Snape and Marauders WAS :Draco and Intent

[lealess]

No: HPFGUIDX 186918

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "montavilla47" <montavilla47 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Alla: 
> > Oh and could you please clarify how exactly Dumbledore is responsible for Lily and James being killed? I hold him responsible a plenty for how he decided Harry's fate, but no, I do not hold him responsible for their deaths at all.
> 
> 
> Montavilla47:
> He knew he was seeing a true prophecy when he 
> heard it.  He knew that, whether it was a true prophecy
> or not, Voldemort was likely to take it seriously and
> act upon it.  (If Snape knew that much, so did Dumbledore.)

Dumbledore assumed that Voldemort would act on it, certainly.  Dumbledore assumes/projects that Snape knew that, as well.  But was it a reasonable expectation?  I don't think we have enough facts about Voldemort's actions at this time, or how Snape experienced them, to assume that. Yes, the people in the Order defied Voldemort. Yes, Death Eaters were killing Order members in overwhelming numbers. Snape would not necessarily have connected those things with the prophecy, however.  Fighting the Order and Aurors was business as usual.  The prophecy was something else entirely.

> He knew that the Hogshead was filled with shady 
> characters, who might or might not be, but probably
> were, connected to Dark Wizardry and probably close
> enough to Voldemort to come into his purview.  
> 
> He knew that Snape had overheard at least part of the
> prophecy.  

Dumbledore in the Prince's Tale did not even seem surprised that Snape relayed the prophecy to Voldemort.  He only asked how much Snape told.  Dumbledore in The Lost Prophecy tell us that Snape only knew part of the prophecy, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches..."  Vanquish merely means defeat.  Had Snape heard the bit about "either must die at the hand of the other," he might have been quicker to realize how Voldemort would have acted on the information.

"You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry.  I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned --"

So, I think there's room for speculation on how Snape thought Voldemort would interpret the prophecy, if he thought about it at all.  I can imagine scenarios where he thought giving the information was a good thing, but those are speculation only.

<Snip out of order>
> It's still skeevy, because Snape had to know he was
> endangering some unknown child. But it wasn't the action
> most directly responsible for the deaths of James and Lily.

> Nor was it the first action in the chain. There were plenty
> of choices that took place before Snape heard the prophecy
> that might have prevented his choice.

We really don't know Snape's motivations for relaying the prophecy.  We do know that Dumbledore was not surprised.  Dumbledore tells Harry that Snape was essentially just doing his job as a Death Eater.  Let's assume, then, that Dumbledore was correct and did not blame Snape for doing his job, much as he wouldn't blame Snape for informing on the Death Eaters later, leading to the frustration of Voldemort's plans to grab the prophecy (until Harry stepped in), or failing to overcome his shortcomings to teach Harry Occlumency.  Expectations of human failings are all part of the game Dumbledore plays, and part of life.

Snape did not realize that Voldemort would target the Potters for death.  When Snape realized this, he took action with Voldemort to protect at least Lily, and then went to Dumbledore and swore his life in service to protect Lily and the rest of her family.  The only thing that disgusts Dumbledore is that Snape at the time was shortsighted, thinking only of saving Lily.  He doesn't blame Snape for telling the Prophecy.  Snape blames himself enough for that.

> As J.Odell's essay points out, Dumbledore had sanctioned
> obliviation (to a child!) for far less reason than to save a 
> life.  
> 
> But he doesn't bother to check what Snape had overheard--
> doesn't bother to obliviate that information from a likely
> Death Eater or Death Eater associate?  He just lets the 
> fellow toddle off to tattle to Voldemort?

This is the biggest question for me: why did Dumbledore let Snape leave the Hogs Head without questioning or Obliviating him?  In The Lost Prophecy, Dumbledore seems to almost rub his hands together about the Special Powers bit of the prophecy, that "to attack you [Harry] would be to risk transferring power to you -- again marking you as his equal."  I guess we are back to Chess Master Dumbledore, selling out one generation for the promise of a champion in the next, a champion he didn't want to care about, moreover.

Sorry if I'm more scatterbrained than usual.

lealess