Did you LIKE Snape?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 183136

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Mike" <mcrudele78 at ...> wrote:
 
> In that respect, I too liked Severus Snape. I too wanted to know why 
> he was the way he was. I even color myself slightly disappointed
that  his love for Lily was the *only* driving force that propelled
him to  do what he did for Harry and the good side. I wanted to see
something  more. Maybe some of you did see more, if so maybe you could
cite some  canon for your belief? 

Pippin:
The introductory speech to the potions class. Gripping the back of a
chair when Ginny was taken. Making the wolfsbane potion perfectly
month after month for Lupin. Conjuring a stretcher for Sirius. Showing
his dark mark to Fudge. Pushing his potions classes to achieve a high
pass rate. Pledging his life to protect Draco. Healing Katy Bell.
Saving Lupin. Sending Ginny to Hagrid. Objecting to Phineas saying
'mudblood.' 

Those do not seem to me to be the actions of someone who is just going
through the motions of being on the good side, or solely concerned
with keeping Harry alive for Lily's sake. 

I don't think Snape had any grand  Dumbledorean hopes  of making the
WW a better place. To his mind it was a cruel world and would remain
so, whether Voldemort  stood or fell. And he was always going to think
Harry James Potter was a waste of space. But there were definitely
things he cared about other than Lily.

There seem to be people in canon  who liked Snape as an adult-- Hagrid
always sticks up for him, and the worst thing that Ginny can find to
say is that Bill doesn't like him, which always struck me as praising
with faint damns. So I think it was perfectly possible to like Snape,
provided that you had a thick skin and a tolerance for interestin'
creatures. If I were allowed to equip my fictional self with those
things, I think I'd like Snape just fine. 

Pippin