What triggered ancient magic? WAS: Re: James and Intent

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 187040

 
> Alla:
> 
> Exactly! It is all about Snape, what he knows, what he experienced, what he wants in my opinion. If he truly loved Lily, I think he would have done his best to look at situation from her POV and maybe he would have seen that she married a husband whom she loved and had a child that she adored.

Pippin:
Oh dear, oh dear. "If you really loved me, you'd understand what I need" ???? --  Sorry, love does not work like that and not only in real life.  I can think of a lot of people in canon who love and honestly have no idea what the person they love needs, or what would make that person truly happy,  starting with the Dursleys and Dudley. 

In fact the Dursleys understand Dudley's needs so little that they do more harm to Dudley in trying to take care of him than they do to Harry by neglecting him as much as they dare.

As to courtly love, of course Snape wanted Lily. But that in itself does not make his love impure or unclean, not in the Potterverse, IMO. Rowling has said that one of the things that she did not like about the Narnia books was the way that Susan was put down for wanting romantic love. No where in the books is physical desire shown to be unworthy, except when it is forced on someone. 

There is no canon that Snape ever tried or expected to force his attentions on Lily in any way, though no doubt that's what Voldemort thought he would do if he could. 

I agree that being able to cast a patronus does not mean you are a good or noble person. But IMO, it does mean that you love whatever the patronus represents. Who says Umbridge doesn't love  cats?

Pippin











> 
> And maybe he would have grasped that Lily would much rather be dead than alive without her husband and child in my opinion.
> 
> Pippin:
> Anyway, if the silver doe doesn't convince you that Snape's feelings for Lily
> were honorable, I'm not sure what would. <SNIP>
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Oh I am sure that the more time passed since Lily's death the more honorable and more resembling the knight's love his love became. But that is loving the idea of Lily and doing a good deeds in her name. Am I sure that Snape would have loved alive Lily same way had she came back for some magical reason for example? No, I am not.
> 
> And when he is confronted with not even alive Lily, but with the piece of her handwriting, what does he do? Steals it from the house that belongs to her child. Yeah, I think it was obsessive all right.
> 
> So again, I cannot make up my mind, I certainly see parts of courtly love in his story, but I also see pretty ugly parts IMO.
> 
> As to Patronus, yep, for the longest time I thought that Patronus Magic is pretty much good, Guardian protector and all that to me gives good thoughts. Silver Doe was beautiful and I think it reflects Snape loving idea of Lily and doing good noble things in her name.
> 
> However, Umbridge has patronus too, so I do not think that Patronus in itself to me proves something about character anymore.
>