In Memoriam Severus Snape
- From: Green-Eyed Chris <cwlNO@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2007 01:14:36 +0200
A lurking friend composed the following as a first reaction upon
completing DH and mailed it to me.
I offer it for your consideration.
Chris
--------------------------------
IN MEMORIAM
We are assembled here today to pay our final respects to Severus Snape,
a comrade in arms, a teacher, a friend, a protector, and yes, a
hero?regardless of what some might say
Yet it should be noted that in the midst of our despair, his death takes
place in the shadow of a new beginning for all of us, a Wizarding World
that has awakened to see a sunrise without fear, a world that has arisen
with hope for the future. This is the world for which he walked a
dangerous tightrope for over 15 years. This is the world he knew would
be a better place because of his sacrifice; and this is the world for
which he paid the ultimate price.
Now is not the time to debate motives, although he would be the first
to admit his actions were not totally altruistic in nature. After all,
he did have an uncanny sense of self-preservation. Now is not the time
to question wisdom because who among us has not erred? However, this IS
the time to acknowledge and appreciate a man whose choices and
sacrifices have allowed us to gather here today?free from fear and
oppression.
Severus awoke every morning with the belief that it would be his last.
He lived his life as he died his death: without fear and without
question. He lived almost his entire adult life in servitude: to Albus
Dumbledore, to Lord Voldemort, and even though he would be loathe to
admit it, to Harry Potter. His life was, in a way, predestined by
choices: choices which ultimately shaped him to be the man he was to be.
There were times, as a soldier, when he disobeyed orders and suffered
unimaginable agony as a result. There were times, as a friend, when he
agreed to perform the most despicable of crimes; and there were times,
as a man, when his actions ultimately condemned innocent people to
death.
Severus was prepared to die. That didnt mean he preferred to die. All of
us owe him our lives a hundred times over. His life was a lonely one, a
treacherous one. He dared not risk friendship in its most literal term
because it meant vulnerability and risk; and that was a luxury he was
not destined to have. He never put his own desires above anyone, and it
is because of that selfless trait, we are standing here today. In a way,
he was an exile in his own world. He was of it and in it, but not a part
of it. He never had the joy of someone saying proudly, This man is my
friend, and I stand by him because the lines of prejudice and bigotry
had already been drawn
Severus was a master of truth and untruth. All the human emotions that
got in the way of unbiased, unfeeling judgment were suppressed because
they couldnt be allowed and couldnt be indulged. He considered it a
weakness, a flaw in the overall plan of the Wizarding Worlds salvation
as well as his own survival?as well as Harry Potters survival! What he
didnt realize is that human emotion is a source of unparalled strength,
a force that, even flawed, will allow a man to realize that nerve and
knowledge are not enough. That it is emotion that will inevitably lead
us to the light. He didnt allow himself to feel because when he did, he
felt confused, and he would second-guess his decisions. He didnt know
that he needed these emotions for the very reason he denied them: That
sometimes illogical and emotional decisions prove to be the weapons that
not only win the struggle, but win the war. Logic and equation can be
used to justify any action. While it is a power, it is also a weakness.
Severus was not a man of words. He was a man of acts. He tried
desperately to suppress the ecstasies of love, to deny the frailty of
his humanity, to admit his vulnerability and in the end, he died a
poorer man because of it.
Severus Snape chose to confront his challenges as obstacles to be
overcome, not to be avoided. He chose to be more than the man he was.
He chose to risk it all because in life, a person is always tested,
always challenged; and it is this challenge that defines him as a man,
not necessarily a great man, but just a man, accountable to no one else
but himself, who ultimately measures his successes and failures within.
It would have been easier for Severus to just walk away?from Dumbledore,
from Voldemort, and from Harry; but he didnt. He made a choice: to risk
it all or to play it safe, and because of that choice, he is no longer
among us. He knew that there were obligations that went above and beyond
duty. Even though he would never admit it, he did have a sense of duty
and honor and loyalty. He did what was asked of him, regardless of
personal peril. He considered his options, and then he chose, not what
was easy, but what was right. He did what he felt he had to do. He went
over every alternative, and in the end, he made his choice?his hard
choice. He was and is a hero?flawed, yes?human, yes?but a hero
nonetheless.
.
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