(1)Sirius Black
Snape is a bully. Yes, he loved Lily. That's nice. He was still a horrible bully, and a horrible teacher. Oh but, "He only picked on Harry because he looked like James!" which is not only incredibly shallow, but he still picks on Hermione. But I guess she looks like James too? Or maybe she reminds him of Lily! Oh wait... that'd be a HORRIBLE THING. So I guess he knew some insufferable know-it-all back in school that made him hate Hermione or something, and we just never saw it. Excuses, Excuses.
As a teacher, Snape picks favorites, and those he doesn't like -- he sets out to fail. Which makes him a terrible teacher. As far as subject matter goes, he knows his stuff -- the problem is, even then he isn't teaching them the best of his ability. Only teaching them out of the textbook, when he 100% knows more than the textbooks (having improved on many of them as it is) Sure, he never actually fails Harry. But on several occasions, he goes out of his way to make sure Harry gets a bad grade, such as dumping out his potions.
I'll give you that he's interesting -- but he's not likable. His motivations... are a little weak to be honest though. Yes, he did things 'for love'. That's great motivation... but for those motivations, he goes against his character. For a Dead Dumbledore. He goes to the forest, and gives Harry the sword with his Doe Patronus. But... throughout all previous books, he thought Harry was talentless. And yet, Snape doesn't really question this very much. This development... was sudden. And it's something Rowling does pretty often (See: Draco)
On the other hand, you have Sirius. He's awesome. He's a great godfather who cares very much about Harry. Yes, he goes to kill Peter Pettigrew, when there were other things he should have and could have done. But in the moment, he was reckless, and it doesn't go against his character at all. (Speaking of the Rat, Snape has EVERY REASON to hate Peter Pettigrew, yet we never really see him bully him.)
Post-Azkaban... he goes crazy, and again wants to 'commit the murder he was sentenced for'. And you can't blame him. Peter betrayed them. He's the reason James and Lily are dead. Him and Snape (though I'm not sure SIrius knew that or not.)
One quote describes how much Sirius cares about Harry -- and it's one that really gets me.
"Poor old Snuffles," said Ron, breathing deeply. "He must really like you, Harry.... Imagine having to live off rats."
Then you have him going to the Ministry of Magic (Where he is wanted) because Harry is being led into a trap.
Not to mention he's an animagus (which are cool) and he was James's best friend. Every read through, I find myself liking Sirius more and more. He's one of the few Father figures for Harry (while he has many mother figures). And he's one of the few that treat Harry like an equal. His relationship with Harry is, in my opinion, the second best relationship in the series.
And honestly, as far as "Characters that look evil -- BUT SURPRISE THEY'RE NOT!" go, I think Sirius is done better. There are hints that Sirius isn't really that bad throughout the book, and one all the way back in book 1. Snape on the other hand, we never really learn much of his motivation. Dumbledore handwaves everything in the first book to "Your father saved his life!" which never really turned out to much, and it wasn't something that Snape really cared about.
I did like the portrayal of Snape by the movies. But I'm giving a lot more weight to the books (since the books ARE better). "You have your mother's eyes" was an incredible line. But alas, it wasn't in the books. It MIGHT have been implied. But that's something that could be argued over for hours with no real conclusion other than guesswork.
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See You In Another Life, Brother.
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