The first thing that struck me that I hadn’t noticed before was Voldemort’s response to Snape’s information about Harry’s departure from Privet Drive:

“Saturday … at nightfall,” repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snape’s black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort’s face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort’s lipless mouth curved into something like a smile.

The eyes fastening, the others looking away, and Snape’s calm response all suggest that Voldemort is in the habit of regularly performing Legilimency on every one of his Death Eaters, every time they bring him information. This says a few things to me: (1) Snape was a tremendous Occlumens; (2) Snape was in incredible danger every moment he returned to Voldemort; (3) Dumbledore was right not to divulge his entire plan to Severus.

The last of those three claims will be the most controversial, but the first two are important, however obvious. We’ve discussed a bit how much Snape’s identity – double agent, needing to fool a very skilled Legilimens – affects his need to maintain a harsh and cruel demeanor. This verifies that Snape was in danger, every moment he reported to Voldemort, of being “found out.” Snape, his most trusted Death Eater, was still examined every single time.

The second issue of importance in this chapter is the Malfoy foreshadowing. The Malfoys have been thoroughly rattled, and are not the arrogant practitioners of the Dark Arts that we met in earlier books. Allegiance to Voldemort did not work out so well for them. I’ve written elsewhere of Dumbledore’s strategy, rooted in his belief in the power of love, to “save the Malfoys” and in turn, save the world. The shaken Malfoys in this scene will become instrumental to Harry’s survival and victory at book’s end.

Finally, we have the death of Charity Burbage. I recall on first reading this that learning the prisoner’s identity was a bit anti-climactic, given the build-up of the mystery earlier in the chapter. But symbolically, it all works very well. Voldemort spews his racist message, and then, quite literally, kills “Love.” The cries for help from Snape are a foreshadowing of the exchange we’ll later learn he had with Dumbledore just a few weeks prior – that he’s only watched the deaths of those he could not save.

Related Posts

• Chapter 20: Xenophilius Lovegood
• Chapter 19: The Silver Doe
• The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore
• Chapter 17: When a problem comes along you must whip it. No one gets away until they whip it.
• Chapter 15: The Goblin’s Revenge

Chapter 29 of our Half-Blood Prince Read-Through is brought to you by Arabella Figg!

Shock and grief define this chapter’s mood. In addition, we have three betrayals that took place before Dumbledore’s death on the tower.

We don’t get a Dumbledore denouement in Half-Blood Prince, but we still get a book-ending data dump in the hospital ward and Headmaster’s office, as the characters deconstruct the evening’s events.

As we move alchemically from white to red, moisture continuously flows—tears, blood, sweating, and ointment.  Silver-haired Phlegm’s frozen expression upon seeing Bill melts in a red-hot passion as choleric as that of any Weasley. Rubedo elements abound: a lot of Hagrid, the Weasleys, Gryffindor rubies, bloody Bill, Gryffindor’s sword, Rufus Scrimgeour, battle blazes, and recounted wounds. In the heard but unseen presence of red and gold Fawkes throughout, and Dumbledore snoozing in a golden frame in the Headmaster’s office, there is promise.

Harry and White Hats

I see Harry as taking on the Dumbledore role here, especially in the hospital ward where he gives critical information and explanations, and questions the others about events. Though McGonagall presides in the Headmaster’s office, Harry interacts as an equal with the adults, refusing to give her information, and insisting on a Dumbledore funeral/burial at Hogwarts, so the students can say goodbye to him (in contrast to his own experience with Sirius).

It’s Ginny who leads dazed Harry away from Dumbledore’s body; only when he recognizes her “trace of flowery fragrance” does he realize whom he unthinkingly obeyed. What symbolism might be here?

Hagrid’s eyes may be blurry with tears throughout the chapter, but his vision is quite clear, and his devotion to Dumbledore steadfast and touching. And don’t you love Professor Sprout voicing Dumbledore? “If a single pupil wants to come…,” she says, the school should remain open.

Betrayal # 1:   The White Hats by Dumbledore and Snape.

(While we, having read Deathly Hallows, know the truth, the characters at this point surely perceive their actions as betrayals.)

Stunned by Snape’s evil deed, the WHs are appalled by Dumbledore’s seeming naiveté when they learn his “ironclad reason” for trusting the former Death Eater. Disaster has ensued because they had put their unswerving faith in Dumbledore, and therefore Snape, though McGonagall says, “We all wondered….” Slughorn later says about Snape, “I taught him! I thought I knew him!” Curious reaction. Didn’t Sluggo see that the adult Snape was far removed from the boy he’d taught and Lily had loved? Does this betrayal foreshadow the betrayal Harry will feel in DH?

Upon learning that Dumbledore’s “ironclad reason” was Snape’s deep regret over James and Lily Potter’s death, Lupin is incredulous. “Snape hated James,” he declares. Again, no one makes any Lily/Severus connections, though some of them must have remembered the two as friends for most of their school years. (As Remus and Lily were same-year Gryffindors, and Remus was present at the event Harry refers to, wouldn’t Remus have known of it?) But Harry forestalls any speculation by bitterly adding, without explanation or context, that Snape “didn’t think my mother was worth a damn, either,” and had called her Mudblood. No one questions this.

What do you think of Harry, and how he takes command in this chapter?

The Black Hats

Betrayal # 2: Draco by the Death Eaters

We clearly see how Draco has lost any control he believed he had in his assignment. Not only do the Death Eaters attack and hurt students (and use killing curses!), they bring along the hideously violent Fenrir Greyback, known to prey on and eat children. However nasty he is, I can’t see Draco condoning this. He expected no WHs to be on watch, and perhaps naively believed the DEs were to secure the school borders, be his guard, and set off the Mark. Instead, there was a “fight-to-the-death battle.” Once Greyback emerged into the RoHT, I think Draco felt desperate and trapped well before ascending the tower stairs to his doom.

Also, we see how much Draco has kept Snape out of the loop to attain all the glory for himself (symbolized by carrying the Hand of Glory?); Snape only learns of the infiltration from Flitwick.

Romance

Amidst the anguished discussion over Bloody Bill’s bed, we have an interlude—the Tonks/Lupin romantic revelation/argument, and a brief discussion of love, referencing Dumbledore. Fire away.

Snape

Snape certainly never expected White Hat witnesses at the Dumbledore execution. When Flitwick came to fetch him, Snape Stupefied him. Was Snape sidelining a talented “foe” able to stop or report him, or protecting a fellow-teacher from harm? Remember that Snape, no matter how distasteful, has been a protective figure all throughout the books.

Betrayal #3:  Snape by Draco and the Death Eaters

Draco betrayed Snape through exclusion, even though he knew his mentor had taken the Unbreakable Vow on his behalf. This exclusion and the mass DE attack made Snape’s position that much more difficult. Because of Harry’s witness (and surely Snape realized Hermione and Luna would tumble to Flitwick’s Stupification), he now had to flee the school, where Dumbledore intended him to stay. This put serious sand in the gears. In DH, we learn Snape was to continue his double agent work, protect Harry, and give him the Scarcrux information if LV stopped using Nagini. Also, Snape was to prevent the Carrows from taking over the school.

Fawkes

Fawkes the phoenix “flies somewhere out in the darkness,” singing a “stricken lament of terrible beauty,” heard within the hearer, rather than without, turning “grief magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows.” While actively listening, everyone loses a sense of time (as did Harry when he kissed Ginny), not knowing why “it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen to the sound of their mourning.” Most of the chapter takes place in the hospital wing, a place of healing.

Harry, reflecting Fleur’s frozen shock, is himself numb with grief and shock at chapter’s end. Lying on his bed, he suddenly realizes the grounds are silent; Fawkes “had left for good, just as Dumbledore had left the school, had left the world…had left Harry” (another foreshadowing). Thoughts on Fawkes symbolism? How does phoenix Fawkes tie in with Dumbledore’s phoenix Patronus rising from his body (which seems to be three days later) in the next chapter?

Arabella out. As Stan Shunpike would say, “Take it away, Ern!”

Related Posts

• The Hog’s Head Half-Blood Prince Read-Through
• The White Tomb
• The Flight of the Prince, by Lily Luna
• The Lightning-Struck Tower, by Red Rocker
• The Crowded Cave

Our next guest post comes from Arabella Figg! ~ Travis

This is my first post here, and what a chapter to work on! So, no metaphorical Dung Bombs, please. (All page references are from the American edition.)

Sectumsempra could well have been titled Truth or Consequences, as deceit plays the starring role. Moreover, two events we’ve long-anticipated—a confrontation between Harry and Draco, and another kind between Harry and Ginny—occur.

The chapter begins with good news—Katie Bell’s return and the Ron/Lavender and Ginny/Dean breakups, Harry can now pursue Ginny, but fears Ron will disapprove; is he right (Ron has previously indicated how he would feel)? He returns Katie to the Quidditch team, displacing Dean who has played most of the year; was this fair?

Why do you think Slughorn stops holding Slug Club parties after telling Harry the truth about his Horcrux conversation with Tom Riddle?

Now we come to the heart of Sectumsempra: Harry’s bathroom encounter with Draco.
We have seen some amazing changes in Draco in this book—from brutish strutting to terrified crying. We also learn what drives him: if he fails, Voldemort will kill him. Is there any significance to Draco seeing Harry in a cracked mirror?

Throughout his many travails involving desperation, frustration or fear, Harry has never shed tears (except in grief over Sirius’ death). What does this say about him? How do you feel about Draco’s tears; do they diminish him? Though Draco has always been cowardly, do you feel differently about him in this chapter?
What follows is not Harry’s finest hour. We have to ask, who are the heroes and villains in the following sequence?

(Note: Sectumsempra is a favorite curse of Snape’s. He uses it nonverbally twice in the series: against the tormenting James Potter (OotP 647), and in trying to save Remus, instead accidentally severing George’s ear (DH 688).

Now, into the bathroom, friends. First Harry spies upon and then unwittingly humiliates his tormented enemy by watching him cry, thus engendering a duel. To counter Draco’s Cruciatus curse, Harry employs the Prince’s Sectumsempra curse, which he’s been itching to try, to disastrous results. What were his other options?

Snape seems to arrive at the bathroom quite quickly. Was he following Harry or Draco? If he was watching over Draco, should he have diverted Harry from entering?

Along with using his wand, Snape sings over Draco three times to heal his wounds, each pass a step of healing. What relationship to Phoenix song might this have? What about any symbolism in both blood and water drenching the scene (and Harry)? What do you make of this line: “There were bloodstains floating like crimson flowers across [the wet floor’s] surface” (523)?

When Snape orders Harry to wait for him in the bathroom while taking care of Draco, “It did not occur to Harry for a second to disobey” (523). Yet within minutes, he’s boldly lying to an expert Legilimens (quite familiar with his mind) about where he learned the curse. Though Harry knows Snape sees the Potions book in his mind, he continues lying, and disobys Snape’s order to give over the Potions book. Instead, Harry switches covers with Ron’s book (involving Ron in his deception), hides the Prince’s book in the Room of Requirement (now the Room of Hidden Things), and brings Ron’s book to Snape. Harry then “firmly” and with “defiance” (527) heaps lies upon lies to Snape about the book’s ownership and provenance. Snape calls Harry “a liar and a cheat,” (528) and gives him a Professor McGonagall-approved Saturday detention for the rest of the term, thus making him miss the rest of the Quidditch matches.

Who are the honorable and dishonorable ones (or is each person partly both) during this sequence and why? How did you feel about Snape calling Harry a liar and cheat? Consider Harry, throughout the series, cribbing Hermione’s homework to pass his classes, and lying in many and varied circumstances? Did you read this scene differently after having read DH? Has Snape always been truthful to Harry, no matter the cruel and self-serving the delivery?

Hermione later upbraids Harry, but Ginny defends his use of the curse. Both love Harry, in different ways. Who is right and/or honorable here?

The chapter closes happily. At long last, after a critical Gryffindor win, Ginny runs to Harry and…they kiss! Did you feel this hit the expectation mark? What about Ron’s reaction?

There’s so much more to ruminate over in this chapter, but I leave it to you. For example:

• Why do you think Harry didn’t connect the curse and the Prince’s book with Snape, as Snape’s knowledge of this curse, questions and behavior were, as Rowling might say, “obvious”?
• Truth or Consequence: what might have happened if Harry been truthful about the Potions book? Was he right to deceive Snape?
• Draco knows that Snape has made the Unbreakable Vow (323), yet says Voldemort will kill him if he fails. Does this fit with the Unbreakable Vow as explained in Chapter 2?
• Why do you think Moaning Myrtle (after what we learned about ghosts in OotP) remained a certainly unhappy ghost?
• What does this chapter reveal about achieving access to the Room of Requirement? Why did Harry fail earlier and then succeed?
• Did Harry’s viewing his father’s misdeeds during detention have any value, especially after his Pensieve experience in the previous book?
• What setups for the last book do we find in the Room of Hidden Things?

Have fun!

Related Posts

• The Hog’s Head Half-Blood Prince Read-Through
• The White Tomb
• The Phoenix Lament
• The Flight of the Prince, by Lily Luna
• The Lightning-Struck Tower, by Red Rocker

Snape, Wormtail, and Draco; Lily as Christ figure; “Close to the Dead” – what does it mean?; E-Owls

Some sound issues with this one, mainly my voice getting louder and softer, depending on where/when I was recording. Next podcast, I’ll be trying a new mic set-up, and if it works, sound should be crystal clear with no background noise.

Pub Menu

• Close to the Dead
• Scholastic Pronunciation Guide
• Harry Potter and the Gospel of J.K. Rowling

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• No Related Post

“When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them … and I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.”
“I don’t want a bond with Pettigrew!” said Harry. “He betrayed my parents!”
“This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me … the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew’s life.” (Prisoner of Azkaban)

If this isn’t a set-up for something big happening with Pettigrew and Harry in Book 7, I’ll eat the Sorting Hat. There are, in fact, more than this when it comes to these “life debts” in the Harry Potter series. Jeremy Abel has recently compiled a list of them:

1. Harry saved Pettigrew
2. Harry saved Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets
3. Harry saved Arthur when Arthur was attacked by Nagini in the Ministry of Magic
4. Harry saved Ron when he accidentally drank the poison intended for Dumbledore
5. Harry saved Sirius and Hermione from the Dementors
6. James saved Snape from Lupin as a werewolf
7. Snape saved Harry from the curse placed on him by Professor Quirrell during the Quidditch match
8. Snape saved Dumbledore from the curse on Slytherin’s ring
9. Dumbledore saved Harry during his fall from his broom when the Dementors came onto the Quidditch pitch
10. Lilly saved Harry because of her sacrifice which repelled Voldemort’s curse

To this almost complete list, I would add that Snape saved Draco from failing in his mission and the resulting certain death at the hands of Voldemort. One could also say that Dumbledore saved Draco as well, if one believes in Good!Snape (which I do). So those would be #11 (Draco-Snape) and #12 (Draco-Dumbledore). Though not chronological, we’ll use this set of numbers as our point of reference throughout the essay.

Life Debt?

Before examining the specific life debts, we need to ask the question, ”What are we talking about here, in the first place?”  Because the word “debt” really makes this sound awful.  If saving someone’s life results in their being indebted to you in some way that they have to “pay it back,” then it could easily destroy altruism (as one reader at HP Essays put it) and make saving lives a tool to manipulate people.  “Hey, don’t jinx me, man!  Don’t you rememeber you have a life debt to me?”I don’t think it’s best to think of this in that kind of economic way, however.  ”Magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable” is such a manipulative device, and it doesn’t work as an exact cause-and-effect relationship.  I believe that if one really, really wants to, one can ignore the life debt; anything else would be to make love compulsory and ruin the key theme of “choice” in the novels.  In short, a severely calloused person could indeed scoff at someone’s saving their life. 

But the actual magic involved in the saving of a life and creating of the debt seems to me to be the magical opposite of Avada Kedavra, or any other method of killing a person.  When the Killing Curse is thrown or a person is murdered, the murderer’s soul is torn.  It’s the greatest act of evil, and gives way to the potential of horcrux creation, most evil of magic practices. 

On the other hand, the saving of a life (rather than the taking of it), being the exact opposite, is an expression of love and mercy, and hence creates the kind of bond that exists when one person loves another.  It is a practical magical application, so to speak, of Dumbledore’s assertion that love is the most powerful form of magic.  Therefore, we should not think of life debts as the mechanical creation of an almost economic debt, but the bond of love created between the saver and the saved. 

If the saved person was an enemy to begin with, I’d guess that would make the magic both more powerful and more complex, because, as I tried to demonstrate in the essay, “Dumbledore’s Mercy,” evil intentions falter in the face of response of love. 

Which Debts are Plot-Significant?

Now, obviously not all of these are going to be significant, so let’s sort through the list and focus on the ones that will have some kind of significance for Book 7. Numbers 2-5, while significant to the plots of their respective books, will likely have no significance for Book 7, simply because Hermione, the Weasleys, and Harry are all so loyal to each other already that saving each other’s lives is just part of what they do. The “life debt” created only increases the strong bond that already existed between them. Same goes for #9 – Harry is already loyal to Dumbledore. Number 10, Lily’s sacrifice for Harry, has already been exceedingly significant, and I’m assuming will continue to be so, but we already know how, and once again, a positive mother-son bond would have already existed.

That leaves us with Harry’s saving Pettigrew (#1), James’ saving Snape (#6), Snape’s saving Harry (#7), Dumbledore (#8), and Draco (#11), and Dumbledore’s saving Draco (#12). For my own purposes, being on the “Good Snape” side, Snape saving Draco and Dumbledore saving Draco amount to about the same thing, but let’s quickly consider a Draco-Dumbledore debt if Snape is evil before moving on.

The Draco-Dumbledore Debt (#12)
Even if Snape turns out to be evil, I think it can be argued that Dumbledore had every intention of saving Draco Malfoy, and that his actions and words on the night of his death put Draco in his debt. (See my essay, “Dumbledore’s Mercy“). Now the question will be asked, “What does it matter if you are in the debt of a dead man?” A fair question. But loyalty to Dumbledore has a lot of power, doesn’t it? Dumbledore’s belief that he will only truly be gone when no one who is left is loyal to him has proved true. It’s actually part of the whole point of Half-Blood Prince that Rowling establish Harry’s undying loyalty to Dumbledore. A Draco Malfoy with a life debt to Dumbledore in the service of Lord Voldemort is another strike against the Dark Lord any way you cut it. What would be so significant about this particular debt is that, unlike the Wormtail-Harry debt, Voldemort would not actually know about the Draco-Dumbledore debt. Dumbledore told Draco that he “expects” Draco to die in the attempt on Dumbledore’s life. In short, Voldemort is foolish enough (this is his greatest weakeness!) to believe that Dumbledore, faced with the prospect of his own death, would take the life of his would-be killer (even though it’s his own student) than to submit to death. And no one ever need know about Draco’s conversation with Dumbledore or his hesitancy to kill him.

Would Evil!Snape tell Voldemort that Draco faultered so badly? I doubt it. Even if Snape is evil, we see some sort of bond between him and Narcissa, and the Unbreakable Vow (UV) was put in place to protect Draco from Voldemort’s wrath. I doubt even an Evil!Snape would run back to Voldemort and say, “Even though the task is completed, you should kill Draco because he faltered.”

But the point is moot, because Snape is good, and here’s why.

The Snape Debts (#6, 7, 8, 11)
Snape saves three people in the course of the series, so we’ll take them one by one.

The Dumbledore-Snape Debt (#8)
While Dumbledore is no longer in the debt of Snape, being dead now, the creation of the debt is quite significant. Jeremy observes and asks in the post I quoted above:

The Snape-Dumbledore saving relationship is interesting, though I’m not sure of its significance. Does it bear on the good, bad, or conflicted Snape question?

Indeed, it does. In the first place, one has to wonder why, if Snape is evil, he would have saved Dumbledore’s life after the Ringcrux caper. Perhaps we could posit a situation in which Dumbledore would have had the capacity to blow Snape’s spy cover if Snape refused to heal him. But let’s think about the situation. Dumbledore makes it back from destroying the Ringcrux, barely alive. Surely Albus doesn’t want anyone to know where he’s been or what he’s been doing, so he goes to Snape, and Snape alone. This is the perfect opportunity for Evil!Snape to do away with the Dark Lord’s greatest enemy without anyone knowing about it. Why not take it? He wouldn’t blow his cover at Hogwarts by allowing Dumbledore to die and creating an easily believable story that Dumbledore showed up on his doorstep and died just as he crossed it. Even if the Ringrux was destroyed at some point after the Narcissa-Snape UV was made, Snape could only see this as the perfect opportunity to save Draco by bypassing the whole scheme and allowing Dumbledore to die in his presence. It would have been the perfect murder. There would be no disadvantages, as far as I can see, if ending the problem of Dumbledore right then and there.

This doesn’t entirely eliminate the Conflicted!Snape theory, which posits a Snape who waffled back and forth, especially after the Dark Lord’s return, and chose the Dark Side on the Astronomy Tower, but it makes the theory more unlikely. If Snape were loyal enough to Dumbledore over the summer to save his life when he was on death’s doorstep, what could possibly have changed over the course of the schoolyear to cause such a drastic shift in Severus as to make him to to exact opposite of saving Dumbledore’s life? A year teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts? No way. If spending regular time in the presence of Voldemort doesn’t sway one to the Dark Side, teaching a bunch of teenagers how to cast nonverbal spells isn’t going to do it.

The Snape-Dumbledore debt is definitely a point in favor of Good!Snape.

The Harry-Snape Debt (#7)

Harry’s hatred for Snape is perhaps even greater than his hatred for Voldemort at the end of HBP. One can hardly imagine Harry running into Snape two days after the close fo HBP and not mustering up all the hatred he can for his first attempt at a Killing Curse.

But it’s interesting to consider that it was just after the revelation of Pettigrew’s being responsible for his parents’ death that he chose to have mercy on him. If ever there were a time that Harry would be raging mad and make a rash decision, that would have been it. At this point a couple of things need to be considered.

Snape most definitely and deliberately saved Harry’s life in Philosopher’s Stone when Quirrell was trying to curse him. Whether Snape’s explanation to Bellatrix at Spinner’s End was a lie or not, the fact remains: Harry would be dead if not for Snape. Hence, the creation of that Life Debt. The Life Debt is “magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable.” If this is really the case, and we have no reason to doubt Dumbledore’s wisdom on this, then Harry may just find it much more difficult than he imagined to conjure up enough reason to attempt to kill Snape. The bond created when Snape saved Harry might be the trick to stay Harry’s wand long enough for Snape to get his full story explained.

Of course, if Snape really is evil, then Harry’s being indebted to him might make it all the more difficult for Harry to fight Snape, should the chance arise again (could it have even been why he was unable to be effective against Snape at the end of HBP?).

The Snape-James Debt (#6)
The Snape-James debt must be taken into account simultaneously with the Harry-Snape debt. A few points are important, and a few questions must be asked. First, in what way does the James-Snape debt affect Snape’s relationship with Harry? Emotionally, Snape obviously hated James and so hates Harry. He attempts to cover up this debt by raging at Harry about how James saved him from Sirius’s cruel joke in the first place, so it wasn’t much of a “saving.” The fact remains, of course, that Snape was in James’s debt.

Here’s a question to which we do not have a clear answer, as far as I know: Can the debt be repaid, so that one is no longer in the other’s debt? To apply it specifically, when Snape saved Harry’s life, did that fulfill his debt to James, so that the debt is now cancelled? We don’t know for sure. Snape continues to hate Harry in either case, but if the debt is ongoing, will it affect Snape’s loyalties? Does it inform how we should think about Snape’s loyalties at the present? Since we can’t know the long-term nature of a life debt, we really can’t speculate too far about these things.
But here’s where this debt becomes significant for Book 7. Besides Dumbledore, who’s the one person Harry wants to be most like? His dad. When it comes right down to it, it was because he wanted to be like his dad that he spared Pettigrew.

And his dad saved Snape. This might be additional incentive for Harry to reconsider Snape in Book 7 – or at least, as with the Harry-Snape debt above, cause Harry to pause from attempting to kill him just long enough to hear Snape out.

Let’s take a brief break from canonical facts to speculate about how this might play out. Here comes some guesswork.

Imagine a confrontation between Harry and Snape, maybe similar to the one with Sirius at the end of PoA.* Harry has Snape where he wants him, perhaps with the help of Ron and Hermione, and the time has finally come for him to avenge Dumbledore’s death. Snape is trapped and disarmed. But something is holding Harry back. Two things simultaneously, in fact: (1) Snape saved his life in his first year at Hogwarts, and even if Harry can’t place this exactly in his mind, it’s keeping him from being able to pull the trigger; and (2) Harry remembers that his dad saved Snape. With Snape at wandpoint and unable to move, Harry decides to let Snape have his say. Severus explains all about his loyalty to Dumbledore, why he turned from being a Death Eater, what his connection was to Harry’s parents, and what really happened on the Astronomy Tower (un-stoppering Dumbledore’s death).

Then just for fun, consider that Harry doesn’t believe Snape. The only two people in the world who can be rightfully called “Dumbledore’s man through and through” face each other, battling each other over the same point: loyalty to Dumbledore. As Harry loses his temper and finally decides to kill Snape, the powerful loyalty being expressed by each side calls to the scene the only remaining character who can resolve this tension: Fawkes the Phoenix. In the same way the Fawkes came to Harry’s rescue in the Chamber, he comes to Snape’s rescue, hovering in between Harry and Snape, or even landing on the fallen Snape, ready to swallow anything Harry throws at Snape. And Harry finally believes.**

Possible? Perhaps. I think it’s a fairly good guess based on the Life Debts as they stand.

A final note on the James-Snape debt. We’ve been given what is considered by most fans an insufficient explanation from Dumbledore concerning the reason for Snape’s repentance:

‘Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort’s employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney’s prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know – he had no possible way of knowing – which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onwards, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father -’

Harry let out a yell of mirthless laughter.

‘He hated my dad like he hated Sirius! Haven’t you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?’

‘You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned -’

‘But he’s a very good Occlumens, isn’t he, sir?’ said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. ‘And isn’t Voldemort convinced that Snape’s on his side, even now? Professor … how can you be sure Snape’s on our side?’

Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, ‘I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.’ (HBP-25)

I agree the explanation is not sufficient, primarily because of the “moment” in which Dumbledore was considering whether to explain more to Harry. But quite frankly, we’ve no idea what was going on in Dumbledore’s mind and whether or not it had anything to do with what was just said about the Potters. For all we know, the answer to why Dumbledore trusts Snape so much might lie in some Snape-Dumbledore connection we don’t know about. Some have speculated that Snape harbored a secret, unrequited love for Lily Evans (which might explain even better Snape’s revulsion of James).

But what Dumbledore has given us may not be as weak an answer as most people think. Again, let’s observe that Dumbledore describes the Life Debt magic as “magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable.” We’re talking about magic every bit as powerful as Lily’s sacrifice that saved Harry. If this is really the case, is it that difficult to believe that young Snape, in the debt of James Potter, fell apart and came to his senses when he became responsible for the murder of the one who, just a few years prior, had saved his life? I don’t think Dumbledore is exaggerating when he speaks of Snape’s “remorse” and it being his “greatest regret.”

The Draco-Snape Debt (#11)

Assuming once again a Good!Snape, nothing could be better for Draco Malfoy than to be (a) in Snape’s debt and (b) under Snape’s care and protection as HBP ends. For more on this, see my recent essay, “Dumbledore’s Mercy.” The rest of the implications for the Draco-Snape debt fit in nicely with the Wormtail-Harry debt, so let’s think about that one now.

The Wormtail-Harry Debt (#1)

Finally, we have what is about to be the key life debt of the series, because it’s been clearly mentioned as significant by Dumbledore. How so? Again, we enter the realm of wild guesswork. [I don't think it's a "guess" that Wormtail will turn on Voldemort in favor of Harry before the end of Book 7. But how it will happen is where we don't have much to go on.] We could speculate all sorts of dramatic scenarios in which Wormtail turns on Lord Voldemort, much to his surprise.

But I don’t know if Voldemort would be so surprised at a Wormtail turnaround. He already distrusts Wormtail, and is suspicious at the beginning of GoF that Wormtail is trying to protect Harry (“not use the boy” GoF-1). What is really interesting is the Snape/Wormtail pairing at Spinner’s End. I think it’s best to assume that Voldemort, to some extent, distrusts both Snape and Wormtail. He distrusts everybody in the first place, but with Snape under the employ of that “muggle-lover” Dumbledore for all those years, and Wormtail in Harry’s debt, Voldemort would be quite keen to make sure neither of them turn on him. So he’s created an atmosphere of suspicion and spying at Spinner’s End.

Now Snape has fled, having fulfilled the Unbreakable Vow, un-stoppering Dumbledore’s death according to plan, and taken Draco with him. It’s a likely possibility that he’ll take Draco with him back to Spinner’s End before anywhere else; it might even be possible that Draco will stay there with him for a while. And maybe Narcissa as well? After all, Narcissa is afraid of the Dark Lord’s anger, and Snape has already protected her family once by taking and fulfilling the vow.

In any case, assuming Good!Snape theories are correct, consider the three people who are now under the employ of Lord Voldemort, who are in various ways vitally connected to each other and to Harry:

1. Wormtail, living with Snape and owing a Life Debt to Harry
2. Snape, ultimately loyal to Dumbledore and continuing his job on his orders
3. Draco, indebted now to Snape and Dumbledore, afraid of Voldemort and having just been offered sanctuary by Dumbledore

They don’t have to all be living at Spinner’s End – placing the Malfoys there would just be a matter of convenience. Now consider: There is simply no way Dumbledore put his plan into motion without charging Snape to do everything he could to save Draco. It may have even been part of their communication by legilimency on the Tower that night. So we should assume that Snape, when the time is right, will extend Dumbledore’s offer of mercy to Draco once again. That means, there are at least three “Death Eaters” (assuming Malfoy either was one already or will become one) who could potentially turn on Voldemort from within. Any way you look at it, that’s problematic for Lord Voldemort, especially if all three of them agree to team up before it’s over (unlikely, but possible).

Wild guesswork aside, now, Wormtail’s Life Debt to Harry will bring out a couple of interesting things.

• Why in the world did cowardly Wormtail get placed in Gryffindor? We should expect an act of bravery worthy of a Gryffindor before the end, and his “Life Debt” is going to be the key. I would not at all be surprised by a Wormtail sacrificial death (though, if I were forced to guess which character got the “reprieve” Rowling referred to, I’d guess Pettigrew).
• Redemption is a key theme in the book, and the redemption of the one who betrayed Harry’s parents would be a dramatic and poignant plot turn.

Conclusion

The regular caveats about my “wild guesswork” in place, I think it’s fair to say that Life Debts will play a very significant role in Book 7. It’s unlikely that the actual “life debt” magic will be referenced in every case (we’ll probably hear about it again only in Wormtail’s case), but expect Rowling to be working that magic behind the scenes throughout the course of the novel.

Endnotes
*This is a situation I read Joyce Odell [Red Hen] posit to set up her big “Dumbledore is alive” reveal, before JKR smashed that theory to bits.
**I do not know who first came up with the idea of Fawkes being the one who settles this conflict. I’ve read the idea in several places now.

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Welcome to readers who have arrived here from The Harry Potter Alliance “What Would Dumbledore Do? campaign! We’ve been having ongoing Harry Potter discussion here at The Hog’s Head since 2005. This post contains analysis of HBP and speculation about Book 7. We hope you’ll stick around and join the more recent discussions. Aberforth says drinks are on the house for all HPA members!

Post-Book 7 reflections on this topic can be found in my published book Harry Potter & Imagination: The Way Between Two Worlds.

The scene that unfolds upon the Astronomy Tower is one of the most intense and tremendously written passages of the Harry Potter novels thus far. One of the most fascinating aspects in my mind is the dialogue between Draco and Dumbledore.

The heart of this essay is a consideration of one simple question: Why couldn’t Draco kill Dumbledore? Or maybe better, Why didn’t he even attempt to?

The most chilling part of the dialogue between Draco and Dumbledore comes right at its climax, after the “ways and means” have been discussed, and just prior to the break-in of the Death Eaters:

‘But I got this far, didn’t I?’ he [Draco] said slowly. ‘They thought I’d die in the attempt, but I’m here … and you’re in my power … I’m the one with the wand … you’re at my mercy …’

‘No, Draco,’ said Dumbledore quietly. ‘It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.’

What did Dumbledore mean?

The Radical Mercy of Dumbledore
Based on what we know of Dumbledore’s tremendous power, a weakened, wandless, dying Albus Dumbledore is still more magically powerful than an armed, 16 year old Draco Malfoy. Had it come right down to it, I think Dumbledore, even without a wand, could have conjured up enough magic to prevent Draco’s even attempting an AK curse (obviously, Dumbledore can’t block an AK curse once it’s thrown, despite some recent fanciful theories). But it doesn’t seem Dumbledore even wants to prevent him by use of force, and I hardly think this is the meaning behind Dumbledore’s statement. A wizard like Dumbledore most certainly doesn’t need to inform a young boy that he’s much more powerful.

It is Dumbledore’s mercy that matters, because both he and Draco know that the Dark Lord has put Draco into this position because of his anger with Lucius for his Diary-crux and Prophecy blunders. Dumbledore is plain with Malfoy: Voldemort sent Draco on this task expecting Draco to die in the attempt.

And this is where Dumbledore’s mercy becomes so very profound and important. Dumbledore, staring at his would-be killer, offers freedom from Voldemort’s wrath and tyranny – not only for Draco, but for the whole family. Consider the depth of this mercy: it was Lucius who was behind the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets, putting the Hogwarts students in danger. This is exceedingly significant. Dumbledore’s patience very rarely exceeds its limits, but Harry managed to cross that line when he implied that Dumbledore would leave his students in danger:

‘I … they’re up to something!’ said Harry and his hands curled into fists as he said it. ‘Professor Trelawney was just in the Room of Requirement, trying to hide her sherry bottles, and she heard Malfoy whooping, celebrating! He’s trying to mend something dangerous in there and if you ask me he’s fixed it at last and you’re about to just walk out of school without -’

‘Enough,’ said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some invisible line. ‘Do you think that I have once left the school unprotected during my absences this year? I have not. Tonight, when I leave, there will again be additional protection in place. Please do not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously, Harry.’

‘I didn’t -’ mumbled Harry, a little abashed, but Dumbledore cut across him.

‘I do not wish to discuss the matter any further.’ (HBP-25)

As Felicity has well demonstrated, it may be that the idea of Dumbledore’s students in grave danger is Dumbledore’s greatest fear, his boggart. But now, on the tower, Dumbledore stands ready to forgive and protect Draco, who put students in grave danger by his reckless attempts on Dumbledore’s life, and his father Lucius, whose Diary-crux scheme threatened the lives of all the non-purebloods in the school. Mercy is at its greatest when one is willing to overlook the greatest personal injury, the offense that most “hits home,” and offer forgiveness to the offender. This is the case with Dumbledore’s offer to Draco.

Dumbledore and Slytherin
As a brief, but important aside, it would be well here to take up a complaint against Dumbledore. I’ve heard it frequently argued, in light of Dumbledore’s sneaky House Cup switcheroo at the end of year feast in Philosopher’s Stone, that Dumbledore is captive to some of the very same prejudices that he fights so adamantly against. In his case, it is claimed, he is prejudiced against Slytherins. After all, do we ever see Dumbledore give special or kind treatment to a Slytherin?

Well, yes, we do – Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy being notable examples, as well as his friendship with Horace Slughorn. Karkaroff, though not a “Slytherin,” also fits the category quite well. But the argument is faulty at its root – we don’t see Dumbledore give special treatment to anyone else of any house, because the books are about Harry, not about the other students or even ultimately about Dumbledore himself.
In any case, what we see on the Astronomy Tower should put to rest the idea that Dumbledore is captive to prejudice against Slytherins. If that were the case, we would have expected him to be far more suspicious of young Tom Riddle, Jr. than he already was. We wouldn’t see him extending forgiveness to Severus Snape in the closing months of VoldWar I (and Snape certainly wouldn’t have landed a teaching job at Hogwarts). And we wouldn’t see him offering forgiveness to young Draco, who intended to murder him and put his students, whom he cares about above all, in mortal peril.

Why is Draco “not a killer”?
As the conversation between Dumbledore and Draco progress, Dumbledore repeatedly affirms to Draco that he is “not a killer”:

• “Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.”
• “You have been trying, with increasing desperation, to kill me all year. Forgive me, Draco, but they have been feeble attempts … so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it…”
• “I don’t think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe…”
• “But as for being about to kill me, Draco, you have had several long minutes now. We are quite alone. I am more defenseless than you can have dreamed of finding me, and still you have not acted …”
• “‘My options!’ said Malfoy loudly. ‘I’m standing here with a wand – I’m about to kill you -”My dear boy, let us have no more pretence about that. If you were going to kill me, you would have done it when you first Disarmed me, you would not have stopped for this pleasant chat about ways and means.’”
• “…come over to the right side, Draco … you are not a killer …”

But is Dumbledore saying that Draco is innately not a killer, as if he doesn’t even have within him the capacity to do so?

We can probably agree with Dumbledore that Draco’s heart really isn’t in this. He can talk a big talk in front of fellow Slytherins about his “job,” but his crying sessions with Moaning Myrtle and the constant faltering in his conversation with Dumbledore demonstrate plainly enough that, as Dumbledore said, killing someone is not as easy as one might think.

And yet two things suggest, though we know Draco was not going to pull the trigger on the Astronomy Tower that night, that he was very capable of doing it; the potential was there.

In the first place, the emphasis on “choice” thus far in the series would suggest that the choice truly was before Draco to attempt to kill Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore’s adamant assertion to Fudge that “it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be” (GF-36) would suggest that Dumbledore most certainly was not saying that Draco did not even have within himself the capacity to kill, for the choice was very much before him, as choices lie before everyone, regardless of “what someone is born.”

In the second place, though Draco’s heart was not in it, he nevertheless executed two plans that had every possibility in the world of succeeding on someone. It is by sheer luck that Draco was “not a killer” by the time he stood face to face with Dumbledore.

With that in mind, it’s best to think of Dumbledore’s statement, “You are not a killer,” in this way: “Draco, you are not a killer; you have not killed anyone yet, and you don’t have to. The choice is before you. Choose the right side.” And instead of magically warding Draco off (which would have ensured his death by Voldemort) or allowing Harry to interfere (which would have had the same result), Dumbledore attempted to save Draco, both from the soul-scarring act of murder and the wrath of the Dark Lord.

I suggest, then, that ultimately, at the moment of choice, Draco was unable to pull the trigger on Dumbledore, because standing before him at wandpoint was a man offering mercy that he simply could not comprehend and could not overcome. It was Dumbledore’s mercy that caused him to falter, and even at one point to “bizzarely draw courage and comfort from his praise” (HBP-27)!

It might be argued that Draco was afraid of Dumbledore, and that is why he wouldn’t cast the curse. Dumbledore even suggested that Draco was afraid to act until he had some support. But two caveats must be added: (1) Draco was ultimately more afraid of Voldemort than he was Dumbledore, for when Dumbledore offered sanctuary for him and his family, Draco spluttered on about Voldemort’s threats to kill them all and would not accept his help, and (2) when the Death Eaters arrived, Draco still didn’t pull the trigger.

It wasn’t fear of Dumbledore that stopped Draco from killing him; rather, it was Dumbledore’s love for Draco. Draco, raised in the severely prejudiced and self-serving Malfoy family had never stood face to face with self-sacrificial love before. When Dumbledore offered Draco help and protection, he was offering redemption from evil for the entire Malfoy family – a family that had been a bit of a bane for Dumbledore for decades.

Draco’s Redemption: J.K. Rowling’s Favorite Narnian Character

But the book does not end with Draco’s redemption, despite Dumbledore’s mercy. Draco runs away, task completed with the help of Snape, and is finding his way back to the Dark Lord. But what Dumbledore has done is to protect Draco’s innocence as far as murder is concerned; his soul remains intact. He’s made the path toward redemption for Draco an easier one. Will Draco be redeemed? Let’s take a quick detour before the conclusion and revisit something I worked on just after HBP was released.
Some time ago, I came upon an intriguing answer to a question posed in this Barnes and Noble interview in 1999. When asked about her favorite characters in children’s literature, part of her answer is the following:

I really like Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis (third in the Narnia series). He is a very unlikeable character who turns good. He is one of C. S. Lewis’s funniest characters, and I like him a lot.

This is not at all surprising, though I think it is an important key to some of her complex characters! In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Lewis does indeed paint a very unlikeable Eustace in the first several chapters. The book begins with my all-time favorite opening line:

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

We learn all about this whiney, spoiled brat, who through greed is transformed into a dragon, only to be painfully set right by the claws of Aslan. As Rowling mentions, “He is a very unlikeable character who turns good.”

This is a bit of a template for some of Rowling’s plot twists. Think about Severus Snape in Philosopher’s Stone. Harry, convinced that it was Snape who tried to kill him on the Quidditch field, is shocked to find Quirrell – not Snape – attempting to steal the stone. Quirrell responds to the surprised Potter:

Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn’t he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat.

Indeed, Severus does seem the type, “a very unlikeable character” indeed. And of course we know that Snape was evil and that he, as far as Dumbledore was concerned, turned good. She has taken us on quite a roller coaster ride concerning Snape, and I’m still convinced (probably more now than ever) that we’ll see Dumbledore was right about him.

But perhaps Rowling’s love for Eustace gives us even more insight into Draco Malfoy and his future redemption than Snape. As annoying Eustace was transformed from evil dragon to penitent boy, could there be a coming transformation for Draco as well?

Draco’s been downright awful to Harry and almost an embodiment of everything bad about Slytherin, but follow me here:

• The name “Draco” literally means “dragon,” so we’ve got a connection with Eustace there.
• Irritating and snobbish he may be, but when it came time to do the evil deed, he couldn’t “pull the trigger,” so to speak.
• We saw above that his confrontation with Dumbledore must indeed have been traumatic, as Dumbledore offered to protect both him and his mother from Voldemort’s wrath and Draco was unable to kill an already dying and wandless wizard. Dumbledore’s offer of refuge is exceedingly important to the Draco redemption theory. Dumbledore is to Draco as Aslan is to Eustace.
• There are obvious connections between Snape and Narcissa, as well as Snape and Draco. If Snape indeed is good, and Narcissa and Draco need to seek refuge, Snape may just find a way to point them to the Order of the Phoenix, where they will find protection (redemption/forgiveness). It may also be that Draco is now indebted to Snape, since he helped him carry out the task and so (perhaps) saved him from the wrath of Voldemort. (I’m planning an essay on life debts in the near future). Hence, a bond exists between them, and Draco’s redemption will be in Snape’s hands.

Eustace was the way he was (irritating and snobbish) because of his parents’ example. Rowling has frequently said that the attractiveness of orphan heroes (like Harry) is that they never have to find out by experience that their parents are sometimes wrong. Draco may be in the process of finding out that his daddy was wrong to follow Voldemort, and that Salazar Slytherin’s prejudice was wrong as well. Certainly the offer of protection from a Muggle-lover and “mudblood”-lover like Dumbledore had to mess him up pretty good. Children are very quick to follow their parents example, sometimes with even more zeal than their parents at first. But what happens when we find out that our parents were flat-out wrong? This may be the fate that lies ahead for Draco.

[I'll add the caveat that, since writing out this information a year ago, I've learned to not prefer to go outside canon for guesses on what's to come; so consider this preceding "Narnian" section with that in mind.]
Dumbledore’s Final Lesson: “The Power the Dark Lord Knows Not,” Illustrated

The central element of Half-Blood Prince is Dumbledore’s series of lessons with Harry. The wise old man is preparing the hero to go it alone. In the climax of these lessons, the revelation about horcruxes, a discussion ensues concerning the prophecy, and the ever-patient Dumbledore gets agitated in his attempts to convince Harry of two things: (1) Not to set too much store by the prophecy; it is choice that matters, and (2) Harry is “protected, in short, by [his] ability to love;” indeed, love is “the power the Dark Lord knows not” (HBP-23).

By the end of this lesson, Harry gets lesson #1; in fact, he realizes it “makes all the difference in the world.” But lesson #2 is not as clear. In fact, as far as Harry’s ability to love is concerned, a sarcastic “Big deal” is about all the response he can muster. How in the world is “love” the power that will vanquish the Dark Lord?

While this is Dumbledore’s last formal lesson with Harry, it’s clear the teaching does not end there. No, there is a sense in which Dumbledore is teaching Harry straight through the entire trip to the cave. But on the Astronomy Tower, Harry silently witnesses Dumbledore’s final lesson: Love is indeed powerful. Powerful enough to stop death; powerful enough to make one willing to die for his own enemies.

Dumbledore’s love for Draco must have astounded Harry; how could he offer Draco, and even worse, Lucius, protection? Had the old man really gone mad?

But then, Draco didn’t pull the trigger, did he?

And why did Dumbledore do nothing to defend himself? Had he done so, Draco’s mission would have failed, and Voldemort’s wrath would have been expended on Draco and his family. Instead, Dumbledore submitted to his death at the hands of Snape (which I believe was Dumbledore’s plan all along), saved Draco from the Dark Lord’s anger, and left him in the hands of his most trusted ally: Severus himself. Indeed, as Dumbledore submitted to his death on the Tower (it was un-”stoppered” by Snape), his sacrificial love thwarted Voldemort’s own plan: to kill Dumbledore (ultimately Snape’s job), and to kill Draco Malfoy as revenge for Lucius’s failures.
A good amount of this doesn’t register with Harry yet, but when it does, he’ll realize the significance of Dumbledore’s death: Sacrificial love conquered death, foiled Voldemort’s plans, and opened up the possibility of redemption for Draco.

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In the back of my mind, I’ve been toying with using a post to entertain the “Draco Wolf-boy” theory that is circulating. Janet Batchler has concluded her set-ups and payoffs series with a post on Draco, and she lays out the theory. Like her, I’m not entirely convinced, but I can definitely see the possibility. Good thoughts. And if you haven’t been keeping up with the set-ups and payoffs series, be sure to search through her archives. (Janet – perhaps you could put together a post that links to all of them in order?)

Related Posts of interest: J.K. Rowling’s Favorite Narnia Character

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I’m slowly working my way through the large collection of JK Rowling interviews at Quick Quote Quill, gathering quotes and making notes. Last night, I came upon an intriguing answer to a question posed in this Barnes and Noble interview in 1999. When asked about her favorite characters in children’s literature, part of her answer is the following:

I really like Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis (third in the Narnia series). He is a very unlikeable character who turns good. He is one of C. S. Lewis’s funniest characters, and I like him a lot.

This is not at all surprising, though I think it is an important key to some of her complex characters! I’m presently re-reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Lewis does indeed paint a very unlikeable Eustace in the first several chapters. The book begins with my all-time favorite opening line:

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

We learn all about this whiney, spoiled brat, who through terrible greed is transformed into a dragon, only to be painfully set right and by the claws of Aslan. As Rowling mentions, “He is a very unlikeable character who turns good.”

This is a bit of a template for some of Rowling’s plot twists. Think about Severus Snape in Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry, convinced that it was Snape who tried to kill him on the Quidditch field, is shocked to find Quirrell – not Snape – attempting to steal the stone. Quirrell responds to the surprised Potter:

Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn’t he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat.

Indeed, Severus does seem the type, and who would have suspected Quirrell as evil? But this is exactly JKR’s point as she keeps confusing us about who the good and bad guys are.

Furthermore, we know very well that Snape was evil and that he, as far as Dumbledore was concerned, turned good. She has taken us on quite a roller coaster ride concerning Snape, and I’m still holding out that we’ll see that Dumbledore was right about him.

But perhaps Rowling’s love for Eustace gives us even more insight into Draco Malfoy than Snape. As annoying Eustace was transformed from evil dragon to penitent boy, could there be a coming transformation for Draco as well?

I know he’s been downright awful to Harry and almost an embodiment of everything bad about Slytherin, but follow me here:

~ The name “Draco” literally means “dragon,” so we’ve got a connection with Eustace there.
~ Irritating and snobbish he may be, but when it came time to do the evil deed, he couldn’t “pull the trigger,” so to speak.
~ His confrontation with Dumbledore must indeed have been traumatic, as Dumbledore offered to protect both him and his mother from Voldemort’s wrath and Draco was unable to kill an already dying and wandless wizard. Dumbledore’s offer of refuge is exceedingly important to the Draco redemption theory.
~ Given Voldemort’s harsh treatment of Lucius, Narcissa may be quite right to fear Voldemort’s treatment of her and Draco.
~ There are obvious connections between Snape and Narcissa, as well as Snape and Draco. If Snape indeed is good, and Narcissa and Draco need to seek refuge, Snape may just find a way to point them to the Order of the Phoenix, where they will find protection (redemption/forgiveness). It may also be that Draco is now indebted to Snape, since he helped him carry out the task and so (perhaps) saved him from the wrath of Voldemort.

Eustace was the way he was (irritating and snobbish) because of his parents’ example. Rowling has frequently said that the attractiveness of orphan heroes (like Harry) is that they never have to find out by experience that their parents are sometimes wrong. Draco may be in the process of finding out that his daddy was wrong to follow Voldemort, and that Salazar Slytherin’s prejudice was wrong as well. Certainly the offer of protection from a Muggle-lover and “mudblood”-lover like Dumbledore had to mess him up pretty good. Children are very quick to follow their parents example, sometimes with even more zeal than their parents at first. But what happens when we find out that our parents were flat-out wrong? This may be the fate that lies ahead for Draco.

Be sure to see John Granger’s “Alchemical Thoughts on HP7″ (taken down from his website, but soon to re-appear in his new book, Unlocking Harry Potter) for the interesting “Draco Wolf-boy” theory that might tie very well into his possible redemption in book 7. Granger also picks up on the Eustace connection.

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