Book Review: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - SPOILERS!
I finally finished the book a few days ago and have been figuring out what exactly to do with everything I wanted to say about it. I was almost going to divide my review up into two posts because half of it goes more into kind of meta essay format to analyze some of the themes in the story. But I figure this way it's fine. Like a lot of reviews I post, it's really long but divided up into different parts that I expect will be of interest to different people and I'll be shocked if anyone actually reads everything in the post. The first section is mostly just my general comments that, at this point, are probably not much different from all the reactions you've already read a lot of by now, so I'm sort of expecting people to just skip to the latter parts of the review.
Random & General Comments On the Best Chapters
4 - "The Seven Potters"
- It made me strangely sad and nostalgic when Harry was alone with Hedwig in the house recalling all his years living there. I didn't really expect he would leave the Dursleys' for good so soon in the book.
- Tonks excitedly showing off her ring = adorable. Especially since it's probably some cheap thing Remus got with a quarter out of one of those machines since he can't really afford anything else, haha. I just reveled in the fact that Lupin and Tonks were the first HP couple out of everyone to get married. When they've been officially together for all of three months or something. That's just so cute. It's the kind of thing young, careless and crazily in love people do, and the kind of thing Remus should finally be doing and having some fun. LOL.
- "Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry." Oh dear LMAO. And to find out later on that Ron is seriously jealous about Hermione and Harry. Come on, man, she didn't mean it like that.
5 - "Fallen Warrior"
- I was sooo excited that we actually got to meet Ted and An, even if just briefly, because I really didn't expect we would. I like that Andromeda seems kind of stuffy. I always imagined she's very unlike her daughter. Ted having to be like "And that's my wife you're shouting at, t00b" was hilarious.
- And "DORA" IS CANON! "DORA" IS CANON! Lots of people have been fans of the idea of Remus calling Tonks "Dora" for short, but I'm quite pleased because I actually wrote in a fic that the nickname first just sort of slipped out of his mouth once without him thinking about it, and then Tonks was surprised and said, "Actually, that's what my dad always calls me, and I don't really mind it." CALLED IT....Sorry.
- I was thinking Ooooh yay when Harry and Lupin got in an actual argument. Enough with this respectful "Professor" shit. They're starting to talk like equals.
6 - "The Ghoul In Pajamas"
- I just have to say I could relate so much to Ron arguing with him mom about cleaning his room it's hilarious. Seriously, why does he have to, when none of the guests will be coming into his room? Everybody's had that argument with their parents. But there's a certain age at which still being told to do things just "because I said so" is rather enraging. He's legally an adult and about to go help Harry Potter save the world, for Christ sakes. LOL.
- Big laugh: "If I ran you through with a sword right now, I wouldn't damage your soul at all." "Which would be a big comfort to me, I'm sure."
7 - "The Will of Albus Dumbledore", 8 - "The Wedding", 9 - "A Place To Hide"
- HUGE laugh: Harry having fun doing everything with magic now he's 17 and Ron saying, "I'd do your fly by hand, though," when his fly is done.
- The part with Molly giving Harry the watch was so sweet. :')
- I was so, so happy to see Luna and Krum!! They were both so funny in this chapter.
- The drunk guys whistling at Hermione from across the street and Ron getting mad: GOLD.
- One of my favorite scenes in the whole book is them getting attacked in the crumby 24-hour diner. It was just so unexpected something like that would happen in the middle of a normal Muggle setting. The whole thing had the feeling of a shootout scene in a movie, haha.
- Why are so many people finding it hard to believe that there's a difference between what Hermione used on her parents and a Memory Charm? The way Jo explained they're different in the chat is exactly what I assumed when I read this part! Making someone forget some specific event is not the same as giving them a completely different identity. And the enchantment done on Herm's parents we know can be undone, while a Memory Charm removes memories permanently, and that's why Lockhart is beyond help since he messed up doing one on himself. How about that, J.K. Rowling knows more about her universe than a lot of her fans. What a surprise. *eyeroll* Sorry, I just feel like I'm taking crazy pills...
11 - "The Bribe", 12 - "Magic Is Might"
- Yay, they're finally on a first-name basis with Lupin. :) Speaking of which, it's kind of weird that he refers to Snape as "Severus" in this part. Kind of a friendly way to talk about a traitor, isn't it? Hmm. (Oh quiet, slashers! That's not what I mean! :P)
- The whole argument between Lupin and Harry broke my heart. We've usually only seen Lupin very reserved around Harry, and now here we see him as an anguished, absolute wreck, and it's really shocking. I kind of felt like giving him a big hug and then kicking him in the balls.
- You know, I sometimes feel when reading Harry Potter now that I'm missing out on a lot of amusement since the whole universe is just second nature to me by now. I remember when I started reading them, the idea of things like Quidditch and Apparition Licenses were really funny. Now, when somebody at the Ministry complains to a Magical Maintenance guy that it's still raining in their office, I don't even blink, even though that's actually very funny if you stop to think about it.
I guess it just reflects the changing tone of the books. The whole innocent wonder of it is gone. The first book has a feeling of "Oooh, magic is so cool, I wish I could do that, neat!" And now with this one it's more like, "NO MORE OWLS AND CUTESY CRAP. MAGIC IS SERIOUS SHIT. If you aren't good at using it you will be TOAST."
15 - "The Goblin's Revenge", 16 - "Godric's Hollow"
- At the mention of how Ginny and the others weren't punished that severely at all for taking the sword I'm already thinking, I knew it! Snape is trustworthy! I KNEW IT!
- Ron's departure marks the first part of the book that had me crying like a baby. God, poor Hermione.
- I'm still thinking about what exactly Ariana's epitaph is supposed to mean. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It makes me think of how the locket says, "I have seen your heart, and it is mine" to Ron.
- Then Harry looking at his parents' graves had me crying more than ever, and I'm not even sure why it was so sad to me. But I know I'm not the only one who found this scene really moving. It was just...D':
19 - "The Silver Doe", 21 - "The Tale of the Three Brothers", 22 - "The Deathly Hallows
- As soon as the doe appeared - as soon as I read the title of this chapter, in fact - I had a feeling it must have something to do with Lily. It wasn't until I was a lot farther in the book that what exactly it could be came to me and I actually jumped out of my chair thinking, Oh my God, what if the silver doe is SNAPE'S PATRONUS? Aha! LOL.
- I love Ron. How the poor guy was crying after he stabbed the Horcrux, and Harry had to tell him how upset Hermione's been, and then they hugged...and...::sniff:: I used to be thoroughly bored by Ron as a character and now I adore him, so it's really something.
- Man, at the Lovegoods' when Harry first realized that Luna obviously wasn't there, at first I was scared that she was dead and her father had just totally cracked. Thank God he was only being a tool and about to turn them in.
- As soon as Lee Jordan said on the radio they had a "Romulus" with them I knew it was Remus and got really excited. I guess he's assuming Death Eaters don't know their mythology and can't figure that one out. Haha.
23 - "Malfoy Manor", 24 - "The Wand Maker", 25 - "Shell Cottage"
- Man, Bella is such a sadist. It's not enough that she can use a wand for everything - she carries a knife, too. She throws the knife after somebody. What a piece of work.
- Wormtail's death: Well, I definitely didn't see that coming. It was rather anti-climactic, but that's about the kind of death scene he deserves. Bye, loser. :P
- I was so much more sad over Dobby's death than I ever would have expected. I think the previous chapter had just been so intense I was already feeling too emotional to handle it. D:
- Shell Cottage is definitely one of my favorite Harry Potter settings. It was somehow a nice place for the characters to end up during such a moody point of the story.
- I think it's so sweet how Ollivander and Luna got along really well.
- Ohmygoshhhh, Lupin being so HAPPY! Hugging Harry! Making him god-father!!! It's beautiful!
28 - "The Missing Mirror", 29 - "The Lost Diadem", 30 - "The Sacking of Severus Snape"
- I really like Aberforth. It's quite sad he and Albus never could forgive each other and make up.
- Professor McGonagall is so cooooool! I was so happy to finally see her. "Yes, Peeves, you fool, Peeves! Haven't you been complaining about him for a quarter of a century?" Heehee.
- It's so funny when Percy shows up and everything's so awkward and Lupin starts being like "Um - BABY - look - uh - hey, pictures!"
31 - "The Battle of Hogwarts", 32 - "The Elder Wand"
- The Battle of Hogwarts. Okay, this chapter is what I've been hoping for and anticipating for ages. As soon as McGonagall started talking about barricading the school, I was thinking, Oh HELL yeah. A big, raging battle at the castle! THANK YOU, JO! This is the scene in the last movie that must have epic-sounding, roaring choir music and is going to blow people out of their seats.
- I'm apparently the only person who wasn't thinking dirty thoughts when Ron and Hermione had randomly gone off to the bathroom. XD I just immediately wanted to yell at Harry, "HELLO, the Chamber of Secrets, stupid!"
- Hermione kissing Ron finally was the fucking cutest thing imaginable! I had actually started to get worried we would never actually see them kiss since the books are in Harry's perspective, but the way it happened it was sort of awkward because he was there but hilarious because of it.
33 - "The Prince's Tale"
- I read something someone else wrote about their reaction to the book saying that reading this chapter just felt sort of like reading something they'd already read before since there has been so much fanfic about this relationship and so many people had considered the possibility of it. I really did feel that way myself even though the amount of S/L fanfic I've read is very little. But it's strange now to think about it, because the only two non-canon relationships in HP I've ever found very intriguing (as far as ones that could actually ever conceivably become romantic relationships in canon) are Remus/Tonks and (unrequited) Severus/Lily, and now both of those have become canon. A lot of parts of this chapter I found to be almost spookily similar to things I wrote in my one little Snape ficlet I wrote a long time ago.
The chapter is as melodramatic as an opera. But I think that is the only way it should have been. After only ever seeing Snape show pretty much no vulnerability, I think we really needed to see him in such an indecently, shockingly emotional and stripped state.
- For some reason I really like the brief memory of Snape casually pacing around Dumbledore's office while he's reading the paper and complaining about Harry. It shows how patient D was with him and that they really did get along well.
- "How many people have you watched die?" "Lately, no one whom I could save." Jesus...Severus, why do I love you even though you're so horrible?
36 - "The Flaw In the Plan"
- Neville is so painfully awesome! Holy crap. Seriously, killing that snake had to take as much courage as it did for Harry to walk into that forest to his death.
- Bellatrix's death is perfect. Molly might as well have lost two of her children now that she thinks Harry's dead and can't take any more of this bullshit, so she goes half-psycho on her, haha.
- The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort is as perfect as it could have been. In fact, it was so much better than I could have expected. I was taken by surprise when this scene, after a long book full of so much devastation and hopelessness, actually made you feel really good to read. It doesn't end with Harry going to face him afraid of what's going to happen and with everything to lose, but completely confident that he can win. He gets to taunt and practically humiliate Voldemort in front of all those people, when I never thought they wouldn't end up fighting each other alone. It's just badass.
Anybody who was actually expecting Harry to defeat Voldemort with more powerful magic in a duel just hasn't been paying any attention throughout the whole story so far. I always figured Harry wasn't going to vanquish LV by actually killing him. The whole thing with Harry happening to end up being the master of the Elder Wand seems like a ridiculously convenient plot device, but it doesn't matter because it reflects Harry's advantage over Voldemort, which is that he doesn't fear death. Harry became the master of death by not taking the wand when he could have, deciding he didn't want it. He ended up having all of the Hallows by not actually ever wanting them in order to stop death, but just having them given to him.
And I just love that after he and Lupin had argued earlier about the usefulness of the Disarming Spell in times like these, that spell was the one he used against Voldemort to defeat him.
The epilogue
I know I'm in the minority here, but I really didn't mind the epilogue. It would have been nice to be told some more about things like what they all do for a living now in that part, but hey, what else is new? Add that to the big list of things I wished JKR would have elaborated more on or told us more about throughout this whole book (I think it's the last chapter that ended too abruptly and had too short a conclusion; I don't feel like the epilogue is what's missing a lot).
Because despite everyone's complaining that these four pages are "All about the freaking kids!! *grumble*" I didn't really find that it is, necessarily. I felt like nearly the whole epilogue, in which the names of all Harry's children are revealed, is just building up to that moment of surprise when he looks at one of them and says "Albus Severus." His other kids are named for James, Lily, Dumbledore, and maybe we can also assume Sirius for James's middle name, and I think you're just not supposed to see that coming because Harry never would have guessed at fifteen he would one day feel that Severus Snape deserves the same kind of honor he'd give all his loved ones who have died for him.
After this revelation, Harry then tells Albus something that I think is also an important point of the prologue. It's about what Harry's learned. I get a strong impression that the relationship between the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses is much more peaceful than it used to be now that Lord V's long gone. This idea really accentuates the feeling of "all being well."
Jo also explained in an interview that one of the biggest reasons she wanted to do the prologue is to show that Teddy Lupin is doing fine since she felt so horrible about killing both his parents. He apparently has a very beautiful girlfriend if he's been kissing Victoire Weasley, cause you know Bill and Fleur have got some pretty damn fine genes to pass on, hehe.
And come on, you know a lot of people out there did want to know all about the kids. I thought it was really cute to see Harry's and Ginny's, at least; you can see just from this brief scene that his first son is a big joker and kind of mean just like James Sr. and Albus is more nervous and shy like Harry was when he was that young.
The whole thing is really sugary, but after the unflinchingly dark and brutal bloodbath the rest of the last book was I think JKR earned the right to make it so and the characters definitely earned their disgustingly happy ending. And I personally like the simplicity of ending the whole thing with the line "All was well." It kind of reminded me of The Lord of the Rings closing with Sam just saying to his wife, "Well, I'm back."
Some other things I noted or want to ramble about...
Coming Full Circle: Interesting/amusing connections to Book 1
I noticed a few lines of dialogue in this one that were also said in SS. Anyone notice any others?
- Hermione says to Ron, "Are you a wizard, or what?" This made me laugh so hard because I've always thought it was one of the funniest part of SS when Hermione said they didn't have any firewood to get rid of the Devil's Snare and Ron said, "Are you a witch, or what?"
- In the memory that Sirius and James appeared in on the train, James said about being Sorted in Slytherin, "I'd leave, wouldn't you?" I actually didn't realize this, but my sister told me Draco said the same thing to Harry in the scene they met in Madam Malkin's, but talking about Gryffindor, of course.
- "He'd not Fred, I am!" ... "I was just kidding. I am Fred." Oh, the freaking love!
More Connections To Tolkien
These books have always been full of fun little similarities to things in The Lord of the Rings (Wormtail = Wormtongue, Kreacher = Gollum, Longbottom is a Hobbit family name, etc.). There were some more things in DH that reminded me a lot of LotR:
- Dumbledore and Grindelwald were both very powerful and intelligent wizards and were friends before enemies, kind of like Saruman and Gandalf.
- The locket Horcrux, like the One Ring, is an evil object able to think for itself that makes people become quite unpleasant when they wear it or have it close to them. Ron was even so susceptible to its influence that he turned his back on his friends, which reminded me of how Frodo stopped trusting Sam and sent him away even though this is only something that happened in the movie of Return of the King. It was certainly just as heartbreaking for me. :'(
- The final battle outside Mordor was all for a distraction, not faught in hope of winning, so that Frodo and Sam could do what they needed to do to destroy the ring. The Battle of Hogwarts was faught not in hope of being able to fight off Voldemort but just to buy Harry some time to find one of the remaining Horcruxes.
The Big Bad Deaths
To me, the only thing worse than the fact that Lupin, Tonks, and Fred died is that I didn't cry over it. These should have been the most significant deaths in the book. But they were just unceremoniously wiped out and ended up just feeling like names on a list of bodies. Harry barely had a chance to reflect on these particular losses. We didn't even see how Tonks and Lupin got killed. So the magnitude of these deaths was hardly portrayed, and therefore could not even be very deeply felt by even me, who loved these characters to death. And that's just no fun.
Lupin is my favorite character, and JKR has always been particularly fond of him. But because of how she was able to have him leave the story, I have to admit that I guess I have always overestimated a little just how important a character he was ever meant to be. I never imagined JKR would kill him off because I was always sure she would end up having so much to do with him, and that at least if he did die, it would be a hugely important part of the book. But as it is, Harry gets more time to dwell on Dobby's death than his. I've become able to accept that what we got of Lupin is all we were ever meant to get, so it's not so terrible. I don't know if I would have been much happier if he had lived but still never become more important or hardly been mentioned in the end. I think it's at least good that in the time he had left he overcame some huge issues and finally allowed himself to have all the things he deserves and have a happy life, even if just for a brief time. After always worrying about the burden he might be for others and thinking he was doing the noble thing by giving them up for their own good, it seems he finally learned how to be easy on himself and that he actually can take care of and be there for other people.
Fred, though - that is something I think hasn't even hit me yet. I'm probably going to finally start crying over it the next time I go back and read a classic Fred and George scene. I'm a twin myself. My twin sister and I once made matching T-shirts saying "I <3 Fred" and "I <3 George." They've been my heroes ever since the "Give her hell from us, Peeves!" scene in OotP. They've always been around to make it seem like you can find something to laugh about in any situation no matter how bad things get, and in a weird way they just seemed indestructible. Killing one of them is just about the most cruel thing JKR could have thought to do. :(
"Childrens' Book"?? Hmm, okay...
I just hope nobody's young children ask too many questions about what certain things in this book mean.
- Rita Skeeter's suggestion of Harry and Dumbledore having had an "unhealthy" relationship and how this brings to light a believable motivation for Harry killing him....uhh woah. I'm sorry, but what else would anybody think reading this part?...Sorry.
- The official list of all curse words that have been used in HP now: "damn, effing, bastard, slut, bitch." Just saying... Oh, right, and don't forget "Merlin's pants." lol.
- Whatever those two Muggles did to Ariana, it and the kind of effect it had on her seems perfectly comparable to rape. That wasn't even what I thought when I first read it, but when I heard that's what a lot of other people actually assumed happened to her, the whole thing seemed to make a lot more sense looking at it that way. Though I suppose even without assuming anything that awful, it can be seen as sort of a hate crime. In a book in which Voldemort's anti-Muggle regime had taken over, it was weird to read a bout a case of that kind of hatred reversed.
Some Thoughts on the Story's Themes and Messages
Bravery, Wit, Loyalty, and Ambition - Thoughts on Hogwarts Houses
Many fans were disappointed when they read the part in the "Battle of Hogwarts" chapter that described how absolutely no Slytherins stayed behind to fight. It actually bothered me a little, too, until I thought about how Rowling actually also specified that more Hufflepuffs than Ravenclaws stayed, when nothing in the books has ever given us any reason to think less of Ravenclaw than any other House. It made me realize that maybe all that means is that different people have different good qualities. Maybe it just doesn't make much sense to judge the worth of people in Ravenclaw or Slytherin by how much they display the kind of qualities Gryffindors are praised for.
If a bank is getting robbed by a man who grabs a woman and threatens to shoot her, are all the people there who just stay put crying and too terrified to think of what to do instead of doing something brave to help not good people? I certainly don't think so. Not everybody can be a Gryffindor. Many people would like to think they could act in a noble way in certain situations, but sometimes you just don't know if you'd be able to until you're faced with these problems for real. I wouldn't even necessarily say that Xeno Lovegood was a bad person for the way he tried to get Luna back, just very weak. Some people just cannot think under pressure or keep themselves together enough when in a very dangerous situation to be useful. Not everyone, after just seeing a loved one get killed, could keep themselves from falling apart enough to be able to go on and do what they know they still have to do. Ravenclaws may typically be good at figuring out riddles but not at dueling. There's brain and there's brawn, and each can be important to have in different situations.
In this book, we learned a whole lot more about Snape and Dumbledore, who in a lot of ways could not have been more different and seem to work as a perfect representation of the difference between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Their reasons for devoting themselves to fighting Voldemort's side were completely different. But both of them were actually pretty flawed people. My sister pointed out that all the dark secrets of his own Dumbledore had may have had a lot to do with how he was able to accept that someone like Snape could not be totally bad or could change. I think at the end of the day, if you can see Dumbledore as being a good guy despite not being as saintly as so many thought, you have to see Snape as acceptably redeemed as well even if not necessarily "good."
So what is the point and message in the way all these different kinds of people are written? I think the general idea is that as far as not-totally-evil people, there are heroes, and then there's other people who may not be remarkably heroic or are just really unpleasant and hard to get along with but nevertheless are far away on the spectrum from the kind of scum who deserve the Dementor's Kiss. It's despicable that Severus didn't give a crap what happened to any of Voldemort's other enemies before Lily's life was threatened. And also that it took Voldemort's cruel use of his own house elf he cared about for Regulus to wake up. And also that Lucius and Narcissa's loyalty did not change until their son was in danger. But when it's all over, we have to admit they had balls to do a lot of the things they did, even if it was only in their own interest, and unlike Wormtail they admitted and tried to rectify their mistakes. And I think I'm not the only reader who now finds it not so hard to just forgive them. I mean...what the hell.
And so the story ends with Harry explaining to his son that if he was Sorted into Slytherin, it would be okay. He and Draco seem to have become able to be civil to each other even if not friendly, sort of like McGonagall and Snape were as the heads of rival Houses. Harry no longer judges people because of those kind of differences; the magic world is not so divided against each other anymore. So I cannot be disappointed with the portrayal of what it means to be in Slytherin that JKR ended up writing. I think she gave them some credit.
"A Braver Man By Far" - What do we take from the story of Snape?
In the first-ever scene in Sorcerer's Stone that Professor Snape appears and speaks, he asks Harry three questions. Two of them are about bezoars and Wolfsbane potion, both of which become important to know about in later books. Then he asks, "What would I make if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" and the answer is the Draught of Living Death. Was this ever important? thirteen_ravens thought so, and explained so in her "Asphodel and Wormwood Theory" a long time ago. In this post she cited a poem called "Of Asphodel, That Greeny Flower" by William Carlos Williams that she thought might be related to Snape's reference to this plant. Even though it seemed a little bit of a stretch to think J.K. Rowling meant to allude to this poem at all, I think it was when I first read it that I felt like the deeply hidden feelings of the Potions master had begun to make sense to me. I wrote a fic called "Asphodel" inspired by and including parts of the poem, and now that I look at those parts of it again, it rings even more true and is quite powerful to read.
Asphodel belongs to the lily family - it is the flower of Hades and the dead and represents mourning and sorrow. Wormwood is a very bitter-smelling plant and represents punitive suffering and remorse. Together they make the Draught of Living Death. I could not help but be reminded of these possible connections I had been aware of a long time when I read this part of dialogue in the book:
"DON'T!" bellowed Snape. "Gone...dead..."
"Is this remorse, Severus?"
"I wish...I wish I were dead..."
I have to admit that even after I'd believed for a long time there might be at least some truth to the theory that Snape was in love with Lily, I was surprised that his feelings for her seemed to be all there was to it. I never really expected that it would be the only reason for Dumbledore trusting him. But the more I read some parts of the "Prince's Tale" chapter over again, the more I see that Snape clearly had more motivations than just Lily's death for turning against Voldemort, even if he was reluctant to show it.
After all, in these memories we see that Snape took George's ear off attempting to protect Lupin from being cursed when he didn't have to, when this could have blown his cover, and when he doesn't even like Lupin. He tells the protrait of Phineas Nigellus not to call Hermione a "mudblood." He's very bothered to find out Dumbledore has little time to live and gets angry when Dumbledore lightly tells him he'll have to kill him as if it should be easy. I don't know if I can really blame Dumbledore for keeping the truth about what would have to happen to Harry from him; judging by his reaction of real surprise after Snape shows him his patronus and proves he has still loved Lily after all that time, I think it's possible Dumbledore actually took for granted that Snape might have changed much more and come to understand there were plenty other reasons besides his loyalty to her to fight Voldemort.
But even though Snape is not a cold-blooded killer and does not like to see anyone die if he can help it, I'm sure he never would have been a member of the Order or anything if it weren't for Voldemort killing someone he'd cared about. I think he may have ended up like the Malfoys, eventually realizing he'd gotten into something he couldn't handle and wanting out, but not going as far as to join up with the other side. Even if Dumbledore had come to see he had a shred of goodness in him, that part of his nature alone wasn't enough to make him do something so dangerous just to help other people. He never even accepted any credit for his best qualities, and seemed to be ashamed of them. (I now find it really interesting that in the scene in HBP when it's revealed that Tonks's patronus has changed, Snape practically mocks her for it and implies that he thinks the new form shows weakness.) But in the end, he did keep acting on Dumbledore's wishes even though it wasn't the way to make sure Lily hadn't died in vain that he always thought it would be. Something made him keep doing it.
When reading the scenes with these memories, I personally found what we saw of how the friendship between Snape and Dumbledore was to be as poignant as what we saw of the one between him and Lily. It seems that even though Dumbledore was only disgusted by him at first, over the years following the Potters' deaths they learned to partially understand, respect, and even care about each other. It appears that these two relationships Snape had, with people who were both exceptionally understanding and forgiving and actually knew him as he really was, were the most important and redeeming ones he had in his life.
Which relates to a theme that very commonly comes up in these books about forgiveness and acceptance. Snape was a nasty little asshole who only ever gave a damn about a couple people. But there were also very few people who gave a damn about him. His parents seemed to be neglectful and unaffectionate. At the time he unconfidently but eagerly approached Lily as a child, his need for companionship was desperate. Many other girls probably would have thought he was a weirdo and never wanted to talk to him again. But Lily's kindness and her ability to look past his faults for so long did so much more good than she probably ever could have even realized. When you think about it, there is so much in the story of Harry Potter that comes down to, or is made possible because of, Snape's love for her. If he had not asked Voldemort to spare her when he was going to kill the Potters then Lily wouldn't have been able to make the choice to die protecting Harry, and Harry would not have survived because of the protection that gave him. There are many other examples in the series of even small acts of kindness and mercy ending up having great positive effects. Harry stopped Sirius and Lupin from killing Peter when they could have, and this ended up paying off. In CoS, Harry treated Dobby kindly and freed him even though he had been a very annoying inconvenience all year, and that sure as hell paid off.
On the other hand, the story has had many quite horrible people who seem to only treat others the way they are used to being treated by most people. As I said, hardly anybody liked Snape, and Snape himself unfairly judged other people and ended up being as big a bully as James was to him. Kreacher screwed Sirius over because Sirius was cruel to him. A handful of Voldemort's servants ended up betraying him because - surprise! - he treated them like disposable garbage and never actually valued any of their lives. Voldie himself, incapable of love, was never loved by anyone at all his whole life. So are we to only feel sorry for all of these people who maybe can't help that they turned out emotionally handicapped? Well, surely not to the point that it pardons all their wrongdoings. But nevertheless, I think the message can be found in there: If you want others to be good to you, be good to others. Love people even if they're not easy to love. It might just be enough to stop the Severus Snape you know from shooting up the school. Who knows?
Bye, Harry. I'll miss you.
<3
Random & General Comments On the Best Chapters
4 - "The Seven Potters"
- It made me strangely sad and nostalgic when Harry was alone with Hedwig in the house recalling all his years living there. I didn't really expect he would leave the Dursleys' for good so soon in the book.
- Tonks excitedly showing off her ring = adorable. Especially since it's probably some cheap thing Remus got with a quarter out of one of those machines since he can't really afford anything else, haha. I just reveled in the fact that Lupin and Tonks were the first HP couple out of everyone to get married. When they've been officially together for all of three months or something. That's just so cute. It's the kind of thing young, careless and crazily in love people do, and the kind of thing Remus should finally be doing and having some fun. LOL.
- "Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry." Oh dear LMAO. And to find out later on that Ron is seriously jealous about Hermione and Harry. Come on, man, she didn't mean it like that.
5 - "Fallen Warrior"
- I was sooo excited that we actually got to meet Ted and An, even if just briefly, because I really didn't expect we would. I like that Andromeda seems kind of stuffy. I always imagined she's very unlike her daughter. Ted having to be like "And that's my wife you're shouting at, t00b" was hilarious.
- And "DORA" IS CANON! "DORA" IS CANON! Lots of people have been fans of the idea of Remus calling Tonks "Dora" for short, but I'm quite pleased because I actually wrote in a fic that the nickname first just sort of slipped out of his mouth once without him thinking about it, and then Tonks was surprised and said, "Actually, that's what my dad always calls me, and I don't really mind it." CALLED IT....Sorry.
- I was thinking Ooooh yay when Harry and Lupin got in an actual argument. Enough with this respectful "Professor" shit. They're starting to talk like equals.
6 - "The Ghoul In Pajamas"
- I just have to say I could relate so much to Ron arguing with him mom about cleaning his room it's hilarious. Seriously, why does he have to, when none of the guests will be coming into his room? Everybody's had that argument with their parents. But there's a certain age at which still being told to do things just "because I said so" is rather enraging. He's legally an adult and about to go help Harry Potter save the world, for Christ sakes. LOL.
- Big laugh: "If I ran you through with a sword right now, I wouldn't damage your soul at all." "Which would be a big comfort to me, I'm sure."
7 - "The Will of Albus Dumbledore", 8 - "The Wedding", 9 - "A Place To Hide"
- HUGE laugh: Harry having fun doing everything with magic now he's 17 and Ron saying, "I'd do your fly by hand, though," when his fly is done.
- The part with Molly giving Harry the watch was so sweet. :')
- I was so, so happy to see Luna and Krum!! They were both so funny in this chapter.
- The drunk guys whistling at Hermione from across the street and Ron getting mad: GOLD.
- One of my favorite scenes in the whole book is them getting attacked in the crumby 24-hour diner. It was just so unexpected something like that would happen in the middle of a normal Muggle setting. The whole thing had the feeling of a shootout scene in a movie, haha.
- Why are so many people finding it hard to believe that there's a difference between what Hermione used on her parents and a Memory Charm? The way Jo explained they're different in the chat is exactly what I assumed when I read this part! Making someone forget some specific event is not the same as giving them a completely different identity. And the enchantment done on Herm's parents we know can be undone, while a Memory Charm removes memories permanently, and that's why Lockhart is beyond help since he messed up doing one on himself. How about that, J.K. Rowling knows more about her universe than a lot of her fans. What a surprise. *eyeroll* Sorry, I just feel like I'm taking crazy pills...
11 - "The Bribe", 12 - "Magic Is Might"
- Yay, they're finally on a first-name basis with Lupin. :) Speaking of which, it's kind of weird that he refers to Snape as "Severus" in this part. Kind of a friendly way to talk about a traitor, isn't it? Hmm. (Oh quiet, slashers! That's not what I mean! :P)
- The whole argument between Lupin and Harry broke my heart. We've usually only seen Lupin very reserved around Harry, and now here we see him as an anguished, absolute wreck, and it's really shocking. I kind of felt like giving him a big hug and then kicking him in the balls.
- You know, I sometimes feel when reading Harry Potter now that I'm missing out on a lot of amusement since the whole universe is just second nature to me by now. I remember when I started reading them, the idea of things like Quidditch and Apparition Licenses were really funny. Now, when somebody at the Ministry complains to a Magical Maintenance guy that it's still raining in their office, I don't even blink, even though that's actually very funny if you stop to think about it.
I guess it just reflects the changing tone of the books. The whole innocent wonder of it is gone. The first book has a feeling of "Oooh, magic is so cool, I wish I could do that, neat!" And now with this one it's more like, "NO MORE OWLS AND CUTESY CRAP. MAGIC IS SERIOUS SHIT. If you aren't good at using it you will be TOAST."
15 - "The Goblin's Revenge", 16 - "Godric's Hollow"
- At the mention of how Ginny and the others weren't punished that severely at all for taking the sword I'm already thinking, I knew it! Snape is trustworthy! I KNEW IT!
- Ron's departure marks the first part of the book that had me crying like a baby. God, poor Hermione.
- I'm still thinking about what exactly Ariana's epitaph is supposed to mean. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It makes me think of how the locket says, "I have seen your heart, and it is mine" to Ron.
- Then Harry looking at his parents' graves had me crying more than ever, and I'm not even sure why it was so sad to me. But I know I'm not the only one who found this scene really moving. It was just...D':
19 - "The Silver Doe", 21 - "The Tale of the Three Brothers", 22 - "The Deathly Hallows
- As soon as the doe appeared - as soon as I read the title of this chapter, in fact - I had a feeling it must have something to do with Lily. It wasn't until I was a lot farther in the book that what exactly it could be came to me and I actually jumped out of my chair thinking, Oh my God, what if the silver doe is SNAPE'S PATRONUS? Aha! LOL.
- I love Ron. How the poor guy was crying after he stabbed the Horcrux, and Harry had to tell him how upset Hermione's been, and then they hugged...and...::sniff:: I used to be thoroughly bored by Ron as a character and now I adore him, so it's really something.
- Man, at the Lovegoods' when Harry first realized that Luna obviously wasn't there, at first I was scared that she was dead and her father had just totally cracked. Thank God he was only being a tool and about to turn them in.
- As soon as Lee Jordan said on the radio they had a "Romulus" with them I knew it was Remus and got really excited. I guess he's assuming Death Eaters don't know their mythology and can't figure that one out. Haha.
23 - "Malfoy Manor", 24 - "The Wand Maker", 25 - "Shell Cottage"
- Man, Bella is such a sadist. It's not enough that she can use a wand for everything - she carries a knife, too. She throws the knife after somebody. What a piece of work.
- Wormtail's death: Well, I definitely didn't see that coming. It was rather anti-climactic, but that's about the kind of death scene he deserves. Bye, loser. :P
- I was so much more sad over Dobby's death than I ever would have expected. I think the previous chapter had just been so intense I was already feeling too emotional to handle it. D:
- Shell Cottage is definitely one of my favorite Harry Potter settings. It was somehow a nice place for the characters to end up during such a moody point of the story.
- I think it's so sweet how Ollivander and Luna got along really well.
- Ohmygoshhhh, Lupin being so HAPPY! Hugging Harry! Making him god-father!!! It's beautiful!
28 - "The Missing Mirror", 29 - "The Lost Diadem", 30 - "The Sacking of Severus Snape"
- I really like Aberforth. It's quite sad he and Albus never could forgive each other and make up.
- Professor McGonagall is so cooooool! I was so happy to finally see her. "Yes, Peeves, you fool, Peeves! Haven't you been complaining about him for a quarter of a century?" Heehee.
- It's so funny when Percy shows up and everything's so awkward and Lupin starts being like "Um - BABY - look - uh - hey, pictures!"
31 - "The Battle of Hogwarts", 32 - "The Elder Wand"
- The Battle of Hogwarts. Okay, this chapter is what I've been hoping for and anticipating for ages. As soon as McGonagall started talking about barricading the school, I was thinking, Oh HELL yeah. A big, raging battle at the castle! THANK YOU, JO! This is the scene in the last movie that must have epic-sounding, roaring choir music and is going to blow people out of their seats.
- I'm apparently the only person who wasn't thinking dirty thoughts when Ron and Hermione had randomly gone off to the bathroom. XD I just immediately wanted to yell at Harry, "HELLO, the Chamber of Secrets, stupid!"
- Hermione kissing Ron finally was the fucking cutest thing imaginable! I had actually started to get worried we would never actually see them kiss since the books are in Harry's perspective, but the way it happened it was sort of awkward because he was there but hilarious because of it.
33 - "The Prince's Tale"
- I read something someone else wrote about their reaction to the book saying that reading this chapter just felt sort of like reading something they'd already read before since there has been so much fanfic about this relationship and so many people had considered the possibility of it. I really did feel that way myself even though the amount of S/L fanfic I've read is very little. But it's strange now to think about it, because the only two non-canon relationships in HP I've ever found very intriguing (as far as ones that could actually ever conceivably become romantic relationships in canon) are Remus/Tonks and (unrequited) Severus/Lily, and now both of those have become canon. A lot of parts of this chapter I found to be almost spookily similar to things I wrote in my one little Snape ficlet I wrote a long time ago.
The chapter is as melodramatic as an opera. But I think that is the only way it should have been. After only ever seeing Snape show pretty much no vulnerability, I think we really needed to see him in such an indecently, shockingly emotional and stripped state.
- For some reason I really like the brief memory of Snape casually pacing around Dumbledore's office while he's reading the paper and complaining about Harry. It shows how patient D was with him and that they really did get along well.
- "How many people have you watched die?" "Lately, no one whom I could save." Jesus...Severus, why do I love you even though you're so horrible?
36 - "The Flaw In the Plan"
- Neville is so painfully awesome! Holy crap. Seriously, killing that snake had to take as much courage as it did for Harry to walk into that forest to his death.
- Bellatrix's death is perfect. Molly might as well have lost two of her children now that she thinks Harry's dead and can't take any more of this bullshit, so she goes half-psycho on her, haha.
- The final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort is as perfect as it could have been. In fact, it was so much better than I could have expected. I was taken by surprise when this scene, after a long book full of so much devastation and hopelessness, actually made you feel really good to read. It doesn't end with Harry going to face him afraid of what's going to happen and with everything to lose, but completely confident that he can win. He gets to taunt and practically humiliate Voldemort in front of all those people, when I never thought they wouldn't end up fighting each other alone. It's just badass.
Anybody who was actually expecting Harry to defeat Voldemort with more powerful magic in a duel just hasn't been paying any attention throughout the whole story so far. I always figured Harry wasn't going to vanquish LV by actually killing him. The whole thing with Harry happening to end up being the master of the Elder Wand seems like a ridiculously convenient plot device, but it doesn't matter because it reflects Harry's advantage over Voldemort, which is that he doesn't fear death. Harry became the master of death by not taking the wand when he could have, deciding he didn't want it. He ended up having all of the Hallows by not actually ever wanting them in order to stop death, but just having them given to him.
And I just love that after he and Lupin had argued earlier about the usefulness of the Disarming Spell in times like these, that spell was the one he used against Voldemort to defeat him.
The epilogue
I know I'm in the minority here, but I really didn't mind the epilogue. It would have been nice to be told some more about things like what they all do for a living now in that part, but hey, what else is new? Add that to the big list of things I wished JKR would have elaborated more on or told us more about throughout this whole book (I think it's the last chapter that ended too abruptly and had too short a conclusion; I don't feel like the epilogue is what's missing a lot).
Because despite everyone's complaining that these four pages are "All about the freaking kids!! *grumble*" I didn't really find that it is, necessarily. I felt like nearly the whole epilogue, in which the names of all Harry's children are revealed, is just building up to that moment of surprise when he looks at one of them and says "Albus Severus." His other kids are named for James, Lily, Dumbledore, and maybe we can also assume Sirius for James's middle name, and I think you're just not supposed to see that coming because Harry never would have guessed at fifteen he would one day feel that Severus Snape deserves the same kind of honor he'd give all his loved ones who have died for him.
After this revelation, Harry then tells Albus something that I think is also an important point of the prologue. It's about what Harry's learned. I get a strong impression that the relationship between the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses is much more peaceful than it used to be now that Lord V's long gone. This idea really accentuates the feeling of "all being well."
Jo also explained in an interview that one of the biggest reasons she wanted to do the prologue is to show that Teddy Lupin is doing fine since she felt so horrible about killing both his parents. He apparently has a very beautiful girlfriend if he's been kissing Victoire Weasley, cause you know Bill and Fleur have got some pretty damn fine genes to pass on, hehe.
And come on, you know a lot of people out there did want to know all about the kids. I thought it was really cute to see Harry's and Ginny's, at least; you can see just from this brief scene that his first son is a big joker and kind of mean just like James Sr. and Albus is more nervous and shy like Harry was when he was that young.
The whole thing is really sugary, but after the unflinchingly dark and brutal bloodbath the rest of the last book was I think JKR earned the right to make it so and the characters definitely earned their disgustingly happy ending. And I personally like the simplicity of ending the whole thing with the line "All was well." It kind of reminded me of The Lord of the Rings closing with Sam just saying to his wife, "Well, I'm back."
Some other things I noted or want to ramble about...
Coming Full Circle: Interesting/amusing connections to Book 1
I noticed a few lines of dialogue in this one that were also said in SS. Anyone notice any others?
- Hermione says to Ron, "Are you a wizard, or what?" This made me laugh so hard because I've always thought it was one of the funniest part of SS when Hermione said they didn't have any firewood to get rid of the Devil's Snare and Ron said, "Are you a witch, or what?"
- In the memory that Sirius and James appeared in on the train, James said about being Sorted in Slytherin, "I'd leave, wouldn't you?" I actually didn't realize this, but my sister told me Draco said the same thing to Harry in the scene they met in Madam Malkin's, but talking about Gryffindor, of course.
- "He'd not Fred, I am!" ... "I was just kidding. I am Fred." Oh, the freaking love!
More Connections To Tolkien
These books have always been full of fun little similarities to things in The Lord of the Rings (Wormtail = Wormtongue, Kreacher = Gollum, Longbottom is a Hobbit family name, etc.). There were some more things in DH that reminded me a lot of LotR:
- Dumbledore and Grindelwald were both very powerful and intelligent wizards and were friends before enemies, kind of like Saruman and Gandalf.
- The locket Horcrux, like the One Ring, is an evil object able to think for itself that makes people become quite unpleasant when they wear it or have it close to them. Ron was even so susceptible to its influence that he turned his back on his friends, which reminded me of how Frodo stopped trusting Sam and sent him away even though this is only something that happened in the movie of Return of the King. It was certainly just as heartbreaking for me. :'(
- The final battle outside Mordor was all for a distraction, not faught in hope of winning, so that Frodo and Sam could do what they needed to do to destroy the ring. The Battle of Hogwarts was faught not in hope of being able to fight off Voldemort but just to buy Harry some time to find one of the remaining Horcruxes.
The Big Bad Deaths
To me, the only thing worse than the fact that Lupin, Tonks, and Fred died is that I didn't cry over it. These should have been the most significant deaths in the book. But they were just unceremoniously wiped out and ended up just feeling like names on a list of bodies. Harry barely had a chance to reflect on these particular losses. We didn't even see how Tonks and Lupin got killed. So the magnitude of these deaths was hardly portrayed, and therefore could not even be very deeply felt by even me, who loved these characters to death. And that's just no fun.
Lupin is my favorite character, and JKR has always been particularly fond of him. But because of how she was able to have him leave the story, I have to admit that I guess I have always overestimated a little just how important a character he was ever meant to be. I never imagined JKR would kill him off because I was always sure she would end up having so much to do with him, and that at least if he did die, it would be a hugely important part of the book. But as it is, Harry gets more time to dwell on Dobby's death than his. I've become able to accept that what we got of Lupin is all we were ever meant to get, so it's not so terrible. I don't know if I would have been much happier if he had lived but still never become more important or hardly been mentioned in the end. I think it's at least good that in the time he had left he overcame some huge issues and finally allowed himself to have all the things he deserves and have a happy life, even if just for a brief time. After always worrying about the burden he might be for others and thinking he was doing the noble thing by giving them up for their own good, it seems he finally learned how to be easy on himself and that he actually can take care of and be there for other people.
Fred, though - that is something I think hasn't even hit me yet. I'm probably going to finally start crying over it the next time I go back and read a classic Fred and George scene. I'm a twin myself. My twin sister and I once made matching T-shirts saying "I <3 Fred" and "I <3 George." They've been my heroes ever since the "Give her hell from us, Peeves!" scene in OotP. They've always been around to make it seem like you can find something to laugh about in any situation no matter how bad things get, and in a weird way they just seemed indestructible. Killing one of them is just about the most cruel thing JKR could have thought to do. :(
"Childrens' Book"?? Hmm, okay...
I just hope nobody's young children ask too many questions about what certain things in this book mean.
- Rita Skeeter's suggestion of Harry and Dumbledore having had an "unhealthy" relationship and how this brings to light a believable motivation for Harry killing him....uhh woah. I'm sorry, but what else would anybody think reading this part?...Sorry.
- The official list of all curse words that have been used in HP now: "damn, effing, bastard, slut, bitch." Just saying... Oh, right, and don't forget "Merlin's pants." lol.
- Whatever those two Muggles did to Ariana, it and the kind of effect it had on her seems perfectly comparable to rape. That wasn't even what I thought when I first read it, but when I heard that's what a lot of other people actually assumed happened to her, the whole thing seemed to make a lot more sense looking at it that way. Though I suppose even without assuming anything that awful, it can be seen as sort of a hate crime. In a book in which Voldemort's anti-Muggle regime had taken over, it was weird to read a bout a case of that kind of hatred reversed.
Some Thoughts on the Story's Themes and Messages
Bravery, Wit, Loyalty, and Ambition - Thoughts on Hogwarts Houses
Many fans were disappointed when they read the part in the "Battle of Hogwarts" chapter that described how absolutely no Slytherins stayed behind to fight. It actually bothered me a little, too, until I thought about how Rowling actually also specified that more Hufflepuffs than Ravenclaws stayed, when nothing in the books has ever given us any reason to think less of Ravenclaw than any other House. It made me realize that maybe all that means is that different people have different good qualities. Maybe it just doesn't make much sense to judge the worth of people in Ravenclaw or Slytherin by how much they display the kind of qualities Gryffindors are praised for.
If a bank is getting robbed by a man who grabs a woman and threatens to shoot her, are all the people there who just stay put crying and too terrified to think of what to do instead of doing something brave to help not good people? I certainly don't think so. Not everybody can be a Gryffindor. Many people would like to think they could act in a noble way in certain situations, but sometimes you just don't know if you'd be able to until you're faced with these problems for real. I wouldn't even necessarily say that Xeno Lovegood was a bad person for the way he tried to get Luna back, just very weak. Some people just cannot think under pressure or keep themselves together enough when in a very dangerous situation to be useful. Not everyone, after just seeing a loved one get killed, could keep themselves from falling apart enough to be able to go on and do what they know they still have to do. Ravenclaws may typically be good at figuring out riddles but not at dueling. There's brain and there's brawn, and each can be important to have in different situations.
In this book, we learned a whole lot more about Snape and Dumbledore, who in a lot of ways could not have been more different and seem to work as a perfect representation of the difference between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Their reasons for devoting themselves to fighting Voldemort's side were completely different. But both of them were actually pretty flawed people. My sister pointed out that all the dark secrets of his own Dumbledore had may have had a lot to do with how he was able to accept that someone like Snape could not be totally bad or could change. I think at the end of the day, if you can see Dumbledore as being a good guy despite not being as saintly as so many thought, you have to see Snape as acceptably redeemed as well even if not necessarily "good."
So what is the point and message in the way all these different kinds of people are written? I think the general idea is that as far as not-totally-evil people, there are heroes, and then there's other people who may not be remarkably heroic or are just really unpleasant and hard to get along with but nevertheless are far away on the spectrum from the kind of scum who deserve the Dementor's Kiss. It's despicable that Severus didn't give a crap what happened to any of Voldemort's other enemies before Lily's life was threatened. And also that it took Voldemort's cruel use of his own house elf he cared about for Regulus to wake up. And also that Lucius and Narcissa's loyalty did not change until their son was in danger. But when it's all over, we have to admit they had balls to do a lot of the things they did, even if it was only in their own interest, and unlike Wormtail they admitted and tried to rectify their mistakes. And I think I'm not the only reader who now finds it not so hard to just forgive them. I mean...what the hell.
And so the story ends with Harry explaining to his son that if he was Sorted into Slytherin, it would be okay. He and Draco seem to have become able to be civil to each other even if not friendly, sort of like McGonagall and Snape were as the heads of rival Houses. Harry no longer judges people because of those kind of differences; the magic world is not so divided against each other anymore. So I cannot be disappointed with the portrayal of what it means to be in Slytherin that JKR ended up writing. I think she gave them some credit.
"A Braver Man By Far" - What do we take from the story of Snape?
In the first-ever scene in Sorcerer's Stone that Professor Snape appears and speaks, he asks Harry three questions. Two of them are about bezoars and Wolfsbane potion, both of which become important to know about in later books. Then he asks, "What would I make if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" and the answer is the Draught of Living Death. Was this ever important? thirteen_ravens thought so, and explained so in her "Asphodel and Wormwood Theory" a long time ago. In this post she cited a poem called "Of Asphodel, That Greeny Flower" by William Carlos Williams that she thought might be related to Snape's reference to this plant. Even though it seemed a little bit of a stretch to think J.K. Rowling meant to allude to this poem at all, I think it was when I first read it that I felt like the deeply hidden feelings of the Potions master had begun to make sense to me. I wrote a fic called "Asphodel" inspired by and including parts of the poem, and now that I look at those parts of it again, it rings even more true and is quite powerful to read.
Asphodel belongs to the lily family - it is the flower of Hades and the dead and represents mourning and sorrow. Wormwood is a very bitter-smelling plant and represents punitive suffering and remorse. Together they make the Draught of Living Death. I could not help but be reminded of these possible connections I had been aware of a long time when I read this part of dialogue in the book:
"DON'T!" bellowed Snape. "Gone...dead..."
"Is this remorse, Severus?"
"I wish...I wish I were dead..."
I have to admit that even after I'd believed for a long time there might be at least some truth to the theory that Snape was in love with Lily, I was surprised that his feelings for her seemed to be all there was to it. I never really expected that it would be the only reason for Dumbledore trusting him. But the more I read some parts of the "Prince's Tale" chapter over again, the more I see that Snape clearly had more motivations than just Lily's death for turning against Voldemort, even if he was reluctant to show it.
After all, in these memories we see that Snape took George's ear off attempting to protect Lupin from being cursed when he didn't have to, when this could have blown his cover, and when he doesn't even like Lupin. He tells the protrait of Phineas Nigellus not to call Hermione a "mudblood." He's very bothered to find out Dumbledore has little time to live and gets angry when Dumbledore lightly tells him he'll have to kill him as if it should be easy. I don't know if I can really blame Dumbledore for keeping the truth about what would have to happen to Harry from him; judging by his reaction of real surprise after Snape shows him his patronus and proves he has still loved Lily after all that time, I think it's possible Dumbledore actually took for granted that Snape might have changed much more and come to understand there were plenty other reasons besides his loyalty to her to fight Voldemort.
But even though Snape is not a cold-blooded killer and does not like to see anyone die if he can help it, I'm sure he never would have been a member of the Order or anything if it weren't for Voldemort killing someone he'd cared about. I think he may have ended up like the Malfoys, eventually realizing he'd gotten into something he couldn't handle and wanting out, but not going as far as to join up with the other side. Even if Dumbledore had come to see he had a shred of goodness in him, that part of his nature alone wasn't enough to make him do something so dangerous just to help other people. He never even accepted any credit for his best qualities, and seemed to be ashamed of them. (I now find it really interesting that in the scene in HBP when it's revealed that Tonks's patronus has changed, Snape practically mocks her for it and implies that he thinks the new form shows weakness.) But in the end, he did keep acting on Dumbledore's wishes even though it wasn't the way to make sure Lily hadn't died in vain that he always thought it would be. Something made him keep doing it.
When reading the scenes with these memories, I personally found what we saw of how the friendship between Snape and Dumbledore was to be as poignant as what we saw of the one between him and Lily. It seems that even though Dumbledore was only disgusted by him at first, over the years following the Potters' deaths they learned to partially understand, respect, and even care about each other. It appears that these two relationships Snape had, with people who were both exceptionally understanding and forgiving and actually knew him as he really was, were the most important and redeeming ones he had in his life.
Which relates to a theme that very commonly comes up in these books about forgiveness and acceptance. Snape was a nasty little asshole who only ever gave a damn about a couple people. But there were also very few people who gave a damn about him. His parents seemed to be neglectful and unaffectionate. At the time he unconfidently but eagerly approached Lily as a child, his need for companionship was desperate. Many other girls probably would have thought he was a weirdo and never wanted to talk to him again. But Lily's kindness and her ability to look past his faults for so long did so much more good than she probably ever could have even realized. When you think about it, there is so much in the story of Harry Potter that comes down to, or is made possible because of, Snape's love for her. If he had not asked Voldemort to spare her when he was going to kill the Potters then Lily wouldn't have been able to make the choice to die protecting Harry, and Harry would not have survived because of the protection that gave him. There are many other examples in the series of even small acts of kindness and mercy ending up having great positive effects. Harry stopped Sirius and Lupin from killing Peter when they could have, and this ended up paying off. In CoS, Harry treated Dobby kindly and freed him even though he had been a very annoying inconvenience all year, and that sure as hell paid off.
On the other hand, the story has had many quite horrible people who seem to only treat others the way they are used to being treated by most people. As I said, hardly anybody liked Snape, and Snape himself unfairly judged other people and ended up being as big a bully as James was to him. Kreacher screwed Sirius over because Sirius was cruel to him. A handful of Voldemort's servants ended up betraying him because - surprise! - he treated them like disposable garbage and never actually valued any of their lives. Voldie himself, incapable of love, was never loved by anyone at all his whole life. So are we to only feel sorry for all of these people who maybe can't help that they turned out emotionally handicapped? Well, surely not to the point that it pardons all their wrongdoings. But nevertheless, I think the message can be found in there: If you want others to be good to you, be good to others. Love people even if they're not easy to love. It might just be enough to stop the Severus Snape you know from shooting up the school. Who knows?
Bye, Harry. I'll miss you.
<3