Once again I’ve hidden the text for those who have not yet finished the book. Highlight the blank space below to read.
Rowling did a phenomenal job building Snape up as a despicable, evil character. Although I firmly believed that Snape was good, Rowling had me going for most of Book 7. It seemed that he was just your typical villain until the very end. Then we learned the truth and learned that he was more than just good, he was a hero. As I wrote about in my earlier review of the book, the Harry Potter books center on the power of love, and, we learned, that Snape most certainly was able to love. He loved Lily right up to the day she died. It was her impending death and realization that Snape was responsible for it by revealing the Prophecy to Voldemort, that turned him to the good side and made Dumbledore trust him unconditionally. Snape risked his life for the Order of the Phoenix for many years, and in the end died for it. By giving Harry his memories, he was also redeemed.
Like Harry and Dumbledore, Snape made many choices that changed the course of his life. He was placed into the House of Slytherin, and even though Lily was his best friend, he befriended others that turned him onto Dark Magic and ruined his relationship with the girl he had loved his whole life. Later he made the choice to tell Voldemort the part of the Prophecy he had overheard, and, when hearing that Voldemort believed he had to kill the Potters in order to survive, Snape realized what he had done. He inadvertently caused the death of Lily, which caused him such grief that he turned to the good side, continuing to do his work for the Order until the day he died.
While he was not always good, and did make some horrific choices in life, Harry realizes how brave and heroic Snape really was. Harry himself was tempted by evil, like the Deathly Hallows, as was Dumbledore. Snape redeemed himself in the end and made himself a true hero.
