So we're finally at the last Harry Potter book. And boy did it take me a while to get here. Not because I don't like the last book in the series. The first time I read this book, I was obsessed with it. I couldn't get over it for weeks.
But there's a huge difference between reading all the Harry Potter books as a child / teenager and reading them as an adult with other commitments. While I still enjoy the series, it doesn't have as big an impact as it used to. Especially after seeing what kind of person J K Rowling truly is. She used to be my hero. And now, she's yet another lesson that our heroes will always fail us.
And to be honest, I don't consider the ending of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" to be a happy one. Too much has gone wrong. Too many people have died. It's a resolution. It's an end to the conflict but it's not really a happy ending. Especially not when you begin to understand just how skewed Harry's perspective is.
I don't think he even understands how gravely Dumbledore screwed him over.
I'm Not Surprised Harry Named His Children After Two Men Who Screwed Him Over
Harry Potter is sassy, intelligent, brave and confrontational when he needs to be. He will always stick up for what he believes in. And when he sees injustice, he will call it out. Even if that endangers him. And we see this when he gets abused by his family, when he gets bullied by Snape and when he gets abused again by Umbridge.
But at his core, Harry is someone who feels a tremendous amount of guilt over being alive. He has never gotten over the fact that his parents died for him. His mother would still be alive if she stepped aside. And through the years, numerous people have risked their lives for him. And even when they don't risk their life for him, like with the people who fought Voldemort and died, if they're close to him, he will still feel guilt.
Like at the Battle of Hogwarts, he CHOSE to distance himself from the Weasleys and his friends because he felt personally responsible for Fred, Remus and Tonks' death. It didn't matter to him that they CHOSE to fight Voldemort. It didn't matter to him that it wasn't just his fight. He considered it his duty to take on Voldemort by himself. And he considered their deaths his fault because he hadn't given himself up / confronted Voldemort when given the chance.
Is Albus Severus an appropriate name for Harry to give his child? Absolutely not! Albus Dumbledore spent years manipulating Harry and intentionally left him in an abusive home to ensure he'd be more easy to manipulate. Severus Snape spent years abusing him and made him feel like he was the most inconsequential, piece of shit boy there was.
Sure, both of these men protected Harry. But that doesn't take away from the amount of harm they caused him.
At the same time, Harry is an abused child. Being hurt by the people who love him is just a part of life for him. And no matter how much damage these two men did to Harry, they also both risked their lives for him. And that's not something he can easily forget.
So I understand why he named his kids after them. And if I was a traumatised, abused teenager who was brought up to be a child soldier, I'd probably also name my child after the two men who saved me.
Harry Potter Risking His Life To Save His Enemies
I understand Harry's choice to save Draco is what helped him win against Voldemort. And I think that's a huge part of why he's "the chosen one". It isn't just because Voldemort chose him as an equal. A lot of what happens throughout these books couldn't have happened if the chosen one was Neville Longbottom.
I don't know if Neville would've saved Draco. I doubt Draco would've hesitated to give Neville up if he'd shown up to the Malfoy house. These things happen because of Harry's unique personality and outlook. Because while he is sassy and confrontational, he might be the most forgiving person in the series.
Even within the last quarter of the Deathly Hallows, Harry saved Draco Malfoy twice. Even on occasions when Draco was clearly out to harm him. Even Ron, who supported him through this, punched Draco in the end. And if Harry hadn't gone after Draco, to save him, I don't think Ron would've even thought of him. But when you read the book, there's no hesitation from Harry. He doesn't even think about it. It's instinctive.
And it's instinctive in the same way that Harry feels empathy for Snape before even discovering Snape was a triple agent all along. And it's this nature to be forgiving that leads to him making Expelliarmus his go to spell.
It is only when the people close to him are threatened that he begins doing unforgiveable things. He won't Crucio you for himself but he will Crucio you if you spit at McGonagall.
Sorry But I Still Hate Snape
I want to make it abundantly clear that I consider book and movie Snape to be two vastly different characters. I LOVE movie Snape BECAUSE of Alan Rickman's performance. And because movie Snape is toned down. Movie Snape shows his true colours from the beginning. It is so clear that he's trying to protect his students.
Movie Snape put himself between the Golden Trio and a werewolf. Without hesitation. Movie Snape showed genuine regret while doing Voldemort's bidding. Movie Snape saw Harry at the Astronomy Tower and hid him. Movie Snape didn't abuse his students. At worst, he cuffed them. But he never threatened to hurt their pets. He never took pleasure in watching them suffer.
Book Snape is an entirely different character. Book Snape isn't pure evil. But he chose to align himself with the magical equivalent of Nazis. I can understand he was abused and traumatised but he was also an adult who made his own choices. And even after he "turned to the good side", it was entirely because of what Voldemort did to Lily. And he spent years taking out his frustrations on innocent children as young as 11.
Did we forget he was Neville's biggest fear? Neville, the boy whose parents were crucio'd to insanity, his biggest fear is his teacher. And why wouldn't it be? Snape threatened him in every class. He threatened his pets. He was cruel and vindictive to Ron and Hermione. In fact, his cruelty extended to everyone who wasn't a Slytherin.
So even if we don't consider his treatment of Harry, he was not a good person. Good people don't bully and abuse children. And good people especially don't take out their anger over what happened to them decades ago on an 11 year old. Because no matter what James did to him, it doesn't justify how he ended up treating Harry.
And I understand that Harry's perspective is incredibly skewed. He was abused, bullied and manipulated. But a child who believes his teacher is trying to kill him is a child who felt unsafe with that teacher. So even if Snape was actually protecting him the entire time. It will never justify making Harry fear for his life.
Snape's Memories
Look, I don't like the fact Snape died. I don't think he had enough growth and development. And while he may have secretly been on the good side, it wasn't for the right reasons. I would've liked for him to suffer consequences for the way he treated his students. And I would've liked for there to have been at least one person who stood up for the students.
Because let's be real for a second, Hogwarts was not a safe place. Not only because students were frequently hurt / attacked / under surveillance but also because their emotional needs were frequently neglected. Dumbledore stopped his employees from hurting his students. He never reprimanded his teachers for being out of line. Honestly I don't even know what he did as a headmaster. He made a few speeches, planned a few events and mostly focused on Harry.
So I don't consider Snape to have been truly redeemed. But I do feel sorry for him. And I think he could've been a hero if he'd ever bothered to learn the correct lessons.
Because you can't honestly tell me he would've turned to the good side if Lily hadn't died. And even from how skewed his memories are, we can still see how he hurt her. And how each time he hurt her, he only apologised for hurting her and not for doing a bad thing. And Lily was completely in the right for dropping him in the end.
'Slipped out?' There was no pity in Lily's voice. 'It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends-you see, you don't even deny it! You can't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?'
He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.
'I can't pretend any more. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine.'
'No-listen, I didn't mean-'
'- to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?'- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow p552
Snape never thought: "Oh my friend Lily is a Muggleborn so maybe I was wrong." No, he saw her as the exception. She was special to him because he liked her. And despite being her friend for years, he chose to align himself with people who would harm her. So of course she ended their friendship.
We feel sorry for him because we only see his ending. We don't see his life. We get a select few memories skewed in his favour because they're his memories. But even from the dialogue above, you can tell he was actively choosing the dark side for years before she stopped being his friend.
And I'm sorry but choosing to be a double agent doesn't excuse everything he's ever done. Not when he still hasn't truly learned his lesson. Because if he'd genuinely learned his lesson, why was he so cruel and vindictive towards Hermione? Why was he so cruel to his students?
So no I don't forgive him. And while Harry Potter may have forgiven him, Lily Evans never would've. Lily Evans, who died for her son, would've knocked him out after his first interaction with Harry.
Final Thoughts
I'm on the fence about writing a post entirely dedicated to Severus Snape. I'm sure I'd have a lot to say. But at the same time, there's so much I'm working on at the moment. And I don't think I have time for it all. Especially not balancing work and studying.
But if you loved my Harry Potter reviews and are desperately looking forward to me writing more about the series, please let me know.
And also, please understand these are just my opinions. At the end of the day, it's just a book and these are just fictional characters. If you disagree with me completely, I don't really care. I know plenty of people love Snape and I don't have a problem with it.
But please be kind when leaving comments or reaching out to me. I'm a real person. I deserve more consideration than fictional characters.