Could Snape ever be a hero?

[catjaneway]

No: HPFGUIDX 135582

David wrote:
As he fled the grounds of Hogwarts after killing DD, he gave Harry 
one last piece of advice - an odd thing for a true villain to do:
> 
> "Blocked again, and again, and again until you learnto keep your 
mouth  shut and your mind closed, Potter!" sneered Snape... (page 
562, UK  edition).  If Snape is truly evil, why would he feed Harry 
advice 
> about how to defeat him or defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?

Now Janeway:
I find it interesting that so many people see this scene as Snape 
giving Harry advice. If that's what he's doing here, it looks like 
JKR doesn't intend for Harry to follow it. This is from her 
Mugglenet/Leaky interview, part 2:

"I had an interesting discussion, I thought, with my editor Emma,
about Draco. She said to me, "So, Malfoy can do Occlumency," which
obviously Harry never mastered and has now pretty much given up on
doing, or attempting. And she was querying this and wondering
whether he should be as good as it, but I think Draco would be very
gifted in Occlumency, unlike Harry. Harry's problem with it was
always that his emotions were too near the surface and that he is in
some ways too damaged. But he's also very in touch with his feelings
about what's happened to him. He's not repressed, he's quite honest
about facing them, and he couldn't suppress them, he couldn't
suppress these memories."

So Harry has "pretty much given up on doing or attempting"
Occlumency for some pretty integral psychological reasons. Sounds
like once again Snape just doesn't "get" Harry. To me his insistence
that Harry play by LV's rules (mouth shut, mind closed) doesn't
sound like especially valuable advice.

Janeway