DH: The silver doe as Lily's patronus?

[littleleahstill]

No: HPFGUIDX 172268

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "clio44a" <clio44a at ...> wrote:
>
> Finally, finally some serious discussion about DH. *clio bounces up
> and down in her chair*
> 
> Right. I'm still digesting DH, but this, trivial as it is, is right
> now my most burning question: 
> In DH 'The prince's tale' we learn Snape's patronus is the doe. 
In 'A
> flaw in the plan' Harry tells Voldemort that Snape has the same
> patronus as Lily Potter. 
> Odd. How does Harry know? Am I overlooking something? I can't shake
> the feeling that there was a conversation about this edited from 
the
> book. (BTW, I am reading the British edtion, since the German
> translation won't come out before October)
> Someone please give me a hint.
> 
> Clio


Leah:
I think Harry extrapolates the information from Snape's memories.  
At one point, Dumbledore asks Snape if he has come to feel some 
tenderness for Harry, and Snape responds by producing the doe 
patronus; Dumbledore says something like "Still her after all these 
years?"  It is clear from the context of the memory scenes that the 
doe in some way represents Lily.  Since Lily isn't of course a doe, 
and hasn't a name which means deer or doe,and was a feisty rather 
than a doe-like girl, then the obvious conclusion, I think, for 
Harry to draw is that the doe must be her patronus, which Snape has 
adopted. This also makes sense in that James' animagus figure (and 
perhaps his patronus) is the stag.

Leah (wondering if Lily always had a doe patronus or whether her 
patronus changed when she met James, in which case poor Snape would 
have changed his too)