12 Saddest Heroic Sacrifices In Movies

Dumbledore’s death in the sixth movie was a shocking moment to the students at Hogwarts as well as all the fans, even though it had been previously orchestrated by himself and Snape. Dumbledore was already dying at this point, after putting on Horcrux ring that cursed him with a disease, leaving him with only a year to live. Still, he had to ensure that Snape would be the one to kill him, ensuring Voldemort would trust him indefinitely.

In this scene, Harry has followed Malfoy up the astronomy tower to find him ready to kill Dumbledore at Voldemort’s order. Though Malfoy is clearly frightened and doesn’t want to do it, he feels he has no choice. Before Harry can do anything Snape comes stopping him confronts the situation and takes the burden off Malfoy and kills Dumbledore himself.

Even though at this moment, we do not know the true reasons why Snape killed Dumbledore, we like Harry are left powerless to help and watch helplessly as Dumbledore falls from the tower.

What makes this scene so saddening is the continuing loss Harry has to go through, having lost Sirius in the previous movie. Dumbledore had always been a guiding figure for the boy-who-lived, and seeing him gone only isolates Harry more and dwindles the hope of defeating Voldemort. What we wouldn’t know until the last movie is that Dumbledore’s sacrifice not only ensures Snape’s fake loyalty to Voldemort, but also safeguards that the Elder Wand with Malfoy, for Harry to take ownership of and finally defeat Voldemort.