THE REAL MEANING BEHIND SNAPE’S FIRST WORDS IN HARRY POTTER IS ABSOLUTELY HEARTBREAKING

Written By Hanna Ibraheem | 25 August 2016
Yes, we’re sobbing…

As if dealing with Severus Snape’s death and his sad story wasn’t tragic enough, a new revelation about the character has come to light – and it’s heartbreaking.

A serious Harry Potter fan has developed a new theory around Snape’s opening line in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

In the film, Snape, played by the late Alan Rickman, asks Harry, ‘Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?’

While the complexity behind the Potions question went completely over our heads, it turns out that it was very important to the story.


The fan, who goes by the name tomhiddles, decoded the meaning behind the words and was shocked at what it really meant.

He said, ‘According to Victorian flower language, asphodel is a type of lily meaning “my regrets follow you to the grave” and wormwood means “absence” and also typically symbolises bitter sorrow. If you combined that, Snape’s words mean “I bitterly regret Lily’s death”.’

Now we’ll have to watch the whole franchise again to see if we can spot anything else!