The AK (was: My HBP Review)

[pippin_999]

S was once 
a Spoiler Space
Spacey
Lacy
George and Gracie
In your Face-y
Spoiler Space


--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Ferer" <jferer at y...> wrote:

> No, Draco's job was to kill Dumbledore, and Snape's vow was to
finish whatever Draco's job if he couldn't, or wouldn't. I didn't
quote 
all the dialogue that backs that up, but it is there.  Are you saying
Draco's mission was to fail at killing Dumbledore?

Pippin:
Narcissa says so.
"Then I am right, he has chosen Draco in revenge!" choked Narcissa.
"He does not mean him to succeed, he wants him to be killed trying!"

No doubt Draco thought his mission was to kill Dumbledore. Bella
says he is pleased at the chance to prove himself. But Narcissa says
that's because Draco is young and has no idea what is in store. 

Snape didn't promise to  carry out the mission as Draco defined it
but as the Dark Lord did, and Bella correctly pegged that as an out,
though not in the way that she meant it.

"Aren't you listening, Narcissa? Oh, he'll _try_, I'm sure...The usual
empty words, the usual slithering out of action...oh, on the Dark 
Lord's orders, of course!"

and Snape's vow plays right into those words

"will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco
to perform?"


Jim:
> Pippin, are you a criminal defense attorney?  If they ever get me on
video doing someone in, I want you to defend me. You'll have a story
for me. Way to go! So, the potion killed him in between the time DD
 was blasted off the top of the Astronomy tower by the AK spell and
the time he hit the ground. Okay, the jury will go with that.
> 
> A Crucio curse and an AK aren't comparable.

Pippin:
I'm not a lawyer at all, thank you. Though it turns out I am descended
from nine generations of 'em back in the old country. Could be bad
blood <g>.

 We've had much debate on *why* those three curses are considered 
Unforgivable, when others could accomplish the same
ends. I think they are Unforgivable because their use unquestionably
establishes intent -- because they won't work properly
 if the caster doesn't really mean it. That's what Bella says, that
righteous anger isn't  enough, that Harry has to really want to hurt
her, to enjoy her pain.

When have we ever seen canon that AK is binary? In
fact we have canon that it isn't. When it hit Harry, it didn't kill
him, /gave him that scar/, rebounded, ripped Voldemort from his body, 
and then, apparently, destroyed the house.

Jim:
Doing what you say Snape did seems like shooting someone with a 
bazooka but not really meaning it.  

Pippin:
But magic isn't like a bazooka.  No bazooka ever cared whether you
really meant it or not. But the spellcaster's intent is essential to
certain spells; patronus for example. Harry knew he couldn't do it 
properly as long as he wanted to hear his parents' voices. 

And wouldn't it be the proof that Snape really had reformed, that
he was no longer capable of using the AK spell?

Pippin
who thinks that Dumbledore would see himself handing socks out to
free the Hogwarts Elves, while his three faithful servants receive
the Order of Merlin First Class: Harry Potter, Percy Weasley, and 
Severus Snape.