Could Harry have saved Snape? (was Reacting to DH...)

[juli17 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 178021



>  >>Pippin:
> What's missing is the soul-searching the heroes went  
> through to reach that conclusion.
> <snip>
> Harry,  of the "saving people thing" didn't even think of saving      
> Snape. That's not repulsive, IMO,  it's tragic.
>  <snip>

Betsy Hp:
What keeps DH stuck in the mud of  repulsiveness rather than rising to 
the level of tragedy (IMO) is that  very lack of soul-searching you 
mentioned.  Harry *never* comes to  the conclusion that he should have 
done something to help Snape.  I  don't recall any text where Harry 
thinks he did  wrong. 
Julie:
This subject has come up a couple of times now, and I've even seen it  
referred
to in fanfic (where Snape, who manages to survive via one method or  another,
thinks that Harry just left him there "to die"). But when I read the book I  
never
had the impression that Snape *was* saveable (if that's a word!).
 
Consider that Snape didn't seem to be dying directly from Nagini's  poison 
(as Arthur
was). He was clutching at his throat trying to stop the very copious blood  
flow which
was described. I was very much under the impression that Nagini had more or  
less
ripped Snape's throat out. From the description, she didn't merely sink her  
fangs in 
and then depart. She did major physical damage, likely to the carotid  
artery, and 
Snape was very quickly bleeding out. 
 
Under these circumstances *could* Harry have helped him? He certainly  didn't 
have
any potions on him, nor did Hermione. He couldn't apparate back to Hogwarts  
to get
Madam Pomprey, nor apparate Snape there. There would be no point in  
levitating Snape
back, as it was pretty clear he was mere moments from death. Even  Snape knew 
that,
and made no request at all for help. If he thought he could be  saved, 
wouldn't he have
requested Harry, or better yet, Hermione, to do something to staunch the  
blood, or to
retrieve potions on his person (should he have them)? Certainly Harry and  
Hermione
still believe Snape to be a traitor, but both have shown time and again  that 
they will
act to help someone in serious distress, even someone they hate. And Snape  
is not
unaware of their Gryffindor penchant for such heroism (whether he derides  it 
or not).
 
I suppose you could say Snape wanted to die anyway. And I'll agree that I'm  
not sure
he cared much whether he lived. But I still think the way the scene was  
presented 
implied that both the Trio and Snape knew it was too late to save  him. There 
was only
time enough for Snape to remove his memories for  Harry.
 
And I also note that Harry watched Snape's eyes go blank. I.e., he saw  Snape 
die.
He didn't *leave* Snape there to die. Snape was already dead when Harry  
left. While 
I would love to imagine Snape *still* managed to survive after all of this,  
whether via
Draught of Death, Phoenix Tears, or whatever other method fanfic writers  can 
visualize,
in canon it's clear Harry had no doubt Snape was dead when Harry left  the 
Shack. And 
it seemed equally clear to me that neither Harry nor the more clear-headed  
Hermione
had any conception that Snape's life *could* be saved in this  scene. 
 
Julie

 



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