[HPforGrownups] Lily the popular girl

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 167907

Bart: 
Comments on a couple of your facts, first:

Julie:
>5. Lily defended Severus in at least one incident in 5th year, until  he
>called her a "mudblood" which seemed to startle her, as if it wasn't
>something she'd ever heard or would expect from him. Then she left
>him to the not-so-gentle mercies of James and Sirius.

Bart:
Note that Sirius mentioned that the Levicorpus spell was being used heavily back and forth; Snape had been flipped numerous times, but, at least by implication, James and/or Sirius (and possibly even Lupin) was/were flipped by Snape, as well. Which makes us wonder why was this Levicorpus different from all other Levicorpi. Most of us, one way or another, have guessed at the reaction to Lily. Given that this was theoretically Snape's Worst Memory, at the very least, we must assume that there was SOME sort of relationship between Snape and Lily which this episode put a major, and probably permanent, crimp in. 

Julie:
>9. Peter claims he betrayed the Potters out of fear for his life, but 
>many unanswered questions (why he agreed to be the Potters' Secret
>Keeper at all, why he pursued a vaporous Voldemort to Albania and
>then helped the Dark Lord regain his physical body) don't support a  "fear
>only" motivation for Peter's actions.

Bart: 
Peter's fear was not just for his life; he was a basically fearful person. He felt unable to protect himself, so he attached himself to the biggest bullies on the block (kind of like the origins of feudalism). After the Maurauders had mended their ways (was the Prank a catalyst?), Peter still knew they would protect him. However, a bigger bully appeared (Voldy), and Peter realized that he would be a prime target for an idirect attack. So, he went to Voldy and switched sides, figuring that he had less to fear from his old friends than he had from Lordy V. Voldy, knowing an asset when he saw one (whenever Peter walked by, everybody said, "Look! There goes the big asset!"), told Peter to pretend to still be friends with the Maurauders, and pass along useful info. This was actually fine by Peter, because no matter who won, he would be on the winning side. He agreed to be the Potters' Secret Keeper because it would make Voldemort see him as more valuable, and be less likely to kill him. 

Once he was exposed, what were his options? His ONLY hope was that Voldemort could gain a position to protect him, therefore, he went to Voldy. Voldy coming back to power was his only chance.

Julie:
>10. Voldemort offered Lily the chance to live if she stepped aside  and
>allowed him to kill her child. 

Bart:
Anybody who believes that Voldy would have actualy let Lily live, raise their hand. What is both puzzling and possibly revealing is the question of why Voldemort made the offer in the first place. He certainly was/is a pyschopath, and shown to be VERY able at manipulating people. He SHOULD have known that Lily would not have accepted his offer, or even believed it to be genuine. So, why bother? 

Bart