Heroes and Not - What should Snape Have Done?

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 145215

> > Miles:
> > Just hold this point. What would have happened after this?
> > Dumbledore was weak and wandless. Snape had no chance fighting
> > four DEs alone, so Dumbledore would have been killed anyway. 
> > After Dumbledore's death Harry would have been able to move
> > again. Would he? Possibly, and then?
> > 
> > What you demand of Snape is absolutely senseless self sacrifice.
> > If he acted that way, the 6th book most probably would be the
> > last one.
> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> I'm with you Miles, and I now ask (again), point blank, what should
> Snape have done under those circumstances? It's nice and 
heartwarming
> to say Snape should have died, but that is an extremely narrow view 
of
> the event. Snape dies and THEN.... What? What happens next, what is
> the full impact of any conceivable alternate action on Snape's part?
> 
> I asked this before, just recently, and the question was ignore.
> People have no trouble saying that Snape's chosen course of action 
was
> wrong or perhaps, incorrect, but no one offers a full-view alternate
> course of action. 
> 
> Of course, I admit, that to some extent, my asking that question is
> founded in a DDM!Snape view. To take an ESE!Snape view is easy; 
Snape
> killed Dumbledore, enough said. But for the moment if we do take at
> least a somewhat DDM!Snape view, what were Snape's alternate courses
> of action under these circumstances.
<SNIP>


Alla:

I am sorry Steve, but I have to say Huh? :-)
I thought I answered that question multiple times, but I will answer 
again.

Anybody who is tired of reading my POV, please, please feel free to 
skip this post.

What Snape should  have done? DD!M Snape I mean. Well, first and 
foremost he should have NOT under any circumstances enter Unbreakable 
Vow. If Snape will turn out to be DD!M I don't think he could ever 
escape  the accusation of extreme stupidity and recklessness from me.

If he is a good guy,  he basically gave Voldemort a blank check to 
use himself as Voldemort sees fit that night, IMO.

So, that is what Snape should have done.

Now, what Snape should have done at the Tower? DD!M Snape I mean. I 
am sorry, but I strongly disagree with Miles' point of considering 
self-sacrifice senseless. And I think that canon disagrees with him 
too. Sorry, Miles. By its nature self-sacrifice cannot be sensible 
IMO. When you start counting what can you get out of it, it stops 
being a heroic action IMO.

The book opens with self-sacrifice of the couple for their child. Did 
they expect to get ANYTHING from it? Not the way I see it. All James 
wanted was is for Lily and Harry to live.

All that Lily wanted was for Harry to live and we KNOW that she was 
offered a chance to live and we KNOW that she was not planning any 
convoluted charms before her death to give Harry power.

Her sacrifice in itself turned to be the ACTION, which gave Harry 
protection.

Do I expect Snape to act the same way for Dumbledore? Sure I do. 
After all Dumbledore was the one who saved him from the hell of 
Azkaban. Yep, I do expect Snape to put his life on the line for him.

Would anything come out of it? I said in the past, that I don't know. 
Maybe or maybe not, but I expected Snape to TRY at least. For example 
he could have start fighting while sending his Patronus to other 
Order Members. We had been shown that Snape IS a powerful wizard, I 
think he may have had a fighting chance or at least enough of chance 
to stall the time to let Harry and Draco to escape.

After all, that is DD!M Snape primary consideration, isn't it? Safety 
of the boys?

So, if he dies while defending them THAT would be IMO death of the 
real hero.

Now, we of course have the possibility of UV kicking right away, but 
Pippin argued quite nicely today that UV was worded carefully and may 
not really matter in case Snape did not REALLY try to kill 
Dumbledore, so I think it is a fair argument to make that if UV was 
worded so carefully, it may not have matter if Snape was stalling for 
time or somehow started to defend Dumbledore.

Did I answer your question?

JMO,

Alla