Snape and Lily and the HBP

[pippin_999]

Not in response to any particular thread, but my own thoughts
on the subject.

I don't think young Snape was a member of the Slug Club. He
was unconnected, socially awkward, physically unattractive, 
openly interested in the Dark Arts -- I just don't see him as
the sort of Slytherin Sluggy would be proud of.

I can see Lily and Snape being friends, however, very platonic
friends, before the blow up in the pensieve. They would 
have kept it secret, because Slytherins and Gryffindors
are supposed to detest one another on sight. 

I think that most of the HPB notes were written before 6th year.
The book is old enough, and certainly the levicorpus spell was 
worked out (or rediscovered) in the fifth year, before NEWT level 
courses.

And as we know, people with a flare for potions often don't wait
till 6th year to try their hand at advanced work. Hermione
certainly didn't, and I think ton-tongue tofees and canary
creams are probably potions in essence, like the drugged
cakes that Hermione prepared for Crabbe and Goyle.

Maybe Snape and Lily met while raiding the restricted section <g>.
It's interesting that Snape recommends Most Potente
Potions, not Advanced Potion Making, as the source
of the recipe for polyjuice.

But it definitely would have made Snape jealous if 5th
year Lily had been picked for the Slug Club and not him, 
because I think what Snape really wants is *recognition.*

Of course, that's just what he can't have, as long as he's
a spy. But it fits -- with all the I am the potions master,
half blood prince, yes that is my job, craving the order
of merlin, and so on. 

"Very gratifying," said Dumbledore. "We all like appreciation
for our own hard work, of course."  

It may have been to get that appreciation that he joined
the DE's. 

But what I'm getting at is, suppose Lily and Snape were
helping each other in secret, studying potions,  but Snape 
started to feel jealous of her, the way Hermione started being
jealous of Harry in HBP. And then, in the pensieve, Lily breaks
their compact by trying to help him in public, and we 
know, if there's one thing Snape can't stand, it's being helped
in public by someone he's jealous of.

So he says, "I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods
like her!"

and she says, "Fine. I won't bother in future."

And she means it, not only the help she tried to give
him just then, but help with potions, too.

And that's the end of their friendship,  so that
by the time they are having classes together, in sixth
year, Slughorn doesn't observe them collaborating.

Slughorn doesn't notice they have a similar style, maybe
because Snape isn't the kind of student he pays attention to,
and maybe because Snape resolved that he wasn't going to
use anything he worked out with Lily if he could possibly
help it.  

So Snape threw the book away or abandoned it at
the back of the cupboard and did his best to forget it
ever existed.

And of course, it's Snape's worst memory because he
never got to make it up with her, and worse than that,
he feels responsible for her death.

What do you think?

Pippin