[HPforGrownups] Re: Why DD did not ask Snape to kill him. (extremely long)

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 166096

> Quick_Silver:
> This is just an interesting side note but when you describe the whole
> Dumbledore Snape thing throughout HBP it comes across as bearing an
> incredible resemblance to Sirius's plan to protect the Potters. Not
> in details but in...essence...you have a plan that requires someone
> to risk their life (Sirius and Snape), there's an underestimation of
> a key component of the plan (Peter and Draco), someone who should
> have been in on the plan is left out (Dumbledore and Harry), and the
> person that dies is not as planned (James and Dumbledore). And then
> you have Snape at the end of HBP, seemingly losing it, which bears a
> resemblance to Sirius's infamous bout of the crazies. Plus you have
> the fact that Snape seems to be alone among the enemy rather like
> what happened when no one believed that Sirius was innocent.

Magpie:
I'm trying hard to make this not just a "me too" but whoa--that's brilliant! 
And I think you're right. It may not be something that JKR sat down and 
planned, but I tend to think that writers naturally come up with similar 
situations because on some level it relates to the way that they see the 
world. I think JKR could very much be drawn to situations just like these, 
where there's a perfect plan but it all goes wrong because of things like 
this--although of course with JKR nothing is ever a literal repeat.

Actually, I remember years ago after GoF where people would always ask 
"who's this generation's Peter?" and talk about Neville, which never made 
sense to me. Neville and Peter seemed to have only the most superficial 
things in common. And the only person I could really come up with as an 
alternative (if there was one, which there didn't have to be) was Draco, 
because why shouldn't there be a trade the other way this time, with someone 
brought up in the "bad" camp switching sides? That type of change gives very 
different meaning to the situation, of course. Underestimating Peter led to 
disaster in ways underestimating Draco might lead to something better. (Of 
course, underestimating Peter led to the whole Boy Who Lived thing, which is 
a step towards destroying LV, but this could be part of a more decisive 
victory.) And of course Snape is not Sirius, so he's going to make different 
choices etc. Now's the time to make things right, and it's kind of brilliant 
if this scenario plays out again. Excellent catch!

-m