If snape really did betray DD then why didnt he capture Harry when harry pursued him through the grounds.Snape told the others he was for the dark lord but why not capture him and take him to voldemort


THERE IS SOMETHING BEHIND THIS WHOLE THING DD WASNT PLEADING FOR LIFE AND I THINK HE COULD HAVE GOT OUT THE SITUATION EASILY BUT WHY HE DIDNT I DONT KNOW?

If you remember, Hagrid heard Dumbledore and Snape arguing in the forest. I dint want to write Hagrids jumbles quote but it went something like:

Snape(sounding overworked): "You take too much for granted....I dont want to do it anymore."

Dumbledore(firmly): "You agreed to do it and that was all their is to it!"
Now, if you remember, in chapter 2 Snape says that he knows of Voldemorts request ot Draco, which we now know to be to kill Dumbledore. Snapes loyalty was already questioned by the death eaters and he was forest to make the unbreakable vow to protect and help Draco. We find all of this out before we even meet Harry in this book.

My theory is this:

1) Snape immediately told Dumbledore what had happened and Snape is so important to his plan in a way we may not know that he can not let him die.

2) This is why Dumbledore started doing things he had never done before, like teaching Harry about Voldemorts past and his suspicions about the Horcruxes, taking him along on his trip and basically, setting up Harry to take his place.

3) Snape was having second thoughts about helping Draco kill Dumbledore, even though it would kill him, and thats what they were arguing about in the woods.

Snape:" You take too much for granted....I dont want to do it anymore." Meaning "you put too much faith in Harry....I dont want to help Draco anymore."

Dumbledore(firmly): "You agreed to do it and that was all their is to it!" Meaning "You made the unbreakable vow and I wont let you die!"

So it comes down to this: Dumbledore was weak, five death eaters around him, Draco wasnt going to do it and Voldemort would kill him, the vow would be broken, Snape would die , and one of the other death eaters would have killed Dumbledore.
So Snape was in the room, having second thoughts. Dumbledore could see this. So he was pleading to Snape not to SPARE his life, but to... TAKE his life.
That is also why Dumbledore froze Harry, because he wanted to protect him, and because he trusted Snape enough to take his life as he asked. Just the noble Dumbledore we have all come to know and love.

gotta agree with you there!

MOD EDIT : Please check the rules - I'm afraid one liners aren't allowed on the forums.

I think that Snape really is evil and not to be trusted... Why else would he agree to the unbreakable vow and promise to kill Dumbledore (if Draco couldn't do it) in the beginning of the book?

Snape never would have made such a vow against Dumbledore if he was really on Dumbledore's side.

I believe that Snape hasn't betrayed the Order or Dumbledore for that matter. Dumbledore would not tell Harry that he's sure that Snape is on their side and that he trusts him completely, if he's a traitor.

I don't see how snape could be good at this point, he did kill dumbledore and he seemed pretty proud of himself, plus harry is useually right and he has suspected snape to be evil for a long time.

the only problem is that i don't see how snape could be evil either for many reasons:

1, in the first book he saved harry from voldermort himself during the quittage match

2, in the 5th book he also saved him by telling the order.

3, in the third book he tried to save him from serios black at the end.

maybe JKR just isnt thinking out past books when she makes him evil? maybe he is still good?

Personaly i think he is evil

Okay, just a short one as I believe in most of the theories that already came up (as I already posted in Thread 1).

Kolji: You were talking about Snape telling the Order to go to the Ministry. And he tells Bellatrix that his information helped "dispose of Sirius Black". Well, Snape did, in fact, ask Sirius to stay behind. But Bellatrix won't know that...

Just think about other occasions when Sev helped out... the counter-curse at the Quiddich-match, the potion he kept brewing for Lupin, he actually hid the kids behind himself ready to sacrifice as Lupin changed into a werewolf, he never gave Umbridge "real" Veritaserum because that would have led to Sirius' capture by the Ministry plus he did send the Order when he realized what was going to happen to Harry. Dumbly did mention Severus saved his life over the summer, too. So why in the world would Sev save Dumbledore when he really was on Voldys side. Voldemort would have been sooo glad if his nemesis died...

Flutterflie

Okay, somebody just posted half of it before I hit my "submit"-button. Sorry bout that..

I real do dispise Snape and believed him to be nothing other than an evil, ugly, slimy git after reading book 6.

But, today I reread Goblet of Fire and when Barty crouch is revealed, Harry sees Dumbledore, McGonagall AND Snape in Barty's mirror. If Snape was on the dark side, why was he an enemy of Voldy's faithful servant??

so now Snape's just an ugly and slimy git, though not 100% evil.

Every word is causing great pain! BUT I think he acted on Dubledore's orders.. Wish he hadn't.. Idiot

Ooooooh, tough question (Who is Snape really betraying?). I'm not quite sure, because there are so many things that say that it is Voldemort and Dumbledore.

Betryaing Dumbledore:

1. Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to Malfoy's mother. And he didn't die. Meaning, he stuck to his word. Narcissa said "And, should it prove nessecary . . . if it seems Draco should fail . . . will you carry out the deed that the dark lord has ordered draco to perform?" And Snape aggreed. I think that if he truly was on Dumbledore's Side he would have rather died than kill Dumbledore.

2. In the chapter "The Seer Overheard," Harry finds out it was Snape who betrayed his parents along with Pettigrew. But all Dumbledore says is that Snape had "not realized" that it was James and Lilly. Well Snape hated James. Everyone knows that! So the whole "I'm sorry . . . I didn't realize . . ." bit by Snape could have just been a huge act.

Betraying Voldemort:

1. In the first book, Snape was trying to stop Quirell from getting the Stone. And since he was trying to stop Quirell, he was trying to stop Voldemort, too.

2. (Like other people have said) When Harry was firing off spells at Snape, Snape just blocked them.

3. Snape also told Harry to "Keep his nouth shut and his mind closed" which was advice.

There is a lot of things that point in both directions, but I think no one can be sure about Snape's loyalty until the 7th book comes out.

OK, I hope no one has given all this quotes before me; if someone has, sorry to post them again.

I don't know what they really mean, but I've come across these while checking some fragments fo the book:

1) When Harry tells DD about what he heard Snape and Draco, DD answers that he has understood, and adds "I understood probably better than you did"

2) When Draco is about to kill DD(of making believe he is going to) DD says " It is my mercy, not yours, that matters now"

3) When Harry is fighting Snape at the door of the grounds Snape says: "Blocked again, and again, and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed.

The first seems to me to show taht DD actually does know what Draco is up to from the begining and understands the way Snape is acting. The second one seems to me to show again that DD is actually going to let Snape kill him, therefore it is his mercy that matters, because he'll save Draco's life by allowing Snape to kill him.

The third one seems more of a warning than a threat to me. I think what Snape is trying to do here is to bait Harry so he will try harder to learn Occlumency and non verbal magic.

What do you guys think about this?

I agree that Snape killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders and is truly against Voldemort. I think the reason behind it is because of the Unbreakable Vow that Snape made. Dumbledore knows that Snape at the moment is more powerful that himself. No one is closer to Voldemort than Snape, or so it seems. Also, Snape is an excellent wizard himself which was shown in HBP. Snape's hobby was inventing spells, and he was extremely gifted at Potions. Also, he is apparently extremely good at dueling, for he deflected every single one of Harry's hexes after he killed Snape. In OoTP when Harry fought the DE they had an extremely hard time with him, but for Snape it was nothing. Everyone talked about how great a wizard Dumbledore was but I think that Snape is more powerful than most people think he is. That and his close ties with Voldemort make him more powerful than Dumbledore in a way.

I also agree with the theory that Snape was guiding Harry and trying to teach him more during their duel. To me, even though they were fighting, Snape seemed nicer than ever to Harry at that point. In school when Snape was supposed to be teaching Harry he always made him look stupid or criticized him, but he never offered advice. I think that during the duel, was the first time Snape had ever given Harry any advice on how to become stronger.

Yeah, and in OotP Bellatrix was giving advice to Harry by telling him how to use the Cruciatus Curse. Please, Snape killed Dumbledore, how can you think he's good?!

I wanted him to be good before I read HBP, but now I can't see how, even with so many theories that say he's good.

One other thing that I forgot to put in my last post. Since the very first book, I think that JKR has wanted us to suspect Snape. Obviously, Ron and Harry have never stopped susupecting him. But they had been wrong every single time. I think that JKR likes us suspecting Snape. It's almost become a game for her. Making us think that Snape is evil, but secretly had other intentions. Now in the 6th book, Snape has done something unforgivable, he killed Dumbledore. So everyone hated him at that point, everyone thought that he truly was evil (even if it was for just that page). So once again, JKR has tricked us into thinking that Snape has indeed been working for Voldemort this entire time.

I agree with Viktor. JKR has been amking snape out to be evil since the first book. Then we find out in the end of book 4 that he is a double agent. In this book it SEEMS that he has gone completely evil. But all i have to say about this is that JKR loves twists. Look at all of the DADA teachers, including Snape now. And because everyone seems to hate Snape so much I can only conclude that JKR is a GENIOUS!!! If you want my detailed thoughts on Snape being evil see my post on the last page or two, I really dont feel like typing it again.

guys, guys, guys...

I was reading through some of these posts and desided to join this site so I could post.

SNAPE IS NOT A HALF-BLOOD! The reason why he was called 'The Half-Blood Prince' was because his moms last name before she was married was Prince. Therefore, he is HALF Prince and HALF Snape..if that makes any sence.. Thats what they were trying to say in the book. Seriously though..do you really think Voldemort would let Snape be a Death Eater if he was a half-blood? Besides Voldemort every Death Eater is pureblood.

missxounderstood....plz read hbp properly....eileen prince married a MUGGLE CALLED TOBIAS SNAPE! duh! even hrry uses the half blood reasoning to compare voldemort to snape....both half bloods...muggle dads...grandeur: "Prince" and "Lord"
so, yes, snape IS half blood and is ashamed of the fact like voldy was of his muggle dad.

When I first read about Snape making the Unbreakable Vow and talking to Narcissa and Bellatrix, it confused me so much. Whos side is Sape really on? If he was indeed working for Dumbledore, why would he vow on his own life, to complete Malfoy's task if he should fail? Everyone knows that Snape is a superb Occlumens (misspelled), so how can anyone truly tell where his loyalties lie?

When I read about Snape murdering Dumbledore, I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I thought that Snape had truly shone his true colors, but then a thought struck me. What if Dumbledore had suspecte that the Horcrux might have been a fake, or maybe he had already discussed to Snape that if he should come to him, in deplorable condition, Dumbldore may have requested that Snape end his life.

The reason Snape might not have done it when Dumbledore scorched his hand is that Dumbledore needed to have private lessons with Harry. By murdering Dumbledore Snape could return to You-know-who, and You-know-who would be fooled into thinking that Snape was truly loyal to him.

Just my thoughts. I think, though he is not a kind man, that Snape is still loyal to Dumbledore.

<3 Fleur_girl <3

OI!!!!

I will NOT have fighting breaking out on this board.

Missx0Understood, you do need to check your facts - especially if you're going to come here and criticise the views of others.

felixfelicis - Please check the rules - netspeak is not allowed on this forum.

I will NOT have people yelling at each other here, is that clear? I suggest you both go read the rules. I really hate it when people use 'duh!' and 'stupid' or 'dumb' when describing other people's opinions... And you're both off topic anyway. When you're all brain surgeons, then maybe you can do that. Until then, behave yourselves.

You WILL be civil to each on these boards, or you can leave. There is simply a zero tolerance for the kind of backbiting that goes on in other forums, okay?

I think firewhiskey12 has a great point about the enemies mirror in Moody's office.

I can see people arguing that Snape hadn't decided to return to Voldemort's service, but, if we are to believe that he is faithful to LV, then we must accept everything he says to Narcissa and Bellatrix, which includes the fact that he was always faithful to Voldemort, and, therefore, should not have been included as an enemy.

On the other hand, who is it that decides who the enemies are? If it was programmed by Barty Crouch, then he would have gotten his information from LV, who believed at the time that Snape had left him forever.

It's so conflicting! The question remains, though, that if Snape and Dumbledore were not arguing about Dumbledore telling Snape that the situation might require Snape to kill Dumbledore, then what were they arguing about?

I think that it must have been part of the plan for Snape to murder Dumbledore because of the argument that they had. Snape told Dumbledore that he (Dumbledore) was asking too much of him (Snape). Since we can deduce that simply acting as a double agent is not too much for Snape as he has been doing so for some time, he must be talking about something even more difficult, namely, murdering Dumbledore.

Also, I would like to point out that all signs point to Snape being an extremely talented and powerful wizard. The potions book that he had as a student is evidence of this as well as when he is blocking and repelling Harry's curses at the end with ludicrous ease. Harry never had any trouble fighting deatheaters before and almost always came out on top. Snape, however, had no problem defeating Harry. Why, then, didn't he kill Harry then. I don't think that Voldemort (gasp) would care who kills Harry Potter as long as he's dead. In fact, I would think that because he does not know the extent of the prophecy, he would be happier if someone else killed Harry because that would pose no threat at all to Voldemort (gasp).

A general theme in all of the books so far is: Harry thinks Snape is evil, Snape proves to everyone that he is not what Harry thinks. Let us also not forget that aside from the first couple of chapters, the entire book is written from Harry's point of view. Therefore, the reader is doomed to see everything through Harry's eyes and feel Harry's emotions while reading. For this reason, it is important to take everything that Harry sees (and feels) with a grain of salt and attempt to look at the bigger picture.

Snape did not betray Dumbledore. I've thought from the end of book two that Dumbledore was going to die in either the 5th or 6th book. JKR is just trying to stress us all out a little bit. Sorry for the long post.
GinnyLover

Let’s imagine Snape is a traitor, and DDs pleading was just a disappointment sign (like: Sirius, you, a traitor? Don’t let me be so terrible wrong about you!)

He earlier said: “Huge people use t o make huge mistakes”. Someone else said: DDs greatest weakness is, that he always has to believe everyone were good”. Hagrid said: “Great men, DD. Trusts people”

Than why did he say: “It’s my mercy, that counts, not yours” to Draco? Why did he try to save him, although he was plotting to destroy him? Was he really arguing with Snape for not investigating hard enough? It just doesn’t fit!

In the book, Severus told Dumbledore in the forest, that he didn't want to go on with the plan that Dumbledore told him to do. I'm guessing that's what it was, especially because we've never found out what Dumbledore wanted Snape to do for the Order. So i'm guessing it was a plan to make it sot hat Voldermort would trust snape even more with probobly even more information about what they are planning, not sure though heh, just a guess

i think snape betrayed them because the fact that he killed dumbledor. dumbledore knew he was in trouble when snape walked in because he was pleading and snape did the avada kedarva cruse on him. if that doesnt show betrayal i dont know what does. i dont think that dumbledor wanted to be killed not even for the order and i also dont think he was a horcrux.

i'm inbetween on this. he did do the unbreakable vow, which means if he broke it he would die and i don't think he would of wanted to. he did take the necklace and reported nothing back to dumbledor about it. he could be on both sides. well find out in book 7.

I sympathize that you guys want to think Snape is innocent and that the death was planned but there are just several reasons that I cannot believe so.

1) Dumbledore is NOT perfect. Why will no one believe that? In that interview on muggle net JKR talks a great deal about how his vast intellect doesn't mean he won't make emotional misjudgements.. trusting people too much. JKR alludes to things alot and this was hinted at in Harry's conversations with DD.

2)Dumbledore was talking to Draco about how he would help Draco hide if Draco avoided killing him.

3) I really think that Book Six is a key contrast from Book Five. Whereas in 5 harry was wrong when everyone else was right... i think in book 6, harry's instincts were right and everyone elses were wrong. no one would listen to his suspicions of snape and draco, and look what happened. but that works brilliantly for JK who is preparing Harry to take on Voldemort himself, who lost all of his mentors, and who is going to have to be very self-reliant. this is a coming of age story and in book six harry really shows his resourcefulness and dedication--- such as having kreacher follow draco and being upfront about his suspicions.

4) Dumbledore getting old and soft was alluded to.

5) Dumbledore would not have agreed to sacrifice his life to protect Draco because he knew that he could fake Draco's death in order to protect him, which would mean that Voldemort couldn't kill Draco, and Snape would not have braken the unbreakable vow because Draco would be safe. If snape was such a good guy, he would have sacrificed his life for Voldemort because its his bind that he got into. Plus DD is not stupid and he'd know that no body in the Order would believe Snape had good intentions in killing him. I mean either Snape fights with the DEs or he goes to Azkaban, there's no time in the story to have a Sirious like future for Snape. So that plan woul have been really foul.

6) Yes, Dumble was trying to teach Harry but do u really think he thought that finding ONE horcrux was enough to accomplish before he died? Plus, DD didn't know that Snape was gonna be at the INN with the DE's because he didn't even know they were getting into Hogwarts so that plan couldn't havebeen contrived.

7) Snape really does blur the lines between good and evil. first u think he's all evil. then u learn its not so black and white and that he's a nasty character but he's on the right side, But DD's death isn't about Snape's nuances, its about DD's nuances because DD messes up. But in a way that gets to the basic idea of the series... that what's right isn't always easy and what's easy isn't always right. Dumbledore shows that his power to love separates him from Voldemort. But his ability to trust andforgive is what ultimately kills him. what a poetic injustice.

Please expand on these theories for me! Let's really get cooking

Well; I know what I WANT to believe --
But Im really not sure on the issue

Caitlin_USA touched on the key to this whole question. Why exactly does DD trust Snape so wholeheartedly? It can't be something as shallow as remorse for inadvertantly betraying the Potters. I don't believe DD would give Snape so much responsibility, and vouch for him so strongly to the entrire wizarding world, if it were that. Think too, that DD, even after revealing so many new secrets to Harry in this book, he still wouldn't come out and tell exactly why he trusts Snape as much as he does. It all goes back to "I trust Severus Snape". Why???!!! It is this still unsatisfactorilly answered question that I think DD wanted Snape to kill him, and why DD froze Harry in order to keep him from interfering. DD knew Harry was an equal to any DE, let alone Draco, so he had to have a more important reason to freeze him, like preventing Harry from messing up his plan.

well after I read the sixth book I thought that snape definitely betrayed bumbledore and the order but now I've read all your arguments I'm really not sure ...but somehow I'm still convinced that snape is on voldemorts side. the sentence: snape gazed for a moment at dumbledore , and there was revulsion and hatred etched in his the harsh lines of his face.
severus...please...
it seems to me as though dumbledore still had something to say nad...nobody can act hatred in his face...I mean.... yes, you can act a lot of things but act having hatred in your face?? none of the death eaters would've noticed if he had hetred in his face...I don't think they cared how snape looked...but on the other hand...
snape may have hated dumbledore at that moment for makeing him kill him...'cause mazbe snape wasn't so spineless as he seemed to be and maybe he cared what all the people on the good side thought and maybe he cared that he probably won't be trusted by the order again...
still he did hurt harry...you know...when harry called him a coward and snape was so angry and then he slashed at the air and harry slammed into the ground....I really dunno but I¨m probably more for the theory: snape is a untrustworthy git.

I think the reason(s) why DD asked Snape to kill him are that:
1. Dumbledore knew that he was weakening and getting old coupled with the effects of the unknown potion
2. He knew that he could not kill Voldemort, and that it was up to Harry
3. He had taught Harry all that Harry needs to know to kill Voldemort

Because of these reasons DD realized that he could use his death to the advantage of the order by placing Snape in the perfect position to spy on Voldemort and give Harry the final information needed to locate Voldemort.
Hence DD told Snape to kill him for the welfare of the Order.

I'm personally feel that Snape is very much loyal to Dumbledore, and that his position as Voldemort spy can not be jeopardized. However, an intriguing idea was brought to my attention after discussing this matter with a good friend. I'm actually curious to know what others might think of this, so if it offends, please forgive. Here goes:
Snape, as head of Slytherin, does possess characteristics reviered (I'm sorry- my spelling might be wrong) by Slytherin himself, such as manipulation, slyness, and cleverness, cunning, etc.. Now, the The Order of the Pheonix, page 495, Phineas says, "We Slytherins are brave, yes, but not stupid. For instance, given the choice, we will always choose to save our own neck." So what if Snape is playing both sides for interests all of his own? He has a great position as spy for both the death eaters and the order, so he can bide his time waiting to see which side comes out on top, then pronounce his allegiance to that side.
Like I said, it's an idea I found interesting and I wonder what you all think of it.

Good thinking.. even my friends had suggested that, but I had kind of blwon them off, but maybe you're right. Snape is just waiting to see who comes out on top. But then again Dumbledore would have seen through Snape's facade and realized what Snape was up to (Even though Snape is a good Occlumens)... So I doubt DD would have placed the task of his own death with Snape if he didn't completely trust Snape.

If you remember, Hagrid heard Dumbledore and Snape arguing in the forest. I dint want to write Hagrids jumbles quote but it went something like:

Snape(sounding overworked): "You take too much for granted....I dont want to do it anymore."

Dumbledore(firmly): "You agreed to do it and that was all their is to it!"Now, if you remember, in chapter 2 Snape says that he knows of Voldemorts request ot Draco, which we now know to be to kill Dumbledore. Snapes loyalty was already questioned by the death eaters and he was forest to make the unbreakable vow to protect and help Draco. We find all of this out before we even meet Harry in this book.

My theory is this:

1) Snape immediately told Dumbledore what had happened and Snape is so important to his plan in a way we may not know that he can not let him die.

2) This is why Dumbledore started doing things he had never done before, like teaching Harry about Voldemorts past and his suspicions about the Horcruxes, taking him along on his trip and basically, setting up Harry to take his place.

3) Snape was having second thoughts about helping Draco kill Dumbledore, even though it would kill him, and thats what they were arguing about in the woods.

Snape:" You take too much for granted....I dont want to do it anymore." Meaning "you put too much faith in Harry....I dont want to help Draco anymore."

Dumbledore(firmly): "You agreed to do it and that was all their is to it!" Meaning "You made the unbreakable vow and I wont let you die!"
So it comes down to this: Dumbledore was weak, five death eaters around him, Draco wasnt going to do it and Voldemort would kill him, the vow would be broken, Snape would die , and one of the other death eaters would have killed Dumbledore.
So Snape was in the room, having second thoughts. Dumbledore could see this. So he was pleading to Snape not to SPARE his life, but to... TAKE his life.
That is also why Dumbledore froze Harry, because he wanted to protect him, and because he trusted Snape enough to take his life as he asked. Just the noble Dumbledore we have all come to know and love.

Right, with all the evidence adding up it is now obvious that Snape was not betraying the Order but rather doing everything on DD's orders. From what we know DD is omniscient, he wouldn't let things so big go unnoticed.....

I read these forums for a bit and i have something on how snape is on our side.

#1 in Goblet of Fire Pg. 565
"And here we have six missing Death Eaters... three dead in my service. One to cowardly to return ... he will pay. One who i believe who has left me forever ... he will be killed, of course ... and one , who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already re-entered my service"
The coward was Karkaoff who fleed and the one who left forever was Snape. Though Snape returned hours later, he was a master at occulemys and could block lord voldemort checking for truth hence lieing to voldemort and becoming a spy. He also in the 5th book realized that the kids thought Sirius was tooken and knew that the kids were going to go to The Minsitery to fight to get Sirius back. The order went and won the fight and caught death eaters which i doubt is what Voldemort would have wanted.

Not sure if that makes since but he is good at blocking his mind so he could lie to Voldemort. He also got many Death Eaters put in Azkaban.

I honsetly dont think that Snape is on the dark side..I think that would be to cliche and not in JKR's style..I think there is more to the story than we know right now...and it will play out in the 7th book...I think Snape and DD had an agreement and DD dying is what had to happen in order for Harry to Kill voldemort in the end..like I said its too obvious if Snape is really on the dark side..it would really dissapoint me

If you've realized, throughout the series, each and every death or event that turns for the worse eventually has a outcome for the better or profit of Harry/ the Order. Snape, as a Death Eater, killing DD has no outcome for the better. But Snape, on DD's orders, killing DD provides Harry and the Order more inside information on LV.

If snape were a Death Eater, Killing Dumbledore would be beneficial for him hands down. Now, perhaps The advantage harry would gain would be Voldemorte becomes more daring, now his only block has been destroyed. If he does, he will probably make a mistake to cost him his life (like the close incident of over-looking Lily's protection).

Ok, theres about a million replies on this thing, a few too many for me to read so if I happen to be repeating something someone else has already said, I apologize.

Anyways, I think that DD had asked Snape to kill him. It is obvious that DD told Snape that he has to everything he can to show Vold. that he is still trustworthy, even if that means making an unbreakable vow with another death eater. DD had obviously knew that his life would soon be over, thats y he showed Harry everything he could about the Horcruxes (if DD didn't think he was gonna die, he wouldn't have bothered with Harry, he'd just destroy the Horcruxes himself and let Harry worry about Vold).

When Snape and DD were arguing, DD had probably told Snape that, when the time comes, he would need Snape to kill him (IF Snape kills DD, he would become Vold's most trusted supporter and Vold would tell him things he wouldn't tell anyone else) but Snape cares alot about DD because DD is the only person who never lost faith in Snape, so he argued by saying that DD was asking way too much of him.

I also noticed that one replier said that DD had never told anyone, so how could Snape ever prove that he is faithful to the order if he is the man who kill DD. My belief is that DD never told anyone because he couldn't risk the information straying outside the Order, thats y he never told anyone in the Order about the prophecy. But, it is possible that he wrote the information in his will so that the Order knows that Snape is on there side, he never mentioned it before because he couldn't risk anyone else finding out and stopping it from happening.

Ok, I don't have my book with me, but if I remember correctly, in the first chapter when Snape is talking to Narcissa, doesn't Bellatrix ask him where the headquarters to the order of the phoenix is? And doesn't Snape give some kind of a flippant answer? I wish I could check my facts to make sure- but if this is right, then I believe Snape is good. He would surely have given the HQ location away. I believe that is a strong piece of evidence proving he is good, but the strongest piece of evidence I believe proving he is evil is the interview with Rowling, when she says that people are "clinging to a desperate hope", as has been mentioned.

snape cant give the location away because dumbeldore was secretkeeper.

snape been bad is as everyone said, just too simple to be a constant theme throughout the book.

dumbeldore is not a man to beg for his life, as he stated there are things far worse than death, so i believe he did plead with severus to carry out his end of the bargain and kill him if it came to it - he did something similar with harry when he told harry to feed him the potion no matter what.

this is harry's fight from begining to end, harry would not be as much of a hero if he had dumbeldore, the only wizard more powerful than voldemort, helping him up until the very end.

snape has always been fascinated by the dark arts, but that doesnt neccessarily make him evil. he did not use any dark magic against james and sirius in his memory when he clearly could have, so i think it was always just an interest of his.

dark doesnt always have to mean evil, blacks home and ancestors seem to be dark wizards, but they were not evil in the same capacity as voldemort.

snape is a halfblood like voldemort, but i dont think voldemort has respect for any halfbloods other than himself. the other death eaters would probably not accept snape as one of them, but accept voldemort only because of his power and lineage(slytherins descendant)

ultimately snape is against voldemort, and i think he half intended for harry to get his potions book. he isnt exactly clumsy enough to leave something that important behind. however, he only planned to help harry get through potions since he knew harry would never manage on his own, but did not intend harry to use the spells he would find inside it. he will make the ultimate sacrifice, and die to protect harry just for a little longer in order to help him achieve his goal. he understandibly does not like harry, and never will, but is fighting for a cause, and will give it his all.

i also think that snapes position with voldemort was in jeopardy, and dd had planned to offer himself, once he had taught harry all he needed to know, as a sacrifice to help snape cement that #1 position with voldemort seeing that dd knew he could probably assist harry more than anyone else at this point.

Yeah snape is definitely good - much to my disliking - because he very well might be the one to sacrifice himself for Harry in the end, or even accompany him in a Horcrux mission with inside information. Though it seems that the likely course would be for him to turn his back on the Dark Side and help Harry, and explain to him the DD situation from the last book, learn ways to defeat VD because it seems hes very good a spells and curses.

Re: Snape -- I believe that Snape is acting on behalf of DD, for the reasons that others have mentioned. Plus:

He is the only one that could be such a "deep" mole, because he is the wizard most skilled at Occlumency; the only one (other than DD) who can hide his mind from LV.

Plus -- he prevented Malfoy from being the one who killed DD, which is something that LV really wanted, to bind Malfoy to the Dark Side. (so to speak).

I re-read TOOTP, and realized that it may contain the motivation for Snape: He could have been in love with Lily, and although he became a death eater, it could have been LV killing Lily that caused him to change his loyalty (and instead swear revenge on LV). DD says that LV can't understand that love is the most powerful thing -- well, that would tie together with this theory of what happened to make Snape switch sides. And something powerful enough to convince DD that Snape was/is sincere. It would also explain his inability to like Harry.

Harry's animostiy towards Snape is the weakest part of the series, and only makes sense if it is misguided.

Plus, I really like Alan Rickman, which of course is completely irrelevant.

This may not be right -- but the question is, if Snape is "good" then something specific must have happened to create his conversion back from being a Death Eater. And this is the only event significant enough to be a candidate.

So first I should say, that I believe Snape is not that bad as in the sixth book looked like. But one thing make me thoughtful: Dumbledore was wrong about the Horcruxes... okay, he may be couldn't know that the horcruxes was already destroyed - or stolen. Why he don't know? Why he don't know about this mysterious person which done it? Okay, now I confused myself...

What ever... my feeling about that happenings are, that DD has asked for killing him (like many people here have said, too). He don't say: "don't kill" , he only said: "please... Severus please"

Perhaps it's just only one dream that Snape is just a spy for the order (*snape fan*) because I read a interview with JKR which she said something like: "how can you like Snape?... he's the bad boy"
I have the feeling, that JKR just wanted to show how evil Snape can be.

But the question of all questions is: who does be betrayed by Snape? Voldemort or the order? Voldemort is really mighty. Does he not know that Snape is a spy for the order? He can Legilimency; why can't he read Snape's mind after all? Okay, Snape is good in Occlemency - but so good as Voldemort???

A read a good point here: May be Snape is all just doing for his own advantage. He just stand of the strongest side - like Peter Pettigrew...


I don't know what a should think about Snape... Well, but I stay:
he's a good one!!!