In another memory, Snape ministers to Dumbledore after
Dumbledore rashly puts on the ring of Marvolo Gaunt and suffers
a blackened and burned hand because of the ring’s curse. Snape’s
potions buy Dumbledore a year of life, but nothing they do can prevent
the curse from killing him eventually. Dumbledore makes Snape promise
to protect the students at Hogwarts if Voldemort gains control of the
school, to help Draco stay out of trouble as he tries to carry out Voldemort’s
instructions to kill Dumbledore, and to kill Dumbledore himself
when the right time comes.
Later, Dumbledore tells Snape that after Snape kills Dumbledore, there
may come a time when Voldemort seems to fear for the life of his
snake (which will mean that the other Horcruxes are destroyed or
threatened). At that moment, Snape should tell Harry the truth: that
when Voldemort sent his killing curse at Lily Potter and blasted his
own soul to bits, a piece of Voldemort’s soul bound itself to Harry’s.
This event is the reason that Harry can read Voldemort’s mind and
can speak Parseltongue. As long as Harry lives, so will Voldemort.
The only way Voldemort will die is if all of the Horcruxes are destroyed
and Voldemort himself kills Harry, who is in fact the seventh Horcrux.
Snape is furious, accusing Dumbledore of raising Harry as a lamb
for slaughter and using Snape by falsely telling him he was protecting
Lily Potter’s son.
Later, after Dumbledore’s death, the portrait of Dumbledore
tells Snape to give Voldemort the correct date of Harry’s departure
from the Dursleys and to plant the idea of using decoys, so Harry
can escape. In the pursuit of Harry, Snape burns off George Weasley’s ear
accidentally, while trying to protect Lupin from a Death Eater.
Snape goes to Sirius’s house and steals the small fragment
at the end of the letter Harry found, simply because the page is
signed “Lots of love, Lily.” He tears Lily’s picture out of the
photograph of Lily, James, and Harry.
Finally, the portrait of Phineas Nigellus tells Snape
that Harry and Hermione are hiding in the Forest of Dean, Hermione
having mentioned the place while opening her magic bag. Dumbledore urges
Snape to take the Sword of Gryffindor to them under the right conditions,
and Snape leaves, on his way to put the sword under ice and use
his own Patronus (the silver doe) to guide Harry.
The memories over, Harry wakes up in the headmaster’s
office.
Analysis: Chapters Thirty-Two–Thirty-Three
Snape has no chance to fight or stand up to Voldemort,
and thus has no time to demonstrate his true heroic character before
he dies. His final actions are as tightly cloaked in mystery as
everything he has done throughout the series. Sadly, his death accomplishes
nothing, as Voldemort is simply pursuing one more misguided and
doomed scheme to acquire the power to beat Harry. Fortunately for
Harry, Snape has time for one last act, extracting his memories
for viewing in the Pensieve, the headmaster’s privilege (since the
Pensieve is in the headmaster’s office).
The viewing of Snape’s life story in the Pensieve is very
satisfying, as it explains everything mysterious or contradictory
that we have witnessed about Snape throughout the series. His connection
with Slytherin and past as a Death Eater are all real, but his animosity toward
Harry was never malice, but simply irritation at seeing Harry’s
father reflected in him. We knew since Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry’s father had persecuted
Snape, but we never saw that Snape’s hatred of James Potter was
counterbalanced by a much stronger emotion. Much to our surprise,
everything that Snape has ever done throughout the series has been motivated
by love. The sudden revelation that things were not as they seemed,
and that something else was going on all along that we are only
now aware of, is called irony, and it is one of the most pleasurable
experiences an author can produce. When the events in question concern
a character who has fascinated us and held our attention through
seven books, the experience for the reader is rare and special.
