The year was 2007. I was only 11 years old. The Borders Bookstore (I’ll give you a moment to remember Borders) was preparing for the release of the last Harry Potter book. They were giving out bumper stickers that either said “Snape is a Very Bad Man” or “Trust Snape”. The stickers that read “Snape is a Very Bad Man” were almost completely out. Even if they hadn’t run out, though, I still would’ve chosen the “Trust Snape” bumper sticker.

Harry Potter changed my life. The characters J.K. Rowling created were absolutely amazing on the page and a grew such a strong connection to them when I read the books, but what made these characters even more magical were the wonderful actors that brought these characters so perfectly to life.

On January 14, 2016, the world lost an amazing actor. By now we have all heard of Alan Rickman’s death. I believe I am correct when I say that we have all been affected by the loss of this wonderful actor and man. I may have not ever personally known him as others have, but that does not change how huge of an impact his work had on my life. Some may see this as just another fan tribute to Alan Rickman but to me it was so important to thank Mr. Rickman and this tribute is more to me than just another article about Alan Rickman.

I learned a lot about life from Professor Snape and I just wanted to take a moment to remember it.

Put your trust in the right people.

He trusted the wrong man and lost everything. When he trusted the right man, he willingly gave up everything because of his trust in a good man.

Mean is different from evil.

Snape was a very mean person. There is no doubt about that. But he was a brave and a good man, even though people couldn’t see that.

3. True love never dies.

He loved Lily always and did everything he could to do what she would’ve wanted.

4. Don’t judge a book.

Snape wore all black and acted in a way that would suggest he was a very bad man, yet he turned out to be the biggest hero of them all.

5. Always do the right thing, even when it’s not easy.

And the most important lesson of all is to always do the right thing, even if it means giving up the one you love or risking one’s life to save another’s.

Rest in peace, Alan Rickman. I look forward to the day when I can share your work with my future children the same way my parents shared your work with me.