One thing the Half Blood Prince showed me is the fact that Harry cannot learn in an environment where he isn’t supported. And we got to see a bit of this during some scenes of the last book where, when Snape ignored him during class, he actually did well.

Shocker!

It turns out that abusing your students doesn’t magically motivate them to do better. Instead, it’ll probably give them anxiety and unhealthy coping mechanisms. And Harry, especially, cannot exist within a space where he is abused and vilified. And Snape’s presence is a huge source of anxiety for him. Why else would he spend every other book convinced Snape’s trying to kill him?

I hate it when people say Snape was a good teacher because absolutely the fuck he wasn’t. He was great at potions and wrote top notch notes. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that when Harry had access to Snape’s notes without Snape’s presence, he was the top of his grade in Potions. I genuinely don’t believe that a man like Snape, someone who corrected textbooks, wouldn’t also use those very notes in class. Harry absolutely had access to Snape’s brain. What got in his way was the fact that Snape constantly belittled him and antagonised him.

Just think about it, regardless of how good his notes were, would you perform well in a class where the teacher was breathing down your neck and criticised every thing you did because he had a rivalry with your dead father? Personally I’d think he was a little sook for not letting go of the actions of a man who’s been in the grave for over a decade. And I’d seriously question any adult who relieved the stress of a traumatic childhood by tormenting an 11 year old.

So it’s hardly surprising that Harry got Exceeds Expectations in his Potions exam considering Snape wasn’t there. This isn’t a product of Snape’s teaching. Harry is genuinely a bright student. It’s just that every class Snape teaches is tainted. And you can clearly see this considering the fact that Harry is good enough to teach DADA but the moment Snape becomes the DADA teacher, he starts to struggle with his grades. This is the same boy who got Outstanding in the last book. This is Harry Potter, the boy who cast a Patronus charm at 13 years of age.

It’s not the class, it’s the teacher.

Revealing The Marauders’ True Selves

The truth of the matter is, we know shockingly little about the marauders. Or at least, who they were in school. We get a few memories from Snape, which are bound to be biased. We get Harry’s adoration of his father. Again: biased. And we get Remus and Sirius’ memories: even more biased.

Contrary to what the fanfics might tell you, we don’t actually know too much about who they were in school. They were incredibly gifted students: seeing as they were able to successfully turn into animagi. They were bullies at one stage. In fact, considering Sirius’ treatment of Kreacher, you can argue that he’s remained a bully. Remus, at least, had the decency to feel remorse over his inaction as a teenager. But those are still incredibly biased snippets into their lives.

And we know the least about James. He died before the book even began. And I genuinely don’t think it’s fair to judge a man who sacrificed himself to protect his wife and child over what he did when he was a teenager. If Remus and Sirius are to be believed, he did grow out of his shady behaviour. Even from Snape’s memory, Lily disliked him when he was a jerk. It’s only when he stopped being a jerk that she gave him a chance.

And sure, you can say that a good person wouldn’t date their friend’s bully but even though I wholeheartedly agree that he was a bully, I don’t think he was Snape’s bully. That would suggest that Snape and James had an unequal dynamic. And I don’t think that’s necessarily the case. I think they just mutually hated the other and took it in turns to hurt each other. And considering some of the spells Snape came up with, he was no fragile flower. He gave as good as he got. But I doubt he would consider besting James as a bad memory so obviously we don’t get to see that side. And by the time Lily starts dating James, she has already dropped Snape.

Snape was known, even in school, for being into dark magic. He was so brainwashed that he even lashed out at his best friend. He called her a slur. And judging from their interaction, that was the last straw for Lily. She clearly adored him but not enough to sacrifice her own dignity and stay friends with a man who had been openly racist to her in front of the school.

Now, I’m not saying I like James or what he did. But I am saying that we shouldn’t judge him based on a singular memory of who he was as a teenage boy. He very clearly changed. And he’s dead before the book even begins. So it’s a waste of time to try and read too much into his character because we’ll never know. There is not a single unbiased account of him.

In terms of Sirius: he’s an incredibly flawed human. He was on the good side but he did a lot of harm. He never took any accountability for his behaviour as a teenager. He treated Kreacher terribly. And he was a reckless man who never thought things through. And then you have Remus: a man whose identity is shaped by guilt. The man is continuously making the wrong choice. And sure, he gets back on track eventually but not before causing irreparable damage to his own life. If he had only taken his wolfsbane potion, he never would’ve risked the children or lost a job. If he had stood up to his own friends and set boundaries, maybe Snape wouldn’t have been in a position to out him. And the list goes on.

Peter is the obvious example of a coward. But I think it’s important to remember that his last act was to spare the life of his best friend’s son. He’s not a good person by any means. But he is multifaceted. They all are! But we shouldn’t put any of them on a pedestal because in one way or another, they all kind of suck too. I don’t think even half of the fanfiction surrounding them are accurate to their book portrayals.

So it’s important to be able to distinguish between canon and fanon.

Let’s Discuss The Half Blood Prince Himself

This is, arguably, the best movie for Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Snape. Even while he’s posing as a betrayer and a double crosser, the range in his acting is truly astounding. And I genuinely do prefer Dumbledore’s death in the movies to in the books. Because the movies blur the lines. Even when he casts the killing curse, his actions leading up to this make you question if he truly is a traitor.

And one of the main reasons for this is the fact that in the book, Harry was immobilised under the invisibility cloak the whole time. He survived because Dumbledore ensured he wouldn’t be able to intervene in time. Whereas in the movie, Snape saw him and CHOSE to save him. And when he casts the killing curse, there is genuine regret on his face. It is so clear that he doesn’t like what he’s doing. And you can see all the ways he’s trying to protect the children, including Harry.

I don’t think it’s fair to pretend book and movie Snape are the same character because they’re not. These may seem like minute changes but they make all the difference. So no, I’m not surprised Alan Rickman liked Snape. His performance made it difficult to not like Snape. Even in the cruelty, there is evidence that he does truly care about his students and will risk his own life to protect them.

On a side note, I saw this random Tumblr post that Alan Rickman would hate any fan who disliked Snape and it makes me laugh. This is a man about whom I have NEVER heard a bad word about. He did so much good and even in his acting, he made changes to his characters that made them more likeable. I find it laughable that a man like that would hate REAL people over FICTIONAL characters. In fact, if he truly would’ve hated me for not liking book Snape, I would lose respect for him. But as it stands, this is fiction and the man was real.

Rest in peace Alan Rickman. You won’t be forgotten any time soon.

Dumbledore: The Manipulator

One thing I respect about Dumbledore is the fact that he held himself to the same standards he held others to. He expected Harry to be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good and he himself made the ultimate sacrifice. That’s why I can kind of respect him even while recognising the way that he groomed people to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. He was many things but he wasn’t a hypocrite.

But at the same time, I can never get behind a man who set up actual children for their own deaths. He left Harry in an abusive home so that by the time he came to Hogwarts, he’d be more malleable. It was a way of keeping his ego in check. Because Dumbledore knew that if Harry lived a lavish life where he was idolised, his self esteem would be too high and it would be harder to manipulate him. It would also force Dumbledore to be more accountable. Even if Harry died, the Dursleys wouldn’t intervene. If Harry had adoptive parents who adored him, they would absolutely be willing to fight to ensure his safety. And with as many protectors as Harry had, he still never had anyone who’d be willing to stick up to Dumbledore for him or even pull him out of school when it became too dangerous.

And I think Dumbledore’s death was the final method of this careful manipulation. The man knew he was going to die. He had even set up his own murderer. There’s absolutely no way that he showed up to that astronomy tower without knowing that he probably wasn’t going to escape alive. He CHOSE to immobilise Harry instead of defending himself. He knew he didn’t have much time left. So he set up his own death as 1. a way for Snape to win Voldemort’s trust wholeheartedly and 2. as motivation for Harry while he was looking for horcruxes.

By dying, Dumbledore ensured Harry wouldn’t come back to Hogwarts. He ensured that Harry would stay single minded. It would be a way of proving to Harry that he was heroic and the ideal of who to aspire to be. And it worked perfectly.

While Harry had almost turned his back on Dumbledore in the last book, this sequence of events ensured he would never have those same doubts again.

Final Thoughts

We’re almost to the finish line. The only book left is The Deathly Hallows. I’m still halfway through that so hopefully I’ll finish it soon. After that, I do have an entire blog post planned to Snape’s characterisation because … why not? He’s an intriguing character and as much as I dislike him, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you if you like him. He’s a gray character so it makes sense for the fandom to be divided.

But even if you disagree with me, I implore you to remain respectful. Just remember, I’m a real person, he’s a fictional character. Nobody should care about my personal opinions of a fictional character. It affects no one and if you can’t handle your rage, the best thing you can do is move on. I don’t want to be read by people who take joy in harassing real people.

But if you have the capacity to stay civil, please do leave a comment. Whether you agree with me or not, I welcome respectful debates. Maybe you’ll change my mind. Maybe you won’t.

Why don’t we find out?