Draco and the Lightning Struck Tower/What Harry "knows"

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 169818

career advisor:

> Everone seems fairly certain that Draco sent the poisoned mead to 
Slughorne and arranged for Katie to find the necklace.
>    
>   But Draco denies this to Dumbledore and Zabini was specefically 
mentioned by JKR as sitting in Rosmerta' s bar around the time of 
the necklace incident.

Magpie:
I wouldn't be surprised if Zabini was introduced for a reason and 
that he was doing something when he was lolling against that pillar--
helping, even, or switching places with Draco, who knows? But Draco 
doesn't deny the necklace or mead to Dumbledore. He denies (but 
Snape sees through it) sending the necklace earlier, but he doesn't 
deny it when Dumbledore puts it to him on the Tower. He acknowledges 
that Dumbledore is correct but says that Dumbledore didn't know who 
was behind the necklace and mead. When Dumbledore says he did, that 
it was Draco, Draco asks why Dumbledore didn't stop him. What he 
does deny is that his "heart wasn't in it"--but that denial, imo, 
isn't any more believable than the earlier denial to Snape that he 
didn't send the necklace.

wynnleaf:
I would love to see a list of all of these in the series. Has anyone
ever done that? It's basically what "Harry knew" or what Harry knew
he'd "never" do, or what Harry was "sure" of.

Magpie:
Well, two that come to mind, one that's already been overturned and 
doesn't quite fit, is Ron saying how Hermione is a nightmare and he 
hopes he isn't in her house in PS. (Guess what--she's in his house 
and his best friend and he fancies her!)

And my favorite that hasn't come true is, of course, in OotP in "The 
Sorting Hat's New Song": 

'And it wants all the houses to be friends?' said Harry, looking 
over at the Slytherin table, where Draco Malfoy was holding 
court. 'Fat chance.'

Oh, Harry. You're done for!:-)

Dana:
It will also not be much of a challenge for Harry to once again find 
out he was wrong about Snape. The challenge for Harry will be to be 
right about Snape but then to make different choices and proof he is 
the better man then Snape would ever be able to be. 

Magpie:
I don't think that's much of a challenge since Harry already does 
this. He knows he's a better man than Snape and that his choices 
proove it, and he knows he's right about Snape. He's hardly thinking 
about going out and joining the DEs or becoming a murderer over his 
own hatred of Snape.

Also, Harry hasn't been proven wrong about Snape all that much. In 
PS/SS he was right that Snape hated him, but pegged him wrong as the 
guy trying to steal the stone etc. I don't see why this seems to be 
remembered as Harry being so very wrong about him as a person. 

After that Harry really didn't bank much on Snape being the bad guy. 
He may have suspected him in OotP, but he still passed on the 
message about Sirius. And in HBP he was right about him, so he's 
already been proven right about him. What's to prove again? 

In terms of just technical plot challenges I think it would 
obviously at least be more challenging to explain how Snape was DDM 
when he just killed the man (without it being as torturous and silly 
as some fan theories) than how he's actually bad, since that's 
already been explained. That doesn't mean Snape's going to be DDM, 
but Snape being ESE and Harry realizing it and seeing himself as the 
better person who makes better choices is the state of things 
already. The Snape you describe is already the person Harry sees, 
including the way it was always his fault, even the Marauders' 
treatment of him (and what little responsiblity they had was still 
Snape's fault because he didn't let it go and they punished him 
because of his interest in the Dark Arts etc). Harry has essentially 
become James in this version...and I don't think that's a triumph 
since James' generation wasn't the one to get everything right, imo. 

This version is basically the non-revelatory one, where Snape just 
has to speechify about why he was bad all along--nobody appreciating 
him, everyone else sucks, he never loved anyone because nobody loved 
him, etc. Harry doesn't need to learn anything about Snape, exactly, 
Snape's just there for Harry to pull himself up and pity and say: 
You are a pitiful man, and I am above you. Which is a tiny change 
from now in that now he thinks if he meets him along the way he'll 
kill him, but more of a development rather than a change. 

Harry can also be better than Dumbledore, who was a nice guy but not 
as smart as Harry, who realized that anyone who was such a jerk to 
him and his family had to be a bad guy who would throw away a second 
chance. Harry can appreciate Dumbledore for what he tried to do, but 
in the end he's the teacher here, not DD, because the ultimate 
lesson was the leopard not changing its spots, not whatever 
Dumbledore was motivated by. Dumbledore was suckered because 
he "likes to see the good in people." Harry was right. Not because 
Harry had any real logical theory for ESE!Snape himself, or because 
he understands him (when he meets him in his HBP Prince form he 
mistakes him for a great guy), but because his feelings of hatred 
inspired by Snape's treatment of him were a truer guide.

And since Snape is done for if he's ESE, Harry won't have to deal 
with him much beyond stating his superiority. ESE!Snape will be dead 
or in Azkaban, so punished whether Harry does it or not.

-m