Riding with Severus Snape

This morning, in between praying to the porcelain god (flu), I had a dream that I was riding horses in the countryside with Severus Snape.

Definitely not a nightmare. And definitely a dream that gives my Austen-themed Fitzwilliam Darcy (aka Mr. Darcy) dreams a run for their money!

After reading the Deathly Hallows, and of course, subsequently re-reading the entire series again and again, I ended up falling in love with Snape's character. I do not see him as evil, as I once did, but perpetually misunderstood. He is quiet and reserved which doesn't give others a lot to work with when making character judgments.

I recall the "teaser campaign" that started prior to the Deathly Hallows release: is Snape good or bad? Borders was giving out bookmarks and I grabbed "bad." At that point in time, I was certain that he was bad so, of course, I re-read all 6 books again and analyzed/scrutinized everything he did and, alas, the Deathly Hallows was released and I was proven wrong. Note: I pre-ordered DH and mauled/devoured it within hours of receipt complete with a box of tissues. Oh, how I cried!

Once proven wrong, I again, re-read all of the books analyzing/scrutinizing everything Rowling wrote about Snape for clues that I might have missed.

Yes, I am a dork, but you should have surmised that by now.