I don't think the death was faked, but I DO think that Dumbledore and Snape were together on this. I'm positive that Snape told Dumbledore about the unbreakable vow he took regarding the protection of Malfoy. Dumbledore practically pleaded with Snape to kill him. I think this was certainly to save Malfoy from having to do it, and forever putting him down the wrong path. Dumbledore was going to die anyway, from drinking the poison. I also think that this is why Snape was so furious when Harry called him a coward. He has been risking his neck spying on voldemort, and just had to kill the one person who knew everything about what he was doing, and who trusted him completely.
This is yet another reason why I think Harry is so damn annoying. He is totally clueless. I also think that a good majority of his magical ability has been gained from Voldemort. In addition, most of the things he has managed to accomplish or save himself from, has been due to dumb luck, or people saving his ass. He has put almost no effort of his own into his education. Even the patronous charm, I believe, was due to voldemort's influence, since voldemort is extremely adept at defense against the dark arts.
I think probably the most adept wizarding student is Hermione, not Harry. Harry is just lucky.
