Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince are fictional characters created by J. K. Rowling for the Harry Potter book series. They are the parents of Severus Snape.
[edit] Tobias Snape
| Harry Potter character | |
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| Tobias Snape | |
| Gender | Male |
| Parentage | Muggle |
Tobias Snape does not appear until the sixth book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. A Muggle, he married Eileen Prince, who was of wizarding descent, and was the father of Severus Snape.
In the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter accidentally sees one of Severus Snape's memories. This shows three characters: a man, a woman, and a young boy. The man, who may have been Tobias Snape, is shown as a hot-tempered, hook-nosed man, shouting at the cowering woman, while the boy is crying.
[edit] Eileen Prince
| Harry Potter character | |
|---|---|
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| Eileen Prince | |
| Gender | Female |
| Parentage | Either half-blood or pure-blood |
Eileen Prince, a witch, is the mother of Severus Snape. A woman who may have been Eileen is briefly glimpsed in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in Severus's memories during Occlumency lessons.
The title of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince refers to a nickname for Snape which was a literal description of him, from his mother's name and his mixed-blood parentage. Harry Potter discovers the nickname written inside an old potions book. Remus Lupin, who was a classmate of Snape, has no knowledge of the nickname, but Snape eventually confirms to Harry that it refers to him. (Main article: Half-Blood Prince.)
Hermione Granger investigates the nickname to discover who it might be, and first believes that it may refer to Eileen. She finds a picture of 15-year-old Eileen in an old newspaper. Her appearance is described as "simultaneously cross and sullen, with heavy brows and a long, pallid face." She was Captain of the Hogwarts Gobstones team. It is only later, after Snape is revealed to be the actual Half-Blood Prince, that she finds a birth announcement revealing that she is his mother, allowing her and the others to understand the full implications of Snape's "Half-Blood Prince" nickname.
It is unknown if Eileen or Tobias are still alive or whether either will play any role in the final book. The marriage of Tobias and Eileen is an example of "Half Blood" parentage. The belief that half-bloods are inferior to purebloods is a common prejudice in the wizarding world.
[edit] Family tree
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Tobias Snape |
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Eileen Prince |
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Severus Snape |
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