Sever-Us Snape

In a conversation over the weekend Pauli had a very interesting hypothesis: That on the rooftop of the Astronomy tower, Dumbledore may not have been saying "Severus" but "Sever Us" ... in other words, separate us. I do not know if this is up her alley as far as things hidden in the mechanics of the dialogue (although it may be - it may be too mechanical for her but it also may be something she would do) but I do think that is could be an adaptation of the name (she is notorious for names with important meanings in them) that she might intend to be in there but leave implicit (as she does with many of the names, leaving it for avid literary sleuths like Granger to discover and have great conversations about) There are 2 things I would note about this. 1. It would be a symbol of the redemption that has happened for Snape (on the "good Snape" theory) or maybe will happen for him (or maybe happen further for him in the future, redemption in his reconciliation with Harry). The name means "severed" or separated or cut in two. I have standardly taken this to mean his divided character, the tension in him. If, however, Pauli's suggestion is right (and because of what will be said in the second point - the symbolic value of the severing) it is an instance of a positive meaning being given to the name because he is doing the good will of Dumbledore in severing, and thus it is a sort of redemption on the level of the name. As in all redemption, that which was bad is transformed (like the red lizard on the shade's shoulder in Lewis' The Great Divorce, that once the shade allows it to be killed is resurrected as a vibrant stallion on which the risen man rides further into heaven ... in redemption the good characteristic that has been perverted in a weakness, now becomes a strength) 2. It is well known that one of Rowling's central themes is the need for coming to grips with death, the need for right grieving. This involves the humble acceptance of a separation (hopefully just for a time, with reunification hoped for in the after-life ... maybe in the place beyond the veil through which Sirius falls, from whence Harry hears voices). If the "good Snape" theory is right, and if Pauli's suggestion is right (as I am hoping it is) I believe the name has been transformed to symbolize this theme. The Material Aspects Briefly, here are my thoughts on the "mechanics" of the "Sever-Us" theory. The death stopper magic might somehow involve not just Snape performing some magic that keeps Dumbledore alive, but Snape himself lending some of his own life itself to Dumbledore to keep him alive (his own nephesh, in Hebrew, psyche in Greek, or anima in Latin). Thus Snape would need to sever the connection and allow Dumbledore to die - this still necessitates some "ruse" magic, in which it appears he is using Avada Kedavra on Dumbledore.