The HP fandom be like “physical assault, sexual harassment, and habitual bullying that causes lifelong trauma are hilarious pranks and totally normal things for teenagers to do but being a rude teacher is horrific child abuse and can never be forgiven”
The HP fandom be like “a well-raised, sane 15-17 year old boy can’t be held responsible for directly and repeatedly abusing people who were powerless against him because he wanted to but a traumatized, impoverished teenager who was manipulated into joining a hate group because he had no where else to feel safe and probably didn’t know what he was getting into until it wasn’t safe to leave is literally hitler even after he spends the rest of his life fighting against said hate group and dies to protect the world from it”
The HP fandom be like “a 15 year old who is being physically and sexually assaulted in public and saying one bad word towards his abuser who is taunting him is irredeemable because he offended the little cunt who was smiling at his abuse and didn’t stop it even though she had every ability to. And said 15 year old boy will never be ‘deserving’ of the person who victim-blamed him and was an accomplice to his trauma because she’s more privileged and therefore better than him”
Anyways it is 100% canon that the Marauders, mostly James and Sirius but all of them, abused and traumatized multiple kids simply because they enjoyed it. They were sadistic abusers and that is inexcusable. To defend their actions is to support abuse apologist rhetoric.
There is nothing Severus or anyone else could do to deserve that kind of abuse and even if there is, it’s a canonical fact that James and Sirius chose to victimize Severus before they knew anything about his interest in the darks arts. They chose him because he was vulnerable. There is nothing cute about two privileged white boys who choose to torture and traumatize an impoverished, traumatized child.
James and Sirius were never redeemed. I don’t give a fuck if they saved the entire Wizarding world, they never acknowledged that the abuse and trauma they inflicted was wrong. They never did anything to apologize to Severus and even if they did, he doesn’t owe them jack-shit least of all forgiveness.
Also James has the charecter depth of a chewed-up, flavorless piece of gum stuck to a jizz-coated locker room wall so I don’t even believe you if you say you like his charecter. Dudebro literally has like 5 pages of development and all he does in those pages is abuse Severus and be a misogynistic shithead to Lily. You just like the headcanons written by illiterate 13-year-olds on tumblr that completely contradict everything in canon.
On Sundays, when Da was down at the local pub, Severus’ Ma would steer him into the living room and sit him down in front of her as she took a seat on her favourite threadbare armchair. On the armrest beside her would be a small bowl of coconut oil, which she would dip her fingers in and then massage gently onto his scalp. It was their Sunday routine.
“But Ma,” Severus would whine on some days, “it makes my hair greasy and the other kids on the playground make fun of me.”
“Hush now, Severus” Ma would say in her gentle voice, “it’s good for you.”
Severus had once asked her what was so bloody good about having a glop of coconut oil slathered onto his scalp—it was clearly a fire hazard. Ma had speared him with one of her sharp looks from those coal black eyes at his language, and then she had proceeded to list all the benefits of coconut oil and the home remedies it could be used in. She had gone on and on for more than ten minutes and Severus had almost cried tears of boredom. He daren’t question Ma about it again.
“And don’t you mind what those muggle kids say,” Ma always said muggle in a tone that indicated she found them lacking. Severus didn’t understand, because Da was a muggle and Ma said she loved him.
Severus had a hard time believing Ma and Da loved each other, but he never asked about that because then Ma would get a sad look in her eyes. Ma was sad more often than not these days and Severus didn’t want to make her even sadder.
Sundays were special in that it was the day Severus saw his Ma smile the most because she was the happiest when it was just him and Ma at home. She would sit him down as he was now, and tell him tales of her younger days.
“You know, Severus,” she would say, “When I was your age, my Ma would sit me down just like this to massage oil into my hair.”
“Really?” he would look up and ask. He knew very little about his Ma’s parents and loved hearing every little detail about them. He had once asked Ma if her parents were dead, she had said no and then refused to answer any more questions. Severus wondered why they never visited if they were alive. Didn’t they want to meet him?
“And I used to complain even more than you do.”
“Did your Ma try to bore you to tears with facts about coconut oil too?” the cheek earned him a smack on the back of his head, but it had his Ma smiling.
“Oh yes,” she said, “but I didn’t appreciate her wisdom until much later when I started working with potions. It did wonders to keep my hair from being damaged.” Severus loved it when Ma spoke about potions with him. Da didn’t allow Ma to do magic at home, but when Ma was speaking about potions, the air around them seemed to tingle with magic.
“How do potions damage your hair?” He asked
“It’s the fumes, most aren’t too harmful, but the damage adds up over time. So, if you plan on pursuing a career in potions-making you should get used to having oil in your hair. That is if you wish to have a head full of hair past the age of fifty.”
Severus groaned, “Maybe I’ll just be ministry worker instead.”
Ma snorted, “In that case, you’ll be bald by the age of thirty after working with that lot of dunderheads.”
“Never mind then, I’m going to have to find another job.” Severus frowned, the other kids in the neighborhood were dunderheads too and he definitely didn’t want to be around dunderheads like them when he grew up.
“You know, Severus, a well-established potions master wouldn’t have to answer to any dunderheads.” For a Slytherin, Ma wasn’t being very subtle.
“Oh alright then,” he sighed dramatically “tell me more about this potions-making business.“
(Image description; tattooed inner forearm bearing the words “Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked… weak people… they stand no chance” and a silhouette of Severus Snape at the wrist)
In my head that kitty is Minerva, and yes, she is perfectly content to sleep there and get sev’s robes covered in fur. He doesn’t mind, she’s warm and her purring helps his nerves settle when the post-cruciatus curse tremors start
listen idk why people always bring up neville’s parents being tortured when they’re talking about the boggart scene (e.g. “neville is more terrified of SNAPE even though his PARENTS were TORTURED” you know). like…. y’all. let’s list out why that’s Not Relevent to the Discussion, shall we?
a) we don’t know how much thirteen-year-old neville knows about his parents or their torture. nobody ever brings up how often they visit, when augusta told neville about it, how much detail she went into, and so on. i can assume that he probably does know, but we don’t know how much detail.
b) this is like saying “harry is scared of DEMENTORS even though his PARENTS were BRUTALLY MURDERED” shockingly enough even though something bad happens to you or a person you love, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be the thing you fear most. some of those kids have probably lost family members to the war. hell, remus lupin’s entire friend group either died or went to azkaban and he’s still more scared of his lycanthropy.
c) even if neville knows the details, that doesn’t mean he’s FRIGHTENED per se. nothing about him suggests that he sees (or has ever seen) bellatrix lestrange as a boogeyman. (possibly similar to the way harry isn’t ever really frightened of voldemort….?) esp at thirteen, he’s probably pretty removed from the actual thing that happened – he lives with the aftereffects, but the actual torture isn’t something that’s necessarily going to be clear or real to him.
d) snape is literally right there. right there! he’s in the room TWO SECONDS before remus asks neville what he’s frightened of. of course he’s the first thing that pops into neville’s head! (followed closely by his grandma who treats him pretty terribly too lmao)
d.5) what’s neville going to say instead? “well actually professor, i’m terrified of the woman who tortured my parents into insanity?”
e) i’ve said this before, but neville dispels the boggart in two tries. boggarts! do not show! your ultimate greatest fear! they show A fear. and the deeper the fear, the harder it is to banish. which is why harry can’t banish his boggart with anything less than the actual spell to get rid of dementors and molly weasley can’t banish her boggart on her own either. those are deep fears. neville’s (and all the other children in here) is a childish fear – that doesn’t make it less real, but it also doesn’t make it traumatic and soul-scarring.
i just… feel like this is another “gotcha!” argument that people try, but it doesn’t make sense to me. fears aren’t cut and dry and logical? just bc the boggart is snape doesn’t mean that snape is more deeply traumatizing than neville’s parents’ torture? the entire thing is meant to be read as a joke so when will the antis let me live and stop using this scene to “prove” that snape abuses children….?
F) neville: pls don’t turn into my nan either she’s scary af
G) Neville was a sensitive child and it totally makes sense to be afraid of someone like Snape when you are insecure.
H) Why is that we never talk about the fact that Neville doesnt want it to turn into his Grandmother? Cause I feel like that is a lot more telling than him being afraid of a scary teacher. Like there is a high chance had Snape not had just been there the Boggart could have also taken McGonagalls shape as well since she is equally as intimidating & scary to Neville as well.
I) You know that super widely accepted theory that Hermione’s boggart isn’t really her failing her third year exams, but a deeper fear of failure and/or a fear of not fitting into the wizarding world?
It’s 100% fanon, but it makes a lot of sense a) because that’s human psychology for you, and b) because the boggart has to represent the fear somehow, it has to “embody” it.
So now, let’s take a look at Neville. His family treated him pretty terribly to try to squeeze magic out of him when they thought he was a squib, right? I mean, they put him in danger of death to get his magic to manifest itself. So, in Neville’s experience, being useless at magic is about the worst you can be. Your own family would rather see you dead than see you turn out a squib. Being useless at magic means your uncle Algie dangles you upside down from a window (and drops you accidentally, but never mind that).
And then Neville goes to Hogwarts
and meets the harsh, abrasive teacher that is Professor Snape.
Professor Snape, who points out all his faults and shortcomings. Mind you, so does McGonagall, but while she can be strict, Snape is the one who’s nasty about it.
I think it’s more than plausible that, same as McGonagall telling her she failed represents Hermione’s fear of failing as a witch, Snape’s blunt criticisms represent for Neville a real threat of being rejected by his family and/or being put in threat of death. Again.
And so, the boggart takes on Snape’s form to represent Neville’s deeper fears, and not because Snape is actually so dreadful that he is the main fear-trigger to a boy whose parents were tortured into insanity
and who was threatened and outright abused by his own family for not being to produce magic early enough.
You have to admit – that’s a more plaubisble fear for Neville, especially since Snape has never actually done anything to him (I can’t say this loud enough) in the two years and a bit he’s been his teacher, whereas failing at magic has already had unpleasant consequences.
J) Ok, I know this is already long, but I think we also have to look at this scene from outside canon. We can ignore all this psycho-babble about fears and whatnot, and take a look at what JKR wanted to show her readers.
I think the main point of the boggart scene, apart from giving an early clue regarding Lupin’s lycanthropy, is to show how Harry is not like other kids.
Other kids have fears typical of kids. Sticking to canon, without interpreting anything, we’re shown a mummy, a banshee, a rat, a snake, a bloodshot eye (wtf), an amputated hand (again, wtf), a spider, a nasty teacher (Snape), and failing every subject. Honestly, these sound either like specific phobias that could happen to anyone given certain circumstances, or terrors from stories or films (actually, Hermione’s fear is the one that shows the most maturity).
But not Harry. Harry’s worst fears are the dementors. Fear itself, as Lupin says. And all this goes to show is that Harry isn’t like others. He has a tragic past. He has a shabby childhood. He has already had two near-death experiences while at school. Harry’s boggart shows that he’s been forced into a maturity that doesn’t correspond to his age, and that he’s been able to step up to the situation.He can no longer afford childish fears like teachers or grades, because there are very real threats both in his past and in his future.
This is a point that can’t be made if instead of Snape you show Neville’s uncle threatening to drop him from a window, or his parents dribbling down their chins in St. Mungo’s, or if instead of McGonagall you show Hermione’s friends and teachers spitting at her as she leaves Hogwarts in shame, with her wand snapped, or if instead of spiders you show Ginny’s lifeless body lying in the Chamber, or even if instead of the bloodshot eye you show say, Lavender’s uncle with bloodshot eyes, a bottle of vodka, and an erection.
[reverting back to in-canon analysis, what the fuck was Lupin thinking? He shields Harry from the boggart, but what about all the other kids? What if the boggart had really become Lavender’s uncle with an erection in front of the whole class?]
So I think there’s definitely an element of downplaying other kids’ fears to show just how horrible Harry’s situation really is. Neville’s boggart, from a story telling point of view, is part of that, and not so much a point about Snape.
And honestly, all of Harry’s character growth in the first two books is basically lost if all you get from this scene is “asdflglkw the greasy git omg he tortured neville in class, RIP in Pieces greaseball”.
i love you so much honestly this is the greatest addition i’ve ever gotten on a neville’s boggart post
because!!! i’ve never actually considered that the boggart might show fear representations. which is sad, because the text literally tells us that it does (harry’s fear is “fear itself” not just dementors… lupin’s fear is not the moon but his lycanthropy which it represents). so it’s such an excellent point that neville’s fear isn’t snape himself, but what snape represents to him – failure and lack of magical talent, which snape is always mean to neville about. but! neville didn’t get that fear of failure and lack of magical talent from snape – he got it from his family (his uncle! throws him from a window! his grandma says over and over that he’s not as talented as his parents). which so easily explains! why snape and neville’s grandma are so linked together for him that his mind immediately jumps to augusta when talking about being afraid of snape. they both represent failure/lack of talent to him…. and the difference between them is that while snape may reinforce those fears, augusta (and the rest of neville’s family) is the one who gave him those fears.
(you could carry on to discuss how neville fears lack of talent potentially bc of his parents even – if they’re so proficient, as augusta always says, and they still end up tortured and mad…. or connect it to neville being afraid that his family won’t love him or care about him if he’s not proficient in magic e.g. “like his parents”…. which connects really nicely thematically back to how harry is always tied to the memory of his parents, but for harry it’s in a really positive way.)
anyway the point, as all of this extremely lovely analysis is saying, is that when you leave the reading solely at “snape is neville’s greatest fear, snape traumatized neville so much” you’re a) ignoring and/or passing over a lot of neville’s kind of shitty backstory which explains why he’s so nervous and timid to begin with and b) failing to understand the entire point of the scene itself, which is really more about harry’s connection to fear and maturity than about neville. neville is another kid in this scene, with another kid fear. his fear of snape is not unusual or dramatic even in the context of the scene itself (everyone laughs about it, even neville. lupin doesn’t seem concerned at all about it – wouldn’t he, if neville is deeply traumatized?). harry’s fear is meant to be the unusual/dramatic one in this scene…. because harry has been through more shit than all of these kids and thus has more mature fears.
anyway. i bolded the parts i especially loved but really i loved all of it bc what a great thoughtful careful reading of this scene!!!!! that’s what critical analysis looks like people.
I love you so much too tbh, because someone has to make these posts and you do. I usually go with the “enjoy what I enjoy, ship my ships, write my fic, ignore the hate” mindset, but sometimes I get pissed off. Because man, this is basic reading. Basic reading from books originally meant for kids. Idk fam, I’m no English major, but still, it’s obvious this is about Harry first, then about Lupin and Neville, and only last about Snape.
Idk boggarts are weird. I always thought they just representations of fear, but I guess sometimes they don’t (for Molly Weasley it seems to be especific fears). But yeah, in any case, I really think Neville:s boggart is a representation of deeper issues.
Bravo everyone! This is so worth the time to read!
Personally, I figure if Perfect-Teacher-Lupin isn’t the least bit concerned that Neville’s boggart is Snape, why should I be?
The definitive answer to “But he was Neville’s boggart”
When you find this on your dash and now have an in depth response to idiots
I’m reblogging this again because there’s something I want to add;
When something terrible happens you stop fearing it.
For years my greatest fear was my mum dying, she was sick- badly- for most of my life and the idea of losing her gave me nightmares well into my teens.
She died when I was 20.
There’s little to nothing left that frightens me now.
Even the thought of getting as sick as she did doesn’t scare me because I’d just top myself and know I was better off.
The only thing I’m anywhere near anxious about is being admitted to the hospital that she died in (I don’t trust the staff but I never did so it’s not her dying that caused that one, just solidified it a bit).
Once it’s done that’s it, you learn that you can get through it and that you’re stronger than whatever you were scared of. That’s how boggarts work, they don’t make your worst fear funny they show you that you CAN face them and survive.
Neville knows that the worst thing that could happen to his parents has happened. It doesn’t scare him anymore.
What scares him is not being worthy of it so when Professor Snape criticised him that’s what the boggart was embodying.
He’s no more afraid of Snape than he was the Carrows or Bellatrix, and he didn’t hesitate to fight them.
Arguably he wouldn’t have had the mental strength to fight back against them if he hadn’t faced Professor Snape down in a classroom for five years.
He learned the hard way that he could face his fear, and any manifestation of it, and survived it. He survived Potions with Professor Snape, he survived facing the fact that he might not be ‘wizard’ enough to do his parents and their sacrifice proud for five years and he came through; and in doing so he made them proud and proved he was good enough.
Facing Professor Snape made him strong enough to fight a war, not because he was afraid of Snape but because he was no longer afraid of not being enough.
The Tumblr algorithm is clever, it has learned that I will follow any blog that says Pro-Snape, Slytherin and/or Severus in the title or subject line so it only recommends those now.
first of all, i have never in my life defended severus’ actions towards his students. what he said was absolutely unacceptable, and by all accounts he should have been punished for it.
however, i daresay that cruel comments are on a completely fuckin different level than, you know, stripping someone in front of half the school?
potter had absolutely no reason to treat severus the way he did. he said it himself- it’s “because he exists”.
i would go as far to say that potter is, in part, responsible for severus’ adult personality. now again, this is by no means me defending severus. explainations are not excuses.
that said! having been bullied myself, and having known many people who were also bullied, i can say from personal experience that such experiences change someone.
severus came from an unhealthy home to begin with. he was never taught how to properly handle anger and negative emotions. potter, on the other hand, was said to be raised by loving, wonderful parents. see where i’m going with this?
now then, severus came to hogwarts. he thought he would be safe there, and he was thrilled to finally be amongst people like himself. instead of being accepted, however, he found himself the target (or one of many) of “”””pranks”””” (as your fandom likes to call them) that could be argued as sexual assault and attempted murder. so i think it’s pretty fuckin fair to see why severus became the bitter person he was as an adult.
oh, and speaking of adult!severus…what of adult actions?
as an adult, severus spent half his life protecting the wizarding world. he himself would admit that he grew to genuinely care for other people. while he was cruel to his students, he did not permanently scar them, and without him riddle may not have been defeated.
it’s harder to compare potter as an adult since he’s, you know, dead, but what we DO know is that he continued hexing severus behind lily’s back, and that the only evidence for his so-called maturity comes from black, who still acts like a fucking child. yes, potter died for his wife and son, and of course he gets points for that, but i would personally expect that sort of behaviour from any father.
oh- and as a side note? potter’s actions towards severus aren’t the only reason i hate him. if you recall, he treated lily as a prize to be won, used her best friend as leverage to get a date when she refused to go out with him, and if i recall, he threatened to hex her when she stood up for severus. potter was just a shitty fucking person.
now get out of my inbox and have a nice fucking day.
Friendly reminder that Snape probably got tortured while being interrogated at the end of GoF, in order to re-establish his position as a spy. In the graveyard, Voldemort says “One, too cowardly to return … he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever … he will be killed, of course … and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and one who has already re-entered my service.”. The first is Karkakoff, the last is Barty Crouch Jr, and the one who would be killed is…Snape.
Voldy knew that Snape had thwarted him on the Stone. He Crucio-d Avery simply for failing to search for him after his disappearance. In HBP Snape mentions Voldemort’s “Initial displeasure” (bit of an understatement). In GoF, Dumbledore says “Severus, you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready … if you are prepared …” while looking worried, and Snape himself looked “paler than usual”. Do the math, do you think Voldy discussed his concerns over a cup of tea?
So Snape arrived to Voldemort two hours late, same Voldemort who tortures his followers for minor transgressions. Voldemort thought that Snape had betrayed him and was intending to kill him. Snape had years of bullshitting to answer to. He was also around 13 years out of practice doing hardcore Occlumency (he was a spy in the first war for months as well), so think about how fucked he thought he was. And prior to this, he had revealed his Dark Mark to a room full of people, in hopes of getting the MoM to quickly mobilize their forces against the DEs and warning the rest of the WW, even though Voldy wanted to keep low for as long as possible (don’t know if Voldy ever found out about this, but even if he didn’t, it was still a stunning move on Snape’s part considering how fucked he already was).
And despite all of this he willingly returned to spy against Voldemort, even though Lily was already dead, and despite it having no personal benefit and a shit ton of danger for him. Dumbledore gave him a choice in GoF timeline, asking him if he intended to flee if Voldemort returned (since Karkaroff would) and Snape replied “I am not such a coward”. If all of the above isn’t a testament to his bravery and his skills as an Occlumens, then I don’t know what is (aside from spying against a mind-reading psychopath in general, saving people while spying, agreeing to kill DD and making himself a pariah, protecting the school while still being a spy, and passing on the keys to killing Voldy to Harry as he died, ya those were also very brave).
Another stunning deconstruction for why I can never hate this character.
listen idk why people always bring up neville’s parents being tortured when they’re talking about the boggart scene (e.g. “neville is more terrified of SNAPE even though his PARENTS were TORTURED” you know). like…. y’all. let’s list out why that’s Not Relevent to the Discussion, shall we?
a) we don’t know how much thirteen-year-old neville knows about his parents or their torture. nobody ever brings up how often they visit, when augusta told neville about it, how much detail she went into, and so on. i can assume that he probably does know, but we don’t know how much detail.
b) this is like saying “harry is scared of DEMENTORS even though his PARENTS were BRUTALLY MURDERED” shockingly enough even though something bad happens to you or a person you love, it doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be the thing you fear most. some of those kids have probably lost family members to the war. hell, remus lupin’s entire friend group either died or went to azkaban and he’s still more scared of his lycanthropy.
c) even if neville knows the details, that doesn’t mean he’s FRIGHTENED per se. nothing about him suggests that he sees (or has ever seen) bellatrix lestrange as a boogeyman. (possibly similar to the way harry isn’t ever really frightened of voldemort….?) esp at thirteen, he’s probably pretty removed from the actual thing that happened – he lives with the aftereffects, but the actual torture isn’t something that’s necessarily going to be clear or real to him.
d) snape is literally right there. right there! he’s in the room TWO SECONDS before remus asks neville what he’s frightened of. of course he’s the first thing that pops into neville’s head! (followed closely by his grandma who treats him pretty terribly too lmao)
d.5) what’s neville going to say instead? “well actually professor, i’m terrified of the woman who tortured my parents into insanity?”
e) i’ve said this before, but neville dispels the boggart in two tries. boggarts! do not show! your ultimate greatest fear! they show A fear. and the deeper the fear, the harder it is to banish. which is why harry can’t banish his boggart with anything less than the actual spell to get rid of dementors and molly weasley can’t banish her boggart on her own either. those are deep fears. neville’s (and all the other children in here) is a childish fear – that doesn’t make it less real, but it also doesn’t make it traumatic and soul-scarring.
i just… feel like this is another “gotcha!” argument that people try, but it doesn’t make sense to me. fears aren’t cut and dry and logical? just bc the boggart is snape doesn’t mean that snape is more deeply traumatizing than neville’s parents’ torture? the entire thing is meant to be read as a joke so when will the antis let me live and stop using this scene to “prove” that snape abuses children….?
F) neville: pls don’t turn into my nan either she’s scary af
G) Neville was a sensitive child and it totally makes sense to be afraid of someone like Snape when you are insecure.
H) Why is that we never talk about the fact that Neville doesnt want it to turn into his Grandmother? Cause I feel like that is a lot more telling than him being afraid of a scary teacher. Like there is a high chance had Snape not had just been there the Boggart could have also taken McGonagalls shape as well since she is equally as intimidating & scary to Neville as well.
I) You know that super widely accepted theory that Hermione’s boggart isn’t really her failing her third year exams, but a deeper fear of failure and/or a fear of not fitting into the wizarding world?
It’s 100% fanon, but it makes a lot of sense a) because that’s human psychology for you, and b) because the boggart has to represent the fear somehow, it has to “embody” it.
So now, let’s take a look at Neville. His family treated him pretty terribly to try to squeeze magic out of him when they thought he was a squib, right? I mean, they put him in danger of death to get his magic to manifest itself. So, in Neville’s experience, being useless at magic is about the worst you can be. Your own family would rather see you dead than see you turn out a squib. Being useless at magic means your uncle Algie dangles you upside down from a window (and drops you accidentally, but never mind that).
And then Neville goes to Hogwarts
and meets the harsh, abrasive teacher that is Professor Snape.
Professor Snape, who points out all his faults and shortcomings. Mind you, so does McGonagall, but while she can be strict, Snape is the one who’s nasty about it.
I think it’s more than plausible that, same as McGonagall telling her she failed represents Hermione’s fear of failing as a witch, Snape’s blunt criticisms represent for Neville a real threat of being rejected by his family and/or being put in threat of death. Again.
And so, the boggart takes on Snape’s form to represent Neville’s deeper fears, and not because Snape is actually so dreadful that he is the main fear-trigger to a boy whose parents were tortured into insanity
and who was threatened and outright abused by his own family for not being to produce magic early enough.
You have to admit – that’s a more plaubisble fear for Neville, especially since Snape has never actually done anything to him (I can’t say this loud enough) in the two years and a bit he’s been his teacher, whereas failing at magic has already had unpleasant consequences.
J) Ok, I know this is already long, but I think we also have to look at this scene from outside canon. We can ignore all this psycho-babble about fears and whatnot, and take a look at what JKR wanted to show her readers.
I think the main point of the boggart scene, apart from giving an early clue regarding Lupin’s lycanthropy, is to show how Harry is not like other kids.
Other kids have fears typical of kids. Sticking to canon, without interpreting anything, we’re shown a mummy, a banshee, a rat, a snake, a bloodshot eye (wtf), an amputated hand (again, wtf), a spider, a nasty teacher (Snape), and failing every subject. Honestly, these sound either like specific phobias that could happen to anyone given certain circumstances, or terrors from stories or films (actually, Hermione’s fear is the one that shows the most maturity).
But not Harry. Harry’s worst fears are the dementors. Fear itself, as Lupin says. And all this goes to show is that Harry isn’t like others. He has a tragic past. He has a shabby childhood. He has already had two near-death experiences while at school. Harry’s boggart shows that he’s been forced into a maturity that doesn’t correspond to his age, and that he’s been able to step up to the situation.He can no longer afford childish fears like teachers or grades, because there are very real threats both in his past and in his future.
This is a point that can’t be made if instead of Snape you show Neville’s uncle threatening to drop him from a window, or his parents dribbling down their chins in St. Mungo’s, or if instead of McGonagall you show Hermione’s friends and teachers spitting at her as she leaves Hogwarts in shame, with her wand snapped, or if instead of spiders you show Ginny’s lifeless body lying in the Chamber, or even if instead of the bloodshot eye you show say, Lavender’s uncle with bloodshot eyes, a bottle of vodka, and an erection.
[reverting back to in-canon analysis, what the fuck was Lupin thinking? He shields Harry from the boggart, but what about all the other kids? What if the boggart had really become Lavender’s uncle with an erection in front of the whole class?]
So I think there’s definitely an element of downplaying other kids’ fears to show just how horrible Harry’s situation really is. Neville’s boggart, from a story telling point of view, is part of that, and not so much a point about Snape.
And honestly, all of Harry’s character growth in the first two books is basically lost if all you get from this scene is “asdflglkw the greasy git omg he tortured neville in class, RIP in Pieces greaseball”.
i love you so much honestly this is the greatest addition i’ve ever gotten on a neville’s boggart post
because!!! i’ve never actually considered that the boggart might show fear representations. which is sad, because the text literally tells us that it does (harry’s fear is “fear itself” not just dementors… lupin’s fear is not the moon but his lycanthropy which it represents). so it’s such an excellent point that neville’s fear isn’t snape himself, but what snape represents to him – failure and lack of magical talent, which snape is always mean to neville about. but! neville didn’t get that fear of failure and lack of magical talent from snape – he got it from his family (his uncle! throws him from a window! his grandma says over and over that he’s not as talented as his parents). which so easily explains! why snape and neville’s grandma are so linked together for him that his mind immediately jumps to augusta when talking about being afraid of snape. they both represent failure/lack of talent to him…. and the difference between them is that while snape may reinforce those fears, augusta (and the rest of neville’s family) is the one who gave him those fears.
(you could carry on to discuss how neville fears lack of talent potentially bc of his parents even – if they’re so proficient, as augusta always says, and they still end up tortured and mad…. or connect it to neville being afraid that his family won’t love him or care about him if he’s not proficient in magic e.g. “like his parents”…. which connects really nicely thematically back to how harry is always tied to the memory of his parents, but for harry it’s in a really positive way.)
anyway the point, as all of this extremely lovely analysis is saying, is that when you leave the reading solely at “snape is neville’s greatest fear, snape traumatized neville so much” you’re a) ignoring and/or passing over a lot of neville’s kind of shitty backstory which explains why he’s so nervous and timid to begin with and b) failing to understand the entire point of the scene itself, which is really more about harry’s connection to fear and maturity than about neville. neville is another kid in this scene, with another kid fear. his fear of snape is not unusual or dramatic even in the context of the scene itself (everyone laughs about it, even neville. lupin doesn’t seem concerned at all about it – wouldn’t he, if neville is deeply traumatized?). harry’s fear is meant to be the unusual/dramatic one in this scene…. because harry has been through more shit than all of these kids and thus has more mature fears.
anyway. i bolded the parts i especially loved but really i loved all of it bc what a great thoughtful careful reading of this scene!!!!! that’s what critical analysis looks like people.
I love you so much too tbh, because someone has to make these posts and you do. I usually go with the “enjoy what I enjoy, ship my ships, write my fic, ignore the hate” mindset, but sometimes I get pissed off. Because man, this is basic reading. Basic reading from books originally meant for kids. Idk fam, I’m no English major, but still, it’s obvious this is about Harry first, then about Lupin and Neville, and only last about Snape.
Idk boggarts are weird. I always thought they just representations of fear, but I guess sometimes they don’t (for Molly Weasley it seems to be especific fears). But yeah, in any case, I really think Neville:s boggart is a representation of deeper issues.
Bravo everyone! This is so worth the time to read!
Personally, I figure if Perfect-Teacher-Lupin isn’t the least bit concerned that Neville’s boggart is Snape, why should I be?
The definitive answer to “But he was Neville’s boggart”
When you find this on your dash and now have an in depth response to idiots
The war is over and Severus is looking forward to a quiet Christmas Eve in front of the TV, then Harry Potter shows up on his doorstep because Minerva is an interfering old tabby.
Severus Snape never expected to go back to Spinner’s End. But when news of the 1984 Miner’s Strike, and subsequent sympathy picket in Cokeworth, hit the Daily Prophet front pages he couldn’t help himself, even if that meant facing his estranged father.
This story was a submission for Age range category 3 (20-30 years old) in the 2018 Snape Showcase over on LJ which has been publishing Snape!centric fics to coincide with Sev’s birthday and #SnapeWeek. Beta’d by the fantastic Snarry5evr.
There was only so much Severus was willing to take. He took her grief and her rage; he took the hexes and the curses. He was not about to make his mother’s mistakes, so he took a stand. (Severitus)
My dad’s Polish and my mum was Jamaican Indian, I got the European thick black hair, the Indian wave and the Caribbean fuzziness the minute it gets vaguely damp until it dries.
Do you know how much of a bitch it is to keep it not looking greasy af?
Like I wash it twice a week it doesn’t get greasy but the wrong light and boom I look like I just finished a twelve hour shift in a chippy on a Friday.
Greasy hair is not mobile, it doesn’t swing or move.
Greasy black hair is shiny and looks like something out of an anime
Greasy hair clings to the skin it doesn’t hang down around the face in curtains
If healthy straight jet black hair doesn’t look slightly greasy it’s because it’s dry and damaged or it’s been bleached and dyed
Now do I really have to clarify what prompted me to make this post?
Hey everyone! I’ve been kinda quiet lately due to some end of the season writing crises (plural), so anyway, I wanted to let you know if you like chatting about Snapey things, I’ve created a Discord for that, since most people aren’t a big fan of Skype. There will be some clearly marked NSFW channels, but most of them will be fine for most folks.
“I love that character,” I say as I come up with upsetting headcanons for them. “Absolutely adore them,” I tell you as I bunny up sad story ideas for them. “They’re my favorite,” I sigh as I pick the most depressing songs for a playlist for them.
“I just want them to be happy,” I insist as I write horribly angsty oneshots centered around their misery.
“My son,“ I say as I think warmly about his broken body huddled on the ground.
“I love you so much”, I say, as I fill them with self hatred.
“but in the end, Harry and his two friends got all the credit, with Snape getting set on fire in the process. Charming.”
“Of course, when he had to take over Lupin’s lesson, he may have accidentally taught his class how to spot a werewolf, but that was a complete coincidence.”
“Finally, everything’s coming up Severus!”
“Cometh the hour, cometh the Severus.”
“Dumbledore assigned Snape yet another task, and it may have been Snape’s biggest mission yet: to hang out with Harry Potter.”
“Despite all his efforts, everyone still thought he was the worst.”
“Say what you will about the Potions master, we can all agree that he’s no fool.”
“In other words, Snape tried to save Harry’s life, and the only thanks he got was being set on fire. Harsh.”
“As children, Harry, Ron and Hermione had looked at the sarcastic and strict Professor Snape as something of a pantomime villain – the bitter Potions master, stewing in the dungeons. As adults, they learn Snape is far more complex.”
“Snape has taught us that there are no good men and bad men, that we are born full of foibles, and complexities and painted in thousands of different shades.”
Slytherblogging 