Voldy and his DE's (Was Snape & Draco:...)

[songbird3411]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, Magda Grantwich 
<mgrantwich at y...> wrote:
>> Hopefully he will then trust Snape more and more and give him 
increased responsibility so that when the time comes Snape can 
undermine from within at the climax of Book 7.  Especially since 
Voldemort feels he can dispense with Lucius - a real plot surprise 
for me in HBP.<<

Mindy:

You know, this bit about Lucius was one of the most pleasant 
surprises in the book to me.  I was absurdly pleased that Voldy seems 
to be punishing his DE's for their mistakes and incompetence.  Not 
just flunky DE's either.  DE's like Lucius and Bella.  Maybe we can 
make an Evil Overlord out of him yet.

So, two scary DE's out of favor with Voldy.  Not to mention the 
assorted others who were caught at the Ministry.  One can't help but 
notice that the fiasco at the Ministry that caused Voldy's 
displeasure with them was caused by Snape.

Yes, I too have come to the conclusion that one of Snape's missions 
for Dumbledore is to try to dismantle the DE's from within.  
Manipulate them into failing situations which will cause Voldemort to 
cast them out, cause dissention in the ranks.  The higher rank he 
has, the more control over the organization he will have.  Perhaps 
part of the reason Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him.  It will gain 
him tremendous credibility among the DE's, not to mention Voldemort.

One more point about Lucius.  I wonder if Dumbledore knew what he was 
talking about when he offered protection to the entire Malfoy 
family.  Two books ago, I would have thought the idea of the Malfoy 
family defecting was insane.  Now, I am not so sure.  Clearly, Draco 
doesn't have what it takes to be a DE.  Somehow or another Snape is 
going to save him from Voldy.  Narcissa certainly doesn't seem to be 
a staunch believer in the DE Manifesto.  Snape was right, she was 
commiting treason by asking for his help.  She would defy the Dark 
Lord to protect her son.  Then, we have Lucius.  Dear Lucius.  I 
imagine he is probably doing some serious reconsideration of his 
chosen path.  Being protected by the Order of the Phoenix might not 
sound so bad after all.  

Indeed, I wonder if JKR is setting up a redemption/defection of the 
whole family.  Two familes even, Black and Malfoy.  Sirius already 
rejected the idea.  Regulus tried to back out.  Draco wimped out.  
Narcissa defied orders.  Lucius is the question mark for me.  But, it 
would be just ironic enough that families with the names Malfoy and 
Black would end up on the side of good.  I exclude Bellatrix, of 
course.  I don't believe she will survive Book 7, and I think she is 
too crazy to ever come back.  Still, if anyone had told me two years 
ago that I would be considering the redemption and/or defection of 
the Black/Malfoy family, I wouldn't have believed it.  How times 
change.

Mindy