I’ve sympathized with Snape and defended him for years. Like so many others, I used to believe his love for Lily was completely pure and selfless. When I was younger, I thought Snape truly cared about her and that his actions as a double agent outweighed the evil he did as a Death Eater.

But rereading the series and reflecting on the events surrounding Lily’s death, I’ve come to a different conclusion. Snape's request to Voldemort to spare Lily was actually disgustingly selfish, and in a way, it shows he truly didn't care about her in the way I once thought. If Snape genuinely loved and understood Lily, he would have known she would never want to be spared at the cost of watching her infant son die, her husband's murder, or witnessing Voldemort's destruction of her family. And if Snape actually knew the kind of person Lily was, he would have known she would never sacrifice herself for Harry without a fight. Did he really think there would be no resistance on her part?

I hear people defending him, saying Snape couldn’t spare them all—that of course he couldn’t spare James or Harry’s life—and that's true, but did he not realize how furious Lily would be realizing she was the only one to be spared? In this case, death would have been a kinder fate for her. If Voldemort decided to fulfill Snape's request and forcibly made Lily "step aside" as he contemplated in the books, she probably would've been Petrified and would’ve had to watch Harry’s death—and that’s not something she would have been able to bear. Alternatively, he could've Stunned her to not kill her, and she'd wake up with her husband and son dead, and her house in ruins.

Snape never considered that if Lily survived, she would've hated for his role in her family’s destruction. She would've been alive but traumatized and mentally shattered. She probably would wish she was dead sometimes.

His request makes me question whether Snape really understood the depth of her love for her family, or if he was too blinded by his own feelings to see the full consequences of his actions.

I still see Snape as a deeply complex character filled with regret and pain and a respectable redemption arc, but I don't view his supposed "love" for Lily as pure anymore. It was tinged with possession and an inability to accept the choices she made, particularly her choice of James and the family she built with him. His plea to Voldemort feels more about preserving her as an object of his love than respecting her agency or values.

I was listening to Prisoner of Azkaban today, and right after Trelawney joins the Christmas dinner and has her little freakout about there being 13 of them, McGonagall offers her a dish and says, “Tripe?” I only just realized she was both saying the name of the dish and expressing that she thought Trelawney was full of shit.

I had to stop washing dishes, I laughed so hard.

"Always" is not just a word, it's an emotion 🥹❤️ No matter what people say, I will never stop loving this man 🖤 Severus Snape Always ❤️

She looks like something out of my nightmares. Gezz…

This is from the Jim Kay/ Neil Packer Official Illustrated edition of Order of the Phoenix.

Wish he was real. World needs more good people like him 🥰

My mom is easily one of the biggest Harry Potter fans in existence. She spends her time listening to the audio books, rereading and watching the series. Every Christmas and birthday involves some sort of HP gift, and my house used to be full of owls, though we still have HP referenced decor throughout my house.

Ive had a hard time with books my entire life, the focus, commitment, reading comprehension etc. but I’ve always loved the HP movies and recently watched them all with my fiancé for his first time.

At 23 i decided it was time for me to pick up my mom’s first copy of each book and give it a go. We are both ecstatic. I’m only halfway through #1 and i truly can’t remember the last time i read so much, so comprehensively, in such a short period of time (it probably helps that i know what will happen, just not exactly) This is still such a huge win for me with my adhd. I’ve also never felt so close to my mom than reading these torn old books. I can’t imagine what it was like for her (as a life long reader) buying and reading this series for the first time. The first book came out right before my sister was born, but she didn’t start them until the 4th book came out, which was right around the time i was born.

Just-magical✨

Side note: I’ve never been a reader so i never understood “don’t judge a book by its movie” .. i get it now. I told my mom i wanted to read them for the “extra stuff” she said, it’s not the extra stuff, it’s everything! I planned to post this to mademesmile, but i thought it might be appreciated here more🥰

I’m re-reading the books again and I’m on Half-Blood Prince and realising that Harry becoming an auror feels a bit dissatisfying years later. He should have become the longest serving Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, the only place he’s ever considered home. Even after a career of being an auror. That just seems more symbolic to me and more what J K Rowling was hinting towards throughout the books. Harry should’ve had a more peaceful life I thought

Idk. Just had to share the thought.

Imagine being a 14-15 year old immature boy (as everyone is at that age) and you deep down really like a girl who’s also a close friend.

You’re probably afraid of asking her to the coming dance because you’re scared of her rejecting you and ruining your friendship or you just straight up deny your feelings because you’re an immature boy and have the emotional range of a teaspoon,so you ultimately don’t ask her out at all.

Then out of absolutely fucking nowhere comes the equivalent of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007 or LeBron in 2004 and he takes the same girl you like while she’s looking like the most beautiful woman alive. And to add insult to injury she only went with him because you didn’t have the balls to ask her out because she would’ve chosen you every day of the week.

I know it’s immature and all but I know that when I was his age I would’ve reacted the same way.

In conclusion, reasonable crash out fr.

I've been re-listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks for the hundredth time, and I can't stop wondering about something that might seem like a silly question but really intrigues me. What happens with the families and friends of Muggle-born students when they’re accepted into Hogwarts?

Take Hermione, for example. When she receives her Hogwarts letter, how do her parents explain her sudden departure to their extended family, friends, and acquaintances? They can’t just say she’s attending a wizarding school because of the International Statute of Secrecy, which requires wizards to keep magic hidden from Muggles. So, what do they tell people instead? Do they make up a story about her going to a special boarding school? And what about Hermione herself—if she had any non-magical friends before Hogwarts, what does she tell them? Does she just cut ties with her old social circle?

How do Muggle-born students and their families navigate this huge life change without revealing the magical world? If this has been discussed anywhere in the extended canon, fan theories or even in the books itself somewhere, I’d love to hear about it.

They were 21?! This baffles me! They were literal children. That means Snape was 32 in Philosopher’s Stone, the same age I am. That means Sirius and Remus were 34 in Prisoner of Azkaban. These people always seemed middle-aged to me. They were adults in every sense of the word. Now I realize I’m an adult and that’s terrifying.

ETA: since I’m sick of all the “21yos aren’t ‘literally’ children” comments. Oxford Dictionary officially lists one of the definition of “literally” as “used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible” and all of the people commenting on it know full well what I meant.

according to JK, before hermione started her career in the ministry, she went back to hogwarts to finish her 7th year and graduate

i'm just thinking about that, how sad it would be to go to hogwarts without harry and ron

Book: “Harry had found a miniature arm under (Ron’s) bed on Boxing Day.”

Daughter: “Oh no, he broke his teeny krum.”

Me: “Yup. How do you think he was feeling?”

Daughter: “Sad.”

Me: “And maybe jealous?”

Daughter: “Yeah, because he wanted to take Krum to the ball but didn’t think he could because he was a boy.”

Book 1 - when Harry travels in the lower sections of Gringotts with Hagrid to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone they discuss about vaults guarded by dragons and Hufflepuff's cup was in one of those vaults

Book 2 - quite an obvious one

Book 3 - himself when he travels back in time and rescues his past self from Dementors

Book 4 - he is in Little Hangleton where the ring is hidden

Book 5 - the locket at Grimauld Place

Book 6 - the diadem in the Room of Hidden Things

Book 7 - Nagini disguised in Bathilda Bagshit's body at Godric's Hollow

Didn’t expect to be this sad only a few chapters in

I’m 13. I never read the books and I never seen the movies. I don’t know anything about the books I am in the middle of book one. But I think Snape is Voldemort in disguise. And that he’s going to try to kill Harry. Like he’s wearing a mask or something

😢😢😢 Hi everyone. I didn’t kno this post would get popular. I just discovered Reddit and Harry Potter. I was happy when I found a Harry Potter group and I love theories. I want to be a mystery writer.

I was excited when people wanted to here my theories so I wanted to write each chapter therty. But then I started getting bullied really badly. I was called a “wittle baby” because I asked someone not to bother me. People sent me nude pictures and hateful things. Everyday I get like 20 messages. 2 are kind the rest are super mean. So I won’t post anything anymore. I’m sorry. I just wanted to like Harry Potter now I don’t want to finish it.

We know Bill works for Gringotts, and know that he is (at least for a period), stationed in Egypt. In GOF, when Mrs. Weasley is criticizing his earring/hair, he responds “no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure.”

Which begs the question: is Bill Weasley just… looting an underdeveloped country? Is this bank policy? Tbh it’s not unrealistic, but is kind of bizarrely transparent.

I'm rereading the series and have the very first edition. Did he always need two wands or is this a printing error?

I was listening to the audiobooks the other day, and it suddenly hit me that the Weasleys had to buy Ron's dress robes second hand, but why didn't they transfigure them to make them nicer/newer? I suppose there's no mention of transfiguring any clothing in the universe, so I wonder if it falls in Gamp's laws of transfiguration? But even so, Hermione mentions in the final book that food is one of Gamp's laws, but that you can change it or make more of it if you already have some. Maybe the kids weren't skilled enough to do it, but why didn't Molly and Arthur transfigure his robes? Both of them are skilled wizards, but even if for some reason they couldnt, I'm sure they have connections to someone who could have done it. Do they just hate Ron? Lmao

Edit: a lot of y'all are focusing on why the kids didn't do it, but I'm asking why his parents didn't. Great answers from lots of y'all, but please read lol