[HPforGrownups] Snape and Lily

[Barb]

No: HPFGUIDX 48057


"sixhoursahead <sixhoursahead at yahoo.com>" <sixhoursahead at yahoo.com> wrote: I think it is almost natural for people 
to come up with the Snape/Lily thing, it explains alot.  But it is very hard to find actualy proof in the book.  We all know that Snape never mentiones Lily.  But I think we have to look at what he DOES NOT say about her.  Both Draco and Lucius Malfoy make comments to Harry, that he will meet the same end as his parents.  And they make these comments in response to Harry's behavior.  When Snape responds to the same type of behavior in the same fashion he says that Harry will end up like his father.
Me:

It is true that people proposing a Snape/Lily relationship are reading between the lines.  Snape also mentions James Potter's bit of talent on the Quidditch pitch somewhat bitterly, leading one to assume it was in fact no small thing.  In general, these two comments of Snape's lead one to the impression that it is because of James that Snape seems to dislike Harry so greatly.  Is it because Snape wanted everything James had, the Quidditch skill, the friends, being Head Boy, and in addition to all that, Lily?  That is unclear.  What we do know:

 

--James played Quidditch

--James was Head Boy

--James married Lily

--James saved Snape from Remus Lupin/Sirius Black

 

It's not much.  However--reading between the lines, one might assume that a) Snape played on the Slytherin team and did not do well when playing against Gryffindor (we know from JKR that James was in Gryffindor, even though that's not technically in the books); also, although it is not clear that Snape was in the same year as James, there is also nothing in canon saying they WEREN'T.  Therefore, IF they were in the same year, since James was Head Boy, then clearly Snape couldn't have been Head Boy, which I could definitely see being a point of annoyance with him.  

 

Again, by process of elimination, we see that since James married Lily, she therefore did not marry Snape (unless they divorced before she married James, which seems unlikely).  Any possible relationship between Snape and Lily would more likely have occurred when they were in school, which would mean her relationship with James would come after, which would in turn lead one to conclude that she preferred James over Severus (although, if this DID occur, there is still the possibility that Snape ended the relationship).  Admittedly, a possible Snape/Lily relationship may not be  necessary to explain Snape's animosity toward James, but in that this is the sort of thing that might cut deeper than merely losing the Quidditch cup or not being named Head Boy, I think it has been an appealing explanation for the depth of feeling he seems to have against both the father and son.

 

Added to that, this boy whom he disliked and seemed to resent SAVED HIS LIFE.  Ouch.  It's difficult to go on resenting someone who saved your life.  But, of course, James didn't stop playing Quidditch after that, he was Head Boy, and he married Lily, so Snape managed <g>.  Perhaps the reason Snape told Harry he'd end up like his father is that Snape (who came back to Dumbledore's side BEFORE Voldemort's fall, according to Dumbledore, in the Pensieve) was trying to eliminate what he perceived to be a debt to James by trying to save HIS life, balancing the scales.  If this occurred, Snape was then thwarted in this attempt by Peter's betrayal--which he may have perceived as a direct result of James ignoring some advice he (Snape) had given him on how to secure his family's safety.  (Although at the time it must have seemed that he was thwarted by Sirius, yet another person whom he hated, and who nearly got Snape killed when they were in school.)  

 

Since Snape has been protecting Harry at various times since arriving at Hogwarts and Harry's behavior sometimes seems to throw this in his face, perhaps he had been thinking that he can pay his debt to James by protecting his son, and he is irked by Harry's reckless behavior, which is making paying the debt very, very difficult.  (I believe this is the real reason for his being so irate at the beginning of CoS, when he is upbraiding Harry and Ron for the flying car incident.)

 

So, while there is no clear evidence that Snape and Lily were ever an item, I believe you are correct that it may be significant to note that Snape doesn't ever say anything AGAINST her, unlike his comments about James.  It's thin, but I have a suspicion that JKR doesn't do things like this without reason, and that it is unlikely for Snape's main gripes about James to be Quidditch and the Head Boy position, or even being thwarted in protecting James' life, if that did in fact occur.

  

--Barb

 


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