What is the use of Ch2 "Spinners End"?

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 135308

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "littlegreenpartyhats" 
<scb1066 at a...> wrote:
> All this plus her Snape comments in the interviews and her previous 
> statement that Books 6 and 7 were time for answers not more 
> questions leads me to the ESE!Snape conclusion.
> littlegreenpartyhats

If you look back at other comments Rowling has made it is obvious 
that she loves to equivocate.  The conclusions readers draw from her 
statements don't always end up agreeing with what happens in the next 
book.

The statement about Snape's culpability being greater than 
Voldemort's because he *has* been loved could refer to the bad 
character traits Snape had developed before ever going over to the 
Death Eaters (resentment, self-centeredness, bullying, cruelty), not 
necessarily to an ESE end for him.

The comment about not wanting to be loved by Snape could mean that 
anyone Snape loves is going to be detected by Voldemort and marked 
for death.

The biggest objection that I see to ESE Snape is "Severus... please" 
in the scene on the tower.  I cannot buy into the idea that 
Dumbledore is pleading for his life.

He has known about the plot against him all year.  He may or not know 
about the Unbreakable Vow from Snape, but he knows it from Harry 
shortly after the beginning of the winter term.  He knows that Draco 
has made some kind of breakthrough that night before they leave for 
the cave.  Knowing all this, when he gets to the tower, he sends 
Harry to Snape, orders him to tell no one else, and then begs for his 
life when Snape shows up.  It just doesn't add up.

Add to that the numerous statements about death the Dumbledore has 
mad throuhgout the books "To the well organized mid death is but the 
next adventure".  It may be hard for the young to understand,but for 
the Flamels, death is just "going to bed after a very, very long day."

My theory is:  Dumbledore deals with probabilities, not certainties.  
He is old, he knows he is going to die from old age, from an 
accident, from a curse while searching for the horcruxes, from 
assassination or something before long.  Snape tells him about the 
vow.  He says a school year is a long time, maybe I'll die of some 
other cause before Draco can pull anything off and we won't have to 
worry about.  But he makes Snape promise: if Draco does pull off an 
attempt on my life you have step in and take it out of his hands so 
that he is neither killed nor killer.

houyhnhnm