If you have not read the Harry Potter series through the end of book six (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) then you may not want to read this blog entry. It contains SPOILERS that may affect your enjoyment of the book(s).
If you have read to the end of the sixth book and have paid any attention at all to the fan stuff going around, then you know exactly what I mean by “The Snape Debate.” Did Snape really turn traitor or is there some explanation for why he killed Dumbledore that could leave him in our good graces?
I’m going to come down firmly on the “Snape is Evil” side of things. He may even be working for himself. The role of a double agent is convenient since you can pick your side when you find out who the winner is going to be. But Snape had to choose early when Belatrix forced the issue.
My reasons for believing that Snape is a bad guy are simple. He killed Dumbledore. Rowling spent much of book six explaining just how bad killing is in the Potterverse. If you aren’t convinced, then let me refresh your memory with a small snippet from a conversation between Slughorn and Tom Riddle, that Harry watched through a memory:
“How do you split your soul?”
“Well,” said Slughorn uncomfortably, “you must understand that the soul is mean to remain intact and whole Splitting it is an act of violation. It is against nature.”
“But how do you do it?”
“By an act of evil — the supreme act of evil. By committing murder. Killing rips the soul apart. The wizard intent upon using a Horcrux would use the damage to his advantage. He would encase the torn portion–”
…
Killing is so evil that it rips the soul. It is the supreme act of evil.
Yes, Harry will have to kill Voldemort in the end, but I believe that it will fracture his soul to do that and that this will be a huge sacrifice on his part.
Some of the “Snape is still a good guy” theorists propose that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him, but the evidence for that is weak at best. A lot of it is based on a conversation between Dumbledore and Snape that Harry did not even hear firsthand. Besides, what would be gained by Snape killing Dumbledore? Dumbledore is more valuable to The Order than Snape, particularly a Snape who no on in The Order will trust any longer. He cannot act as a spy now. That role is over. As a guide to Harry? I suppose he could still do that, but Dumbledore could have done it better.
Moreover, just prior to Dumbledore’s death he had a conversation with Draco Malfoy that made it seem as if he did not fully understand the position Snape was in or that he had taken the unbreakable vow. Here’s another quote:
“I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders–”
“He hasn’t been doing your orders, he promised my mother–”
“Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but–”
…
The final point I would like to bring up is Dumbledore’s last words: “Severus, please.” For a long time, I imagined that Dumbledore was pleading for his life. Those in the “Snape is good” camp suggest that Dumbledore would not do such a thing, that he was not afraid of death, and that one of the main themes in the series is that there are things worse than death. I agree with all of that. I still think it is possible that even a person who is prepared for death can be afraid when the moment comes; it is only human and books 5 and 6 tried their best to take Dumbledore from distant idol to real person. Nevertheless, I now think it more likely that Dumbledore was pleading for Snape’s soul. That he was really saying, “Please don’t do this; there’s no turning back.””
And there is no turning back from that moment. To convince me that killing Dumbledore is all right will take a minor miracle. The only way I could really accept his goodness would be if Dumbledore’s death was faked, but I don’t think that is the case. Dumelbdore needed to die so that Harry could stand on his own in the last book.