OOP: Snape/Lily, life debt

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 65389

Deb:
> 
> I'd hoped she'd be at least civil to young Snape after scolding 
young James. Personal experience reminds me that civility to a 
hurting young man can and is often misread for affection and nascent 
love,  but still, she needed not snap at him. 
> 
> Does anyone else suspect that part of Snape's irreversible dislike 
of Harry comes from having been spurned by Lily, long, long ago?
> 


If so, Snape has no one to blame but himself.

Lily stepped in to defend Snape, including whipping her wand out and 
threatening to attack James and Sirius if they didn't leave him 
alone, and Snape let loose with a "filthy mudblood."

Let's assume for the moment that the obvious assumption is true and 
Lily, James and Sirius were Gryffs and Snape was a Slyth.

The means a Gryff was willing to take on two fellow Gryffs to protect 
a Slyth.

And what does said Slyth do? He drops the most vile racial slur in 
the Wizard World on her.

I think it's expecting a little too much of Lily, who has stood up 
for Snape when no one else -- including a Slytherin -- would, to 
completely turn the other cheek when he calls her a mudblood.

I'd personally have forgiven her for saying, "Mudblood, eh? Never 
mind, Potter, Black, carry on."

Actually, she kinda does. She tells Snape she won't bother defending 
him again and then she leaves, but I don't think she approved of them 
starting in on Snape again. She certainly didn't go running into 
James' arms over it.

Lily was a compassionate, gentle person, and I have no doubt that if 
Snape ever worked up the courage to ask her out, she'd have been 
gentle with him, and given that Sirius and Lupin never bring any 
Snape-Lily thing up, she likely kept any Snape interest in her from 
James, who would have told those guys. (Or, she threatened James with 
dire punishment, including no nookie, if he ever told.)

Unless the filthy mudblood thing hit her harder than I think, I have 
a hard time seeing Lily do anything but let Snape down easy. And if 
she did throw his racial taunt back in his face, well, who's fault is 
that, Severus?

But again... if this is expecting too much of Lily, it's not 
expecting enough from Snape. If Lily spurned you, then go buy 
yourself a Veela lap dance and get over it. If Lily spurned you 
because you called her a filthy mudblood, buy a mirror to find out 
who to blame.

Leave her kid alone.

In other words, Severus, GROW UP.

Darrin.