Setting the Record Straight
As dictated to Headmistress McGonagall by the portrait of former Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, circa 2013 C.E.
On this matter there has been a quite amusing amount of speculation and assumption, and I wish to only, as the Muggles say, set the record straight. To those whom this might offend, I offer my sincerest apologies—but then, the truth always has a capacity to offend. It does not make it false, nor does it render it inexpressible.
I speak as one who had the unique and complex privilege of rating high in the esteem of one Severus Tobias Snape, Potions Master, Professor, and former Headmaster of Hogwarts. Though he would scoff at the idea, I count myself amongst those few the late Headmaster trusted.
It is practically a fashion nowadays to say that Severus Snape was all right in the end, that his pure love for one Lily Evans turned his feet from a path of darkness to one of light. The remarkable Mr. Harry Potter has even taken the liberty of reworking Severus as a middle name for one of his children under this belief—and I would not presume to say that it is wholly false. Much of it, in fact, is perfectly correct in the letter—but in the spirit we find a problem.
My fellow witches and wizards, the wizarding world is not always the beacon of enlightenment that we often perceive it to be—although one cannot expect too much from a society that still uses quills and torches. There remains a pervasive element of bigotry, most recently, as we have all seen, in the rise and fall of Lord Voldemort. Fueled by medieval theses on the so-called purity of blood and the perceived superiority of humans over other magical peoples, he very nearly brought wizarding Britain to her knees. That he did not is due to the efforts of werewolves, muggle-borns, house elves, and goblins alongside a contingent of more conventional individuals. But his near success is a testament to the primal, bigoted forces that still divide us, and will continue to do so as long as the truth is suppressed and debased.
Severus Snape was, to use the pedestrian phrase, gay. By gay I mean homosexual, and by homosexual I mean exclusively interested in romantic relationships with other men. In the interest of full honesty, I must disclose (belatedly) that I share the same inclination. If your mind immediately leaps to the conclusion that, because we share a certain proclivity, Professor Snape and myself must have been romantically involved, I caution you. Had I been a woman (a fascinating thought) and had he been fully heterosexual, would you have assumed any relationships between us other than that of friends, or perhaps mentor and protégé? If you would not assume the one, I caution you not to assume the other. In full awareness of the buzz of unfounded rumor that will inevitably erupt at this confession, I will be blunt: Professor Snape and myself were never engaged in any variety of romantic love, and neither of us ever wished to change this.
But, then, what of Lily Evans? I would say without qualification that a love of friendship may be just as powerful as a passionate, unrequited romance. Lily Evans was kind to a boy who had faced a life of poverty, cruelty, and dismissal—I do not know one individual who, under such conditions, would not latch to that friendship with the power of an Unbreakable Vow. Kindness is a greatly underrated force. As a young Severus Snape made his way through seven years at Hogwarts, that kindness became ever more precious.
As many of us fondly remember our school years, it is easy to dismiss any difficulty as exaggerated, or perhaps fabricated entirely. But our world in general, and children in particular, are not kind to the outsider. Severus Snape's background, and paralyzing shyness did not recommend him—his sexual inclination, when inevitably discovered, turned a tolerable life into one of misery, rigidly enforced by the schoolyard gang commonly called the Marauders.
But what about his long rivalry with James Potter? As someone for whom it seemed the world had no place for, Severus Snape felt an enormous amount of resentment towards the culturally gifted James Potter—pureblooded, handsome, wealthy, reasonably intelligent, vivacious, athletic, lackadaisical and well-liked. And when the elder Mr. Potter set his heart on a life with Lily Evans, loathing was virtually assured.
This is not mere supposition. In life, I was in a rare position of confidence with Professor Snape, and he told me much of his story. As for the rest, Occlumency classes have a way of bringing out the memories we most wish to disguise.
Yes, Severus Snape loved Lily Evans; and yes, he spent a significant part of his life upholding her sacrifice. But he never loved her "as a man loves a woman," because Severus Snape had others who filled that role. I do not know who they were, and if I did I would not tell you, because the culturally illicit romantic life of one honorable man is not any of your business. But I tell you truly, if we as a society do not overcome our collective fear of the different, the unfamiliar, and the unknown, we will eventually face another Tom Riddle empowered by our prejudice. If, on the other hand, we can take the step that will bring us beyond the narrow confines of our traditional reactions, we may yet salvage the richness and value of our world.
Regards,
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Thoughts? Feel free to review.