Trusting Snape (was: Is Snape good or evil?)

[Tammy Rizzo]

No: HPFGUIDX 148765

Tammy:
> Even if DD knew nothing about the UV, I still think that he would have
> preferred a student alive, at whatever cost to a teacher, regardless of
who
> that student and teacher were.  <SNIP> To suggest that DD would have EVER
> put a teacher's welfare above a student's, for whatever reason, is
ludicrous.

Alla:

Oh, Okay then. I agree with you - DD is trying to protect his 
students first and foremost. Would you agree then that Dumbledore 
would do ANYTHING to stay alive to protect Harry at whatever cost to 
Snape ?

Now Tammy again:
 
No, I don't agree that DD would do ANYTHING *to stay alive* to protect
Harry, at whatever cost to Snape.  I *DO*, however, believe that DD would to
ANYTHING *to protect Harry*, even give up his life, at whatever cost to
Snape or to any other teacher.  Whatever DD knew beforehand, whether he knew
of the UV at all, or of only part of it, or of the entirety of it, when it
came down to the actual moment on the Tower, DD showed what he was willing
to do by using his last moment with a wand to immobilize Harry under the
Invisibility Cloak, so that Harry couldn't do anything stupid and draw
attention to himself.  DD put himself in front of Harry, in a sense, by
ensuring that Harry couldn't reveal himself.  DD basically *volunteered* to
take whatever was coming, probably hoping that he would survive, of course,
but certainly willing to do whatever it took to draw fire AWAY from Harry.
When Snape appeared on the scene, then DD -- weakened by the potion, fading
toward at least incapacity if not death because of it, wandless and nearly
defenseless (I believe he could have done something with wandless magic, but
I also believe that, in his state at the time, it would not have been very
effective) -- didn't really have many options open to him, other than to
trust Snape once again.  He's said on several occasions that he trusts Snape
completely.  I can't remember offhand if he's ever said he'd trust Snape
with his life (I know he's said that of Hagrid), but truly trusting someone
completely *includes* trusting them to use you badly *if required for the
greater good*.  
 
Whatever Dumbledore knew about Snape that had cemented that complete trust,
I believe it was good enough, when it came down to the moment on the Tower,
for DD to continue to trust Snape to do what was best for the students, at
whatever cost to Snape or to DD himself.  Now, whether that trust was
misplaced or not remains to be seen, but I do believe that Dumbledore still
trusted Snape, even through death, and that he was willing to pay even that
price at Snape's hands.  I see it this way -- if there were ever to arise in
my life a situation where *someone* was going to kill me outright, I would
much rather die at the hands of someone I trusted and cared for than at the
hands of someone who I knew hated me.  Have you ever heard of Masada?  It
was a Jewish town back in ancient Roman times, that was besieged by Roman
troops.  When it became clear after a long and costly siege that rescue was
not coming to Masada in time, and that they would most certainly fall to the
Romans the next morning, the people of Masada decided that, facing sure and
certain death for all of them, they would rather die at the hands of their
own leaders than be slaughtered by their enemy.  The men killed their own
families in a quick and relatively painless way (and their families
submitted to it peacefully), and then killed themselves, so that when the
Romans finally marched in the next day, there was no victory for them there.
In the same way, I believe, Dumbledore was willing to be killed by Snape, if
he MUST die, because he trusted and cared for Snape.  I think the 'Severus,
please' was not a plea for Dumbledore's life, but rather a plea that Snape
not let a student or a DE kill DD, a plea that, if DD *must* die, let it be
by Snape's hands rather than anyone else's.  A final show of utter trust,
basically handing over Dumbledore's own life, as well as Harry and the fate
of the entire wizarding world, to Snape, who MUST have realized that Harry
was there (he certainly noticed that second broom, and he KNEW that Potter
had that dratted Invisibility Cloak, after all).  As I said, though, whether
that trust was misplaced or not remains to be seen, however, I do believe it
was THERE, to the end and beyond, and that it was REAL for Dumbledore.
 
***
Tammy Rizzo
ms-tamany at rcn.com
 


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