#snape discourse

[centaurs-a]

Honestly, I think what grinds my gears most about Snape discourse is the complete black and white view most of the fandom has. Yes, he was horrifically abused in his childhood at both home and school. Yes, he was watching out for Harry when he was at school and worked as a spy for Dumbledore to help defeat Voldemort. But he also terrorized his students on the daily. For fucks sake he was Nevilles boggart, He only became a spy to save his childhood crush, not her and her family, just her. He is not completely evil. He did good things. But he was also part of a terrorist organization that believed in the segregation of muggleborns and the genocide of muggles. He was a gray character. He wasn't a saint, but he was not the devil either. It's so annoying that the fandom can't comprehend that |=[

[memelovescaps]

REBLOGGING THIS AGAIN BECAUSE I WANT TO DO IT!!!!

Snape asks

Do you have a snOTP? What is it?

What do you think is Snape's favourite colour and why?

Which Disney character, according to you is most like Snape?

Do you think Snape remained a virgin?

Do you think Snape ever loved anyone other than Lily, romantically or platonically?

If Snape learnt another language, which would he choose?

Which staff member do you think gets along well with Snape?

If you had to assign Snape to a house, which one would it be?

What are your personal headcanons on Snape's diet and favourite foods?

Do you think Snape's character has changed the way you think/feel about others?

Your favourite scenes with book/movie!Snape?

If you had to chose a Golden trio era student to be Snape's friend, who would it be and why?

Do you think Alan Rickman contributed to your love for Snape?

What do you think is Snape's favourite potion to prepare?

If Snape had any free time, how do you think he would spend it?

Were you ever a Snater? How and when did you become a Snover?

Do you think Snape was unhappy even after joining the DEs?

Your favourite physical feature of Snape?

According to you, what is Snape's biggest flaw?

Why do you love Snape so much?

What particular memory do you think Snape used to conjure his patronus?

Do you think Lily was a good friend to Severus?

What do you think Snape wore under his robes?

Do you think Snape ever self-harmed?

Is there any other character you love as much as Snape? Do you think they'll get along?

What genre do you think Snape preferred to read?

Do you think Snape was close to his mother?

Do you think you'd like being taught by Snape?

How do you headcanon Snape's bedroom would look like?

If you could give young Snape any advice, what would it be?

Do you think Snape had any mental illnesses? Which ones and why?

If you could change Snape's middle name to be something other than Tobias what would you choose?

Top 3 songs you think will show up in Snape's most played?

Do you have any Snape NOTPs?

Snapey BROTPs?

Did Snape get sick often? Your headcanons for when he was sick?

Snape didn't pay attention to his physical appearance, but if you had to choose a part he would take care of, which would it be?

Which type of weather does Snape prefer?

How do you think Snape spent his early childhood days?

Other than Lily, who do you think impacted Snape's life the most?

Is there a side to Snape that he hasn't let anyone see? What do you headcanon this "secret personality" to be like?

Do you think Snape cried often?

What's your favourite headcanon about Snape? Is there a movie/song/book that reminds you of Snape?

What mode of magical travel would suit Snape the best?

Your opinion on Snape's sexuality?

Which of the Marauders do you think Snape could have gotten along with?

How many points do you think Snape would've awarded during his career?

Did you feel Snape was the "good guy" even before the reveal?

Do you prefer tall!Snape or short!Snape?

Had Snape lived, would he continue teaching at Hogwarts?

Reblog and let your followers ask more about how you think of Snape :3

[maxdibert]

I’ll never stop being shocked by how some people excuse the fact that Severus was stripped, humiliated, and nearly murdered as a teenager by pointing to the fact that he later became an adult with a difficult personality. Like, do these people not understand the basic concept of cause and consequence? Do they not grasp how trauma shapes a person?

It’s astonishing how casually they erase the violence he endured in his formative years—systematic bullying, public humiliation, attempted murder—and somehow believe it’s justified or irrelevant just because he grew into a bitter, emotionally damaged adult. As if that personality came out of nowhere. As if social isolation, poverty, neglect, and abuse don’t leave a mark.

And what’s worse is that these same people will turn around and offer endless compassion to other characters whose traumas are more palatable to them. The fandom bends over backwards to defend their favourites, but when it comes to Severus, suddenly trauma doesn’t matter. Suddenly it’s all his fault.

This isn’t just about character interpretation, it reflects a broader issue in how society treats trauma survivors, especially those who are lower class, emotionally repressed, or don’t perform their pain in a way that’s comfortable to others. Severus was a working-class kid in a hostile environment, with no safety net, no support system, and no institutional protection. And to this day, people are still blaming him for how he turned out, rather than the structures and individuals that failed him and harmed him in the first place.

That’s not just bad reading comprehension. That’s a complete lack of class consciousness and emotional honesty.

[hprambles-blog]

Wizards wear ROBES not button downs and trousers. They wear pointy hats and CLOAKS, not jackets. They sleep in night shirts and gowns. It’s “MERLIN’S BEARD” not “Merlin.” They smoke PIPES not cigarettes.

Also wizards clothing is colorful and vibrant. No one is wearing all black (except Snape, because he’s an icon like that)

🍸

[fannedandflawless]

From Student to Staff: The Adults Who Watched Him Break, Then Welcomed Him Back

Severus Snape didn’t just return to Hogwarts as a professor. He returned to a castle full of ghosts—not the ones who drifted through walls, but the ones who once looked through him. The ones who had titles, robes, and responsibilities. And Merlin, the way they smiled when he came back.

These weren’t strangers. These were his former teachers. The ones who watched him unravel—slowly, painfully, obviously. They saw the weight—emotional bruises no child his age should have been burdened with. They noticed the robes that hung too loose, the way his voice softened into nothing, the eyes that dulled year by year. And then, as if memory had been Obliviated, they greeted him with polite nods and teacups.

Let’s name them. Let’s drag the velvet curtain back. Let’s ask what they refused to.

🧙‍♂️ Albus Dumbledore — The Grand Strategist of Silence

He saw everything. The twinkle in his eye? That was calculation. Dumbledore knew Severus’ pain. Knew his background. Knew the Marauders were brutal, and knew exactly how Hogwarts worked for boys who didn’t shine the right way.

And what did he do? Nothing.

Not until the prophecy.

Not until Severus—broken and desperate—came crawling with regret.

Only then did Dumbledore offer protection. And even then, it wasn’t mercy. It was strategy. It was cost-benefit arithmetic.

He kept Severus close, yes—but not out of trust. Out of necessity. And in that same chessboard logic, he raised Harry the same way. A pawn to be protected, yes, but only until it was time to be sacrificed.

Severus recognised it all too well. The same cold detachment Dumbledore had shown him as a man—keeping him close, not out of care, but for utility—was now being applied to Harry. Despite the tangled mess of resentment and reluctant protection he felt toward the boy—born of Lily, shaped by James—Severus could see the pattern. He could see the purpose.

He saw through it: "You've kept him alive so that he can die at the proper moment. You've been raising him like a pig for slaughter!"

Two lives. One broken young, the other burdened late. Both groomed to serve, both shaped for sacrifice—and in the end, perhaps, both meant to die on cue.

And when the war ended, Dumbledore offered Severus a position—not because he sought to make amends, but because it served a purpose. Severus had returned to spy, initially under orders, a reluctant shadow caught between masters. And once the mask was worn long enough, Dumbledore simply let it stay.

As if a professorship could heal years of sanctioned cruelty. As if being called "Professor" would cleanse the memory of being a punchline in the corridor.

⸻

🧪 Horace Slughorn — The Collector of Potential

He loved talent. But only when it glittered.

Slughorn praised Severus’ brilliance in Potions—called him promising, sharp. But he never once shielded him.

He didn’t invite him to the Slug Club. Not until Severus’ name meant something. Not until his mind could decorate a shelf.

Slughorn’s affection was conditional. You had to be charming. Presentable. A legacy. And Severus? He was none of those things. Just a poor boy with a hungry mind and no surname to flaunt.

And perhaps that is why, years later, Severus held nothing but quiet disdain for him. Because if anyone should have noticed what was happening in the shadows of Slytherin House, it should have been its Head. Not McGonagall. Not Dumbledore. Slughorn.

He should have seen it first. And yet—he didn’t.

Slughorn used him on parchment, but never sat beside him in reality.

⸻

🐈‍⬛ Minerva McGonagall — Sharp-Eyed and Selectively Blind

Minerva loved her lions. James Potter was golden in her eyes—brave, brilliant, bold.

She watched him torment Severus in broad daylight. She called it mischief. At best, she scolded. At worst, she said nothing.

She taught Severus Transfiguration. She saw his talent. But she never once stepped in when he was dangling upside down in a public corridor.

And years later? She called him Severus. Perhaps it was meant as respect. Perhaps it was all she had left to give. But even that name, spoken in her steady voice, must have tasted hollow.

Because if I were Severus, I don’t know what I would feel beneath the careful nods and professional courtesy. Not really.

Respect? Yes. She was formidable, fair—in her own way. But also a bystander. A witness to pain who never raised her wand.

The bitterness would have settled in strange places. Not hatred. Not fury. Just that sharp ache that lingers when someone could have helped—and chose not to.

As if calling him by name could erase the silence that came before it.

⸻

📚 Filius Flitwick — Gentle, Brilliant, Absent

Flitwick was kind. Clever. Charms master of immense skill. The sort of professor whose praise felt like sunlight.

And yet—he kept to his corner. He didn’t speak up.

Severus wasn’t just a good student. He was exceptional. The sort of student whose talent should have lit up the classroom like a Lumos Maxima—quiet, focused, effortlessly precise. The kind of brilliance that doesn’t need to shout because it radiates.

He invented spells. Created incantations from scratch. If anyone in Charms class should’ve stood out like a blinking sign under a spotlight—radiating silent brilliance from the back of the room—it was him. You didn’t need him to speak to notice. You just had to be looking.

Surely Flitwick noticed. How could he not?

But maybe noticing brilliance wasn’t the same as seeing pain. Maybe house loyalty got in the way. Maybe the politics of Slytherin versus Gryffindor made it easier to stay silent.

Perhaps he thought it wasn’t his place. Perhaps no one ever taught the professors how to reach past a student's wandwork and into their wounds.

And so, in the silence between spells, a boy learned that even kindness could be hollow.

⸻

🌿 Pomona Sprout — The Kind Bystander

Warm, earthy, nurturing. That was Sprout’s image. A Hufflepuff’s dream.

But she, too, looked away.

Maybe she frowned at what she saw. Maybe she clucked disapproval over tea. But she never interrupted the hierarchy.

Not when Severus slouched through corridors like a shadow. Not when he withered a little more each autumn.

She believed in fairness—but not enough to fight for it.

⸻

🏥 Madam Pomfrey — The Healer Who Didn’t See

Out of all the professors, Madam Pomfrey may be the one I find myself most curious about. Not because she was cruel—she wasn’t. Not because she was blind—she couldn’t have been. But because if anyone should have noticed—it was her.

She could spot a fractured rib with a glance. She healed Quidditch injuries between spoonfuls of broth. Her hands were warm, her wards comforting.

And yet… she didn’t notice Severus returning each term thinner, paler, greyer?

No trace of curiosity when he flinched at loud spells? No quiet pause when he walked too carefully, too lightly—as if even the castle floors might punish him?

Did she not see the hex marks? The magical burns? Did she really miss the boy who never sought help unless he was near collapse?

Or perhaps... he hid it too well. Perhaps he wore silence like a second robe. Perhaps he'd already learned that pain, when visible, only made you more vulnerable. That vulnerability made you expendable.

But still—she was a healer. She would have known the signs. Malnutrition. Exhaustion. The long-term magical residue that clings to a child who’s been hexed too often.

Pomfrey, as matron, was in a position to notice it all—if he had come to her. But maybe he didn’t. Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe he knew better than to hope.

We know his home life wasn’t gentle. Tobias Snape, his father, was a drunk—furious, unkind, loud enough to silence the whole house. We weren’t shown every bruise or every scream, but we were shown the aftermath.

So when Severus came back each September—robes loose, eyes dimmed, voice flat—surely, surely she must have seen something. Anything. A flicker of concern. A whisper of doubt.

To be fair, we cannot fully blame her. Hundreds of students passed through her care. She healed what was asked, tended what was brought. Perhaps she was simply overwhelmed. Perhaps she assumed someone else would act.

But still… I can’t help but wonder.

She offered pepperup potions to those with sniffles. She wrapped bandages around bruised Gryffindors.

But Severus? The boy who never asked, who needed most?

She offered rest to others.

But not to him.

⸻

They all had eyes. They all had wands. They all had duty—but they wore it like a decorative cloak, not a vow.

And oh, how one wonders. How could they not see the bruises? The shoulders pulled too tight? The voice too low?

How could a castle brimming with portraits, portraits that whispered and staircases that listened, miss the slow crumbling of a child?

Perhaps they did see. Perhaps that’s what makes it worse.

Because silence isn’t always ignorance. Sometimes, it’s a choice. Sometimes, it’s self-preservation masquerading as neutrality. Sometimes, it’s indifference dressed as decorum.

And still—they looked away.

Severus Snape returned to Hogwarts as a man.

But once, he was the boy they failed.

And they seated him at their table as if none of it ever happened.

[souryam]

the same old marauders fans/snapedom discourse of conflating good and bad w victimhood and aggression as if bad people can't be victims of anything and generally good people can't be aggressors

one of the (MANY!) things that i can’t stop thinking about regarding that horrible discourse post is the way that the terms sexual harassment and sexual assault are thrown around. i think that whether or not the incident (where james turns snape upside down with his own spell and exposes his underwear in front of everyone) “counts” as sexual harassment or assault doesn’t really matter. at least, not in the way the people in that discourse post think that it matters.

how we as the readers would define this event based on our own morality is relatively unimportant. what actually matters in this situation is how snape experienced it. nobody involved in that discourse post considers whether snape himself would define this event as sexual assault – and even if he would define it as such, whether that would influence his perception of how harmful it was. after all, people can experience the same event differently; what one person considers a bad day can be extremely traumatic for someone else. because of this, trying to objectively quantify the degree of harm snape experienced by defining this incident as sexual assault, harassment, bullying, or whatever, obscures the most important part of the incident – which is how it affected snape! it's so frustrating, because this is something that we could actually have interesting discourse about. did james know how deeply his actions were affecting snape? would he have changed his behavior if he knew? or did he already know, and simply not care?

but even more frustrating is the fact that despite all of the animosity in that post, i don't think anyone involved actually cares about whether or not the incident was sexual harassment/assault. the function of those terms in that post is simply to assign morality to the people involved. if the incident counts as sexual assault, then snape is a Victim and therefore Good, and james is a Perpetrator and therefore Bad. if it wasn’t sexual assault, then the incident wasn’t really that harmful, so snape is Bad and james is Good. it’s mind-bogglingly reductive. i guess it's just remarkable that everyone involved in that post seems so confident in their ability to define sexual harassment and assault, while simultaneously ignoring any of the effects that this could have had on snape. instead, sexual harassment and assault just serve as proxies for morality in the never-ending argument of whether or not snape Bad.

tl;dr what you call this incident does not determine the amount of harm it caused, and also you should care about the amount of harm it caused if you're going to make claims about morality

[poitionsprince]

I feel like people don't use Snape's full potential in ships.

Like - he is one of the very few characters who is somehow connected to EVERYONE.

The amount of juice??? The amount of storyline that can come out of that??? HELLO???

[randomness-is-my-order]

this phenomenon when antagonistic or abusive or shitty characters in books are hated by the original reading audience because writers don’t generally, continuously wax poetic about these character’s looks (unless them being beautiful/handsome is part of their narrative) but once these books are adapted, all these characters suddenly have a legion of defenders and since we know visual media is still horribly stuck catering to beauty standards of whichever entertainment industry the adaptation is made in, pretty privilege strikes in and sympathy is given to characters all of a sudden, characters who based on their book portrayal would never get it, because deny it or not, while reading the focus is automatically far more on what a character does or says than their appearance, which is not the case for shows or movies where looking good is basically a necessity. and it is a generalisation i know because some adaptations do make these characters lose their rough edges but when you go fandom hopping and see this kind of stuff every single time, it really makes you wonder. to speak nothing of anime/manga fandoms where cool designs of characters will automatically make them a fandom favourite, even if they are objectively poorly written or just terrible ass people as long as they have some significance in the narrative and say some cool shit every now and then.

[danadiadea]

If we assume that Severus and Lily both had does for a patronus, snily can only be platonic or sapphic.

[silverbriseis]

Voldemort is the most uncontroversial character in all of Harry Potter because have you ever seen any fan discourse surrounding him? Any anti posts? you haven't!? Exactly!

[sideprince]

I resent getting dragged into the discourse but it's wild to me that there are people out there who read the HP books and laud Harry for being brave and having a big heart and redeeming the wizarding world with his unusually great ability to love, yet can't comprehend how he could learn to appreciate Snape's sacrifice.

I'm very specifically thinking of the fact that Harry watches Snape die. Snape, who is lying on the floor, gripping Harry's robes, and whose eyes Harry is looking into and seeing the life leave. I don't understand how people can humanize some fictional characters and treat them as if they were real and completely dehumanize another. Not even for Snape's sake, but for Harry's sake, do these people not understand what it is to watch someone die? What's the expectation, that the Capacity For Love Posterchild protagonist steps out of character and doesn't care about the guy he watches bleed out and die suffering because you, as a reader, don't like him?

Which is it? Does Harry have a huge capacity to love or not? Pick a lane. Either you value this character trait in Harry or you don't. But you have to take or leave everything it comes with, otherwise you're a hypocrite. Or maybe illiterate.

I just don't GET it.

[maxdibert]

I think people underestimate how bullying affects someone's life. I'm 21 and I still know people my age who are rebuilding their self-esteem because of things they went through as victims of bullying.

And they talk about how their families supported them, so I can understand how a teenage Severus Snape could fall into a cult—he had no one to lean on

People don’t just underestimate bullying (although that too, really) what they truly fail to grasp is how trauma works. They don’t understand that what they often call “moving on” is actually just someone repressing their emotions and feelings.

They also don’t realise that a traumatised person isn’t always compliant or passive, nor do they have to perform the role of the perfect victim. Sometimes, victims are angry, vengeful, violent, disruptive, and hard to be around. That doesn’t make them any less victims, and it certainly doesn’t erase or diminish what they went through.

Most Snape haters are either kids or people barely out of their teens, and honestly, I don’t think people with such limited life experience have a clue what adulthood is actually like, let alone what it means to carry unresolved trauma into your thirties. They project this idea of adults as some kind of separate species, and feel entitled to burn them at the stake for making mistakes, because they don’t yet understand that a 35-year-old can be just as emotionally wrecked and mentally unwell as a 15-year-old. The only real difference is that by 35, life has beaten you down so many times that you’ve built some scar tissue. Things don’t hurt as much but not because you’re healed, but because you’re numb. Beyond that? Not much changes.

Many people don’t get that Severus had deep, unresolved trauma, that he never had a safe environment to work through it, and no emotional support to speak of. He grew into a dysfunctional adult, and dysfunctional adults aren’t monsters. They’re just people trying to survive the best way they know how.

[hprambles-blog]

Lily’s attempt to defend Snape during SWM is hardly a half hearted attempt, she was trying to distract James, pulling her wand out, fighting back a smile. I need the Snape antis to be honest with themselves, if your best friend is in danger the natural reaction is to actually defend them, consequences be dammed. I know that If I were in Lily’s place, I would have been hexing James without mercy.

🌺

[fannedandflawless]

Selective Loyalty and the Lily Problem

This post continues from my previous analysis, "WHO LIT THE MATCH?" — specifically section 5.) Loyalty Worn Two Ways, where I compared Lily Evans’ loyalty to that of Bellatrix Lestrange. The response to that post made it clear: we need to talk about Lily.

"She was written with strong loyalty." That’s what they say. But loyalty, when selectively applied, isn’t virtue — it’s comfort dressed as conviction.

Let’s talk about Lily Evans. The girl who stood up to bullies — sometimes. The girl who defended Severus — once. The girl who walked away — and never looked back.

🔨 The Double Standard No One Wants to Name

Lily called Severus’ Slytherin friends cruel when they hexed others.

"You think that’s funny?" she asked. "You think that’s all just a laugh?"

But when the Marauders hexed Severus in front of a crowd — dangled him upside-down, flashed his underwear to the world, humiliated him — it was brushed off as mischief. She scolded James, sure. Called him a “bullying toerag.” But she didn’t disown him. Didn’t stop speaking to him. She married him.

Why is one hex cruelty, and the other mischief? Why is one unforgivable, and the other… flirtation?

When Severus defended a fellow Slytherin, it became proof he was on the wrong path. When James hexed Severus, it was part of the journey to redemption.

Lily’s moral compass didn’t shatter — it shifted. And Severus saw it happen in real time.

⸻

🎭 The Performance of Principle

It wasn’t just the bullying. It was how she measured it.

Lily had the self-righteousness of someone who meant well — but only when it was safe to mean well.

She never went after Sirius, who cast the spells. She never called out Remus, who stood by and did nothing. She never looked James in the eye and said, “You humiliated my best friend and I won’t stand for it.”

Instead, she turned to Severus, and said:

“You’re choosing the wrong people.”

They all did. And yet only one was punished for it.

⸻

🔍 She Forgave James — But Never Severus

This is where the comparison starts to sting.

Lily was willing to believe James could change. But not Severus.

She gave grace to the boy who tortured her friend — but not to the friend who broke under pressure. She extended second chances to the boy she dated — but cut off the one who needed her most.

That’s not just a mistake. That’s selective loyalty.

⸻

⚠️ Not Villainy — But Still a Problem

This post isn’t about demonising Lily Evans. She was young. She was flawed. She was human.

But so was Severus.

And for a fandom that preaches kindness and forgiveness, it’s strange how selective that kindness becomes when his name enters the room.

⸻

♾️ Coming Full Circle

When Bellatrix was loyal, she was honest about it. When Lily was loyal, she chose who earned it — and who didn’t. One was mad. One was adored. But both were uncompromising.

Maybe that’s what makes it hurt.

Lily believed in goodness. Just… not always in the people who needed her to.

⸻

Related post: WHO LIT THE MATCH? Coming up next: The Devotion That Never Grew Up ⸻

If you found this post stirring, you may also like… A collection of emotional deep-dives into Severus Snape—the man who endured, unravelled, and remained:

Severus Snape: Widower of the Living

The Virgin Theory: Severus Snape, and the Sanctity of Unlived Intimacy

The Dignity of Suffering in Silence: Snape as the Ghost of a Living Man

[professorsnape]

[midgardianqueenreturns]

There’s this thing I call “the Snape effect.”

It refers to when certain morally complex characters are SO controversial in the fandom that it is REALLY hard to have any sort of nuanced discussion about them without getting severely ratioed with lots of angry unhinged replies accusing you of immorality or delusion or whatever. If you interpret the character as anything besides the one-dimensional boogeyman the fandom insists they are, you are at best dumb and at worst a disgusting apologist. It goes well beyond typical “villain discourse”.

Every so often I get into a fandom and I see a character discourse where I’m like “oh this is reminding me of Snape discourse in the HP fandom” even if I don’t particularly care for the character.