Oh. My. God! You just elaborated why Snape (along with Harry) is the most important character in the series. I will use this essay as proof to make my point to others. Thank you so much!

An amazing essay! I'm personally not into the Slash thing because Rowling did not write Snape as a Homosexual person. Therefore, I have extremely strong feelings about Slashing him with anyone let alone Harry. I agree with so much in the essay, though in HBP I would call it hero-worship and not "a crush". I think that Rowling too, wrote Snape as looking almost grotesque because that's what an 11 year old boy would see. Would we have a tendency to believe a strikingly handsome Snape would be able to live a double life as a spy? Probably not. Though James Bond can get away with it, it's doubtful a chaste teacher in a  school would get away with it! Stringy greasy hair, thin, long hooked nose - who's to say he had any of those features?  He might have been exceedingly handsome, but through a young boy's eyes the world is distorted. "What do you see in Him? He's ugly!!" We've all heard it. But again, a fine job defining this complex and multi-layered relationship that really wasn't a relationship at all.

That was fascinating; very well-written and informative.  I was not sure what to expect when I pulled up this story, but I am glad I did.  It gives me new perspective on the books for the next time I re-read them.  Thank you!

I continue to be amazed at the brilliance of your writing, and the way you so succinctly bring out the essential elements of these characters and how their story plays out. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Wow.  Just...wow!  Brilliantly crafted and very thought-provoking.  I found this sentence very powerful:  This was Dumbledore’s answer to that haunting question, “And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?” [DH 683]: his trust that Snape had the greatness to do something Dumbledore himself probably couldn't do.  It reminded me powerfully of an essay which I began writing prior to the publication of Deathly Hallows and (unfortunately) never completed in which I argued that Snape must be working for Dumbledore because the war between Harry and Voldemort was essentially a chess game.  While Harry and Voldemort were obviously the White and Black King respectively, Snape and not Dumbledore served as the White Queen in this metaphorical game because he had the ability to move among the forces of Dark magic as well as those of Light magic (something Dumbledore could not do) in much the same way that the queen can cross the entire chessboard in a single move from almost any direction -- and the Queen is also the one piece so critical to the game that a good player will sacrifice any other piece except the King to keep it from being taken and will have great difficulty winning the game if they fail to do so. 

Wow.  Such insight.  I enjoyed this.

Really fascinating look at one of the core relationships of canon.

This is a fascinating study! The relationship between these wto is fascinating. I especially enjoyed your insights into OotP - the thought that no one is connecting effectively with Harry until Snape begins his Occlumency lessons - that Snape of all people can see him clearly... Fascinating.

So wonderful to see the amount of thought provoking arguments you have made here. I have always believed that the Harry potter books say more about Snape's story than Harry's. Without Snape, there would be no story. Wonderful to read. Thanks :)