Severus Snape • Book

Severus Snape appears as a deep and tragic character. Outwardly, he is a gloomy, sarcastic, and vindictive Potions master with greasy black hair and a hooked nose who keeps the entire school in fear. He openly favors Slytherin and mercilessly bullies students, especially Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, toward whom he feels a burning mix of hatred and guilt. Beneath the mask of a cruel cynic and Voldemort's inner circle lies Dumbledore's brilliant double agent, who for years masters his emotions through Occlumency, risking his life for a secret mission.
​This character was shaped by a difficult past: Snape grew up in poverty in a depressing town in a family of arguing parents, where his Muggle father was a domestic tyrant. At school, he became withdrawn and an outcast, as well as the target of cruel, long-term bullying by James Potter and Sirius Black, which pushed him toward the Dark Arts. The main tragedy and turning point in his life was his relationship with Lily Evans—his only friend and the love of his life. With his pride and a fatal insult, he pushed her away himself, and her subsequent death at the hands of Voldemort broke Snape forever, turning the rest of his life into an endless atonement for his guilt.