Why did Snape kill Dumbledore in Harry Potter?

Snape was seen as one of the most misunderstood characters in the Harry Potter franchise, whose loyalty was deeply rooted in Dumbledore – but it led to heartbreak as he was the one to kill the headmaster.

From his introduction, Snape was categorized as a villain who had it out for Harry Potter. He was head of the Slytherin House and didn’t shy away from his distaste for James Potter. After all, James and Snape went to school together with the latter being bullied by the other.

As the franchise progressed, Snape’s story came to light working with Albus Dumbledore to protect Harry while feeding information to the Dark Lord. Why? It was the only way to get the upper hand in the foreseeable war as a double agent. Fans sometimes didn’t know whether to think of him as a hero or villain while Dumbledore had his full loyalty.

But by the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Snape is the one to kill Dumbledore – breaking the hearts of fans and Harry. But why did he do it?

Why did Severus Snape kill Dumbledore?

When Draco Malfoy is tasked with killing Dumbledore, Snape takes over to do it for him. It was his way of remaining loyal to Dumbledore and knowing he protected Draco from the ramifications of having taken a life.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has Draco in a corner between his own morals and his duties to the Dark Lord. He’s given an impossible mission of killing Dumbledore to secure his place among the Death Eaters and give them a way into Hogwarts.

In the tower, Draco corners the headmaster and is visibly shaken, not wanting to kill. He’s egged on my Bellatrix and the others. Meanwhile, Harry is watching in secret when Snape appears before him. Snape signals for Harry to remain quiet. Snape steps up and gives Dumbledore a knowing look before using his wand to kill his dear friend.

To Harry, it led him to believe Snape was working in tandem with the Dark Lord the whole time. But there’s more to the story. A scene showed Snape with Draco’s mother and Bellatrix. Draco’s mother feared what killing would do to her son. Snape promises to protect Draco and take over his mission. They form an Unbreakable Vow to seal the deal.

In reality, Snape was protecting Malfoy as promised from being scarred over having murdered someone.

Why did Dumbledore have to die?

Dumbledore was already dying of illness anyway prior to this showdown, and he put himself in the firing line as a means to motivating Harry and the other wizards to bring about the downfall of Voldemort once and for all.

Harry later learns that Dumbledore was already dying and had asked Snape to be the one to kill him when the time was right. In the end, Snape wasn’t a villain. He remained loyal to the headmaster while also saving Draco per the vow he made.

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