Why did Severus Snape name himself the Half-Blood Prince
Severus Snape was a half-blood wizard born between his father Tobias Snape, a muggle and his mother Eileen Prince, a pure-blood witch.
Severus Snape’s childhood was miserable and even his parents neglected him. Severus Snape developed a bitter, unsocial, cold nature due to the bad memories of his childhood.
Severus Snape didn’t want to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at first because he feared adapting to a new environment with new people as he lacked social skills.
However, Severus Snape quickly became an excellent student and redeems his self-esteem as a skillful wizard.
Tom Marvolo Riddle abandoned his muggle father’s name ‘Tom Riddle’ and redeemed himself as Lord Voldemort due to the resentment against muggles and his father. Voldemort also abandoned his name ‘Tom’ that felt too ordinary.
Like Voldemort, Severus Snape abandoned his name and started to refer himself as the Half-Blood Prince during his Hogwarts year.
Severus Snape called himself the Half-Blood Prince because he honored his wizard blood line by taking the maiden’s name ‘Prince’ of his mother Eilleen Prince and he abandoned the muggle side of his paternal family name Snape.
Severus Snape always hated his father and even started to hold a grudge against muggles as well.
Half-Blood referred to Severus Snape’s birth as he was born between a muggle father and a pure-blood witch. The term ‘Half-Blood Prince’ was a pun as it may have meant a noble-skillful wizard of mysteries.
The identity of the Half-Blood Prince and shocked many readers and even Harry Potter himself as Harry Potter resented Severus Snape but deeply admired the notes and character of the Half-Blood Prince before he knew that the Half-Blood Prince was Severus Snape.
However, the Half-Blood Prince was more of a self-proclamation and possibly a past that Severus Snape wanted to hide as even Remus Lupin didn’t recognize the title ‘Half-Blood Prince’.
Severus Snape, the Half-Blood Prince’s Copy of Advanced Potion Making
“This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince”
Severus Snape made several modifications on the recipe of Advanced Potion Making. Modifications that
Severus Snape included was stating a Bezoar as an alternative for making any kind of antidote, modification on the recipe of Elixir to Induce Euphoria and modification on the recipe of the Draught of Living Death including crushing sopophorous beans.
During Severus Snape’s potions classes, Severus Snape never used a textbook for his classes and he would rather write down his own instructions while Horace Slughorn would use a textbook.
Severus Snape would scribble various magic spells that he has developed on his copy of Advanced Potion Making, major spells that Severus Snape invented were Sectumsempra, Levicorpus, Muffliato, and Langlock.
Harry Potter obtains Severus Snape or the Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advanced Potion Making and he would ‘cheat’ and excel in N.E.W.T potions class.
Severus Snape suspects Harry Potter carries the copy of Advanced Potion Making which referred him as the Half-Blood Prince
“This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood Prince”
Severus Snape possibly forgot to bring his copy of Advanced Potion Making from the Potions classroom. He became the new Professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Horace Slughorn replaced him as the new potions Professor.
Severus Snape hears word that Harry Potter became the best student in N.E.W.T Potions class and Severus Snape started to suspect Harry Potter may have obtained his copy of Advanced Potion Making.
Severus Snape surely had bias on Harry Potter but Severus Snape also knew that Harry Potter couldn’t have make such exponential improvement in such a short amount of time.
After Harry Potter almost killed Draco Malfoy, with the slashing cruse Sectumsempra which was the Half-Blood Prince’s original spell in other words Severus Snape’s invention, Severus Snape was certain Harry Potter had his copy of Advanced Potion Making.
Professor Severus Snape gives detention to Harry Potter for cheating and injuring Draco Malfoy
Harry Potter used the curse Sectumsempra without knowing its dreadful effects on Draco Malfoy in the 6th floor men’s restroom.
Professor Severus Snape was able to treat Draco Malfoy’s fatal injury with the healing spell Vulnera Sanentur which he knew was the counter-curse for Sectumsempra as Snape was the inventor of the curse Sectumsempra.
Professor Severus Snape gave Harry Potter detention on every Saturday which cost Harry the Quidditch final for injuring Draco Malfoy and cheating in potions class.
Severus Snape knew Harry Potter had to copy of his Advanced Potion Making but Harry Potter turned in Ron’s copy and hid the ‘Half-Blood Prince’s copy’ in the Room of Requirement. Severus Snape was furious but normally he would have given much severe punishments.
However, Severus Snape didn’t alert Professor Horace Slughorn that Harry Potter cheated in potions nor did he tell how Harry Potter injured Draco Malfoy in detail.
Professor Severus Snape was the inventor of the Sectumsempra curse and he was the Half-Blood Prince himself. Severus Snape feared anyone knowing that he was the Half-Blood Prince and invented the Sectumsepmra curse so he didn’t take more actions on Harry Potter.
Later on, Professor Minerva McGonagall would tell Harry Potter was lucky his punishment was only detention on Saturday.
Harry Potter started to perform poorly in potions class after he didn’t use the copy of Severus Snape or the Half-Blood Prince’s copy of Advanced Potions Making. Professor Horace Slughorn thought Harry Potter’s sudden poor performance was odd and considered a pity.
Harry Potter learns that Severus Snape is the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter was already furious to find out Severus Snape was the one who overheard the prophecy and informed Lord Voldemort before Albus Dumbledore and him headed to Cave Island to find a horcrux.
Albus Dumbledore insists that he still trusts Severus Snape a lot to Harry Potter despite his bads. Right after Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter found a horcrux and returned to Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was severely weakened by the Emerald Potion or the Drink of Despair.
Draco Malfoy disarms Albus Dumbledore but hesitates to kill Albus Dumbledore. In the movie, Severus Snape oddly finds Harry Potter before he heads upstairs on the Astronomy tower and tells Harry Potter to be silent. Nevertheless, Severus Snape murders Albus Dumbledore with the Killing Curse.
While the Death Eaters including Draco Malfoy fled and even burnt down Hagrid’s cavin, Harry Potter chased them (in the novel under his Invisibility Cloak, in the movie, Severus Snape constantly alerts the Death Eaters Harry Potter is for Voldemort and avoids him) and started to attack Severus Snape. Severus Snape easily defended all attacks from Harry Potter and constantly ignored him.
However, Severus Snape stands against him right after Harry Potter screams Severus Snape is a coward. Harry Potter uses the curse Sectumsempra in desperation and rage which Severus Snape easily deflected. Severus Snape knocks him down and looks down to Harry Potter saying
"You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them — I, the Half-Blood Prince!"
Severus Snape then dissappartates after revealing that he was the Half-Blood Prince off the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Grudge intensifies between Harry Potter and Severus Snape
Professor Severus Snape has a private conversation with Albus Dumbledore in regards of Albus Dumbledore’s private lessons with Harry Potter.
Hagrid witnesses this conversation in the Forbidden Forest which Severus Snape was fumed that Albus Dumbledore trusts Harry Potter more than him.
Albus Dumbledore holds another private conversation with Severus Snape in his office after Albus Dumbledore learned about what Lord Voldemort has done with horcruxes.
Hagrid tells that Albus Dumbledore does have trust with Severus Snape to Harry Potter. Meanwhile Harry Potter was shocked that of the horrible effects that the curse Sectumsempra had.
Harry Potter had respect for the Half-Blood Prince before he used the Sectumsempra cruse on Draco Malfoy as it simply stated ‘For Enemies’.
Harry Potter started to doubt the Half-Blood Prince’s ethics. Before Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore headed to Cave Island to find a horcrux, Professor Sybill Trelawney tells Harry Potter that Professor Severus Snape was the person who overheard his prophecy between him and Voldemort.
Harry Potter was furious that because of Severus Snape, his parents were sacrificed by Voldemort but he was even more upset because Albus Dumbledore said that he still sincerely trusts Severus Snape.
After Harry Potter witnesses Severus Snape killing Albus Dumbledore, he duels with Severus Snape. Severus Snape ignoring Harry Potter until Harry Potter called Snape a coward. Severus Snape reveals that he was the Half-Blood Prince and dissapartates.
Harry Potter was devastated that Albus Dumbledore was betrayed by Severus Snape who Albus Dumbledore deeply trusted. Harry Potter thought that Albus Dumbledore should have never trusted an evil person like Severus Snape.
Harry Potter also regretted that he should have informed others of the Half-Blood Prince before. Harry Potter regrets that the Half-Blood Prince who was Severus Snape was such an evil person to even invent such a curse like Sectumsempra and he should have known earlier.
