Snape/Quirrell
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Severus Snape/Quirinus Quirrell |
| Alternative name(s): | Severus/Quirinus, S/Q, SS/QQ, Quiverus, Squirrell |
| Gender category: | m/m slash |
| Fandom: | Harry Potter |
| Canonical?: | no |
| Prevalence: | very rare |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Snape/Quirrell is a Harry Potter rarepair involving Severus Snape and Quirinus Quirrell.
Canon Relationship
Snape and Quirrell are both Hogwarts teachers in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and are shown to be at odds with each other. It first appears that Snape is bullying Quirrell—who appears to be stuttering, timid man—into helping him steal the Philosopher's Stone. At the end of the book, it is revealed that it is actually Quirrell who has been attempting to steal the Stone and that Quirrell is in league with—and in fact sharing his body with—Voldemort, while Snape has been trying to stop him.
How much Snape knew or suspected about Quirrell working for Voldemort was deliberately unclear, in order of obfuscate Snape's true allegiance. Snape's explanation to the Death Eaters was that he knew nothing of Voldemort's involvement, but "saw only greedy and unworthy Quirrell attempting to steal the stone."[1] It was confirmed in Deathly Hallows that Snape had been "keeping an eye" on Quirrell on Dumbledore's orders.[2]
Snape and Quirrell taught together at Hogwarts at least one additional year prior to Philosopher's Stone, although Quirrell's employment history at Hogwarts is murky. Quirrell is described as a "young man"[3] but his precise age is unknown, while Snape is canonically 31 at the beginning of the first book.[4] Some writers place them as students at Hogwarts together, but they are commonly written with an age difference of up to a decade. Snape started teaching at age 21, so if Quirrell is four or more years younger than Snape, then Snape would have been his teacher.
Ship History
The first Snape/Quirrell stories may have been written in November 2001, possibly inspired by the Philosopher's Stone film, which came out that same month and includes a scene where Snape threateningly pushes Quirrell up against a wall. By early 2002, Snape/Quirrell stories were posted at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, the Snape rarepair archive of the Snape Slash Fleet.
Three Snape/Quirrell stories were written for the first wave of the Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest, which ran from March to May 2002. Participants were randomly assigned pairings to write, and Snape/Quirrell was one of the potential "easy pairings" as chosen by the fest mods.
Although there have been self-proclaimed Snape/Quirrell shippers from the early 2000s to today, there is no Snape/Quirrell community to speak of. The pairing continues to be very rare, with possibly only a few dozen fanworks in existence.
Common tropes in Snape/Quirrell fanfiction include power imbalance,[5] dubcon and coercion, and missing moments from the first book. There is also commonly implicit or explicit Snape/Quirrell/Voldemort, as Voldemort would have been present with Quirrell for any events set during the Philospher's Stone school year.
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- An Interesting Revelation by Fausta Darcy (Nov 2001). A scene between Quirrell and Snape in the staff room. (Also archived at FanFiction.Net.)
- How? by Carmilla (lilka) (Nov 2001). Snape's perspective on an established relationship that changed after Quirrell returned from his time abroad. (Also archived at Slug & Jiggers.)
- Weakness and Power by ThreeOranges (Dec 2001-Jun 2002). "After the events of PS/SS Snape reflects on Professor Quirrell." Explores Snape and Quirrell's relationship from when Quirrell was a student through the first book. A rare chaptered novel, 45,000+ words. It was still a WIP as of 2005, and was later deleted from FanFiction.Net.[6][5]
- You Can't Argue With Your Heart by Joanne Collins (Jan 2002). Snape reflects on his failed relationships. Also contains Snape/Lupin. (Also archived at The Parapet.)
- Shadow Play by Keieru (Apr 2002). Quirrell and Voldemort fantasize about punishing Snape. Also contains Voldemort/Snape.
- Thank you Master by Ange (SexxxyAnge) (Apr 2002). Written for the Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest, prompt "Troll cleanup duty. Snape assists Quirrell and is left to remove the unconcious troll from the bathroom." Contains non-con.
- Dark Creatures by Kelly Holden (May 2002). Vampire!Snape vignette. Written for the Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest, prompt Snape/Quirrell.
- Unicorn by Alsoa (Jun 2002). Snape comes upon Quirrell drinking unicorn blood. Written for the Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest, prompt Snape/Quirrell. (Also archived at Slug & Jiggers.)
- Good Graces by violet_quill (Oct 2005). Snape menaces Quirrell in the forest and Quirrell takes a different approach to appeasing him. Originally posted to pornish_pixies (locked to members).
- Queer by arbor_vitae (Apr 2008). "Snapshots of Quirinus Quirrell's life." Written for hp_beholder; also contains Quirrell/Voldemort.
Fanart
- Snape/Quirrell . . . . a love that transcends time by Aranxta of The Cult of (Saint) Quirrell (Feb 2002). A photomanip fan button.
- Snape/Quirrell art and photomanips by Cold Mirror (2003 or before). Site offline; partially archived by the Wayback Machine. For example: Wir sprechen uns bald wieder..., Quickly..., Warmes Fleisch. Cold Mirror also posted images of Snape/Quirrell Sims (Snape and Quirrell from SimHogwarts).
- Bittersweet Raspberry by FriendlyChestnut (May 2013). Gen portraits based on a WIP fanfic.
- Quirrell and Snape (and Voldy) sketch dump by FriendlyChestnut (Jun 2013). Gen character studies.
- Chibi Snape and Chibi Quirrell by sweetvillain (Sep 2006). Snape and Quirrell chibis building a "snowsnake".
Vids
- Quirrell is Snape's Sexy Little Lover by WolfQuest RabbitWolf (Feb 2013). A scene from Philosopher's Stone made slashy as set to "Sexy Sexy Lover" by Modern Talking.
- No Homo by WolfQuest RabbitWolf (Aug 2013). Uses clips from the first two films as well as still images and fan-created images. Video description includes a Snape/Quirrell ficlet.
Links & Resources
- Quirinus Quirrell/Severus Snape tag at Archive of Our Own
- Severus S. & Q. Quirrell character filter at FanFiction.Net
- Severus Snape/Quirinus Quirrell fic listing at FictionAlley Park's ...cruisin'... forum
- Snape/Quirrell category at Slug & Jiggers Apothecary (Wayback Machine capture Jan 2009)
- Ask-SnapeAndQuirrell at Tumblr (defunct)
- quiverus tag at Tumblr
References
- ^ J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005), Chapter 33: "The Prince's Tale".
- ^ J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007), Chapter 2: "Spinner's End".
- ^ J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), Chapter 5: "Diagon Alley" and Chapter 7: "The Sorting Hat".
- ^ JKR stated in a March 2001 interview that Snape was "35 or 36" post-Goblet of Fire. His birth year of 1960 was later confirmed by James Potter's birthdate in Deathly Hallows.
- ^ a b threeoranges on LiveJournal, comment on Ship Opinions Meme, posted 26 March 2005: "...S/Q is all about the imbalance of power! ;-) As for S/Q, I wrote one myself, eighteen chapters (but a WIP) and you can find it at ff.net under 'ThreeOranges' if you feel so inclined."
- ^ Weakness and Power by ThreeOranges at FanFiction.Net, archived 29 September 2004 by the Wayback Machine.