Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing Snape, Dumbledore, and one of the most iconic scenes in the Harry Potter series
- Dumbledore dying.
Before we get started, I wanted to bring attention to the fact that this video is going to be
focusing on HOW Snape used avada kedavra, and not why. We know that Snape had to kill
Dumbledore in order to protect Draco. Dumbledore was already on death’s door from a curse,
and Draco had been assigned, by Voldemort, the task of killing Dumbledore. In order to
protect Draco, which Snape vowed to do, he decided that he would be the one to kill Dumbledore-to
protect Draco’s soul. This plan was formulated by Dumbledore and Snape before hand, with
the sole objective of protecting Draco:
“If you don’t mind dying,” said Snape roughly, “why not let Draco do it?”
“That boy’s soul is not yet so damaged,” said Dumbledore. “I would not have it ripped
apart on my account.”
When Snape finally does the deed, and ends Dumbledore’s life, he uses none other than
the killing curse. But what I found highly unusual about this scene, is that Snape’s
use of the killing curse on Dumbledore contradicts the very nature of what we know to be the
killing curse. The killing curse, aka avada kedavra, is one of the three unforgivable
curses- curses that are ‘unforgivable’ because of their sadistic nature. Avada kedavra’s
purpose is simple, it causes the victim to instantly die. If you want to kill your victim,
then this is the spell to use. The spell creates a blindingly intense green bolt of light right
before the victim simply drops dead. There are two theories for how they die, the first
claiming that the victims internal organs cease to function after being struck, and
the second claiming that the soul of the victim is magically ripped from their body.
The capacity to kill someone with a single incantation is not something that should be
taken lightly, and it’s symbolic in that it represents one of the darkest forms of
magic. However, when casting such magic, it’s important to remember that there is a certain
level of intent required. You really have to mean what you’re doing, and it’s heavily
suggested that in order to perform these curses successfully, you need to really WANT to cause
people pain-you need to really WANT to kill them.
You simply can’t perform a unforgivable curse, like avada kedavra, without proper
intent- this is even supported in the text when Harry tries to (Unsuccessfuly) use the
cruciatus curse on Bellatrix.
Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before; he flung himself out from behind
the fountain and bellowed, ‘Crucio!’
Bellatrix screamed: the spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and
shriek with pain as Neville had – she was already back on her feet, breathless, no longer
laughing. Harry dodged behind the golden fountain again. Her counter-spell hit the head of the
handsome wizard, which was blown off and landed twenty feet away, gouging long scratches into
the wooden floor.
“Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?” she yelled. She had abandoned
her baby voice now. “You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain
— to enjoy it — righteous anger won’t hurt me for long — I’ll show you how it
is done, shall I? I’ll give you a lesson —”
Harry, who was absolutely beside himself with rage, was STILL unable to use the curse on
Bellatrix, and that is because he is an inherently good person. So, HOW ON EARTH was Snape able
to use Avada Kedavra on Dumbledore? Snape didn’t hate Dumbledore-they were on the
same side, and Snape clearly shows his reluctance to end Dumbledore’s life in the following
exchange:
‘After you have killed me, Severus –’
‘You refuse to tell me everything, yet you expect that small service of me!’ snarled
Snape, and real anger flared in the thin face now. ‘You take a great deal for granted,
Dumbledore! Perhaps I have changed my mind!’
‘You gave me your word, Severus.’
We know that righteous anger is not enough- so HOW did Snape muster the emotional ability
to commit such an act? Why was Dumbledore so confident that he would be capable of even
doing it?
I think that what it boils down to, is this: Sure, Harry was unable to use Crucio on Bellatrix-
but that was because he lacked the capacity to do what the spell was created for - torture.
Had Dumbledore asked Snape to use crucio on him, I’m not sure that it would have been
very effective, but that’s not what he asked, he asked Snape to kill him. What is avada
kedavra for? Killing. And was the intent to kill there? Yes- because Snape knew that it
was necessary to protect Draco, and he wanted to fulfill Dumbledore’s last request.
Additionally, Snape is an immensely powerful wizard who displays extreme magical mastery
time and time again. He has such a profound understanding of casting spells, that he knew
exactly what was required of him to cast a spell like avada kedavra. He knew exactly
what he needed to do, emotionally, to make the spell happen- probably honing all of his
repressed anger and pent up frustration that he endured throughout his life.
Snape probably respects Dumbledore more than anyone, but he is also a practical man who
knew exactly what needed to be done.
And that’s it for this video! If you enjoy the content please be sure to like the video
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Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY