Snape's death scene

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 174062


>
> > Krista:
> > Oh, I think Snape was indeed prepared--and his "preparation"
> > was a decision to stick with his cover, to try to deny
> > anything that would alert Voldemort's suspicions, and *then*
> > to get himself out alive, if possible.
> 
> Jack-A-Roe:
> His cover? The final battle is being fought right outside the
> door. If the good guys lose there is no regrouping, there is no
> place to gather anymore and there probably won't be any leaders
> left.
> 
> Voldemort tells Snape that he is expecting Harry to show up. If
> nothing else, Snape believes he knows Harry and the one thing
> that Gryffendor will do will be to show up and face Voldemort.
> 
> Knowing this and knowing that he must get this last piece of
> information to Harry he decides to do nothing but die? If this
> is a man who has been guarding Lilly's son, are you saying that
> he's just going to quit?
> 
> I think he just froze up for a minute. He's gotten out of most
> situations in the past by his wit/words or by being a bully.
> Neither is going to work on Voldemort.

Julie:
I agree for the most part. I think Snape did freeze up, when
he saw Nagini being kept close to Voldemort. He realized
that NOW was the time he had to get to Harry. And I think he
realized something else. Harry sensed Voldemort's fury and
wondered whether Snape sensed danger too. I believe he did,
and he was focused on getting Voldemort to let him go to
Harry, rather than focusing too closely on Voldemort's exact
words about the Elder Wand and why it wasn't working for
him. Thus his initially somewhat vague answers to Voldemort. 

As the scene continues Snape is looking more at Nagini than
at Voldemort, still focusing on Nagini being present at 
Voldemort's side, the exact sign Dumbledore told him to
look for. When he does finally look at Voldemort, whose 
fury Harry feels spiking, Snape's face is "like a death
mask. It was marble white so that when he spoke, it was
a shock to see that anyone lived behind those blank eyes."

I think the blank eyes indicated Snape was probably trying
to practice Occlumency--keeping his intent to give Harry
information rather than bring Harry to Voldemort occluded
while trying to placate Voldemort--and probably shock as
he had to be sensing on some level that the situation had
turned very badly against him. And when Voldemort does 
finally say that Snape is the true master of the Elder
Wand, and that while Snape lives that wand can never 
truly be his (Voldemort's), it is then that Snape protests
"My Lord!" and *raises his wand.*

So Snape at that moment, realizing Voldemort is going to
kill him, does move to defend himself. But when Voldemort
swipes the air with the Elder Wand and nothing happens,
Snape is momentarily taken aback, presumably as there is
no spell aimed at him to defend against. It's at that
moment Nagini's cage rolls down on him and "before Snape
could do anything more than yell, it had encased him, head
and shoulders..."

So I wouldn't say Snape just accepted his death, but I
would say he was in desperate circumstances and knew it.
And if Harry hadn't been there to get those memories as
Snape lay dying, Snape would have failed indeed, in part
because Dumbledore told Snape he had to wait until he
saw Nagini being kept close to Voldemort before he gave
Harry the memories. 

Odd that neither Dumbledore or Snape thought to contain
the memories in a vial instead of leaving them in Snape's
head, but perhaps they both believed doing so would be
too risky, as Snape might not be able to retrieve the
vial when the right moment comes. If he's face to face
with Harry, with the memories right there in his head,
they are sure to be given to Harry at the exact right
moment. (Though Snape could have carried the vial with
him, and protected it magically, one would think...)

Okay, there are still flaws, but what it really boils
down to is that JKR wanted Harry to get the memories
from Snape in this particularly dramatic manner, rather
than having Snape simply toss a vial to Harry from across
the room or something. And Snape dying allows Harry to
feel some measure of sympathy for Snape, enough that he
is compelled to approach this man he hated, no longer 
even sure what he feels, and to accept Snape's memories
without argument or scornful dismissal.

Julie, who appreciates a nice dramatic moment, even if
it's not arrived at in the most logical manner