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If your still doing snape asks

50 35 41 40 🕺

thank you for the ask, anon!

35. do you have a snape brotp?

snape and lucius malfoy.

i don’t subscribe to all the fanon which surrounds these two (i don’t - for example - accept the headcanon that snape is draco’s godfather) but i see no reason why we should doubt that narcissa’s description of snape as ‘lucius’ old friend’ is sincere.

something i see a lot - especially from writers whose interest is in the characters aligned with the order - is the idea that the death eaters are all out for themselves and (outside of some fanatical outliers, such as bellatrix) that they have no genuine loyalty either to voldemort or to each other.

not so, i fear. i really dislike the idea that the death eaters all turn on each other after voldemort’s death (i prefer to think that they frustrate the shacklebolt government profoundly by refusing to talk) and i really dislike the idea that they didn’t have profound, real friendships among themselves.

it’s obvious in canon that becoming a death eater offered snape a community he truly felt welcomed by for the first time (and i think it speaks highly of him that he was nonetheless prepared to lose that when he turned against voldemort) and, part of that, is that i think it’s important to believe that his friendship with lucius was real.

after all, he’s upset when harry names him as having been present at voldemort’s resurrection in goblet of fire…

40. other than lily, who do you think impacted snape's life the most?

lord voldemort.

i don’t just mean in that voldemort’s decision to go after lily is the trigger for snape upending his entire life, but also that voldemort is evidently the first person snape ever meets who takes him seriously. it’s clear from canon that voldemort is the only person the teenage snape knows who takes and active interest in improving his life - snape must become a death eater because voldemort offers him a chance to transcend the restrictive class structure which rips opportunities away from poor half-bloods unless they have a slughorn-esque patron, and also because voldemort understands and validates snape’s attitude towards and interest in magic and experimentation [and, indeed, that he shares this].

voldemort is obviously fond of snape (he must recognise so much of himself in him -feral working-class children with muggle names and disappointing dads need to stick together, after all) and he appears to have offered him intensive training - in the dark arts, obviously, but given that voldemort describes himself in goblet of fire as someone who dabbles with inventing potions, why not that discipline too - which the adult snape makes use of throughout his teaching career.

plus - the adult snape clearly models how he speaks and comports himself (so, all the things about his demeanour which we most enjoy) on voldemort.

[seriously, they have near-identical speech patterns, they get a lot of the same movement and dialogue descriptors, which is cute.]

41. do you think that there is a side to snape that he doesn't let anyone see? what do you headcanon this "secret personality" to be like?

my hottest take?

what you see with snape is - generally - what you get.

i really dislike the preternaturally emotionally repressed snape of fanon (and of the films - as i’ve written elsewhere, i think alan rickman played the character terribly…). the canonical snape is emotionally expressive, disinclined to pretend he likes or agrees with things he doesn’t, and someone whose feelings can often be read on his face. he keeps some things bottled up - of course - but i don’t think that, for example, his romantic partner is going to discover that he has a secret soft side (or, indeed, a secret capacity to be utterly horrible) which would sound completely, incomprehensibly out of character to anyone else they mentioned it to.

50. had snape lived, would he continue teaching at hogwarts?

ok so my other hot take… yes.

the standard wisdom in the fandom seems to be that snape loathes teaching, that he only stays in the job because he is compelled to by dumbledore as part of his spy duties, and that he feels imprisoned by hogwarts. and, obviously, the fact that he’s someone whose adult life is so relentlessly miserable in all other aspects supports the idea that he’d be miserable because of his professional circumstances too.

but…

the idea that snape hates teaching seems, to me, to stem from a misunderstanding about the narrative purpose he serves as a teacher in the series. because, while he’s certainly a cruel teacher - in keeping with his children’s literature archetype, the mean schoolmaster that the child reader can delight in seeing undermined - he’s also a good and committed one. his classes achieve extremely high results (he is able to insist on a pass rate from every pupil; he can fill his newt classes to capacity without having to lower his grade requirements), he is interested in improving the standard curriculum by modifying the potions he teachers, he clearly does take care to lead his classes through the theory of the subject (harry and ron just don’t listen to him), and he seems to take pride in his job (he’s pissed off when lockhart tries to muscle in on his turf, he delights in lording his professional expertise over umbridge).

all of which is to say… he’s back to sweeping around that dungeon the second the venom’s out of his bloodstream. slughorn’s delighted - he can retire for a second time and try and get a pineapple endorsement deal on the strength of having fought in the battle of hogwarts.

Snape's DADA "Promotion"

I don't know whether this has been explained or not, and I've never seen any posts about it either, but please hear me out and let me know. XD

Is the reason why Snape never got the position of DADA Professor was because Dumbledore didn't want him under the curse?

I mean, we all know about the 1-year curse for the DADA position since Voldemort was... pissed off because he didn't get the position. Dumbledore must know about it too, yeah? So, maybe he intentionally didn't put Snape in DADA because... sadly, Dumbledore needed Snape, so he needed the man to stay alive.

That is, until, it was Dumbledore's last year of being alive.

I knew Dumbledore was trying to get Slughorn's memory in the beginning of HP6, but in the movie, after he finally revealed the true conversations with Harry, he kinda reacted like he already knew. All along. He already knew that there were 7 Horcruxes. So, what's the point of getting Slughorn to Hogwarts? To retake Potions Professor job so that he could move Snape to DADA because Dumbledore didn't need him anymore?

I feel like it's getting meaner the more I write, so I will stop here.

Snape did not want to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts

Severus Snape did not covet the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts; his interest in the position was a deliberate ruse between himself and Dumbledore.  

Originally posted by moons-wonderland

On the surface, Snape’s interest in the DADA post makes sense – a supposed Death Eater; a man who has apparently had an interest in dark curses since his youth; his air of disgruntlement towards the DADA teachers in post…

But when you think about it – when you really think about it – it makes very little sense, and it’s testament to Snape and Dumbledore’s joint effort that so many people were convinced by it.

Firstly, Snape knew the job was jinxed.  At the very least, even if he didn’t know the intricate detail of who cursed it and why, he surely would’ve realised – after spending such a prolonged spell at the school – that the DADA teacher always leaves their role at the end of the year.

In Chamber of Secrets, Hagrid explicitly tells the trio:

“An’ bangin’ on about some Banshee he banished. If one word of it was true, I’ll eat my kettle.”

It was most unlike Hagrid to criticise a Hogwarts teacher and Harry looked at him in surprise. Hermione, however, said in a voice somewhat higher than usual, “I think you’re being a bit unfair. Professor Dumbledore obviously thought he was the best man for the job -”

“He was the on'y man for the job,” said Hagrid, offering them a plate of treacle toffee, while Ron coughed squelchily into his basin. “An’ I mean the on'y one. Gettin’ very difficult ter find anyone fer the Dark Arts job. People aren’t too keen ter take it on, see. They’re startin’ ter think it’s jinxed. No one’s lasted long fer a while now.”

Originally posted by yourreactiongifs

…yet Harry and the others don’t pick up on the fact that Hagrid tells them very plainly that Lockhart was the only candidate; meaning that Snape cannot have applied for the post.  

Interestingly, Snape references and gives credence to the rumours when he talks to Bellatrix at Spinner’s End in Half Blood Prince:  

“While I endured the Dementors, you remained at Hogwarts, comfortably playing Dumbledore’s pet!”

“Not quite,” said Snape, calmly. “He wouldn’t give me the Defence Against the Dark Arts job, you know. Seemed to think it might, ah, bring about a relapse… tempt me into my old ways.”

Importantly, this entire scene is masterful because of Snape’s doublespeak – and make no mistake, this small passage is no exception.  It’s a rare depiction of the illusion that Snape and Dumbledore had jointly created – after all, we later discover Snape’s true allegiance – but Bellatrix, of course, is only privy to what Snape tells her and she can glean for herself.  (There’s only a couple of moments in the books that touch on this, and they probably deserve a post of their own.)

So it’s important to see that whilst we’re not remotely fooled by Snape’s admission of ‘being tempted into his old ways’ because we know that Dumbledore has authorised – and indeed, encouraged – Snape’s return to the Death Eaters, we know that he doesn’t have a problem with Snape teaching DADA.  

After all, if you were Dumbledore and you weren’t sure of Snape’s loyalties, what would you be worried about?  Him teaching a few countercurses to spotty teenagers, or y’know, hanging around with his old Death Eater terrorist pals, plotting the downfall of the wizarding world?

Originally posted by walking-fandoms

I know which I’d choose.

But we also know that Snape routinely returned or reported to Voldemort – and did enough to enable him to become Voldemort’s most trusted advisor.  Quite an astonishing turnaround given that Voldemort wanted him dead a mere 12 months earlier.  So it’s evident (to us) that Dumbledore did trust Snape, and would’ve trusted him to teach DADA had the post not been cursed.

Of course, that’s not the only time Snape gives credence to the rumour:

“Now … how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?” she asked, her quill poised over her clipboard.

“Fourteen years,” Snape replied. His expression was unfathomable. Harry, watching him closely, added a few drops to his potion; it hissed menacingly and tuned from turquoise to orange.

“You applied first for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?” Professor Umbridge asked Snape.

“Yes,” said Snape, quietly.

“But you were unsuccessful?”

Snape’s lip curled.

“Obviously.”

Professor Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.

“And you have applied regularly for the Defence Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?”

“Yes,” said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.

“Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?” asked Umbridge.

“I suggest you ask him,” said Snape jerkily.

Originally posted by notsosubtlemilitarykink

So why would Snape take part in Dumbledore’s proposed ruse?

The ruse is important for a few reasons – and I suspect, probably had an innocent enough backstory.

In that first year, there was no way that Dumbledore was going to bestow a jinxed post upon his new spy, lest he lose him.  If Snape realised that the post was cursed, then you can imagine him agreeing – as a traitor, he was in a very vulnerable position and would wish to stay under Dumbledore’s protection for as long as he could.  Neither of them wanted a potential time limit of 12 months on Snape’s usefulness.  

We don’t quite know Slughorn’s initial retirement date, but I find there’s something interesting about him moving on from the post of Potions (and Slytherin Head of House) around the time that Snape appears – and both roles are perfect fits for Snape.  

Originally posted by thedailyprophet

What a coincidence.  It’s not as if Snape’s thrown into a role he’s less comfortable with.  Yes, we hear about Snape’s interest in DADA, but we see repeatedly Snape’s skill at Potions – it’s obvious he was a relatively rare talent.

I think it’s also important for Voldemort’s ego that Snape – someone Dumbledore would be desperate to get deep into the Death Eater ranks so he had a spy as close to the action as possible – didn’t receive the DADA post as such a young age.  As a result, I think Dumbledore deliberately hired Snape as Potions – with no intention of giving him DADA, but then instructed him to return to Voldemort waxing lyrical about how he lost out.  This would ensure that Snape wasn’t immediately disliked by Voldemort for succeeding where he’d failed.  

I suspect they followed this up with the rumour that Snape still desperately wished to have DADA. It makes Snape appear loyal to Voldemort, “You told me to get the DADA post, so I’ve tried repeatedly, but Albus won’t select me.”  Not only that, but it also shows Voldemort that whilst Snape is clearly within Dumbledore’s inner sanctum, he’s still not completely trusted – which in turn, is another indication to Voldemort that Snape is telling the truth when he pledges allegiance.  It suggests that Dumbledore vaguely realises something is awry with his Potions Master, but he can’t prove it.  

Furthermore, it reiterates Snape’s position to the wider community – it shows the students, the teachers, the Death Eaters etc that Snape isn’t entirely reformed; he isn’t completely trusted.  In turn, that aids Snape’s cover - as we see in his statement to Bellatrix.    

The punchline to the joke is that when Dumbledore knows his death is certain, he actually bestows Snape with the DADA post.  Dumbledore ensures that Snape is willing to murder him, and to look after the children if he becomes Headmaster.  Both of these things (murdering the incumbent; moving role within the school) would cover the curse and ensure Snape isn’t in post the following year.

So they can assume it’s safe to give Snape DADA and to guess that the jinx probably won’t be fulfilled in a more disastrous way.

As a consequence, just before the war is about to explode, Snape is given a valuable 12 months to teach the kids some valuable DADA tactics.  Indeed, as Snape duels Harry following Dumbledore’s death, we see him continuing to instruct Harry in the art of fighting.  

However, the most wonderful aspect of the whole thing is that the ruse reinforces the horror of Snape’s supposed treachery.  

Just at the point that Dumbledore trusted him enough with his coveted DADA post, the very thing Dumbledore supposedly feared comes to pass:  

Originally posted by hogwartsblackandwhite

Snape teaches DADA and instantly falls back into his old ways…so much so, he murders the headmaster.

Anyone ever pissed at Snape because he literally had the students buy shitty potions textbooks?

Like literally the same book he used when he was at hogwarts

The same book he spent time correcting so that it actually worked

That’s the book he had his students buy, and then he didn’t give them the corrections.

That alone makes him an unforgivable character because he liked to watch children fail.

"gave Snape a stable job....despite being abusive to children (though he probably didn't perceive himself as such)"

I am a tad confused about this. How could Severus not possibly understand that he was being abusive to the kids under his care- especially Harry? Did he feel threatened by the children under his care to the point of viewing them as equals and thus justifying his behaviour to himself (why didn't the other teachers call him out on his shit)

Anonymous: am curious. You mentioned Snape likely doesn't realise that he is abusing the children under his care and mimicking his father. Does he actually feel powerless enough to justify his behaviours to himself? When he sees James in Harry and blames Neville does he see the boys as his equals/ someone above him in power that needs to be put down- thus allowing himself to continue acting the way he does? It's ironic all things considered. For all that Harry looks like James, he takes more after Lily.

Okay, so, I just wrote a post about Snape, but I'll cover here what I'm thinking about this specifically in more detail.

I'm not sure where the quote you mentioned is from, but I can say what I think about the way Snape treats Harry and his students and how he sees it.

So, Severus was abused by his father. From his behavior, what I guess is that a lot of his treatment of his students is him mimicking what he saw from his father.

Like, Severus became a professor at 21. It means his older students knew him as a student. Not to mention he was a terrorist, known Death Eater, who was saved by Dumbledore from being sent to Azkaban. And his students knew this.

So Severus felt like he needed a way to make sure his students would take him seriously. The main example he decided to draw from — his father, Tobias.

We don't know what exactly Tobias Snape did, he was a poor, working-class man who abused his wife and son. And I think when Tobias wanted to be taken seriously, he used fear, insults, and force. So this is what Severus knows.

Severus sees what he does as the only way students would treat him seriously, he doesn't really see it as abuse, as I believe he doesn't really see his father's mistreatment of him as abuse.

Severus always struck me as a character who doesn't want to get better.

I think Severus is one of the abused kids who rationalized his own abuse as something he deserved. He clearly wants to beat himself up about his mistakes. He wants to feel the guilt over pushing Lily away and then over killing her (in his mind). So, to him, in his mind, it's not abuse, it's what they deserve.

Is it good that's what he thinks? No, not at all, it actually sucks. Snape needed therapy.

Now, with Harry specifically, his treatment is different. With Harry, he really does see him as an equal and he needs Harry to treat him seriously. Like, Snape projects James on Harry way more than Sirius does. And Snape can't show anything resembling weakness to Mini-James Potter, so he goes back to his father's methods to be taken seriously. It's about Harry not seeing him as weak like James did.

And revenge, a little bit. Snape is very petty.

He still doesn't see his vengeance as abuse, because, as much as Severus wants to believe he's the one in power, he's scared of Harry more than he's willing to confess. He doesn't see a power imbalance between him and Harry, he doesn't actually see himself in a position of power, because he sees James in Harry. Harry doesn't treat Severus with the respect usually given to professors, which strengthens the way Severus doesn't really see him as a student.

Like, the fact Severus felt the need to remove memories he didn't want Harry to see when teaching him Occlumancy shows how much he fears Harry. Fears the possibility of Harry getting this information and using it against him.

Harry sat there staring at Snape as the lesson began, picturing horrific things happening to him. . . . If only he knew how to do the Cruciatus Curse . . . he’d have Snape flat on his back like that spider, jerking and twitching. . . . “Antidotes!” said Snape, looking around at them all, his cold black eyes glittering unpleasantly. “You should all have prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully, and then, we will be selecting someone on whom to test one. . . .” Snape’s eyes met Harry’s, and Harry knew what was coming. Snape was going to poison him. Harry imagined picking up his cauldron, and sprinting to the front of the class, and bringing it down on Snape’s greasy head —

(GoF, 300-301)

In the above quote, Harry has these thoughts while Snape is reading his mind — there's eye contact. So Severus sees these thoughts from Harry and doesn't separate this from James, he sees it and thinks that Harry very much might actually spill his entire cauldron on him — like James might've done. So, Severus is taking every instance like this to justify his fear of Harry and his need to keep him down.

With Neville it's different. He doesn't fear Neville the way he fears Harry, I think he does see Neville as someone weaker. In the case of Neville, Severus is, I think, doing what a lot of bullies do, picking on a weaker link to feel better about himself. More in control, more capable. Neville being next to Harry is kinda part of it, I don't think Snape would've been as harsh with Neville if he wasn't near Harry, who makes Snape kinda lose it and feel unbalanced and insecure in his position because he sees him as James more than as Harry.

And I agree with you second Anon, personality-wise, I think Harry isn't very similar to James at all. And he definitely has some of Lily's traits in him, but he's not her either, he's his own person. Something Snape willfully chooses not to see. It's easier for him not to see it, so he chooses not to, so he can keep up with his petty vengeance towards a dead man.

As for why other teachers didn't call him out, well, I think the Wizarding World has a very different approach to child care than the modern western world does.

We know Corporal punishment was allowed at Hogwarts and the Wizarding World at large. One of the good things Dumbledore did as a headmaster was stop the use of it at the castle, but it was socially acceptable in the WW even in the 1990s. Actually, even in the muggle UK in the 1990s caning was still allowed in private schools, and Harry is clearly aware of this fact:

“Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?” Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him? But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick’s class looking confused.

(PS, 109)

Because this is something that was still practiced in the UK. Harry actually had to lie to Aunt Marge that he was getting canned at St. Brutus school since that's something that happened there.

And it also happened in the Wizarding World until very recently, Molly says Arthur still has marks from what was most likely a caning when he was at Hogwarts:

Mrs. Weasley grinned, her eyes twinkling. “Your father and I had been for a nighttime stroll,” she said. “He got caught by Apollyon Pringle — he was the caretaker in those days — your father’s still got the marks.”

(GoF, 616)

Umbridge (and the Carrows) later returns corporeal punishment to Hogwarts, and it's quite clear there is no law against it in the WW:

“Approval for Whipping . . . Approval for Whipping . . . I can do it at last. . . . They’ve had it coming to them for years. . . .” He [Filch] pulled out a piece of parchment, kissed it, then shuffled rapidly back out of the door, clutching it to his chest.

(OotP, 673)

Molly actually beat Fred with a broom (or at least attempted to) and it's considered fine and legal and not abuse:

“Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?” said Ron, grabbing him and leading him over to their barrel. “And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven — it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick.” Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop box.

(PoA, 200)

Because the Wizarding World (and the UK) in the 1990s had a very different view on abuse and domestic violence. So, yeah, I don't think Severus considered what he did abuse, he considered it harsh discipline, like he himself received as a child. The way everyone ignores Harry's (and Snape's as a child) very clear signs of being abused is also telling. A rough hand and insults with disobedient children is just considered what you do, and not horrifyingly gross behavior like we see it today.

And the other teachers don't step in, because they consider it just as legal and acceptable as Snape. Because it is in the Wizarding World.

People will hate on Snape for being mean and sarcastic with children but he was mean and sarcastic with everyone. He was just treating his students with the same respect he gave everyone else, if you think about it.

THE WORLD IS ENDING by judas h.