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Poster/Essay Contest Entry – Professor Severus Snape (Winner 2010) J.K. Rowling’s fictional world of Harry Potter has fuelled a strong following amongst people of all ages across the globe. Having been eleven at the same time that Harry and his compatriots began their journey at Hogwart’s, I have always felt a very strong kinship with the series. I looked forward to every summer, not for the break from school but for the release of a new book in the series. Professor Severus Snape, a surly man described as bat-like, is presented first as an antagonist in the series; confined to his dungeon classrooms, he gains pleasure from his constant rebuke and bullying of Harry, his friends and anyone not within his prized house of Slytherin. Over the course of the series, his character develops, is enriched with complex facets of morality, necessitating a reader’s thorough analysis. A double agent for Albus Dumbledore, Snape played a deceptive and dangerous game with the most feared wizard of all time: Voldemort. This caused a constant battle of conscience for a reader: is Dumbledore’s consistent faith in his reformation trustworthy or should Snape be shunned from the inner circle of the Order of the Phoenix? Upon Snape’s murder of Professor Dumbledore, it appeared that his utmost faith had been misplaced. I spent almost a full year searching for reasons as to why he would do something so inherently terrible, killing the one man who had showed an unwavering trust and faith in a man that society had essentially cast out. As I had always felt closest to Snape’s character; a man misunderstood, a man who had suffered at the hands of unpopularity, through a terrible childhood and yet possessed an academic and scholarly skill practically unrivalled, I felt betrayed. Upon the revelation of his true intentions, of his brave and honourable actions behind the scenes, my faith was restored and I breathed a sigh of relief that I had been unaware I was holding. Professor Severus Snape was a flawed human being; a former Death Eater (thought of as the most heinous people in the wizarding world), bitter, embroiled in the past with a temper to rival that of a bull seeing red. Yet he is brilliant, a brave and heroic soul, who did everything that he could to follow through on a promise of love, sacrificing everything along the way. I too have suffered at the hands of unimaginable cruelty, I too am a flawed person but I do everything that is within my power to be the best person that I can be, using Professor Severus Snape as an icon of that fortitude. I have participated in and led countless volunteer organizations; from such simple things as community clean ups, to orchestrating the collection of over 5,500 pounds of food to be donated to The Ottawa Food Bank in one night. My passion to help others, to ensure that no one ever feels as though there is an absence of hope despite the apparent, can be clearly reflected in Professor Severus Snape’s character. .

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