Dumbledore's Last Act

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 134326

John K writes:

I thought for several days that Snape must have been good, that it 
must have been planned, that Dumbledore must have been right.  Now I'm 
fairly sure this is wrong.  Here's why:

1) Snape injures Flitwick, to take him and Hermione out of the battle.
I can't see how this proves Snape isn't good. ESE!Snape could have 
easily killed Flitwick and at the very least given Hermoine a nasty jolt
of Dark Magic considering that he's never liked her. Meanwhile 
SecretlyGood!Snape would do just what Snape did here, take
them out of the battle without seriously hurting anyone (just as 
DD took Harry out of the battle by freezing him). 



2) Dumbledore would never have planned for Snape to use Avada Kedavra, 
or allowed him to do it.  It is evil, unforgivable, and splits your 
soul (even if you aren't creating a horcrux).

Some of the Aurors have used Unforgivables, so apparently it they don't
leave a mark on your soul (or whatever it is they do) if your intentions
are in some manner noble (you're fighting for good). I also believe that
you have to intentionally split your soul, isn't that what Voldemort did?
 
Finally, I'm not completely convinced Snape did use the Avada 
Kedavra. You have to really mean it, and if Snape didn't mean it,
and silently sent an expellaramus curse (or whatever) then the
Avada Kedavra didn't actually take place. Given that DD didn't
react as other Avada Kedavra victims have, that could support
the idea that it appeared Snape AK'd Dumbledore. 


3) Phineas says: "We Slytherins, given the choice, will always choose 
to save our own necks."  Snape doesn't think Harry has the ability to 
defeat Voldemort.  He knows about the prophecy.  Thus, he thinks 
Voldemort will win.  Thus, he chooses the side that will save his neck.
While the sorting hat may never be wrong, as with all humans, the
differences are greater between students in the same house than 
between one house and another house. Wormtail chose to save his 
own neck despite that not being a *typical* Gryffindor trait. And if
there was ever an atypical Slytherin, Snape seems to be it. 



4) Think about how long it took him in OotP to alert the Order that 
Harry had gone to the ministry.  Plenty of time for the Death Eaters 
to kill him and/or get the prophecy.
I still have problems with that whole passage of time. It is so not 
clear if JKR just messed up the maths or it was intentional. If it
was intentional, I can't see why someone didn't remark on it. 
That would include Snape not mentioning it at Spinner's End.
"I held off informing Dumbledore about Potter's excursion to the 
Ministry as long as I could, but that still wasn't enough time for
you to do your job, was it (Bella)?"



TLC/Mugglenet interview clues, though I hate alluding to it because 
parts of it were so rude: 

5) JKR agrees that Dumbledore trusts people to the point of 
recklessness.  It's fairly well implied here that she means Snape.
I don't agree that this is fairly well implied, though I agree she
leaves that interpretation very open, on *purpose.* JKR is simply
not going to spoil anything about Book 7. And since, we've seen
Dumbledore trust those who others won't--Hagrid and Lupin 
immediately come to mind--saying he trusts to the point of 
recklessness is true and need not even refer to Snape. 



6) JKR is surprised when it is suggested that Dumbledore may have 
planned his own death, and she seems to come close to dismissing the 
theory the same way she dismissed the H/HR shippers.
Not even close. JKR did her famous *pause* when asked then question,
something she does quite frequently. Then she asked, either innocently
or sly ingenuousness, "So you think that's going to be the big theory?"
Between JKR's pauses, "erm"s and "um"s, "Really? People think that?"s,
"I can't say"s, and general nonanswers, she interviews just like she
writes, cryptically. And intentionally so, I'm sure!



7) This is my bitterness talking, but it seems that anyone who 
overlooks the obvious in the books to seek out more complex 
motivations and explanations is foolhardy, indeed.  As much as I hate 
to think this, perhaps theories such as Snape's innocence give JKR and 
her plot too much credit.




I don't feel like I'm overlooking the obvious, but I am reading the clues. 
JKR's writing is and always has been about deciphering the clues. I
for one will feel a bit disappointed if she's laid down so many cryptic
plot points and clues in Book 6 and they all come to naught. Based
on her past performance, I give JKR and her plot a great deal of 
credit, and I hope to be rewarded for my faith in her ;-) 
 
All my opinion,
 
Julie 


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