Portrait of a Potions Master

An exhaustive description of Severus Snape across all seven Harry Potter books.

This essay was written by CMa Overdensity. Started on May 22nd, 2024, and published @ cmaoverdensity.neocities.org on December 1st, 2024. Last edited July 10th, 2025.

Image above © J.K. Rowling. This work is a nonprofit educational essay that complies with Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright, 17 U.S.C. § 107 (Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use).

Introduction
Appearance
Personality
Speech
Skills
Relationships
History
Miscelleneous Information
Citations

Introduction

Even a year after the publication of the first version of this essay, Severus Snape is still in my consciousness. He is a complicated character: he is both the bully and bullied, abused and abuser. That’s what makes him such a fascinating - and incendiary - character. There is no more to say: this essay will give you everything you could possibly want to know about him.

This essay only covers the main seven Harry Potter books, from Philosopher’s Stone to Deathly Hallows, including the epilogue. Cursed Child, Pottermore/Wizarding World articles, movies, video games, and Rowling’s interviews will not be counted. Furthermore, I am attempting to cover Snape in as non-biased a manner as I possibly can, minimising my own interpretations and instead letting the text speak for itself. Spinoff characterisation of Snape will be covered in Impressions of a Potions Master, and my own interpretations of him in Palette of a Potions Master (neither of which are published at the moment).

So, who was Severus Snape?

Appearance

Physical Appearance

Snape was a thin¹ man with sallow skin,² shorter than both Sirius³ and Yaxley.⁴ His long⁵ black⁶ hair is greasy⁷ and framed his thin,⁸ gaunt⁹ face between two curtains of hair.¹⁰ His large,¹¹ hooked¹² nose had long,¹³ large¹⁴ nostrils, and his thin¹⁵ mouth had uneven,¹³ yellowed teeth.¹⁶ Snape’s black eyes¹⁷ lacked the warmth of Hagrid’s black eyes and being like “dark tunnels”.¹⁸ His fingers were thin¹⁹ and long,²⁰ and like other Death Eaters, he had the Dark Mark - a vivid red tattoo of a snake coming from the mouth of a skull²¹ - on his left forearm.²² Snape was described as ugly in-narration²³ and by James through the Marauders’ Map.¹³ Snape normally²⁴ wore black,²⁵ though had been shown wearing grey¹⁴ and green²⁶ once each. He wore a black robe²⁷ that was long enough to cover his legs²⁸ and a long black cloak²⁹ once mentioned with a hood.³⁰ Snape had a menacing presence,³¹ able to silence a class with his mere appearance,³² and was often compared to a bat.³³

Snape retained all of his adult features as a child.³⁴ His hair was mentioned to be straight,³⁵ and it was dirty and poorly cut before he went to Hogwarts.³⁶ His body was stringy³⁶ and scrawny,³⁷ with angular features yet round shoulders.³⁵ He looked like a plant kept in the dark³⁵ and “conspicuously” lacked the appearance of being loved.³⁵ Child Snape resembled his mother Eileen greatly, possibly inheriting her sallow skin and long, pale face. Though not mentioned directly, he could have also inherited her heavy eyebrows.³⁸ Snape’s hooked nose was a trait likely passed to him by his father Tobias.³⁷ Before arriving at Hogwarts, he wore odd, incorrectly sized, mismatched, “dreadful” Muggle clothes that he quickly ditched for his school robes.³⁶

Movement

Snape’s prowling walk was so characteristic that a first-year Harry used it to spot him both from a distance and while Snape wore a hood.³⁰ Even Snape said he prowled.¹⁴Prowl and its conjugations were significantly associated with Snape (measured as one standard deviation from the average), as he was one-fourth of all sixteen uses of the word. Was he significant in any other movement? No. Snape was significant for sweep, with sixteen of fifty-four uses being applied to him, but Dumbledore swept sweep with half. Similarly, eleven out of one hundred forty four uses of stride applied to Snape, but he was tied with Dumbledore, and unmatched by Harry (17) and Hagrid (18).

Snape often used dramatic gestures, whirling about to leave,³⁹ bowing ironically to Umbridge,⁴⁰ and picking up a card with a “flourish”.⁴¹ He often surprised others by appearing suddenly.⁴² Snape traced his mouth with a finger when thinking deeply,³ and wrung his hands looking “a little mad” with fear when secretly meeting Dumbledore as a Death Eater.³⁶ When angry, he clenched his teeth,⁴³ and once paced around Dumbledore’s office when complaining about Harry.³⁵

When Snape was younger, he idly tore up leaves in anger.³⁷ As a student, he walked in a “twitchy manner that recalled a spider.”³⁵

Personality

Unpleasantness

Snape’s vindictiveness and sarcasm was noted by both the narrative and other characters,¹ criticizing others while demanding respect for himself.² Despite saying he treated him like “any other student”,³ his favourite target was Harry. Snape took joy in his distress⁴ and academic struggles,⁵ blaming him for things he never did,⁶ contriving reasons to punish him,⁷ and forcing attention on him out of a belief that Harry was attention-seeking.⁸ This behaviour started when Harry first came to Hogwarts - having done nothing wrong⁹ - and continued throughout his schooling. His nastiness towards Harry extended to threats too, threatening him with Veritaserum (a controlled substance) because he thought he was lying.¹⁰

Snape didn’t spontaneously decide to target Harry. Instead, Harry was a proxy for his father, James,¹¹ whom Lupin said Snape never missed an opportunity to hex.¹² He also targeted James’ friends, the Marauders. He tried to stop Lupin from being hired, attempted to get him fired, and had no problem letting his soul get sucked out of him by a Dementor.¹³ He wanted Sirius to suffer the same fate, and constantly reminded him of his uselessness being stuck inside Grimmauld Place.¹⁴ He treated Pettigrew like a servant and threatened him with more exciting work when he complained.¹⁵ Snape likely made Sectumsempra - a Dark spell labeled as “for enemies” - to deal with the Marauders as a whole, as he didn’t have any other known enemies.¹⁶

Snape was also unpleasant to people he saw as incompetent, such as Neville and Lockhart. To Neville, he “bulli[ed]” him for his poor Potions skill, not caring that Neville’s anxiety from being targeted was causing him to perform worse.¹⁷ At the Duelling Club, Snape gave Lockhart “murderous” looks and threw his words back at him in volunteering him to go into the Chamber of Secrets.¹⁸

Most of Snape’s speech was sarcastic, the particulars of which will be discussed later. “Saintly” James was involved in a “highly amusing joke” of Sirius’ - a “joke” that almost got Snape killed.¹⁹ Bellatrix’s imprisonment and subsequent uselessness to Voldemort is a “most admirable [...] gesture”.¹⁹ Even under stress, he defaulted to sarcasm, responding to Dumbledore telling him that he must kill him by asking him if he has time to compose an epigraph.²⁰ Along with sarcasm was his tendency to insult others, either directly or indirectly. It would be easier to list people that Snape hasn’t insulted than to list everyone he has. Harry especially was frequently criticised for being unintelligent and lazy.²¹ His colleagues were not spared from his critique, as he said that Lupin graded too lightly.²²

Favouritism

Snape’s bias towards Slytherin was common knowledge in-universe,¹ and was mentioned in narration.² He didn’t punish Draco for instigating a fight, and paused to let Slytherins laugh when he read Rita Skeeter’s article on Harry’s love life to the class.³ Goyle was told to go to the hospital wing after being hexed, while he insulted a hexed Hermione afterwards.⁴ Against fourteen witnesses, he insisted that the Slytherin Keeper did not hex a Gryffindor player.⁵

He was also biased against Gryffindor, seeing them as the brawn to Slytherin’s brain.⁶ Snape interfered in their Quidditch practice sessions, mocked Harry for being stuck in detention with him and unable to practice, and awarded penalties against Gryffindor in a match for “no reason at all”.⁷ He intentionally ignored Hermione’s attempts to engage in his class, choosing her only when he had “no choice”.⁸ This occurred even before she was friends with Harry. Towards other Gryffindors, he made “waspish” remarks about their potions, while praising Draco’s work, whose skill was unremarked upon for the rest of the series.¹

Intelligence, Deception, and Subtlety

Voldemort and Sirius both agreed that Snape was clever, and as the Prince, Ron even called him a “genius”.¹ As a student, he won awards for his Potions skill, corrected his Potions textbook, and created spells (something that can kill adult wizards).² He viewed Potions as a “subtle science” and “exact art” with “little foolish wand-waving”.³ To protect the Philosopher’s Stone, he hid a fire protection potion with poisons, only to be revealed through a riddle - as some wizards lack logic despite having magical skill.⁴ Though Dumbledore told him to keep an eye on Quirrell, Snape was the one that deduced that he was working for Voldemort.⁵ With only Dumbledore’s warning that Harry would be hostile to him, he still figured out a way to give him the true sword of Gryffindor.⁶

Snape was also talented at deception, citing his ability to deceive as instrumental to his success as a spy.⁷ He convinced Bellatrix that he hadn’t changed sides, and admitted his loyalty to Dumbledore to Draco while making Draco believe he was still loyal to Voldemort.⁸ Snape even deceived Voldemort with his loyalty.⁹ In front of Umbridge, he played dumb about knowing who Sirius was, allowing him to warn the Order that Sirius was in danger without her becoming suspicious.¹⁰ When he petitioned Dumbledore to protect Lily, he told him to protect all of the Potters if it meant Lily would be protected, despite not caring if James or Harry died.⁶

Snape valued subtlety, pointing out his class’ and Harry’s lack of it.¹¹ He alluded to Harry petrifying Mrs. Norris without making a direct accusation.¹² His preference for indirect methods of dealing with problems was exemplified in his interactions with Lupin. First, he assigned an essay on werewolves to have a student figure it out. Then, he implied to Dumbledore that Lupin is involved with Sirius, who was believed to have killed the Potters.¹³ With the Marauders’ Map, he never directly accuses Lupin of being involved in the Map’s creation, instead saying that Harry must’ve gotten it from its “original manufacturers”.¹⁴ In a last ditch effort after Sirius escapes, he let Lupin’s secret slip to the student population, which caused enough of an outrage that Lupin stepped down.¹⁵

Emotional Range (of a Teaspoon)

Snape’s emotional range was restricted, seeing those who express emotions as weak and indecent.¹ In stressful situations, including his loyalty being questioned,² someone being hurt,³ and him being threatened and attacked,⁴ he remained calm, with exception to when he spoke to Voldemort.⁵

Snape often only felt happiness at someone else’s expense, either smugly⁸ or in triumph.⁷ His smiles were often described as smirks,⁸ and when they weren’t, they were described as twisted,⁹ nasty,¹⁰ unpleasant,¹¹ horrible,¹² sneering,¹³ mocking,¹⁴ and malicious.¹⁵ His tendency to sneer was noted by Harry, the person he sneered at the most.¹⁶

Snape paled, shook, and shouted when angry or distressed.¹⁷ Harry seeing his worst memory was enough for him to get physical, throwing objects and Harry while shouting for him to get out.¹⁸ Dealing with Sirius and Lupin in the Shrieking Shack made him look “quite deranged”, and was unhinged while blaming Harry for Sirius’ escape.¹⁹ Snape hated being called a coward.²⁰ Harry received most of his anger,²¹ but also the Marauders²² and even Dumbledore.²³

Snape was rarely afraid. He backed out of Lupin’s office to keep an eye on him, was on edge with Sirius, and avoided Moody.²⁴ He was afraid of becoming a double-agent again,²⁵ and clearly feared Voldemort when they met in the Shrieking Shack.²⁶

Snape only cried over Lily. After she died, he made a “terrible sound, like a wounded animal” and looked as though he had lived “a hundred years of misery” since petitioning Dumbledore to save her. Then, before assuming his position as Headmaster of Hogwarts in Voldemort’s reign, he cried while taking a picture of her with him from Grimmauld Place.²⁷

Snape’s Good Traits

Did Snape have any good traits? Dumbledore thought he did, as he implied his bravery for staying at Hogwarts when Voldemort returned.¹ Snape became a double-agent again when this happened despite his clear fear. Despite the danger in doing so, Snape lied to Voldemort, someone he himself called the “greatest living Legilimens”.² Even when he was a Death Eater, he sought out Dumbledore, someone who could have easily and rightfully killed him, in order to ask him to protect Lily.¹ He pursued Quirrell (who hosted Voldemort),³ as well as trying to capture Lupin and Sirius, two people he believed were dangerous.⁴

Snape didn’t care that he was making himself unpopular amongst Hogwarts staff when he was protecting Harry from Quirrell.⁵ Nor did he jump at Draco wanting him to be Headmaster, the prospect of being awarded any Orders of Merlin, or to finally become the Defense professor.⁶ For the former, he was more angry at Sirius escaping than not being awarded for capturing him.⁷ Even after getting the Defense position, something he had wanted for years, all he offered was a raised hand in “lazy acknowledgement”.⁸

Snape remained loyal to Lily even after their friendship ended and after her death, being manipulated into protecting Harry for her sake.¹ Him telling Voldemort the prophecy led to her death, though he didn’t expect him to target Harry and her, and petitioned Dumbledore to protect her.¹ Her death was Snape’s biggest regret.⁹

Other Traits

Snape was a nosy man, covertly Legilimencing others¹ to the extent that both Harry² and Draco knew he did it.³ As a child, his curiosity almost got him killed in his pursuit of knowing what happened to Lupin every full moon.⁴ His snooping let him ferret out rule-breakers, which he had distaste for due to James.⁵ He ascribed similar behaviour to Harry, and often took points from the Weasley twins for causing trouble.⁶

Personality of a Younger Snape

Young Snape was as vindictive as his adult counterpart, especially to James, noted by adult Sirius to be someone he never missed an opportunity to hex, and Petunia, whom he hurt after she insulted him.¹ He was also more expressive, tearing up leaves when talking about his home life, his “humiliation [...] and fury” causing him to slur Lily, and being “incoherent” in his hate for James.² However, his attitude towards James was likely based in fear - drawing his wand when he saw him and Sirius “as though he had been expecting an attack”.³ However, Snape was also socially awkward, fumbling to talk to Lily for the first time and redirecting her questions about his friends to instead be about James.²

Snape’s eventual joining of the Death Eaters was foreshadowed by his dislike of Muggles in childhood, seeming ashamed of his Muggle heritage.² He was unhappy at home - crying when his father yelled at his mother - and didn’t entertain talking about it to Lily, redirecting to talk instead about how much he looks forward to going to Hogwarts.⁴ Along with treating Petunia poorly for being a Muggle, he quickly changed out of his “dreadful” Muggle clothes and into his school robes as soon as he could. Despite his anti-Muggle prejudice evolving to include Muggleborns like Lily, he regretted slurring her.²

Speech

Acoustics

Snape’s speech was associated with specific words describing its tone and volume. Research of this type was done before by said-snape-softly on Tumblr, though they noted that their data may have been inaccurate due to how it was gathered. I manually read through all of Snape’s dialogue to pick out verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, totalling in 234 adjectives/adverbs, and 590 verbs. I counted adjectives and adverbs as one due to a lack of semantic difference between them. These numbers were charted, and can be found in the Citations section under Speech, Acoustics.

27.6% of all adjectives/adverbs associated with Snape’s speech describe softness, such as soft, low, or quiet. His speech was described as loud only twice, and was only in reference to his normal speech; he did not speak loudly but louder.¹ When Snape was being loud, verbs were used instead, occurring most often in Prisoner of Azkaban when he was in clear distress. 20.9% of all adjectives/adverbs describe anger, and a further 20.1% describe coldness. He spoke with deliberation when hiding information, such as to Bellatrix or to Harry when teaching him Occlumency.³ The most common specific adjectives/adverbs for Snape’s speech were coldly (14.2%), softly (13.4%), quietly (9.7%), curtly (5.2%), and low (4.5%).

Verbs associated with Snape’s speech most often showed anger (5.4%), shouting (4.6%), hissing/sneering (2.7%), and soft-spokenness (2.7%). said was the majority of all verbs associated with his speech (48.5%), followed by dialogue without any verbs (29.1%). Snape engaging in deception, such as with teaching Harry Occlumency and lying to Bellatrix and Draco, was more likely to lack verbs than any other situation.⁴ The most common specific verbs were asked (2.6%), snarled (2.2%), shouted (1.9%), sneered (1.4%), hissed (1.4%), snapped (1.2%), and spat (1%).

Snape’s dialogue was written in all capitals when surprised, distressed, or angry.⁵

Sarcasm

Snape used false politeness towards Harry, whom he told to have a “good day” after threatening him with expulsion, and to Lockhart, reminding him that he “believe[d] [himself to be] the Potions Master at this school”.¹ He used false sympathy towards Sirius while he was stuck at Grimmauld Place, Bellatrix for her “most admirable” imprisonment, and Harry when making him rewrite records of Sirius and James' punishments.² Multiple times, he described something as “touching” without being touched.³

Snape condescended to others by repeatedly using names as though expecting his communication partner to become distracted,⁴ repeatedly asking if he was understood,⁵ and using his communication partner’s own words against them.⁶ He employed words such as plain[ly], clearly, obviously, surely, and undoubtedly⁷ to emphasise that his communication partner should be able to understand his intent without him having to point it out.

Snape’s sarcasm was present under stress, such as when Dumbledore told him he had to kill him, and when he saw Harry looking at his worst memory.⁸

Insults and Compliments

Towards Harry, he focused on his arrogance,¹ mediocrity,² similarity to James,³ and poor academics/magical skill.⁴ He called Hermione an insufferable know-it-all who regurgitated books and didn’t know when to shut up.⁵ He insulted Neville’s poor potioneering.⁶ He also insulted Ron’s academics but also his friendship with Harry.⁷ Snape took issue with James’ choice to be in Gryffindor and called him cowardly for ganging up on him.⁸ He emphasised Sirus’ uselessness to the Order and told him Dumbledore wouldn’t take him seriously because he lived in his mother's house.⁹ He pointed out Bellatrix’s uselessness as well, being stopped from getting the prophecy by six children.¹⁰ Snape was unique in using certain words as insults, such as hocus pocus,¹¹ dunderheads,¹² moronic,¹³ and dunces.¹⁴

Snape has only insulted someone’s blood status twice: once dismissing Petunia for being a Muggle, and then calling Lily a “filthy little Mudblood”.¹⁵ The only time he insulted someone's appearance was when he told Hermione that he saw "no difference" after her teeth had been hexed to grow.¹⁶ He physically threatened Sirius once, telling him to "give [him] a reason" to attack him.¹⁷

Snape gave compliments sparingly, complimenting Draco’s potion, telling Harry his first attempt at Occlumency wasn’t as “poor as it might have been”, and calling one of Hermione’s answers “correct in essentials” despite dismissing it.¹⁸ Lily received the most compliments, as he complimented her magical abilities and character.¹⁹

Names and Titles

I compared Snape and McGonagall for their use of names versus titles or honorifics. She was chosen because she was Snape’s peer as Head of House, and were compared occasionally in the text.¹

Both of them referred to students by their last names only, using honorifics for female students more often than male ones. For example, Snape almost exclusively referred to Hermione as Miss Granger,² while only referring to Ron as Weasley. However, Snape used honorifics the most towards Draco,³ who was the only student he called by their first name only.⁴

While McGonagall preferred to call Harry Potter, she did, on some occasions, call him Harry.⁵ Snape, by comparison, has never called him Harry. Snape used Harry’s full name when mocking his celebrity status or when talking to Death Eaters.⁶ He was inconsistent in referring to him as Lily or James’ son.⁷

McGonagall has called Dumbledore by his first name before,⁸ but Snape has never. He referred to him as Headmaster four times more⁹ than her,¹⁰ but professor almost half as much.¹¹ Snape preferred calling Dumbledore Headmaster in situations where he wanted to appear polite.¹²

Like other Death Eaters, Snape referred to Voldemort as the Dark Lord¹³ or my lord.¹⁴

Use of Contractions

Prior to Order of the Phoenix, Snape used contractions more when upset, shown best at the end of Prisoner of Azkaban.¹ As a child, he used more contractions, including d’you, which his adult counterpart has never used.²

After Order of the Phoenix, he intentionally avoided contractions in a few notable instances. These include teaching Harry Occlumency (which he believed that Voldemort could see and hear him through Harry), defending his loyalty to the Death Eaters to Bellatrix, attempting to help Draco, and speaking to Voldemort himself.³ All of these instances are united in Snape either lying or attempting to be choosy with his words, and can be clearly seen on the chart in the corresponding section under Citations.

Pauses and Interjections

Snape often used dramatic pauses…

“I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”¹

“Today we shall discuss [...] — werewolves.”²

“They’ll be very pleased to see you, Black ... pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay.”³

“But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips” — he shook the crystal bottle slightly — “right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then, Potter ... then we’ll find out whether you’ve been in my office or not.”⁴

“Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an ‘Acceptable’ in your O.W.L., or suffer my ... displeasure.”⁵

…and asides in speech…

“And yet – is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally I try to treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended – at the very least – for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister: against all school rules – after all the precautions put in place for his protection – out of bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer – and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally, too –”⁶

“Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord! Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily - weak people, in other words - they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!”⁷

…and his preferred interjection was “ah”, using it six times.⁸He paused more when upset…

“Professor Dumbledore, these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused serious damage to an old and valuable tree — surely acts of this nature — ”⁹

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE! [...] YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS — HAS- SOMETHING — TO — DO — WITH — POTTER!"¹⁰

“But never — never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear . . . especially Potter’s son ... I want your word!”¹¹

I thought ... all these years . . . that we were protecting him for her. For Lily.¹¹

…and when afraid, incorporating whole word repetitions.

“My — my Lord? [...] I do not understand. You — you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand.”¹²

“I — I cannot answer that, my Lord.”¹²

“No — no message — I’m here on my own account!”¹¹

“In — in return?”¹¹

This behaviour was retained as a child.

“No — no I didn’t!”¹¹

“You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to — I won’t let you —”¹¹

“I didn’t mean — I just don’t want to see you made a fool of — He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!” The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. “And he’s not ... everyone thinks ... big Quidditch hero —”¹¹

“No — listen, I didn’t mean —”¹¹

Word Choice

Snape embellished his words when discussing something he was knowledgeable on or was passionate about (emphasis mine):

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making[. …] As there is little foolish wand- waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”¹

“Only Muggles talk of ‘mind reading. ’ The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter ... or at least, most minds are…”²

“The Dark Arts [...] are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.”³

Snape’s speech was intelligent and literate, as along with his preference for metaphor, he also preferred Latinate words such as flouted,⁴ abysmal,⁵ and lamentable.⁶ Snape has only used happy in a sarcastic manner.⁷ He has sworn once in dialogue, using damn, and once more as a student, though what he said was not described. ⁸

Incoherency

Snape spoke incoherently when angry both as an adult…

HE DIDN’T DISAPPARATE! […] YOU CAN’T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS – HAS – SOMETHING – TO – DO – WITH – POTTER! […] OUT WITH IT, POTTER! […] WHAT DID YOU DO?’ THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT! […] YOU DON’T KNOW POTTER! […] HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT –”¹

…and as a child.

“Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to — I won’t let you — […] I didn’t mean — I just don’t want to see you made a fool of — He fancies you, James Potter fancies you! […] And he’s not . . . everyone thinks . . . big Quidditch hero —”²

Exemplary Dialogue

In the effort to be concise, here are lines of Snape’s that I believe represent his speech the best.

“You want to be more careful[. …] Hanging around like this, people will think you’re up to something. And Gryffindor really can’t afford to lose any more points, can it? […] Be warned, Potter — any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you.”¹

“Silence! […] Most unfortunately, you are not in my house and the decision to expel you does not rest with me. I shall go and fetch the people who do have that happy power. You will wait here.”²

“Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behaviour. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren’t responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape … they obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They’ve got away with a great deal before now … I’m afraid it’s given them a rather high opinion of themselves … and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of licence by the Headmaster – […] And yet – is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally I try to treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended – at the very least – for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister: against all school rules – after all the precautions put in place for his protection – out of bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer – and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally, too –”³

“All this press attention seems to have inflated your already overlarge head, Potter[. …] You might be labouring under the delusion that the entire wizarding world is impressed with you, […] but I don’t care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me, Potter, you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him.”⁴

“Only Muggles talk of ‘mind-reading’. The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter - or at least, most minds are. […] It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. The Dark Lord, for instance, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. Only those skilled at Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so can utter falsehoods in his presence without detection.”⁵

“Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord! […] Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily - weak people, in other words - they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!”⁵

“I have played my part well, […] and you overlook Dumbledore’s greatest weakness: he has to believe the best of people. I spun him a tale of deepest remorse when I joined his staff, fresh from my Death Eater days, and he embraced me with open arms - though, as I say, never allowing me nearer the Dark Arts than he could help. Dumbledore has been a great wizard - oh yes, he has [- …] the Dark Lord acknowledges it. I am pleased to say, however, that Dumbledore is growing old. The duel with the Dark Lord last month shook him. He has since sustained a serious injury because his reactions are slower than they once were. But through all these years, he has never stopped trusting Severus Snape, and therein lies my great value to the Dark Lord.”⁶

“I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter —”⁷

Skills

Snape’s skill with Potions was noted even from childhood, as he won awards for potion-making and corrected his Advanced Potions textbook with better recipes.¹ As an adult, Dumbledore tasked him with brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for Lupin - a potion noted to be “particularly complex”.²

Snape was a skilled Occlumens, noted by Harry, Dumbledore, and Tonks.³ Snape used his Occlumency to hide his double-agent status from Voldemort, someone Snape himself has called the “most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen”.⁴ He was also skilled in Legilimency, using it on Harry to teach him Occlumency,⁵ and using it in duels to the extent that his wand movements became “lazy” as he predicted his opponent’s next move.⁶ While he could cast Legilimens verbally, he cast it nonverbally before,⁷ and could be suspected of using Legilimency several times throughout the series.⁸

Snape was a skilled duellist, effortlessly parrying Lockhart and teaching Draco a spell while Lockhart fumbled with his wand.⁹ During his standoff with McGonagall, he cast a Shield Charm so quickly that she stumbled. Snape was capable of holding his own against her, Flitwick, and Slughorn in a fight.¹⁰ When Snape fought, he was on the defensive, as he had his hand on his wand in anticipation of Sirius getting violent with him in Grimmauld Place.¹¹ Both Harry and McGonagall attacked him first before he attacked them.¹² Even Dumbledore’s death had him not as the aggressor, but acting mercifully and with Dumbledore’s expressed consent.¹³ As a child, he only dropped a branch on Petunia after she insulted him.¹⁴ The only time Snape had gone on the offensive was when Harry saw his worst memories - which served as the only time Snape has ever gotten physical (as opposed to using magic) with someone, as he grabbed, shoved, and threw jars at him.¹⁵

According to Sirius, Snape was “up to his eyes” in the Dark Arts and knew more curses when he arrived at Hogwarts than “half the kids in seventh year”.¹⁶ Though Sirius was biased against Snape, Snape’s creation of Sectumsempra as a student,¹⁷ a spell Snape himself called Dark magic;⁶ his Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL essay being “at least a foot or more” longer than other students despite his handwriting being “miniscule and cramped”; and that Snape attempted to defend himself against James and Sirius with a “stream” of hexes lent some credibility to what he said.¹⁵ Harry and Percy noted his adult interest in the Dark Arts,¹⁸ with both Dumbledore and McGonagall using his knowledge of curses for their own benefit and the benefit of students.¹⁹ Snape spoke of the Dark Arts with a “loving caress” that reminded Hermione of Harry,²⁰ and was capable of using the Killing Curse, a spell noted to need a “powerful bit of magic” behind it to be cast.²¹ Snape could fly with magic alone, something McGonagall assumed that Voldemort taught him to do.¹⁰

Snape made several spells as a student, including the aforementioned Sectumsempra, but also a toenail-growing hex, a tongue-gluing jinx, Muffliato, Levicorpus, and Sectumsempra’s countercurse.²² Lupin called Sectumsempra Snape’s specialty.²³

Snape called his ability to act integral to his success as a double-agent - while talking to Draco and making him believe that his success as Voldemort’s spy hinged on his ability to lie well to Dumbledore.²⁴ He effortlessly lied to Death Eaters like Bellatrix when he told her that his apparent remorse was a ploy to get out of Azkaban, and that he later realised his position as Potions Master was advantageous to their cause.²⁵ He also lied to Umbridge about not knowing who Padfoot was by sarcastically replying to Harry about it, which bought him enough time to tell the Order that Sirius was in danger.²⁶

Pedagogy and Career

Snape was the Potions Master for Hogwarts for fifteen or sixteen years, starting in 1981-1982 and lasting until 1996.²⁷ Of those years, he was Head of Slytherin House for at least six years.²⁸ During the 1996-1997 school year, he was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, once substituting for the position in 1994.²⁹ During the 1997-1998 school year, he became the Headmaster of Hogwarts.³⁰

As Potions Master, Snape started class by taking attendance,³¹ introducing the subject of the class,³² and writing instructions on the board.³³ During classes, he moved around the room,³⁴ giving feedback and reminders of what state students’ potions should be at certain times.³⁵ He has both given a demonstration and supplied antidotes to students at least once.³⁶Like McGonagall, he was considered strict, not loosening up his lessons in anticipation for the Triwizard Tournament like Flitwick did, and could keep his class silent effortlessly.³⁷

Snape had high standards for his NEWT Potions class, requiring an “Outstanding” Potions OWL as a prerequisite.³⁸ He expected a high OWL pass rate for his fifth-year class, which Umbridge called “fairly advanced” for their level.³⁹ He was a harsh grader, as when he was grading to OWL standards, Hermione was encouraged by getting a passing grade.⁴⁰ Harry, on the other hand, had terrible grades.⁴¹ He gave out a lot⁴² of essays⁴³ for homework that challenged his students, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione took from morning until after lunch to finish one of his Defense assignments.²⁰

Snape took 287 points over seven years, 267 of which belonged to Gryffindor, and 10 from both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Points were taken for inappropriate language (both swearing and cheek), dress code violations, fighting, talking back, being late to class, being insufferable, inappropriate activity, and for both helping and not helping Neville.⁴⁴ Compare this with McGonagall, who took 230 points over seven years, 160 from Gryffindor, for being out of bed, cruel pranks, and getting detention.⁴⁵ Snape gave out seven individual detentions and one set of detentions for seven incidents. His detentions were menial, physical, and time-consuming. These detentions were given out for criticism of his teaching, shouting at him, giving cheek, destruction of property, and assault. Snape gave at least one in-class punishment of moving Harry to sit by his desk for being distracted.⁴⁶ By comparison, McGonagall gave out fifteen individual punishments over six incidents, including scrubbing trophies, helping Lockhart with fanmail, a ban from visiting Hogsmeade, and going into the Forbidden Forest at night.⁴⁷ McGonagall considered Harry lucky that he wasn’t expelled for using Sectumsempra on Draco, and agreed with Snape’s punishment that Harry should have detention every Saturday for the rest of the term.⁶

It was considered common knowledge that Snape wanted to teach Defense over Potions, Harry implying that Snape would even kill to have the position.⁴⁸ When he taught the subject, his teaching methods were unchanged outside of using the textbook.⁴⁹

How Snape behaved as Headmaster was unclear. He reinstated Umbridge’s decree forbidding unauthorised groups of three or more students.⁵⁰ When Ginny and her friends tried to steal the sword of Gryffindor, he punished them by sending them to work with Hagrid, a punishment that Harry found surprisingly lax.⁵¹

Relationships

Major Relationships

Black, Sirius

Snape and Sirus were enemies from the moment they met on the Hogwarts Express, which continued through their schooling, and worsened from Sirius’ bullying and pranks.¹ This was to the extent that Snape scrambled for his wand when hearing him approach.² As an adult, Snape, like everyone else, likely believed that Sirius betrayed the Potters, leading to their deaths.³ Snape argued against Sirius’ genuine innocence in the matter and threatened to have Dementors suck his soul out.⁴ When Dumbledore forced them to work together, Snape looked at Sirius with “mingled fury and horror”.⁵ At Grimmauld Place, Snape taunted Sirius by calling him a coward, reminding him of his uselessness to the Order through “snide hints” and “waspish” remarks, and saying Dumbledore won’t listen to a man living in his mother’s house.⁶ Though he regretted not being able to save those who have died, this regret seemingly did not extend to Sirius.⁷ However, Snape may have been afraid of Sirius, as when Sirius acted aggressively towards him at Grimmauld Place, Snape got quieter and put his hand on his wand as though expecting a fight.⁸

As a student, Sirius considered Snape his enemy, insulting his intelligence, calling him “Snivellus”, and bullying him.⁹ He believed Snape was jealous of James, as James was everything he wasn’t.¹⁰ Though saying he wasn’t proud of bullying him, as an adult, Sirius continued to insult him by calling him an “ugly git” and “Snivellus”, and his child self a “slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid” and a “little oddball who was up to his eyes in the Dark Arts”.¹¹ Sirius threatened Snape both physically and verbally, saying it would have “served him right” to die from the prank he pulled on him, not caring if his body (levitated by Sirius) bumped into objects, and pulled his wand on him during an argument.¹² Even Lupin was aware Sirius was a threat to Snape, stepping in when Sirius “forcefully” said he was going to have a word with him after he stopped teaching Harry Occlumency.¹⁰ It was difficult to put his hate aside to work with Snape for a common cause and was not happy to take his insults at Grimmauld Place.¹³ Sirius didn’t trust Snape was truly on their side, saying that he was “clever and cunning” enough to evade being caught as a Death Eater.¹⁴

Dumbledore, Albus

Snape sought out Dumbledore for him to protect Lily, becoming his spy in exchange.¹ As professor, Snape followed all of Dumbledore’s commands - including making Lupin’s potion and changing Harry’s detention date.² He defended him to the other school headmasters when they accused Dumbledore of sneaking Harry’s name into the Goblet of Fire.³ Snape was secure in Dumbledore’s trust in him, not believing that he would authorise Moody to search his office.⁴ When he became Headmaster himself, the password to his office was “Dumbledore”.⁵ However, Snape felt taken for granted when he learned that Dumbledore was telling Harry information that he did not share with him, used when he told him that Harry had to die, and upset that he was defending Lupin.⁶ Snape speculated that Dumbledore was keeping him from the position of Defense professor out of fear that he would “relapse” back into being a Death Eater, though he told this to Bellatrix.⁷

Dumbledore treated Snape coldly when he was sought out by him, disgusted by his willingness to let a man and his infant son die to protect Lily. He leveraged his love for her to get him to defect, and eventually to protect Harry. When Lily died, after Snape told him to not tell anyone - especially Harry - that he was protecting him for her, Dumbledore believed he was hiding the “best of [him]” by doing so.⁵ He believed Snape’s regret was genuine, had sympathy for his “mistake”, and understood the risk he put himself in by being a double-agent.⁸ Dumbledore trusted Snape.⁹ While Snape was a professor, he defended him from both Harry and Fudge.¹⁰ When Snape told him that he would not flee Voldemort’s return, he called him brave and wondered if Hogwarts sorted students too soon.⁵ Even after death, he trusted him to give Harry the sword of Gryffindor while acting as a Death Eater, gave him the Elder Wand, and regretted that he had to die.¹¹ However, Dumbledore often reigned Snape in when he acted out of line, not appreciating his implication that Lupin was helping Sirius nor his accusation that Harry put his own name in the Goblet of Fire.¹² While he hoped he would get over his hate of James to teach Harry Occlumency, he realised that “some wounds run too deep for healing”, later calling the ordeal a “fiasco”.¹³

Lupin, Remus

As a student, Snape was suspicious about Lupin’s behaviour during the full moon, trusting Sirius’ advice on how to see him as a werewolf and almost being killed for it.¹ He was forbidden to reveal that Lupin was a werewolf afterwards.² As an adult, Snape forced himself into calm around him as his mere presence angered him.³ He fought against Lupin being hired, and when he was hired, fought to get him fired, eventually outing him as a werewolf.⁴ During their encounter in the Shrieking Shack, Snape refused to call him by his name, said he doesn’t understand how a “werewolf’s” mind works, and threatened to turn him in to the Dementors.⁵ The only act Snape did for Lupin’s benefit was defending him from a Death Eater that was aiming at him.⁶

Lupin, as Prefect, never intervened in the Marauders’ bullying of Snape, preferring to ignore it in cowardice despite not liking it.⁷ However, he also didn’t like Snape as a student, and through the Marauders’ Map, tells him to keep his “abnormally large” nose out of other people’s business.⁸ As an adult, he said he didn’t like nor dislike Snape, knowing they could never have been friends and understanding his hate for him.⁹ He thanked him for making the Wolfsbane Potion for him and told Harry he would’ve been outed as a werewolf eventually.¹⁰ However, he called Snape a fool for believing a “schoolboy grudge” was worth sending him to Azkaban over, and assumed Snape losing the Order of Merlin was why he outed him.¹¹ After Snape killed Dumbledore, Lupin’s voice was “uncharacteristically harsh” when saying they wouldn’t have predicted that due to Snape’s skill with Occlumency and was incredulous that Dumbledore trusted Snape’s regret over James’ death.¹² After Snape cut off George’s ear, Lupin wanted to “[pay] him back in kind”.¹³

Potter, Harry

Snape believed Harry to be an attention-seeking,¹ troublemaking rulebreaker² like his father.³ Harry’s fame was unwarranted and had gone to his head,⁴ and despite such fame, Snape viewed him as an unspecial, unimportant, “nasty little boy who consider[ed] rules to be beneath him” that deserved no special treatment.⁵ He sought out excuses to punish him,⁶ even when he couldn’t prove his guilt.⁷ After Sirius escaped, Snape’s behaviour towards Harry became “alarming”, flexing his fingers as though choking him.⁸

As for his academics, Snape called him dim, incompetent, “mediocre to the last degree”, and coasting off the skill of his friends.⁹ He was a “lamentable” Potions maker because he couldn’t see the fine distinctions to be successful.¹⁰ In class, he mocked Harry for his stupid questions, stupid answers, and his mistakes,¹¹ targeting him to answer questions he didn’t know the answer to even if Hermione was raising her hand.¹² Snape had given him zero marks four times,¹³ one “bottom marks” for forgetting an ingredient on a test,¹⁴ four “Dreadful”s,¹⁵ and an extra essay.¹⁶ When someone broke Harry’s potion, Snape failed him without a chance of making it up.¹⁷ Even when others did worse than him, Snape graded him harsher.¹⁸ Assuming Harry was poor at Potions, he still took “vindictive” and “gloating” pleasure in failing him.¹⁹ Outside of Potions, he saw Harry as a poor spellcaster and Occlumens, seeing teaching him the latter as a tedious job eating up his evenings.²⁰

Snape was fine with letting Harry die if it meant Lily would live, but after her death, he promised to protect him - though told Dumbledore to not tell him he was.²¹ When asked if he had Harry’s best interests at heart, he avoided the question.²² He was horrified when Dumbledore told him Harry had to die.²¹ When Snape himself died, he gave him his memories showing that he was mistaken in believing he was more like James than Lily.²³ He and Harry, along with Voldemort, were the “abandoned boys” who found a home at Hogwarts.²⁴

Harry hated Snape,²⁵ viewing him as his least favourite professor²⁶ barring Umbridge,²⁷ and missed everything about Hogwarts but him when he left.²⁸ He called him evil,²⁹ was excited by his absence,³⁰ attempted to avoid him,³¹ and fantasised about him being hurt.³² Harry believed Snape would hurt people he hated, including himself, and noted that everyone he disliked seemed to die.³³ He also believed that Snape would make up rules just to punish him over, and would frame him for a crime if given the chance.³⁴ Both Hagrid and Rita Skeeter note his hate for Snape, Hagrid warning him against reading too deeply into his actions, and Skeeter writing that he has a “notorious grudge” against him.³⁵ He hated him more after Sirius died, taking “savage pleasure” in blaming him for,³⁶ and after Dumbledore’s death, where he wanted to know “every detail of Snape’s duplicity and infamy, feverishly collecting more reasons to hate him, to swear vengeance”.³⁷ Harry was so used to Snape’s hate that he saw it as a sign of normalcy returning.³⁸Like everyone else, he was shocked to find Snape as Headmaster of Hogwarts.³⁹

Harry believed that Snape was trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone, and that his Occlumency lessons were to “soften him up” for Voldemort.⁴⁰ His interest in the Dark Arts concerned him, and he questioned how much Snape could be playing the part of a Death Eater without actually being one.⁴¹ He even questioned Dumbledore’s trust in Snape, getting angry with him over it, and took comfort in the thought that Dumbledore hid the sword of Gryffindor from him.⁴² Harry saw his developing Dumbledore-like distrust in others as a good thing, due to Dumbledore’s trust allowing Snape to kill him.⁴³

Harry challenged Snape’s authority through sarcasm,⁴⁴ defiance, insults,⁴⁵ lies, mocking him in private,⁴⁶ and defending others from him.⁴⁷ He continually disrupted him when he spoke even after being told not to, and had to hold himself back from returning Snape’s sarcasm.⁴⁸ Harry needed reminding to address Snape as “professor” or “sir”,⁴⁹ and used those terms with contempt.⁵⁰ Eventually, he cared so little about Snape punishing him that, when he intervened in a fight between him and Draco, he told him he’s thinking about what spell to use on Draco.⁵¹

Potions was a “weekly torture” for Harry, and double Potions was “always a horrible experience”.⁵² It was a class he was happy to cut short, and a class he wanted to stop taking.⁵³ Harry was happy to be ignored by him in class after he saw his worst memories, finding it easier to focus on his work.⁵⁴ He also found his Potions OWL to be a better experience than the class, as Snape didn’t proctor it.⁵⁵ In Slughorn’s class, he was more daring, and did things he didn’t believe he would let slide.⁵⁶ When Snape substituted for Lupin, taking over his favourite class, Harry was shocked.⁵⁷ When Snape told him that he was teaching him Occlumency, he felt as though his “insides were melting”, questioned why Dumbledore wasn’t teaching him, and was happy to postpone and escape having lessons.⁵⁸

However, Harry trusted the Half-Blood Prince, following his instructions, looking to him for advice,⁵⁹ and believing he was a better teacher than both Snape and Slughorn.⁶⁰ He even defended him from Hermione after casting Sectumsempra despite feeling betrayed by him.⁵⁰ When Harry saw Snape’s memories, he was unnerved by the contrast between Snape as a cowering boy and Snape as an angry adult, and when he was allowed to see those memories again, it gave him “no pleasure” to see.⁶² Sirius and Lupin’s excuses for why they bullied and never prevented the bullying of Snape were inadequate to him.⁵⁴ When Harry had children, he named his youngest son Albus Severus, his middle name coming from “probably the bravest man [he] ever knew.”⁶³

Potter, James

Snape hated James,¹ seeing him as an arrogant² boy who viewed rules as something for “lesser mortals” and not Quidditch stars like himself.³ He hated him so much as a student that he became incoherent, and “never lost an opportunity” to hex him.⁴ He may have been afraid of him due to having been bullied by him, reaching for his wand when he heard him approach as though “expecting an attack”.⁵ Though James saved his life, he believed he did so with impure motivation, Dumbledore saying that Snape could “never forgive” him for it.⁶ Snape continued to hate him as an adult, to the extent he was willing to let Voldemort kill him to spare Lily, which spilled over to how he treated Harry, as he often negatively compared the two.⁷

James also hated Snape,⁸ their first interaction being him insulting his choice of house on the train.⁹ Sirius said James hated him because he was into the Dark Arts, something James hated.¹⁰ He bullied Snape with Sirius, continuing to bully him after he had grown out of it as Snape was a “special case”.¹¹ He insulted him, calling him “Snivellus”, “Snivelly”, and an “ugly git”, and forcibly exposed his underwear to a crowd.¹² When asked why he targeted him, James said it was because Snape “exist[ed]”.⁵

Potter, Lily

Snape and Lily were childhood friends, someone who made him smile and whom he gave comfort to. Even after being sorted into different houses, they remained best friends.¹ However, his interest in the Dark Arts and eventual radicalisation into the Death Eaters tore them apart, ending with him calling her a “filthy little Mudblood”, though he attempted to apologise for that.² He was willing to risk his life in contacting Dumbledore to protect her from Voldemort, and didn’t care if James and Harry died, only that she lived. Her death was his biggest regret, and afterwards, he grieved, making noises like a “wounded animal,” looking like he lived “a hundred years of misery,” and wishing he was dead. Dumbledore used his love of Lily to make him protect Harry. Later, when Dumbledore told him Harry had to die, Snape was horrified and furious, as he thought they were trying to protect “Lily Potter’s son”. Dumbledore asked him if he came to care for Harry by protecting him, but Snape cast his patronus - a doe, the same as Lily - to say that he was doing it all for her. Before becoming Headmaster, Snape took a photo of Lily with him, along with her “lots of love” signature from a letter.³ After being bitten by Nagini, he begged Harry to look at him so he could see her eyes one last time.⁴ His memories made Harry understand that the moment Voldemort lost Snape as a spy was the moment he refused to protect Lily, a woman he loved “nearly all his life.”⁵

Lily was hesitant to befriend him at first, running away from him when he insulted Petunia, though took interest in his life and the wizarding world. When James and Sirius insulted him on the train, she took him to another compartment. While calling him her best friend while older and nicknaming him “Sev”, she took issue with his interest in the Dark Arts and the friends he associated with, even defending James by saying that no matter what he did, he didn’t use Dark magic.¹ When James picked on him, she came to his aid, but after he slurred her, she called him “Snivellus” back and later rejected his apology.² He called everyone of her blood a Mudblood; why should she be different? Even her friends didn’t know why she hung around a wannabe Death Eater, and that she was done making excuses for him. He chose his path, and she chose hers - away from him.¹

Riddle, Tom (Voldemort)

Lily said that Snape, along with his Slytherin friends, were looking forward to joining the Death Eaters, and that he couldn’t even hide that he was planning to. He did join, but became a double-agent when Voldemort refused to spare Lily.¹ Though treating him with respect and fear, he fed him information, all while making him believe in his loyalty.²

Voldemort wanted to kill the Death Eater who had “left him for ever”, but after Snape explained his absence, he forgave him.³ Snape returned to being his right-hand man and most trusted advisor, someone whose information he trusts more than other Death Eaters.⁴ He called him his “faithful servant”, a “clever man”, and “very valuable”, making him Headmaster of Hogwarts under his reign.⁵ However, Lucius and Bellatrix’s failure to retrieve the prophecy left him unable to fully trust him.⁶ Voldemort said he regretted killing him, but mocked his love for Lily, diminishing it as him merely “desir[ing]” her.⁷

Voldemort, Snape, and Harry were the “abandoned boys” who found a home at Hogwarts.⁸ Harry compared two, both born to Muggle fathers and witch mothers who were “trying to make [themselves] feared using the Dark Arts, [and] gave [themselves] an impressive new name”.⁹

Minor Relationships

Granger, Hermione: Snape saw Hermione as an insubordinate, insufferable, show off of a know-it-all.¹ He routinely dismissed her attempts to engage with his class and called on her when he had no choice.² He called her stupid when she said Snape should hear Sirius out on his innocence and said he saw “no difference” when Draco’s hex hit her and caused her teeth to grow.³ When he graded to OWL standards, he gave her - a student who has twice exceeded 100% in both a class and exam before- a “pass”, and criticised an answer of hers as being a regurgitation of the textbook.⁴ Hermione respected him as a teacher⁵ and trusted his loyalties because Dumbledore trusted him.⁶ She often defended him to Harry and Ron,⁷ comparing them both on how they discussed Defense Against the Dark Arts.⁸ However, when she had good reason to believe Snape was hexing Harry’s broom, she set him on fire.⁹ She dismissed Sirius’ almost-deadly prank on Snape as “some stupid trick”.¹⁰ Despite her trust in him as a teacher, she did not trust him as the Half-Blood Prince, dismissing his instructions and not liking that Harry was using his spells.¹¹ Hermione was particularly upset to learn Snape became Headmaster of Hogwarts.¹²

Longbottom, Neville: Snape saw Neville as an idiot needing handholding to stop him from destroying his surroundings with basic spells.¹³ He directly insulted, threatened, and bullied him, both in front of his class and to Lupin.¹⁴ After Lupin’s boggart lesson, where Neville’s boggart was Snape and was forced to wear his grandmother’s clothes, he became “particularly vindictive” towards him.¹⁵ Neville’s “great fear” of Snape was why he was so bad at Potions, “regularly [going] to pieces” by cowering, shaking, and being on the verge of tears in his class.¹⁶ He was uncomfortable being looked at by him and was embarrassed when he pointed out his magical shortcomings.¹⁷ He was much more calm during his Potions OWL, where Snape was not present.¹⁸ During Snape’s tenure as Headmaster, Neville graffitied advertisements for Dumbledore’s Army.¹⁹

McGonagall, Minerva: Snape trusted McGonagall’s report of how a student was taken into the Chamber of Secrets, fetched her to punish Harry and Ron as he wasn’t their Head of House, and begrudgingly allowed her to award Harry and his friends points for alerting the world of Voldemort’s return.²⁰ As Headmaster, Snape only attacked her after she attacked him first.²¹ However, he did enjoy pointing out Gryffindor’s Quidditch failures.²² McGonagall returned their Quidditch rivalry, encouraging Harry to win a game so she won’t have to hand over the Quidditch cup to Snape.²³ Though supporting his punishment for Harry after he used Sectumsempra, she argued against him accusing Harry of petrifying Mrs. Norris and putting his name in the Goblet of Fire.²⁴ As Headmaster, she treated him coldly, attacking him and calling him a coward when he escaped.²¹

Malfoy, Draco: Snape used Draco’s first name and honorifics towards him more than any other student (see Speech). He let him get away with actions he would punish any other student, as well as skipping detentions.²⁵ Snape praised Draco’s potion-making skill and personally helped him in his Duelling Club duel with Harry.²⁶ On Narcissa’s request, he made the Unbreakable Vow to protect him.¹³ Narcissa called him Draco’s favourite teacher, with Draco saying he’ll put in a good word with his father if it meant Snape had a better chance of becoming Headmaster.²⁷ However, when Voldemort tasked him with killing Dumbledore, Draco avoided Snape, even skipping detentions with him.²⁸ When Snape offered his help with that task, he rejected it, believing Snape had replaced his father as Voldemort’s favourite and wanting the glory all for himself.²⁹ Even Harry found this hostility to be out of character, as he was always respectful towards Snape.²⁸

Students: As a student, Snape’s peers laughed at him when he was being picked on by James and Sirius, though some of them watched with apprehension.³⁰ As a professor, Hagrid noted that Snape liked “hardly any of the students”.³¹ This dislike was returned, as Lupin’s Defense class was disappointed to have him as a substitute and complained about him to Lupin when he returned.³² As Headmaster, students cheered when McGonagall said he left.³³ However, given Snape’s bias towards his own house (see Personality), relationships with specific Slytherins (such as Draco), and that Slytherins were not noted to cheer with the others when Snape left the castle,³³ Snape may have had a better relationship with Slytherin students, and they with him.

Weasley, Ron: Snape saw Ron as Harry’s “faithful sidekick” and found it regretful that he couldn’t expel him and Harry for destroying the Whomping Willow.³⁴ He took points from him for defending both himself and Hermione from Draco and himself, and insulted his ability to nonverbally cast and Apparate.³⁵ Ron insulted Snape,³⁶ calling him evil,³⁷ doubting his loyalties,³⁸ and wanting him to get hurt.³⁹ He often took Harry’s side in believing Snape was up to no good.⁴⁰ Ron hated Potions as well, being happy to get out of the class.⁴¹ Despite his questioning of his loyalties, he was shocked that Snape killed Dumbledore, and was similarly shocked to find him as Headmaster.⁴² However, Ron once did sadly accept that Snape was right about his inability to Apparate,⁴³ and once called him a “genius” - though directed that compliment to the Half-Blood Prince.⁴⁴

Miscellaneous Relationships

Avery: Snape and Avery seemed to be friends while in school.¹

Burbage, Charity: While Snape recognised Charity when Voldemort captured her,² his relationship with her was unknown.

Crabbe, Vincent: Snape once told him to not suffocate Neville to save himself from it being used against him when looking for employment.³ Snape likely had some level of respect for him as a Slytherin.

Creevey: Colin: Snape was dismissive and rude to Colin, who was intimidated by him.⁴

Crouch, Barty Jr: Most of Snape’s interactions with Barty Jr were when the former was disguised as Moody. Barty Jr was hostile to Snape because he betrayed Voldemort and implied that he was a Death Eater as a threat.⁵

Dursley, Petunia: Snape and Petunia hated each other as children, Snape for being poor and Petunia for being a Muggle. Petunia called him “that awful boy” as an adult.⁶

Filch, Argus: Snape was dismissive of Filch and talked over him, though did show him his injury from Fluffy. Filch respected him and reported curfew-breakers to him.⁷

Fletcher, Mundungus: Snape called Mundungus a “smelly sneak-thief”.⁸

Fudge, Cornelius: Snape was respectful towards Fudge, referring to him with his title. Fudge initially respected him back due to catching Sirius, but after Harry and Hermione freed Sirius, he thought he was “unbalanced”.⁹

Goyle, Gregory: Snape did not punish him for making a poor potion like he did with Harry and didn’t insult him like he did to Hermione after they were both hexed. Snape likely had some level of respect for him as a Slytherin.¹⁰

Hagrid, Rubeus: Snape only spoke to Hagrid once to remind him that Ron’s reasons for breaking the rules didn’t exempt him from punishment. Hagrid respected him, trying to convince Harry that he was not as bad as he thought, was sympathetic to him when he heard him arguing with Dumbledore, and refused to believe that he truly returned to being a Death Eater. When Snape became active as a Death Eater, Hagrid believed he was still following Dumbledore’s Orders.¹¹

Lockhart, Gilderoy: Snape gave Lockhart “murderous” looks and smirked at his incompetence during the Duelling Club, icily reminded him who the Potions professor was, and threw his words back at him to get him to investigate the Chamber of Secrets. Lockhart dismissed Snape at first, but was intimidated by his murderous look.¹²

Karkaroff, Igor: Snape and Karkaroff were on a first-name basis with each other, both of them former Death Eaters. Snape was willing to make excuses for Karkaroff if he wanted to flee due to Voldemort’s return, though avoided his concerns about their Dark Marks. Karkaroff implicated him as a Death Eater during his trial.¹³

Lestrange, Bellatrix: Snape dismissed Bellatrix’s concerns over his loyalties and downplayed her usefulness to the Death Eater cause. He gave her a fake sword of Gryffindor to put in her vault, keeping the true sword to give to Harry. Bellatrix tried to prevent Narcissa from seeking him out, saying she has a “hundred reasons” to doubt his loyalty to Voldemort as she didn’t believe he sacrificed enough for their cause. Only when he said Narcissa shouldn’t tell him something that Voldemort forbade her from speaking of does she agree with him.¹⁴

Malfoy, Lucius: Snape and Lucius knew each other as students, Lucius being prefect when Snape was sorted. Narcissa called Snape Lucius’ old friend, Sirius his lapdog, and Umbridge someone he thought of highly.¹⁵

Malfoy, Narcissa: Snape treated Narcissa kindly, inviting her into his house and asking how he can help her. When she told him about Voldemort’s plan for Draco despite him forbidding her to speak of it, he comforted her, though found her crying indecent, and consented to the Unbreakable Vow to kill Dumbledore if Draco could not on her request. Narcissa was so desperate for his help that she fell to her knees and kissed his hand, and had confidence that if Draco couldn’t kill Dumbledore, Snape could.¹⁶

Mulciber, n/a: Snape thought what Mulciber did to Mary Macdonald was “a laugh”.¹

Moody, Alastor: Snape was wary of who he thought was Moody, avoiding his gaze, said his own office being broken into was unimportant when talking to him, and forced himself to speak calmly to him. The real Moody was skeptical of Snape’s change-of-heart during Karkaroff’s trial, and after Snape kills Dumbledore, set traps at Grimmauld Place specifically for him.¹⁷

n/a, Myrtle: Myrtle left the bathroom when Snape commanded her to.¹⁸

Nigellus, Phineas: Snape commanded Phineas to not call Hermione a Mudblood. As the first Slytherin Headmaster in some time, Phineas “venerated” Snape and refused to entertain any criticism of him.¹⁹

Peeves: Snape said he “[didn’t] give a damn” about Peeves when Filch insisted that he threw Harry’s golden egg.²⁰

Pettigrew, Peter: Snape treated Pettigrew dismissively, calling him “vermin”, treating him like a servant, and threatening him with more dangerous work if he didn’t comply with his demands. Pettigrew disliked Snape, laughing at his distress as a student, calling him a “slimeball” who needed to wash his hair through the Marauders’ Map, arguing with him as an adult when Snape treated him like a servant, and trying to eavesdrop on conversations after being dismissed.²¹

Pomfrey, Poppy: Snape and Pomfrey’s one interaction was when she told him to control himself while he accused Harry of helping Sirius escape.²²

Quirrell, Quirinus: Snape confronted and threatened Quirrell while preventing him from hurting Harry. Though Quirrell seemed afraid of him, he found him “swooping around like an overgrown bat” useful in drawing suspicion away from himself.²³

Slughorn, Horace: Snape was Slughorn’s student and he allowed himself to be roped into a conversation by Slughorn without struggle. Slughorn thought highly of his Potions skill and credited him with Harry’s own skill, but when he learned of him killing Dumbledore, he was “shaking, pale, and sweating”, believing he knew him.²⁴

Snape, Eileen: Snape took his mother’s maiden name as a title (Half-Blood Prince). Eileen took him to the Hogwarts Express.²⁵

Snape, Tobias: As a child, when Lily asked about his home life, Snape redirected away from talking about Tobias, saying he didn’t like “anything much”. He would cower and cry when Tobias and Elieen argued.²⁶

Tonks, Nymphadora: Snape referred to Tonks by her disliked first name. He called her patronus, which had changed into a wolf due to her love of Lupin, weak. Tonks was offended by him insulting her patronus, though recognised him as a “superb” Occlumens. However, she was shocked when Snape killed Dumbledore, believing that Dumbledore had good reasons to trust him.²⁷

Trelawney, Sybill: While recounting giving the prophecy relating to Harry and Voldemort, Trelawney characterised Snape as a “pushing, thrusting young man who was prepared to listen at keyholes”, contrasting with her own “unassuming manners and quiet talent”.²⁸

Umbridge, Dolores: Snape gave Umbridge sarcastic answers to her questions, an ironic bow when he left her office, and fake Veritaserum. Umbridge initially treated Snape with her typical sickly sweet kindness, but was angry when he said he had no more Veritaserum to use, believing him to be deliberately unhelpful.²⁹

Weasley, Arthur: Arthur defended Snape’s behavior when talking to Harry as he trusted Dumbledore’s faith in him.³⁰

Weasley, Bill: Ginny mentioned that Bill didn’t like Snape much.³¹

Weasley, Fred: Snape often took points from Gryffindor due to Fred’s (and George’s) behaviour. Fred called him a “git” and used “Snape [being] confronted with shampoo” as a metric for how fast Voldemort could move.³²

Weasley, Ginny: Snape didn’t punish Ginny harshly for attempting to steal the sword of Gryffindor despite Harry assuming he would. Ginny rebelled against Snape when he was Headmaster.³³

Weasley, George: Snape often took points from Gryffindor due to George’s (and Fred’s) behaviour. He accidentally cut his ear off with Sectumsempra while acting as a Death Eater. George hit a bludger at him during the Quidditch match he refereed.³⁴

Weasley, Percy: Snape tried to block Percy out of a conversation between him and Dumbledore regarding Sirius’ return. Percy listened to him with “rapt” attention.³⁵

Yaxley, Corban: Yaxley resented Snape as Voldemort preferred his information over his own.³⁶

History

Childhood

Severus Snape was born in 1960¹ to Eileen (née Prince), a witch, and Tobias Snape, a Muggle.² Tobias, not liking “anything much”,³ would argue and shout at Elieen, who would cower and possibly argued back.⁴ Though the reason for their arguing was never disclosed, Snape was affected by it, as he would cry when his parents fought.³ He avoided talking about his home life and looked forward to leaving it all behind to go to Hogwarts. ⁵ The Snapes lived on Spinner’s End, a street on the banks of a dirty river in the poor part of a mill town.⁶ Snape grew up with dirty, poorly cut hair; mismatched clothes;³ and having the appearance of a plant kept in the dark⁷ - stringy, skinny, and scrawny.⁸

Snape met Lily Evans when he was nine or ten. He saw her playing with her sister Petunia, watching them with “undisguised greed,” planning the moment when he would finally speak to her. When he told her she was a witch - having seen clear evidence of her magical ability - she was offended, and took Petunia’s side in considering the possibility ridiculous. Snape further soured himself when Petunia asked why he was watching them, as he “spitefully” said he wasn’t watching her since she’s a Muggle. The two ran off, leaving Snape in “bitter disappointment”. Later, however, Lily was willing to hear him out, and she listened to him describe the wizarding world. Snape told her that being Muggle-born didn’t matter, said she had “loads of magic”, and blushed as he cut himself off in saying that she was too something that prevented her from being taken to Azkaban. When Petunia found them again and insulted Snape’s clothing, Snape magically snapped a branch off to fall on her, angering Lily. The sisters left him looking “miserable and confused.”³

Enrollment at Hogwarts

When Snape was of-age, Eileen took him to the Hogwarts Express. By this time, Snape and Lily’s friendship grew, Petunia even accusing the two of them of breaking into her room to see the letter she sent to Dumbledore. Taking the first opportunity to change out of his “dreadful” Muggle clothes, he joined Lily on the train and comforted her, upset by Petunia calling her a freak. Snape caught himself before he insulted Petunia for being a Muggle. However, two boys - James and Sirius - joined their compartment. Snape told Lily he wanted to be in Slytherin, but James said he’d rather be in Gryffindor. Snape countered back by saying he'd rather choose the "brainy" Slytherin over the "brawny" Gryffindor, with Sirius asking him where he hoped to be sorted, considering he was neither brainy nor brawny. Lily, offended, took Snape with her to leave, James attempting to trip him. As they left, one of the boys called Snape “Snivellus”.³

Snape was sorted into Slytherin and was warmly greeted by the then-prefect Lucius Malfoy. Lily, however, was disappointingly sorted into Gryffindor.³ Sometime after he came to Hogwarts, he met Remus Lupin to their mutual displeasure and got curious about his mysterious monthly illness. After Snape saw Madam Pomfrey lead Lupin to the Whomping Willow, Sirius, as a prank, told Snape that if he prodded the base of the Willow and followed the tunnel underneath, he would find Lupin.⁹ But when Snape took the bait, he did see Lupin - as a werewolf.¹⁰ If not for James risking his life to save him, Snape would’ve been killed. Dumbledore forbade Snape from telling anyone what he saw.⁹

Sometime after this, Lily and he got into an argument about Snape’s choice of friends. Though she confirmed that they were best friends, she didn’t find it funny how Avery and Mulciber used the Dark Arts, which Snape dismissed by calling it “a laugh”. He redirected to talk about Lupin and the Marauders, as he didn’t want her to believe they were “as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are”. Lily replied by saying that the Marauders don’t use Dark Magic, calling him ungrateful as James saved his life. Snape didn’t believe James saving his life was altruistic and he won’t “let” her believe that, and when Lily was offended by his presumption, he backtracked. He became incoherent in his hate for James, telling her he knew James had a crush on her and didn’t want him to make a fool out of her, but Lily told him she didn’t need Snape to tell her that James was an “arrogant toerag”. But she insisted that Avery and Mulciber’s sense of humour was just “evil.” Snape didn’t pay attention to that, as he was more focused on her insulting James.³

Snape’s “worst memory” happened after his Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL. Alone and hiding in the shadows outside, James and Sirius found him, insulted him, and laughed as they cast spells at him. When Lily came to his aid, Snape used the opportunity to attack back, but couldn’t reach his wand. James used Levicorpus on him in retaliation, exposing his underwear to the forming crowd. Lily demanded that James drop him, so he did, and when Snape again tried to defend himself, Sirius petrified him. Lily demanded that Snape be unpetrified, but when James said that Snape was lucky that he had Lily to save him, Snape, in his “humiliation and rage”, yelled that he didn’t need help from “filthy little Mudbloods” like her. Lily told “Snivellus” that she wouldn’t bother anymore, that he’s just as bad as James, and that he should clean his underwear. Leaving him with James, James used Levicorpus on Snape again, asking the crowd if they would like to see him take his underwear off. It is unknown if he did or not.⁷

Snape later apologised to her, but she rejected his apology: why make an exception for her when Snape called everyone of her birth a Mudblood? He couldn’t deny to her that he had chosen his path as a Death Eater, and now, she chose her path away from him. Lily left him in front of the Gryffindor common room at night, with Snape still struggling to salvage their friendship.³

Snape was an academically gifted student in (Defense Against the) Dark Arts and Potions. His Defense essay for his OWL was long, despite his handwriting being cramped.⁷ He won awards for his skill in Potions¹¹ and corrected his old copy of Advanced Potions - likely Eileen’s as it was at least fifty years old and “old and dirty and dog-eared” - with better instructions.¹² He also created several spells as a student (see Skills).¹³ Over the summer, Snape returned to Spinner’s End, biding his time until school started again by idly shooting flies in his bedroom.¹⁴

Adulthood

Snape presumably joined the Death Eaters as an adult, as Lily mentioned Snape’s intent to join. During this time, he rose the ranks enough to be branded with the Dark Mark, though what he did day-to-day as a Death Eater is unclear. He did seemingly work as a spy, as he eavesdropped on Sybil Trelawney when she prophesied about Harry. However, Snape did not hear that, by Voldemort attacking Harry, he would mark him as his equal, therefore, he gave an incomplete version of the prophecy to Voldemort. Snape also did not anticipate that, on hearing the prophecy, he would target the Potter family - Lily included - over just Harry. Desperate to protect her - and her alone - Snape dangerously sought out Dumbledore. Dumbledore, disgusted by Snape’s tacit approval of the deaths of an innocent man and his baby to keep Lily alive, got him to backtrack and tell him to protect “her - them” instead in exchange for him doing “anything”.³ This became acting as a double-agent for Dumbledore at “great personal risk”.¹⁵

Dumbledore would later remark that Snape’s biggest regret was telling Dumbledore about the prophecy, as Lily would be killed in sacrificing herself to Harry.¹⁶ Her death deeply affected him, making him look as though he lived a “hundred years of misery” and wishing he was dead instead. Dumbledore leveraged Snape’s love of Lily to manipulate him into protecting Harry, as he believed that Voldemort would never return. Though he consented, Snape demanded that Dumbledore never tell anyone - especially Harry - that he was protecting him, and though he believed Snape was asking him to hide the “best of [him]”, Dumbledore agreed.³

During his trial for being a Death Eater, Igor Karkaroff implicated Snape as being one of them along with many others. However, Dumbledore cleared Snape’s name, saying that he became a spy for him and was no more of a Death Eater than himself.¹⁵

Employment at Hogwarts

Snape was likely hired as Potions Master during the 1981-1982 school year.¹⁷ However, he was more interested in the Defense Against the Dark Arts position, as he continually reapplied for the position every year since his employment despite consistent rejection.¹⁸

During the 1991-1992 school year, Snape protected the Philosopher’s Stone with a logic puzzle. Dumbledore tasked him with watching Quirrell,whom he repeatedly attempted to get information out of and foiled his attempts to harm Harry.¹⁹

During the 1992-1993 school year, he assisted Lockhart with the Duelling Club and, along with the other professors, watched for strange activity once the Chamber of Secrets was opened.²⁰

During the 1993-1994 school year, Snape attempted to get Lupin fired due to his connection to Sirius. He eventually succeeded by outing him as a werewolf. Snape was almost awarded an Order of Merlin, Second or First Class, due to capturing Sirius, but did not receive it, as Harry and Hermione helped Sirius escape.²¹

During the 1994-1995 school year, Snape evaded Karkaroff’s questions about their Dark Marks darkening - a sign of Voldemort’s return - though was aware of this happening. He told Dumbledore he intended to stay at Hogwarts when Voldemort returned. On Dumbledore’s orders, Snape returned to being a double-agent when Voldemort returned.²²

During the 1995-1996 school year, Snape worked as a double-agent for the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore tasked him with teaching Harry the practice of Occlumency, but refused when Harry saw his worst memory in Dumbledore’s Pensieve.²³

During the 1996-1997 school year, Snape was finally allowed to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Because Voldemort had chosen Draco to kill Dumbledore, Narcissa begged Snape to help her, and the two made an Unbreakable vow that if Draco couldn’t kill Dumbledore, Snape would finish him off. Dumbledore, who was suffering a deadly curse, convinced Snape to kill him, saying that it was better for him to kill him than any other Death Eater. Draco failed his mission, so Snape used the Killing Curse to kill Dumbledore.²⁴

During the 1997-1998 school year, Snape was made Headmaster of Hogwarts by Voldemort. He reinstated Umbridge’s decree forbidding unauthorised gatherings of students, but faced a subtle rebellion from Dumbledore’s Army. On Dumbledore’s orders, he secretly gave Harry the Sword of Gryffindor to help him destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Voldemort ordered Nagini to kill Snape in the Shrieking Shack in order to gain control of the Elder Wand.²⁵

Miscellaneous Information

Snape’s patronus was a doe, the same as Lily’s. This was implied to be due to his love of Lily, as Tonks’ patronus changed due to her love of Lupin, and Dumbledore understanding that Snape was protecting Harry for Lily when he cast his patronus.¹
Snape was the literal right hand man of both Voldemort and Dumbledore.²
Snape was seen “in shadow” the most out of any character, with six mentions,³ double that of second-place Trelawney.⁴
Snape outran a hippogriff.⁵
Snape had never refereed a Quidditch match before the 1990-1991 school year.⁶
Snape had drank alcohol.⁷
Snape sealed his office with a spell that only a wizard can break.⁸
Snape struggled with flying as a child.⁹
Snape’s handwriting was described as feminine.¹⁰
Snape was likely right handed, based on how he held Trevor.¹¹