Nope, no consensus on Snape / Snape a decent person, a hero, or somebody else?

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 142805

>> lealess:
> 
> What we know is that Snape is "no more a Death Eater" than 
> Dumbledore is, 

a_svirn:
Hmm. I believe his exact words were: "He is NOW no more a Death 
Eater than I am" (emphasis mine – a_svirn). And technically speaking 
he wasn't a DE at the time, regardless of his ultimate loyalties. 
Voldemort was gone, after all, the Mark too was gone. And Dumbledore 
has a way of "treating the truth with great caution" without 
actually lying...

> lealess:
and he has a propensity for "slithering out of action" 
> according to a highly-placed Death Eater.  

a_svirn:
Except that we've seen him in action, have we not? 

> lealess:
This indicates to me that 
> if Snape had been physically torturing people or participating in 
> other evil Death Eater activities, we would have heard of it by 
now.  

a_svirn:
Now, where would be the fun of it? It would have tarnished "the 
mysterious, ambiguous, etc. Potion Master" image forever.