- Spoilers abound in the last few pages.

and right here:
SPOILER. ALERT. RIGHT NOW.

Awh shucks. JKR had a good explanation, oh well. The book was fantastic, I loved it. I admit to being wrong.
HOWEVER, don't just come and post to say, "OMGZSNAPEISGOOD,YAI." This is for discussion. And, besides..

Originally Posted by Muggles Running Amok

There's quite a lot more to it than that.
That's the whole point of Snape.
He was on our side, yes, but he was a "very, very flawed hero. an anti-hero, almost." in JKR's own words. He's interesting, he's a key example in the series that sometimes, there is no black and white. There's good and bad in everyone.

& I'm just warning you. If you come in here to mourn your beloved Sevviepoo's death, prepare to be either ignored or presented with my one sided opinion as well.
This is a discussion, not a funeral.

For my remaining Harry Potter dignity:

• For my first point stated below- I guess that was a loophole that was not taken advantage of. I still think he could have gotten out of it, but JKR didn't write it that way, and Dumbledore needed to die, so Snape had to at least appear a bit evil. Kudos to Jo<33
• If I had known that Dumbledore would have absolutely died anyway due to the horcrux's damage on his hand, I would have agreed with the Dumbledore Planned to Die theory much earlier than when I read that it had come true. xD It was the good explanation that I asked for if Snape turned out to be good, so I'm not complaining because it fit together perfectly.

Oh well. I'm not bitter. After reading Deathly Hallows, I think it was for the best. I just don't agree with Harry for naming one of his children Albus Severus. It's not nearly as bad as Scorpius, however. Anywhoo, I'ma repeat myself when I say that I LOVED DEATHLY HALLOWS and that I LOVE JK ROWLING.

& here's what I posted originally:
-----------------------------------------

Okay, so I know there are Harry Potter threads. None of them directly discuss whether Snape is good or evil though, but if this needs to be locked, let me know so I can kill it. Sincerest apologies if this isn't correct.

What I think: Snape is Evil. Dumbledore did not ask him to kill him.
Why?:

• He truly had a choice in killing Dumbledore.
  - He could have avoided the vow because Bellatrix, his accuser, didn't want Narcissa to go through with it anyway.
• Dumbledore has no reason to want Snape to kill him..
  - There was still a lot Dumbledore could have done. He's Dumbledore. The possibilities are endless, even if Dumbledore HAD to die to let Harry fight his own battles.(I agree 100% with this. HOWEVER, given the way he died, my conclusion is that Snape's evil. x))

What will convince me:

• Really, really good points that I can't disprove or overlook.
• An explanation as to why exactly Dumbledore would want Snape to kill him. I'll probably get this in the 7th book if everyone is right. then I'll kick myself.

Other theories about Snape that I think may be possible::

• Snape could be on his own side, using his double-agent position for his own benefit. (Thanks, Seiki Nova. ((See page5.)) )

Please, give me your input. : )

I think Sev is good. No Dumbledore didn't want Sev to kill him.. but Sev didn't want to die either... Remember the beginning of the book where he promised to do something if Malfoy couldn't? Malfoy had been ordered to take down Dumbledore but since Malfoy was hesitating Sev had to do so Severus did it not wanting to be killed himself.

He'd be more useful alive than dead....

Severus would have been better off dying for Dumbledore. Dumbledore was the only one Voldemort ever feared, making him very, very valuable to the good side of the war. Dumbledore can do more for the good side than Snape can alive.

And Snape could have refused the Unbreakable Vow. Bellatrix, who had been suspicious of Snape, didn't even want them to do it because the whole situation with the Malfoys and what Draco was told to do was supposed to be a secret. Snape, if he was good, could have sided with Bellatrix and said, "No, Narcissa. We shouldn't be doing this." It would have saved him from killing Dumbledore, and Bellatrix wouldn't have held it against him. He could have easily gotten out of it.

EDIT: And, if what you say is true, that Dumbledore didn't want Snape to kill him and that it wasn't part of Dumbledore's master plan, then Snape did indeed murder him, making a bad guy.

Think of it, Dumbledore is only ONE of the two Voldemort truly feared. Harry is the second.. all six years Dumbledore has been using Harry as a pawn for the upcoming war that's impossible to forget about. Severus Snape is one of the strongest wizards as well and knows more black arts then he lets on making Dumbledore just another pawn in the art of war.

If Dumbledore lived and Snape died.. he'd no longer get inside information for what Voldemort is doing and can't pass on false information to Voldemort to make the man think that the Light is moving against him one way rather than another. If Snape could reconsile with Minerva (forget how to spell her last name) then he's still of use on the side of the Light and will still be a strong back up..

Side Note: I know some of my replies might end up a bit biased.. I hate Dumbledore.. >.> and Sevvy is my fave character

I don't think Dumbledore uses Harry as a pawn. He just helps him. He's his mentor, a great wizard. Even though Snape knows a lot of dark magic, he's still not regarded as a great wizard nearly as much as Dumbledore. Snape has never been a threat to Voldemort.

Snape's credibility as a Death Eater for our side would not have been damaged if he had chosen not to kill Dumbledore. It was Draco's job, not his, and again, he could have avoided having to do it.

It's going to take a LOT for Snape to be trusted again. No one else trusted him, truly, except for Dumbledore. They only trusted him because Dumbledore did.. And Snape killed him.

My side note: xD That's okay. I'm a bit biased, too. I cried for days when Dumbledore died. I hate Snape.

Draco is Sev's godson though.. if Draco hadn't taken the Unbreakable Vow and Draco hadn't managed to do it.. then Draco would be dead instead. I know in everyone's minds that's fine but Severus does have a strong family bond with the Malfoy's and didn't want to see Draco killed at the hand of Voldemort.

But he DID take the vow and would have died for it if he hadn't done the job because Draco did hesitate and I know he wouldn't have done it because he would have listened to Dumbledore too much and backed down.

But Dumbledore HAS been using Harry as a pawn... always giving him hints to do things himself and always congratulating him for breaking the rules. Much too much stress on such a boy but yet everyone turns to Harry for support rather than the man that should be in charge of the school. Harry doesn't see it, but it's true.

It will take a lot of work for some trust to return, but ieven after explanations they'll realize they still need the information that Snape can give them.

Sorry for the really long wait on my response. x) I just had a good conversation with my boyfriend.

Still, though... Snape's not totally responsible for Draco. It's his parents' fault. I'm not saying that Dumbledore should be more important to Snape than his own family, but for the sake of the war, everyone has to make hard choices, and when you really get down to it, Snape's better choice would have been not to take the Vow.

Dumbledore doesn't use Harry as a pawn. Maybe more of a bishop. (whatever piece he was.) And kids look up to Harry more because Harry is seen as more of a hero in the eyes of fellow youth rather than Dumbledore.

How can Snape explain himself without proof? How do you think that will go down?

EDIT: I'm going to take a shower pretty soon, so I probably won't reply for another thirty minutes.

Tis alright, I'm conversing with five people here myself.

That's not how Snape sees it though.. he doesn't have a real family of his own rather than the Malfoy's and he doesn't want to see anything done to Draco. It would have been better for him not to take the Vow, but he is loyal to his family as much as he was loyal to the Order.. he seen no alternative.. do what he can for his family and hope for the best if it came to it, which it had.

Yeah but... Such a burden shouldn't be place upon a boy who knows little to nothing of the wizarding world to begin with and little to no spells. The only reason he managed to live and survive is because of Hermione and her knowledge of the spells if it weren't for her Dumbledore would have been holding Harry's funeral rather than the end of the year feast those five years.

: ) Squeaky clean.

Good point, but he still killed Dumbledore when Dumbledore didn't want to be killed. Even if it was for his family, it doesn't make him good or all the way on our side.

The burden was placed on Harry by Voldemort choosing him to be "The Chosen One." He was famous from the start and seen as a hero as an infant. It's not Dumbledore's fault.

Dumbledore might not have wanted to be killed.. but neither did Severus. We could go around in circles saying that all night though.. Good point but my point is also good.

Just because he was famous from the start doesn't mean he has to be the savior when he grew up as well.

Yeah, I guess you're right there. I think that's what divides most people on the Evil Snape issue. It's just a matter of opinion if you look at it from certain angles. EDIT: Still, it doesn't make him 100% on our side. x)

Voldemort made Harry the chosen one and the savior. He made the prophecy true, dooming himself. Dumbledore didn't make him the savior. He's just helping him to do it because now, he really is the chosen one, and Dumbledore helped him.

I'm on the fence about this. There's no rock-solid evidence we can use in debates, and I'm not the best at arguing my points. Still, I'll try.

Also, this post ended up waaaay longer than I intended for it to be. If you're not incredibly bored/willing/desperate/intruiged, feel free to skip to the last paragraph. There's a really short summary, because I do not possess the ability to hold my tongue. :)

I believe that Snape is, rather than being necessarily "good" or "bad", on his own side. Maybe it's the side that puts him at the better advantage at that moment; maybe he really doesn't care either way, and is just such a sweetheart that he fights other people's battles for them. No, not really.

While I would like to believe that Snape doesn't care much for either side, I'm certain that this isn't the truth. Instead, I think that he's a double-agent of sorts. Isn't it a bit suspicious that he saw the light after reporting the Prophecy to Voldemort?

It seems to me like he could be spying for both sides. For that alone, a lot of people would consider him on the side of evil. But, as I've said, he's more complex than that.

In the end, I have no opinion. However -- (I love that word. I feel so awesome typing it in italics like that, as dorky as it sounds. n___n) -- I have an opinion, or more of an observation, really, on the LST scene.

It is my opinion that Dumbledore wanted to die. Or, to put it in better words, he wanted Snape to kill him. He said please, didn't he? To me, that didn't at all seem like a "please don't kill me, Severus." It was more of a "you promised, you great big lummox, so hurry up and kill me already."

Originally Posted by HBP pg 595/556

...somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly. "Severus..." The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. ... Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. "Severus... Please..."

See that bit there, in the darkgreen bolded font that ohsoprettily almost-matches my avatar? Yeah. Revulsion, hatred, dramadramadrama. Obviously Snape hates Dumbledore. Obviously Snape wants Dumbledore to die. (And see the bit after that? Refer to above the quote. Dumbledore = pleading for his life, of course.)

OR Snape could be playing up to the emokid!Sev fantasy that the fandom seems to have stuck on replay. What if those emotions weren't for Dumbledore, but for himself?

What if he were repulsed at himself for agreeing to kill Dumbledore; what if he was about to back out?

Originally Posted by HBP pg 405/380

I was comin' outta the forest the other evenin' an' I overheard 'em talking -- well, arguin'. ... I jus' heard Snape sayin' Dumbledore took too much fer granted an' maybe he -- Snape -- didn' wan' ter do it anymore ... Dumbledore told him flat out he'd agreed ter do it an' that was all there was to it."

This leads me to believe that Dumbledore and Snape struck up a deal, in which Snape agreed to kill Dumbledore. He hesitates on the job, Dumbledore reminds him with a dignity-destroying "please", Harry jumps to conclusions and Dumbledore flies over the railing.

OR Snape could have been saying that he'd had enough with being a spy for the Light. "I feel like I am betraying you, my one, my only, my king," etc etc.

On the other hand, he could've been saying that he didn't want to be on Dumbledore's "side" at all. In a way, he did agree to do it, didn't he? He changed sides. That's pretty much agreeing that you'll never go back.

And sometimes I think that Dumbledore would be the kind to be all, "Oh that's great dear, but you're on the side of Light and that's that. Lemon drop?"

Then there are the things that lead me to believe that Snape is "evil." Of course, this is going to come off as incredibly stereotypical and I apologise for that, but...

He's, well. Him.

He's cold and he's cruel but he knows what he's doing. He's the sinister dude in the childrens series. He has to be evil, you know? It's like... the law, okay? He can't not be evil. That would be revolutionary, and actually, really disappointing for a series with a fandom this large.

"Hey, knowing JKR, Snape'll turn out to be good just because she likes to go against the norm and stuff."

Well, sure, maybe. But we're expecting that, aren't we?

The thing is, whether Snape ends up good or bad, half of the fandom will be screaming I TOLD YOU SO. And J. K. Rowling likes to surprise us, doesn't she?

So, to summarise this post which didn't need to be as long as it was, surely, in my opinion, Snape is spying for both sides, or he really doesn't give a damn either way.

He's him, after all.

Long posts are okay. That's what I want, a book debate. x)

He's definitely a double agent. He gives information to the Order and Voldemort. He was Dumbledore's Death Eater spy. In my opinion though, he's just been staging being on the good side when he's really bad.

Whyyyyy would Dumbledore want to die? He may have been weak, but I think someone could have saved him. He's Dumbledore. Any wizard in the world would have the desire to save him. He could have been saved, in my opinion, and there is no reason for him to die other than the fact that Harry has to fight his own battles. And Dumbledore's not just going to decide, "I'm going to die so Harry can learn to be on his own. Even though there's so much more I can do for the war and for Hogwarts, I'm going to ask none other than Severus to do so and have everyone else's trust in him destroyed."

No. Dumbledore could have been saved, and he could have continued helping the Order and Hogwarts.

I think that the revulsion might have been for either of them. In my opinion, he hated Dumbledore. He never showed that much loyalty to him anyway. He was never nice to him. He only did things for the Order for him, and he wasn't a very enthusiastic Occlumency teacher.

He could have an expression of self-loathing for getting himself into this mess and destroying the good side's trust, too, realizing how doing this will affect him if he is a spy. Even if he's bad! : )

Tell me, would Snape kill Voldemort if he was loyal to him? Look at it from another side. Why kill the head-honcho, the one who can do most for that side in the war? unless Snape's really behind it all, that he's the evil overlord in the series, not Voldemort. But, I'm guessing this is highly unlikely, so yeah.

I think that what Hagrid overheard... It would be way too obvious if they were arguing about Dumbledore wanting Snape to kill him. It would fit together too easily. It's a really easy connection to make, and JK Rowling, I think, wouldn't include that snippet if it was about Dumbledore wanting Snape to kill him. She wants us to figure it out.

I think that they might have been arguing about Snape being a double-agent. He just may not want to do it any more. It would be much easier on him as a loyal member of the Order, and it would have been much easier on him as a Death Eater. <---- Oh duh. You said that. "OR Snape could have been saying that he'd had enough with being a spy." lol sorry, sort of missed that!

If Dumbledore knew Snape wanted to switch sides, if Dumbledore knew Snape truly wanted to be a Death Eater, I would think that they wouldn't have that argument. "I want to be bad." "No, you're good." His trust in him would be completely destroyed, he wouldn't trust him to be a double-agent any more.

I will edit this post when I get back from my day, eep, my boyfriend is picking me up NOW and I need to do my hair. >.>

Long posts are good, I just have a hard time working up to it so I usually go straight to the point and that makes my replies short.

I think Severus never wanted to go back to being a Death Eater at all, but wanted to stay in the safety of Hogwarts but part of his deal with Dumbledore after Voldemort's demise is that he'd work for him at the school and if Voldemort ever returned because Dumbledore knew he wasn't truly dead. Severus does hate Dumbledore and like him at the same time though, he hates him for forcing him to do the things he doesn't want to do and for his rather annoying attitude "Lemon drop anyone" no matter what the situation but likes him because Dumbledore was the lasting mentor to him as he grew up and after his side with Voldemort at 17 till Harry unknowingly first defeated Voldemort.

I agree with Froggy, he's on his own side and just trying to survive this war with everything in tact and not too much Torture on Voldemort's side. We already argued too much about why he didn't decline taking the Vow too much, and he had to fulfill it to survive. And in his mind his own side is good because he doesn't want to continue with what he sees on either side

The thing is, we're viewing this from Harry's perspective. While we don't get crazy rants from his conscience, we don't get the omniscient view of JKR's world, either. We know what Harry knows, and even though he may be The Chosen One, he's still a kid. He knows what the war is about, he knows what he has to do, but he doesn't know much at all.

Remember what Dumbledore said in the first book? About death being the next great adventure to the well-organised mind. Dumbledore just doesn't sound like the sort of man to be afraid of death -- and, after being alive for so long, his mind pretty much has to be well-organised or in complete disaster mode. He seems the type to organise things well, anyway.

So what if he were being literal? What if death really is an adventure? In the wizarding world, the only way you can bring back the dead is via Inferi (and vampires, I guess.) Even then, their souls don't come with the deal. So what if they're off helping the living, chit-chatting with other dead spirits? It's a huge leap, but it's possible. I guess.

If that's the case, Dumbledore could want to die to contact those who knew things, and were killed because of it. I have no idea how he'd actually transfer his knowledge to the living... but he's all-powerful, you see. He's Dumbledore; anything's possible. ;D

I don't think that Snape truly hated Dumbledore. As I said, we're viewing things from Harry's (limited) POV -- whenever he's around Snape, things get ugly. I'm not saying that Snape's the kind to chuck daisies every which way, but we don't see Snape and Dumbledore alone together. All we have is what Hagrid overheard, and there's a big difference between hatred and arguing.

You kill the head honcho if the head honcho wants to be killed. Let's face it, in the eyes of an ordinary person both Dumbledore AND Voldemort are pretty loopy.

You make a good point, MRA. But the thing is, we've come to expect the unexpected from JKR. If we're dismissing every theory as "too obvious", there's a chance it'll be the truth, just to spite us. Of course, the truth is more than likely going to be something no one's even dreamed of... but, well. That's not the point. :P

Shh. Stop using logic against me.

I agree with Kale when it comes to the "Snape hates Dumbledore" thing. Snape both hates, and doesn't hate, Dumbledore at the same time... which isn't confusing at all, of course.

Also, I'm aware that we're probably not supposed to pull an entire semi-Universe out of our bums for the purpose of debating a character's want of death. But, er. Ignore that.

Kale- Right except for that Snape didn't want to be a death eater, I think.. I mean I just don't really know what to say to that. xP I agree with what you think Snape thinks about Dumbledore. I mean, I don't think anyone would be able to COMPLETELY hate Dumbledore... Snape respects him a bit for mentoring him, probably. but you know when you just hate someone so much that it overshadows that one good thing about them? He's still just bad.

Frog- Harry would know more if Dumbledore was still around to teach him. xP I think JK has done a good job of finishing off Dumbledore at this point because Harry does have to fight his own battles.

Right, Dumbledore's not afraid of death. But that doesn't mean he wanted to die. There's no good reason for him to want to die (that we know of. Watch, it'll be some huge plot twist where it seems perfectly reasonable...lol.)

Are you saying that you think Dumbledore will become the singular form of Inferi? (Infii...? lol.) JKR has confirmed that Dumbledore is dead, he's gone. I think his portrait will have conversations with Harry, but he's not coming back physically.

Right, but when we view the Harry Potter world from Harry's eyes, you can't say that Snape isn't not loyal to Dumbledore in private. If that makes sense. It could work both ways. Good point, though.

Just because Dumbledore's a little loopy doesn't mean he wanted to die. He plans, but I still don't see any situation explaining how or why he WANTS to die. It doesn't click for me. And lol I agree... I bet, if Dumbledore wanted to die and Snape is good, JKR will kick my ass with a really, really good plotline to support it.

She just can't stand to make me happy. :(

No, I don't think Dumbledore will become an Inferius (that's the singular form, isn't it?)

Heck, I don't know WHAT I mean. Stop being logical. :<

But just to regain some dignity... hopefully... Snape is complex. He isn't the type of person that you can say is 100% good or 100% bad - and really, no one is. But when it comes to sides on a war, I still think that he's on his own. If that means spying for the light, okay then. If that means betraying the location of the Order to Voldemort, so be it. If he comes out alive, then everything's worth it.

Although I do think he has morals. I'm just not sure what they are.

That makes more sense. The singular form of Inferi, I mean. And yeah, I just didn't quite know what you were saying there. It was late, I was tired. lol.

Good point on Snape being complex. I don't disagree with you, but I think he at least leans towards the dark side because of his choices, even if he is a little bit on his own. You can't be a double-agent without being on your own at least a little bit, so yeah.

Everyone has morals. Most people, anyway. Snape doesn't strike me as a lunatic, so I'd say he has some standards of his own to live by. We just haven't been exposed to enough of Snape personally, so it's hard to tell.

Snape=Good. End of story.

Sorry Jordan, we've debated over this a million times before and I don't wanna type up a long wall of text right now P:

Have fun debating with Froggy and Kale though xDD

Ugh, Stephen. I'M RIGHT AND YOU KNOW IT.
Harrison and I fought over this yesterday. Not like, a violent omgz I hate you fight, but yeah. He just wouldn't stop comparing Dumbledore to Jesus. He thinks he's coming back and that Snape fake-killed him to give Voldemort a false sense of security.

What bull honkey. I kept telling him JKR said Dumbledore's definitely dead, but he won't listen to me. lol. His mom listened to my points, though. She had nothing to say against either of ours because well she's the parent, lol. but yeah...

BACK TO THE SNAPE DEBATE, EVERYBODY.lol.

I have mixed thoughts on this subject. I can see how Snape is evil, but how he might also be good. Snape made the unbrakeable vow, almost because he had to. He needed to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was loyal to the Dark Lord. If he had refused, Belletrix would have been able to use his refusal to kill Dumbledore against him. It might made the Dark Lord realize that Snape may not be a loyal follower.

I think Dumbledore may have asked Snape to kill him if it came down too it. Dumbledore may have been a strong wizard but he is getting old and as the book showed, he is not as quick as he used to be.

I think most of all that Snape is, as someone said before, on his own side. I think he is waiting to see which side will prevail. He's just trying to survive.

I think he's good, and I believe that he was just looking out for his godkid. I feel sorry for him for the position he was in, having either to lose Draco when the kid was still young and couldn't kill someone for his innocence (even though he's a bully and such it's still tough to go off and actually KILL someone, much less the headmaster that you've been around for the past six years) or Dumbledore, who was most likely nearing the end of his life anyways. When you look at it that way, I'm sure that Dumbledore probably would've just went ahead and told Snape to kill him anyways, because that's just the way he is. He's the type of person to let someone else live while he dies, only with certain cases exempt I'm sure, but there is still plenty of time for Draco to get pulled around to the "good" side, as he's still an impressionable kid at this point. At least, that's what I think on the subject.

What I think?: Snape is good.

He was bound by contract to do what he did. There was nothing there that showed he wanted to kill. He also kept Harry alive. He made the others procrastinate, to "leave him" for Voldemort.

Dumbledore trusted Snape all those years, and he never let anyone down. Dumbledore knew everything. He even knew about Draco. It was inevitable, what happened, even though I hated it. He had to be out of the way before Harry would finally leave to face off against Voldemort. Dumbledore was all Voldemort feared, after all.

I haven't read the sixth book in so long, but I still remember the huuuge post I wrote on it. If you're interested, I'll post it... but I don't want to ramble on unnecessarily. x.o;

Caranfiirithwen- Bellatrix would not have been able to use his refusal against him because Bellatrix didn't want Snape and Narcissa to do it anyways. A lot of people think he absolutely had to do it, but he could have easily sided with Bellatrix and said, "No. I'm sorry, but I can't help you. It's not to be discussed. etc.etc..."

If Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him, which I will only support if there's a good reason/explanation in book 7, it WON'T be just because he's getting old. You don't ask someone to murder you because you're getting old.

Ishoku- I feel sorry for him too now that a lot of people are bringing up this point, but even if he was just looking out for his godson, if he killed Dumbledore without Dumbledore wanting him to, then he's still not a good guy, even if it was for family reasons.

Dumbledore wouldn't ask Snape to kill him unless there was a huge, big reason for it. He wouldn't just have Snape kill him and then absolutely no one on the good side trust Snape ever again. Remember, they only trusted him because Dumbledore trusted him. Snape is of no help to the good side if no one will trust him because he killed Dumbledore.

Chiairen- Didn't Voldemort want Harry to be left, though? I admit, I haven't read book 6 in ages, but I've read it a lot, so... I don't think there's any evidence so far that Snape was bound by contract to kill Dumbledore, though.

I agree that Dumbledore had to die in this book. But, Snape's alibi isn't going to be, "I had to kill him because we're all in this plot, Harry has to fight his own battles now..."

You can post if you want.

Oh, Snape wasn't bound by contract to kill Voldemort. He was bound to protect Draco, and he wouldn't have gotten out with Draco alive had he not killed Dumbledore.

Voldemort wanted Harry to be left, yes, but something about the way it was written (the scene where Snape yelled at the others to leave Harry be) just seemed... fake. It seemed like it was something Snape wanted, and not just Snape following Voldemort's orders.

I'll go ahead and post it. I wrote it two days after the book was released, give or take. I really do need a freshen-up on it, and definitely before the final book comes out. I took out the stuff I wrote on Harry/Voldemort...

---

I was right about who would die next, but I was definitely wrong in who the person responsible was.

The only thing I can say in Snape's defense, though, is this:

He was bound by the vow he begrudgingly made with Narcissa to protect Draco. He could not break that; he was completely bound.

He would not fight Harry. It was not an act of cowardice, not with what Snape had just done. The throwing of the whole James insult was oddly placed. It's like he was just grasping for some lame insult to detour Harry.

He would not allow another Death-Eater to lay harm Harry. Voldemort's orders? Pfft. Why not immobilize Harry and capture him as well? He was naked in his defenses. He could have hand-wrapped Harry himself and tossed him at Voldemort's feet to play with. (Yes, yes, I know...Voldemort prefers to work alone. He'd want to get Harry himself, yes, yes. But still. It plays on my mind, the way he kept yelling at Harry to stop. To me, it was for Harry's benefit - no one else's. His own way of telling him to shut up, back off, and prepare himself for what was to come months ahead.)

There's got to be more to Snape "turning traitor" than this. Dumbledore would not have trusted him to the depths he had if Snape were not worthy of it. Dumbledore was not stupid. He knows a bad wizard when he sees them. He knew Voldemort's intentions before anyone else. He knew everything Draco had been doing, with the exception of the cabinet ports.

I feel that honestly, Dumbledore would have preferred Snape kill him than another Death-Eater. He didn't want the burden on Draco's shoulders, and neither did Snape. There's reason fingers are pointing more so toward Snape now. I don't think Rowling would have given the man the depth she did in the Order of the Phoenix if he were to end the way it looks he will.

Remember, Hagrid saw Dumbledore and Snape actually arguing outside. Dumbledore knew of the bond. He knew what that meant for Snape, no matter what the cost.

......................

But of course, you see, this is more than likely inaccurate, and anyone who knows me knows I quite like Snape and his complexity.

We all knew Dumbledore had to die. I knew that the second I finished the fifth book. Voldemort feared Dumbledore, and no one else. With him in the picture, it would be harder for the final battle to approach. Harry needs to face him with his own resources, and now he has to.