Hii, I just wanted to say that I really like reading your take on Snape! I was wondering what your thoughts were regarding Voldemort's and Snape's ability to fly? Who learned from whom? (Personally I'm inclined to think that Snape crafted the spell as I don't see Voldemort desiring to share such a skill nor finding flattery in the imitation lmao)
Hello, thank you for your lovely message :)
Interesting question; I don’t have a fixed headcanon for it, but I don’t really lean towards either interpretation.
Some suggestions I’ve seen in fandom are:
Snape saw Lily doing it and tried to teach himself
Voldemort taught Snape (as reward for murdering Dumbledore)
Snape taught Voldemort (and this sealed his status as a useful Death Eater)
I’m not fond of the first interpretation. I think Lily’s propulsion through the air remained as just a quirk of her early magic - just as Harry didn’t go around regularly turning up on rooftops of buildings once he was older. I think that if Lily genuinely had that skill, other talented wizards such as James and Sirius would’ve wanted to learn it too.
However, I can go with the idea that Snape found the embryonic magic that Lily was using to be fascinating - and that may have inspired him. Equally, I can imagine that Voldemort’s skills were whispered about within Slytherin, and I can imagine young Snape deciding that learning to fly would be a clear demonstration of his own talents.
I think that’s also put into context by his memories, where he is seen struggling to control a broomstick as a young student - what better way to get one over ‘the big Quidditch hero’ than being able to master flight?
Consequently, I strongly believe that Snape was attempting to fly when he was a teenager, and that’s what the Levicorpus spell was about (expanded upon here).
I absolutely think that Voldemort rewarded Snape for murdering Dumbledore - but I imagine that to be a public celebration of his actions. I struggle with the concept that Voldemort would reward Snape so richly for murdering Dumbledore, because as much as he ordered it and it “proved” that Snape was truly his man, no matter how much Snape protested that Dumbledore was weakened, I think Voldemort would’ve still been wary that Snape managed to kill Dumbledore when he, Voldemort, could not.
I can’t see Voldemort deliberately upskilling Snape at this juncture - it makes Snape into a threat, a challenger to the throne.
Which leads us onto Snape teaching Voldemort. It’s possible, but what I really love about Snape flying is that it elevates him into being an almost-equal of Voldemort and Dumbledore, the two greatest wizards in the series. Voldemort’s Legilimency is often spoken of being beyond compare, yet Snape’s Occlumency skills are canonically greater. Voldemort can fly unassisted - and then, we see, so can Snape.
I always felt that scene was about establishing and ensuring that the reader realised what a genuine potential threat Snape was. I like the idea that Voldemort was known as being a wizard who could fly with assistance, and young Snape decided that to prove he was a ‘great’ wizard, he would do the same - and he did.
