Prophecy what-ifs.

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 187573

  
> > Potioncat wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/187565>:
> > 
> > <<[I'm] wondering why if Lily narrowly escaped LV three times, it's LV's 4th attempt that causes Snape to ask DD to save her. >>
 
> > Catlady:
> > The Prophecy said she defied him three times, not that each defiance was a narrow escape from death.
> 
> Potioncat:
> "Narrowly escaped" is DD's words, not mine. When he was explaining that the prophecy could mean 2 boys he said both had a set of parents "having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times." 
<snip>
> The only thing that makes any sense to me is that Snape did not know Lily was part of the Order until the moment that LV targeted the Potters directly.

Pippin:
Hagrid speaks as if everyone knew that James and Lily were close allies of Dumbledore.

Maybe Voldemort had James and Lily cornered more than once but let them go -- to carry a message, or because they were Peter's best source of info on DD, or because he was still publicly pretending not to be a killer, or he wished for some manipulative reason to appear merciful. They  would still be narrow escapes.  

Even though Dumbledore (and Snape) knew the Potters were in harm's way already, it would  be shocking, horrifying news to hear someone so important to you was marked for murder. In defense of Dumbledore's reaction,  that's not something to be twinkly about. 


Do you suppose Snape was the first person who ever sat in that chair and begged Dumbledore to save someone? What do you suppose Dumbledore told them? Probably what he told Harry in OOP, that his most complex and powerful charms were unlikely to be invicible against Voldemort's full power. 

Dumbledore knew he couldn't  do much to save the Potters, but at least Snape's service might help the WW in general -- so it was probably very important to extract that plea to "save them all" in exchange for it. 
 

Pippin