Seeking input/HC/Meta on young Severus' physical characteristics!!!
In canon, we know adult Severus has long dark hair, it is often described as greasy, and he has his trademark hooked nose. Now, my thoughts are that Harry (as the narrator) tends to call attention to Severus' physical appearance when he is feeling animosity towards the man. There are plenty of scenes when Severus' physical traits are never mentioned. I also think Harry is biased as a narrator. But this is not to say the description of Severus is inaccurate.
What I would like input on is how young/teenage Severus looks to himself and to his (non-hostile) peers. And if he is self conscious of his traits? His nose, which as a tween would not be as large or curved as it becomes, changes through puberty. How does he feel about this? Does he even notice? I imagine him with longish, shoulder length hair which is very straight. Harry often describes it as "curtains" around his face. But does young Severus style it at all? Does he brush it back for more of a slick look (this pairs well with "greasy" hair). I have long straight hair myself and my roots get greasy pretty fast. Coming from a lower socioeconomic class, he wouldn't have access to the magical hair care products other students do. That being said, I think Hogwarts provides shampoo (just a random ass HC). But I imagine him showering while trying to keep his hair dry to eliminate the hassle of drying it in his younger years. Side note: I invented a whole magical product called the Hair Halo which dries hair instantly, but Severus doesn't have one.
How does Lily view Severus' physical traits? I pretty much don't talk about this until they are older. But the story includes a lot of Snily.
Does young Severus mirror adult Severus? Or is there something about adult Severus which gives his hair in particular that greasy quality?
Does Sirius' remark about him leaving grease marks on his parchment during Snape's Worst Memory imply he was generally unwashed and unclean? Or is it Sirius' tendency to antagonize him by making an insult about his physical appearance (something Sirius of all people would be hyper aware of as he puts a lot of pride in his own appearance) which he may be exaggerating to be mean?
I want to preserve canon Severus' traits as much as possible. Also I have my own HC for him which will inevitably feature in my writing. I don't want to over emphasize his physical traits because the man is so much more than his looks. And I don't want people to think I'm ignoring it because I don't like how he is presented in canon (which isn't true, but I do question why his physical traits are emphasized so heavily when other Professor's are NOT). It is a true conundrum. I tend to leave all my characters physical traits rather vague because people HC them so differently.
Know that Severus has been one of my favorite HP characters for decades. I've grown to love other characters as well through fandom in particular. And I personally have a very flexible mindset where canon interpretation is concerned.
If you have thoughts on any about this, please re-blog and write me an essay. Or DM me.
I will be doing my final (probably cursing myself by claiming this) edit of Severus' first POV installment soon as it begins posting on December 21 and I want to make sure I have this dialed before posting!!
