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. Snape played an important role in the war against Voldemort.

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 colour 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. Like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the ability to keep students quiet without effort. He preferred to wear black, flowing robes, giving him an appearance sometimes likened to a bat.

Born to Eileen Prince and Tobias Snape, Severus was raised in the muggle dwelling of Spinners End where he was in close proximity to Lily and Petunia Evans, the former of whom he fell deeply in love with at a very young age. In 1971 he began his first term at Hogwarts where he was sorted into Slytherin. Severus became the immediate enemy of James Potter and Sirius Black and was a frequent victim of their bullying. Snape developed a passion for the Dark Arts and pureblood supremacy, which put his friendship with Lily under strain. After leaving school he joined the Death Eaters along with a large group of his fellow Slytherins. He was described as a thoroughly unpleasant, cynical and sarcastic individual, and a persistent antagonist to Harry Potter and his friends.

Early Childhood
Severus Snape was the son of Eileen Prince, a pure-blood 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 parents. This neglect (and possible abuse by his father) may have contributed to Severus' unpleasant personality in adulthood.

Snape's parents lived in a non-wizarding town and near a river, at a place called Spinner's End. Snape continued to live there throughout his life when not at Hogwarts. At least in his later years, the district was a poor one, with cobbled streets, broken street lamps, disused factories and dilapidated houses. Lily Evans' family lived near enough that Snape noticed her as a child who could do magic and befriended her, 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 regarded him as a friend.

Information from Snape's own memories of his first meetings with Lily suggest that he was an awkward child who had difficulty making friends, even when it was important to him to make a good impression. Severus' father did not seem to approve of magic, while Severus expressed a dislike for Muggles, even though his father was one. The memories show that both he and Lily could perform deliberate wandless magic before attending Hogwarts.

Life at Hogwarts
Severus attended Hogwarts as a pupil from 1971 to 1978, and was sorted into Slytherin House, at that time led by Potions professor, Horace Slughorn. On the way to Hogwarts for his first year, Snape sat with Lily when they met James Potter and Sirius Black. This hostile first encounter, during which James and Sirius came up with the derogatory nickname "Snivellus", would set the tone for Snape's enmity with the two Gryffindor wizards for the rest of his life.

According to Sirius, Snape excelled at the Dark Arts from an early age; while still in his first year, he knew more curses and hexes than most of the seventh-year students. He reportedly was friends with a "gang of Slytherins" who "later went on to become Death Eaters", including Avery and Mulciber. Other Slytherins Sirius mentioned as being friends with Snape included Evan Rosier, Wilkes and his cousin Bellatrix Black. There is some confusion about this, as a note from the Black family tree suggests Bellatrix was born in 1951, and thus would have left school two years before Severus started. Severus also had contact with Lucius Malfoy, who was a prefect during Snape's first year. Other classmates of Snape included Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.



There was considerable friction between Severus and James Potter and his friends throughout their school years. Snape's memories, recorded in the Pensieve, suggest that he was an introverted and studious individual, whereas James was an extrovert, popular, athletic, and spoiled by his parents. According to Sirius, Snape was an "oddball up to his ears in the Dark Arts", which James despised. Also, in later years, James' crush on Lily Evans and Severus' friendship and unrequited love for her may have caused both wizards to act in jealousy.

One recorded memory in the Pensieve bears witness to James' bullying of Severus with the spell Levicorpus, Lily coming to his defence, and Severus' subsequent lashing out at James in an attempt to recover his lost pride - inadvertently calling Lily 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 fell out with his own aristocratic, pure-blood-supremacist parents, became a Gryffindor when all his family were Slytherins, and disliked other wizards of that same philosophy. Sirius became firm friends with James and they 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 during his transformation 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. Severus persisted in believing that James had only acted out of fear of punishment for his part in the trick.

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 for divination professor between Sybill Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore at the Hog's Head Inn. In the course of the interview, Trelawney prophesied that at the end of July, a child would be born who would cause the destruction of Lord Voldemort (which impressed Dumbledore sufficiently to hire her). At that time it was not clear who was meant by the prophecy, or even precisely which month was meant. 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 had come to him and explained that he had been the one to overhear the prophecy, and reported it to Voldemort.

Severus suffered terrible remorse when Voldemort discovered that Harry Potter was the subject of the prophecy, and that Lily was now in danger as a result of his actions. 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 (possibly Halloween, October 1979, approximately Harry's date of conception), but before the Potters' deaths (Halloween, 31 October 1981). 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. (the curse, of course, did mean that there would be a staff vacancy each year)

Snape was not given his requested 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 a pain in his scar and a sensation of being disliked, the first moment he exchanged glances with Snape, in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. However, Quirinus Quirrell was speaking to Snape at the time, and unknown to anyone had been possessed by Voldemort. Harry's scar always reacted to Voldemort's attention and gave him an insight into Voldemort's feelings. On this occasion, most probably Harry blamed Snape unfairly for the feelings being expressed by Voldemort. Harry's resemblance to his father and his acquired "celebrity" caused Snape to jump on the defensive in their very first Potions lesson. Once again, Snape's role as a double agent required him to hide his real feelings and views, and this may have affected his public reactions to Harry.

On several occasions Snape rescued Harry, despite his public detestation of Harry and while maintaining his position as a Death Eater. 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, though Snape was also eager to get revenge on his old enemy. While he sometimes threatened to have Harry expelled from the school, Snape never followed through. He also claimed to be unaware of Voldemort's plans to avoid being held 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 went into Snape's Pensieve and saw into his memories of being bullied by James (in the movie Harry broke through Snape's Legilimency attack to see the memory).

During Slughorn's potions classes with Harry in his sixth year, Slughorn repeatedly remarked that Harry must have inherited his potions skills from his mother. Slughorn and others repeatedly remark on the similarities between Harry's eyes and his mothers, although the rest of his face strongly resembles his father. Thus Snape was always faced simultaneously with a reminder of Harry's father, whom he hated, and his mother, whom he loved.

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 warning Harry what he was doing wrong as they duelled. Snape reacted in fury when Harry called him a coward, but still did no harm to him.

It was finally revealed to Harry during the Battle of Hogwarts (1998) that Dumbledore's hand injury, caused by Gaunt's Ring, was only the outward sign of a fatal curse. 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 this finally took place upon the Astronomy Tower.

Headmaster
In 1997, Snape was appointed headmaster after the Ministry of Magic was taken by Voldemort and Pius Thicknesse was appointed Minister for Magic. Death Eaters, Alecto and Amycus Carrow were appointed as his deputies. Snape's memories show that during his time as headmaster, he consulted with the portraits of the previous headmasters, and continued to receive instructions from Dumbledore's portrait. In particular, he placed the Sword of Gryffindor in a forest pool where Harry would find it, led to the place by Snape's patronus. A subterfuge took place whereby Voldemort seized the Sword displayed in its glass case in the headmaster's office, but this had been replaced with a fake. The real sword had been hidden behind Dumbledore's portrait. As a headmaster, Snape was thouroughly disliked by the students who attempted to rebel against him and the Carrows. The revolt was led by the members of Dumbledore's Army, recruited two years earlier by Harry. Snape subtly undermined the attempts of the Carrows to keep control by means such as sending student to help Hagrid as punishments.

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."

Rita Skeeter published a book about Snape's life, entitled Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?, sometime after his death.

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 had difficulty getting time on the pitch to practice. He also ignored testimony from students that Miles Bletchley had jinxed Gryffindor Chaser Alicia Spinnet while she worked in the library, instead insisting that Alicia must have attempted a Hair-Thickening Charm on herself and done it wrong.

Snape also held a great 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 may be because of Snape's personal bias, having been a favorite target of James' bullying. Snape also made snide comments to students such as Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom, considering the former an "insufferable know-it-all" and the latter incompetant. Their membership in Gryffindor house and friendship with Harry probably contributed to Snape's dislike.

Despite his vindictiveness, and occasional cruelty, Snape acted with great bravery and selflessness to honour the sacrifice made by Lily, who he always loved, in spite of personally despising Harry and his father.

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. This is proven in the sixth book when Harry comes across Snape's old potions book which contained useful edits to potion instructions that usually bore quicker and better results than the original instructions.

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. This could very well be because he is not a loyal Death Eater. Snape performs it easily, and shows us his unconditional love for Lily in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

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 and extremely powerful witch Minerva McGonagall.

Flight: Snape 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.

Behind the scenes

 * 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, even though Harry thought she was referring to his father.
 * The chapter illustrations by Mary GrandPré in the American editions depict Snape with a thin goatee. Rowling's own drawing of Snape, which she held up to the camera in Harry Potter and Me, showed him with a full beard and thick mustache. However, it is nowhere mentioned within the text that Snape has facial hair, nor does Alan Rickman sport any in the films.
 * J.K. Rowling has stated that Snape was loosely based on an unpleasant teacher she had as a child.