What use is Snape in the rest of the plot?

[phoenixgod2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 133705

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, rayheuer3 at a... wrote:
> J.Z.Dench at u... writes:
>  
> >It's not in Snape's 
> >character to help Harry, so I can't see  him going 'oh look Harry 
> >here's that Horcrux you were looking  for!'.
> 
>  
> Perhaps not, but look what's Snape's last bit of advice to to  
Harry are:  
> "... learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed,  Potter!"  
That's about 
> as close to telling Harry to practice non-verbal  spells and 
Occlumency as 
> Snape would dare under the circumstances.

Or the giddy taunting of someone who is reveling in their newfound 
dark freedom.

There are so many ways to read just about everything that happens 
with Snape I think its pretty futile to guess. If Rowling has proven 
one thing its that she is diffcult to predict when she wants to be 
(bah, a pox on H/G).  Although I can't come up with a reasonable 
scenario that could justify Snape (to me at least), that doesn't mean 
JKR won't spring one on us. I'm leaning towards Snape being proven on 
the side of light in the next book despite my instincts because I 
don't think she wants to leave us with the impression that DD is the 
worlds biggest fool.  On the other hand, there were so many mentions 
of Dumbledore's falibility in the story that Snape being DD's worst 
mistake is hardly beyond the bounds of possibility.

phoenixgod2000