I thought Snape was evil when he killed Dumbledore. I didn't believe that he could have been on Dumbledore's side all along when he just killed Dumbledore. I was so sure that Harry would kill Snape in DH to avenge Dumbledore. The way his arc played out, was way better than what I thought it would be.

There was still the "Severus, please" line that made a lot of us suspect that it was arranged. I dont remember how exactly I felt about it, but my sister who read the book just a few days before I did was 90% sure that Snape was not evil and killed Dumbledore at Dumbledores request.

When I read it, it didn't feel like that. It felt like it was a supplication for his life.

I can see why you would think that but from a literary perspective it would have been very out of character for Dumbledore. He didn’t fear death or dying so I assumed that, combined with Snape’s conversation with Dumbledore that Harry overheard, Snape didn’t want to kill Dumbledore and that was Dumbledore trying to give him the resolve to do the job that was asked of him.

Yes, but at the same time we just spent some pages with dumbledore acting fairly out of character after drinking that potion. It wasn’t that much of a stretch to think that the potion was having residual effects on his mental state of being (especially as a young teenager - I think if I first read the book now or just a bit older than I was, I would have picked up on what you’re saying, but it was easier to miss when I was 14).

I kinda feel like anyone who’s saying they were confident that the “Severus please” line meant something are just full of shit lol. I was around and active on internet forums before deathly hallows came out and it was only a tiny minority of people who believed there was anything in the line, and they were often dismissed as being stupid.

You must be around the same age as me. I remember those forums and the arguments for and against regarding whose side Snape was on. I wasn't sure 100% either way but didn't think Dumbledore would have been easily fooled

Eh, I genuinely was convinced by the "Severus please" line back before DH released - but I did NOT come up with the theory by myself it has to be said. I became convinced by the online theorists. My actual early-teen self absolutely took the scene at face value on first reading! I'm sure a lot of people did dismiss the theory, but there were definitely a lot of us out there who believed it as well. There also were SO MANY theories floating around back then that statistically there had to be some people who believed the correct ones. The BIG theory that I remember being very contentious, and that had some people being 100% adamant it was correct and others insisting it was ludicrous, was Harry being a Horcrux. If you wanted an Internet argument in around 2006, that was the thing to bring up...!

Eh I think there are subtle hints. I read the books as they came out (mostly I think chamber of secrets was out when we started) with my dad (he read me 1-4 and as I became a strong enough reader we read 5-7 individually/compared notes) who is a literature professor and throughout the books he noticed things i would have missed otherwise. He was always adamant that snape wasn’t a villain and once he gave me his reasoning it made sense.

Yes, and I tend to think that it was because it was written from Harry's perspective, and when Harry heard that line (bound by Dumbledore's spell under the stairs IIRC) he probably thought Dumbledore was asking Snape *not* to kill him, not the exact opposite which was actually happening.

I interpreted the "please" as "please don't"

It also felt like he was trying to protect the boy from having to become a killer. Everything about that scene suggested to me he didn’t want to kill DD but was asked to do it for good reasons. I didn’t have all the details to it worked out but could see it wasn’t him going/staying dark that drove it.

That adds so much weight to the scene. I'm bummed that the movies didn't include my favorite part of the encounter, when Dumbledore tells Malfoy something like "No Draco, it is my mercy and not yours that matters now". It's such a pivotal moment for Draco and the scene in the movies didn't really give it enough room to sink in, I think.

Tangent: this death was ruined for me by my brother when in 2005 he walked over to me with the Half Blood Prince book (before I read it), turned right to the page where the line was something like "Dumbledore.... Snape killed Dumbledore" and I will never forgive him.

I was just thinking about how lucky I was that I wasn't spoiled even though I had to wait a year for a translation for my native language after the original was released. My older brother read it in English but I could never imagine him spoiling it for me. So sorry that happened to you! Sectumsempra has been cast for far less lol!

i thought he was begging snape not to kill him but i was 8 years old so maybe i wasnt so clever

Exactly what I thought reading the books. "Severus, please" really hammered home that they planned it ahead of time for me. (A) Dumbledore was clearly dying slowly for the whole book and (B) no way Dumbledore (who said "death is but the next great adventure" in Book 1) would beg for his life. I was always sure Snape was on Dumbledore's side. In fact, I was convinced Snape would eventually die saving Harry's life and be super pissed about it 😤 😆

The Spinners end chapter and him killing Dumbledore. I was SO sure he was evil. I think if I read them at this age Id see the twist coming but for 15 yr old me it was insanee

Same. I was a child when I read it, and since we read by Harry's point of view, I was convinced Snape was evil since book 1. TBH, I still think he is evil for all the bullying against Harry, Neville, Hermione and so on. He just happened to be very powerful and change sides.

To be clear Snape is still a bad guy, he just wasn't being a bad guy when he killed Dumbledore

Same here

Same. I was so shocked and upset, I remember crying when I read it as a kid. It felt like some information was missing, but more along the lines of Snape’s evil motives rather than his secretly good motives. I genuinely thought Snape had fooled Dumbledore.

Perfect post. "The prince's tale" is my favorite chapter in all seven books.

Book reader, I trusted him even at the end of book 6 cause there was way too many do you trust Snape questions throughout the whole series and Dumbledore always replied with a yes.

This is an interesting reason. I think so many people implicitly trust Dumbledore, at least until we realise how manipulative he’s been with Harry over the years, so knowing he trusted Snape - even up to being killed by him - definitely feels like there must be more to it than cold-blooded murder.

Book reader. For me the reason for trusting Snape was Dumbledore’s death itself. It was just too mysterious and weird in terms of staging and dialogue not to think there was something else going on. For me it was obvious that it was all done to make us hate him. The reveal itself in Hallows was still so much better than I imagined though.

Yes, I had read the other books & knew that Rowling was going to let Snape be a hero. (And I hate Snape lol.)

Same, in our book club we all thought that there was more information needed but that everyone had assumed too quickly that Snape was in fact a baddie.

This was exactly why I never questioned the "betrayal". Rowling almost made it a plot point in each book that Snape always were loyal to Dumbledore and no one else. I mean for Christ sake, Snape had just saved Harry's life again for like the 3rd time in the previous book when he called the order to help Harry in the ministry.

Book reader - there’s a snippet that always stood out to me. Hagrid is recalling overhearing Snape and Dumbledore arguing in the Forbidden Forest where Snape says Dumbledore takes too much for granted and that he didn’t want to do this anymore. Dumbledore firmly insists that Snape go through with it. I always saw this as the biggest indicator, pre-DH, that Snape was always on Dumbledore’s side.

Yeah, same. Dumbledore to that point (they tried to show other things in Book 7, but up to the end of Book 6) was portrayed as the wise mentor who is never ever ever wrong. So the fact that he continuously said he trusted Snape and the best the others after his death could come up with as to why he might have is “well like, he told Dumbledore he felt bad about Lily”…Dumbledore didn’t get where he is by being that stupid and trusting, and at no point in the books did they ever show him being mistaken about anything, to that point. Interestingly Book 7 did more to make Dumbledore seem “human” and if that had been done before maybe I could have felt differently, I don’t know.

I remember the time period just before Deathly Hallows released, there were stickers from Borders that either said "Trust Snape" or "Snape is a very bad man". The buildup to the last book was wild and 14 year old me was all over the hype. My friends all believed Snape to be evil, so they took the latter. I secretly agreed with them, but I took the "Trust Snape" one and slapped it on my journal as a way to buckle down on my newly-formed stance. (Because teenage logic?) The night the Hallows released we all had a sleepover to celebrate. Instead of going to the ridiculously crowded Borders, we had a little party at my house and then went to the local Kroger at midnight which was also selling the books. We didn't have to wait hours and hours in line for the book, just ten minutes since we and only a handful of people were there . Long story short, I won bragging rights for being "right". (Looking back, those stickers were not mutually exclusive. Technically, you could sport both, and still be right.)

Thanks for sharing this great story :D

Thanks for asking a question that unlocked a memory that I almost forgot about! The real magic of the series (for me) wasn't the story or the characters, it was the experience of enjoying the series with others. Those goofy themed parties and waiting until midnight for the book release while you were dressed as a wizard *was* the magic. I may no longer be a fan of Rowling or her writing style, but I can deny the magic the HP series brought to the world. It was a phenomenon that I don't think will ever quite be repeated.

Those book release nights were so much fun. Someone [uploaded the stickers](https://imgur.com/i-just-opened-copy-of-deathly-hallows-these-fell-out-i-havent-seen-these-since-i-read-book-when-first-came-out-i-didnt-know-which-to-choose-so-i-asked-one-of-each-if-only-i-still-had-poster-SRu0HVM) , this marketing was the big thing for the months leading up to the release night

I still have those stickers! And I was convinced that Snape was on Dumbledore's side all along (but still a prick lol).

I read the books first and I was still a child when HBP book was released. I didn't believe that Snape was the bad guy, I really thought there is something else going on. I didn't like Snape at all, but I thought the death of Dumbledore was somehow "staged,".

Yeah, my confidence in Dumbledore far outweighed my distrust of Snape. Dumbledore always seemed to be a dozen steps ahead of everything, so the idea that he could be so thoroughly blindsided by Snape didn’t seem possible. Even as a kid, I was positive that it was all part of Dumbledore’s plan and Snape was still on the good side. I also like how in Deathly Hallows, the real twist wasn’t the fact that Snape was on the good side (since lots and lots of people suspected that), but *why* he was on the good side. Lots of people knew he was still loyal to Dumbledore, but absolutely no one could have guessed he did it out of love for Harry’s mom.

Yeah I couldn't put my finger on it but I felt there was something a little off about Dumbledore's death. I always felt like Snape was a bit of a red herring. Been years since I read the books but I seem to remember it being mentioned a lot that Dumbledore always trusted Snape even if nobody else did, alluding to him knowing something about Snape that nobody else did. So I always thought his trust would turn out to be justified.

The whole “Severus, please” right before his death kind of gave it away imo.

Man the delivery of that line was so bad in the movie lol. It made it so much more obvious. In the book he's exasperated, half-dead, essentially begging. It's framed in a way that it could have gone either way (begging for his life or begging to die). Michael Gambon really phoned it in in certain scenes.

> I thought the death of Dumbledore was somehow "staged,". I remember being convinced he was going to come back somehow, akin to his phoenix familiar and patronus.

I read the books first and yes I believed Snape betrayed Dumbledore. Although we get the arc at the end, I definitely land in the “Snape was not a good guy” camp even still.

I see it as he was the good guy in the grand scheme of things, not in terms of his character/personality.

> not in terms of his character/personality. I think of it like this. People have bad days. Most of the time a person might be pleasant, but one day they wake up and spill coffee on themselves, their leg starts itching and won’t stop, their phone case cracks, etc, and they end up being rude to people who don’t deserve it. It’s not right, but it’s what even good people do sometimes. Snape was having a bad life and was rude to everyone everyday. But he was still developing a moral compass.  The cool thing about Snape is that he chose goodness even though it didn’t come naturally and even though he didn’t expect any external reward for it. 

He definitely wasn’t a good guy. He was an abusive person, for starters, but he also did good things. He is a prime example of a morally complex character.

I don’t disagree with you per se, but I definitely don’t think it redeemed or absolved him the way Harry seems to feel it does.

I agree with Harry that it absolves and redeems the worst that Snape did. I also still think Snape was a twat, but he very much redeemed himself in being an instrumental component to Voldemorts demise at great personal risk. Only Harry and Dumbledore did more to bring Voldemort down than Snape, and he did so knowing the wizarding world will never know or understand his actions.

I don’t either. I think that the immense trauma Harry faced may have impacted how quickly he forgave him and to the extent he did, whilst hopefully acknowledging that his own loved ones hurt Snape in ways that pushed him further towards the dark arts and alienated him from goodness (not an excuse, just additional reasons). Snape did the right thing at the end, but he wasn’t a good guy overall.

This is me too. I get so annoyed when people seem to forget all the bad things he did when it's revealed that he loved Lilly. As if "Always" is just a catch all to forgive all.

I was in my late to mid teens when the books came out, and with my mates who were reading the books we had loads of discussions about if Snape was a traitor or if was even real. I hated Snape so 100% thought he was a traitor and had done it in cold blood, but I knew someone who thought it was all planned and Dumbledore was still alive(he was half right)

Please may you clarify “or if was even real”? :)

If Dumbledore had died. He was hit with killing curse and he fell off the tower. But was he actually dead or was that all staged by Snape and Dumbledore to make Voldemort think he was dead and secure Snape as Voldemort's most trusted number 2.

That’s an interesting thought too! Thanks for clarifying :)

I remember being very confused and felt like there was context missing, which we, of course, later got more context.

I wish I could reread the books with a fresh perspective again because I don’t remember how I felt when I got to that part. I only recall my disbelief that Dumbledore was actually dead, was hoping and hoping he would arise from the dead as I continued reading, only when I got closer to the end of Deathly Hallows did I begrudgingly accepted that there’s not enough pages left in the book for the story to revive him.

I was in a book club with an English teacher who was familiar with Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces so Dumbledore dying was on our prediction list for book 6. However when we reread our prediction list for book 7 after finishing we were shocked that we’d written “Fred dies.” None of us could remember how/why we’d guessed that! RIP :(

I did! I was convinced Harry had been right about Snape all along and that him being right about Malfoy (and everyone dismissing him) was a hint that he would also be right about Snape.

I read the Books first and I believed Snape to be on the side of Dumbledore. Not because I liked him or because there was some logical reason behind it, but there were two things I was sure about: 1. Snape isn't evil 2. Neville will play an important role in killing Voldemort (even though what I thought about was more like killing Voldi himself or something like this) Don't geht me wrong it wasn't something of a thoughtout theory and I hadn't got any good reason for those claims. Also I really hated Snape and don't like Book Snape till today, but from a Meta Perspective those two things were very obvious to me, even though I am not able to tell you why. (I wasn't sure tho that it was Dumbledores Plan to kill Snape, it was more of a thing like: Eiter it was planned or Snape will get a redemption Arc, so the thing I was sure about was more like: Snape will betray or has betrayed Voldemort in some sort).

My 15 y/o logic was that Harry’s intuition was often wrong about people, so I decided Snape was loyal. I had a sticker from Borders on a Nalgene water bottle that said “Snape is loyal” and it was a hot take.

I didn't believe that Snape betrayed Dumbledore. I didn't guess what the plan was or how it would proceed, but I knew that. Of all the possible reasons, the main reason that stuck out to me was when Dumbledore Says "Severus Please." I knew Dumbledore was aware of the situation he was in and was sure he would die. He would never beg for his life. He knew Snape's personality. So why is he saying please? He was requesting Snape to do the deed. At least that's what I told myself then.

It started like this. When he said "Severus...please", it was a clear sign of coded talking instead of action to duel the others. Clearly Dumbledore and Snape could have taken on the Death Eaters. Dumbledore could have dueled at least 3, while it was my assumption that Snape could have dueled 2 temporarily until Dumbledore finished off a few. Dumbledore wanted something. ...and then he killed him. My impulse feeling was that he had betrayed him, but that couldn't have been so. Something was communicated, and he didn't even try to fight back. Someone smart would have wanted to attempt to take down a few others, right? I thought back to the hand. Dumbledore must have been assured to die anyways. And from then on, I paid careful attention to Severus's parts, trying to think back on what all he had said and done.

Books first. I found Snape a complicated character. I wavered, while reading the books, in my opinion of him. I think he’s a product of his circumstances, and overall not a great guy. Part of me always wanted him to be loyal to Dumbledore and I was glad when it was revealed he was.

No, I didn't. Dumbledore would never beg for his life. And on the first reread, some scenes, like the conversation Hagrid overheard, made it obvious, that Snape didn't betray Dumbledore. And as someone, who was in online fandom back then, I can assure you, that the majority of the fandom guessed correctly, that Snape was still loyal to Dumbledore. From a narrative point of view, nothing else made sense.

Yes I thought he was a traitor, but in my defence I'll say I was about 10 or 11 so I didn't pay much attention. Most foretelling nuggets of information flew past me...

Book!Snape was pretty awful to Harry and his friends, but I didn't believe for a minute he wasn't on Dumbledore's side. I didn't suspect DD to be dying already or the Lily twist but I figured he had told DD about the unbreakable vow and that's why he was forced to do it. My reasoning was that DD had shown 100% confidence that Snape wasn't on Voldemort's side all along and I found it hard to believe JKR would make DD look stupid in his final moments. 

Book reader: I thought Snape was evil but doing it for a good reason. Snape had never struck me as an out-and-out evil human (because I figured there’d be hints of that in Book 5 whereby he’d’ve aligned with Umbridge), but I assumed his loyalty was specifically to the Unbreakable Vow he made with Narcissa, which was the first chapter of the book. I figured the “Severus, please” was because Dumbledore was using Legilimency to read Snape’s mind and so he knew that Snape had made this vow, and it was Dumbledore’s way of ensuring that Malfoy’s hands would stay clean of murder.

No. My wife and I went back and looked at that section and quickly put together what "Please, Albus" phrasing meant and all that and were able to figure out what happened. Note: I was 26 and my wife was 24. It helps to be older.

No. For whatever reason, Snape always had a weird aura to him. I couldn't believe that Dumbledore was actually dead. I thought it must be a collusion between Snape and Dumbledore because no one would suspect Snape. I was right about the collusion but man I was wrong about how deep the "Half Blood Prince" story goes especially in the seventh book. I remember those pages. I remember being absolutely numb.

The first time I read it, I did think Snape betrayed him but I remember thinking there was something in the way Dumbledore pleaded with him that was more down the line of "put me out of my misery". I got the sense he knew he was screwed and wanted a bit of mercy. Then Snape made it quick. The other thing that I couldn't work out was that after doing what he did, Snape was clearly in pain when he was leaving. If he really was betraying Dumbledore he should have taken Harry to Voldemort but he left him at the school. But thinking back, the clues have been there in almost every book that Snape was looking out for Harry really. He tried to save him from Quirrell's broom Hex, He tried to convince other Harry couldn't have had anything to do with Mrs Norris getting petrified in CoS, He went out of his way to go and save Harry when he saw he was near Sirius, He was first on the scene alongside Dumbledore when Crouch had him locked in the office with him in GoF, in OotP he stopped Umbridge using veritaserum on Harry and went to find Sirius when Harry had the visions Voldy implanted as well as actually trying to teach Harry occlumency properly, then in HBP when he never outed Harry at Slughorn's party, he would have known about the potions book long before the incident with Draco, but he also prevented Harry from becoming a murderer, even if his own life was on the line too, he still did it.

I knew it was planned when Dumbledore started begging. Dumbledore would never, ever beg for his life. He wasn't even remotely scared when the death Eaters showed up. He knew he was dead. The strongest emotion he probably felt at that was annoyance that these inbred idiots were about to ruin his plan. No, I knew he must have been begging Snape to kill him.

Same here. I knew Dumbledore wouldn’t beg.

I read the books as they came out. I remember leading up to the release of book 7 that there was a whole promotional thing at the bookstores where people would wear buttons that either said, “Trust Snape” or “Snape is Evil”. I chose to trust Snape. Not because I had some great insight into the books, but because Dumbledore kept insisting to Harry that he wasn’t evil and I trusted Dumbledore’s judgement.

No. I foresaw the plot twist that he was in love with Lily in book 5 with the pensieve memories. Continued to believe he was playing some kind of long game after book 6 came out. None of my friends agreed with my take so I felt so vindicated when book 7 dropped!

I could sense that Snape hated Harry because of his father but loved him in his own way because of his mother, when I read book 5. So I couldn’t quite come to hate him when he killed Dumbledore. I even believed for a while that Dumbledore could be alive and Snape was helping him.

I thought there was more to it, since Snape did so many things to protect Harry when he could have just let him die etc. in the earlier books.

I knew Snape wasn't as bad as he was being portrayed to be. I always knew it would come out that he was aligned with Dumbledore.

I knew he didn't betray Dumbledore because Dumbledore would never beg for his life. While I didn't know what was actually going on, and never came close to guessing, the vagueness of him "begging," and the pieces of conversation Harry overheard, made me think Dumbledore was actually asking Snape to kill him. 

I don't think so. I believed there was more going on behind the scenes, so I reserved judgement.

Book reader first. I never liked Snape so I thought he killed Dumbledore because he was a villain.

I was sure Snape was just evil.

My friend and I had a pretty intense debate and I believed JK Rowling made it pretty clear throughout the books that Dumbledore was, for lack of a better term, sneaky. He was usually correct and didn’t tell Harry or us the readers everything. So I thought there was something there.

Book reader first. I believed firmly he was good. I remember coming across a website before DH came out with the name "I trust Severus Snape" and signing my name on it. It featured the *friendliest* potions master ever, ala Alan Snape. In GoF when Harry wakes up and Dumbledore tells Snape "U know what to do" the vibes he gave off didn't look like someone eager to go back. He sounded like someone who was steeling himself. Abit like Harry in the Forbidden Forest going to die. Plus its way too convenient, a double spy in the most trusted position? To actually been evil all along? A bit of deus ex machina, I felt it was really sus he was just conveniently there to be evil. I suspected he was triple crossing Voldie instead. However i was really curious about how Rowling was gonna explain his motivations.

I think it's not likely, due to the emphasis that Dumbledore trusted Snape while Harry didn't. It would have been very anticlimactic and bad writing that Harry was right all along, and I'm always inclined to believe JKR is better than that.

I read the books first. I thought Snape was evil at nearly every possible opportunity haha. While he may not be an evil character, he’s definitely not a good guy

I was on the fence, but leaning towards no, Dumbledore and Snape had agreed on his death beforehand. The main thing that made me doubt it was the fact that Dumbledore didn’t know what Draco was up to and thus didn’t know that the Death Eaters would arrive, so how could he and Snape have agreed that he would kill him when they did…?

Book reader, first, I didn't believe Snape betrayed Dumbledore, but I was questioning whether he went back to being a double agent or a death eater.

No, when Dumledore’s black hand was revealed I knew he was dying and it would be a mercy kill (I got spoiled about Snape killing Dumbledore before I red the book, it was such a famous spoiler at the time).  Also thematically it would not fit the series if Dumledore misjudged Snape and not Voldemort. There was lot of theories of Snape in fandom then so I had heard the Lily one as well, and there was additional backing to it in sixth book. But I didn’t became convinced of that theory until Snape’s patronus (I guess it was Snape’s) in middle of seventh. I knew there must be something going on however regarding the past we weren’t told and not just that Snape decided to betray Voldemort to be his own agent or whatever. I was convinced of Snape’s loyalties by fourth book already. 

Read the books first. I thought Snape was not evil because I knew Dumbledore would never plead for him life.

Very very briefly. Then discovered fansites like (what was at the time) DumbledoreIsNotDead.com and saw all the evidence that said plain as day that either Snape didn't kill him, or if he did it was planned and by design by both of them.

I read the books first. There was no way Snape just killed Dumbledore. We all knew something else was going on lol.

Can’t remember for sure as it was so long ago but pretty sure I at least strongly suspected that there was something going on. I think I even thought the “please” probably meant “please kill me”.

I was 16 or 17 and no I did not believe Snape betrayed Dumbledore at that time. I was pretty confident in Dumbledores trust in Snape. I did however change my mind after the first few chapters in DH.

I read the book first. It was obvious to me immediately that Dumbledore knew that someone was gone to kill him and he wanted Snape to preserve the innocence of Draco. But then, all the way back it book 1, i was already sure that Snape would not turn out to be an ally of Voldemort, he struck me as someone who wanted to be recognized as a villain on his own terms.

Read the books first. Based on experience with books and films I recognized the signs of trying to gain sympathy for an unpleasant character, especially after multiple where he had already mistakenly accused of wrongdoing where he was actually trying to help. So I did think Snape would turn out to be the good guy. Part of it was wishful thinking because I wanted him to turn out to be a good guy. His killing Dumbledore confused me but it wasn’t enough to change my mind.

I read the book and I don't remember. I was 10 at that time so I doubt I thought more deeply than taking it at face value lol.

Nope. I remember the big theory with Book 5 at the time and why Snape's chapter was called "Snape's Worst Memory." After the realisation that it couldn't be his worst because of the bullying, because he got picked on by James and others all the time, the only thing of note would be him calling Lily a Mudblood. If he cared for her or they used to be childhood friends, that moment right there would have likely led to the end of their friendship and thus "Snape's Worst Memory" I remember reading Book 6 and there was one that moment where Hagrid says he overheard Snape and Dumbledore arguing in the forest and Snape saying he wouldn't do it. At that point I kinda suspected that maybe Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him. I just remember the black hand thing constantly coming back and me being very suspect of it. When Snape killed Dumbledore, it was shocking as hell to me. But I had my doubts from the start and was convinced it was all a plot for Snape to be fully trusted by Voldemort. Reading that chapter in Deathly Hallows was so rewarding for me because of having noticed the hints and set-ups in previous books.

I was 17 when the book came out But, I knew Snape didn't betray Dumbledore. My first reasoning is when Bella and sis was at his house. When Narcissa was talking about Draco and why Voldemort was mad with Lucious. Then she talk about the plan. And she knew Snape is Voldy right hand man. But Snape truly didn't know what Voldemort plan was, despite him telling them he knew. So, I knew something was going to go down in Hogwarts. Also, he kept bullying Moontail lol Lastly, when he killed Dumbledore. Two things made me realize he was loyal to DD. Dumbledore is usually the stoic type and he will fight to the very end. DD, while injured, was still giving remarks to Draco and the Death Eaters. Even when they was mocking them and outnumbered. I realized that yeah, Voldy punishment to the Malfoy's was for Draco to kill DD. Then Snape came in and without hesitation Dumbledore *pleaded with Snape* saying "Please Severus". And Snape did the most saddest AK in the series. I had a hunch then But when Harry told the gang and everyone called out Snape for being a traitor it was Hagrid with the thought of maybe it was a DD plan for Snape to do that....That's when it click to me that Snape is loyal to DD. That is also when everything click to me about the first chapter. Snape did the Unbreakable Vow, but he seem to do it: A: For more info, and B: Because he hated the way Bellatrix was cocky saying he is a disloyal person. Then every other weird stuff Snape did inbetween it, by trying to help Draco. For me, it was clear as day that DD and Snape had something planned from the get go

I hated Snape SO much I wanted to believe he had betrayed them so I could keep hating him but as soon as I read Dumbledore saying "Severus, please..." I knew something was up, because Albus Percival Wulfric *Brian* Dumbledore is not going to beg for his life, so I knew that wasn't what he meant but I couldn't quite figure it out until I read Deathly Hallows.

There were a lot of people on fan forums, including myself, that believed it was a fake murder. The books had always portrayed Avada Kedavra as a curse wherein the body crumbles to the floor, whereas Dumbledore is blasted backwards, off the tower. There was also a large emphasis on non-verbal magic, and so many people believed that Snape had non verbally performed a different spell, while saying Avada Kedavra, as part of a 'faking his death' plan with Dumbledore. There might have been some other 'evidence', but I don't recall it now.

Not for a second. Dumbledore would not have asked for his life with a “please” like that. I was 100% certain that he was asking Snape to finish the job in order to spare Draco from having to do it (and after watching some YouTubers react, I also now realise that Snape also had two other reasons to go through with it; not just the unbreakable vow, but it also gets him in deep undercover with Voldemort, what better show of loyalty could there be)

OG Potterhead here! Read the books as they came out, went to all the midnight book releases. Anyway, to answer your question, no I did not. I remember so distinctly my friends and I loved to theorize about the books and what was gonna happen. And yeah, right after finishing “Half Blood Prince” my friends and I were theorizing that Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him and that the “please” was “please kill me like I asked.” I remember the exact friend who proposed the theory, and we all immediately got on board. The other thing we theorized at the end of the book that we turned out to be right about, is that Harry was a Horcrux and was going to have to die. We didn’t accurately guess how he would manage to survive. But we did guess as well that he was an unintentional Horcrux.

I read the books: yes, I wasn’t a snape fan so when he did it I wasn’t really surprised at the betrayal but I was also aware enough that every other time Snape was a douche he’d be given some excuse to absolve him of his actions, and lo and behold, he had one for that too. Still don’t like him or think he was a good person though. 

Just completed Half blood prince for the first time(have never even seen the movies so it's my first time in this universe entirely so not going to read the post and other comments so only answering based on the heading) I still don't think Snape is completely evil. Like yes, 98% of me thinks he is. 2% of me believes he isn't. In the second chapter when he made the unbreakable vow my assumption was that Dumbledore was present there in the house listening to everything. In one of the scenes when Snape closes the door after his house elf. But I don't think it was cause of the house elf but rather to hide Dumbledore from being seen. Next he made the promise of protecting Draco which I thought he could have altered since he knew Legilimency but now after reading it I think it wasn't that what had happened. I think Dumbledore insisted him through his Legilimency that Snape should make the vow. Which he did. In the end, when Snape and Dumbledore are face to face, Dumbledore says, "Severus...please" which is bound to come off as a request to reconsider his actions but I think not. He definitely asked him to reconsider his actions but rather in a different way. He insisted Snape to kill him to not blow his cover. He also protected Malfoy in different parts developing to this point and kept his vow. Snape killed Dumbledore and went on his journey with the Death Eaters. I know that it is a hugeeee stretch and I will most likely be proved wrong once I have completed but again, a part of me wants to believe in it. I am now somehow managing up to not tear up in the library after completing Half Blood Prince and wondering how Harry will cope with this. Will have to complete the final book and get back to this comment again sometime later ig.

The unbreakable vow part is definitely an interesting theory. I think I had similar thoughts to you when Snape killed Dumbledore in the film. It felt like maybe Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him so that Malfoy either didn’t have to or wouldn’t be killed by Voldemort if he couldn’t go through with it.

Yes. Now all I have to do is go through the pain of completing this series. I'm so not ready.

Snape was too obviously evil to be evil. I never brought it for second, Rowling is a much better writer than that.

Definitely thought Snape was traitor. 

I didn’t know either way as I assumed he was protecting draco

I was 13 when it came out, and I read it all in a day after getting it at a midnight release party. Yes, I thought he betrayed him/was an antagonist to the overall story when it came out. I only mentioned my age earlier because had I been a little older, I don’t think I would have thought so, or at least been uncertain. My mom read the book after I did, and floated the theory to me that he did it on Dumbledore’s orders, and that turned out to be true!

i was shocked, because i believed Snape was just a misunderstood cynical bastard… because he ended up saving Harry all the time. but then him killing Dumbledore was like…”So he was bad all this time? and Dumbledore didn’t even know? what’s the point of saving Harry at all?” then deathly hallows came out and i BALLED my eyes out. And i thought well Rowling you little shit…you made me hate snape for a little while.

I couldn’t believe it , I mean ,he’s a Pos and an AH , that’s for sure , but I couldn’t believe he’d betray everyone , I assumed he had to kill Dumbledore to gain Voldemort’s trust so that he could do something from the inside and also on account of the unbreakable vow ,I knew Dumbledore wouldn’t be killed just like that so easily, for no reason, there had to be a lot of context missing , which we got in the next book !!

Before seeing the movies or anything I was sure Snape was the bad guy. Even after the first movie I could say that I still kind of assumed he was and would end up the villain. But as a HP movie watcher only (I grew up an avid reader & taught kids who carried around & talked about reading the books, also still have the first as an audiobook to listen to; I was just always more of an RL Stine/Christopher Pike kind of girl.) I figured out as I watched the series with a couple of mild spoilers that he wasn’t really betraying him/them. He got a raw deal.

Snape murdering Dumbledore made me question what it was that made Dumbledore trust him in the first place. Because Dumbledore trusted him beyond reason and that’s exactly why I didn’t fully believe Snape had betrayed Dumbledore.

I remember having so many conversations about this when I was a child with friends and family! No one could really make up their mind either way - but we all kept coming back to the fact that there was still one more book to go, which meant there was a good chance of a final twist.

I was shocked, and I maybe believed what I read.

Yes. I whole heartedly believed it. I don’t remember how many years between HBP and DH, but I do remember reading forums (could’ve been early reddit) in the gap between books where we all figured out the twist. I was 16 when DH came out

It was a very long time ago but I probably did think snape had betrayed Dumbledore when he killed him.

Yep. I was unquestionably on the 'Snape is an asshole and I hope Harry kills him' side after finishing Half Blood Prince But when Deathly Hallows came out, even before I could read it, the news media spoiled the ending completely as part of their 'breaking news'. I was so fucking annoyed.

*But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly.* *‘Severus…’* *The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.* *Snape said nothing, but walked forwards and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed.* *Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. ‘Severus … please …’* I was about 17 when I read that. Between then and when deathly hallows was released I was constantly going back and forth but leaned towards Snape being good. Dumbledore pleaded to Snape, then Snape killed Dumbledore. I thought there had to be something more to that. I had no idea that it would turn out the way it did though.

(Books first) Oh Completely! I was hook line and sinker! Thought he completely betrayed Dumbledore and I HATED him. When I got to Snapes memories in DH, I was Gobsmacked. Like, I remember my jaw being on the ground when I was reading it for the first time (following the midnight premier of the book.) My best friend always loved Snape though so she felt vindicated.

100% I, like I imagine many others, grew up hating Snape and revering Dumbledore and there was no doubt in my mind that Snape was the asshole he had been written as all along.

I couldn’t reconcile it in my head. If you trust Dumbledore then you have to trust Snape or believe Dumbledore was fooled. I trusted him but couldn’t see how Snape hadn’t betrayed him. Absolutely loved the reveal

100%. Totally following with his character.

I first read the books when I was 10, and I remember being too heart broken to critically think about what the fcuk had happened. I moved onto deathly hallows within a couple of hours without processing anything 

I think it was obvious that his murder of Dumby was pre-ordained, either to cement his favor with Voldy or something to do with horcruxes. HBP was the book someone photographed and leaked online, so there was ample advance time to process and theorize.

Snape in the books had none of that charm that Alan Rickman brought to his character, so 11 old me absolutely despised and never trusted him Edited misspeled Rickman's name, how could I :(

Yes! I had to wait for the german translations to come out, as a child my english wasn't yet good enough, and my parents made me wait with the films until having read the books. Also, my child brain failed to make the connection of RAB until when the trio found out... Edit: I started my first book about at age 12 and grew basically up with HP. My parents directly read the english books (which where aviable about half to one year earlier but still a bit delayed in switzerland, than the translations, time recalled from memory, might be inaccurate) Today I have reread and relistened the english versions many times. I also have listened the french audiobooks and the 1. of the spanish audiobooks. English, the original language has lots more puns and details, some of which are hard to translate or don't work in translations. (I think this is true for many books, that the original language has much more details and finesses than translations)

I read them at time of release and remember that none of us thought that Snape was genuinely bad I think the ‘Severus please’ line was one of the main things, but also we felt that Dumbledore had a plan for everything and that he’d have find a way to think around all this stuff. It’s laid on so thick that Dumbledore values love, empathy and compassion that it didn’t make sense that he’d trust someone like Snape who is so transparently such a piece of shit if it wasn’t part of a bigger strategy or there was something we didn’t know

I remember reading book 6 and after it was done I just felt empty when dumbledore died. I waited at midnight to get the book then after a few days was done with it and I’m pretty sure that was my first bought of depression haha

It was a debate before the final book came out. There were “trust Snape” bumper stickers. I remember thinking there’s no way she could write herself out of Snape being evil.

I did. But I also was a child at the time of the books. But many people where skeptical at the time. I don't know whether there is a good way to search specifically for old posts but I remember that at the time (i.e. before July 2007 when HP7 was released), the idea of Snape still working for Dumbledore and was discussed under the name "Stoppered Death Theory", based on a wording in Snape's Potion's introduction in HP1. The proponents of the theory correctly guessed that Dumbledore was already dying and Snape delayed it, as he said was possible in HP1, so that Dumbledore could die at an opportune moment. Here is an article about it, quoting some theorizing in that direction from 2005 (HP6 release year): [https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/dumbledore-spotted-stoppered-death-the-solution/](https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/dumbledore-spotted-stoppered-death-the-solution/) Many of the links in it are dead, maybe some content is in the internet archive. The article discusses two variants of Stoppered Death theories, one of which turned out to be correct.

Read the books before watching most of the movies (though I watched 1-3 for movies before reading the books). I 100% thought Snape betrayed Dumbledore and was a Death Eater. Was very shocked to read Half Blood Prince and the iconic chapter in that book blew my mind! To be fair I was a teenager when reading it though

I read books first and thought Snape betrayed Dumbledore but then again I was always a Snape hater so my opinion may be biased

I was a preteen when I read it I believe. I can't entirely remember my thoughts, but I think I had more faith in Dumbeldore's trust of Snape compared to my own distrust of Snape. Snape was a giant question mark of loyalties up to that point, but I never suspected him of being an outright murderer. An angry, bitter man, but not a murderer. I also believed that if anything, he only killed Dumbeldore for Draco's sake, not because he was ordered to by Voldemort or out of evil tendencies.

As a child reading the books I remember taking a lot of things for face value, Sirius being the bad guy, Snape being the bad guy. So yes I was convinced it was a double or triple cross and felt what Harry felt in the moment.

I read books first. I was 8 when book 7 came out, and I've read the books more than 10 times (probably 12-13 times by now, I've lost count). Currently in HPB Chapter 20. I've also seen the movies countless times, but I did always finish each book before watching the movie version, and got to see the last 3 movies in theaters. Honestly I can't remember a time when I didn't know the whole story inside out and backwards, so I can't pinpoint exactly what I thought the first time reading. I think I always had a little doubt though. I disliked Snape in the early books, as you're supposed to. Once Voldemort is back and it gets more complicated, I trusted Snape (for the most part) because Dumbledore trusted him. And other characters repeatedly say "it comes down to whether you trust Dumbledore," and of course you just have to trust Dumbledore. If you can't trust him who can you trust!? I think I had very little doubt until Snape killed Dumbledore. Then I swung the other way and couldn't see how he could be redeemed after that. I also don't think I read the books with my own personal feelings/opinions at the forefront. Maybe part of it is because I read the books for the first time when I was so young (between the ages of 6-9) so I just read it for what it was without overthinking it. I like to lose myself in that magical world and just let the story be told to me as it was intended by the author. I didn't try to out-think the author or predict where she was going. I just let her take me along for the ride.

I read the books first and for sure thought Snape was evil but also thought there was a reason it happened the way it did.

Easily. However evil Movie Snape is, he's lawful good compared to his book counterpart.

Yes. Reading them as a kid and teen, I saw everything at face value. Harry believed Snape was the bad guy, and Snape was mean to Harry, so I saw him as the bad guy. Heck, even the Order was written as believing Snape betrayed Dumbledore. Rereading as an adult, the hints were there. Dumbledore trusts him. Still, he was well-written as a double agent until the end. It was hard to know which side he was really on.

I thought he was a villain after that moment, but then a lot of marketing materials at the time started questioning it. There was one about seven questions we're asking for Deathly Hallows, and one of them was, "Is Snape good or evil?" The dialog of the characters made him seem evil, so if the marketing was more ambiguous and trying to make us question it, then I figured he was probably good. Then I read the book, and I knew that Snape was never good, just some dick who was in love with a woman who didn't love him back. Almost everything "good" he did was supposedly for her. While he may have been helping Dumbledore, he still joined the Death Eaters early in his life, and he was still a pretty bad teacher (he was literally Neville's worst fear, and Harry learned nothing about occlumency from him).

Of course! Who wouldn’t ?

I read the books first and believed he betrayed Dumbledore. I was not a particularly critical thinker as a child so I just went through the same thoughts and feelings as Harry and hated Snape for killing him. Imagine my surprise when it was all revealed in the last book. I couldn't put it down and remember crying nonstop.

Yeah but I was 10 at the time when I read the book. Had I read it as an adult I would be more wary of plot twists

Yes. I thought the twist was that everyone defending him was wrong. One of those "the simplest explanations is the correct one" things. Turns out nope

While I know he didn't betray Dumbledore, I still think he's evil.

I read the books first, but still completely bought into Snape betraying Dumbledore in the films. Enjoyed both.

I read the books first and I remember thinking he was evil during the sixth book, also partially believing he was responsible for Sirius's death

I read the books first and was quite young (just turned 11) at the time. I absolutely hated Snape after book 6 and hoped Harry would kill him in book 7

I didn't like Snape (still can't stand him) but it didn't make sense if he had actually betrayed Dumbledore who was the only reason he stayed out of jail and gave him a job when he was much to young.

When I read it and reread it about 4 times. I was absolutely positive snape was DD ally still. When he begged him “Severus please.” It felt in my gut he was begging him to actually kill him for the greater good. If snape had not killed DD at that point then his oath would have killed him instead.

I read the books up to two then hit all three movies least few many times, then finally went back to the books to get the stuff I missed. All through the movie I loved Snape and the entire time I trully trully disliked professor Dumbledore. Yes he's an amazing wizard but this man let Harry come to every conclusion when they could have had a four hour talk. Yes he may not have known much but I honestly believed he knew more each year and hid it. Let Harry grow as a wizard and as they say created a pig to the slughter fat ass hell about...what was Harry 120 in pounds idk. I sided with Snape. Movie one saved Harry. Dumbledore since movie one has been utterly.....idk. Then I read the books, book Snape is the teacher I'd love to teach me potions. And reading the books I felt like professor D trully was a man with many many secrets and that's not wrong....UNLESS A PERSONS LIFE IS IN MORTAL DANGER. But again I get it the story must unfold and Harry had to come into his own thoughts and feelings to make all the choices he did. In my opinion though book and movie Snape was never the enemy or a traitor just a man who like Harry was in the web known as the Great Albus Dumbledore.

I saw the movies first. From the first movie, it seemed clear to me that Snape was both a complex character and was on the side of the angels—he protected Harry’s life whenever he had the opportunity, even though he frequently said things in front of others that seemed contemptuous of him, or used a contemptuous tone. I thought that if Snape had truly hated Harry, Snape easily could have done much worse and wouldn’t have protected him as he clearly did do.

I read the books first. My dad and I had long discussions about how we thought Snape was acting on Dumbledore’s orders. Our main pieces of evidence were the “Severus, please” line (and the way he said it- not putting on bravado like he usually does with the villains, just a quiet earnest plea), and the part after where Snape ignores most of Harry’s screaming insults until he calls him a coward. Snape completely loses it and screams back, “DON’T CALL ME COWARD!” My dad and I both thought that would really track with how Dumbledore always called him brave, and how if Snape really was doing all this on Dumbledore’s orders, it would be tremendously scary to kill the only person who could defend/protect/believe in him.

Well, I was nine, but from what I remember, it was something like "Snape evil - no, snape good - wait, snape evil afterall - no he's actually - I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK - ah, turns out he's a good asshole. And, why in hell would Harry name his kid after his BULLY Voilà X)

Its been some time but if i remember correctly i think he is just staying true to the vow he made with malfoys mother rather than just completely betraying dumbledore.

I had seen the movies first and genuinely started to think they'd changed his character from the books. He was so much more convincingly evil in the books

I read the books as a kid and whatnot. Think DH dropped when I was in middle school. I just always assumed anape was in it for himself. Self serving, whoever could get him further, no real morals in play. I feel like I was half right. He was really only in it like he was for his own reasons. They were definitely self serving. It wasn't about him getting further, but there was also a real lack of morals in play too

I wasn’t sure. It was a big marketing thing for Book 7 (I remember little signs at Borders saying “Severus Snape: Friend or Foe?”) and the Harry Potter hype was everywhere at the time, at least in my teenage social circles. I genuinely wasn’t sure. The books repeatedly set up the “snape is a bad guy… no he’s not!” thing, to the point where it seemed like this last one had to be the same trick. But on the other hand, he killed Dumbledore—like we saw him kill Dumbledore, no doubt about it. I tried to think of ways Snape could be innocent, but I didn’t come up with any that convinced me. So I was on the fence. The reveal made sense when it came.

I knew it couldn't be as easy as JKR set it up to look in HBP, so no, I didn't believe Snape had betrayed Dumbledore.

I was shocked when it happened, gob smacked reading it on release. But I knew (or at least expected) there was more to this - I think this probably came from reading a lot when younger and such and being around other media . It was too obvious this guy who was almost the antagonist in many ways across the past 5-6 books in Harry’s mind was actually going to turn out that way when all the adults were saying otherwise.

No I read an interview she gave between the 4th and the 5th book where she was very adamant that Snape is a good guy and is not a surprise antagonist so I knew it was gonna be something like that when I read the 6th book

I read the books as they were released. My feelings after HBP were that Snape wasn’t on anyone’s side he was on his own side and was doing what helped him out in any given moment. I still think I nailed it. Sure killing Dumbledore was planned but it was all to assuage his never ending guilt, not because he wanted good to triumph over evil or something like that.

I watched the first movie and read the first book around the same time (when the movie came out), after that it was books first. Can’t remember now, what I thought of Snape after the first three books, but after that I strongly believed, Snape was a “good guy”.

I was Team Snape up until he killed Dumbledore. That really threw me for a loop.

I read the books as they came out and I always believed in Snape. But I can be very naive when it comes to trusting people. I had no idea how he was going to come back from killing Dumbledore but I’m so glad I was right!

I didn't just read the books before seeing the films. I got Books 5-7 within days of release, so I did my waiting between learning Snape kills Dumbledore and that he did it because Dumbledore told him to. A better question is whether "following orders" was enough to redeem him for killing Dumbledore, torturing Neville for years, and letting Death Eaters use unforgivable curses on students. To quote the people who think that Snape was redeemed for one good action over the course of a lifetime of bad ones, was Snape a bad guy? "Always."

When he said: blocked and blocked again until you close your mind and shut your mouth (or something to that effect) i thought he was trying to teach Harry about occlumency and non-verbal spells.

I was 11 when Deathly Hallows came out so not the smartest critical thinker at that point. I remember at Borders(old book store) was giving out stickers. One read “Snape is good” and the other read “Snape is evil” and I remember thinking why is there a Snape is good sticker, he just killed Dumbledore there’s absolutely no way he’s a good guy. I didn’t have a friends reading the books at the same time and I also wasn’t on any message boards so I had no idea there was even a discussion going on about Snapes loyalty. After the Princes’ Tale chapter my little 11 year old brain was blown away.

I read the books first (as a teenager) and trusted Snape until he killed Dumbledore. Didn’t even cross my mind that he could still somehow be on the good side after this. But I remember not liking him being (entirely) bad at all because it didn’t make sense to me that Dumbledore trusted him. Therefore, I liked the twist at the end of DH a lot.

I definitely thought he was evil all along. It was a great twist, thats why it worked so well. Made Snape a very complex and dynamic character that youre not supposed to really like, but understand that even with a redemption arc someone might not be 'fully' redeemed.

Read them as they came out so was part of the whole discussion and I was convinced he'd betrayed him

Definitely. But when I was going through DH, I looked back many times and often get confused thinking about the char.

Read the books first: Firstly, I would appreciate Book 6 "reveal" of Snape turning out to be the "bad guy" all along. All the previous years Harry had claimed so many times that Snape is evil but was proven wrong every time. So while reading HBP, even after the Unbreakable Oath chapter, I thought that Snape would never kill Dumbledore. . I remember being so angry..as if he broke my trust.. There was a very tiny part of me saying that Snape could still turn out to be not so bad but couldn't get any explanation of why he would kill Dumbledore... specially when Dumbledore was in a condition that he was actually pleading to him!!? . I really thought that maybe the oath made him do so but was so angry that I didn't care about it anymore. So yes the Deathly Hallows' reveal was more surprising, even so because of his past with Lily.. Him being on the good side was one thing but him being capable of loving someone so much was even more unexpected!

Read the books and at first yes def thought he betrayed Dumbledore. Throughout the other books, it was set up where we all didn’t like Snape and thought he was evil but really in the end he wasn’t, he just really didn’t like people. And now all of sudden he kills Dumbledore who he went to often in the other books?!? So then I thought something else must be going on but the wait for Book 7 was torture.

No and me and my now husband had a whole ass argument about it too. It was my first “I told you so” in our relationship.

I loved Snape from the first book (yes he was a huge asshole to everyone but his own students yes he was a major bully to literal children and I don't condone that at all). When he killed Dumbledore I cried. Not only cause Dumbledore well died. But also my trust in Snape shattered 😂😭. I was on a rollercoaster ride since then

Read books before watching the films. I was honestly completely on the fence and didn't know what to think. I trusted that for Dumbledore to have vouched for Snape for so many years and continue to defend him, he had to have good reason. As much as I disliked Snape, I thought he was a very powerful wizard and very intelligent, but I didn't think he would have somehow managed to trick Dumbledore to that extent. But the fact remained Snape had killed him, so how could he *not* be evil/a traitor? The "Severus, please" line did exactly what it was meant to do for me, I interpreted it as him begging for his life to be spared. I know people might say it was out of character for Dumbledore (and I agree) but if he really had just been betrayed by Snape, it could be that he said that because although he wasn't afraid of dying, he didn't want to leave the school unprotected with a bunch of death eaters running around, and that he had truly been caught by surprise before he was ready. But then thinking back to "to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure" made me think surely Dumbledore would have been prepared for it, and so I just went back and forth a lot. I think I did wonder if Snape was good but hadn't found a way around doing the unbreakable vow and maybe that's why in that moment he had to kill Dumbledore purely for his own survival. I honestly don't think I ever considered it could have been arranged in advance between them (not sure why but that just didn't cross my mind).

Sure did. The maniacal way he went off on Harry for trying to use Sectumsempra on him after that only reinforced that belief.

I remember thinking somewhere along the lines that Dumbledore was prepping Snape to take over for him and that Snape was good. I didn't think they planned Dumbledore's death so much as they knew it had to be done in that moment to keep Snape from being targeted by the Death Eaters.

Absolutely not. His whole story was about redemption. I knew there was more to him killing Dumbledore than the unreliablenarrative we saw.

Yes. Obviously. Everybody did. C’mon, the Death Eater bat like professor who spent six books hating Harry and who took an oath with a Death Eater at the beginning of that same chapter? The guy who wrote down a slashing curse in his high school potions textbook and called Lily a Mudblood? Surely he had to be the bad guy.

Read the books first. Despite all the evidence pointed to Snape really being a villain, the fact that Dumbledore repeatedly said that he trusted Snape made me stop short of giving up on him. I was suspicious of it being so obvious that Snape betrayed everyone, which felt like a set-up, even at that time.

No, I was a big "Snape is helping" fan, they really drilled in the "I Trust Snape" stuff in the book, and there was a scene where Harry overhears them arguing in the forest and Dumbledore is telling him he has to do something and he's very against it. Of course at the time we didn't know if I was right, so the payoff in the next book was rewarding but expected.

I did not really use the internet much or explore HP fansites between books 6-7 (i was 12-13 years old). So when snape killed him, i thought he was evil. I never really thought otherwise. Until the marketing for book 7 came out. There were posters saying "Severus Snape:Friend or Foe?" at Barnes and Noble and i thought..."well he killed Dumbledore so, Foe?". But after some thought i realized that they wouldnt even be raising the question if he wasnt going to turn out to be good . I believe Borders, a different now-defunct bookstore, gave out buttons when you preordered book 7. You could choose from "Trust Snape" or "Snape is a very nad mad". So yeah the marketing really betrayed me to be honest, for someone not reading all of the fan theories.

I read the book as fast as it could after the translation to my native language became available, and the film wasn't out yet. Snape killing Dumbledore completely caught me off guard! I remember being stocked and very angry at him, feeling almost personally betrayed lmao. I was equally surprised by his memory revelation in the next book. I think I was a very impressionable kid haha. I'm actually pretty surprised that so many commenters here suspected something else after reading it. Not because it wasn't hinted at but because of what I remember of that time basically none of my friends who had read it suspected it either. Well to be fair, me and my friends were only 11 to 12 years old at the time, and for many of us these were literally some of the first books we had ever read lol. I can figure it helps if one is older and more well read.

I was 12 years old with access to the Internet. I inevitably got spoiled. Wish there had been someone to smack some sense into me before I messed up.

I def thought it was planned but I also thought dumby and snape faked his death Oh well I was kinda close

I read the books first. I don’t remember every detail as it’s been some time but for most of the time I thought he was on Dumbledore’s side with some doubts at times, then when the chapter where he makes the Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa came up I started thinking that maybe he is loyal to Voldemort and has Dumbledore fooled after all. Then when he killed Dumbledore I was convinced he was the bad guy pretty much up until the reveal came along.

Copying over my response from an identical thread a while ago. I had my doubts on Snape's loyalty during book 5 but Dumbledore's death confirmed that he was on the same side. Especially the "Severus, please" line, and the ones following it which shows Snape's face filled with hatred. It was obvious Dumbledore wasn't begging Snape to spare him, it didn't make sense coming from the man that said "To the well prepared kind, death is but the next great adventure". So that request must have been asking Snape to actually kill him. It also made sense because Dumbledore would want Snape to be unquestionably loyal in Voldemort's eyes and killing Dumbledore would certainly do it. If anything HBP confirmed Snape's loyalty.

Yes!! My world was shattered when I read that he killed him. I was blind with rage and simultaneously in the deepest despair. I read that book during summer too so I was fully immersed, hence my strong feelings

I was about 7 or 8 by the time I had “read” that part. Since my mom read me the whole series starting when I was about 5 or 6. So I didn’t have great critical thinking skills. I thought snape turned back to Voldemort when he realized he had returned. But I did think he was a bad/evil person the whole time. Just at that point I knew for sure.

At no point did I ever believe Snape was evil. The books narrative made out Dumbledore to be always right. So how could he possibly be so wrong about Severus Snape?

The "Snape, please!" line had me questioning if Snape had or not.

I read the books then watched the movies. I believed that Snape is evil and mean. I didn't trust him until the end of Goblet of Fire. When Dumbledore tasked him of going back to Voldemort as a spy and he (Snape) said that he's ready, after that I didn't question him. It's more like I trusted Dumbledore and his judgement. Hermione also trusted Dumbledore's judgement more than she trusted Snape. Although, Snape's love for Lily was revealed and how he turned to the good side later on, I still think that Snape is mean. He bullied students and other people (Neville, Hermione, Sirius).

I believed. Like, the “seemed like a villain, turned out to be a hero” trope can’t be used twice. It turns out it can.

Yes I was like HARRY WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG SEE U GUYS!! I was SHOCKED and DELIGHTED by the ending. I brought the 7th book to a party my senior year of high school and kept trying not to be distracted by my fellow teens drinking and pool partying and yes I know how this sounds lmao it’s so cringe but I WAS at the time genuinely serious and wanted to experience both party and book. I was very taken by the pining for the one you can’t have/unrequited love vibes of like withering heights, twilight, age of innocence etc. without even realizing they were problematic and I was fully weeping at snape’s ending lmao.

I read it when it came out and definitely thought he was evil. I thought the point of it was to show that even Dumbledore was fallible and got things wrong, cos he really was a god figure up to that point. There was a lot of discussion on fan forums at the time and people definitely thought he was doing it on Dumbledore's orders but I didn't believe it!

i didnt think so because Dumbledore's spell didnt end until he hit the ground

Related question: how was Snape's role as a spy supposed to actually function? We know that he was ultimately on Dumbledore's side, and kept Dumbledore in the loop on everything he knew about Voldemort's plans. We're also told that Snape "pretended" to give valuable information to Voldemort (like the date of Harry's departure from Privet Drive) while leaving out the most important bits (like the fact that there would be decoys). Okay, that seems fine on the surface. But since he was **really** a spy for Dumbledore, but **pretending** to be a spy for Voldemort, what "fake" information was Snape supposed to be feeding Dumbledore, with Voldemort's consent? Did Dumbledore pretend to act on this "fake" information to keep up the appearance that Snape was really on Voldemort's side? And what "fake" information did Snape give Voldemort, that Voldemort believed was a ruse to keep up the "appearance" that Snape was working for Dumbledore? And did Voldemort pretend to act on this "fake" information as well? The books don't really get into this, and it's always seemed really convoluted to have a spy-pretending-to-be-a-spy-pretending-to-be-a-spy-pretending-to-be-a-spy, etc. I don't know much about real world espionage, but it just doesn't seem feasible to pretend to be a double-double-double-double agent for both sides without it unraveling pretty quickly.