Throughout Harry’s 7 years at Hogwarts…
Snape made his dislike for him known.
So while Snape looks like the villain for the most part…
Well, he actually isn’t.
He saved Harry’s life on multiple occasions.
If it weren’t for Snape, Harry probably wouldn’t have survived.
Read on to learn:
- 11 incredible times Snape protected Harry.
- Why the Potions Master’s always ready to help.
- Whether Snape cared for Harry or just did what needed to be done.
- And more…
Why did Snape protect Harry?
Snape protected Harry out of love for Harry’s mother. Ever since he’s a kid, the Potions Master loved Lily Potter (formerly Evans). He also realized Harry was essential in taking down Voldemort.
All the times Severus Snape protected Harry Potter
#1: The broom incident
In Harry’s first year at Hogwarts, it’s shown that he was fantastic on a broom.
Now, in the wizarding world, they play a game called Quidditch.
Here, you’ll have to score points against each other. But if someone finds a little golden ball called the Snitch, the game is automatically won.
Harry shows great potential and it’s his 1st year joining the team as the Seeker.
It’s his job to find the Snitch.
However, Harry’s broom suddenly acts up during one of the Quidditch matches.
It starts to shake and throw him off of it.
Meanwhile, we see Snape muttering a curse.
At this point in the story, the Potions Master is made out to be a mini villain. He’s always unkind to Harry.
So it’s assumed that it’s Snape that cursed Harry’s broom.
Hermione also sees this, and she sets the Potions Master’s robe on fire.
As Snape notices this, he falls, knocking over professor Quirrell.
All’s well in the end, and no one is harmed.
However, near the end of Harry’s first year at Hogwarts…
He confronts Professor Quirrell.
It appeared that he had Lord Voldemort at the back of his head.
And he reveals it’s him that tried to jinx Harry’s broom.
On top of that, he also says that Snape was actually muttering a counter curse.
So instead of jinxing Harry, the Potions Master actually saved him from a very long and hard fall.
#2: He wanted to protect Harry from Sirius Black
In Harry’s 3rd year at Hogwarts, the main threat is the escaped prisoner Sirius Black.
He allegedly betrayed Harry’s parents. And he killed one of his friends Peter Pettigrew.
As the year concludes, Harry and his friends think they know where he’s hiding.
So they go after him.
When Snape saw this, however, he immediately chased after them.
See, in Snape’s eyes, Sirius was actually dangerous. It’s speculated that he wanted to kill Harry.
So without a second thought, he chased them to make sure Sirius couldn’t harm them.
We all know by now that Sirius never meant any harm to any of the kids.
But at the time, he’s truly believed to be a danger.
It appeared that Sirius had the kids cornered.
So when Snape showed up, he was there purely to protect Harry and his friends.
#3: Protecting him from a werewolf
This one ties in nicely with the previous moment.
See, when all of that happened, there was another person present. Remus Lupin.
He’s the current Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. But he and Sirius were good friends.
So when the kids were cornered by the 2, it appeared that Remus Lupin was also bad.
While that didn’t turn out to be the case, something else was happening.
See, Remus is a werewolf.
And tonight just happened to be a full moon. So against his will, he transformed into a blood-hungry beast.
Now, a couple of minutes earlier, Snape wanted to protect Harry from Sirius.
However, Harry disarmed the Potions Master instead. He attacked him.
But when Remus turned into a werewolf, Snape didn’t hesitate to stand between the 2.
This is my personal favorite moment. The way he wraps his arms around the 3 young students.
Putting himself between them and the werewolf.
And all of that right after they attacked him.
You can see the scene play out for yourself:
#4: Snape didn’t help Umbridge
In Harry’s 5th year, we’re greeted by perhaps the most infuriating character in the show. Dolores Umbridge.
The Ministry of Magic sent her to keep an eye on Dumbledore. And she’s also the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
However, she’s far from a friendly or reasonable person.
Her punishments included physical harm. And she’d commonly question people with the help of forbidden potions.
For example, she once caught Harry trying to contact someone.
So, she wanted to question him. However, this was sensitive information regarding the Order of the Phoenix.
This was something Harry could not tell without putting people in danger.
To make sure he wouldn’t lie, Umbridge asked Snape for Veritaserum. This is a potion that will always make sure you’re telling the truth. Even against your own will.
The Potions Master knew this. And he, too, was a member of the Order.
Although at this point, we’re still left in the dark about whether or not Snape is a good person.
So he gave her a fake version of the potion. This way, Harry could still lie his way out without giving valuable intel.
#5: He sent the Order to Harry’s aid
In the very same encounter we described above, Harry gave a cryptic message to Snape.
He said:
“They have Padfoot at the place where it’s hidden“.
Now to most, this sounds like nonsense.
But Snape knew what it meant.
For instance, he was aware that Sirius’s nickname was Padfoot.
And in the Order of the Phoenix, it’s discussed that something was hidden within the Ministry of Magic.
Snape, however, acted as if he didn’t know what it meant.
But in reality, he alerted the Order.
And when they discovered that Sirius was fine and not in danger, they realized something else.
Harry was still going there. He didn’t know Sirius was okay.
So the Order made their way to the Ministry of Magic to help and protect the young boy.
And all of that happened because Snape relayed Harry’s message.
Now it may not sound like much. But when the Potions Master was younger, he was heavily bullied by Sirius.
So for him to relay a message that would save his bully is quite a feat.
And it ended up saving Harry, as he’s in a dire situation.
#6: He taught him Occlumency
Once more, in the 5th year, Snape helped Harry immensely.
See, Harry’s been getting visions and bad dreams all year long.
And the worst part is that these dreams ended up being a reality.
What’s going on was that Voldemort entered Harry’s mind. Although unknowingly at the time.
But Dumbledore realized something.
Voldemort wasn’t t aware yet. But when he was, he could enter Harry’s mind at will. And that would be disastrous.
So he asked Snape for help.
See, the Potions Master was the best Legilimence in the world.
This meant he had complete control over his mind. And no one could enter it.
It’s how he fooled the Dark Lord all those years. And how he’s never revealed to be the spy.
So he taught Harry how to do so.
And that would greatly benefit him in the future.
#7: Snape agrees to Dumbledore’s plan
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we witness something shocking.
It was when Snape actually kills Dumbledore.
And it took quite a while before we see the motives behind this.
See, Dumbledore made an intricate plan to defeat Voldemort.
And part of that required Snape to kill the headmaster.
But that wasn’t the only thing he had to do.
He also agreed to tell Harry everything he needed to know. But only when the time was right.
This is part of the famous scene where Snape and Dumbledore discuss Harry’s fate.
Here, Snape says:
“So you’ve been raising the boy like a pig for slaughter“.
From the conversation, it becomes apparent that Harry had to die.
But only at the right moment.
And Snape would be the one to tell him.
While the Potions Master never liked the boy that much, this was something that weighed on him.
#8: He made sure Harry didn’t reveal himself
Snape killed Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower. But before doing so, he told Harry to be silent.
After that, he went upstairs and killed the headmaster.
Knowing Harry, he’d probably have stepped in. Or at least tried to save Dumbledore.
However, with the Death Eaters present, this wouldn’t have gone well for Harry.
So by notifying him beforehand, he saved Harry’s life once more.
But this act did forever tarnish his view of Snape.
After all, Snape presented himself as help, only to kill the headmaster.
Of course, Harry wasn’t aware yet of the plan in place.
#9: Snape ensured Bellatrix didn’t kill Harry
This moment happened right after Snape and the Death Eaters fled Hogwarts.
They just killed the Dark Lord’s biggest opponent, Dumbledore.
And Harry witnessed it all.
So when the Death Eaters flee, Harry chased them.
He shouted at Snape. And before he could do anything, Bellatrix shot a curse at him.
Now we know the vile Death Eaters’ reputation.
She tortured Neville Longbottom’s parents into madness.
And she also killed Sirius Black, her own cousin.
So when she attacks Harry, we fear the worst.
But this is where Snape steps up.
He does so in a very clever way.
Snape tells her that “Harry belongs to the Dark Lord“.
By saying that, he not only protects Harry, but also arouses no suspicion among the Death Eaters.
#10: He was present in the 7 Potter chase
On the night that Voldemort killed the Potters, something magical happened.
Lily Potter sacrificed herself for her son Harry.
By doing so, she gave him what’s known as the Ultimate Protection.
This meant that Voldemort could not kill Harry. Not until he’s 18.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry turned 18, making him vulnerable again.
So Snape suggested that on his birthday, he had to be moved to a secure location.
And that’s what they did.
But to make sure Harry wasn’t an easy target, they had 6 people drink a Polyjuice Potion.
This drink temporarily transforms you into another person.
So in total, 7 people looked like Harry. And they all took a different route.
This was done to shake off the Death Eaters, Voldemort’s followers.
So Snape presented this plan.
But he’s also present during the chase.
And he did so on Voldemort’s side.
He’s there to keep all Death Eaters off of the real Harry. All the while pretending he’s hunting him.
Continue reading: Why did Harry name his son after Snape
#11: Godric Gryffindor’s sword
Godric Gryffindor’s sword plays a huge role in the last 2 movies.
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry and his friends are hunting Horcruxes.
These are items or objects that contain a part of Voldemort’s soul.
A Horcrux is very difficult to destroy. Only a few items can do it.
But one of them was Godric Gryffindor’s sword.
This item, however, was hidden away in Bellatrix Lestrange’s vault.
She’s perhaps the most loyal and evil follower of Voldemort.
Her vault was in Gringotts, the most secure bank in the wizarding world.
So getting it would be incredibly difficult and dangerous.
However, the actual sword was with Dumbledore, and later with Snape.
The Potions Master placed a fake one in Bellatrix’s vault. And she never even knew.
Snape knew he needed the actual one.
So he summoned a Patronus to lead Harry there.
This is a charm that casts off evil beings. But it’s also used to convey messages.
Snape’s Patronus is the same as Harry’s mother. He loved her so much that his Patronus shape was the same.
This led Harry to trust the Patronus. After all, he knew his mom’s was a doe.
But he didn’t know Snape’s was too.
In any case, he followed the Patronus to a frozen lake.
Here, Snape had placed the actual sword of Gryffindor.
This allowed Harry to destroy the Horcruxes he had found so far.
Conclusion: How many times did Snape protect Harry?
Snape protects Harry a total of 11 times throughout the series.
Now, there are 7 Harry Potter books, and 8 movies.
So on average, Snape protects Harry 1.5 times per book. And 1.4 times per movie.
These 11 moments characterize Snape perfectly.
While he disliked the boy, he saved his life on multiple occasions.
He knew of Harry’s importance. And his love for Lily Potter never died out.