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Severus Snape v. The Ministry of Magic

by J.K. Rich

After reading Book Six in the Harry Potter saga, millions of Harry Potter fans were devastated to learn that after it all�after all the warnings and signs�Severus Snape is, in fact, evil. And, even more devastating�he had killed Professor Dumbledore right in front of The Boy That Lived. Or did he?

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Reader Comments: (Page 13)

JK Rowling said herself that Snape is GOOD! If you accept that he is good it bring everything to light for you and you suddenly be able to figure out many other clues as to why and what's coming. You're holding yourself back by not believing JK Rowling and you're making it harder on yourself to figure out storylines by not accepting this fact.

Posted by kacey on May 21, 2007 5:29 PM

Sharon; it was such an obvious answer, I missed it! Keeping the book for teaching purposes or self referencing and forgetting it in the move would make sense.

Posted by mmc from sa, australia on May 22, 2007 01:08 AM

If Snape had more to do with the of James and Lilly Potter he would have known more about it. In POA as Snape corners Black he has an interchange with Harry. Snape jeers to Harry that if Harry believes Black Harry fall into the same trap and betrayal that his father did.

Not only is Snape trying to once again save Harry's life, but reveling in his belief that Sirius did betray the Potters to Voldemort.

This shows us that 1. Snape was not present, or probably even involved with, the expedition to the Potters. 2. That he consistently is trying to keep Harry alive.

And, if we expect a 'life- magic' (deepest and most mysterious) to work with Harry-Pettigrew we might consider how 'life magic' might affect Harry-Snape. For Snape has saved Harry's life several times, and depending on quibbling, this is certainly so in HBP when he steers the eaters around and away from Harry if you do not count any other times as truly 'saving' him.

Posted by Charlie Tarbox from Gettysburg, Pa on May 22, 2007 07:26 AM

I don't recall Jo ever saying Severus was good, and it would ruin too much of the mystery she has worked so hard to build in the story, so I don't think she would. She had said he is a blessing of a character, and that everything flows from whether or not he is good, but nothing definitive one way or the other.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from orlando fl on May 22, 2007 07:54 AM

I�ve missed that statement. All I have seen is the vague and limited comments that she typically makes when someone is trying to pin her down on something. If its true that she has definitively stated that Snape is good and absolutely working in the best interests of the Order then those of us not convinced have to correct our thinking and move to the Snape=Good side.

Posted by seyah from SLC, Ut on May 22, 2007 10:53 AM

This is a response to monkeeshines:
JK did say snape was good and she has said it more than once....I cannot find 1 of the interviews but you can go to msn.com and watch the video stream of "an evening with harry, carrie & garp" and she mentions it. Hope that helps. Also, she wouldn't make dumbledore out to have been deceived by snape if he's the greatest wizard who ever lived.

Posted by samantha on May 22, 2007 5:10 PM

To the "an evening with Harry, Carrie and Garp" interview. I�ve read several transcripts and seen the video and once again her statements were evasive and vague. Read/watch it again. In fact, when Salman Rush is making his statement/question, JKR is making several �uh-huh� responses. When she makes one after Rush states that his theory is Snape is good, you can hear the crowd respond as if she had just justified that statement. But those responses shouldn�t be construed as agreements but simply polite engagements of the speaker as in �I�m following you, keep going� like she had with others.
Lastly, when she says that Rush�s opinion is right, it is not about whether Snape is good or evil. His opinion was that everything follows from (hinges upon) the ultimate question of Snape being good or bad. Everything else her response has to do with Dumbledore being definitively .

Posted by Seyah from SLC, Ut on May 22, 2007 9:12 PM

You beat me to it, Sayah! Thank you! I had read the transcript (I didn't get to hear all the "uh huhs") and, due to the word order of the question and following answer, at first thought she was indeed confirming Severus� loyalty, but upon reflection and re-reading, she was merely confirming Rush�s opinion that everything follows from Severus being good or bad, so I do understand where samantha is coming from, though.

Posted by Monkeeshrines from Orlando fl on May 23, 2007 07:15 AM

One thing still bothers me, when Dumbledore came back with Harry from finding the horocrux, Dumbledore told Malfoy "I'm suprised how the -eaters entered Hogwarts"... If he was suprised by that, then why would he plan with snape his own ? When did he want snape to him then?

Posted by An!ma9us from Israel on May 24, 2007 03:46 AM

I noticed that some people have stated that Snape could not have loved Lily due to him calling her a 'mudblood' in the scene of Snape's worst memory. We should perhaps recall that in the very same scene Lily Evans has a few choice words to say to James Potter and from that conversation it would appear Lily Evans hated the very ground James Potter walked on - but we know that was not the case.

The comment made about Fawkes not healing Dumbledore's blackened hand is excellent - I had not even thought about it before! Does this mean Dumbledore refused to allow Fawkes to heal him?

Posted by Orlando from England on May 24, 2007 1:05 PM

An!ma9us from Israel,

If, as I believe, Snape read Narcisa's mind just before taking the unbreakable vow, he would know of Draco's task.

Draco's task was to Dumbledore, he tried and failed to do it through Katie Bell and the Jade Necklace (that almost ed Katie), and through Slughorn and the Poisoned Wine (that almost ed Ron), the vanishing cabinet was Draco�s main plan, but took all year to repair it, thus forcing him to try with the necklace and the wine..

As Snape read Narcisa�s mind and performed the unbreakable vow, he must have told Dumbledore, whom would want to �Save� Draco and keep Snape�s credibility with Voldemort to make it easier for Severus to continue being a double agent for the order. What could reinforce Voldemort�s trust in Snape more than Severus ing the only wizard The Dark Lord has ever been afraid of?

Posted by Emilio from Mexico City, Mexico on May 24, 2007 5:39 PM

I completely agree with the interpretation of Seyah and Monkeeshrines of the transcript relating to Snape�she is following typical JK style and deliberately NOT answering a question crucial to the plot, and is simply emphasising how important Snape being good/bad is to the story and ending. I can hardly imagine JK, who keeps things so secretive, letting that part of the plot out for all to know. This series was planned from the beginning. Snape�s character was planned from the beginning, and she has thrown us hints, clues and red herrings about him all through out the books. Who knows what she throw at us in DH, but I can�t wait to find out!

Patty - liked your theory about Voldemort's split soul trying to find another living horcrux once the original was destroyed, although I hope you aren't on the money. Harry has four horcruxes to track down and destroy, adding that extra element makes the task seem impossible and exhausting!

One more thing, I liked what someone said about the books being named "Harry Potter" and not "Albus Dumbledore". Harry is the real hero of the books, and he has to destroy Voldemort on his own, without Dumbledore. Dumbledore 'aint coming back from the . Harry is on his own, and he actually be able to complete the mission ahead without Dumbledore.

Posted by Meredith from Sydney, Australia on May 24, 2007 11:44 PM

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