Biggest DH dissapointment - Lily and Snape

[leslie41]

No: HPFGUIDX 180439

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "zanooda2" <zanooda2 at ...> wrote:
> 
> Hi, Leslie! I'm afraid I can't offer you a really convincing 
> theory, but I have a few ideas that you may find usable :-).

Leslie41:

Great!

zanooda2:

> By the time she chose James, Lily's friendship with Snape was long 
> over. Sirius and Lupin didn't say anything to Harry because for 
> them the two things are not connected: there was an entire school 
> year between them, a year when possibly Lily dated some other 
> boy(s) - surely such a beautiful girl would have had more admirers 
> than just James and Severus :-).

Leslie41:

Yeah, but they were extremely close and public friends for five 
years.  It's not like people would "forget" that.

zanooda2:

> 2. Another thing: I don't think that many people at school knew 
> that Snape was in love with Lily. It's not like he sang serenades 
> under her window :-). I believe he was very discrete about his true 
> feelings. 

Leslie41: 

No, truthfully he wasn't discrete at all.  After he called her a 
mudblood he literally planted himself at the entrance to Gryffindor 
tower until Lily came out.  He told a girl named Mary *that he was 
going to sleep there* until he could talk to Lily.  Who knows how 
many girls passed him by, whispering to each other, before he told 
Mary why he wouldn't leave?  My guess is all of Gryffindor tower was 
abuzz that night.  

It's not a serenade under her window, no, but no one could interpret 
those actions as anything else but the actions of a boy terribly in 
love.  And if not "in love," then in the throes of a friendship so 
strong that he was willing to suffer humiliation from any number of 
Gryffindors to talk to her.  He absolutely did not try to hide why he 
was there.     

How would you interpret those actions? Do you think this girl named 
Mary would have kept these facts to herself?  My guess is she told 
everyone, that every Gryffindor was talking about it that night, and 
that the next day everyone in the school knew.  It's not logical to 
assume anything else.  Sirius and James, the most popular Gryffindor 
of all, would have been the first to find out.      

I absolutely buy this whole scenario about Snape and Lily, and it 
makes excellent emotional sense in terms of his character.  But it 
makes no logical sense that someone wouldn't have told Harry, and 
that's why it seems like a cheat.  My guess is Rowling thought this 
aspect up later, well into the series, and could not tie up the loose 
ends.  

No fair. 

zanooda2:

> He certainly was smart enough not to admit them to Lily, 
> knowing that she didn't feel the same way and he would only scare 
> her away if he told her. 

Leslie41:

There's no indication he didn't tell her, but I think you're right.  
Still, people can tell when someone has strong feelings for them, 
even if they don't admit it. At some level Lily "knew".  And Rowling 
actually admitted somewhere that if Snape hadn't chosen his path Lily 
could have in time loved him as she came to love James.  

zanooda2:

> He was waiting patiently, hoping that maybe she 
> would come to love him at some point (this is JMO, of course). 
 
Leslie41:

Yes, as I said Rowling herself admitted that.

zanooda2:

> I don't believe that others knew, they just thought Lily and Snape 
> were friendly, but parted ways at some point.

Leslie41:

See above.  There's no way everyone couldn't have known, considering 
the tower scene.

zanooda2:
 
> 3. You will probably disagree with me, but I believe that Lily and 
> Sev called each other "best friends" more out of habit than 
> anything else. Being in the different houses, they just couldn't 
> spend enough time together to stay best friends. 

Leslie41:

I don't think that's true.  Obviously Snape helped her with Potions.  
And they're living in the same castle.  There's huge amounts of 
unstructured free time that they could be together.  Or how did Harry 
end up with Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw?  Or good friends with Luna, also 
a Ravenclaw?  

zanooda2:

> I'm not sure you will be satisfied with my answer (I am not exactly 
> satisfied myself :-), but it's the best I can do :-).

Leslie41:

Unfortunately I'm not. But that's not your fault--you're trying to 
construct reasons and Rowling hasn't given you anything to work 
with.