Like many of my generation, Harry Potter is a central component of my life. The Wizarding World has captivated me from a very early age. When I was in elementary school, my mother would read the books at night and tell me about what happened in them in the morning while I was getting ready for school. As I would wake up, I would immediately be on the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next development in Harry Potter's life at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My love for the Harry Potter world was amplified tremendously by the movie series. It brought to life a world beyond my dreams and wildest imaginations. As magical as this world was, the portrayals of the characters are what resonated with me so strongly, to the point where I felt as if I developed a relationship with many of them. One character in particular truly did stand out atop the rest.
Severus Snape is without a doubt my favorite Harry Potter character, for several reasons. For starters, his morosely sarcastic tone adds an extra bit of flavor to the series. Throughout all seven books (and eight films), his cold, sarcastic never relents, responding to nearly everyone around him in a searingly caustic manner. To be honest, it's rather entertaining. In almost all of their conversations, Snape usually expostulates Harry in a condescending, yet darkly humorous way.
Secondly, Snape's motives are never truly clear. Each book leads the reader to think that Snape is taking a course of action for one reasonwhile in fact it is for a reasoning absolutely unsuspected. Take for example in The Sorcerer's Stone. Snape is thought to be the villiain of the story, alleged to have tried cursing Harry during a Quidditch Match. However, it is revealed later on that Snape was actually trying to save Harry in that very Quidditch match, performing a counter curse against the real assailant, Professor Quirrell. The question of his allegiance pervades the series, creating an insatiable intrigue about character himself.
Finally and most importantly, Snape probably has the biggest heart of any character in the Harry Potter universe and frankly every book I've ever read. His unwavering love for Lily Potter, Harry's mother, defines who he is and every action he takes. He gave Dumbledore his total allegiance in an attempt to save Lily and her family from Lord Voldemort. In a desire to protect Harry, Snape rejoins the Death Eaters after the Dark Lord's return, but only as a spy. In order to falsely solidify his loyalties to Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore instructs Snape to kill him. Snape knows that by doing this he will lose the respect of all who value him and have ever placed trust in him, yet he does this nonetheless. While his exterior may be cloaked in emotional apathy, Snape is a good, decent wizard at his core with immense fortitude. However hostile and sour their relationship was, Snape truly did care for Harry. I think we can all learn a very important lesson through Severus Snape; that lesson is love powers through every force of evil, always.
