Severus Snape

"...he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

- Harry Potter on Severus Snape

Severus Snape (January 9, 1960 - May 2, 1998) was Potions Master (1981-96), Defence Against the Dark Arts professor (1996-97), and Headmaster (1997-98) of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was described as a thoroughly unpleasant, cynical and sarcastic individual, and a persistent antagonist to Harry Potter and his friends.

=Biography=

Childhood
Severus Snape was the son of Eileen Prince, a witch, and Tobias Snape, a Muggle. He was born January 9, 1960. It is implied that Severus was a loner, and a victim of neglect by his father Tobias. This neglect (and possible abuse) may have contributed to Severus' unpleasant personality in adulthood. Because of his only partial wizarding heritage, he privately gave himself the nickname of "The Half-Blood Prince."

He was apparently a neighbour of, or lived in proximity to, Lily Evans. He befriended her in childhood before they both received invitations to attend Hogwarts. It seems that at this time in his life, Severus began a romantic interest in Lily, which was never reciprocated though she certainly loved him as a friend.

Life at Hogwarts
Severus attended Hogwarts as a pupil from 1971 to 1978. He showed excellence in Potions, and knew more curses and hexes in his first year than most of the seventh-year students.

Severus was sorted into Slytherin House, which at that time was led by Potions professor, Horace Slughorn. Classmate Sirius Black reported that Severus attended school at least partially at the same time as Sirius' cousin, Bellatrix Black. However, this is unlikely, since Bellatrix is about nine years older than Severus. It could then be speculated that either Bellatrix was held back in some classes, or she was around Hogwarts for other purposes. Other classmates of Severus included the muggle-born witch Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Lucius Malfoy, who, at the time, was a prefect, as well as a "gang of Slytherins", who "later went on to become Death Eaters".



There was considerable friction between Severus and James Potter and his friends throughout their school years. The events of Severus' school years, as recorded in the Pensieve, suggest that he was an introverted and studious individual, whereas James was an extrovert, popular and sporty, and spoiled by his parents. Reportedly, James distrusted Severus because of his interest in the the Dark Arts, but it could also have been because of his interest in Lily Evans, which was probably suspected by other students. In fact, one recorded memory in the Penseive bears witness to James' bullying of Severus with the spell Levicorpus, Lily coming to his defence, and Severus' subsequent lashing out at Lily in an attempt to recover his lost pride - calling her a "mudblood." Lily refused to forgive him for it, even after his desperate apologies. This would forever be Severus' worst memory. Once James and Lily had begun to date, James assured her that he had stopped bullying Severus, but that was not true.

Sirius Black, who fell out with his own aristocratic, pureblood-supremacist parents, gave the cold shoulder to other wizards of that same philosophy. Sirius claimed Severus kept company with his cousin Bellatrix. James and Sirius took to bullying Severus together. One instance in particular, Sirius decided it would be fun to trick Snape into visiting the Shrieking Shack at a time when Remus Lupin, afflicted with lycanthropy, would be there, transformed into a werewolf. This could have cost Severus his life or his humanity (he could have been turned into a werewolf by Lupin's bite) and, in the end, James warned Severus about the trick. Albus Dumbledore later reasoned that, as a result, Severus owed James a debt for saving his life.

Half-Blood Prince
Severus Snape was a brilliant wizard, especially in his childhood years. It is apparent through the notes and scribbles in his Potions textbook that he had time during classes to dream up curses, charms, and brilliant potion innovations while simultaneously learning the required textbook lessons.

Severus Snape's potions textbook contains two spells which he specifically took credit for inventing: Levicorpus, which grabs the victim by the ankle and dangles them upside-down, and Sectumsempra, which causes slashing cuts guided by hand gestures on the victim. Levicorpus somehow escaped from Severus' secrecy, and became very popular around the school towards the end of his fifth year at school. His book contains unusual and helpful spells, such as Muffliato, which fills the ears of anyone nearby with an "unidentifiable buzzing sound," and Langlock, which affixes the victim's tongue to the roof of the mouth. Snape's book later fell into the hands of Harry Potter in 1996. Harry used the Prince's tips and earned praise with Potions master Horace Slughorn. Harry considered the Prince to be a better teacher than Snape, unaware at that point that Snape was the Prince.

There was no clear explanation of why Slughorn later praised Lily as his best student, and failed to mention Severus, who conjured innovative potions tips (of exactly the sort Slughorn claims Lily invented), such as different methods of mixing and brewing. Since there were tips in the book for successful potions that Slughorn remembered Lily to have performed and Severus to have failed, it is possible Severus gave his tricks to Lily to win her favour. It is equally possible that she invented them and shared her knowledge with Severus. Another possibility is that Slughorn had some knowlege of Severus' status as a Death Eater and did not wish to associate himself even with former Death Eaters.

Some handwritten notes in the textbook appear as though the author had never finished them, and had continued to make additions and corrections here and there. This could be further evidence that Severus obtained the ideas from an outside source such as Lily Evans, or that he was just so brilliant that new innovations continued to come to the fore of his mind.

The potions textbook has an inscription indicating it is property of the Half-Blood Prince. Remus Lupin reported that Snape never used the nickname at school. Hermione Granger's research indicated that Prince was his mother's maiden name, but the 'half-blood' was either something of an insult, or a further credit to Severus' brilliance.

During the First Battle of Hogwarts, Snape admits that he is the Prince. When Harry tries to use some of Snape's own curses on him, Snape is easily able to block them, and flees from the school with Draco Malfoy and the Death Eaters.

As a Death Eater and Double Agent
"Severus Snape wasn't yours. Snape was Dumbledore's."

- Harry Potter to Voldemort

Severus Snape eventually joined the ranks of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters, and was the spy responsible for informing Voldemort about the prophecy fortelling his downfall.

Severus eavesdropped on a job interview between Sybill Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore at the Hog's Head Inn. The prophecy indicated that at the end of July, a child would be born who would cause the destruction of Lord Voldemort. At that time it was not clear who was meant by the prophecy, for two children of prominent wizard families were born that year at the end of July: Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom. Dumbledore reported at the Wizengamot trial of Igor Karkaroff that Severus explained that he had overheard part of the prophecy, and reported it to Voldemort. Severus suffered terrible remorse when he later realized he had sent Voldemort after his his childhood friend and only love. Severus secretly defected from the Death Eaters and joined the Order of the Phoenix, under Dumbledore. Severus continued on in the ranks of the Death Eaters as a spy for the Order.

Teaching Career at Hogwarts


Severus Snape applied for the position of Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, acting under Voldemort's instructions. The timing of this application is of interest. Severus' application came after Sybill Trelawney's prophecy, but before the Potters' deaths. It may be that Voldemort specifically sought a spy who could tell him about students from the Hogwarts records of all magical births. What's more, that Voldemort ordered him to apply for a job which Voldemort had himself cursed suggests that Severus was not intended to remain at Hogwarts for more than one year.

Snape was not given his desired position, but rather the position of Potions Master and, eventually, head of Slytherin House. As a teacher, Snape was a ruthless disciplinarian, with little patience for foolishness, yet effective in his job and was well respected by other professors. His deep understanding of potions brewing, as shown by his expert concoction of Wolfsbane Potion, transformed the knowledge of potions from mere chemistry to an art. He was not unlike Minerva McGonagall in his strict and formidable manner.

Harry Potter became a student in Snape's classes in 1991. Harry remarked on the sensation of being immediately disliked, even hated, by Snape from the first time their eyes met in Hogwarts' Great Hall. Harry's resemblance to his father and his acquired "celebrity" caused Snape to jump on the defensive in their very first Potions lesson. However, Snape's role as a double agent required him to be openly hostile to anyone connected to the Order.

Even given this fact, on numerous occasions Snape in fact rescued Harry. When Harry was attacked by Professor Quirinus Quirrell, who attempted to jinx Harry's broom during a Quidditch match, Snape performed a counter-curse. He tried to protect Harry from Sirius Black when Sirius was believed to be on the hunt for Harry. While he sometimes threatened to have Harry expelled from the school, he never followed through. He also claimed to be unaware of Voldemort's plans to avoid being responsible for allowing Harry and his friends to foil them.



The telepathic link between Voldemort and Harry via Harry's scar became clear during Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. Snape was instructed by Dumbledore to teach Harry Occlumency to keep out Voldemort's influence. It was during these Occlumency lessons that Harry uncovered the source behind Snape's hatred for his father, when he broke through Snape's Legilimency attack and saw into his memory.

During Slughorn's potions classes with Harry in his sixth year, Slughorn repeatedly remarked that Harry must have inherited his skills from his mother. In the search for the Half-Blood Prince's identity, Harry must have temporarily forgotten that Snape was bound to have excelled at Potions while at Hogwarts, since he was given the position as professor.

Unbreakable Vow
In July 1996, Snape was visited by Bellatrix Lestrange and her sister Narcissa Malfoy to beg help for Narcissa's son Draco. Snape swore an unbreakable magical vow, on pain of death should he break it, to: "watch over my son Draco as he attempts to fulfil the Dark Lord's wishes, to the best of your ability, protect him from harm, and should it prove necesssary, if it seems Draco will fail, carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform."

As it became clear in the end, Draco's assigned task was to murder Albus Dumbledore. It may or may not be the case that the vow had some wriggle room for Snape to evade it in the phrase "should it prove necessary", but otherwise it appeared to present him with a choice of either being forced to kill Dumbledore or himself.

At the end of Harry's sixth year, Dumbledore and Harry went in search of a Horcrux, which they believed to be a locket formerly the property of Salazar Slytherin. Dumbledore was left mortally injured after drinking an unknown potion in the process of obtaining the locket. He and Harry returned to Hogwarts, to discover that it was under attack from Death Eaters. Dumbledore asked Harry to fetch Snape, but before he could do so they were surprised by Draco, atop the Astronomy Tower.

Harry was already hidden under his Invisibility Cloak, but Dumbledore's first act was to use a spell to paralyse him and thus stop him taking part in events. Draco used the moment while Dumbledore did this to launch his own spell, disarming Dumbledore. Draco and Dumbledore then talked, and Dumbledore seemed to convince Draco that what he had been doing was a terrible mistake. At this point more Death Eaters arrived, together with Snape. Snape and Dumbledore exchanged a glance, before Snape took control of the situation, and used the unforgivable curse Avada Kedavra to kill Dumbledore.



Snape's next action was to order the Death Eaters to leave Hogwarts. Harry was freed from Dumbledore's spell and tried to give chase, but Snape warned the Death Eaters not to harm him and refrained from doing so himself, even pointing out Harry's mistakes as they duelled. Snape reacted in fury when Harry called him a coward, but still did no harm to him. Snape was able to fly without support as he escaped from Hogwarts.

It was finally revealed to Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts (1998) that Dumbledore's hand injury, caused by Gaunt's Ring, gave him a prognosis of about one year. Dumbledore used Godric Gryffindor's sword to destroy the ring, and returned to Hogwarts with his injury. Snape intervened and was able to stem the curse, but only temporarily. After Snape gave an estimate of a year for Dumbledore to live, Dumbledore requested that Snape kill him when the right time came so that he could escape the inevitable painful death. After some persuasion, Snape agreed to the plan, and thus it was acted upon in the Astronomy Tower.

Death and Legacy
Although Voldemort obtained the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave, he was unable to use it properly. Believing that the only way to wield the Elder Wand was to kill its master, he ordered Nagini to kill Snape, whom he assumed to be that master. Fatally injured, Snape gave up his silvery memories to Harry, who had been concealed nearby. As he died, he asked Harry to look at him, to see Lily's eyes one last time. The memories revealed, through the Pensieve, that Snape was, and always had been, Dumbledore's man, motivated by his lifelong love for Lily Evans.

During the final duel between Harry and Voldemort, Harry revealed to Voldemort that Snape was "Dumbledore's man from the beginning", and that he was always loyal to Dumbledore. Harry also revealed that Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand, because Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore (who was the master of Elder Wand) before Snape killed him. Therefore, Draco was the true master of the Elder Wand, not Severus Snape. Voldemort was convinced up to a minute before he was destroyed that Severus Snape had always been his most loyal Death Eater. He most likely never saw through his skills as a legilimens Snape's true loyalty due to the fact his actions were motivated by love, which Voldemort neither understood nor cared about.

Snape's portrait was not automatically put into the Headmaster's office since he had essentially abandoned his post during the Battle of Hogwarts. However, Harry, in one of his acts of showing forgiveness towards Snape, made sure that his portrait was placed there. However, he never went to speak to it.

Albus Severus Potter, the second son of Harry, and the only one of Harry's children to have inherited Lily's eyes, is named after Snape. When Albus was worried that he may be sorted into Slytherin, Harry responded that Albus was named after two headmasters, one of which was a Slytherin and who was "probably the bravest man I ever knew."

Physical appearance
Snape was a tall, thin man with sallow skin and a large, hooked nose. He had shoulder-length, greasy black hair which framed his face in curtains. His cold, black eyes resembled dark tunnels; their color looked similar to Hagrid's, but contained none of the half-giant's warmth. He had a thin-lipped, sneering mouth with yellow, uneven teeth and often spoke in a soft voice. He preferred to wear black, flowing robes, giving him an appearance sometimes likened to a bat.

Personality and traits
Snape was frequently described by his students as a thoroughly unpleasant person, who generally favored students from his own House over the others. For example, in 1993, Harry and Ron found it unfair that, when Draco Malfoy arrived late to class, Snape simply told the students to "settle down," whereas had they walked in late, Snape would, more than likely, have put them both in detention.

During the Inter-House Quidditch Championship in 1995, Snape would book the pitch for the Slytherin team so frequently, the Gryffindor team would have difficulty finding time to practice; he also ignored testimony from students that one of the Slytherin players had hexed Gryffindor Chaser Katie Bell, instead insisting that Katie must have attempted a hair-thickening spell on herself and done it wrong.

Snape also held a personal dislike for Harry Potter; more because he looked and acted like James than because he was Lily's son. Harry, in turn, considered Snape his least favorite teacher, and held him in great contempt. Snape also frequently taunted Harry that James was not the great man others made him out to be. However, this is because of Snape's personal bias, having been a favorite target of James' bullying.

Magical Abilities and Skills
Snape was said to be a very powerful wizard, and had numerous skills in the magical arts.

Dark Wizard Mastery: Snape was said to be a very powerful wizard, and to have been talented while a student. He has a talent and passion for the Dark Arts. Especially proficient at curses.

Master Alchemist: He specializes in potion making.

Skilled Spell Creation: As a student at Hogwarts he is shown to have a gift for creating new spells, including Sectumsempra and the non-verbal Levicorpus and Liberacorpus.

Legilimency/Occlumency Expert: Skillful in the arts of Legilimency and Occlumency, Snape is able to both access the minds of others, and protect his own thoughts. Indeed, though Snape does not care for the term himself, Harry forms the uncomfortable impression early in the series that the Potions master is able to "read minds." As an Occlumens, Snape is able to keep his betrayal from Voldemort, a very skilled Legilimens.

Patronus Charm: Snape is the only Death Eater able to produce a Patronus, which, like Lily Potter's, is a doe.

Expert Duelist: Snape is shown to be a talented duelist, able to hold off by himself (if only briefly) a group of three Hogwarts Professors that included former dueling champion Filius Flitwick.

Flight: can fly without the use of a broom.

Healer: Helped save Katie Bell after she touched the cursed necklace, and Dumbledore after his mishap with the cursed ring. Also healed Draco when Harry used Sectumsempra on him.

Trivia

 * J.K. Rowling referred to Snape as an anti-hero because while he was incredibly brave, he bullied many of the students, particularly Harry, Hermione and Neville.
 * During his childhood, he personally knew Harry Potter's Aunt Petunia. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it was to Snape that Petunia referred when she said "that awful boy" told Lily about Dementors and Azkaban.
 * The chapter illustrations in which he appears depict Snape with a thin goatee; this is neither mentioned within the text, nor does Alan Rickman sport facial hair in the movies.