Protecting students (was Snape Reduced (was: Re: Villain!Dumbledore...

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 177968

 
 
> Carol, who thinks that if we put together the Snape clues in DH we 
>can get some idea of how he kept his promise to DD to protect the
> students, including Draco, as best he could without revealing his 
>true loyalties, which would have been disastrous

Potioncat, using Carol's closing comment to open my post:

Snape promised the living DD that he would do all he could to protect 
the students at Hogwarts. Then he is reminded by Portrait!DD to stay 
in LV's good graces so that the school will not be at the mercy of 
the Carrows. Imagine having to please LV, humor the Carrows, mislead 
the DDloyal!teachers and protect the students all at the same time.

LV has placed the Carrows at Hogwarts. We don't know what, if any, 
instructions went with the appointment. Nor do we know who was 
appointed first, Snape or the Carrows. But Snape can only control 
them within the limits of his cover.

> Carol:
snip
 Perhaps it's only the seventh years who were supposed to
> Crucio their fellow students, and only those who were in detention,
> IIRC. If they were throwing Crucios around in the classroom, one 
might
> "accidentally" hit Amycus. (Alecto used the curse herself but didn't
> teach it in her Muggle Studies classes.)

Potioncat:
We know that LV makes Draco Crucio other DEs. Carrow is merely 
imitating his boss. Snape can hardly refuse it all together. So, I 
believe that Snape has limited the use of Cruiatus on those who 
earned a detention. He knows the other teacher won't issue detentions 
in this case, which means only the Carrows will. He hasn't eliminated 
all the torture, but has cut it back.

In "The Sacking of Severus Snape" Snape comments that he didn't know 
it was McGonagall's night to patrol the halls. Sounds like Headmaster 
Snape has added new responsibilities to the teachers. They are 
patrolling the halls looking for rule-breakers. I wonder how many 
they find? What do you want to bet that he's excused his two favorite 
teachers from this duty? So we have DDM!teachers keeping the students 
out of trouble...to the best of their ability.

Neville Longbottom is 17, overage, and able to fight as he sees fit. 
He was scarred by each of the Carrows. But he's just as much a 
soldier as Fred and George are. I'm not so sure how old Michael 
Corner is. He was badly tortured for releasing a first year who had 
been placed in chains. Not too much I can say about this situation.



Carol:
 His mere presence at the school prevents
> the DEs from taking over all the classes; he retains the old 
teachers
> other than the Carrows to be sure that the students actually receive
> an education and that the Carrows will be resisted as Umbridge was; 
snip
 it's no fault of
> Snape's that Luna is kidnapped by DEs on Platform 9 3/4. He can only
> protect her at school (as he protects Ginny by forbidding her from
> going to Hogsmeade). 


Potioncat:
Unless this is a flint, Snape seems to be able to protect the 
students from the DEs while at Hogwarts. Why else forbid Ginny to go 
to Hogsmeade? Why did the DEs have to snatch Luna? You would have 
thought they could have walked into Snape's office and ask for her to 
be released. Snape must have convinced LV that the school should 
not "appear" to be DE controlled.

Luna is kidnapped but Ginny just doesn't come back after Easter. I 
wonder if Snape never reported that Ginny was absent? There's a rule 
you know, and the Weasleys were expecting someone to come to check on 
Ron at the beginning of the school year.

So I think we have some hints that Snape was doing what he could to 
protect the students. Afterall, Snape learned everything he knows 
about protecting students from Albus Dumbledore.