Snape, Snape, Severus Snape - or Dumbledore? Words by Jadie Troy-Pryde Harry Potter turned twenty years old this week, and Potterheads across the globe have been paying tribute to the wizarding world by sharing their favourite quotes from the books and repeatedly taking the Pottermore quiz (opens in new tab) until they're placed in any house as long as it's not Hufflepuff. When it comes to The Boy Who Lived, we'd say we're pretty clued up. We know that Harry Potter wasn't, in fact, the first Harry Potter, we've pored over every fan theory there is trying to convince ourselves that Snape isn't dead (sob), and we've even attempted some of Luna Lovegood's vegan Harry Potter recipes. But when it comes to picking your favourite character from J.K. Rowling's masterpiece, who gets the top spot? Which wizard lights your cauldron? What witch do you deem a Keeper? According to a vote hosted by National Book Tokens (opens in new tab), the public's favourite Harry Potter character is Hermione Granger. Over 10,000 people voted for their favourite, and the bright-eyed and bushy-haired witch raked in the majority. Hermione narrowly beat Severus Snape, who placed second, and Luna Lovegood who bagged herself a respectable third place. Despite being the protagonist, Harry came in at number six, beaten by his godfather, Sirius Black, and everyone's favourite house elf, Dobby. However, Harry did beat Dumbledore, which is - quite frankly - outrageous. Here is the list in full:
Surprisingly, the Weasley twins were separated in their finishing positions by He Who Must Not Be Named, with people preferring Fred over George. Even more surprisingly, Ginny made the cut. Severus Snape is the surprise winner of a poll to find the public's favourite Harry Potter character. With 13,000 votes, the character, who is played by Alan Rickman in the film versions, took 20% of the 70,000 votes cast in the survey from the books' publisher, Bloomsbury. He was the clear winner, beating loyal swot Hermione Granger into second place. Harry Potter, the multi-million selling series's eponymous hero, only just makes it into the top five, taking fourth place behind Sirius Black but ahead of his chum Ron Weasley, who comes in at a measly number five. Harry is JK Rowling's own favourite, although she has admitted that she may be unusual in her preferences. "Ron is generally more popular (I love him too, though). Now that I have finished writing the books, the character I would most like to meet for dinner is Dumbledore. We would have a lot to discuss, and I would love his advice; I think that everyone would like a Dumbledore in their lives," she said, before the poll opened. But not necessarily very visible in their lives – Albus Dumbledore is ranked number eight in the poll, behind the delightfully eccentric Luna Lovegood and Ron's smart sister, Ginny Weasley. Trailing at the end of the top 10 are the house elf Dobby and Harry's rival, the bully Draco Malfoy. The poll launched in May with a list of 40 characters to choose from. The favourite characters outside the top 40 suggested by readers was Oliver Wood. Fang, Hagrid's dog, and the Fat Lady in the portrait at the entrance to Gryffindor gained the least votes with only one each. The full top 40 1. Severus Snape 2. Hermione Granger 3. Sirius Black 4. Harry Potter 5. Ron Weasley 6. Luna Lovegood 7. Ginny Weasley 8. Albus Dumbledore 9. Dobby 10. Draco Malfoy 11. Remus Lupin 12. Neville Longbottom 13. Fred Weasley 14. Bellatrix Lestrange 15. Minerva McGonagall 16. Rubeus Hagrid 17. Lord Voldemort 18. Nymphadora Tonks 19. Gilderoy Lockhart 20. George Weasley 21. James Potter 22. Hedwig 23. Lily Potter 24. Lucius Malfoy 25. Molly Weasley 26. Cedric Diggory 27. Alastor Moody 28. Arthur Weasley 29. Kreacher 30. Dementors 31. Dolores Umbridge 32. Moaning Myrtle 33. Sybill Trelawney 34. Rita Skeeter 35. Filius Flitwick 36. Argus Filch 37. Dudley Dursley 38. Vincent Crabbe 39. Gregory Goyle 40. Cornelius Fudge AbbyOf course my favorite character has to be Professor Snape! I would have to choose this amazing character because he, in the beginning, has a very mean and aggresive attitude. When I would read the Harry Potter series and Snape would ruin another event for Harry I would get very mad at Snape. But, all that changed once I read about Snape's death in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; it brought tears to my eyes. Snape brought even more tears to my eyes when I read about him risking his life every day to protect Harry, and loving Lily Evans until the day he died. My favorite lines have to be before he dies when Snape says, "Look at me." I also like the line that Harry says aboutProfessor Snape in the last chapter as a adult: "One of them was aSlytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew." So most definately without a doubt Professor Snape IS THE BEST CHARACTER EVER!!! Olivia Mayur Nina V Vidhya Lakshmi Jessica Natalie Jenny: Freya, aged 12: Zhuri:Severus Snape, of course! He has to be THE best character in the whole book. Everything he ever did was all for love and that practically contradicts his whole outward personality. He can be a bit mean, but that gave the book humour. He was amazing because of the way you really have to think about his character structure (which I still ponder on from day to day). He was dangerously skillful in many subjects (e.x potions and DADA). I'm so happy he made the top. This is my list of favourites: 1. Severus Snape2. Luna Lovegood3. Fred and George Weasley (They HAVE to be counted together)4. Neville Longbottom 5. Nymphadora Tonks Antonia: Viraj:Fred and George Weasley are always my favourites. Why? It'sbecause they always have been same as me. They are so funny that I like every sentence spoken by them. And I really felt very very bad when one of them died. But both of them are just amazing. Ashley: Joy: Debbie: My favourite is Dobby because:1. He is unbelievably cute (with massive eyes);2. He introduced odd socks into our lives; and 3. He is loyal to Harry until the very end. Emma: Tanya: Lupin and Sirius would have to tie for my second favorite. If you ask me "Who is your favorite Harry Potter character?" 30 years from now, it'll always be Snape. Adira:Of all the girls and all the boysAnd all the silly little toys,Ginny Weasly takes the crownShe tough and strong with six brothers around.She turns Harry's frown upside-down. Her love for him is easy to be found. Ginny Weasly takes the crown.She's the bat-bogey hex queen.Watch out evil, you goin' down. Her fierce personality is sure to be seen. Ginny Weasly makes the catch!In Quidditch they're sure to meet their match.She quick and sly, Slick and shy. Ginny Weasly, she's the queen.The bravest girl you've ever seen.She's sweet and strongAnd never wrong.Harry agrees, For it's with her he belongs. Yael: Hibachi: Jane (aged 7): Sadbh (aged 4) Neha: Anna: Quentin: Luisa:Severus Snape is my personal favorite (followed by Hermione Granger) because of his very real mix of goodness, badness, weakness and courage (and, like Hermione, enormous smarts!). Despite the greasy locks, curling lip and biting remarks, Snape's actions over the entire series demonstrated (only confirmed at the denouement, although many of us simply felt it much earlier) that he was a genuine romantic. And who can resist the tragedy of a romantic who muffed it up -- then spent his life (and gave it) atoning? Long live Severus! Rosie: Luke: Jenni:I agree with Snape being number one; he's one of the most discussed characters & during the books he always suprises the readers: starting in HP and the Sorcerer's Stone when he actually tried to save Harry, & ending with HP and the Deathly Hallows, where we finally learn all about his love to Lily.My 2nd would be Padfoot as his death was - for me - the most horrible event in all the books (& the one i had to cry the most by far)3rd place would be taken by the Weasly twins for being as funny as they always were. Number 4 would be Tonks & number 5 Moony, for i love both of them. Maya: Alexander: Mariana: John:1. Neville Longbottom - he shows the most character development over the seven books.2. Snape - by far he has the most intricate and complex role to play in the story, even though we don't learn until the end how well he manages the pressures on him. 3. Dumbledore - same as JK, really, his wisdom and insights are a model for an honest and effective life. Daniela, from Venezuela Φρω Εμα: Andrew: Hannah: Kate: 1.I like Neville because he is brave and stands up to his friends and enemies. 2.I like Hermione because she is like me, good in school and top of the grade. She is also brave and active, both things that I like!!! 3. I like Severus Snape because he has a good mixture of goodness and badness and is active and has a good amount of adventure in him! Mara:My favourite character is Luna Lovegood, she helps me hope for a better future. Ever though her mother has died she is happy and has faith in her friends, family and her decisions. She may be different at times but some people get her and under stand and let the faith and hope fall in her hands. I hope Luna Lovegood is chosen for favorite character. Doug: Margaret: Kayleigh: Soli: Kristahra:Ronald Weasley is my number one favorite. He's a ginger and who doesn't love a ginger? But seriously, I love Ron because he's definitely not scared to be himself. If he has a fear, then he makes sure people know they exist. Plus his crude remarks and unfiltered mouth on every occasion is amusing.Second would be Snape. His attitude, and smart remarks and downgrading of Harry is funny. Ive never had a teacher such as him and I feel it would've been something in my school days. I've never seen someone hold a grudge for so long. Only to find out in the end he truly does care for the son of the woman he's always been in love with. (sigh). And he's a hopeless romantic. Can I have someone who loves me always? Third is Miss Luna Lovegood. She stands up for what she believes in whether they are real or not. She doesn't back down and she's brutally honest. Sure she's a few notches from being sane like Harry or Ron or even Hermione, but that's what makes her-her. She's awesome, and brings an excitement to the stories, more than the typical "Voldemort will kill Harry" thing. I'm always ready to listen or read what she'll say next. :) Theo:Without a doubt Snape is the best. At first he's entertaining. Then he's fascinating. Then he's pivotal. Finally he's moving. I should specify that, although I love the films, my answer applies to the 'deeply horrible' and complicated character from the books. Snape in the films is very enjoyable and vividly acted, but Snape in the novels is a truly great character. Neville is probably my second favourite. Kallinikos: [Warning - spoilers!]I am a fan of the Harry Potter Series and I have read all the books. My favorite character was Severus Snape who is followed by Albus Dumbledore. Of course, Snape is nor a lovely guy neither a good professor. He is always bullying at his students and that is extremely negative ! Nevertheless, behind this egocentric and conservative character is well hiden a young man who used to be very happy and enthusiastic of life. He was in love with Lily Evans but his worst enemy was James Potter. Thus, despite his love for Lily he also hated James and this is the main reason why Snape hates Harry . One day he said to Lily an unforgivable word ; MUDBLOOD. After that Snape was hated by Lily and she never again spoke to him .Snape didn't stop loving her . He tried to protect her against death but he failed . Lily died and Snape lost the most lovable and valuable person he has ever had. After Lily's death , Snape became depressed but meanwhile he had to achieve a goal . To protect her son . What I like mostly about Severus Snape's character is not only his rare bravery but also his intelligent plan of protecting Harry Potter. He was a main contributor to Voldemort's defeat although he acted behind the scenes. Snape also took advantage of being a Deatheater and he passed away wrong messages to the Dark Lord. His love for Lily and even for Harry Potter never stopped. A word he said to Dumbledore describes everything ; ALWAYS! Snape was a complicated character and as Rowling has said he was a great character to write. He was not a hero , absolutely not ! However, he was brave , extemely brave . Braver than anyone else. This subversive character will ALWAYS have my love and admiration . ALWAYS ,UNTIL THE END!I would also like to share a part of the book which is extremely moving ;Look...at...me..." he [Snape] whispered. The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, bland, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more. Samantha:Snape is the best. FTW!! I love his biting remarks, sarcasm, the way he is described. We think hes evil and selfish, working for the dark lord, a murdererand at the end it turns out how muchhe sacrificed how he tries all the time to keep that foolish boy who-just-doesnt-want-to-diealive. How he was trapped between two forces he doesnt wanted to belong to the Death Eathersbut by the orden almost nobody trust him, he is all alone. The way he manages to keep a blank mask never releaving his emotions.I love the scenes where he almost fails like when he tries not to smile when Mrs. Norris got petrified. Revealing how he hates the cat like anyone else (ex. Flich) in the castle. But he shows how badass he is by spying on Voldemort, and in the 6 book we got to see what a genie he was/is.He is good at everything. DADA, potions Legilimentic occlumentic, wandless nonverbal magicPersonally I like his black aura black long hair, black eyes, black huge robes, (Alan Rickmans voice, the way he talks as Snape) snarkyness I can't forgive JK Rowling for killing him ('Im however thankful to her to creating him and his world).He should've lived happily ever after with his humor sarkyness and NOT alone (married girlfriend, family, don't say he didn't deserved it!!!) And I do think Alan Rickman is a great actor with a beutifull voice.Just makes me want to listen to him all the time (probably its a woman thing :))He played a perfect Snape. You've got o love him my 2 would be Bellatrix (also thanks for Helena Bonham Carter)3 Hermione4 Voldemort5 McGonagall5,5 Weasly twins (together theyre One)6 Lupins 7 Mad-Eye Felix: Jennifer: Iain:I believe that Professor McGonagall should reach the number one position for the favourite character. She describes everything the books possesses, from courage, intelligence, love and ambition. She shows power with her skills but cares for each of her students and shares her intelligence. Then following should be Professor Snape due to the secrets unveiled from the final book about his love for Harry due to his care of Lily and his constant obsession of her. Then following should be Hermione, Ron and Harry and Dobby. Tamzin: Miller: Dine:Severus Snape is definitely my favorite character. Alan Rickman play the role so well as the 'bad' guy even though he is not that bad. Snape is brilliant. As second choice - Harry Potter because he is out brilliant main character. Thirth choice - Lucius Malfoy because he is the bad guy that almost fall apart. Forth choice - Sirius Black because he helps Harry. Emma: |