GoF CH 27-29 Post DH look

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 182280

Mike wrote:
<snip> 
> When you think about it, Snape had a very minor role in GoF when it
came to moving the story along. Yet he was at his snipingly Snapey
best in this book. I'd go so far as to say that his character was
defined in GoF and after this book you either loved him or hated him.
<snip>

Carol responds:
Yes and no. He's one of the crowd of suspects who could have put
Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire, his office is robbed for Polyjuice
ingredients (a clue, along with the confrontation on the stairs, that
"Moody" isn't who he appears to be), he reveals his Dark Mark to Fudge
(and everyone else present) in a futile effort to prove that LV is
back, he appears in the Foe Glass, and he goes off on what's clearly a
dangerous mission for DD (returning to Voldemort). His backstory
(former DE who spied for DD "at great personal risk") is also
revealed, and he does not return to the graveyard when LV summons the
DEs (nor does he run off with the cowardly Karkaroff). If Snape is not
particularly important in the GoF story per se, except in providing
Veritaserum to help expose the Fake!Moody, he's certainly established
as a key player in the story, one whose loyalties are exceptionally
important. And those of us who believed in DDM!Snape had ammunition
from GoF to help us establish where Snape's loyalties lay when doubts
arose in OoP and, particularly, HBP. (Just how you could hate a
character who reveals his Dark Mark to *Fudge* of all people to
persuade him that LV is back is beyond my comprehension, but, oh,
well. At least you enjoy his Snapiness, even if you don't like him.)

Mike:
> So let me move on to the character viewpoint. What were the 
characters doing and why?
<snip>
> Well, Harry *starts* off by saying he needs to see Dumbledore. Snape
may have surmised there was an emergency (in Harry's demeanor), but 
Harry hasn't yet said so. And Harry doesn't get to finish his 
sentence wherein he's obviously going to say Crouch was asking for DD,
because Snape cuts him off with his rubbish comment. 
> 
> And no Potioncat, I'm not buying Sanpe being sent down to forestall
 Harry while DD was on his way. This is simply a happy (for Snape) 
coincidence that Snape finished his business with DD and was on his 
way out when Harry came a-screamin. I can just about guaran-damn-tee 
that Snape would have stopped Harry when he was running through the
halls under any circumstances. 

Carol responds:
I agree with you on one point: Snape would have stopped Harry whether
DD told him to or not, especially after having heard him yelling at
the gargoyles through the door. We don't know whether Snape was acting
on his own initiative or on orders from DD. I suspect the latter.
However, I also suspect that he knew perfectly well that DD was on his
way down the staircase.)

The problem with any speculation about Snape's motives is that we
don't have access to Snape's thoughts and motivations. All we can
assess with any accuracy is the consequences. And those consequences
are that Snape's calling Harry back from his wrong turn down the
corridor leading to the staff room and his keeping Harry at the foot
of the stairs, for whatever reason, enabled Harry to find and talk to
Dumbledore. And, despite whatever slight delay if any that resulted
from Harry's waiting for DD to come down rather than trying to go up a
down staircase, which he and DD would still have to come down again,
nothing could have saved Mr. Crouch. (Harry didn't even know that he
was in danger, and as I've shown in post number 182169,

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/182169

he was already dead. (Note small corrections in post 182171.)

Speaking of corrections, if anyone was confused by my reference to
Harry as "Lily's on" in an earlier post today, I meant "Lily's son."
Gotta teach these fingers to type correctly!

Carol, apologizing for the post that appeared twice and hoping that it
doesn't count in today's quota