Anti-Hero

An anti-hero can simply be defined as someone who believes that "the end justifies the means". In other words, they display traits and perform actions usually befitting the villain, but they do so for noble goals. Let's take Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series. Throughout the entire series of books, he is portrayed as an antagonist to Harry. He openly detests him, joins Harry's nemesis, and kills his mentor. However, it is revealed that Snape is not the horrible man he portrays himself to be; he is far better. Snape was deeply in love with Harry's mother, Lily, during their time at Hogwarts. Even when she left him for Harry's father James, he still loved her; he will always love her. When Snape found out that Harry was the child of prophecy, he came to Dumbledore with information concerning what Voldemort was planning on doing. He vowed to serve Dumbledore as a sort-of triple-agent: he would spy for Dumbledore on Voldemort, while Voldemort thought that Snape was spying for him on Dumbledore. However, despite all their planning and preparation, the Potter family still perished; save for Harry. With Harry's entrance into the school, Snape was charged for looking out for the boy. He detested the boy for being everything that Snape thought Harry's father was: loathsome, arrogant, caught-up in his own popularity. Regardless, he still tries to protect Potter. During Harry's first Quidditch match, his broom is apparently being jinxed by someone in the crowd. Harry's friends assume that it's Snape because of his muttering-when in reality he's muttering a counter-curse to help Harry. This pales in comparison to what Snape will do several years after that event. To continue his and Dumbledore's plans, he lies straight to Voldemort, knowing that Voldemort does not possess the power to kill Potter. Because Voldemort thinks that killing Snape will help further his goals, he does just that; he kills who he thinks is his most faithful servant. Having witnessed this event, Harry goes to Snape's side after Voldemort leaves. Snape bestows upon Harry the last thing he can give to him: his memories explaining everything. He lets Harry know everything that he must do, and everything that he has done for the boy. In the end, our hero wins and good triumphs over evil. Later in his life, Harry will name one of his son's after Severus, whom he says is "the bravest man he has ever known".