Cabinet FIRST! One last time. (Long--sorry!)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 157826

---  "pippin_999" <foxmoth at ...> wrote:

> Pippin:
> ...
> 
> Volemort wants drama. He wants Draco to struggle with 
> his task and slowly realize that it's hopeless. ...
> 
> Fixing the cabinets is ideal for Voldemort's purposes, 
> assuming that he thinks it can't be done. Draco will 
> struggle forever, which means Voldemort can keep the 
> game  going as long as he likes, or end it whenever he 
> chooses. It isn't in Draco's hands at all.
> 

bboyminn:

I'm not sure I buy this theory 100% but it does have some
intriguing aspects. For example, as I have pointed out
before, the cabinet will always be there. If we assume for
a moment that Voldemort knows about the cabinet, even if
he send Draco on a wholly doomed mission, all is not lost.
Whether Draco lives or dies, whether the Cabinet plan
succeeds or fails, the Cabinet will always be there and
will always be a resource that Voldemort can fall back on.

True, if we assume the whole Draco plot is now out of the
picture, the Cabinet will need fixing. But that is an 
obstical that can be overcome. Voldemort still has 
Slughorn at the school, whom he could threaten, Imperious, 
or blackmail. He still has Severus at the school, and he
still has the option to plant someone new at the school.
So, again, it may be that Voldemort was willing to waste
this 'Draco Scheme' and the time it involved knowing that
regardless of the outcome, he would probably still have an
'ace in the hole' at Hogwarts.


> Pippin: 
> 
> Support for this is the step both Mike and Magpie have 
> left out: Bella teaches Draco occlumency. That must have
> taken place before Draco's visit to Borgin and Burkes, 
> and could be the reason Sydney wants for Draco not going 
> there sooner.
>  
> IMO, if Voldemort wanted the cabinet fixed, he would 
> certainly have instructed Snape to help Draco fix it. 
> ... But Voldemort wanted Draco to struggle uselessly,
> so he fed Draco a story about Snape wanting to steal his 
> glory, and made sure Draco learned enough occlumency to 
> keep Snape in the dark.
> 
> 
> Pippin
>

bboyminn:

OK, I really like this part. One of the objections to my
original theory was that it left a gap at this point in 
the timeline. However, if we assume that this was the
time in which Bella was giving Draco Occlumency lessons
then that explains it nicely. The gap in time exists
because Draco was in training for his mission in that
time span.

Additional factor in the timeline at this point, Narcissa
is extremely worried about Draco as we see clearly in 
Spinner's End. It is possible her motherly instincts were
kicking in and she wasn't letting Draco out of her sight
which in turn made it difficult for Draco to accomplish 
much of anything. 

Remember there are aspect of the Plan that Narcissa doesn't 
know, and to maintain the standard level of secrecy, that's 
how Draco had to keep it. So his mother was really a 
hinderance to him. We see when he finally did manage to 
work on the 'plan', he had to sneak away from his mother. 

One last bit on 'Glory', though more related to other 
aspects of this thread, it was touched on here. I suspect 
when Voldemort laid this plan (kill Dumbledore) on Draco, 
he did it as if he were bestowing a great honor on Draco, 
and that success would mean that Draco would have what 
all DE's seek, he would be 'honored above all others'. 

So, while I can't prove it, I suspect it was Voldemort 
who psyched Draco up for the 'honor and glory' thing. I
can just picture Voldie laughing under his breath as he
fill Draco's head with these grand vision of glory.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Voldemort made it painfully
clear that as a Death Eater, Voldemort expected undying 
obedience and faithfullness from Draco, and that any 
failure would be dealt with extremely harshly. I'm sure
the 'do or die' message was made crystal clear to Draco,
but I think that was probably part of being inducted into
the inner circle. The 'honor and glory' came with the 
specific assignment.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn