Severus Snape and Substance Abuse
Quote from Dust Collector on July 14, 2024, 1:50 amAs for the love and respect Severus has for Dumbledore... well, I agree with the respect, but speaking of love, I can't really see it there. That man treated him like trash for much too long, though that is only my personal opinion, and I do respect yours.
Oh, I absolutely agree that Dumbledore treated him like crap, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Severus didn't love him. The word itself is also highly subjective, though at the very least, Severus had a personal relationship/emotional ties with him that he didn't have with anyone else.
My overall point was that killing him must've been an extremely difficult thing to do, proof of how single-minded/determined Severus was by that point in the story. I can't see that Severus taking unnecessary risks, especially any type of substance abuse that might cloud his mind or dull his senses.
Quote from Heatherlly on July 14, 2024, 9:12 amQuote from Dust Collector on July 14, 2024, 1:50 amAs for the love and respect Severus has for Dumbledore... well, I agree with the respect, but speaking of love, I can't really see it there. That man treated him like trash for much too long, though that is only my personal opinion, and I do respect yours.
Oh, I absolutely agree that Dumbledore treated him like crap, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Severus didn't love him. The word itself is also highly subjective, though at the very least, Severus had a personal relationship/emotional ties with him that he didn't have with anyone else.
My overall point was that killing him must've been an extremely difficult thing to do, proof of how single-minded/determined Severus was by that point in the story. I can't see that Severus taking unnecessary risks, especially any type of substance abuse that might cloud his mind or dull his senses.
Well, killing anyone at all is bound to be extremely difficult for people with conscience, which we know Severus has in abundance.
And I agree 100% with your views of substance abuse during this time.
But then there is the time after Dumbledore's death. Or rather, the time period between Dumbledore's and Severus's death.
I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must've been on him. To be hated by 90% of the entire wizarding community. To have his former fellow house heads, with whom he had a good rapport, with whom he was friendly, turn on him and treat him like scum, all to ensure the great plan would come to fruition and as many students as possible would survive that time period... To know he was betraying the Malfoy family's friendship and trust in favour of people who hated him. To live under the impression his true allegiance and goals would never come to light and his memory would forever be spat upon and cursed...
I wouldn't wish it on anyone to go through this sober.
That was beautifully put.
I wouldn't wish for anyone to go through that sober either, but it's difficult to see him choosing to get drunk or high with so much still hanging in the balance. Would I want him to have that escape? Absolutely. I just don't see how it would be feasible in that situation given that he would've had to have been on guard 24/7.
Having said that, magic is a potential game changer, one I didn't think of before now. Is it possible that there was a potion that would immediately sober you up? I would think so, and it goes without saying that Severus would've known how to use it to his advantage. To me, that makes it much more believable… I can see him getting thoroughly drunk (or high) in his quarters at night, always with the "antidote" close at hand should he ever need to use it.
Hard crystal meth, heroin, LSD and occasional pot. I would imagine he used to get baked with Pomona quite often since she grows all sorts of plants. They would partake in pot brownies which would help him forget about the pain or something. But jokes aside, I don't think he's the type to take any controlled substances, at least from what we have seen from the books and movies.
Sorry to dig up an older thread, but there was a debate going on about this on a Discord server I'm on and I didn't want to create an entirely duplicate thread.
Did anyone else spot that Snape necks an entire glass of red wine in one go during DH? That scene pushed me from 'occasional drinker, likes wine, even in the middle of the day in the Great Hall' to 'heavy drinker'. I used to drink quite a lot of wine when I was younger (half of the family is Mediterranean, so was drinking wine as a kid), but even I would have struggled to down an entire glass in one hit.
I think the dust on the bottles was because it was the 'good stuff' that he saved for guests. He adds two bottles of nettle wine to the potions in his chamber in book one, so maybe that's the every day stuff he drinks and has spare.
Quote from Snoopy on April 19, 2025, 4:56 pmSorry to dig up an older thread, but there was a debate going on about this on a Discord server I'm on and I didn't want to create an entirely duplicate thread.
Did anyone else spot that Snape necks an entire glass of red wine in one go during DH? That scene pushed me from 'occasional drinker, likes wine, even in the middle of the day in the Great Hall' to 'heavy drinker'. I used to drink quite a lot of wine when I was younger (half of the family is Mediterranean, so was drinking wine as a kid), but even I would have struggled to down an entire glass in one hit.
I think the dust on the bottles was because it was the 'good stuff' that he saved for guests. He adds two bottles of nettle wine to the potions in his chamber in book one, so maybe that's the every day stuff he drinks and has spare.
Hmm, I suppose it depends on the quality of the wine and, even more so, on the state of mind of the one who drinks it.
I'm (sadly) an actual heavy drinker, but I only ever sip at my glass. The only time when I'd personally down it in one go was if I was under some major stress and needed relief, now. So, yeah. Drinking a whole glass doesn't necessarily make you an alcoholic.
But I agree that the dusty bottles were the good stuff. After all, there's a difference between young and archive wine. You can't really take a random bottle of wine meant to be drank soon after bottling, tuck it away and think it'll turn to manna in five years, no. (It'll probably turn into vinegar, ha ha).
Archive wine is specific, and you can only store a certain type of varieties in very specific conditions, which is one of the reasons why it's so expensive.
Migrating here from the Eileen and Tobias thread, because I didn't realize there was already a discussion on this.
In the Spinners End scene, Snape pours blood red wine, makes a toast to the Dark Lord and drinks the whole cup as Narcissa and Bellatrix watch and do the same. It's clear this is some kind of symbolic death eater cult tradition, not how Snape ordinarily drinks his wine.
Quote from Shell Cottage on September 11, 2026, 1:44 amMigrating here from the Eileen and Tobias thread, because I didn't realize there was already a discussion on this.
In the Spinners End scene, Snape pours blood red wine, makes a toast to the Dark Lord and drinks the whole cup as Narcissa and Bellatrix watch and do the same. It's clear this is some kind of symbolic death eater cult tradition, not how Snape ordinarily drinks his wine.
I just took it that he needed a drink to help him deal with what he is doing. Kind of like a Western movie where the sheriff has to meet the bad guy for a shoot out at high noon and asks the bar tender for a straight shot and shoots it down. But I think your interpretation makes more sense because he wouldn't want to give away so much what he is feeling.
Quote from Shell Cottage on September 11, 2026, 1:44 amMigrating here from the Eileen and Tobias thread, because I didn't realize there was already a discussion on this.
In the Spinners End scene, Snape pours blood red wine, makes a toast to the Dark Lord and drinks the whole cup as Narcissa and Bellatrix watch and do the same. It's clear this is some kind of symbolic death eater cult tradition, not how Snape ordinarily drinks his wine.
I have theory that severus dont like to drink alcohol. He never mentioned drinking alcohol in hogwarts and only drinking it in spinners end for guest. I dont think snape love ddrinking alcohol when people who lived in muggle dunghill loved drinking alcohol excesively because it reminded him of bad memory
It could be a special non-alcoholic one. But the books say wine, so I tend to go with that.
