You make a good point. All I can really do is distinguish between being able to read someone’s thought-at-the-moment and understanding a person’s mental methodology. Knowledge of the first doesn’t imply knowledge of the second. That is, if you were talking in stream-of-thought with little filter, I still probably wouldn’t be able to predict what you would say 30 sec in the future.
And I’m sure that Q is not H&C1, because that would be pointless from Q’s POV. If we assume the Hermione-Draco duel and aftermath was the intended effect of the groundhog day attack, I also think Q has easier ways of creating similar effects on Harry’s psyche. I think Q would not need or desire to falsify the blood purity thesis (“true blood is stronger”) to create a rift between HP and Draco. And if the Hermione-HP link was the target, involving Draco and Lucius seems an excessively dangerous complication.
In short, I’m not sold on Snape, but I’m fairly sure it isn’t Q. And the text is explicit that Hermione recognized undisguised H&C.
You make a good point. All I can really do is distinguish between being able to read someone’s thought-at-the-moment and understanding a person’s mental methodology. Knowledge of the first doesn’t imply knowledge of the second. That is, if you were talking in stream-of-thought with little filter, I still probably wouldn’t be able to predict what you would say 30 sec in the future.
And I’m sure that Q is not H&C1, because that would be pointless from Q’s POV. If we assume the Hermione-Draco duel and aftermath was the intended effect of the groundhog day attack, I also think Q has easier ways of creating similar effects on Harry’s psyche. I think Q would not need or desire to falsify the blood purity thesis (“true blood is stronger”) to create a rift between HP and Draco. And if the Hermione-HP link was the target, involving Draco and Lucius seems an excessively dangerous complication.
In short, I’m not sold on Snape, but I’m fairly sure it isn’t Q. And the text is explicit that Hermione recognized undisguised H&C.