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A general thread for discussion of the Harry Potter books. Any new books set in the same world are also on-topic.

Games, films and other adaptations may be more appropriate for other threads if they're being discussed in isolation.

The HBO tv series has its own thread.

Mod Notes:

  • Media threads are primarily for fans of the works they cover. Not everyone will like everything, of course, and that's especially true in a franchise like Harry Potter. It's fine to say a particular story within the franchise doesn't work for you, or to talk about why it doesn't work for you. But please try not to dwell on the negativity for too long. Complaints shouldn't take up too much space on a thread that's intended for fans.
  • This is a thread to talk about Harry Potter and the content of the stories, not a place to talk about J. K. Rowling's more controversial views. If there's something newsworthy where Rowling's activities become relevant (e.g. it affects her relationship to new Potter works and adaptations), that's fair enough. Otherwise it's all been said already and we don't need to repeat it.

    Original text of OP 

there doesn't seem to be a general HP topic...

Edited by Mrph1 on May 27th 2025 at 9:17:24 AM

JulianLapostat Since: Feb, 2014
#10076: Aug 30th 2016 at 9:01:47 AM

1. No one defends Snape's treatment of the children in his care, although I'm more bothered by his actions with regard to Hermione and Neville.

Whoa...so it's okay for Snape to bully Harry, is that it? Harry is a mediocrity, and a slacker, but Snape attacked him right on Day 1 and uses assymetrical knowledge to attack an orphan boy's memories of his parents, parents who might well have been alive had James let Snape die at the Shrieking Shack. So Snape has no justification, he's culpable and unrepentant, pettily lording over a 11 year old just because he's living proof that his crush actually did sleep with that awful bully.

But name-calling is a rather minor offense and is kind of completely outweighed by the fact Snape was instrumental in stopping the greatest evil in the country, maybe on the planet

Snape was instrumental but so were others. Regulus Black, whose defection Snape's espionage never picked up on (well Voldemort didn't know either, so that I'd give him a pass), was also instrumental, Dobby the House Elf was instrumental as was Aberforth Dumbledore (who by chucking Snape out of the Hog's Head started the whole sequence of events). Kingsley Shacklebolt and McGonagall were super-essential in keeping the Order running even after Dumbledore died. The fact is re-reading the books doesn't change that Snape was going to feed both Sirius and Remus to Dementors in POA, after both of them were willing to "come quietly". And his incompetence in that situation led to Peter Pettigrew's escape and Voldemort's rise, all for his petty ego.

Please don't make up things. Snape had no intention of keeping Lily as a "sex slave" and nothing says that.

Dumbledore explicitly calls him for that, "You disgust me...her husband and child can die while you 'can have what you want?" That's PG-13 for him asking Voldemort to keep Lily as a concubine. Snape doesn't challenge this remark at all, or defend himself from Dumbledore on hearing it, which means that he indeed asked Voldemort for that. He went to Dumbledore to hedge his bets, and out of some pang of conscience, but his motive was selfish. He didn't care about other Muggles suffering, other persecuted people, he just wanted to save his crush and finally claim her from that jerk.

James' death was useless because his wand was right there but he forgot it,

Voldemort could have killed him then and there if he lunged for his wand and corner Lily in the living room itself still in panic without any means to ask Voldemort to spare her. Rushing forward without a wand was a split second suicide move to buy his wife and child an extra few seconds. And if Lily had her wand with her, she might have escaped. Obviously both of them were quite complacent, they thought they were totally double safe with Sirius and Peter, and neither of them suspected Wormtail (nor did Dumbledore, Moody and for that matter Snape, the supposed mole in the Death Eater camp who never identified him and apparently told Dumbledore it was Sirius).

And there are practical reasons why James kept down his wand after playing with the baby, a loose wand kept near the proximity of an infant can be dangerous. Suppose little harry grabbed it by mistake. It's not exactly fair to except them to think in dueling stances when they have a one year old in the room. Even if Lily had her wand and she wanted to Portkey or Apparate with a baby, it would be risky since Portkeys cause nausea for adult and teens, what could it do to an infant, and apparating with an infant could cause splinches and that might be far more damaging to a baby. Basically they were cornered and betrayed at a very vulnerable position at a moment they thought they were very safe.

He had no choice but to join the Riddle Youth.

He had plenty of choices. He could have gone to France, traveled the world, gotten a scholarship, worked for Gringotts, done a lot of things. He didn't have to join the Death Eaters, since not all the Slytherins did. If he was threatened he could have gone to Dumbledore as a student, as he eventually did as an adult.

We know Snape wasn't a racist, ever.

Whoa...Snape was definitely a racist as a student and child. He had contempt for Petunia because she was a Muggle, he hung around other Death Eaters and Mugglehaters and didn't see anything problematic about it until Lily called him out for it. Even as a kid, in his interactions with Lily, when she asks him if it makes a difference being Muggleborn and magical, Snape hesitantly says no. And remember Snape didn't just call Lily a mudblood, he called her "filthy Mudblood". As an adult, he is prejudiced against werewolves and insults Tonks for her affections for Lupin. And don't say that racists can't have crushes on people they discriminate against because there are countless examples to the contrary in history and in life.

Look Snape is a fascinating mess of a character, a complicated figure but don't make excuses and say that he was never a racist. Snape did stop being a racist eventually, when he calls out Phineas Nigellus' painting, so yes he changed but it took him a long time, and careful deprogramming by Dumbledore.

Cross (Don’t ask)
#10077: Aug 30th 2016 at 1:09:46 PM

He had plenty of choices. He could have gone to France, traveled the world, gotten a scholarship, worked for Gringotts, done a lot of things. He didn't have to join the Death Eaters, since not all the Slytherins did. If he was threatened he could have gone to Dumbledore as a student, as he eventually did as an adult.
To start off, a young Snape wouldn't have the means to travel around. You might be underestimating how much people can influence someone while growing up. Going off what we know Snape had no influences in his life other than Lily to break him out his prejudice against Muggle, which was fostered because of his home life. When he wasn't with her was pretty much surrounded who shared that prejudice, some to a worse degree, who seem to have accepted him as is. Also we have no evidence that prior to his and Lily's falling out that he ever acted on those prejudices, the most we have is Lily pointing out that his friends are dicks.

And even if he did speak or against his housemates beliefs and they retaliated, seeing as Dumbledore did jackshit about it during Harry's time, there's very little reason to assume anyone bar Lily would have helped him.

Nikkolas from Texas Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#10078: Aug 30th 2016 at 1:13:18 PM

1. I am completely okay with Snape's treatment of Harry, yes. I don't like Harry and don't care about his wittle feelings.

2. You are really stretching things here. Snape's determination to punish Lupin and Sirius has absolutely nothing to do with Lupin randomly becoming a werewolf. Carting along his unconscious body did not hinder them in some way.They just plain forgot about the "the moon exists."

3. ...what Snape wants is James Potter and the spawn of James Potter and Lily Evans dead..... Your interpretation is baseless.

4. Harry himself points out no one who gives themselves the title of Half-Blood Prince can be a Death Eater fanboy. Death Eaters all pretend to be pureblood,they don't celebrate their muggle heritage. What's more, Snape was being tactful and lying when Lily asks that question. Much of the wizarding world DOES think there's a difference between muggleborn and regular wizards. It's not something Snape has any control over, he's just aware of a fact. It be like if I asked you "is there a problem with being black? Will I be treated differently?"

unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#10079: Aug 30th 2016 at 1:18:07 PM

"That's PG-13 for him asking Voldemort to keep Lily as a concubine"

No, he ask Lily TO LIVE, that it, I dont really think Snape was getting any hope for anything other than that.

" parents who might well have been alive had James let Snape die at the Shrieking Shack"

Or if Dumblodore didnt pick him and let to rot, but that what if is nonsense

And I have to disagree with you about James potter being intersting, he look like typical "rebel without a cause" In snape flashback, it was...boring

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
JulianLapostat Since: Feb, 2014
#10080: Aug 30th 2016 at 1:37:43 PM

To start off, a young Snape wouldn't have the means to travel around.

He was an excellent student wasn't he. He also seemed close to Slughorn so that meant he could have used his academics to leverage himself some amount of comfort.

Also we have no evidence that prior to his and Lily's falling out that he ever acted on those prejudices, the most we have is Lily pointing out that his friends are dicks.

He said that his friends using dark magic was "a bit of fun" and Lily pointed out that he calls everyone of her kind Mudblood, which meant his attitude to Lily was If It's You, It's Okay. He doesn't deny any of this to her. More to the point, Snape had one whole year to change his act and disavow his Death Eater friends to Lily, he had time, lots of time to change and he threw it away.

Harry himself points out no one who gives themselves the title of Half-Blood Prince can be a Death Eater fanboy.

That was before they found it was Snape. Then Harry says its just like Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort, a goofy nickname to try and hide his Muggle heritage. Calling himself the Half-Blood Prince is a self-hating exercise for him to cling on to his wizard past.

Cross (Don’t ask)
#10081: Aug 30th 2016 at 2:16:26 PM

Slughorn seem to have little interest in Snape compared to his Slug Club members, so I doubt he would support him to that extent.

And at what point was Snape acting on those prejudices? Lily pretty much wanted him to ignore his demons while they were being fed. Had Snape been able to break ties with the Death Eaters he would have ended better off, but the problem is other than Lily he had no reason to. What ended their friendship wasn't him revealing his true colors, as you pointed out, Lily already knew. It was the culmination of the crap Snape was dealing which ultimately caused him to lash out at the wrong person.

To make it clear, I'm not saying Snape was justified in his actions. Just that it clear how he got to where he was and it would have taken more than Lily to change his course.

PhiSat Planeswalker from Everywhere and Nowhere Since: Jan, 2011
Planeswalker
#10082: Aug 30th 2016 at 2:33:35 PM

Didn't his hatred of Muggles stem from his father's abuse/neglect, then get worsened by his circle of friends?

edited 30th Aug '16 2:33:48 PM by PhiSat

Oissu!
rikalous World's Cutest Direwolf from Upscale Mordor (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
World's Cutest Direwolf
#10083: Aug 30th 2016 at 3:55:15 PM

Dumbledore explicitly calls him for that, "You disgust me...her husband and child can die while you can have what you want?" That's PG-13 for him asking Voldemort to keep Lily as a concubine. Snape doesn't challenge this remark at all, or defend himself from Dumbledore on hearing it, which means that he indeed asked Voldemort for that. He went to Dumbledore to hedge his bets, and out of some pang of conscience, but his motive was selfish. He didn't care about other Muggles suffering, other persecuted people, he just wanted to save his crush and finally claim her from that jerk.
Alternatively, that's PG-13 for him asking Voldemort to keep Lily alive, because she's one of the few people he actually cares for. Voldemort would probably interpret any such request as nothing more than lust, because unlike Snape he doesn't really do that whole "love" thing. And of course he doesn't challenge a remark about what a piece of shit he is, because he feels like a piece of shit because one of the few people he cares for just died and it's partially his fault.

I am completely okay with Snape's treatment of Harry, yes. I don't like Harry and don't care about his wittle feelings.
"I don't like this kid much" is not a valid reason to excuse the emotional abuse of a child by an authority figure.

Nikkolas from Texas Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#10084: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:06:58 PM

"That was before they found it was Snape. Then Harry says its just like Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort, a goofy nickname to try and hide his Muggle heritage. Calling himself the Half-Blood Prince is a self-hating exercise for him to cling on to his wizard past. "

This literally makes no sense. How does creating a title proclaiming your Muggle-ness mean you are clinging to your wizardness?

[up] But it's really funny and entertaining to see someone take Harry down a peg.

SonOfSharknado Love is Love is Love Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Love is Love is Love
#10085: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:13:18 PM

Yes, taken down a peg for the crime of being an orphan and the physical proof that Lilly chose James over Snape. What a monster.

My various fanfics.
unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#10086: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:22:58 PM

I think the issue of James and Snape is that rowling fall into show,not tell, we see James acting like a prick and Snape comiting the biggest mistake of his life...and them latter she just said "oh yeah, he got better" is not surprising many fan go with Snape(even when he is unpleasent)

Also something I dont understand is why lupin still talk to Sirius after that prank, I mean one mistake Snape death would be in his hand(or claw...you get it) I mean, James was a prick, Snape is racist idiot but Sirius, that was IDIOTIC as fucking hell.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#10087: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:39:20 PM

[up][up][up] Well, even disregarding that Harry doesn't nearly deserve the level of vitriol that Snape directs at him, there's still how he treats the other students, particularly Neville.

Not to mention how the evidence suggests that Snape's teaching methods actively harm Harry's performance in class. Which kind of makes him bad at his job.

Oh God! Natural light!
Nikkolas from Texas Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#10088: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:43:06 PM

[up] Hagrid is also bad at his job according to much of the fandom, including this thread.

Galadriel Since: Feb, 2015
#10089: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:47:28 PM

I think Snape had a delusional fantasy of Comforting the Widow despite being instrumental in the death of her husband and child, but there's nothing whatsoever to indicate he intended rape.

His being willing to give Sirius and Lupin to the Dementors was becuase, at that moment, he believed that Sirius was the traitor responsible for Lily's death, and that Remus was colluding with him. The end of POA Isthe first time in the books we see Snape utterly lose control, and it's our first hint that there's something more than a schoolboy grudge going on. He was positive that Sirius was responsible for Lily's death, he wanted vengeance, and he was furious to the point of madness when he didn't get it. In the later books when he knows the real situation, he's still a dick to Sirius (becuase of the 'schoolboy grudge' part of it) but they're capable of interacting without coming to blows. And we see in the Spinner's End chapter that he delights in tormenting Pettigrew; by then he knows Pettigrew was the secret-keeper who betrayed Lily.

His bullying of his students is completely unjustifiable.

KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#10090: Aug 30th 2016 at 4:48:55 PM

[up][up] I won't dispute that, but it seems irrelevant - we're talking about Snape, not Hagrid.

edited 30th Aug '16 4:49:35 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Nikkolas from Texas Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#10091: Aug 30th 2016 at 5:15:29 PM

I just think that substandard teachers is a problem at Hogwarts and it isn't something to just attack Snape with like he's the exception to otherwise high standards of education at Hogwarts.

unknowing from somewhere.. Since: Mar, 2014
#10092: Aug 30th 2016 at 5:18:24 PM

[up]Snape KNOW things and is good....but he dislike teaching, dumblodure pretty much hire the equivalent of doctor house to hogwards.

"My Name is Bolt, Bolt Crank and I dont care if you believe or not"
KarkatTheDalek Not as angry as the name would suggest. from Somwhere in Time/Space Since: Mar, 2012 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
Not as angry as the name would suggest.
#10093: Aug 30th 2016 at 5:26:03 PM

[up][up] I'm not saying that he's the only bad teacher Hogwarts has (although I do think that the majority of the teachers are pretty good, from what we see of them), but rather that the way he treats Harry is hardly something to be admired, as not only is it bullying, but i's negatively impacting his performance.

Hagrid might be a bad teacher due to cluelessness, but Snape's a bad teacher because he shows overt favoritism and treats the students he doesn't like maliciously. He's a bad teacher because he's a shitty person.

edited 30th Aug '16 5:26:47 PM by KarkatTheDalek

Oh God! Natural light!
Nikkolas from Texas Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#10094: Aug 30th 2016 at 5:26:26 PM

edited 30th Aug '16 5:26:50 PM by Nikkolas

SonOfSharknado Love is Love is Love Since: Oct, 2013 Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
Love is Love is Love
#10095: Aug 30th 2016 at 5:57:51 PM

Snape's the only one we were shown to be blatantly favorable to one house over the other. Like, Mc Gonagall was Gryffindor, but she was as strict on the Golden Trio as anyone.

edited 30th Aug '16 5:58:05 PM by SonOfSharknado

My various fanfics.
JulianLapostat Since: Feb, 2014
#10096: Aug 30th 2016 at 6:51:56 PM

I actually don't think Hagrid was a very bad teacher, especially for someone who was just starting out and had no pedagogical experience or never completed his magical training. He was woefully unqualified for a normal class of course, but I think Dumbledore thought Hagrid could give a proper out of the box class. And the Hippogriff class was a good one until Draco ruined it. Then he lost confidence and taught students boring stuff. But this class was good, the Thestrals class in Book 5 was good...that said, the Blast-Ended Skrewts, his genetic monstrosities was a terrible idea. But you have to allow for mistakes.

Snape is clearly very knowledgable about the subject, but he hates teaching in general, and he certainly would prefer teaching Defense. Of course, on some level, Snape is posing as a deep cover agent to keep ties with the Death Eaters as and when Voldemort returns. But obviously he's let the Method Acting get out of hand.

I think Snape had a delusional fantasy of Comforting the Widow despite being instrumental in the death of her husband and child, but there's nothing whatsoever to indicate he intended rape.

I disagree. Because Snape's attitude to Lily is very Stalkerish. Right from when he was a small boy but even years and decades later when he tears that family photo and keeps the Lily part for himself. This isn't a healthy crush, or a poignant romance but a dark obsessive and entirely one-sided passion. Dumbledore cottons on to what Snape intended when he says "You disgust me". Also in that encounter he refuses to acknowledge Lily's marriage, he also keeps referring her to Lily Evans as much as possible, not accepting that Lily did consent to be James' wife and had taken her name. Snape did fear for Lily's life that's why he went to Dumbledore, but at the same time he wanted Lily for himself. He's a guy with divided feelings and sentiments, a very base nature clashing with his conscience. But I think people are ignoring that base nature.

I mean in a hypothetical situation, where Voldemort kills James and Harry and gives Lily to Snape, I am not sure that Snape would entirely or immediately do the right thing, because it took years of deprogramming for Dumbledore to strip him of his vanity and make him a genuinely selfless person and even then he had constant backsliding. Even after committing, Snape decided to treat Harry like crap because its a way to get a laugh at James Potter again, "Look at me, I'm saving your worthless ingrate of a son you didn't deserve to sire with a woman who could have done far better, and who you got killed." Then Dumbledore took that away when he told him that Harry would have to die...which meant Snape was a d—k to Harry for all those years for no reason, there's no vanity he can satiate because ultimately the reason that Snape thought he was committing for, honoring Lily's sacrifice was not going to play out as he wanted.

His being willing to give Sirius and Lupin to the Dementors was becuase, at that moment, he believed that Sirius was the traitor responsible for Lily's death, and that Remus was colluding with him

Yeah but Sirius and Remus were being rational and telling him to calm down, that Sirius would come quietly to the castle, turn himself in, and speak to Dumbledore...Snape listens to that and goes "No to the Dementors with you and that werewolf too". I mean just think of the hypocrisy there, because it was Dumbledore alone that kept him out of Azkaban at the end of the last war, when the likes of Crouch were all Judge, Jury, and Executioner. And also the fact that James saved his life from the Shrieking Shack, the same place he's in. And Snape's incompetence played a part in Pettigrew's escape. It's one thing for Remus to forget to take the potion and charge after Sirius...I imagine the shock of seeing Sirius and Pettigrew on the Marauder's Map would have distracted him entirely, but for Snape to walk in with a Wolfsbane Potion...leave said potion in the office, and without informing anybody else, charging into the same Whomping Willow he went as a teenager on the night he knows a werewolf would transform is even worse. He could have done the calm thing, but no he wanted to rescue Harry, lord over Sirius and Remus and feed them to Dementors.

VeryMelon Since: Jul, 2011 Relationship Status: Anime is my true love
#10097: Aug 30th 2016 at 7:15:22 PM

WB wants Radcliffe back as Harry for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child trilogy

While Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has made it clear he'd like to distance himself from his breakout role, Warner Bros. is reportedly looking to bring J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play to the big screen and wants Radcliffe to star.

According to New York Daily News, the studio hopes to release the film as early as 2020, with one source telling the outlet that "Warners is secretly working on getting the movie rights and a screenplay settled, and of course in their minds only one man should be Harry."The source went on to say that Radcliffe has no intention of reprising the role "anytime soon," which "could be until he hits 40." Thanks to his recent success in other films and Broadway performances, he's in no hurry to return to the character, "so he will need some persuading," according to the Daily News' sources.

Additionally, the outlet has heard that Warner Bros. is looking into creating a storyline centered around Harry's son, with the intention of possibility turning it into an entirely new film trilogy. The studio also has another wizarding film trilogy in the works, with the first installment of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series opening in theaters later this year.

Just last month, Warner Bros. filed a film trademark for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, adding weight to the rumors of a silver screen adaptation of Rowling's new stage play.

Yeah, good luck with all of that WB.

MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#10098: Aug 30th 2016 at 9:07:12 PM

A trilogy?

You could do this in one movie unless there's going to be a lot of adaptation expansion

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#10099: Aug 30th 2016 at 9:45:24 PM

Why bother? CC is almost universally hated. They might as well make a brand new story.

MadSkillz Destroyer of Worlds Since: Mar, 2013 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
Destroyer of Worlds
#10100: Aug 30th 2016 at 10:08:29 PM

I'm hearing good things about the play.

Also it doesn't matter how unpopular it is because Harry Potter sells like crazy despite the quality.


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