The 10 Best Snape Moments In Harry Potter

Harry Potter fans were hit with a giant blow to day upon learning that Alan Rickman, our very own Severus Snape, passed away today at the age of 69. He was an incredibly talented actor, and embodied the very spirit of our favorite potions master better than any actor ever could, and because of that he will be missed. There are a lot of ways that we can mourn of the passing of one of the greats within the Harry Potter community, whether it's by reading how much Alan Rickman enjoyed playing Snape, read the responses of his co-stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe, or even mourn along with J.K. Rowling herself. No matter what, there is no wrong way to grieve, and it's helpful to remember that we're all in this together as Potterheads.

In honor of Alan Rickman's incredible, inspiring work as Professor Severus Snape, I've compiled a list of 10 moments in the Harry Potter series that made Snape such an incredible, stand-out (though controversial, for sure) character. Whether he was being sassy, being mysterious, or just being a hero... we know that no one else could have played him with such complexity, grace, and sass as Alan Rickman did.

1. When Snape Spent All of Harry's First Year Trying to Save the Day

Sure, his teaching style is a little abrasive, but let's not forget the fact that he not only saved Harry's life only a few scant months into Harry's first year at Hogwarts, but he also put himself in grave danger in an attempt to rescue the Sorcerer's Stone and keep it out of Quirrell's (and therefore Voldemort's) possession. Did Harry ever thank him for this? No he did not.

2. How Snape Used His Position in the Dueling Club to Throw Lockhart Into a Wall

Up until Dolores Umbridge, Gilderoy Lockhart was one of the most annoying characters in the entire series. With his complete lack of self awareness and puffed up sense of self, by the time the Dueling Club met, we all desperately wanted to do what Snape did to him — which was blast him into a wall using magic. This might have been the first time I actively rooted for Snape while reading the books.

3. When Snape Physically Shielded the Golden Trio from a Wolfing-Out Lupin

At this point in the series, we are all aware of the fact that Snape not only loathes the Golden Trio, he would also relish the idea of them all getting expelled. However, in spite of his dislike, he will physically places himself between the children and a recently transformed Professor Lupin in order to keep them safe. Sure, it takes a certain kind of person to stand back and allow a werewolf to rich about a couple of school children, but it also takes a certain type of person to place stand in harm's way to keep them safe.

4. That Moment When Snape Put Aside His Differences with Lupin to Brew Him the Wolfsbane Potion

To be fair, out of all the Marauders, Lupin was probably the nicest one. However, Professor Lupin was not only one of the best friends of Snape's tormentor, the two of them were always placed in a position where a transformed Lupin might have taken Snape's life. While most people might have wanted to forget that it ever happened and live with the comfort of knowing that they would probably never seen their again, not only did Snape end up having to work with the werewolf who almost killed him, he also was one in change of putting together the incredibly difficult Wolfsbane potion to make sure that Lupin couldn't hurt anyone. Talk about rising above!

5. That Time Snape Lied to Umbridge About His Stores of Veritaserum

Dolores Umbridge is without a shadow of a doubt the worst people in the entire Wizarding world, and that is even counting Lord Voldemort. Her magical racism combined with her ambition made her a particularly dangerous person, but Snape (as well as the Weasley twins) didn't seem remotely scared of her. This is best demonstrated by Snape's complete lack of cooperating when Umbridge is trying to use the very powerful truth serum Veritaserum on various students in an attempt to was discover Professor Dumbledore's secret plans, Snape himself decides to lie to her about how much of the serum he truly has in order to protect the students around him, including students who have pretty much done nothing but hate for for years at this point.

6. When Snape Led Harry to Find the Sword of Gryffindor

Let's be real, Harry and Hermione were having a bit of a hard time up until the point where they found the sword of Godric Gryffindor (and also got Ron back), but who was the one actually responsible for getting it into the right hands? That's right, none other than Severus Snape, who risked a heck of a lot in order to send his patronus to retain his cover but still made sure that it got in the correct hands. Although it might have been a direct order from the late Albus Dumbledore, it didn't matter, Snape still managed to do it and therefore played a huge role in the eventual destruction of Voldemort.

7. When Harry Attacked Snape After Dumbledore's death, and Snape Refused to Even Injure Him

Snape killing Dumbledore was probably one of the most shocking things to happen in a series that seemed to have twist after twist behind it. However, there was something remarkable about the fact that, immediately after killing the man who had given Snape a new lease on life, he still was able to stand up against Harry, protect himself, and also make sure that the Boy Who Lived still remained alive. That takes a remarkable level of self control.

8. When He Was Dying, Snape Wanted Harry to Understand Everything

At that point, it would have been easy for Snape to just let go, accept the fact that Harry was never going to understand everything that happened or why he did what he had to do. Instead, he spent his final moments giving up his memories to the son of someone he hated (and also someone he loved) so that Harry would understand everything. That's remarkably thoughtful in my opinion.

9. How Everything He Did Was Out of Love for Lily

This was pretty much speaks for himself, but imagine living your entire life for one person who for the most part was not even alive to see it?

10. How He Lived an Incredibly Lonely, Isolated Life, but Still Fought for What Was Right

Severus Snape was a lonely man who did not have very much love in his life. His parents did not love him, he lost his only friend at around the age of 15, and when he wasn't spending his free time with a bunch of sociopaths bent on world domination, he was working with a bunch of students who seemed to loathe him. No, Snape did not have the best life, he had a lot of reasons to be angry with how his life turned out, and yet when he was asked to step up to the place and be a good person, he did it. He still worked to (however subtly) protect his students while he was headmaster, he still worked for what's right, even in a world that didn't expect that from him. All of these show a remarkable kind of inner strength, and because of that, Severus Snape was a pretty decent guy, and he was played by a completely wonderful actor.

Images: Warner Bros.; Giphy (10)