Severus Snape is one of the greatest heroes of the Harry Potter movies and books, but that heroism started extremely early on. The Potions Master’s arc is the most complicated of the whole story, with multiple twists and turns designed to leave fans – and Harry himself – guessing until the very end. Whose side he’s really on is a mystery that’s not fully solved until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when his memories reveal that he swore his alleigance to Albus Dumbledore following Lily Potter’s death at the hands of Lord Voldemort, having long loved Harry’s mother.
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Snape spent Harry’s time at Hogwarts doing what he could to protect him, even if he couldn’t stand the boy, from working against Professor Quirrell to delivering the sword of Gryffindor to Harry during his mission to destroy the Horcruxes. However, Snape’s protection of Harry actually started before Lily’s death and, in a way, he was unwittingly the person responsible for Harry becoming The Boy Who Lived and the downfall of the Dark Lord.
How Snape Saved Baby Harry Potter’s Life
Harry’s survival was thanks to a protection spell used by Lily; as Dumbledore put it quite simply, it was “love.” Harry’s mother died to save him, because she loved him unconditionally, and that protected him from Voldemort’s killing curse, lingering until the villain was able to overcome it after his full return in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But the protection spell didn’t just work because of Lily’s love, it was also because of Snape.
The sacrificial protection has a key requirement: that the person must willingly sacrifice their life out of love for another; they must choose to let that person live, even if it means their own death (which is why James’ death had no such effect, as J.K. Rowling explained in an interview with Mugglenet). Lily did that, but she was only given a choice in the first place because Snape begged for Voldemort to spare her. After hearing the prophecy and realizing what it meant, he asked the Dark Lord to let her live, and we see him give her that choice – which she refuses. Thus, Voldemort kills her, but Harry is protected.
It adds another layer of complexity to Snape’s story: he was willing for Harry to die if it meant Lily’s survival, and yet because of that, all he did was ensure Harry’s survival and his old master’s demise. What doesn’t quite make sense in this, though, is why Voldemort would even agree to spare Lily in the first place. He killed without mercy, he did not understand love, and Lily being left alive could have represented a threat to him, given she was a powerful witch and member of the Order of the Phoenix. We know that he did value Snape’s loyalty highly, and perhaps thought she could simply be controlled by him or later used against him if needed, but it is a decision at odds with how he usually operated – and one that cost him everything.
The Harry Potter movies are available to stream on HBO Max.
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image courtesy of 20th Century Studios
