Snape Survey, Snapeity, Dumbledore's sacrifice

[Tonks]

No: HPFGUIDX 149167

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "richter_kuymal" <richter at ...> 
wrote:
>
> I've been reading the various posts and perhaps someone can 
explain a bit better for me.  In HBP, we have (American edition, 
page 583) DD telling HP "Go and Wake Severus" -- this is AFTER they 
have seen  the Dark Mark and after arriving at the tower.  In other 
words, DD  does NOT expect to find SS up and about.  In any scenario 
of an DE  attack on Hogwarts, would DD expect Snape to be present? 
No. If he  fights for the Order, he's outed.  If he fights for the 
DEs, he  could be captured, injured, killed and certainly would look 
guilty of being a DE.  So DD's expectation would be that if there is 
> trouble with DEs, Snape will "stay in your room".  
>   So Snape showing up at the tower AT ALL would be shocking to DD -
- because one way or the other Snape has been "outed".  


Tonks:

Ok, Auror here, investigating the murder scene.  Let's look at the 
facts in the case.

1. DD trust Snape. This has been proven time and time again.  DD 
says it all the time.
2. Lupin trust DD's trusting Snape, therefore also trust Snape.
3. Hagrid also trust DD's trust of Snape.  We don't know why.
4. Snape and DD have a disagreement over something Snape does not 
what to do.
5. Harry is the most important person necessary to vanquish LV.
6. DD says that Harry is more important then even he is.
7. Snape has protected Harry, has saved Harry at least once and does 
so again at the end of this book.
8. DD has drunk the poison and is close to death and needs Snape to 
cure him.
9. There is no way that Snape can help DD with DE watching.
10. DD tries to save Draco.
11. DD says to Draco "it is my mercy that matters now"

>From this we must assume that Snape must maintain his cover as a DE 
to help Harry.  Otherwise all of those years of being a spy will be 
for nothing.

Snape is told that DE are in the castle.  He knows why they are 
there.  Snape is a man of action, He is not going to sit in his 
dungeon while the DE and OP battle it out.  On the other hand, he is 
not rash either, like Harry might be.  Snape may have thought about 
this moment and what he would do if and when it came.  On the other 
hand, he did not know what Draco was doing so he may have been 
surprised to hear that the DE were there.
(Side note: He does not have to worry about the Order and running 
past them to find Draco because the Order members know that he is a 
double agent and will not expect him to fight on there side.  They 
will expect him to get the DE out of the castle and maybe cast a few 
pretend spells in their direction in the process.) 

In order of importance Snape must:  Protect Harry. Keep his own 
cover.  Protect Draco.  Get the DE out of the castle.  And if 
possible do all of this with out messing up the curse of the vow.  
Last on this list, last of all would be helping DD. 

DD is dying from the burnt hand and the poison.  It will only add to 
Snape's cover if DD dies at Snape's hand. 

Snape has taken the vow.  We don't know when it will go into effect 
if he does not kill DD now, but it doesn't matter. Snape must kill 
DD or his cover is blown.  His ability to help Harry is blown.  And 
he will be a dead man either way, because LV will kill him or the DE 
will for being the traitor that he is.

Now here is a leap..  You have to mean the curse that you do. Bella 
taught us that.  So let's assume that Snape must feel hate in order 
for the AK to work.  Like a method actor he has to pull it from 
himself somehow.  Perhaps he doesn't need to feel the hate for the 
person before him, just needs to feel hate period.  That is why we 
see a look of hate on his face.  Maybe he is thinking of his father, 
maybe he is thinking of LV, we don't know.  He probably just needs 
to have a good dose of hate engery in his body for the spell to work.

As Steve said, this is war.  Sometimes you have to do what you have 
to do, like it or not.  Snape did not take the easy way and neither 
did DD.  They both knew what had to be done and did it.  All for 
Harry.  All to vanquish LV.  All for Draco.  All for the fate of the 
Wizarding World and for the Muggle World.  It was bigger that DD, 
bigger that Snape, and even bigger that Harry.  And what a price 
they both paid, what a terrible price. 

Tonks_op