73 Facts About Severus Snape

Severus Snape is a fictional character in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Severus Snape is an exceptionally skilled wizard whose extremely cold and resentful exterior conceals deep emotions and anguish.

Severus Snape dies at the hands of Lord Voldemort in the seventh book, at which time his back story is revealed.

Severus Snape then became a double agent for Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix.

Severus Snape's character has been widely acclaimed by readers and critics.

Elizabeth Hand of The Washington Post explained that Severus Snape's life "is the most heartbreaking, surprising and satisfying of all of Rowling's achievements".

Severus Snape has said that she drew inspiration for Snape's character from a disliked teacher from her own childhood, and described Snape as a horrible teacher, saying the "worst, shabbiest thing you can do" as a teacher is to bully students.

Severus Snape first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, shortly after Harry arrives at Hogwarts.

Severus Snape is the school's Potions Master, though he is widely rumoured to covet the Defence Against the Dark Arts post.

Severus Snape is a sinister and malicious teacher who makes frequent snide and disparaging remarks at Harry's expense.

Severus Snape quickly becomes the primary antagonist of the book, as Harry suspects him of plotting to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and of attempting to kill him.

Severus Snape has a minor role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where he helps Gilderoy Lockhart oversee Hogwarts' short-lived Duelling Club, but he has little interaction with the main plot.

Severus Snape informs Dumbledore of this circumstance, and when Harry and Lupin are not punished, Severus Snape retaliates by revealing to the entire school that Lupin is a werewolf, forcing the latter to resign his post.

James realised the danger and stopped Severus Snape, saving his life; this is the incident Dumbledore referred to at the end of the first book.

Severus Snape believes James' actions were self-serving, to avoid being expelled.

Severus Snape is apoplectic when Harry is unexpectedly entered into the Triwizard Tournament.

Later, Dumbledore assures Harry that Severus Snape's reformation is genuine, though he refuses to tell Harry how he knows this, saying the information "is a matter between Professor Severus Snape and myself".

Severus Snape is subsequently sent on a secret mission by Dumbledore.

Severus Snape is seen prior to the start of school at Number 12, Grimmauld Place giving reports to the Order of the Phoenix.

Severus Snape has a very strained relationship with Sirius, who owns Grimmauld Place and must remain there in hiding.

Later in the book, Dumbledore has Severus Snape teach Harry Occlumency, the protection of the mind from outside intrusion or influence.

Severus Snape sees the memory of Snape being bullied by James and Sirius, and of calling Harry's mother Lily a Mudblood.

Severus Snape then carries Harry's cryptic warning about Sirius' capture to the other Order members, allowing them to come to the rescue in the Department of Mysteries.

When questioned by Bellatrix about his loyalties, Severus Snape says he has been working for Voldemort ever since Voldemort's return, and explains his actions in the previous books in that light.

Severus Snape, who maintains that he "never had the impression that [he] had been able to teach Potter anything at all", is suspicious of Harry's newfound Potions success.

When Severus Snape insists that Harry show him his Potions textbook, Harry hides the Prince's book and gives him Ron Weasley's book instead.

Severus Snape passes through the school gates and Disapparates with Draco in tow at the book's end.

Severus Snape is named Headmaster of Hogwarts, while Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow are appointed as Hogwarts staff.

The novel focuses largely on Harry and his friends and events outside the school; therefore Severus Snape plays a limited role at the start.

The novel reveals that Severus Snape had covertly used his position as Headmaster to protect the students and to contain the Carrows.

Towards the end of the school year, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout force Severus Snape to flee the school.

The memories show that as a Death Eater, Severus Snape had revealed to Voldemort a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney, causing Voldemort to attempt to prevent it by killing Harry and his parents.

Severus Snape, who had not realised until too late that Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy to be referring to Lily and her family, asked Voldemort to spare Lily.

In return, Severus Snape secretly allied himself with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix as a double agent against Voldemort, using his powers of Occlumency to hide his betrayal from Voldemort.

However, Severus Snape demanded of Dumbledore that his love for Lily be kept a secret, especially from Harry, because of the deep animosity he felt towards Harry's father and his mixed feelings towards Harry.

Dumbledore, aware that Voldemort had ordered Draco to kill him, had asked Severus Snape to kill him instead as a way of sparing the boy's soul and of preventing his own otherwise slow, painful death.

Severus Snape's memories provide Harry with the information he needs to ensure Voldemort's final defeat, in the form of conversations Severus Snape had with Dumbledore.

Severus Snape adds that she would like to think Harry made Snape's true loyalty and heroism known in the Wizarding world, and that he lobbied to ensure that a portrait be installed in the office.

One of them [Severus Snape] was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.

Severus Snape appears in all eight Harry Potter films, portrayed by British actor Alan Rickman.

Severus Snape had conversations with Rowling about his character and is one of the few Harry Potter actors that she spoke to prior to the completion of the book series about the future direction of the character.

Rickman's performance as Severus Snape was widely acclaimed by critics, fans and Rowling herself.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifteen-year-old Severus Snape makes a brief appearance in a flashback to Severus Snape's youth.

Severus Snape finds that in this reality Snape is still alive and still teaches at Hogwarts, and asks for his help.

At first Severus Snape is suspicious of him, since this timeline's version of Scorpius is a bully and a Voldemort stalwart.

Severus Snape is described as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth.

Severus Snape has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes.

Severus Snape wears black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of "an overgrown bat".

Severus Snape is generally depicted as being cold, calculating, precise, sarcastic, and bitter.

In particular, James and Sirius bullied Severus Snape, which according to Alan Rickman caused the already lonely boy to further "shut himself in".

Severus Snape's temper is sometimes short where Harry is concerned and positively flares when dealing with his erstwhile tormentor Sirius, or when accused of cowardice.

Severus Snape is intelligent and has a keen, analytical mind.

Severus Snape is not a particularly likeable man in many ways.

All seven novels show Severus Snape to be a very powerful wizard and to have been outstanding while a student.

Sirius claimed that Severus Snape knew more hexes and curses as a first-year student at Hogwarts than most seventh-years knew.

Particularly gifted in potion making, Severus Snape added major improvements to his Potions textbook while still a student.

Severus Snape is shown using this spell as a teenager against Harry's father James and in the aerial battle in the last novel when he accidentally hits George Weasley with it while actually aiming for a Death Eater who was trying to attack Lupin, permanently severing George's right ear.

Severus Snape is a talented duellist, able to hold off by himself a group of three Hogwarts professors that included former duelling champion Filius Flitwick.

Professor McGonagall later implies that Severus Snape learned to fly without the use of a broom, a rare skill previously displayed only by Voldemort.

Severus Snape was born to Eileen Prince, a witch, and Tobias Severus Snape, a Muggle, making him a half-blood.

Severus Snape spent his early childhood living with his parents in a small house in Spinner's End.

Severus Snape's family was a poor one and he is described as wearing ill-fitting clothes "that were so mis-matched that it looked deliberate".

Severus Snape was very eager to leave his home to go to Hogwarts.

Borders Group published a separate book on the topic, The Great Severus Snape Debate, containing essays and arguments from both sides of the debate.

Joyce Millman suggests in her essay "To Sir with Love" in the book Mapping the World of Harry Potter, that Severus Snape is derived from a tradition of Byronic heroes such as Wuthering Heights Heathcliff.

Severus Snape claimed that Snape is the only protagonist who genuinely has a choice to make and who struggles to do the right thing, hence the only one to face a "compelling inner crisis".

In May 2011, Severus Snape was again voted as the No 1 favourite Harry Potter character in a public poll held by the Bloomsbury publishing house.

The character of Severus Snape has appeared in various animated parodies of Harry Potter.

Severus Snape is a starring character in Neil Cicierega's online Potter Puppet Pals parodies, and has a centric episode titled Bothering Snape.

Also, the video The Mysterious Ticking Noise with the chorus "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape" was the winner for "Best Comedy" of the year 2007 at YouTube; it currently has over 170 million views.

Comic Relief released a story called Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, in which Severus Snape is played by Jeremy Irons.

Severus Snape appeared in a Harry Potter parody named "Louis Potter and the Philosopher's Scone" in Alistair McGowan's Big Impression show, played by Alistair McGowan himself.

In Team Starkid's A Very Potter Musical, Severus Snape is played by actor Joe Moses.