Hey guys, welcome to another installment of
Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re
going to be discussing Lord voldemort, the
elder wand, the death of Severus Snape.
When Severus Snape died it was truly a tragic
moment, as everything had been brought to
the surface about Snape’s true intentions.
Snape, is arguably one of the most dynamic
characters, and being a double agent for all
of those years, deceiving lord voldemort,
was a massively impressive feat. As you progress
through the books and films, your perception
of Snape is constantly challenged- is he good?
Bad? What are his intentions. In the end,
Snape was one of the best people around- and
his death was massively significant in the
franchise.
We know that Snape ultimately dies at the
hands, or mouth (rather) of Nagini on Voldemort’s
orders. What was unusual in this scene was
that Voldemort is a massive proponent of avada
kedavra, he can’t get enough of it, and
it’s very purpose is to kill. So, why wouldn’t
he use avada kedavra on Snape? Why would he
get Nagini to finish him off? There are a
couple of reasons why.
From the books:
"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?" In
the silence Harry imagined he could hear the
snake hissing slightly as it coiled and uncoiled--or
was it Voldemort's sibilant sigh lingering
on the air? "My--my lord?" said Snape blankly.
"I do not understand. You--you have performed
extraordinary magic with that wand." "No,"
said Voldemort. "I have performed my usual
magic. I am extraordinary, but this wand...no.
It has not revealed the wonders it has promised.
I feel no difference between this wand and
the one I procured from Ollivander all those
years ago."
Voldemort's tone was musing, calm, but Harry's
scar had begun to throb and pulse: Pain was
building in his forehead, and he could feel
that controlled sense of fury building inside
Voldemort.
This excerpt depicts Voldemort’s puzzlement
with why his newly acquired elder wand feels
no different than any other wand that he has
possessed. Essentially, Voldemort believes
that because Snape killed Dumbledore, the
Elder Wand's allegiance lies with Snape, and
that because the elder wand didn’t show
allegiance to him, it just felt like any other
wand. Voldemort deduces that because Snape
killed Dumbledore, that the elder wand has
allegiance to Snape, and that by killing Snape,
it’s allegiance will switch over to him.
"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly,
Severus, because I am not its true master.
The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed
its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore.
While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot
truly be mine."
However, Voldemort is hesitant, as he doesn’t
want to risk his plan backfiring. Voldemort
believes that the wand would not be capable
of killing its true owner, so he uses another
method, one that is convenient and effective:
Nagini.
One other reason that Voldemort may not have
used avada kedavra on Snape, is that he didn’t
really want to kill him, at least not personally.
To be able to cast the killing curse you must
really hate someone, and I think that Voldemort
may have just had a little bit too much respect
for Snape to kill him. Sure, voldemort was
a sociopath, but I think that he really appreciated
Snape in a weird way.
You can’t perform an unforgivable curse,
like avada kedavra, without proper intent.
This is explained in the following excerpt:
“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
—”
Those were of course the words of Bellatrix,
to Harry.
And those are the two reasons that I think
that Voldemort never used avada kedavra on
snape.
So for those two reasons, Voldemort never
used avada kedavra on Snape. And that’s
it for this video, I hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time, YER A WIZARD ARRY.
