This Tragic Snape-Lily Theory Is The ‘Harry Potter’ Conspiracy That Won’t Die

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Published

August 25, 2016

Alright guys, a Harry Potter fan theory from 2012 is once again doing the rounds, which can only mean a decent portion of the internet-dwelling folk haven’t yet stumbled across it.

And it’s a good one.

So if you DON’T know it, you need to read it, and if you DO already know it, then congrats. Have a chocolate frog and sit down.

~ The ‘True Meaning Of Snape’s First Words’ Theory ~

And we don’t mean as a baby.

When Harry first meets Professor Snape, Potions Master in Philosopher’s Stone, he is humiliated in front of the entire class when Snape decides to put “our new celebrity” to the test.

“Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” he asks. Spoiler: Harry doesn’t know. (The Draught of Living Death.)

The reader is mercilessly tricked into believing this is simply Snape being a dick about Potions, but as Tumblr user Tom Hiddles pointed out (in 2012), according to Victorian Flower Language, asphodel is a type of lily that means, ‘my regrets follow you to the grave’.

Sound familiar?

And wormwood means ‘absence’, which typically symbolises bitter sorrow.

Sound familiar?

Essentially, Snape’s very first words to Harry were ‘I bitterly regret Lily’s death’. Which is very sweet and all, but he was still being a dick about it.

Coincidence? Almost definitely 100% not. J.K. Rowling knew exactly what she was doing. See you in 3–5 years when we collectively forget about this and the theory does the rounds again.

Photo: Harry Potter.