He was the professor you loved to hate. Even amongst villains like Bellatrix Lestrange, Dolores Umbridge, and Lord Voldemort himself, Hogwarts' potions master was, for many years, the most reviled of all the Harry Potter villains. Then, with the final book, JK Rowling turned all that on its head and made Snape one of the noblest and most tragic heroes of the whole series. Whether you love him or hate him, Snape is undeniably one of the Wizarding World's most compelling characters. Why not learn a little more about him?
1. A Major Player
snape GIFGiphySeverus Snape is mentioned exactly 1,849 times throughout the run of the series. That's a lot of mentions!
2. A True Dark Arts Master
So much of the series focuses on Snape’s ties to Voldemort and his disdain for Harry Potter, but this guy also has some serious magical skills. Snape invented (to just name a few) a nonverbal spell, Levicorpus, that can lift people up by their ankles, a counter curse spell to Levicorpus, and a violent spell that can slash through opponents called Sectumsempra. Uh, those definitely sound like dark arts to me.
3. Nasty
Because of Snape’s double agent status, he's described in a lot of unsavory ways by a lot of people: for example, "Snivellus" by Sirius Black, "Overgrown bat" by Professor Quirrell, and "Slimeball" by Peter Pettigrew (who's one to talk).
4. Kind Words
Even with all this name calling, Harry also later describes Snape as "The bravest man I ever knew."
5. Getting Into Character
File:Alan Rickman cropped and retouched.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org
The late, great Alan Rickman had a strong hand in how Snape was portrayed on the big screen. Rickman determined the tightness of the sleeves, the number of buttons, and other critical features of Snape's costume.
6. Something Is Missing
Despite Rickman's involvement in Snape's character design in the movies, there is one thing missing from the book: a goatee. In the series, Snape is always illustrated with some kind of beard, which is mysteriously absent from the films.
7. Patronus
Snape is the only Death Eater who can conjure a Patronus. His is (of course) a doe, just like his love Lily Potter.
8. Fan Theory
There was a popular fan theory circulating that Snape is actually transgender. The proponents of this theory, mostly on the website Tumblr, created a whole world of fan fiction, fan art, and literary analysis surrounding the potions master. However, JK Rowling's recent activities make the theory...unlikely, to say the least.
9. Soft and Greasy
The two words used most often to describe Snape throughout the books are "Cold" and "Dark." Runners-up include "Soft" and "Greasy." Not exactly the adjectives I'd want, but hey, if the shoe fits.
10. A Jinxed Position
File:Severus Snape fanart - Cor-Sa.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org
Snape, as we know from The Half-Blood Prince, was half-Muggle. His mother, Eileen Prince, was a witch, but his father, Tobias Snape, was a regular, non-magical person. He resented his abusive father and his Muggle heritage, and so he created the identity of the Half-Blood Prince (after his mother's maiden name).
11. Cut Short
Severus Snape was born on January 9, 1960, making him a Capricorn. He died on May 2, 1998; he was only 38 years old.
12. Snape Should Find Better Cologne
Rowling enjoys interacting with fans on Twitter and answering their questions about her series (though the practice has received...mixed reception in recent years). However, not all of her tweets fundamentally change the Harry Potter universe. When one user asked her what Snape smelled like, she replied with, “bitterness and old shoes.” Wow, what type of cologne was he wearing?
13. Little of Column A, Little of Column B
Some of the worst things Snape has done? He tried to have Harry and Ron expelled after the flying car incident in The Chamber of Secrets, and he also, well, killed Dumbledore. But he did do good things: that killing thing was on the Headmaster's orders, and he did once save Draco Malfoy's life in The Half-Blood Prince.
14. Serving the School
Becoming Headmaster at Hogwarts takes a lot of time and experience. That's why it's impressive that Snape held the title at such a young age, though his time there was admittedly not under the ideal circumstances. His tenure was incredibly short, but his portrait still graces the grand office of historical Headmasters.
15. Reading Way Between the Lines
harry potter GIFGiphyWhen Snape approaches Harry Potter for the first time, the first thing he asks him is "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" A fan translated the etymology and symbolism of the words, particularly using the language of flowers. Asphodel is a type of lily meaning "my regrets follow you to the grave" in Victorian flower language, while wormwood symbolizes bitterness and sorrow. The fan interpreted it as, “On Lily's grave, I promise to protect you.” Deep, man.
16. Snape’s POV
Pottermore is the gift that keeps on giving. On it, there is a feature article that includes a summary of the Harry Potter books from Snape’s perspective, offering a differing view of the story about The Boy Who Lived.
17. Crabby
Harry Potter's son, Albus Severus Potter, isn't the only who named after Snape: In 2017, researchers discovered a new species of crab and called it Harryplax severus. Well, he is a pretty crabby guy.
18. Vampire Roots?
Many fans have felt that Snape is a vampire because of his demeanor, attire, and pale skin. Rowling has refuted this rumor, but that still hasn’t stopped fans from asserting this as a potential truth—and writing lots of fanfiction about it, no doubt. That's the nice thing about Harry Potter—if there's a theory about it, there's definitely some fanfiction to go along with it.
19. Least Favorite Subject
Rowling wasn't a huge fan of chemistry while in school. She hated it so much, in fact, that when she decided what subject Snape should teach, she settled on potions because of its resemblance to its scientific equivalent, and its conjuring of all the bad memories she had while learning the subject. While writing Snape, however, she found she actually did have some interest in the topic. Maybe he wasn't such a bad teacher after all!
20. Death By Toenail
person with orange nail polishPhoto by sq lim on UnsplashOne of Snape's weirder spell inventions? He created a spell (a hex really) that caused toenails to grow long incredibly quickly. Now, what would you need that for?
21. Perfect Nomenclature
According to the English etymology dictionary, Snape means “to be hard upon, rebuke, revile, snub.” All of these words describe things not only things Snape participated in, but also, sadly, things he experienced as well.
22. The Home of A Hero
Pottermore is the home base of Potter fans everywhere, and it continues to reveal fantastic tidbits about characters even now that the series has ended. One riddle contest revealed details of Snape and Lily Potter’s hometown: Cokeworth. That's the kind of question that will decide Harry Potter Trivia Nights everywhere, so write it down!
23. The Wrong Side of the Tracks
The Snape family lived in a neighborhood called Spinner’s End, one of the poorer areas of Cokeworth. The Evans family, including daughters Lily and Petunia, lived in a more affluent area nearby, and Snape first met them when he was nine years old, almost instantly falling in love with the magical Lily.
24. Change of Scenery, Change of Clothes
Lily Evans was the only bright spot in Snape’s young life. His parents fought constantly, and many fans believe that he was likely abused as a child. His family struggled financially, and Snape was forced to wear poorly fitting, mismatched clothes. As such, he could not wait to leave this behind for Hogwarts every year. He would immediately change into his robes upon boarding the Hogwarts Express, glad leave his shabby Muggle clothes behind.
25. Young Master
Snaped!GiphyIt should come as no surprise to anyone, but the Half-Blood Prince was a remarkably talented wizard, especially when it came to potions. In fact, young Snape was appointed Hogwarts’ potions master by September of 1981, when he was just 21 years old.
26. Dark Prodigy
Despite growing up in the Muggle world, Snape was already a talented young wizard by the time he arrived at Hogwarts. Sirius Black once remarked that young Severus knew how to perform more curses upon his entry to the school than most students knew after seven years of training.
27. Gobsmacked by Gobstones
Little is known about Snape’s mother, Eileen Prince. She was said to be skinny and unattractive, usually appearing both angry and sullen. She did, however, seem to have a particular passion for a game called Gobstones (like a magical version of marbles). In her time at Hogwarts, she was both the captain of the Gobstones team and president of the Gobstones club.
28. Pain Begets Pain
Snape’s tragic story is painfully similar to that of many real-life bullies. When he arrived at Hogwarts, he was almost instantly singled out for torment by James Potter and Sirius Black. His victimization led him to fall in with similarly cruel Slytherin students, and he became a terrible bully himself—eventually ending up as a Death Eater.
29. The Worst Of The Best
Snape was an impressive enough student to end up in Professor Slughorn’s Slug Club, but as far as the group went, Slughorn considered Snape on the bottom end of the scale. He kept Snape’s photo with the other Slug Club members, but he made sure to hide it behind more impressive students.
30. Hidden Letters
File:Alan Rickman, 2011.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org
Two years after Alan Rickman’s death from pancreatic cancer, a collection of his personal letters was put up for auction. Together, the papers were valued at £950,000, and among correspondences with Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, and Prince Charles, there were also several never-before-seen letters that shed new light on the actor’s experience playing Snape.
31. Frustrations
One letter that stood out was from David Heyman, who produced the Harry Potter films. He wrote, "Thank you for making HP2 a success. I know, at times, you are frustrated but please know that you are an integral part of the films. And you are brilliant.” This instantly led to speculation as to what made Rickman so frustrated during filming.
32. Mass Appeal
Fortunately, delving deeper into the cache of letters reveals the source of some of Rickman’s frustrations. In a note written during the filming of The Half-Blood Prince, Rickman said, “It’s as if David Yates has decided that this is not important in the scheme of things i.e. teen audience appeal,” referring to the darker aspects of Snape’s past (such as the abuse he received at the hands of his father).
33. Method to his Madness
Apparently, Alan Rickman was extremely committed to the part when he was on set. Upon first meeting Rickman, David Yates thought he was “really prickly and quite unpleasant.” It was only after seeing how warm and charming the actor could be off set that Yates realized Rickman had simply been “in the zone” as Snape while on set.
34. “Always…”
When Rickman first took the role of Snape, the ending of the book series had not yet been revealed. So, to make sure that he could best portray the complicated character, JK Rowling revealed a key piece of information about the character to him. Rickman died never revealing what that piece of information was, but Rowling eventually let fans in on the secret. She told him what lies behind the word "Always." That Snape would always love Lily Potter. That he would always protect Harry. That nothing in the world, no amount of torment or danger, could change that. So while audiences were left guessing as to Snape's allegiances until the final film, the actor himself knew all along.
35. Trust Me, I Know
File:Alan Rickman BAM 2011-01-11 n1.jpg - Wikimedia Commonscommons.wikimedia.org
The fact that Rickman knew more about his character than anyone else made for an interesting dynamic between the actor and his directors. There would be times where a director would tell Rickman to do something, and he would respond by saying, “No, I can’t do that—I know what is going to happen and you don’t."
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.