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Severus Snape

Severus Snape is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is an exceptionally skilled wizard whose extremely cold and resentful exterior conceals deep emotions and anguish. A Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Snape is hostile to Harry due to his resemblance to his father James Potter, who bullied Snape during their time together at Hogwarts.

As the series progresses, Snape's character becomes more layered and enigmatic. A central mystery is unravelled concerning his loyalties. Snape dies at the hands of Lord Voldemort in the seventh book, at which time his back story is revealed. Despite his attraction to the Dark Arts and Voldemort's ideology of wizard supremacy, Snape's love for Muggle-born Lily Evans, Harry's mother, eventually compelled him to defect from the Death Eaters. He then became a double agent for Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. The fact that Lily chose James Potter, Harry's father, only fuels Snape's hostility towards Harry.

Snape's character has been widely acclaimed by readers and critics. Rowling described him as "a gift of a character" whose story she had known since the first book. Elizabeth Hand of The Washington Post explained that Snape's life "is the most heartbreaking, surprising and satisfying of all of Rowling's achievements". Actor Alan Rickman portrayed Snape in all eight Harry Potter films, released between 2001 and 2011.

Character development
In an interview, Rowling described Snape's character as an "antihero". She has said that she drew inspiration for Snape's character from a disliked teacher from her own childhood, and described Snape as a horrible teacher, saying the "worst, shabbiest thing you can do" as a teacher is to bully students. However, she does suggest in the books that he is generally an effective teacher. Although Rowling has said that Gilderoy Lockhart is her only character that she "deliberately based on a real person", Snape was reportedly based, at least in part, on John Nettleship, who taught Rowling chemistry and employed her mother as an assistant at Wyedean School near Chepstow. Rowling based Snape's given name on "Severus Road" in Clapham, and his surname is borrowed from the name of a village in England. In a 1999 interview and again in 2004, Rowling singled out Snape as one of her favourite characters to write.

Rowling was less forthcoming about Snape than she was for other characters, because his true loyalties and motivations were not revealed until the final book. However, she hinted numerous times at Snape's important role, suggesting that people should "keep their eye on Snape". In 1999, answering a question regarding Snape's love life and the redemptive pattern to his character, Rowling expressed her surprise at the foresight. Rowling also disclosed that after the publication of Prisoner of Azkaban, there was one female fan who guessed Snape loved Lily Potter, making Rowling wonder how she had given herself away.

After the completion of the series, Rowling began to speak openly about Snape, discussing the contrast between his character arc and that of Albus Dumbledore. Rowling said "the series is built around [the Dumbledore and Snape storylines]", and maintained that she always knew what Snape would turn out to be at the end and that she carefully plotted his storyline throughout the series. "I had to drop clues all the way through because as you know in the seventh book when you have the revelation scene where everything shifts and you realise...what Snape's motivation was. I had to plot that through the books because at the point where you see what was really going on, it would have been an absolute cheat on the reader at that point just to show a bunch of stuff you've never seen before." Rowling further said in an interview that she wanted Snape to find redemption and forgiveness: "Snape is a complicated man...he was a flawed human being, like all of us. Harry forgives him...Harry really sees the good in Snape ultimately... I wanted there to be redemption."

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Snape first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, shortly after Harry arrives at Hogwarts. He is the school's Potions Master, though he is widely rumoured to covet the Defence Against the Dark Arts post. Snape himself confirms the rumour in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Snape is a sinister and malicious teacher who makes frequent snide and disparaging remarks at Harry's expense. He quickly becomes the primary antagonist of the book, as Harry suspects him of plotting to steal the Philosopher's Stone, and of attempting to kill him. Only the climax of the book reveals that Professor Quirrell, in league with Lord Voldemort, is the real enemy; Snape, suspicious of Quirrell, had been looking out for Harry throughout the book. In the final chapter, Dumbledore suggests that because Harry's father James had saved Snape's life when they were both students, even though the two detested each other, Snape felt responsible for Harry in return. As the final book reveals, this is not the full story. In any case, even after Quirrell's true role is revealed, Harry retains feelings of suspicion and resentment towards Snape, and their relationship remains tense. Snape's behaviour and attitude towards Harry also remain unchanged.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Snape has a minor role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where he helps Gilderoy Lockhart oversee Hogwarts' short-lived Duelling Club, but he has little interaction with the main plot. It is while attending the Duelling Club that Harry learns the Expelliarmus spell, which plays a significant role in later books, by seeing Snape use it.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Snape demonstrates his expertise with potions by brewing the complex Wolfsbane potion for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin. Throughout the third book, Snape suspects that Lupin may be helping Harry's godfather Sirius Black enter Hogwarts castle; Sirius had been convicted (wrongly, as it is later revealed) of murdering Peter Pettigrew and innocent bystanders, and betraying the Potter family's hiding place to Voldemort. This suspicion stems from Lupin's friendship with Sirius and Harry's father, James, while they were all at Hogwarts as students. Near the climax of the book, Snape attempts to apprehend Sirius, but Sirius escapes with Harry's aid. Snape informs Dumbledore of this circumstance, and when Harry and Lupin are not punished, Snape retaliates by revealing to the entire school that Lupin is a werewolf, forcing the latter to resign his post.

Prisoner of Azkaban reveals more details about the connection between Snape and James. While in school together, Sirius once tricked Snape into almost entering the Shrieking Shack while Lupin was there, transformed into a werewolf. James realised the danger and stopped Snape, saving his life; this is the incident Dumbledore referred to at the end of the first book. Snape, however, believes James' actions were self-serving, to avoid being expelled.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Snape's role in the fourth novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is not substantially different from that of the previous three books. He is apoplectic when Harry is unexpectedly entered into the Triwizard Tournament. Later Harry accidentally falls into Dumbledore's Pensieve and views memories of several Death Eater trials from years before. At one point, Snape is named as a Death Eater by Igor Karkaroff, but Dumbledore comes to Snape's defence, claiming that although Snape had indeed been a Death Eater, he changed sides before Voldemort's downfall and turned spy against him. Later, Dumbledore assures Harry that Snape's reformation is genuine, though he refuses to tell Harry how he knows this, saying the information "is a matter between Professor Snape and myself".

At the end of the book, Dumbledore attempts to convince a disbelieving Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, that Voldemort has returned. As proof, Snape willingly shows Fudge the restored Dark Mark on his arm. He is subsequently sent on a secret mission by Dumbledore. This mission, as had been implied in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and revealed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was to rejoin the Death Eaters and spy on Voldemort as a re-doubled agent, while pretending to spy on Dumbledore on behalf of Voldemort.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In the fifth novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Snape returns to a more prominent role. With Voldemort having returned to a fully corporeal body, Snape continues working as a re-doubled agent for Dumbledore. He is seen prior to the start of school at Number 12, Grimmauld Place giving reports to the Order of the Phoenix. He has a very strained relationship with Sirius, who owns Grimmauld Place and must remain there in hiding. The two trade frequent snide remarks and at one point almost begin a duel. Snape taunts Sirius about the latter's not being able to take an active role in the Order's missions because of his fugitive status. Harry feels later that this taunting contributed to Sirius' willingness to take unsafe risks. Back at school, Snape's allegiance to the Order has no effect on his dislike for Harry.

Later in the book, Dumbledore has Snape teach Harry Occlumency, the protection of the mind from outside intrusion or influence. The sessions are made difficult by their mutual hostility and end prematurely when Harry uses Dumbledore's Pensieve to view one of Snape's worst childhood memories without the latter's permission. He sees the memory of Snape being bullied by James and Sirius, and of calling Harry's mother Lily a Mudblood (a highly offensive term). Only in the final book is it revealed that, prior to this confrontation, Snape and Lily had been close friends.

Towards the end of the novel, Dolores Umbridge – the school's politically appointed headmistress – captures Harry and interrogates him about Dumbledore's whereabouts. She sends for Snape, demanding that he provide the magical truth serum Veritaserum in order to force Harry to reveal any information he may be hiding. Snape claims that his supplies of the serum have been exhausted after Umbridge tries to use the drug previously on Harry. It is later revealed that Snape had in fact supplied Umbridge with fake Veritaserum on the prior attempt. Snape then carries Harry's cryptic warning about Sirius' capture to the other Order members, allowing them to come to the rescue in the Department of Mysteries. Harry still holds Snape partly responsible for Sirius' death, believing Snape's goading spurred Sirius into joining the battle.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
In the second chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy visit Snape at his home in Spinner's End. Narcissa's son Draco has been given a difficult task by Voldemort, and Narcissa swears Snape to an Unbreakable Vow that he will protect Draco, help him complete Voldemort's task, and finish the task himself if Draco fails. When questioned by Bellatrix about his loyalties, Snape says he has been working for Voldemort ever since Voldemort's return, and explains his actions in the previous books in that light. He points out that gaining Dumbledore's trust and protection has kept him out of Azkaban and free to operate on Voldemort's behalf.

At the start-of-term feast at Hogwarts, Dumbledore announces Snape as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Horace Slughorn, a former teacher who himself had taught Snape during his Hogwarts years, comes out of retirement and replaces him as Potions Master. With Snape no longer teaching Potions, Harry enrolls in Slughorn's class and is lent an old textbook until his new one arrives. Harry finds marginalia, including a variety of hexes and jinxes seemingly invented by an unknown student, and substantial improvements to the book's standard potion-making instructions. The text is inscribed as being "the Property of the Half-Blood Prince". The notes greatly bolster Harry's performance in Potions, so much so that he impresses Slughorn. Snape, who maintains that he "never had the impression that [he] had been able to teach Potter anything at all", is suspicious of Harry's newfound Potions success.

Later, during a fight with Draco, Harry casts one of the Prince's spells marked "For Enemies," and is horrified by the devastating wounds it inflicts to Draco's face and chest. Snape rushes to the scene and heals Draco, then interrogates Harry regarding the spell, using Legilimency to extract the source of Harry's knowledge (the Potions textbook) from Harry's mind. When Snape insists that Harry show him his Potions textbook, Harry hides the Prince's book and gives him Ron Weasley's book instead. As punishment for the attack and knowing Harry is lying about the textbook, Snape assigns Harry detention during the final Quidditch match of the year.

Before leaving Hogwarts to accompany Dumbledore in locating another horcrux – part of Voldemort's soul – Harry discovers from Professor Trelawney that it was Snape who overheard the prophecy and told it to Voldemort, resulting in Voldemort hunting down Harry and his parents. Despite this and Harry's angry questions, Dumbledore avers his trust in Snape. Returning to Hogwarts after retrieving Voldemort's Horcrux, Harry and Dumbledore alight atop the school's astronomy tower. Gravely weakened by the horcrux's protective potion, Dumbledore tells Harry he must fetch Snape, but before Harry can leave, Draco suddenly arrives, intending to carry out Voldemort's order to assassinate Dumbledore, closely followed by other Death Eaters (followers of Voldemort), and Snape. Snape interrupts the planned murder, killing the headmaster himself. Harry, who is paralysed under his invisibility cloak by Dumbledore for his own protection, witnesses the kill, and is released upon Dumbledore's death. Enraged, he pursues Snape, Draco, and the Death Eaters as they flee the castle. Snape easily blocks Harry's spells and jeeringly points out Harry's mistakes, but never strikes back. During the confrontation, Snape reveals himself as the eponymous "Half-Blood Prince" (being the half-blood son of Muggle Tobias Snape and pure-blood Eileen ). Snape passes through the school gates and Disapparates with Draco in tow at the book's end. The full relationship between Dumbledore and Snape and the reason for Snape's actions remain unknown until the final book. In an interview, Rowling mentioned that at this point in the series, the Harry–Snape relationship has become "as personal, if not more so, than Harry–Voldemort."

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort and his Death Eaters have tightened their grip on the wizarding world. Snape is named Headmaster of Hogwarts, while Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow are appointed as Hogwarts staff. The novel focuses largely on Harry and his friends and events outside the school; therefore Snape plays a limited role at the start. In the course of the book, Harry and his friends find out that a few students attempted to steal the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, and that Snape subsequently sent it to be stored at Gringotts Wizarding Bank; however, that sword was only a copy. Later on, Harry and Ron are led to find the real sword by a Patronus taking the form of a doe. (Towards the end of the book, Harry learns that this was Snape's Patronus, taking the same shape as Harry's mother Lily's Patronus, a visible sign of his lifelong love for Harry's mother, and that Dumbledore had asked Snape to ensure that Harry gained possession of the sword. The novel also reveals that Snape had covertly used his position as Headmaster to protect the students and to contain the Carrows. )

Towards the end of the school year, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout force Snape to flee the school. Voldemort summons Snape to the Shrieking Shack. Erroneously believing Snape is the master of the Elder Wand and that Snape's death will make him the master of the Wand, Voldemort kills Snape by having his pet snake Nagini bite him through the neck. The dying Snape releases a cloud of memories and tells Harry, who has watched the entire scene from a hidden spot, to take and view them. The dying Snape asks Harry to look at him, since Harry has the eyes of his mother Lily which Snape loved, and Snape wants to have these eyes as the last thing he would see.

From these memories, Harry sees Snape's childhood and learns his true loyalties. In this vision, Harry learns that Snape befriended Lily as a child when they lived near each other. Upon their arrival at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat placed Snape and Lily into Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses, respectively. They remained friends for the next few years until they were driven apart by Snape's interest in the Dark Arts; the friendship finally ended following the bullying episode that Harry had briefly seen in the fifth book, in which Snape calls Lily "Mudblood". Despite this separation and Snape's enduring animosity toward Lily's eventual husband James Potter, Snape continued to love Lily for the rest of his life.

The memories also show that as a Death Eater, Snape had revealed to Voldemort a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney, causing Voldemort to attempt to prevent it by killing Harry and his parents. Snape, who had not realised until too late that Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy to be referring to Lily and her family (as it could've also referred to Frank and Alice Longbottom and their son Neville Longbottom), asked Voldemort to spare Lily. Still in terror for her life, he also approached Dumbledore, admitted his actions, and begged him to protect the Potters. Dumbledore chided him for thinking only of himself and not of Lily's husband and child, but agreed and ensured that they were placed under the Fidelius Charm. In return, Snape secretly allied himself with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix as a double agent against Voldemort, using his powers of Occlumency to hide his betrayal from Voldemort. However, Snape demanded of Dumbledore that his love for Lily (his reason for switching sides) be kept a secret, especially from Harry, because of the deep animosity he felt towards Harry's father and his mixed feelings towards Harry (who reminded him of both his love for Lily Potter and her death, and his animosity towards James Potter). Dumbledore agreed and kept the secret throughout his life, although questioning Snape's request to "never reveal the best of you". Even with his efforts to protect her, Snape felt guilty and responsible for Lily's death at Voldemort's hands.

Snape's memories then reveal that Dumbledore had impetuously tried to use the Gaunt ring, which had been cursed by Voldemort, and had been suffering from a powerful curse. Snape's knowledge of the Dark Arts enabled him to slow the spread of the curse from Dumbledore's hand through his body, but he would have died within a year. Dumbledore, aware that Voldemort had ordered Draco to kill him, had asked Snape to kill him instead as a way of sparing the boy's soul and of preventing his own otherwise slow, painful death. Although Snape was reluctant, even asking about the impact of such an action on his own soul, Dumbledore implied that this kind of coup de grâce would not damage a human's soul in the same way murder would. Nevertheless, they both knew that Snape could not avoid what he had sworn to Narcissa at the beginning of the previous book. Snape agreed to do as the Headmaster requested. Snape's memories also provide Harry with the information he needs to ensure Voldemort's final defeat, in the form of conversations Snape had with Dumbledore.

Rowling noted in an interview that because Snape abandoned his post before dying or officially retiring, a portrait of him does not immediately appear in the Headmaster's office following his death. She adds, however, that she would like to think Harry made Snape's true loyalty and heroism known in the Wizarding world, and that he lobbied to ensure that a portrait be installed in the office. In a separate interview, Rowling discussed Snape's back story, saying she had planned it ever since she wrote the first book because the whole series is built around it and she considers him one of the most important characters of the seventh book.

Epilogue
In the epilogue to Deathly Hallows, set nineteen years after Harry defeats Voldemort, Harry has named his second-born son Albus Severus, after Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. As Albus is about to enter his first year at Hogwarts, he expresses concern that he will be sorted into Slytherin. Harry tells his son, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them [Snape] was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

Portrayal in films
Severus Snape appears in all eight Harry Potter films, portrayed by British actor Alan Rickman. Rickman was Rowling's personal choice to portray the character. He had conversations with Rowling about his character and is one of the few Harry Potter actors that she spoke to prior to the completion of the book series about the future direction of the character. "He knew very early on that he'd been in love with Lily," said Rowling. "He needed to understand […] where this bitterness towards this boy who's the living example of her preference for another man came from."

Rickman used this knowledge of Snape's ultimate loyalties throughout the films to decide how to play certain scenes, deliver specific lines, or use body language to convey specific emotions. When the directors of the films would ask him why he was doing a scene a certain way or delivering a line in a specific manner, Rickman would simply reply that he knew something they didn't.

Rickman himself refrained from talking about Snape, asking readers to wait and "see what unfolds" in the course of the novels; however, he did say Snape is a complicated person, very rigid and full of himself; in an interview he went further, saying: "Snape isn't one who enjoys jokes and I strongly fear that his sense of humour is extremely limited... But in his defence, I will add that he didn't have an easy adolescence, particularly during his studies at Hogwarts." He also said Snape is a fascinating character, and that he takes immense pleasure in playing such an ambiguous person.

Rickman's performance as Snape was widely acclaimed by critics, fans and Rowling herself. Entertainment Weekly listed Rickman as one of the most popular movie stars in 2007 for his performance as Snape, saying: "As the icy, humourless magic instructor Severus Snape, Rickman may not be on screen long—but he owns every minute." Rickman also noted fans' reactions; in an interview, he said he found "that people in general adore Snape. He is sarcastic, stubborn, etc, etc. But he is also fascinating. I have a lot of fun impersonating him." Rickman was nominated for several awards for his portrayal of Snape, and in 2011, was elected the best character portrayal in all the Harry Potter films series.

In 2011, Empire magazine published an open letter from Rickman to J.K. Rowling, ruminating on the ten years of working on the Potter films and thanking her for telling the story.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifteen-year-old Snape (portrayed by Alec Hopkins) makes a brief appearance in a flashback to Snape's youth. In the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, the younger Snape, perhaps ten or eleven, is played by Benedict Clarke. In 2016, a fan film prequel, Severus Snape and the Marauders, was released online and Snape was played by Morgana Ignis.

Before Alan Rickman was offered the role of Severus Snape, the role was originally offered to Tim Roth, who turned the role down in favour of portraying General Thade in Planet of the Apes.

Stage play
When Draco and Astoria Greengrass' son Scorpius Malfoy finds himself in an alternate timeline in which Voldemort won the Battle of Hogwarts, killed Harry and his allies and instituted a terrible reign of terror, he desperately searches for help in restoring history to its original course. He finds that in this reality Snape is still alive and still teaches at Hogwarts, and asks for his help. At first Snape is suspicious of him, since this timeline's version of Scorpius is a bully and a Voldemort stalwart. But when Scorpius shows that he knows of Snape having been in love with Lily, Harry's mother – Snape's most closely guarded secret – Snape becomes convinced that he does indeed come from a different timeline where Harry and his friends won. Snape then reveals that he, together with the fugitive Ron and Hermione Granger, maintain the last remnants of Dumbledore's Army – still waging hopeless resistance against the all-powerful Voldemort. In talking with Scorpius, Snape had learned that Harry would name his son "Albus Severus" and would regard Snape as "probably the bravest man I ever knew" – and is deeply moved. Though having guessed that in the other timeline he would die, Snape nevertheless willingly helps Scorpius recreate this timeline – and being discovered by Dementors, Snape sacrifices himself in order to cover Scorpius' escape.

Outward appearance
Snape is described as a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth. He has shoulder-length, greasy black hair which frames his face, and cold, black eyes. He wears black, flowing robes which give him the appearance of "an overgrown bat". The youthful Snape had a "stringy, pallid look", being "round-shouldered yet angular", having a "twitchy" walk "that recalled a spider" and "long oily hair that jumped about his face".

In the chapter illustrations by Mary GrandPré in the American editions of The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Order of the Phoenix, and The Half-Blood Prince, Snape is depicted with a moustache and goatee, long black hair, and a receding hairline.

Personality
Snape is generally depicted as being cold, calculating, precise, sarcastic, and bitter. He strongly dislikes Harry and often insults him by insulting his father James. As the series progresses, it is revealed that his treatment of Harry stems from Snape's bitter rivalry with James when they were in school together. In particular, James and Sirius bullied Snape, which according to Alan Rickman caused the already lonely boy to further "shut himself in". Rowling further described the young Snape as insecure and vulnerable: "Given his time over again [Snape] would not have become a Death Eater, but like many insecure, vulnerable people he craved membership of something big and powerful, something impressive.[...] [He] was so blinded by his attraction to the dark side he thought [Lily] would find him impressive if he became a real Death Eater."

The adult Snape, on the other hand, is portrayed as very self-assured and confident of his abilities, to a degree that Rickman described as "full of himself." Director David Yates said Snape is a character with gravitas, authority and power. Snape typically displays a very calm and collected demeanour, rarely at a loss for words or taken off guard. His temper, however, is sometimes short where Harry is concerned and positively flares when dealing with his erstwhile tormentor Sirius, or when accused of cowardice. His otherwise impassive and aloof attitude seems to stem from his belief that people who cannot control their emotions are weak.

Like some other prominent members of Slytherin house, Snape is shown to be a clever and cunning wizard. He is intelligent and has a keen, analytical mind. In an interview, Rowling adds that Snape is immensely brave, and when asked if she considers Snape a hero, replied: "Yes, I do; though a very flawed hero. An anti-hero, perhaps. He is not a particularly likeable man in many ways. He remains rather cruel, a bully, riddled with bitterness and insecurity—and yet he loved, and showed loyalty to that love and, ultimately, laid down his life because of it. That's pretty heroic!"

Magical abilities and skills
All seven novels show Snape to be a very powerful wizard and to have been outstanding while a student. He specialises in potion making and has talent and passion for the Dark Arts. Sirius claimed that Snape knew more hexes and curses as a first-year student at Hogwarts than most seventh-years knew. Particularly gifted in potion making, Snape added major improvements to his Potions textbook while still a student. Also as a student, Snape shows a rare gift for discovering new spells. Lupin describes Sectumsempra as Snape's "speciality" in Deathly Hallows. Snape is shown using this spell as a teenager against Harry's father James and in the aerial battle in the last novel when he accidentally hits George Weasley (acting as a Potter decoy) with it while actually aiming for a Death Eater who was trying to attack Lupin, permanently severing George's right ear. Despite Sectumsempra's deadly power, Snape can also heal the wounds it causes. Snape is adept at reversing or containing potentially fatal damage from other dark curses as well, due to his vast knowledge of Dark Arts, as he does when Dumbledore and then Katie Bell are cursed. Skilful in the arts of Legilimency and especially Occlumency, Snape is able to both access the minds of others and protect his own thoughts—indeed, though Snape does not care for the term himself, Harry forms the uncomfortable impression early in the series that the Potions Master is able to "read minds." Being an Occlumens, Snape is able to keep his betrayal from Voldemort, who is himself described as being "the greatest Legilimens" in history. According to Rowling, Snape is the only Death Eater capable of producing a full Patronus, which, like Lily's, is a doe. Snape is a talented duellist, able to hold off by himself (if only briefly) a group of three Hogwarts professors that included former duelling champion Filius Flitwick. Professor McGonagall later implies that Snape learned to fly without the use of a broom, a rare skill previously displayed only by Voldemort.

Family
Snape's family background is mostly shown in flashbacks during the course of the last three novels. Snape was born to Eileen Prince, a witch, and Tobias Snape, a Muggle, making him a half-blood (hence the name, "Half-Blood Prince"). This is rare for a Death Eater, as remarked in the last book, though Voldemort himself also had a Muggle father. Snape spent his early childhood living with his parents in a small house in Spinner's End. Snape's family was a poor one and he is described as wearing ill-fitting clothes "that were so mis-matched that it looked deliberate". As a child, Snape was apparently neglected and his parents often fought with one another. Snape was very eager to leave his home to go to Hogwarts. Towards the end of the last novel, Harry draws parallels between his childhood, Snape's, and Voldemort's.

Loyalties
Snape's true loyalty was one of the most significant questions in the series up until the end of the final instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Although the first five novels depict him as unfair and vindictive towards Harry and his friends, he invariably ends up protecting or otherwise helping them when they or their allies are in danger. Several characters express doubts about his loyalty, but Dumbledore's trust in him is generally taken to be the final word. Curiously, the same thing appears to happen in the opposite side, when we see how Bellatrix Lestrange mistrust Snape and only the word of Voldemort seems to protect him from the suspicions of the other death-eaters. The sixth novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, departs from that model. In the second chapter, Snape claims to have been working for Voldemort ever since the latter's return, and only pretending to help Dumbledore. By killing Dumbledore toward the end of the novel, Snape seems to place himself firmly in Voldemort's camp. Rowling maintains this impression through the early chapters of the seventh novel. However, near the climax of the book, Snape leaves Harry his dying thoughts (to be viewed in the Pensieve) and ultimately reveals to Harry that he had been loyal to Albus Dumbledore throughout the series. Snape's fierce devotion to and love of his childhood friend Lily, Harry's mother, is the foundation of that loyalty.

After Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Snape's loyalty was a matter of intense debate among the fans. The issue was given special attention in the marketing campaigns on behalf of the last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. "Is Snape Good or Evil?" was one of the questions in Scholastic Inc.'s seven-question series, part of its marketing campaign for the book. As part of the Waldenbooks marketing campaign, two free stickers, one that said "Trust Snape" and another that stated "Snape Is A Very Bad Man" were available with the book. Borders Group published a separate book on the topic, The Great Snape Debate, containing essays and arguments from both sides of the debate.

Reception
The secretive attitude and gradual unfolding of Snape's character was broadly admired, with Stephen Fry, narrator of the UK audiobooks, saying in 2003: "Most characters like Snape are hard to love but there is a sort of ambiguity—you can't quite decide—something sad about him—lonely and it's fascinating when you think he's going to be the evil one..., then slowly you get this idea he's not so bad after all." David Yates, who directed the final four films of the series, also expressed his views on the character, saying: "A character like Snape, where you're not really sure if he's a good guy or a bad guy, that gives you a latent tension... I think the coolest thing you can do with an audience is deny them a little bit of information." Despite being less than kind, the character quickly gained popularity within fandom to a level that surprised Rowling herself. Joyce Millman suggests in her essay "To Sir with Love" in the book Mapping the World of Harry Potter, that Snape is derived from a tradition of Byronic heroes such as Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff. Jenny Sawyer from The Christian Science Monitor commented on the character's development in the series. She claimed that Snape is the only protagonist who genuinely has a choice to make and who struggles to do the right thing, hence the only one to face a "compelling inner crisis". She believed the popularity of the character is due to the moral journey and inner conflict that Snape undergoes within the series, as it is the hero's struggle and costly redemption that really matter: "[Snape's] character ached for resolution. And it is precisely this need for resolution—our desire to know the real Snape and to understand his choices—that makes him the most compelling character in the Potter epic."

The final revelation of Snape's loyalty in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was viewed positively by fans and critics alike. Daniel Radcliffe, who portrays Harry Potter in the movie series, expressed his delight, saying he was pleased to see that his theory that Snape would end up being a sort of tragic hero came through. Elizabeth Hand from The Washington Post wrote, "The much-maligned loner Snape does not come onstage until the latter part of "Deathly Hallows," but when he does the book becomes his: Snape's fate, more than Voldemort's, perhaps more even than Harry's, is the most heartbreaking, surprising and satisfying of all of Rowling's achievements."

IGN listed Snape as their 4th top Harry Potter character, saying that he makes "quite an impact in the Harry Potter series", and IGN's Joe Utichi called Snape his favourite Harry Potter character and praised his character development. Shortly after the release of the final film, MTV held a public poll for fans to vote for the best character in the series, and Snape was voted #1. Around the same time, Empire magazine held a public poll for fans to vote for the 25 greatest characters in the series, and Snape once again came in at #1. In May 2011, Snape was again voted as the No. 1 favourite Harry Potter character in a public poll held by the Bloomsbury publishing house.

In popular culture
The character of Severus Snape has appeared in various animated parodies of Harry Potter. He is a starring character in Neil Cicierega's online Potter Puppet Pals parodies, and has a centric episode titled Bothering Snape. Also, the video The Mysterious Ticking Noise with the chorus "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape" was the winner for "Best Comedy" of the year 2007 at YouTube; it currently has over 170 million views. Snape is also parodied as Professor Santory Snapekin in Sluggy Freelance's recurring series Torg Potter. In the first parody, Torg mistakenly thinks Professor Snapekin is plotting to achieve ultimate power.

In a 2004 sketch on Saturday Night Live in which Lindsay Lohan appears as Hermione Granger, Snape is portrayed by Will Forte. Snape has also been parodied in UK television. Comic Relief released a story called Harry Potter and the Secret Chamberpot of Azerbaijan, in which Snape is played by Jeremy Irons. Snape appeared in a Harry Potter parody named "Louis Potter and the Philosopher's Scone" in Alistair McGowan's Big Impression show, played by Alistair McGowan himself. In the Harry Bladder sketches in All That, Snape appears as Professor Chafe (portrayed by Jeremy Rowley), whose legs were badly chafed, causing him to be unnecessarily mean. Many sketches feature students brewing potions that did silly things, like enlarge students' behinds, give males large breasts, or change people into bras. In a sketch comedy named "Cooking With..." on Australian TV series The Wedge, Snape is played by Anthony Ahern, and catches Harry and Hermione making love. In Team Starkid's A Very Potter Musical, Snape is played by actor Joe Moses.

title: Severus Snape


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Club (organization)

A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious clubs, and so forth.

History
Historically, clubs occurred in all ancient states of which exists detailed knowledge. Once people started living together in larger groups, there was need for people with a common interest to be able to associate despite having no ties of kinship. Organizations of the sort have existed for many years, as evidenced by Ancient Greek clubs and associations (collegia) in Ancient Rome.

Origins of the word and concept
It is uncertain whether the use of the word "club" originated in its meaning of a knot of people, or from the fact that the members "clubbed" together to pay the expenses of their gatherings. The oldest English clubs were merely informal periodic gatherings of friends for the purpose of dining or drinking with one another. Thomas Occleve (in the time of Henry IV) mentions such a club called La Court de Bonne Compagnie (the Court of Good Company), of which he was a member. In 1659 John Aubrey wrote, "We now use the word clubbe for a sodality [a society, association, or fraternity of any kind] in a tavern."

In Shakespeare's day
Of early clubs the most famous, latterly, was the Bread Street or Friday Street Club that met at the Mermaid Tavern on the first Friday of each month. John Selden, John Donne, John Fletcher and Francis Beaumont were among the members (although it is often asserted that William Shakespeare and Sir Walter Raleigh were members of this club, there is no documented evidence to support this claim). Another such club, founded by Ben Jonson, met at the Devil Tavern near Temple Bar, also in London.

Coffee houses
The word “club,” in the sense of an association to promote good-fellowship and social intercourse, became common in England at the time of Tatler and The Spectator (1709–1712). With the introduction of coffee-drinking in the middle of the 17th century, clubs entered on a more permanent phase. The coffee houses of the later Stuart period are the real originals of the modern clubhouse. The clubs of the late 17th and early 18th century type resembled their Tudor forerunners in being oftenest associations solely for conviviality or literary coteries. But many were confessedly political, e.g. The Rota, or Coffee Club (1659), a debating society for the spread of republican ideas, broken up at the Restoration in 1660, the Calves Head Club (c.1693) and the Green Ribbon Club (1675). The characteristics of all these clubs were:

 * 1) No permanent financial bond between the members, each man's liability ending for the time being when he had paid his “score” after the meal.
 * 2) No permanent clubhouse, though each clique tended to make some particular coffee house or tavern their headquarters.

These coffee-house clubs soon became hotbeds of political scandal-mongering and intriguing, and in 1675 King Charles II issued a proclamation which ran: “His Majesty hath thought fit and necessary that coffee houses be (for the future) put down and suppressed,” because “in such houses divers false, malitious and scandalous reports are devised and spread abroad to the Defamation of his Majesty’s Government and to the Disturbance of Peace and Quiet of the Realm.” So unpopular was this proclamation that it was almost instantly found necessary to withdraw it, and by Anne’s reign the coffee-house club was a feature of England’s social life. See English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries.

18th and 19th century
The idea of the club developed in two directions. One was of a permanent institution with a fixed clubhouse. The London coffeehouse clubs in increasing their members absorbed the whole accommodation of the coffeehouse or tavern where they held their meetings, and this became the clubhouse, often retaining the name of the original innkeeper, e.g. White's, Brooks's, Arthur's, and Boodle's. These still exist today as the famous gentlemen's clubs.

The peripatetic lifestyle of the 18th and 19th century middle classes also drove the development of more residential clubs, which had bedrooms and other facilities. Military and naval officers, lawyers, judges, members of Parliament and government officials tended to have an irregular presence in the major cities of the Empire, particularly London, spending perhaps a few months there before moving on for a prolonged period and then returning. Especially when this presence did not coincide with the Season, a permanent establishment in the city (i.e., a house owned or rented, with the requisite staff), or the opening of a townhouse (generally shuttered outside the Season) was inconvenient or uneconomic, while hotels were rare and socially déclassé. Clubbing with a number of like-minded friends to secure a large shared house with a manager was therefore a convenient solution.

The other sort of club meets occasionally or periodically and often has no clubhouse, but exists primarily for some specific object. Such are the many purely athletic, sports and pastimes clubs, the Alpine, chess, yacht and motor clubs. Also there are literary clubs (see writing circle and book club), musical and art clubs, publishing clubs. The name of “club” has been annexed by a large group of associations which fall between the club proper and friendly societies, of a purely periodic and temporary nature, such as slate, goose and Christmas clubs, which do not need to be registered under the Friendly Societies Act.

Worldwide
The institution of the gentleman's club has spread all over the English-speaking world. Many of those who energised the Scottish Enlightenment were members of the Poker Club in Edinburgh. In the United States clubs were first established after the War of Independence. One of the first was the Hoboken Turtle Club (1797), which still survived as of 1911. In former British Empire colonies like India and Pakistan they are known as Gymkhana.

The earliest clubs on the European continent were of a political nature. These in 1848 were repressed in Austria and Germany, and later clubs of Berlin and Vienna were mere replicas of their English prototypes. In France, where the term cercle is most usual, the Club de l'Entresol (1724-1731) was followed by the Club Politique (1782), and during the French Revolution such associations proved important political forces (see Jacobins, Feuillants, Cordeliers). Of the purely social clubs in Paris the most notable were the Jockey-Club de Paris (1833), the Cercle de l'Union, the Traveller's and the Cercle Interallié.

Buying club
Buyer's clubs or buying clubs are clubs organized to pool members' collective buying power, enabling them to make purchases at lower prices per individual item than are generally available, or purchase goods that might otherwise be difficult to obtain. There are many legitimate buying clubs – for example, food buying clubs – but many are unauthorized credit card billing scams, in which a customer is induced to enroll in a free trial of a buyer's club membership, and then unexpectedly billed when the trial ends.

Country or sports club

There are two types of athletic and sports clubs: those organized for sporting participants (which include athletic clubs and country clubs), and those primarily for spectator fans of a team.

Athletic and country clubs offer one or more recreational sports facilities to their members. Such clubs may also offer social activities and facilities, and some members may join primarily to take advantage of the social opportunities. Country clubs offer a variety of recreational sports facilities to their members and are usually located in suburban or rural areas. Most country clubs have golf facilities. Swimming pools, tennis courts, polo grounds and exercise facilities are also common. Country clubs usually provide dining facilities to their members and guests, and frequently host special events like weddings. Similar clubs in urban areas are often called "athletic clubs". These clubs often feature indoor sports, such as indoor tennis, squash, futsal, basketball, volleyball, boxing, and exercise facilities.

Members of sports clubs that support a team can be sports amateurs—groups who meet to practice a sport, as for example in most cycling clubs—or professionals; football clubs consist of well-paid team members and thousands of supporters. A sports club can thus comprise participants (not necessarily competitors) or spectator fans, or both.

Some organizations exist with a mismatch between name and function. The Jockey Club is not a club for jockeys, but rather exists to regulate the sport of horseracing; the Marylebone Cricket Club was until recently the regulatory body of cricket; and so on. Sports club should not be confused with gyms and health clubs, which also can be for members only.

Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are social clubs of secondary or higher education students. Membership in these organizations is generally by invitation only.

Hobby club
Hobbies are practiced for interest and enjoyment, rather than financial reward. Examples include science fiction clubs, ham radio, model railroading, collecting, creative and artistic pursuits, making, tinkering, sports, and adult education. Participants may form an organization to coordinate gatherings of hobbyists, provide services related to the activity (for example, a club of board game enthusiasts might have a library of games for members), or act as a buyers' club.

Professional societies
These organizations are partly social, partly professional in nature and provide professionals with opportunities for advanced education, presentations on current research, business contacts, public advocacy for the profession and other advantages. Examples of these groups include medical associations, scientific societies, autograph club and bar associations. Professional societies frequently have layers of organization, with regional, national and international levels. The local chapters generally meet more often and often include advanced students unable to attend national meetings.

School club
These are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of classes. Such clubs may fall outside the normal curriculum of school or university education or, as in the case of subject matter clubs (e.g. student chapters of professional societies), may supplement the curriculum through informal meetings and professional mentoring.

Secret club
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla warfare insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence.

Service club
A service club is a type of voluntary organization where members meet regularly for social outings and to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations.

Social activities club
Social activities clubs are a modern combination of several other types of clubs and reflect today's more eclectic and varied society. These clubs are centered around the activities available to the club members in the city or area in which the club is located. Because the purpose of these clubs is split between general social interaction and taking part in the events themselves, clubs tend to have more single members than married ones; some clubs restrict their membership to one of the other, and some are for gay and lesbian patrons.

Membership can be limited or open to the general public, as can the events. Most clubs have a limited membership based upon specific criteria, and limit the events to members to increase the security of the members, thus creating an increased sense of camaraderie and belonging. Social activities clubs can be for profit or not for profit, and some are a mix of the two (a for-profit club with a non-profit charitable arm, for instance).

Social club
Some social clubs are organized around competitive games, such as chess or bridge. Other clubs are designed to encourage membership of certain social classes. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s social clubs were the precursor name of gangs like the infamous Hamburgs of Chicago. Latino immigrant adult and youth groups organized themselves as social clubs like: Black Eagles, Flaming Arrows, Paragons and Young Lords. Those made up of the elite are best known as gentlemen's clubs (not to be confused with strip clubs) and country clubs (though these also have an athletic function, see above). Membership to gentlemen's clubs require the ability to pay large fees as well as an invitation by existing members who seek new recruits who meet personal criteria such as lifestyle, moral base, etc. Less elitist, but still in some cases exclusive, are working men's clubs. Clubs restricted to either officers or enlisted men exist on military bases.

The modern Gentlemen's club is occasionally proprietary, i.e. owned by an individual or private syndicate and run on a for-profit basis, but more frequently owned by the members who delegate to a committee the management of its affairs, first reached its highest development in London, where the district of St. James's has long been known as "Clubland".

Current London proprietary clubs include Soho House, which commenced business in 1995, and Soho's Groucho Club, which opened in 1985 as "the antidote to the traditional club." In this spirit, the club was named for Groucho Marx because of his famous remark that he would not wish to join any club that would have him as a member.

Political club
A political club is a group of people who share a political ideology, or supporters of a particular political party, of which it may function as a local element. For example, a Constituency Labour Party is an association of British Labour Party members who live in a given electoral district; the rival Conservatives instead have groups called Conservative Associations. Most Canadian political parties are likewise organized into riding associations.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Club (organization)


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Draco Malfoy

Draco Lucius Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a student in Harry Potter's year belonging in the Slytherin house. He is frequently accompanied by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen. Draco is characterised as a cowardly bully who tricks and hurts people to get what he wants; he is also a cunning user of magic. He was played by Tom Felton in the Harry Potter film series.

Character development
Draco serves as a foil to the hero, Harry Potter, and is loosely based on bullies Rowling encountered during her school days. Harry first encounters Draco's snobbish bigotry after their initial encounter at Madam Malkin's. Rowling uses the Malfoys to introduce themes of intolerance and bigotry into a setting where people are often judged solely by their blood lineage rather than their good character or accomplishments. Draco, adhering to his family's beliefs, thinks that Muggle-born witches and wizards, which he and other characters derogatorily describe by the epithet Mudbloods, should be denied a magical education. Harry's first impression that the Wizarding community is a "magical wonderland" is instantly shattered. Says Rowling, "[Harry] found out that many people in power in the wizarding world are just as corrupt and nasty as they are in our world."

Malfoy was originally named "Draco Spungen" in the earliest drafts of Philosopher's Stone. "Spungen" also appeared on her pre-canon class list, but it was crossed out and replaced with the surname "Spinks", while "Malfoy" was later added after the completion of the list. Philip Nel believes that Malfoy is derived from the French phrase mal foi, meaning "bad faith". In an article published in 2002, Nilsen and Nilsen argue that "Draco" has connotations with draconian, and that his name starts with "mal", a French prefix for "bad" or "evil".

Many of Draco's relatives on his mother's side of the family (the Blacks) are named for stars or constellations (e.g., Sirius Black, Regulus Black, Andromeda Black Tonks, Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Cygnus Black, Orion Black). Another constellation is Draco (the Dragon). Draco Malfoy eventually named his son for yet another constellation, Scorpius.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Draco Malfoy makes his first appearance in the series when he and Harry meet while being fitted for school robes at Madam Malkin's, a clothing shop in Diagon Alley. Not realising that the boy in the store is Harry Potter—a child whose parents were murdered when he was one year old by the powerful dark wizard Lord Voldemort—Draco engages him in polite (relative to his later attitude towards Harry) conversation. Harry, however, is alienated by the arrogance of Draco, who asks whether the orphan's parents are "our kind" (pure-blood wizards). Draco then proclaims that "the other sort" (Muggle-borns) should not be allowed at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because "they've never been brought up to know our ways". The two boys part without introductions, but meet again on the Hogwarts Express. After Draco ridicules Ron Weasley's family, Harry rejects his offer of friendship, demonstrated by a handshake, and their mutual antagonism is born.

According to Rowling, Malfoy originally makes an effort to be Harry's friend because "it will be cool to turn up at the school being Harry Potter's friend, because Harry is so famous." However, Harry did not want Malfoy as a friend because he "has been so rude about Rubeus Hagrid and about Ron, who Harry likes so much".

At the first years' Sorting Ceremony, the Sorting Hat places him instantly into Slytherin, the house that has developed all of the bad wizards, where he becomes an instant favourite of Potions teacher and Slytherin Head of House, Severus Snape, an apparent follower of Lord Voldemort. Draco attempts to get Harry expelled by falsely challenging him to a midnight duel and informing Argus Filch in advance of Harry's plans to be out of bed; Draco's attempt fails when Harry evades Filch and safely makes it back to his dormitory.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Draco becomes the new Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team after his father, Lucius Malfoy, donates new, high-quality Nimbus 2001 broomsticks. When Hermione Granger comments that the Gryffindor players made the team through talent and not bribery, Draco responds by calling her a "Mudblood", a derogatory term for people of mixed magical and human ancestry. This provokes an immediate, violent response from Ron. Because of Draco's contempt for Muggle-borns, Harry, Ron, and Hermione suspect that Draco is the Heir of Slytherin, who has recently reopened the Chamber of Secrets. Harry and Ron disguise themselves as Crabbe and Goyle with Polyjuice Potion and infiltrate the Slytherin common room in an attempt to collect additional information, whereupon they realise that their initial suspicion about Draco is incorrect.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
During Hagrid's debut as Care of Magical Creatures instructor in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Buckbeak the hippogriff attacks Draco after he fails to observe proper protocol while approaching it and insults it. He exaggerates the extent of his injury, giving Slytherin a chance to postpone their Quidditch match against Gryffindor until later in the year and as an attempt to have Hagrid fired. Hermione punches Draco when he mocks Hagrid for crying over Buckbeak's death sentence. Draco, who implies that he is aware of how Sirius Black was supposedly involved in the deaths of Harry's parents, also taunts Harry about the impending threat of Black: "If it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
After Harry is unexpectedly chosen as a Triwizard Tournament champion in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Draco shows off a "Support Cedric Diggory" badge to Harry, then presses it to replace the phrase with "Potter Stinks." Draco also gives malicious and often false information about Harry and Hagrid to muckraking Daily Prophet journalist Rita Skeeter. When Draco attempts to curse Harry behind his back, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor Alastor Moody (actually Barty Crouch, Jr in disguise via Polyjuice Potion) humiliates Draco by transforming him into a ferret and repeatedly slamming him against the ground as well as dropping him down Goyle's pants.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Draco is named a Slytherin prefect along with Pansy Parkinson. He gets Harry and the Weasley twins banned from the Gryffindor Quidditch team when they attack him during a postmatch brawl after Draco insults their families following Gryffindor's win over Slytherin. He later joins Dolores Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, with whom he plays an important part in the exposure of Dumbledore's Army. As the D.A. flees the Room of Requirement, Draco earns Slytherin fifty points after catching Harry, and helps hold several members captive in Umbridge's office, letting them free only after Ginny Weasley performs her famous Bat Bogey Hex. After his father and other Death Eaters are captured and sentenced to Azkaban following the events at the Department of Mysteries, Draco twice attempts to get revenge on Harry, but Snape and Minerva McGonagall thwart his first effort, and while returning home on the Hogwarts Express, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle are transformed into giant slugs by a barrage of hexes cast by several D.A. members coming to Harry's defence.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Draco is drawn into Death-Eaters' activities more directly in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Because of Lucius' arrest and fall from Voldemort's favour, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange visit Snape at his home to discuss a dangerous task that Voldemort has assigned Draco. Narcissa, deeply worried that her son will be killed in his attempt to complete it, begs Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow to aid Draco with this task and protect him at all costs, and if Draco fails to complete the mission, he will complete it himself; he agrees.

Under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry, Ron, and Hermione follow Draco to Borgin and Burkes, a dark magic shop in Knockturn Alley. Draco threatens Mr. Borgin about repairing one item and keeping another safe for him. Draco shows Mr. Borgin something on his arm that Harry believes to be the Dark Mark, Voldemort's sign, though whether or not Harry is correct is never confirmed. (In the film version Draco Malfoy shows Dumbledore the Dark Mark on his arm.) On the Hogwarts Express, Harry invisibly spies on Draco and overhears him discussing Voldemort's task with several other Slytherins. Draco knows Harry is present and, once alone in the compartment, immobilises him and breaks his nose causing Harry to hate Draco even more. Harry is left stranded on the train until Nymphadora Tonks (Luna Lovegood in the film adaptation) rescues him. Harry spends much of the year trailing Draco's whereabouts on his Marauder's Map, but loses track of him once Draco enters the Room of Requirement. When Katie Bell is almost killed in Hogsmeade after handling a cursed necklace and Ron nearly dies by drinking poisoned mead, Harry suspects Draco is behind both attacks.

In this book, Draco is, for the first time since being introduced in the series, portrayed as having considerable initiative, ingenuity, and perseverance. However, unlike Harry, who always relies on his friends' support and help, Draco mostly works alone in the Room of Requirement, refusing to confide in or involve his own circle of friends, whom he treats more as underlings. This, and the realisation of what he is ultimately expected to do, nearly drives him to a nervous breakdown. When Harry walks in on Malfoy crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Draco attempts to cast the Cruciatus Curse. Harry is faster to the draw with an obscure Sectumsempra spell that he learned from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince's book. The spell cuts deep gashes into Malfoy's face and chest, resulting in severe blood loss. Snape, alerted by Myrtle's screams, swiftly arrives and heals Draco's cuts, then takes him to the hospital wing.

Near the conclusion, Draco ambushes and disarms a gravely weakened Dumbledore at the Astronomy Tower. After Draco disarms him, Dumbledore calmly reasons with the frightened teenager and persuades him to reveal how he was, according to Voldemort's orders, to kill the headmaster through the cursed necklace and the poisoned mead. Malfoy reveals that he mended the broken Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement to act as a portal enabling Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts. Draco is hesitant to kill Dumbledore and he eventually lowers his wand. Snape arrives, dispatches Dumbledore himself and then flees Hogwarts with Draco in tow. As revealed during his confrontation with Dumbledore, Draco was an insecure boy incapable of committing cold-blooded murder and was forced to do Voldemort's bidding under the threat of his and his parents' deaths. Harry, who was horrified by the result of his duel with Draco in the bathroom incident, feels "the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike" for his old rival.

During an interview in 2005, Rowling revealed that she enjoyed writing Draco in this book, and that the character "did a lot of growing up" as well.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The Malfoys remain reluctant followers of Voldemort, who now uses their home as his headquarters; Draco passes out after witnessing Voldemort murder Muggle Studies professor Charity Burbage. Harry experiences occasional and disturbing visions of Draco being forced into performing Voldemort's bidding and feels "sickened... by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort." When Harry, Ron, and Hermione are captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, Draco is asked to identify them, and though they are clearly recognisable, he only ambiguously replies "It might be." During the successful escape from Malfoy Manor headed by Dobby, Harry overpowers Draco and captures his wand.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione seek Ravenclaw's diadem in the Room of Requirement, Draco, along with Crabbe and Goyle (Blaise Zabini in film version rather than Crabbe), attempts to capture Harry alive. However, Crabbe (Goyle in film version) defies Draco's orders and attempts to kill the trio by casting the deadly Fiendfyre; unable to control the spell, he dies in the blaze while the trio rescue Draco and Goyle (Zabini in film version). Draco, despite his often condescending and belittling attitude toward Crabbe and Goyle (as well as his other underlings), grieves for his lost friend. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco is seen pleading with a Death Eater who seems intent on killing him. He is once again saved by Harry and Ron, the latter of whom punches Draco in the face under the invisibility cloak for attempting to appease the Death Eater.

At about this time, it is revealed through the Pensieve that Dumbledore had known he was dying after being cursed by Voldemort's ring. However, to spare Draco's soul from being forever tainted by committing murder, Dumbledore pre-arranged his own death with Snape. Voldemort intended Draco to die in the attempt to kill Dumbledore so that Lucius would be punished for his failure to retrieve the prophecy from the Ministry of Magic.

After Harry is struck by the Avada Kedavra curse, Voldemort orders Narcissa to verify that Harry is actually dead. She detects his heartbeat, but she lies to Voldemort, knowing that she will be allowed to search for her son if the Death Eaters return to Hogwarts "as part of the conquering army." Although Draco does not directly take part in Harry's final confrontation with Voldemort, as he and his parents flee the battle for their personal safety, he influences its outcome; a plot twist reveals that Draco had unwittingly become the Elder Wand's master when he disarmed Dumbledore, even though Draco never actually possessed the wand. The wand's allegiance passes to whoever defeats its owner, so Harry, having taken Draco's wand at Malfoy Manor, became its new master; this prevents Voldemort from using its full power. In the end, it is Narcissa's lie to Voldemort concerning Harry's death that enables the Malfoys to narrowly avoid imprisonment in Azkaban.

Epilogue
In the epilogue, Draco marries Astoria Greengrass and has a son, Scorpius Malfoy. Draco's hairline has receded, making his face look even more pointed. Though they are not friends, Malfoy has somewhat decreased his animosity toward Harry, and, upon seeing them at King's Cross station, gives a brief and curt nod to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

Appearance in other material
In the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Draco appears with his son Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, who became best friends with Harry's second son Albus Severus Potter. It was revealed that during the fourth year of Scorpius's time in Hogwarts that Draco became widowed, as his wife Astoria Malfoy (nee Greengrass) died due to an inherited blood curse, which could shorten her lifespan and disallow her from growing into old age.

The play also explores some of Draco's later life after the second wizarding war and prior to the events of the play. Due to the harrowing experiences he had during his time with the Death Eaters and his remorse over his criminal acts as a Death Eater, Draco had realised the error in his ways and thus abandoned the old pure-blood beliefs he was raised to adopt and believe in. This notably caused friction between him and his parents (who maintained these beliefs despite having defected from Voldemort). As he slowly grew into adulthood, Draco fell in love with a fellow Slytherin Astoria Greengrass, who also witnessed the carnage and horrors which the war and the old beliefs brought about (though lesser than Draco). This romance and eventual marriage would disappoint Draco's parents further given that they expected a more suitable candidate from one of the wizarding world's oldest pure-blood families and also an individual who had the embodiment of the old pure-blood beliefs. Despite having lost the favour of his parents, he still inherits the massive fortune of the Malfoy family, which made him independently wealthy and having no need to work. The inheritance also included his father's collection of Dark Arts artefacts.

After he was married, Draco initially contemplated letting the Malfoy bloodline end with him to allow Astoria to live longer (much to Lucius's disappointment), as he was aware of Astoria's family blood curse and that childbirth would weaken her further. Astoria, however, persuaded him from doing so as she wanted a child not for the pure-blood beliefs, but for him so that he will not be alone should she die some day, which culminated in the birth of Draco's first and only child Scorpius. Draco had once considered the birth of his son as the greatest day of his life, even though Scorpius's birth had led to Astoria's health to be further weakened and eventually caused her to die fourteen years later.

As a father, Draco was strict in Scorpius's upbringing and taught him to not believe in the old pure-blood beliefs and instead raised him to become a better child than Draco was in his own childhood, and was willing to allow his son to be punished for breaking the school rules. He was also supportive of Scorpius's decision to befriend Harry's son Albus Severus, even though he and Harry had a history of animosity during their schooling years. Draco even trusted Albus to help Scorpius to heal him of his pain over losing his mother, and he valued his son's friendship to the point that he personally went to the Potter house to confront Harry, who tried to separate the two best friends apart. Despite having become more civil with his old enemies from the past, Draco remained apathetic and full of mockery towards them, including how he continued to mock Harry and his friends and sending a cold reply letter to Ginny's request to invite Scorpius to stay in the Potter house. These feelings only began to dissipate gradually as they became united by their common interest to save their sons. He was also revealed to be constantly envious of how Harry had true friends like Ron and Hermione (the latter whom became Minister of Magic) during his schooling years while he had only Crabbe and Goyle, who did not amount to being true friends for Draco.

During the events of the play, Draco slowly made amends with Harry and his friends as they all embarked on a journey to save their sons from Voldemort's daughter Delphini, demonstrating his slow, but gradual acknowledgement of Harry as a friend and his outright denouncement of his Death Eater past.

Film portrayal
Tom Felton played Draco Malfoy in all of the Harry Potter films. Prior to landing the part of Malfoy, Felton auditioned to play Harry and Ron.

Felton contributed to premieres, articles and interviews, and received the Disney Channel's Kids Awards for Best DVD Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 22 September 2003 with Hermione Granger actress, Emma Watson. He also won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for his portrayal as Malfoy in the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the 2011 MTV Movie Awards.

Malfoy grew into one of the series' most popular characters due to Felton's performances and Felton quickly became synonymous with the character to many female fans, much to Rowling's dismay. "'I'm trying to clearly distinguish between Tom Felton, who is a good looking young boy, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It’s a romantic, but unhealthy, and unfortunately all too common delusion of girls ... it actually worried me a little bit, to see young girls swearing undying devotion to this really imperfect character ... I mean, I understand the psychology of it, but it is pretty unhealthy.'" Rowling has also noted that Malfoy "is certainly stylish in the film."

Theatre portrayal
In the theatre play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Draco was portrayed by Alex Price and later by James Howard. In the theatre play Draco has a style like his father's, such as his long hair. Draco was married to Astoria Greengrass, who had died, and has a son named Scorpius.

Outward appearance
Draco is described as a tall, slender boy with a pale, pointed face, sleek blond hair, and ice grey eyes.

Personality
Draco is the prototypical spoiled, rich brat; he believes that his family's wealth and social position gives him the right to bully those poorer than himself, such as Ron Weasley. He also insults Hermione Granger's Muggle-born status by referring to her as a "Mudblood", a term that, as stated by Hagrid, is one not used in civilised conversations. As Rowling explained in 1999, "He's a bigot and he's a bully, and as I say, in the most refined sense, he knows exactly what will hurt people".

In a July 2005 interview, Rowling added that Draco, unlike Harry, never feels remorse for his actions: "I thought of Draco as someone who is very capable of compartmentalising his life and his emotions, and always has done. So he's shut down his pity, enabling him to bully effectively. He's shut down compassion— how else would you become a Death Eater?"

Draco, as well as Dudley Dursley, was indoctrinated with his parents' beliefs. Rowling commented that "The moment Draco got what he thought he wanted, to become a Death Eater, and given a mission by Lord Voldemort, as he did in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, reality finally hit him" because his dream was "so very different". Rowling also stated that there was a real moral cowardice in Draco, but that he was not wholly bad.

Having gone through the horrors of the second wizarding war as a Death Eater, Draco abandoned the pure-blood beliefs he was originally devoted to, and grew to become a better person than he was in his youth, growing more tolerant and accepting of the non-pure-bloods of the wizarding world. He also made sure to discipline his son Scorpius to be a better child than he himself was in his youth, which made Scorpius to show kindness and become friends with Harry's son Albus Severus, as evidence of his reformation.

Magical abilities and skills
During the series, Draco is portrayed as a cunning, competent young wizard. In his second year, he successfully performed the Tarantallegra curse against Harry, a curse used by Death Eater Antonin Dolohov in book 5, and also successfully cast the Serpensortia spell in the same scene, conjuring a serpent from his wand just as Voldemort would later do against Dumbledore in book 5, and Snape against McGonagall in the final book. His character further develops in the sixth book, in which he is among very few students able to reach the required level to take Advanced Potions. Draco also proved capable at Occlumency, which he learned from his Aunt Bellatrix. Rowling recalled a discussion with her editor about Draco having mastered Occlumency while Harry could not. The author said that this is due to Draco being someone "very capable of compartmentalising his life and his emotions". Draco's wand is 10 inches precisely, made of hawthorn with a unicorn hair core, and which Ollivander states is "reasonably springy".

When asked what shape Draco's Patronus Charm is, Rowling replied that, at least by the end of the sixth book, Draco was not capable of producing a Patronus, as it is not magic routinely taught at Hogwarts.

Family
The Malfoy family is one of the few remaining pure-blood wizarding clans in the Harry Potter series, and among the wealthiest. The anti-Muggle editor Brutus Malfoy is their ancestor. Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater during both wizard wars. He marries Narcissa Black and together they have one son, Draco, who is the first Malfoy family member introduced in the series. The Malfoys are related to the Black family through Narcissa (a first cousin of Sirius Black, Harry's godfather), which makes Draco a nephew of both Bellatrix Lestrange and Andromeda Tonks. Draco is also Nymphadora Tonks' first cousin through their mothers. Three of Draco's grandparents are identified: Abraxas Malfoy, Cygnus Black, and Druella Rosier. Abraxas died before the series begins and was a friend of Professor Slughorn. Draco is, therefore, the scion of two old magical families. The Malfoy home, Malfoy Manor, is an elegant mansion located in the western English county of Wiltshire. They were served by Dobby the house elf until the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The Malfoys are a wealthy landed gentry family respected in the Wizarding world mainly from Lucius' influence with Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, gained mostly from his monetary donations to the Ministry and St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, as well as from his post on the Hogwarts board of governors as chairman. However, he was removed from his position at the conclusion of the second book and imprisoned in Azkaban following the battle at the Department of Mysteries in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Despite maintaining a respectable, but false, image before these events, some in the Wizarding world were previously aware that the Malfoys were devoted to Voldemort and the Dark Arts. Draco constantly uses his elite status and his father's name and influence to gain advantages and to threaten others. Lucius is also known to have used bribery and threats.

Reception
In an interview at the Royal Albert Hall, Rowling noted that boys liked to dress up as Malfoy a lot more than Harry, and that people are "getting far too fond of Draco", which she finds "a little bit worrying". In the same interview, Stephen Fry noted that just as Harry met Malfoy, he found out that there is also racism in the wizarding world and that many characters in power can be "as nasty and corrupt as in our world". Fry also noted that while "Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe are almost irredeemably bad", Malfoy, unlike his companions, "is reasonably stylish". IGN listed Malfoy as their ninth top Harry Potter character.

In popular culture
Wizard-rock band Draco and the Malfoys' lyrics are inspired by the Harry Potter books but from Draco Malfoy's point of view. As well as Harry and the Potters, the members of Draco and the Malfoys dress themselves as Hogwarts students, in this case in Slytherin-themed costumes. The band is one of about 750 bands of young musicians playing music inspired by the Harry Potter series.

Draco is parodied as Jerko Phoenix in the series Wizards of Waverly Place, during the episodes "Wizard School Part 1" and "Wizard School Part 2", in which Alex and Justin Russo go to a wizarding school named Wiz-tech, where everyone wears yellow and black robes, and glasses reminiscent of Harry Potter. Draco also appears as Sacco (played by Shane Lyons) in the Harry Bladder sketches in All That, in which Harry Bladder and other students often encounter Sacco's mischief-making. In the stage production Harry Potter and the Obnoxious Voice, Malfoy is seen interacting with Hagrid and a dementor. Draco was also parodied in a Big Bite sketch, where he was known as Mailboy (with his father Lucius being parodied as Mailman). In Neil Cicierega's Potter Puppet Pals, Draco stars in the episode "Draco Puppet". He is different from all the other characters, simplistically made out of paper and is a smaller puppet, held and voiced by the Harry puppet. Harry created him in order to torture him, and after the puppet "annoys" Harry, he does a series of strange things to the paper Draco and eventually burns it on a stove. In A Very Potter Musical Draco is played by actress Lauren Lopez. He has a very obvious crush on Hermione and spends a great deal of time posing and rolling around on the floor.

title: Draco Malfoy


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Beggar-my-neighbour

Beggar-my-neighbour, also known as strip jack naked, beat your neighbour out of doors, or beat jack out of doors, or beat your neighbour, is a simple choice-free card game. It is somewhat similar in nature to the children's card game War, and has spawned a more complicated variant, Egyptian ratscrew.

Origins
The game was likely invented in Great Britain and has been known there since at least the 1840s.

It may be the same as beat the knave out of doors or knave out o' doors, in which case it is much older as this game is mentioned as early as 1755.

Beggar-my-neighbor appears as a children's game in 19th-century British novels such as Charles Dickens's Great Expectations (1861).

Play
A standard 52-card deck is divided equally between two players, and the two stacks of cards are placed on the table face down. The first player lays down their top card face up to start a central pile, and the opponent plays their top card, also face up, on it, and this goes on alternately as long as no Ace or court card (King, Queen, or Jack) appears. These cards are called "penalty cards".

If either player turns up such a card, their opponent has to pay a penalty: four cards for an Ace, three for a King, two for a Queen, or one for a Jack. They do this playing the required number of cards to the central pile. When they have done so, if all the cards are numerals, the player of the penalty card wins the hand, takes all the cards in the pile and places them under their pack. The game continues in the same fashion, the winner having the advantage of placing the first card. However, if the second player turns up another Ace or court card in the course of paying to the original penalty card, their payment ceases and the first player must pay to this new card. This changing of penalisation can continue indefinitely. When a single player has all of the cards in the deck in their stack, they have won.

For more than two players, play proceeds clockwise. If a player reveals a new penalty card while paying their penalty, the next player around pays the tax.

Game theory
A longstanding question in combinatorial game theory asks whether there is a game of beggar-my-neighbour that goes on forever. This can happen only if the game is eventually periodic—that is, if it eventually reaches some state it has been in before. Some smaller decks of cards have infinite games, such as Camicia, while others do not. John Conway once listed this among his anti-Hilbert problems, open questions whose pursuit should emphatically not drive the future of mathematical research.

A non-terminating game was first found by Brayden Casella and reported on 10 February 2024. The cyclic game begins ---K---Q-KQAJ-AAJ--J-- and --QKQ-J-KA. The longest terminating game known is 1164 tricks / 8344 cards, found by Reed Nessler.

There are $$\approx6.54\cdot10^{20}$$ possible combinations of beggar-my-neighbour.

In popular culture
In the 1854 novel Hide and Seek by Wilkie Collins, Zach Thorpe and Matthew Grice kill time by playing beggar-my-neighbor "for sixpence a time."

In Charles Dickens' 1861 novel Great Expectations, the game is the only one known by the boy protagonist (Pip) as a child.

title: Beggar-my-neighbour


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Begonia

Begonia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown indoors as ornamental houseplants in cooler climates. In cooler climates some species are cultivated outside in summertime for their bright colorful flowers, which have sepals but no petals.

Description
With 2,002 species, Begonia is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. The species are terrestrial (sometimes epiphytic) herbs or undershrubs, and occur in subtropical and tropical moist climates, in South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia. Terrestrial species in the wild are commonly upright-stemmed, rhizomatous, or tuberous. The plants are monoecious, with unisexual male and female flowers occurring separately on the same plant; the male contains numerous stamens, and the female has a large inferior ovary and two to four branched or twisted stigmas. In most species, the fruit is a winged capsule containing numerous minute seeds, although baccate fruits are also known. The leaves, which are often large and variously marked or variegated, are usually asymmetric (unequal-sided).

Taxonomy
The genus name Begonia was coined by Charles Plumier, a French patron of botany, and adopted by Linnaeus in 1753, to honor Michel Bégon, a former governor of the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti).

Phylogeny
The following phylogenetic tree shows the relationships among sections of the genus Begonia.

Species
Selected species:

 * Begonia coccinea
 * Begonia cucullata
 * Begonia foliosa
 * Begonia grandis Dryand.
 * Begonia obliqua

Cultivation

The different groups of begonias have different cultural requirements, but most species come from tropical regions, so they and their hybrids require warm temperatures. Most are forest understory plants and require bright shade; few will tolerate full sun, especially in warmer climates. In general, begonias require a well-drained growing medium that is neither constantly wet nor allowed to dry out completely. Many begonias will grow and flower year-round except for tuberous begonias, which usually have a dormant period. During this dormant period, the tubers can be stored in a cool, dry place. Begonias of the semperflorens group (or wax begonias) are frequently grown as bedding plants outdoors. Wax begonias are very attractive, they adapt well when brought inside the house for overwintering and can live up to 4-5 years.

A recent group of hybrids derived from this group is marketed as "Dragonwing" begonias; they are much larger both in leaf and in flower. Tuberous begonias are frequently used as container plants. Although most Begonia species are tropical or subtropical in origin, the Chinese species B. grandis is hardy to USDA hardiness zone 6 and is commonly known as the "hardy begonia". Most begonias can be grown outdoors year-round in subtropical or tropical climates, but in temperate climates, begonias are grown outdoors as annuals, or as house or greenhouse plants.

Most begonias are easily propagated by division or from stem cuttings. In addition, some can be propagated from leaf cuttings or even sections of leaves, particularly the members of the rhizomatous and rex groups.

Horticultural nomenclature

The nomenclature of begonias can be very complex and confusing. The term 'picotee' refers to edging on the petals that is in contrast to the color of the main petal if the colors blend. If they do not, then the term 'marginata' is used, but sometimes these terms are used simultaneously. 'Non-Stop' refers to a camellia tuberous hybrid that under certain conditions will bloom 'non-stop' all year round.

Cultivar groups

Because of their sometimes showy flowers of white, pink, scarlet, or yellow color and often attractively marked leaves, many species and innumerable hybrids and cultivars are cultivated. The genus is unusual in that species throughout the genus, even those coming from different continents, can frequently be hybridized with each other, and this has led to an enormous number of cultivars. The American Begonia Society is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for Begonia, and classifies them into several major groups:

For the most part, these groups do not correspond to any formal taxonomic groupings or phylogeny, and many species and hybrids have characteristics of more than one group or do not fit well in any of them.
 * Cane begonia – forms tough, bamboo-like canes
 * shrub-like
 * tuberous
 * rhizomatous
 * semperflorens (wax or fibrous rooted begonias)
 * Rex
 * trailing-scandent
 * thick-stemmed

AGM plants
The following is a selection from about 70 species, varieties and cultivars which currently hold the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:
 * Begonia 'Benitochiba'
 * Begonia dregei
 * Begonia foliosa var. miniata
 * Begonia 'Glowing Embers'
 * Begonia grandis subsp. evansiana
 * Begonia grandis subsp. evansiana var. alba
 * Begonia 'Green Gold'
 * Begonia listada
 * Begonia luxurians
 * Begonia masoniana
 * Begonia metallica
 * Begonia solananthera
 * Begonia soli-mutata
 * Begonia sutherlandii

Culture
The cultivar 'Kimjongilia' is a floral emblem of North Korea.

Most begonias are sour to the taste, and some people in some areas eat them. This is safe in small amounts but potentially toxic in large quantities due to the prevalence of oxalic acid in the tissues.

title: Begonia