by Athena Appleton » Sunday 25 January 2004 7:13:19am
Think on this: 15 years ago (or more), Snape was a Death Eater who had a bad attitude and loathed James Potter and his friends. Right before James and Lily kick the bucket, he turns double agent and joins the Order. However, because he's a double agent, he has to APPEAR to still hate James, and subsequently, Harry. If he didn't, Voldything and his supporters would quickly become suspicious. Look at it from a Death Eaters point of view.
In OotP, Snape takes Harry seriously when Harry tries to warn him that he thinks Sirius is in the Dept. of Mysteries, but he has to look like he's got no clue and keep up the act that he hates Harry (which he probably does, jealousy can run deep, even between two "good guys").
I think the question of whether or not Snape is a good guy can be inferred early on in the series that it's not who we are, but the choices we make, that matter. In real life, there are mean good guys. In real life, there are nice bad guys.
Also, I'm not sure, but does't Ron make a joke that Snape is more likely to adopt Harry than to let them fool around in class (think Book 4)? Aren't Ron's jokes usually more accurate than his serious theories? I don't think Snape actually would adopt Harry (after all, Harry is almost a fully-grown wizard), but I do think that little comment could show some insight into what kind of person Snape will turn out to be.