So what was Snape's final sacrifice? Voldy killed him. He was bleeding out on the floor, and his sacrifice was a memory to Harry which cleared his name? Snape was hardly a hero, and was closer to a villian than an anti-hero. And then let us examine the entire why of Snape. He loved Lily. That is the single and only reason why he ever turend away from Voldy & the Death Eaters. It was for her. And before someone says "love conquers all", let us remember that he called her mudblood. In his rage, he shouted out what he honestly thought of her. Contrary to popular belief what is often said in the heat of the moment (or while drunk) is indicitive of the speaker on the inside. It really calls into question of did Snape love her like a typical person loves another, or did he love her in his Buffalo Bill/Stalker sort of way?

Is there a way back from the Dark Side? Sure, there can be. To bring wot into this conversation, check out Lord Ingtar. Darkfriend who was involved in murder & attempted murder. He chose to turn good, and sacrificed for it. Snape did no such thing. He was grieved over the loss of his love (subject of his obsession?)...Dumbledore had him cornered & could have killed or captured him...and then chose to go over to good side as his alternative. While there, he encouraged the most abhorant behavior of Slytherin (cheating, theft, lying, bullying) and abused and belittled students (Neville comes to mind).

In Deathly Hallows, he lets a few Death Eaters run rampant in the school, physically abusing the students. Sure none of them died directly from the beatings, but he hardly lessoned their pain. And he didn't give himself up in some nobel way at the end...he was killed by Nigili.



Now see...calling into question Dumbledore's judgement was a fantastic aspect of the book that I liked (until it wasn't in question anymore). Dumbledore said specifically that he can make the wrong call...and since he's spectacular like that, his mistakes are that much more spectacular. I thought that it was a great twist from the typical. Just because a mentor is wrong, doesn't mean that his work is invalidated. It means that he's human and can be wrong too. The only "error" that Dumbledore made was keeping things from Harry. And I don't think that it was an error. You do not tell an 11 year old that they are going to have to die to save the world. He's 11 years old. I don't care how "advanced" or "mature" a kid thinks that they are...they cannot handle that.

Ultimately, I thought that it would have been a fantastic deviation from the norm for Snape to really be evil & Dumbledore to be flawed on a fundamental level. His mild obsession with the Horecruxes don't count.

~Jeordam