LegendArcadia

Ngl, I spent a hot minute trying to remember what this was in reference about.

While that is true, it was never Sirius’ intention to kill Snape. He definitely didn’t think what he was doing through and was lucky James was able to prevent it.

The thing is, Sirius didn’t indirectly kill Snape, because James did save him. Like, there’s near misses all the time. It kinda getting repetitive when people dragging Sirius for a mistake that was prevented from being 1000x worse in the first place. You're talking about what ifs (one, of who knows how many different scenarios)

Sirius isn’t perfect, yeah I agree 100%. But that makes him human.

Also, some people like to forget that Snape did the exact same thing (told Voldemort about the prophecy), the only difference being Lily and James did die. That wasn't never his intention, but it still happened. I see alot more people making a fuss about Sirius' mistake than Snape's. (I've seen some straight up excuse Snape while attacking Sirius in the same breath)

For instance, we know that when Snape realised the consequences of what he'd done, he begged Voldemort to spare Lily, and then he begged Dumbledore for his assistance. When Dumbledore set a price for offering his assistance, Snape pledged 'anything' - and then stuck to that commitment (and further commitments) for the rest of his life.

In contrast, we see Sirius' actions towards Snape - his victim - in Snape's Worst Memory. His casual attack on him, alongside James, suggests that he wasn't repentant for his actions - or even concerned about being chastised, suggesting that he likely wasn't appropriately reprimanded for his behaviour (and I would argue that this was for Remus' own safety, as opposed to a particular defence of Sirius).

Additionally, interestingly, it feels as if the Shack incident is the moment of division for the Marauders. Snape accuses the Marauders of attacking him four-on-one, but we see Remus abstaining in this scene - perhaps suggesting that this is a new development; that Snape now having knowledge about his affliction makes him uncomfortable with directly attacking him.

dumbledore was already dying and it wasn't just because of the curse on his hand; it was also because of the poison harry made him drink in order to retrieve regulus' thrice-damned locket.

had the death eaters not come that night, or had they been delayed, or had dumbledore and harry managed to avoid their path altogether, dumbledore would still have died. that same night even, and if not, then likely the next morning. (and i wonder if he'd known?? had he known that was to be his last night either way? and how could he bring a child with him out of school to fulfill a dangerous hairbrained mission without at least one other order member with them? god.)

dumbledore would have died that night. and harry would have blamed himself.

not only would this have been a natural reaction even if the child with him hadn't been harry freaking potter, but the risk of harry self-flagellating was much higher because this had happened before. people had already literally died because of him, and his traumatized sixteen-year-old brain would immediately make the connection to the newest event and come to a conclusion: he kept leading people to their deaths. cedric would have lived if he wasn't the Chosen One; sirius died because he didn't bother to listen or wait; and dumbledore...if he hadn't made him drink the potion...if he'd only stopped...

@snufflesmajor

// OMFG FRIENDO THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE HEAD CANONS. 

PLS. Gilderoy Lockhart did NOT think of the dueling club idea. Honestly. Do. You. Think. This. Man. Has. Practical. Ideas? 

WHEN ー in the ENTIRE book does this man think of a practical idea? WHEN ー is he ever shown doing anything practical? IN FACT, what we learn about Gilderoy Lockhart is that all the practical “how to” advice he offers in his books is completely plagiarized. Lockhart’s entire life is a sham, a lie, a fantasy.

You know who is practical??? You know who is pragmatic? You know who FREQUENTLY throughout the series works behind the scenes and puts HIS ideas into other people’s minds to get THEM to carry them out? You know WHO asked Albus Dumbly Doodles NOT to reveal the good work he is doing while he simultaneously goes behind the scenes to carry out necessary, practical plans?

Severus Fucking Snape.

Besides, who else besides Dumbledoodles and Voldemort EVER gets Snape to do anything he doesn’t want to do? Do you honestly think Lockhart asked Snape and Snape was like “Gosh GOLLY Gildertoots, I’d LOVE to be your assistant!” Do you believe for even an instant that Lockhart would be capable of persuading Snape to do something he did NOT want to do? Do you think Lockhart wore Snape down until he agreed to be his assistant in the dueling club?

But we ALSO know ( because of the above ー Snape doesn’t want people to know what he’s up to. He doesn’t LIKE being the star of the show. ) that Snape probably doesn’t want to set up this dueling club and lead it himself. Besides, he’s probably practical enough to know that if he’s the one leading it then only the Slytherins will show up because the other houses don’t care for him so much.

So what does he do? 

My theory is that Snape obviously knew that the students weren’t going to get any decent DADA education from Lockhart but thought it was important they learn how to duel. So, if I think that Snape came up with the idea for the dueling club, why wouldn’t he go to McGonagall, Dumbledore, or Flitwick with it? Because those three are all COMPETENT. If they were leading the dueling club they wouldn’t NEED an assistant. And, even if he were to assist, he’d have to compromise by doing it their way. No, Snape wanted it run the way he wanted and that meant choosing someone popular enough to draw student interest but also incompetent enough that Snape would be able to step in and make all the important decisions without doing the heavy lifting of advertising it, garnering interest, explaining dueling, etc. ( Remember when Slughorn turned himself into a FUCKING ARMCHAIR to try to get out of teaching at Hogwarts? ) Yeah, trying to get other people to do the heavy lifting while you sweep in at the last minute and steamroll them with your genius ideas is THE MOST SLYTHERIN THING EVER. Besides, Lockhart IS the DADA professor so the dueling club does fall under his purview, instead of McGonagall etc.

I think Snape probably lowkey mentioned a dueling club to Lockhart in the teacher’s lounge or somewhere, probably suggested he could assist, and Lockhart ( predictably ) ran with the idea as he does with ALL ideas where he has a chance to show off and have a senior faculty member playing the role of his assistant, thereby making himself look EVEN better.

Then Snape, predictably, with that Slytherin ambition, cunning, and pragmatism, smoothly takes over the dueling club with Lockhart ( debatably ) not even realizing he has done so. 

And what spell does Harry learn in the dueling club?

Expelliarmus. 

His “ signature ” spell, as it’s called in the Deathly Hallows.

Who does he learn it from? 

Snape.

Harry even acknowledges it himself in the SAME BOOK. When Lockhart tries to wipe Ron and Harry’s memories, Harry uses expelliarmus to disarm him and toss his wand out the window. And THEN HARRY SAYS to Lockhart “shouldn’t have let Professor Snape teach us that one!”

Harry KNOWS Snape was leading the dueling club. Harry KNOWS Snape is the only one who did any teaching in the dueling club. 

And I’ve seen Snape get some shit for pairing Harry with Malfoy instead of Ron, knowing full well the animosity that Malfoy and Harry have for each other, knowing full well that Malfoy won’t fight fair.

But Snape is putting Harry in EXACTLY THE SITUATIONS HE WILL FACE THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE BOOK. SNAPE KNOWS THE DARK ARTS. SNAPE KNOWS THAT DEATH EATERS DON’T FIGHT FAIRLY. SNAPE, IN SLYTHERIN FASHION, IS OFFERING HARRY THE MOST PRACTICAL DUELING EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE.

NOT ONLY THAT. WHAT IS IT THAT SNAPE SAYS TO HARRY AT THE END OF THE HALFBLOOD PRINCE? WHAT IS IT THAT MOODY TELLS HARRY?

YOU HAVE TO MEAN SPELLS FOR THEM TO WORK PROPERLY.

The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.

He is such a nerd. Here he is finally given a chance to prove why he has always deserved the DADA post and he is trying to impress his students the way he never bothers to in potions. His style of teaching DADA is different from the way he teaches potions. Snape is so good at potions that it frustrates him to the point of anger if any of the students don't understand the lesson immediately. However he has such a low opinion of previous DADA professors that he is more forgiving and condescending.

“That is just as well, Potter,” said Snape coldly, “because you are neither special nor important, and it is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters.”

“No — that’s your job, isn’t it?” Harry shot at him. He had not meant to say it; it had burst out of him in temper. For a long moment they stared at each other, Harry convinced he had gone too far.

But there was a curious, almost satisfied expression on Snape’s face when he answered. “Yes, Potter,” he said, his eyes glinting. “That is my job.”

Snape never hopes for people to throw a parade for him just because he is Dumbledore's man now (he just really wants Dumbledore's approval) but he always takes satisfaction in his work. It's his most consistent trait- how much he enjoys being knowledgeable and useful. It's why in every fight with Sirius in OOTP, Snape brings up Sirius' uselessness in the war. Being useful and needed means a lot to Snape.

“Well, it may have escaped your notice, but life isn’t fair.”

One of my favorite details in the books is that Snape assumes that Harry is James 2.0 and not just in appearance. He thinks Harry is a pampered prince. Sometimes when he is talking about Harry, you get the sense that he is really talking about James.

Anyway Snape is a wound dweller but the reason he picks at his wound years after they've been inflicted is because he can't move on. He lives in the castle he was bullied in, he is trying to avenge his friend who he accidentally doomed to die, he is going undercover as a Death Eater, he is regularly interacting with his bullies, he lives in his parents' house. Everything he did and everything that happened to him as a teenager remains a strong presence in his life. He can't move past it, he just can't.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

Iconic.

“Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord! Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked this easily — weak people, in other words — they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!”

This speech is all projection from Snape. He wears his heart on his sleeve, he can't control his emotions, he wallows in sad memories and gets provoked easily. The funny thing is Snape still became an expert in Occlumency and he still tricks Voldemort. Even after he died he was still fooling Voldemort.

Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. Ghosts are transparent.

He is so funny.

“Her son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evans’s eyes, I am sure?”

"DON’T!” bellowed Snape. “Gone… dead…”

“Is this remorse, Severus?”

“I wish… I wish I were dead…”

“And what use would that be to anyone?” said Dumbledore coldly.

HP stans are too busy claiming that Snape was a spy for nearly 2 decades after Lily's death because he wanted to fuck a woman who's now nothing more than a skeleton that they miss scenes like these. "And what use would that be to anyone?" Ooof.

There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, ‘Very well. Very well. But never – never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear… especially Potter’s son… I want your word!’

‘My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?’ Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape’s ferocious, anguished face. ‘If you insist …’

Then Harry found out and he chose to honor Snape. Luckily for Snape, he was too dead to live through the humiliation of people knowing that he cared.

‘Don’t be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?’ ‘Lately, only those whom I could not save,’ said Snape.

I have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter —

This adds another layer to the sacrifice Snape made. He either willingly gave up the memories of defining moments in his life, or weakened them, for the sake of the wizarding world. And he did so while thinking the person he just shared those memories with, was about to die permanently, in maybe an hour or less.

Alan Rickman - The Eyebrow Raise