Almost everyone despised Severus Snape throughout his life. When we followed his story on the pages of the Harry Potter series, he didn’t make us like him at all, and some fans considered him their least favorite character.
At the end of the series, we all had a change of heart when we learned the truth about Snape’s deeds. However, it was too late to reconcile. Snape was dead.
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How did Severus Snape Die?
Severus Snape died from a poisonous snake bite. The snake was no other than Voldemort’s pet snake/Horcrux, Nagini. It happened after Voldemort summoned Snape to the Shrieking Shack.
In the beginning, Snape was not aware of why he was summoned, but after Voldemort’s speech, it became apparent that those were the last moments of Snape’s life.
He probably expected to die a fast death, but he probably wasn’t ever expecting what happened instead.
Why Did Voldemort Not Use the Killing Curse to Kill Snape?
Voldemort said to Snape in the Shrieking Shack that the Elder Wand doesn’t do his bidding, and the reason is that he is not the master of the Wand. He explained:
“The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine.”
Voldemort was wary of using the Elder Wand against the person he thought was its master, so he thought of another method that would work. He used his snake to kill Snape.
Because the snake was connected to Voldemort through the fragment of Voldemort’s soul (the Horcrux), Voldemort counted it as killing Snape himself.
Why Did Snape Let Voldemort Kill Him?
We will never know the truth of why Snape didn’t try to save himself, but we can guess as closely as the facts allow us.
Snape realized what Voldemort’s intentions were, and he kept changing the topic of the conversation, trying to get to Harry and convey to him all the information Dumbledore left for him, but Voldemort had a different plan.
When Voldemort told Snape that he thought Snape to be the Elder Wand’s master, Snape figured out the truth and was hoping that it would die with him.
And as J.K. Rowling said herself:
Snape didn’t die for ‘ideals’. He died in an attempt to expiate his own guilt. He could have broken cover at any time to save himself, but he chose not to tell Voldemort that the latter was making a fatal error in targeting Harry. Snape’s silence ensured Harry’s victory.
What Did Snape Say Before He Died?
There was not much Snape could say after being bitten by a poisonous snake and having a ripped throat.
After Harry approached Snape on the floor of the Shrieking Shack, the words that Snape uttered were referring to the memories Snape was exuding from his mouth, ears, and eyes:
“Take… it… Take… it…”
And the very last words that Snape said in the book, just before he stopped moving, were:
“Look . . . at . . . me. . . .”
We assume that because Harry’s eyes were exactly the same in shape and color as his mother’s eyes, Snape wanted to see them one last time before his death.
Why Did Snape Have to Die
From the plot point of view, Snape had to die because Voldemort wanted to be the true owner of the Elder Wand and falsely assumed that Snape was one before.
Other than that, we have no idea why J.K. Rowling killed Snape. In our opinion, it could be because there was no possibility of civil interaction between Snape and Harry.
They hated each other for so long and with such passion that after the war was over and Voldemort defeated, the truth was discovered, and it would be difficult to go back to hating each other without guilt.
Therefore there was only one solution, make Snape a martyr and remove him from the equation.
Some fans have theories that Snape was stealing the spotlight with his scenes, and because the book had to focus on the main character, J.K. Rowling got rid of Snape.
Final Thoughts
Snape was a tragic hero who died gruesomely, having his throat ripped by a poisonous snake, Nagini.
For most of the series, he was a hated Professor and thought to be a traitor, but in the end, he became the most beloved character of the series.
We will never know the real reason why he had to die, but we can only guess that it was to make us love him even more!