|
Here I go revealing my true colours as an HP fan. My take on the whole thing goes like this :
Spoiler: First off, Harry is not a horcrux. This is evidenced by the fact that Voldemort clearly does want him dead and in the first book explicitly instructed Quirrel to kill him. Voldemort has been somewhat callous with one of his other horcruxes, but even that one he did not explicitly want destroyed (referring here to the journal).
It's my understanding that he did split his soul in order to create the different horcruxes, which is why they all need to be destroyed, else he will not be able to be killed. Now, onto the main point of the thread. My reading was as follows :
Throughout the series Dumbledore always put the welfare of the students first. Combine that with his established habit of looking for the good in just about everyone and it becomes apparent why he would sacrifice himself to save Draco; he was looking to redeem the boy. He knew that Draco wouldn't kill him, so he knew that Draco hadn't gone completely bad. But something had to happen on that tower, else the death eaters would've known that Draco wasn't completely loyal to them. This is where Snape comes in; he's not in the employ of the Death Eaters I don't think; rather, he still works for Dumbledore in his own way. However, he's been proven to be a very complex character and has generally seemed to be the sort to believe that the ends justify the means. He killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore had to die at that point, in order for Draco to live. It also allowed him to maintain his cover as a double agent. I can't imagine any of the Death Eaters would question his loyalty after that.
I think he made the unbreakable vow to Narcissa in anticipation of having to do this. He knew what Voldemort would do to Draco if he failed tokill Dumbledore and he knew that Draco ultimately would. He also knew that Dumbledore would rather die than see Draco killed. So he stepped in and took the necessary action. I reckon his argument with Dumbledore was either unrelated (a red herring) or more probably Snape expressing misgivings. I suspect Snape may have reconsidered, believing that the order would've been much worse off without Dumbledore, to the point where he'd sacrifice both his own life and Draco's in order to keep Dumbledore at the head of the Order. The downfall of Voldemort is the main objective and there's likely very little that Snape wouldn't sacrifice to further that goal.
Then again, Snape hs been portrayed as quite inscrutable; I suppose it's possible that he really was working for Voldemort all along. My issue with this is that it reduces him to a very one-sided character. I suspect that evidence will come to light that is much more compelling than his revealing the plot on Lily and James which will ultimately prove that he was in Dumbledore's employ all along. After all, it's been a while since I read the book but I don't believe that Dumbledore ever actually stated that this was his sole reason for trusting Snape; it was simply assumed.
I would look for Snape to play a signifigant role in the seventh book, along with Draco and Wormtail. I suspect the end result will be that Voldemort will have several individuals in his employ who, willing or not, will assist Harry in his downfall. A good example may be the destruction of Nagini, who we're lead to believe is one of Voldemort's horcruxes.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said
- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
|