#pro snape

Hey!!! Yay I'm so glad to hear that, autistic!Snape is one of my favourite things to discuss :D (who could've guessed?)

And yeah, discussions around things like hygiene can be handled not especially well at times (if they're even discussed at all), BUT I did actually briefly touch on it in this post because I find it an interesting possibility given all that Snape's teased for over the books:

Hygiene Although this isn't in the criteria at all, autistic people can sometimes struggle with hygiene. The challenges can potentially stem from sensory sensitivities (touch, smell, sound), difficulties with executive functioning (planning/initiating tasks), and/or difficulty with transitions (dry to wet to dry, warm to cold, switching from the current activity to a new one - or switching attention). Obviously, the books are awash (pun intended) with examples of Snape being called greasy, oily, and slimy, and with mentions of how yellow and uneven his teeth are. Potentially this is because he struggles to maintain his hygiene (for example, some autistic people can't stand the way a toothbrush feels or the toothpaste tastes, or hate having their hair washed or the feeling of wet hair, etc) - or potentially it's because his appearance isn't that important to him, he can't help it as his hair is just prone to that, or he's around potions fumes all day, etc. (I have no wish to personally revive the #greasecourse lool).

Some other possibilities ofc might also include the impact of neglect growing up, or even other conditions like depression, meaning he might struggle - but obviously it's all open to interpretation, and it could be several things all at once.

I do think it's a sort of interesting idea that once Snape's had to deal with a day full of students, the social aspect of the staffroom/mealtimes, noise, maybe even the unpredictability of everything from disastrous lessons (looking at you, Neville) to surprise DE meetings, Snape just has nothing left to force himself to wash. He collapses into a seat in his rooms and stares at the wall for four hours, fighting himself to go for a bath, but without really knowing why, but imo the mental barrier of being dry-wet-dry plus the sensory hell of wet hair WILL be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and in his mind it's just Nope. Not Washing Now. Nope. Even as he thinks he should just DO it

So then he puts it off for another day :P

On the flip side we could also picture him getting into an extra comfy set of PJs after a bath he forced himself to go for (again, without really knowing why or considering that it's to self soothe after the stress of looking after himself). He likes a particular fabric maybe or it he does extra cricket legs in bed with certain sheets to feel them on his legs. Or he has other PJs he doesn't like the texture as much so without realising he avoids them on certain nights 😴

I can't decide what I like better, like wolfstar is BEAUTIFUL

But like snupin and severus x sirius (idk the ship name) is also peak

And severitus is literally the best thing ever...

So I just say fuck it

The three in Azkaban are the ones who came in with Barty Crouch Jr, including the Lestranges. It should probably be a hint that he says three and not four; we know that Crouch supposedly died in Azkaban, but Voldemort wouldn’t necessarily know that (of course, Voldemort knows the actual truth, but Harry doesn’t know that yet). At this point in the story, the last one is a misdirect. We have already been told that Snape was a Death Eater, and that Harry has misgivings about Dumbledore’s belief that he has truly changed. Since we don’t yet know about Crouch, it is natural for the reader to believe that this last statement is about Snape. This will eventually become true of Snape (to Voldemort’s knowledge), but so far, Voldemort only thinks Crouch is working for him at Hogwarts.

That leaves the remaining two to be Snape and Karkaroff. I have seen people argue that Karkaroff is the coward and Snape is the one Voldemort believes to have left his service, but it is much more logical to believe the reverse.

First, because Karkaroff is the one who is killed. If Snape were the one Voldemort intended to kill, and Snape convinced him that he was still loyal and saved his own life, that would not have changed the outcome for Karkaroff, who, if he were the coward, would only have been punished.

Second, because Voldemort has no reason to believe Snape changed loyalties. We hear in the Pensieve that Snape was cleared by the Ministry, but that doesn’t mean he had a public trial. If he’d had a public trial, his involvement with the Death Eaters (which was not speculation) would have been well known, and there is no way the public would have accepted him working as a teacher at Hogwarts, and so it is logical to conclude that this was a hearing that happened behind closed doors. All Voldemort knows for sure is that Snape didn’t show up with the others when the Dark Mark burned. On the other hand, Karkaroff sold out several Death Eaters (most had already been caught or killed, but he WAS willing). While this was probably also not a public hearing, his information did lead to the investigation of multiple people, including Augustus Rookwood and Ludo Bagman (who was charged with passing information to Rookwood), and it is within reason to think that Voldemort was able to trace this back to Karkaroff. Snape never openly betrayed Voldemort, but Karkaroff did.

i had planned to write it for ages and in more detail, but it's... mm.m basically takes too long and i'm lazy

let's start with what Severus actually knows. /this is mostly speculation, but i reckon it's fairly reasonable speculation from where i'm standing/

from his point of view, he's bringing Lupin the potion that this stupid half-animal forgot to drink. because, y'know, if your entire life revolves around your lycanthropy problem, it's dead easy to forget the one bloody panacea for it.//

so. he brings him the potion. Remus isn't there. why the hell he isn't there is anyone's guess. and according to him, he saw the activated Marauder's Map on the desk, realised what it was, and spotted Remus running towards the Shrieking Shack.

from this, it follows that he didn't see the children, or Black. by my reckoning, the Marauder's Map cuts off about halfway, maybe a third of the way along. so that was enough for him to see Remus, but not enough to see the others who'd already slipped off the edge of the map.

next, regarding the Invisibility Cloak. i did think about it, but in reality it's fairly unlikely he knew about the cloak. so he dashes out, chases after Lupin, spots some random thing – because he's observant, unlike Lupin. picks it up, but realises it's an Invisibility Cloak.

i don't know if he identified its nature straight away or who it belonged to. if he did, then i reckon it would've opened his eyes to very, very, very many interesting incidents from his youth. because we've got Severus – a stalker, a freak, etc., etc. but, like, a map that tracks absolutely every person in Hogwarts, and also an Invisibility Cloak that can fool any magic designed to identify a person, apart from, apparently, Moody's eye. right. these items belonged to the Marauders, of all people.

i can't, offhand, recall any tracking spell or anything similar among the spells Severus invented. so we've ended up with a teensy bit of a double standard in this case.

but never mind. moving on.

moving on down the tunnel. when was the last time he went down this tunnel? well, it's highly likely it was quite a while ago, during that event we're all very familiar with, which is, like, fairly traumatic for the psyche.

after that, he follows Lupin under the Invisibility Cloak. most likely, he hears voices straight away, identifies that there are children there. what the hell are children doing there?

he enters the room, what does he see? children, Lupin, and Black. well, bugger me! basically, all his suspicions are confirmed in a single second. but he keeps listening.

further on, we read everything he sees and hears.

all the information available to him. and we remember that the main reason he turned up there is because he was supposed to keep an eye on the werewolf who suffered from his lycanthropy so he wouldn't forget to take his pills.

/because, of course, out of all people, the one who had to keep an eye on this was the person least interested in helping one of the Marauders/

but enough of that, let's follow the text.

rl: "no one there..."

rw: "this place is haunted!"

rl: "it's not. the Shrieking Shack was never haunted.... the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me."

rl: "that's where all of this starts -- with my becoming a werewolf. none of this could have happened if i hadn't been bitten... and if i hadn't been so foolhardy..."

hg: "shh!"

Remus tells some story about how he was bitten, what a tough werewolf childhood he had. says he was reckless, which is true.

rl: "i was a very small boy when i received the bite. my parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. the potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. it makes me safe, you see. as long as i take it in the week preceding the full moon, i keep my mind when i transform.... i'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again."

mentions the potion that Professor Snape brews for him. yes, yes, the very potion you forgot to drink. if he takes it in the week preceding the full moon, he keeps his mind and becomes a harmless wolf.

IF. that's the key word here.

rl: "before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, i became a fully fledged monster once a month. it seemed impossible that i would be able to come to Hogwarts. other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me."

before the potion was invented, he became a monster, and it seemed impossible that he'd be allowed to attend Hogwarts. a fairly triggering phrase, to be honest.

rl: "but then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. he said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason i shouldn't come to school...."

but IF certain precautions are taken – yes, yes, those very precautions you sort of forgot about tonight – then it's all fine. IF. again, key word.

rl: "i told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year i came to Hogwarts. the truth is that it was planted because i came to Hogwarts. this house -- the tunnel that leads to it -- they were built for my use. once a month, i was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. the tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while i was dangerous."

the tree was planted at the entrance, y'know, to stop anyone stumbling across him. sure, nobody would've stumbled across him if Sirius Black hadn't decided it'd be a bloody hilarious joke.

rl: "my transformations in those days were -- were terrible. it is very painful to turn into a werewolf. i was separated from humans to bite, so i bit and scratched myself instead. the villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor.... even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it...."

he was isolated from humans to stop him biting anyone. once again, in the same category.

rl: "but apart from my transformations, i was happier than i had ever been in my life. for the first time ever, i had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black... Peter Pettigrew... and, of course, your father, Harry -- James Potter."

rl: "now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that i disappeared once a month. i made up all sorts of stories. i told them my mother was ill, and that i had to go home to see her... i was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what i was. but of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth...."

rl: "and they didn't desert me at all. instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. they became Animagi."

hp: "my dad too?"

rl: "yes, indeed. it took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong -- one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. they could each turn into a different animal at will."

he lists his beloved friends /uwu/, how Severus must have missed them.

and bam! he mentions that they became Animagi. how brilliant James and Sirius were, how clever, the cleverest students in the school – not as if there was another fairly clever bloke around.

hg: "but how did that help you?"

rl: "they couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals. a werewolf is only a danger to people. they sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. they transformed... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. they would then slip down the tunnel and join me. under their influence, i became less dangerous. my body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while i was with them."

and then he explains the situation. they couldn't keep him company in human form, since a werewolf is only a danger to people.

now let's recall that transforming into an animal takes about one second. and let's recall how many times Severus was told that James Potter risked his life to drag him out of there.

no, lads, at best he risked Severus's life if he hadn't pulled him out. worst case, JP transforms into a stag and it's all fine.

and every time they went out under James's Invisibility Cloak. well of course, this Invisibility Cloak belonged to James Potter. what other bloody options were there????

sb: "hurry up, Remus."

then Sirius Black speaks up. oh, great. because what Severus really needed to make his day was Sirius Bloody Black.

...

let's carry on with the text.

rl: "i'm getting there, Sirius, i'm getting there... well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. i doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did.... and that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

hp: (interrupted) "what sort of animal --?"

he says that soon they were leaving the Shrieking Shack.

they were leaving the Shrieking Shack, i'll say it again.

they took a werewolf who had been specifically locked in the Shrieking Shack to stop him biting anyone. / – a precaution that Sirius Black completely nullified. /

turns out, this precaution didn't exist, because they were leaving the Shrieking Shack.

+ cast-iron proof of the Map's origin, about which Lupin lied right to his face.

hg: "that was still really dangerous! running around in the dark with a werewolf! what if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

rl: "a thought that still haunts me. and there were near misses, many of them. we laughed about them afterwards. we were young, thoughtless -- carried away with our own cleverness."

Hermione says it was terribly dangerous, and what if you'd bitten someone? mate/// use your head.

Remus is still haunted by this thought, so haunted that he forgot to drink the potion "(

and he says there were loads of dangerous moments. and they laughed about them afterwards. XD blimey, you lot had fun, didn't you.

rl: "i sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course... he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea i was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. he never knew i had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. but i always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. and i haven't changed..."

and sometimes, of course, he felt guilty, knowing he was betraying Dumbledore's trust. /just imagine what that was like for Severus to hear, for a second/

after all, no other headmaster would've done it. and Dumbledore had no idea that he was breaking the rules set for his own safety and the safety of others.

so you did... yeah.

rl: "all this year, i have been battling with myself, wondering whether i should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. but i didn't do it. why? because i was too cowardly. it would have meant admitting that i'd betrayed his trust while i was at school, admitting that i'd led others along with me... and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. he let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when i have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what i am. and so i convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it... so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

and then he says that all this year he's been battling with himself, wondering whether to let Dumbledore know that Sirius is an Animagus.

a fine question, Remus. and why didn't you do it? because you were a coward. because you felt sorry for yourself. so you put absolutely everyone in danger, protecting a bloke who, from everything Severus currently knows, blew up 13 people in one go. and then stood in the middle of the street with a crater in front of him /most likely, bloody hell, covered in guts and blood/ and laughed. just for a second there.

then he says Snape has been right about him all along. well, of course he has. with an opponent like that, it's hard to be wrong.

sb: "Snape? what's Snape got to do with it?"

and Sirius Black pipes up again. because he's a psycho. because the way he reacts to Snape..... it's creepy, it's genuinely creepy...

to him, this overgrown scruff is a mass murderer who could, right this second, blow up this tiny house just the same bloody way. not to mention their history.

rl: "he's here, Sirius. he's teaching here as well."

rl: "Professor Snape was at school with us. he fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. he has been telling Dumbledore all year that i am not to be trusted. he has his reasons... you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me --"

well then, he says Snape fought against him getting the job.

and then he says Sirius once played a trick on him.

a TRICK, which nearly killed him. and this TRICK involved him.

nice choice of words, Remus. definitely deserves to be called a TRICK.

sb: "it served him right. sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to... hoping he could get us expelled...."

and Sirius says, well, sod him, basically. he had it coming. trying to, like, spy on the lads who were chucking spells at him and publicly humiliating him. weird bloke, Snape. why couldn't he just, like, suck it up???? be a convenient victim?

rl: "Severus was very interested in where i went every month. we were in the same year, you know, and we -- er -- didn't like each other very much. he especially disliked James. jealous, i think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field... anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be -- er -- amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. well, of course, Snape tried it -- if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf -- but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life... Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. he was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what i was...."

then he says Severus was JEALOUS OF JAMES'S TALENT AT QUIDDITCH, that Sirius thought it would be very AMUSING, blah-blah-blah.

hp: "so that's why Snape doesn't like you, because he thought you were in on the joke?"

and then Harry Potter himself says, so that's why Snape doesn't like you. because he thought you were in on that JOKE.

notice how the children have already adopted this narrative. how they've adopted this terminology. they're calling it a JOKE.

Your wish is my command!