One of the biggest moments in the entire Harry Potter series, regardless of whether you’re diving into the books or sitting back and relaxing while watching the movies, was the moment where Snape killed Dumbledore. Shocking fans, still many ask why he actually did this.
Snape killed Dumbledore simply because Dumbledore asked Snape too, should the time arise. While there are plenty of theories that support this and suggest other ideas, this is the most important. Snape and Dumbledore were working together from the beginning, and this was the planned outcome.
Now, there’s a lot we can cover here and a lot of ideas to think about, so let’s jump straight into it and see why did Snape kill Dumbledore exactly?
A Pact Among Friends
This is, of course, the scene we’re talking about. We’re not crying. You are!
First and foremost, yes, Dumbledore did ask Snape to kill him, and this was to save Draco Malfoy from having to carry out the sinister task. This was vital because should Malfoy have killed Dumbledore, it would have corrupted Malfoy’s soul and turned him dark.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 33, you can read;
“All the same, try. I am concerned less for myself than for accidental victims of whatever schemes might occur to the boy. Ultimately, of course, there is only one thing to be done if we are to save him from Lord Voldemort’s wrath.’
Snape raised his eyebrows, and his tone was sardonic as he asked, ‘Are you intending to let him kill you?’
‘Certainly not. You must kill me.”
Dumbledore knew he was dying because he had already found the Marvolo ring that brings back people from the dead, and like most mortals, he could not resist using it on himself. However, the curse of the ring was killing him slowly. Not wanting to suffer any longer, Snape, in essence, put Dumbledore out of his misery while saving Malfoy along the way.
Of course, we know what you’re thinking, and why would Dumbledore want to save a horrible little child, then a young adult, like Malfoy?
Well, Voldermort was still growing in strength and was taking over. Having Malfoy kill Dumbledore would have maimed Malfoy’s soul forever and would have become another Death Eater. This would have solidly put him as an evil figure in the magical world. Instead, Snape killed Dumbledore, meaning that Malfoy could basically remain innocent.
After all, the world is going to be a better place with one less Death Eater around.
From the movie, you can see that Voldemort isn’t actually present at the time that Dumbledore dies. Malfoy fails to kill the wizard but is afraid that he’s failed Voldemort. Instead, Snape acts as Malfoy’s friend and instead kills Dumbledore, so Malfoy is off the hook.
The Unbreakable Vow
Another important point to consider is that Snape had made an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy, who is Draco’s mother.
Killing Dumbledore for Voldermort is obviously a huge task, and Narcissa being a typical mother, was scared that if her son fails, then he is going to feel the wraith of Voldermort, as will all her family. To stop this from happening, Snape made the Unbreakable Vow to protect Malfoy.
This happens at the beginning of the Half-Blood Prince, where Narcissa and Bellatrix visit Snape, and Narcissa desperately pleads with Snape to look after Malfoy. The vow, which means Snape dies if he’s unable to honor it, would be broken if he ‘failed to keep Draco safe and alive.’
All these points combined means that if Draco dies to either Dumbledore or Voldermort, he will die, so it’s in Snape’s best interest to make sure the task is completed.
Snape the Double Agent
A short but sweet point to consider is that Snape was always Dumbledore’s double agent, who worked for Voldermort but kept Dumbledore in the loop as to what was going on. Killing Dumbledore or allowing Dumbledore to die cement Voldermort’s belief that Snape is on his side and is willing to do whatever it takes for the dark side to win.
Hand in hand with this is the possession of the Elder Wand.
The Elder Wand, owned by Dumbledore, is one of three objects that make up the Deathly Hallows, the others being Harry’s invisibility cloak, and the Resurrection Stone, known as Marvolo’s ring. The Elder Wand is the most powerful magic wand in existence and would be devastating in the hands of Voldermort.
However, the ownership and powers of the wand, known as mastery of the wand, were said to be transferred from one wizard to another via death, aka Malfoy killing Dumbledore. Instead, Snape killed Dumbledore but still gave the wand to Malfoy to give to Voldermort.
Because Malfoy hadn’t actually taken Dumbledore’s life, the power wasn’t transferred so Malfoy, and therefore Voldermort didn’t actually have access to the full power of the Elder Wand.
While the true reason will only ever remain certain in JK Rowling’s mind, the theories add up, and we agree that it was a necessary, yet utterly heart-breaking, sacrifice that needed to be made.