[spoiler]
AURGH!!!!!! That EVIL MURDEROUS BACKSTABBING
JERK!!!!!!!!
...Erm, sorry about the caps, but I'm kinda not happy right now. Y'know, from Prisoner of Azkaban on, Snape has been one of my favorite characters. Yup, he's rather dislikable and vengeful, but he also keeps the plot moving and I had truly been hoping he'd be redeemed in the end. And after reading OoTP, I actually sympathized with the guy. Needless to say, my hopes for him have dissapated drastically upon reading and finishing Half-Blood Prince. In my eyes, he's moved from being an anti-hero to an all out evil guy. Especially due to the way that he basically slaughtered Dumbledore..
Who knows, maybe this is an incredibly massive red-herring, maybe it was part of a larger plan, and maybe Rowling will dig up some justification for his actions. I'm not overly optimistic though. The only thing that makes up for Snape's betrayal somewhat was the unexpected human side to Draco. Frankly, I've been wishing Rowling would simply off Draco for the last few books. But I actually feel sorry for him now, and I'm interested to see what will happen to him in the next book.
I really did enjoy reading Half-Blood Prince. The final third of the book flew by and had me totally mesmerized, and the ending was very moving. I actually had tears in my eyes during the final chapters, when I wasn't busy yelling at Snape. It was also entertaining to see the characters navigating through the perils of teen dating. And the Remus and Tonks pairing was too adorable. I can also see the Harry and Ginny pairing developing a Peter Parker complex. And I was glad to see that Rowling hadn't let Luna dissapear, she's turning into one of my new faves.
I'm still trying to process the entire death of Dumbledore, it didn't totally shock me, but it did sadden me. And the Snape betrayal stunned me, even though Rowling was setting up for it throughout the book. I still can't figure out why Dumbledore wouldn't have picked up on it sooner..
I should stop now, before I start ranting about Snape again. I've already typed up an essay of a post. And I'm sure I'll think of more to speculate on in a bit, especially once I've actually read over everyone elses' posts
[/spoiler]
Edit: I found this on the mugglenet forums. I love this theory!
Fuschia wrote:I have one theory that it was a part of Voldemort's soul Dumbledore consumed from that basin. Dumbledore had to be killed himself to destroy it.
Maybe Snape and Dumbledore had constructed a plan that involved Dumbledore sacrificing himself to destory the portion of Voldemort's soul. And Dumbledore was begging Snape to go through with it, hence Snape's revulsion, with himself.
*giddy*
[color="lightgreen"]"There is an art, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
-The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy[/color]