Snape & Dumbledore

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 144441

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Bart Lidofsky <bartl at s...> wrote:
>
> Bart:
> ...edited quoted text...
> 
> I still maintain that Snape was keeping Dumbledore artificially 
> alive, and his killing of Dumbledore was "pulling the plug".
> 
> Bart
>

bboyminn:

I've had similar ideas, but I wouldn't phrase is as keeping Dumbldore
'artificially' alive. That sounds a little too Frankenstien to me.

I suspect that the problem with Dumbledore's hand was spreading up his
arm and would indeed eventually be the death of him. Snape was able to
stop it's rapid and immediate spread, and save Dumbledore's life in
the moment. But he couldn't prevent the slow continual spread of the
'infection' up Dumbledore's arm and through his body. 

So, I agree that Dumbledore was aready dying, and would soon be dead
independant of what happened on the tower. Knowing this, it did not
take much for Snape to comprehend the stituation on top of the tower
and understand what the shortest, safest, and most productive way out
was. So, he killed Dumbledore, but he killed an already dying man.

I don't believe that Snape and Dumbledore had any kind of grand
'conspiracy' planned out. I don't believe that Snape and Dumbledore
consciously planned in advance for Dumbledores' death. But I do think
they had a general understanding that there were higher priorities
than Dumbledore's life. That Snape shouldn't act the hero and try to
save Dumbledore at all cost, because as it turned out, the cost of
trying to save Dumbledore on the top of the tower would have been
unbelievably high, and it would have certainly failed. 

Snape choice the path of the greatest good to The Cause, even though
that action would make him an unforgiven villain for all time in the
wizard world. In an effort to bring down Voldemort, Snape has, as I
have said so many times before, seal his own doom for all time.

So, really we just disagree on how we phrase it, you say Snape was
keeping Dumbledore artificially alive, and I say that Snape was acting
initially to stave off imminent death. After that, in the longer term,
he was acting to delay Dumbledore's death; to slow the action of the
'death' that was creeping up his arm. 

I think Dumbledore knowing he was dying helps explain what was surely
reckless behavior in the Cave.

So, while some people have made good arguments for Dumbledore to have
faked his death (and others made very bad arguments to the same end),
I'm afraid he is really and truly gone. 

Something I do not desire, but something that I accept.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn