I can count on one hand when snape has lost his cool in canon . in poa when harry saved sirius , in OOTP when sirius vs snape , when harry saw his memories . In hbp when harry called him a coward . And that's about it . While majority of time he is composed , confident and insults people with coolness and sass . The list is too long . Like he has coolly sassed Bellatrix , peter , sirius , harry , Ron , hermione , james , lockhart etc .
I love and deeply appreciate your talent but imo snape's behaviour is reversed in TLE , he is just too angry here to think coherently let alone insult or attempt at sarcasm .
I mean Remus has more sarcasm and wit than he has in canon and i have no complain there as i am a sucker for wity banter and humor , but it feels like injustice to Snape's personality to me .
Iām sorry you feel that way! I emphatically (and amicably) disagree.
I think for me it comes down to the fact that I am not trying to replicate the characters exactly as they were in the books. TLE is a prequel, and thus for all the characters ā but especially Snape because he actually survives ā this is a story of becoming. Theyāre not meant to be perfectly reflected versions of who they were in the '90s, but rather versions of themselves that could feasibly grow into the characters we see in canon.
The Snape in canon is a 35ish year old man who has survived a war and had years and years to master his emotions and become a top-notch spy who, as you say, sasses the likes of Bellatrix, not to mention lies to Voldemort's face. The Snape Iām writing in TLE is a 17-year-old boy who has done none of that yet but is raw and bitter and wrathful enough to be convinced joining a fascist hate group is a really swell idea.
To me, the moments you point out when Snape loses his cool in canon are the entire point of his characterization, not an occasional aberration, and these scenes were crucial to me when building his character. Rage is crucial to his character. Itās notable, I think, that almost all of these moments are related to the Marauders/Lily in some way. Itās the moment the mask slips and the wounded teenager comes out.
A few examples, just for fun (emphasis mine).
(This got a little long, but I was distracting myself during some severe weather that was stressing me, so I hope youāll take this in the spirit of fun discussion, and not anything else. š)
From POA, after Sirius escapes:
āTHEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!ā Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth.
āCalm down, man!ā Fudge barked. āYouāre talking nonsense!ā
āYOU DONāT KNOW POTTER!ā shrieked Snape. āHE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID ITā!ā
āFellow seems quite unbalanced,ā said Fudge, staring after him. āIād watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore.ā
āOh, heās not unbalanced,ā said Dumbledore quietly. āHeās just suffered a severe disappointment.ā
From OOTP after Harry sees his worst memory:
āSo,ā said Snape, gripping Harryās arm so tightly Harryās hand was starting to feel numb. āSoā¦been enjoying yourself, Potter?ā
āN-noā¦ā said Harry, trying to free his arm.
It was scary: Snapeās lips were shaking, his face was white, his teeth were bared.
āAmusing man, your father, wasnāt he?ā Said Snape, shaking Harry so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose.
āIādidnātāā
Snape threw Harry from him with all his might. Harry fell hard on to the dungeon floor.
From Half-Blood Prince, after Harry calls him a coward:
āDONāTāā screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind themā āCALL ME COWARD!ā
These are all such extreme reactions that, rare as they might be, they definitely suggest an undercurrent of deep rage and, I might add, a pattern of losing control when provoked with certain memories.
And then, of course, there are the flashbacks in which we actually DO get glimpses of young Snape:
āTuney!ā said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet.
āWhoās spying now?ā he shouted. What dāyou want?ā
(Interesting, I think, that his first instinct is to shout. Petunia hasn't said anything yet.)
There was a crack: A branch over Petuniaās head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears.
āTuney!ā
But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape.
āDid you make that happen?ā
āNo.ā He looked both defiant and scared.
āYou did!ā She was backing away from him. āYou did! You hurt her!ā
āNo ā no I didnāt!ā
But the lie did not convince Lily: After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confusedā¦
Snapeās whole face contorted and he spluttered, āSaved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friendsā too! Youāre not going to ā I wonāt let you āā
āLet me? Let me?ā
Lilyās bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once.
āI didnāt mean ā I just wonāt want to see you made a fool of ā He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!ā The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. āAnd heās notā¦everyone thinksā¦big Quidditch heroāā
Snapeās bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lilyās eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead.
He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.
āI canāt pretend anymore. Youāve chosen your way, Iāve chosen mine.ā
āNoālisten, I didnāt meanāā
āāto call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?ā
He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait holeā¦
This to me does not read as a composed, confident boy. This is (in my opinion) an extremely angry, troubled boy who is buffeted around by his emotions, who hasnāt yet learned to articulate them fully, let alone control them. Learning to conquer these emotions and be the cool, calm, and collected double-agent-man we see in canon is a big part of his journey, but it's certainly not something he's mastered yet at 17.
.......But, at the end of the day, this is just a fanfic and everyone has different interpretations of these characters. Which is fine and fun! TLE Snape has always been somewhat polarizing, but I'm pretty set in my interpretation of him. I'm looking forward to exploring more of his journey as he grows into book Snape. He's just not there yet. :)
In which James and Lily Potter fall in love, defeat a dark lord, and rebuild the world (and how only one of these is true).
Written for the November @jilychallenge (@jilychallenge2023), for the prompts "a kiss to break the spell" + āIs that all I mean to you,ā he/she laughs. Paired with @charmsandtealeaves!
āWe need to tell them.ā
Potter sighs. His fingers are itching over the bandages in his arms, even though he shouldnāt; Lily places her hand over his, impatient, and he stops.
āWe cannot.ā As she splutters angrily, he shakes his head. āHave you seen what they are calling ourāĀ it?ā
Lily hadnāt; the assumption of the picture had been enough to render her speechless, but now she lets her gaze wander through the newspaper. Below the headline announcing the Dark Lordās defeat, Lily finds the āofficialā explanation for their photo.
A little Christmas Jily and Harry š I highly recommend listening to this delightful version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas by Hanson to enhance the mood. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate!
a marauders edit, set during christmas, using the so this is christmas sound that is [SPOILERS] not the most depressing sad thing iāve ever seen!š²
You cannot convince me otherwise. Lily and James were 19 when they got pregnant. Thereās no way that was on purpose.Ā
Please picture it.Ā
Lily tells James theyāre pregnant. James panics, leaves, finds the other Marauders and demands a lads night, you know, no reason, just some drunken shenanigans for no reason at all with friends! Remus notices something seems a bit off and keeps an eye on his friend, but no one says anything. Itās only several hours later, when James is drunkenly crying and wailing on the floor,Ā āHeās going to be so small! How can I protect him? SO SMALL!ā that they realize whatās going on. They ask him if he is going to be alright. He sobs, tears and snot running down his face, and nods furiously. āThis is the happiest I have ever been!ā The others look at each other, shake their heads, and pull him to his feet. Sirius marches him back home to Lily, who has been waiting, scared, alone, and more than a little pissed off at her boyfriend for the better part of the night. She softens when she sees James drunkenly leaning on Sirius, Sirius shrugging in apology, because James is a mess but at least heās home now. James falls to his knees in front of her and says,Ā āIām so sorry I ran off. I got scared. Iām still scared. But Iām happy too.ā Lily canāt help but smile.Ā āItās alright, James, weāll figureāā But James loudly shushes her and points at her stomach.Ā āWait. Iām talking to my son.ā Lily glares at him and reminds him that it could be a daughter. Sirius adds,Ā āCould be twins! Or quintuplets!ā Lily glares more and tries not to laugh while James murmurs into her belly,Ā āāM gonna ask your mum to marry me, but keep it secretĀ ācause I have to buy a ring first. And a broom. Not for the wedding. For you. Do you like quidditch? You probably donāt know what that is yet. Donāt worry. Iāll teach you. Iāll teach you everything.ā
A while ago I came across these pictures, which I soon discovered were taken at the Wightwick Manor in Wolverhampton, UK, and they gave me an idea of what the Potter Manor might have looked like.
It's warm and welcoming, cosy but spacious; still, you can clearly tell that it's the home of a wealthy family, and it has some similarities with the Gryffindor common room. This is where I envision James growing up, where Fleamont and Euphemia spent their days, where Sirius finally felt at home.
I saw the new TLE chapter notification at 3am when I woke up to pee. Then a quick debate had started in my mind about how healthy mature 30-something years olds shouldnāt cut their sleep at 3am to read a new chapter about Harry Potterās fictional dead parentsā hangover interaction and dying to know aftershocks of a teenager first kiss is not an excuse when you have 3 meetings in the morning. Not even Siriusās reaction is enough excuse.
Well, I was wondering if you can write an excuse paper so I can submit it to my boss?
Yes absolutely, I will put it on my Dr. Darling letterhead and everything.
Beckythebee is excused from doing absolutely anything because Lily Evans is sad.
For @jilytoberfest 2022 prompt 18: "Nah, she didn't."
Read on AO3 or under the cut!
Fluff, 433 words.
--
āHow come she married him? She hated him!ā
Sirius remembers Lilyās gaze resting on James during History class, while heās busy doodling on the corner of his book. He remembers her sitting up in alarm when she notices Sirius watching her, and withdrawing with a shy smile and her cheeks slightly pink when he winks at her, with the mutual understanding that her secret is safe.
He remembers her unfailingly on the Quidditch stands during the Gryffindor games, cheering louder than everyone and marvelling at Jamesās fantastic assists and impressive goals, even as two days before she had been scoffing at him for thinking heās something special just because he can handle a big red ball.
He remembers her jaw dropping to the floor when she arrives at Platform 9 Ā¾ to find James wearing the Head Boy badge, a āYou?ā thatās almost accusatory, only to overhear her later in the train telling her friends that āIām not worried at all, Iām sure heāll do a terrific job.ā
He remembers her arguing with James for the better part of an hour about the best way to approach Volume-Reducing Transfiguration ā James has got it right, of course ā and not budging on her opinions even when he has shot down all her arguments one by one, choosing instead to cross her arms and scowl at him; but when they make their joint presentation next week, theyāve gone with his method.
He remembers James all but stumbling into the dormitory late one night after patrol, dazed, grabbing him by the collar and telling him with wide eyes āShe kissed me, Padfoot, I donāt even know what happened, she had been so mad a moment before and then she just āā
He remembers James and Lily playing wizardās chess in the common room, Lily somehow winning and exclaiming āIn your face, Potter!ā with a triumphant finger at him; he remembers James tugging at that finger and pulling her close, kissing her hard, and Lily cupping his face and kissing him back for so long that the chess pieces start complaining that theyāre being neglected.
He remembers Lily during their last month of school, going about her day with an elegant diamond ring on her delicate finger, her friend Mary calling her future Mrs Potter and Lily rolling her eyes, but her smile soft and warm at the mention of the name.
And he remembers her in her wedding dress, glowing as she looks at James with perfect, undisguised adoration. A room full of their loved ones, friends and family, and sheās only got eyes for him.
āNah, she didnāt.ā
--
Thankies to @oneofthesirens and @nought-shall-go-ill for their help and support!
she had a goal to discover all of his little secrets.
-
James: Can I kiss you?
Lily: I like to do this in a more private place, not hereā¦
James: Oh if only I had a map to take you to all secluded places of this old castleā¦
Lily: It would make me so impressedā¦ that I would kiss you right nowā¦
James: Iām not a genius, unfortunatelyā¦
Lily: and will probably snog me in a broom closet, which is so original.
She thought things might be different after all this time. After all, she was a mature twenty-three, not some wide-eyed seventeen-year-old just starting to experience love. She was practically seasoned by now, having fallen into and out of love with reckless abandon in the years she didnāt have James Potter in her life. Why should his return cause such a stir in her heart?
***
And now, here she was. A vision in a traveling cloak as she entered Hogwarts castle, as vivid and beautiful as the day she left, he was certain. As heart-achingly beautiful as ever. How was he supposed to survive a whole year living in the castle with her again without falling back into the habit that felt a lot like being in love?
