Courtly love in Potterverse WAS: What triggered ancient magic?

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 187133

Montavilla47:
Are you saying that Snape had any power to save either James
or Harry? Because as I see it, Snape's only power to save either
one of them consisted of going to Dumbledore and letting him
know that the Potters were in danger. Which, as I recall, he did.

Alla:

I am pretty sure that I already replied to this argument somewhere upthread, but if I did not, I am not saying that Snape had any power to save James or Harry. I think it is irrelevant though to the point I am making and the point being is that if Snape cared about what Lily would have wanted, he owed it to her to **try**, yes even if he knew that he will most likely fall.

Montavilla47:
Of course, he was only asking Dumbledore to protect Lily. But,
if he had thought about it for half a minute, he would have
realized that Dumbledore wouldn't protect Lily while leaving her
family out. Which supports the idea that Snape wasn't thinking
at all beyond, "Lily! Must save!"

Alla:
I am talking about Snape's intentions only, of course Dumbledore would not have protected Lily's only. I do not think what Dumbledore would have done is relevant to Snape's mindset though, IMO.

Montavilla47:

There's a difference between wanting your husband and
baby dead and wanting to live even if they do die. People do
outlive their families.

I'm sure they would prefer not to have their loved ones die, but
there are millions of people who have lost their entire families
and yet not killed themselves in order to avoid the pain of living
on. Are those people such monsters that the firemen who
pulled them out of burning buildings, or the coast guard who
lifted them out of floods or oceans despicable?

I'm sure that, as James ran towards the certain death of
confronting Voldemort, he would rather have had Lily live on,
even if Harry still had to die.


Alla:

 You are really comparing Snape to the firemen who can only save one injured person from the burning house? In case it is a serious argument I will say that firemen did not burn the house first and then give the choice that they only pull one person out because that's the only person  they want to save.

Of course people outlive their families, but if somebody who is complicit in putting the whole family in danger decides who  lives and who dies, without trying to save them all, yes I think it is despicable.

It is one thing if by accident or unplanned murder one of them would have survived, of course they would have probably found a strength to survive, but to give them a choice from potential murderer?

Lily showed that she would rather die than let Harry die, so I think yes, it is pretty safe to assume what her answer will be, which again does not mean that she may not have found a will to survive to go forward and fight (and maybe AK Snape if he came to her later on)

Montavilla47:
<SNIP>
> I'm sure that, as James ran towards the certain death of 
> confronting Voldemort, he would rather have had Lily live on,
> even if Harry still had to die.

Alla:

I do not share your certainty at all. I would think that James would certainly wanted both of them alive, or at least one of them alive, but I am pretty sure that if somebody asked James would he live if the price would be their lives, by choice not accident, somehow I think he would have said no.

JMO,

Alla