When I woke up to the news that Alan Rickman (Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series) had passed away at the age of 69 to cancer, a piece of my childhood left me. Although I am sure he had tons of other successes outside of being the right-hand man to He Who Must Not Be Named, Alan Rickman will forever be Severus Snape to my 10 and 21-year-old self. While reading the books I always loathed him but even though the series ended years ago, you never know what you've got until it's gone.
If you are a true Potterhead like myself, you will know that Professor Snape was more than just a snarky teacher who seemingly had it out for Harry Potter and his squad. He had a true history and meaning within the series that was easily overlooked. Having a hard upbringing as a child, Snape looked to his future life at Hogwarts with hope and optimism. He even almost got the girl (Lily Evans, Harry's mother) until James Potter came into the picture. I don't want to give too much away for those of you who haven't had the chance to read/watch (if you're one of these people, what are you doing with your life?) but all in all a bad reputation and a series of unfortunate events led Snape in a downward spiral that resulted in him being the spiteful enemy in the series.
Although almost everything he did was to please Lord Voldemort, there were some aspects of his life that deserve recognition. For one, as the Half-Blood Prince, Snape's Potions book that Harry discovered ensured his success in the course. He even surpassed Hermione in the class rankings, which was not an easy feat for anyone. He also tried to spare Lily's life before Voldemort planned his attack on The Boy Who Lived. Of course, Voldemort had zero concern for the sparing of anyone's life who got in his way. Professor Snape taught Harry how to control his mind from The Great Lord using occlumency. It was a huge undertaking and not an easy one at all. And at the very end of the series (semi-spoiler alert) we learn that maybe he wasn't always on the bad guy's side.
Severus Snape had a very complicated but a very prominent role in the Harry Potter series. I can honestly say that it would not have been the same without him. Whether it was thwarting the plans of the Potter squad, unconditionally loving Lily, or praising Lord Voldemort Snape was always making his mark in the minds and lives of readers. He made us laugh, cringe, suck our teeth, and fume out of our ears. Only the people we love (or love to hate) the most can have that much affect on us. You will always be remembered in the Potterworld, Alan Rickman. Rest in peace.
