In Defense of SeverusSnape

A true Harry Potter fan I collected HP6 by 7 in the morning and was done by noon. And now at last the shock has subsisded and I feel compelled to defend my continuing belief in Severus Snape's innocence in spite of the death threats that will undoubtedly come this way.If you haven't read the book and don't want to know the plot beforehand(I'm splitting the world into those who have read HP6 and those who are going to), read no further.

The most compelling argument for Snape is that Dumbledore believed in him upto the very end, and I do not believe that Dumbledore could have been so completely fooled for over 16 years,by a man he trusted so completely.Granted, he has been known to give second chances to undeserving people in the past-like Tom Riddle-but that wasn't the unconditional trust he showed Snape-he kept an eye on Riddle through his years at Hogwarts,and Riddle knew it as well.

Dumbledore apparently has some ironclad reason because of which he believes Snape unquestioningly . But his explanation that it was Snape's regret that at having told Voldemort the prophecy that led him after James and Lily Potter seems inadequate(especially considering his hatred of James Potter ). But Dumbledore hesitates as though to say something more (pg 513 HBP) when Harry asks him for certain proof that Snape is on their side, which clearly says that there is something more to be said.

At the beginning of the book Snape reasons out to Bellatrix that he is in fact on Voldemort's side ,at that point his reasoning sounds too pat, too well rehearsed, and if you've read the other 5 books, several of his points could be proved as whopping big fibs. For instance I doubt if Snape ever believed Harry to be the next Dark Lord behind whom he hoped to rally. If he had, he would not have humiliated Harry in his very first Potions class. As for not knowing that it wsa Voldemort behind the attempted thefts on the Philosopher's Stone, when Snape corners Quirrel after the second match, he questions Quirrelss loyalties, which shows that he was aware that Quirrel was acting on behalf of someone else.

One of the greatest arguments that people have against Snape is that he hates Harry and that he got Sirius killed. His hatred for Harry is easily explained-he hated his father, and this was simply passed on to Harry , and the feeling was entirely mutual. The hatred was probably increased by the fact that Harry showed him little respect, and little interest in his classes and further exacerbated by the fact that Harry's exploits enabled the Gryffindors to win the house cup from and leave Slytherin in second place. And the incident with the Pensieve was probably the last straw.

As for Sirius, in the third book we see that Snape is all too willing to give Sirius up to the Dementors, but really if there was a murderer convicted of killing 13 people in one shot on the loose, would you stand around talking to him? Especially given the past that Sirius and Snape already had. And as for Sirius's death, I don't see how Snape could take the credit(or blame) for that. It was Kreacher who baited Harry to the Ministry, where the Death Eaters already were. Snape simply checked that Sirius was back at Grimmauld Place. And as for baiting Sirius to his death,it could have been anyone who died that night,just because Snape did not mourn Sirius's death does not mean he caused him to be killed.

And in the 6th book there are several subtle hints that it was going to end this way, and that Dumbledore knew it and was prepared for it, although he may not have confided that to Harry. For one thing there is the training he gives Harry. He shows Harry how Voldemort's mind works.That wouldn't have been necessary if he expected to be alive when Harry finally takes on Voldemort. If Dumbledore expected to live longer, he would simply have taken care of the Horcruxes himself and trained Harry in duelling for the final fight.

Then there is the way that Dumblrdore dismisses Harry's concerns about Malfoy, but tells Draco in the end that he knew it was him all along, and that he got his information from Snape.And in the end, when Snape does come in.Dumbledore does not look surprised to see him, or shocked that he would lift his wand against him. He only pleads. And Dumbledore who believes that " to the well-organised mind death is but the next great adventure", is not the sort of person who would plead for his life to be spared.

And, if Snape was such a killer, why spare anyone else? He could have killed Flitwick for instance, but satisfied himself simply by Stunning him. It is possible of course that Snape was driven by the Unbreakable Vow. But Snape was aware, even before he made the vow that it may fall upon him to kill Dumbledore in the end. Dumbledore probably knew this as well. And thus he extracted a promise from Snape that he would kill Dumbledore when the time came, and not resist the Vow and die. The argument that Hagrid overheard must have been Snape protesting that he could not go through with it.

And besides Dumbledore made Snape the Defense Professor, knowing that since he had refused Voldemort no one had held the job for more than a year. So either he knew that Snape was a traitor and was warning him subtly in a manner that Voldemort at least would understand, or it was a sort of good-bye gift- his favourite subject for a year in return for a deed that would haunt Snape's conscience forever.

Dumbledore probably foresaw himself being of little use to the war effort, weakened as he already was. He himself acknowledges that his reflexes are not what they used to be. his main contribution would be the wisdom that he has already imparted to Harry. Snape on the other hand would be able to sabotage the Death-Eaters from the inside and drop off anonymous warnings or perhaps Dumbledore has some larger role that he intends Snapeto play, to help Harry while he pretends to be Voldemort's right hand