CHAPDISC: HBP 29, The Phoenix Lament

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 164244

In her chapter summary for "The Phoenix Lament," dungrollin asked:

> 11. <snip> What story about Malfoy and Snape should Harry be able to 
> piece together from the information he has?

Carol responds:
I notice that no one has responded to this part of the question, and I
promised to come back to it, so here I am. Unfortunately, I can't go
into the depth I'd like to, but I can at least touch on the topic in
hopes that someone else is also interested.

First, we know what Harry *doesn't* know. He isn't present for the
conversation at "Spinner's End," so he doesn't know the details of the
Unbreakable Vow (or anything else that happened in that room), and he
doesn't know, any more than we do, Snape's motives for taking the vow.
He doesn't see what appears to be Snape's genuine concern for Draco
(and Narcissa). Later, of course, he misses (as we do) all of the
conversations between Snape and Dumbledore, so he has no way of
confirming Dumbledore's assertion that perhaps he knows more than
Harry about this matter. All he knows, or thinks he knows, is what he
has gleaned from following Draco in Knockturn Alley and spying on him
aboard the Hogwarts Express, the overheard conversation between Snape
and Draco (he misses the beginning and can't see the speakers' faces),
the partial and not wholly reliable report of the argument in the
forest (Hagrid's assumption that Snape is feeling overworked probably
misses the mark), what he and the two house-elves observe Draco doing,
what he hears Draco say before the Sectumsempra incident, and what he
can gather from Draco's conversation with Dumbledore on the tower.

Early on, he sees Draco threatening Borgin and learns that he has some
connection with Fenrir Greyback (whose identity and character Harry
later discovers), that he appears to have the Dark Mark (though
neither Harry nor the reader can be sure), that he wanted something
held for him and something repaired, and that the Dark Lord has given
him a "job." None of this has anything to do with Snape, who appears
first to Harry is his role as (unpleasant) Order member and soon
afterwards as DADA teacher. (Harry hopes that the "jinx" will kill him
but doesn't connect him with Draco.) At Christmas, he learns that
Snape (who is playing the DE role as well as acting as Draco's HoH)
has sworn an Unbreakable Vow to Draco's mother to protect Draco
(nothing about the third provision), he knows that Draco has had more
success than Harry has learning Occlumency and is using it (rather
clumsily, IMO) against Snape, he knows that Snape suspects Draco of
involvement in the cursed necklace incident, and he knows that Draco
is concealing his "plan" (which turns out to be fixing the Vanishing
Cabinets) from Snape. He also notes that Draco is behaving
disrespectfully to Snape. He does not seem to note that Snape calls
Draco by his first name rather than "Mr. Malfoy," nor does he seem to
realize that Snape is not in on Draco's plan, nor does he seem to
register that Snape has put Crabbe and Goyle in detention (presumably
to question them). Perhaps Harry takes at face value Draco's
accusation that Snape is trying to "steal his glory." Certainly, he
sees Snape as a Death Eater and his attempts to keep Draco from using
amateurish tactics as a mature DE advising a novice against clumsy
attempts that will lead to detection. He deduces that Draco is trying
to kill someone and assumes that Snape is trying to help him do so.
(Earlier he sees Snape's anger at Draco and notes that he looks pale
and "a little afraid," but doesn't try to figure out why Snape is
feeling these emotions.)

He knows that Snape and Dumbledore argued in the forest and that it
has something to do with investigations into Snape's house; he knows
that DD trusts Snape *completely* despite his own claims that Snape is
working with Draco; he knows (eventually) that Draco is polyjuicing
Crabbe and Goyle and that he's doing something in the Room of
Requirement; he knows or ought to know after the Sectumsempra incident
that Draco is under threat of death for being unable to carry out his
plan (and so desperate as to be crying in the bathroom); he sees Snape
save Draco's life and escort him to the hospital wing to take dittany;
and, of course, he sees Draco disarm DD, claim he's there to kill him, 
hears Draco call Snape a double agent and DD a "stupid old man" for
trusting him, and sees Snape push Draco aside and, after DD speaks his
name twice, kill Dumbledore, seemingly corroborating Draco's view of
the matter--and Harry's own. And he sees Snape snatch Draco by the
nape of the neck and practically drag him off the tower, through
Hogwarts, and across the Hogwarts grounds, only letting go and yelling
"Run, Draco!" when Harry tries to hit him with a Stunning spell.

It seems to me that Harry is missing a few clues, notably Snape's
concern for Draco, whom he is clearly trying to protect both from
murder and the act of murder, and Draco's refusal to cooperate with
him by telling him exactly what he's up to. Snape clearly doesn't know
what Draco is doing in the RoR any more than Harry does (though he
does seem to know that Draco is trying to kill someone under his
master's orders) but it's not clear that this lack of cooperation
registers with Harry. (Clearly, they're *not* working together as
Harry wants to think.) Harry also knows that Snape was in his office
when Draco and the DEs arrived on the tower, indicating that he was
not in on Draco's plan to smuggle the DEs into Hogwarts, but Harry
hasn't realized that, either. Nor does he fully understand the danger
Snape was in from the Unbreakable Vow or the choice he was forced to
make on the tower.

I really hope that Harry talks things over with Hermione and that she
can point out to him (without getting her head ripped off) that not
all of thepieces fit together.

Carol, hoping that others will respond to this overlooked question in
case I missed or misinterpreted something