Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.

As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

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"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 —" —Snape regarding the planned fate of Harry Potter[src]

Severus Snape (9 January, 1960[1] – 2 May, 1998[2]) was an English half-blood[3] wizard serving as Potions Master (1981-1996), Defence Against the Dark Arts professor (1996-1997), and Headmaster (1997-1998) of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as well as a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a Death Eater. His double life played an extremely important role in both of the Wizarding Wars against Voldemort. The only child of Muggle Tobias Snape and Gobstones witch Eileen Snape (née Prince), Severus was raised in the Muggle dwelling of Spinner's End, which was in close proximity to the home of the Evans family, though in a poorer area. He met Lily and Petunia Evans when he was nine and fell deeply in love with Lily, becoming a close friend of hers.

Severus started at Hogwarts with Lily in 1971, where he was Sorted into Slytherin House. This put him in the same year as Lily but unfortunately for him in rival houses. Severus became the immediate enemy of James Potter and Sirius Black and was a frequent victim of their bullying. This led him to be irritable towards James's son Harry when he was a professor. Snape, when young, developed a passion for the Dark Arts, which increased as his desire for revenge grew stronger. Snape became involved with the bullies in Slytherin House, many of whom were pure-blood supremacists. This put his friendship with Lily, a Muggle-born, under great strain until it was eventually broken in their fifth year. In an attempt to win back Lily's affections,[14] Snape joined the Death Eaters along with a group of his fellow Slytherins.

Severus was made a member of the Slug Club presumably because of his talent in Potion-making and Horace Slughorn kept a picture of him as a student, clutching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. Despite this, Horace did not have many hopes for Severus's future, as his photograph was kept behind many others.[15]

Shortly before Lily Evans was murdered by Lord Voldemort, Snape changed sides and became a member of the Order of the Phoenix as well as a double agent during the Second Wizarding War. With tremendous difficulty, Snape prevented Lord Voldemort from learning the truth about his loyalties. Despite the opinions of most others including Harry during his early life, Albus Dumbledore trusted Snape for reasons that were kept between them both until their deaths. Despite Snape killing Dumbledore, it is learned that they had a special agreement for him to do so. When he died, it was revealed that his deep strong love for Lily Evans caused him to redeem himself, joining Dumbledore's cause for her protection (and, after her death, that of her son) from Lord Voldemort.

The relationship between Dumbledore and Snape would be one of an unusually strong loyalty, so much so that Snape agreed to kill Dumbledore upon the latter's own request. Before Dumbledore's death, Snape promised to protect the students of Hogwarts from the Death Eaters, who would inevitably take control of the Ministry of Magic as well as the school. Snape later participated in the Battle of Hogwarts but was murdered by Lord Voldemort who mistakenly believed that Snape was the master of the Elder Wand (an immensely strong and powerful wand that Voldemort deeply desired, as well as one of the Deathly Hallows) when in reality, Harry Potter was the master of the Elder Wand, because Draco Malfoy had disarmed Dumbledore on the night of Dumbledore's death on top of the Astronomy Tower, and Harry had disarmed Draco at Malfoy Manor.

After Snape's death, Harry Potter ensured that his portrait remained at Hogwarts, honouring him as a hero, despite their significant personal differences. In addition, Harry later named his second son Albus Severus Potter in honour of Dumbledore and Severus, both of whom were an inspiration in Harry's life after the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry also was influenced by Severus' Hogwarts house, and freely admitted that his son Albus could choose Slytherin if he wished.

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Biography

Early life (1960-1971)

Lily Evans: "Doesn’t your dad like magic?" Snape: "He doesn’t like anything, much." — Discussion of Snape's family and home life[src]

Severus Snape was born 9 January 1960 to Eileen Prince , a pure-blood and Tobias Snape , a Muggle making him a half-blood wizard. Severus, whose father was neglectful and possibly even violent, began to identify with his mother's family and created a secret nickname from his mother's maiden name, calling himself the "Half-Blood Prince". His unhappy relationship with his father may have been the origin of his disdain for Muggles. It is implied that Severus was friendless and uncared for by his parents. This lack of care largely shaped Severus's bitter disposition and cruel behaviour later in his life.

Severus grew up at Spinner's End, a shabby suburb of Cokeworth.[17] This area of town was near a dirty river and full of dilapidated houses, disused factories and broken down street lamps. Through the rest of his life, Severus continued to return there when he was not at school. The young Severus is depicted as being unwashed and wearing ill-fitting clothes "that were so mismatched that it looked deliberate". As a child, Severus was neglected and his parents often fought with one another. He could not wait to leave for Hogwarts at the end of the summer.

Lily Evans and her family lived in the same town, close to Spinner's End. After watching her for some time, Severus noticed her evident magical abilities and began making friendly overtures. The two bonded quickly and it appears that he was very interested in Lily right from the beginning, though she only regarded him as a good friend. During this time he also developed a contempt towards her older sister, Petunia. This was most likely because she made disparaging comments about his clothes and residence but may also be because she was a Muggle.

Information from Severus's own memories of his first interactions with Lily and Petunia suggests that he was an awkward child with poor social skills. Even when it was important to him to make a good impression, he always seemed to have trouble doing so.

Hogwarts years (1971-1978)

James Potter: "'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad. Got a problem with that?" Snape: "No. If you'd rather be brawny instead of brainy —" Sirius Black: "Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" — James, Snape, and Sirius have an unpleasant first meeting[src]

Severus attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a student from 1971-1978 and was Sorted into Slytherin House, at that time led by Potions master Horace Slughorn. On the way to Hogwarts for his first year, Severus sat with Lily Evans on the train. While on the train they met James Potter and Sirius Black. This encounter between the three of them revolved around a disagreement regarding what Hogwarts house was the best. This hostile first encounter would set the tone for the antagonism between the three of them for the rest of his life.

Sorted into Slytherin House upon their arrival at the school, classmates would later state that Severus excelled in the Dark Arts from an early age. At the age of eleven, he knew more curses and hexes than most of the seventh year students. He was credited with creating a good number of popular spells like Levicorpus, Liberacorpus, Muffliato, and curses like Langlock, the Toenail Growth Hex, and his signature curse, Sectumsempra. He reportedly was friends with a gang of Slytherins who later became Death Eaters, including Avery, Mulciber, Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Evan Rosier and Wilkes. Severus also had contact with Lucius Malfoy, who was a prefect during his first year and greeted him kindly when he was Sorted into the Slytherin House. Most likely the two had good rapport at Hogwarts (which could also be a reason why Narcissa Malfoy trusted Severus to take care of Draco Malfoy and why he seemed to favour Draco during his later teaching years even when Draco refuses it in the task to kill Dumbledore).

Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were also classmates of Severus. Around the same time, he also got acquainted with another notorious troublemaker; a Fifth year student by the name of Patricia Rakepick who not only was in the same house as his new school rivals, but also actively sought to mentor her younger schoolmates in the art of mischief-making without getting caught: While popular with many of their peers for her, she was, on the other hand, strongly disliked by most of the teachers for her excessive rebellious streak, frequent rule-breaking and the bad influence she was on her younger housemates. No less discontent with her behaviour than their professors were, Severus's mistrust in Rakepick ran deeper still; she was an avid advocate for the existence of the fabled Cursed Vaults of Hogwarts. While her claims were dismissed by the faculty of the day, young Snape, however, was not so certain; seeing her as uncommonly ambitious for a Gryffindor and, he recognised, far from stupid, he eventually came to question her motives and her intentions for the vaults, eventually coming to regard her as a danger to the school and all who resided at the castle.

James and his group of friends were constantly at war with Severus throughout their school years. Severus's memories, recorded in the Pensieve, suggest that he was an introverted and studious individual, whereas James was arrogant, popular and athletic. Immediately upon meeting him, James disliked Severus for expressing a desire to be in Slytherin. James's big crush on Lily, and Severus's close friendship and unrequited love for her also heightened the tension between the two.

One recorded memory in the Pensieve bears witness to James bullying him, turning him upside-down to reveal his underwear in front of many students, including Lily. Lily came to Severus's defence, but this only made things worse: in a subsequent lashing out at James in an attempt to recover his lost dignity, Severus inadvertently called Lily a Mudblood. Lily refused to forgive him for it, even after his repeated apologies. This would forever be Severus's worst memory

Severus noticed that Remus kept disappearing during the full moon and once followed him past the Whomping Willow (after being tipped off on how to do so by Sirius Black) to confirm his suspicions. This act could have cost Severus his life or his humanity (he could have been turned into a werewolf by Remus's bite) if it had not been for James. When James found out what had happened, he went after Severus and managed to save him just before he got to the Shrieking Shack while Remus was in his wolf-form. Albus Dumbledore swore Severus to secrecy, but the true nature of Remus was clear to Severus. By their seventh year, James had grown out of his immaturity and arrogance to the point that Lily agreed to start dating him, even though he never grew out of his hatred for Severus — according to Sirius, Severus had always been a "special case" with James. Lily ended up marrying James, which only strengthened Severus's bitterness towards him.

There was also some overlap between his school career and that of a younger student by the name of Jacob, yet another rule-breaker Snape came to severely dislike. During the later part of his magical education, the school was plagued by several dangerous curses unleashed upon the school by Jacob after he tampered with the fabled Cursed Vaults, which resulted in the death and injury of several of his peers, although he suffered no permanent injury himself.

Half-Blood Prince

"This book is property of the Half-Blood Prince." —The inside cover of the textbook[src]

Severus was a talented wizard even in his childhood. It was apparent through the notes and scribbles in his potions textbook that he made time during classes to invent curses charms , and clever potion innovations, while simultaneously learning the required textbook lessons.

Severus's potions textbook contained a few spells and curses which he was credited with inventing: Levicorpus, which grabbed the victim by the ankle and dangled him/her upside-down, and Sectumsempra, which caused slashing bloody cuts (guided by the wand gestures of the caster, like a blade/sword) which bled extensively. Levicorpus somehow escaped from Severus's secrecy, and became very popular around Hogwarts towards the end of his fifth year at school. Some other spells included Muffliato, which filled the ears of anyone nearby with an unidentifiable buzzing sound and another hex that caused toenails to grow at an unnaturally fast rate. Severus's book later fell into the hands of Harry Potter in September 1996. Harry used the Half-Blood Prince's tips and earned praise with that year's Potions master, Professor Slughorn. Harry considered the Half-Blood Prince to be a better teacher than Severus, unaware at that point that Severus was the Prince, much to Harry's later displeasure.

The potions textbook has an inscription indicating it is Property of the Half-Blood Prince. Hermione Granger's research revealed that Prince was the maiden name of Severus's mother and so the nickname was revealed to be a combination of his mother's maiden name and his blood status. Harry Potter also pointed out the similarities between Snape's nickname and the name Voldemort gave himself. This nickname was apparently a secret, as Remus did not remember it ever being used publicly by Severus.

First Wizarding War (1978-1981)

As a Death Eater

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…." —The part of Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy that Snape overheard[src]

Severus Snape eventually joined the ranks of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. His actions as a Death Eater are largely unknown, though he quickly became an important Death Eater in Voldemort's inner circle. He was the spy responsible for informing Voldemort about the prophecy foretelling his downfall. In early 1980, Snape eavesdropped on an interview for Divination Professor Sybill Trelawney and Albus Dumbledore at the Hog's Head Inn. In the course of the interview, Trelawney prophesied that at the end of July, a child would be born who would cause the destruction of Lord Voldemort (which prompted Dumbledore to hire her, partly for her own safety). At that time it was not clear who was meant by the prophecy. Two children of prominent wizarding families were born that year at the end of July: Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom.

Albus reported at the Wizengamot trial of Igor Karkaroff that Severus had come to him and explained that he had been the one to overhear the prophecy, and reported it to Voldemort. However, Snape did not hear the entire prophecy, as the Hog's Head's barman and Albus' brother, Aberforth, caught him eavesdropping and threw him out.

As a double agent

Albus Dumbledore: "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear. You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily's son." : " Snape: "Very well. But never — never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear... especially Potter's son..." — Snape promises to protect Harry after Lily's murder[src]

Severus suffered terrible remorse when Voldemort decided that Harry Potter was the subject of the prophecy and that Lily Evans , the woman whom he always loved, was now in danger as a result of his actions. He begged Voldemort to spare her, who agreed. However, knowing that he could not leave Lily's safety in the hands of someone who could turn back at his word on a mere whim and that Lily would probably defend her child to the last breath, Snape also approached Albus Dumbledore to ask him to save Lily. He pleaded with Dumbledore to hide her, along with her husband and son if he had to. Dumbledore agreed but insisted that Severus serve him as a spy among the Death Eaters . In fact, it was Snape's request to Voldemort which allowed Lily to let herself die in order for Harry to live when Voldemort attempted to murder him, his curse backfired and Voldemort's body was destroyed.

Despite Dumbledore's best efforts to protect the Potters, Voldemort was tipped off by Peter Pettigrew, one of James' best friends, a spy, and he found them anyway. After Lily's death, Snape was devastated and distraught to the point of wishing himself dead, but Dumbledore urged him to ensure Harry's safety out of respect for Lily's memory; Snape initially insisted the danger had been averted with the Dark Lord gone, only for Albus to insist that he would return and everyone, particularly the boy, would be in danger when that happened. So Snape spent the rest of his life protecting her child, Harry Potter, who was often said to strongly resemble James. Distrusted for his past as a Death Eater by those on Albus Dumbledore's side, and hated by other Death Eaters for living as Dumbledore's stooge for ten years, Snape continued living on to complete Dumbledore's plan to protect Harry and defeat Voldemort.

Between the wars (1981-1995)

"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 put a stopper in death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." —Snape teaching Potions at Hogwarts[src]

When Severus Snape began his teaching career at Hogwarts in 1981, taking up a teaching post around the same time as the threat posed by the rampaging curses that had terrorised the castle's residents were contained and the subsequent expulsion of his former peer for the rules he had broken in his quest for the Cursed Vaults and the fellow students who had been endangered in the process, he initially applied for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but was rejected multiple times.[18] Many students were under the impression that this was because Dumbledore feared Snape might return to his old ways if allowed to teach his favourite subject, but in reality it was because Dumbledore was aware by that point that the job had been jinxed by Voldemort. Knowing that no Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would last longer than a year, Dumbledore instead employed Snape in the position of Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, following the retirement of veteran Potions Master Professor Horace Slughorn. Though it seemed rather uncommon for someone as young as Snape to be named Head of any House at Hogwarts, it is possible that Snape was the only Slytherin teacher left at the school, or that he was placed there to keep a watchful eye on the young Slytherins, who were frequently accused of (but not without reason) joining the Death Eaters.

Following Voldemort's fall, Snape never attempted to find his old master, having switched sides ever since the Dark Lord had targeted Lily and this allowed him to avoid time in Azkaban as Dumbledore staunchly defended him. He fabricated the fact that he believed Voldemort to be dead as an alibi for still loyal Death Eaters, but in truth, he and Dumbledore had discussed Voldemort and knew he would inevitably return, henceforth the most important reason why he applied as a teacher: to ensure from the shadows the safety of Harry Potter, who Lily had died protecting. This would bring him into conflict with fanatical Death Eaters like Bellatrix Lestrange later in life, but Snape was almost immediately forgiven by the reborn Voldemort, because he could provide him with thirteen years of information on Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.

In the meantime and with Voldemort vanished, he focused on his teaching duties at Hogwarts. As a professor, Snape was a stickler for discipline, with little patience for foolishness, yet extremely effective in his job and well respected by the other professors. His deep understanding of potion brewing, as shown by his expert concoction of Wolfsbane Potion,[19] transformed the knowledge of potions from mere chemistry to an art. This was unfortunate for his classes. He would accept students into his N.E.W.T. classes only if they had achieved an 'Outstanding' mark at their O.W.L. examination. He felt that anyone with a lower mark than that would lack the passion and the devotion to the complex and demanding subjects that would follow in the last two years of school. Though strict, Snape had a certain level of bias for Slytherins, giving them undeserved rights over the others, while looking down on the other students somewhat unfairly.

Snape's role during this entire time was extremely sensitive and required master espionage and image-control skills. As he and Dumbledore anticipated that Voldemort would return eventually, and many of Snape's actions would be reported on by Death Eater spies or gained through torture and Legilimency, even if Snape's true mentality and intentions were inaccessible to the Dark Lord, he had to consider every decision and relationship carefully. He treated Harry Potter with maximal coldness and never missed an opportunity to cause him trouble, as any variation from this would have cast suspicion on him in Voldemort's eyes. But in reality, he protected Harry on numerous occasions; he was happy enough to cause the boy, who resembled his father, Snape's hated rival from school days, humiliation and trouble, but never any actual harm or danger as he was still Lily's son. He also had to avoid becoming too aware of Voldemort's plans, so as to avoid being held responsible for allowing Harry and his friends to foil them. But he handled all this brilliantly, and his every action during this period created no mistrust on the part of Voldemort.

1984-1985 school year

Argus Filch: "Is it true that the vaults are filled with gold and powerful prophecies and artefacts from before Hogwarts existed? And that's why that Jacob boy lost his mind trying to find them?" Snape: "Don't worry about what's inside the vaults. Worry about keeping everyone out. Lock the door and keep it guarded." — Snape and Filch discusses the first sign that someone has tampered with the Cursed Vaults[src]

Closing in on the first half a decade of his tenure as an instructor at Hogwarts, Professor Snape was present at the Start-of-Term Feast of the 1984–1985 school year, during which he was introduced to the new First Years as the Head of Slytherin House during the Sorting ceremony. He witnessed the sorting of, among others, the younger sibling of Jacob, who was sorted into the same house as Jacob and of whom he became immediately suspicious.[20] During the very first day of teaching the first years, he instructed the newcomers in the correct way in which to brew a Cure for Boils, during which he made no attempt at hiding his dislike for Jacob's cognate, and openly favoured Merula Snyde, a student in his own house and whose parents had been among his own comrades during his time as a Death Eater, presumably both due to his bias towards his own house, as well as part of maintaining his cover as a future double agent. Throughout the year, he proceeded to teach this class, among other things, the Wiggenweld Potion[21], the Herbicide Potion[22] and how to properly concoct a Sleeping Draught.[23] Throughout the term, however, Professor Snape found himself reluctantly acknowledging the said student's talent.

Sometime later, Snape and the school's Charms Master Filius Flitwick were made aware of how there were to be an unsanctioned duel between Jacob's sibling and Merula Snyde in the Clocktower Courtyard, arriving just in time to see the latter successfully deprive their opponent of her wand. Although Professor Filius Flitwick wanted to know who it was that cast the first spell, keeping in mind that Jacob's sibling had been instructed to only ever use the Disarming Charm defensively, Snape was largely dismissive of who started the fight. After subtly criticising his colleague, whom he correctly deduced were the one who had instructed said student in how to cast the Disarming Charm in the first place, he ordered both students to get cleaned up and meet up at the West Tower in order to receive punishment for their transgression. Upon reporting the incident to Albus Dumbledore, Snape asked for Jacob's sibling to be expelled, whom he regarded as a troublemaker just like their brother before them, a request the Headmaster rejected, and which he would soon thereafter lament about in the presence of both Jacob's sibling and Snyde. Although he docked twenty points from the former's house, he was interrupted by the Caretaker of the day, Argus Filch, before he could do anything else. Upon being informed about an incident that had occurred that demanded his immediate attention that was related to the Cursed Vaults, Snape ordered both students to return to their Common Rooms.[24]

Accompanying the Caretaker to a corridor on the fifth floor, Mr Filch explained that he and his pet cat, Mrs Norris, had discovered how Cursed ice had appeared in one of the rooms there. Immediately recognising this as one of the curses unleashed when someone had tampered with the Cursed Vaults, Snape immediately ordered Filch to lock the door and stand guard to prevent students from getting inside, before he left to inform the Headmaster. In the aftermath of this discovery, the faculty successfully managed to keep it from spreading any further and securely sealed up the room afterwards, although he was unaware the two students he had just left had followed them and overheard portions of his conversation with Filch and resolved to break into the room in order to look for clues regarding the whereabouts of the vaults.[25] Throughout the rest of the year, he presumably continued to keep a sharp eye on the students, especially Jacob's sibling, and do everything he could to keep the discovery from the student body, in which he was ultimately unsuccessful.[26]

1985-1986 school year

I mentioned Harry Potter in Potions, and Snape threw a jar of pickled animal parts at me." —Unidentified first year[src]

1991-1992 school year

Snape: "You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell." Quirinus Quirrell: "I-I don't know what you —" Snape: "You know perfectly well what I mean." — A warning after Quirrell attempted to seize the Philosopher's Stone[src]

At some point early on in the year, Snape became livid when a first-year mentioned Harry Potter in class, and hurled a jar of pickled animal parts at him.

In 1991, Nicolas Flamel, a famous alchemist and friend of Albus Dumbledore, had the Philosopher's Stone that was keeping him alive moved from his safe in Gringotts to Hogwarts for safekeeping. Snape contributed to the defences set up around the magical artefact by adding a Potions Riddle as one of the obstacles, and the only obstacle that used logic as a key factor instead of magic. At the same time, Harry Potter became a student in Snape's classes, and the two of them detested each other almost immediately. Harry's resemblance to his father and his acquired 'celebrity' status brought the worst out of Snape from their very first Potions lesson. Although Snape had pledged an oath to Dumbledore that he would protect Harry, such an oath did not stand in the way of Snape's bias to Slytherin House, nor did it mean Harry was to get any special treatment in academics.

Throughout the year as part of his promise to Dumbledore, Snape did everything he could to prevent Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor Quirinus Quirrell from helping Lord Voldemort obtain the Philosopher's Stone, having seen him as what he was and at least knew he was helping Voldemort, if not also being aware of Voldemort possessing Quirell. By 31 October, the turbaned Professor, sure enough, made his first move by letting a Mountain troll into Hogwarts Castle as a diversion. Snape took this chance to stop him from sneaking into the restricted third-floor corridor where the Stone was being hidden in the midst of the chaotic event, only to get bitten in the leg by the corridor's three-headed guard dog, Fluffy.

When Quirrell made his first attempt on Harry's life by jinxing his new broomstick during the boy's first Quidditch game, Snape intervened again by performing a counter-curse to prevent Harry from being hurled off. Unfortunately, Hermione Granger observed the crowd through binoculars to figure out who was performing the jinx and caught Snape discreetly uttering the counter-curse incantation, but erroneously thought he was performing the actual curse. So she ran to his stand and set fire to his robes in order to distract him and make him stop, and luckily for Snape, she accidentally knocked Quirrell over during her hurry back to the Gryffindor stands, causing him to break the eye contact necessary for performing his spell correctly. For the next match, Snape insisted on refereeing to make sure it did not happen again. This did not come across well to the other teachers, who believed that he was just trying to injure the Gryffindor Quidditch team's chances of winning.

1992-1993 school year

Harry Potter: "Maybe he's left, because he missed out on the Defence Against the Dark Arts job again!" : " Ron Weasley : "Or he might have been sacked! I mean, everyone hates him —" Snape: "Or maybe he's waiting to hear why you two didn't arrive on the school train." — Confronting Harry and Ron after they arrive via a flying car[src]

Snape intensely confronted Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest on the night after the match, demanding to know why he was after the Philosopher's Stone. Unbeknownst to them both, Harry was watching the entire argument from the treetops, having followed his Potions teacher into the forest on his broomstick after passing him at the school Quidditch shed . But because the boy suspected Snape of plotting to steal the stone and of attempting to kill him, it seemed to him that the Potions professor was trying to intimidate Quirrell into handing over information regarding the artefact. So he, Ron Weasley and Hermione unjustly tried to be supportive and encouraging to Quirrell whenever possible by telling people off for laughing at his stutter, smiling at him encouragingly whenever they passed him or arguing with Snape.

During the beginning of the school year in 1992, Snape learned from the Evening Prophet that Muggles spotted Harry and Ron travelling to Hogwarts in a flying Ford Anglia, instead of on the Hogwarts Express. Knowing the severity of their deeds could very well cause them to be expelled, which would put Harry in great danger as he would lose Dumbledore's protection, Snape took matters into his hand and confronted them when they had landed, where he severely berated them for their breach of one of the most sacred laws of their world and pretended to call upon Professors Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall to make them solve this situation. It was as Snape wanted: Dumbledore ensured they would not be expelled and Minerva punished them instead by giving them a warning and separate detentions.

Regardless of his desire to uphold Lily's memory, Snape considered the punishment too lenient and retaliated by allowing the Slytherin Quidditch team to unfairly usurp the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch during the Gryffindor team's practice time. This was in order for them to train Draco Malfoy as their new Seeker. Later on in the year, Harry, Ron, and Hermione successfully managed to smuggle Polyjuice Potion ingredients from Snape's personal cabinets. They did this by creating a spectacle of a diversion in his classroom, which involved a firecracker and the Swelling Potion that was being made in class. He was utterly furious at the mess and the way he looked it Harry made it clear he knew it was Harry who had caused it considering the way he looked at Harry, with Harry referring to having felt Snape read his mind, strongly indicating Snape used Legilimency on him. However, he was forced to let Harry go again as Dumbledore had made it clear to him that no other punishment but being expelled would be dealt out to Harry if he broke another rule and Snape could not let his anger overpower his desire to see Lily's son be protected.

During this year, Professor Snape also worked with the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, in running the Duelling Club. In this period, he quickly visibly showed a large amount of irritation and anger at Professor Lockhart who would remain, evermore, the teacher of the subject he most cherished. Snape took a certain amount of enjoyment in blasting him against a wall and looking ready to murder him on the spot to the point that even Lockhart was intimidated enough to stop annoying Snape. He ensured that Harry would be engaged with Draco instead, but interfered when Harry and Draco practically checkmated each other, with Harry using the Tickling Charm on Malfoy and was subsequently hit by the Dancing Feet Spell. Although he gave Malfoy the instruction needed to conjure a snake and relished the fact that Harry was alone to face the large angry snake, once Harry showed his Parseltongue ability, Snape quickly interfered to avoid too much of a problem on Harry's part by vanishing the snake and allowing him to be escorted out of the Great Hall by his friends but looked at him suspiciously before he left.

Lockhart would only further irritate Professor Snape during Valentine's Day, where he held a party to celebrate it as Snape looked on particularly dreadfully to the point he looked as if he had been forced to take multiple Skele-Gro and Snape did not hesitate to look utterly infuriated when Lockhart cheerfully asked the students to make Snape brew for them Love Potions to the point he clearly shot a warning look to them that he would force-feed anyone who dared to ask him to poison. Snape was very likely among the professors who were highly irritated by the Cupids Lockhart unleashed upon Hogwarts as they keep getting in the way of lessons. This hatred for Lockhart finally reached its apex when Professor Lockhart walked in upon their discovery of Ginny being taken to the Chamber of Secrets, as even Snape was genuinely concerned for her regardless of how he treated Gryffindor, and furiously led the teachers into forcing him out of the way so that students could be escorted to safety, outright not giving Lockhart even a second to rebuke Snape's claim of having heard Lockhart proclaim that he had found the monster.

By describing the Polyjuice Potion in Potions class (which Hermione remembered), and demonstrating the Disarming Charm to the Duelling Club, Snape taught Harry two skills that ultimately proved critical to his success.

1993-1994 school year

Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognise a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are." —Snape substituting as the DADA professor[src]

During this school year, Snape demonstrated his expertise with potions by brewing the complex Wolfsbane Potion for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin . Throughout this year, Snape suspected that Lupin may be helping Sirius Black , an escapee from Azkaban , enter Hogwarts castle. This suspicion stemmed from Lupin's friendship with Sirius and Harry's father James Potter when they were all at Hogwarts as students. It is revealed that Sirius once played a joke on Snape, telling him that he could find out where Lupin was going every month if he climbed into the Whomping Willow . James realised the danger and saved Snape's life by pulling him back.

Near the end of the school year, Snape ambushed Black as he entered the school again and attempted to apprehend him, believing him to have been the one who had betrayed Lily to Voldemort. Snape appeared from under the Invisibility cloak that Harry had left near the Whomping Willow, tied Remus up, and while engaged in a vociferous argument with Harry and Hermione, he attempted to arrange to send Sirius and Remus to Azkaban Prison. However, before he could give Sirius and Remus to the Dementors, Harry, Ron, and Hermione simultaneously used Expelliarmus on Snape. Snape also said that Harry, Ron, and Hermione faced suspension for being out-of-bounds. Since Harry aided Black's escape, Snape was beside himself with indignation. On the last day of school, he revealed to his students that Lupin was a werewolf, forcing Lupin to resign his post.

1994-1995 school year

Course Dumbledore trusts you. He's a trusting man, isn't he? Believes in second chances. But me — I say there are spots that don't come off, Snape. Spots that never come off, d'you know what I mean?" "' —Barty Crouch Jnr (as Alastor Moody) referring to Snape's Dark Mark[src]

Snape was apoplectic when Harry's name was unexpectedly chosen from the Goblet of Fire. Despite the fishy circumstances surrounding the incident and the immense dangers that Harry was facing, Snape refused to believe that he did not deliberately enter himself in for the Triwizard Tournament. Indeed, he continued to treat Harry as maliciously as ever, thinking that he had broken into his office to steal ingredients that would aid him in the underwater phase of the tournament.

Harry later discovered that Snape was once a Death Eater but had been vouched for by Dumbledore. Dumbledore told the Wizengamot that although Snape had indeed worked for Voldemort, he changed sides and turned spy against him. Dumbledore reassured Harry that Snape's loyalties were genuine, though he refused to tell Harry why.

Harry was not the only one who had expressed scepticism over Snape's reform. Professor Moody had Snape's office searched at the beginning of the year, claiming that it was an "Auror's privilege" and that Dumbledore mentioned being watchful of him. Snape was resentful of Moody's accusations but could not do anything about it. (In truth, Moody was actually an impostor who had been raiding Snape's cabinet for ingredients to make Polyjuice Potion.)

Despite Snape's unawareness of the real reason why Harry was in the tournament, it had not escaped his notice that Lord Voldemort's mark was becoming increasingly more pronounced throughout the year. Karkaroff, who dreaded retribution from Voldemort, panicked and confided his fears in Snape. Karkaroff attempted to talk to him numerous times throughout the year, but Snape had no sympathy for him and offered no help. Karkaroff consequently fled when the Dark Lord returned, but Snape, who remained in the Dark Lord's good favour with the information he could provide on Dumbledore, had nothing to fear from him in the term of retribution. In fact, he appeared to have been waiting for Voldemort's return more than ever in this year, as he and Dumbledore were conversing about it.

After the Third Task and the Rebirth of Lord Voldemort, Barty Crouch Jnr took Harry to Moody's office. Crouch Jnr started to question Harry about what had happened but was shortly rescued by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape. Soon the effects of Crouch Jnr's Polyjuice Potion wore off; in the excitement, he had neglected to take it at the proper time to maintain his cover. Under the effects of Veritaserum provided by Professor Snape, Crouch described Lord Voldemort's plan to resurrect himself and Crouch Jnr's own involvement in getting Harry to the graveyard. Dumbledore and Snape attempted to convince a disbelieving Cornelius Fudge that Voldemort had returned. Snape was finally told the truth about Sirius's innocence and was forced by Dumbledore to shake hands. He was subsequently sent on a secret mission by Dumbledore to rejoin the Death Eaters and spy on the Dark Lord as a re-doubled agent.

Second Wizarding War (1995-1998)

1995-1996 school year

Dolores Umbridge: "Ah, yes. The time has come for answers, whether he wants to give them or not. Have you bought the Veritaserum?" Snape: "I'm afraid you have used up all my stores interrogating students... Unless you wish to poison Potter — and I assure you, I would have the greatest sympathy if you did — I cannot help you." — Snape witholding Veritaserum from Umbridge[src]

During the 1995-1996 school year, with Voldemort having returned to his body, Snape carried on with his work as a re-doubled agent for Dumbledore. During the summer, he was seen at 12 Grimmauld Place giving reports to the Order of the Phoenix . Snape frequently taunted Sirius about the latter not being able to take an active role in the Order's missions due to his fugitive status.

Back at school, Snape's allegiance to the Order had no effect on his dislike for Harry. When Harry began having visions about Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore asked Snape to teach Harry Occlumency in order to shut down the telepathic connection.[28] However, mutual hostility made it difficult for them to work productively during the sessions. Indeed, Snape had to be very careful in the ways that he helped Harry, should Voldemort read Harry's mind and discover his servant working against him. At one point, Harry peeked into the Pensieve when Snape was out of his office and witnessed a private memory of Snape being viciously bullied and harassed by Harry's father. Upon returning, Snape grabbed him roughly by the arm and threw him out of the office and forbade him from ever coming back again. For all the rest of that semester, he treated Harry with redoubled contempt and fury and ignored him in class whenever possible.

Towards the end of the school year, Dolores Umbridge captured Harry and questioned him on the whereabouts of Dumbledore. She sent for Snape to provide Veritaserum to force Harry to reveal any information he may be hiding. Snape claimed that his supplies of Veritaserum were exhausted earlier, when she had attempted to use the drug surreptitiously to force information from Harry (however, it is highly likely that he lied). As a result, Snape withheld further assistance.

It is later revealed that Snape had actually given Umbridge a fake potion during her prior attempts. Upon hearing Harry's cryptic warning about Sirius's capture, he swiftly carried the message back to the other Order members, and helped come up with a plan for them to come to the rescue in the Department of Mysteries while he searched the Forbidden Forest for Harry. But since Umbridge was near, he pretended to ignore it. However, despite the fact that Snape came to his aid multiple times throughout the year, Harry hated him as much as ever, due to believing that Snape's goading spurred Sirius into joining the battle.

1996-1997 school year

"Severus... please...." —Dumbledore pleading for Snape to end his life[src]

In July 1996 Dumbledore had been afflicted by a powerful curse cast on Marvolo Gaunt's ring , one of Voldemort's Horcruxes , prior to the start of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts. Although Snape's knowledge of the Dark Arts enabled him to slow the spread of the curse, the curse would have ultimately killed Dumbledore within a year. Dumbledore, aware that Voldemort had ordered Draco to kill him, asked Snape to kill him instead as a way of sparing the boy's soul and of preventing his own otherwise slow, painful death. Although Snape was reluctant, even asking about the impact of such an action on his own soul, Dumbledore implied that this kind of coup de grâce would not damage a human's soul in the same way murder would. Furthermore, once Snape had done the deed, he would gain Voldemort's complete trust and learn more of his plans. Snape agreed to do as the Headmaster requested.

Shortly after that, Snape was visited by Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy at his home in Spinner's End. Narcissa's son Draco had been given a difficult task by Voldemort, and Narcissa swore Snape to an Unbreakable Vow, on pain of death should he break it, that he would protect Draco, help him complete Voldemort's task, and finish the task himself if Draco failed. When questioned by Bellatrix about his loyalties, Snape claimed to have been working for Voldemort (rather than for Dumbledore) ever since Voldemort's return, and explained his actions in the previous years in that light. In addition, he pointed out that Dumbledore's protection had kept him out of Azkaban and free to operate on Voldemort's behalf.

At the start-of-term feast at Hogwarts, Dumbledore announced he had finally appointed Snape as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, much to Harry's shock and displeasure. Snape was no less severe in teaching Defence than he had been with Potions, although he did allow students who achieved below "Outstanding" at O.W.L. level to enter his N.E.W.T. classes. Having finally acquired the position he desired for so long, Snape taught the lessons with a tone of passion for the Dark Arts he sought to undo, something he did not do for Potions. He also became less biased, as he allowed Hermione to answer his question (as opposed to three years ago, he insulted her for being "an insufferable know-it-all"), and sentenced Crabbe and Goyle to detention for dissatisfying progress in their repeated fifth year.

Horace Slughorn, a retired Hogwarts teacher, replaced Snape as Potions Master. Slughorn loaned Harry an old Potions textbook, in which Harry found marginalia including helpful tips on how to make potions better and a variety of hexes and jinxes seemingly invented by an unknown student. The book was inscribed "This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince". With the help of the notes, Harry quickly became the best potion-maker in the class and Slughorn's favourite student. Snape, however, was suspicious when he heard about Harry's newfound success, maintaining that he "never had the impression that [he] had been able to teach Potter anything at all".

In the spring, Snape met with Dumbledore on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest and wanted to know more about the private lessons between Albus and Harry. Not knowing that they were overheard by Hagrid, Snape burst into resentment that Dumbledore trusts Harry more than him. Dumbledore only ordered Severus to look after Draco even more, after Ron Weasley has been poisoned. Albus also invited him for an evening visit in his office. When Snape arrived and learned that Harry had to die, he showed outrage and ultimately showed that he still after all these years loved Lily by revealing his Patronus to be a doe, the same as Lily's.

Later, in a fight with Draco, Harry cast one of the Prince's spells marked "For Enemies" (Sectumsempra) and was horrified when it caused devastating wounds to Draco's face and chest. Snape rushed to the scene and healed Draco's wounds, and then interrogated Harry about the source of the spell. When Harry refused to tell him anything, Snape demanded that he bring him all of his books. Harry hid the Prince's book and gave Ron Weasley's copy of the book to Snape instead. Snape punished Harry by giving him a detention every Saturday for the rest of the year, including during the final Quidditch match of the season. Fearing of exposing himself as the inventor of the curse that injured Draco, Snape did not outright expose Harry's cheating in Potions to Slughorn or the rest of the staff, thus resulting in a punishment much more lenient than usual, which Professor McGonagall saw as something very lucky for Harry.

Main article: Battle of the Astronomy Tower

Before leaving with Dumbledore to find a Horcrux, Harry discovered from Professor Sybill Trelawney that it had been Severus who overheard the Prophecy and told it to Voldemort, thus causing Voldemort to hunt Harry and his parents. Despite this and Harry's angry questions, Dumbledore maintained that he trusted Snape. After returning to Hogwarts with the Slytherin Locket, Harry and Dumbledore flew to the school's Astronomy Tower. Gravely weakened by Voldemort's potion, and the school being under attack by Death Eaters, Dumbledore asked Harry to fetch Snape for him. Before Harry could leave, Draco arrived and disarmed Dumbledore, intending to carry out Voldemort's ordered assassination. Draco was unable to bring himself to commit the murder, however, and Snape killed the headmaster himself.

An enraged Harry (who had been immobilised by Dumbledore for his own protection and had witnessed the killing while under his Invisibility cloak) chased Snape, Draco, and the Death Eaters as they fled the castle. The two of them engaged in a fierce duel, which became increasingly one-sided. Snape easily blocked Harry's attempts to attack him and jeeringly pointed out Harry's mistakes, but refused to strike back. However, he became enraged when Harry called him a coward and began using his own spells against him, resulting in him blasting Harry back against the ground.

During the confrontation, Snape also revealed himself to be the "Half-Blood Prince" (being the son of Tobias Snape, a Muggle, and Eileen Prince, a pure-blood). Harry was unable to stop Snape before the latter passed through the school gates and Disapparated.

On the run

Hermione Granger: "I don't think he wanted to associate himself with that book. I don't think Dumbledore would have liked it very much if he'd known. And even if Snape pretended it hadn't been his, Slughorn would have recognised his writing at once." Harry Potter: "I should have showed the book to Dumbledore. All that time he was showing me how Voldemort was evil even when he was at school, and I had proof Snape was, too —" — Upon finding out Snape was the owner of the textbook[src]

After killing Albus Dumbledore and fleeing the school, Snape once more rejoined the ranks of the Death Eaters. In the summer of 1997, Snape informed Lord Voldemort that Harry was to depart from his relatives' house four days before his birthday. On Dumbledore's orders, Snape told the Death Eaters the correct date so as to continue Voldemort's trust in him.

Snape then fed Mundungus Fletcher the idea of using seven decoys of Harry Potter during his movement to a place of safety so that when the Death Eaters arrived, they would not know who the real one was. In order to be consistent in his own role as a Death Eater, Snape confunded Fletcher so that he would not remember who told him.

Because of Severus' information, when the Order of the Phoenix moved Harry from Privet Drive they were ambushed by Death Eaters, and the Battle of the Seven Potters ensued. During the battle, Snape accidentally sliced George Weasley's ear off with his wand while aiming at another Death Eater.

Shortly after the battle, Severus visited 12 Grimmauld Place where, in Sirius Black' bedroom, he found Lily Potter's letter. Snape had cut off the letter and took the page, which contained Lily's signature and love. He also cut off the picture of Potter family and took the page, which contained Lily, for himself.

As Headmaster

"Severus Snape, long-standing Potions master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and wizardry, was today appointed Headmaster in the most important of several staffing changes at the ancient school. Following the resignation of the previous Muggle Studies teacher, Alecto Carrow will take over the post while her brother, Amycus, fills the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. 'I welcome the opportunity to uphold our finest Wizarding traditions and values' —" —Daily Prophet, 1 September, 1997[src]

During the 1997-1998 school year, Snape was named Headmaster of Hogwarts, while Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow were appointed Deputy Heads. Snape used his position as Headmaster to discreetly protect the students and to contain the Carrows. It is later understood that, during his time as Headmaster, Snape consulted with the portraits of the previous Headmasters, and continued to receive instructions from Dumbledore's portrait.

Before the beginning of the first term, Rufus Scrimgeour removed the Sword of Gryffindor from its glass case in the headmaster's office for examination, along with the other items Dumbledore left in his will. However, this sword was a fake. The real sword had been hidden in a hole in the wall behind Dumbledore's portrait.

When its counterfeit had been returned to Dumbledore's office, another attempt to seize the sword was made by Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Ginny Weasley. After pretending to punish them by sending them into the Forbidden Forest with Rubeus Hagrid, Snape passed the fake sword along to Bellatrix Lestrange, who kept it in her vault at Gringotts, thinking that it was real.

Upon being informed by the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black of Harry Potter's whereabouts, Dumbledore's portrait instructed Snape to give Harry the real sword without the latter knowing it. Not only would Harry not have taken kindly to Snape's appearance after his attack on George Weasley, and also for the murder of Dumbledore of which Harry was an eye-witness, it would have been dangerous if Voldemort were to read his mind and see Snape helping him. Snape then took the real sword, hid it in a frozen pool of water near Harry's camping spot, and used his Patronus to guide Harry to it. After having rescued Harry from drowning, Ron claimed to have supposedly seen someone watching from the shadows. Though not stated, it is extremely likely to have been Snape keeping an eye on Harry and only departing once he knew the latter was safe.

As a headmaster, Snape was thoroughly disliked by many of his students. The old members of Dumbledore's Army reformed the organisation after Lord Voldemort gained control over the school and started up a revolt against Snape and the Carrows. Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley were at the forefront of the rebellion. Snape, following up on his promise to Dumbledore to keep the students safe, subtly undermined the violent, sadistic attempts of the Carrows to keep control by doing things such as sending students to help Hagrid as punishments rather than the Carrows' more dangerous alternatives. Neville stated that Snape was hardly ever seen whilst headmaster. This could be because Snape remained in the headmaster's office most of the time or was searching for/following the trio to make sure they were safe and/or making progress. Also, during his tenure, the Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four was re-enacted and students had taken to (most likely under Snape's orders) marching from point A to point B together like they were in military school.

Dismissal as Headmaster

"No! You'll do no more murder at Hogwarts!" —Filius Flitwick confronting Snape during his ousting[src]

Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Hogwarts Castle in search of one of the last of Voldemort's Horcruxes, which they believed to have something to do with Rowena Ravenclaw. The only idea they could come up with was Ravenclaw's lost diadem, and so Harry and Luna Lovegood went to the Ravenclaw Common Room to get an idea of what the diadem looked like. Here they were met by Alecto Carrow, who pressed her finger to the Dark Mark and summoned Voldemort.[29] Amycus Carrow arrived, but so did Minerva McGonagall, and Snape subtly allowed the inept Death Eater Carrow siblings to be knocked out in the battle. As McGonagall rushed to meet with the other Heads of Houses to protect the school from Voldemort's oncoming attack, she was stopped by Snape, who demanded she tell him if she knew the whereabouts of Harry Potter.[30]

The two began fighting, and while Snape put up a good defence, McGonagall was soon helped by the arrival of the other Heads of House: Sprout, Flitwick, and Slughorn. Outnumbered, Snape fled the castle, jumping out the window of a classroom and using the ability to fly without a broom, which he presumably learned from Voldemort.[30]

"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine" —Voldemort, explaining to Snape why he must murder him[src]

Later in the evening, Snape was summoned by Voldemort to the Shrieking Shack. Voldemort explained that he believed that Snape was the master of the Elder Wand from killing Dumbledore and that Snape must die so that the Elder Wand can be his. Snape tried to explain the situation but Voldemort ordered Nagini to kill Snape by biting into his neck, injecting him with her extremely poisonous venom, before he could finish speaking. Before dying, Snape released a cloud of memories and told Harry, who had watched the entire scene from a hidden spot, to take them.[31] Harry later took the memories to the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office. From these memories, Harry learned everything about Snape's past. In the first scene, Harry discovered that Snape had befriended Lily as a nine-year-old child when they lived near each other in the industrial town of Cokeworth.

Upon their arrival at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat placed Snape and Lily into Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses, respectively. They remained close friends for the next few years until they were driven apart by Snape's interest in the Dark Arts and by Lily's interest in James Potter. The friendship finally ended following the incident that Harry had briefly witnessed in his fifth year, in which Snape accidentally insulted Lily. Despite this separation, and Snape's enmity toward Lily's eventual husband James Potter, Snape continued to love Lily on a much deeper and stronger romantic level for the rest of his life.

Snape was next seen going to Dumbledore and desperately begging him to hide the Potters from Lord Voldemort, who was planning on targeting Lily's son to prevent a prophecy from being fulfilled. Snape had been the one who previously revealed said prophecy to Voldemort, not knowing at first that it was referring to Lily and her family. Though he asked Voldemort to spare Lily, Snape still feared for her safety, as he knew that Voldemort could not be relied on to grant this small favour. Snape became a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix so that Dumbledore could ensure Lily's protection, employing Occlumency to hide his duplicity from his master.

Snape felt devastating pain and remorse when Lily was found and murdered. From that point on, he agreed to help Dumbledore protect her son and fight against Lord Voldemort. Snape demanded, however, that his feelings about Lily be kept a secret. Dumbledore complied and never told anyone the real reason why Snape switched sides.

Snape's memories then revealed that Severus slowed the spread of the curse afflicted on Dumbledore, after he put Marvolo Gaunt's ring. However, the curse would have ultimately killed Albus within a year. Dumbledore, knowing that Draco Malfoy was ordered by Voldemort to kill him, and expecting the boy will fail, asked Snape to kill himself instead of Draco in order to gain Voldemort's complete trust and learn more of his plans.

At the end Snape's memories showed Snape's outrage after learning that Harry had to die. Snape ultimately revealed his Patronus, a doe, the same as Lily's, showing he still, after all these years, loved her.

Because of the memories, Harry finally understood where Snape's true allegiances always were. The memories provided Harry with the information he needed to ensure Voldemort's final defeat. He also showed Harry the memory where Albus Dumbledore had told him about Harry himself being a Horcrux (although he did not understand it) because Dumbledore had asked him to pass that along to Harry when the time was right.

Post-mortem

"Severus Snape wasn't yours, Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother!... He was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since!" —Harry reveals Snape's true colours during the final duel[src]

During the final duel between Harry and Voldemort, Harry finally told him that Snape had been, in fact, Dumbledore's man. Harry also revealed that Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand, because Snape never defeated Dumbledore; the two had arranged his death as he would have died either way. Before Snape killed Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore. Therefore, Draco was the true master of the Elder Wand, not Snape. However, Harry had overpowered Draco at Malfoy Manor and taken his wand. Because of the subtleties governing wand ownership discussed by Garrick Ollivander, Harry was the current master of the Elder Wand. Snape's true loyalties remained hidden due to his skills as an Occlumens and the fact his actions were motivated by love, which completely eluded Voldemort.

Snape's portrait was not automatically put into the Headmaster's office since he had essentially abandoned his post during the Battle of Hogwarts. However, Harry, in one of his acts of showing reconciliation towards Snape, made sure that his portrait was placed there.[32] It is possible that Harry gave his corpse a proper burial after the war ended. Rita Skeeter also published a book about Snape's life, entitled Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?, sometime after his death.[33] If it is consistent with Skeeter's other works, it is probably riddled with inaccuracies designed to tarnish Snape's reputation.

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

Alternate timeline

By his fourth year at Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy had learned all about Snape's history and motivations, allowing him to convince an alternate version of Snape — in a timeline where Voldemort won the Battle of Hogwarts and thus ruled wizarding Britain — that he came from a different timeline so that Snape could help Scorpius meet the local resistance and undo what he had unwittingly done to the past. This version of Snape correctly guessed that he had died in the struggle against Voldemort in Scorpius' timeline but proceeded to aid him nonetheless. After knocking down Dolores Umbridge to allow Scorpius Malfoy to escape, he was attacked by the Dementors, leaving his fate unknown.[34]

Physical appearance

"...he most likely valued other qualities within himself." —J. K. Rowling on why Snape was so poorly groomed[33]

Severus Snape was a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose and yellow, uneven teeth. He usually dressed in flowing black robes which made him resemble "an overgrown bat". He had shoulder-length, greasy black hair which framed his face in curtains, curling lips and dark, penetrating eyes that resembled tunnels. As a Death Eater, he bore the Dark Mark on his left inner forearm.

The younger Snape had a "stringy, pallid look", being "round-shouldered yet angular" and with a "twitchy walk that recalled a spider", as well as "long oily hair that jumped about his face."

Snape had a strong, authoritative presence. He spoke in a soft, contained voice most of the time, except during the occasional instances when he lost his temper.

Personality and traits

"Don't push it. I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." —Snape's infamous temper described by Ronald Weasley[src]

"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 this easily — weak people, in other words — they stand no chance against his powers!" —Snape's opinion on emotionalism and self-control[src]

A complicated, withdrawn person, Severus Snape's life was overwhelmed with many complex emotions that he never fully disclosed. At times, Snape could appear cold, cynical, malicious, bitter, and sarcastic. He had a commanding presence that exuded gravitas, authority and control; like Professor McGonagall , he had the ability to keep a class quiet without effort. He tended to hold grudges and was extremely spiteful toward those whom he disliked. In particular, he disdained Gryffindor students, considering them to be arrogant and attention-seeking. Descriptions of his social interactions as a child suggest that he had poor interpersonal skills and that he may have suffered from depression.Snape was a repressed, solitary man with no friends. In his early life, he was insecure, vulnerable, and yearned to be part of something better. As a child, the bleak normality of working-class suburbia compounded with his neglectful Muggle father inspired in him a contempt for ordinariness. This urgent desire to be a part of something powerful and important was what drew him to Lord Voldemort 's inner circle . Snape's bitterness and resentment towards the world was exacerbated even more by the relentless bullying he endured in school, causing him to shut himself in even more. Snape was not a prejudiced individual despite the Death Eater beliefs of pure-blood superiority, but was rather against Muggles, presumably because of his sour experience with both his father and Petunia Evans, but held no ill-will towards Muggle-borns . The foundation of him scolding Lily Evans by calling her Mudblood was to not appear weak in front of his fellow Death Eater students than actual supremacist views. He also deeply regretted this as it was what ended his friendship with Lily and defended Hermione Granger when Phineas Nigellus Black called her Mudblood, his manner of speaking in this instance being uncharacteristically explosive and filled with more emotion than he normally displayed.

He was an intensely private individual who viewed emotional displays as a sign of shameful weakness. As an Occlumens, Snape had superb emotional control and was adept at concealing his thoughts and feelings, which allowed him to maintain his cold, collected demeanour. However, he had his limits, and was not incapable of losing his temper, particularly when it came to dealing with Harry Potter. Inevitably, he also became furious when he thought he was being pitied or accused of cowardice.

Snape was a formidable sorcerer, displaying consummate skill in many different branches of magic. His extensive knowledge and abilities were rivalled by very few, if any other witches and wizards of his age. Snape was also unusually cerebral for a wizard, possessing a subtle and keenly analytical mind. As a result, Snape was extremely intelligent and calculative, with a mind for strategy and deduction. He was also a profound misanthrope who appeared to have a prominent hatred of almost every child under his tutelage, except of course for Slytherins. He valued logic and cunning above magical power.

As a professor, Snape was known for his cavalier and harshly authoritarian attitude towards his teaching. His standards for his classes were much higher than that of the other professors, as he only allowed students with the very best grades to continue into advanced study. As Potions Master, he described it as an art and an exact science, and dismissed the use of incantations and wand waving as "silly and foolish". He developed a loving passion for Dark Arts, originally in the hopes to cover the shame of his heritage, and his interest in it led him to repeatedly apply for the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor post every year, despite being rejected for sixteen years. He knew full well why Dumbledore never granted him the position, as it may be a trigger to bring out his worst side, something he denied to Umbridge's questioning but let in to those of Bellatrix's. When he finally got his wish, Snape taught the course with a loving caress in his voice, far beyond simply respecting the Dark Arts as a dangerous foe, something he did not show in his post as the Potions Master. He also taught this class slightly fairer than he did in Potions, such as lowering his entrance standards and biases for N.E.W.T. level classes, allowing more students to enter the advanced studies of his favourite class, and placed students from his own house, such as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, in detention for failing to do acceptable work the second time around after failing their O.W.L. the previous year.

Ultimately, it was Snape's past and his love for Lily Evans that defined his inner being. His love for Lily Evans became most noticeable by his Patronus; a Doe, just like Lily's. Upon overhearing the Prophecy, he immediately informed his then-master of its contents, unaware that this would endanger Lily and her family. It was only after Lily's death that Snape realised the full extent of his actions. He suffered terrible remorse for what he had done and spent the rest of his life in constant danger in order to protect Lily's son.

You are a braver man by far than Igor Karkaroff. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon..." —Snape's bravery despite the dangers to his own life[src]

In spite of his vindictive demeanour, Severus Snape was an immensely brave man who possessed a deep capacity for love. Everything that he did in the latter part of his life was motivated by his devotion to Lily Evans, whom he loved unconditionally. He was one of Dumbledore's most reliable allies and in his role as a double agent, took great personal risk in ensuring Harry's safety from Lord Voldemort. Despite his years of him and Harry barely getting along, if at all, Snape openly criticised Dumbledore after learning he protected Harry all these years just so he could die at the right time due to being a Horcrux, showing he didn't agree with Harry's death even though, at first, he only protected him because of his relationship to Lily. When he informed Dumbledore that he informed Voldemort of the prophecy, Snape begged Dumbledore to hide Harry, Lily, and even James too. This clearly showed that Snape prioritised Lily's happiness above all else, even if it meant her being with a man he hated for most of his life.

Despite his coldness towards all but Lily, Snape nevertheless proved capable of genuinely caring for others apart from Lily and Harry. He showed that despite his mistreatment of them, he cared considerably for the students of Hogwarts, risking his façade for them by secretly doing everything he can to make sure they stayed out of harms way and at one point being genuinely concerned when a student was taken to the Chamber of Secrets. Additionally, Snape was also genuinely saddened by the death of Rowan Khanna, his face just as mournful as the rest of the other House Heads, and if Rowan were in Slytherin, Snape even went as far as to plead with Merula to stop being angry and comfort them with the prospect of standing together in the face of crisis. While he initially resented Dumbledore for his lack of intervention on his torturous bullying by the Marauders, it seemed the time he spent allying with Dumbledore had made him grow to genuinely as well as greatly respect and even care for him, as shown by how he was clearly shocked into being silent for a long time after Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him, clearly indicated that killing Dumbledore was hard for him to do and tried to make him have Draco kill him instead of having Snape do it. Even after learning of how Dumbledore had wanted Harry to die so Voldemort can be defeated, when preparing to kill Dumbledore, his face was described as being genuinely hateful and disgusted of what he was about to do.

Despite Snape's normally calm and controlled exterior and guarded body language, he was in possession of an extraordinarily explosive and almost psychotic temper. This was rarely seen, but an extreme display of rage was most prominently witnessed after Snape killed Dumbledore and was confronted outside of Hagrid's burning house near the edge of the school grounds. The event that triggered this unhinged manifestation of Snape's unrestrained wrath was Harry's accusation of Snape being a coward for killing Dumbledore.

Due to the many years of being bullied by Harry's father, and with a need to both vent his immense stress and maintain his cover as a loyal Death Eater, Snape unleashed a terrifying mix of both his emotions and magic in his duel with Harry, taking great pleasure in torturing and punishing the son of his enemy. Unlike in the past where he spoke quietly in his anger, Snape in this instance was screaming and letting so much out, as well as confessing his identity of the Half-Blood Prince to Harry who had attempted to use one of Snape's own invented spells against him. This battle showed Snape's repressed rage in its horrific glory and power. Suffice it to say, Severus Snape was not a man who it was wise to provoke, lest one incur his almost elemental wrath and magical power.

Magical abilities and skills

"Snape knew more curses when he arrived at Hogwarts than half the kids in seventh year." —Snape's proficiency for the Dark Arts[src]

Severus Snape was an extremely powerful and skilled wizard, showing proficient talent and great knowledge in many different areas of magic. He had an encyclopaedic knowledge and proficiency in potions, was incredibly talented in Legilimency and Occlumency, and was also the only Death Eater capable of producing a Patronus.

Magical mastery : Even at a young age, Severus was a gifted wizard, having knowledge of deep secrets of the wizarding world that he would usually relay to his crush, Lily Potter. In addition, Sirius Black, a known rival of his, claimed that Severus knew more about the Dark Arts than half of the seventh year's at Hogwarts, which speaks for his seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of magic. He was proficient in creating many useful spells used by the Death Eaters and even his rivals. He was also proficient in altering the formula for potions, resulting in an easier and more efficient way to produce them, which enhanced Harry Potter's proficiency in Potions to the point of easily surpassing even the results of Hermione Granger. His magical prowess was so great as a teenager that his bully and rival, James Potter would never have taken him on in a one on one fight unless he was backed up by his three other talented friends. As an adult, Snape had became an incredibly powerful and skilled wizard and acknowledged by his fellow professors and Lord Voldemort for his great prowess. He proved capable of effortlessly defeating the likes of Harry Potter and also holding his own against the extremely powerful witch Minerva McGonagall, who was capable of surviving a duel with Voldemort himself.

: Even at a young age, Severus was a gifted wizard, having knowledge of deep secrets of the wizarding world that he would usually relay to his crush, Lily Potter. In addition, Sirius Black, a known rival of his, claimed that Severus knew more about the Dark Arts than half of the seventh year's at Hogwarts, which speaks for his seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of magic. He was proficient in creating many useful spells used by the Death Eaters and even his rivals. He was also proficient in altering the formula for potions, resulting in an easier and more efficient way to produce them, which enhanced Harry Potter's proficiency in Potions to the point of easily surpassing even the results of Hermione Granger. His magical prowess was so great as a teenager that his bully and rival, James Potter would never have taken him on in a one on one fight unless he was backed up by his three other talented friends. As an adult, Snape had became an incredibly powerful and skilled wizard and acknowledged by his fellow professors and Lord Voldemort for his great prowess. He proved capable of effortlessly defeating the likes of Harry Potter and also holding his own against the extremely powerful witch Minerva McGonagall, who was capable of surviving a duel with Voldemort himself. Love : Severus was one of the only people in Voldemort's inner circle who was capable of feeling unconditional love. He fell deeply in love with Lily Evans as a child and maintained his devotion to her until his death. Despite their differences in beliefs about many things, Severus felt nothing but absolute love for Lily even though she never extended her reciprocity beyond friendship. Snape was devastated by Lily's death and expressed suicidal desires. However, so great was his love, he forced his way past them and spent seventeen years in constant danger in order to protect Lily's son and ensure that her sacrifice was not in vain. Indeed, Snape's Patronus was a doe, just like Lily's, showing that his love for her was far stronger than his loyalty to Lord Voldemort. Due to this, Snape was the only Death Eater who was able to cast a Patronus. Furthermore, his insight into the nature of love was evident when teaching Love Potions, as he was able to distinguish between the obsessive love caused by love potions and the genuine, unconditional love that most people felt for each other. [35]

: Severus was one of the only people in Voldemort's inner circle who was capable of feeling unconditional love. He fell deeply in love with Lily Evans as a child and maintained his devotion to her until his death. Despite their differences in beliefs about many things, Severus felt nothing but absolute love for Lily even though she never extended her reciprocity beyond friendship. Snape was devastated by Lily's death and expressed suicidal desires. However, so great was his love, he forced his way past them and spent seventeen years in constant danger in order to protect Lily's son and ensure that her sacrifice was not in vain. Indeed, Snape's Patronus was a doe, just like Lily's, showing that his love for her was far stronger than his loyalty to Lord Voldemort. Due to this, Snape was the only Death Eater who was able to cast a Patronus. Furthermore, his insight into the nature of love was evident when teaching Love Potions, as he was able to distinguish between the obsessive love caused by love potions and the genuine, unconditional love that most people felt for each other. Dark Arts: Severus had a passion for the Dark Arts from a young age, and was especially talented with curses, or so some believed. According to Sirius Black, Snape was "up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts" when he was at school. However, they had an age old rivalry which could have influenced Sirius's words. When he was still a student, Snape was already talented enough that he was capable of creating new dark spells, as most of the spells he created were curses, hexes, and jinxes. As an adult at least, Snape was capable of performing the Killing Curse, one of the Unforgivable Curses that required a considerable level of magical skill, using the curse to kill Dumbledore on his orders.

Time to stir my cauldron. I bet Snape could do this with his eyes closed." —Jacob's sibling[src]

"BANG! Thin, snakelike cords brust from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles" —Snape conjures ropes non-verbally[src]

Relationships

Parents

Lily Evans: "Doesn't your dad like magic?" : " Snape: "He doesn't like anything, much." — Severus regarding his father's horrible personality[src]

Snape never regarded the place where he grew up as a home. Rather like Voldemort and Harry, Hogwarts was his real home. It is likely that he suffered neglect as a child. His parents seem to have had a dysfunctional, even abusive relationship. This troubled, lonely childhood is strongly suggested to have accounted for his severe demeanour, depression, sadness, bitterness, and bouts of rage, as seen later in his life.

Despite having a father who disliked the wizarding community, Snape was quite skilled with magic before he even received his Hogwarts letter. Sirius Black would later remark that, when they first arrived at school, Snape knew more curses than many of the seventh-year students. It does seem that he had a slightly better relationship with his witch mother. During his school years, he nicknamed himself the "Half Blood Prince". In addition, it is quite likely Eileen gave her son most, if not all of his school things. His sixth-year Potions book was, according to Harry, at least fifty years old.

Since at least 1996, Snape was staying in his family's home during the summers between school years. It is unknown what happened to his parents. As he was only thirty-six years old in 1996, his parents may well have been alive, but moved away and left the house to him. His salary as a Hogwarts professor probably made it possible for him to afford other lodging during summers, but his childhood memories of Lily may have stopped him from abandoning the house.

Lily Evans

"Look...at....me...." —Snape wanting one last glimpse of Lily's eyes[src]

Snape's friendship with Lily Evans was probably the only thing that truly brought joy to his life. He first met Lily at a very young age, recognising her as a witch one day as she and her sister Petunia played in the park near his house; she had flown off the swings and made a flower grow from a sprout. Longing to escape his humiliating home life, Snape immediately sought to make her his friend. Despite the fact that Lily came from a Muggle family, he never truly saw her as being one of them because he was so smitten with her.

They spend time talking about magic and the wizarding world. Lily even asked if being Muggle-born matter in the Wizarding world, which Snape responded that it did not matter at all. In 1971, the two of them were accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and continued a close friendship up until around their fifth year, despite being Sorted into different houses. Snape was very disappointed that they were not in the same house and forlorn because of it.

During this time, Snape began hanging out with people who embraced Dark Magic and pure-blood supremacy, which put a huge strain on their friendship. Lily was offended by many of the views that Snape was beginning to adopt and disliked the qualities that his new classmates were bringing out in him. Given time over again, Snape would never have done many of the things he did, but at the time he did not truly understand her aversion. He was so insecure and blinded by his attraction to the Dark side that he imagined she would find it impressive if he became a real Death Eater. Ironically, Lily might have grown to love Snape romantically (she certainly loved him as a friend) if he had not loved Dark Magic so much, and been drawn to such loathsome people and acts. When Snape called Lily a "Mudblood" in a moment of humiliation, it was the last straw for Lily. When she later asked him if he still intended to become a Death Eater and he did not deny it, she severed all ties with him, despite Snape's profuse apologies.

When Snape overheard the Prophecy, he immediately relayed its contents to the Dark Lord, not knowing that it would have anything to do with Lily. Upon discovering that Lord Voldemort was planning on targeting the Potter family, Snape pleaded with him to spare Lily in exchange for her husband and son. He later appealed to Albus Dumbledore, asking him to do everything in his power to protect Lily and the rest of her family, if he had to.

Snape was devastated by Lily's death, to the point of sinking into a depression that seemingly lasted the rest of his life. However, at Dumbledore's behest, he became committed to protecting her son Harry and assisting him in defeating the Dark Lord. Snape never spoke of Lily to anyone again, except for Dumbledore. This was likely due to heartbreak and worry that mention of her might make others suspicious. Even though he constantly slandered James to Lily's son's face, he alienated Lily from these attacks entirely, possibly due to his inability to ever insult her again. Indeed, Snape's Patronus was a doe, just like Lily's, because he loved her throughout his entire life. As Snape died, he asked Harry to look into his eyes; his last wish in his final moments was to die looking into the same green eyes that reminded him so much of Lily.

As a result of Snape's sacrifice of his own life, Lily's son Harry would name her second grandson after Snape. Coincidentally, said grandson would inherit Lily's green eyes.

The Marauders

Snape: "You and Black, you're two of a kind, sentimental children forever whining about how bitterly unfair your lives have been. Well, it may have escaped your notice, but life isn't fair. Your blessed father knew that; in fact he frequently saw to it!" Harry Potter: "My father was a great man!" Snape: "Your father was a swine!" — Exchange between Harry and Snape during an occlumency lesson[src]

The Marauders were a group of four Gryffindor boys, with whom Severus began a relationship of enmity and hatred throughout their school years. The group consisted of James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin. Severus and the first two Marauders detested each other almost instantly upon meeting for the first time in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Throughout their times at Hogwarts, James and his friends (except for Lupin) bullied Snape ceaselessly, Pettigrew only did it though because James and Sirius did it. Lupin did not encourage the harassment, but he did not try to stop them, either. Snape, in turn, never lost an opportunity to get one up on them whenever possible.

However, James Potter ended up saving his life when Sirius told Snape how to get into the Shrieking Shack. Snape caught a glimpse of Lupin transforming into a werewolf before James pulled him back through the tunnel. Snape did not think James was acting nobly. Rather, he saw it as being more of a self-serving act in order to avoid him and the rest of the Marauders being expelled from Hogwarts, and the incident only made him resent James more than ever. He also came to resent Lupin, believing that he had been in on Sirius's prank.

Remus Lupin: "Well, Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn't really expect James to take that lying down, could you?" Harry Potter: "And my mum was OK with that?" Sirius Black: "She didn't know too much about it, to tell you the truth, I mean, James didn't take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?" — Lupin, Harry, and Sirius Black discussing Snape's interactions with Harry's parents during their seventh year[src]

During their seventh year at Hogwarts, Lily and James began dating, which probably fuelled Snape's hatred of him even more. James always suspected that Snape had deeper feelings for Lily, which factored strongly into his behaviour towards him. Snape's continued bitterness toward the Marauders, even into adulthood, became apparent in 1993, when Remus Lupin was given the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, despite Snape and Dumbledore both knowing that he was a werewolf.

During the time that Harry Potter attended the school, Snape delighted in comparing Harry to his father and telling him that he was not the great man he liked to believe he was. Although Snape's descriptions of James' teenage self were accurate, Snape purposefully omitted even vague descriptions of the noble person James became. Snape mostly felt bitterness and resentment towards Remus Lupin and took to dropping hints about his being a werewolf in the hopes that the students would catch on. However, it should be noted that, despite Snape's strained relationship with the Marauders, he dutifully concocted potions for Remus Lupin during his tenure at Hogwarts and attempted to save his life during the Flight From Little Whinging. Lupin was the only one of the Marauders who could interact with Snape at least on a perfunctory level when they were adults. Lupin, like everyone, believed Snape an evil, cowardly servant of Voldemort's after Snape killed Albus Dumbledore, and died before learning the truth.

Snape held an especially strong enmity towards Sirius. Although Snape's hatred towards Sirius for the humiliation he put him under alongside James in their Hogwarts years was already great, the fact that Sirius apparently was the Marauder who betrayed Lily to Voldemort made him hate Sirius even more than he did with James. He was eager to be the one to hand Sirius over to receive the Dementor's Kiss after he broke out of Azkaban and was furious when he managed to escape yet again. After Sirius's innocence was proven, however, Dumbledore insisted that the two of them shake hands and ally together against Voldemort. Nevertheless, they remained barely capable of civilly conversing, as both of them still resented each other and Snape, in particular, taunted him about his uselessness to the Order while confined to his mother's house, which escalated in Sirius nearly challenging Snape to a duel, which Snape was eager to and would have gladly accepted had the Weasleys not barged in. However, Sirius himself admitted he felt ashamed of his previous treatment and did not at all enjoy the reminder of the reason for Snape being humiliated due to Sirius being bored in their fifth year. Snape also, even if begrudgingly, accepted that they were fighting for the same side and was quick to check if Sirius was in fact safe after Harry reported to him he saw Sirius tortured by Voldemort and in the Ministry to be forced to retrieve the object.

Although Snape's relationship with Pettigrew in their school years was already hostile, upon knowing he was the Marauder who truly betrayed Lily, he most likely became the Marauder Snape resented the most. Although forced to keep his dislike as best as he could due to his job as a double-agent for Dumbledore, Snape seized his chance to torment Pettigrew when the Dark Lord later assigned Pettigrew to work as his assistant, treating him like a slave, forcing him to clean his house and serve food to his guests, clearly intent on making sure that Pettigrew would not experience any comfortableness while under his command. Snape also seemed to enjoy threatening Pettigrew by telling Voldemort that he desired more dangerous assignments whenever he would protest his position as Snape's servant.

In an ironic twist, despite their mutual antipathy, James' second grandson would be named after Snape years after the deaths of Snape and the Marauders.

Harry Potter

"He is his father all over again." —Snape's assessment of Harry[src]

From the day Harry set foot in Hogwarts, he and Snape loathed each other. Despite the fact that Snape was committed to honouring Lily's sacrifice, he could not bring himself to judge the boy objectively because of his connection to James Potter, who bullied him in his school days. Indeed, Snape was filled with nothing but contempt and bitterness towards Harry, who simultaneously reminded him of both Lily and James. Harry served as living proof of the fact that Lily had given her love to someone else, and Snape wasted no time in comparing him continually with his father.

During Harry's time at Hogwarts, Snape treated Harry viciously, both in class and out. He frequently derided the boy's abilities, bullied him in class, and punished him whenever possible. He was also resentful and even somewhat envious of Harry's popularity, which he also equated with Harry's father. Although Snape threatened to have Harry expelled more than once, he never attempted to follow through — presumably because it would have led to Harry losing the protection surrounding him. However, never did he forget that Harry was also Lily's child, and much beyond bureaucratic rules, this led him to put the boy's safety in the most critical situation. When he learned that Dumbledore had intended for Harry to die all along, Severus remained horrified, seeing it as a calculated betrayal to Lily's memory.

When Harry helped Sirius Black escape, their relationship went under further strain, since Snape believed at that time that Sirius betrayed Lily to Voldemort whereas Harry had learned of his innocence, although Snape continued to put Harry's safety first. During the brief period in which Snape gave private Occlumency lessons, Snape relished in forcing Harry to relive his worst memories. During the early years, Harry associated Snape with his abusive and bullying ways but when Sirius died, Harry took a savage pleasure in blaming Snape for having taunted Sirius about being useless, causing him to leave his hiding place and join the battle.

Though Snape came to the aid of the Order as swiftly as possible, Harry blamed Snape mainly to ease his own guilty conscience about the entire incident. However, this was nothing in comparison to the retroactive rage Harry felt upon finding out that Snape was the one who relayed the Prophecy to Lord Voldemort, causing him to hunt down Harry and his family. When he later killed Dumbledore, the hatred between them was sealed almost as personally as between Harry and Voldemort.

As he lay dying, Snape told Harry to look at him and died looking into Lily's eyes. Following this, Harry was given access to all of Snape's concealed memories, which brought the former teacher's true intentions and more human side to light. When Harry discovered the love Snape had for his mother and the constant danger he put himself in to ensure his safety, his opinion of him changed completely.

By adulthood, all of Harry's hatred of Snape seems to have vanished and it looks as though he had never harboured it at all. This can be seen through his request that a portrait of Snape be hung in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, which was not done immediately after Snape's death since he had abandoned his post. Furthermore, Harry gave his youngest son the name "Albus Severus", and told him that his Slytherin namesake was "the bravest man I ever knew."

Another aspect of Snape's highly visible, almost cartoonish mistreatment of Harry is that he knew all his actions might one day be reported to Voldemort by Death Eater spies. He did nothing that would create the image of real sympathy or loyalty to Potter or any of Voldemort's former adversaries, only curt professionalism towards his colleagues, obedience but not true loyalty to Dumbledore, and utter hatred for Harry. His need to behave this way was redoubled when it became clear Voldemort could use legilimency to read Harry's mind, and in doing so view any action by Snape in view of Harry.

Ironically, the two shared many similarities that neither of them was aware of. Both were half-blood wizards who grew up among Muggles. Both of their Muggle caretakers were cruel to them (Snape's father was implied to be abusive to Snape and his mother, while the Dursleys were neglectful towards Harry). Both Snape and Harry's childhoods involved Petunia Evans (Snape was friends with Petunia's sister Lily, while Harry was Petunia's nephew and was raised (albeit reluctantly and abusively) by her). Both grew up wearing secondhand clothes (however, Snape was likely forced to wear them due to his family's poverty, while Harry's relatives simply refused to afford any major expenses on him). In addition, the two grew up virtually friendless until attending Hogwarts (Snape due to his unstable family life and secondhand clothes, Harry due to his relatives isolating him).

Upon entering Hogwarts, Snape and Harry were bullied mercilessly, in Snape's case, by the Marauders (who were led by James Potter), and Harry by (ironically) Snape himself, Draco Malfoy, among others. Furthermore, both had at least one near-death experience during their Hogwarts: Snape was nearly killed in an abortive prank by the Marauders, while Harry repeatedly had Voldemort attempting to kill him. However, both Snape and Harry had at least one silver gleaming: their genuinely intense and close romantic attraction to a redheaded teenager (Lily Evans and Ginny Weasley, respectively). Of course, while Snape did not marry Lily (who had married James and mothered Harry), Harry himself did marry Ginny (with whom he had a son named Albus Severus).

In the second alternate timeline created by Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, Scorpius revealed to Snape the predicament he had caused among other things. It is founded that Snape was extremely saddened and disappointed in his failure to protect Harry from Voldemort in the final battle, and was also engaged in assisting Scorpius in fixing the timeline so Harry was alive and Voldemort defeated. One of the details he revealed after convincing Snape of his tale was that in his timeline that Harry had named his second son after him. This deeply touched Severus, who later told Scorpius to convey to Albus in the original timeline that he is proud that the boy carries his name and legacy, feeling apart of time he will never experience for the greater good of the world. He died without hesitation for the better world that Scorpius sought to restore, knowing his purpose could finally be served. Snape once again died for the legacy of his love, showing the kind of man he was at heart.

After the original timeline was restored, Harry visited Cedric Diggory's grave with Albus, describing his son's two namesakes — Dumbledore and Snape — as very much alike, despite their sorting into different houses: "great men, with huge flaws, and you know what - those flaws almost made them greater."

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger

Snape: "That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss Granger... Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all." Ron Weasley: "You asked us a question and she knows the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?" Snape: "Detention, Weasley... and if I ever hear you criticise the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed." — A typical interaction in Snape's classroom[src]

Snape criticised Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger whenever possible, most likely because of the fact that they were friends of Harry as well as being Gryffindors. Although Snape seldom found anything wrong with Hermione's work and marked her grades accordingly, he never awarded her house points and sometimes accused her of being an "insufferable know-it-all". Despite this, Snape saved their lives in 1993 when Professor Lupin had transformed into a werewolf at the full moon, and even after they had stopped being his students, continued to assist the three of them in their quest to destroy the seven Horcruxes (without them being any the wiser, of course).

It is unknown how Ron and Hermione reacted to the revelation of Snape's loyalty though as Harry recounted Snape's memories they were described as shocked. There's also no mention of them protesting Harry and Ginny naming their (Ron & Hermione) nephew after Snape, which might indicate they came to forgive and admire him.

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore: "I prefer not to put all my secrets in one basket, particularly not a basket that spends so much time dangling on the arm of Lord Voldemort." Snape: "Which I do on your orders!" Albus Dumbledore: "And you d