Harry Potter Won by Pure Coincidence, and It's All Snape's Fault
Severus Snape is considered to be rather smart but in reality, he almost ruined Harry’s chances to defeat Voldemort because of one incredibly dumb mistake.
One of the biggest plot twists of The Deathly Hallows was the revelation that Harry Potter was, in fact, the final Horcrux, and he had to die by Voldemort’s hand so that the Dark Lord himself could then be defeated. This came as one hell of a surprise for both us, the readers at home, and Harry himself — but this is what plot twists are for.
There was one huge problem with this revelation, however: the way it was delivered.
As you might remember, at some point during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneaked their way into the Shrieking Shack and witnessed the dialogue between Lord Voldemort and Severus Snape that led to Snape being killed.
Fortunately for Harry and the plot, Voldemort didn’t use Avada Kedavra to get rid of Snape and ordered his snake Nagini to kill the man instead. This gave Severus just enough time to share his memories with Harry — the memories that revealed the ugly truth and allowed the Boy Who Lived to make the correct decision.
Now, let’s say that Harry didn’t end up in the Shrieking Shack by sheer coincidence — or that he came there too late. Snape’s memories would’ve died with him, and since Harry would’ve never gotten to learn that he was a Horcrux, he would’ve ultimately lost.
This raises quite a justified and logical question: is Snape an actual idiot?
The Battle of Hogwarts was already ongoing for quite some time, people were dying left and right, and both Harry and Severus could’ve fallen victim to a stray spell. During the Battle, virtually anything could’ve prevented Harry from doing the right thing since without the knowledge, he could only do so by accident.
Snape put exactly zero effort into finding Harry and revealing the truth. He could’ve sent his Patronus; he could’ve come for Harry himself; he could’ve created some sort of a fail-safe to ensure the information reached the boy anyway.
Severus Snape, however, did nothing, and it was pure coincidence that Harry got to the Shrieking Shack just in time to collect the dying man’s memories. If not for his ultimate luck, Harry would’ve never learned what he was, and Magical Britain would’ve been doomed… Just because Snape felt too lazy.
Come on, man, this is the most blatantly irresponsible behavior we’ve seen from anyone in this story. Imagine dooming the world because you didn’t feel like going.