Poll: Snape's Favourite Colleague in Hogwarts
Who do you think was Snape's favourite colleague in Hogwarts in his Professor days?
Feel free to elaborate why you think so.
I'd have to say Minerva.
They're both quite sarcastic and seem to have (what I interpret as) a friendly rivalry regarding their houses.
Although, most characters speak of their relationship to Severus and not the other way around, so it's hard to tell.
I am LOVING the absolute avalanche Minnie is getting
Heck yes.
Minerva, everyone's Mum. She cares, and just cares. She worries. I'm probably blinded by fanon but I don't care. Woman is a saint. And you know he cared for her two with the way he protected her from the Carrows and didn't engage her.
I'd go for Dumbledore as he is the only one who had gotten to truly know Severus Snape. Severus has never opened up to and shown as much vulnerability to anyone else as he did with the headmaster.
I do love his friendship with Minerva in fanon but, although I'm sure he cared for her, they weren't friends. Minerva seems to have only trusted him for the sake of Dumbledore and her as the mother figure he never had and trusted friend, is something we only see in fanfics. Not that I mind of course!
Quote from Dark Angel on August 20, 2023, 1:00 amI'd go for Dumbledore as he is the only one who had gotten to truly know Severus Snape. Severus has never opened up to and shown as much vulnerability to anyone else as he did with the headmaster.
I do love his friendship with Minerva in fanon but, although I'm sure he cared for her, they weren't friends. Minerva seems to have only trusted him for the sake of Dumbledore and her as the mother figure he never had and trusted friend, is something we only see in fanfics. Not that I mind of course!
I completely agree with you @darkangel. As much as I really enjoy Snape and McGonagall friendship in the fics, it is only true for fanon, not canon.
Dumbledore is the one I also voted because he was the closest person to Snape. Such was Snape's loyalty that he sacrificed all for greater good despite his protests. Dumbledore was also the closest person we can call Snape's friend, someone who knew Snape's true self.
While I agree with everyone here, I only considered Severus' perspective when I made my decision and no one else's.
I'm only bringing that up because everyone seems to be mentioning how other people see Severus and having that impact their decision making.
My response came from Severus' feelings towards Minerva, and not the other way around. I think that he would have purposely shut himself off from everyone, preventing them from truly knowing him. But that doesn't mean he didn't have a favourite to engage with.
I am choosing Other and nominating Argus Filch for the role.
Severus seemed close to Filch during PS; he went to Filch for getting his leg bandaged rather than Poppy, so he trusts Filch enough to expose himself in front of him.
I think they mutually bonded over troublemakers ruining their peace.
We only saw Severus interact with Minerva in DH, where she drove him outside Hogwarts. While I think Severus and Minerva liked each other, as did he and Dumbledore, his going to Filch demonstrates that he was his favorite.
Another component is Severus' school days, where Severus was the one who tipped off Filch to confescate Marauder's Map. So for Severus, Filch was a staff member who listened to his concerns and took part in punishing bullies and troublemakers. He also got Filch to bring Marauder detention records for Harry to copy in detention in HBP after the Sectumsempra' incident.
I adore overly sarcastic and Slytherin Sinistra in the fanfics, so I went with her. Even then she was probably the teacher who spent the least time around him because of the weird day-night cycle her work requires, which would have made her his favorite colleague 🙂
In fan stories, Minerva and Albus both can work really well. I just think the dynamics would be weird seeing as that she was his former teacher.
This ended up a bit longer than I originally meant it to be...
I agree with @darkangel and @naaga that Dumbledore was the one closest to Snape and the one Snape trusted the most. Honestly, I have a hard time formulating my own opinion on this, but ultimately I voted for McGonagall.
I realise that what I just said may seem contradictory, however the question is who is Snape's favourite colleague.
The way I see his relationship with Dumbledore is similar to a father-son relationship. He is close to Dumbledore the same way one might be to a parent they have a healthy relationship with: he respects him, and trusts him, and is concerned for him when he finds out Dumbledore is dying. But at the same time gets very frustrated with him at times, and is also looking for his approval and respect.
With McGonagall, on the other hand, Snape has something closer to friendship. The scene that comes to mind is the one of all four Heads of House mocking Lockhart. "I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..." also sounds like something a friend would say. Maybe it's just me, but if I were in her shoes and I disliked Snape, I'd be more likely to stare him down rather than avoid looking at him. And I'm an introvert, so I generally avoid eye contact lol.
Another thing is that McGonagall isn't one to always defend Harry and take his side. Sure, it's obvious she likes him, but she still sides with Malfoy when Harry accuses him of cursing Katie Bell. Even after seeing Draco suck up to Umbridge only a year prior.
She is also a teacher. And as such she has more common ground with our Potions Professor, and therefore more things to chat and complain about. A particular student, a stack of essays to mark, or even talk shit about staff members like Lockhart and Umbridge. I'd expect Dumbledore would steer conversations about those two, as indulging in them would be unprofessional. And finally, McGonagall has the upper hand on the rest of the teachers since she's also an Order member, and that adds one more thing she and Snape share.
So... TLDR: I think McGonagall was his favourite colleague in the sense that he would have preferred to spend more time with her, but Dumbledore was the one Snape felt most comfortable sharing his thoughts with.
@bitterbrit I like your point about focusing on Snape's perspective. His position as a spy makes it difficult to open up to others even if he does enjoy their company. Getting too comfortable around his colleagues would endanger his cover. I chose Dumbeldore because Severus can be open with him as he already knows everything there is to know.
@kris Argus does work out as a possibility. They do seem to get along even if it is only die to their mutual hate of children. I do like to headcanon that young Snape would snitch to Argus and tell him about the mischief the Marauders were up to so they could get trouble.
@zain I like the implication that an absent colleague is a good colleague. Many fics ship Severus with Prof. Sinistra and on reddit I did have a discussion with someone who explained well how both complement each other, what stick with me was the fact that one works in the lowest levels of the school while the other is located at the highest spot.
@salvyus I loved your justification! Looking at your reasoning, maybe my choice was wring as Dumblesore is more of a mentor or leader to Severus in my eyes rather than a mere colleague. Thank you for your interesting input!
