Is Snape good or evil? When I posted my first theory about Snape, my vote was Snape is good.

I’ve been thinking about Snape a lot lately. There are a lot of theories surrounding whether Snape is good or evil. After I read Half-Blood Prince, I wanted to think Snape was bad because I was so angry with him for killing Dumbledore. I didn’t even want to entertain the thought he and Dumbledore had planned Dumbledore’s death. But, as I read Sorcerer’s Stone and remembered some of the things I had forgotten, I now wonder if Snape is, in fact, good.

There’s no doubt Snape hates Harry. That was evident from their first encounter and was confirmed in Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix. However, why did Snape save Harry from Professor Quirrell’s broom jinx in Sorcerer’s Stone if Snape is bad? Wouldn’t he have wanted Harry dead and out of the way, so Voldemort could get the Sorcerer’s Stone and come back? If Snape was truly on Voldemort’s side, then he wouldn’t have done all he did to stop Professor Quirrell.

It’s hard for me to think Snape is good, but after reading Sorcerer’s Stone again, it’s even harder to think he is bad. I don’t know if I’ll ever like Snape or be able to forgive him for killing Dumbledore, but for now, my vote is Snape is good.

As written above, I brought up the point if Snape was truly evil, then why did Snape save Harry from Professor Quirrell’s broom jinx in Sorcerer’s Stone? Wouldn’t Snape have wanted Harry dead and out of the way, so Voldemort could get the Sorcerer’s Stone and come back? Well, now that I’ve had time to sit and think about the answer to the latter question, especially after reading Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban, not necessarily.

I can think of two reasons Snape didn’t want Harry dead and out of the way in Sorcerer’s Stone. First, Snape didn’t realize Professor Quirrell was acting on behalf of Voldemort. No one did until Harry saw Voldemort in the last chapter of Sorcerer’s Stone. (As far as we know, Dumbledore didn’t even know.) Second, what if Snape is power hungry? In Prisoner of Azkaban, we saw first-hand that he would do anything to get what he wanted, even if it meant returning an innocent man to Azkaban without a soul.  What if Snape didn’t want Voldemort to regain power because he wants to be the supreme evil overlord? I know it’s far-fetched, but it could be a possibility.

At this point, I honestly don’t know what to think. I’m still leaning toward him being good, but he could be good or evil. JK Rowling has written his character so well that there’s really no way to know for sure. I guess we’ll just have to wait another 14 days to find out.