<P> Before leaving Hogwarts to accompany Dumbledore in locating another horcrux--part of Voldemort's soul--Harry discovers from Professor Trelawney that it was Snape who overheard the prophecy and told it to Voldemort, resulting in Voldemort hunting down Harry and his parents . Despite this and Harry's angry questions, Dumbledore avers his trust in Snape . Returning to Hogwarts after retrieving Voldemort's Horcrux, Harry and Dumbledore alight atop the school's astronomy tower . Gravely weakened by the horcrux's protective potion, Dumbledore tells Harry he must fetch Snape, but before Harry can leave, Draco suddenly arrives, intending to carry out Voldemort's order to assassinate Dumbledore, closely followed by other Death Eaters (followers of Voldemort), and Snape . Snape interrupts the planned murder, killing the headmaster himself . Harry, who is paralysed under his invisibility cloak by Dumbledore for his own protection, witnesses the kill, and is released upon Dumbledore's death . Enraged, he pursues Snape, Draco, and the Death Eaters as they flee the castle . Snape easily blocks Harry's spells and jeeringly points out Harry's mistakes, but never strikes back . During the confrontation, Snape reveals himself as the eponymous "Half - Blood Prince" (being the half - blood son of Muggle Tobias Snape and pure - blood Eileen Prince). Snape passes through the school gates and Disapparates with Draco in tow at the book's end . The full relationship between Dumbledore and Snape and the reason for Snape's actions remain unknown until the final book . In an interview, Rowling mentioned that at this point in the series, the Harry--Snape relationship has become "as personal, if not more so, than Harry--Voldemort ." </P> <P> In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort and his Death Eaters have tightened their grip on the wizarding world . Snape is named Headmaster of Hogwarts, while Death Eaters Alecto and Amycus Carrow are appointed as Hogwarts staff . The novel focuses largely on Harry and his friends and events outside the school; therefore Snape plays a limited role at the start . In the course of the book, Harry and his friends find out that a few students attempted to steal the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, and that Snape subsequently sent it to be stored at Gringotts Wizarding Bank; however, that sword was only a copy . Later on, Harry and Ron are led to find the real sword by a Patronus taking the form of a doe . (Towards the end of the book, Harry learns that this was Snape's Patronus, taking the same shape as Harry's mother Lily's Patronus, a visible sign of his lifelong love for Harry's mother, and that Dumbledore had asked Snape to ensure that Harry gained possession of the sword . The novel also reveals that Snape had covertly used his position as Headmaster to protect the students and to contain the Carrows .) </P> <P> Towards the end of the school year, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout force Snape to flee the school . Voldemort summons Snape to the Shrieking Shack . Erroneously believing Snape is the master of the Elder Wand and that Snape's death will make him the master of the Wand, Voldemort kills Snape by having his pet snake Nagini bite him through the neck . The dying Snape releases a cloud of memories and tells Harry, who has watched the entire scene from a hidden spot, to take and view them . </P> <P> From these memories, Harry sees Snape's childhood and learns his true loyalties . In this vision, Harry learns that Snape befriended Lily as a child when they lived near each other . Upon their arrival at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat placed Snape and Lily into Slytherin and Gryffindor Houses, respectively . They remained friends for the next few years until they were driven apart by Snape's interest in the Dark Arts; the friendship finally ended following the bullying episode that Harry had briefly seen in the fifth book, in which Snape calls Lily "Mudblood". Despite this separation and Snape's enduring animosity toward Lily's eventual husband James Potter, Snape continued to love Lily for the rest of his life . </P>

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