Part 2
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So move on to summer 1996, when he realizes he won't be the one to finish the war.
He has 3 issues to deal with: destroying Tom's Horcruxes, giving Harry a chance at survival and preventing Tom from becoming master of the Elder Wand.
For the first he was going to do as much as possible and leave most of the rest to Harry (not clear who was supposed to kill Nagini, considering his instructions required that she be protected when Harry was given his last instructions). For this purpose he was going to arrange for Severus to deliver to Harry the sword and the Horcrux books, though Hermione managed to snag the books earlier than planned, through the window Albus left open to allow Severus to fly into the headmaster's office during the summer.
For the second - Harry had to die in a manner that left his body intact, so that his soul had a body to re-enter from the trip to King's Cross. The best chance was if Harry died by AK, and the person who can be (almost always) counted on to use the AK was Tom - which is why Albus said it was 'essential' that Voldmeort kill Harry himself. But for that to happen, Tom had to have a wand he trusted. Now this might be a complication, because after 3 failures to kill Harry with the yew wand and especially after the PI at the graveyard Tom might decide he no longer trusted his own wand against Harry. He might decide to acquire the Elder Wand, especially once he captured Ollivander. Which leads us to issue #3.
Albus had to keep Tom from really mastering the Elder Wand (who knows if the Elder Wand can overcome the blood connection between Harry and Tom? it's an equation with two unique unknown elements, the outcome is impossible to predict). So first and foremost, he had to avoid dying at Tom's hand, even indirectly. Which meant he couldn't afford to die from the ring's curse. He had (at least) two other options: option one was, when the time came, commit suicide. Make it look like a heart attack or some other natural cause. He would have died on his own terms, the Elder Wand would have been retired, no matter who held it. And nobody would be suspected as the master. But instead he chose to give the task to Severus. So because he had an alternative I believe it was not mere neglect or underestimation of Tom's ability to trace down the wand that Albus chose this manner of death. I believe it was his way of ensuring that if Tom decided to track down the Elder Wand he would believe that he could secure it by killing Severus.
Against Albus' expectations, Draco became the Master, while the wand retained its power. Now what? If Albus' goal was for Severus to become master of the Elder Wand he should have told him. Severus could find an excuse to disarm Draco sometime, perhaps at school. But Albus didn't, and rightly so - if the apparent master is the true master then Tom would have actually become the master when he killed Severus. So when Albus at King's Cross agrees he intended the wand to go to Severus, he meant a retired, impotent wand. He did not want Severus to have the power of the wand, he merely wanted to mark him as the apparent master, so he would die for it, to ensure that if Tom learns of the Elder Wand he will be under false belief of his mastery of said wand.
Let's consider your proposal, that Albus didn't expect Tom to figure out the Elder Wand. Then when the wand was not retired, with Draco as its master, why not tell Severus about it? Since the wand was not retired, why not let Severus become its master (by disarming Draco) so that he'd be able to use it whether to undo Nagini's protection, to kill Nagini or Tom himself? Or at least to prevent Tom from accidentally becoming the master, if he were to punish Draco by taking his wand or kill Draco in a fit of pique? No, I don't see how an Albus who doesn't expect Tom to track the wand down would not inform Severus, now that he knows the wand retained its power. He took a huge risk that Voldemort would get the mastery from Draco without even knowing he was doing so. I think the reason is obvious, and consistent with past behavior - he couldn't bring himself to face Severus and tell him how he was using him behind his back...
He has 3 issues to deal with: destroying Tom's Horcruxes, giving Harry a chance at survival and preventing Tom from becoming master of the Elder Wand.
For the first he was going to do as much as possible and leave most of the rest to Harry (not clear who was supposed to kill Nagini, considering his instructions required that she be protected when Harry was given his last instructions). For this purpose he was going to arrange for Severus to deliver to Harry the sword and the Horcrux books, though Hermione managed to snag the books earlier than planned, through the window Albus left open to allow Severus to fly into the headmaster's office during the summer.
For the second - Harry had to die in a manner that left his body intact, so that his soul had a body to re-enter from the trip to King's Cross. The best chance was if Harry died by AK, and the person who can be (almost always) counted on to use the AK was Tom - which is why Albus said it was 'essential' that Voldmeort kill Harry himself. But for that to happen, Tom had to have a wand he trusted. Now this might be a complication, because after 3 failures to kill Harry with the yew wand and especially after the PI at the graveyard Tom might decide he no longer trusted his own wand against Harry. He might decide to acquire the Elder Wand, especially once he captured Ollivander. Which leads us to issue #3.
Albus had to keep Tom from really mastering the Elder Wand (who knows if the Elder Wand can overcome the blood connection between Harry and Tom? it's an equation with two unique unknown elements, the outcome is impossible to predict). So first and foremost, he had to avoid dying at Tom's hand, even indirectly. Which meant he couldn't afford to die from the ring's curse. He had (at least) two other options: option one was, when the time came, commit suicide. Make it look like a heart attack or some other natural cause. He would have died on his own terms, the Elder Wand would have been retired, no matter who held it. And nobody would be suspected as the master. But instead he chose to give the task to Severus. So because he had an alternative I believe it was not mere neglect or underestimation of Tom's ability to trace down the wand that Albus chose this manner of death. I believe it was his way of ensuring that if Tom decided to track down the Elder Wand he would believe that he could secure it by killing Severus.
Against Albus' expectations, Draco became the Master, while the wand retained its power. Now what? If Albus' goal was for Severus to become master of the Elder Wand he should have told him. Severus could find an excuse to disarm Draco sometime, perhaps at school. But Albus didn't, and rightly so - if the apparent master is the true master then Tom would have actually become the master when he killed Severus. So when Albus at King's Cross agrees he intended the wand to go to Severus, he meant a retired, impotent wand. He did not want Severus to have the power of the wand, he merely wanted to mark him as the apparent master, so he would die for it, to ensure that if Tom learns of the Elder Wand he will be under false belief of his mastery of said wand.
Let's consider your proposal, that Albus didn't expect Tom to figure out the Elder Wand. Then when the wand was not retired, with Draco as its master, why not tell Severus about it? Since the wand was not retired, why not let Severus become its master (by disarming Draco) so that he'd be able to use it whether to undo Nagini's protection, to kill Nagini or Tom himself? Or at least to prevent Tom from accidentally becoming the master, if he were to punish Draco by taking his wand or kill Draco in a fit of pique? No, I don't see how an Albus who doesn't expect Tom to track the wand down would not inform Severus, now that he knows the wand retained its power. He took a huge risk that Voldemort would get the mastery from Draco without even knowing he was doing so. I think the reason is obvious, and consistent with past behavior - he couldn't bring himself to face Severus and tell him how he was using him behind his back...