I figured maybe it was Nagini’s feeding time or something.
Real life is full of such conveniences. It doesn’t feel like that much of a stretch.
How about in Deathly Hallows, where everyone’s asking everyone security questions? Remus almost goes apeshit on Harry, Kingsley makes sure to check who Remus is, etc – but when Tonks and Ron arrive, they’re just accepted? (I’m thinking that maybe Metamorphamagi can’t use polyjuice potion or something like that?)
Meh, that happens all the time in fiction. Like in Star Wars, where the droids just HAPPEN to end up with Luke, who just HAPPENS to be attacked by Sand People, who just HAPPENS to be saved by Obi-Wan, the very person that they need to find.
Well the book series was full of last second death defying events. Harry was dying from the basilisk wound, saved. He was drowning while going for the sword, saved. Killing curse from Crouch Jr, saved. Voldemort killing him at Bagshot’s house, saved. Dementors killing him, saved.
He was always a second away from death.
One would think that a wizard of Snape’s ability would keep an eye on both potential opponents.
So if Dumbledore with an ordinary wand wasn’t trying to kill, and Grindelwald with the Elder Wand was comparatively more OK with killing – shouldn’t Grindelwald have won?
Nitpick again. Dumbledore didn’t beat Voldemort. They were fighting fairly evenly when the Ministry wizards turned up and Voldemort skedaddled.
He still had it pretty easy – one swipe and Nagini was dead. If you look at how much trouble Harry had with Nagini (albeit without the sword) and also the way Nagini dealt with Snape, you would figure Neville would at least have had to dodge around and swing a few times.
No, he stuck his hand (with the ring on it) through the Veil of Death in the Department of Mysteries. I don’t know how we learned that the Sword could destroy horcruxes, but that wasn’t it.
Chronos:
WHAT???
Let’s try some citing, I hear it’s popular on the internet:
nm, cmkeller beat me to it.
But that kind of stuff happens all the time in real life. George Washington survived numerous close deaths including one battle during the F&I war when four bullets ripped holes in his jacket. Harry’s survivability isn’t all that crazy.
For me the closest the stories come to raising an eyebrow is that BC Jr. is masquarading right under Dumbledore’s nose and Dumbledore–the greatest wizard alive–doesn’t realize it, even though Mad-Eye is a friend of his. Still, plenty of plausible excuses can be supplied and it isn’t that big of a deal. It certainly doesn’t ruin it for me.
Remember that Nagini is a horcrux, and Voldemort can see through its eyes. So he would have got more pleasure out of killing the traitor Snape with Nagini than with a wand. It would also signify Snape’s worthlessness - not even fit to be killed with a wand. There are stories, some probably apocryphal and some probably true, of real-life dictators using animals to kill their opponents, because it’s more gruesome and dehumanising than simply using a gun or sword.
SciFiSam:
He didn’t know Snape was a traitor at the time. After setting Nagini on Snape, he said “I regret it.”
Did he? I don’t remember that.
Talking you at your word, it’s still him using an animal to vanquish a powerful opponent, which has apparently happened with real world dictators.
OK, so apparently I misremembered… But what was it that withered Dumbledore’s hand, then?
This wiki says he tried to wear the ring to bring back his family, and there was a curse on it. That sounds familiar to me.
I’m not sure it’s established exactly why he wore the ring, but yes, that’s what caused it.
It’s a critical plot point; Snape manages to contain the curse to Dumbledore’s hand, but only temporarily. He only has a year to live at that point, which is why Dumbledore makes Snape promise to be the one to kill him before the curse takes him.
Come to think of it, I think what I was remembering might just have been fan speculation which made sense at the time.
Voldemort didn’t have Snape killed because Snape was an opponent. Volde thought Snape was the Master of the Elder Wand.
it is, actually. in the “king’s cross” chapter of deathly hallows (when harry and dumbledore have their in-limbo powwow) he says when he realized the ring contained the resurrection stone, he lost his head a little and put it on, forgetting for a moment that the ring was a horcrux and was surely cursed. (“i was a fool…sorely tempted”)
and yes, voldemort does say “i regret it” when he kills snape.
Somewhwere during one of Dumbledores monologues to Harry he said he gave in to temptation and put on the ring.
I understood the wand thing in Voldy’s reasoning that Dumbledore was master of the wand by defeating Grendlewald. (sp?) Snape killed Dumbledore; ergo killing Snape the wand would automatically be under control of Voldy.
He didn’t use the wand on Snape because he thought that the wand thought of Snape as it’s master. The snake was the handiest weapon on hand.
Because Draco disarmed Dumbledore, the wand’s power shifted to Draco. Harry disarmed Draco and the aliegence then went to Harry afterall.
Thus during the duel it wasn’t that effective weilded by Voldy against where it felt its loyality lie.
A pretty fickle wishy washy little stick.