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

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 138531

Eggplant:
> Ok, fine, but why did Dumbledore have to die, Snape was already in
> good with Voldemort? And why did Snape make an Unbreakable Vow to
> Murder Dumbledore months before he actually did it? It all makes no
> sense if Snape is good, it makes perfect sense if Snape is evil.

Pippin:
The vow has a large and glaring loophole in it. Snape need only
fulfill it "If it seems necessary" -- it  would not seem necessary to
kill Dumbledore in order to save Draco from failing if Dumbledore  
is already  dead, or appears to be in the eyes of Voldemort. 

I think he is dead, but I think he was planning to fake
his death if necessary to release Snape from his vow, even
though that might take him out of action for a while. He 
certainly took steps immediately to make sure the Dursleys 
would take Harry back and that Harry would go to them even 
if he wasn't around.

(Fans who think Dumbledore was too soft on the Dursleys
might like to remember that he has arranged for Harry to be
in residence when the protective spells run out. That should
be interesting, no?)

Chess players often sacrifice the Queen, even though it is the
most powerful piece on the board, because in the end game
position is  more important than power. At least two of the
horcruxes were protected by powerful dark magic. Who besides
Snape knows enough about dark magic to save Harry if a curse
like the one that claimed Dumbledore's hand strikes him down?

Even if it turns out that Harry doesn't need this protection,
(he is, after all, the only person who has destroyed one of
LV's horcruxes without any harm to himself) I don't think
Harry is going to be in good shape after the final battle.
It might be nice to have someone around to drag Harry out
of the ruins, don't you think?

If Harry finds that Snape has saved his life, he might be 
disposed to consider whether events on the tower actually
happened the way he thought they did. And even if he 
doesn't, he'll still be alive instead of dead.

Eggplant:
> Kill the other Death Eaters and tell Voldemort that Dumbledore had
> done it, Snape was far more powerful than his Death Eater pals and
he had the element of surprise. 

Pippin:
Unfortunately Draco was present and Snape had been
apprised that he was about to fail in his mission.
How was Snape supposed to kill the other Death Eaters without
activating the vow? Even if he has time to kill them first, the 
vow will strike Snape and he's dead. You are assuming
that Dumbledore is more useful to the Order than Snape is, but
haven't we been told, over and over again, that power isn't 
everything?

Harry couldn't be told about this because his mind is open to
Voldemort. Yes, he's told about the horcruxes. But was any effort 
made to keep Voldemort from knowing that Dumbledore was after 
them?

I think not. Dumbledore shows off his withered hand in front of the
whole school, wears the ring openly, puts it on display in his office,
invites Slughorn to take up a position at the school, and generally 
couldn't have been more obvious if he'd sent
Voldemort a Howler with "neener, neener" inscribed therein.

It's the ministry and the Order who are being kept out of the horcrux
loop, first because they would interfere in Harry's efforts, and
secondly because if a swarm of aurors and Order members was out 
hunting horcruxes, Voldemort might decide to forgo the magic of 
having made exactly seven, and get busy making more. 

But Snape is at Voldemort's side, feeding Voldemort's ego with 
assurances that Potter is nothing to fear,
he's just been lucky, something Voldemort wants to believe anyway.
"there is nothing special about you after all." -- CoS ch 17

Potter, "mediocre to the last degree, though as obnoxious and
self-satisfied as his father before him" will not strike the Dark Lord
as someone who is worth giving up the power of seven.

With all that, McGonagall and the other Order members, bar Hagrid
who was never good at dissembling,  are  suspiciously accepting of 
Harry's version of events. They don't even go to view the body!

And why not? Either Snape killed Dumbledore, or they must
have made it look to Harry as if Snape had killed him. Either way, a 
loyal Order member would carry on as if they believed what Harry 
had seen.

Pippin