DH:33 - The Prince's Tale (Bloomsbury 2007)
Italics are impressions from my first read, when I did not yet know what was going to happen.
1) Voldemort presents Ultimatum #2. Voldemort "generously" gives the defenders an hour to regroup. Yeah, we know what sort of dignity and honour he gives the dead. OK, here's what I don't get. Why not AK Voldemort first (thereby zapping him out of his body and into a weakened state) and *then* kill the snake? Because I'm better that if you took care of Voldemort himself first, the protection around Nagini would vanish. I'm just sayin'.
2) The mourning Weasleys. Mrs Weasley and George here make me sadder than Fred's actual death did. The true tragedy of death is in the pain of those left behind. Ron and Hermione go to them, leaving Harry to go on, which I think he is able to do only because he's seen that Ginny is all right.
3) Remus and Tonks. No "onscreen" deaths for either of them; just one line. Remus was probably dead by the time Tonks arrived, since Aberforth had already seen him dueling with Dolohov at that point. Remus has always been my favourite character, but I was prepared for him to die in this book. I knew there wasn't much chance of him surviving, considering how tragic his story has been up until now. All the Marauders have now moved on and can be together again, pranking in the afterlife. My pups are together again at last, and now nothing can part them. Tonks, well, I was sort of surprised that she died, but she's been such a non-character since the start of HBP that I really didn't care much. I feel like Jo set up the whole cringe-worthy 'ship just to make another war orphan so we can come full circle. I really do think that you could remove Tonks from the books entirely and not affect the plot at all.
4) Harry's mission. Even though he has less than an hour, he somehow knows that it is important for him to see Snape's memories -- that they will explain something he has been missing. He knew the password was "Dumbledore" without even thinking. Did clever Legilimens Snape plant this thought in his mind? The fact that Snape uses this password is the first real proof of his ultimate loyalties.
5) The playground. Young Snape watches the Evans girls on the swings. They grew up in the same industrial city (Sheffield?), not far from one another. Did Snape first take notice of Lily before or after she displayed magic? He looks at her with "undisguised greed". Pray tell, in what way does nine-year-old Snape want this girl? Is it only the longing for a friend? Spinner's End is where he grew up. "Tuney"? Was there ever a worse nickname? I would have thought "Petty". Lily's mother has told her not to do magic, and her older sister tries unsuccessfully to enforce the dictum. Petunia longs for Lily's abilities. Lily has a great deal of awareness and control of her powers for a Muggle-born witch.
6) By the river. Snape is Lily's first contact with the wizarding world, and he explains to her how things are. They are friends now, and she is apparently delighted to discover the magical world which exists alongside the "normal" one, and that she will one day soon be allowed to cross over into it. He tells her being Muggle-born does not make a difference. Awww ... His hesitation is only due to the fact that he knows it will make a difference to others, even if it doesn't to him, but he doesn't want to burden her with the darker side of their world yet, which she is clearly so excited. Snape's homelife is touched upon, but we get no specifics. His parents fight a lot, and his dad is an angry S.O.B. Petunia overhears them talking about Dementors, thus proving me right that "that awful boy" she referred to in OotP was in fact Snape. Did Snape make the branch fall on Petunia? Was it unintentional?
7) I'm going to have to rewrite everything. This chapter is killing Snape fic writers. I think it shows us way more than we need to see for the sake of Snape's plot arc. Could Jo not have left some things implied but unsaid? I don't even write much Snape-centric stuff, but this chapter contradicts almost everything I've ever written or read in Snapedom. *sigh* I should be able to rework some of what I've done, and I guess there's always AU for the rest.
8) Platform 9 3/4. Snape watches the Evans family. Apparently Muggles *can* get onto the platform. I don't think we've seen that before. Petunia wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking to come to Hogwarts, but of course that would be impossible. She reacts by denouncing all things magical as freakish. How did she send a letter to Hogwarts? Lily's parents appear to be quite enjoying their glimpse into the magical world. Why did Snape feel the need to show Harry this memory? Sure, it explains something we've all been wondering, but it is not really relevant to Snape's plot arc.
9) Aboard the Hogwarts Express. Oh, how much I really did not want this scene! I've already written the Marauders' first train ride from Sirius's PoV. Bleh. I don't like how Jo's done it here. It's too big and obvious a coincidence to put James and Sirius together already here, and put them in the same compartment on the train with Lily and Snape. Snape already knows he's going to be a Slytherin, and he hopes Lily will be, too. "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James says, words echoed twenty years later and seven books ago by Draco Malfoy speaking of Hufflepuff. Sirius doesn't seem to care about being a Slytherin, and that bothers me, too. It seems like he would have been expecting it, and it would have shaken his whole world, self-image and relationship with his family when he was sorted into Gryffindor instead. "Snivellus" gets his nickname and his dislike of James and Sirius on the very first day. Lame. Again, I ask if this is a scene we really needed to see for the greater plot arc?
10) The Sorting. Lily is immediately sorted into Gryffindor. Lucius Malfoy was a prefect. He would be a seventh year here. Harry apparently views the entire Sorting ceremony from E through S. Come on, Jo! He's only got an hour! How important is it for him to see this extended moment?
11) Lily and Snape after the Prank. They are apparently "best friends" and have been so for years. And yet no one ever bloody noticed?! Remus seemed completely mystified about why Snape would have felt bad that he had caused the deaths of James and Lily, because he hated James. Don't tell me that a Gryffindor girl and a Slytherin boy being "best friends" was not the talk of the school back in the day, or that observant Remus, who understands people oh, so well never noticed how much Snape cared for Lily. Anyway ... Lily is upset that Snape is hanging out with a bad crowd, and is even more angry when he tries to defend their actions. She does, however, confirm "Sev" as a canon nickname. Yay! One thing I won't have to change. Snape suspects that Remus is a werewolf, Lily holds the line that he's ill (wasn't it supposed to be that his mother was ill and he had to visit her once a month?). This is apparently only days after "the Prank", but Lily talks about Snape's "theory" like it's something he's suspected for a long time, and Snape wasn't supposed to tell anyone what happened under the Whomping Willow. Lily clearly is not impressed by James Potter and his friends at this point in time. Oh, shit! This confirms that the Prank happened in fifth year, not sixth, doesn't it? Unless the memories are out of order? I mean, how organised a mind could Snape have while he was busy dying?
12) Mudblood. Harry sees Snape's "worst memory" again, followed by a scene in which Snape tries to apologise to Lily. But she says he's made his choice and she's done making excuses for him. Their friendship ends at the end of fifth year.
13) Snape meets Dumbledore on a hilltop. What's with the "jagged jet of white light" as Dumbledore appears? Snape has realised that the prophecy he overheard and relayed may refer to Lily's child. He risks everything to speak with Dumbledore. "You disgust me," Dumbledore tells him, and I don't think he's wrong. Shape was ready to let the baby and James die so long as Lily lived. Perhaps he thought he still had a shot with her? Snape then offers Dumbledore "anything" so long as he will protect Lily and her family.
14) Lily and James are dead. Dumbledore failed to save them, because they put their trust in the wrong person. Voldemort would have spared Lily for Snape's sake (I still think that's OOC), but she refused to stand aside. Dumbledore treats Snape coldly, telling him that Harry's eyes are like Lily's. It is ultimately Snape's fault that Lily died, as much as it is Peter's. He passed on that prophecy knowing that it meant someone would have to die, but only caring when he found out who. Everything he has done since this moment has been a journey toward personal redemption. He changes sides and helps protect Harry in order to make up for Lily's death. Snape asks Dumbledore to keep his secret. He can't bear the thought of anyone knowing his "weakness", especially "Potter's son".
15) Harry's first year. As soon as Harry showed up at Hogwarts, Snape had resolved to dislike him. I completely understand this. There in his class sits the spitting image of the bully who picked on him all through school and who married the girl of his dreams. And to top it all off, this James Potter look-alike stares at him with the suspicious, even accusing, green eyes of Lily Evans. Yeah, I'd be bitter too. I wonder how Snape would have reacted to Harry if he'd looked more like his mother than his father? I'd wonder how he'd feel if Harry had been a girl, but the prophecy would have been moot in that case. Dumbledore told Snape to keep an eye on Quirrell, so he knew all along that it was Quirrell after the stone and did not try to confront him himself. Interesting. Again, probably a scene we did not need to see for the sake of the plot.
16) After the Yule Ball. Snape informs Dumbledore that Karkaroff plans to flee if Voldemort returns. Dumbledore declares Snape brave "I sometimes think we Sort too soon." Dumbledore implies that Snape should have been a Gryffindor. And I agree with him about Sorting. It should be done later or not at all. The House system, with all its prejudices and expectations, causes more trouble than it is worth. I guess Snape showed Harry this snippet because of Dumbledore saying he was brave, but again, it might have been left out without affecting the plot.
17) Snape saves Dumbledore. He came to the school to do this; Dumbledore did not come to him in Spinner's End. Dumbledore invoked the curse that destroyed his hand when he attempted to put on the ring. He does not tell Snape why he was tempted to do so, but I'm sure most of us have already guessed, neither does he tell Snape why he destroyed the ring. Snape tells Dumbledore that the curse will kill him, but that he may have as much as a year still to live. Dumbledore and Snape both already know Voldemort plans to have Draco kill him, even though this is before Snape's meeting with the Black sisters, so I guess Snape wasn't bluffing about this knowledge. Snape knows, too, that Voldemort means him to kill Dumbledore in the end. Dumbledore makes Snape promise to protect the students of Hogwarts after his own death. He does not think that killing him will damage Snape's soul as much as Draco's.
18) Snape and Dumbledore in the grounds. Dumbledore tells Snape that Harry is much more like his mother than his father. He will not tell Snape what he and Harry are doing, because he prefers "not to put all of my secrets in one basket." I think that very wise. I wonder what secrets he entrusted to other people? This was the scene overheard by Hagrid last year. Is this scene necessary?
19) Harry the Horcrux. Dumbledore confides to Snape what Harry must not know until the last possible moment -- the thing that Snape was probably planning to tell Harry if he could get Voldemort's permission to go and look for him -- that HARRY IS A HORCRUX! I don't get this at all. So a soul is split when a murder is committed, and if a prepared vessel is there to receive the separated piece, it becomes a Horcrux. But the bit of soul randomly flying out and attaching itself to "the only living soul left" in the vicinity? Then wouldn't that happen every time someone killed someone else? And if the circumstances are unique because Voldemort lost his body without dying, then how would Dumbledore know this had occurred? He infers that this is what happened based on Harry's strange connection with Voldemort and his Parselmouth abilities, I suppose. But Harry never put it together, and neither did Voldemort. It also seems weird to me that Harry's being a Horcrux creates a connection with Voldemort when Voldemort cannot sense at all when his other Horcruxes are destroyed.
20) Harry must die. And Voldemort must be the one to kill him. Er, why? I think this is where a lot of fans turned against Dumbledore as a coldhearted bastard, but I disagree. Dumbledore loved Harry and certainly does not want him to die. He was a wise man who was able to predict almost everything that has happened up until now, so surely he predicted what would happen when Harry finally faced Voldemort. However, it is essential that Harry *believes* he is going to die, and voluntarily chooses to sacrifice himself, and for that to be so, Snape must believe it as well. Dumbledore does not force Harry to make this sacrifice; he presents Harry, one at a time, with the things he needs to know to make that choice for himself. Dumbledore is also exercising coldness in this memory, I believe, to remind Snape of the truth of his own feelings, and of the importance of love in the scheme of things.
21) The silver doe. And at last, we see Snape's Patronus. At least it wasn't Ginny's; that would have been lame. Some people have complained that it sucks that Lily conformed to her husband's animal form, like it was some kind of anti-feminist statement, but I don't necessarily see it that way. Everyone in the wizarding world seems to have an inner animal nature. Well, what if that nature is what dictates who is attracted to whom? Maybe Lily was always the doe, and that was part of what drew her to the stag in James Potter? No wonder Snape doesn't use his Patronus; every time he does, it's a reminder that Lily loved James and not him. If Snape had shunned his DE friends at school, he might have been Harry's father, and I think he knows it.
22) The plan. Dumbledore's portrait was the source of the information Snape gave in the first chapter. I wonder who he told Voldemort the information was coming from? Snape himself planted the idea for the plan of the seven Harrys by Confunding Mundungus Fletcher. I wonder how Snape was able to safely venture inside Hogwarts as early as July? Voldemort did not yet hold the Ministry at this point, and he certainly didn't have Hogwarts. How did Dumbledore know that the Carrows would be assigned to Hogwarts? We also see Snape talking to Mundungus and Snape hexing off George's ear, which are two scenes we could have inferred from the previous one, without seeing them. Well, at least we see him saving Remus, which is sort of nice, even if it cost George's ear.
23) Snape in Grimmauld Place. He was the one who ransacked the house. Why? We see him taking a page of Lily's letter, but how did he know there would be some sign of Lily left in that old place? Why did he search the rest of the house? Regulus's room? I think this scene is sort of unnecessary for us to see as well. He could easily have pressed the second page of the letter into Harry's hand as he died, conveying the same understanding.
24) Snape and Phineas. See? Phineas *did* overhear where they were, even though he was in the bag. Smooth, Hermione. Snape forbids Phineas to use the word "Mudblood". This explains who left the sword and how he knew where to leave it. But do we really need this scene either? I mean, we know from the doe Patronus that it was Snape who left it, and we can infer that it had something to do with instructions from Dumbledore's portrait. Snape must have left the castle himself and gone there to do it, since I don't think a Patronus would be capable of carrying the sword all that way by itself. How, I must ask, did Snape smuggle a big, shiny sword out of Hogwarts without anyone asking about it?
25) Timeline. There is no frigging way all that took less than an hour for Harry to see. Just -- no.
1) Voldemort presents Ultimatum #2. Voldemort "generously" gives the defenders an hour to regroup. Yeah, we know what sort of dignity and honour he gives the dead. OK, here's what I don't get. Why not AK Voldemort first (thereby zapping him out of his body and into a weakened state) and *then* kill the snake? Because I'm better that if you took care of Voldemort himself first, the protection around Nagini would vanish. I'm just sayin'.
2) The mourning Weasleys. Mrs Weasley and George here make me sadder than Fred's actual death did. The true tragedy of death is in the pain of those left behind. Ron and Hermione go to them, leaving Harry to go on, which I think he is able to do only because he's seen that Ginny is all right.
3) Remus and Tonks. No "onscreen" deaths for either of them; just one line. Remus was probably dead by the time Tonks arrived, since Aberforth had already seen him dueling with Dolohov at that point. Remus has always been my favourite character, but I was prepared for him to die in this book. I knew there wasn't much chance of him surviving, considering how tragic his story has been up until now. All the Marauders have now moved on and can be together again, pranking in the afterlife. My pups are together again at last, and now nothing can part them. Tonks, well, I was sort of surprised that she died, but she's been such a non-character since the start of HBP that I really didn't care much. I feel like Jo set up the whole cringe-worthy 'ship just to make another war orphan so we can come full circle. I really do think that you could remove Tonks from the books entirely and not affect the plot at all.
4) Harry's mission. Even though he has less than an hour, he somehow knows that it is important for him to see Snape's memories -- that they will explain something he has been missing. He knew the password was "Dumbledore" without even thinking. Did clever Legilimens Snape plant this thought in his mind? The fact that Snape uses this password is the first real proof of his ultimate loyalties.
5) The playground. Young Snape watches the Evans girls on the swings. They grew up in the same industrial city (Sheffield?), not far from one another. Did Snape first take notice of Lily before or after she displayed magic? He looks at her with "undisguised greed". Pray tell, in what way does nine-year-old Snape want this girl? Is it only the longing for a friend? Spinner's End is where he grew up. "Tuney"? Was there ever a worse nickname? I would have thought "Petty". Lily's mother has told her not to do magic, and her older sister tries unsuccessfully to enforce the dictum. Petunia longs for Lily's abilities. Lily has a great deal of awareness and control of her powers for a Muggle-born witch.
6) By the river. Snape is Lily's first contact with the wizarding world, and he explains to her how things are. They are friends now, and she is apparently delighted to discover the magical world which exists alongside the "normal" one, and that she will one day soon be allowed to cross over into it. He tells her being Muggle-born does not make a difference. Awww ... His hesitation is only due to the fact that he knows it will make a difference to others, even if it doesn't to him, but he doesn't want to burden her with the darker side of their world yet, which she is clearly so excited. Snape's homelife is touched upon, but we get no specifics. His parents fight a lot, and his dad is an angry S.O.B. Petunia overhears them talking about Dementors, thus proving me right that "that awful boy" she referred to in OotP was in fact Snape. Did Snape make the branch fall on Petunia? Was it unintentional?
7) I'm going to have to rewrite everything. This chapter is killing Snape fic writers. I think it shows us way more than we need to see for the sake of Snape's plot arc. Could Jo not have left some things implied but unsaid? I don't even write much Snape-centric stuff, but this chapter contradicts almost everything I've ever written or read in Snapedom. *sigh* I should be able to rework some of what I've done, and I guess there's always AU for the rest.
8) Platform 9 3/4. Snape watches the Evans family. Apparently Muggles *can* get onto the platform. I don't think we've seen that before. Petunia wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking to come to Hogwarts, but of course that would be impossible. She reacts by denouncing all things magical as freakish. How did she send a letter to Hogwarts? Lily's parents appear to be quite enjoying their glimpse into the magical world. Why did Snape feel the need to show Harry this memory? Sure, it explains something we've all been wondering, but it is not really relevant to Snape's plot arc.
9) Aboard the Hogwarts Express. Oh, how much I really did not want this scene! I've already written the Marauders' first train ride from Sirius's PoV. Bleh. I don't like how Jo's done it here. It's too big and obvious a coincidence to put James and Sirius together already here, and put them in the same compartment on the train with Lily and Snape. Snape already knows he's going to be a Slytherin, and he hopes Lily will be, too. "I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James says, words echoed twenty years later and seven books ago by Draco Malfoy speaking of Hufflepuff. Sirius doesn't seem to care about being a Slytherin, and that bothers me, too. It seems like he would have been expecting it, and it would have shaken his whole world, self-image and relationship with his family when he was sorted into Gryffindor instead. "Snivellus" gets his nickname and his dislike of James and Sirius on the very first day. Lame. Again, I ask if this is a scene we really needed to see for the greater plot arc?
10) The Sorting. Lily is immediately sorted into Gryffindor. Lucius Malfoy was a prefect. He would be a seventh year here. Harry apparently views the entire Sorting ceremony from E through S. Come on, Jo! He's only got an hour! How important is it for him to see this extended moment?
11) Lily and Snape after the Prank. They are apparently "best friends" and have been so for years. And yet no one ever bloody noticed?! Remus seemed completely mystified about why Snape would have felt bad that he had caused the deaths of James and Lily, because he hated James. Don't tell me that a Gryffindor girl and a Slytherin boy being "best friends" was not the talk of the school back in the day, or that observant Remus, who understands people oh, so well never noticed how much Snape cared for Lily. Anyway ... Lily is upset that Snape is hanging out with a bad crowd, and is even more angry when he tries to defend their actions. She does, however, confirm "Sev" as a canon nickname. Yay! One thing I won't have to change. Snape suspects that Remus is a werewolf, Lily holds the line that he's ill (wasn't it supposed to be that his mother was ill and he had to visit her once a month?). This is apparently only days after "the Prank", but Lily talks about Snape's "theory" like it's something he's suspected for a long time, and Snape wasn't supposed to tell anyone what happened under the Whomping Willow. Lily clearly is not impressed by James Potter and his friends at this point in time. Oh, shit! This confirms that the Prank happened in fifth year, not sixth, doesn't it? Unless the memories are out of order? I mean, how organised a mind could Snape have while he was busy dying?
12) Mudblood. Harry sees Snape's "worst memory" again, followed by a scene in which Snape tries to apologise to Lily. But she says he's made his choice and she's done making excuses for him. Their friendship ends at the end of fifth year.
13) Snape meets Dumbledore on a hilltop. What's with the "jagged jet of white light" as Dumbledore appears? Snape has realised that the prophecy he overheard and relayed may refer to Lily's child. He risks everything to speak with Dumbledore. "You disgust me," Dumbledore tells him, and I don't think he's wrong. Shape was ready to let the baby and James die so long as Lily lived. Perhaps he thought he still had a shot with her? Snape then offers Dumbledore "anything" so long as he will protect Lily and her family.
14) Lily and James are dead. Dumbledore failed to save them, because they put their trust in the wrong person. Voldemort would have spared Lily for Snape's sake (I still think that's OOC), but she refused to stand aside. Dumbledore treats Snape coldly, telling him that Harry's eyes are like Lily's. It is ultimately Snape's fault that Lily died, as much as it is Peter's. He passed on that prophecy knowing that it meant someone would have to die, but only caring when he found out who. Everything he has done since this moment has been a journey toward personal redemption. He changes sides and helps protect Harry in order to make up for Lily's death. Snape asks Dumbledore to keep his secret. He can't bear the thought of anyone knowing his "weakness", especially "Potter's son".
15) Harry's first year. As soon as Harry showed up at Hogwarts, Snape had resolved to dislike him. I completely understand this. There in his class sits the spitting image of the bully who picked on him all through school and who married the girl of his dreams. And to top it all off, this James Potter look-alike stares at him with the suspicious, even accusing, green eyes of Lily Evans. Yeah, I'd be bitter too. I wonder how Snape would have reacted to Harry if he'd looked more like his mother than his father? I'd wonder how he'd feel if Harry had been a girl, but the prophecy would have been moot in that case. Dumbledore told Snape to keep an eye on Quirrell, so he knew all along that it was Quirrell after the stone and did not try to confront him himself. Interesting. Again, probably a scene we did not need to see for the sake of the plot.
16) After the Yule Ball. Snape informs Dumbledore that Karkaroff plans to flee if Voldemort returns. Dumbledore declares Snape brave "I sometimes think we Sort too soon." Dumbledore implies that Snape should have been a Gryffindor. And I agree with him about Sorting. It should be done later or not at all. The House system, with all its prejudices and expectations, causes more trouble than it is worth. I guess Snape showed Harry this snippet because of Dumbledore saying he was brave, but again, it might have been left out without affecting the plot.
17) Snape saves Dumbledore. He came to the school to do this; Dumbledore did not come to him in Spinner's End. Dumbledore invoked the curse that destroyed his hand when he attempted to put on the ring. He does not tell Snape why he was tempted to do so, but I'm sure most of us have already guessed, neither does he tell Snape why he destroyed the ring. Snape tells Dumbledore that the curse will kill him, but that he may have as much as a year still to live. Dumbledore and Snape both already know Voldemort plans to have Draco kill him, even though this is before Snape's meeting with the Black sisters, so I guess Snape wasn't bluffing about this knowledge. Snape knows, too, that Voldemort means him to kill Dumbledore in the end. Dumbledore makes Snape promise to protect the students of Hogwarts after his own death. He does not think that killing him will damage Snape's soul as much as Draco's.
18) Snape and Dumbledore in the grounds. Dumbledore tells Snape that Harry is much more like his mother than his father. He will not tell Snape what he and Harry are doing, because he prefers "not to put all of my secrets in one basket." I think that very wise. I wonder what secrets he entrusted to other people? This was the scene overheard by Hagrid last year. Is this scene necessary?
19) Harry the Horcrux. Dumbledore confides to Snape what Harry must not know until the last possible moment -- the thing that Snape was probably planning to tell Harry if he could get Voldemort's permission to go and look for him -- that HARRY IS A HORCRUX! I don't get this at all. So a soul is split when a murder is committed, and if a prepared vessel is there to receive the separated piece, it becomes a Horcrux. But the bit of soul randomly flying out and attaching itself to "the only living soul left" in the vicinity? Then wouldn't that happen every time someone killed someone else? And if the circumstances are unique because Voldemort lost his body without dying, then how would Dumbledore know this had occurred? He infers that this is what happened based on Harry's strange connection with Voldemort and his Parselmouth abilities, I suppose. But Harry never put it together, and neither did Voldemort. It also seems weird to me that Harry's being a Horcrux creates a connection with Voldemort when Voldemort cannot sense at all when his other Horcruxes are destroyed.
20) Harry must die. And Voldemort must be the one to kill him. Er, why? I think this is where a lot of fans turned against Dumbledore as a coldhearted bastard, but I disagree. Dumbledore loved Harry and certainly does not want him to die. He was a wise man who was able to predict almost everything that has happened up until now, so surely he predicted what would happen when Harry finally faced Voldemort. However, it is essential that Harry *believes* he is going to die, and voluntarily chooses to sacrifice himself, and for that to be so, Snape must believe it as well. Dumbledore does not force Harry to make this sacrifice; he presents Harry, one at a time, with the things he needs to know to make that choice for himself. Dumbledore is also exercising coldness in this memory, I believe, to remind Snape of the truth of his own feelings, and of the importance of love in the scheme of things.
21) The silver doe. And at last, we see Snape's Patronus. At least it wasn't Ginny's; that would have been lame. Some people have complained that it sucks that Lily conformed to her husband's animal form, like it was some kind of anti-feminist statement, but I don't necessarily see it that way. Everyone in the wizarding world seems to have an inner animal nature. Well, what if that nature is what dictates who is attracted to whom? Maybe Lily was always the doe, and that was part of what drew her to the stag in James Potter? No wonder Snape doesn't use his Patronus; every time he does, it's a reminder that Lily loved James and not him. If Snape had shunned his DE friends at school, he might have been Harry's father, and I think he knows it.
22) The plan. Dumbledore's portrait was the source of the information Snape gave in the first chapter. I wonder who he told Voldemort the information was coming from? Snape himself planted the idea for the plan of the seven Harrys by Confunding Mundungus Fletcher. I wonder how Snape was able to safely venture inside Hogwarts as early as July? Voldemort did not yet hold the Ministry at this point, and he certainly didn't have Hogwarts. How did Dumbledore know that the Carrows would be assigned to Hogwarts? We also see Snape talking to Mundungus and Snape hexing off George's ear, which are two scenes we could have inferred from the previous one, without seeing them. Well, at least we see him saving Remus, which is sort of nice, even if it cost George's ear.
23) Snape in Grimmauld Place. He was the one who ransacked the house. Why? We see him taking a page of Lily's letter, but how did he know there would be some sign of Lily left in that old place? Why did he search the rest of the house? Regulus's room? I think this scene is sort of unnecessary for us to see as well. He could easily have pressed the second page of the letter into Harry's hand as he died, conveying the same understanding.
24) Snape and Phineas. See? Phineas *did* overhear where they were, even though he was in the bag. Smooth, Hermione. Snape forbids Phineas to use the word "Mudblood". This explains who left the sword and how he knew where to leave it. But do we really need this scene either? I mean, we know from the doe Patronus that it was Snape who left it, and we can infer that it had something to do with instructions from Dumbledore's portrait. Snape must have left the castle himself and gone there to do it, since I don't think a Patronus would be capable of carrying the sword all that way by itself. How, I must ask, did Snape smuggle a big, shiny sword out of Hogwarts without anyone asking about it?
25) Timeline. There is no frigging way all that took less than an hour for Harry to see. Just -- no.