The Aftermath: We were all correct J.K. Rowling goes Beyond the Epilogue Severus Snape: Heel or Hero?

Sinking our teeth into the character of Snape J.K.'s surprising revelation about Dumbledore The Repeating
History of Dumbledore The next Harry Potter: Back to the future or the past? A forbidden peek at young
James and Sirius
Wand Basics 101 Wands from a Muggle Perspective My Day with Oliver Wood The trials of the Hogwarts IT
director Introduction to Arithmancy The Secrets of the Fidelius Charm Doing the Math: How many kids are
at Hogwarts? The Five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law
International Quidditch Lessons Spot The Stuntman Foreshadowings in Prisoner of Azkaban Character
changes in Goblet of Fire Mischief Managed... Not! Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 and 2
Dumbledore Is Not Dead The Septology Mystery Book 7 Predictions

Severus Snape: Heel or Hero?

Is Snape a hero? Would James and Lily be alive now if not for him? Would Harry be dead now if not for
him? Did he ever care about Harry, or only Lily? At the end of the epilogue, Harry says that Severus Snape
was the bravest man he ever knew. Did he feel that way only after years of reflection? How do we feel
now, while it's still fresh for us?

Pages: << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ... > >>

Reader Comments: (Page 6)

With the exception of Voldemort, who is pure black, all of Rowling's characters are shades of grey. I'd say
Snape is a deep charcoal.

I look to his relationship with Dumbledore more than anything to find Snape's traces of white. Snape
clearly esteems Dumbledore, by far the best person in the series despite his weaknesses which are finally
revealed in DH (a dried cement color in my book). Moreover, Dumbledore clearly esteems Snape.

At first I was dissappointed in the Lily motive -- all this for some chick that never dug him? Come on. But
now I also see the guilt factor, thanks to many of your comments. I think over time Snape continued to
care deeply for Lily as the only person that was ever kind to him and the only true friend he ever had;
however, I believe that there was something more than this love or guilt within him that kept him on the
good side. Lily, the doe, became the symbol for all that was good in Severus Snape, not the sole reason
for it.

What I think is really so fascinating about Rowling is that her characters take on whole lives beyond her
written words. She was genuinely surprised to find that many readers find Snape to be a 'hero.' Obviously
she does not view him the same way. She created this character yet she leaves enough of him unwritten
to become his own man in our minds.

Now to add another layer to the Snape onion: As we've seen in the epiloge, Harry's opinion of Snape has
pivoted. There was an awful lot of 'memory juice' captured in Hermoine's jar -- do you think Harry must
have taken another dip in the Pensieve and seen more memories to so firmly place Snape in his good
graces?
Posted by BNICKELSON from Batavia, IL on August 2, 2007 11:07 AM

I wanted to point out 2 events from Chapter 33 that should be considered when evaluating Snape.

"Don't be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?"

"Lately, only those I could not save," said Snape.

Snape's response displays a sense of regret or sadness about these other lives. It also suggests that
Snape wishes that he could have saved these lives.
In Chapter 33, we also find out that Snape tried to disarm by using Sectumsempra a deatheater that was
preparing to cast a spell at Lupin. Snape missed, however, he was placing himself at risk by attempting to
protect Lupin.
Posted by Tim from New Hampshire on August 2, 2007 12:12 PM

Tamara from Malta: When Snape asked Harry to look at him I think it is so he can die looking into Lilly's
eyes.
Posted by Tor Ø. B. from Ås, Norway on August 2, 2007 12:42 PM

I think someone nailed it when they mentioned Dumbledore not putting a stop to Snape's behavior. I
believe he had to keep the act up, because if ANYONE saw him act nicely toward Harry, it may have found
a way back to Voldemort. Snape could block out any memories of being nice to Harry, if he'd had any, but,
as we all know, Harry was terrible at it. And, anyone against the dark lord would probably be terrible at it,
as well, and if ANY of them had a memory of Snape being kind to Harry... Voldemort may have wondered.

Then again, Snape could always just say that he was 'pretending' to be nice... so perhaps, here, is where
his hatred for James comes in. I think Dave commented something about Snape enjoying his position a
little too much...

I think it is very clear, in Snape's memories, that he cared for Lily and not Harry. When he says, "For
him?!" or "For HIM!" or however it was stated, it indicated that he meant, "Are you crazy? Of course I
don't care about him, I care about HER!" and produced a Patronus to show this fact.

I would say Snape can be considered a hero, but one to Lily, not necessarily to everybody. He
did it all for her, but I also cannot sit here and claim that 'he did it only for Lily so he wasn't
that great' because I think the very fact that, despite EVERYTHING he had to deal with
throughout his entire life, he was someone who was CAPABLE of a very profound and
everlasting love for someone, makes him great.

Hero might not be the right word, but I would consider him praiseworthy and someone
deserving of sympathy and forgiveness.
Posted by Katie T from California on August 2, 2007 1:12 PM

Severus liked power he aligned himself with powerful people be it Voldemort or be it Dumbledore. Snape
was a jealous sort, he didn't want Dumbledore to care for Harry. He protected Harry only because
Dumbledore told him to.

Snape watched Lily and her sister. He plucked up the courage to talk to her. They became friends. More
than friends. Lily defended Sev when James and his gang bullied him. Yet when Lily came to Severus and
told him she didn't like the people he was hanging around with, Severus chose them. he chose people
involved in the dark arts. Funny how James was pureblood in Gryfindor and Severus was halfblood in
Slytherin. All in all Lily came out as the better character.
Posted by Diana Cain from Atlanta Georgia on August 2, 2007 1:58 PM

I see a LOT of comments regarding how badly Snape treated Harry - but honestly, what did Harry ever do
to try to turn his relationship with Snape around? Harry was, in fact, rather a smart-mouthed little punk
towards Snape.

Rowling takes time in her novels to teach us all about the Golden Rule - treat others as you want to be
treated. James Potter was a jerk to Severus now Severus is a jerk to Harry. Harry does not improve the
situation by just giving it right back. Didn't we see the magic of the Golden Rule with Kreacher? Sirius
treated Kreacher horridly and Kreacher became a nasty little thing. When Harry treated the little guy with
respect and dignity Kreacher turned right around. I'm not suggesting that Snape is as simple a creature as
Kreature, but it couldn't have hurt for Harry to have shown him some respect.
Posted by BNICKEL from Illionois on August 2, 2007 3:14 PM

I agree with the comments that have Snape as a complex character and that is the point really, isn't it?
One of the reasons why many teachers like the books is that JK presents to children the idea
that people are not one dimensional. As Sirius states in OotP (I think), there are not just good wizards
or bad wizards. Even our hero Harry is arrogant, impulsive, and has a temper to be proud of! I
think that is why adults like the book so much as well. I am really happy to accept Snape as
Ron's "git" as well as Dumbledore's trusted colleague, that is what makes him so great to read
as a character. Vive la difference!
Posted by Annette from Sydney, Australia on August 2, 2007 5:37 PM

Did Snape really LOVE Lily? at least a couple time's the book says he looks at her "greedily". Is that love
or just plain creepy?
Posted by BNICKEL from IL, USA on August 2, 2007 5:40 PM

Right while i agree that snape is a difficult character to like you do have to take into account that most of
snapes actions were executed under the watching eyes of death eaters and their children. Even if snape
wanted to be nice to harry there was nothing he could do in front of crabbe goyle etc.. He also had to be
particularly harsh to hermione for the same reasons.

I think that snape is a tragic hero. Snape finds his spot in the world as a death eater and is happy with
that. he has his one true love and all but otherwise is ostensibly there and in a lot of power as he supplied
the prophesy information. However snape gets thouraghally up rooted when his love becomes a target.
Snape is torn between letting james who he hates and lily who he loves die. And as a result we get a
bitter and twisted adult who is associated with to opposing groups and a true member of neither.

You have to give him credit for his extraordinary acting talents. There were agents under deep cover in
the cold war that would have had much less taxing roles.

In short i think snape is the bravest character in the series. I think he was so brave that it almost undid
him. I know i certainly wouldn't have wanted his job. I just wish we could have seen more of snape and
dumbledore alone together. those moments in the pensieve were theparts of snapes character we had
been longing for the whole way through.

I say well done snape. you deserve nothing short of the order of merlin first class for bravery.

Snape the tragic hero of harry potter!

Posted by Des Grealis from Korea on August 2, 2007 5:59 PM

Was Snape a hero? No. Was he brave? Absolutely! Was he a nice person? Of course not. But he was a
magnificent character. He was a bully. He showed unacceptable favoritism towards members of his own
house. He was mean, often cruel to many of his students; not just Harry. But he was absolutely a man of
his word and was intensely loyal to Dumbledore. With his prodigious talent he was one of the few who
could have mounted a serious challenge against Dumbledore. But he didn't. In short, JKR has created a
magnificent literary character who will be referred to for years to come, not just by Harry Potter fans, but
by the world at large.
Posted by Richard D from Tulsa, OK on August 2, 2007 6:45 PM

To all the people out there who think that Severus is evil:

I was shocked by Snape's fate. I cried and felt furious with myself for days, because I had thought that he
was a bad guy all that time.

As the Pensieve reveals, Snape grew up in a house with parents who fought. That has a major impact on a
person's present and future life on its own. But on top of quarreling parents, Snape dealt with being
frequently humiliated in front of his peers, watching the love of his life slip away before his eyes, and later
being treated coldly by his colleagues because they thought he was a traitor. Snape was constantly
misunderstood. Worst of all, though, was probably his conflicting emotions about Harry. I know Severus
loved Harry, and not just because he had Lily's eyes. He was Lily's son! How could he not love him, how
could he refuse to protect the only thing he had left that represented any happiness in his life? And yet he
faced the hard and unavoidable fact that Harry was also James's son, and James represented some of the
most unhappy moments in Snape's life. This confusion inside, on top of having such an awful childhood,
must have been unbearable for Severus. Every time he treated Harry like dirt, he regretted it ten-fold
afterwards. It felt good at the time, but then he would hate himself, thinking that it was disloyal to Lily's
memory to treat her son badly. Dumbledore probably became a mentor for Snape, just as he did for
Harry. Dumbledore was probably the one who helped him through all that anger and sadness he had built
up inside, which was so unbearable that he ended up unintentionally taking it out on students.
 At any point in the whole series Snape could have been found out, and Voldemort's wrath would have
been severe to the hundredth degree. Thank heavens Snape was so good at Occlumency! He was very
brave, risking his life by staying close to Voldemort and passing crucial information.

Severus Snape's death was entirely noble. He begged Lord Voldemort over and over to let him go and
find Harry, and in the Pensieve we realize that Snape did not want to bring Harry to Voldemort. He wanted
to tell him the secret that he needed to know in order to conquer the Dark Lord. And even when the snake
bit him, and he knew he was dying, he STILL did not give up, he did the last possible thing he could do to
help Harry, by giving him his memories. I think that his asking Harry to look at him was more than
wanting to see Lily's eyes; in that one moment, even in his death, he wanted to apologize to Harry, to say
that he loved him really, to finally come to terms with him as he had been trying so hard to do for all
those years. Severus Snape overcame all the horrible treatment, the conflicting emotions, every obstacle
that stood in his way, and that is bravery if I ever saw it.
Posted by Severus Snape fan from TX on August 2, 2007 7:08 PM

another good thing nobody noticed about snape:

in poa snape just "let it slip" about lupin being a werewolf, but that happens after lupin nearly killed
harry! he did it (once again making himself look like a bad guy) to protect harry!
Posted by dk from il on August 3, 2007 01:04 AM

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Memories Involving Severous Snape

Y M D Do A Memory Description B Pg
w k
1959 c LP JP SS PP SB RL Lilly James Severous Peter Serious all same age and born 2 0
Born this year; info JKR "Serius about 22 when went to Azkaban"
1970 9 1 tue c JP LP SS SB PP RL Entered age 11 - calculated from JKR information see note 2 0
11 Y/O begin
 Memories Involving Severous Snape
Y M D Do A Memory Description B Pg
w k
Hogwarts
1978 6 1 sat c JP LP SB PP SS 18 Enter school sept of age 11; enter graduating year when 18; 2 0
7 y/o graduate from graduate in next chronological year. Info from JKR
Hogwarts
1980 6 1 gvn c Snape overheard a SS was caught by the barman listening at the keyhole to an 2 0
portion of interview between AD and Sybil Trelawney. He only heard a
Trelawneys portion of the prophecy she gave about LV & HP
prophecy
1982 9 1 tue c SS became Potions Hired after LV acted on the prophecy and he "repented" of 6 0
teacher at Hogwarts being a Death Eater.
1991 9 1 sun =HPs scar hurts Snape looked past quirrells turbin at harry and his scar 1 12
burned. 6
9 1 sun =HP dream; green HP dreamed quirrells turbin talked; demanded transfer to 1 13
light, laugh Slytherin; it tightened on head and hurt painfully, malfoy 0
laughed turned into Snape; burst or green light and laugh;
awoken w/ pain and sweating
9 6 fri =HP embarassed by HP embarassed by SS in front of class by questions about: 1 13
SS asphodel & wormwood making "living death"; location of a 8
Bezoar; monkshood & wolfsbane being same plant. He found
that ss hated him. Purpose of class: bottle fame, brew glory,
even STOPPER DEATH
9 6 fri =NL intimidated by NL intimidated by SS, spilled potion, got boils went to 1 13
SS hospital wing 9
1 3 thu =Halloween Feast RW insulted HG who cried in firls bathroom, quirrel 1 17
0 1 announced troll loose, HP and RW go to warn HG; see SS 2
going up to 3rd floor.
1 1 fri p Warming in "As ENTERED Nov, day before quidditch match"; HG does 1 18
1 courtyard; see SS flame in a jar spell. SS limps to them and takes HPs 2
Limp quidditch book. There are 700 ways of fouling in Quidditch
1 1 fri p SS bit by fluffy trying to get his book back HP overhears SS complaining 1 18
1 about being bit by 3 headed dog. Filtch handing bandages. 3
HP thinks ss let troll in to get past dog and get what it's
guarding
1 9 sat p HP broom bewitched HP broom bewitched. SS seen to be muttering and making 1 19
1 eye contact. MF makes 5 goals while no one else watching or 0
playing.
1 9 sat p HG saves HP HG knocks over quirrel and sets SS robes on fire, then puts 1 19
1 flame back in jar, broom settles down. 1
1 1 thu p DM taunts RW "one morning mid Dec after potions" (must be thur); HP and 1 19
2 5 weasleys sign to stay at Hogwarts for Xmas very deep snow 6
storm; DM taunted RW re: family; Fight; SS docks points;
"one more day till holiday starts"
1 2 we =Mirror of Erised AF told by SS to notify if anyone out at night; HP ducked 1 20
2 5 d into empty room saw mirror of erised 7
1992 2 9 thu p Snape will referee "after term started"; They think SS refereeing to give 1 21
Quidditch slytherins advantage and to hurt hp; beating Hufflepuff will 6
overtake slyt 1st time in 7 years
3 1 prb p AD watches "next afternoon"; AD watches match that SS referees; GW 1 22
1 Quidditch penalized for hitting bludger at SS 2
3 1 sat p SS Quir sneak to HP sees hooded figure (SS) sneaking to forrest during 1 22
1 forest dinner; flew to spy and found ss and Quirr talking about 6
stone.
5 2 fri =Quirrell begging "wk b4 exams" HP overheard quirrell talking to someone and 1 24
 Memories Involving Severous Snape
Y M D Do A Memory Description B Pg
w k
2 "no" begging "no"; thinks it was SS 5
6 3 we p Snape final exam "next day"; written plus practical - make a forgetfulness 1 26
d potion 2
6 4 thu p Quirrell admits Q is trying to steal the sorcers stone; admits he tried to kill 1 28
trying to kill HP HP at quidditch match. SS tried to save him. 8
6 4 thu p SS foolish to try Q admits that he met SS in forrest who foolishly tried to 1 29
frightening Q frighten him w/ LV "on his side." 0
6 7 sun p AD speaks re JP and "unconscious 3 days"; AD said that JP left invisibility cloak 1 30
SS w/ him, he returned it to harry; JP and SS hated each other 0
but JP saved SS life.
9 1 tue =Caught by snape SS caught them on grounds took to office 2 78
9 1 tue =Newspaper Article Newspaper article: 2 muggles in london saw car over post 2 80
about flying car office tower; at noon in norfolk at peebles in evening; went
to get head of Gryffendor
9 1 tue =Not expelled after explaning, they weren't expelled; ss upset about 2 81
breaking decree for underage wizards
9 5 sat p DM Slytherin seeker OW outlines new quidditch strategy; their practice 2 10
preempted by slytherin's at SS mandate to train DM their 9
new seeker who's father has bought him into the team with
new firebolts 2001 for them all.
1 3 sat =SS offended at GLs SS failed @ having HP expelled; offended @ GLs offer to 2 14
0 1 potion offer make mandrake restorative; RW explains: Squibb = opposite 5
of Muggle-Born--born into wizard family but no powers.
1 1 thu =Diversion in potion's "Thursday afternoon potions"; HP threw firework in Goyles 2 18
1 0 class cauldron to divert attention while HG stole ingredients from 7
SSs cupboard.
1 1 thu =Dueling Club "week later, 8 evening"; GL held dueling club w/ SS who 2 19
2 7 blasted him w/ expelliarmus spell. DM cheated hitting HP 1
who responded w/ Rictusempra
1 1 thu =DM cheats MB DM uses tarantillegra on HP; SS counters it w/ finite 2 19
2 7 wrestles HG incantabut; RW hurt Seamus w/ his wand; MB wrestled HG 2
1 1 thu =HP speaks DM produced snake w/ surpensortia; GL antagonized it w/ 2 19
2 7 parceltongue defective spell; HP told it to leave Justing alone; it obeyed; 4
SS removed it.
1996 7 1 fri =Wormtail at Snapes Pettigrew was place at Snapes house to "assist him" in 6 23
2 to "assist him" something unknown but has been basically cleaning his
house and running errands.
7 1 fri =Snape answers SS took job at Hogwarts on LVs orders and was there when 6 26
2 Bellatrix's questions he fell. He didn't try find LV for same reasons others didn't.
He had 16yrs info to give him which is better than
reminiscences about Azkaban. ADs protection convenient
and used it.
7 1 fri c LV didn't trust SS Because LV didn't reveal himself to SS while possessing 6 28
2 when possessing Quirrel Snape did all he could to prevent a greedy man from
Quirrel stealing it.
7 1 fri c SS returned to LV SS explained to LV that because of the dark mark he knew 6 28
2 on ADs orders he was getting stronger and had time to plan. He delayed
his return for 2 hours so he could maintain his usefulness as
a spy and didn't "leave forever" as he had thought. Info to
kill Emmeline Vance
7 1 fri =LV glad SS didn't kill Didn't kill HP so he could keep ADs protection. LV happy he 6 30
2 HP could use HPs blood. Has tried to get him expelled. "Spun
AD a yarn" about repentance and he believed me- he still
 Memories Involving Severous Snape
Y M D Do A Memory Description B Pg
w k
trusts me- he's injured, and reflexes are slowing.
7 1 fri c Narcissa asks SSs LV had forbidden Narcissa to speak of "it" so SS said "he 6 32
2 help already knew." She requested he convince LV to not make
Draco do "it" which she saw as impossible and anger and
revenge against Lucius' failure. "LV means him to fail."
7 1 fri =SS makes LV means SS to do "it" in the end but Draco must try first so 6 36
2 Unbreakable Vow SS might remain as "spy." He offered to help. Bellatrix
goaded him into making unbreakable vow to: watch over,
protect him and do "it" if looks like he might fail. Bellatrix
was "bonder."
7 1 sat =They apparated to In the Weasly's shed AD finally had a chance to empathize 6 76
3 the Burrow & talked with Harry about Sirius. Told him he could tell Ron and
Hermione about the prophecy but noone else. Will give him
"private lessons" this year. Agreed his lessons w/ Snape
were a fiasco.
9 2 mo =McGonagall cleared Now that Snape is not teaching Potions Harry and Ron are 6 17
n Harry and Ron for cleared to take Potions so he could continue on with his 5
Potions NEWTs desire to be an Auror. Ron had same classes: Charms,
DADA, Herbology, Transfiguration and Potions.
9 1 gvn =Harry's detention Although Slughorn tried to get him out of it Snape made 6 23
4 sorting rotten Harry sort rotten flubberworms from good ones without 6
flubberworms gloves.
1 2 cal c Slughorn praises Slughorn grabbed Harry and Snape and said that he made a 6 31
2 0 Harry in front of Draught of Living Death better than Snape had to Snape's 4
Snape annoyance.
1 2 gvn c Draco caught on 7th Filtch drug Draco into the party having caught him in an 6 32
2 0 floor "crashing "upstairs corridor" lying about being invited to party. When 1
party" he "admitted" he was crashing, Slughorn invited him but
Draco wasn't happy about it. Harry followed Snape & Draco
down hallway invisibly
1 2 cal c Snape claims he's When Draco claimed that DADA was all an "act" Snape 6 32
2 0 been "acting" claimed "it's an act crucial to success, where would I have 4
been all these years, if I had not known how to act?" Draco
said he was trying to steal his glory and walked out on him.
1 2 tue =Lupin defends Lupin said: "It comes down to whether or not you trust 6 33
2 4 Dumbledore and Dumbledore's judgemen. I do; therefore, I trust Severus." 2
Snape He was grateful that Snape had kept him healthy by making
the Wolfsbane potion for him the year he taught.
1997 1 5 sun =Talk about Snape When told, Hermione refused to believe Snape was actually 6 35
and Greyback trying to help Draco. She recalled that it was Fenrir 2
Greyback who Draco had threatened Borgin with as an "old
family friend." She agreed that Scrimgeour had a lot of
nerve asking Harry to help him
1 6 mo =Dumble discounts He called the news "not… of great importance." Then said 6 35
n info about Snape "you have not told me anything that causes me disquiet." 8
and Draco Not "countering" Harry, just that he didn't want Harry to
worry about it.
3 1 sat =Hagrid saw Hagrid let slip that he had seen Dumbledore and Snape 6 40
Dumbledore arguing near the forest. Snape said "you take too much for 5
argueing with Snape granted and maybe he didn't want to 'do it' anymore."
Dumbledore demanded he'd agreed to it and now had to.
3 1 gvn =Harry disagreed Harry expected low marks in his essay about best way to 6 44
6 with Snape in essay tackle Dememtors because he disagreed with Snape. Ron's 8
about Dememtor spell-check quill was "running out" and spelled his name
"Roonil Wazlib." Hermione finally began helping them with
 Memories Involving Severous Snape
Y M D Do A Memory Description B Pg
w k
homework again.
3 1 gvn =HP failed at Rm of Despite Hermione's warning's Harry tried to enter the room 6 45
7 Requirement; of requirement as it was for Draco but failed making him late 8
defined inferius for Snape's DADA class and thus punishment. When Seamus
asked about Inferius Snape made Harry answer then
belittled his answer.