Biggest DH dissapointment

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 180543

> Leslie41:
> But I never believed those clues because it made no sense that 
Snape 
> loved Lily, because if he had loved her and been such a close 
friend, 
> everyone would have known (and they did) and someone would have 
> mentioned something to Harry. 

zgirnius:
Why do you believe that it follows from the fact that Sev loved Lily, 
that this love was common knowledge? I think the first living human 
other than Snape to ever learn of it was Dumbledore, when desperate 
young DE!Snape showed up on his doorstep (hillside, whatever. <g>)

All that was common knowledge was that they were friends. This, and 
not that Snape actually loved her, would have been known to Lupin and 
Sirius (the two people you suppose ought to have told Harry). Lupin 
and Sirius would also know that Snape called her a Mudblood in a 
public incident they would probably not care to recount to Harry, and 
that thereafter there occured a clean break between the two of them, 
and they never so much as spoke again.

> Leslie41:
> Why on earth would Remus and Sirius hold back something like that?  
> Especially Sirius, who would have relished telling Harry that Snape 
> held a terrible grudge because he was thwarted in love?

zgirnius:
I agree this is a delightful tidbit, but not that Sirius knew it. I 
consider the dialogue in the Shack scene of PoA to be evidence for my 
view. Snape's words hinted that the reason he desired vengeance 
against Sirius was not what they all thought, but neither Lupin nor 
Sirius picked up on it. 

> Leslie41: 
> What would be the purpose of withholding that knowledge from 
Harry?  

zgirnius:
What would be the point of telling Harry Snape and Lily had once been 
friends, for Lupin or for Sirius? In the absence of knowledge that 
Snape was romantically hooked on Lily, I think the more likely thing 
Sirius would mention was Snape's apparent display of blood prejudice, 
except that given the entire circumstances of that incident, I can 
see why Sirius would not volunteer it. 

Also, Sev called them 'best friends', but Lily was in a different 
House and had friends of her own who disapproved of Sev. And Sev, of 
course, had his Slytherin gang. I think the outsider's view was 
likely that Lily was nice to Sev because she was such a nice person 
and they had been friendly before Hogwarts. I also don't think the 
friendship was primarily built and maintained thought conspicuous 
friendslike activities at school. But they might have been spending 
hours a day together over the summer vacations (until after 5th year, 
of course).

There is also an aspect of Sirius's view of Snape that I find makes 
this credible. Sirius despises Snape, but in a specific way of 
considering himself and his friends vastly superior. Snape is a 'just 
this little oddball', and has awful looks on which Sirius is 
compelled to comment whenever the matter comes up, whrears James 
is 'the height of cool'. Lily, on the other hand, had become a friend 
who signed her letters to Sirius "Lots of Love". I think this would 
make him even more likely to underestimate the importance Sev and 
Lily once had for one another. James 'deflated his head a bit' and so 
nothing about the old James gets told to Harry. Likewise, I think 
Sirius saw the breakup as 'Lily finally growing some sense', and saw 
no need to say anything about the old Lily.

And there is also the thing of Harry reminding both Remus and Sirius 
so much of his father. In the limited time Jo gives them with Harry, 
it does not seem so odd that they focus on James.

--zgirnius, joining Carol in wishing Sev a Happy Birthday!