Gilding the Lily

[hickengruendler]

No: HPFGUIDX 114309

 
> Kneasy wrote:
 
> Being  a fully paid up  member of the awkward squad I took the 
> opposite line - AGGIE - Lily was enamoured of Snape but was 
> rejected. There's no real evidence either way of course, but I 
> prefer my  version - mostly because it has the potential to induce 
> apoplexy among Lily fans - or Snape-aphobics.

Hickengruendler:

I disagree. I think it's a highly interesting theory, but I don't 
really think it's true. And the reason is Lily's behaviour in the 
Pensieve scene after Snape called her a mudblood. I think if she were 
in love with Snape, she would have been much more hurt or angry. But 
she didn't really care and reacted like, "well, okay, if you don't 
want my help, goodbye." This doesn't sound like someone who is in 
love. I think at this point she was already in love with James, no 
matter what she said. She was really angry with him, and to me at 
least it seemed that she was disappointed. Notice that she only 
yelled at James, and not at Sirius, who behaved as badly as James 
did. I think she was frustrated that James was still that immature.
 
Kneasy again:
 
>It's generally accepted, though not entirely certain, that James 
> and "that horrible boy" are one and the same,   

Hickengruendler:

That's true, but, for that matter, it's also not certain if "her" was 
really Lily. Petunia didn't mention any name. I personally think she 
lied, because she didn't want to tell the real reason why she knows 
about Azkaban. (I agree with your theory that her parents were killed 
by Death Eaters, and I think she learned about the prison when the 
Evans' murderers came to Azkaban).


>Additionally, they 
> married immediately on leaving school (according to the Lexicon) - 
> almost indecently hasty IMO. Yet we are also told that at the time 
> of the wedding the Dursleys were already married. 

Where? This really isn't sarcastic. I really can't remember it. Where 
was it mentioned? And I also can't remember, and in this case I think 
we really weren't told, that it was ever said that Petunia visited 
her sisters marriage. 
   
Hannah:  
 
> 
> Why does Lily have no friends?  I mean, old chums of James' keep 
> popping out of the woodwork/ prison/ petshop, all desperate to 
> assure him his Dad was a great bloke.  Yet Harry still hasn't met 
> anyone who was friends with Lily, or if they were, wants to say 
> anything about her.  People like DD, Hagrid, Sirius and Lupin, 
> McGonagall, must have known Lily, but I don't recall any of them 
> saying; 'Your mother would have done the same thing' or 'Lily was 
> good at that too.'  In five whole books.  All they do is harp on 
> about her eyes.

Hickengruendler:

I think this is because boys are mostly compared with their fathers, 
especially in literature. I doubt this says anything about Lily's 
character. A few times she was described as a really good person. And 
Lupin did so in the movie, if that counts. Lily's friends could very 
well be dead. Maybe Marlene McKinnon or Alice Longbottom were her 
friends.
 
> 
> LV asking her to stand aside at GH is very, very suss.  I know when 
> asked if Lily was a DE, JKR replied 'how dare you.'  That's not 
> exactly a no, though.  I don't think she was one - I think that's 
> probably too simple for JKR.  But for some reason, LV was reluctant 
> to kill her.  One thing that puzzles me; why didn't he just stun 
> her/ impediment her/ bind her up? Another is; why did she plead 
with 
> him?  She seemed to have reason to believe that LV, heartless, 
> merciless, most wicked wizard in the whole world etc. might listen 
> to her pleading.  And this is partly backed up by his apparent 
> reluctance to kill her, or even jinx her.

Hickengruendler:

IMO, you already mentioned the biggest problem in this theory. Why 
didn't he simply stun her? If he really cared for Lily in some way 
(and JK Rowling already denied that he ever loved anybody, and I'm 
sure she didn't only mean romantical love), he could have let her 
live. He could stun her to get her out of the way. See, no need to 
kill Lily if he were reluctant.