Harry Potter: 5 Things Only Book Readers Will Know About Severus Snape

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is full of colourful complex and wonderfully terrifying characters, but when it comes to the series’ most intriguing and complex characters – Severus Snape is perhaps the most interesting of them all. Snape is a major figure in the Harry Potter movies, and Alan Rickman delivers an outrageously memorable and iconic performance as the Hogwarts potions master – but the books reveal much more about the character than what you’ll find in the movies.

It would be impossible to deny that Severus Snape is one of the most entertaining and intriguing characters that the Harry Potter films have to offer, but there’s a great deal of information that the movies never took the time to reveal about the self-proclaimed Half-Blood Prince. For our latest post on The Blog That Must Not Be Named, we’re ranking five details that only fans of the books will know about Severus Snape.

5 – Snape Is The Reason Lupin Lost His Job

In the film version of Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, Lupin loses his job when the students (and their parents) discover that he is a werewolf. In the book, however, it is revealed that Snape told his students about Lupin’s secret hoping that he would be forced to leave Hogwarts and the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

4 – James Potter Saved His Life

The Harry Potter movies touch on Snape’s relationship with James Potter, but the adaptations left some incredibly interesting information on the cutting room floor. For one, the films never reveal that James actually saved Severus’ life when one of The Marauders’ pranks got outrageously out of hand. Snape doesn’t see this as a heroic act, however, as James did it more to save his own neck that Snape’s.

3 – He Passed On Harry’s Message About Sirius Being Captured

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Snape seemingly ignores Harry’s warning about Padfoot being captured. While it would be easy to assume that Snape passed Harry’s warning on, we never get any clarification. In the book, however, Dumbledore reveals that Snape understood and passed-on Harry’s message – which is why the Order of the Phoenix showed-up to save Harry and his friends.

2 – He Protected Harry From Umbridge

In Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Professor Umbridge tries to get Harry to reveal where Dumbledore and Sirius Black are hiding using a truth potion. We later learn from Dumbledoe, however, that Snape gave Umbridge a fake potion and stopped Harry from divulging any secrets about the Order of the Phoenix.

1 – He Told Voldemort About The Prophecy

In Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix, Dumbledore tells Harry that a spy overheard Sybill Trelawney’s prediction at the Hog’s Head and told Voldemort everything. We later learn that this spy wasn’t just a random witch or wizard in the Hog’s Head, but was actually Severus Snape. Snape, who was a loyal Death Eater at the time, told Voldemort about the prophecy hoping to gain his favour, but he didn’t realise that he had put Lilly’s life in danger.

Did you know any/all of these facts about Severus Snape? Let us know in the comments section below this post! You can also find The Blog That Must Not Be Named on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@potterblogger)! If you enjoy this post stay tuned for more, as we will be examining all of our favourite Wizarding World characters in the weeks to come!

The Blog That Must Not Be Named is a Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts fan blog, covering all corners of the Wizarding World! Launched in 2019, The Blog That Must Not Be Named offers the latest Wizarding World news, magical features and more!