Snape, a Deatheater.

[puduhepa98 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 163818

 
>Magpie:
>That sums up the way I see it. I've no doubt Snape has  good reasons for 
taking the Vow that we don't understand in full yet. But I  think he's making 
>the decision himself as a strategic move.
 
Nikkalmati
Agreed, that Snape is making a deliberate move here, but I don't think the  
motive is hidden from us by JKR.  I think she intends for us to be able to  
figure it out.  She is not holding back here.  If Snape is taking the  UV to 
placate or to please Narcissa, it seems grossly insufficient as a  motive to me.  
The UV is a terrifying piece of magic.  We know  how upset Ron said his father 
was when the twins attempted to make him take one  (what do you suppose they 
wanted him to do?) It is not easily evaded  apparently.   Unless you propose 
Snape is in love with Narcissa (for  which we have no evidence), he cannot gain 
anything by swearing his life away to  comfort her.  I also cannot see that 
he need to impress Bella.   In fact, he is swearing to do something LV wants 
Draco to do or  to die attempting.  He is going against LV's wishes and that is 
no way  to impress Bella.  I also don't think Snape would say to himself -  
well I plan to kill DD anyway so I might as well have this sword of Damocles  
hanging over me to give me a little extra motivation.
 
 
Nikkalmati

> Magpie:
> It seems impossible to me that he's  bluffing throughout the scene (it
> also seems to make the UV into a  pretty much a comedy).
>
> Carol:
> I hope you mean that  bluffing would make the UV a comedy, not that the
> scene reads as one to  you. It certainly doesn't to me even though I
> believe that he's telling  a lot of half truths (not bluffing about
> knowing the task, at least the  part about killing DD, but certainly
> not letting them know his role in  sending the Order to the MoM or
> healing DD's injury or the nature of  that injury, to name a few). <snip>

>Magpie:
>I agree--I didn't think it was a comedy at all. I  meant that if Snape 
didn't 
>actually know what he was doing it becomes  absurd because now he's done all 
this and he's running around trying to find  out, "Draco, sweetie, could you 
give me a hint just what I've agreed to die  if I don't do? I didn't get that 
memo..."

>Even the UV scene, to  me, loses a lot of its weight if Snape doesn't know 
what he's committing to.  Right now it's written in a way that's ominous 
because everyone's talking  about this awful deed that's to be done. If 
Snape's just bluffing then his  lines are all fakes. "He means me to do it in 
the end," has no significance  beyond Snape tap dancing to pretend he knows 
what he's talking about when he  doesn't. I felt that bottom drop too when 
Snape agreed to the third  provision, but if Snape doesn't know what he's 
doing it puts off that bottom  dropping out until he finds out what he's 
done.
 
Nikkalmati:
 
This is my story and I'm sticking to it.  (For now at least).  I  don't think 
it is a comedy, if Snape doesn't know what he has promised with the  UV.  It 
is even more of a tragedy.  When he promises to do the deed if  Draco cannot, 
he steps off a cliff with no bottom visible.  I find that  plenty distressing 
for Snape, especially as he didn't see it coming.  Yes,  that is exactly what 
Snape ends up doing - chasing Draco around.  How many  times did he request 
the little snake to come to his office and Draco defied  him?  Doesn't Snape 
look pretty ineffective in his interview with Draco  during Slughorn's party?  
There is some real tragic irony here.
 
Yes, "he means me to do it in the end, I think" is a bluff and a lie.   We 
know that isn't true, because LV intends for Draco to fail and the  instructions 
the DEs on the Tower have is to stand back and let Draco do  it.  Snape 
doesn't even pay lip service to those instructions.  He  runs in, blows DD away and 
drags Draco out by the scruff of his neck.   Those were not LV's orders.  If 
LV talked to Snape before Spinners End, his  orders would have been to stand 
back and let Draco hang himself.  If he had  planned for Snape to kill DD, he 
could have ordered Snape to do it at any  time.  No, LV doesn't think DD can be 
taken out that easily by Draco or by  Snape and as long as DD is at Hogwarts 
he wants Snape there too.  LV is not  going to order Snape to reveal himself 
by making a potentially useless murder  attempt.  Draco doesn't matter.   He, 
unlike Snape, is  expendable.
Nikkalmati


>Magpie
>And--snipping the rest but connected to it--if you look  at Snape's 
character 
>it's consistent for him to be putting himself in  danger this way. He's a 
>double agent, and I think that's of his own  volition as well. There's a 
reason, imo, that "If you are ready...if you are  prepared..." is such a 
>memorable line in the series. Dumbledore isn't  forcing Snape to play any 
>dangerous games with Voldemort either. At the  end of GoF Snape is 
committing 
>himself to a dangerous situation as well.  I'm sure if Snape refused at the 
>end of GoF DD would probably offer him  protection without insisting he be a 
>double agent. This is the kind of  thing Snape does.:-)

Nikkalmati
It is not in character IMHO for Snape to take foolish risks.  He is  putting 
his life on the line and I think there has to be a corresponding  payoff.  He 
doesn't risk himself unnecessarily.  He knows he has a  valuable part to play 
to bring down LV and he is not going to waste  himself.    It is in Snape's 
character to risk himself to find  out vital information about what Draco plans 
to do and to position himself to  stop it.

Nikkalmati



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]