GoF CH 27-29 Post DH look/ Snape and Harry redux

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 182267

Alla:
> 
> Alla thinks again that she is not underestimating or overestimating 
> anything. I think that the odds of Potters' survival EXISTED without 
> Snape interference and NOT existed with his interference, if nothing 
> else would have changed, as simple as that. <snip>

Carol responds:

I think you may be oversimplifying here. Let's say for the sake of
argument that Snape's reporting the partial Prophecy to Voldemort
guarantees that he'll go after either Harry (and/or Neville) while
Harry was still a baby even though, of course, neither Snape nor
Voldemort knew the identity of the as yet unborn child. And let's
suppose that he chooses Harry rather than Neville to go after first.

If the eavesdropper had been anyone but Snape, the Potters--including
Harry--would all have died. But when Snape found out how Voldemort
interpreted the Prophecy and that he intended to kill the Potters,
Snape acted to save Lily, first asking Voldemort to spare her and
actually getting him to agree to do so, and then going to Dumbledore
because he (quite understandably) didn't trust LV to keep his promise.
Snape then agrees to do "anything" if DD will protect "her--them" and
DD attempts to protect the Potters by suggesting the Fidelius Charm.
If they had accepted him as Secret Keeper, they would not have died at
Godric's Hollow and would have had a chance to live in hiding until
Harry was old enough to go to school--not much to James's liking,
apparently--or to come out of hiding and fight (and probably die)
along with the other Order members. But they chose *not* to accept
DD's offer and intended to make Sirius Black their SK instead--a risky
plan, but, still, it might have worked, Snape or no Snape. 

Then Sirius had his brilliant idea for the SK switch, enabling Wortail
to betray the Potters, and *James's* chances for survival became zero.
Even if he'd had his wand with him, he'd have died fighting LV (as LV
leads Harry to think he did). But *Lily* still had a chance because
Snape had asked Voldemort to spare her, and even if she had fought
him, he could have Stunned her and kept his promise, killing Harry and
thwarting the Prophecy as he intended. And *Harry* still had a chance
because, unknown to either Snape or Voldemort, giving Lily the choice
to live (because of Snape) and allowing her to *choose* to die in
Harry's place created a powerful ancient magic that backfired on LV
when he tried to kill Harry.

In short, had anyone other than Snape been the eavesdropper, there
would have been no Fidelius Charm, which could have saved all three
Potters had it not been for the SK switch. And had it not been for
Snape, Lily would not have had the chance to live that made her death
powerfully magical.

So it's not as simple as Snape revealing the Prophecy meaning death
for the Potters. With a different eavesdropper, all three Potters
would have died. With Snape as the repentant eavesdropper, all three
Potters had a chance to live if Peter hadn't been the SK and a
stinking traitor. And even with the SK switch, James was the only
Potter who had no chance of survival. Voldemort could have spared Lily
(who would have been miserable with her husband and child dead but
nevertheless alive). Or he could break his word, giving her the chance
to live as promised and then accepting her offer to "kill me instead,"
meaning to kill both her and Harry, which resulted in the transferred
soul bit and the first steps toward fulfilling the Prophecy.

Now, of course, there might have been no Prophecy or no eavesdropper,
in which case the Potters would not have died at Godric's Hollow. But
they might well have died fighting Voldemort and the DEs, and
Voldemort himself would have gone on with his takeover of the WW,
somewhat hindered by Dumbledore but killing off the Order members one
by one in his inexorable progress toward a full takeover of the WW.

Carol, glad that this is her last post of the day because this thread
is turning into another (nah, I won't mention the topic of that
mercifully defunct thread for fear of resuscitating it!)