What would Snape have done if Lily had lived? (Was: Mothers)

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 187546

> Carol:
> 
„« Well, yes and no. It would have worked out in some other way, true, but it wasn't active until LV brought it into play by trying to thwart it. And Snape's going to LV *did* make a difference, IMO. It set up everything that followed, including Lily's chance to live, which made possible her *choice* to die (not *for* but *instead of* Harry). So Snape is a key figure, without whom we'd have a completely different story with no Chosen One. (I think that the Prophecy wouldn't have been fulfilled if a different DE had been the eavesdropper--no one to ask LV to save Lily--but then there would have been no story.)

Potioncat:
I spoke too soon. Now that I recall it, the past discussion was whether it would have been better for Harry if Snape had not told LV. That's a different issue all together.

I love the way the prophecy worked (not the wording of it). That the eavesdropper was the person who tried to save the Potters and suffered remorse because of his role in the prophecy--that he had reported a bit of information that would hit him so personally, and actually played a bigger role than he imagined.  Agreed, that would have changed if Snape had not told the prophecy to LV.

But I think the mere fact that DD and someone else heard the prophecy put it into play. It could have worked like this: Alternate DE hears prophesy and tells LV. Snape learns that the Potters are being targeted and asks for Lily to be spared. He goes to DD, just in case. Snape isn't racked by guilt that he's one the one who told the prophecy (and may not even know about a prophecy) but he is desperate to save Lily. (The story is much better with Snape being the eavesdropper.)

The more I think about it, it is vital that both LV and DD hear the prophecy. The actions the two of them take will lead up to marking Harry and later, allowing Harry to fulfill his destiny within the prophecy. And I wonder now if the reason DD allowed Snape to go free after overhearing the prophecy is because trying to interfere would be worse than going along with it.


> Carol:
„« I'm not so sure that Lily would have gone to Severus for comfort, but it does seem that she didn't know he'd been a DE (Sirius didn't), so maybe she would have. But if she'd found out later, would she have reacted like Tom Riddle Sr. finding out that his wife was a witch who tricked him into marrying her?

Potioncat:
I agree---back to a scenario where Lily lives but Harry dies. The closest they could be at that point is fellow order members. I don't see any relationship at all if Harry had died. Nor do I think Snape actually hoped for one.