It's been over a decade since J.K. Rowling released the last of the Harry Potter books, yet hidden messages and character revelations continue to surface like chocolate frogs thanks to a few dedicated fans.
The latest fan theory to break the Internet, which most devoted fans/Tumblr dwellers would've already seen, revolves around Professor Snape, played by much loved actor Alan Rickman who died earlier this year from cancer, aged 69.
According to a cluey Tumblr user under the alias of Tomhiddles, Snape's first question to Harry Potter, or as he describes him "our new celebrity", has a secret meaning:
"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
The tricky Potions question, which at the time looked like it was purely designed to ridicule the first year student, was in fact a compassionate message for Harry's dead mother, Lily.
Allow Tomhiddles, who arguably had a little too much time on his hands back in 2012 to explain:
The first thing Snape asks Harry is "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" According to Victorian Flower Language, asphodel is a type of lily meaning 'My regrets follow you to the grave' and wormwood means 'absence' and also typically symbolised bitter sorrow. If you combined that, it meant 'I bitterly regret Lily's death'.
If this is true, not only do we take our hats off to J.K. Rowling (seriously, just how much research went into these novels?!) but also, it makes our heart do a little back flip over Snape's undying love for Lily.