Mugglenet.com's Harry Potter Should Have Died - Emerson Spartz [63]
Dobby the House-Elf
No matter how many deaths there are in DH, it is huge shock when Dobby the house-elf dies in the saddest way possible, stabbed through the heart. As his final act, Dobby stares at Harry, his tiny hands raised as if pleading for help and the last words he says are “Harry Potter,” as if they are best friends or brothers. Why does Harry have to lose such a sweet and loyal friend?
Dobby dies after returning bravely to Malfoy Manor, where the family had once made the elf punish himself daily. And once again, his own family betrays him, with Bellatrix calling him a “dirty little monkey” just before giving him the fatal blow [DH, p. 474]. It’s such a lowly and disrespectful way for Dobby to die, killed by someone who thinks that house-elves have no feelings. Like the death of Sirius Black, it happens almost as an afterthought, as Dobby is leaving. Like the death of Cedric Diggory, it serves no purpose, except to cause misery.
Dobby is the most childlike character in the books. Unlike many of the wizards who die, Dobby is not big and strong or warlike in any way. A gentle soul, he should have been at Hogwarts baking cakes, with a tea cozy on his head and mismatched socks on his feet. His death is Harry’s loss of innocence.
No other character except Dumbledore has a funeral, and Dobby’s is actually much more moving. In DH, Harry digs the grave alone, without magic, and he slowly realizes that grief is keeping the power of Dark Lord away from his mind [DH, p. 478]. The other children gather for the funeral: Ron gives Dobby a pair of socks; Luna gently closes his green eyes for the last time and he seems to be sleeping. They each stand around the grave thanking Dobby for his rescue, as if his spirit can hear them (Luna believes that he can). Then Harry is alone again, stacking stones where Dobby will sleep for eternity, and making the proper epitaph: “Here Lies Dobby, A Free Elf” [DH, p. 481]. He was free to live, but also free to die for Harry. Rest in Peace, Dobby.
Severus Snape
There is one major character who dies misunderstood and in painful anguish: Potions Master Severus Snape. He has one of the most horrific deaths in the entire series—in DH, he is overpowered by the giant snake, Nagini, seized by the neck. Subsequently, he bleeds to death before Harry’s eyes. No doubt, some readers cheered as he fell, thinking he deserved it. Even Harry coldly feels nothing except hatred because to him, Snape is a Death Eater, a murderer of Dumbledore, and his worst teacher of all time. But that’s an illusion. Snape teaches Harry something important, even in death, through the memories of his sad, lonely life. And later Harry realizes that Snape was trapped, not just by the snake, but by the schemes and intrigues of both Dumbledore and Voldemort. Snape was always trapped and never really had a chance to live—what a waste!
Like Dobby, Snape dies looking into Harry’s eyes. But it’s a lot more meaningful that Snape wants to do that because he never worshiped Harry, and the boy certainly had no warm, fuzzy feelings for Snape in return. The death doesn’t make Harry weep or dig a grave, but that’s exactly why it’s so sad—Snape was bitter, yes, but a good guy at heart, yet when he dies, no one cares. Voldemort just wants to get rid of him so he can take Snape’s wand, and leaves him there in the Shrieking Shack, a place Snape had hated since childhood. Dumbledore never means for Snape to die, as he tells Harry in “King’s Cross,” calling Snape “Poor Severus” because he is left in the dark about the Elder Wand too long, which leads to a death that is tragic. Snape could have defeated Voldemort if he had been master of the Elder Wand, but instead he became another victim.
It’s a shame that Harry and Hermione don’t try to save Snape’s life, because he had