Sigune

She’s a whisper in water, a secret for him to hear. He’s the one who grows distant when she beckons him near.

Is Snape evil? I don't think so. Apart from it being an awful letdown, it would also mean that JKR is a sloppy writer. Is Snape good? Well, he has just cast an Unforgivable Curse, and we all know what that does to your soul, so far from me to go and claim he's all sweet and nice and so misunderstood. But maybe he needn't be either of those. Here is my theory for Snape's behaviour in HBP, in a long (but hopefully not dry) essay with plenty of canon reference :-).

Some animals just don't make good pets... A tale of friendship, choice, and many, many familiars.

When Sirius Black challenges Severus Snape over a woman, the Potions master sharpens his claws - and his tongue, of course. Taunts, acidity, sarcasm and the shards of three lives...

Far away from his Hogwarts dungeons, Severus Snape wakes up next to a sleeping woman. – He’ll get used to it, eventually. Snape/OFC

A few months after Lord Voldemort’s defeat at the hands of baby Potter, Alastor Moody makes a catch – a young man who bears a more than superficial resemblance to one of his colleagues, the dour Stephen Snape. This is the tale of a hook-nosed man, his wife, and the things they pass down to their son: a story of love and hate, good intentions and bad decisions, black and white, and of making choices. Above all, it is a veritable tragedy of family likeness.

Black and Lupin have escaped from the Potions Master’s clutches. Vengeance and an Order of Merlin have been snatched away from him by none other than Albus Dumbledore. How on earth can an embittered Severus continue to work with his Headmaster? An insight into a frustrated wizard’s mind, bridging PoA and GoF.

“Lumos.” A small beam of light reveals three feet of emptiness. Beyond is nothing but stifling, moist darkness. Accompany sixteen-year-old Severus into the tunnel where he goes through the single most terrifying experience of his entire life.

As Draco Malfoy, Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini enter their sixth year at Hogwarts, Professor Snape delivers a strange little speech to the Slytherins. What is he playing at? And what are the students to make of it?

The year is 1969. Little Severus Snape discovers a new passion: Dark magic. His mother thinks it prudent to take charge and explain him the rules of the game.

A very young Dark wizard returns to his old school with high hopes of obtaining the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. But showing an ugly mark on his arm and explaining how it got there might considerably reduce his chances.... A different take on how and why Severus Snape became a spy.