On the trivial and the profound.

[puduhepa98 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 165676

> Pippin:
> What's so rational about "Snape has the hots for  Narcissa, so he takes a
> vow meaning either Dumbledore or himself must  wind up dead"? Either
> way, he has an emotional bias towards helping her,  which he can 
> rationalize by telling himself that Narcissa must have  information 
> vital to the Order. Once he's convinced himself of that,  the rest
> follows.

>Neri:
>It's rational because if Snape  isn't DDM, he doesn't care about what
>happens to Dumbledore. So if he  estimates that he can gain more than
>he risks, then making the UV is  rational. But if he's DDM, then
choosing a course that must lead to either  his own death or
Dumbledore's isn't rational. It's stupid, as indeed the  final result
of HBP shows. If Snape was DDM than making the UV was really  stupid of
him. 
 
Nikkalmati
 
Even if he doesn't care about DD, he has to care about himself.  As I  have 
argued before, SS needs a very good reason to take the UV, even parts 1 and  2. 
 I can't see that impressing Bella or getting in good with Narcissa is  
enough of a reason to risk his life.  Yes, he plans to protect Draco  anyway, so 
superficially he might as well swear to do so, but what if something  unexpected 
happens i.e. Secumsempra?  He doesn't need to bind his life to  protect 
Draco.  He is doing exactly what he has always been doing, risking  his life to 
gather important information for DD.  That is why he promises  to protect Draco, 
so he can find out more about what Draco is planning. It is a  risk, but SS 
believes it is worth it.  
 
 Then comes part 3.  The request to do Draco's task came as a  surprise, I 
think everyone agrees.  Carol has argued that SS was too  far along to back out 
- that the UV won't let you.  We know so little about  the UV that it may be 
possible that once you start, you can't back out.   That may be why Mr. Weasley 
was so upset when he found Ron and the Twins  just about to cast the spell.   
I personally think SS had grave  doubts, but went ahead without knowing 
exactly what the task was.  Others  think he intended to die rather than carry out 
the task or that he thought he  and DD could avoid the consequences (but of 
course they couldn't). If  he is DDM choosing a course which may  lead to his 
death or  DD's, is rational if it contributes enough to LV's demise.  The UV  
does not cause SS to kill DD in HBP, unless you think SS's motive on the Tower  
was only self-preservation and not the protection of Draco, Harry and the  
school.  If SS had not "killed" DD, DD would have died at the hand of Draco  or 
the DE's, and Harry would have died to boot (I don't believe in John  
Wayne!Snape killing all of the DE's before they can kill any of the good  guys DD, 
Harry or SS).  It is perfectly possible to imagine the Tower  happening without 
the UV having any part in it at all.
 
Nikkalmati (who thinks SS may not have killed DD  afterall)

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