Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’re going to be covering all the times that Professor Severus Snape was responsible
for SAVING Harry Potter.
While, of course, it is true that Snape had little love for “The Boy Who Lived”, the
fact remains that he had A LOT of love for Harry’s deceased mum, Lily Potter.
As anyone who has read or watched the final movie of the Harry Potter series will know,
the whole reason Severus abandoned his allegiance to the Dark Lord in favour of being a double
agent for Albus Dumbledore and The Order of the Phoenix was indeed his feelings for Lily
– a devotion that seemed to only deepen with her murder, committed by Voldemort himself.
In any case, in the wake of Lily’s death, the only part of her that lived on was, of
course, her son, Harry.
Unfortunately, for Harry and Snape both, the boy was also a constant reminder to Severus
that Lily had chosen a life and partner who wasn’t him.
That partner was, of course, James Potter, who had been a peer of both Severus and Lily
at Hogwarts, and who had spent years tormenting Snape.
So, what does this leave us with?
We know that Snape likely felt incredibly torn over his feelings for the young Harry
Potter when he finally arrived at Hogwarts, 11 years after his beloved Lily had been murdered
alongside her husband – whom he loathed – at the hands of his former master, who
he had betrayed in an attempt to save Lily, only to have her die and Voldemort disappear.
WHEW!
I mean, that’s enough conflicting feelings to make anyone act a little bizarrely, don’t
you think?
And, so, it actually makes quite a bit of sense as to why Severus would’ve protected
Harry from mortal danger so often, while also proclaiming hatred for the boy.
This, of course, leads us to all the times that Severus Snape SAVED Harry Potter – despite
his surly disposition in doing so.
☺
Counter-Cursing Harry’s Jinxed Broom In The Philosopher’s Stone, during Harry’s
very first Quidditch game, his broomstick becomes jinxed.
Flinging Harry about high up in the air, the jinx very well could’ve thrown him off his
broomstick and to his death.
Fortunately, Snape realizes the circumstances and mutters counter-curses under his breath
throughout the entirety of the match.
Recognizing that the same danger may await Harry at the following match, Snape even goes
so far to protect Harry that he serves as referee in Gryffindor’s next quidditch game.
Teaching Harry Expelliarmus In The Chamber of Secrets, when Gilderoy Lockhart
puts on his short-lived Duelling Club, Snape teaches Harry how to perform the expelliarmus
spell.
Obviously, this instruction doesn’t directly save Harry at this exact point in time.
However, Mr. Potter goes on to use this spell so often, in favour of more offensive and
dangerous curses, that it’s often referred to as his “signature spell”.
Of course, being that it is a defensive spell that helps the witch or wizard who issues
it deflect harmful curses, it stands to reason that every time Harry goes on to use expelliarmus,
is a time that Severus Snape has indirectly saved his life.
Casting Vipera Evanesca to Protect Harry During those same sessions of the Duelling
Club in The Chamber of Secrets, Snape also comes to Harry’s aid when Malfoy conjures
up a snake while duelling Harry.
Unaware that Harry is indeed a parseltongue, meaning that he could’ve communicated with
the conjured serpent, the professor casts the snake-vanishing spell, vipera evanesca,
in order to protect Harry from harm.
Intervening On the Night of a Full Moon The next major moment when Severus Snape comes
to Harry’s aid is in The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Near the end of this installment, not only does Snape place himself between Harry and
the perceived danger that is Sirius Black, he also follows Remus Lupin out of Hogwarts
after he realizes that the latter professor has forgotten to take his Wolfsbane potion
– which, of course, is the very thing keeping Lupin from transitioning to a dangerous werewolf
during the full moon.
In doing so, Snape is able to save Harry, Ron and Hermione from Lupin attacking them
after transforming.
Giving Instruction on Occlumency Of course, one of the most well-known instances
of Snape attempting to help Harry is when he provides the boy with occlumency lessons.
These lessons are given with the sole intention of assisting Harry with the ability to close
his mind to Lord Voldemort – a skill that could very well save his life.
Unfortunately, despite efforts – that, let’s be honest, were less than their best, these
sessions resulted in very little progress and mostly revealed their feelings of animosity
towards one another.
Providing a Fake Veritaserum Potion In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry is up against
the despicable Dolores Umbridge, a new professor at Hogwarts whose overly sweet demeanor is
nothing more than a façade for what some may call PURE EVIL.
In fact, at one point in this fifth installment of the series, she implores Severus for help
in interrogating Harry – yes, she was INTERROGATING students – by requesting that Snape make
her the truth serum, veritaserum.
Now, not only does Snape put her off and prolong the making of the potion, but he also gives
her a fake veritaserum in order to protect Harry from being subjected to the effects
of the potion, thereby also helping him conceal the location of Sirius Black and the safe
house of The Order of the Phoenix.
Alerting The Order to Harry’s Disappearance When Harry disappears in the Dark Forest near
the end of The Order of the Phoenix, Professor Snape goes after him.
Upon realizing that Harry is no longer on Hogwarts grounds, he alerts The Order, sending
them to the Ministry of Magic in London in an effort to protect Harry from pursuing Death
Eaters.
Allowing Harry to Keep His Potions Textbook Of course, everyone knows by the end of the
sixth installment of the series, The Half-blood Prince, that Severus Snape is the self-proclaimed
“half-blood Prince” – as he explains to Harry, he is a half-blood wizard, whose
mother’s maiden name was Prince.
What we don’t know, is why Snape would’ve enabled Harry to use his potions textbook,
which contained Severus’ detailed notes, unless he was purposely wanting to help Harry
without “helping Harry” – if you know what I mean.
Snape undoubtedly knew that Harry was using his old textbook, since he alludes to this
at several points in the narrative and finally accuses him of using his own spells against
him at the end of The Order.
This suggests that Snape was allowing Harry to leverage his notes, which ultimately helped
Harry uncover the truth about Voldemort’s horcruxes – a vital step in helping Harry
and the others get closer to defeating the Dark Lord.
Saving Harry from Committing Murder In the same book – or film, depending on
your preference – Snape also prevents Harry from committing a heinous crime.
After Harry uses one of Snape’s spells from his old potions textbook to attack Malfoy,
Draco nearly dies.
If Professor Snape hadn’t healed Malfoy’s extensive injuries, Harry would’ve been
guilty of murder, which undoubtedly would’ve affected his character, as well as his moral
and mental state.
Stopping Death Eaters from Killing Harry One of the most direct examples of Snape saving
Harry’s life is when he stops Voldemort’s Death Eaters from killing him on the pretense
that Harry must be saved for the Dark Lord himself.
Of course, why he didn’t allow them to then capture Harry and take him directly to Voldemort
seems quite suspicious, but kudos to Severus for pulling this off!
The Idea of Decoy Potters By the seventh installment of the series,
Snape has had to fully integrate himself into Voldemort’s good graces and disguise his
true allegiance to The Order of the Phoenix.
So undercover was Snape at this point in the story that no one, other than Professor Dumbledore’s
sentient portrait in the Headmaster’s office at Hogwarts, was aware of the incredible risks
he was taking to help protect Harry’s life.
One of the most notable examples of this is the fact that he knew that Voldemort was aware
of the date The Order would be transferring Harry to the safety of 12 Grimmauld Place.
Of course, he couldn’t simply tell members of The Order, since everyone was under the
impression that he was a murderous traitor.
So, he charmed Mundungus Fletcher into sharing the idea of multiple decoy Potters, so as
to help Harry have the best chance of survival.
Providing the Sword of Gryffindor Instructed by the sentient portrait of Albus
Dumbledore, Snape plants the Sword of Gryffindor in a lake nearby the camp that Harry and Hermione
have made.
In order to lure him to the location, Snape casts his patronus – that of a doe – which
Harry associates with his stag patronus.
Of course, providing Harry with this weapon capable of destroying horcruxes isn’t so
much of an act of saving Harry, as it is assisting him in taking down Voldemort.
However, you could make the argument that by helping Harry destroy one of the Dark Lord’s
horcruxes, he is helping Harry get that much closer to eradicating the threat that is Voldemort
– who is, of course, a constant threat on Harry’s life.
That said, a more concrete act of saving Harry directly follows.
Severus does not leave the lake until he ensures that Harry is safely retrieved from the water
by Ron.
Final Instructions on How to Defeat Voldemort The 13th and final instance – at least by
my count – of Severus Snape helping save Harry is when he shares his memories with
him before dying near the end of The Deathly Hallows.
These memories not only absolve Snape of his guilt in the death of Dumbledore, they also
explain his feelings for Harry’s mother, why he disliked Harry’s father, and, most
importantly, how Harry can finally defeat Voldemort.
Of course, in defeating the Dark Lord, Harry discovers that he must sacrifice himself,
which I suppose you could argue is not so much saving Harry, as instructing him to die…BUT,
in the end, Harry’s sacrifice does not prove to be the end of his life.
So, without Severus sharing this crucial detail in how to overcome Voldemort, Harry would
not have been able to defeat him and come through alive and well – or well enough
– on the other side.
And, with that, we’ve come to the end of another video!
What do you think?
Did I miss any other obvious instances of Snape saving Harry?
Or perhaps you don’t agree with one?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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the channel!
Until next time…
Remember
The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure.