Oh yes, I can hear the groans from a thousand Potterfans: "Nooo! Not another Snape essay! Enough already!" (This is leaving out those whose immediate thoughts were "Oh, is this a wizarding rock ...

Meanwhile, book Snape was only 31 years old when Harry met the Potions' teacher for the first time. Severus Snape was born in 1960, and Harry's first year at Hogwarts occurred between 1991 and 1992.