Predictions for the End (what I think, hope and know)

[quick_silver71]

No: HPFGUIDX 167273

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at ...> 
wrote:
Quick_Silver:
This is my second attempt at formulating a coherent reply (the ideas 
are all jumbled up in my head). 

<snip agreement>
> Carol:
> I agree that Harry is not a Horcrux, but I'm divided on Draco's role
> and importance. I think he'll be persuaded by Snape to turn against
> Voldemort, but at the last minute. I don't think, for example, that
> he'll be involved in any Horcrux hunts. (Zacaharias Smith, OTOH, 
will
> probably help HRH to find, but not destroy, the Hufflepuff Horcrux).

Quick_Silver:
I like the Zacaharias Smith angle but I'm disagreeing with the whole 
Snape persuading Draco to go good at the last minute. Draco seems to 
have made some sort of choice on top of the Tower (which Harry 
witnessed) so to have Snape suddenly swoop in and "convert" Draco 
seems to be stealing Draco's story from him. (Jeez I've become a 
Draco fan)

> Quick_Silver: 
> > --The Dementors will play a rather large role in DH and Snape's 
> > method of fighting them is most defiantly wrong or flawed in some 
way 
> > that will cost someone their life (Neville? Luna?). 
> 
> Carol:
> You mean "definitely," not "defiantly," right? If so, I completely
> disagree. Many wizards, including adult wizards, have difficulty
> casting a Patronus, and Harry himself points out that casting a
> Patronus for fun in the RoR is very different from casting one when
> you're facing a Dementor, which even he finds difficult. (TT!Harry 
was
> in no danger from the Dementors that were attacking his other self 
and
> Sirius; casting a Patronus on Magnolia Crescent facing only two
> Dementors was much more difficult.) He wishes that they had a 
Boggart
> to practice on (the problem is, it would have been confused by all 
the
> people or turned into the Boggart of the person facing it instead of
> his own). 

Quick_Silver:
Sorry about the spelling error (my bad). I disagree with main thrust 
of your counterargument...that Patronus is too difficult. Snape's 
method is, as far as I can tell, being taught to 6th year students so 
I'd say it probably has the same difficulty level of Patronus. 


<snip> 
> Quick_Silver:
> > --The Prank was an attempt to kill Snape plain and simple. 
> 
> Carol:
> I don't think it's quite that simple. Sirius certainly wanted to
> terrify Severus and put him in terrible danger, but thinking before 
he
> acts isn't his strong point. I think that Snape is right about James
> being involved from the beginning and getting cold feet. At any 
rate,
> I think that the Prank prompted him to invent Sectumsempra as an act
> of revenge. I doubt that it affected his studies--he would still 
want
> to excel in his NEWTs, but maybe it affected his ambitions, pushing
> him toward the Death Eaters out of revenge as well as a desire for
> recognition. (I don't know, but we'll find out!)

Quick_Silver:
I disagree. Sirius does seem to think before he acts (his plans are 
just reckless...like the man), it's Sirius that's blamed for the 
Prank, he comes up with the dubious switch with Peter, he gets 
Crookshanks to steal the passwords, he gives Harry the mirror, which 
is why I suspicious of the Prank just being a "prank". I honestly 
think that Snape easily manipulated to his demise and the factor that 
Sirius miscalculated was James and not Snape. That being said I go 
the opposite direction...James didn't know about the plan but I think 
Lupin did. It'd explain a lot...why the mistrusted each other (each 
knew the other was capable of consenting to murder), why their 
friendship survived the fallout (they were in it together). 

As for Sectumsempra I think we've disagreed on this before...Snape 
used a cutting spell in SWM, the cutting spell that's introduced 
(from Snape's potion book) in HBP is Sectumsempra. It seems open and 
closed to me. I don't think it's all or nothing with the Marauders 
and Snape. Sirius said Snape knew Dark magic (wait...is it curses or 
Dark magic?) hence we're shown him using Sectumsempra. SWM showed 
that the James was the arrogant boy that Snape said he was and more. 
There's grains of truth in everything...you just have to pick though 
them. 

> Quick_Silver:
> > Things that I'd love to see (but probably won't happen):
> > 
> > --Harry kills Voldemort with an AK however because Harry was
> infected by a sliver of Voldemort's soul the soul splitting effects 
of
> AK cut the Voldemort out of Harry. 
> 
> Carol:
> No, thanks. It's unfortunate that Snape had no good alternative to
> using an AK. I don't want Harry to have to use one and suffer the 
kind
> of remorse that Snape is suffering. Harry may have powers that he
> doesn't yet know about acquired from Voldemort at GH. I can see him
> possessing Voldemort, filling him with unendurable Love, and forcing
> him through the Veil that way. Voldie with his fragmented soul would
> be unable to leave, but Harry could use Sirius's body, now separated
> from his soul, to return to his own body outside the Veil.
> Unfortunately for my theory, the U.S. cover seems to suggest some
> alternate solution. But the absence of wands suggests that no AK 
will
> be involved, either.

Quick_Silver:
But Snape is suffering remorse because he killed his mentor and 
friend in a situation that he helped bring about whereas Harry would 
have used AK to rid the world of a dangerous madman. AK is what bound 
Harry to Voldemort in the first place; if an AK forged the bond 
perhaps an AK must break it? 

> Quick_Silver:
> > --Harry realizes that Snape is good (on his own...no help from 
> anyone) quite early in the book and shamelessly uses it to his 
> personal advantage while Snape is totally unaware. 
> 
> Carol:
> On his own? That strikes me as very unlikely. Not only does Harry 
hate
> Snape and want revenge against him, Harry has very few epiphanies of
> that sort. The closest is his recognition that Luna isn't just some 
kook. 
> 
> I think it will be Hermione who figures out that Snape is good (in 
the
> sense of loyal to DD and opposed to Voldemort) and that she'll draw
> out details of what really happened on the tower, remind Harry that
> Snape spied for DD before Godric's Hollow, and, bit by bit, cause 
him
> to start questioning his own conclusions so that he's ready, when he
> finally encounters Snape, to accept what Snape has to say and accept
> his help. I don't know what you mean by shamelessly using Snape's
> goodness (or loyalty to DD?) on his own without Snape's awareness of
> what Harry is doing.

Quick_Silver:
No offense but I really hope that it's Harry and not Hermione that 
first understands Snape. Hermione just doesn't seem to have the right 
mindset or experience to grasp Snape. Harry spent all of HBP 
following Draco and by the end of it was able to feel pity for Draco 
and Harry knows that Snape spied for Dumbledore before Godric's 
Hollow. Harry spent significant time watching the development of Tom 
Riddle and understanding the morality of Slughorn, things that 
Hermione didn't experience firsthand. To suddenly have Hermione 
figure out Snape would be jarring...at least for me. 

> Quick_Silver:
> > --Snape isn't simply DDM he's....Marauder!Snape (loyal to the 
cause 
> > but independent and with his own code). 
> 
> Carol:
> Hmm. I think "Marauder" just refers to a certain group of four who
> sneaked around the castle under James's Invisibility Cloak looking 
for
> secret passages and whatnot. 
<snip>

Quick_Silver:
The reason that I use Marauder to describe Snape really comes back to 
how I view Snape and to be honest I view Snape as almost a fifth or 
lost "Marauder". Most of the major charges thrown at the Marauders 
(arrogance, disregard for the rules, uncaring towards others, 
bullies) can be leveled at the later day Snape (not SWM Snape). I 
could go on but this isn't the place. 

Quick_Silver (realizing that the last response is highly subjective)