Why was Lily given a chance to survive?

[Kathy]

No: HPFGUIDX 161458

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "grangerohini" wrote:> What's 
the answer? How and when will Dumbledore answer it?

Personal opinion: Harry hates Snape enough already and Dumbledore 
knows it. He doesn't want Harry to know the truth...that Snape was 
at Godrics Hollow when everything happened and that the Dark Lord 
had used Legilimens to see that Snape had a soft spot for Lily.  He 
decided to give her a chance to stay alive because he could use her 
later against Snape if he got out of hand.  Unfortunately Voldemort 
is not a patient man, so he ended up killing Lily because she 
wouldn't get out of the way.

Another thought I have - which is even worse - is that Voldemort 
didn't know which child to choose, only once he used Legilimens, he 
could see that if he chose the Potter boy he might have a stronger 
hold over Snape because of his feelings towards Lily.  So, in 
essence, Snape may be the true reason Harry was chosen as the one to 
defeat the Dark Lord.

Dumbledore couldn't tell this to Harry...it would mar his years at 
Hogwarts, and quite possibly turn him into someone who only sought 
revenge.  Obviously there's more to the story...and a big part of 
Snape's forcing Harry harder than he would any other student to 
learn Occlumency would be because Snape knows more than anyone that 
if you have to be around the Dark Lord...your Occlumency skills must 
be excellent...which is why he improved his own after Lily's death.  
He wanted no one else to suffer.

KathyO