Resignation & Book 7 Predictions (Way long/HBP Spoilers)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 133673

ladyljd wrote:
> After finishing HBP, I remain frustrated and bitter even after a 
> few days of reflection.  The destruction of both of my favorite 
> Potter characters was bad enough.  (Who knew one would murder the 
> other?!) But this is only the first stab in the heart.  The knife 
> twists by revealing the murderer to be deliberately evil rather 
> than the anti-hero I believed him to be.  And finally salt is 
> poured in the wound by the planting of confusing clues designed to 
> feed hope for redemption that will never come.  
[snip]


houyhnhnm:

I felt exactly the same way after reading HBP the first time.  I've 
read the last chapters three times and I have come to a different 
conclusion.  I think there is abundant evidence in the text that 
things are not as they first appear.

I believe that Dumbledore knew what was going on the whole time; he 
ordered Snape to kill him to prevent Draco from becoming a murderer.
There is no doubt in my mind that Snape is obeying Dumbledore's
command to kill him, rather than Voldemort's. And he is doing it
under extreme duress.

I was struck between the simularities between these two passages:

In the cave:
"Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the
goblet back toward Dumbledore's mouth and tipped it..." (p. 571)

On the lightening-struck tower:
"Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and
hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.

'Severus ... please'

Snape raised his wand..." (p.595-596)

On second reading it seems more likely to me that Dumbledore is not
saying 'please don't kill me', but 'please do what you promised to
do'.

I can't find any quote from JK Rowling that shows her intent to make 
Snape ESE.  What she said was she couldn't imagine anyone wanting to 
be *loved* by Snape. And we will find out in book 7.  Probably anyone who could play the spy for all that time has got to have very little heart.  But a traitor I don't believe.

As for Dumbledore's weakness being his tendency to believe the best 
about people, I don't buy that either. That's something you would say to impress a death eater. There's a difference between believing love is the most powerful magic and some hearts-and-flowers (a la 
Lockhart) sentimentality about seeing the best in everyone.  
Dumbledore is no mere sentimentalist.

>From GoF:

"The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the unconscious Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could ever have imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles.  There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat." (p. 679)