Heroes and Not - What should Snape Have Done?

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 145252

Sydney:
> The interesting question to me is-- why the heck did Snape take the
> Vow?  OFH!Snape would obviously never take a UV unless he was 
> totally cornered- have to keep one's options open!  and Snape wasn't
> cornered at all in that scene.  I don't see why ESE!Snape would take
> the Vow either-- he wouldn't need to.  In any event I'm a 
> DDM!Snaper, so the options would be: 
> <snipping Sydney's excellent reasons behind Snape taking the vow>

Christina:

I couldn't agree more.  The fact that Snape went ahead and killed
Dumbledore didn't surprise me at all.  First of all, there's what
Steve has been saying about the uselessness of Snape dying (which I
agree with).  Second of all, Snape's actions are completely in
character.  He is a Slytherin after all, and when given the choice,
Slytherins will always "save their own skins."  I see it as a sense of
self-preservation and a willingness to reason without emotion. 
Snape's reasoning may be a bit cold, I'll admit, but it's what's
necessary in war and what's expected from an analytical Slytherin like
Snape.

The key question for me isn't why Snape killed Dumbledore- it's why
Snape took the UV in the first place.  In my mind, everybody (ESE,
DDM, and OFH) needs to explain why Snape took it, because none of the
three options affords an obvious explanation, IMO.  It's not like
Snape to lock himself out of so many options.  I liked a few of the
reasons Sydney gave, and I'm sure we could think of many more.  I
don't think that's something we'll know until Book 7 though, and it's
very hard to wade through all the options with the scant info that we
have now.

>Alla:
>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.

Christina:

Well, there are certain reasons that Sydney stated under which taking
the UV wasn't such a reckless idea (if he and DD had planned it in
advance, or suicidal!Snape).  But assuming that Snape wasn't planning
to take an UV in advance (through a scenario like the one Steve and
others have suggested), I think his taking the UV is a bit like
Lupin's actions at the end of PoA.  The man is highly responsible, and
he is very passive.  He is aware of his lycanthropy and the dangers
that come with it.  Lupin does not at ALL seem the kind of man who
would hop up and run out the door, forgetting to take his wolfsbane
potion, no matter what the circumstances may be.  And yet he does.  A
very smart and responsible man does an incredibly stupid and reckless
thing when he was caught off his guard. 

The same goes for Moody, to an extent.  Of all people, nobody would
think that the paranoid, constantly vigilant ex-Auror would be the one
to be kidnapped and Polyjuiced.  Isn't he smarter than that?

I think it all comes down to the "DADA curse."  It works thematically,
and the UV beats home the message behind the DADA curse- even the
smartest among us do really stupid things sometimes.  We all have the
ability to mess up.

Christina