
But was Snape asleep, and did Dumbledore really expect him to be
asleep? I know Dumbledore told Harry to go wake Severus, but later
Hermione tells us that she and Ginny stood outside Snape's *office*
door for a period of time, until Flitwick went barging in to tell 
Snape
that Death Eaters were on the grounds. Snape came out of the office
almost immediately--presumably without time to change his clothes--
dressed in his standard black robes. What gives?

Snow:

There was a plan behind `the plan' would be my assumption. Dumbledore 
demands that Harry retrieve Snape and not a healer, why? Well because 
Snape healed him last time he had conflict with a Voldemort Horcrux 
and no one else is privy to the information about the Voldemort 
Horcruxes that we are aware of. 

Julie:

It seems like there are three possiblilities-

1. Dumbledore expected Snape to be asleep due to the late hour,
but Snape hadn't even gone to bed yet. Perhaps he was behind on
his exam-grading, or had other things to catch up on, or he had a
sense that he might be needed at a moment's notice. If he did have
such a sense, did he get it from Dumbledore, or Voldemort, or was
it his own inner intuition that things were coming to a head?

Snow:

I think I like the needed at a moment's notice concept since I 
believe that Dumbledore entrusted Snape to know what Dumbledore was 
about to attempt to do that night. Snape was told to stay put in his 
room no matter what else was happening in the castle unless someone 
came for his help. You see that way Dumbledore could be assured that 
Snape could be found in either dire need, Dumbledore needing him or 
Draco.  

Julie:

2. Dumbledore expected Snape to be asleep because he had 
put some sort of sleeping spell on Snape purposely, perhaps to
keep Snape from knowing about or protesting the dangerous 
cave expedition. This explains why Snape would be sleeping in
his office still wearing his robes, but leaves the question of how
the spell was removed. If Dumbledore expected Harry to be able
to wake Snape, he must have used a spell he could remove from
a distance, or one that would end if anyone attempted to wake 
Snape directly. 

Snow:

I would have to nix this one because Dumbledore trusts Snape 
explicitly. 

Julie:

3. It's a mistake by JKR, and the inconsistency was missed by the
editors. In which case, it will just be another minor red herring that
won't ever be addressed in the story. And that leaves us to choose
for ourselves which alternative above fits our individual perspectives
on the story and both characters...

Snow:

Very doubtful in my opinion, JKR had one huge mistake over the Priori 
Incantatem effect in GOF, I doubt that she would ever allow such a 
huge mistake to happen again. 

Julie, figuring picking one over the other is rather like choosing the
task or the cabinet first ;-)

Snow, realizing that even if the cabinet didn't come first, which I 
still think it does, it opened up a questionable dialog.