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Snape -- oh, boy! You know, it was in discussing that aspect of the book with my wife that my regard for Rowling as a writer made a quantum jump.

When she read it to me (as I drove), I was appalled. Snape in the books had been so much darker, nastier, "badder" than he's been in the movies. Seemed unredeemable. I sort of gasped when he took the unbreakable vow at the start, wondered where that would go. But Dumbledore had such absolute confidence in him... but he'd been wrong before, too.

So when this came, I hoped he'd change, or show up as good. Instead, Rowling describes this look of hatred and revulsion, and he simply does the evil deed. I gasped. He'd clearly turned, gone evil.

But then Valerie raised doubts after we finished, and I began wondering. We went back over events.

I came to the conclusion (at least) that it is a startlingly well-written narrative. It really could go either way! As that professor guy, Granger or what's-his-name, says, the books are written as if we were observing from just over Harry's shoulder. We see things almost always just as Harry sees them. And so we see this as Harry sees it, and Harry's view of Snape is very definite.

But it could mean a whole different thing!

So I've gone from sure that Snape was evil (first read) to thinking that he really is doing as he and Dumbledore had planned. The details -- no idea.

Anyway, that's my thought in a nutshell. Yours?

Dan

I think Snape is doing Dumbledore's bidding, going all the way back to when he approached DD, remorseful, at having set LV on the path to the Potters. I think the reason why DD has trusted Snape over the years is that the two of them made an unbreakable vow, back then, that Snape would always do everything in his power to protect HP's life, since he was responsible (partly, at least) for the deaths of James and Lily. And Snape has always done that, starting in Sorcerer's Stone and going right through HBP. At the end of HBP, when the Death Eaters are all running away, Snape not only didn't kill HP, as he could have, but he also didn't abduct him, which would have been just as easy and--for a true follower of LV--abducting HP at that point would have been the logical and most rewarding course of action. He couldn't do it, though--it would have undoubtedly led to HP's death.

So right now, everyone is convinced Snape is the bad guy (excpet for maybe Bellatrix and LV). If it turns out he's really one of the good guys, how will anyone else find out? A neat bit of continuity would be if DD had left HP his memory of Snape having made an unbreakable vow to protect him, if that is in fact what happened. It may even bring HP back to Hogwarts for a day or so. There don't seem to be a lot of pensieves sitting around. All conjecture, obviously, but what fun! At least it gets my mind off of our real estate sitch.