JKR's answer to "Was Snape ever loved?"

[Matt]

No: HPFGUIDX 134873

--- Miss Melanie <ms_melanie1999 at y...> wrote:
> I guess I just never thought I would be so hurt by the 
> idea that Snape is just evil.  That mean people are not 
> ambiguous.  That you know there aren't shades of gray in 
> the potter universe.  The idea kills me.  I didn't expect 
> me, a person who has never defended Snape to take the idea 
> of him being evil so hard.  

The idea that Snape is evil doesn't equate with his being loyal to
Voldemort.  (As Sirius said, the world isn't split into good people
and Death Eaters.)   I don't take Rowling's interview comments as
walking away from that distinction -- on the question of what happened
between Snape and Dumbledore, she pretty specifically said it was a
line of speculation she wanted to encourage.  

Even on the earlier question about whether Snape is "evil" she was
hardly categorical.  We all agree that there are things Snape has done
to Harry et al. that we would not want to see a teacher do to our
children.  I think Rowling has -- so far -- left plenty of room for
Snape to be a man of his word (well, to Dumbledore at least), even if
he is morally dubious in his treatment of others.  Snape can be "more
culpable" than Voldemort -- in that he has done terrible things
despite having experienced love -- without being Voldemort's equal in
the scope of his misdeeds. 

-- Matt