What if… Snape’s Memories were fake?
Last time, we proved how Snape’s Worst Memory was true and valid. That what happened inside it is real. And here we come with an essay that suggests it is possible after all that everything was a lie?
Well yes, although perhaps it wouldn’t go as you might expect.
This essay is not really meant to discuss Canon!Snape. It is rather for fun, and to make a point.
Usually, when people argue that Snape’s memories were fake, they say that Snape created them to bring sympathy from Harry and the reader, paint the Marauders as villains instead of the pure innocent boys we know they truly are (not), and make himself look like the victim in the story, even coming to lie to himself. Because as you guessed it, antis argue that Snape is that much of a manipulator and that he was not a victim of bullying at all! When they’re not arguing that he deserved it, that is…
The memory alteration theory is not only disgracing and discrediting Snape’s character depth, as well as Harry’s character growth (as he understands that the adults he loves and trusts were bullies and that the adult he loathes was a victim of bullying, so much so Harry relates to him and takes his defense for the first time in the series), but it also carries a harmful message against bullying and abuse victims: that their experiences should be viewed as over-exaggerated, made up, or simply altered to effectively stain the accused’s reputation. Because they were the true bullies all along, of course!
By such rules, it is completely possible to create similarly unnerving and character-slandering theories, by taking certain things noticed in canon, or just assumed, or outright invented, and blowing them out of proportion — but this time, directed at Severus’ enemy, James Potter. That would be only fair, right?
For instance, I could say that James used a mind-control spell to force Severus to use the word Mudblood against Lily and other people, so that James could then stage in as the hero. [“He couldn’t stop showing off whenever he was near her.”] James could have used the same spell to force Severus into joining Voldemort — let’s say, by planting in Severus the irrational idea that he would impress Lily if he joined the Death Eaters — and only the knowledge that Lily was in danger broke the spell and made Snape return to the Light Side:
Well, that is Snape’s tragedy. Given his time over again he would not have become a Death Eater, but like many insecure, vulnerable people (like Wormtail) he craved membership of something big and powerful, something impressive. He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too. He never really understood Lily’s aversion; he was so blinded by his attraction to the dark side he thought she would find him impressive if he became a real Death Eater.
— J. K. Rowling when asked why, if Snape truly loved Lily, he didn’t give up associating with Dark Magic to be with her (BLC: Bloomsbury Live Chat)
Even better, adult Snape may have purposefully added that bit where he calls Lily a Mudblood because he’s scared that Harry might discover his true allegiance while he’s still connected to Voldemort through their minds. If Voldemort ever spies SWM through Harry and sees Snape not following pureblood ideology, Voldemort might think Snape is a liar. Especially if Snape’s proof of loyalty was to assure Voldemort that he’d insulted Lily and that he considered her nothing more than a “filthy Mudblood”. [quote, “but when she’d gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him…”] He has to create the memory to support that lie. When Snape dies, he tries giving the real memory, but he’s too weak and can only give the altered one.
These theories are not ones that interest me. However, there’s one that does hold my attention. Because there is, indeed, something fishy in all this story. Perhaps you noticed it already. Remember what we said in our previous essay?
A funny thing is that both Lupin and Sirius confirm that they, with James, bullied Snape and harassed Lily the way Harry saw, but they never truly, directly confirm that Severus called Lily a Mudblood, nor anyone else.
This fact wouldn’t leave my head, and my aim, with the new theory I will present, is to go beyond showing the absurdity of Snape-bashing Marauderfen fantasies, and try to make sense of an actual problem in the books.
This interpretation wouldn’t have been explored if it wasn’t for the haters creating convoluted theories themselves. So I’d like to thank all snaters for making it possible that such an interpretation was born.
The anomalies
We see an accumulation of anomalies throughout the books, regarding Snape and blood supremacy:
- Severus is shown to correct his behavior, especially upon becoming friends with Lily. Before, he called Petunia a Muggle in a pejorative way. Later, he says, to try and comfort Lily, “she’s only a…” Now, we have already discussed that it’s just as possible that he wanted to call Petunia a cow–or a bitch, which is true. But even if you take it as Severus wanting yet again to call Petunia a Muggle in a pejorative way, the fact remains: Severus makes the effort to change and not insult those Lily cares for, especially with those words. He takes care not to use the word “Muggle” pejoratively, while other “good guys” like Hagrid or McGonagall would gladly use it as a “racist” slur. He won’t allow himself even that.
- He loves Lily to the point his Patronus becomes a Doe, so it’s fair to say her Muggle-Born blood status doesn’t matter to him, not that much.
- In fact that’s exactly what he reassures Lily: “Does it make a difference, being Muggle-born?” Snape hesitated. His black eyes, eager in the greenish gloom, moved over the pale face, the dark red hair. “No,” he said. “It doesn’t make any difference.” It isn’t James or any of Lily’s girl friends who tells her that it makes no difference to be Muggle-Born… it is Severus Snape.
- He calls himself the Half-Blood Prince, instead of rejecting his Muggle ancestry, something that Harry recognizes as not being normal for the common Death Eaters (and blood purists) [“If he’d been a budding Death Eater he wouldn’t have been boasting about being ‘half-blood,’ would he?”]; Voldemort certainly wouldn’t have called himself the Half-Blood Heir proudly.
- Being a dirt-poor Half-Blood and technically Muggle-Born (since he’s literally born from a Muggle and Muggle grandparents) would have made it possible Severus was called a Mudblood himself, so unless he reclaims this slur, it’s weird he’d use it daily as an insult to establish… a superiority he hasn’t.
- Severus defends Hermione from Phineas who calls her a Mudblood. [“Headmaster! They are camping in the Forest of Dean! The Mudblood —” “Do not use that word!”] So obviously this word triggers him and he’s the very one who vividly defends those called this way.
- Severus also doesn’t punish Ron in CoS when he tries to beat up Draco while Harry and Dean have to restrain him. [show “Snape: A Definitive Reading” + quote”; “I’m quite surprised the Mudbloods haven’t all packed their bags by now,” Malfoy went on. “Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn’t Granger —” The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy’s last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed. “Let me at him,” Ron growled as Harry and Dean hung onto his arms. “I don’t care, I don’t need my wand, I’m going to kill him with my bare hands —” “Hurry up, I’ve got to take you all to Herbology,” barked Snape over the class’s heads, and off they marched, with Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.] Contrast this to Severus retrieving points from Ron just the year previous in Philosopher’s Stone if he so much as threatened Draco, or Severus trying to do the same to Harry in Order of the Phoenix when Harry says he tries to decide the magical curse to use upon Malfoy. [Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs. “WEASLEY!” Ron let go of the front of Malfoy’s robes. “He was provoked, Professor Snape,” said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. “Malfoy was insultin’ his family.” “Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid,” said Snape silkily. “Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn’t more. Move along, all of you.” / “What are you doing, Potter?” said Snape coldly as ever, as he strode over to the four of them. “I’m trying to decide what curse to use on Malfoy, sir,” said Harry fiercely. Snape stared at him. “Put that wand away at once,” he said curtly. “Ten points from Gryff —”] Severus tolerates a Ron who tries to fight against Draco and creates a bit more chaos in the class, because he knows Ron is right to want to punch someone who used the word Mudblood in such a vile way, and Snape approves.
- Severus is friends with a Squib, Argus Filch, whom nearly everybody despises, and whom even Hagrid calls a “sneakin’ Squib” with no consequences. Squibs are arguably more marginalized than Muggles and Muggle-Borns, treated like filth even by the “heroes” of the story. But not Snape. Not even in his teens [quotes].
- Not in the books, but Rowling never argues that Snape joined the DEs because of blood purity, and she says that Lily could have loved Snape romantically if he had been less interested in the Dark Arts. And not “if he didn’t call everyone a Mudblood”. We know that not even to Rowling the Mudblood incident mattered a lot, neither to Lily. It wasn’t what condemned Snape in her eyes:
Jaclyn: Did Lily ever have feelings back for Snape?
J.K.R.: Yes. She might even have grown to love him romantically (she certainly loved him as a friend) if he had not loved Dark Magic so much, and been drawn to such loathsome people and acts.
So it’s a bit… Perhaps not out-of-character, but a bit incoherent and odd that suddenly Severus would call Lily a Mudblood pejoratively, and if we were to believe Lily, everybody of her birth in fact. And yet, he fights against the anti-Muggle prejudice he developed as an abused, lonely, unpopular wizard as a child [Tobias whipping Severus; Petunia insults him with “you’re the boy from the other side of the river” too], and he still fights against bigotry as an adult, becoming one of the rare people friends with a Squib.
However, the strongest anomaly that exists in the books is this:
- Aside from Lily in his memories, none of the characters in HP ever accuse Severus of being a blood purist, let alone having called anyone around him a Mudblood. In particular, Lupin and Sirius were present in SWM, and would have heard like everyone around them Severus call Lily a Mudblood… And yet they never bring up that fact.
… WHY?
Sirius and Lupin try to victim-blame Severus and justify James at every turn. It would be the perfect occasion, and in their best interest, to argue that they bullied Snape because James hated how Severus called everybody Mudbloods, Lily included. In fact, that’s what Snape haters already argue. But Sirius and Lupin don’t, and they rather try to use excuses like “Severus was a slimy, oily kid” or “he was up to his eyes with the Dark Arts”. It’s just too weird they don’t ever bring up this fact to give themselves an excuse for their actions. In the end, that’s a problem of inconsistency in the characters of Severus but also Sirius and Lupin, at least in my opinion. I’ve got some ideas that explain this:
- Either Severus using the word Mudblood, against Lily and/or other people, leaves Sirius and Lupin indifferent, they don’t care, it’s not important, it’s forgettable, and that’s telling from members of the Order of the Phoenix who were once friends with Lily and one of whom apparently hates his parents for being bigots,
- …Or they never bring it up because it actually never happened.
Only once is this fact brought up again, in HBP:
“And he didn’t think my mother was worth a damn either,” said Harry, “because she was Muggle-born… ‘Mudblood,’ he called her…”
Nobody asked how Harry knew this. All of them seemed to be lost in horrified shock, trying to digest the monstrous truth of what had happened. [Dumbledore’s “murder”]
Remember: The HP books are told from Harry’s internal point of view. What we read — or at least, what is suggested — is that Harry thinks everybody knows Snape called his mother a Mudblood and they just don’t bother asking him where he learned this, supposedly because they’re not surprised. But be careful: Harry is merely interpreting silence and body language. It is subjective and biased, and we know how wrong Harry can be about Snape. It is just as possible that all the characters in fact didn’t know Severus called Lily a Mudblood, not even Lupin — because for them, it never happened. They don’t bother asking Harry where he got that information because, well… If Harry is right when he says Snape murdered Dumbledore and is a Death Eater traitor, then surely he must be right when he says Snape has called Lily a Mudblood? They all were already in a state of shock after the battle, so if this information came as a surprise, they would be too numb to react strongly to it. Or they might think that Snape did call Lily a Mudblood, but not as a teen, rather, recently, as an adult.
Another interpretation is that nobody truly heard what Harry said.
Another a thing we can notice is that Lupin only argues that Snape hated James, not Lily, even though he could have thought that Snape wouldn’t regret her death considering he called her a Mudblood. Harry certainly argues as such.
“Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told Dumbledore he hadn’t realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he’d done it, sorry that they were dead.”
They all stared at him.
“And Dumbledore believed that?” said Lupin incredulously. “Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James…”
“And he didn’t think my mother was worth a damn either,” said Harry, “because she was Muggle-born… ‘Mudblood,’ he called her…”
But not Lupin, yet again.
So the characters never confirm that Snape did this, and Harry believes this happened because of a single source at this point: SWM. Later, the Gryffindor Tower scene in The Prince’s Tale.
And this is the problem, because SWM and all his other memories could have been edited by someone. Who? Any of Snape’s enemies… particularly James, you guessed it.
So now is the time to introduce the theory that could explain all this!
The theory
The Gryffindor Tower scene between Severus and Lily didn’t exactly happen as we saw it. In fact, it probably never happened at all.
James is trying harder and harder to cut the friendship between them so that Lily can be isolated enough for him to catch his prize and utterly destroy Severus’ life. Lily’s friends in Gryffindor Tower feed her more and more bullshit about Severus, particularly thanks to Sirius and Lupin’s influence and their prejudice against Slytherins. But Lily doesn’t yield: she doesn’t believe them, she even makes what they consider excuses for Severus. [“I’ve made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you.”] Humiliating Severus doesn’t work. Blackmailing Lily doesn’t work. So James settles to break their friendship on Severus’ side by messing with his head.
James’ father is rich and in Pottermore, is a potioneer. Just like James stole his Cloak of Invisibility, he steals Polyjuice Potion from his father; or alternatively, he and his friend(s) buy it wherever they can. They easily steal hair from Snape — whom they constantly physically assault — and Lily — with whom they live. Then one night, James and Peter drink the potions: James becomes Lily, and Wormtail becomes Snivellus. And then, they stage the scene that we see in the Prince’s Tale.
Later, James and Peter capture Severus, transplant the memory of fake!Severus and fake!Lily breaking their friendship forever, perhaps add a little Confundus to convince Snape that it’s truly over, Obliviate the memory that James and his friend mind-f*cked him, stun him unconscious, and finally they leave to watch the results.
Severus wakes up and firmly believes that the argument in front of Gryffindor Tower was real – to the point he convinces himself that he must have called Lily a Mudblood in his Worst Memory to deserve this. He believes that he’s a lost cause and he might as well become a true Death Eater, since Lily believes he’s one already. He avoids her like the plague, respectful of her choice to end their friendship and profoundly ashamed of what he’s done. However, he gets the conviction, somehow, that his mind must be protected from external aggression. He gets so versed in mind magic that he becomes the strongest Occlumens of the world.
Lily never really ended their friendship. For her, they never suddenly broke apart… they just drifted away. In her eyes, the thing that truly separated them was their last argument: “They don’t use Dark Magic though”. In SWM, Lily and Severus mind their own business, away from each other, which would suggest they weren’t very close at this point. Lily wouldn’t see the difference if Severus actively started to avoid her.
Perhaps Severus did use the word Mudblood in his Worst Memory, but either Lily didn’t care, or she considered it wasn’t a big deal since he was a Mudblood himself, or she forgave him; telling Severus that she would be waiting for him to leave Mulciber and Avery behind, and then they could be truly together again. But Severus goes away, and Lily accepts it.
Once again, just like with the Werewolf Incident… never knowing the full truth.
Only the culprits and the Fat Lady — if she hasn’t been Confounded or Obliviated — could confirm whether or not the scene in front of Gryffindor Tower was real.
It fits with the inconsistencies in the chapters Career Advice and The Phoenix Lament. Lupin and Sirius never argue that Severus is at fault for calling Lily a Mudblood, or anyone else for that matter, because as I said, either it didn’t happen, or Lily made it clear that she doesn’t care and they have no right to blame Severus because he is a proud Mudblood himself, giving him the right to use the word Mudblood without it having the value of a slur, and they are the privileged men bullying him out of prejudice, so if anyone’s being a bigot, it’s them. [“With James as your father, with Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice.”] They also never argue that Severus hated Lily, because they know it’s not true.
It also fits with Harry Potter’s universe, despite what I explained in our previous video [About the Validity of Snape’s Worst Memory]. Here are some clues that make this scenario possible.
The clues
We saw in the last video that it is extremely complicated — perhaps nearly impossible — to alter, let alone create, a plausible memory in one’s own mind.
What we do know in HP however, is that it is far easier to modify someone else’s recollection of events.
Wizards, particularly Aurors and Obliviators, mess with the minds of Muggles routinely:
“The Office of Misinformation has been working around the clock, we’ve had teams of Obliviators out trying to modify the memories of all the Muggles who saw what really happened, we’ve got most of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures running around Somerset, but we can’t find the giant — it’s been a disaster.” (HBP)
Hermione was able to alter her parents’ memories.
‘I’ve also modified my parents’ memories so that they’re convinced they’re really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life’s ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done.’
But perhaps the best example of a Charm used to implant false memories is given by none other than the Dark Lord. Morfin Gaunt and Hokey the House-Elf suffered it:
“[Voldemort] returned to the Gaunt hovel, performed the complex bit of magic that would implant a false memory in his uncle’s mind, laid Morfin’s wand beside its unconscious owner, pocketed the ancient ring he wore, and departed.”
The result?
“[Morfin] admitted to the murder on the spot, giving details only the murderer could know. He was proud, he said, to have killed the Muggles, had been awaiting his chance all these years. He handed over his wand, which was proved at once to have been used to kill the Riddles. And he permitted himself to be led off to Azkaban without a fight. ”
So we can’t really alter one’s own memory without us knowing it’s fake. It’s probably impossible to truly alter one’s own memory either, because you cannot remember to modify a memory a certain way if you don’t remember its original content and what are the parts to edit in the first place.
But what we can do is modify someone else’s memory — and their conviction that this memory is true.
And this is a very important detail.
Someone who got their mind altered this way will try to make sense of their memories by being convinced — and in turn, convincing themselves — that the alien memory is true and coherent. A bit like in Inception, the person who uses the manipulation spell is not the one building an entire new story, they merely plant the seed and let the victim’s mind do the rest.
There’s no reason one would examine their memories in detail to check whether it’s real or not. That’s assuming the person is able in the first place to detect clues proving their own memory is fake.
As Dumbledore says:
“[…] why should anybody delve further into Morfin’s mind when he had already confessed to the crime?”
Dumbledore could get the true memories, but only with difficulty. So imagine if anyone other than Voldemort or Dumbledore tried. It would be seemingly impossible to discover the truth.
We also learn in HP that a simple Charm such as Confundus can do the job.
Severus, but also Pomfrey and the Minister, think Sirius is capable of using this spell:
“Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent.” […]
“I suppose he’s told you the same fairy tale he’s planted in Potter’s mind?” spat Snape.
Although we discover that it is in truth Pettigrew who’s Confunded Ron:
Pettigrew had dived for Lupin’s dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light — and Ron lay motionless on the ground. […]
“What did he do to him?” Hermione whispered. Ron’s eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn’t seem to recognize them.
I think it’s reasonable enough to assume that if Pettigrew can do it, if everybody thinks Sirius can do it, then all the Marauders can use this spell. It would be well within their intentions too.
Severus explains in DH how powerful and insidious a Confundus Charm can be:
‘No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon Dawlish. It would not be the first time, he is known to be susceptible.’
‘I assure you, my Lord, Dawlish seemed quite certain,’ said Yaxley.
‘If he has been Confunded, naturally he is certain,’ said Snape.
He would know, because he’s the one who, mere days earlier, made Harry’s escape possible:
‘However, you must plant the idea of decoys – that, I think, ought to ensure Harry’s safety. Try Confunding Mundungus Fletcher.’ […]
‘You will suggest to the Order of the Phoenix,’ Snape murmured, ‘that they use decoys. Polyjuice Potion. Identical Potters. It is the only thing that might work. You will forget that I have suggested this. You will present it as your own idea. You understand?’
‘I understand,’ murmured Mundungus, his eyes unfocused…
So Confundus is able to act like an Imperius, an Obliviate and the Fake-Memory Charm demonstrated earlier. The additional twist is that the world of HP doesn’t classify Confundus as a Dark spell. Following this, James could use the excuse that “I’m not using Dark Magic though” to justify an assault on Snape’s mind, as if it made him any different from a Dark Wizard. In short: Confundus is the perfect weapon.
But would James really be this ruthless and manipulative just to “get the girl” and make “Snivelly” lonelier than ever? Well yes. Harry expects James to be the kind of man who would find a way to force Lily into dates, marriage, sexual intercourse and childbirth.
“Sometimes he wondered whether his father had forced her into it.”
Indeed, James proved he was vile enough to use blackmail to coerce Lily on a date:
“Leave him alone.”
“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” said James quickly. “Go on… Go out with me, and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.”
Or otherwise said: “If you don’t go out with me, I won’t let Snivelly alone and will keep abusing him”.
So obviously, this didn’t work. But you don’t have to keep going at it the unsubtle way. Why bother with blackmail, threats, violence, love potions or mind-control on Lily when the only thing you have to do is meddle a bit with Snape’s head with spells that don’t fall under the label of Dark Magic?
James wouldn’t force Lily per say, at least not right then… he would only force things to go in his way. It’s only Snape. He’s no big loss, who cares? And he probably justified it further, telling himself: « Oh, I’m sure Snivelly already calls people Mudblood anyway, he’s a filthy Slytherin after all, he’s just like the others, he deserves it, I’m just doing it for Evans’ own good.”
If you think James wouldn’t fuck around with Snape’s mind after abusing him physically and psychologically for years, nevermind Lily might be hurt by it, and that he wouldn’t manipulate events just to get her, I can recommend you the upcoming essay on « James’ desire for Lily ».
I assure you, it would totally be in his morals and capacities.
And for those who think Pettigrew wouldn’t be capable of staging the Gryffindor Tower scene Polyjuiced as Severus, remember the guy became a spy, went undetected for a year even though the Order knew a traitor was around, and staged his fake murder to frame Sirius for having killed James, Lily, 12 Muggles and himself. He was pathetic, but you can’t deny he had great acting skills. Probably because he learned that with James again.
But you know what? The scenario I hypothesized was unnecessarily complicated. Why bother staging a fake Severus and fake Lily breaking up, and suppose that Severus’ mind made up the calling-Lily-a-Mudblood part to fit in, when I could say that James took advantage of an attack on Snape to cast a Confundus on him and plant several memories that ensured Severus would break up with Lily? Teaching Wormtail how to use a Confundus in the meantime, which he would use on Ron two decades later?
And why not make Lily, James’ next target? That would explain many things… [“Sometimes he wondered whether his father had forced her into it.”]
The final clue that this scenario is plausible is that it seemingly worked.
The theory that Severus wanted to make himself look better and clear his conscience of what he’s done doesn’t fit because clearly Snape’s memories don’t make him look like a blameless victim. He lost Lily — forever — and spent the rest of his life alone, atoning for his wrongdoings, in crushing regret… because we all know that what he said was wrong.
But the theory that James modified Snape’s memories stands up simply because it fulfilled his objectives and he got what he wanted in the end.
Conclusion
So, this was fun.
I started to think deeper about this particular theory because there were a little too many people who were discarding SWM to render the Marauders blameless. Well you see it crumbles apart thanks to Sirius and Lupin’s confessions, as we saw earlier, as well as many other clues; and even funnier, this theory seems, at least to me, even more plausible if it’s the other way around.
I just want to remind everyone, and especially haters, that from the moment you try to argue that any of Snape’s memories never happened the way we see it, then you are arguing that you cannot objectively accuse Severus of having called Lily a Mudblood. You can’t cherry-pick which parts you agree are real, if you start to question the validity of his memories as a whole.
For the sake of studying the HP books in a non-confusing way, we’ll leave that theory aside and consider that what happened in SWM was real, accurate, and no memory editing was performed. But you can keep this in a corner of your mind, and ask yourself how it is that all the clues I showed above, all those inconsistencies in the books, exist in the first place.
Why is it that Sirius and Lupin never called Severus out for being a blood purist bigot.
How they never say that Severus used the word Mudblood; almost as if for them all, it never happened.
Sources
The Sneep Project 
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