Snape's mother

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 89857

Mandy wrote in message #89823 (Was Re: Harry and the chocolate egg):

There's also Snape's mum. We don't know if she is alive or dead, but 
we do have the impression she was treated badly by his dad. 

Berit replies:

I don't know if this has been brought up at this forum before, but 
has anyone wondered whether Agnes might be Snape's mother? In the 
long-term(!) residents' ward at St. Mungo's there are five patients: 
Lockhart, Bode, Neville's parents and Agnes:

Quote: "Two beds along was a woman whose entire head was covered in 
fur; Harry remembered something similar happening to Hermione during 
their second year, although fortunately the damage, in her case, had 
not been permanent. ...
'Here you are, Agnes,' said the Healer brightly to the furry-faced 
woman, handing her a small pile of Christmas presents. 'See, not 
forgotten, are you? And your son's sent an owl to say he's visiting 
tonight, so that's nice, isn't it?'
Agnes gave several loud barks." (OoP p. 452 UK Ed).

I can't help being suspicious when Rowling reveals small details 
about new, seemingly insignificant characters. Agnes has a son... And 
everyone else in that ward is counted for; we know who they are. 
Agnes is the only one so far who hasn't been pinned to the map... She 
reminds me strongly of Mark Evans who also was just mentioned in 
passing with a few, nice little details like his name and age. We 
know Agnes's first name only (why omit her last name, Rowling?), and 
that she has a SON... Also, from the way the Healer is talking to 
Agnes, one gets the impression Agnes is not being visited by her son 
or anyone else very often ('See? Not forgotten, are you?') If Snape's 
her son, the reason for him not getting to visit her that often could 
be that he most of the time is tied up at Hogwarts (and busy in the 
Order).

Also, maybe Agnes's condition explains why Snape is one of the best 
Potion masters there is? Having an incurable mother on your hands is 
quite a strong motivation for delving into the exact art and subtle 
science of potions, isn't it? Maybe he has worked for years and years 
to find a potion to help his mother get well... My theory is that 
even though Snape loves his mother dearly, his worst fear would be 
for someone (like Harry) to find out about his mother's condition; it 
would be extremely humiliating (Hm. Just notice how Snape 
resents "dogs" and dog-like creatures like Sirius and Remus :-). So 
my guess is that one of Snape's three worst memories has something to 
do with his barking mother...

Anyone?

Berit
http://home.no.net/berjakob/snape.html