/What Harry "knows"/Draco's Birthday

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 169835

> Magpie:
> <SNIP>
> > 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. 
> <SNIP>
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Um, how is it a tiny change if Harry will go from hating Snape to 
> forgiving him? And I think it will be much more difficult for 
Harry 
> to forgive Snape knowing that he is evil or OFH or whoever as long 
as 
> he, you know, did not kill Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders.
> 
> I mean if Snape is DD!M, sure Harry will go through reevaluation 
of 
> his views, but if Snape is not completely DD!M, but at least a 
little 
> bit grey in a sense that responsibility for murder is his and his 
> only, but the motivations are something that Harry will be able to 
> understand, I think it will be difficult for Harry to forgive 
Snape, 
> but he will still do it.

Magpie:
Because ESE!Snape is toast. So Harry says "I'm better than you" and 
then Snape is either killed or in Azkaban. What else can Harry do? 
The only alternative is that he stews about him for his entire life, 
which Harry isn't going to do regardless. If Snape is DDM he's 
already grey--he *did* get Harry's parents killed and everything 
else. He just makes himself more difficult because he can't just be 
slotted into the bad guy spot and dealt with that way. It's nice for 
Harry if he can decide that rather than not forgiving Snape he can 
forgive him, but if Snape's on the bad side I don't think that will 
amount to much, practically speaking. Harry will still be able to 
fight against him tooth and nail and not rest until he's dead or in 
prison.

ESE!Snape is sort of comforting if only because he's consistent for 
Harry. There's no danger of Snape ever becoming completely good, 
because we've seen him, objectively, being bad. Not bad meaning 
working for Voldemort necessarily (not since Harry's known him, if 
he's DDM, I mean) but genuinely doing nasty things. Not just things 
like being the eavesdropper but genuinely making Harry furious and 
miserable. Even though objectively in Harry's world it might be 
better all around if Snape were DDM and DD's death had some meaning, 
Harry wants Snape to be ESE.

SSSusan:
Yes, June 5 apparently, per JKR's website.

Herself wishing Draco Malfoy a happy birthday?? What's up with that,
folks? What does it mean for Draco in DH (if anything)? Or did she
wish him happy birthday at her site before this year as well?

Magpie:
This is the third time she's wished him happy birthday.:-D The first 
time was pre-HBP. It was when I started to have serious hope for 
HBP, I remember.:-)

-m