This post contains opinions that I have been formulating for years. I know that it will offend some people and will possibly cause you to regret something that caused you pain and cost you money. For that, I apologize. If you are proud of your tattoo, be proud. I won't tell you to your face, but I want to point this out and maybe save someone the time and money.
Let me start by saying that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan.
Okay, I read the books often and own all of the movies and really want to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I do not involve myself in Pottermore and I don't seek out new information that J.K. Rowling puts out about the universe. I don't need it. And I can't spend that much time on one thing.
But I am very serious about this one thing:
Severus Snape is an obsessive creep.
I know, that might be a controversial opinion and you're already preparing to fight with me. But please, hear me out.
1. Young Severus "watched" Lily Evans and observed her magical powers. He had already been indoctrinated with Pureblood supremacy ideology enough to mock Petunia for being a jealous Muggle.
2. He remained obsessed with Lily through the rest of his life, but his prejudices were so ingrained that he called her a "Mudblood" and refused her help when she tried to defend him against the Marauders. Yes, he apologized and tried to make things right, but that kind of slip of the tongue doesn't just happen. (Is this also evidence of self-loathing, since he is also not a Pureblood wizard?)
3. He called himself the "Half-Blood Prince." He thought so much of himself that he could give himself that title.
4. He joined Voldemort. He became a Death Eater. He made that choice and was probably somehow involved in the abuse and/or murder of Muggles or Muggle-borns.
5. He only came to Dumbledore in order to beg him to save Lily. Not James. Not her son. Just Lily, whom he likely hadn't seen in years and who was actively fighting the oppression that he was part of.
6. He was horrible to Harry. It makes a certain amount of sense, because he was staring at the face of the man who not only bullied him at school but won Lily's heart; and, in that face were the eyes of the woman he loved. And the existence of this child was the reason Lily was killed.
7. His Patronus became a doe at some point because he was so desperately in love with Lily. Lily's Patronus was a doe either because it changed to match James's stag or because it was some kind of sign that they were meant to be together.
For Snape to still be that much in love with a woman he had pushed away, who had married and had a child with someone else, is creepy. If we took this story out of the context of this world that we love so much and put it in real life, he would not be someone we would admire. We would not celebrate that kind of commitment from an actual person.
Yes, teenage James Potter was a jerk. He and Sirius preyed on Severus because he was studious and greasy and poor. Remus didn't stop him. Peter was just a mess and ultimately ruined the lives of so many people.
Yes, Snape pledged his loyalty to Dumbledore, even to the end. He ultimately gave Harry the key to the whole thing. He was a kind of hero and as a layered and complex character, he was brilliantly written. However, this thing that is quoted and permanently inked onto people's bodies and used as wedding decorations is awful. Don't celebrate this creepy love.
And yes, I did give seven reasons. No, it was not intentional. (Can you find the eighth reason I never intended to create?)
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