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Can We Talk About the ‘Evil Bigoted Snape Gave a Werewolf Lecture to Hurt Remus’ Discourse—Because Y’all Are Missing the Point

People love to drag Snape for giving that werewolf lecture during Lupin’s year at Hogwarts. It’s often cited as one of the top reasons to hate him—because “Lupin was taking Wolfsbane and was harmless.” But let’s actually unpack that, because that logic falls apart real fast.

First of all: Lupin wasn’t harmless. He just wasn’t mindless.

Those are two very different things.

The Wolfsbane Potion doesn’t stop the transformation. It just lets him keep his human mind when he transforms into a physically dangerous, magically enhanced predator. He says it himself:

“As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform.” - Remus Lupin

So yeah, keeping his mind helps—but it doesn’t make him safe. He still has all the inherent physical dangers of a werewolf: the monstrous strength, enhanced speed, claws, fangs, and bite force that can overpower any human. And if he chose to bite someone? The potion wouldn’t stop the infection from being passed on.

Now let’s zoom in on Snape’s position here.

In order to be okay with Lupin teaching, Snape would’ve had to do something that’s completely antithetical to his character: trust a man he hates, a man he believes is both dangerous and morally compromised, to prioritize the safety of children. That’s just not who Snape is—and it’s not who he has been shaped to be.

This is a man whose entire personality is shaped by trauma. His childhood, his school years, the werewolf attack—all of it. And on top of that, he spent years as a true DE then a spy. He’s seen firsthand that danger doesn’t always come with red flags and scary music. Sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s someone you’ve known for years. like Peter Pettigrew.

Snape knows that betrayal doesn’t just come from cartoon villains—it comes from people everyone else thinks are harmless. People like Lupin.

From Snape’s perspective, Lupin isn’t just “a risky case.” He’s an unreliable and potentially compromised individual who is keeping a life-threatening secret from the entire student body. Add that to the fact that Snape:

Was nearly killed by this exact werewolf in what he believes was a targeted attack.

Has never had a personal reason to trust Lupin—only reasons to distrust him.

Genuinely believes Lupin may be helping Sirius Black, who everyone still thinks is a mass murderer.

Believes Dumbledore is biased toward this specific Gryffindor friend group and prioritizes them over basic safety.

Has spent most of his life at Hogwarts watching the DADA post destroy whoever fills it.

Yes, Snape trusts Dumbledore on a practical level—but he also thinks Dumbledore plays favorites. And when it comes to the Marauders? Snape has every reason to believe Dumbledore’s judgment is compromised. So what does he do?

He does the one thing he can do: teach students how dangerous werewolves really are.

Because in Snape’s mind, the worst-case scenario isn’t just some abstract “Lupin might slip up” thing. It’s this:

What if Lupin is working with Sirius Black?

What if they’re planning something on the full moon—when Lupin is transformed and no one can stop him? The least he can do is prepare the students for what they possibly could do during an attack. 

Snape doesn’t know the full truth. He doesn’t know about the betrayal swap. He just knows that someone from that group already betrayed the Potters. And even Sirius believed it could’ve been Lupin at one point—that’s why they made Peter the Secret-Keeper. So from Snape’s perspective? Trusting Lupin isn’t just a gamble. It’s asking for disaster.

And honestly, let’s not pretend we knew Lupin was trustworthy when we first read or watched this. He was likable, sure. But likable ≠ safe.

Also, let’s talk about this take that teaching about werewolves is “inherently discriminatory.” They’re cursed beings who become dangerous, contagious monsters once a month. Teaching kids to be aware of that isn’t hate. It’s survival. Especially when you’re a trauma survivor yourself, trying to protect students from the kind of danger that nearly killed you. The way the ministry treats werewolves is awful and the way they deal with them is both incompetent and discriminatory, but as I said, in my other post about analogies for discrimination, the difference is werewolves are actually dangerous (unlike other REAL oppressed groups).

Was it harsh? Sure. Snape’s delivery always is. But was it unjustified? No.

Because in the end, a werewolf did transform on school grounds. Near students. Uncontrolled. Alone. And it wasn’t because he was evil—it was because he forgot his potion after being emotionally rattled. That’s all it took.

What if that moment had come just a little later? What if he’d still been inside the castle when it hit? If this story weren’t aimed at kids, Lupin def would’ve been written as tragically killing someone. Easily. And again: not because he’s a monster in the moral sense—but because he’s a monster in the literal one.

You can be a decent man and still be dangerous. Two things can be true at once.

So yeah—was there some pettiness involved? Probably. He’s a petty guy. But that wasn’t the root of it. The root was trauma, caution, and a desperate attempt to do something to protect students in a situation he had no control over.

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Why was sirius so fixated on severus ?

I had this question for a long time and i have a theory, because i understand where james reasons can come from (he liked lily and was jalouse of her male friend,but also had his fun) and they both bullied other kids. But they always came back to severus.

i belive the reason for Sirius is that he saw Snape as everything he was running away from. He was desperate to distance himself from his family, and Snape, with his Slytherin ties and interest in the Dark Arts, represented the kind of person they were -his family - but also the kind of person Sirius feared becoming -like them -

So he dehumanized him, turned him into a symbol of everything he rejected in himself; it was a way for Sirius to symbolically fight against his own past and prove (to himself and others) that he wasn’t like them.

And it's so fascnating that He was so obsessed with not being like his family that he never stopped to question whether his actions actually mirrored theirs.

He just thought he was different just because he believed in different things, but behavior-wise? He was capable of the same kind of cruelty, the same kind of black-and-white thinking.

he wasn't different from them, he just wanted to be.

That's why he never felt remorse, he never even considered what he did to Snape as bullying because, in his mind, Snape deserved it.

it was about punishing someone he saw as evil , as a symbol of everything he hated and feared about his own family. That’s what makes it so chilling—Sirius genuinely thought he was doing the right thing.

But also, it was his self hatred, and his enjoyment of the act itself, feeling powerful! Relishing in the feeling of his superiority. Of being better then someone (exactly what his family belive).

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Sometimes it really feels like being a Snape fan is signing up to watch everyone pretend he doesn’t exist.

He’s in every book. His story shapes the entire plot. and literally has a book named after him. And yet, when it comes to Marauders content, it’s like he’s been scrubbed out of the timeline completely.

Either he doesn’t exist at all,or he’s turned into some cartoon villain who somehow manages to commit crimes worse than Voldemort. Meanwhile, Mary Macdonald, Marlene McKinnon, and Dorcas Meadowes… who, combined, barely have three lines in the entire series are suddenly stepping in to take his place as major characters.

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Thinking of writing a fic where, early sixth year, Severus goes to Lily one last time to apologize—genuinely, heartbreakingly. He’s crying, begging, unraveling. And when she accuses him of using his tears to manipulate her, something in him just breaks.

He flashes back to his father sneering at his mother’s tears—“Oh, she’s crying again? You really think it’s real?” And in that moment, Severus sees it: he’s become the thing he swore he’d never be. On his knees. Begging someone who’s already decided he’s unworthy.

So he stops. Wipes his face. Says thank you for what they were. For her friendship. And walks away—not for pride, but because it’s the only way to survive it

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"If Severus calling Lily a Mudblood makes him a blood-purist, then Lily calling him Snivellus makes her sexist"

@danadiadea ilysm for that quote

people always forget (or choose to ignore) that the entire insult situation happened in a moment of deep humiliation and hurt for severus. but if y'all insist on focusing only on his choice of words, you need to hold lily to the same standard

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I have no idea how people turn the marauders into queer icons when they bullied the boy with long hair, made up a nickname insulting men who cry, 2 of the boys who weren't directly involved in the bullying never called it out or did something about it, one even enjoying it, all that while one of them also harassed a girl into dating him. even within their group, one took advantage of another's condition for a prank

right, queer icons indeed, breaking gender norms and standing up against prejudice

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My headcanon is that young!Snape loved to yap about his interests but it was seldom met with even an ounce of enthusiasm or respect. I mean, in the Prince's Tale, he didn't hold back his excitement when telling Lily that they're "off to Hogwarts!" But of course, once he got there, he was bullied, and people thought his interest in the dark arts was weird. I'm also thinking about that post that highlighted the fact he was alone after an exam and didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I wonder if he learned the hard way that people did not give a fuck about what he had to say unless he could be useful somehow. Maybe he even tried to participate in conversations and be relatable but ultimately failed. He couldn't fake his way into being charming or palatable to normies his peers.

Could this have contributed to his style of speech as an adult? Is he soft-spoken because he doesn't want to take up space? Does he think talking about his hobbies or opinions is unnecessarily filling the void? A waste of time and energy?

If we're talking about canon, I'm sure there are other reasons that made him the way he is as an adult, but this was something I was thinking about.

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Severus Snape: Widower of the Living

Let us be clear, sweetie: Severus Snape is not some angry little man on a forum crying because no witch would date him. No, no. Severus Snape is a man who once held love in his hand, fumbled it—dropped it—and then decided he should never touch anything that delicate, again.

He didn’t become celibate out of bitterness. He became celibate out of penance. The man took his heartbreak and turned it into a lifelong funeral march with no coffin, no flowers, just black robes and regret.

You think he couldn’t find someone else? Please. He’s tall, mysterious, clearly got cheekbones sculpted by rage and repression. He could absolutely ruin the right person—in the best way. But does he flirt? Does he date? No, darling. He broods. With purpose.

Because Severus Snape isn’t single. He’s emotionally widowed. Lily Evans didn’t just die—she became the ghost he takes to bed every night. And he? He became her silent mourner, carried grief like someone who never got the chance to be anything to her. Never kissed her. Never claimed her. But oh, he remembers her like a vow.

This man wears grief like couture.

No one else gets close. Not because they’re unworthy—but because he refuses to let himself be chosen again. It’s giving martyrdom. It’s giving “I could destroy you with how much I feel but I won’t.” It’s giving “touch me and I might unravel in front of the tapestry.”

He doesn’t need pity. He needs a mirror that tells him, “She never loved you. But you loved her. And you helped seal her fate. It wasn’t rejection that broke you—it was living with the belief that you had no right to be loved after what it cost.”

But until that day? Snape remains the widow of the living. Alone. Unkissed. Unhealed. And absolutely unforgettable.

—

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

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How is Severus an “incel” for honoring Lily’s memory and wishes for decades after her death but James isn’t an incel for refusing to take no for an answer to the point of trying to blackmail Lily into a date with him by physically abusing her friend? I think y’all just think “incel” means “man you don’t personally find attractive who has possibly unrequited feelings for a woman” not a member of a misogynistic hate group who sees women as just objects who owe him sex. Severus was never angry Lily wouldn’t date him or have sex with him, he was only ever angry she was defending his abusers. And even when she married one of his abusers, he still loved and respected her deeply for his entire life. No incel would risk his life for decades to honor the memory of a woman who is long dead and can’t possibly have sex with him.

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I've noticed something about Snape—one of his biggest red lines, the thing that truly pushes him to his limit, is when someone's life is in danger.

In those moments, he becomes the most vulnerable version of himself. He forgets everything—every grudge, every precaution, every defense mechanism—and his only focus is getting people out of harm's way, no matter the cost.

So vulnerable that hearing about Ginny Weasley's kidnapping forces him to lean on the back of a chair. So vulnerable and unguarded that while saving Harry from Quirrell’s curse, an eleven-year-old sets him on fire. So vulnerable that, in his attempt to manage the chaos of the Shrieking Shack—with children, a werewolf, and a supposed murderer—he’s disarmed by 13-year-olds. He's so reckless that he makes an Unbreakable Vow for Draco. So reckless that he chases a werewolf, without Wolfsbane, under the full moon near sunset. So reckless that he ventures into the Forbidden Forest to find lost children. So reckless that he roams the hallways in the middle of the night, in his nightgown, chasing the sound of a scream. So reckless that, as a Death Eater, he risks everything to warn the leader of the opposite side about Voldemort's plans to kill the Potters—and is willing to give anything to save them. He's so ungrudging that he carefully carries an unconscious Sirius Black. So ungrudging that when Black is captured, he checks on him immediately and alerts the Order of the Phoenix. So ungrudging that he risks his cover to save Lupin.

And I think these moments say so much about his humanity—things the books never fully explain.

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Severus Snape didn't owe James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin (and Peter Pettigrew, but thank god I've never heard this one) shit.

He didn't owe them forgiveness.

He didn't owe them respect.

He didn't owe them understanding.

He didn't owe them trust.

He didn't owe them help.

He didn't owe them care for their health and lives and safety.

He didn't owe them one single thing.

Even if they apologised (they didn't tho).

Even if they changed (they still didn't tho).

Even if they made amends (guess what, they didn't).

Victims are allowed to hate their abusers. It doesn't make them petty. It doesn't make them pathetic. It doesn't make them unreasonable.

It doesn't justify abusers' hate towards their victim or their continuing mistreatment of them.

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You’re completely correct. The narrative gaslights us into viewing adult Severus’ responses to the Marauders as petty, as if he should put it to one side because they’re on the same team now and that it’s a major character flaw that he’s unable to do this.

Fuck that. If Severus ever got validation of what they did to him, then maybe. But he never does, so why should he be a good little girl and shut up about it? And JKR went so hard with the bullying - it’s one thing to be hung up over schoolboy bullying in your 30s, it’s another thing entirely to be hung up over sexual assault, attempted murder, and an institutional cover up.

Exactly. Not only Severus has extremely traumatic experiences and shows clear signs of PTSD, he never even got space where his feelings were validated and his struggles acknowledged. How is he supposed to "get over it"?

People love to frame Snape as extremely revengeful and vindictive, but what is so vindictive about him? Outing Remus when Remus put people's lives in danger as a werewolf and lied to Albus, after 16 years of keeping his secret, and 1 year of attempts to subtly warn the students about the man who, as Snape has all the reasons to believe, works with a murderer that already used him as a weapon once, while making him a complicated cure that gives him an opportunity to work at all? Not asking Voldemort for James’ life even if he comes to Dumbledore afterwards and warns the head of the order he is going to "kill them all"? Wanting a terrorist and a traitor of your closest person to be Kissed perhaps a little more than you would if you were not personally a victim of his cruelty? Not talking sweetly to Remus and Sirius and not trusting them when he has absolutely zero reasons to? Being triggered (which is not a choice and is something people have to receive professional help with) by the face of his abuser on a boy he has to protect? Seemingly forgiving Minerva and at least partly Albus who both don't seem to even acknowledge what the fuck did he come through under their "care"? This is not "extra revengeful". This is normal and human and way less messy then I'd be.

I'd put the flyers with "Remus Lupin is a werewolf" all around Diagon Alley during a school break or at least after the graduation. I'd stomp on Sirius' face when he laid unconsious before me and took only children to the castle and called the Dementors then to kiss him right there myself. I'd not risk my life for a man who publically undressed me and a woman who chose to overlook it. I'd talk to Albus and Minerva and Horace the way Severus talked to Lupin and Black, especially if Minerva kept praising James and Sirius like she did. Now THIS is really revengeful! What Severus does is just normal, humane reaction of a person who has trauma and is forced to relive it and has a constant psychological pressure on top of that and no safe spaces or support systems to work with all the shit he went through. This isn't Snape's awful character flaw – this is how human psyche works.

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I’d only accept the argument that his reaction to the Marauders is petty and childish if it had been a genuine teenage rivalry that got out of hand. But it wasn’t - he was the victim of some fucking serious (and unacknowledged) crimes, and is deemed a bad person for not being friendly with the perpetrators. If Sirius and Lupin think he’s unreasonably vindictive towards them, then the onus is on them to make amends. Do they? Like hell they do.

The fact that none of them apologised and even behaved like Snape is to blame for their shitty relationship... Lupin is at least more or less decent to Snape in HPB when talking to Harry (how remarkably well the death of one's inadequate friends affect a person), but the main thing is – he doesn't apologise to Snape. He doesn't acknowledge what he and his friends did to him as serious. Lupin won't do anything of the sort of course, because that would mean taking responsibility for the bullying and enabling and ignoring his direct responsibilities, and Lupin can't do that. But saying that Severus is immature for thinking Lupin is a piece of shit and assuming the worst of him? Please.

I don't even want to bring up Sirius because the fact that after all the crap Sirius did to Snape Harry has the audacity to blame Severus for this moron's death (even if the narrative acknowledges this is just a pleasant way for Harry to shift responsibilities) pisses me off more than anything.

At least Peter cleaned his house and made his drinks lol.

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I really don’t like the idea that Severus should’ve got over what happened to him at school because there were things that mattered at stake in the war and cooperation with people who harmed him was therefore more important. It comes uncomfortably close to saying that what happened to him didn’t actually matter. And he does cooperate *constantly* - so what if he’s grumpy about it. It’s literally the least their actions and lack of remorse warranted.

Oh I agree. Severus did already try way more than he was obliged to in my opinion. And no, traumas will not magically disappear just because the war is happening, if anything the pressure and the need to work with his abusers will only leave Severus with less resources to fight his reasonable emotional responses to what had happened to him.

Albus in the end of GoF should go fuck himself fr. Snape's and Sirius' hatred to each other isn't equally justified and shouldn't be treated like "oh boys stop being so petty we have more important things now". Sirius is the one who should stop being petty and hating the man he abused and mistreated and wanted dead or severely harmed at 16. Sirius should apologise to him and not insult him or talk shit about him. Severus should get help, and ideally – have a choice to not interact with Sirius, or at least do it as little as possible.

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Maybe it was Eileen he heard talking shit about Muggles. Eileen, who married a Muggle and gave up her entire world for that Muggle—who lowered herself to live in a shitty neighborhood, in a shitty house, surrounded by shit, all for that Muggle. Eileen, who could have had a decent life in the magical world but ended up not even being able to buy her son clothes in the Muggle one—all because of a man. The same man who yelled and was violent and scary and made her existence miserable. So Eileen probably told her son how amazing the magical world was compared to the hellhole they lived in, the opportunities he could have, and how good it would feel to be among people like him—not among those Muggles who only brought misery, poverty, and violence.

Because Eileen is often portrayed as a helpless victim and fairly loving toward Severus, but I prefer to think she also contributed to her son's cognitive dissonance, to his resentment, and to his obsession with becoming someone in the magical world. That precisely because of the trauma and personal drama, she wasn't in any condition to be a functional mother, nor was she particularly emotionally close. And maybe, over the years, Severus felt torn between a certain affection for her—because, after all, she hadn’t been a total piece of shit like his father—but also a deep internal resentment for feeling like she had never truly protected him, despite being a witch and having the upper hand.

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Everything began upon @snapey's request and what I thought was going to be a tricky but fun dive into Headcanon territory became a full on fascinating (and frankly a tad depressing) deep dive into Hogwarts and 1970's social classes living conditions.

Because what Severus Snape might enjoy eating as an adult or as a teen would be influenced firstly by his childhood and oh boi put your seatbelts on my little rats.

- So, a bit of context first -

Snape grew up in the slums in the 60s. His family was from the working-class and we canonly know they didn't have much money (Severus didn't have his own clothes as a child), and so they might not had much to eat either. And the Snapes weren't just working-class poor, they were dirt-poor (go here if you want to see photos of what the slums could look like back then). Living in the slums was not a choice. We're talking people working for a desperately low wage and barely making by. They were stuck there, at the bottom of the social and economic chain, living in incredibly difficult conditions.

So we're talking homemade meals, sometimes only once a day or none at all. Cheap vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beans, greens etc), a cheap cut of meat sometimes, tinned soup or meat, sometimes sausages. They had to make it last as long as possible and of course never let anything go to waste. Sometimes when he got hungry, he'd only get beans on toast or buttered sandwiches with cheap white bread. No sweets, no snacks for the whole day. Sometimes he just went hungry. He was familiar with the sensation of an empty stomach.

It's possible that he learned to chew very slowly from that time, to trick his mind and stomach into thinking he was eating more that he truly was.

One can wonder if he went to muggle primary school. It's hard to say if there was one near Spinner's End or if maybe his mother homeschooled him. It could make sense if he went as it would mean getting one (even bad) free meal that day. We're talking pies and maybe pudding, but considering the area was poor it might not even have been any good... but at least it was food. Maybe there wouldn't be enough for everybody, or not much. Food poisoning might have been frequent too.

In any case, what becomes clear is that food wasn't a given for Severus. It was rationed, of poor quality, little variety, maybe even flavorless if not bad tasting. Not saying his mother was a bad cook, but there's so much you can do in these times with no income. I'm sure sometimes there would be a special meal, for a birthday or a Holiday (Christmas maybe?) but that wouldn't be the norm.

So Severus grew up without eating much, which has little to do with his natural body frame, but I wouldn't be surprised if it had stunned his growth at least a little (if not a lot). I don't have any difficulties picturing him as too little and too scrawny for an 11 year old when he left home.

And since food wasn't a given it wouldn't be surprising if he integrated deep down that he couldn't eat too much at every meal or else it would mean he (and his parents) wouldn't have enough for the next one. Maybe there was even an unspoken rule that his father needed more food because he was the bread-winner of the family and Severus saw his mother eat less purposefully and mimicked her. I'm sure his mother wanted him to eat, but if he said he was fine maybe she wouldn't argue too much, as that may also mean Tobias would be in a better mood. And Severus might have also wanted for Tobias to be in as much of a good mood as possible back then.

He might also have stolen food back then. Sometimes from the pantry (very tiny, strategically unremarkable things) or from the outside.

We know the Evans family was better off than the Snapes, so it wouldn't be surprising if through Lily he was able to experience some nicer things (maybe candies, licorice or even chocolate) or maybe he was even invited a few times for dinner.

Could be really cute to imagine Lily introduced him to some new flavors that left him speechless and so fricking happy as he got home with the taste still in his mouth. Maybe she'd give him a candy and he would just lick it a few times then carefully put it back in the wrapper to make it last as much as possible. For days. It's be a treat after dinner, just one, two licks, letting the taste fill his mouth, closing his eyes and hiding it back under his pillow.

In any case, taking into account what we know from canon and the reality of what living in the slums means, we could - in my opinion - safely assume that Severus Snape knew what Hunger was.

- When he first went to Hogwarts -

With all of this in mind, can we take a second to stop and imagine what finally coming to Hogwarts might have been like for 11 years old Severus Tobias Snape? Of course he was excited, his mother had told him all about it, but nothing could have prepared him for the reality of the sheer amount of food appearing before his little eyes when the Sorting Ceremony was over. Nothing.

His first meal in the wizarding world was a proper feast. This is something a starving child doesn't forget and this might have played an early role in strengthening his resolve of embracing his magical side instead his muggle heritage. The magic part of his life was literally abundant and nourishing.

I won't go into detail here but there's this incredible post detailing every food appearing in the books that we know of (so in the 90s). Here is an extract from it that I think is important to give a bit of context:

Probably to give a subtle wave to the fact that Hogwarts is the magical version of a public school, nearly all the food consumed there is traditional and British. A public school here is NOT a state-maintained school, it is a private, extremely expensive, prestigious, boarding school, e.g Eton, which only the children of people with a lot of money and a lot of influence attend. By default, these people are usually upper class or aristocracy. (Obviously in the wizarding world money isn’t a factor in school attendance, but nevertheless that is what Hogwarts is modelled on.) There is never any mention of processed foods at Hogwarts except chips and a few common desserts.

When the food appeared, I can totally imagine him being so stunned that he couldn't move for a few minutes. Too many smells, so much variety, everything overflowing everywhere. And as he looked around, people were just... digging in. And it took him a moment to realize he was allowed to. Because of course he was. He was a student, he was finally at Hogwarts.

So he slowly plated himself something, looking around expectantly as if someone was about to get angry at him. Of course it didn't happen but he couldn't fight off years of conditioning so he might have not eaten much that evening. Anyway, he was already so overwhelmed with nervousness and happiness from being here that it didn't matter.

In the weeks that followed though, as he settled in, he might have eaten more. Way more. He wanted to try everything, even stuff that looked almost suspicious since he had no idea what it was. I think he discovered the pure joy of just stuffing his face. It was great, the freedom of not expecting to lack, of just reaching out for an apple whenever he was hungry. And I'm pretty convinced he got a few stomach aches for 1) eating too much/too fast and 2) trying things his stomach wasn't familiar with. That's when he discovered you could also get a tummy ache if you ate too much. Huh.

Maybe he even discovered that he was like... allowed to take some food with him (like I could see him stuffing one? two? three??? apples in his bag, bewildered that he was allowed and could just... snack on it whenever he wanted??? WHAT A LIFE.)

And it was like discovering a never ending new world of savors through the seasons as the meals changed. So exciting. Abundance but also a journey of tasty discoveries.

This being said, talking about food with other students might have been a strange and alienating experience. He might have gotten strange looks (because who was that feral child eating everyday like it was his last meal and asking what mince pies were?) and felt self-conscious when sharing his home life. He might have stopped doing that real fast, especially if he was surrounded by wealthy slytherins heirs.

His big discoveries might have been (please remember I'm talking out of my ass here since I'm trying to imagine the big differences he might have perceived in the 70s from his childhood in the slums):

-Fresh vegetables.

-Being able to eat meat at every meal if he wanted to.

-Actually good gravy.

-Spices.

-Deserts.

This being said, I wouldn't be surprised either if Hogwarts was a lot to deal with. Talk about his life doing a 180°. So maybe he also developed coping mechanism to deal with the onslaught of stress/socializing/work and one of them might have been... eating a bit like at home: eating things closer in taste to things he had back there (comfort food?) and to run on very little. It could have been a way to control soothe his senses.

I have a headcanon that when he went home for Christmas that first year (maybe the only time he did), when his mother welcomed him at the station she almost wept when she saw her little boy with fuller cheeks. He was still thin, still a little too small for his age, but he had some colors on him and sparkles in his eyes and so much to tell her. She was so proud. Of course he told her about the food as well - it made her happy and able to relive some of her own memories, but she also grew sad and regretful that they couldn't offer him a 'proper Christmas meal' (which was ridiculous, he perfectly knew what their usual Christmas dinner was like, he was just happy to see his Ma, but from this point on he refrained from talking too much about it as to not make her sad).

Speaking of that, going back home might have been a cold shower (metaphorically and figuratively)(he had also discovered the joys of hot showers and indoor plumbing) and as he went back to school in January, food might have tasted different again. Maybe tainted with the ever growing question: why would his mother embrace Muggle culture if it meant revoking such privilege ? And what could it say about his own future?

We could imagine a lot of different things about how his relationship with food would change over time. He might have slowed down his eating pace again after that trip home and chewed very slowly again because food=privilege and he wouldn't take it for granted. Maybe he'd eat very little because unconsciously he wouldn't feel deserving of it? Maybe he'd starve himself then binge and get himself sick?

I'm going with the idea that over his school years he normalized his eating habits. He's not a big eater (and I headcanon this being a consequence of his childhood conditioning) and has a fast metabolism (part genetics, part stress). For sure though, his upbringing impacted him and we canonly know he has trouble separating himself from his childhood (since he kept the house in Spinner's End).

- What about after school? (aka studies+DE days) -

We have literally 0 clues regarding his studies after Hogwarts (tho to become a Potion Master he must have done a Mastery of some kind) but we could assume it was as another Potion Master's apprentice, who could have been an honorable witch/wizard and thus, he might have had decent living conditions.

But we also know (or we assume more like) that he might also have been introduced into the DE circles around that time, maybe as a protégé of Lucius Malfoy and so now we're upgrading from Hogwarts's food to aristocracy-tier meals. We're talking expensive alcohol in crystal glasses, multiple courses meals, foreign delicacies, sculpted magical deserts... I have a few headcanons about that.

-He knew the basics of etiquette from his mother but Lucius and Narcissa trained him on everything (tables manners, conversations, pureblood customs, posture, voice inflections, etc.) He learnt fast and asked a lot of questions.

-As for the food... don't get me wrong I'm pretty sure he must have been blown away by some stuff that tasted incredible but I can't shake the feeling that he also must have struggled due to the invisible class barrier from his upbringing. In their world, food had always been a given. They never experienced the joy of stuffing their face after starving for years, had no idea what discovering chocolate at 10 years old was like, the weeping joy of not being afraid to skip meals. He might have been envious of them but also maybe a bit angry because they had no idea how easy they had it.

-Also yes, the food was good but could we not spend an hour blowing smoke up each other's asses about that filet? Yes it's good, but at the end of the day it's meat. Yes yes, caviar is expensive but it's just fish eggs and the texture is disturbing as fuck, can we just not?

Deep down Severus Snape isn't refined, though he tried hard to hide it back then. Underneath controlled inflections was a thick accent, underneath that elevated pinky were rude but earnest table manners and behind the compliment about the vinaigrette was a yearning for some fucking boiled potatoes. Despite everything, despite his efforts, despite himself... at the end of the day inside of him he was still that poor gruff man from the Midlands.

- Adult life (back to Hogwarts) -

No we venture into what he might have enjoyed eating. Honestly, it's so difficult and subjective because I'm so not-versed with British food, having never tasted anything so projecting what this specific guy might have liked or not is just me blabbing so I will focus more on eating habits and, big likes and dislikes and a few specific ones. (feel free to give me your own headcanons in the comments!). Here we go:

-Severus is still not a big eater. It's part residual conditioning, part metabolism, part nerves/anxiety/depression. But he works a lot and needs energy so he rarely skips a meal, except for his bi-annual depressive episodes.

-Little breakfast, medium/big lunch, light dinner. Sometimes a late-night snack if he works late.

-With age and after his time with the Malfoys, he went back to enjoying simpler food again. It wasn't so much nostalgia as much as feeling more 'himself' that way.

Breakfast

-He always has the same breakfast for long periods of time (which goes in hand with my autistic headcanon) going from two to six months until he's bored of it. Sometimes it's two buttered pieces of toast. Sometimes it's one egg and some beans but always with one cup of black coffee.

-He finds porridge's texture deeply unpleasant as it reminds him of the sludge his mother used to make.

-He also enjoys crumpets a lot. Sometimes as a late-night snack.

Lunch/Dinner

-He's not difficult with food, really. But he prefers his meat tender (because it's better than the rubber shit he ate as a kid) and his vegetables a bit crunchy.

-His mother made good sausage rolls and he still enjoys it quite a bit.

-He likes chicken but thinks it's way tastier if you eat it with your hands (childhood memory) but he has a reputation to maintain so..

-He often gets stomach aches if he eats too much at dinner so one of his go-to is soup.

Sweets

-As a teen he didn't have money to buy stuff from Honeydukes (he always told himself he didn't care anyway)(he did)(someone heal his inner child please). He still considers sugar as something a bit luxurious even though it's both available and affordable to him now.

-He doesn't necessarily have a sweet tooth per say but he enjoys the... practicality of sugar. Since he doesn't eat a lot and works long hours he relies on it to get his energy boosts.

-He's got a little tin of biscuits in his office (plain ones or with cinnamon or ginger) for when he drinks tea by himself and is in the mood for a tiny treat after a long day.

-Dark chocolate. He bites and lets it melt slowly under his tongue. He especially likes the kind with sea salt.

-Treactle tart is one of his favorites as it still reminds him of Christmas with his mother (it was one of her specialties and he always helped her make it. It's one of the nicest memories he has with her).

-He makes his own candied flowers once a year. When he goes into the Forbidden forest for ingredients in Spring, he also picks some violets and makes three jars. (He gives one to Minerva.)

-He enjoys grapes, mostly because he likes spitting the seeds.

Drinks

-First coffee of the morning is taken black. Don't talk to him, don't breathe near him. In fact, don't exist it's better this way. The second one is taken with sugar and in the afternoon he switches to tea. Then coffee again at night at the end of semester when he has too much work.

-As a teen he drank a lot of pumpkin juice. Less so as as an adult (he almost completely stopped when he became teacher because he wanted to appear as mature as possible in front of his colleagues and the students) but later on he would rarely say no to a cup.

-He rarely drinks alcohol and maybe got hammered twice in his life (once he got angry-drunk and it reminded him way too much of his father and another time he got depressed-drunk, which was pure shite as well).

-He likes his tea black, sometimes with sugar. Will judge heavily anyone who fails to prepare it properly (Minerva makes a great one).

Dislikes

-Stringy meat. It gets stuck between his fucked up teeth and he abhors the sensation.

-Sticky stuff (like caramel). Same issue.

-He hates corn.

Unrelated you won't convince me he's not a constipated bitch. I don't think I need to explain myself here. The man is a walking knot.

Here you go! I'm finally done. If you made it this far, thank you... I'm tired and I hope this was mildly interesting to you. I'd love to hear your thoughts and headcanons about this so feel free to reblog or comment ! <3

Big big thanks to @dirty-dirty-muggle, @wumbocroft, @historycat for their precious help and contribution on that topic. Also thanks to @arkadijxpancakes again for showing me this incredible post about Hogwarts's food.

[snapedom-ff]

Any headcanon about Severus that maybe is an unpopular opinion?

I don't think I really have any truly unpopular opinions. Maybe something I could consider not-so-popular (although I don’t think it’s controversial at all) is the way I view Severus and how he’s often portrayed. At least in most fics I’ve read—and even in many headcanons—there’s a tendency (which I understand) to blend his book personality with the one from the movies. The thing is, Rickman’s Severus is much more restrained, colder, more distant and controlled. It’s no surprise that, before learning about his backstory, many people assumed he came from a good family or was even pureblood, because in the films he could easily fit that image.

And the thing is, even though we do know where he came from, I often see Severus portrayed as the typical Byronic hero from romantic novels, like a kind of tormented gentleman with an aura of mystery and inscrutability. And I mean, I get it—his role is literally that of someone who’s constantly repressing his emotions to the point of being magically unreadable—but I think that’s just a façade he puts up at school and around others in general.

Because at the end of the day, Severus is a guy who, when something triggers him, explodes. He’s someone who was bullied, but people don’t take him seriously as a victim because instead of cowering in a corner crying, he fought back. He invented spells to defend himself—spells that were really painful. He’s someone capable of having pretty irrational and childish reactions and, most importantly, someone who, when angry enough, literally spits on the ground out of frustration.

Like—Severus is a guy from the rough part of town. He grew up in a poor working-class neighborhood surrounded by people who probably didn’t give a damn about appearances, social norms, or good manners. And maybe he spent his whole life trying to correct that. Maybe when he got into Slytherin he tried to erase every trace of anything that could connect him to the Muggle world—including not just his blood status but also his class background. Maybe he tried to mimic the manners and habits of his wealthy classmates, or emulate the aristocratic customs of his fellow Death Eaters.

But the truth is, no matter how hard you try, you never really stop being from the neighborhood. That’s where he comes from: a place full of slums, dusty streets, an industrial and gray city, with a father who shouted and acted violently. A place where, if someone hit you, you hit them back—because that’s how you survive in places like that.

So my headcanon is that his true personality is exactly that: an aggressive guy with a bad temper who probably swears in ways many of his peers have never even heard, and who would absolutely punch you in the face if he didn’t have to hold himself back. He might try to act like he’s made of stone, but inside he’s always on the verge of blowing up—because, in a way, that’s just who he is.

That’s why I prefer to see a Severus who’s rational when it comes to important things—like his duties and commitments—but in everything else, is volatile and quick-tempered. I’m not into the Severus who feels like a Mr. Darcy; I like the emotionally dysfunctional, childish Severus. The one who can be very calculating and know how to behave, but the moment he lets his guard down, the claws come out like a furious alley cat.