Prank WAS: Re: CHAPDISC: DH33, The Prince's Tale

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 184914

> > Pippin:
> > Why is the standard 100 percent? Could Voldemort be 100 per cent 
> sure
> > that Harry would go to the Ministry? Of course not. 
> > 
> >  And yet we don't say that Voldemort didn't set Harry up.    
> Voldemort
> > knows there are Death Eaters waiting to capture Harry and Harry
> > doesn't, though he's been warned that Sirius and Voldemort can't
> > possibly be there and it has to be some kind of trick.
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Excellent example, Pippin! That is I consider it to be an excellent 
> example of what I consider to be a true set up and what The Prank is 
> not for me, not completely anyways.
> 
> So, could you please tell me what is in Prank in your view takes 
> place of Sirius being tortured in the ministry? What is the incentive 
> to go to the place where person being set up will be ambushed?
> 
> Because in Voldemort and Harry situation the incentive is crystal 
> clear to me - Harry is being told that his Godfather is being 
> tortured.
> 
Montavilla47:
But what if Voldemort hadn't sent a vision of Sirius being tortured,
but a vision of Sirius being endangered in a more indirect way? 
Harry might not have rushed off immediately, but he still might 
have rushed into danger if he felt he didn't have any other 
alternatives.

One thing we do know about Snape's end of the Prank is that
he--before the Prank took place--told Lily that he *thought*
Lupin was a werewolf.  (Because she refers to his having spoken
about his "theory" before.)  We also know, because Lily quickly
brushes that aside, that she wasn't buying his theory.

That means that Lily has a werewolf in her House.  Someone
she would spend time alone with, as they are both Prefects.  
Someone she might be "interested" in.   Who knows what 
might happen?  

It's not exactly the same as having your best friend spending
time with someone with--say--bi-polar disorder, because
Lupin's transformations are very limited and very predictable,
but it's still a situation fraught with danger.  And Snape's 
run out of options in terms of warning Lily.  Now, if he were
content to warn and wasn't obsessed with protecting her, 
then maybe he could walk away and say, "I told you so" when
she ends up bitten.  But that's not what Snape does.

So, Sirius doesn't *need* to provide Snape with an incentive
to go down into the tunnel.  Snape's acting a lot like Harry
in HBP.  He *knows* something is going on.  The person he
thinks should be taking this idea seriously isn't.  So, he 
is driven to find positive proof--even if Lily is telling him
to mind his own beeswax.

I really like the Voldemort analogy.  How fun that JKR puts
both events in the same book!

And heck, I'm the person who always says that Harry was a 
pure idiot for going to the Ministry--and that, while he isn't to
blame for Sirius's death, he's a lot more responsible than 
Snape (who he blames).  So, I guess I should admit that
Snape is at least as stupid as Harry in going under the 
tunnel and he really shouldn't blame Sirius anymore than 
Harry should, uh, blame Voldemort.  No, wait... that doesn't
work.

But Sirius certainly doesn't deserve any more blame than
Snape in the Prank.

Montavilla47