It's over, Snape is evil (was: Dumbledore and Snape again)

[Lynda Cordova]

No: HPFGUIDX 137489

Eggplant wrote:
I can think of 5 objections to the Snape killed Dumbledore reluctantly
on Dumbledore's orders and at heart Snape is really a pussycat theory.
I believe any one of them is strong enough to torpedo the entire idea. 

1) Snape already had Voldemort's trust, we are told in chapter 2 that
he is the Dark Lord's closest adviser and he already knows of the Top
Secret plan to kill Dumbledore, there was no need for the Order of the
Phoenix to lose their most powerful wizard for Voldemort to trust him.

2) It doesn't matter if Snape knows of Voldemort's plans now because
he can't tell anyone, nobody in the OotP would believe him, in fact
they'd kill him on sight before he could even open his mouth.

3) Snape seemed to be enjoying himself enormously when he murdered
Dumbledore and nobody is that good an actor.

4) I do not believe Dumbledore would ask anyone to become a murderer.

5) If Dumbledore did have some sort of wacky plan he would have to be
brain dead dumb not to tell Harry about it; he must know that after
Harry saw him be murdered by Snape he would never rest until Snape was
dead, or Harry was. 

 
Lynda says:
 
I am, firstly, not a traditional Snape lover.  I think he is clearly portrayed as bitter, angry and unforgiving.  I will point out, however, that there is one chapter left to go in the saga.  Whether Snape will be redeemed by the end of the story is yet to be seen.  As to your theories you've put some good thought into them, but if I may examine them...
 
1) Snape emphasizes this several times in chapter 2, himself, outlining some of the things he has been able to do through the years due to his position at Hogwarts and the trust Dumbledore has in him.  Some might even say this is somewhat overemphasized in the chapter.
 
2) Snape cannot tell any of the members of the OotP LV's plans.  Unless, of course, there was a third party in the OotP who was aware that Snape was acting as a double agent, and knew with certainty that Snape was truly working against Voldemort.  That is pure speculation of course, and just a thought I'm still playing with but unbreakable vows have become important in the latter part of the series.
 
3) To answer this question, I will simply say, Snape himself says more than once in the course of the book something to the effect of "I played my part well.  I am a good actor".  Also, some would argue that the look of revulsion and hatred on Snape's face as he raised his wand to use the AK on Dumbledore, and that does not show enjoyment.  The question is was the hatred on his face aimed at Dumbledore for years of pretending to be his loyal follower or because he was being asked to do one last act for Dumbledore as a part of a prearranged agreement
         
 
4) Is Dumbledore really asking Snape to murder him?  Or begging for mercy? Or asking him to allow it to seem that a killing curse has been performed on him, thereby masking the fact that he was nearly dead already and distracting people from what was actually going on?  If Dumbledore was already dying and could not be saved by any healer, then he did not ask Snape to kill him, or even hasten his death, only to distract those who were there from the circumstances of his death and possibly giving Snape a stronger footing among the DE's.


5) I think that Dumbledore sometimes expects Harry to react a bit differently than Harry sometimes does.  I also think that if Snape is still working against LV rather than for him, that he may need to carry on by himself for awhile.  Other than that, Dumbledore pointed out many times throughout the books that he was not infallible.  He could have misjudged Snape all the while, and he could certainly have underestimated Harry's reaction.  He could, as well, expect Harry to reflect on what he saw for awhile after his death and reach an different conclusion than the one he came to at the time of DD's death.
 
Lynda




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