Snapedom

And I think many of us agree with you here. Although I do think Severus had reasons for the way he treated Neville ( I agree with Helen Ketcham, for example, that Snape seems driven particularly wild by a student who is undeniably talented and powerful, but who *will not focus and do his own work*) reasons are not excuses. Severus was simply wrong in his treatment of this child, and, on a couple of occasions, downright cruel - whether intentionally or not. I'm not going to say, "Severus was no saint", because, by my definition, he was. But, like all saints, he was also a sinner. I think we can agree on that, and I personally think his treatment of Neville was quite wrong, and showed immaturity on Snape's part. He owed Neville an apology!

But aren't we way off topic here? The question isn't whether Severus was ultimately good or bad, a hero or not. The question was: what would you be willing to forgive him? I am, in the end, willing to forgive him his treatment of Neville, though I think it wrong. I do wish there had been some reconciliation between them, because Neville is my hero, really. But that's not the book Rowling was writing.