Snape's Psycology: WAS: More thoughts on the Elder Wand subplot - Owner?

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 187457

Carol earlier:
> > I don't think anyone even knew about Sectumsempra, including the MoM. Lupin acts as if it were Snape's signature spell, which is odd because Severus could hardly have performed Sectumsempra at school without being expelled (Madam Pomfrey, not being an expert at Dark magic, couldn't have cured it any more than Molly Weasley could restore George's ear).
> 
> Pippin:
> That's only a problem if the spell Snape used on James was not sectum sempra.  A knife can produce a single tiny cut that stops bleeding in moments and heals without a trace, and yet the same weapon could just as easily deliver many deep and terrible wounds. I don't see why a spell that acts like a knife should behave otherwise just because it has "always" in its name. JKR obviously isn't pedantic about spell names, or she never could have made Ennervate the countercurse for stunning.:)

Carol:
And "Renervate " the spell Harry used to try to restore Dumbledore. And don't get me started on the Disillusionment Charm that actually "illusions"! Nevertheless, we see in DH that Mrs. Weasley can't restore the ear that George lost to Sectumsempra (I'll bet that Snape could have), and saving Draco requires an elaborate, chanted countercurse. In contrast, Dumbledore heals his own knife cut with a silent flick of a wand, something that James (or Madam Pomfrey) must have been able to do with James's little cut, which certainly did not last "always," either in terms of bleeding or remaining unhealed. We never hear of his having a scar, either, which is why I'm pretty sure that the nonverbal hex Severus used on James wasn't Sectumsempra, which I doubt he would have worked out in one short week, not to mention that he clearly didn't anticipate being ambushed two on one after the DADA exam. So, until JKR informs me otherwise, I'll stay with my theory. (She also owes us an explanation for why kids were using Levicorpus, a *nonverbal* spell written in Severus's *NEWT* Potions book at the end of *fifth* year, but I suppose we can supply our own explanations--Severus was practicing advanced potions at home and making notes in his mom's old book long before sixth year, and some Slytherin that he'd told the Levicorpus spell to couldn't do nonverbal spells and so gave away both the incantation and countercurse by speaking them out loud--but I do wish she pay attention to what she's written elsewhere. Consistency in a fiction series is a virtue.)

Pippin: 
> I wonder if Lupin  learned the names of Snape's nonverbal spells through legilimency -- it's not definite that he has the ability but there's certainly canon to support it. The Marauders, experimenting with the spell (hopefully on something inanimate) could then have discovered its dreadful potential. 

Carol:
I doubt very much that he was a skilled Legilimens in fifth year even if he became one later. I like my explanations better. (I see *no* explanation for how Lupin could have considered Sectumsempra Snape's signature spell when he didn't even know that he was a DE other than Flint.)

Pippin: 
>  That would make sense out of their belief that Snape was "up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts" but also "careful and clever enough to stay out of trouble." James could hardly complain that  the little scratch he received was Dark Magic absent other proof. We know there are other cutting spells, presumably safe and legal, since Ron is supposed to have used one to hack the lace off his dress robes. <snip>

Carol:

Exactly. Other, legal cutting spells exist, none of which is Dark Magic or Severus wouldn't have had to invent Sectumsempra. (And no, I don't think the component parts of that particular spell are accidental. JKR may be careless, but Snape is not. :-) )There's no indication whatever that that little hex was Dark Magic. Neither James nor Lily reacts as if it were, and he's certainly not incapacitated by it in any way. (Contrast the amount of bleeding we see in George Weasley. And I suspect that the DE would have lost a hand had Snape not missed, forcing him to take the DE to safety and undo the "mistake," which would conveniently have taken them both out of the chase. BTW, how did Snape know that the fake Harry he'd Sectumsempra'd was George?)

> 
> Carol:
> > Carol, almost hating Narcissa and DD for placing that burden on him and wishing that DD had burnt the Elder Wand, his real motive for asking Snape to kill him
> 
> Pippin:
> Surely if the Elder Wand could be burnt, Dumbledore would have done it. I doubt even Fiendfyre would work. And I suspect its true master could summon the wand from anywhere, even the heart of a volcano or the bottom of the sea, as ready to serve as ever. 
> 
> It is one of those devices, familiar to all fantasy enthusiasts, which can only be destroyed in a particular way. Its purpose is to demonstrate a character's resolve and his moral fiber, not his ingenuity in disposing of unwanted thingies.

Carol:
I'm not so sure about that. If Horcruxes can be destroyed with Fiendfyre or Basilisk venom despite all the protective spells placed on them, I see no reason why the Elder Wand couldn't (unless its master is reluctant to destroy it, as DD may have been). There's no indication in the wandlore that Ollivander cites that the wand is indestructible. Heck, it's not even unbeatable despite its reputation.

Carol, agreeing to disagree since she's already made all her points and doesn't want to repeat them