Snape's the Rescuer - Really?/Justice to Snape

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 170682

> Dana:
> Really? And with what wand was Sirius going to perform that non-
> verbal or verbal spell? Also could you provide canon to proof that 
> non-verbal spells are weaker? 

zgirnius:
It is the professional opinion of Madam Pomfrey that the curse that 
hurt Hermione in OotP could have been much worse if it had been 
spoken. Since Hermione had silenced Dolohov, he did not have that 
option.

> Dana:
> I saw Harry use a non-verbal spell that 
> was a deathly as the AK, even messier causing the victim a lot more 
> torture before death sets in. You might consider the AK more 
powerful 
> but it depends on what you want to accomplish I guess. 

zgirnius:
Snape may have used Sectumsempra nonverbally as a studentv(this was a 
topic of some debate in the last few days). That instance, in any 
case, was nothing close to deadly or torturous, but this could be due 
not to the nonverbal nature of snape's spell, but because it was 
actually a different spell. 

Harry, on the other hand, yelled the incantation aloud the times he 
used it: in the bathroom on Draco, quite effectively, in the Cave on 
the Inferi, where it did cut but caused no bleeding, and the time he 
tried it on Snape at the end of HBP (blocked).

> Dana:
> Also why is 
> Snape mocking Harry at the end of HBP that he is to incompetent 
> because he can't keep his mouth shut.  

zgirnius:
Hermione outlined the defensive advantage of nonverbal spells in the 
first DADA lesson (an explanation with which Snape agreed). I thought 
the duel in "The Flight of the Prince" was an excellent illustration 
of that point, since Snape quite clearly knew what was coming at him 
from Harry and could block it. Even if spells lose some effectiveness 
nonverbally, this is better than having them blocked completely, as 
was happening to Harry.

Dana:
> Snape indeed would indeed make a lot of assumptions if he indeed 
did 
> still believe Sirius was out to get Harry as for one, Harry is 
still 
> alive while Sirius had all the time in the world to kill him after 
> Snape was knocked out.

zgirnius:
Well, Snape is a Death Eater. He may think Sirius was emulating the 
Dark Lord by making a long villain speech before getting down to 
business.

> Dana:
> Two, why would Sirius and Lupin have taken the 
> trouble to transport Snape out of the Shack and not just leave him 
> there? 

zgirnius:
Being left alone in the Shack is hardly dangerous or unpleasant. 
Snape probably assumed he was moved from there for some nefarious 
purpose, I would imagine. The most likely being to ensure he stays 
out of action for some period. If they leave him behind, he could 
come to quickly and they would not have warning of this.

> Dana:
> Or even why is he still alive while this raging murderous 
> lunatic is supposed to kill anyone that gets in his way? 

zgirnius:
He does not know what has happened since he was knocked out. His 
continuing survival could be due to other factors - an escape attempt 
by the kids, an attack by Dementors, a falling out among villains, 
etc.

> Dana:
> Or did he just not want to truth to come out because 
> ignorance is bliss when you have revenge on your mind?

zgirnius:
But it is, this is human nature. Snape was not looking for reasons to 
clear Sirius, so it seems reasonable to me that during an emotion and 
surprise filled time in which Lupin manages to forget his condition 
more than once, Snape might not add together the disparate facts into 
the correct story which does not fit his cherished beliefs.

Snape did not deny any plainly stated facts - the facts were not 
stated plainly to him. 

And one key fact was missing. That Peter was an Animagus he heard. 
That Peter's form was on the small side, he heard, but he had no 
reason to believe that Peter was alive. *That* was one of the bits he 
did not overhear, and noone mentioned it after he made his presence 
known.