Severus and Regulus and Their Paths to Redemption

January 27, 2020—In Episode 13, Victoria and I spoke at length about Regulus Black’s family, his betrayal of Voldemort, and his eventual death, all of which occur long before the beginning of the Harry Potter series. I briefly compared his story to that of Severus Snape, another Death Eater who changes his loyalties and actively works against his former master. We barely touch on the parallels in the episode, so let’s take this opportunity to examine more deeply the two most famous Death Eater turncoats* and see how their stories both mirror and differ from one another.

*The other major Death Eaters who abandon their cause are Lucius and Draco Malfoy, who basically just stop fighting very late in the game, and Igor Karkaroff, who sells out his fellow Death Eaters in exchange for freedom immediately after Voldemort’s first fall. While they deserve a mention, they’re not featured in this post because they did not seek to redeem themselves by actively working against Voldemort.

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Backgrounds

Difference: Family History

Regulus is a favored pure-blood son of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, an old, powerful, and wealthy family that’s named in the Sacred 28. He is brought up to revere Dark magic and to hate Muggles and Muggleborns. Though it’s unclear whether those Dark Arts are used against him as a form of punishment during his childhood, we do know that his mother is unhinged and cruel and that his father is, well, not the nurturing sort.

Severus is the half-blood son of a cowed pure-blood witch and a rough, impoverished Muggle. His father bullies his family (as Harry sees in Snape’s memories in Book 5), though whether he is physically abusive is unclear.

Similarity: Youth When Joining

Both very Dark in their beliefs and actions by the time they leave Hogwarts, having joined Slytherin House at the height of Voldemort’s recruitment, Severus and Regulus join the Death Eaters as teenagers, probably immediately upon graduating. They don’t fully understand what they’re getting into. Or, if they do, they’re not equipped mentally and morally to commit to the atrocities they’re being asked to perpetrate.

In essence, they’re too young to make the choice, and when their eyes are fully opened, it leads to their defections.

Difference: Reasons for Joining

While both of their families serve as driving factors in their choices to follow Voldemort, they do so in very different ways: Regulus because that’s the path his parents have been guiding him along his whole life and Severus because his hatred of his father spawns a hatred of all Muggles.

Similarity: Voldemort’s Notice

Both Severus and Regulus have Voldemort’s notice, and possibly his favor, before Voldemort’s first fall. Regulus presumably has his eye based on his family name alone, but there must be a reason that he chooses Kreacher to be the one to test the Cave Potion over all his other pure-blood followers’ house-elves. (Perhaps it’s simply that he doesn’t want to alienate any of the more senior Death Eaters by killing their elves.) Regardless, he is certainly aware of the freshly recruited second son of the Blacks.

Severus makes a name for himself and gains Voldemort’s favor by listening in on and then reporting the prophecy to Voldemort. He stays close to to the Dark Lord after that by gaining Dumbledore’s trust and agreeing to spy on the Order of the Phoenix. Of course, he really becomes a triple agent working for Dumbledore, but Voldemort doesn’t know that.

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Betrayals of Voldemort

Similarity: Reasons for Leaving

Both Severus and Regulus turn away from the Dark Lord when he goes after people they care about, a nod to the series’s theme of love overcoming evil. Regulus rebels when Voldemort tortures and tries to kill his house-elf Kreacher, while Severus changes sides when Voldemort begins pursuing Lily Potter as one of those mentioned in the prophecy.

Difference: Methods of Leaving

Here’s where their choices dramatically diverge. Severus decides to turn to Dumbledore when Lily’s threatened to beg him to protect her, and Dumbledore uses the opportunity to secure the Death Eater’s loyalty. Thus, Severus has a support system, a handler, and a plan—crafted by someone older, wiser, and more knowledgeable than he–after he turns.

Regulus tells no one what has happened or what he’s planning, not even Kreacher, so he’s completely on his own as he somehow figures out what is in the cave and plots to destroy it. Perhaps, if Voldemort were actively seeking to harm a loved one, he would seek outside help to protect him like Severus does. But Kreacher’s no longer in danger; the Dark Lord thinks him dead. So there are no lives at stake other than Regulus’s, and Regulus doesn’t seem to place much value on his own life.

Similarity: Moral Ambiguity

It’s interesting that neither Severus nor Regulus abandon Voldemort due to ideological differences, and it’s never made clear in either case that they really repent of their prejudices or their crimes. It’s assumed that Severus, at least, reconsiders his views, as it seems far-fetched that Dumbledore would hire a blood purist to teach impressionable children, but we certainly don’t see any indications of new-found goodwill toward his fellow magical beings in his behavior.

We don’t know much about Regulus’s thoughts during the last days of his life, or even the amount of time between Kreacher’s visit to the cave with Voldemort and Regulus’s death. Kreacher characterizes it as “a little while later,” which could mean days or weeks or months. But, given that Regulus is only 18 or 19 when he dies, it probably isn’t enough time to completely overthrow an entire lifetime’s worth of conditioning and dedication to the cause. While I’d like to think that he starts down the path to the light, he most likely doesn’t have time to make it there without outside support either way.

Difference: Methods of Betrayal

Because he’s going it alone, Regulus plans a grand, dramatic single act of defiance: the theft of Slytherin’s Locket. He’s the first to discover the secret of Voldemort’s Horcrux (and seems justifiably proud of that going by the arrogant tone of the note he leaves behind), and he resolves to do as much as he can to thwart the Dark Lord’s plans. His stand is brave and self-sacrificial and heart-rending, but it’s also quick. It only requires one agitated night of conviction.

Severus, on the other hand, allies with the other side and stages an ongoing rebellion over the course of years, spanning both Voldemort-centric wars. Though he’s coerced into his position by Dumbledore and therefore not entirely altruistic in his decisions, he perseveres even after Lily’s death. In some ways, it’s a harder sort of bravery that requires more dedication as well as better presence of mind. He’s required to be calm and unflinching, time after time, in the face of the monster whom he’s working against and who murdered his love. 

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Deaths

Difference: End-of-Life Choices

As we noted in the podcast, Regulus gives up and chooses not to live with the consequences of his decisions. He knows Kreacher could take him away from the cave after the lockets are switched, but he can’t face what’s coming after his betrayal of Voldemort and of his family’s ideals—remember that he deliberately keeps them and Kreacher in the dark about his change of heart to protect them, but that’s not a sustainable strategy. Instead of dealing with the fallout, he simply allows his own death.

Severus, on the other hand, opts to “fight, and fight again, and keep fighting” until he can’t anymore. He does everything he can to resist Voldemort’s reign and assist Harry literally until his dying breath, and, as the Muggles say, he goes down swinging.

Similarity: Cause of Deaths

In the end, both characters die far too young in violent, drawn-out, painful ways at the hands of creatures commanded by Voldemort: Regulus by Inferi and Severus by Nagini. And though their paths and decisions differ in many ways throughout their lives, they each stand up in opposition of a murderous madman in surprising acts of heroism, and they each pay for their courage with their lives.

Written by Taylor, Co-Host of Dwelling on Dreams