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Warning: This page contains major spoilers for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

More Reasons to believe Snape Is Not Evil:                                   (Return to previous page)

24. Dumbledore’s certainty that he needs Snape when he returns to the school

                        “Severus,” said Dumbledore clearly. “I need Severus...” (HBP, p. 580)

Why would Dumbledore insist on seeing Snape when he could have just as easily asked to see Madame Pomfrey or someone at St. Mungo’s? Is it possible Dumbledore already knew he was dying and he needed to see Snape so he could fulfill the Unbreakable Vow?

25. Dumbledore seems unsurprised by much of Malfoy’s plan

On the Astronomy Tower, when Dumbledore is questioning Malfoy, he seems unsurprised by much of Malfoy’s plan. (HBP, p 584) It seems likely that Dumbledore had already heard most of this from Snape. Why would Snape give him this information if Snape was evil?

26. Dumbledore reminds us killing isn’t easy

            Just before Snape reaches the tower, Dumbledore makes this important point:

                        “Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe...” (HBP, p. 586)

Why would Rowling place this just before Snape kills unless we are supposed to apply it to him as well?

27. Dumbledore is not shocked by anything Malfoy says about Snape

Throughout all of Malfoy’s revelations that Snape is a “double agent” etc., Dumbledore still trusts Snape. (HBP, p. 588) None of these revelations seem to shock him. Can we really so easily dismiss Dumbledore’s absolute faith in a character?

28. Even faced with certain defeat, Dumbledore implies that Voldemort has failed

“We decided to put the Dark Mark over the tower and get you to hurry up here, to see who’d been killed,” said Malfoy. “And it worked!”

                        “Well... yes and no...” said Dumbledore. (HBP, p. 590)

Why would Dumbledore say such a thing unless he knows more than he has let on. Perhaps this is all part of the plan. Or perhaps Voldemort’s plan hasn’t been completely successful because Snape is still good and will ultimately contribute to Voldemort’s downfall.

29. Subject pronoun placement in the line about mercy

            During his conversation with Malfoy on the tower, Dumbledore says this:

                        “It is my mercy, and not yours that matters now.” (HBP, p. 592)

            We as readers are not exactly certain what he means by this. It certainly doesn’t seem like he has any power over Malfoy at the moment considering he is weakened and perhaps dying from the potion he drank and he has no wand. Maybe this line is meant to be interpreted differently. It seems like if he meant that he could harm Draco he would have said “it is my mercy you should worry about” or something like that, but Rowling purposefully avoids giving a pronoun here. It makes me wonder if she is actually referring to someone showing mercy to Dumbledore. This would make sense if he was expecting Snape to kill him soon - particularly if the potion was deadly or caused great pain.

30. Dumbledore seems to believe he is dying from the effects of the potion

“He’s not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!” said the lopsided man, to the accompaniment of his sister’s wheezing giggles. “Look at him - what’s happened to you, then, Dumby?”

“Oh, weaker resistance, slower reflexes, Amycus,” said Dumbledore. “Old age, in short... One day, perhaps, it will happen to you... if you are lucky...”

                        (HBP, p. 594)

Dumbledore doesn’t deny Amycus’ assumption that he is “not long for this world”. Perhaps this is a clue that Dumbledore would have died from the potion anyway and Snape was only hastening the inevitable.

31. There are parallels in language between the Cave scene and the Tower scene

From the scene where Harry must force-feed Dumbledore the potion which is obviously causing him pain and perhaps killing him:

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

            And then, later on, atop the Astronomy Tower, just before Snape kills Dumbledore:

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

Why would Rowling use such parallel language in such parallel scenes if we as readers are not supposed to draw parallel conclusions. In the cave scene, we have the benefit of Harry’s perspective to tell us that he is hating himself and feeling repulsed by what he has to do. In Snape’s case, we only have the view of Harry as an outside observer so we don’t really know what’s going through Snape’s head. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that Rowling wants us to see the parallel and wants us to believe that Snape too is hating himself and feels revulsion for what he has to do. Dumbledore is pleading for Snape to kill him and Snape must follow his orders. Considering both men know Occlumency, we can’t know exactly what might have been said between them before Snape casts the Avada Kedavra spell.

32. Snape kills no one else

            If Snape could so easily kill Dumbledore, then why didn’t he take out a few other Order members on his way out? If he is truly evil, he shouldn’t have had any qualms about killing Flitwick or Hermione and Luna or anyone else he passed on the way out.

33. Snape doesn’t attack Harry

During the fight between Harry and Snape just before Snape escapes, Snape blocks Harry’s spell attempts over and over again, but he doesn’t cast any curses on Harry in return. If he’s truly evil, why not? (HBP, p. 602)

34. Snape gives Harry advice

“Blocked again and again and again until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed, Potter!” (HBP, p. 603)

            Out of all of the insults he could have used, why give Harry advice if Snape’s evil?

35. Snape stops a curse directed at Harry

As another Death Eater starts to curse Harry, Snape stops them midway through because of Voldemort’s orders. (HBP, p. 603) Are we really supposed to believe Voldemort would have objected to a little Harry torture as long as they didn’t kill him? Why would Snape protect Harry like this if he were really evil?

36. Snape doesn’t take Harry with him

Snape doesn’t even try to take Harry with him as he escapes. I know that it may have been against Voldemort’s “orders”, but I don’t think even Voldemort would have objected much if Snape had brought Harry to him. I think a truly evil man would have attempted to capture him at least and Snape didn’t.

37. Snape’s reaction to coward - and Rowling’s wording

“DON’T -“ screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them - “CALL ME COWARD!” (HBP, p. 604)

Why would Rowling use the analogy of the dog trapped in a burning house unless we are supposed to think of Snape in a similar way? Snape, here, is not ecstatic as he should be after killing someone he hated and had to obey all this time. Instead, he is in pain, and he reacts harshly to the word coward because what he was forced to do took a great amount of effort and bravery and has cost him a lot. The comparison to Fang is purposeful on Rowling’s part and I can’t think of any way to justify this if Snape were indeed truly evil. Instead, we are meant to see this part as very sad - Snape had no other option.

38. Many had their doubts about Snape and trusted him merely because Dumbledore did

Which makes a better story - the guy who no one ever trusted ends up evil or the guy who no one ever trusted was actually good all along? There’s no reason to focus so much on Snape throughout the series if he is just a flat, evil character. It makes him much more interesting if he is complex and multifaceted and if the reader’s initial expectations are proven wrong in the end.

39. We are reminded by Dumbledore several times that Riddle has no close friends

What better way to ensure that Snape could become Voldemort’s closest confidant than to have him kill the only wizard Voldemort ever feared? Dumbledore knew they needed to find out more about Voldemort’s plans and I wouldn’t be surprised if he set this all up - knowing he was no longer as valuable as he once had been and knowing what Snape would have to do to keep spying - in order to secure Snape’s position in Voldemort’s good graces.

40. Dumbledore knows Snape knows Occlumency

There is no way that Snape could have told both Dumbledore and Voldemort that he knew Occlumency because he had to have been lying to one of them so he would have needed to keep this ability a secret from the one he was being dishonest with. It is clear that Dumbledore knows Snape can use Occlumency. Because of this, Dumbledore would have definitely taken some additional step to make sure Snape was telling the truth. Snape couldn’t hide anything from Dumbledore because Dumbledore would know to be suspicious - he would know Snape could always be using Occlumency. There is no indication that Voldemort knows Snape knows Occlumency. Perhaps that is because Snape needed Occlumency to hide his true loyalties from Voldemort. We still don’t know who taught Snape Occlumency, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it was Dumbledore. That would cement this theory even further.

41. There has to be some big reason Dumbledore trusts Snape

No matter how sincere Snape was when he showed up on Dumbledore’s doorstep or whatever and claimed he wanted to reform - Dumbledore isn’t an idiot - he would have known that Snape could change his mind so there must be something really ironclad that made him believe. Maybe Voldemort killed someone Snape cared about as much as Harry cares for his parents or maybe there is some kind of Unbreakable Vow involved. No matter what it is, from a literary standpoint, if Snape is actually evil, why leave this part a mystery? There must be a reason we will find out later. It must play some role later on.

42. If Snape is evil, what’s the message of the books?

There is no literary value in creating a character who seems evil and then turns out to be evil. Throughout the series there have been many instances where we learn (for lack of a better phrase) “not to judge a book by it’s cover”. Why should Snape be any different?

43. Fawkes, the phoenix, didn’t come to save Dumbledore

            The phoenix has arrived to save Dumbledore before at a moment's notice (from the same

spell no less) and so why couldn't he do it this time? At the Ministry of Magic fight between Dumbledore and Voldemort, Fawkes stopped an ‘Avada Kedavra’ curse. Perhaps this time, he didn’t come because he was told not to.

44. Snape doesn't have an "Aha! I am evil." Monologue

As silly as this sounds, I really do think this is a valid point - especially combined with all of the other evidence. At the tower scene, Snape kills Dumbledore very suddenly without any speech or anything. If Snape were actually evil all along, I would have expected him to stand in front of the weakened Dumbledore, relishing this moment, announcing that he alone was able to fool the mighty Dumbledore, that he would enjoy killing this man he has been forced to serve for so many years, that Voldemort will triumph in the end and his loyal Death Eaters will bask in the glory... you get the picture. We've all seen such things. It's what villains are supposed to do. Snape didn't. (Thanks to DeHana for this one)

45. Felix Felicis

From the Mugglenet Editorial by Brianna Leigh Woell found here:

We know from Professor Slughorn that the drink of Felix Felicis “will find that all your endeavors tend to succeed” (p. 187). We also know that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all drank Felix Felicis the night of Dumbledore’s death. So, when Ron says “I messed up, Harry,” and tells him how he let Draco and the Death Eaters pass, I wondered, how could something so unlucky happen to the drinker of liquid luck? Hermione joins in, saying that she was stupid not to realize that Snape had stupefied Professor Flitwick. But for someone waiting to catch Snape betraying the Order, how could liquid luck not help her out? The answer to both of these is that Felix Felicis was working to Ron and Hermione’s advantage.

I think this is a very interesting point. We’ve seen Felix Felicis work very subtlety in the past so I don’t think that Hermione et. al. would have had to go after Snape if he was indeed evil, but the potion could have coaxed them into doing SOMETHING to delay him at least and it didn’t. This leads to the conclusion that the lucky thing to do was to let Snape succeed because he’s still working for the good side.(Thanks again to DeHana for pointing me to this editorial)

Note: All quotes refer to the American Hardcover Scholastic edition