Why Didn't Snape Kill Voldemort to Buy Time? - Harry Potter Explained

Hey everyone,

Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be discussing Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort, and why Snape didn’t strike Voldemort down when he was in a weaker state-preventing him from maintaining a physical form.

Snape is a double agent - which means that for the duration of the books and films Snape’s loyalties were still very much unclear to many. Both sides thought that they had an ally, but we later find out that, despite his dubious past, Snape is good all along. What this means is that he would have had many opportunities to attack Voldemort when he was in one of his more primitive forms. He was in the inner-circle of death eaters, and access to Voldemort would have been at his fingertips. Snape is one of the most powerful wizards in the entire wizarding world, and striking down a weakened Voldemort would have been no issue for him, so why not do it? Why allow Voldemort to achieve his full levels of power?

Sure, attacking Voldemort wouldn’t completely kill him because of his Horcruxes, but If Snape had used avada kedavra on Voldemort, then he would have at least stripped him of his physical form - making him easier to deal with. The time that Voldemort was in a non-corporeal form could have been used to hunt down and destroy the rest of the horcruxes.

First of all, Voldemort had been brought back to a physical form once, and it could easily be replicated again. Particularly because after achieving his physical form, Voldemort gave a long spiel in the graveyard to his death eaters about how it was done. The first time he lost his corporeal form, things were a bit more dire, and that’s why it took so long.

Because the Death Eaters now knew how easy it was for Voldemort to once again assume a physical form, it’s unlikely that Snape would act impulsively and kill Voldemort-because what would it achieve? The first time took many many years, but if he could now return to his physical form in a week- would it really be worth it for Snape to blow his cover? Killing him would also be a dangerous mission that could potentially cost him his life if something went awry.

An assassination attempt is no easy task, particularly on the dark lord himself who surrounds himself with keen, protective, and loyal death eaters. It would be risky, even for Snape, and there is always the chance that Voldemort could have seen the attack coming. Voldemort is a master at legilimency, which is the art of magically navigating the mind of another - extracting their feelings and memories. Yes, Snape is a master occlumens, which means that he is able to close his mind off to legilimency (and very effectively at that), but killing someone, particularly with the killing curse, requires an abundance of emotion, and it’s hard to imagine that a master legilimens like Voldemort wouldn’t detect it.

So my theory is that mustering up the necessary emotions required to cast the killing curse would be noticed by Voldemort - making the mission unbelievably dangerous. If Snape and Dumbledore had felt that this was plausible, then I’m sure they would have gone ahead with it sooner.

The final reason that Snape didn’t kill Voldemort, is that his final horcrux, the horcrux inside of Harry, needed to be destroyed by Voldemort himself:

‘So the boy … the boy must die?’ asked Snape, quite calmly.

‘And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.’ said Dumbledore

For Voldemort to be properly destroyed, it was essential that Voldemort himself be the one to destroy his final horcrux- which meant that it was imperative that he maintains a physical form of some kind. If Snape had killed Voldemort prematurely, it would have only delayed the inevitable.

Additionally, Despite being on the inner-circle of both sides of the battle, Snape is still very much unaware of a lot of things happening behind the scenes. He doesn’t know about the relationship between Harry and the horcruxes- and this is because Dumbledore had been very vague when discussing plans with him. Snape also doesn’t know about the connection between Harry and Voldemort as a result of Lily’s sacrifice- all he knows is that Dumbledore made it abundantly clear that Voldemort would have to be the one to kill Harry.

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[rjds]

I would watch a whole Snape origin movie...really show his Motive, his love for Lilly and fighting the marauders after being bullied..

[EvilMastermind]

Technically... If Voldemort got killed about 206 times, then he'd have no more father's bones to use.
Or just... You know... Destroy the bones.

[jameswest]

I admit I didn't like snape the first time I read the books.but the more I learn about him the more I respect him, and realize just how clever and powerful he really was, it wasn't fair to Harry to be treated so poorly, but partly he was making sure Draco and, the others in is house believed he hated Harry, and his friends.

[djvallux]

"Well, one of them was already at HAND, was it not, Wormtail?" Voldemort u savage xD !!

[Rafa.]

Why am I just now finding your page. After I saw this vid I saw 20 more. Glad I subscribe. Nice work.

[jozef]

I think Snape was one of the most powerfull wizards that time.Remember the fight between him and McGonnagal.Not only did he deflect her attacks, he also led the attacks to the other 2 deatheaters to make them no threat for the school when he escaped.So basiscally he did not only protect himself, but also the rest of the school at that moment.

[arunray]

You dont have to always use the "killing curse" to kill someone thus leaving your mind open for Voldemort, a simple knife would have done the trick!!

[nathantaylor]

Just imagining Voldemort in a bed sleeping is weird

[corgi]

That title confused the hell out of me at first 🤔

[PaulDixon]

Snape needs a Netflix series. Showing his Dark Arts misadventures, joining the Dark Lord, turning snitch and finally devoting his life to treating the son of the woman he loved not as a treasured reminder of her, but instead as a product to be delivered safely to his demise.

[Shred_The_Weapon]

My preoccupation remains with Severus never divulging to Harry how he felt about Harry‘s mother until after Nagini him and he was about to die.

[tucker]

Hello, can you please do a video about what makes a Witch or Wizard more "powerful" than others? Dumbledore (even without the Elder wand) is undeniably "powerful" but whats to stop, say 5th year Neville from being just as powerful? Sure your knowledge of spells and arsenal of charms would distinguish Hermione from Ron for example, but a spell is just a spell regardless of the caster is it not?

[jameswest]

I often wondered this myself thank you for this great vid.

[justinmoody]

Love this channel but technically Snape wasn’t “Good all along”. He became a double agent and protected Harry because of his love for Lily. That’s it. Had Neville had actually been the chosen one, Snape would have been no better than Malfoy. The only difference is he would have most likely served Voldemort until the bitter end.

[jo_jo]

Video request:
Who were the wizards that meddled with time and where are they now

[Elthenar]

Well, we know the Wizards and ties to the muggle government. Maybe slipping Snape a GPD tracker and then dropping the UK equivalent of a MOAB on the next Death Eater meeting would have been a thought. You might not keep Voldy down long but you would clean out a lot of his Death Eater support making him easier to deal with.



I guess this is why I don't write children's books.

[tootsd]

I just want the channel owner to just read all of the Harry Potter books to me. I've read them all numerous times but I would listen to his wonderful voice to hear the stories again.

[fenelona]

Imagine that Harry, Ron and Hermione could not find some of the horcruxes so they had to kill Voldemort several times and then just wait akwardly till he resurrects.

[HunterBelkiran]

It would be pointless, as you said. Voldemort would come back, and his followers would know now that death cannot stop him, so it'd probably be even easier to do so. Plus, his new body might not have Harry's blood protection binding him to Harry, so it migth've gone differently when Voldemort inevitably kills him.

[andrzejzborowski]

Voldemort was one of three most skilfull wizards in the 20th century. Snape was a powerfull and skillful wizard, he has cheated the Dark Lord with his Occlumency skills but...I think he wasn't enough powerful to kill his ex-master. And we know that killing Voldemort was impossible becaus of Horcruxes that Snape had no knowlege of.