Fate, Snape and the DADA curse was Re: Snape, the unbreakab etc

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 165942

Carol signed off:
> Carol, who of course shares your conviction that Snape is DDM! but
> sees him caught in a web of circumstance that stems in part from his
> own past actions and in part from a malign fate symbolized by the
> fiery bonds at the end of the chapter
>

Pippin:
Can dark magic really control fate? If fate in the Potterverse is set
forth in the heavens, to be deciphered by centaurs over tens of years,
if it is not concerned with "trivial hurts, tiny human accidents", then
it's beyond the power of dark wizards to meddle with. Trelawney
and Voldemort would no doubt see it differently, but IMO
the beliefs of Dumbledore and Firenze are more likely to be in
accord with the author than theirs.

After all, if Voldemort did have such power, why waste it on such
a petty target?  Why not curse the Headmastership itself? And what
about the Ministry of Magic? Plenty of targets there. 


IMO, the curse does not tamper with fate.  I agree with Catlady that
it simply forces its victim to divulge whatever secrets make him 
unworthy of  his office. That would make it the perfect tool of
revenge for Voldemort, denied the position because he was
unworthy. But it wouldn't work on, say, the Minister of Magic,
or the Headmaster, because candidates for those offices are 
(one presumes) vetted far more thoroughly, and the skeletons 
in their closet are found out in the selection process. 

In addition, I think the curse works in conjunction with the spells
of protection on Hogwarts. It strikes me that those who come to
the worst harm do so not when their secret is revealed but when they
attempt damage control by attacking students.  Perhaps that
is why Voldemort has not used this curse elsewhere.

Now, if the curse works a bit like veritaserum, then perhaps it can
be fought in the same way -- with occlumency, as Jo
mentions on her website.

If so, then perhaps Snape thought he could beat it, although 
whether Voldemort would really want him to is open to question.
Voldemort does not like his servants to surpass him.

I think Snape did indeed want the job, in the sense that he
thought it would be a better use of his talents than trying to teach
potions to dunderheads. However, IMO, applying for it every year
was part of his cover, to maintain the impression that 
Dumbledore did not, whatever he said, trust Snape completely.

As I said, Voldemort does not like his servants to surpass him,
and since he himself was never able gain  Dumbledore's trust, 
he would surely have problems with the idea that Snape
had done so, especially over such a long period of time. 
 
Also, if the curse works like veritaserum and can be fought
with occlumency, it may shed some more light on the Shrieking
Shack. It has always puzzled me that Snape interrupts when
he does. Why at that particular moment? Wouldn't it have
been better to let Lupin go on talking?  Or wait until he
or Sirius proved their evil nature by attacking? Surely 
Snape wouldn't think Lupin was going to admit  to Snape's 
face that he'd helped Sirius attempt to murder him. Or 
would he?

If  Snape thought that Lupin was talking so much because
he was being compelled to confess by the DADA curse, if 
Snape  *was* expecting to hear from Lupin that he had taken
part in planning  the events known to us as The Prank, it's no 
wonder he lost it when his dramatic appearance failed to
produce the desired result. Lupin not only failed to confess but 
accused Snape of acting on a schoolboy grudge. And
so it seemed to Harry. 


Of course there's a very strong hint in canon that Lupin is
an occlumens,* so Lupin's failure to confess is not necessarily
proof of his innocence. :)

Pippin
Who thinks the solutions to the major mysteries will be 
guessable but, unlike the minor mysteries, counter-intuitive.

*"An odd, closed expression had appeared on Lupin's face"--
PoA ch 14