Snape killed Dumbledore.
What the crap?!
I’m still holding out hope that Snape comes back to the good side and saves the day. This hope has nothing to do with my desire to see Snape redeemed but, as always, with my love for Alan Rickman. The conclusion of The Half-Blood Prince was terribly exciting, perhaps even more exciting than the battle at the Ministry of Magic in The Order of the Phoenix.
I already knew that Dumbledore was going to die but I didn’t know how it was going to happen. I wasn’t moved to tears at Dumbledore’s death, but there might have been some tears mixed with sweat as I read about Dumbledore’s funeral on the elliptical.
Below are some thoughts from the final six chapters of The Half-Blood Prince.
Believing the Best
Dumbledore (and I) wanted to believe the best of Snape. Unfortunately that belief was misplaced and Snape didn’t live up to Dumbledore’s expectations. Even when Harry found out that it was Snape who had told Voldemort about the prophecy, which led to the death of Harry’s parents, Harry still trusted in Dumbledore’s assessment of Snape. Dumbledore believed the best about Snape and it led to his downfall. In spite of that, though, we should always strive to believe the best about those in our lives. All of our lives hold untold potential and we should believe in that potential. If someone hasn’t done anything to continually betray our trust, if we can believe in someone without enabling his or her bad behavior, then we should continue to believe the best. Jesus does it for us and we should try to do it for others.
What the Eff, Snape?
Excuse my letters but, “What the eff, Snape?” Man, I really wanted Snape to be a good guy. Like I said above, I still have hope that Snape is a triple agent. However, it’ll be difficult to look past using the Killing Curse on Dumbledore. I had put a lot of faith in Snape and it fell flat. I had also placed a lot of faith in John Edwards during the 2008 Presidential campaign. Like Snape, though, Edwards let me down and I’ve been a little more disillusioned with politics since then. While we should look for the best in people, ultimately we should only place our hope in God. God will never let us down. God will always be the same and we’ll never face a moment of disappointment with him. We may say, “What the eff, God?” but that will be in a moment of honest lament, not a moment of honest disappointment.
Breaking Up is Hard to Do
I’ve never dumped anyone but I’ve been dumped a few times. Ginny apparently took getting dumped a lot better than I did. After I got dumped I was a blubbering mess who only wanted to listen to Depeche Mode and watch the Leo version of Romeo + Juliet. I’ve mostly given Harry a hard time for being a petulant and immature whiner, but even I have to admit he did something great in dumping Ginny. Harry had spent so much time longing after Ginny and, when he finally had her, he let her go because it was the best thing for her. When we truly love someone, we place his or her needs above our own. Harry did that with Ginny even though it meant he wouldn’t have a date for Bill and Fleur’s wedding.
The Half-Blood Prince was great and I can’t wait to start The Deathly Hallows. I won’t be writing about it until next year but I don’t know if I’ll be able to put off reading it for that long. I’m excited for the conclusion and I’m starting to see why so many people are thoroughly invested in these characters.
What thoughts do you have from the final six chapters of The Half-Blood Prince?
Leave a Comment