Freezing Harry

[corinthum]

I just finished reading HBP, since I couldn't purchase it until a
couple of days ago.  So, though I've spent several hours today reading
posts (recovering from jet lag is an excellent excuse for laying
around the apartment doing nothing productive), there's no way I can
catch up on the whole list.  Obligatory apoligies if I'm being
repetitive.

Okay, I've read theories trying to figure out why Dumbledore froze
Harry when Draco appeared.  The theories seem to be a) to protect
Harry from running into the bedlam on the other side of the door,
where he may be injured or killed, or b) to stop Harry from preventing
Snape from killing him or otherwise interfering with his great master
plan.

First, I believe Snape is still on the side of good.  I've always
thought that, and read through Dumbledore's death still firmly
believing it.

I don't think either Snape or Dumbledore expected or planned the
Unbreakable Vow.  I can't decide whether it was Narcissa's panicked
idea or a carefully planned trap, but I think it caught Snape by
surprise.  However, knowing that to refuse it would reveal him as a
spy, he had no choice but to make it.

Upon making the vow, I believe Snape contacted Dumbledore and, as many
others have surmised, Dumbledore decided his own life was less
valuable than Snape's and, if it came down to it, Snape should kill
him rather than break the vow.

However, I don't agree that Dumbledore wanted to die, or that he
planned to.  The wording of the vow actually left a lot of leeway on
the third point:  

"And should it prove necessary... if it seems Draco will fail, [...]
will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to
perform?"  (US pg 36)

It doesn't say "if he fails" or "if he doesn't succeed by a certain
date" but "if it seems he will fail".  I think Dumbledore was only
telling part of the truth (big surprise) when he said that he did not
confront Draco earlier for Draco's own safety.  I think his inaction
was also to prevent the vow from being activated: as long as Draco was
still actively trying to kill Dumbledore, however unsuccessfully, an
argument could still be made that he was moving toward success.  So
the plan was for Snape to continue watching Draco, possibly even to
try to persuade him away from effective means of action.  Note that
the first two parts of the vow say nothing about helping Draco, only
watching over and protecting him.  They would stall, and, in the
meantime, try to keep Snape out of any conflicts that may lead to the
vow being activated.  After all, why wasn't Snape patrolling the halls
with McGonagall, Flitwick, and the other Order members that night, but
instead sitting in his office for hours?  Very un-Snape-like, but
since the others didn't question it, it was probably on Dumbledore's
orders.

Back to the freezing incident.  Dumbledore had sent Harry to go get
Snape, to bring him and only him.  But upon seeing Draco burst through
the door, he realizes that bringing Snape to the scene would be fatal
(either for Snape or himself).  He doesn't have time to explain this,
and only has a split second to react, so he freezes Harry in place to
prevent him from following the orders he just gave.  

Snape arrives anyway, though, and is forced to make a decision.  And I
don't believe that in pleading with him Dumbledore was asking to die.
 Snape had, in the argument in the woods, refused to agree to
Dumbledore's order to kill him if necessary, and Dumbledore made one
last attempt to convince him that Snape's death would be worse than
Dumbledore's.  He makes the plea after the point of no return has been
reached; Draco armed, Dumbledore unarmed and weak, and Amycus says
"the boy doesn't seem able to-".  No more wiggle room left... either
Snape or Dumbledore is about to die, and Dumbledore knows it needs to
be him.

Well, that's my overly long take on the scene.  I'm sure you've all
already discussed it, but any comments?

-Kelly, who forgets if she used the handle Corinth on this list or
just the other one, but will stick with her name for now