Snape's Social Life

[Eileen Rebstock]

I have never subscribed to the notion that the Worst Memory pensieve
scene sheds light on the young Severus Snape's social life. The argument
usually goes like this: No one stuck up for Snape in the pensieve scene,
therefore, he had no real friends at Hogwarts. Or all his friends had
left by his fifth year. 

Now, I'm skeptical of this argument in the first place because of the
underlying assumption that friends spend 100% of their time in each
others' presence. Is it so hard to imagine that Snape's buddies just
weren't there that afternoon? Maybe Wilkes was brushing up on Astronomy
in the Slytherin dungeon that day James dangled Snape upside down to
impress Lily. 

But a further psychological problem with this argument has occurred to
me lately, when I remembered who exactly one of Snape's schoolmates was.

Avery.

I am trying to imagine the Avery we know and love in GoF and OotP,
Voldemort's favourite punching bag and all-time nervous wreck,
intervening in Snape's favour against Sirius and James.

Trying and miserably failing. 

No one said Snape's friends had to be capable, strong, and brave, right?