Sevvy and 'Mudblood' Lil (can't remember the original title, sorry...)

[Jo Ann]

No: HPFGUIDX 98767

Susan (originally) wrote:

> >I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought of this, but perhaps
> >Snape had a crush on Lily. We know James and Severus hated each 
other

Ffred:

> There is a very longstanding theory (started long before I joined
> the list) about Snape and Lily but my own version is very close to 
> yours - he had a crush on her but it wasn't reciprocated.

<snip>

> Just to introduce another possibility: I wonder if, when Sevvy
> finally got away from the Marauders' clutches and limped back to
> the dungeon to lick his wounds and plot, he fell to thinking about
> Lily.
> 
> We seem to get the impression that the young Snape wasn't too much
> of a ladies' man, the image of the "broomstick girl", apparently
> laughing at him being one example. In his circle of associates
> there's only one girl, Bella, who I suspect treated _everyone_ like
> something she'd scraped off her shoe.
>
> And then along comes Mudblood Lil (his phrase, not mine) and stands
>up for him in front of his enemies. Raging teenage hormones being 
> what they are, he ends up developing a huge crush on her.

<snip>

Jo Ann:

> >For me, it also puts a slightly different spin on the whole 
> Pensieve scene and the question "Been enjoying yourself, Potter?"

Ffred:

> Because of course his message to Dumbledore _failed_ and Lily ended
> up dead and Harry ended up alive. And Snape's been incubating that
> for 10 years.
> 
> "Why are you alive, Potter, when your mother's dead?"

Jo Ann again:

Exactly.  Imagine the dilemna for Snape--Harry, the one who should 
have died in Lily's place, who arguably (due to the Prophecy) was the 
cause of her death to begin with; yet at the same time, the most 
important thing in the world to her, and the only thing that's left 
of her.  Walking around Hogwarts, wearing James Potter's face, 
breaking the rules, surrounded by fame and applause...but at the same 
time, defending the weak and befriending the outcasts, just as his 
mother did.

Snape's therapy bill must be outrageous.

Throw in the life-debt to James, and Harry's sometimes reckless 
behavior and overall importance to the future of the wizarding world; 
cross-reference it all with the thread concerning Snape's general 
hatred of the teaching profession; add the tightrope act he has to 
walk between Dumbledore and Voldemort, and it's a wonder that Severus 
hasn't long since taken a dive off the top of the Astronomy Tower.

Backtracking a bit, I can also see Lily being an underlying cause of 
James' and Snapes' mutual hatred from fairly early on, as well as the 
reason they kept at it after (according to Sirius) James had gotten 
over his bullying tendencies for the most part.  She might be quite 
oblivious to the whole thing--in fact I'm almost certain she would 
have been, or she probably wouldn't have gone on defending Snape, 
which might encourage him unduly. 

'Because he exists' indeed--no young man in his right mind would tell 
the girl he's trying to woo, "Well, you see, Lily, it's just that 
Snivvy here fancies you, and since I fully intend to bed you sometime 
between now and graduation, I'm obliged to assert my authority as 
Alpha Male by kicking the living tar out of him at every opportunity."

[Heck, for that matter, I could turn the whole thing on its head and 
postulate that Snape really *did* hate the "Mudblood", because she 
had defended him once, and James latched onto him after that as a 
quick way to get Lily's attention...or file that under the love/hate 
variant:  "I don't need help from a Mudblood!" being Slytherin 
for "Oh gods, no, Lily, you're not helping!  Please just shut up and 
let him get it out of his system!"]

But getting back to the main topic, I'm reminded again of JKR's 
comment, "Why would anyone want Snape to love them?" or words to that 
effect.  Which doesn't really speak one way or another to this 
theory, but what a sad thought!  It doesn't preclude the possibility 
that Snape *is* capable of love; but she must envision him as 
a 'deeply horrible person' indeed, if there's not a soul alive who 
would welcome his affection, let alone return it.

Jo Ann

...who tends to agree with whoever suggested that groups like this 
one (and for that matter fandom in general) add depths to the HP 
mythos that JKR could only dream of.