Severus Snape is one of the most controversial and divisive characters in the Harry Potter series. While many fans loved his redemption arc and found him compelling and redeemable, others feel like he was simply a villain through and through, end of story. But whether you like Snape or not, it's pretty difficult to deny that Snape was more than capable of some pretty annoying feats and behaviors at times. Sure, he also did some truly awful things, but there are also some less intense actions he engaged in that were really frustrating.
Of course, no one's denying that he's an amazing character, nor that he wasn't masterfully portrayed by Alan Rickman in the films. But to demonstrate, today we are going to check out ten most annoying things that Severus Snape did.
Stay Aloof Of Practically Everyone
Snape might have some redeeming qualities, but he’s definitely not what anyone would call a nice person. He’s extremely aloof and mostly sticks to himself, and, when he does interact with others, he’s never very kind about it. He seems to basically disdain or dislike nearly everyone, and this definitely makes him unlikable. Seeing him act rudely to so many people around him, even other adults, got old at times.
The Way He Treated Neville (& Others)
Many fans have pointed out that Snape was a horrible professor and often abusive. While he’s not the only Hogwarts professor to act in these ways, given that he was supposed to be on the good side, it’s rather disturbing.
He was a big bully all around, but most especially to Neville. The way he took his anger out on a kid who was awkward and needed help, similarly to how Snape had been an awkward kid, was really pathetic.
Favoring The Slytherins
Professors are only people, so it’s only natural that sometimes they would have a favorite student or students. However, a good teacher doesn’t show this favoritism. Snape, however, was blatant about liking the Slytherins best. It was just another petty and obnoxious thing about him that made him seem like an immature child. His favoring of Draco was particularly clear.
Obsession & Entitlement With Lily Potter
One of the most annoying things about Snape is how he seems to think he deserves some sort of praise or to be seen as a good person because he thinks he loves Lily. His love for her is not exactly pure, and it was mostly selfish and obsessive. Even if he felt like he truly loved her, he ruined that relationship years before her death. The way he continued to focus and obsess about her wasn’t romantic, but was instead obnoxious and sad.
His Grudge Against Harry
Harry never really had a chance when it came to Snape. From the first day, Snape was rude and judgemental, and he always singled Harry out. He let his hatred of James make him hate Harry even though they were two different people. And, given that Snape literally was fine with Voldemort killing both James and Harry, you'd think he might try to make up for it a little instead of being awful to Harry.
Didn’t Take Hermione's Need To Visit The Hospital Wing Seriously
Reading about Snape as a professor was obnoxious at many points throughout the Harry Potter series. Snape didn’t really care about his students but especially not certain ones. He was also particularly mean to Hermione and literally called her a know-it-all many times. But, one of the most frustrating things he did was when Hermione was hexed so that her teeth wouldn’t stop growing, and Snape wouldn’t send her to the hospital wing all while insulting her appearance at the same time.
Unnecessarily Mean & Petty Comments
While one might think that Snape’s obnoxious behavior would mostly extend to his students who he had power over, Snape was a jerk to lots of other people, too. He was constantly mocking people he didn’t like or making snide comments with the intent to annoy or hurt people. He made comments to people such as Lupin, Sirius, Molly, and Tonks. Whether you think he’s a good character or not, Snape definitely isn’t fun to be around.
Continually Playing The Victim
If Snape would take some responsibility for his actions, he wouldn’t be as annoying. Instead, he seemed to always see himself as the victim. He felt like he was bullied by the Marauders even though he was already into the dark arts and called Lily a slur during this time.
He also acted like what happened to Lily impacted him more than anyone, and this was just obnoxious to read about. While he did have a hard childhood, he's not the only one who did in the series, and this doesn't excuse him being a bully.
Totally Lacking Remorse
While acting like a victim might be one of Snape’s worst traits, his lack of remorse is probably even more so. He never really seemed to feel bad for the fact that he was a Death Eater who supported all the awful things Voldemort did and believed. He mostly just felt sorry about Lily’s death, which mostly just seems selfish. His inability to feel remorse was one of the most obnoxious character flaws he had.
Trying To Get Students To Figure Out Lupin Was A Werewolf
One of the worst things Snape did by far was to reveal to the wizarding world that Lupin was a werewolf. However, one of the most annoying things he ever did happened before then. It was when he had to substitute Lupin's class. He took the opportunity to assign the class to learn about werewolves, even though it wasn't on the lesson plan, with the hope that one of the students would figure it out. This was an extremely petty move.