Quote Originally Posted by Psyren View Post
Point of order, he was a decent person in the other books too. Remember that he saved Harry from Quirrell in book one, during the Quidditch match.
Snape wasn't enough of an ******* to let Lily's son die (a very selfish sort of goodness), but he was a jerk for the entire series. Bullies in positions of authority are pretty awful, and that's Snape as a teacher.