HBP post DH look Chapters 1-2.

[tommy_m_riddle]

No: HPFGUIDX 184285

> Pippin: 
> 
> Snape says in Spinner's End that Dumbledore has "sustained a serious
injury." 
> Dumbledore's hand is damaged and he is wearing the ring with its
cracked stone when he 
> retrieves Harry, evidently that same night. Therefore, Snape had
already  agreed that he 
> would eventually kill Dumbledore. We can also see that Snape was
telling Narcissa and 
> Bella the truth when he said he knew of The Plan.

Sarah:

I agree with Pippin that Dumbledore had already shown up with the
crispy hand and Snape had put his temporary patch on the ring curse. 
And since DH, I now also agree that Snape did know of the plan, since
he and Dumbledore discussed it in the same sitting as the ring curse
patch was applied.

Pre-DH, I would not have agreed with that second part.  Snape is kind
of waffling around about "trying" to help Draco with his task, until
this line:  "His black eyes were fixed upon Narcissa's tear-filled
blue ones as she continued to clutch his hand."  In the next sentence
after that, Snape heartily agrees to make the Vow.  It all seemed to
fit that he was bluffing up until that moment.  It's reasonable to
assume that he knows Narcissa to be no Occlumens, since his guess is
that it was Bellatrix who taught Draco.  He changes his tune
immediately after a cheesy line about him staring into Narcissa's
eyes, so I figured that's what that was about.  But DH showed he did
know the plan.

Absent obvious evidence, I'm usually prone to give the benefit of the
doubt to the author not making a mistake.  But in this case, I wonder
if maybe it is one, though it's a very minor matter.

As for the original question from Alla, yes, I think Snape agreed to
the Vow mainly because he could without sacrificing anything
additional that he hadn't promised to do already anyway, and to help
reinforce the support of the Malfoys and get Bellatrix off his back a
little.

Sarah