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Thank you very much for your very thoughtful response. The 'what if' scenarios are exactly what I was after. Do we feel sympathy for Severus because we mostly see him as a vulnerable and hurt child and adolescent and then as a repentant adult, and don't see him at all during the darker part of his life? Are we giving ourselves an easy ride by rationalizing that he wasn't ever all that bad? Or would we be capable of sympathy to a repentant criminal even if we knew the extent of his crimes?
In my story, he mouthed Manhattan Project-type justifications that would make his actions acceptable in war (this will serve the greater good in the long run, I'm not the one unleashing it on human populations) and in many scientific communities (I'm merely testing interesting concepts and expanding our knowledge), but my Snape never forgave himself, was never less than honest about his past, and always tried to mitigate the harm he might cause. He wasn't necessarily graceful to others in his actions, not forgiving of others' weaknesses, but I love the character with his flaws as well as his strengths.
I agree that one thing that makes Severus an interesting character is that he does not forgive himself easily, does not make up excuses or find the easy way out - and he holds others up to the same standard.
I felt so bad for Snape in that scene. The requirement to follow Dumbledore's plan overrode all other considerations. Both Harry and Severus were following orders to the extreme, in Snape's case, possibly against his conscience (in terms of killing Dumbledore or watching others die). I think Harry's forgiveness of Snape partially grew out of their shared "following orders" situation. Of course, those orders were Dumbledore's. Did Harry forgive Draco for following Voldemort's orders?
Harry and Severus were unique tools in Dumbleodre's arsenal. Because of Harry's fate as Voldemort's Horcrux and because of Severus' place as the only undercover agent in Voldemort's organisation and as the only surviving person who knew about Harry's being a Horcrux they were irreplaceable. This means that neither of them could be judged by what some other order member would have done in their place, for neither of them could have been in their place. While someone like Arthur or McGonagall may have jumped in a vain attempt to help Charity Burbage, neither of them was burdened with the knowledge of what their death may mean to the overall plan beyond the loss of yet another person to their side.
In my story, he mouthed Manhattan Project-type justifications that would make his actions acceptable in war (this will serve the greater good in the long run, I'm not the one unleashing it on human populations) and in many scientific communities (I'm merely testing interesting concepts and expanding our knowledge), but my Snape never forgave himself, was never less than honest about his past, and always tried to mitigate the harm he might cause. He wasn't necessarily graceful to others in his actions, not forgiving of others' weaknesses, but I love the character with his flaws as well as his strengths.
I agree that one thing that makes Severus an interesting character is that he does not forgive himself easily, does not make up excuses or find the easy way out - and he holds others up to the same standard.
I felt so bad for Snape in that scene. The requirement to follow Dumbledore's plan overrode all other considerations. Both Harry and Severus were following orders to the extreme, in Snape's case, possibly against his conscience (in terms of killing Dumbledore or watching others die). I think Harry's forgiveness of Snape partially grew out of their shared "following orders" situation. Of course, those orders were Dumbledore's. Did Harry forgive Draco for following Voldemort's orders?
Harry and Severus were unique tools in Dumbleodre's arsenal. Because of Harry's fate as Voldemort's Horcrux and because of Severus' place as the only undercover agent in Voldemort's organisation and as the only surviving person who knew about Harry's being a Horcrux they were irreplaceable. This means that neither of them could be judged by what some other order member would have done in their place, for neither of them could have been in their place. While someone like Arthur or McGonagall may have jumped in a vain attempt to help Charity Burbage, neither of them was burdened with the knowledge of what their death may mean to the overall plan beyond the loss of yet another person to their side.