Holaaa. Te escribo en español, pero puedes responderlo en inglés si gustas. Quería preguntar, ¿Cuáles son tus curiosidades favoritas sobre Snape que has leído en los libros y puedes recordar? No hc. Cosas que de verdad dicen algo de su persona.
Ah, this is a very interesting question, for those of you who don’t speak Spanish: they’re asking me about curiosities regarding Severus that appear in the books and that I personally liked. I actually think it’s a cool question, and I don’t think anyone had asked me this before. And there are several, actually:
That Spinner’s End is a specific neighborhood in Cokeworth that’s clearly poorer than Lily and Petunia’s area. That tells us that even within an industrial city like Cokeworth —which was obviously working-class to begin with— there were still class divisions and better and worse areas. And Severus comes from the poor place within the poor place, which puts him at a very low social rung within the socioeconomic and cultural ecosystem that was industrial England in the 60s. It’s something that can tell you a lot about the character, but can also help a lot when writing or handling him in fics, and I think people tend to forget it constantly. Because yes, he rejects everything Muggle for a big part of his life, but he grew up for 11 years in that environment, and as an adult he still lives there when he’s not at Hogwarts, which is pretty interesting.
That he keeps living, as I said, in his childhood home. I mean, we’re talking about a guy who clearly grew up in poverty and hated it, also hated his father, whom he associated with that environment. And then in his school years he tried to be someone else by hanging out with kids who not only had nothing to do with his origins, but also despised those origins. As an adult he could’ve easily gotten rid of that house and lived somewhere in the wizarding world or even stayed in the Muggle world but in a different place but nope, the guy stays in his shitty house in his shitty neighborhood and doesn’t leave. I have a lot of theories about this, but I think it’s a really substantial detail when constructing the character for fics or meta too, because it says a lot about him.
That the Malfoys know where the hell he lives. Like, this detail has always fascinated me because the text literally says that Narcissa moved through the streets of Spinner’s End without any issue, while Bellatrix had no idea where the hell they were. Clearly Narcissa not only knows where Severus lives, she knows how to get to his house in a way that suggests she’s been there more than once. But the Malfoys have two main traits: one, they detest, abhor, and despise Muggles and anything Muggle-related; and two, they despise and abhor poor people. Severus is not only half-blood (which maybe they could overlook to a point), but he’s also extremely poor and never stops living in that poverty, and yet they know where he lives. To me it’s always surprising, because the only explanation that makes sense is that he actually trusted them a lot, which is wild considering he spends 18 years working as a double agent.
That he was basically a genius and nobody seems to give a damn. Like obviously it’s said that he’s talented, especially in potions and Occlumency, but we’re talking about someone who becomes a double agent at 20, which means his Occlumency skills were strong enough to block freaking Voldemort, and people like Bellatrix who’s an expert Legilimens. And he was a damn kid. And the whole thing about correcting a school textbook at 16? Hermione gets constant praise for memorizing things, and James and Sirius were said to be brilliant because they could pass everything without studying much, but Severus had absolutely extraordinary abilities and nobody cares? Is it because Dumbledore obviously had his favorites? Because he was in Slytherin? Because of who he hung out with? I don’t know, I want to know more about that, it seems relevant.
That canonically he spits when he’s angry, YASSS. I think my favorite scene of his is when he’s refereeing a match where Slytherin loses and the guy is so pissed off he spits out of sheer rage. Hello??? Incredible, like that’s exactly the kind of rage I expect from someone who grew up in a slum, honestly.
That he’s the king of sass, like that man is always ready for drama and sarcasm and being a complete asshole. People try to excuse or condemn him for being such a jerk, but I see it as one of his best traits because it’s funny as hell.
That duality between being a very serious guy capable of working as a double agent for years without getting caught, and at the same time being unable to keep his cool when certain people who trigger him show up, and just exploding like crazy.
I don’t know, maybe there are more details, but for now these are the ones I always keep in mind because I think they give a lot of insight into what he’s like as a character, and I also think they’re important to consider when developing any theory, hc, or fic.