๐ณ๐ฑ
This is my favorite part of the harry potter books because it was such a character twist. It shows that the man we thought was the caring father figure (Dumbledore) was in fact callus and even cruel in being willing to sacrifice someone he acted like a father figure to. Meanwhile the one man we all thought was the asshole was really the one who cared about him more than even Dumbledore...
"So the boyโฆ the boy must die?" asked Snape quite calmly.
"And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential."
Another long silence. Then Snape said, "I thoughtโฆ all these yearsโฆ that we were protecting him for her. For Lily."
"We have protected him because it has been essential to teach him, to raise him, to let him try his strength," said Dumbledore, his eyes still tight shut. "Meanwhile, the connection between them grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth: Sometimes I have thought he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters so that when he sets out to meet his death, it will truly mean the end of Voldemort."
Dumbledore opened his eyes. Snape looked horrified.
"You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?... You have used meโฆ I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughterโฆ"
"But this is touching, Severus," said Dumbledore seriously. "Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"
"For him?" shouted Snape. "Expecto Patronum!"
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
"After all this time?"
"Always," said Snape.
@SteveTheDragon Pretty much.. or more like a child kidnaped by an old gay gay guy who secretely has him raised by a physically and mentally abusive family to "toughen him up" to he could convince him to commit suicide by having another dude who is into necrophilia willfully kill murder him.
Moreover the old dude was a habitual kidnapper and and we later find out actually kidnapped the necrophilia dude when he was a kid too. In fact he kidnapped him, convinced him he had magical powers, and then after he grew up spent most of his life trying to kill the first kid he kidnapped before ultimately just giving up and getting the second kid he kidnapped to commit suicide in the off chance it will solve the fucking mess he made.
@SteveTheDragon Actually I have the perspective that dumbledore is 100% inept. The only reason we perceive him as wise, capable, and powerful, throughout the books is because he has the elder wand. In reality the man was totally inept on his own :)
@SteveTheDragon Oh and it also has a hint of one great realization that every book on magic/magick ever has... powerful magic/magick is not powerful, it is only destructive. only subtle gentle magic/magick can be truly powerful. It is a common theme in every fictional book on magic as well as every spiritual/philosophical book on magick
@SteveTheDragon In what sense. I'm not sure how gender plays into this at the moment.
