Harry Potter Epic Blog post... Snape the hero?

     In this blog post, I would like to talk about the role of Severus Snape throughout the Harry Potter series.  In book seven he was the real hero in my opinion.  I think he embodies the qualities of a very good person, but throughout the first six books and until the end of the seventh, JK Rowling kept us in the dark about who Snape really was.  She led us to believe that Severus Snape was the enemy of Harry, but in reality, he was the one who kept him alive.
     First I want to take a look t book one.  In book one, they mistakenly think that Snape is trying to knock Harry off his broom, even though he is trying to say a counter jinx to the one Quirrel was using on him.  They are also overly suspicious of him when he decides to referee the next Griffindor quiddich match, even though it was to protect Harry and not to target him.  They also mistakenly think that Snape is trying to get the Sorcerer's stone for Voldemort when in reality, he is trying to thwart Quirrel's attempt at the feat.  If it weren't for Snape, Harry might have been dead already and it would only be book one.  Also though, in this book, Snape shows a dislike for Harry in this book as well.  He bullies him in potions and glares at him nastily at every turn.  This is because Harry reminds him of James and he can't help it after everything that James did to him in his school days.
   In the second book, Snape's hatred of Harry continues.  He makes Malfoy and Harry partner when they are in the dueling club knowing that there was gong to be trouble between the two enemies.  He does teach Harry the Expelliarmus spell though which Harry later twice beats Voldemort with.  When Harry and Ron flew to school in a Flying Car, Snape tries to get them expelled and when they were at Nearly Headless Nick's death day party and Ms.Norris is petrified, Snape suspects them and tries to get Harry banned from quidditch.
          At the beginning of the third book, Harry notices a nasty glare from Snape to Lupin which hints at their past.  He then proceeded to bully Neville worse than ever in potions due to the boggart incident and how the boggart that took the shape of Snape was put on Neville's grandmother's clothing by him.  Snape suspects Lupin of having a hand in letting Srius into the castle, but this is shot down by Dumbledore.  Despite his hatred of Lupin, he makes him the wolfsbane potion every month.  Yet he did hint that Lupin was a werewolf by teaching them about werewolfs when he was substituting for Lupin one time.  Hermione was the only one smart enough to put two  and two together though.  He then went to the shrieking shack episode where he was trying to save Harry even though he was misunderstanding the situation.  Ron Hermione, and Harry knock him out in this part.  He tries with all his might to get Sirius killed by dementors, but this doesn't work.
     At the beginning book four, Moody hints about his true identity after turning Malfoy into a ferret when he says that him and Snape are old friends.  When Harry's name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, he nastily remarks that he has crossed lines ever since he came to Hogwarts, renewing their hatred of eachother.  Snape talks with Karakoff and Karakoff tells him that his dark mark is becoming more distinct.  Snape responds by telling him to run.  The fact that he was on first name terms with the headmaster of a school known for dark magic hints at Snape's past.  Karkaroff then shows Snape somethingg on his left arm leter in the book which further hints at Snape's past.  Snape produces veritaserum when interogating the fake Moody and keeps Dumbledore posted on the dark mark throughout the book.
     In the fifth book, Snape teaches Harry occlumency.  Harry found out about Snape and James's past which prompts Snape to end Occlumency lessons.   He delivered Harry's cryptic message about Sirius to the other Order members.  Harry suspects Snape of waiting too long to deliver his message about Sirius to the Order.
     In the sixth book, at the beginning, he makes an unbreakable vow to protect Draco from danger, showing that he was willing to give his life for the first time.  Harry uses Snape's old potions book which infuriates Snape even though he can't prove Harry's guilt.  Harry suspects Snape of helping Draco fix the vanishing cabinet, but everyone else say they trust Snape.  Snape kills Dumbledore for Draco, but as we later learn, this was all just a show and it was planned in advance.  He stops other Death Eaters from killing Harry and then departs.The book ends with everybody thinking bad about Snape, even though he did what he was supposed to.
     In book seven, Snapes involvement with Harry becomes clear.  At the beginning of the book, George gets his ear cut off by a sectumsempra spell that Snape sent at a death eater.  We only find out about him when he is killed by Voldemort and he hands his memories over to Harry.  These memories tell Harry all about Snape's past and that he was good.  Also that he gave his life to save Harry.  He also finds out about the plot to kill Dumbledore and how Dumbledore had planned it.
     I noticed that JK Rowling was purposeful with her naming of characters.  According to http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/cookarama/namemean.html:
Professor Severus Snape: Severus was the name of several ancient Roman emperors and later, early saints. Severus is the Latin word for "strict" or "severe," which the professor truly is. Snape also a town in England. It also is a shipbuilding term. It means to bevel the end of a piece of wood, or cut it at a sloping angle, so it fits against an inclined surface.


     Also I want to look into what Severus Snape sounds like.  It sounds a lot like Sever-A-Snake which could be referring to his part in killing Voldemort.
     Overall, Snape was the true hero of the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.  I think that it is very amazing that he was able to give his life for someone that he really cared about.  Harry is commonly thought about as the hero, but i think that it's Severus Snape.