Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re
going to be diving in to a theory addressing the REAL reasoning for
Snape’s motivation to create his signature dark curse: Sectumsempra.
While a student at Hogwarts, Severus Snape scribbled all sorts of spells and curses
in to his Advanced Potion Making textbook under the moniker the ‘Half-Blood Prince’.
And when Harry first takes Slughorn’s potions class, he’s fortunate enough
to find the very same textbook that a young, troubled Snape once jotted pure gold in to.
“This book is the property of the Half Blood Prince”
And Harry ends up using the book for quite some time, as for each and every one of
Slughorn’s lessons, the book provided easier and clearer instructions that he
could follow. The book was like having cheat codes to all of the potions lessons. But the
book didn’t just contain advice on how to make potions or perfect existing spells,
there were also spells written inside that were totally new to Harry…Spells he hadn’t
heard of before. Because you see, these were spells that Snape had created HIMSELF.
One such spell was Sectumsempra.
We first see Sectumsempra in the films when Harry uses it on Malfoy in the half blood
prince. The name Sectum-sempra comes from the combination of two latin words- “sectus” which
means “having been cut” and “semper” which means “always”. Sectumsempra is a vicious dark curse
that acts like an invisible sword, causing lacerations, haemorrhaging and cuts upon it’s
target. Often after being struck the target will lay there motionless as they lose blood.
The following excerpt describes the effects of the spell:
"Blood spurted from Malfoy's face and chest as though he had been slashed
with an invisible sword. He staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with
a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand. Slipping and staggering,
Harry got to his feet and plunged toward Malfoy,
whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest."
Based on the description above, it’s pretty clear that Sectumsempra is an incredibly VICIOUS
dark curse- and certainly not something that school-age children should be tampering with.
And before Sectumsempra, Snape also invented a plethora of other spells, including Levicorpus-
a spell that causes the target to be lifted into the air by their ankle, essentially
hanging them upside down. Liberacorpus, the countercharm to Levicorpus. The Muffliato charm,
which creates a buzzing noise that prevents others from overhearing private discussions,
and Langlock, a spell which temporarily glues the victims tongue to the roof of their mouth.
But the thing about all of Snape’s other spells is that..compared to Sectumsempra,
they were fairly innocuous. Which makes me wonder..What prompted
the massive leap up in violence level from his earlier creations?
During his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Severus Snape
was subjected to relentless bullying by a group of students known as the Marauders,
which was comprised of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Led by James, the
group often targeted Snape due to his introverted and isolated nature. They frequently mocked him,
insulted his appearance, and belittled his talents. Their bullying extended
beyond mere verbal torment, as they also jinxed and humiliated Snape with spells,
leaving him vulnerable and humiliated. This bullying not only deeply affected
Snape but also had lasting consequences in his relationships and actions later in life.
And the creation of each and every one of Snape’s spells had one thing in common:
they were used to deter these bullies.
But in what situation could Snape have warranted the use of Sectumsempra? Why
would he have escalated things to such a level?
Conventional understanding of the situation would suggest that Snape created this dark
curse to be prepared for any eventuality. But I think there may have been a specific
reason behind the creation of this spell, and it involves Remus Lupin.
You see, Remus was different from the other Marauders. In early life he was attacked by
the notorious Werewolf Fenrir Greyback. Striking in the middle of the night,
Greyback bit young Remus and infected him with Lycanthropy- the affliction associated
with werewolves. Fenrir did this in an act of revenge against Remus’s father, Lyall.
And from that point onward Remus’s life became a lot more…Complicated.
Fortunately for Remus, he ended up finding a very accommodating group of friends in the Marauders,
who were completely understanding of his condition
and did whatever they could to make his life seem as normal as possible.
And one fateful evening, Snape became the subject of one of Marauder Sirius
Black’s cruel tricks- one that very well could have gotten him killed.
“Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my
appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling
Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons… you see,
Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —”
Black made a derisive noise. “It served him right,” he sneered. “Sneaking around,
trying to find out what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…”
“Severus was very interested in where I went every month.” Lupin told Harry, Ron,
and Hermione. “We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn’t like each other very
much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James’s talent on the Quidditch field…
anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me
toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be — er — amusing, to tell Snape
all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he’d be able to get
in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he’d got as far as this house, he’d have met
a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who’d heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and
pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He
was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…”
“So that’s why Snape doesn’t like you,” said Harry slowly,
“because he thought you were in on the joke?”
From the passage above we can derive two things. First,
it would have become immediately apparent to Snape that these ‘jokes’ played on him
by the Marauders were now progressing to new and dangerous heights. And second,
Snape would have now become completely aware of Lupin’s lycanthropy.
And what action can we expect from a powerful, creative wizard facing all
kinds of adversity? Why, the creation of a vicious dark curse of course- Sectumsempra.
But here’s where it gets juicier.
The current lore does not provide any other conclusive evidence to
support the idea that Snape had further encounters with Remus in his werewolf form.
However, given the complex and intertwined history of Snape and the Marauders,
it seems highly probable that there were other occasions where Snape had
run-ins with Lupin during his werewolf transformations. These encounters might
have been intentionally omitted from the canon to maintain the element of surprise
and suspense surrounding the Marauders' secret activities. Despite the lack of explicit accounts,
it is reasonable to assume that Snape's encounters with Lupin's werewolf form had
a significant impact on his perception of Lupin and fueled his long-standing enmity towards him.
I think Snape created Sectumsempra FOR Lupin, AND I think he ended up
using it on him. I ALSO believe that he created his counter-curse for him as well.
Here’s why.
Though I will admit that this is MORE of a movie thing than a book thing,
Remus Lupin, (at least in the films) was adorned with scars. Conventional
wisdom would suggest that these scars came from one of two things:
His wounds as a result of being attacked by Fenrir Greyback
OR Self-inflicted wounds as a result of not
taking his Wolfsbane Potion (he claims he bit and scratched himself when not consuming this potion)
But I think that some of Remus’s worst scars were inflicted by Severus Snape.
During the Battle of the Seven Potters, Snape attempts to use Sectumsempra to sever the hand
of a fellow Death Eater, but due to a slip, he ends up accidentally cutting
off George Weasley's left ear instead. After this incident, Remus is very quick
to recognize Snape’s work..Almost as if he had been subjected to it himself once before.
Remus Lupin: "He lost an ear." Hermione Granger: "Lost
an..." Remus Lupin: "Snape's work."
And because George Weasley’s ear was cut off by Sectumsempra it was gone for good,
as curse wounds are generally unable to be healed.
And it may be for this very reason that Lupin has visible marks on his
body after so many years- they were inflicted by a vicious dark curse.
Given that the curse in his potions textbook is labelled with ‘for enemies’,
some will argue that it was for no one in particular. And others will argue
that Sectumsempra was actually created to use against James Potter- the main argument for
this being that Snape used a very similar looking spell on James once upon a time.
"...there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face,
spattering his robes with blood."
And while it is true that Snape did cause a gash on the side of James' face, it is important
to note that Sectumsempra is an incredibly dangerous curse. In The Half-Blood Prince,
when Harry used the hex on Draco, the effect was far more severe, causing Draco to collapse,
bleed profusely, and require immediate medical attention. In fact, if Snape hadn’t shown up and
used the counter curse Vulnera-Sanentur, it’s possible that Draco would have died.
If Snape had indeed used Sectumsempra on James,
it is likely that the injuries would have been more serious and left lasting scarring,
as dark magic injuries are not easily healed. Therefore, it is highly improbable
that Snape used Sectumsempra on James as it is not consistent with the expected outcome of the spell.
Furthermore, given that it’s unlikely that Snape DID use Sectumsempra on James,
how would Lupin recognize it after the Battle of the Seven Potters?
It’s also entirely possible that Snape created the counter-curse, Vulnera Sanentur, just for
Lupin. Anticipating that he may one day get in to an altercation with Remus’s werewolf form,
Snape (being the bright young wizard he was) would have likely also considered Lupin reverting back
to his human form AFTER the fight was over. Not wanting to kill Lupin but only desiring
to send a message, Vulnera Sanentur would have come in handy once Remus reverted back.
Of course, all of these things are just theories. However, I do think that they adequately address
certain aspects of the Harry Potter story that are relatively unexplored, such as:
-The unlikely ‘void’ of Remus’s Hogwarts years
where seemingly nothing went wrong in his werewolf form
-Snape’s need to UP THE ANTE and create a potentially lethal dark curse
-Remus immediately recognizing Snape’s work
despite Snape having never used Sectumsempra on James after all
What do you think? Did Snape ever encounter Remus
Lupin in close quarters? Let me know down in the comment section below
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Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live