Snape's culpability again (was Re: Get Fuzzy comic & RAB)

[pippin_999]

> Eloise:
> The UV hadn't even come into my consideration.
> 
> Actually (this is a different issue, but something that occurred to 
me yesterday) I don't actually understand why Cissa thought that 
having Snape *do* the deed if necessary would help Draco. 
Draco still  failed to do the task. 
> 
> <shrug>
> 
> I'm sure you'll explain. <g>

Pippin:
Of course <g>
More evidence that the vow was a put up job. Promising to do the
deed in Draco's stead was not necessary to save Draco. As 
Dumbledore said, the only way to save Draco, in the event that
he failed, would be to fake Draco's death.

It was, however, necessary to convince Voldemort that Snape would 
either kill DD or die. Snape knows the prophecy, and therefore 
he has what Voldemort would consider an excellent reason for 
shifting his allegiance to the good side. They can offer 
him what Snape has always wanted far more than the opportunity 
to sate his cruelty or his desire for revenge -- glory. Order of 
Merlin, First Class. Draco, as Jo said in an interview somewhere, 
reads people very well, and he has Snape pegged. As does Lupin.

And Snape's Dark Arts skills are far more valuable to the 
good side, after all, than they are to Voldemort, who has plenty 
of dark arts experts available.

Voldemort was bound to require some test. If Snape appeared to 
slither out of  it, say, by pointing out that Dumbledore was going 
to be dead shortly anyway, then another test would be devised, 
and another and another.

> Pippin:
And if we know that Snape didn't *have* to kill Dumbledore, then
we have no reason to suppose the AK was effective when it acted like
no AK we've ever seen. 
> 
> Eloise:
You accept that it *was* an AK, then? (I'm only asking because I have 
the impression some people think it wasn't.)
> 
Not effective meaning he was play acting, I presume. The green goo is 
irrelevant if we're talking about it's being not effective because he 
was incapable of truly wishing Dumbledore dead (which seems to me a 
better defence in moral, rather than legal terms).

Pippin;
Whether he knew it would  fail or not, it did, IMO. I'm coming to the
opinion that what we saw on the Tower *was* Snape's big redemptive
scene, believe it or not.  I'll explain below.

> 
> Eloise:
> I'm not sure that we have any evidence that the WW would pardon 
anyone on a defence of ruse de guerre. You've pointed out what
their  legal system is like. Nor am I sure that any Muggle
understanding of  law has any relevance.

Pippin:
There's one Muggle whose opinion matters in the Potterverse, and
her name is Jo Rowling. What matters is what Jo thinks is moral, 
which probably means what Harry has concluded is moral by the 
end of Book Seven. Whether the WW or anyone else, including,
dare I say, the reader,  ever buys into  it is irrelevant. 

> 
> Eloise:
> Well, it certainly will be difficult and he'd better do a hell of a 
lot of growing up over the holidays, because for Harry to realise 
that there was no murder on Snape's part will mean that he realises 
that it was *he* who caused Dumbledore's death by force feeding him 
the fatal potion, or at the very best it was a combined effort by
him  feeding him the potion and by Snape blasting him off the tower 
(and  personally I don't believe that JKT will make the death as 
complicated as that). Yes, he was acting under orders, but would
that  do anything to assuage his feelings of guilt? Would he be in
any frame of mind by the end of the next book to forgive Snape? 
> 
> Finally, your argument doesn't take into account the possibility 
> that, dare I say it, Snape may not be loyal.

Pippin:
You're right. It's not that I can't accept evil!Snape per se, you
understand. He'd be interesting, I think. But in the context that Jo
has established, he'd be an idiot. He could fool Dumbledore for 
sixteen years running, but he couldn't fool Harry for five minutes? 
Well, it's acceptable for the bad guy to be an idiot, I suppose, but 
then  Harry's an idiot too. 

Because, despite possessing the amazing perspicacity to see through
this master deceiver the very moment he laid eyes on him, Harry's 
failed time and again to instantly see through far less capable
actors, including those Oscar non-starters, Crabbe and 
Goyle. 

And people think the portkey switch is contrived? Spare me!

Knowing that he himself had been caught in the web of 
Dumbledore's death would make it easier for Harry to understand
that Snape couldn't escape it, and easier for the reader 
to understand too.  I think when all is said and done, Harry will
realize that Dumbledore went in pursuit of that flighty temptress
adventure, and it was by her hand that he died.

Now, as to why I think we just saw Snape's redemptive scene.
What is redemption? What is the proof that  you've truly repented
of your sin? Well, one definition is, when you face the same
temptation and resist it. 

Let's take Dumbledore at his word, since we're discussing loyal 
Snape, and say that the great regret of Snape's life is that he took
the prophecy to Voldemort. Why did he do it? Not for revenge 
on the people it referred to -- he had no idea who they were. 
No, it was, it must have been,  for the glory of delivering this 
information to Voldemort, who would surely honor him  for 
this precious knowledge.

Likely Snape never even thought about how it would be used, so
blinded was he by the thought of being lifted above all other
DE's, even the purebloods he envied so. We do more harm by
indifference...

So,  Snape had a choice  on the tower. He could have attacked 
the Death Eaters, one against four, saved Draco (and Harry), 
taken down the notorious Fenrir Greyback, who's  probably 
worth an OM all by himself, made a last ditch effort to save 
Dumbledore, risked everything on the chance that he could 
cure him and that Dumbledore knew some way of
defeating the vow. (No magic is foolproof, right?) Glorious.
The whole WW would get down on their knees and thank him.

But Dumbledore begged him not to, IMO. Dumbledore begged 
him to go on with his role, though Snape will never now receive
Dumbledore's recognition, though it may be neither Harry nor 
the wizarding world will ever know what Snape did for them.

Because only by Voldemort's side will Snape be in a position 
to weaken him so that when Harry  finally faces him, he'll 
have a chance. They're a jigsaw puzzle, Harry and Snape, 
each with a power the other will never have, and only with 
backup will Harry be strong enough to take Voldie
down.

Yeah, I think Harry can figure all this out. It won't
be easy, but that's what the seven hundred pages are for.

Pippin