HBP Spoilers: Whom does Snape REALLY love?

[Jen Reese]

Don't worry Neri,

you are not the only one

who can't think of anything more to say

during all this spoiler space.

Toodle-de-doo

twiddle-dee-ee

Neri:
> The implications of this on the timeline and love life of the three
> sisters were rather extensively discussed in my original post, but
> briefly it implies, among other things, that Narcissa is several
> years younger than Lucius, in the same age group with the
> Marauders and Snape. She might be in the very same year, or a year
> older or a year younger than them, but probably not further than
> that. In the above-mentioned post I already suggested the
> possibility of some interesting dynamics between Severus and
> Narcissa at Hogwarts, but I think HBP went much further than that.
> It is now obvious to me that it is Narcissa that Snape has always
> loved, not Lily. Lets consider the evidence: 


Jen: You nailed this one, Neri. There was definitely a tension 
between Narcissa and Snape at Spinner's End, and it did make me 
wonder about romantic tension. You make a great canon case for it, 
including equating the Unbreakable Vow to taking marriage vows. I 
didn't see that one at all, but after reading your comment, it seems 
stunningly obvious. 

I'm reminded of what Slughorn told his students about the Amortentia 
potion:

"It's probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in the room--
oh yes,.....When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will 
not underestimate the power of obsessive love." (chap. 9, p. 186, 
US).

Well, Slughorn got *one* thing right <g>. But I do have a little 
quibble with your theory so far, regarding the attraction between 
Snape and Narcissa:

> No, no, no. He'd fall for
> the unachievable aristocratic pureblood, rich, elegant, frail, fair
> Narcissa Black, who probably treats him like dirt. The Narcissa who
> is, naturally, promised to the older, rich, powerful, aristocratic
> Lucius Malfoy. 

Jen: Unrequited love goes both ways here, I do believe, not just on 
Snape's end. If Narcissa did treat him like dirt, it was only to 
mask her real and desperate feelings. She was most certainly 
attracted to this bad boy, but unwilling to risk being cast out by 
the Black family if she admitted her true love was half-blood Snape. 

No, her fate was set, to marry a 'respectable' pure-blood like 
Lucius Malfoy and propagate little pure-blood babies. Interesting 
she only had one child, seeing as the pure-bloods are dying out. 
Surely she could do her part to populate the pure-blood race, at 
least enough to replace herself and Lucius. But one it is. Perhaps 
that was all she could take of Lucius. 

I don't take her defense of Lucius to Bella as an indication of her 
love for *him* so much as a long-standing sibling rivalry with her 
sister. And her words to Snape show her only concern--Draco. No 
pleas for Snape to get Lucius out of prison, no mention of 
how 'first Lucius, now Draco'. If anything she's incensed that 
Lucius messing up the MOM outing was the reason for LV directing his 
attention toward Draco.

Now for my favorite part of your post, just because it deserves to 
be repeated:

> Yes, the beautiful Narcissa desperately falling on her knees in 
front
> of Severus and kissing his hands, this is what our poor teenager
> Severus was fantasizing about when he was sitting alone in his dark
> bedoom shooting down flies. 

Yes, those flies and erm, all that stuff. ;-)

Jen, who seems to agree with Neri all the way around tonight, 
including that the shipping was 'lousy'. JKR may have enjoyed 
writing the romance, but thankfully Book 7 will get back to what she 
does best.