Snape

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Severus Snape (斯内普) 139
Alias(es)	Half-Blood Prince 100 105
Species/Race	Wizard
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Hogwarts; Slytherin House 42
Occupation/Role	Potions professor and Head of Slytherin House; later temporary Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and deputy of the Duelling Club 42 139 163
Status	Active at Hogwarts 193
First Appearance	Chapter 11

Background / History

Before entering Hogwarts, Snape had already mastered most basic spells. During his school years, he developed into a potions prodigy and created numerous original spells. His old copy of Advanced Potion-Making was written under the name “Half-Blood Prince.” 100 101

The textbook preserves two of his self-created spells: the silently cast Levicorpus and Sectumsempra. Damon considers Levicorpus valuable for its silent-casting principles, while judging Sectumsempra less useful than his own stronger offensive magic. 101

Snape shared a close relationship with Harry Potter’s mother, Lily, during the previous generation. His continued attachment is evident when he desperately asks Damon for a moving photograph of her and handles it with extreme care. 67 95

Appearance

Snape is consistently presented in severe black robes, with greasy hair and a gaunt, sallow face. Students frequently compare his movement and silhouette to a bat. 11 23 88

• Black wizard robes and a billowing cloak. 23 191
• Greasy, unwashed-looking hair. 11 88
• Gaunt, sallow features. 186
• A cold glare and mocking smile that intensify his intimidating presence. 23 191

Personality

Snape is exacting, sarcastic, and highly conscious of authority. In Potions, he treats hesitation and imprecision as serious failings, frequently using public criticism and house-point deductions to pressure Gryffindor students. 23 58

He shows clear favoritism toward Slytherin and particular hostility toward Gryffindor, especially Harry, Neville, and Damon. His resentment often becomes counterproductive: Damon’s calm refusal to be provoked repeatedly leaves Snape more irritated than satisfied. 24 58 190

Despite this hostility, Snape respects exceptional ability. Damon's talent in Potions, Occlumency, and dueling gradually forces Snape to treat him less as a troublesome student and more as a capable opponent. 24 99 113

His emotional restraint breaks down around Lily. He is also deeply insecure about Dumbledore’s trust and seeks validation of his own dueling ability from Damon, though he refuses to admit it directly. 95 163

Abilities & Skills

Potions Mastery

Snape is an accomplished potion-maker and a demanding instructor who emphasizes precision in ingredients, timing, temperature, and dosage. 23

• Identifies and corrects students’ brewing errors immediately. 24 190
• Sets extra in-class potion assignments for Damon, who consistently completes them. 58
• Prepared an Invigoration Draught and materials for Damon's first Occlumency lesson. 94
• Uses the Emotion Amplifier potion to intensify emotional states during mind-magic training. 95 99

Occlumency and Legilimency

Snape is an expert in mind magic and becomes Damon’s Occlumency instructor at Dumbledore’s request. 70 85

• Uses Legilimency to probe and test Damon’s mental defenses. 99 100
• Teaches an Occlumency method involving Legilimency and an Emotion Amplifier potion. 95
• Quickly blocks Damon’s attempt to read his memories. 100
• Maintains increasingly secure mental defenses; Damon eventually cannot glimpse any of Snape’s memories during their exercises. 104

Spell Invention

Snape created spells while still a Hogwarts student, preserving them in his annotated Potions textbook. 100 101

• Levicorpus — A silent spell that suspends a target upside down; its silent casting makes it harder to anticipate or counter. 101
• Sectumsempra — An offensive spell created by Snape and recorded in the Half-Blood Prince’s textbook. 101

Dueling and Combat Magic

Snape is regarded by students as one of Hogwarts’ strongest teachers and can match Damon in a formal demonstration duel. 113 116

• Conjures a giant python with Serpensortia. 113
• Uses Transfiguration in combat, including transforming into a rat to evade attacks. 113
• Casts Protego Diabolica, producing a ring of dangerous flames. 113
• Uses Levicorpus offensively during combat. 113
• Is among the very few Death Eaters stated to have mastered true flight; Damon later learns the technique through an exchange with him. 132

Notable Items

• Annotated copy of Advanced Potion-Making — Snape’s former textbook, marked “This Book Belongs to the Half-Blood Prince,” containing potion notes and his original spells. 100 101
• Emotion Amplifier potion — Used in Damon's Occlumency training to heighten and manipulate emotional responses. 95 99
• Photographs of Lily — Damon gives Snape several moving photographs of Lily, which Snape treasures intensely. 95 112

Relationships

• Damon White — Began as an openly hostile teacher-student relationship marked by Potions disputes, detentions, and point deductions. Snape later teaches Damon Occlumency; their relationship develops into a tense but genuine professional respect after their duel. 23 42 95 113 163
• Albus Dumbledore — Dumbledore entrusts Snape with teaching Damon Occlumency, but Snape believes the Headmaster never fully trusts him. 85 163
• Lily — Harry’s mother and someone Snape was once close to. His grief and longing remain evident in his reaction to her photographs. 67 95
• Harry Potter — Snape publicly mocks Harry’s fame, deducts points from him, and later pushes him into a duel with Draco Malfoy to test Damon’s training. 23 58 114
• Neville Longbottom — Snape repeatedly intimidates Neville in Potions and threatens Trevor to pressure him into succeeding. Damon later confronts Snape over this treatment and invokes the prophecy connected to Neville’s birth. 190 191 193
• Minerva McGonagall — They openly disagree over Damon’s discipline and education, particularly over who should oversee Damon’s detention. 42
• Remus Lupin — Snape treats Lupin with open contempt, disrupts his class, and warns him not to assign Neville difficult work. 191 192

Story Role / Major Arcs

First-Year Potions Conflict

Snape establishes himself as a harsh Potions teacher, mocking Harry and Ron while repeatedly provoking Damon over his exceptional skill. Damon’s refusal to be intimidated turns their classes into ongoing verbal and technical confrontations. 23 24 26

After Damon assaults Draco Malfoy, Snape successfully argues for weekly Saturday detentions under his supervision until the end of term. He initially looks forward to using the punishment to humble Damon. 42

Sorcerer’s Stone Suspicion

Harry, Ron, and Hermione interpret Snape’s confrontation with Quirrell over the Sorcerer’s Stone as evidence that Snape is involved in a plot against Hogwarts. Snape’s threats, hostile behavior, and apparent injury make him their primary suspect. 47 53 58

Damon later explains that Lily’s past connection to Snape is one reason he trusts Snape is not simply an evil man. 67

Occlumency Lessons and the Half-Blood Prince

At Dumbledore’s request, Snape takes Damon as an Occlumency student. Damon uses Lily’s photograph as leverage to secure sincere instruction, while Snape provides specialized training with Legilimency and the Emotion Amplifier potion. 85 95

Snape is shocked by Damon’s rapid progress, including his ability to resist and counterattack during a Legilimency probe. Their lessons become less openly hostile as Damon begins recognizing techniques from Snape’s former textbook. 99 100 104

Duel with Damon

Snape formally duels Damon before the Hogwarts student body. He counters Damon with serpent conjuration, Transfiguration, Levicorpus, and Protego Diabolica; Damon answers with layered defensive magic, Charms, Conjuration, and Transfiguration. The duel ends in a draw, earning Snape public recognition for his skill. 113

Defence Against the Dark Arts and the Duelling Club

Following Lockhart’s removal, Snape temporarily replaces him as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. He later serves as Professor Flitwick’s deputy when the Duelling Club reopens, a subordinate role that frustrates him. 139 163

Snape admits to Damon that he feels distrusted by Dumbledore. Damon acknowledges Snape’s skill but bluntly attributes much of the school’s distrust to his prejudice and favoritism. 163

Conflict over Neville

Snape’s continued intimidation of Neville culminates in his threat to poison Trevor with Neville’s faulty potion. Neville succeeds in brewing the Shrinking Solution, but Snape still deducts Gryffindor points after Hermione protects Trevor. 190 191

After Lupin’s Boggart lesson turns Neville’s fear of Snape into a humiliating image of Snape in drag, Damon confronts Snape directly. He invokes the prophecy involving Neville and Harry, warning Snape not to pass the tragedies of his generation onto students. 192 193

Notable Quotes

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making.” 23

“Give it to me. Please.” 95

“Let me teach you a lesson, Damon—before you master enough power, excessive fame is just a burden.” 113

Trivia

• Snape secretly enjoys hearing Damon praise the Half-Blood Prince, because Damon is unknowingly praising Snape’s younger self. 104 105
• Neville’s Boggart takes Snape’s form, then transforms him into a figure in an embroidered gown, tall hat, and scarlet handbag after Neville casts Riddikulus. 192
• Damon captures the Boggart-Snape image with a temporary magical camera and later shows it to Snape, provoking his anger. 192 193