JKR chat--Snape the coward or the one left forever?

[suehpfan]

No: HPFGUIDX 92670

snip> 
> If Snape were evil, wouldn't he simply have left Harry to the DEs
> without contacting the Order AND Dumbledore? Dumbledore would have 
no
> way of knowing that Snape knew anything about Harry's disappearance.
> All he would have had to do is to pretend not to understand Harry 
(as
> he did) and then do *nothing.* Instead, he did everything in his 
power
> to save Harry and his friends. Had he not acted as he did, Harry and
> his friends would in all probability be dead.
> 
> Carol

We have many examples of DD knowing exactly what is going on 
inside "his" school whether he is there or not.  For all we know one 
of those lovely kitten plates in Umbridge's office could have been 
letting DD know what is going on in there all year long.  There are 
so many, many examples of people spying on Harry that there him even 
inside the school, especially when DD was not ever present (I do 
*not* see Snape in this capacity).  

For as many ways as you can say Snape is going to be caught by 
Voldemort as working for the Order, you  can reverse it and say he is 
working tirelessly against them.  It all depends on your perspective, 
whether you think Snape is evil or not.  Unfortunately for us, the 
only person who knows probably won't tell us for sure until the end 
of book 7.

Still riding the fence, but currently leaning toward ESE!Snape,
Sue