ChapDisc: HBP30, The White Tomb - What if...???

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 165825

---  "justcarol67" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:
>...
> Carol responds:
>
> ... If she (Hermione) really thinks about Snape and 
> what she's seen him do ..., she may realize that 
> killing Dumbledore is out of character for him. ... 
> And if Harry describes that Avada Kedavra on the tower
> --Dumbledore's body going over the battlements instead
> of falling backward instantly dead), she may start 
> wondering what's going on, especially if she decides to
> talk things over with Lupin,  ... Of course, Snape *did*
> say the words "Avada Kedavra," but that doesn't make 
> Harry's account accurate in all other respects. It's 
> colored by his emotions and preconceptions. And Lupin,
> like Hermione, knows about the UV to protect Draco. 
> Surely, one of them will mention that and try to 
> figure out where and how it fits the picture. That and
> the exchanged look between Snape and Dumbledore. Lupin 
> will know whether it's possible to communicate that way. 
> ...


bboyminn:

I'm going to just address this one point. Since I read
HBP, I have been racking my brain trying to find some
way for Snape to convince Harry that he can be trusted,
that he has valuable information about Voldemort's 
camp that can help Harry defeat Voldemort.

I picture Snape luring Harry into a clandestine meeting,
Snape offerring his explanation, but no matter how I
word that explanation in my mind, Harry is just not 
going to buy it. He has too much hatred of Snape to
forgive so easily. 

But I do have an old theory of mine, that so far, while
good has fallen short because it always falls back on
Snape somehow having to convince Harry. But Carol, in
her post above, has offerred me the key to get past 
the roadblock - Lupin. 

Let me diverge a moment to talk about spells and curses
as it is at the heart of my theory. Note, as Carol
points out, some thing isn't quite right with the
reaction to Snape's Killing Curse on the top of the
tower. Dumbledore should, alledgedly, have just quietly
fallen over dead, not been blasted over the battlements.

Forget that for a moment and look at all the examples
in the books of curses that have /missed/. When a 
curse strikes it's target, it can have some physical 
force, that is not out of the question, but generally
it does what it is intended to do. But notice the
action of missed curses, they generally have substantial
physical impact; breaking off chunks of wall, floor, or
the wing of a stone angel, etc.... Time and time again
we see this, especially in the heat of battle when 
emotions are running high; missed curses do physical
damage.

Now back to Dumbledore; what if Dumbledore was already
dead when Snape threw the Killing Curse? That would
explain the unusual response. Also, if Hermione and
Lupin probe Harry at depth for the details of what
happened on the tower, Harry might let it slip that
it was the Killing Curse that threw Dumbledore off
the tower. 

Indeed as Carol points out, that might lead Lupin to
conclude the only way that could happen was if 
Dumbledore was already dead. I consider a Killing 
curse against a dead person as very much the equivalent
of a missed curse with respect to the reaction we will
see.

Now, we have a reason for Harry to come to his 
clandestine meeting with Snape, and actually come away
believing Snape is on his side, and willing to accept his
assist in defeating Voldemort. 

Someone has to figure this out and plant the seed in 
Harry's head that Dumbledore was already dead when 
Snape cursed him. Perhaps just before he cursed, Snape
became aware that the life had slipped from Dumbledore's
body, and he took advantage of the stituation. I really
can't see any other way that Snape can convince Harry
to accept his help. And I believe that absolutely Harry
needs Snape's help if he has any chance of accomplishing
the many near impossible tasks set before him.

Call it "The Curse of the Dead Man".

Steve/bboyminn