severus snape (Alan Rickman) is the second most hated character in the ‘Harry Potter’ saga after Voldemort. At least that’s how it is until in the last movie you discover the cake and you know the whole story. Suddenly, he is no longer Voldemort’s henchman who wants to end Harry’s life, but quite the opposite: he is the character who has been saving his life until then. And you without knowing.
Love: the end that justifies all means
Snape is actually the protagonist of a romantic love novel, one of those where the outcome ends in death and not just heartbreak. His love for Lilly Evans (Harry’s mother) was the engine of his life and, at the same time, his sentence.
In love with her from a very young age, Snape never looked kindly on the friendship and subsequent romantic relationship between Harry’s parents. On the one hand because he was in love with Lilly, and on the other because James Potter and his friends bullied him since first year at Hogwarts.
It was this social isolation that, little by little, led him to focus more on one of his passions: the dark arts. This realm of magic led him to Voldemort, whom he served as a Death Eater until Voldemort plotted to kill Harry on the back of a prophecy. Despite Snape using Dumbledore’s influence to stop him, Lilly and James Potter died protecting their son.
With a feeling of guilt that would never leave him, Snape became the double spy that Dumbledore needed to control Voldemort’s return, when Harry was older. From the first moment Harry steps foot in Hogwarts, Snape never takes his eyes off him: he saves him from the spell on his broom in the first Quidditch match and keeps a close eye on Professor Quirrell who plans to steal the Philosopher’s Stone (by order). of Voldemort).
Even though that him leitmotiv Snape’s job was to take care of Harry, his usual behavior and facing the gallery, consisted of publicly despising him by reminding him that he was as arrogant as his father. And so we come to the fifth film, where the plot regarding Voldemort hardens and Harry’s life begins to be in greater danger.
From there, Snape’s double game increases even more, and we see him simultaneously as a member of the Order of the Phoenix and as one of Voldemort’s trusted advisors. Trusted Advisor level: I teach Harry Potter to read your mind without you, the Dark Lord, knowing. In fact, it was Snape who warned Sirius Black and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix that Harry and his friends were in danger at the Ministry of Magic.
Severus Snape: a life that oscillates between guilt and blackmail
Once we get into the sixth film, and we know that Dumbledore is dying, it is, once again, Snape who resorts to an antidote to extend the life of the school principal by a few months. Thanks to this gesture, the curse of Gaunt’s ring that was necrotizing Albus’s hand, was slowed down and he was able to spend time explaining to Harry everything he needed to know about horcruxes.
If Snape hadn’t extended Dumbledore’s life by a few months, Harry wouldn’t have known how to kill Voldemort no matter how many Gryffindor swords appeared to him afterward. Parallel to this plot, Voldemort asks Draco Malfoy to assassinate Dumbledore. However, Albus had previously ordered Snape to end his life himself when the curse reached its final period.
Despite the fact that Draco managed to gather all the Death Eaters in the school, he was not able to fulfill Voldemort’s mission and it was Snape who carried out the crime. In the face of Voldemort’s army, Snape was made a hero when he was simply keeping the promise he had made to Dumbledore. However, in Harry’s eyes (who witnessed the scene in the background) Snape was still the same old villain.
With Dumbledore out of the picture, Snape becomes Voldemort’s henchman and headmaster of Hogwarts, thus fulfilling the wishes of both wizards for whom he served as a spy. From this new position, Snape continues to help Harry by trying to persuade Voldemort and guiding him in his search for the Horcruxes.
In fact, it was Snape who guided Harry to the sword of Gryffindor when I was in the dark forest. Using his Patronus, he led Potter to the frozen lake where the sword was, prompting Ron to go help his friend who was in trouble. In this way, Snape not only provides an elementary tool to destroy horcruxes, but also unravels the friendship problems that existed between Ron, Harry and Hermione.
When Harry returns to Hogwarts in search of the last horcrux (Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem) Voldemort realizes that the elder wand (which belonged to Dumbledore) does not obey him as it should and concludes that it only obeys the murderer of Hogwarts. wizard to which it belonged, ergo, only obeys Snape. Blinded by this thought and Without listening to Snape’s explanations, Voldemort kills him. with the sole objective of getting the wand to finally obey him.
Snape’s murder is witnessed by Harry, Ron and Hermione, who come to him as he is still dying. At his last breath, Snape delivers his tears to Harry so that at least he knows that he gave up his life in exchange for his. Snape not only helps Harry solve Voldemort’s equation but also explains everything that he couldn’t explain to him in life. Harry sees in Snape’s memories that love was the motive that led him to die.
Out of love for his mother, he dedicated his life to protecting her and he became the villain who managed to deceive the most powerful magician in history with a single objective: to give Harry the chance that Voldemort took from him the day he killed his parents, the chance to live without fear. An opportunity Snape missed since the day he gave in to the blame and blackmail.
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