This page contains spoilers for the Harry Potter books and movies.

About

Serverus Snape ^{[1] [2]} is a fictional character from the book series, Harry Potter. He is played by Alan Rickman ^[3] in the movies and depicted with a dry and sarcastic voice, a disdain for the main character, Harry Potter, a preference for the house of Slytherin and being thought of as a villain but having several character reveals that show him as a hero.

Origin

Severus Snape was introduced in the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's / Philosopher's Stone as the school's potions teacher and head of Slytherin. He is at first thought to be the main villain but later revealed to be a protagonist.

Snape took a lesser role in the books until Half-Blood in which he in the book's latter kills Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this is later revealed to have been planned by Dumbledore to prevent the main villain, Voldemort, from claiming the Elder Wand, one of the three Deathly Hallows.

Also in the final book, Snape is revealed to have been in love with Harry Potter's mother, Lily Evans / Potter. This is cited as the sole reason Snape protects Harry through his years and acts as a spy against Voldemort for Dumbledore. Snape dies late in the book being attacked by Voldemort's serpent, Nagini because Voldemort believes him to be the master of the Elder Wand and thus must be killed for the mastership to be transferred.

Notable Quotes

Snape’s drawling voice and dry sense of humor are part of what distinguishes his character. Some of his better-known lines that are quoted, altered, or taken out of context include:

“(Turn to) Page 394”

This quote comes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. After receiving an extensive essay assignment concerning werewolves, Harry protests that there is an upcoming Quidditch game. Snape responds by telling him that he’d better "take extra care” not to injure himself, because “loss of limb will NOT excuse you.” Snape then reiterates, with much dramatic pause between words, his instructions to turn to page three hundred and ninety-four to learn about werewolves.

"Always"

Since the release of the final Harry Potter movie installment in Summer 2011, numerous fan videos using footage from Snape’s flashback about Lily Evans have appeared on YouTube. His unrequited love for Lily has become the basis for many fanfics and fan art. The scene where Snape’s patronus (a silvery-white doe) is revealed to be the same as Lily’s is a "tear-jerker” for many Potterheads. The dialogue between Dumbledore and Snape is as follows:

Albus: “After all this time (you still love her)?”
Severus: “Always.”

Related Memes

Snape Kills Dumbledore

Snape kills Dumbledore is a viral spoiler about the 6th book in the Harry Potter series involving the death of Dumbledore, the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry headmaster and one of the major protagonists in the series. The spoiler has become so well known it has lost meaning as a spoiler and become a phrase used to parody spoilers in general.

Ten Points for/from Gryffindor

Ten Points for/from Gryffindor is a reference to the House Points system for the students of Hogwarts. Snape frequently punishes Harry and his friends by revoking points from their house, Gryffindor. The phrase has spread to other contexts and is now a general means of expressing approval or disapproval.

External References