Is Snape good or evil? (longer)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 148821

Alla: 
> And sure, I can see DD wanting to protect Draco despite little 
> shmuck not wanting such protection and plotting to kill the 
> Headmaster, I can see that.

Pippin:
You make it sound like Dumbledore was foolish to want to do that.
Indeed that's your argument against "Snape took the vow to protect
Draco" isn't it?

But if Draco were a real child, surely you wouldn't call him foul
names in Yiddish and suggest that because his gangster family 
had involved him in a murder plot, he didn't deserve the help
and protection of his teachers. Snape did *not* vow to help
Draco carry out the task itself -- in fact he made it very clear to 
Bella and Cissy that the Dark Lord expected Draco to try first
and he couldn't interfere with that. 

I think it's a mistake to assume Dumbledore wouldn't risk both
himself and Snape for Draco's sake.

The parable of the lost sheep, which is part  of both Jewish and
Christian teaching, comes into play here. It's usually seen as
a metaphor for tender-heartedness, but there's practical wisdom
in it. The good shepherd left the flock and sought for the lost lamb, 
not only because he was tender-hearted but because he knew the 
flock was safe in its numbers and the lost lamb had more need. 


JKR shows us this. Ultimately it was not Dumbledore who drove 
Voldemort off  in OOP but the arrival of the Ministry in force. 
Though no single wizard is as powerful as Dumbledore, together 
those who oppose him can do more against Voldemort
than Dumbledore ever could.  Dumbledore knows that Harry,
and  Draco, if he returns to the right side, will have protection 
from the good wizards in the Order and the Ministry  whether 
Dumbledore himself is around or not. 

I think that if Dumbledore knew about the vow, he would do what
every good leader seeks to do in a crisis: find a way to turn it to
his advantage even if it meant his own death. No good leader 
considers himself indispensable --as Charles DeGaulle once said, 
"The graveyards are full of indispensable men." Even a young
leader has the responsibility to see that his organization can
survive without him. 

Dumbledore would not designate a single successor for all his jobs 
if he knew that no one person could replace him, but that does not 
mean that he did not choose individuals he trusted for each of his 
responsibilities and make sure they were prepared. Harry now knows 
what Dumbledore knew about Voldemort's past. There are surely
others who know what Dumbledore knew about other things.
The trick will be for them to find each other and work together.

Pippin