Dumbledore's Hogwarts Priorities (Was Re: Dumbledore's pleading)

[Sherry]

No: HPFGUIDX 141514

So many people have had so many fascinating things to say about this
subject, but this post touched on something that had occurred to me:
> 
> Alla:
> > It would have been SO much easier to die if he stayed in
> > Hogsmeade, IMO, NO?....Why go to Tower in the first place, if
Dumbledore is
> > planning to sacrifice himself?
> 
> Jen: Everything meaningful for Dumbledore is at Hogwarts and he 
> knows the DE's came for him. If the DE's were unable to find 
> Dumbledore, and the Order couldn't hold them off, there's no telling 
> what kind of destruction might take place. (Also, Rosmerta under the 
> Imperius might tip Draco off with the coins).

Amontillada:
What kind of descruction, *and* what kind of harm to the students at
Hogwarts? Dumbledore's vocation was teaching and guiding young people. 
He and Harry didn't know precisely what was going on at Hogwarts, but
some kind of battle between the supporters and opponents of LV was
obvkously taking place. Dumbledore's instincts demanded that he try
any way he could to protect the students.

Jen: 
> To clarify my point about the tower, I believe Dumbledore was 
> willing to die when he went to the tower, and expected it would be 
> difficult to defend himself alone against a group of DE's in his 
> weakned state. Maybe he wasn't acting as a sacrificial lamb so much 
> as trying to divert Draco and the DE's to him & safeguard Harry (and 
> Hogwarts) by sending him away. But the odds were against Dumbledore 
> surviving an attack alone, and we know it wouldn't worry or scare 
> him to die if it came to that. 

Amontillada:
This makes perfect sense to me. As we've read since PS/SS, Dumbledore
is more able to face death than are most people (especially LV, but I
digress...) Since the return of LV, he has been at the center of the
battle for the WW. From everything we know of Dumbledore, he *must*
have thought about the possibility that he might die in the struggle. 

This suggests another possible meaning of his final words to Snape. 
Maybe he was trying to say "Severus...please protect the students."
This can be interpreted in different ways, because it would put the
emphasis not on Dumbledore's desire to live/die, *or* on his vision of
Snape, but on his first priority being the students. He was, in the
end, unselfish, thinking not of himself but of the young wizards and
witches.

Amontillada