Snape, a Deatheater.

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 163840

Nikkalmati wrote:
> <snip> 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. <snip> 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.

Carol responds:
And yet Bellatrix expects him to "slither out of action." the last
thing she expects is for Snape to agree to "do the deed" if it appears
that Draco can't. He's spent the first half of the interview
convincing her or his loyalty, and that work would be undone if he
backed out of the UV, as would Narcissa's trust in him. I think he
does respond to her with pity and agree to the first two provisions of
the vow partly for that reason. But his primary motivation is almost
certainly to help and protect Draco, which is what he agrees to do
before Narcissa states the provisions of the vow. That's why he
doesn't flinch or react during the first two provisions, which require
him to watch over and protect Draco, whom he knows to be in grave
danger of either being killed or commiting a terrible crime. He would
have done so anyway as a friend of the Malfoys and as head of
slytherin House. It's also what Dumbledore would expect him to do.
He's used to risking his life for DD. He's doing so yet again. As for
the third provision, I don't see how he could have escaped from it,
bound as he was by ropes of fire. Certainly, he would have destroyed
all he had accomplished with both women. Bellatrix would merely think
that he was willing to kill Dumbledore if Draco failed, which would
certainly clear away any suspicions that he was Dumbledore's man, or
even disloyal to Voldemort in the end. "I think he means for me to do
it in the end" would be sufficient explanation for the action. It
wouldn't seem disloyal; it would seem quite the opposite, willingnes
to rid Voldemort of the only one he ever feared. (Bella's objection is
not that he's defying Voldemort; it's that he's robbing Draco of his
chance for "glory" (which is why she later thwarts him by teaching
Draco rudimentary Occlumency). But I also think that Snape hoped that
he and DD could work together to keep Draco from confronting
Dumbledore. I'm sure he thought that he was more likely to die from
breaking the vow than he was to kill a wizard as powerful as DD,
especially after he told DD about the vow. It was a calculated risk,
and the primary goal was to keep Draco from killing DD--at all costs
to Snape himself.


Nikkalmati:
<snip> 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?  <snip>

Carol responds:
I disagree. Snape finds out that Draco has "backup" other than Crabbe
and Goyle (whom he has already placed in detention and presumably
Legilimensed). That has to mean that he's working with Death Eaters.
He also informs Draco that he's suspected of being connected with the
cursed necklace incident and warns him against using amateurish
tactics that can easily be traced to him. It's too late to stop the
poisoned mead from being sent to Slughorn, but Draco ceases such
dangerous tactics and focuses on the cabinet from that point on. He
learns that Draco has a "plan" that's taking him longer than he
expected (though Draco refuses to tell him what the plan is). He also
deduces that Aunt Bellatrix is involved (teaching Draco Occlumency). I
suspect that he saw something in Draco's eyes while Draco was wasting
time talking ("I know what you're doing. I can block you.") I also
suspect that he knew or guessed where Draco was when Filch found him
upstairs (note that he looks both angry and a little bit afraid). If
Snape doesn't suspect that Draco is using the RoR and that the girls
who occasionally accompany him are the Polyjuiced Crabbe and Goyle,
I'll be very surprised. All he needs to do is to question the real
girls, using Legilimency if necessary, to discover that they have no
knowledge of Draco's plans and no connection with him.

Carol, who thinks that Snape and DD together had a very good idea of
what Draco was up to--everything except the Vanishing Cabinet plan itself