Severus Snape’s Timeline Part 2

Severus Snape’s Timeline

Part 2

At the end of Part 1 Lily, the love of Snape’s life, had just been murdered. Snape was heartbroken but had agreed with Dumbledore that he would protect Lily’s son, Harry Potter, so that she wouldn’t have died in vain.

After Voldemort had fallen all the Death Eaters were rounded up, the majority were taken to Azkaban like Bellatrix Lestrange, Igor Karkaroff, Augustus Rookwood and many others. Some avoided Azkaban like Lucius Malfoy, who said he was only acting under the Imperius curse. Severus Snape also avoided going to Azkaban as Dumbledore vouched for him.

This blog is going to start with Harry Potter attending his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:

Harry Potter’s Arrival at Hogwarts

In 1991 Harry arrived at Hogwarts for his first year. Snape immediately had a strong disliking for Harry believing that the boy was like his father.

Being in allegiance with Dumbledore meant that Snape needed to carry out his instructions and Snape was instructed to keep an eye on the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Quirrell.

Fun Fact: Quirinus Quirrell began working at Hogwarts in 1985 not as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but as the Muggle Studies teacher. In 1990 Quirrell took a yearlong break from teaching to search for Lord Voldemort because he was sick of being looked down on, made fun of and thought of as weak. Quirrell got more than he bargained for when Voldemort attached himself to Quirrell who brought him back to Hogwarts.

Under the influence of Lord Voldemort Quirrell attempted to murder Harry twice via a broomstick accident. The first time was during Harry’s first flying lesson. Voldemort/Quirrell cursed a broomstick to behave erratically, however Neville ended up using that broomstick and therefore broke his wrist. Then Quirrell/Voldemort tried to jinx Harry’s broomstick during his first Quidditch match however Snape was there to say the counter-curse.

As well as attempting to murder Harry Potter Quirrell/Voldemort’s goal was to steal the Philosophers Stone, they first broke into Gringotts, but Hagrid and Harry took it before they could reach it. The stone was transferred to Hogwarts where it was put behind several obstacles. On the night of Halloween Quirrell invited a troll into the school as a diversion so he could attempt to steal the stone, however Snape was onto Quirrell and tailed him but ended up getting bitten by Fluffy, the three headed dog guarding the stone.

Lord Voldemort couldn’t trust Snape at the moment and therefore didn’t reveal himself to Snape and at the same time Snape didn’t know that Voldemort was inhabiting the back of Quirrell’s head.

Snape didn’t have to do much else during Harry’s first year as it was Harry, Ron and Hermione who ultimately stopped Quirrell getting the stone and defeated him, so we move onto Harry’s second year where the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Snape agreed to help Gilderoy Lockhart start up a duelling club so the students would be more prepared to deal with whatever the creature was that was petrifying students.

Sirius Black

In 1993 when Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban, Snape is furious. Snape believes that Sirius is the reason that Lily died because he was the one to inform Voldemort about the location of Lily, James and their son. Snape wanted his revenge which is why, when he finds Sirius in the Shrieking Shack  he’s so willing to hand him over to the Dementors for the kiss of life.

Snape is also dubious about letting Lupin join the staff at Hogwarts as Defence Against the Dark Arts. He believes that Lupin could be helping Sirius seeing as they were such good friends all those years ago. However on Dumbledore’s orders Snape does agree to make the incredibly difficult and dangerous wolfsbane potion every month for Lupin which means that Lupin can stay sane and in control when he transforms into a werewolf. On the evening of the 6th June 1994 Snape was delivering the potion to Lupin in his office when he discovered the office was empty and the Marauders Map was open on his desk revealing the location of Lupin and more importantly Sirius Black. Snape storms towards Shrieking Shack discovering Harry’s Invisibility cloak that he puts on and creeps into the shrieking shack wearing to find Lupin, Sirius, Harry, Ron and Hermione. He’s about to get his revenge on Sirius but ends up being attacked by Harry Potter who used Expelliarmus on him causing Snape to be knocked unconscious The next thing Snape knows is waking up outside the Whomping Willow to find that Lupin has transformed into a werewolf, and that Harry, Hermione and Sirius had all collapsed after the Dementors had descended on them, but that they were, for some unknown reason, retreating. Snape handed Sirius over Fudge so that the Kiss could be performed and Snape was going to receive, Order of Merlin First Class for his services. However Harry and Hermione, via the use of the time-turner allowed Sirius to escape. Snape was furious, he blamed Harry for Sirius’s escape even though he had no idea how he managed it.

Tri-Wizard Tournament

September 1994, a new school year began which brought the Tri-Wizard Tournament along with some very unwelcome faces to Severus’s life, like Mad-Eye Moody who isn’t Severus’s no.1 fan simply because Mad-Eye doesn’t completely trust Snape. He believes once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater.

Igor Karkaroff too is an unwelcome visitor. Igor and Snape were both Death Eaters at one point and are both branded with the Dark Mark which they can see darkening over the year. 

On June 24th 1995 Lord Voldemort returned to full power. Voldemort called his loyal Death Eaters to him, Snape did not go to him immediately, he waited until Dumbledore told him he should go which happened to be two hours. Within those two hours Snape discovered that Barty Crouch Jr, who had been using Polyjuice potion to appear as Mad-Eye Moody, had been a spy at Hogwarts.

Cornelius Fudge, being the scared idiot that he is allowed the Dementors kiss to be performed on Barty meaning that the truth died with him. Fudge immediately buried his head in the sand, refusing to believe that Voldemort was back. Snape showed Fudge his Dark Mark, explaining that it was a mark that Death Eaters received from Voldemort himself. He also explained that when the mark is pressed, that means you are to go to Lord Voldemort. Snape explained how it had been getting darker all year and that he felt the call earlier that night. However Fudge, being the stubborn man he is, refused to see what was plainly in front of him. When Fudge gone Albus knew the time was now to start up the Order of the Phoenix again, which is why he revealed to Snape, and Molly Weasley who was also present at the time that Sirius Black was an animagus who could transform into a dog and that he was innocent and on Dumbledore’s side. Snape and Sirius were forced to shake hands before Dumbledore asked Snape to return to Voldemort as a spy.  

When  Severus eventually went to the Dark Lord, he had to try and convince Voldemort that he was still on his side. The reason Snape hadn’t gone to find Voldemort was because he believed the Dark Lord had died, and therefore could have no reason to believe that Quirrell was working with Voldemort to procure the Philosophers Stone. Snape gave a convincing performance which meant that Voldemort trusted Snape once again. Snape also gave Voldemort information about Harry, Dumbledore and Hogwarts that he might find useful.

Order of the Phoenix

During Harry’s fifth year Severus had to teach Harry Occlumency, the power to close your mind, thoughts, memories and feelings so that the Dark Lord couldn’t gain information from Harry or control him.

During one of these Occlumency lessons Harry went into Snape’s memory via the pensive and discovered the moment when James, his father, unprovoked, humiliated Snape by hoisting him into the air and then because of his anger Snape called Lily a Mudblood. When Snape discovered that Harry had seen this memory he was livid and told Harry to leave his office and never return.

In June 1996 Harry was shown a vision by Lord Voldemort that Sirius had been captured and was being tortured. Harry attempted to make contact with Sirius but was caught by Dolores Umbridge, the evil Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry, Ron, Hermione, were held hostage by Umbridge and the Inquisitorial Squad when Snape turned up, being summoned by Umbridge to deliver Veritaserum, the truth telling potion. Snape knew he couldn’t give them the potion as it could reveal all sorts of secrets. Harry then cryptically told Snape that Sirius was trapped in the ministry. Snape, when he was free of Umbridge, went and informed the Order which allowed them to get to Ministry of Magic to help Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna in their pursuit to save Sirius.

Half-Blood Prince

In the summer of 1996  Narcissus Malfoy (Draco’s mother) and Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissus’s sister showed up at Snape’s house in Spinners End. Wormtail was living with him at the time. Narcissus knew that Draco had been tasked with murdering Albus Dumbledore. Snape knew of this plan and so Narcissus asked for Snape to lookout for Draco. Snape agreed but Bellatrix took it one step further asking for Snape to make an unbreakable vow. Snape once again agreed and even agreed to carry out the plan if Draco fail.

Also during the summer Dumbledore visited Severus, almost near death after he had foolishly put on the Gaunt ring, one of the Horcruxes. Severus needed to create an unidentified thick gold potion and spoke several incantations in order to stop Dumbledore’s immediate death. Snape could only delay the process and it was likely that Dumbledore would be dead within the year which was why Dumbledore agreed that if it came to it Snape would need to be the one to kill Dumbledore, in order to save Draco’s soul. Severus was not happy with this plan but agreed to it.

Shortly before Dumbledore knew he was going to die he passed on information to Snape that he wanted him to pass onto Harry.  The information was that there was a piece of Voldemorts soul that was living inside of Harry at this very moment and that it would be crucial for Voldemort to be the one to kill him in order to destroy the piece of Voldemorts soul that was living inside Harry. Snape was only allowed to tell Harry this when Voldemort feared for the life of his snake Nagini.

Dumbledore never told Snape about the Horcruxes’s or the Deathly Hallows.  

Battle of the Astronomy Tower

On June 30th 1997 Draco brought in Death Eaters to the castle. Luckily members of the Order of the Phoenix were there to protect Hogwarts, the students and they attempted to save Dumbledore. Several Death Eaters broke through like Amycus and Alecto Carrow, the werewolf Fenrir Greyback and another unnamed Death Eater. Draco, although he had plenty of time and ability to murder Dumbledore, couldn’t do it, so when Severus entered the tower he did it immediately, he cast the killing curse that hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest which cause him to fall from the tower. It had already been agreed between the two of them that Severus would have to do it, even though he didn’t want to. 

After murdering Dumbledore, Snape fled the grounds of Hogwarts, but not before revealing to Harry that he was the Half-Blood Prince.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

With Dumbledore dead Voldemort was able to take control of the magical world, he appointed Severus to become Headmaster at Hogwarts so he could oversee what was going on at Hogwarts and make sure that the students were taught the new ways: the dark arts.

Severus kept in contact with Dumbledore via his portrait in the Headmasters office.

Flight of the Seven Potters

Voldemorts next step, and greatest desire was to murder Harry Potter.

Harry was staying with his Aunt and Uncle in Privet Drive because there he had the protection of his mothers sacrifice she made for him. However, that protection wasn’t going to last forever so Harry had to be moved. The order agreed to move him on 27th July 1997. Severus discovered this was the date they were going to move him from Mundungus Fletcher. Severus and Dumbledore agreed that Snape should tell Voldemort the correct date that Harry would be moved on, however Severus didn’t tell Voldemort that there would be seven Harry’s in the air via the Polyjuice potion.

On the night of the 27th July 1997 Harry set of with Hagrid on Sirius Black’s motorbike, Bill set off with Fleur, Tonks set of with Ron on a broomstick, Kingsley Shacklebolt was with Hermione on Thestral, Remus Lupin was with George on a broomstick, Fred was with Arthur Weasley on a broomstick and Mad-Eye Moody was with Mundungus Fletcher on a broomstick. Fleur, Ron, Hermione, George, Fred and Mundungus had all taken Polyjuice potion to look like Harry.

Almost immediately the Death Eaters began pursuing the seven Potter’s. Snape was one of them and he saw that Remus Lupin was going to be hit by one of Death Eaters so he sent the Sectumsempra curse to hit the Death Eater, but he accidently hit George with the curse causing his ear to be sliced off.

Fan Theory: It’s possible that Snape was the one to kill Hedwig at the beginning as this would have been a clue that this was the real Harry Potter, however it’s an unconfirmed theory.

While at Hogwarts Snape would talk to Dumbledore’s portrait for advice. He would also speak to Phineas Nigellus’s portrait. Phineas had two portraits, one in the headmasters office at Hogwarts and one at No.12 Grimuald Place, or at least that’s where it resided until Hermione removed it off the wall and placed it into her magical extendable bag. While Harry, Ron and Hermione were hunting horcruxes Hermione inadvertently revealed to Phineas that they were in the Forest of Dean which Phineas then revealed to Snape. Under Dumbledore’s instructions Snape led Harry to the sword of Godric Gryffindor via his Patronus of a doe. Snape couldn’t reveal himself to Harry encase Voldemort saw that Snape was helping Harry in Harry’s mind.   

Fun Fact: Snape’s Patronus is a doe because, Lily’s Patronus is a doe, showing that Snape is still in love with Lily, Always.

Battle of Hogwarts

On the 2nd May 1998 Severus, became aware that there was in intruder in the castle. He believed it could be Harry Potter and went to investigate. Snape came across Minerva McGonagall. Harry and Luna who were under the invisibility cloak nearby. Minerva  took this chance to attack Snape and although she was quick, Snape was quicker and he used a shield charm. The two began a short battle before Flitwick, Sprout and Slughorn arrived to help Minerva.

Snape was quick and powerful though and managed to escape through a window, flying away like a bat into the night. 

Severus Snape’s Death

Snape was called to go and see Lord Voldermort via Lucius Malfoy. Before Voldemort could make his intentions clear Snape repeatedly asked to go and retrieve Harry for his master. Snape’s true intention was to find Harry to tell him what Dumbledore had told him the previous year, that Harry needed to die at the hand of Voldemort so that the piece of Voldemorts soul that lived inside of him would die. However Voldemort revealed that the reason why he had wanted Snape to visit him was to kill him as the Dark Lord believed that this would make him the master of the Elder wand.

Voldemort had to kill Snape, but he didn’t want to use the Avada Kadavra killing curse because he didn’t believe the spell would work as he believed that Snape was the master of the elder wand. A wand cannot kill its own master, so instead Voldemort sent Nagini to kill him.

After Voldemort and Nagini had left, but moments before Snape was dead, Harry came to him. Snape was unable to speak full sentences and so released the crucial memories of his past into his tears for Harry to collect and then pour into the pensieve. 

Harry learned the truth, that Snape had ultimately been on the right side, he had loved Lily with all of his heart and was truly trying to bring down the Dark Lord. Snape’s sacrifice saved Harry and the Wizarding community from the tyranny of Lord Voldemort and helped end the Second Wizarding War. He will be remembered, Always!

Severus Snape’s Timeline

Severus Snape’s Timeline

Part 1

Name: Severus Snape

Born: 9th January 1960

Died: 2nd May 1988, aged 38, at the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmade

Parents: Father – Tobias Snape (Muggle), Mother – Eileen Snape (née Prince)(Pure-Blood)

Blood Status: Half-blood

Hogwarts House: Slytherin 

Patronus: Doe

Boggart: Lord Voldemort

Occupation: Potions Teacher, Head of Slytherin House, Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Wand Details: Unknown, although it is presumed that his wand is made from Ebony.

Early Years

Severus grew up at Spinner’s End, near the river in Cokeworth which is found in the Midlands.

Severus followed in his mothers footprints and developed magical powers, unlike his muggle father.

His parents, Tobias and Eileen didn’t get along and would fight often meaning that Severus’s time at home was not happy, and just like Harry, he would be glad for the end of summer and the return to Hogwarts.  

Fun Fact: Vernon Dursley, in an attempt to stop Harry receiving his letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, takes Petunia, Dudley and Harry on a trip away from No. 4 Privet Drive and the first stop is the Railview Hotel in Cokeworth, not far from where Snape and Lily Evans grew up. 

Severus had no close friendships growing up except for a young girl named Lily Evans who lived in a nearby town. Severus observed Lily discovering her powers. In fact it was Snape himself who told Lily that she was a witch. Severus and Lily bonded over the fact that they were both magical which drove a wedge between Lily and Petunia until one day Snape caused a branch to come crashing down on Petunia’s shoulder hurting her. Lily evidently forgave Snape as she invited him into her house which is where he discovered the rejection letter Petunia had received from Dumbledore after she had asked to attend Hogwarts.

Starting at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Snape sat next to Lily Evans on the Hogwarts Express train journey. It was on this train journey that he first met James Potter and Sirius Black. There dislike for each other started when they all began arguing about which is the best Hogwarts House. Snape was then shocked and disheartened when Lily was sorted into Gryffindor.

Although Snape developed several friendships at Hogwarts, he also created 4 enemies: Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and James Potter. It’s hard to say who was at fault between the two sides but one day when Snape was minding his own business, sitting under a tree reading a book James came along and performed the Levicorpus curse on him causing Snape to be hoisted into the air by his ankle and then as a result his trousers started falling which revealed his underwear to laughing students.

Although Lily tried to stand up for Snape she ends up getting rudely insulted when Snape takes his frustrations out on Lily by calling her a Mudblood. This resulted in their relationship becoming fractured.

Snape discovered that Lupin was disappearing once a month and wanted to know why. Severus followed him through the Whomping Willow. He knew to touch the knot on the tree after Sirius told him to do so. Sirius wasn’t doing this to be friendly and helpful, he did it as a cruel trick knowing that if he accidently ran into Lupin as a werewolf he could have been killed. James realised what Sirius had done and risked his own life to save Snape, however not before Snape discovered that Lupin turned into a werewolf once a month at the full moon. Albus swore Snape him to secrecy that he wouldn’t tell anyone Lupin’s secret.

Severus was adept at the Dark Arts right from the beginning, before he left Hogwarts Snape created a number of spells and curses including Levicorpus (a spell that causes the victim to be hoisted into the air by their ankle), Liberacorpus (this is the counter-jinx to Levicorpus), Muffliato (this spell fills the ears of anyone around the caster with a buzzing sound in there ear which stops them from listening into conversations), Langlock (a curse that causes the intended persons tongue to stick to the roof of their mouth preventing them from speaking) and Sectumsempra (a curse which causes the intended person to become lacerated, which causes severe blood loss).

Severus, like the Dark Lord, decided he wanted his own nickname. He used a mixture of his own blood status: half-blood, and his mother’s maiden name: Prince.

Lord Voldemort created his nickname to free himself of his muggle fathers name, Snape did the same thing in creating his nickname. The biggest difference though is that Snape appeared to keep the name almost to himself, whereas Voldemort demanded that everyone adopt his new name.

Allegiance with Lord Voldemort

Severus was sorted into Slytherin House and immediately became friends with Lucius Malfoy, who in Severus’s first year, is already a prefect in his sixth year. Snape also becomes friends with people who later become Death Eaters like Avery, Mulciber, Bellatrix Black, Rodolphus Lestrange, Evan Rosier and Wilkes.

After leaving Hogwarts Snape became a spy for Voldemort. Voldemort asked him to spy on Dumbledore and therefore asked him to work at Hogwarts which is why Snape asked to become the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Dumbledore turned him down knowing that the position was cursed by Voldemort, however he did offer him the Potions Master job as that year Horace Slughorn left his teaching position at Hogwarts.

Spying on Dumbledore led Snape to the Hogs Head Inn in 1980. It was here that he eavesdropped on Sybil Trelawney’s interview for the Divination post at Hogwarts. Albus wasn’t going to continue with the class but because she was the great-great granddaughter of the legendary seer Cassandra Trelawney he thought she was at least worth an interview. The conversation left Dumbledore feeling that it would be the right decision to remove Divination from the syllabus until Dumbledore turned to leave and then Sybil revealed The Prophecy that said that a child who was born at the end of July, whoose parents have three times thwarted the Dark Lord will have power Voldemort doesn’t have and therefore potentially bring about his downfall. Snape, who was there to spy on Dumbledore overheard part of this prophecy. Aberforth, Dumbledore’s brother and the owner of the Hog’s Head, saw that Snape was eavesdropping and so kicked him out of the Hog’s Head, but Snape went and relayed what he had heard to his master.

When Severus discovered that Voldemort wanted to murder Harry Potter, the son of the woman he loved more than anyone else, that was when his allegiance changed, he knew he needed to protect Lily and therefore her son, and he knew he needed Albus’s help. Snape told Dumbledore what he knew and told Dumbledore to hide them. Dumbledore hid them in Godrics Hollow

Fun Fact: Eileen Prince, Snape’s Mother, actually attended Hogwarts at the same time as Lord Voldemort. He started Hogwarts in 1938 and she began in 1941. Presumably Eileen was in Slytherin, along with Voldemort, meaning they probably spent time around each other in the common room.

31st October 1981

Roughly one week before 31st October 1981 Peter Pettigrew was made Lily and James’s Secret Keeper. He knew where they were hiding and he told Lord Voldemort there location. On Wednesday 31st October 1981 Tom Riddle (Lord Voldemort) set out to Godric’s Hollow with the intent on murdering 1 year old Harry Potter. On Snape’s request he would spare Lily Potter if possible.

Upon arriving at the house Voldemort saw Lily, James and Harry all in the front room together. James was alerted to Voldemorts presence first and so told Lily to flee upstairs with Harry. James left his wand on the sofa when he went to face the Dark Lord and was therefore defenceless when Voldemort performed the killing curse on him.

Voldemort then proceeded upstairs and found Lily and Harry. Surprisingly in keeping his promise to Snape he asked Lily to step aside, she didn’t need to die as long as he was allowed to murder the child. Lily of course refused to step aside and so in Voldemort’s mind, he had no other choice but to murder her, performing the killing curse for the second time that night. Voldemort then turned on Harry, who began to cry. As Voldemort performed the curse it rebounded causing a piece of Voldemorts soul to be ripped from his body and attach itself to the only living thing in the room, Harry Potter. The house was blown apart and the crying Harry Potter was left with a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

Please note that it was only in the film that Snape visits Lily’s dead body at Godric’s Hollow. In the books Snape finds out the truth from Dumbledore. Snape is so distraught that he wishes that he were dead. Knowing that his one true love is dead and at the hands of Lord Voldemort, this is when he agrees to protect Harry as a service to Lily Potter.

To be continued in Part 2 coming Monday 28th February 2022

Which Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher was Harry’s best Teacher?

Which Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher was the Best?

 

Throughout the 7 Harry Potter books Harry has had 6 Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors, all of them bringing something new to the role. In this blog post I’m going to be assessing each professor in turn and making my own decision as to which professor most helped Harry become a better wizard and which professor was so awful that it wasn’t worth employing a teacher at all.

 

Professor Quirrell

Starting off with the worst defence against the dark arts teacher is Quirinus Quirrell. Aside from the fact that he’s teamed up with Lord Voldemort and is actively trying to murder Harry, he doesn’t seem to teach Harry anything. When, at the end of the book, Harry is facing Quirrelmort (Quirrell and Voldemort), he doesn’t try any defensive or attacking spells, why not? Because he hasn’t learnt any. In the other tasks leading up to his meeting with Quirrelmort, it’s Hermione rather than Harry that does any basic magic.

 

Barty Crouch Jr.

Barty teaches Harry the Unforgivable curses, he teaches Harry the unwavering truth of what he could be up against and that prepares him. When he’s facing Voldemort in the graveyard, he’s able to resist the Cruciatus curse and this is likely to only be possible because he had practiced when Barty taught him.

Barty also taught Harry “CONSTANT VIGILANCE”, I don’t really know if this really helped Harry. I mean he didn’t notice that Barty was taking pollyjuice potion, but it may have made him more susceptible to noticing when things aren’t as they seem and for him to rely on his gut instinct, like how he was sure that something weird was going on with Draco in “Half Blood Prince”.

 

Remus Lupin

Lupin is arguably my favourite of all of Harry’s teachers at Hogwarts. He creates imaginative, funny and educational lessons, he imparts useful knowledge and wisdom and more than anything else he gives Harry belief in himself that he is a good wizard. He does this by teaching him the tricky magic of creating a corporal Patronus. Harry needs this spell to save his Godfathers life and to save him and his friends when they sneaks into the Ministry of Magic in Deathly Hallow and also at the Battle of Hogwarts.

 

This is just a film thing but Lupin also taught Harry fashion sense. When he forms Dumbledore’s Army and teaches his fellow students defence against the dark arts Harry opts to wear a cardigan, like his teacher Lupin.

 

Dolores Umbridge

It is so hard to place Umbridge. On one hand she tortures him and several other students at Hogwarts. She actively doesn’t teach him or any student, she forces out Dumbledore, removing some of Hogwarts protection and she promotes the unfair and vile behaviour of punishing half breeds. On the other hand, it is the same horrid behaviour of Dolores Umbridge that forces Harry to become a teacher and form Dumbledore’s Army. This group inspired students like Neville to become better at duelling, in a way, preparing him for his role in the murder of Nagini and therefore in the downfall of Voldemort which I would say is pretty important and that wouldn’t have been possible without Umbridge.

 

Gilderoy Lockhart

You’re probably surprised that I didn’t put Gilderoy in the worst teacher spot, a large part of me wanted to, however Gilderoy Lockhart teaches Harry something that saves his life. At the end of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, when Harry has been transported to the graveyard he is told to duel Lord Voldermort. When Voldemort says this he is reminded of the Duelling club that Gilderoy set up two years previously. In that duelling club he was taught a spell, a disarming spell, Expelliarmus which he uses then to escape. So why isn’t Gilderoy at the top? Because although Gilderoy set up the Duelling Club, he wasn’t the one who taught Harry that spell, it was……

 

Severus Snape

Severus Snape, gave Harry the spell that saved his life and ultimately defeated Lord Voldemort. I don’t know if JK Rowling planned it that way but it makes the ending so much more fitting. It wasn’t just with Voldemort that Harry used the spell. When Harry was in the maze he used “Expelliarmus” on the spider that was attacking him and Cedric and it worked to save their lives again.

 

 

Let me know who you thought was Harry’s best Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher? Did you agree with me? Or do you think someone else should be number 1, let me know in the comments bellow and come back on Friday 19th June for another blog.

 

 

 

Harry Potter Cast: Where Are They Now?

Harry Potter Cast: Where Are They Now?

Daniel Radcliffe : A.K.A Harry Potter

Before the Harry Potter franchise had even finished Daniel was already acting on the stage in the play Equus. From there Dan turned to Horror with filming the cinematic version of the play, “The Woman in Black”, which was a real break from Potter and was a commercial success.

Dan has gone on to play the title role in “Victor Frankenstein”, Manny in “Swiss Army Man” and many other successful roles.

Emma Watson : A.K.A Hermione Granger

Similarly as Dan, Emma worked on other projects while Potter was still being released. Emma was in a TV show called “Ballet Shoes” that was released on the BBC over Christmas 2007. It was popular at the time and showed that Emma could act in other roles.

Since leaving Potter she stared in the very popular “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” in (year). This film also starred Ezra Miller who would later enter the Wizarding World as the Obscurial Credence Barebone who ravaged New York City in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”.

Emma has also starred in “The Bling Ring” which was mildly successful, but the most successful film she’s been in since leaving her wand and frizzy hair behind is playing Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast which was beyond ridiculously popular. 

Rupert Grint : A.K.A Ron Weasley

For a long time Rupert dropped off the map and didn’t resurface until he turned up in Ed Sheeran’s music video for “Lego House”. Rupert played an Ed Sheeran staler and wannabe. Although Rupert hasn’t glimpsed my TV screen I do know that Rupert has been sticking more to the little screen rather than the big scene, appearing in TV shows like “Sick Note” and “Snatch”.

Tom Felton : A.K.A Draco Malfoy

Tom was one of the very few Hogwarts students from Philosophers Stone that had done any major acting before. He played ginger haired son of Jim Broadbent, A.KA. Horace Slughorn, Peagreen Clock. The film also starred Mark Williams, A.K.A Arthur Weasley.

Immediately after leaving Potter, Tom performed in the highly anticipated “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” but he sadly died in this film so couldn’t come back for the later films. Since then Tom has continued to act but not in anything noteworthy.

Robert Pattinson : A.K.A Cedric Diggory

We all know that after being murdered by Lord Voldemort, Robert turns into Edward Cullen, a sparkly vampire, who marries and has a child with Bella Swan. After the “Twilight” franchise ends Robert performed in several well known films including “Remember Me” and “Water for Elephants”

Evanna Lynch : A.K.A Luna Lovegood

Evanna hasn’t acted in anything noteworthy, but this year (2019) has taken part in the American show Dancing with the Stars. Evanna paid homage to her time on Potter by dancing to the Harry Potter theme tune  her  week Evanna danced a Harry Potter themed dance. Evanna even made it to 3rd place.

Bonnie Wright : A.K.A Ginny Weasley

Although she has continued acting since leaving the Potter franchise, her only noteworthy performance was in the film 2013 “After the Dark”. Bonnie has also started taking on the role as Producer and Director, she seems to be enjoying being behind the camera as much as in front of the camera.

Matthew Lewis : A.K.A Neville Longbottom

Mathew has kept pretty busy since leaving Potter, he’s appeared in a handful of films, some of them successful, like “Me Before You” but never as the  leading man. However he has had a lot more success in TV series like “The Syndicate”, “Ripper Street” and more.

Dame Maggie Smith : A.K.A 

Maggie was a very successful actress, both before and after Potter. He most notable role since the franchise ended was probably as Lady Grantham in the long running British TV series “Downton Abbey”, which is also very popular in America. Maggie has also had a lot of success as Muriel Donnelly in the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” films.

I would now like to take some time to mention the poor souls who are no longer with us.

Rest in Peace:

Alan Rickman A.K.A Severus Snape passed away back in January 2016 and has been missed every day since.

Dave Legeno A.K.A Fenrir Greyback passed away in July 2014 due to heat related issues while hiking in California.

Roger Lloyd Pack A.K.A Barty Crouch passed away in 2014 due to pancreatic cancer. To many he will be Barty, to others he will be Trigger (Only Fools and Horses), but to me he will always be Owen Newitt (Vicar of Dibley).

John Hurt A.K.A Mr. Olivander passed away in early 2017 after battling pancreatic cancer.

Saying Goodbye to Harry Potter

Saying Goodbye to Harry Potter

 

On my Birthday (July 7th) 2011, the final Harry Potter film was released and I couldn’t believe that the series that I had grown up with was over. I had read all the books, watched all the previous films several times and was ready to find out how the series was ending, however it really felt like a part of my childhood was ending. It was a weird feeling to think that there would be no more Potter films, no more books, no more midnight releases. No more, Harry, Ron or Hermione and no more magic.

 

I wasn’t the only one effected by the end of the series, people around the world were counting down to the final movie, so excited to see how it would end, but also wishing the day would never come because that would mean we had reached the finale.

 

The first Harry Potter film was released on the 16th November 2001 and throughout the eight film series we have lost some incredible witches and wizards including, Sirius Black, Albus Dumbledore, Dobby, Lupin, Tonks, Hedwig, Severus Snape, Cedric Diggory, Lavender Brown, Fred Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody and more! I had mourned their deaths, even shed some tears, but now it was time to say goodbye to Harry Potter.

 

The Cast Say Goodbye

Over the last couple of days of filming, several members of the cast signed the makeup chair that they had to sit in so many times to get turned into the characters they were portraying.

 

As not everyone was involved in the filming of the last scene they filmed, each actors last day was called out on each of their respective last days so people could give thanks and say their goodbyes.

 

For many of the recurring cast members like Dan, Rupert and Emma, they had their own dressing room that they decorated with pictures and games like a ping pong table. As all of the films were filmed at Leavesden Studio, they didn’t have to move dressing rooms, so when it came to finally leaving and taking home all of the things they had collected over the years, Rupert (Ron) found Birthday cards for his 14th Birthday, he was 23 at the time.

 

The Last Day of Filming

June 12th 2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2 were filmed at the same time so the last scene that was filmed was from Part 1. It was the scene were Harry, Ron and Hermione are running out of the Ministry, trying not to get caught by Yaxley and reach the Floo Network in time. It was a simple shot they needed which required the three main cast running and jumping on a mattress.

After the necessary shots had been captured, the filming session was called a wrap and everyone present went over to a monitor which had been brought in and they were shown the trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. This was the first time the trailer had been shown. This was followed by a short film created by Jamie Christopher, an assistant director for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2. He came up with the idea for the film because this was the last film in the franchise so it would be the last time they would be doing these things. The film was made up of cast and crew members that held a golden coloured clapper board, everyone was included from electricians, runners, family and friends visiting the set and more. It wasn’t a long film, it was around 3 minutes, but it produced laughter and tears. At the end there was a big hug between the main trio, Emma, Rupert and Dan.

Next it was time for speeches. David Heyman stood up and said thank you to everyone for all their hard work over the years. He also pointed out that many were there from the first day, 29th September 2000 which puts in perspective just how long the franchise has been going on for.

David Barron and David Yates spoke to give thanks to everyone before Daniel Radcliffe stood up and gave a speech. You can see this on the DVD extras of Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Everyone then celebrated with a barbecue. A Mariachi band was invited for entertainment and Rupert Grint (Ron) brought his Mr. Whippy ice cream truck that he bought with his earnings from the films.

 

Mementos

Tom Felton revealed during the premiere that he took Draco’s ring as a memento, while Mathew Lewis took his fake teeth.

 

David Yates took the portrait that was painted of himself and put on the walls somewhere in Hogwarts.

 

Dan took two pairs of glasses, 1 pair from the first film and 1 pair from the most recent film and Hermione took her time turner, wand and cloak. Rupert has said that he was given Dumbledore’s deluminator.

 

Alan Rickman took Snape’s wand and at the end of Goblet of Fire he said that he took some wizard money.

Other actors were given random searches so weren’t able to take memorabilia.

 

Facts and Figures

Dan (Harry) reportedly went through between 60 and 70 wands throughout the entire franchise because he kept on using them as drum sticks. Dan also went through 160 pairs of glasses. There were some that didn’t have any glass in them, some that needed to look broken, some that needed to look perfect and so on.

Over 25,000 items of clothing and costuming have been used in the Harry Potter franchise.

The lightning scar was put on ever 2000 times, mainly on Daniel Radcliffe, but his stunt doubles also needed it applied regularly.

588 sets were created throughout all 8 films.

 

What was Next?

Back then we had no idea that a Harry Potter play would be coming in the form of The Cursed Child, or we would be getting the Fantastic Beasts series, or we would be able to visit the sets at the Warner Bros Studio Tour in London.

 

As JK Rowling said: “Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”

 

 

 

(None of the photos in this blog post are mine)

The Uprising of Lord Voldemort Part 2

The Uprising of Lord Voldemort Part 2

 

Before we get started I recommend you go and read part 1 of this blog because it will explain all of Lord Voldemorts childhood, his teenage years and his family tree. Now I will recap what Horcruxes Voldemort has and how he created them.

 

Voldemort murders a muggle tramp to turn the Salazar Slytherins locket into a Horcrux and hid it in the cave that the Voldemort had lured the muggle children from the orphanage to. After he found the diadem in a hollowed out tree he murders an Albanian peasant to turn it into a Horcrux, he then hides it in the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. The diary that was turned into a Horcrux from the death of Moaning Myrtle has been given to Lucius Malfoy for safe keeping, while the Hufflepuff cup was given to Bellatrix Lestrange to keep in her Gringotts vault. The ring was turned into a Horcrux after Voldemort murdered his father and grandparents and was left in the rubble of the old Gaunt house.

Voldemort has asked for a job teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts but he has been turned down by Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster. Voldemort is now planning on raising an army against the Wizarding World. He is already a very capable wizard and has the power of Legilimency, which is the power to read and unhinge the minds of anyone he wishes.

 

The first Wizarding world war 1970 – 1981

Voldemort, since starting at Hogwarts has always had a band of followers who call themselves the Death Eaters, but he knows that’s not enough, so he recruits the giants. He wishes for the Wizarding world to take over the muggle world and therefore the giants would be free to roam rather than be hidden away in the mountains.

 

The Dark Lord went on a killing rampage, murdering the muggles who wouldn’t be missed, the homeless. This is a small portion of terror he created and because of this people now referred to him as “He Who Must Not Be Named” and “You Know Who”.

Voldemorts reasoning for doing this was so he could put a spell on their corpses and turn them into Inferi. Hundreds of Inferi were sent to the cave where he had once tortured little Amy and Dennis during a holiday with the orphanage. The Inferi there were put in as an extra measure of protecting one of his Horcruxes’s, the locket. He had used Kreacher, the house elf of Death Eater Regulus Black, to drink the torturous potion and place the locket in the cave and was then left there for dead. This was the first mistake of Lord Voldemort. He didn’t for a second consider that a House Elf would be able to escape, but he did, and so the house elf was able to share with Regulus what Voldemort had made him do.

Kreacher took Regulus to the cave, he made a duplicate of the locket, and swapped it with a fake locket after drinking the potion. Similarly with Dumbledore, Regular had to gasp for water and was attacked by the Inferi and dragged down to his watery death.

 

Many people wanted to be rid of Voldemort but Dumbledore was the one who started putting plans into action, he created The Order of the Phoenix.

The only person who Voldemort was ever afraid of was Dumbledore which is why Hogwarts school remained safe during the war.

 

The Prophecy

Hogwarts was looking for a new Divination teacher which is why Dumbledore could be found at the Hogs Head interviewing Sybil Trelawney. During this interview Sybil made an actual prophecy:

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.”

Severus Snape overheard only half of prophecy and then rushed back to tell his master.

This prophecy could have referred to two different boys. Neville Longbottom or Harry Potter. Both boys were born at the end of July and both parents were a part of the order who had thrice defied him. Voldemort, very interestingly choose to target Harry Potter because he is a half blood just like himself, not the pure blood wizard Neville Longbottom. Voldemort believed that Harry Potter was the only thing standing between him and Wizarding domination and he needed to be rid of him.

 

Although Dumbledore put spells in place to protect Harry and his parents, Voldemort overcame them, but not by himself. He had the help of Peter Pettigrew. He was one of the few people who knew where the Potters lived and he told The Dark Lord. On the night of 31st October, Voldemort broke into the house, murdered James and then went upstairs to murder Harry. Lily, Harry’s mother got in the way and begged Voldemort to spare him and take her instead but Voldemort ignored her wishes, he wasn’t going to kill her, he was going to respect the wishes of one of his closest Death Eaters, Severus Snape, but because she didn’t stand back, he killed her and then attempted to murder baby Harry. BUT, it didn’t work, the curse rebounded because Lily had sacrificed herself to try and save her child. This was ancient magic and it caused Voldemort’s body to be ripped apart. Unbeknownst to Voldemort, that night he made another Horcrux. Another piece of his soul was now living inside Harry.

The Aftermath

Voldemort has lost his physical form and the majority of his power but he still had a portion of his soul. He travelled to the forest of Albania to seek refuge and there he waited for 10 years. Within this time he waited for one of his death eaters to come and find and rescue him but none did. Voldemort survived by inhabiting the body of the animals in the forest, his favourites were snakes, but even they couldn’t survive long with Voldemort living inside them.

 

The majority of the death eaters, without their master, quickly claimed that they were under the Imperious curse, that they had never meant to do any of the things they had done, other death eaters, the more dedicated ones became angry that Voldemort had gone. Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr were among the latter. They went to home of Frank and Alice Longbottom and tortured them by use of the Cruciatus Curse. Luckily, many of these dedicated supporters were sent to Azkaban for lifetime imprisonment.

 

Quirrell and the Philosophers Stone

In the summer of 1991, Quirinus Quirrell travelled to Albania in hopes of finding Lord Voldemort, not because he was a dedicated follower but because he wanted glory, he hoped he would be able to learn a thing or two from the Dark Lord. Once he found him, Voldemort took his chance and latched onto Quirrell who brought him to Hogwarts where Quirrell could teach Defence Against the Dark Arts for Harry Potters first year at Hogwarts School.

In order for Voldemort to survive, he forced Quirrell to drink unicorn blood. which helped the both of them survive. At some point after meeting Quirrell, Voldemort discovered that the Philosophers’ Stone, the stone that contains the Elixir of Life, is currently being protected at Gringotts the Wizard bank in Diagon Alley. Voldemort has no option but to force Quirrell to try and steal the stone, but he fails and the stone is moved the Hogwarts, with enchantments and protections from many teachers at the school including Professor Snape the potions master, Madame Hooch the flying instructor, Hagrid the groundskeeper, and more.

 

In order to get past Fluffy, a three headed dog, the first task in getting to the stone, Quirrell, disguised as a traveller found Hagrid one night in a pub, they played card games and discussed animals which is how Quirrell/Voldemort discovered that Fluffy goes to sleep if you play him some music.

With the information he needed Voldemort/Quirrell attempted to steal the Philosophers’ Stone, but was thwarted by none other than Harry Potter, who with the help of his two friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione, were able to prevent him from stealing the stone and sent him back to Albania where he would be waiting for two more years until a devoted follower would come to find him.

 

Peter Pettigrew

In the summer of 1994, Peter Pettigrew’s hidden identity was revealed. He had been posing as a Rat, belonging first to Percy Weasley and then being handed down to Ron Weasley. He was unmasked by Sirius Black who had wrongfully been sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban for the murder of several muggles.

Pettigrew was vulnerable and always sought the protection of bigger and more powerful people. This is why Pettigrew saw no other option than to hunt down his old master, Lord Voldemort. Shortly after finding him, Pettigrew very quickly realised that he was in over his head, but was now trapped to serve his old master. He fed the very weak Voldemort a mixture of unicorn blood and snake venom, offered from the snake Nagini.

At this same time Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry witch travelled to Albania where she came across Pettigrew and Voldemort. She divulged the information that Hogwarts would be playing host to the Triwizard tournament. Voldemort knew that this would work in his favour.

Voldemort, when searching through Bertha’s mind, discovered that someone had put a memory charm on her. Bertha, in the past, had visited Barty Crouch’s house. Barty Crouch was a Ministry Wizard. Inside the house, hiding, and under the Imperius curse was Barty Crouch Jr, who was meant to be in Azkaban. However, his father had taken pity on him and snuck him out. Crouch Jr was a big supporter of Voldemort. This information would prove invaluable in Voldemorts return.

Voldemort murdered Bertha and used this murder to turn Nagini, a snake he had a very close connection with, into a Horcrux.

Wormtail and Voldemort headed back to England where they broke into the house of Barty Crouch, performed the Imperius curse on him and set free Crouch Jr so he could begin helping his master once again.

Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr, travelled to Tom Riddles old house. They needed to be near here so they could find a potion ingredient that would help Voldemort get his body back. They needed a bone of his father, Tom Riddle, the flesh of servant, Peter Pettigrew’s hand and the blood of an enemy, and what better enemy than the boy whose parents you unjustifiably murdered.

 

Voldemort saw how important it was to have eyes at Hogwarts so he sent Crouch Jr to go and kidnap Mad Eye Moody, an old and powerful wizard who in the past had helped to capture dark wizards. He was on his way to Hogwarts to teach the new position of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Through the use of Pollyjuice potion, Crouch Jr took Moody’s place at school. Moody/Crouch Jr taught the students all about the Unforgiveable curses and helped Harry Potter to not only get through the Triwizard tournament competitions, but also help him to reach the cup first and win.

 

The cup was transformed into a portkey (a transportation device), so when Harry and Cedric, another Hogwarts competitor, grabbed hold of the cup, they were transported to the graveyard where Voldemort, with the help of Pettigrew brewed the potion with all three ingredients and finally got his body back.

 

After summoning a number of loyal death eaters and explaining to them his absence, he turned to Harry Potter whom he intended to kill by used of the same curse he tried to kill Harry with back when he was a baby. Voldemort was once again stopped by ancient magic. This time Priori Incantatem. This piece of magic brought back to life the spirit of Frank Bryce, Bertha Jorkins and Lilly and James Potter who all distracted Voldemort so that Harry could escape with his life and the body of Cedric back to Hogwarts where Barty Crouch Jr found him.

Crouch Jr then took Harry up to his office where he too tried to murder Harry. This time Harry was saved by Albus Dumbledore.

 

Before Crouch Jr was spoken to, the dementors were given permission to suck out his soul. This meant that no one was around to confirm Harry’s story that Voldemort was really back. Due to ignorance of the ministry, Voldemort could work his plans for an entire year without the detection of the Ministry.

 

That is where we are going to end this blog. Come back on Monday 21st to find out how Voldemort is defeated once and for all!