HBP: Chapter 28 - Flight of the Prince
I am always confused when trying to decide what is part of a larger scheme in HP and what is not. These following events have confused me more than any so far... At this point is Snape still following a predetermined plan or is he on his own? Did Snape follow Dumbledore's orders, Voldemort's orders or is he simply working for himself? Is Draco in on what is happening now? He seems to go along with what Snape is telling him without question but this can be due to the fact that he knows what is going on or he is simply in shock by the events that just happened. So where exactly would Snape and Draco go now that we assume that Dumbledore is dead? One might assume they are headed to Voldemort but would that be too simple? No one but Draco was supposed to know about his mission and wouldnt Voldemort be angy that Snape interferred? It appears like Draco was given his mission because whoever gave it to him assumed he would die while attempting to fulfill it... and technically he did fail in his mission. He was clever enough to get the death eaters into Hogwarts but he couldn't kill Dumbledore... if it was Voldemort who did give him the assignement Draco's life might still be in danger... so wouldn't you want to avoid Voldmort... but then where would they go... would they go to the same place? Snape seems very protective of Draco...
Harry, Harry, Harry... you have got to stop leaving your invisibility cloak on the astronomy tower. Someone (Dumbledore?) was nice enough to return in at the end of PS... does Harry ever retrieve it this time? Does someone else take his invisibility cloak and use it? Should we keep an eye out for invisible peoples? Why leave the cloak behind it could come in useful in the future... and it was a memento of you father? Is this symbolic having Harry leave his cloak behind?
As Harry is running out of Hogwarts he notices that the front doors have been blasted open. Yeah we know that Snape and Draco are trying to make a quick retreat but why blast the doors open? Wouldnt that make a lot of noise and draw unwanted attention and more people to the scene? Could it have been a signal to someone? Harry also notices smears of of blood. Whose blood is this? Neither Draco nor Snape seemed to have suffered any injuries from the fighting? Was it their blood or someone else's blood? Why would this person be bleeding? Are they injured? And finally who broke the Gryffindor hourglass? Was it an accident or did someone break it on purpose? Why take the time to break the hourglass when you are trying to get away from somewhere so quickly? Very odd...
Who is the blond death eater? Why is his name never mentioned? Have we seen him before? Is he as inept at spells as he seems?
How does Draco know where to apparate? Does Draco know how to apparate? He is like Harry and wasnt old enough to take the test yet... All Snape tells him is to "Run, Draco!" (602) Did he tell him where to go while they were escaping or whas it predetermined? This phrase doesn't give Draco much instruction yet he appears to have already apparated before Snape reaches the front gates...
Snape has the perfect opportunity to do something really nasty to Harry and yet he doesnt. It is Harry who tries to perform the crutarious curse on Snape yet Snape does nothing to Harry. Would Snape have been able to kill Harry had he chosen to? Why wont Snape fight back when he has such a perfect opportunity to do so? Think Snape would have liked to be able to perform a spell on Harry to at least injure him. Why stop and let Draco run on ahead? Seems to have much more confidence in Draco's skills than Harry's? Is it justified?
Always the teacher Snape. Instead of fighing Harry Snape takes the moment to try and teach Harry something. What does that mean about Snape's intentions? Is he friend, foe, neutral? "Blocked again and again and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed, Potter!" (603) Should have really tried harder to learn Occlumency Harry it seems very important now. Who are you trying to keep out of Harry's mind Snape? What are you afraid they will find?
Why so worried about not harming Harry Snape? We know that Voldemort is probably the only one who can kill him but wouldn't you think Voldemort would be pleased if someone could injure Harry and make him less of a threat when you do face him again?
Why is Snape's face so filled with rage and hatred? Is it because he is really on Voldemorts side and truly hates Harry & Dumbledore? Is it because he is angry at Dumbledore (and maybe himself) for what he just did to Dumbledore? Why so afraid to be called a coward Snape? So angry and yet you don't attack Harry? Is this due to the Dark Lord's orders as you say or some other reason? There is so much we dont know and it is probably of vital importance...
Did anything happen to Dumbledore's body while it was laying at the base of the astromony tower between the time Snape performed the spell and the school discovered the body?
Did the locket open accidentally when Dumbledore fell from the tower or did someone open it on purpose? Did Dumbledore know that the horcrux had already been destroyed or would he have been shocked to learn that someone got there before him? Does Voldemort know about this horcrux being destroyed?
Who is RAB? Sirius's supposedly dead brother Regulus? There was a suspicious locket in the Black house in OotP when the Weasleys were cleaning. When did RAB obtain the horcrux? Did he ever destroy it? It says that he intended to not that he had... It seemed impossible that this horcrux could have been obtained alone? Did RAB have help? If so who helped him? Who drank the green liquid? Would have had to be someone young like Harry cause as Dumbledore explained 2 adult wizards wouldnt have been allowed to cross the river. How did RAB find out about Voldemort's horcruxes and how did he find the cave and get past all of Voldemort's defenses of his horcrux? How could Dumbledore not have known the horcrux had already been destroyed? Did he know? Have any of the other horcruxes been destroyed without our knowledge? Are horcruxes really the key to destroying Voldemort or are they merely red herrings? What are the other horcruxes? Where are they hidden? Could Harry be a horcrux? There are so many things about the night his parents died that we don't know...