39. Shawn Adler, “J.K. Rowling Meets with L.A. Students, Plots Next Move,” October 15, 2007. Oddly enough, this is the only time Jo has ever mentioned The Prince; she has never officially acknowledged it as an influence on HP.
40. For a much more in-depth analysis of this chess match paralleling the rest of the series, read my essay “The Three-Book-Long Chess Match.” It’s part of a series I did about the seven obstacles in Sorcerer’s Stone serving as an outline for the entire book series.
41. Talking of the potion in the cave, there is a theory about it buried in LiveJournal by felicitys_mind, which makes a lot of sense. She posits that the potion would make the drinker relive Tom Riddle’s torture of Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop, consistent with Voldemort’s use of some Horcruxes as a highlight reel of his early triumphs. Harry believes that the potion actually made Dumbledore relive “watching Grindelwald hurting [Aberforth] and Ariana,” (DH568) but that is an assumption on Harry’s part made without any evidence.
42. My reference for The Prince is Project Gutenberg, so there are no page numbers, only chapters.
43. Long story short, Severus was an emperor in Ancient Rome. Once he became emperor, he was faced with the problem of two rival emperors, Albinus and Niger. Severus played the two against each other. He pretended to ally himself with Albinus to defeat Niger. Once Niger was defeated, Severus accused Albinus of treachery, “sought him out in France, and took from him his government and life.” So, a Severus who played two emperors against each other, then betrayed Albinus and killed him... it seemed pretty obvious that this was the inspiration for Snape.
With the hindsight of Deathly Hallows, we received yet another compelling clue. Not only did Severus take Albinus’s life, but also his government... rather like Snape killing Albus and then becoming Headmaster of Hogwarts. So yes, this was the inspiration for Snape, who was indeed out for himself first and foremost and had no problem playing Albus and Voldemort against each other.
44. Snape, on the other hand, does not seem to take any of Machiavelli’s advice to heart: he revels in being mean-spirited, embraces being despised, and never comes across as merciful or humane.
45. I absolve myself of any blame here; I was fourteen when Andrew Cooper’s essay was published!
46. Admittedly, there could have been yet another contingency plan in place should Snape die, and we just received no indication of it. However, one wonders who would be the backup to Snape’s role? It’s not in McGonagall’s character to deal with murky moral decisions like this; Remus and the Weasleys would lose their minds if told to sacrifice Harry; Aberforth is having none of it; and this isn’t the sort of assignment one wants to give a random Order member.
My best guess is that the final contingency plan was Mad-Eye Moody. He seems to be as close to a friend and peer as Dumbledore has. Moody is one of the few people on the Order’s side who would have the stomach to make Harry sacrifice himself. Perhaps Dumbledore confided some key knowledge in Moody as a failsafe for Snape. Either way, it’s a moot point because Moody is killed at the beginning of Deathly Hallows, eliminating the possible contingency plan.
47. It’s unclear whether there’s a limit on splitting one’s soul, so it’s possible Dumbledore relied on that. When Ron ventures the possibility of Voldemort creating more Horcruxes, Harry says, “Didn’t Hermione say he had pushed his soul to the limit already?” However, Ron has a very valid rebuttal: “Yeah, but maybe he doesn’t know that.” (DH282)
48. We are still a touch murky on the laws of wand allegiance, so it’s possible that a wand would recognize an intentional transfer, like Snape merely giving the wand to Harry. But given the Elder Wand’s violent tendencies, that seems implausible at least in this case.
49. Dumbledore’s guilt here may explain why he seemed momentarily tempted, several months later, to reveal the truth about Snape to Harry. When Harry is raging about Snape selling out his parents to Voldemort, “Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something.” (HBP549) After the emotionally charged year Dumbledore has had, he is momentarily tempted to reveal Snape’s true colors to Harry, perhaps to alleviate the loneliness and judgment to which he is sentencing Snape. But in the end, Dumbledore chooses to respect Snape’s wishes and keep his secret.
On an unrelated note, the fact that the setting sun cast a “bloody tinge” on Dumbledore’s face in this scene is an awesome bit of foreshadowing (HBP548).
50. Ironically enough, this is the second time Dumbledore’s carefully laid plans have been foiled by a Malfoy. These instances occur in Books 2 and 6, which intentionally mirror each other.
51. As an aside, it’s hard to express how much this passage meant to me when I read it as a teenager. In a world that seemed wholly dismissive of anyone under eighteen, this was exactly what I needed. It was so empowering to read about teenagers not only doing awesome things, but also being held accountable for their actions. Because holding people accountable for their actions in their youth implies that teenagers are sentient beings capable of making decisions, which flew in the face of literally everything everyone did in the real world.
52. We know the gargoyle has guarded the Head’s office since at least Dippet’s time at Hogwarts, because Tom Riddle passes the gargoyle the night he frames Hagrid. (CS245)
53. If one wants to consider Pottermore, we can go back even further, and have a potential candidate for Phineas Nigellus’s predecessor. In the Pottermore entry for Peeves, we get mention of Eupraxia Mole being Headmistress in 1876. Phineas can’t have been before her (he’d only be
