I had to burn off my anxieties regarding HBP and the future of Snape so I did a portrait of him. Behold him in all his scowling glory. The BG is a more or less successful attempt at drawing his home Spinner's End.

Progress at your own risk if you haven't read Half-Blood Prince already!

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I can't see the Snape-situation making sense with anything other than Snape being asked/ordered to kill AD by the headmaster himself combined with the Unbreakable Vow given to Narcissa.

It doesnt't make any SENSE if he was evil all the while and let all those thousands of opportunities to off AD and more importantly Potter without any risks and witnesses gone by? And notice he didn't make an attempt on Harry even now, even after AD killed and out of his way and having HP unarmed at his mercy? After saving AD's injured arm and stopping the curse from spreading as Dumbledore told himself?

I don't see Dumbledore as that gullible without having a solid, valid reason to trust Snape. He must have proven himself and his allegiance to the "good" side over the years sufficiently to Dumbledore.
I don't think DD would be so fundamentally wrong about someones character and personality until the very end - even when Snape was seconds before uttering the AK there was no "you traitor, how could you?! I trusted you all these years!" from Dumbledore! Instead after returning from the cave his only wish was to get to Severus, he wanted to see him more than anyone else...
I think the "Severus, please" was a plea for killing him - not for mercy: AD regarded death as the next great adventure and didn't show any anxiety about dying once. He was already dying from drinking the potion. He didn't plead with Draco for his life nor with anyone else before.

Until I've read the very last sentence of book 7 I won't believe Snape betrayed Dumbledore (at all or at least without any valid reason). If JKR stands with the "Slytherins are all evil, unhinged, cowardly and unpleasant and Snape being the king and embodiement of it all"; when she still holds that version when the saga ends I believe it - not earlier.

Sorry for the rant, I'm still fired up from all the Lifejournal discussions ^_^