The Sword of Gryffindor

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 182567

Jayne wrote:
>
> Just going back to the original question re Sword. I have another
one to ask. How exactly did Snape get the sword into the lake for
Harry to see it. Surely he would have been seen if he had appeared
there and put it in ? <snip>

Carol responds:

Snape is a highly gifted and powerful wizard, and I'm sure that he had
no trouble unfreezing the frozen pond and sending the sword there with
a banishing Charm (the opposite of a Summoning Charm), and freezing
the lake again. And, of course, he would have performed the spells
nonverbally so that he could not be heard. As for how he could do it
without being seen, we know that Dumbledore can make himself invisible
without an Invisibility Cloak. Perhaps Snape can do that, too, given
that he can fly without a broom. at any rate, he can certainly perform
a Disillusionment Charm on himself (even crabbe and goyle have learned
to perform that spell), and in the darkness of the forest, he could
easily watch unseen from the narrow gap between the two oaks that Ron
points to. I have no doubt that Snape could also Disapparate silently
when he saw that Ron had rescued Harry and retrieved the sword.

BTW, Snape would have known through Phineas Nigellus that Ron had left
the group. (The conversation at the end of "The Prince's Tale"
indicates that they've discussed the situation before; they're only
waiting for Phineas Nigellus to reveal the location. Snape has already
made his plan.) I wonder whether he spotted Ron trying to return and
worked him into the plan or whether Ron's following Harry and the
Patronus was just coincidence. Snape must surely have seen him and
wanted him to rejoin the group even if he didn't realize that Ron
would need to rescue Harry (who ought to have known that the Horcrux
won't want him to find the Sword of Gryffindor!).

Carol, wondering at what point Snape Disapparated and how much he
heard and saw