"So the boy... the boy must die?" asked Snape quite calmly.
"And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential."
Another long silence. Then Snape said, "I thought... all these years... that we were protecting him for her. For Lily."
"We have protected him because it has been essential to teach him, to raise him, to let him try his strength," said Dumbledore, his eyes still tight shut. "Meanwhile, the connection between then grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth: Sometimes I have thought he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters so that when he does set out to meet his death, it will truly mean the end of Voldemort."
Dumbledore opened his eyes. Snape looked horrified.
"You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?"
"Don't be shocked, Severus. How many men have you watched die?"
"Lately, only those whom I could not save," said Snape. He stood up. "You have used me."
"Meaning?"
"I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter--"
"But this is touching, Severus," said Dumbledore seriously. "Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"
"For him?" shouted Snape. "Expecto Patronum!"
From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears.
"After all this time?"
"Always," said Snape.
~The Deathly Hallows, Ch. 33, "The Prince's Tale"
Since Deathly Hallows Part 2 comes out in theatres tonight at midnight (in the U.S., at least), I thought this would be the best quote for today.
Just typing it out makes me want to cry... Oh God, I'm going to break down in the theatre when I see it. The first time I read it, I just wanted to die. The word 'Always' has become so iconic... I tear up everytime I hear it used even in a casual conversation, and then people ask me what's wrong. I can't answer because they wouldn't understand.
And this is where a lot of people will refer to when they say they don't like Snape even though they've read all the books. They say that Snape never really changed, because he never cared about Harry. But those people are stupid, because that's what makes him so amazing. He risked his life to protect a boy that he hated because he just loved Lily that much. And though there's a lot of controversy, I don't think he ever cared about Harry. For all he cared, Harry could be maimed and seriously injured... just not dead. Because that would mean that he failed Lily.
It's remarkable that he could love her that much. You never see that kind of love anymore...
