What Severus SNAPE Would See in the Mirror of Erised - Harry Potter Theory

Hey everyone,

Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be discussing the Mirror of Erised, and everyone’s favourite potions professor: Severus Snape. Snape is the subject of much controversy in the Harry Potter universe- fighting for both good and evil forces at one point or another. He’s such a dynamic character, and I think that’s why he’s a good subject for the question: What would Snape see in the mirror of erised? In order to properly answer that question, we need to take a look at his past.

Snape was born on January 9th 1960 to a muggle father (Tobias Snape) and witch mother (Eileen Prince) and grew up in the muggle town of ‘Spinner’s End’. Spinner’s End was in close proximity to Cokeworth, another small muggle town where the Evans family lived. Because of the close proximity of the two villages, it was only a matter of time before Snape would meet Lily Evans- a girl that he would later become deeply infatuated with. After meeting, the two would go on to spend a considerable amount of time together, and in 1971 the pair began attending school at Hogwarts.

The beginning of Snape’s tragedy was in that same year, when they were sorted in to different houses. Snape was sorted in to Slytherin, and Lily in to Gryffindor, and though that didn’t mean that they were unable to see each other, it did mean that they spent a bit more time apart. It also didn’t help that Slytherin and Gryffindor were rival houses. Also sorted in to Gryffindor were the Marauders- Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and of course James Potter. James was a talented student, but also a huge bully, and he spent a lot of his time ridiculing and pestering Snape, who grew to hate him with a passion. Snape’s incessant bullying at the hands of James Potter and the Marauders, lead to his introduction to the dark arts at a very young age.

Snape’s introduction to the dark arts was never good for anyone, particularly because he was an extremely talented young wizard. His future was quite promising, and while learning his primary course material at Hogwarts, would even scribble in his notebook and invent curses, charms, and potions. Snape even produces his own version of the potions class textbook under the alias ‘The Half Blood Prince’.

However, Lily, who Snape remained friends with, didn’t like the path that he was going down, or the people that he was spending his time with:

"... thought we were supposed to be friends?” Snape was saying. “Best friends?”
“We are, Sev, but I don’t like some of the people you’re hanging round with! I’m sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he’s creepy! D’you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?”
Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face.
“That was nothing,” said Snape. “It was a laugh, that’s all-”
“It was Dark Magic, and if you think that’s funny-”

And it was Snape’s pursuit of darkness that further distanced him from Lily. At that point in time he was intent on achieving power -he had discovered the dark arts, something that he was particularly good at, and the sky was the limit. Why would he give it up?

By continuing along this path, Snape would eventually become a fully-fledged death eater, serving Lord Voldemort himself. He may have surrounded himself with the wrong types of people-but these people praised his magical ability. Snape didn’t join the death eaters because he was inherently evil- he joined them because he was unsure of his place in the world. All he knew was that these people accepted him for who he was, and no one else did.

However, in the year 1980, Sybill Trelawney predicted the fabled Prophecy - a prophecy that would change everything, and turn Snape’s world upside down. Snape, who was a death eater at the time, quickly found out about the prophecy. As he was infatuated with Lily, Harry’s mother, he knew almost immediately that he would need to act.

He knew that he would have to do something-but how could he ensure that Lily Potter stay safe? With nowhere else to go, Snape turned to his enemy at the time- Albus Dumbledore.


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