Spoiler alert!!!!

Finished the book in about 9 hours. ::sigh::

Well, I was quite shocked when Snape revealed that he was the Half-blood prince. I'd had a feeling, when Harry was using that potions text and Slughorn would go on and on about him practically being a genius. (Though, why, when Snape's so obviously very, very good (understatement of the century, there) at potions he would want to teach DADA... It almost seems like he's wasting his talents.) Still, it was a bit surprising when it was actually revealed.

And... Someone on hp_theories mentioned that they didn't think he'd turn out to be evil. But is he really? Is he really on the Dark Lord's side? On the other hand, was he really on Dumbledore's side, ever? Or does he play both ends against the middle? It'd be a dangerous game, but he is a Slytherin...

I'm having trouble believing that Dumbledore could be completely wrong about Snape. His theories tend to be correct, although, as he himself admits, when he misses something, it tends to make things much worse... Honestly, I just can't accept that Snape is totally with Voldemort or Dumbledore. He made the Unbreakable Vow (which he did end up fulfilling - rather than forcing Draco to kill Dumbledore, he "completed the task" since Draco couldn't/wouldn't) with Narcissa, which basically meant that he would be going against the Dark Lord's orders in some way. Now, I know he tells Bellatrix that Voldie's the most accomplished Legilimens in about forever, but that doesn't mean he couldn't be good enough at Occlumency to ward him out (this also means he could possibly keep Dumbledore out, which adds to the idea that he plays both sides against each other - and would it really have been wise to say, "Well, the Dark Lord's good at Legilimency, but he can't read my mind," or, "...but he's got nothing on Dumbledore!" in front of fellow DEs?). Also, why was Dumbledore "pleading" with Snape? Did Snape have orders already to end Dumbledore's life if necessary? Dumbledore knew that if Snape walked away, and left everyone else on the balcony living, his time as a spy for the Order would be over, they'd get no more help, and Voldie would probably kill Snape. Might the "hatred and revulsion" on Snape's face before he kills have been for what he had to do, directed at himself rather than Dumbledore?

It was nice to finally be reassured that Draco Malfoy's not all bad, not that it'll do him much good now Dumbledore's gone, though if Harry can manage to put aside the enmity, they might be able to help eachother... And, since we know he knows Occlumency, might he be useful to the Order in some way? It seems a little far-fetched, but you never know... Narcissa and Draco (not too sure about Lucius) seem to be leery of Voldie's aims, or at least his means. We know they're both focused on keeping the family whole and alive, which opens up great blackmail possibilities for Voldie. We don't know why Lucius first became a DE, but might it have been the same thing? Or, possibly, it might have been more of a Regulus Black deal... He may have approved of Voldie's goals of (basically) proving pure-bloods superior, etc., but when they found out the lengths he was willing to go to, it was too late to back out; and of course, Voldie would then be able to threaten the family (ie, do this, Lucius/Narcissa/Draco, or I'll kill your wife/husband/mother/father/son).

Speaking of Regulus... That's who I think "RAB" is. We don't know his middle name, we just know he joined the DEs and was killed when he wanted to leave, after discovering the lengths Voldie was willing to go to in order to attain power. Sirius thought his brother was "soft" for believing his parents' ideas that pure-bloods were so superior, but that doesn't mean Regulus was stupid. We don't know just what "lengths" Regulus discovered Voldemort would try. If he'd discovered about the Horcruxes, he may have wanted to back out. Obviously, they're not viewed as very good. Slughorn got very nervous while telling Riddle about them in the memory... It doesn't seem like something "respectable" pure-bloods (or any wizard, really) would aspire to; "tearing your soul" must just seem a little too far to go, like drinking unicorn blood to stay alive - sure, you're alive, but you'll be cursed forever. Even Sirius's parents didn't approve of Voldemort's methods, and that's saying something considering the state of their house.

So, to sum up, I think Snape's playing both ends against the middle (and might have killed Dumbledore on the old man's own orders), Draco could be an asset to the Order 'cause he's not all bad (or could be saved by them if he's willing to be), and Regulus Black was killed because he'd found and destroyed one of the Horcruxes.