Hey everyone!
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
In this video, we’re going to be discussing Hogwarts Potions Professor, and later Headmaster
Severus Snape, and his most powerful spells and abilities.
Now, one thing that I want to mention right out of the gate is that Snape is one of the
most powerful wizards in the wizarding world- and what was most impressive about him is
that he wasn’t even that old when he died.
Snape died at the tender age of 38, and though he wasn’t quite at the level of Voldemort
or Dumbledore, he was getting there- and had he been around for a few decades longer, I
think that Snape may just have had a shot at being the most powerful wizard ever.
Unfortunately, we’ll never know, and though I’m sure he had the potential to achieve
insurmountable levels of power, realistically he did ultimately fall short of besting the
likes of Voldemort and Dumbledore.
With all of that being said, however, Snape was still amazing, and I feel like sometimes
he’s a little underrated.
Throughout the series, time and time again Snape showcases spells and abilities that
are difficult to conjure and often unique.
He’s also a well-rounded wizard because he was never afraid of venturing in to experimentation
with the dark arts- he knows the good spells, and the more sinister spells- he knows it
all.
Snape is a testament to what can be achieved if you’re really dedicated to something.
As a student, Snape always had his head in the books, continually learning and progressing.
He was focused, and he didn’t let temporary satisfaction get in the way of achieving more-
learning more.
Though he had a segue down a dark path, the result of bullying and the loss of his friendship
with Lily, Snape only used his hatred for the Marauders as fuel- it gave him the drive
and the motivation to be more, to do more.
And today, we’re going to be diving in and looking at Snapes 5 most powerful spells and
abilities.
Let’s get started:
#5 Sectumsempra
Coming in at #5 on the list is Snape’s very own spell, Sectumsempra.
We first see Sectumsempra in the films when Harry uses it on Malfoy in the half blood
prince.
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.
It is somewhat of a speciality of snapes, and is featured in his textbook for advanced
potion-making.
The only treatment for sectumsempra is ‘Vulnera Sanentur’ which was possibly also invented
by Snape.
What’s so dangerous about Sectumsempra is that it was seemingly easy for Harry to cast,
but still nearly killed Draco Malfoy the first time that he used it.
While the unforgivable curses require intent and an understanding of the spells to effectively
cast them, Sectumsempra seemingly doesn’t require this same level of intent or deep
understanding- but still produces the same lethal results.
I think that the only thing that sets Snape’s spell apart from the traditional unforgivable
curses- crucio, avada kedavra, imperio-is that it has a counter-charm.
#4 Creating Potions
Coming in at #4 on the list is Snape’s mastery of potion making.
Snape held the position of Potions master at Hogwarts from 1981 to 1996, proving himself
to be extremely adept at the act of making potions.
Snape, having always been studious and committed to expanding his mind, was very successful
at creating any sort of potion that he desired, and thoroughly impressed his former potions
professor, Horace Slughorn, in his school boy days.
In fact, he was so adept, and in such a league of his own, that Snape basically rewrote a
lot of the instructions in his potions textbook, the same textbook that Harry later acquires.
When Harry Potter first attends Slughorn’s class, he hits the jackpot and finds the former
textbook of Snape- ‘The Half Blood Prince’.
At first, this was just a regular textbook to Harry, but as he began to flip through
it, he noticed a few peculiarities, the first thing being the inscription by it’s former
owner:
“This book is the property of the Half Blood Prince”
The next thing that he notices is that on each page, portions of the instructions are
scribbled out.
And instead, this ‘half blood prince’ character had written in his own instructions,
instructions that differed from what the original recipe called for.
And what Harry quickly realized, was that these alternative instructions were far better
than the original instructions, as he was able to effortlessly produce the potions that
Slughorn called for in each of his lessons.
The book was like having cheat codes to all of the potions lessons, and by following the
instructions in the book, Harry was able to thoroughly impress Slughorn.
This is a massive testament to Snape’s prowess in potions - Hogwarts had been around for
over a thousand years, and the potions textbooks were written by skilled potioneers, but Snape
had still managed to improve them.
For the rest of the year, Harry continued to follow the Half-Blood Prince's instructions
wherever they deviated from the original author, Libatius Borage, and it resulted in Slughorn
raving about his abilities.
There are many many potions in Harry Potter, and I wouldn’t put it past Snape to create
any one of them.
Powerful potions include Veritaserum, which is essentially a truth potion, Felix Felicis
or liquid luck, which grants unusually good luck, Amortentia, which gives the drinker
a powerful obsession or infatuation with the giver of the potion, and Polyjuice potion,
which allows the drinker to assume the appearance of someone else.
Snape could do them all.
#3 Unsupported flight
Coming in at #3 is of course unsupported flight, or the ability to fly.
The only other known witch or wizard known to fly without a charm of some sort is the
dark lord himself, Voldemort.
This achievement is EXTREMELY uncommon and is the sign of a truly powerful witch or wizard.
JK Rowling is reported to have stated that ALL wizards have the power of flight innately,
but that the vast vast majority need a broom to achieve it.
In the case of Snape and Voldemort, they are just so focused and powerful that they’re
able to channel the power to fly unsupported- harnessing the energy through themselves rather
than the broom.
Flying can come in handy in many different circumstances, allowing you to get away quickly
or pursue a target with ease.
Unsupported flight should not be confused with levitation, which doesn’t work on humans,
and only allows objects to fly a few feet above the ground.
#2 Spell Creation
Coming in at #2 is spell creation.
Spell creation can be highly dangerous and has proven, historically, to be extremely
difficult.
Only witches and wizards with extreme patience and an astounding understanding of magic have
been able to successfully invent new spells.
Snape, who exhibits both of these things, has proven himself to be quite successful
at spell creation- having created a multitude of spells over the years.
This list includes the toenail growing hex- which causes the victims toenails to grow
alarmingly fast, langlock - which affixes the victims tongue to the roof of their mouth,
the muffliato charm - which fills the ears of anyone nearby with an unidentifiable buzzing,
levicorpus, which lifts the victims body in to the air, liberacorpus- which drops them
out of the air, and lastly, and perhaps most importantly, sectumsempra, which I mentioned
earlier.
A few other witches/wizards that we’re introduced to have also created spells, but of all of
them, Snape appears to have the most impressive portfolio- and I think that this is truly
indicative of his magical ability.
I can’t even begin to imagine what sorts of spells Snape would have come up with had
he lived a longer, fuller life.
#1 Occlumency
Occlumency is the practice of magically closing one’s mind against legilimency, which involves
navigating through people’s minds to access their thoughts and feelings, sometimes even
influencing them.
Severus Snape is a MASTER occlumens and is perhaps one of the only people, besides Dumbledore,
whose mind is safe from a master legilimens like Voldemort.
Snape acts as a double agent but is still able to deceive lord voldemort despite frequent
interaction, and I think that this truly speaks to his ability as an occlumens - perhaps even
surpassing Dumbledore’s abilities in the subject.
A basic level occlumens is simply able to clear their mind in the event of a mind infiltration,
while a master occlumens is able to change their thought patterns in order to further
confuse the legilimens.
Given that occlumency is a rare skill, and that Snape is so adept at it, I thought that
it was fitting that it be placed at the top of this list.
And that concludes the list.
I really wish Snape had lived a longer, fuller life so that we could have seen the boundaries
of magic being pushed even further.
However, in the time that he was around, he certainly contributed a lot.
What do you guys think?
Do you agree with this list?
Let me know down in the comment section below.
Did Snape invent Vulnera Santentur, or Grindelwald?
Until next time
Remember
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live