As promised, I said I would come up with a few of my own Harry Potter themed theories and here is the first one. I thought of this a few days ago, which in turn made me decide that I should start this blog to share with other people and read their opinions on the matter, along with many others. So, how do you think Snape would have felt if Harry had been sorted into his own house rather than the snake’s rival house, Gryffindor? Would he have still held a grudge against Harry because of his life-long feud with James or would he have felt more protective over him because of his love for Lily? Also, would Harry have replaced Draco as the Slytherin Prince if this was so, or would he have stuck to his original personality, going against all the pureblood beliefs and doing what Andromeda Black (Tonks) did?
I have a feeling that if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin like the Hat wanted, things would have been ever so slightly different. Even in the original novels, there is obviously that different side to Snape that you don’t realise until right at the very end, a caring side that he keeps closed up, not daring to show to a single soul. However, I believe that his caring side was really only directed at Lily; she was the only person that ever really cared for him and no one ever showed the same devotion towards him like she did, not even his own family. After one small mistake he lost her has a friend, after one grave mistake he lost her forever and he has never been able to forgive himself. Yes he’s proved himself to be on the right side, but again it’s not until the very end that you realise and it’s only because he owes his life to Dumbledore for giving him a second chance; it’s only because of Dumbledore that he says to hide all of the Potter family when Voldemort has put a price on their heads, if it were up to him, he would have only saved Lily. But even though that all his care and devotion was saved for one person, could there have possibly been a tiny molecule of care saved for Harry?
From the first day Harry entered the Wizarding World, every witch, wizard and their auntie commented on how he’s the spitting image of his father. This is just one of the many grudges he holds against Harry; obviously by looking at Harry, all he sees is James and how he made his school life a living hell. Because of this, he naturally thinks that Harry takes on the exact same personality as his father and so aims the brunt of his anger towards him. Perhaps if Harry had been in Slytherin, it would have given him a chance to treat Harry worse than he could in Gryffindor; in the second film he declared that if Harry was in his house, he would have expelled him for the treacherous display with the Ford Anglia, he could have taken advantage of this if the Sorting Hat hat gone with its original decision. But if this had happened, would guilt have consumed him for fearing what Lily would have thought of him?
Besides his looks mirroring his father’s, Harry had one feature that did not, for once the statement “you look just like your father” had been announced, it could only be followed by “except your eyes, their your mother Lily’s”. The sensitive side of Snape reveals itself right at the very end of the final book, and his life, when he asks Harry to look at him just so that he can see those emerald green eyes one last time before darkness consumes him. After this being revealed, you can only wonder how many times Snape has thought about Lily every time he sees Harry; is it the same amount of times his fury surfaces every time he thinks of James? What lies beneath is often the total opposite of what lies on the surface. If so, then he has been battling two sides of his emotions ever since Harry stepped foot through those enormous stone doors. If Harry were a member of his own house, then there could have been the slightest chance that he could have warmed up to Harry because as a wise old wizard always liked to declare, love beats war or anger (just to make it clear, I’m stating that Snape’s love for Lily would win over his hatred for Harry). If he had, then there would have been two routes Snape could have taken: given him extra protection for when Voldemort returned or turned him into some sort of “minion” for Voldemort to train him up and go against everything that Dumbledore sacrificed for him.
Giving Harry extra protection would probably have been the more realistic route Snape would have taken; Snape basically owed Dumbledore his life after he gave him a second chance, a chance to redeem himself after he made the mistake of becoming a Death Eater and putting a death warrant on Lily Potter and her family’s heads. Yes, he basically does that in the original novels anyway (hidden under a very good disguise) but with Harry in Slytherin, it would have given him better access to do so. He may have also done this in honour of Lily, to make up for all the wrongs he did her. However, what would have happened if the story had taken an even darker approach, giving Slytherin fans all over the world a field day? I’m sure there has been fanfiction written about this somewhere but if Harry had been sorted into Slytherin, there could have been a big chance that Snape would have given into temptation and gone back to his Death Eating ways, trying to rope in Harry as well; what better opportunity would there have been for world domination than The Dark Lord & The Chosen One joining forces? All the enticement was there, all it would have taken would have been a nudge and he could have been lured back to the evil he once devoted his life to. I’m sure he also would have been greatly respected by Voldemort for handing him over the boy whose abilities matched his own; yes he already is respected when he presents himself to Voldemort and deeming worthy enough to be trusted again between books four and five, but in this case he wouldn’t be pretending for the sake of Dumbledore, he would be doing it off his own back, making the situation that much different. Additionally, it would have been the perfect opportunity to get back at the memory of James and his fellow Marauders by taking away the only hope the wizarding community had to rid their world of the most dangerous evil that they’ve ever known. The question is, would Harry have done it?
If Harry had been accepted into Slytherin house, would he himself have become the Slytherin Prince? He certainly would have fitted in, what with the Parseltongue and the connection into Voldemort’s mind and the ability to cast dark curses if he chose to, after all, all he’d have to do is mean it; I’m sure it wouldn’t have taken much when surrounded by pureblood maniacs daily. His best friend would more than likely have been Draco Malfoy and his day to day activities would have been terrorising muggleborns; the world would be very dark indeed if he and Voldemort had combined forces. However, I doubt very much he would have given in to the dark side just like that. As James Potter’s son, it would have taken a lot to persuade him to join the man who wreaked havoc across the whole wizarding world, putting everyone in mortal peril and killing both of his parents, even if he had been sorted into Slytherin. I’m sure he would have followed the great steps of Andromeda Black and resisted the Dark Arts as much as possible. Who knows, he may still have been best friends with Ron and Hermione. But I guess this is something we will never find out and will only ever think about what if; there’s plenty theories where that came from!
A little Snape candy for everyone!
*Picture not mine, found on Google*
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