Severus Snape

Severus Snape is the son of Eileen Prince, a witch, and Tobias Snape, a muggle. He was born January 9th, approxiamately 1958, attending Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardy approximately 1969 to 1976. The exact dates are uncertain, but Sirius Black, who was a classmate, reported that Severus attended school at least partially at the same time as Sirius' cousin, Bellatrix Black, and a 'gang of Slytherins', who 'later went on to become death eaters'. Bella's published birth year, and other comments from J. K. Rowling approximately determine his birth year. Other classmates included Harry's mother Lily Evans and the marauders: Harry's father James Potter, Sirius, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

Severus was sorted into Slytherin house, which at that time was led by Professor of Potions, Horace Slughorn. It is not known what he did after leaving school, but in approximately 1981 he was himself appointed Professor of Potions, when Slughorn retired. In 1996 he was appointed to the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, being replaced as Potions teacher once again by Slughorn (as decribed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). At some point in his teaching career he also became head of Slytherin house. It is clear that Snape's preference from the start was to become 'Dark Arts' professor. Sirius reports that he 'knew more hexes and curses than most seventh years', when he started school. However, Albus Dumbledore was aware that the position was cursed, so that anyone taking it would be forced to leave within a year. Dumbledore refused to give the job to Snape until the start of the most recent school year.

Life at school
There was considerable friction between Severus and James throughout their school career. Reportedly, James instantly distrusted Severus because of his ability with the dark arts. James best friend was Sirius Black, who fell out with his own parents, who were 'aristocratic' pureblood supremacists and looked down on any other kind of wizard. Sirius rebelled against this, and it may be that his distrust of his own family extended to Snape, who Sirius claimed kept company with his disliked cousin Bella. Sirius was the only member of his family not sorted into Slytherin house, suggesting that the split with his family did indeed exist before he started school. Sirius also reported that he believed Severus was jealous of James. However, it may be that exactly the reverse was true and this explanation given to Harry was more a reflection of James' and Sirius' interpretation of events than Snape's. The events of Snape's life suggest that he was a serious, introverted and studious individual, whereas James was popular, sporty, an extrovert and considerably spoilt by his parents. It seems likely that those things which most appealed to James would be of least interest to Severus.

James fell in love with Lily from in or before their fifth year at school, but did not manage to date her until their seventh. Harry sees a memory which Snape had stored in Dumbledore's Pensieve during occlumency lessons. This showed Snape being bullied by James, and Lily attempting to rescue him. The chapter heading from the book suggests that this is 'Snapes worst Memory', but it is not certain exactly what makes it so. It is clearly the case that James and Severus would curse each other throughout their school career, though it is not known whether one or the other normally came out best. In this particular memory, James thoroughly humiliates Severus in front of the whole school, even using a spell (Levicorpus) which Snape had invented. The scene is complicated because Lily intervenes, but is then insulted for her efforts and gives up the attempt. It may be this insulting of Lily which makes this the worst memory. It is not clear that Snape intended to insult Lily. Oddly, he does not address her directly, but instead makes the remark calling her a 'mudblood', to James. This may have been deliberately intended to upset James, rather than Lily, since the memory suggests that James had been making a very poor job of hiding the fact that he was in love with Lily. Lily professed her detestation of James and his actions. In any event, the result was that James was indeed more angered by the remark than was Lily. There is a consistent reaction by other characters (Harry, Hermione, Ron, etc) at other points in the books, where those brought up in families of pureblood wizards all react much more strongly to this insult than do those with some muggle background, and Snape may have considered this when he used the remark.

Remus reports that once James and Lily had begun to date, James told Lily he had stopped bullying anyone. Lily made it clear in the pensieve scene that she did not approve of bullying. The scene also shows James behaving poorly to Peter Pettigrew, who supposedly is his friend. However, he continued to bully Snape, though he did stop bullying others. This suggests that there was some particular reason he continued. It may be that this is entirely explained by Snape's fondness for the dark arts, but he was not unique in this. What may have been unique, was his interest in potions, where he shared advanced classes with Lily (recognised by Slughorn as a potions genius), but not with James.

During Slughorn's potions lessons with Harry, he repeatedly remarks on Harry's ability and that it must have been inherited from his mother, who was truly outstanding at potions. Neither Slughorn, nor anyone else, ever comments on Snape's ability at school in potions. He was clearly good enough at the subject to take the advanced course, and later became teacher, but it was his second choice of subject. Harry's ability is due to helpfull notes in an old textbook which is loaned to him from the potions storeroom. The book has an inscription that it is 'property of the Half-blood Prince', and it is finally admitted by Snape that this was his nickname. However, there is no clear explanation of why Slughorn praises Lily as his best student, yet fails to mention Snape who ends up with innovative potions tips (of exactly the sort Slughorn claims Lily invented), in his book. This suggests some connection between Snape and Lily, which may have been the cause of James' jealousy.

The potions book also contained some spells which Snape specifically claimed to have invented, including: Levicorpus somehow escaped from Snape, and became very popular around the school towards the end of his fifth year at school. Harry observes that there is a difference in the way the potions tips and the the spells are written into the books. The spells look to Harry as if someone had been working on them. making corrections in the book, whereas the potions tips were written in without corrections. Remus reported that Snape never used the nickname 'Half-blood Prince' at school. Hermione's researches ultimately discovered that the 'Prince' was his mothers maiden name, but the 'half blood' is something of an insult, with similar but lesser connotation to the 'mudblood' insult which Severus used against Lily. This is particulaly the case for someone in Slytherin house, and who customarily kept company with purebloods conscious of their supposed superiority.
 * Levicorpus (which grabs the victim by the ankle and dangles them upside-down)
 * Muffliato (which fills the ears of anyone nearby with an "unidentifiable buzzing sound")
 * Langlock (which glues the victim's tongue to the roof of his or her mouth)
 * Sectumsempra (which causes slashing cuts guided by hand gestures)

James and Sirius were in the habit of playing tricks on Snape, and in one of these Sirius decided it would be fun to trick Snape into visiting the Shrieking Shack at a time when Remus would be there, transformed into a werewolf. This would have been extremely dangerous for Severus, and in the end James warned Severus about the trick. Dumbledore argues that as a result Severus owed James a debt for saving his life. Whatever Severus felt about this, it seems clear that he was on very bad terms with James, and that his feelings about James were in some part transferred to Harry. It is repeatedly remarked that Harry looks exactly like James, except that he has Lily's eyes. The result of this seems to be that many characters react to Harry initially as if he is James, but then on closer inspection as Lily. This would clearly cause some confusion for Snape, if Harry simultaneously reminds him of one friend and one enemy.

Involvement with Death Eaters
Snape eventually became a Death Eater, and was responsible for telling Lord Voldemort about the prophecy of the one who would kill the Dark Lord. Dumbledore tells Harry that Snape overheard Sybill Trelawney telling him the prophecy at the Hog's Head Inn. At that time it was not clear who was meant by the prophecy. Afterwards it became clear it referred to either Harry or Neville Longbottom (who were both born at the time predicted in the prophecy), and led to Voldemort seeking Harry's death. Dumbledore reported at the trial of Igor Karkaroff that Snape had come to him and explained that he had been the one to overhear the prophecy, and report it to Voldemort. Snape had then become a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and worked for Dumbledore. Why he defected, and whether it was this admission alone that so convinced Dumbledore, is unknown. It seems unlikely that Snape would have suffered remorse at endangering James, but it may be that he felt more fondly about Lily.

In the last book, Harry runs into Sybill Trelawney, who tells him about her job interview for Hogwarts, which was also the occasion of her prophecy to Dumbledore. Trelawney is not aware when she makes a prophecy, and only told Harry that she recalled feeling light headed. However, she also tells Harry that her interview was interrupted by Snape bursting in after her dizziness. This has been much discussed as an important contradiction between her version of events, and that told by Dumbledore. If Snape entered the room after the prophecy was complete, it suggests that he should have heard all of it, not merely the section which he reported to Voldemort. Perhaps he could not hear it, because he was involved in a scuffle with Aberforth Dumbledore, but in any event Trelawney definitely states that Snape and Aberforth entered the room. In Dumbledore's account, Snape was directly thrown out of the inn by Aberforth, without ever entering the room. If Snape heard all the prophecy, then he deliberately failed to report all of it to Voldemort. A further difficulty is the coincidence of Snape managing to lurk outside Trelawney's room at just the right moment to overhear some part of the prophecy, yet not hear exactly that part of it which might have warned Voldemort of an approaching trap. It has been suggested that a much simpler explanation is that Snape chose which part to relate to Voldemort, indeed may have been summoned to apparate to the room by Dumbledore the instant Trelawney ceased to prophecy, arriving with Aberforth just as she was becoming aware of her surroundings.

We know that Dumbledore had spies in the Death Eaters, and that one of them warned Dumbledore that the Potters were the next target. It would be interesting to know if Snape was this one. Flickwick mentions that Dumbledore had 'spies', implying more than one.

Both Voldemort and Dumbledore appear convinced that Severus is loyal to them. We are not aware of any act of murder or other 'typical' death eater behaviour committed by Snape before Voldemort's fall, except reporting the prophecy to Voldemort. Although this act endangered the people involved in the prophecy, the result was that Voldemort switched his attention to discovering the prophecy secrets, and resulted in his losing his body, the dispersal of his followers and a halt to his reign of terror. The Potters' deaths can be directly attributed to the actions of Peter Pettigrew, who turned out to be an effective spy for Voldemort. Looked at objectively, reporting the prophecy to Voldemort resulted in benefits for Dumbledore's side in the war.

Teaching Career at Hogwarts
Snape applied for a job teaching Defence against the dark arts at Hogwarts, acting under Voldemort's instructions. It is not known why Voldemort wanted this, but it is reasonable to suppose he wished to place a spy near to Dumbledore. The fact that Snape had not comitted any overt acts as a death eater meant that he could maintain a cover as an innocent party. The timing of this application is of interest. We do not have sufficient information to be certain when specific actions happened, but Snape's application came after the prophecy, but before the Potters deaths. It may be that specifically Voldemort sought a spy who could tell him about Hogwarts students, and might be able to report information from the magical scroll at Hogwarts which records all magical births. That Voldemort asked him to apply for a job which Voldemort had himself cursed, suggests that Voldemort did not intend him to remain in the job for more than one year.

As a teacher, Snape is a rutheless disciplinarian, who shows favouritism to some students. Nevertheless he appears to be effective in his job and seems well regarded professionally by the other teachers. He shows knowledge and a deep understanding of potions brewing, as exampled when he brews the complicated Wolfsbane potion for Remus Lupin. Our view of him as a teacher is confused by the fact that we only see him teaching classes including Harry, and our view always concentrates on how he behaves to Harry and his friends. This may not be typical of his behaviour in other circumstances. Harry's resemblance to his father affects many other people in the books, and it is reasonable to assume that Snape reacts badly to him because of this. However, there may be deeper reasons for his behaviour. Snape is acting as a double agent, and Harry specifically is of utmost interest to both of his supposed masters. Snape is therefore constrained by his role as spy to act towards Harry in a way which will satisfy both Dumbledore and Voldemort. While he is mean to Harry, on several occasions when he might have inflicted real harm, he in fact rescues him. When Harry is attacked by Professor Quirrell who attempts to jinx Harry's broom, Snape performs a counter curse. He defends Harry from Sirius Black, when he believes Sirius was the person who betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. While he sometimes threatens to have Harry expelled from the school, he never quite follows through. It is clear that Dumbledore has harboured suspicions that Voldemort might be able to read Harry's mind for some time. This becomes explicit in Order of the Phoenix, but it may have been a consideration for both Dumbledore and Snape for a much longer time. It may be that Snape is concerned not simply that reports of his behaviour towards Harry might reach Voldemort (via classmates Draco Malfoy and perhaps Crab and Goyle), but that Voldemort might actually be watching. In Philosopher's Stone it is the case that Voldemort is physically present at the school, and while Snape claims to Voldemort that he was unaware of this, it may not be the case. In Goblet of Fire there is another of Voldemort's agents loose in Hogwarts, and while Snape may not have known this precisely, it was clear that someone had used magic to make Harry a competitor in the Triwizard Tournament.

Unbreakable Vows
At the start of 'half blood prince' Snape is visited by Bella and Narcissa to beg help for Narcissa's son Draco. Snape swears 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'.

The last clause of the vow is the most difficult for Snape. It is not stated explicitly but becomes clear through the book, that Draco's task is to kill Dumbledore. It may or may not be the case that the vow has some wriggle room for Snape to evade it in 'should it prove necessary', but otherwise it appears to present Severus with a choice of either killing Dumbledore, or dying himself, once Draco has clearly failed at the task. It is not known whether Snape knew or guessed what the task was at the time he made the vow.

From the very start of the book, Dumbledore appears with a withered hand, and explains that it was only with Snape's immediate aid that he did not die from the injury. This injury never improves during the year or so timespan of the book, suggesting that it is indeed serious. Again, it has been suggested that at the time Snape made the vow, he could have known that Dumbledore had already suffered an injury which would eventually prove to be fatal. Thus, he might have agreed to aid in Dumbledore's murder reasonably safe in the knowledge that Dumbledore was likely to die anyway before he would be called upon to fulfil that vow. Dumbledore too behaves throughout the book as if he expects to die, passing on last encouragements and vital information to Harry in a way he has not done before.

Closing act of the tragedy
Towards the end of 'half blood prince', aptly named as it is all about Snape, Dumbledore and Harry go in search of a Horcrux, which they believe to be a locket formerly the property of Salazar Slytherin and which is hidden in a cave. Dumbledore is seriously injured by being forced to drink an unknown potion before he can reach the locket. He and Harry return to Hogwarts, to discover that it is under attack from Death Eaters. Dumbledore asks Harry to fetch Snape, but before he can do so they are surprised by Draco, atop the astronomy tower.

Harry is already hidden under his Invisibility Cloak, but Dumbledore's first act is to use a spell to paralyse him and thus stop him taking part in events. Draco uses the moment while Dumbledore does this to launch his own spell, disarming Dumbledore. Draco and Dumbledore then talk, and Dumbledore indeed convinces Draco that what he has been doing is a terrible mistake. At this point more death eaters arrive, together with Snape. Snape and Dumbledore exchange a glance, before Snape takes control of the situation, and uses an unforgivable curse Avada Kedavra to kill Dumbledore.

Snape's next action is to order the Death Eaters to leave Hogwarts. Harry is freed from his spell and tries to give chase, but Snape warns the death eaters not to harm him, and even points out Harry's mistakes as they duel. The only time Snape becomes truly upset is when Harry calls him a coward. Snape reacts in fury, but still does no harm to Harry.

The events around Dumbledore's death are confusing and complex. Even if it is assumed that Dumbledore expected to die that night, it is not clear why he behaved so recklessly in the sea cave, drinking an unknown potion which might have killed him on the spot. One suggestion is that he used Felix Felicis, liquid luck, and like Harry earlier in the book, was reacting on instinct as situations arose, and taking 'risks' which always turned out well. Another suggestion is that despite the vow, Snape had not agreed to kill dumbledore should it come to that extreme. He is overheard by Hagrid arguing with Dumbledore that he will not do something previously agreed. It may be that Dumbledore placed himself in such a terrible postion atop the astronomy tower, already fatally poisoned by the potion he had drunk, that Snape would have no choice but to despatch him, as a matter of mercy. Thus Snape would be forced to carry out whatever plan Dumbledore may have devised, to take whatever advantage may be possible, now acting as a spy inside Voldemorts headquarters.

Whatever the circumstances, Snape is in a difficult position. The only person who has always maintained Snape's loyalty is now dead, at Snape's own hand. If he is still working for Dumbledore, then he will have obvious difficulties aiding Harry, who believes him to be a traitor. If he is truly working for Voldemort, then it seems likely his demise will come with that of his master at the conclusion of the series. Either way, he must be one of the principal characters most likely to die in the final book. If it transpires that he has indeed spent his whole life working against Voldemort, then this truly will be a tragic ending to the books.