CHAPDISC: DH33, The Prince's Tale

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 184871

 
> zanooda:
> 
> Hard to tell, but I believe it's possible that Lily didn't know *for
 sure* Severus was using the word. Maybe she just heard from other 
people that he was, but it's not the same as to actually hear him
using  it. I suppose he was careful enough not to do it in front of
her :-). 
> 
> It's even possible that Lily found out about it *after* the SWM.
Many kids witnessed "the Mudblood incident", <snip>

 Maybe she wouldn't have  believed it *before* Sev called her
Mudblood, but she certainly would  believe it *after*.

Pippin:
Ooooh, yes, it's important that Lily's friends are witnesses to SWM.
We shouldn't overlook that; it changes the dynamic of the whole scene.
Whatever she's up to, she's *not* pretending she doesn't know Severus,
not unless those friends aren't supposed to be the ones who've heard
her stick up for him before, and wondered why she even talks to him.

I don't think she meant to be nasty.  She's just being a normal,
self-absorbed kid. The scene mirrors Lily and Snape's first meeting.
This time, Lily's the one making a dramatic intervention, and she's
expecting Snape to be impressed and gratified. But Sev hasn't read the
script in Lily's head, so instead of hearing "Am I ever glad to see
you!" she gets "I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like
her." 

And Lily's friends are there to hear it all. So it's not just that
Snape insulted her birth, he made her look like a fool. It's even
worse if her friends  had already tried to tell her that he'd been
using the word behind her back. She would have  denied it, just like
she would later deny that one of her friends could be a spy. So
imagine how she would feel when Snape proved her wrong -- not only
insulted, but betrayed and humiliated as well. At her age, I think,
that would be  harder to forgive than the slur itself.

The misguided or misunderstood effort to help is one of JKR's favorite
themes. Remember how Ron reacted when Hermione showed him how to do
the levitation spell? He called her a "nightmare."

Pippin