Snape Headcanons
Snape might be a complex/well-developed character, but there are still plenty of blanks to fill in. What are some of your favorite headcanons?
Here's one of mine:
Snape Has a Sweet Tooth
He has a modest appetite (doesn't overeat), though his one weakness is sweets. Snape being Snape, he does his best to hide it (i.e. refuses to accept Dumbledore's candy as that would be undignified), but he certainly isn't above indulging in private. He also isn't above confiscating treats from students (it is against the rules to eat them in class, after all). If he happens to devour them in his office later on? Well, no sense in letting them go to waste.
Only because I have seen this line in HP 6 do I now wonder whether Snape is a fan of wine and different wines in general:
"But in the meantime, bring us drinks. Some of the elf-made wine will do."
Suppose he has a cellar full of the rarest wines from the magical world, but perhaps few people to share them with, like the Malfoys. I say this because Snape's elf-made wine is in 'a dusty bottle'.
Clearly he has been drinking himself, much to Wormtail's anger:
"To assist, yes-- but not to make you drinks and-- and clean your house!"
In fact, a combination of Potions knowledge and a love of wine would go well together, since I tend to think of Potions as just a magical form of chemistry. And to know wine, you need to know some chemistry. Who knows? Snape might even have his own secret brewery behind that bookcase door.
Snape the wine connoisseur. I love it!
Related headcanon: Snape was relatively neat under normal circumstances, but when Wormtail was staying with him? He went out of his way to be an absolute slob. He left potions ingredients strewn all over the place (particularly the more disgusting ones), made huge messes in the kitchen, and… well, we won't even get into what he did in the bathroom.
It wasn't enough just to treat Wormtail like a servant. He had to make the experience as miserable as possible, and rightly so. It might've been petty revenge, certainly not at the level he would've wanted, but I'm sure it made him feel just a tiny bit better. <3
I have several ideas:
Snape went his whole life with undiagnosed autism and bipolar disorder.
Hear me out! Snape was low-empathy and very blunt. Maybe he just didn’t think that sugar coating his words was necessary because he didn’t understand how one could construe it as offensive until after it was explained. And then he was a strict teacher because loud classrooms overstimulated him as a kid. So he just wanted to avoid that by ensuring his class was silent as an adult.
I also reckon Neville was autistic, so Snape and Neville clashed so much because of how it varied between them.
Severus had Potions and Dark Magic become special interests, which was why he created better versions of potions and part of why he hung out with dark Slytherins and Death-Eaters. The pursuit of understanding more about his special interest, although there’s more to the whole Death-Eater thing.
And bipolar disorder means that Lily’s death could have triggered him into a severe depression which lasted years. If he was manic at some stages it could explain his easy temper. And maybe he didn’t necessarily love Lily, but she was his FP so her death hit hard.
Severus found his mother dead at thirteen.
Eileen was in an abusive situation, and I imagine she had been trying to make Tobias understand that witchcraft wasn’t what religions had made it out to be. But he wouldn’t listen. As long as Severus never got hurt though, she didn’t see a need to leave Tobias behind. But the years of abuse and trauma got too much for her and she became very depressed.
Eileen held on for years because she wanted to keep Severus safe. But as things progressed with him spending most of his time at Hogwarts and staying over at Lily’s constantly, she may have thought he would never end up hurt by Tobias. She may have deceived herself into believing Tobias would never hurt a child, even if he was a wizard.
So when it all got too much she overdosed on some pain meds she had to take from a permanent physical injury Tobias caused. Severus had gone to get her because Tobias was hungry and wanted dinner, only to find her dead on the bedroom floor. Tobias blamed Severus, saying Eileen was just embarrassed to have a son like him.
Severus joined the Death-Eaters because of a life debt.
At some point during his seventh year, Tobias had beaten him almost to death. So Severus climbed out the window, and decided to try for Lily’s help. They hadn’t spoken since the incident, but surely she wouldn’t shun him in this condition.
When he got to hers and knocked on the door he was freezing, and could barely see ten metres in front of himself through the snow. Lily didn’t even answer the door, so Severus had two options. Either go home, or stay the night at a petrol station. He decided the petrol station was safer, but on his way passed out in the snow. He was thin from not eating, because his Dad didn’t have the money for food, and his clothes were all his mother’s old things. So he couldn’t stay warm.
When he woke up he was in a very nice house with a man he didn’t recognise. The man explained that he found Severus freezing to death in the snow and saved him. The man poured him some tea and left some food on a plate for him, and when Severus asked who he was he introduced himself as Voldemort. Severus stabbed him in the hand with a fork and ran for the door.
Of course, he had nowhere else to go as Voldemort pointed out. He could either die in the snow or die getting beat by Tobias. Severus stayed, and Voldemort treated him like a guest. Severus was able to eat properly, afford proper school supplies and robes, and all of his friends at school were jealous that he got to meet Voldemort.
Voldemort saw a little of himself in Severus, afraid to go home but afraid of his bullies, not to mention a halfblood. That’s why he didn’t kill Severus for acting out of fear. And as time progressed Severus began to find it even more difficult to leave, especially with access to all these books on dark magic. This is also why Voldemort was willing to spare a mudbloods life as per Severus’ request.
Unfortunately, due to Lily being his FP Severus betrayed Voldemort, something he would never have seen coming from the boy he treated like a son. And of course, Severus always viewed his own redemption as false because of all of this. But once he realised he actually wanted to protect the kids, he actually felt afraid of the prospect of Dumbledore dying, that’s when he realised that his small action to protect his FP was the catalyst to his redemption.
That last headcanon should be a story, Wisp! That would be a fascinating dynamic to see: Snape being in debt to someone , especially someone as manipulative as Lord Voldemort. I think it was either Professor Horace Slughorn or Professor Dumbledore who spoke of the student Voldemort attracting many different kinds of people. I'll bet they were people who needed protection, and few people needed protection more than Severus Snape!
Snape used to love Christmas
I get the impression that Lily, with her charming and generous personality, always made sure to get him a present. And perhaps he would be embarrassed that he could not reciprocate in kind, but Lily was more than content to learn new spells from him instead. In fact, Petunia would sneer and ask why on earth Lily was spending good money on 'that dirty boy', especially since Lily would leave home to find Snape to ensure he got his present. Perhaps he was even invited to the Evans household for Christmas dinner, something he looked forward to for the entire year. So the first time that no invitation came was utterly devastating.
So he probably hates Christmas now. It's just a stupid, commercial celebration-- but at least it's an excuse to drink some of the aforementioned wine he loves!
(EDIT: I assume that Snape likes books for presents, but maybe other things as well. Feel free to hop in and add your own thoughts. Maybe he kept all the presents inside Spinner's End, either among the books he has or in some other secret place.)
Quote from Wisp on October 11, 2022, 5:43 amSeverus found his mother dead at thirteen.
This one, while totally plausible, is just heartbreaking. I hate to think of Severus going through that on top of all the other tragedy he suffered in his life. D:
The interesting thing about Severus's parents is that we really have no idea what happened to them. It seems unlikely that Eileen would've been affected by the Dragon Pox epidemic or the First War, considering how separate she was from Magical society. It's certainly possible that she died as a result of domestic violence or suicide, though for all we know, she might very well have survived her husband or even Severus himself.
One of my headcanons is that Tobias died when Severus was a teenager due to alcohol abuse (drunk driving, possibly cirrhosis). Eileen, recognizing that Severus is nearly grown, leaves him the house/assets, possibly reuniting/moving in with an estranged friend or family member. She and Severus don't see each other that often, especially when he starts teaching, though he does visit her once or twice a year.
I like this idea because it means he wasn't totally alone. Also, it means she would've had a little peace after what was obviously a toxic, deeply unhappy marriage.
Based on Chapter 2, Spinner's End (so probably not even a headcanon): perhaps Severus Snape enjoys having Narcissa Malfoy over. And not just to discuss Lord Voldemort. It could be that Snape is happy to provide reports on Draco Malfoy's progress, or even to offer Narcissa Malfoy advice and assistance in her own personal affairs. And Snape is also sure to carry out any request from Narcissa Malfoy as regards her son, such as, I don't know, dealing with allergies/menus/passing on gifts, whatever. Perhaps Snape even enjoys this level of confidence that he receives from Narcissa Malfoy, as it makes him feel useful and provides a distraction from the thankless job of saving Potter-- again.
Not for Severus specifically, but for Cokeworth. I think Cokeworth is located in the Black Country, which is in the West Midlands. Rowling has stated that Cokeworth is in the Midlands, and after having done some reading on the different regions and subregions, the Black Country seems to me to be the most likely place based on how the town is described.
