<div id="ygrps-yiv-1871853348"><div style="color:#000;background-color:#fff;font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"><div><span>Thinking about what J Rowling has said about Lily having a choice and the intervention of Snape, I think this is the basic hypothesis. </span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Voldemort decides to kill Harry - the threat to himself. In the process he realises that he will have to kill James and Lily, who will protect their son.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Snape finds out about this and begs Voldemort to spare Lily, (crucial point), to which Voldemort agrees.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Presumably not trusting Voldemort, Snape begs Dumbledore to protect them. He does, via the Fidelius charm. </span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Pettigrew betrays the Potters to
Voldemort.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Voldemort arrives at Godric's Hollow. </span><span>James rushes to his family's defense, ("Take Harry and go!"), without his wand, and is killed.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Voldemort confronts Lily in an attempt to kill Harry. Crucial point - he offers to spare her, in exchange for a "direct shot" at her son - "Stand aside you silly girl!" This is the "choice" which J Rowling mentions and James does not have.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Lily refuses to stand aside, and EXPLICITLY offers her life, (which Voldemort has agreed - with her and Snape - to spare if he can kill Harry), in exchange for Harry's. "Not Harry! Not Harry! Kill me instead!" (Can't remember exact wording - sorry).</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Voldemort loses patience and kills Lily -
unleashing the protective charm she has (unknowingly?) placed on her son. Lily, alone of all the Avada Kedavra victims, was offered a choice between life and death and chose death for love of her son.</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>Voldemort curses Harry and the rest, as they say, is history!</span></div><div><span></span> </div><div><span>The crucial point is that Lily was the only one of Voldemort's victims ever offered a choice of life and actively chose death, for that sake of another, (an incomprehensible action to Voldemort). That was what activated the charm, in my opinion.</span></div><div><br></div> <div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14pt;"> <div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt;"> <div class="ygrps-yiv-1871853348y_msg_container"><div id="ygrps-yiv-1871853348yiv1257283622">
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<div id="ygrps-yiv-1871853348yiv1257283622ygrps-yiv-715974564"><div id="ygrps-yiv-1871853348yiv1257283622ygrps-yiv-715974564ygrps-yiv-942319607"><div class="ygrps-yiv-1871853348yiv1257283622ygrps-yiv-715974564ygrps-yiv-942319607moz-cite-prefix">moony wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite"><span style="word-spacing:normal;">Lily sacrificed herself in
order to protect Harry. Because of this sacrifice
Voldemort was unable to kill Harry, the AK curse rebounded
and Voldemort's body was destroyed. </span><div id="ygrps-yiv-1871853348yiv1257283622ygrps-yiv-715974564ygrps-yiv-942319607ygrp-text"><div id="ygrps-yiv-1871853348yiv1257283622ygrps-yiv-715974564ygrps-yiv-942319607ygrps-yiv-707381463"><div>Recently I realized that there is someone else who
sacrificed himself to protect someone loved--I'm
speaking of James. James sacrificed himself to protect
Lily and Harry.</div>
<div>What is the difference between James' sacrifice and
the sacrifice of Lily (and in book seven Harry)?<br></div></div></div></blockquote></div></div>
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