Snape joined the Death Eaters

The argument

A central argument that Severus Snape was not a hero is that, as a young man, he freely chose to join the Death Eaters — Voldemort's followers — embracing a movement built on bigotry, terror and murder. This was not a momentary lapse but a deliberate alignment with the cause of blood purity and the persecution of muggle-borns, the very ideology responsible for atrocities across the wizarding world. Snape sought out and committed himself to that movement of his own volition, and as a Death Eater he was complicit in its aims at a time when its violence was at its height. The argument holds that this choice has grave and lasting moral weight. Most damningly, it was Snape who reported part of the prophecy to Voldemort, an act that directly led Voldemort to target the Potters and bring about the murder of Lily and James Potter. Snape's later remorse and his turn to spy against Voldemort were, on this view, an attempt to atone for a catastrophe he had helped cause — but atonement for terrible deeds is not the same as heroism, and the harm he set in motion cannot be undone by regret. A person whose actions contributed to murder, however he later felt, carries responsibility for it. From this standpoint, a true hero would not have chosen to join a terrorist movement devoted to hatred and killing in the first place. Whatever good Snape did afterward, his decision to become a Death Eater and the deadly consequences that flowed from it reveal a character that fell short of heroism. Because Snape chose to join the Death Eaters and bore responsibility for the harm that followed, this argument holds, Severus Snape was not a hero.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Those who see Snape as a hero reply that heroism can be defined by a redemption arc, not a spotless record. A youthful choice to join the Death Eaters is the starting point of his turn, not a permanent disqualification: the moment Lily was threatened he defected to Dumbledore and spent the rest of his life as a double agent at mortal risk. They add that reporting the prophecy caused catastrophe, but it was also what drove that lifelong, life-risking atonement — the harm and the repentance are bound together — and that his intelligence proved decisive to Voldemort's defeat. Many enduring heroes are flawed or begin as villains; sustained self-sacrifice for others is the mark of heroism, and Snape's arguably outweighs his origin.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] A youthful choice to join the Death Eaters can be the start of a redemption arc rather than a permanent disqualification; heroism is often defined by the turn away from wrong. [Rejecting P2] Reporting the prophecy caused catastrophe, but it was also what drove Snape's lifelong, life-risking defection to protect Lily's son — the harm and the atonement are bound together. [Rejecting P3] Sustained self-sacrifice can constitute heroism even after terrible deeds; many heroes are redeemed villains, and Snape's decades of covert risk arguably outweigh his origin.