Snape's mother

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 89876

-> Mandy wrote:
> 
> 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; <snip>
> '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. <snip>
>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


We did have an Agnes thread some time back--in November or December, I
think, so it will take forever to find it using the search function.
It started with someone thinking that Snape wearing his traveling
cloak and being in a hurry to go somewhere important after he tells
Harry about the occlumency lessons might mean that he was going to
visit his mother on the closed ward. When we realized that the son was
scheduled to visit his mother on the evening of Christmas Day and that
the traveling cloak incident occurred at the end of Christmas
vacation, we dropped the thread. I tried to hunt for the post, but
with the Search function malfunctioning, it would take me an hour at
least. If you're interested and have the time, you might look for it.
Or maybe the person who had the idea will post again. 

Interesting theory about the importance of potions to Snape, Berit. It
could also tie in with his reasons for leaving the DEs. If they tried
to turn his mother into a dog! Other people speculated that it might
have something to do with the Longbottoms being aurors. I forget what
the theory was, but I can't see the Longbottoms turning even a Dark
Witch into a dog, and if there's a Dark Wizard in that family (before
Severus joined the DEs), it's the father.

I know I'm not making any sense; I just remember that we did discuss
this possibility a few months long ago. (Are you sure you don't
remember it, Berit? It was definitely before Christmas and possibly
before Thanksgiving.)

Carol