Found it--wow--Amanda Binns Explained It All (47077, HPfGU)

[Amanda Geist]

I found it. And I didn't excerpt it. Because I think I want to 
revisit all of it, including the Love As a Spell Component part. The 
best part is at the end. I'm impressed with my husband, too. He was 
thinking very clearly, way back when.

It was 47077 on HPfGU, from November 2002.

Amandageist drifted down from the ceiling and made a quick pass of 
the room, swooping through everyone and giving them the cold chills. 
She cleared her throat with a small sound like chalk snapping.

"I," she announced, "have had a Thought. More accurately, I had a 
blinding insight where several people's thoughts came together. I was 
browsing over on the main list, since nobody seems to want to talk to 
me here, and I read something that Jodel said:

<< And I agree with Pip that the test of Snape bringing him
Dumbledore's head on a platter is one very strong possibility. (I
remember posting something very like it on the AOL board (IIRC) a
year or so ago.) And, what's more, I can see Dumbledore agreeing to
it. Particularly if there is a chance of buying his side some major
magical protective advantage by his willing sacrifice. >>

"You may all know," the Geist continued, "that in another plane of 
existence I am married to my own dead-sexy version of a Inscrutable 
Dark-Haired Man. Some months ago he had his own original thought, 
which I reproduce for you here."

She waved a hand and a large, floating screen appeared. It had 
several holes burned in it. "Ah, yes," Amandageist said. "Sorry about 
that. Sometimes my irritation with those blinking and pop-up ads 
overcomes me...and the quote is rather long, sorry."

Several people, having some experience with the Geist's lectures, 
began edging to the exits. She regally ignored them. Words took shape 
on the screen:

Message 39315, Love as a Spell Component:

My beloved, Jan, is a long ponderer and came to me today with a Harry 
Potter thought (as he calls them). He has braided several threads 
together and presented me with several novel takes on things, which I 
will now proceed to share.

There has been general dissatisfaction with the idea that Lily's 
dying for Harry was what saved him from Voldemort. Plenty of people 
must have flung themselves in front of others in Voldemort's long 
career as a Bad Wizard; why should this one time be special or 
different?

We are told the Potters knew Voldemort was after them. Jan suggests 
that the Potters did more than hide. He suggested that Dumbledore 
worked with Lily, who was very good at charms, far in advance to set 
a spell on Harry that would be activated in a worst-case scenario 
when there was no other way to protect him. A shield or protection 
that required Lily to do what she did, integrating her love into the 
rest of the spell and completing it.

I mentioned the thread of Stoned!Harry and all the alchemical 
symbolism to him, and he said this fits, as Lily's love was 
transmuted into a protection. The achievement of the Stone is via 
transmutation, and the process of achieving it is intended not to get 
a Stone, but to transmute the alchemist himself to a higher state of 
being. It is a process of self-perfection, not a way to obtain gold 
or live forever, which is presumably why all the many would-be's who 
tried it for the latter goals all failed. But I digress.

This thought of Jan's nicely reduced the aggravation factor of Lily's
Sacrifice, as it added the extra edge I thought must be required. I 
mentioned to Jan that the (accurate) distinction had been made that 
Lily's love was not, after all, identified as what kept off 
Voldemort, but as what kept off *Quirrell.* Nor have I understood why 
Voldemort's spell *rebounded,* rather than just not working. Jan's 
theory also adds reason for Lily to refuse to move aside; in addition 
to mother love, she was willingly providing the key element to the 
last-line and strongest parts of Harry's protection. We already know 
Dumbledore has set up other parts (the ancient magic that protects 
him at the Dursleys, and probably more). Dumbledore is a very 
powerful wizard, and was very involved with the Potters, which is why
we figured he helped Lily work this out.

Okay. That was good. I was happy. But Jan continued. Flamel. Flamel 
was to set his affairs in order and then he would die. Ah, but here 
we are talking about the achiever of the Stone, the one who has 
achieved the higher state of being. Here is one who is also dying 
willingly for a noble cause. Has his love or purity of purpose, I 
wonder, been transmuted into any other type of protective spell? A 
very good thought by Jan.

And now here comes Cindy with this ludicrous disloyalty idea about 
Snape. But the reason she gives--that Dumbledore has to die, and 
being betrayed is the only way--hmmm. Dumbledore has to die, eh? 
Yeah, I agree, he probably will. But if Jan is right, and there is a 
charm or spell that can transmute a willing and loving death into a 
powerful protection, I can see another way Dumbledore could exit. A 
very likely way.
----------------------------

"Okay," the Geist continued, making another chilly pass through 
everyone to wake them up, "here's two parts, then:

"1. A willing death can be a part of an extremely powerful spell.
"2. We already thought Dumbledore was likely to die, simply for
character-development reasons; Jan offers a reason--for the 
furtherance of defenses, achievable in no other way.

"Oh, hush," she said, hearing the mutinous, impatient murmurs. "Of 
*course* this has to do with Snape. But Snape as he is an very 
involved thread in the whole series. *Do* keep your pants on. Or 
thongs. Whatever....Read this."

The floating scroll cleared, and new words formed:

Message 41341, A New Thought! A New Thought! Several!:

Jan has again done the impossible, thought of something I have not 
seen discussed on the list. I'm impressed.

He thinks that part of the closeness between Snape and Dumbledore is 
that Dumbledore himself is skilled with potions. I asked him where he 
got that. He referred me back to the description on the wizard card:

"Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard
Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's 
blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel." (p. 
77, PS)

Jan points out that those last two, researching the uses of dragon's 
blood and alchemy, both would seem to have a very strong potions 
element. He says that any Potions master under Dumbledore would have 
to be very good, indeed, because two of the things Dumbledore is 
famous for are potions-related. I think he has, as usual, made a 
great observation.

So, thoughts? Alchemy does involve great amounts of intricate mixing 
and blending and simmering, and not a lot of foolish wand-waving (to 
our knowledge). I'm betting that analysis of dragon's blood did, too. 
Do we think Dumbledore is no slouch when it comes to potions, and 
they share a professional interest? And has this interesting thought 
sparked any other random connections in anyone?

Jan also mentions that the card obliquely introduces another angle:
professors do another thing besides teach. They do research. He 
thinks Snape may be a research professor, perhaps working on 
something with Dumbledore. This ties a bit into his "love as a spell 
component" theory I put out earlier. Snape's teaching style is not 
the best, we pretty much all agree on that--but what if teaching is 
not the primary reason he is at Hogwarts at all? What if he's working 
on some project?

And my related thought--what if Lily's sacrifice, as a component of 
Harry's protection, was a product of such research by Snape? Jan's 
thought was that Harry's protection, the reason he survived, was not 
simply that Lily died for him, but that her willing sacrifice was the 
final element of a spell that created the strong protection. What if 
Snape, having access to the wizard likely to throw that spell, and 
access to Dumbledore, was instrumental in crafting that spell?

The other willing death we have seen, or that was strongly intimated, 
is Flamel's himself. And what if a willing sacrifice *can* be 
incorporated into a strong protective spell, and what if Dumbledore 
and Snape *are* working on that.....? And what if Snape's task is to 
seem to betray Dumbledore, whose own willing death will be a 
component in Voldemort's defeat?
------------------------------

Amandageist gazed out over the sea of glazed eyes. "OKAY," she said 
loudly, as the screen blanked and then showed a variety of Graphic 
Visual Aids, "Here we have all we need to support the 'Dumbledore's 
Head On a Platter' theory, because it gels with all the following:

"(1) Snape returned to Voldemort (likely).

"(2) Voldemort set him a task to prove himself (likely).

"(3) The task will be something that will be hard for Snape (or it 
wouldn't be proof) and good for Voldemort (probably). Ergo, Snape 
won't be sent after Sirius Black or Karkaroff. Killing? Hardly a 
challenge, in Voldemort's eyes. Killing an enemy? Candy. And neither 
Black nor Karkaroff are strategic targets for Voldemort. But killing 
Dumbledore? Proof *and* the removal of Voldemort's greatest obstacle. 
Likely.

"(4) Snape, in canon, is a character whose every move and word is 
subject to varying interpretations. Valid motives, varying by 180 
degrees, can be ascribed to him. Therefore, any task he must do 
*must* be something that is wildly misinterpretable. Most 
importantly, misinterpretable by Harry, such that Harry's belief 
leads him to do things which actually obstruct the ultimate objective 
(of which he is unaware), and such that a Bang that is heard across 
the planes will be heard when the truth is revealed.

Look at this through the Harry-filter, which is how we will see it in 
the books:
Harry has seen Dumbledore thwart Snape's desires many times. He has 
seen Dumbledore apparently enjoying a truly upset Snape. He has seen 
Snape smirk and give a very ambiguous response to Draco's suggestion 
that he should be headmaster. He "knows" that Snape wants the DADA 
position and that Dumbledore does not give it to him. This could 
easily, in Harry's mind, be assembled into a pattern of cause, 
motive, for Snape to finally turn on Dumbledore. For Harry already 
seriously doubts Dumbledore's wisdom in trusting Snape, now that he 
knows Snape was a Death Eater."

Amandageist looked away from the diagrams and arrows on the screen, 
and noted the glint in the eyes of the BloodthirstyHappyToKill!
Snapetheorists. She arched an eyebrow. She must clarify this at once.

"Let me state for the record, that *my* take on Snape does not 
include him being homicidal for pleasure. I think he is entirely 
capable of killing, when there is a very good reason for it. But I 
don't think he will actually kill Dumbledore himself, unless it is 
some scenario that Dumbledore stages where Snape does so without 
meaning to (and we all know how Dumbledore loves moving the pieces 
around, so I'd have to put this in the 'likely' column)." The 
watchers could see, through the Geist's head, the visual aids on the
screen adjusting themselves as she spoke.

"I believe that, however Dumbledore dies, both Harry and Voldemort 
will *believe* that Snape is responsible. Snape will foster this 
belief in Voldemort; it will be an unfortunate conclusion drawn by 
Harry (who for whatever reason--Dumbledore's general lack of any 
desire to explain anything, a misunderstood conversation, a missed 
message, etc.--will not know or will refuse to believe that Snape did 
not do it).

"At this point, Snape and Dumbledore will have accomplished two key 
things:
--Snape will have proven himself to Voldemort and will be reinstated 
with full DE honors or whatever, in the inner circle. Even if he 
wasn't in the Inner inner circle before, I think he will be now, 
because (a) Voldemort's followers have diminshed somewhat and (b) 
Snape now has a very useful position.
--The spell, whatever it is, to which Dumbledore's death is integral, 
will have been completed (or nearly so).

"These are key because Snape will now be in a *superb* position to 
implement or otherwise set in motion or effect, the spell. Having a
tremendous spell ready is of no use at all, if the spell cannot be 
cast or implemented due to lack of access. Access is of no use 
without a weapon. Snape will have both the access and the means."

Amandageist waved the screen away. The sighs of relief that filled 
the room blew her across the room; she glared at the assembly as she 
returned to hovering just over the bar. A book materialized where the 
screen had been and flipped open; a section of type enlarged itself. 
Everyone read

'To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas 
and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, *very* 
long day. After all, to the well-organised mind, death is but the 
next great adventure.' (PS, p. 215)

"See?" Amandageist asked. "It's right there in the first book. 
Dumbledore does not fear death. And in canon, he has already accepted 
a willing death (two actually, both Flamels) to achieve a greater 
good. Further, if the Pensieve shows nothing else, it does show that 
Dumbledore has a well-organized mind. [And quite possibly the 
Pensieve can be left to another after he dies; although it may go 
dark and empty if its source is gone.]

"I know, I know," the Geist sighed. "This is Major, you want more 
Bangs. Okay, here.

"Harry, given his age and past, will be unable to accept Dumbledore's 
death as anything but tragedy--a further detriment to his 
interpretation of Snape's role, and an opening for Bangs when he 
finds out the truth and/or struggles to accept it. Harry will be 
forced to the point where Snape was, in the Shrieking Shack--given 
the opportunity to recognize that an object of hatred had been 
misunderstood and was, in actuality, as much a victim as
himself. Snape rejected Lupin as another to whom Dumbledore's second 
chance meant the world; it didn't even seem to register. Will Harry 
fail where Snape did, or will Harry be able to get around his own 
hatred for Snape and accept the truth? Bang.

"And Snape himself. He is also very young, and to quote Jan one last 
time, 'has a past with a capital P.' While he will be old enough to 
accept what Dumbledore is doing/has made him do, on an *intellectual* 
level, he will be having massive problems of his own on the 
*emotional* level. He's already pretty unsteady there as it is. 
Snape's own difficulties with what transpires will further confuse 
things--he has his own reactions to deal with on top of everything 
else. I think that Dumbledore's death will devastate Snape, for I 
believe that to Snape as to Lupin, Dumbledore's trust has meant 
everything. Leaving room for a loud Bang when Snape *must* deal
with all this."

Amandageist glanced over at Cindy, to see if all this Banging pleased 
her, and was irked to see her head down on the bar beside her drink, 
gently snoring.

The Geist clapped her hands and the book disappeared as well. She 
glanced down at the bar. "It'd be nice, it would, to be able to drink 
after all that," she sighed. "Oh, well. I'll be available for 
questions if anyone needs me; in the meantime, I'll be making myself 
useful."

She zoomed up to the ceiling and busied herself filling balloons with 
garlic water to drop on the Vampire!Snapetheorists.

~Amanda