ESE, DDM, OFH, or Grey? (WAS: DDM!Snape the definition)

[wynnleaf]

No: HPFGUIDX 162641

 
> Jen: 
 > For me, Harry will always be the gold standard for Dumbledore's man 
> through and through and Snape is not Harry.  The point of Grey is to 
> say that Snape and Harry are not the same on the inside with 
> different skins, they are not opposite but equal.  Harry would never, 
> ever find himself in the position of having to kill Dumbledore and 
> the fact that Snape did **matters**.  Not proving to be evil or out-
> for-himself is a long way from Snape earning the title of 
> Dumbledore's Man in my book. 

wynnleaf
Yet Harry *did* find himself in the position of agreeing to do
whatever Dumbledore said regardless of how much it endangered
Dumbledore.  He found himself having to obey that promise even though
it included pouring liquids down Dumbledore's throat that could have
killed him.  So Harry, Gold Standard for DD's Man that you think he
is, *still* could agree to actions that could kill Dumbledore.  And
make no mistake, Harry *knew* he was pouring something terrible down
Dumbledore's throat.  

> Jen: Killing Dumbledore cost him everything because he made it so. 
> Choosing to save Harry and Draco and get the DE's out of Hogwarts 
> could have even been Snape's way of making up for his huge blunder 
> taking the UV and having to kill Dumbledore in the first place.  

wynnleaf
You speak as though the choice to "save Harry and Draco and get the
DE's out of Hogwarts" was something within Snape's grasp, and did not
need to include Dumbledore's death.  But there was no way to remove
Harry and Draco without highly significant risk of death *unless* he
AK'd Dumbledore first and allowed the DE's to think he was on their
side.  The alternative was a fire-fight of spells on the tower while
Harry was completely vulnerable and Draco -- well, we don't even know
which side Draco might have fired on, if any.  And then Snape could
easily end up dead, alongside Dumbledore and Harry.  But hey, so what?
 At least Snape wouldn't have killed Dumbledore!  Is that really *all*
that mattered on the tower?  All the good guys as die, as long as
Snape doesn't AK Dumbledore, it was a good decision?

And I can't believe the number of people who think Snape had excellent
chances of taking down 4 death eaters, while protecting frozen and
invisible Harry, and somehow protecting Draco who might have fired on
Snape, or been fired upon by the Death Eaters if he tried to stay
neutral.  Please explain where the canon is that Snape is *this*
powerful a duelist?  Who have you seen him duel?  Harry??? 
Lockhart???  Where's the canon evidence that Snape had any chance
(much less a really good chance) to take care of all those Death
Eaters while protecting two teenagers?

wynnleaf