What is your ULTIMATE prediction about Snape?

Question

Is he utterly evil for killing Dumbledore, and has been working for Voldemort the whole time? What evidence is there?

Is he good, but HAD to kill Dumbledore because of the Unbreakable Vow? Why do you think so? Evidence?

Is his only goal to kill Voldemort, and he will ally himself with whoever will get the job done, no loyalties? Evidence?

I'm looking for well thought-out answers - not one-liners. I'm keeping the question open until Sunday, July 22nd, and then choosing the most accurate answer!

Star this question to make it the ultimate assessment of ALL Harry Potter fans' opinions.

Answer 1

I like to think he's bad, because I just HATE him!! But I think he will turn out to be good. Reasons:

Page 35, HBP - Snape seems nervous and almost reluctant about making the Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa.

Pages 358 & 359, HBP - Dumbledore confirms to Harry that he definitely trusts Snape, and, after he's told by Harry that Snape seems to be conspirating with Malfoy, Dumbledore knows perfectly what he's talking about, and tells Harry it's not of big importance. It seems as though Snape is working with Dumbledore in something only the two of them know.

NOTE: On page 359, it says: "What was going on? Did this mean that Dumbledore had indeed ordered Snape to find out what Malfoy was doing, in which case he has already heard everything Harry had just told him from Snape? Or was he really worried by what he had heard, but pretending not to be?". So there's the slight possibility, after reading that last line, that Dumbledore is actually worried and clueless about what Snape is doing.

Page 405, HBP:

"Hagrid, why is Dumbledore angry at Snape?" Harry asked loudly.
"I dunno, Harry, I shouldn'ta heard it at all! I -- well, I was comin' outa the forest the other enevin' an' I overheard 'em talking -- well, arguin'. Didn't like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked an' tried not ter listen, but it was a -- well, a heated discussion, and it was not easy to block it out"
"Well?" Harry urged him, as Hagrid shuffled his enormous feet uneasily.
"Well -- I jus' heard Snape sayin' Dumbledore took too much fer granted an' maybe he -- Snape -- did' wan' ter do it anymore--"

It sounds like Snape was telling Dumbledore he didn't want to be a spy anymore, that he didn't want to pretend he was a Death Eater. Why would he say that if he really is a Death Eater?

Page 580, HBP - "We need to get you up to the shcool, sir.... Madam Pomfrey..." (said Harry)
"No", said Dumbledore "It is Proffesor Snape whom I need"

He sounds like he completely trusts him and doesn't doubt at all that Snape can help him.



But, well.... I guess we just have to wait 8 more days and see what happens!!

Answer 2

My ULTIMATE prediction about Snape is based on what I can see as proof pointing towards it...

Snape isn't utterly evil, nor is he completely good. He is, however, looking to make penance for his past wrongs and therefore is working on the side of good. Look at how many times he's had the opportunity to kill Harry himself, prior to the return of Lord V. What did he do instead? Protect him.

He had to kill Dumbledore for several reasons. Not only was there the Unbreakable Vow that he took, and I do think he faked knowing that Draco was set to kill Dumbledore but with Narcissa and Bellatrix on his doorstep saw an opportunity for his role as spy to kick in, but he also had Dumbledore's weakened state. His hand was already dead from breaking a Horcrux and Dumbledore has said since the beginning that he doesn't fear death. I think that Dumbledore knew it was nearing his time and he'd rather have Snape strike the final blow then have one of his students become a murderer.

Basically if you look throughout the books there is ample evidence of Snape's loyalty for Dumbledore a man who stood by him when no one else would. Plus there's the "Don't call me a coward" bit that I think meant he couldn't be a coward after fullfilling an order that he really didn't want to follow through *killing Dumbledore*.

Answer 3

It’s no secret: I think Snape is going to turn out alright. Much has been made of his rage when Harry called him a coward, and I think this is indeed a significant moment. Those of us who think Snape is loyal to Dumbledore and the Order are convinced that in killing Dumbledore and protecting his place as a spy, Snape did something far more courageous than Harry realizes
All external evidence, of course, would point to Snape’s being much more in line with the coward Voldemort than the brave Harry. He’s a Slytherin, a “former” Death Eater, and he just murdered Dumbledore. But Rowling loves to teach us that people, by their choices, can rise above the externals; even Slytherins are not to be dismissed entirely out-of-hand. After all, the Sorting Hat wanted to place Harry there.

Thematically, Snape’s anger fits: Snape will become the ultimate example of this theme of Rowling’s, and his livid reaction to being called a coward is Rowling’s way of hinting at this. He is not afraid of death, and faced with the unbreakable vow he had to make, I believe he would have chosen to die rather than kill Dumbledore, had not Dumbledore commanded Snape otherwise. Snape, instead of following the Slytherin/Voldemort path, has shown all the courage of a true Gryffindor. I belive that Snape killed Dumbledore under his orders. Remember when Hagrid said he overheard Dumbledore and Snape arguing in the forest. I think Dumbledore was telling Snape to kill him for some unknown reason, and Snape was not wanting to do it. AND right before Snape did kill Dumbledore, Dumbledore said, "Please, Severus". What kind of great wizard like Dumbledore begs for his life?!?! I think he was telling Severus to do it! Harry himself said that he had never heard Dumbledore beg before.

J.K. Rowling has said that Prisoner of Azkaban(the movie) gave her goosebumps because it foreshadows things to come.(Not an exact quote, but close) When Snape comes out of the shrieking shack and sees the werewolf his very first instinct is to throw his arms protectively around all three children. Would a man who is basically evil do that. I don’t think so.Snape is most definently good!

Answer 4

I believe Severus is good. Dumbledore promised to keep Severus alive, so he's paying the debt back by turning spy for the Order. Dumbledore's smart he wouldn't have trusted Severus if he knew he was still on Voldemort's side.

Severus had to kill Dumbledore to break the Unbreakable Vow. That was the only way, even though he didn't want to, the only way to break an Unbreakable Vow is to sacrifice a greater life.

There is evidence in the book saying Dumbledore knew he was going to die

I believe Severus is going to be the one to kill Voldemort, because I think Harry is going to die and Rowling even said Neville isn't the one the prohecy was talking about.

Answer 5

I think Snape is good, but not perfect. He did have to kill Dumbledore because of the Unbreakable Vow, but as we all know Dumbledore really is dead and not planning his death with Snape, so we can conclude that he's not completely good.
Snape is somebody you wouldn't like anyway, he has been working for Voldemort, the first chapter of HBP makes that evident. But i have a theory that if Harry does not die in DH, it would be because Snape saved his life from Voldemort.
Again, Snape isn't nice. But when has it ever been evident that he was been an evil wizard after earning Dumbledore's trust?
So, my honest prediction for Snape is that in the event that Harry does not die in DH it is because of Snape. If Harry does die (and Voldemort will too, but that's a whole other story of how Harry is an unknowing Horcrux to both him and Voldemort and that if Harry dies so does Voldemort), Snape, in the end, would have gone against Voldemort. Despite his Death Eater habits of calling him "Dark Lord."

Answer 6

I think at the beginning of th 6th one he was bluffing about knowing the big secret because he never actually mentioned anything about it, and why should he know? Its nothing to do with him.
Then he makes the unbreakable vow, not knowing what it was for.
Hagrid mentions that he saw Snape and Dumbledore having a fight about something. I think it was that snape had worked out what he had made an unbreakable vow to do (kill dumbledore) and he was saying he didn't want to but dumbledore was telling him he had to.
Then, on the tower, when snape came out he looked revolted and harry thinks at dumbledore but it was really because he had to kill dumbledore and then dumbledore was pleading at snape to kill him, not to spare him.

Ultimately snape is on a side of his own, but against voldemort the only person in the order he was loyal to was dumbledore.

I have always said this and was the first to put it on yahoo answers, you can check if you want

Answer 7

From the 1st book installment I considered Snape to be neither good nor evil. Personally, I believe he is the most complicated character in the book. In the first 2, he was just nasty. In Azkhaban we started to see some of the reasons behind his nastiness. In the 4th his nastiness began to evolve into something deeper though not thoroughly evil, we found out he was a Death Eater but he got the penultimate pardon from Dumbledore himself. In OTOP, we still can't figure him out. Still in HBP, he's already done the ultimate unforgivable curse on a beloved character and we still can't figure him out! Deep down, I still couldn't hate his character and there's always this thought that everything he does is for a reason, well planned, well thought of.

With the Unbreakable Vow, the only way he would not have to kill Dumbledore was for Malfoy to kill him instead. JKR doesn't write the obvious. There are always twists to her stories. However I don't dig that theory that Snape was in love with Lily Potter, etc. etc. For me it's too mundane a reason to be that nasty or to be the driving force for his actions. (Haha, I hope JKR doesn't prove me wrong!)

But there's a catch. In the last 6 books, however nasty and malevolent Snape was, there was always Dumbledore to give credence to his actions. Dumbledore's gone so who else would vouch for Snape? So that's one point in saying Snape is really evil. He's proven himself to be the ultimate master spy if that turns out to be true!

With the final book, I am not much into whether Harry would die or not. I don't even care much what happens to Voldemort. What I'm ultimately waiting for are the answers to questions such as yours!

Answer 8

Some Facts:
JKR hid the name of Snape's mother for 6 books. Eileen Prince was in Hogwarts at the same time as Tom Riddle (Lupin worked out the Potions Book was 50 years old). So I think she is more important than most readers think. (Could Merope have had twins - Tom and Eileen - but orphanage officials were scared of Tom and never told him his sister was adopted by the Prince family)

Also, Snape's position with Peter Pettigrew ...
Peter stays at Snape's house instead of with anyone else. I think that is because Snape recruited Pettigrew to the Death Eaters as his revenge against James and Sirius.
If you re-read the Prisoner of Azkaban section in the Shrieking Shack assuming Snape was listening outside the door while Lupin and Black were confessing to the Trio, then it is logical Snape would stop them when he did before Scabbers/Peter could say anything (Snape may have even used the same memory spell on Peter that Kingsley used on Marietta in the Order of the Pheonix)

With all that Snape witnessed in the Death Eaters, I doubt his experience with James was his "worse memory". He set that up for Harry to see to create a split between Harry and James, Sirius and Lupin.

When Harry and the DA flew to London on the Thesrels, why did Snape take so long to send word to Dumbledore or the Order? The teenagers were by themselves for over 2 hours without support (flying time, searching Ministry of Magic time, and battle) until the Order arrived.

With all that evidence, I don't think Snape was completely honest with Dumbledore. I don't think his loyalty was with the Order. But I don't think he was completely loyal to Voldemort either.

Voldemort wanted the under aged wizard, Draco, to kill Dumbledore for a reason. It would have split Draco's soul. By Snape taking that task away frrom Draco, Voldemort's alterior motive will be frustrated ... and Snape may have an idea what that motive was. After all, Snape was around at the time Regulus left the Death Eaters.
Voldemort may have asked RAB to kill his brother, Sirius. - something Regulus rebelled against. That would have been splitting his soul when he was under aged, similar to Draco.
After all, Tom Riddle may also have been underaged at the time he killed his fater and grandparents.

So by stopping Draco from killing, Snape proved that he was not supporting Voldemort completely either.
Snape is a survivor. If You-Know-Poo ... I mean ... You-Know-Who wants to blame Snape, he can say the Unbreakable Vow made him do it.
That may make Voldemort kill Narcissa which will make Draco repeat RAB's betrayal and finish up helping Harry.

Is that more than you expected from an answer?

Answer 9

Snape is neither good nor evil. He was caught between conflicting oaths and his orders were to not break cover. That is not going to save him when the open war starts but in the end he will die to protect Harry by killing young Malfoy and getting toasted by the Unbreakable Vow. Dumbledore knew about the vow and still trusted Snape.

Answer 10

I think Snape is good. He had to kill Dumbledore b/c of the Unbreakable Vow, or else he'd die (which i bet he didn't want to do). i think Dumbledore told him to take the Unbreakable Vow to figure try and figure out what Malfoy was told to do (or something along those lines anyway). Dumbledore had to've had a good reason for trusting him so much, and if he wasnt good, then Dumbledore woundn't've made him part of the Order. Besides, Dumbledore sent him back to Voldemort so he could spy on him.
But theres still what Snape told Bellatrix as his excuse for not coming when the dark mark showed up and for not seeking out Voldemort, but i still think he's good. I think that Voldemort mightve originally gave him that mission, but then Voldemort 'died' and Snape thought he wouldnt come back so he converted. then Voldemort came back, and he told half-true reports, which Voldemort didnt detect, b/c although hes a skilled legimence, Snape is also a skilled occulmense, so he counter-acted Voldemorts legimence.

but who knows. i could be completely wrong.