Join hosts Sam and Sierra and guest Neiha Khan (Dramione Diaries) as they delve into the many what-ifs of Severus Snape book-by-book.
In this episode:
- Pretty privilege, does it always work?
- Snape caring for Harry changes everything, or does it…
- Rogue bludgers for Snape no matter what
- Snape killing Lockhart would be chef’s kiss
- Let the people talk!
- Snape surviving Azkaban has many forms
- Everything changes if adults don’t act like children
- Harry failing at Occlumency is actually good
- No awkward hugs, just death
- Snape could change everything or nothing
I loved this episode so much! I have my own “what if” to offer for Sorcerer’s Stone. What if Harry actually understood Snape’s comment in the first potions class about asphodel and wormwood, meaning that Snape regrets Lily’s death. Do you think Harry would have set his fear of Snape aside to speak with him at least about Lily? I think he would have and should have!
Wait is that a thing? Was Snape giving a coded message about Lilly?
I must have missed that!
Some fan (cannot recall who) an age ago worked out that the plants Snape mentions – via the “language of flowers” – imply something like “I regret Lily’s death”.
I like the idea that Snape is sort of testing Harry in this first class. He’s thinking something like “Lily would know this; Potter’s clearly as dunderheaded as his father”, not realising that he’s comparing Harry at 11 to Lily at 15/16.
I don’t think Snape is willing/able to see Lily in Harry.
At first it’s probably subconscious, owing to his appearance and a lot of confirmation bias. When Dumbledore reveals that Harry needs to die, Snape has even less reason to look for her traits, until dying himself and in desperate need of compassion from one of the only people who ever cared about him.
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It’s interesting to look at Snape’s first interaction with the marauders. They ignore him until he mentions wanting to be in Slytherin. James reacts rudely (echoing Draco with “I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?”), but then goes back to ignoring Snape. Snape repays the favour by sneering at Gryffindor, Sirius snarks back, and animosity is established for stupid, immature reasons.
(Note that while Harry immediately dislikes Draco, it’s because he reminds Harry of Dudley, and he’s openly bigoted (towards Hagrid and muggleborns). Also, Harry’s response is to want to avoid Draco rather than needle him.)
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A makeover wouldn’t have helped Snape much once his “greasy” reputation had been established. Unless he achieved a Hermione-level immaculate glow-up (the marauders: “Oh no, he’s hot!”), kids would take it as the defense mechanism that it is.
There was the chance for a fresh look and a fresh start when he became a teacher, but at that point he was too busy grieving to care.
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A lot of people suspect that both Snape and Dumbledore are constantly using (light/passive) legilimency on students, but at that level it’s probably only good for distinguishing “they have no idea what I’m talking about” vs “they’re super guilty”.
(It’s an invasion of privacy, sure, but at least it’s fairly accurate. Unlike Umbridge’s “you’re guilty because I don’t like you”.)
It’s less useful in more open-ended scenarios, like Dumbledore’s “anything you’d like to tell me” in CoS. It’s not clear what Dumbledore is looking for, and Harry’s thoughts are probably not terribly useful. Maybe they’re even unhelpful – if someone’s brewing polyjuice in Myrtle’s bathroom then clearly there can’t be anything else going on in there.
Snape does make a habit of eavesdropping but only getting half of the story. I’ve wondered at what point he realises/accepts Sirius didn’t betray the Potters. Either way, he still hates Sirius, but does seem to warm up to Lupin (slightly) after learning Lupin wasn’t in on The Prank.
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Azkaban would cause Snape’s love and grief to twist to bitter obsessive grudges? Isn’t that what Snape is like anyway?
(I mean, I can sort of relate – being forced to put up with *dramatic shudder* teenagers every day would probably suck the joy out of my life, too)
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If another Death Eater rather than Snape heard the prophecy, Harry dies. Lily’s sacrifice made a difference because she was given the option to step aside. No other Death Eater would have asked Voldemort to spare her.
Only Dumbledore hears the prophecy? Goodness only knows. Dumbledore certainly isn’t going to tell anyone if he doesn’t have to, and Voldemort doesn’t have a reason to go after the Potters (other than the standard moustache-twirling “you have thwarted me for the last time!”)
I like Irvin and Sophia’s prophecy explanation that it happened because circumstances aligned to make it occur (so Trelawney goes into a trance because Snape was eavesdropping).
There isn’t a definite time for when the prophecy happened (there’s an essay about this called “When the Prophecy Was Made”), but I lean towards it being Halloween of 1979, both because Halloweens always mess up Harry’s life, and that’s 9 months before Harry’s birth.