Snapedom

Original poster: bohemianspirit

For purposes of fic writing, I'm trying to get a handle on the stature of Severus Snape. I've noticed a lot of fanfic tends to assume he's tall (the Rickman Effect?) but I never got an impression of "tall" from the books. In fact, I was struck by the reference in the beginning of DH to the other person meeting Severus being the "taller" of the two. So I'm wondering if anyone knows of any references in the books that refer to his height.

My best guess is that he would be of medium height, perhaps a bit on the short side but not remarkably so. He's described, as a youth, as being small for his age. Yet if he were exceptionally short as an adult we surely would have seen this used along with hook-nosed, greasy, ugly, etc., to further deride him, the way we see Peter Pettigrew's shortness emphasized, since short + man generally is not considered to be a compliment. (Stupid, IMHO, but there it is.) The only thing I can think of that might suggest height is the description of him in Book One as an "overgrown bat." But come on, a bat is, what, four or five inches tall? It doesn't take much to be "overgrown" compared to a bat. ;-)

Unless there are references I've forgotten or missed, indicating tallness, I would say that Severus was in the area of 5'8" or 5'9" -- tall enough to not be branded "short," but not tall enough to be branded "tall," and to be the shorter man standing next to all the walking trees who apparently populate the Potterverse.

Thoughts?

(Crossposting to prof_snape and snapedom, because I'm not sure which is the more appropriate place for a question like this.)