The Snape-Shaped Hole

Shortly after I finished reading Deathly Hallows, I exchanged a series of Facebook comments about the book with my brother's friend Sara, and she told me, in the purposely vague language of one trying to avoid spilling spoilers in a place where friends who've not yet read the book might see them, that her favorite line in the book contained the phrase "Snape-shaped hole". I laughingly agreed to the comedic value of that sentence, but as I turned the words over in my mind, an idea took hold, rooted in the final stanza. Ah, poor Severus...

The Snape-Shaped Hole

"Our headmaster has departed," seethed Minerva as she started
To devise a plan of action, and Pomona gawked in dread
Past the shards that had been scattered when the classroom window shattered,
Leaving one large Snape-shaped hole that marked where Severus had fled.

As the batlike form retreated, Harry's task, not yet completed,
Loomed, and so he pushed disgust at Snape's maleficence away,
Too intent upon destroying diadems to let annoying -
Make that downright evil - Slytherins distract him from the fray.

When he neared the crown he hunted, he was once again confronted
By antagonists whose irksome ways had plagued his months at school,
But his days of Seeking Snitches - chasing wizards, racing witches -
Served him well, and while astride his broomstick, he maintained his cool.

His audacity diminished when, mid-frolic, Fred was finished;
Now it seemed the world was wildly spinning out of his control.
Then, a flash! He spied Nagini, and the sallow-featured meanie
Filled his mind as Tom decided he had found a Snape-shaped hole.

So he journeyed through the willow, saw his teacher's terror billow
And - when Riddle had deserted, deaf to Severus's cries -
Although powerless to save him, took the silver strands he gave him,
Then, accepting his request, looked down into his dimming eyes.

Cast-off memories swirled thickly, and they lapped upon him quickly.
Rapt, he watched his aunt and mother and a boy inclined to lurk
In the shadows who, observing Lily, found her most deserving
Of a Hogwarts education, though his fawning didn't work.

Still, in time their friendship flowered, and Snape hungrily devoured
Every flicker of affection in the lovely Lily's smile.
But her righteous rage erupted as he slowly was corrupted,
And he choked upon the pleas for pardon burning him like bile.

Harry goggled, disbelieving, at the Snape who quavered, grieving
For the woman he had worshipped since he first beheld her face.
Then, with comprehension dawning, he resolved to heal the yawning
Snape-shaped hole that drove a hatred that was painful to erase.

He absorbed his raw emotion and the depth of his devotion.
As Snape sealed a solemn promise to Professor Dumbledore,
Harry's soul was stitched together, freshened like a phoenix feather.
He'd detested Snape for seven years; he didn't anymore.

He relinquished all his rancor, for his mum had been Snape's anchor,
And for her sake, he'd protected Lily's son year after year.
Snape, who'd long declined to show it, hadn't wanted him to know it,
But this peek into the Pensieve made his ardor crystal clear.

Severus's motivation fueled a somber conversation
Whose grim contents fell on Harry's ears and seared him to the bone.
There was no use in denying he must conquer Tom by dying,
And his heartbeat was a death knell as he soldiered on alone.

To his consciousness, unbidden, sprang a wish for what lay hidden
In the golden orb he'd caught while streaking through an azure sky.
He drew strength from the selected saviors who he resurrected,
With the Snape-shaped hole obscured as Harry steeled himself to die.

No Patronus charm could guard him from the sorcerer who'd scarred him.
Harry didn't even raise his wand; he welcomed the green light.
Then the woods around him vanished, and he realized he'd banished
Riddle's feeble fragment of a soul when he refused to fight.

Albus, palpably contented that his doom had been prevented
By the blood of she who'd thrown herself into its icy jaws,
Claimed a Snape-shaped hole existed still, so he forsook the misted
Station's comfort, tensing under Mrs. Malfoy's piercing claws.

With Narcissa's bold deception, Tom awaited his reception
As the worthy ruler over all. He jeered as Hagrid wept,
Bearing his beloved Harry - such a bitter load to carry! -
And the giant roared at centaurs for the distance they had kept.

Now his nemesis was bragging and his comrades' hopes were sagging,
And Minerva rent the darkness with a horrifying sound.
Then the sword that had gone missing came to Neville, and the hissing
Of Nagini sputtered, silenced as her body hit the ground.

In the chaos reigning after, he heard Bella's final laughter,
And he shielded her attacker from the overlord now bent
On avenging his apostle. Though his enemy was hostile,
Harry calmly stood and offered him the option to repent.

"Snape was never yours," he told him. He felt confidence enfold him
As he wondered how the wrath-encrusted Riddle would respond.
"I'd advise you," he suggested, "try for some remorse. I bested
Draco Malfoy. I'm the rightful master of the Elder Wand."

Riddle sneered and strove to harm him, but, attempting to disarm him,
He perceived the curse rebounding just before Tom's death occurred.
As euphoria descended, Harry knew the war had ended,
And insightful Luna granted him the peace that he preferred.

Passing corpses bruised and bloody, Harry ventured to the study
Where he sought the sage instructor he'd regarded as a god.
Now he recollected faintly that he wasn't quite so saintly:
Albus Dumbledore was human; Albus Dumbledore was flawed.

Once, that knowledge had been crippling, but, sustained by reverence rippling
Through his spirit, he apprised his beaming mentor of his plan
To restore the wand that brought him to the point where what he'd taught him
Was enough to mold this orphan boy at last into a man.

It was right that this headmaster who'd prepped Harry for disaster,
Gifting gentle words of wisdom, ruminate with Harry first,
But as he, Ron and Hermione left, there might have been a tiny
Reconciliation with the one of whom he'd thought the worst.

Just a hint of green eyes blazing with respect as they were gazing
On the portrait of brave Severus, who'd helped him reach his goal,
Would, with eloquent perfection, have sufficed for the connection,
But alas! Inside the office was a gaping Snape-shaped hole.