Analysis of the flashback scene in PS/SS film

[jotwo2003]

This isn't my theory, but I've picked it up and I'm running with it.

It's about the flashback in the PS/SS film.  I saw the film before 
entering fandom so I didn't know people had argued that there's 
something odd about it, and it's not telling us the whole story.  
Plus it's over too quickly to register everything on first viewing.  

However, I later read discussions that pointed out that it's strange 
that you only see the arm of the person standing in front of 
Geraldine Somerville as Lily, holding baby Harry.  We just assume 
it's James from Robbie Coltrane's voiceover.  (There is also a rumour 
that JKR requested that James' face should not be shown, but I don't 
know the source of this.)

Another rumour is that the hand of the unseen person belongs to Alan 
Rickman.  Fans have said it looks like his hand by comparing it with 
the way he pulls his hand out of his robe in the first potions class 
scene.  I'm sad enough to compare these 2 scenes but to be honest 
it's not conclusive either way, at least not to me.

I noticed in re-watching the flashback something that may be 
significant about the wand used in this scene.  We see it opening the 
door, killing Lily and pointing at baby Harry.  The wand is black.  
Could it be - Snape's wand?  Snape's wand is jet black on the HP 
collector cards.  Alan Rickman uses a black wand in the duelling club 
scene in the COS film.

I'm not suggesting for one moment that Snape murdered Lily.  It's 
been stated so many times in canon that Voldemort killed Harry's 
parents and they come out of Voldemort's wand in GOF.  Also, 
archetypally, the villain has to be the killer of the hero's 
parents.  

However, if it is Snape's wand then it could be evidence that Alan 
Rickman was involved in the filming of this scene.  When filmmakers 
don't want to give away plot twists they often shoot alternative 
scenes including the same actors.  (For instance, in a British soap, 
Eastenders, to preserve suspense about a tug of love storyline and a 
character's disappearance they shot a variety of endings.  In one, 
the father, Phil Mitchell, pushed his ex-girlfriend off a cliff; in 
another she slipped and died in an accident; and in the version 
actually used he snatched the baby and left her upset but alive.)

Therefore it would not be unique if the HP production team shot 
different versions of the flashback.  Alan Rickman could have been 
playing the character standing in front of Lily (presumably his usual 
role as Snape).  He could also have doubled up as the character 
AK'ing Lily (Voldemort).

Someone with the user name of Lily Snape also posted on one of the 
Snape yahoo groups that the hand of the cloaked figure pointing the 
wand at Geraldine Somerville seemed to have a black sleeve, with 
white at the cuff, which would fit Snape's costume.

The argument that I have seen that Alan Rickman couldn't be in the 
flashback because, if this were leaked, it would ruin the plot 
doesn't hold up if the filmmakers shot multiple scenes. 

There is further evidence that all in not as it seems in the 
credits.  The cast is credited in order of appearance.  However, the 
actor playing James Potter, Adrian Rawlins, is not credited next to 
Geraldine Somerville.  He is credited much further down the cast 
list, above Firenze.  This implies that he did not act with her in 
the flashback and that he only appeared in the Mirror of Erised 
scene.  Voldemort is the last character in the credits, and is played 
by Ian Hart.  This shows that this only refers to the climax when 
Voldemort was revealed on the back of Quirrell's head.  There is 
another character included in the cast called He Who Must Not Be 
Named.  This character was played by Richard Bremmer and is credited 
directly below Geraldine Somerville.  This makes it seem that this 
character is the robed figure walking up to the house and who kills 
Lily.  However, I think the film makers are hiding something because 
on the imdb site it states that Richard Bremmer appeared as voice 
only in PS/SS.  We only heard the voice of Voldemort during Harry's 
confrontation with Quirrell, not in the flashback.

The black wand, the black sleeve with white edging, the 
inconsistencies in the credits, all these make me think that the 
filmmakers are hiding something.  Either they are slipping in clues 
provided by JKR, who is rumoured to have written the flashback 
herself, or they did not expect that the film would be analysed in 
such detail and have let slip a plot twist.

I am now 99% sure that Alan Rickman is in the flashback, in his 
normal role as Snape, trying to protect Lily, and that fans have 
guessed correctly that Snape was there on the night the Potters were 
killed.

I think I'm right.  Of course, we'll only know for sure when book 7 
is published.  In the meantime, does anyone have any comments?

JoTwo