CHAPDISC: DH30, THE SACKING OF SEVERUS SNAPE

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 184506

Potioncat here, with answers to more questions. Why do these 
interesting threads come up on days I have to work!

 "Oryomai" <SnapesSlytherin at ...> wrote:

> 9.What do you think would have happened if Severus had found Harry
> alone?  Would Severus have told him everything?  Would he blow his
„« cover?

Potioncat:
I would like to know what JKR imagined to be in Snape's mind when he 
came looking for Harry. What was the "back story" to the scene? That 
is, what did Snape intend to do, and how did McGonagall's actions 
change Snape's options?

I think his plan was to make sure the Carrows didn't get Harry. 
Capture Harry himself to get him to a safer place, then allow himself 
to be "overpowered" by Harry. If he had been willing to blow his 
cover at this point, he could have done so to McGonagall, but he 
stayed in DE Headmaster character. Snape may feel that it's important 
that Nagini is put under protection--as a sign--before he tells the 
tale. 

Yet Carol has a good point. If not now, when?  LV is on his way. How 
would Snape be able to protect Harry without blowing his cover--even 
if he didn't tell Harry all the details?  I wish Snape had said, "To 
hell with the cover. I'm Dumbledore's man!"


> 
> 10.Severus leaps out the window and flies away.  Do you think this
> was, at any point, part of the plan?  What do you think his plan was
„« before? Do you think he has any idea what's to come?

Potioncat:
As in the Tower battle in HBP, Snape needed to get away without 
harming anyone. Flying out the window was his best bet at that 
moment. I'd like to know where he went. Was he one of the masked DEs 
fighting the Hogwarts army? 

Carol raised an interesting question. Did he learn to fly from LV? I 
thought the same thing that McGonagall did, that LV had taught him. 
Except I knew he was  DD's man. That still makes sense. LV might have 
rewarded him by teaching him that skill. I don't think Snape would 
ever turn down the opportunity to learn more magic.


 
> 12.Oh Percy Weasley.  Where to even begin?  Did you think he would 
be
> back?  Were you secretly hoping that he would battling his brothers
> American Civil War style because he was a Death Eater the entire
> time?  Did you think there'd be any resolution of his storyline?  
I'm
„« interested in what everyone else thought would happen to Percy.

Potioncat:
I'm glad he came back. I always wanted him to. But I wish the story 
had been handled differently. It seemed to be resolved too quickly.
 
 
> 13.Why didn't Ron and Hermione tell anyone where they were going?
„« Did they just look at each other, say something, and run off?

Potioncat:
Harry had things to do without them. They weren't just going to sit 
and wait for him to come back. I think JKR did a good job of having 
other characters play major roles in the outcomes--Luna with her 
spells, Ron and Hermione with the fangs, Neville with the sword. 
While Harry might be the Chosen One, he didn't do it all.

 
 
> 15.  The title of this chapter is "The Sacking of Severus Snape."
> What does that mean to you?  What did you think it meant at the
„« beginning of the chapter?  What does it mean to you now?

Potioncat:
I read all the chapter titles before starting the book. I do that for 
the sheer anticipation of what's to come; the titles can be 
misleading so I don't feel I get "spoilers."

I thought it was a good sign that Snape would be still in the story 
that far into the book---given the role he played at the end of HBP. 
I wasn't sure what he would be sacked from  and hoped it didn't mean 
he would be killed. I thought sacking was too mild a word if death 
was involved, so I had my hopes. While I knew he could be foe, I was 
still convinced he was friend, so I hoped he was being "sacked" from 
the DE side. 

Of course, once I got into the story, I knew he was headmaster--and 
thought he would be removed from Hogwarts. I wasn't expecting 
anything like this chapter--and by this time the Doe Patronus had 
sealed his loyalty for me.