I'm glad I'm not alone here. I actually don't feel like I can relate to other fans of Snape at all... while he IS my favorite in the entire series and one of my top favorite fictional characters from ANY fandom, I certainly do not justify his behavior or make excuses for him. I think its very blind that fans can defend him yet hate on James for some of the same reasons. I love him, but I can also admit to myself that he is a terrible, awful person (but endlessly fascinating and entertaining). I can only like him because he is fictional (I am hopelessly addicted to anti-heroes).