| darlulu @ 2004-06-30 23:55:00 |
(no title)
Well, while everyone else is mourning and celebrating n_a's end in equal parts, my mind is still stuck back on the events of June 23rd. I'd put off voicing my confusion the past week, hoping someone else would step forward in my place, but that didn't happen - or it did, and their questions were buried in a lengthy thread I somehow managed to miss - so here I am in all my cluelessness.
One thing I just can't seem to piece together about that Wednesday night is why Draco was spared. I mean, why did Pellnor Wilkes stop at Pansy? If not for Draco's abject shock and horror and subsequent monosyllabic state, Hogwarts would've been effectively warned 15-20 min prior to attack and been able to prepare a greater defense. So why even take the chance?
Was it because of Lucius?
Was everything already in position with the doors sealed shut at that point in time, so that anything Draco could've said, anything Pomfrey or Sinistra could've done from the outside in response would've been futile?
Or, is there some other obvious reasoning at play here?
Comments:
| orpheusinjapan @ July 1 2004, 08:07:34 UTC |
My theory (which I think was voiced by others too) was that Pansy was killed specifically to keep Draco occupied so that he was not in the hall when the attack occurred. Obviously he would be upset by Pansy's death and do just what he did, dash off with her to the hospital wing, while the attack went on without him.
I think his abject horror and shock could pretty much be counted on in the situation, thus there wasn't really much of a risk of him raising any kind of alarm.
| darlulu @ July 1 2004, 08:15:51 UTC |
Yeah, I thought of that, too; it's just that it seemed that Pansy and Draco took Pellnor by surprise as he was 'fiddling with a sack' when Pansy initiated contact, so I'd kinda ruled out premeditation...but I guess he could've been purposely appearing preoccupied, and by extension non-threatening, waiting for the duo to approach before striking.
So, in that case, you think Lucius was behind the orders to keep Draco out of the way and safe?
| orpheusinjapan @ July 1 2004, 09:52:59 UTC |
I feel pretty sure that Lucius would never have allowed the chance of Draco being involved with the attack. He had to find some way to keep him out of the way, and he probably wasn't sure he could completely rely on Draco keeping it secret if he were to give him warning.
That's really just a round about way of saying yes, I believe Lucius was behind Pansy's death. Maybe he didn't plan on her getting killed, just injured, but I guess we'll never be sure.
| susan_voight @ July 1 2004, 12:59:30 UTC |
Personally I find this theory a little elaborate for just this reason. The DEs wanted to strike the Great Hall while most people, and certainly Harry, were still there. Draco posted just before dinner that maybe he and Pansy would take a walk (did they always walk in the same place, so that Wilkes would have known where to find them?), but something might have come up to prevent that, and then what? Figure out some way to get Draco out and hope that Harry doesn't leave in the meantime?
If Lucius really wanted Draco out of the way, much simpler to owl him in the middle of dinner, or before, and ask for a meeting outside or summon him home urgently, for instance. The Wilkes meeting seems an awfully chancy way of accomplishing this.
I think Wilkes killed Pansy because they interrupted him doing something (I have no idea what), because he could, and *possibly* because of some fallout between the DEs and Pansy's mother (who'd moved to France and was very insistent that Pansy come with her). It's not a very good theory, but I think it's simpler.
| darththalia @ July 1 2004, 13:23:57 UTC |
I think Lucius had made it clear that he'd kill anyone who harmed Draco--not for any complicated reason, just because Draco was his son. It might not have been the best thing for the plan, but I think Lucius didn't want Draco hurt and was willing to take the chance, and Voldemort, for whatever reason, didn't overrule him.
I have absolutely no proof of this; it's just a hunch.
| sistermagpie @ July 1 2004, 15:06:26 UTC |
I think Draco was spared because he was Lucius' son and that if it had been M.B. she would have been killed too. Also Pansy knew Wilkes and Draco did not, even if Pansy called him "Perkins" he would not have been able to go in and say exactly who he was.
I can't see how it would be a plan to keep Draco away from the hall, as it might not have-in fact Draco was already away from the hall and it could have sent him back in.
Also, Wilkes was a strange man. I think the randomness of it is part of the tragedy. We don't know exactly what his relationship with Pansy was, so we probably won't ever really know what was going through his mind.