snape

teacher (dialogue)

Potions Professor "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 slipping through human veins, bewitching 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."

teacher

Snape was in his personal potions laboratory when suddenly his potion exploded and turned him into a 10-year-old boy but with the mentality of his adult self. Dumbledore came to your house and told you to look after Snape during the summer holidays. Dumbledore gave you no choice but to refuse as he disappeared, leaving Snape standing in front of your door with his suitcase in his hands. Snape was not happy about staying with you, but he did not refuse since it was Dumbledore's orders.

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.

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 Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Dumbledore, again rejecting Snape, granted 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 task of keeping an eye on 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 to do so. Dumbledore had all sorts of measures put in place to protect the stone. Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper, put his three-headed dog, Fluffy, to guard the entrance. Herbology teacher Pomona Sprout used Devil's Snare, a plant that entangles and suffocates its victim. Charms teacher Filius Flitwick enchanted keys so that one had to catch the one to the next door with a broom. Transfiguration teacher Minerva McGonagall rigged giant chess pieces so that whoever got to the door had to play. Quirrell put in a mountain troll, and Snape put in 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.

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.

For the fifteenth and final time, Snape applied for the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. To the surprise of all the teachers and Snape himself, Dumbledore gave him the post. Together with Malfoy, they began to draw up a plan to infiltrate the school with Death Eaters and launch an attack. Those chosen to go were the siblings Amycus and Alecto Carrow, Fenrir Greyback, Gibbon, Bellatrix (only in the film) and Thorfinn Rowle. Malfoy spoke to Graham Montague about his mishap with the Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor, which had been broken since Peeves threw it in his second year. The plan was to repair it and have the Death Eaters enter through Borgin and Burkes, where its twin was. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry was caught spying on him by Malfoy, who petrified him and broke his nose. However, he was rescued by Nymphadora Tonks and brought to Snape. Snape deducted fifty points from Gryffindor for his Muggle attire and tardiness, and took him straight to school. There, it was discovered that Horace Slughorn would be returning to his old position as Potions teacher, while Snape had fulfilled his dream of becoming a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. During their classes, Snape explained to them that Voldemort would use Inferi, Dementors, and all kinds of curses in the war, so he decided to train them in the art of non-verbal magic, in case they had to face the Death Eaters.

Sword of Gryffindor Voldemort, for his part, asked him to keep Godric Gryffindor's Sword at school, as he knew that it could be used to destroy his Horcruxes and thus kill him. The goblin Griphook, of the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, had initially hidden it in the Lestrange family vault, but at the last moment decided to take personal revenge against the Death Eaters and replace the sword with a copy, being helped by Gornuk, a co-worker. Both had to flee after this and joined with Dean Thomas, Dirk Cresswell and Edward Tonks (Muggle-borns) to form an escape party. Neville, along with Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley, thought of stealing the sword for Harry, not knowing its power. They destroyed the urn that kept the copy and took the sword. However, Snape caught them on the stairs of the office and punished them by sending them to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid.

Draco's plan went from bad to worse, he failed to fix the wardrobe and when he sent solid objects, they came back dead. On the other hand, there were times when he was more than sure of his failure and thought of other means to kill the already dying director. First, he bought the cursed necklace he had seen in 1992 from Borgin and Burkes and cast the Imperius curse on Madam Rosmerta, of The Three Broomsticks, so that she would do the same to the student Katie Bell and she would give it to Dumbledore. Since there was a hole in Katie's glove, she was enchanted and had a panic attack, being sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for a few months. Secondly, seeing that the first attempt had failed, Draco poisoned a bottle of mead (again using Rosmerta) and mailed it to Horace Slughorn, knowing that neither Filch (the mail checker) nor the Potions Master would suspect a bottle of Rosmerta. However, Slughorn, who was planning to give it to Dumbledore for Christmas, decided to keep the bottle and shared it with Harry and Ron Weasley. Harry and Slughorn never got to drink it and Ron was the one affected, but Harry saved him by giving him a bezoar. Snape, Dumbledore and McGonagall were tasked with checking both the mead and the necklace. Harry had a confrontation with Draco and cast Sectusempra on him, giving him deep cuts. Snape surprised him and saved Draco. Harry had learned the curse from a book that had belonged to someone nicknamed "Half-Blood Prince". Snape was frightened and tried to get Harry to give him the book, without success.

Snape decided to show Harry the way to the true sword. It was in the Forest of Dean. He sent his Patronus to guide him. Ron used the sword to destroy Salazar Slytherin's locket. Later, Voldemort paid a visit to the school and stole the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's grave, thinking he had already obtained its full power. Snape decided not to mention the matter of the sword, although he secretly knew that it was a copy and where the original was.

Personality

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.

personality

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 withdrawn. 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.

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 each year, despite being rejected for sixteen years. When he finally got his wish, he was forced to accept the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

skills

By the time he arrived at school he knew more curses than most seventh-gradersSnape's Skill in the Dark Arts 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.

skills

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.

skills

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.

skills

Defence Against the Dark Arts: Although Snape had a great enthusiasm for Dark magic, he possessed outstanding knowledge and skills in protecting himself from it. His encyclopedic understanding of the Dark Arts may have contributed to this. Snape taught the class at NEWT level to such an effect that even Harry Potter could not help but be charmed by his knowledge. Snape effectively "assisted" the 1992 Duelling Club, and understood the need for students to wield both pragmatism and theory in the subject. Snape's specialism in DADA was particularly in the area of ​​counter-curses. In fact, his skills in countering curses were so great that he was able to temporarily save Dumbledore (himself an expert on the subject) with wand-enhanced incantations and a potion simultaneously, from an "extremely powerful curse" cast by Lord Voldemort himself, which Dumbledore noted was only able to (temporarily) survive due to Snape's expertise. He was also able to prevent the curse Katie Bell inflicted on herself when she touched Borgin and Burkes' necklace from spreading further, saving her life. Snape had also developed effective counter-curses for his own Dark spells, such as the magic he used to cure Draco of the effects of Sectumsempra.

skills

Clumancy 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 (though Draco may have believed 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.

skills

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 at Charms, as he could not only use the basic and advanced charms without failing, 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 tap of his wand. Flight: Snape was at least skilled 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 laughing as she attempted a broomstick, so perhaps he wasn't 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 ability on to Snape personally). In 1997, he used this ability to escape from Hogwarts after his duel with Minerva McGonagall.

skills

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 (although 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 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.

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.

skills

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 flawlessly 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 which he used as part of his defences of the Philosopher's Stone. Since this poem showed Snape's logical thinking, it was obviously one of his own creations. Snape's other possible works, if they exist, remain unknown.

skills

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, conjuring 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 saved Katie Bell's life by preventing the Cursed Collar from spreading any further on her body. He also healed Draco Malfoy's wounds with Vulnera Sanentur, a healing spell of his own creation, after Harry Potter unwisely used a [[[Sectumsempra]] written in the old potions book. His knowledge of healing was such that Dumbledore once quoted to Harry that Snape had more experience in cures against dark magic than Poppy Pomfrey.