Give Snape a Chance

There is no question that Snape is a double agent but of course there is plenty of controversy regarding which side he is really batting for. I subscribe to the school of thought that Snape is really working for the Order of the Phoenix. He is very loyal to Dumbledore (which will be proven later), and killing Dumbledore was on Dumbledore’s orders. Recall the conversation Hagrid overheard between Snape and Dumbledore in the Forbidden Forest, wherein Snape complains that Dumbledore is taking too much for granted and maybe Snape just doesn’t “want to do it anymore”. Snape is in the enemy’s council so deeply that he has tough choices to make for the greater good. Think about the way undercover narcotics agents often end up with a drug habit after being in deep cover. And that’s exactly what Snape is in: deep cover, and all the dangers that come along with it.

1. Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa Malfoy. There was absolutely no way he was going to get out of making this in the presence of Bellatrix and Wormtail. Bellatrix is too jealous of Snape’s closeness to Voldy – first thing she would do is run to Voldy and tattle that Snape was unwilling to help Draco kill Dumbledore.

2. Snape is in anguish after killing Dumbledore. Harry notices it but does not interpret it correctly. Additionally, Snape screams at Harry, “DO NOT CALL ME A COWARD!!” because Snape just did the hardest thing he ever had to do.

3. Now for probably the most pragmatic argument: Dumbledore is the most powerful wizard on the planet. Do we really think Snape or anyone would be able to just off him at any time unless Dumbledore orchestrated it that way? Voldy couldn’t kill Dumbledore in the Ministry – how the heck could Snape?

And for the argument that Snape did not really kill Dumbledore/ Dumbledore is not dead:

1. Dumbledore mentions several times throughout the series that “there are worse things than death” and “to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure”. Dumbledore was not afraid of death in any way, which is important to understand so we can continue to see him as the antithesis of Voldy, who fears dying above anything else.

2. Literarily speaking, it is a necessity that Dumbledore must die. This is down in the rules of classical literature, which we know JKR studied. The hero’s mentor has to be displaced in someway, whether be through death, imprisonment or what have you. Dumbledore is the teacher, the great wizard, Harry’s Obi-Wan if you will. Harry can’t face his destiny if his mentor is still around. Harry even muses about this at Dumbledore’s funeral:

And Harry saw very clearly as he sat there in the hot sun how people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over. He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort…

Yes Dumbledore is dead, sadly. As JKR told fans at the “Harry, Carrie and Garp” event last year, we need to get our selves through the five stages of grief and move on – he is not going to “pull a Gandalf”. But Snape is not evil, nor is the explanation that Harry thinks he has about Snape’s conversion to Dumbledore’s side the whole story. This is another thing that JKR has done several times: we think we are getting an explanation but it’s not the whole thing… and we don’t learn that until later. Example: the night Harry got his scar is explained in each of the first five books. Each time we think we have learned what there is to know. We are still learning about what happened that night, and each time we get more information, we realize there is still more we don’t know. It is the same with the reason that Snape is working for good. In fact, JKR even tells us that Dumbledore struggled internally with telling Harry more than “Snape was sorry”, but of course Harry did not interpret it correctly again.

OMG I soooooo can’t wait for Deathly Hallows…..