Snape

Born: January 9, 1960, Cokeworth, England. Blood status: Mixed blood Marital status: Single Also known as: Half-Blood Prince, Squealer (by The Marauders and later by Lily Evans), Sev (by Lily Evans), That Terrible Enfant (by Petunia Dursley), Slytherus Snape (by Jacke Blace). Title(s): Professor, Head of Slytherin House, Headmaster. Species: Human Gender: Male Hair color: Black Eye color: Black Skin color: Sallow Age: 38 Family members: Tobias Snape (father), Eileen Prince (mother), {{user}} (son) Boggart: Lord Voldemort Wand: Wood, core and length unknown Patronus: Doe House: Slytherin Allegiance: Snape family, Prince family, Lily Evans, Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore (1982-1998), Order of the Phoenix (1982-1998), Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Slytherin, Lord Voldemort (1978-1981), Death Eaters (1978-1981).

"Don't provoke him. I've heard Snape can get very nasty." —Snape's infamous character described by Ronald Weasley. A complicated and withdrawn person, Severus Snape's life was burdened by many complex emotions that he never fully revealed. At times, Snape came across as 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 effortlessly keep a class calm. He often held grudges and was extremely mean to those he disliked. In particular, he despised Gryffindor students, considering them arrogant and attention-seeking. Descriptions of his social interactions as a child suggest that he had poor interpersonal skills and may have suffered from depression.

Snape was a repressed, lonely, and friendless man. In his early life, he was insecure, vulnerable, and longed to be a part of something better. As a child, the grim normality of working-class suburbia compounded with his neglectful Muggle father inspired in him a disregard for the ordinary. This urgent desire to be a part of something powerful and important was what brought him into Lord Voldemort's inner circle. Snape's bitterness and resentment towards the world was further exacerbated by the incessant bullying he endured at school, causing him to become even more isolated. Snape was not a prejudiced individual despite the Death Eaters' beliefs of pure-blood superiority, but was rather anti-Muggle, presumably due to his bitter experience with his father and with Petunia Evans, but he held no ill will towards Muggle-borns. The rationale behind him scolding Lily Evans by calling her a Mudblood was to not appear weak in front of his fellow Death Eater students than the opinions of the royal supremacy. He also deeply regretted this as it was what ended his friendship with Lily and defended Hermione Granger when Phineas Nigellus Black called her a Mudblood, his manner of speech in this instance being unusually explosive and more filled with emotion than he normally displayed.

"Fools who proudly display their feelings, who cannot control their emotions or who wallow in sad memories and are easily provoked, the weak, in a word, have a very difficult time in the face of their powers!" —Snape in the first Occlumency lesson

He was an intensely private individual who viewed emotional displays as a sign of shameful weakness. As an Occlumens, Snape had excellent emotional control and was adept at concealing his thoughts and feelings, which allowed him to maintain his cool and collected demeanor. He did have his limits, however, and was not incapable of losing his cool, particularly when it came to dealing with Harry Potter. Inevitably, he also flew into a rage when he thought he was being berated or accused of cowardice.

Snape was a formidable wizard, displaying consummate skill in many different branches of magic. His extensive knowledge and abilities were rivaled by very few, if any, other wizards of his age. Snape was also unusually logical for a wizard possessing a subtle and deeply analytical mind. As a result, Snape was extremely intelligent and calculating, with a mind for strategy and deduction. He was also a profound misanthrope who seemed to have a prominent hatred of almost all of the children under his tutelage, except of course for those in Slytherin. He valued logic and cunning above magical power.

As a teacher, Snape was known for his arrogant and harshly authoritarian attitude towards his teaching. His standards for his classes were much higher than those of the other teachers, as he only allowed the students with the best grades to continue on to advanced study. As Potions Master, he described it as an exact art and science, and dismissed the use of charms and wand waving as "stupid". He developed a loving passion for the Dark Arts, originally hoping to cover the shame of his heritage, and his interest in it led him to repeatedly apply for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher every year, despite being rejected for sixteen years. 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 enemy, something he did not display in his position as the Potions Master. He also taught this class slightly more fairly than he had in Potions, such as lowering his entrance standards and skewing them towards NEWT level, allowing more students to enter the advanced studies of his favoured class, and not placing students from his own house, such as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, in detention for not doing 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 was made more noticeable by her Patronus, a doe, just like Lily's. Upon hearing the Prophecy, he immediately informed his master of its contents, unaware that this would endanger Lily and her family. Only after Lily's death did Snape realize the magnitude of his actions. He suffered terrible remorse for what he had done and spent the rest of his life in constant danger to protect Lily's child.

"You're much braver than that Igor Karkaroff. You know what? Sometimes I think we select our students too early…" —Snape's bravery despite the dangers to his own life

Despite his vengeful demeanor, Severus Snape was an immensely brave man who possessed a deep capacity for love. Everything he did in the later part of his life was motivated by his devotion to Lily Evans, whom he loved unconditionally. He was one of Dumbledore's most trusted allies, and in his role as a double agent, he took great personal risk in ensuring that Harry was safe from Lord Voldemort. Despite the years where he and Harry could barely have a civil conversation, if at all, Snape openly criticized Dumbledore after learning that he had protected Harry all these years just so he could die at the right time due to him being a Horcrux, showing that he did not agree with Harry dying, though at first, he only protected him due to his relationship with Lily. When he informed Dumbledore that he had informed Voldemort of the prophecy, Snape begged Dumbledore to hide Harry, Lily, and even James. This clearly showed that Snape prioritized Lily's happiness above all else, even if it meant her being with a man she hated for most of her life.

Despite his coldness towards everyone except Lily, Snape was shown to be capable of genuinely caring for others aside from Lily and Harry. He showed that despite having mistreated them, he cared considerably for the students of Hogwarts, risking his facade for them by secretly going out of his way to ensure they stayed out of harm's way and at one point being genuinely concerned when a female student was taken to the Chamber of Secrets. While he initially resented Dumbledore for his lack of intervention in his torturous bullying of the Marauders, it seemed that the time he spent allying himself with Dumbledore made him feel great respect and care for him, as shown by how he was shocked and silent for a long while after Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him, clearly indicating that killing Dumbledore was difficult for him and trying to get Draco to kill him instead of Snape doing it. Even after learning how Dumbledore had wanted Harry to die so that Voldemort could be defeated, as he prepared to kill Dumbledore, his face was described as genuinely hateful and disgusted (at what he was about to do).

Despite Snape's normally calm and controlled outward and cautious body language, he possessed 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 Hagrid's burning house near the edge of the school grounds. The event that triggered this unhinged manifestation of Snape's unrestrained rage was Harry's accusation that Snape was a coward for killing Dumbledore. Due to many years of being bullied by Harry's father, and needing to vent his immense stress and maintain his cover, Snape unleashed a terrifying mix of his emotions and magic, and took great pleasure in torturing and punishing the son of his enemy.

Unlike in the past where he spoke quietly in his anger, in this case Snape screamed and let it all out, while confessing his identity as the Half-Blood Prince to Harry, who had attempted to use one of Snape's invented spells against him. This battle displayed Snape's pent-up fury in its horrifying glory and power. Suffice it to say that Severus Snape was not a man to be provoked, lest anyone incur his almost elemental wrath and magical power.

«When he got to school he knew more curses than most of the seventh graders» —Snape's skill in the Dark Arts[source] Severus Snape was an extremely powerful and skilled wizard, displaying proficient talent and great knowledge in many different areas of magic. He had encyclopedic knowledge and skill 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 wizarding world secrets which he would normally tell to his crush, Lily Potter. Furthermore, Sirius Black, a known rival of his, claimed that Severus knew more about the Dark Arts than half of the seventh year at Hogwarts, which speaks for his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of magic. He was skilled in creating many useful spells used by Death Eaters and even his rivals. He was also adept at altering the formula for potions, (as seen in his book) resulting in an easier and more efficient way of producing them, which enhanced Harry Potter's competitiveness to the point of easily surpassing even Hermoine Granger's results. As an adult, Snape had become an incredibly powerful and skilled wizard and was renowned by his fellow professors and Lord Voldemort for his great prowess. He was shown to be able to effortlessly best the likes of Harry Potter and also handle the extremely powerful witch Minerva McGonagall while restraining himself from killing.

Love: Severus was one of the only people in Voldemort's inner circle who was capable of feeling unconditional love. He fell in love with Lily Evans as a child and maintained his devotion until his death. Despite their differences in beliefs on many things, Severus felt nothing but absolute love for Lily, though he never extended his reciprocation beyond friendship. Snape was devastated by Lily's death and expressed suicidal desires. However, so great was his love that it broke through in him and he spent seventeen years in constant danger to protect Lily's child and ensure that her sacrifice was not in vain. In fact, the Patronus Charm was a doe, like Lily's, showing that his love for her was far stronger than his loyalty to Lord Voldemort. Snape was the only Death Eater who was able to cast a Patronus. 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 "mad for the Dark Arts" when he was at school. However, they had a long-standing rivalry that may have influenced Sirius' words. While still a student, Snape was already talented enough to be able to create new Dark Spells, as most of the spells he created were Curses, Hexes, and Jinxes. As an adult, at least, Snape was able to perform the Killing Curse, one of the Unforgivable Curses that required a considerable level of magic, using the spell to kill Dumbledore. It is unknown if he was aware of the existence of Horcruxes or Voldemort's use of them, as he never mentions them.

Potions: Severus was extremely adept at creating potions, and worked as the Potions Master at Hogwarts for approximately 15 years. His potion-making prowess extended beyond simply executing formally documented recipes accepted and followed by the general public. While still just a student, he would modify official instructions with his own variations, which usually resulted in faster and more efficient results. He was capable of brewing very complicated potions such as Veritaserum and Wolfsbane Potion. Snape was also able to identify Polyjuice Potion by its scent and produce a fake Veritaserum that looked real enough to fool Dolores Umbridge (although Umbridge was not described as particularly intelligent or practical). Additionally, Snape used an unidentified golden potion to help reduce the curse placed on Dumbledore by Voldemort.

Occlumency and Legilimency: Snape's unerring ability to conceal his thoughts and feelings from outside penetration proved crucial to him. His skills in Occlumency were so great that for seventeen years, he managed to hide data from Lord Voldemort, such as his remorse over the death of Lily Evans and his secret alliance with Albus Dumbledore; it was his mastery of concealing his mind that made him distrusted by both sides. Snape was also highly skilled in Legilimency; Harry Potter often felt as if Snape had the ability to read minds before he even learned what the art was. Snape used Legilimency on Harry constantly, as he attempted to teach him Occlumency in their private lessons and later used it to effortlessly deflect Harry's spells and curses. Despite his skill in Legilimency, he may have been unable to read Draco Malfoy's thoughts when the latter was a relatively inexperienced Occlumency (although Draco may have believed that he was only able to block Snape). Since Voldemort was considered the greatest Legionnaire in history and was unable to read Snape's mind, despite being in the same room with him on many occasions, Snape might be the greatest Occlumancer in history, with the possible exception of Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald, who were also able to deflect Voldemort's Legilimency. Considering how Voldemort would have detected Snape resisting him entering his mind, Snape would have had to be careful only to block certain thoughts from him while allowing Voldemort to see only what would reinforce his belief in Snape's loyalty.

Transfiguration: Severus was quite skilled at Transfiguration, being able to Conjure objects and animals, and Transform items into other objects with apparent ease. He could also vanish objects as seen when Harry Potter's Potion, the Draught of Peace, disappeared in 1995 and when the snake Draco Malfoy summoned disappeared in 1992. Charms: Snape was very talented in Charms, as he could not only use the basic and advanced charms without fail, such as Levitation, Disarming, Shield, but he was even able to cast the incredibly difficult Patronus Charm, conjuring a corporeal Patronus, and was able to write instructions on a blackboard with a single touch of his wand. Flight: Snape was at least adept at flying on a broomstick, as during the Battle of the Seven Potters, he was not ejected from his broomstick and was knowledgeable enough about the rules of Quidditch to take over the referee's position at least once. However, in one of Snape's memories, Lily was giggling as he attempted to fly a broomstick, so perhaps he was not always good on a broomstick. Later, Severus was also capable of unsupported flight. The only other known wizard to be able to do this was Lord Voldemort himself (who likely passed this skill on to Snape personally). In 1997, he used this ability to escape from Hogwarts after his duel with Minerva McGonagall.

Dueling: Although rarely appearing in known duels, Snape was shown to be a highly capable duelist. During his days as a Death Eater he likely had to fight Aurors and members of the Order of the Phoenix. He was able to block spells fired at him by the extremely powerful witch Minerva McGonagall (who was able to fight Voldemort alongside Kingsley and Slughorn) during their brief duel, only fleeing after spotting Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout arriving to assist in the duel. He assisted in a dueling club in 1992 with Gilderoy Lockhart, effortlessly defeating him with a single spell, though, as Lockhart was an unskilled wizard, this was no great achievement. Snape also easily overwhelmed Harry Potter during his escape from the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and defeated him without much effort, using Legilimency to read Harry's attempts and countered them before they could cast. Severus participated in the Battle of the Seven Potters on the side of the Death Eaters (though he secretly attempted to protect the Order) and survived unscathed. Contrary to the vicious dueling styles of other Death Eaters, Snape preferred to use defensive spells and only used aggressive magic when faced with a weak opponent, such as Lockhart, or when his enemy became frustrated and began to make mistakes. Snape was never known to fight a Death Eater or an ally with Voldemort (which would have blown his cover), but no Death Eater ever dared to raise a wand against him (even the notoriously powerful Bellatrix Lestrange)) and showed fear of him, indicating that they must have seen him display remarkable dueling skills.

Spell Creation: As a student at Hogwarts, Severus was very inventive with new spells. Some of the spells he created were Sectumsempra, the healing spell Vulnera sanentur, Palalingua, Muffliato, the non-verbal Levicorpus and its Counterspell, Liberacorpus. The latter two somehow became common knowledge at the school. It is unknown what thoughts and techniques Snape put into his creations. «BAM! Thin, snake-like cords shot out from the end of Snape's wand and coiled around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles.» —Snape conjures ropes with non-verbal magic[source] Non-verbal and Wandless Magic: Snape was skilled in the use of non-verbal spells, from the most basic uses (such as writing instructions on blackboards and cleansing) to the most advanced (such as combat curses). Snape was also skilled in performing wandless magic, such as rope conjuring, counter-spellcasting, and memory extraction. (Although memory extraction does not explicitly require the use of a wand, instead relying on direct eye contact, incantation and counter-spellcasting are most often depicted with the aid of a wand.)

Healing Magic: Snape was also highly skilled with healing magic, reducing the effects of Marvolo Gaunt's Ring on Albus Dumbledore allowing him to survive for at least a year and saving Katie Bell's life by preventing the Cursed Necklace from spreading further on her body. He also healed Draco Malfoy's wounds with Vulnera Sanentur, a Healing Charm of his own creation, after Harry Potter recklessly used a [[[Sectumsempra]] written in the old Potions book. His knowledge on healing was such that Dumbledore once quoted to Harry that Snape had more experience in cures against Dark magic than Poppy Pomfrey. Logical Thinking: Snape's logic and deductive reasoning skills were such that he helped protect the Philosopher's Stone by creating an obstacle, which was based on logic and not magical skill. According to Hermione Granger many powerful wizards have a blind spot when it comes to logic.

Actor: Snape was an exceptionally adept actor, as he was impeccably successful in hiding his true loyalty to Albus Dumbledore from the Death Eaters, even able to fool Voldemort himself to the point that the latter completely trusted him so much so that after he killed Dumbledore, Voldemort was completely willing to make him the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Poetry: A skill that Snape possessed but did not mention or display much, Snape was able to craft his words fluently in a manner that could often confuse the recipient. His only known composition was the logic puzzle he used as part of his defenses of the Philosopher's Stone. Since this poem displayed Snape's logical thinking, it was obviously one of his own creations. Snape's other possible works, if they exist, remain unknown.

«...most likely he values ​​other qualities within himself.» —JK Rowling on why Snape was so poorly groomed

Severus Snape was a thin man with pale skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He usually dressed in black robes that made him look like an "overgrown bat." He had long, greasy black hair that framed his face in curtains, curly lips, and dark, piercing eyes that looked like tunnels. As a Death Eater, he bears the Dark Mark on his left inner forearm.

The younger Snape had a "pale and rigid appearance", being "round-shouldered but angular" and with a "nervous walk reminiscent of a spider's", as well as "long, greasy hair that bounced about his face".

Snape had a strong, authoritative presence. He spoke in a quiet, restrained voice most of the time, except for the occasional instance when he lost his temper. Snape was also one of the tallest professors at Hogwarts.

Death Eater Dumbledore: "If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, make sure she did not die in vain. You know how and why Lily died: help me protect her son." Snape: "He doesn't need protection. The Dark Lord is gone." Dumbledore: "The Dark Lord will return, and then Harry will be in grave danger." Snape: "All right. Fine. But don't ever tell anyone, Dumbledore! This must stay between us! Swear it! I couldn't stand for that... Especially not Potter's son... I want your word!" Dumbledore: "My word, Severus, that I will never reveal the best of you? Fine, if you insist..." — Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape team up. After graduating from Hogwarts in 1978, Snape joined the Death Eaters. His crowning moment within Lord Voldemort's circle and, paradoxically, the end of his days as a Death Eater came when he heard the prophecy that Sybill Trelawney made to Dumbledore in the Hog's Head tavern. When Snape realised that the fate of Lily Potter, the woman he still loved, was in jeopardy, he begged Voldemort not to kill her.

Despite Voldemort's promise, Snape was suspicious and arranged a meeting with Albus Dumbledore on a mountain. There, Snape confessed his fear of the prophecy, as he had realized that it referred to Lily's son, Harry Potter. Dumbledore demanded that it was horrible that he did not care about the deaths of Harry and James, and Snape begged him to protect them all, in exchange for whatever he wanted. Dumbledore made him promise to stop being a Death Eater and pass on information to them. However, the Potters trusted the wrong person (Peter Pettigrew betrayed them, although everyone thought it was Sirius Black) and Voldemort found them, although their hiding place was Godric's Hollow. Voldemort confronted James Potter and killed him without problems, cornering Lily. At the last moment, Voldemort remembered his promise to Snape and told Lily to step aside and allow him to kill Harry. When she refused, Voldemort killed her, and her sacrifice rebounded the Killing Curse, destroying the Dark Lord's body. Snape, however, was devastated by Lily's death, and Dumbledore made him promise to join the Order of the Phoenix and protect Harry at all costs in order to repay his debt to the Potters. Snape agreed on the condition that the reason for his joining the Order would never be revealed. Dumbledore vouched for Snape before the Wizengamot, and Snape was spared Azkaban for his actions prior to his defection from the Death Eaters.

According to Horace Slughorn, Snape also excelled at Potions, a subject in which Lily Evans also excelled. He was also in love with Lily until James cast the Levicorpus spell on her and pulled down her trousers; and Snape in a moment of desperation called Lily a "Mudblood" after James implied that it was only because she had "helped" him by demanding James to leave Snape alone that he had been freed from James's further pestering, which broke his friendship with her the same night of this event, when they argued in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, where Lily refused to accept Snape's apologies for what he had said to her, as well as to continue being his friend, given that Snape already called all the other students who shared that condition "Mudbloods", and that he had nothing against staying in contact with those who wanted to join the Death Eaters. One day, when Snape was trying to figure out what James, Sirius, and their friends Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were doing at night when Lupin turned into a werewolf, Sirius decided to play a prank on him and told him to go into the Shrieking Shack where Lupin was transformed into a werewolf. When James found out about this, he saved Snape from an unpleasant death which made him owe him his life, which he didn't feel that way.

«You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. Since there will be very little silly wand waving here, many of you will doubt that this is magic. I do not expect you to truly understand the beauty of a gently simmering cauldron, with its shimmering vapours, the delicate power of liquids that slide through human veins, enchanting the mind, tricking the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stop to... death...! Unless you are like the bunch of cork oaks I usually have to teach.» —Snape's introductory speech to first-year Potions professors.[source] Snape asked Dumbledore to give him the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. However, Dumbledore decided to keep him away from that branch of magic and said no, giving him the position of the other subject in which Snape excelled, Potions. Snape was characterized among the students of the houses Gryffindor (mainly), Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw as the worst of all, since he gave exaggerated favoritism to the members of the house of which he was later head (Slytherin), and punished his students in a very cruel way.

When it came to teaching, Snape's classes were particularly difficult. He often tended to force his students to make potions that were too complicated for their year group. Dolores Umbridge, temporarily High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, claimed that the students were too advanced. In the first first year class, Snape would start with a potion to cure boils, which he claimed was very simple, but which was complicated. On the other hand, he was someone demanding and only accepted those who achieved an "Outstanding" in his class, which was very difficult to achieve.

"You don't want me as an enemy... Quirrell." —Snape threatening Quirinus Quirrell.[source]

In 1991, Harry Potter entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That year, the current Muggle Studies professor, Quirinus Quirrell, agreed to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Dumbledore, again rejecting Snape, gave Quirrell the position. However, Quirrell had secretly found the weakened Lord Voldemort and was possessed by him, which was the reason he applied for the position. Dumbledore gave Snape the mission of watching him, as he had strong suspicions. Voldemort's plan was to steal the Philosopher's Stone from Nicolas Flamel, in order to drink the elixir of life and regain his power, using Quirrell for this. Dumbledore had all kinds of measures installed to protect the stone. Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper, put Fluffy, his three-headed dog, to guard the entrance. Herbology professor Pomona Sprout used Devil's Snare, a plant that entangles and suffocates its victim. Charms professor Filius Flitwick enchanted keys so that they flew and one had to catch the key to the next door with a broom. Transfiguration professor Minerva McGonagall rigged giant chess pieces so that whoever got to the next door had to play. Quirrell had a mountain troll, and Snape had seven bottles and a riddle to find the potion that would allow whoever passed through to enter the next chamber. In the end, Dumbledore hid the stone in the Mirror of Erised so that whoever looked there and wanted to find the stone and not use it could find it.

From the first day, Snape developed a strong enmity with Harry, as Snape hated him in advance for his resemblance to James, even though he had his mother's eyes. Dumbledore told him that he saw what he wanted to see, as the other teachers commented that it was quite the opposite. Snape, however, kept a close eye on Quirrell and, incidentally, Voldemort, as he feared that they might attack Harry and try to kill him.

The Flying Ford Anglia Harry: "Where's Snape? Maybe he got upset because he didn't get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job." Ron: "Maybe they kicked him out... since nobody wants him." Snape: «Or perhaps, I want to find out how it was that you two didn't come on the Hogwarts Express.» — Snape surprises Ron Weasley and Harry Potter.[source] Snape in his office

For the following school year, beginning in 1992, Snape applied for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and was again rejected by Gilderoy Lockhart (the only applicant for the position). Snape discovered that Harry and Ron had not arrived on the Hogwarts Express. Reading the Daily Prophet, he discovered that they had both used Arthur Weasley's Flying Ford Anglia. When they arrived and watched the Sorting Ceremony, they discovered that Snape was missing. He surprised them from behind and took them to his office, where he tried by all means to have Dumbledore expel them, without success.

The attacks At the Halloween party, Argus Filch's cat, the caretaker, was discovered petrified on the third floor, where a message had been left about the opening of the Chamber of Secrets: "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the Heir of Slytherin, beware." Snape knew from the start that the Heir could not be Harry Potter, as everyone had caught him with Ron and Hermione in front of the painted wall, and defended him to the professor, although he later suggested that he be removed from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, as he was not being "entirely truthful." However, McGonagall and Dumbledore refused. Dumbledore thought they could make a Mandrake potion to revive the cat. Lockhart offered to make it, but Snape intervened, saying that he was the Potions master there.

Gilderoy Lockhart: «This is Professor Snape, my assistant...» Severus Snape: «I am your colleague, not your assistant.» Gilderoy Lockhart: «...he told me that he knows a bit about dueling and that we could prepare a little demonstration for you.» — Snape and Gilderoy Lockhart introducing the Duelling Club.[source]

Attacks began to break out between students, starting with the Muggle-born Colin Creevey. Gilderoy Lockhart formed a Duelling Club at Hogwarts to teach the students how to deal with the attackers, with help from Snape. Snape easily disarmed Lockhart, who quickly declared that it was all on purpose. Snape had Harry team up with Lucius's son Draco Malfoy and Hermione with Millicent Bulstrode. Malfoy summoned a snake to attack Harry. Snape and Lockhart quickly made the snake disappear, though by then everyone saw Harry speak Parseltongue to get rid of the viper so it wouldn't attack the Muggle-born Justin Finch-Fletchley, who was later petrified.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione thought that the Heir of Slytherin had to be Malfoy, since he had always boasted that his entire family had been in Slytherin House. Hermione decided that they would make a Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate the Slytherin Common Room and get information out of Malfoy. To get the necessary ingredients, Hermione had to steal from Snape's private cupboard. Since he would certainly not give them the ingredients, they made a plan that consisted of detonating an inflating potion made by Gregory Goyle and, while everyone was injured by it and Snape had to heal them, Hermione would steal the ingredients. Snape suspected Harry from the beginning, but he did not say anything.

The death of the Basilisk Snape was busy making the Mandrake Potion that would revive those petrified by the Chamber's monster. Harry, Ron, and Lockhart eventually went down to the Chamber when they discovered it. Lockhart and Ron were trapped when he performed a Memory Charm incorrectly and it hit him. Harry killed Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk (the monster) with Godric Gryffindor's sword. In the end, the petrified people came to and Lockhart, now completely oblivious, was forced to lose his job and be admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Sirius Black Escape "I don't know if you've noticed, Lupin, but Neville Longbottom is here. It wouldn't be good to give him too difficult a job, unless Miss Granger is whispering instructions in his ear." —Snape humiliating Neville Longbottom.[source]

Again, for the thirteenth time, Snape presented himself to Dumbledore for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and was not only denied, but Snape's werewolf and enemy at school, Remus John Lupin, was given the job. Snape deeply hated Lupin and asked Dumbledore how he knew he could be trusted. Recently, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban after turning into a dog and fleeing from the Dementors. Snape was given the task of brewing the Wolfsbane Potion, which would allow Lupin to remain calm with the transformation and not attack the students. Lupin developed a slight respect for Snape from then on, as he knew that if he had tampered with the potion, it would have harmed him far more than his hatred. For the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Lupin caught a Boggart and decided that the students would practice the Boggart-repelling spell on it. Neville Longbottom demonstrated the spell after being humiliated by Snape in Potions class, and the Boggart transformed into him. After using the spell, Neville made the Snape-Boggart wear his grandmother's dress.

Attacks began to break out between students, starting with the Muggle-born Colin Creevey. Gilderoy Lockhart formed a Duelling Club at Hogwarts to teach the students how to deal with the attackers, with help from Snape. Snape easily disarmed Lockhart, who quickly declared that it was all on purpose. Snape had Harry team up with Lucius's son Draco Malfoy and Hermione with Millicent Bulstrode. Malfoy summoned a snake to attack Harry. Snape and Lockhart quickly made the snake disappear, though by then everyone saw Harry speak Parseltongue to get rid of the viper so it wouldn't attack the Muggle-born Justin Finch-Fletchley, who was later petrified.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione thought that the Heir of Slytherin had to be Malfoy, since he had always boasted that his entire family had been in Slytherin House. Hermione decided that they would make a Polyjuice Potion to infiltrate the Slytherin Common Room and get information out of Malfoy. To get the necessary ingredients, Hermione had to steal from Snape's private cupboard. Since he would certainly not give them the ingredients, they made a plan that consisted of detonating an inflating potion made by Gregory Goyle and, while everyone was injured by it and Snape had to heal them, Hermione would steal the ingredients. Snape suspected Harry from the beginning, but he did not say anything.

The death of the Basilisk Snape was busy making the Mandrake Potion that would revive those petrified by the Chamber's monster. Harry, Ron, and Lockhart eventually went down to the Chamber when they discovered it. Lockhart and Ron were trapped when he performed a Memory Charm incorrectly and it hit him. Harry killed Salazar Slytherin's Basilisk (the monster) with Godric Gryffindor's sword. In the end, the petrified people came to and Lockhart, now completely oblivious, was forced to lose his job and be admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Sirius Black Escape "I don't know if you've noticed, Lupin, but Neville Longbottom is here. It wouldn't be good to give him too difficult a job, unless Miss Granger is whispering instructions in his ear." —Snape humiliating Neville Longbottom.[source]

Again, for the thirteenth time, Snape presented himself to Dumbledore for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and was not only denied, but Snape's werewolf and enemy at school, Remus John Lupin, was given the job. Snape deeply hated Lupin and asked Dumbledore how he knew he could be trusted. Recently, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban after turning into a dog and fleeing from the Dementors. Snape was given the task of brewing the Wolfsbane Potion, which would allow Lupin to remain calm with the transformation and not attack the students. Lupin developed a slight respect for Snape from then on, as he knew that if he had tampered with the potion, it would have harmed him far more than his hatred. For the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Lupin caught a Boggart and decided that the students would practice the Boggart-repelling spell on it. Neville Longbottom demonstrated the spell after being humiliated by Snape in Potions class, and the Boggart transformed into him. After using the spell, Neville made the Snape-Boggart wear his grandmother's dress.

Snape's friendship with Lily Evans was probably the only thing that truly brought joy to his life. He met Lily at a very young age, recognizing her as a witch one day while she and her sister Petunia were playing in the park near their home; she had flown down from the swings and made a flower grow from a bud. Wanting to escape his humiliating home life, Snape immediately tried to make her his friend. Despite the fact that Lily came from a Muggle family, he never really saw her as one of them because he was in love with her.

They spent their time talking about magic and the wizarding world. Lily even asked if being a Muggle born into the wizarding world mattered to Snape, who replied that it did not matter at all. In 1971, the two were accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and continued a close friendship until around their fifth year, despite being sorted into different houses. Snape was very disappointed that they were not in the same house and that they were separated because of it.

During this time, Snape began hanging out with people who embraced Dark Magic and pure-blood supremacy, which caused great difficulties in their friendship. Lily was offended by many of the views Snape was beginning to adopt, and disliked the qualities of her new classmates. Time and 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 he would impress his friend if he became a true Death Eater. Ironically, Lily might have come 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 disgusting people and acts. When Snape called Lily a "Mudblood" in a moment of humiliation, it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Lily. When she later asked him if he still intended to become a Death Eater and he did not deny it, she broke all ties with him, despite Snape's many apologies to her.

When Snape heard the prophecy, he immediately relayed its contents to the Dark Lord, unaware that it would have anything to do with Lily. Upon discovering that Lord Voldemort was planning to attack the Potter family, Snape begged him to spare Lily in exchange for her husband and son. Later, he 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, sinking into a depression that seemingly lasted for the rest of his life. But at Dumbledore's urging, he vowed to protect his son Harry and help him defeat the Dark Lord. Snape never spoke of Lily to anyone again except Dumbledore. This was likely due to heartbreak and concern that mentioning her might make others suspicious. Even though he constantly slandered James to Lily's son's face, he never mentioned Lily in these attacks, possibly due to his inability to insult her again. In fact, Snape's Patronus was a doe, just like Lily's, because he loved her throughout his life. When Snape died, he asked Harry to look into his eyes; his dying 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 sacrificing his own life, Lily's son Harry would name his second son after Snape. Coincidentally, said son would inherit Lily's green eyes.

Snape's relationship with Dumbledore was one of close, but not open-ended, trust. Dumbledore was Snape's headmaster while at Hogwarts and was impressed with the academy and Snape's abilities. Snape likely felt no real loyalty to Dumbledore as a student and may have resented the latter's failure to stop the torturous bullying Snape received at the hands of the Marauders. Despite this, he agreed to keep Remus Lupin's lycanthropy a secret when the headmaster ordered it (albeit likely for self-serving reasons). Before allying himself with Snape, Dumbledore viewed him with, in his own words, disgust, at the latter's selfishness.

Having put Lily's life in danger by delivering a prophecy to Lord Voldemort (unaware at the time that it referred to his son), Snape turned to Dumbledore to keep her safe. Dumbledore chose to capitalize on Snape's remorse and initiated him into the Order of the Phoenix as a double agent. He also gave Snape the job of Potions Master and Head of Slytherin at Hogwarts at the tender age of 21.

As a spy for the Order, Snape quietly maintained his place within the ranks of the Death Eaters, while reporting to Dumbledore on their movements. He also adopted the role of secret agent for Voldemort, supplying him with strategic bits of information about the Order. The content of these reports was often dictated by Dumbledore. It is implied that Snape withheld little, if any, information from Dumbledore that was relevant to the Order's success, while Snape deliberately did the opposite for Voldemort.

Snape resented Dumbledore's secrecy and was offended by this lack of faith in his abilities. However, when Snape discovered that Dumbledore had intended for Harry to die all along, he was horrified to see it as a calculated betrayal of Lily's memory. Dumbledore clearly underestimated the depth of Snape's feelings, and years later was greatly surprised to learn that he still maintained his devotion.

In 1996, Dumbledore became aware of Voldemort's plan to kill him. Knowing that Voldemort expected Draco Malfoy to fail, and assuming that Snape was Draco's successor, Dumbledore assigned Snape the task of killing him when the situation arose. Snape was genuinely reluctant to do this and even stated when Dumbledore stated that it was necessary to protect Draco's soul that his soul could be harmed by such an act, showing that Snape had grown to genuinely care for the Headmaster. Even with the revelation of Dumbledore's true plans for Harry, Snape hesitated for a time before carrying out his mission, with his face being described as a display of hatred (for what he was about to do). Dumbledore also entrusted Snape with the protection of the students once Hogwarts fell under Voldemort's control. Despite their mutual trust, Dumbledore never allowed Snape his coveted position as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. It was claimed that he did so that Snape would not experience a resurgence of "old habits". In fact, the truth may be that Dumbledore believed the position to be cursed by Lord Voldemort after he failed to achieve the position, and this curse had prevented any teacher from lasting more than a year. Placing Snape in such a position might have risked his safety, and Dumbledore would not have allowed such a risk, should he need Snape's help against Voldemort again. When Dumbledore was infected by the curse on Marvolo Gaunt's ring, he asked Snape to kill him. Knowing that such an act would displease Snape beyond any doubt in the minds of the wizarding public, Dumbledore allowed Snape the position because he would have to leave immediately anyway.

The Marauders were a group of four Gryffindor boys, with whom Severus began a relationship of enmity and hatred throughout his school years. The group consisted of James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. Severus and the first two Marauders disliked each other almost instantly when they first saw each other in a compartment of the Hogwarts Express. Throughout their time at Hogwarts, the Marauders (with the exception of Lupin) and Snape would constantly harass each other. The Marauders would never miss an opportunity to play a "practical joke" on Snape, and vice versa.

However, James Potter ended up saving her life when Sirius told Snape how to get into the Shrieking Shack. Snape caught a glimpse of Lupin transforming into a werewolf before James pushed him into the tunnel. Snape did not believe that James was acting nobly. Rather, he saw it as an act of self-serving to prevent himself and the rest of the Marauders from being expelled from Hogwarts, and the incident only made him hate James more than ever. He also came to resent Lupin, believing that he had been in on Sirius' prank. During their seventh year at Hogwarts, Lily and James began dating, which likely fueled Snape's hatred of him even further. James always suspected that Snape had deeper feelings for Lily, which strongly influenced her behavior towards him. Snape's continued bitterness towards the Marauders, even into adulthood, became apparent in 1993, when Remus Lupin was given the position of Defense in the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, despite Snape and Dumbledore knowing that he was a werewolf.

During Harry Potter's time at school, Snape took great delight in comparing Harry to his father and telling him that he was not the great man he liked to believe him to be. Although Snape's descriptions of James as a teenager were accurate, he intentionally omitted even vague descriptions of the noble person James became. The hatred that Snape fostered in Harry by describing James the way he did to Harry was reinforced in large part by the fact that for a long time, the only source of information about his father that Harry unthinkingly trusted was the testimony of the men who, in life, had been James's closest friends; These, being in the position of James' "best friends", were affected by a natural inclination to try to justify (or at least understand), to a large extent, the practically abusive way in which James always behaved towards Snape, while largely avoiding understanding Snape's own position (which is especially evident when Sirius, speaking to Harry about the scene from Snape's past that the former had seen in the Pensieve, describes him as "a weirdo who was driven mad by the dark arts"), a tendency that James' death would only contribute to further accentuate during the years that the Marauders remained alive.

Because of that, when Harry was first confronted with the truth about his father's relationship with Snape as it really was, after having had time to meditate on what he had seen, his first reaction (though one that was taken in the right direction) was to question the superior approach he had always taken towards his father and wonder if Snape actually deserved a bit of pity for him because of his past - a questioning that, later on, when Harry had a chance to see a summary of Snape's entire life through his memories, would morph into the open respect and treatment inclined to do justice to him rather than to James that would characterize Harry's approach to Snape in his adult life. Snape mostly felt bitterness and resentment towards Remus Lupin, and hinted in a class he substituted for him in in the hopes that the students would notice. However, it should be noted that despite Snape's strained relationship with the Marauders, he did diligently concoct potions for Remus Lupin during his tenure at Hogwarts and attempted to save his life during the Flight of Little Whinging. Lupin was the only one of the Marauders who was able to interact with Snape on at least a normal level when they were adults. Lupin, like everyone else, believed Snape to be an evil and cowardly servant of Voldemort after he killed Albus Dumbledore and died before learning the truth.

Snape had an especially strong enmity towards Sirius. Not only did Snape despise Sirius for having humiliated him and James in their Hogwarts years (which hatred was already great), but he also believed that Sirius had been the Marauder who betrayed Lily to Voldemort (which hatred was even greater). He was eager to be the one to hand Sirius over to receive the Dementor's Kiss after he escaped from Azkaban and was furious when he managed to escape once again. However, after Sirius's innocence was proven, Dumbledore insisted that the two join hands and ally together against Voldemort. Although Sirius regretted his malicious treatment of Snape at school, the two were barely capable of civil conversation. During the period when Sirius was hiding from the Ministry of Magic, Snape mocked him for his lack of usefulness in the Order of the Phoenix while he was confined to his mother's house. However, after learning of Sirius's innocence, Snape reluctantly accepted that they were fighting for the same side, and when Harry told Snape that he believed Voldemort had captured Sirius, Snape quickly ran off to check if Sirius was really safe.

Snape treated Pettigrew, the Marauder who truly betrayed Lily, with nothing but contempt. It is possible that Snape regarded Pettigrew as too insignificant to hate; however, he was also likely forced to keep his dislike to a minimum due to his role as a double agent. When the Dark Lord later assigned Pettigrew to work as his assistant, Snape began treating him like a butler, forcing him to clean his house and serve food to his guests, ensuring that he was far from comfortable and, of course, unhappy. Snape also seemed to enjoy threatening Pettigrew that he would tell Voldemort that Wormtail desired more dangerous tasks whenever he protested his position as Snape's servant.

In an ironic twist, despite their mutual dislike, James Albus Potter's second grandson would be named after Snape years after Snape and the Marauders' deaths.

Snape appeared to be on good terms with the Malfoy family. Lucius Malfoy was a Slytherin prefect when Snape began attending Hogwarts, and the two were in the same social circles, which included other future Death Eaters. Snape and Lucius likely worked together as Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. It is unknown whether Lucius was suspicious of Snape's true loyalties, though he likely believed that Snape was truly loyal to Voldemort. Lucius continued to think and speak well of Snape later in life. Perhaps because of this, Snape also favored Lucius' son Draco. The latter seemed to admire Snape, once sarcophilically stating that he would make a much better headmaster than Albus Dumbledore.

However, following his father's imprisonment in Azkaban following the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, Draco grew to distrust and laugh at Snape, suspecting him of trying to usurp his father's place in the ranks of the Death Eaters. He refused Snape's repeated offers of help with the mission Lord Voldemort assigned him in his sixth year. Narcissa Malfoy, on the other hand, begged Snape to help Draco in his mission to assassinate Dumbledore, fearing that her son would be used to punish Lucius. She ignored the warnings of her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange, who did not trust Snape, and made him swear an Unbreakable Vow to help Draco and take on the mission should he fail. This speaks highly as to the trust and respect the Malfoys had for Snape. It is unknown how the Malfoys reacted upon learning of Snape's death and his true loyalties. They were probably sad because of their long friendship. They may also have been sympathetic because of their own disillusionment with Voldemort.

Snape was respected professionally among his colleagues at Hogwarts. Although many of them showed some wariness towards him due to his status as a former Death Eater, they chose to trust him because Dumbledore did so. When Snape killed Dumbledore, however, the entire staff was shocked. In 1998, Flitwick and Sprout, like many other teachers, tried to oppose Snape and the Carrows, and were among those who expelled Snape from Hogwarts before the battle. Flitwick and Sprout were Snape's Charms and Herbology teachers respectively in the latter's youth.

Rubeus Hagrid was not Snape's friend but trusted him, mainly because Dumbledore trusted him and would always defend him whenever Harry or Ron expressed distrust of him. Both Hagrid and Snape became members of the first and second Order of the Phoenix, and Hagrid, like Flitwick and Sprout, was shocked after Dumbledore's death, although all three discovered the truth about Snape's loyalties after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Snape disliked most of the Defence Against the Dark Arts instructors, such as Quirinus Quirrell, Gilderoy Lockhart, Remus Lupin, and Dolores Umbridge. Although this was at least partly out of his own desire to teach the subject, he had legitimate reasons for disliking them, as Quirrell was an agent of Lord Voldemort, Lockhart was a narcissistic fraud, Lupin had acted as a bystander to, if not directly participated in, much of the bullying Snape faced in his school days, and Umbridge was a corrupt woman who wanted the entire school under her control. The only Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Snape refrained from showing disrespect to was Alastor Moody, the toughest Dark Wizard Hunter the Ministry had, personified by Bartemius Crouch Jr. Harry assumed this was out of fear, but it was more likely due to loyalty. It should be noted that Moody was the one who killed Evan Rosier, an old friend of Snape, and possibly others.

Horace Slughorn had been Snape's Potions Master and the Head of his House. Snape became a member of the Slug Club as he was a brilliant student and even then his potion skills were almost as good if not equal to Slughorn's. Snape might have been the student to whom Slughorn once bestowed a flask of Liquid Luck. It is highly unlikely that Slughorn was aware of Snape's altered textbook and was shocked when Snape murdered Dumbledore.

Snape seemed to be on good terms with Argus Filch, the caretaker, who respected Snape, and like him, was disliked by most of the Hogwarts students. Snape often had Filch report to him directly if he found anything suspicious during his nightly patrols. It is possible that after Voldemort took over, Filch was only able to remain at Hogwarts because of his loyalty to Snape. It is unknown how Filch reacted when he learned that Snape had killed Dumbledore, or when Snape himself died.

Snape was not popular with most of the students at Hogwarts. He was quite strict and had high standards. He refused to allow any student into his NEWT-level classes unless they earned an "E" grade on their OWL test for the subject (many other Hogwarts teachers would still accept the next best grade, "S", for their advanced classes). At the beginning of the 1995–1996 school year, he warned his fifth-year students that he expected all of them to earn some sort of passing grade on their OWL tests, even if they did not intend to try out for his NEWT class. Anyone who earned a bad grade would be dealt with by his "displeasure".

In addition to being strict, he was not always fair. The fact that he was bullied so much as a child may have fueled his oppression as a teacher. During Harry Potter's years at school, Snape took particular pleasure in gaining points from Harry's House, Gryffindor. He generally favored the students in his own house, Slytherin, including Draco Malfoy. However, he was still irritated if they did not live up to his expectations and punished them as well. On at least one occasion, he gave Crabbe and Goyle detention because they had failed their OWLs for Defense Against the Dark Arts. He also had no qualms about punishing Merula Snyde for trying to frame Jacob's brother/sister even though she was a Slytherin and seems to dislike her being the most egregious liar and culprit among the Slytherins. The students of his house generally looked upon him with respect and pride, even cheering loudly when he effortlessly defeated Lockhart with a spell.

Although he disliked most of the students, a feeling that is fairly mutual, he was not actually evil and felt a great deal of concern for their safety. In 1993, when Professor McGonagall informed the staff that a monster from the Chamber of Secrets had captured a student, Snape showed a hint of genuine concern by gripping the back of a chair very tightly. He also did his best to protect the students from Voldemort's control over Hogwarts, while Alecto and Amycus Carrow were appointed to the school, showing that he cared for his students even if he rarely showed it.

Well, that's the tragedy of Snape. Given his time again, he wouldn't have become a Death Eater, but like many insecure and vulnerable people (like Wormtail) he longed to be a member of something big and powerful, something impressive. He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too. He never understood Lily's aversion; he was so blinded by his attraction to the dark side that he thought she would find him impressive if he became a real Death Eater.