Lily, Snape, and Potions WAS Retrospective - Snape's Worst Memory

[Sydney]

No: HPFGUIDX 142862


> The second suspect is the other Evans girl, Lily Potter. Much 
> discussion has been ongoing regarding Snape's potential infatuation 
> with Lily. She is likely to have been his guide in Potions.

"Likely"?  How swiftly speculation turns into rumour, and rumour into
fact... 

I would say, from the evidence of the text, that it's 'likely' the
other way around:  Snape was Lily's guide in Potions.  Slughorn
compares Harry to his mother because he's a NATURAL, like Lily.  A
natural who comes up with the perfect result instantly, instinctively,
and without effort.  Harry wasn't, of course, a natural at all: he was
relying on the efforts of somebody who HAD sweated over all the
mistakes and alternatives.  It's a lot harder to look like a natural
when you're going through the part where you screw up, which I dare
say is a pretty large part of experimental potions making.  

Slughorn says Harry is, potions-wise, just like his mother.  It could
mean he uses the same sort of potions techniques.  But if he was
REALLY going to be just like his mother, there might be a hint there
that Lily, like Harry, was relying on the Half-Blood Prince.

In any event, if Snape ever needed help in Potions, he seems to have
got over it, fortunately for Lupin.

I will say that, Snape fan though I am, I don't get a big kick out of
this theory, because lord knows Lily needs to be something in addition
 to a wonderful mother, and it would be nice to have a genius female
character to supplement all those bright inventive boys.  But from the
evidence we have I would say it's more 'likely' that Snape tutored
Lily, than the other way around.  Maybe they worked on the book
together, I don't know if that's a bit too cute though.  

-- Sydney, who still thinks Lily's genius was in charms