Deathly Hallows Divination

The first in a several part series that will be dealing with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, now only 17 days away. Much credit goes to the folks at Chamber of Secrets, who were far quicker to some of the following passages, and are far cleverer than I. Without further ado, then...

Snape: Good or Evil?

The burden of proof in this question is squarely with those who would defend Snape—it certainly looks like he killed Dumbledore, and he did himself no favors by fleeing with the Death Eaters. That being said, I tend to think that despite all seeming to the contrary, he’s not actually on Voldemort’s side.

The best argument for this comes from the fact that everyone misinterprets the reason that Dumbledore trusted Snape. This comes from Harry’s confrontation with Dumbledore after he finds out from Trelawney that Snape was the one who overheard the prophecy (Dumbledore speaking):

“Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort’s employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney’s prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know—he had no possible way of knowing—which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onward, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and your father—“

Harry interrupts. “He hated my dad like he hated Sirius! Haven’t you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?”

Dumbledore’s response: “You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned—“

Harry interrupts again: “But he’s a very good Occlumes, isn’t he sir? And isn’t Voldemort convinced that Snape’s on his side, even now? Professor…how can you be sure Snape’s on our side?”

"Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.”"
(HBP, Ch. 25, pg. 549)
Harry, the Order, and many readers are of course convinced that Snape’s remorse is not real, and that Dumbledore’s trust is misplaced. The next passage is from the conversation in the hospital wing after the battle in Hogwarts:

Tonks: “I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn’t,”

McGonagall: “He (Dumbledore) always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape. I mean…with Snape’s history…of course people were bound to wonder…but Dumbledore told me explicitly that Snape’s repentance was absolutely genuine…”

Tonks: “I’d love to know what Snape tole him to convince him.”

Harry: “I know. Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn’t realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he’d done it, sorry that they were dead.”

Lupin: “And Dumbledore believed that? Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James.” (HBP Ch. 29 pgs 615-616)


If they had the correct version of events, that is, if Dumbledore’s trust was placed in Snape because of an alleged repentance after the Potter’s deaths, then it’s hard to see a case for good Snape. They are incorrect however; Snape must have repented long before the Potter’s deaths, as we see in Dumbledore’s Pensieve memory of Karkaroff’s trial in GoF. Karkaroff speaking:

“I assure you, Severus Snape is a Death Eater!”

"Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. “I have given evidence on this matter,” he said calmly. “Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort’s downfall, and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am.” (GoF Ch 30, pgs 590-591).

Harry and the other’s assumption must be wrong. The reason Dumbledore trusts Snape cannot be based on Snape’s remorse at the Potter’s death, because he was already spying for the Order before Lord Voldemort’s downfall, that is, before the Potter’s deaths.

Further evidence is found in OotP (during Umbridge’s inspection of Potions) that Snape has been working at Hogwarts for since the fall term of 1981. Harry’s parents were killed on Halloween of that same year. Snape was working at Hogwarts before the Potters were killed. There’s no way Dumbledore would have hired him if Snape hadn’t already been spying for him.

There must be another reason for Dumbledore’s trust. I tend to think that Snape repented as soon as he had discovered that Voldemort had interpreted Harry as the object of the prophecy. There may be some proof of this from Prisoner of Azkaban, in the conversation Harry, Ron, and Hermione overhear between McGonagall, Flitwick, Fudge, Hagrid, and Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks. Fudge speaking:

"Dumbledore . . . had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding." (PoA Ch 10, pg. 152).

I think that this useful spy may well have been Snape, who after realizing Voldemort was going to gun for the Potters, repented, informed Dumbledore, and began spying on his former master. I also think, however, that there may be much more than this to Dumbledore’s acceptance of Snape’s remorse. I do not know what that may be.

All of this leaves unaddressed the fact that Snape kills Dumbledore. I don’t have an ironclad response to this, but there are some mitigating considerations.

First, an interesting comparison between Harry and Snape. The first half is from when Harry, acting on Dumbledore’s orders, forces Dumbledore to drink the potion hiding the locket. The other is the infamous depiction of Snape just before he kills Dumbledore.

“Hating himself, repulsed by what he was doing, Harry forced the goblet back towards Dumbledore’s mouth and tipped it, so that Dumbledore drank the remainder of the potion inside.” (HBP Ch. 26, pg 571).

“Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face.” (HBP Ch. 27, pg. 595).

The two descriptions are startlingly similar, and I think that’s a clue—Snape is, like Harry, acting on Dumbledore’s orders, and like Harry, he is feeling self-loathing at the prospect of harming Dumbledore.

Second, Dumbledore’s actual death is somewhat suspicious. Every previous victim of the Avada Kedavra curse (Cedric, Frank, Moody’s spider) either falls or rolls over, instantly dead. Yet Dumbledore “was blasted into the air. For a split second, he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backward…” (HBP Ch. 27, pg. 596).

Why does he die so differently than the others? I’m distrustful of this series of circumstances, especially given that we spend a lot of time in book 6 learning about silent spells; indeed one such spell, Levicorpus, (moreover invented by Snape), blasts people into the air, and then hangs them there. Those effects too closely match Dumbledore’s death to be coincidental, I think, though I don’t really understand the implications.

Anyways, the last pieces of evidence from HBP: I thought Snape’s reaction to Harry during their duel was interesting on a couple of fronts. First, he never attacks Harry, but instead spends a lot of time deflecting Harry’s spells and lecturing him on how he needs to close his mind and master his emotions. It’s rather like he’s giving him backdoor advice. Secondly, his reaction when Harry calls him a coward:

"“DON’T—" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog (Fang) stuck in the burning house behind them—“CALL ME A COWARD!”"

I think that this reaction is best explained if the pain Snape feels is at killing Dumbledore, and at not being able to tell the Order that he was acting on Dumbledore’s orders, that in killing Dumbledore, he was acting out of anything but cowardice.

Next, a consideration from Book 1. Snape plays an active role in preventing Quirrell from obtaining the Sorcerer’s Stone. Indeed, he confronts Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest:

“You don’t want me as your enemy, Quirrell…we’ll have another little chat soon, when you’ve had time to think things over, and decided where your loyalties lie.” (SS, Ch. 13, pg. 226).

This strikes me as significant: Snape has no way of knowing Voldemort is under Quirrell’s turban, but does he suspect that Quirrell is working for Voldemort? I think this likely, otherwise why the “loyalties” comment? And if he does suspect, the indications are fairly clear that Snape’s own loyalties lie away from Quirrell’s, that is, with Dumbledore’s.

Further, after Harry (being detained by Umbridge) tells Snape that he thinks Voldemort has Sirius, Snape, despite his loathing for Sirius, checks and makes sure he is safely ensconced in Grimmauld Place. Then, after Harry does not return from the forest, it is Snape who raises the alarm and sends the Order to the Ministry. Why do this, if he's on Voldemort's side? Even if he felt he had to check on Sirius in order to maintain his cover, there would be no need to roust the Order; Snape could simply have said that, after he made sure Sirius was okay, he stopped monitoring the situation. This is an entirely believable story, and this course of action would have made things alot easier for Voldemort, but Snape deliberately takes the course of action that will impede his alleged master. Something isn't tallying here, and I think that's another indication that Snape is not what he appears.

Finally, why, WHY, then did Snape make the Unbreakable vow? I don’t know, but I think its reasonable to assume that he was, at the least, acting on Dumbledore’s orders. There's some thought that Dumbledore in fact impersonated Snape in Spinner's End, but I'm not entirely sold on that, and won't waste your time with that theory until I'm much more confidant in it.