One of my absolutely favourite Snape moments is how he's treating desperate Narcissa in HBP.
When she fell on her knees for the first time, he sat her back on the couch, poured her wine to calm down. When she did that again, he kneeled besides her on the floor. He's very, very clearly uncomfortable – averting his gaze, removing her hands from clutching him –, yet not only does he promise to help without asking for anything in return (cough, Albus, cough), but he tries to comfort her physically as much as he can, not reveling in her need for his help, not bringing her down on purpose.
Even tho Narcissa brought her sister who makes sure Severus knows he is mistrusted. Even tho Narcissa asks for a lot (with Severus already knowing he might have to kill Albus, he also promises to watch over Draco and protect him from harm with his own life. no strict limitations on that, no arguing with Narcissa over wording, no trying to agree to the bare minimum only). Even tho I don't trust Malfoys were such great friends to Severus, and there's no Lucius' fault in Severus getting into the DEs the way he did. Severus still shows Narcissa compassion, treats her with respect and dignity.
I wish all of you, if you ever find yourself in desperate need of help, to have a person like Severus Snape and not like Albus Dumbledore in your life.
A small reminder that Severus Snape most definitely doesn't hate "all children", doesn't hate everyone aside from Slytherins, doesn’t hate all gryffindors, and doesn't even hate Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione – being irritated, annoyed and angry at children doesn't mean you hate them. He doesn't wish harm on them, he cares about their safety, he cares about the results they get, and he doesnt fuck with them unless they give him a reason. I'd say he only hates Harry when he isn't able to separate him from James' image in moments of stress, but he still wants him to be safe even in those instances.
Severus isn't the nurturing type, he isn't good at communicating with children and isn't very patient with them – but he doesn't hate them. And I'm sure he tried to be supportive at least with his Slytherin kids, even tho I do think he struggles with that as well – he just doesn't have a good example.
Sirius Black had Lily's letter and a photo of Potter family at his fucking room, and he never showed it to Harry. Seing his mother's handwriting made Harry literally cry – but Sirius never bothers to share, i guess it had never occured to him. Gotta love it when Hagrid and Moody give so much more fucks then boy's "loving godfather"
Anyway, for all the people who say that Snape "owed" Harry talking about Lily not before his very death but earlier, so that the boy can know more about his mom – it's peculiar how Sirius didn't owe him anything, despite not being abused, assaulted or discarded by Harry's parents, and claiming he loves Harry as a family member, instead of being hurt by his very appearance in the way Snape is🥺 Might it be because Sirius never gaf about Lily or Harry outside of their relation to James despite claiming otherwise? Also, for all the people who are mad at Snape for taking a part of the photo and a page from the letter that belong to a dead man, while expieriencing enormous grief after killing Dumbledore and being left alone in the world, because "Harry deserved to have them" – TELL THAT TO SIRIUS. WHO COULD'VE EASILY GIVEN THEM TO HARRY BUT DIDN'T.
I dont know who needs to hear it, but Snape didn't get upset because Harry saw him calling Lily a mudblood after SWM. Snape got upset because Harry saw him being SAed by James and Sirius. Harry himself is clearly only troubled about the SA part (and about his father harassing his mom). "Snape's worst memory" is a label given to it by HARRY, not by Snape. Why did Harry call it so? Because of the bullying.
Harry had seen several Snape's traumatic memories — school taunting by some girl, poverty, his father abusing his mom — and Snape didn't get mad in any way. Those memories were arguably more graphic then anything Snape saw in Harry's mind, at least from those memories Harry explicitly mentioned for us to know – the worst one was probably running away from a dog, and while we know it was abusive, i wouldn't say that being chased by a dog in itself is nessesarily a sign of long term abuse. None of that was on par with SWM. Snape drew the line at BEING FORCIBLY FUCKING UNDRESSED. by the PHYSICAL COPY OF HARRY. Severus himself, after pulling Harry out of the pencive, says 'Amusing man, your father, wasn’t he?' – because he is triggered by James, he's shaking because of James, his concern at that moment, standing with James' look alike, is what James did to him.
Yes, Snape doesnt have a problem to admit he was a victim of James and Sirius when it comes to murder attempt or physical harm, but isn't it obvious how sexual violence is different from physical violence? That its MUCH easier to admit to being a victim of the latter for most people? Yes, it probably wasnt out of the ordinary in any way aside from the breakup with Lily in terms of cruelty, nothing suggests it was, but it's still sexual violence, and it's traumatic in a different way physical or verbal violence is, and its MORE traumatic when the person who saw it is the perpetrator's lookalike son.
Snape literally dropped Harry a bunch of memories with Lily that he didn't nessesarily have to; even tho his motivation ought to be explained to make Harry trust him – all the explicit memories of their friendship he gave (in all of which he is claiming the fault and doesn't try to whitewash his behaviour, they clearly aren't picked to show him in the best light) had been given willingly. He does admit (in my opinion, extremely disproportionately) his fault at the breakup with Lily. But James is on his mind more then Lily is. James triggers him, mentions of James make him lose it.
Because this is how having an SA PTSD works for many SA victims.
Lily giving the Marauders the moral high ground by saying “At least they don’t use dark magic.” is the dumbest thing ever. So what if they only used normal magic, they still hurt people for entertainment.
A nightstick and a baseball bat are created for two different things, but a baseball bat can still be used as a weapon.
I'm tired of all the defense that James matured is because he married Lily. "He changes because otherwise lily wouldn't have married him blablabla" like stop. Poor Lily they give her all the moral responsibility of that guy. Idk I thought we'd gotten over treating women as rehabilitation for men (in fiction)
Just admit that Jily ship has little development, and it looks like it was taken from wattpad and that's it. But pls stop saying James change and the proof is he got the girl. As if she were an award or acknowledgment of that change. Shes just a girl not a Moral Guide. Women are not moral compasses.
But then I think... How can they defend James' change? Head boy? Stop hex random people just for fun.. Yeah great thing, At least he apologized?
Plus there's that Pottermore prequel of him and Sirius playing pranks on Muggle cops.
Giving the burden to lily is the only way they can defend that James changed. 'Cause Lily wouldn't have married him if he hadn't changed blablabla... But he kept hexing Snape, only not on their dates, What other things could he have done away from Lily's sight? Did Lily know about the prank of him and Sirius on the Muggle cops?... So pls Stop using the poor woman as proof, It's not romantic
finally someone that thinks lily was a horrible friend to snape!! People always get very defensive whenever I say that I don't like Lily and I try to explain to them why but they're always just pro mauraders and stuff, and they don't even give proper reasoning 😭 . But I think lily was a horrible friend because like her best friend or what she claimed to be her best friend was getting bullied and tormented and she barely even did nothing about it, and then went off and married her "best friends" main bully. I get it that Snape shouldn't have called her a mudblood but I also completely understand his frustration that would've been leading up to that and he very obviously regretted it (which I know doesn't excuse it but still)
Anyways sorry for rambling!! Im so glad I found your blog ❤️
Hiya!! Ramble away <3 :)
I think Lily gets this sainted status because she died to protect Harry and saved him through love magic. And that is great, she was a very brave mother.
But as a friend, what I've seen so far is disappointing. When you have a best friend, if you truly love them, you are ride-or-die for them. And Lily, from what I've seen, just comes across as at best apathetic.
She knows he comes from a bad home environment; she can see him being bullied and targeted, and she thinks he should be grateful to his bully for restraining from killing him????? She married the boy who indecently assaulted her best friend??????
And her defending the Marauders vs the Slytherins with "They didn't use dark magic". What the hell? That's like saying "He was stabbed with a kitchen knife, not a hunting knife. It's completely different."
And yes, Sev crossed a line with the mudblood comment, but hurt people at their breaking point cross lines, they say heated things they don't mean, and unless you've been in that situation it's hard to understand. He spent his life regretting one word.
But if I saw my friend being choked out by a pack of thugs, said thugs would sent swimming with the giant squid. Who stands on the sidelines while their best friend is being hurt?
Lily is just not a good friend. And the fact that she was Severus's only light in life is just painful. How different could his life had turned out if he had only a few people truly on his side?
The rage I feel that Lily just gave up on her oldest friend because he verbally lashed out irrationally once after being choked and publicly humiliated by the bully who'd been torturing him for years.
That she said he should be grateful his bully had stopped short of letting him actually die!
And that she just left him to be taken in by a cult and didn't try to get him any help.
Friends don't let friends get groomed into cults! Friends don't throw a hissy when friends are suffering and in a bad headspace.
Anyone seen the movie "Bad times at El Royal"? The girl trying to save her little sister from the cult, that'd be me.
@hedgehog-troops you were asking for an elaboration, and I wanted to make this for a really long time, so here it is.
Let's do this timeline wise, from what occurred first (and I will mention what I makes me angry at her in each part):
“Lily, don’t do it!” shrieked the elder of the two.
But the girl had let go of the swing at the very height of its arc and flown into the air, quite literally flown, launched herself skyward with a great shout of laughter, and instead of crumpling on the playground asphalt, she soared like a trapeze artist through the air, staying up far too long, landing far too lightly.
“Mummy told you not to!”
Petunia stopped her swing by dragging the heels of her sandals on the
ground, making a crunching, grinding sound, then leapt up, hands on hips.
“Mummy said you weren’t allowed, Lily!
In Prince's Tale, we see that 9 y/o Lily ignores her sister and plays rather recklessly. A lot of people Petunia being jealous of Lily, full stop. But that is not what happens. Petunia mentions 'mummy told you not to,' this is not Petunia jealous of Lily, this is Petunia telling Lily to not disobey their mother and not be dangerous. Petunia isn't straight up anti-Lily's strange abilities. Petunia is simply telling Lily not to do what they are not allowed to do.
'“It’s not right,” said Petunia, but her eyes had followed the flower’s flight to the ground and lingered upon it. “How do you do it?” she added, and there was definite longing in her voice.'
She is curious, and a bit jealous, yes, but she also wants knows their mother disapproves. And that it's not natural, which it isn't.
“You are,” said Snape to Lily. “You are a witch. I’ve been watching you for a while. But there’s nothing wrong with that. My mum’s one, and I’m a wizard.”
Petunia’s laugh was like cold water.
“Wizard!” she shrieked, her courage returned now that she had recovered from the shock of his unexpected appearance. “I know who you are. You’re that Snape boy! They live down Spinner’s End by the river,” she told Lily, and it was evident from her tone that she considered the address a poor recommendation.
“Why have you been spying on us?”
“Haven’t been spying,” said Snape, hot and uncomfortable and dirty-haired in the bright sunlight. “Wouldn’t spy on you, anyway,” he added spitefully, “you’re a Muggle.”
Though Petunia evidently did not understand the word, she could hardly mistake the tone.
“Lily, come on, we’re leaving!” she said shrilly. Lily obeyed her sister at once, glaring at Snape as she left.
And then we see the two of them meet Snape for the first time. Snape who has been spying on Lily by that point. He even admits that. He comes from the bushes, and Petunia understandably gets scared by this boy who appears from the bushes and inserts himself into the conversation. When he mentions magic, Petunia immediately recognises him and that he is spying on them, we see Snape quite spitefully call her a muggle (showing how he is anti muggle before school even starts-- I wonder why Lily hung out with someone who clearly disliked her family)
The next scene we see that she has clearly decided to befriend this boy who was spying on him and has also insulted her sister. We also know that she ignores out the fact that he had been spying on them. Ignores, and not doesn't realise, bc he's already told her that on their first enconter. It's also clear by now that they've been hanging out for a while, despite the fact that Petunia doesn't like him.
And yes Petunia is spying on them, and insults him, but we see that they clearly don't like each other-- and this is also clearly not the first time Lily and Snape hung out.
And then there's the train scene.
Petunia calls Lily a freak, and we all reading it dislike Petunia, but Petunia was jealous in that scene. Lily does love Petunia, we see her leave Snape when he hurts her and even cry when she is called a freak, but the wedge b/w them grows when she returns to Snape again and again and does things such as letting Snape in Petunias' room to go through her things.
“No—not sneaking—” Now Lily was on the defensive. “Severus saw the
envelope, and he couldn’t believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts,
that’s all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal
service who take care of—”
“Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!” said Petunia, now as
pale as she had been flushed. “Freak!” she spat at her sister, and she flounced
off to where her parents stood...
Petunia starts out quite mean, but that's bc Lily is leaving and she's sad at that. At the fact the she can't go. But then there's the fact that Lily lets Snape into ther room and they go through her things. Lil's defensive attitude just proves that she knows it's wrong, but did so anyway bc Snape was curious. We also know that by now Lily spends a lot of time with Snape, so she and Petunia clearly aren't that close anymore, which is purely because Lily chose to hang out with Snape (who again is openly admitting to having spied on her, watches her with greed in a rather creepy way and has also insulted muggles/ Petunia openly)
We also know that they are clearly fighting about something b4 Petunia calls her 'freak'. Perhaps Petunia wants her sister to stay but Lily refuses, we aren't given the reason for the fight. But Lily was wrong to got through Petunia's things, and honestly I understand why she reacted so strongly to that.
We see the them on the train next. James and Sirius start their own conversation:
“Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” James
asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him, and with a jolt, Harry realized that it was Sirius. Sirius did not smile.
She lets Snape insult them ' “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy—”' but quickly sits up and decides to leave after Sirius decides to clap back:
“Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” interjected Sirius.
James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike'
It's all about whether or not her friend was insulted to her, which makes sense ig, people have often aren't bothered by their friends insulting others. We do see that she gets bothered by insults towards Petunia, while also not being awfully nice to Petunia herself (so there's hypocrisy at play).
Then we see her fight with Snape.
“. . . thought we were supposed to be friends?” Snape was saying, “Best friends?”
“We are, Sev, but I don’t like some of the people you’re hanging round with! I’m sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! Mulciber! What do you see in him, Sev, he’s creepy! D’you know what he tried to do to Mary MacDonald the other day?”
Lily had reached a pillar and leaned against it, looking up into the thin, sallow face.
“That was nothing,” said Snape. “It was a laugh, that’s all—”
“It was Dark Magic, and if you think that’s funny—”
Now here is 5th year Lily and Snape, after the Prank and after Mary MacDonald incident. We aren't told exactly what it was, a lot of people think that he tried to rape her, he's good a the imperious curse so it's likely that he could have tried that. But nonetheless, Lily finds it evil, and doesn't approve of their friendship. They remain friends for some more time though, so clearly thinking that he hangs around with evil people isn't that concerning for her.
There is also something else in the following lines of this same conversation:
“What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?” demanded Snape.
His color rose again as he said it, unable, it seemed, to hold in his resentment.
“What’s Potter got to do with anything?” said Lily.
“They sneak out at night. There’s something weird about that Lupin. Where
does he keep going?”
“He’s ill,” said Lily. “They say he’s ill—”
“Every month at the full moon?” said Snape.
“I know your theory,” said Lily, and she sounded cold. “Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they’re doing at night?”
“I’m just trying to show you they’re not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are.”
The intensity of his gaze made her blush.
“They don’t use Dark Magic, though.” She dropped her voice. “And you’re being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever’s down there—”
Snape’s whole face contorted and he spluttered, “Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to—I won’t let you—”
“Let me? Let me?”
Lily’s bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once.
“I didn’t mean—I just don’t want to see you made a fool of—He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!” The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. “And he’s not. . . everyone thinks. . . big Quidditch hero—” Snape’s bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily’s eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead.
“I know James Potter’s an arrogant toerag,” she said, cutting across Snape.
“I don’t need you to tell me that. But Mulciber’s and Avery’s idea of humor is just evil. Evil, Sev. I don’t understand how you can be friends with them.”
Harry doubted that Snape had even heard her strictures on Mulciber and Avery. The moment she had insulted James Potter, his whole body had relaxed, and as they walked away there was a new spring in Snape’s step...
We see Snape try to make Lily focus on something else as soon as she shows disaproval of him, so clearly their friendship is quiet broken by then. He bring James and his friends up, and Lily is not only confused on why they're being brought up but also angry at the theory Snape has.
Lily doesn't understand why Snape is so bothered with the Marauders. I think this is rather important to recognise. If someone is getting bullied, they'd want all the upper hand on said bullied, but clearly Lily doesn't think Snape needs an upper-hand. Lily doesn't think the rivalry (I don't think it is bully-victim) is intense enough for Snape to be so obsessed (I can't describe it as much else, especially with how his poking of his nose where it doesn't belong lead James to having to save him), which tells me that Lily could defend him as much as possible, but she doesn't approve of his sneaking about and fighting with them. Also, she herself calls him obsessed, so she probably thinks he's unreasonable, to some extent.
Snape also says that he's trying to show her that they're not as great as everyone thinks they are. Which means that it's possible that she doesn't hate him as much as we are lead to believe.
She also ends up defending them, or more specifically telling Snape that they aren't as bad as Mulciber and also telling Snape that he owes James one, which I do see as both defending herself and as a manipulation tactic. Defending herself, because this is clearly not the first time James and his mates have been discussed, and clearly she doesn't like him, but she doesn't hate him that much. This is also imo a manipulation tactic as she says that Snape was saved by James (which he was) and that they don't use dark magic, which as Muliciber and Avery did, The Marauders were better than them.
This immediately gets Snape quite worked up. And while he doesn't focus on how she has called them better than Snape's friends, it is something Lily mentions because he tries to convince her that his friends aren't all that bad, and Lily points out that they are worse, in her opinion, that the people he loathes most.
Snape tries to convince her, yet again, that James was not a hero bc her 'was trying to save his and his friends necks' too'. I don't see how this was supposed to have Lily favour him, bc that is still playing hero, but nonetheless, in his mind she's not allowed to think he was saved by James. He goes on quiet a rant, even mentioning James fancied her (AKA it was likely not made of such a big show as often as people would like to believe) is trying to get her to hate James (I don't think she hated him, just that she disliked him).
When Lily calls James a toerag, she follows immediately with 'But Mulciber’s and Avery’s idea of humor is just evil. Evil, Sev. I don’t understand how you can be friends with them.' The point of calling him that had been less because she wanted to remind Snape that she thought that too and more in hopes that he would hear her true point, AKA his friends are evil. This is clear-cut manipulation, which only fails because Snape doesn't seem to hear it, and even if he does he does not plan on stopping his friendship with them anyway-- as he has the same principals as them.
Also, another point is that despite how strongly he feels about the Prank, Lily praises James in hopes of getting her point heard, making him feel wrong/as if he owes James something and at no point is she bothered by the fact that he could have seriously been hurt. We don't know the exact timeframe b/w the Prank and this convo, but she has heard about the Prank from other people, and she hasn't asked/isn't bothered /doesn't believe Snape's version/thoughts on the matter. It's likely that she hasn't even asked him if he was alright and that they hadn't dicussed it much before this convo. She's more intersted in him listening to what she thinks about Muliciber and Avery, what Muliciber nearly did to Mary and who Snape should be frineds with.
Now, for SWM, I'll go straight to the point where Lily appears.
“Leave him ALONE!”
James and Sirius looked around. James’s free hand jumped to his hair again.
It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and startlingly green almond-shaped
eyes — Harry’s eyes.
Harry’s mother . . .
“All right, Evans?” said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature.
“Leave him alone,” Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. “What’s he done to you?”
“Well,” said James, appearing to deliberate the point, “it’s more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean. . . .”
Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, didn’t, and
neither did Lily.
“You think you’re funny,” she said coldly. “But you’re just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.”
“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” said James quickly. “Go on... Go out with me, and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.”
Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch toward his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he
crawled.
“I wouldn’t go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,” said Lily.
Lily is defending Snape and standing her ground in this scene, which is just wonderful (if a bit contradictory to how she meant the praise/how he saved Snape more than him being an arrogant toerag in the earlier scene). She clearly had no issue with him getting hit, which makes some sense, ig, there is something a bit wrong with her reactions in the scene though:
James whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.
Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Wormtail roared with laughter.
Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as
though she was going to smile, said, “Let him down!”
“Certainly,” said James and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell
into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, Petrificus Totalus!” and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.
“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.
“Ah, Evans, don’t make me hex you,” said James earnestly.
“Take the curse off him, then!”
She does regain herself, of course, and gets all angry with her wand out and whatnot, but she smiled when Snape was hung upside down. She SMILED when Snape was held UPSIDEDOWN.
'Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as
though she was going to smile'
True friend indeed, right?
There's more too:
“I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!”
Lily blinked. “Fine,” she said coolly. “I won’t bother in future. And
I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.”
“Apologize to Evans!” James roared at Snape, his wand pointed
threateningly at him.
“I don’t want you to make him apologize,” Lily shouted, rounding
on James. “You’re as bad as he is. . . .”
“What?” yelped James. “I’d NEVER call you a — you-know-what!”
“Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like
you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid
Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you
just because you can — I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the
ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.”
She turned on her heel and hurried away.
“Evans!” James shouted after her, “Hey, EVANS!”
But she didn’t look back.
When Snape calls her 'Mudblood', she literally just needs one blink before not only not caring about him anymore, but proper insulting him. And, I understand why she wanted nothing to do with him, but one blink and you go from 'LEAVE HIM ALONE' to 'WASH YOUR PANTS SNIVILLUS' That's far too fast.
For someone who stuck with him despite him hating Muggles and her sister and has friends who are, in her own words evil, she sure ditched awfully quickly.
People have said all kinds of things about this 'it took time for her to realise he was far gone' nah girl if it did she wouldn't have recated so coolly. She proabably was happy to have found a way out, she didn't just realise that he was bad, she's known that the whole time but waited until this to throw him out off her life.
She doesn't feel angry or sad that he did that, she genuinly wasn't bothered. She didn't want anyone to make him apologise, and she didn't want his apology either-- she just wants him out of her way.
A lot of people also say that Snape did the worst thing possible, damaging their friendship beyond repair. Here's the thing. There wasn't much to destroy/damage. She calls James as bad as Snape, and then goes: '“Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can — I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.”'
She is very unbothered by being called a Mudblood by her supposed best friend, responds very coolly and insults him, and then compares that to James ruffling his hair, playing with a snitch and having an ego?
Yah, definetely makes sense, she was just soo hurt she called him the very word that his enemy called him and then thought it compared to said enemy's ego. That's why she was so cool about it. So unbothered.
Also, this is not the first time Snape calls someone the term Mudblood, and Lily knows this:
"I’m sorry.”
“I’m not interested.”
“I’m sorry!”
“Save your breath.”
It was nighttime. Lily, who was wearing a dressing gown, stood with her arms folded in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady, at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.
“I only came out because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here.”
“I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just—”
“Slipped out?” There was no pity in Lily’s voice. “It’s too late. I’ve made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends—you see, you don’t even deny it! You don’t even deny that’s what you’re all aiming to be! You can’t wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?”
He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.
“I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.”
“No—listen, I didn’t mean—”
“—to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?”
He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole...
She isn't interested with his apology, which makes sense. But what doesn't make sense is how she is so alright after losing the friendship she had since, lets see 15-9, 6 years.
She also is alright, absolutely fine, only talking to him because he threatened to sleep out there.
She'd been 'making excuses for years'. She's known for years. She even elaborates on what she knows 'you and your precious little Death Eater friends—you see, you don’t even deny it! You don’t even deny that’s what you’re all aiming to be! You can’t wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?'
She also says that she 'can't pretend anymore' and she finishes with 'But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?'
It's not like she didn't know. She genuinely didn't care. She'd been pretending it wasn't there. She had been making excuses.
This doesn't really affect her properly, in the way it should because she's known all along.
She only stops the friendship when he called her the word, just proving her 'holier than thou', entitled hypocritical self.
And then lets point out how a few months after ending her friendship with Snape, she befriends James. And then she starts dating him.
With this, I'll conclude:
Lily Evans is a bad sister
Lily Evans is a bad friend
Lily Evans is a hypocrite
Lily Evans is entitled
Lily has a 'holier than thou' attitude
Lily Evans is arrogant and egotistical
Also, I'd like to point out some other things that makes me hate Lily: Everyone loving her and making her the pedestal for goodness. She was not. She is flawed, hypocritical and entitled, and concieted. Also, Harry did not yearn for a mother figure, he yearned for a father figure. People keep on getting this wrong. And she wasn't perfect. Petunia also wasn't the only reason for the wedge b/w the sisters. And James wasn't the 'lucky one'. and James wasn't the reason Lily and Snape's friendship ended. (basically, I hate Lily bc of the way fandom hates her, and bc of the canonical things talked above. As Sirius says, 'reading b/w the lines')
@lostwriter--xx3 if you want to add anymore points. Or anyone who wants to add more points, really.
I just…my brain hurts… I made a comment on a post about how Lily isn’t shown actively defending Severus until it’s too late, i.e. SWM. And someone came back with “just because it’s not said in the book, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen”.
????????
What are we supposed to go off then, if not the books?
A great many things could fly under that explanation.
Fact is, everything I see tells me that Lily was not a good friend to Severus. A true best friend would be after bullies with a baseball bat. Not trying to justify the bullies behaviour and coming out with the attitude of “you should be grateful one of the bullies draws the line at murder”.
You know your thoughts on Lily Evans reminds me of a friend I had in highschool. She once told me:
“Anything you do to my friends, you do to me.”
She never fucked with people, or showed warmth to people that were horrible towards me. Hence why I have question marks when Lily is seen as a good friend.
It saddens me that my friend and I lost contact after high school.
Hello anon. Friends like that are true gems and should be cherished. You are blessed to have had a friendship like that.
Lily Evans was a questionable friend. As a Christian, I believe in redemption/atonement and second chances. Just because James was a horrible bully, it does not mean Jily could not be a good ship. My main issue is that I have no clue how James proved himself to Lily. I don't even know if James expressed remorse to Lily for how he treated Snape. Just because you stop bullying and act like your past does not matter, that does not mean you have redeemed yourself.
Did Snape truly ever have a ride-or-die friend?? I know people say Minerva and Dumbles were his friends but I 100% reject that. Especially Dumbledore. No way in hell was that gaslighting old man Snape's friend.
Im sick of people ignoring that Lily is just as bad as the other Marauders- and then being called Antifeminist when I point it out, I dont hate Lily because she's a woman, I hate her because she was a pick-me at worst and a bad friend at best.
Being a woman is her only redeeming quality actually.
I have a headcanon that is almost certain that James cheats on Lily with any girl that shows up or pays attention to him! since he knows that Lily won't want to leave him since he can "provide" money and many things for her! In fact, he avoids spending on her as much as possible, but his friends insist on painting James as a good man! I don't know, for me he's the stereotypical jerk guy!
{ I wouldn't be surprised if Harry's bastard brother appeared! lol😂😂😂}
It wasn’t even two years after the incident by the lake than Lily started dating James. It was only a year! Petunia and Vernon get married in winter of Lily’s 7th year and she introduces James to them at dinner before that, so it’s already serious. Meaning that Lily and James basically had to get together as soon as 7th year started. Snape’s Worst Memory happened in summer of 5th year. So we’re talking 14/15 months, max.
I know I’m meant to believe that Lily is just such a wonderful person who gave James a chance because of her wonderful forgiving nature and her wonderful way of seeing the best in people and giving them the space and grace to change. But I’m not buying it. To get in to a committed relationship a mere year after she witnessed James choke, humiliate, and sexually expose another boy…either she was extraordinarily naive, or she already liked him when he was at his cruellest and jumped at the chance to date him the minute he became a bit more socially acceptable.
Yeah fr, that's my main problem with Lily's character
Like she's not friends with Sev anymore, so she might just not care about him, but idk I'd be terrified to be near a person who can so easily do that to any person.
I mean really, I'd be horrified if someone did that to Tom Riddle himself, so it's pretty clear that the compassion for people she's not friends with is just not there.
Keep in mind that James has literally been harassing her to go out with him like the entire time she was at Hogwarts, the fact that she could think "oh, he changed, he's learned how to accept boundaries!!" a year after he sexually assaulted Severus and then asked her to go out with him in the same sentence, man I'd run the other way.
Now, as much as it hurts, Lily was completely justified in cutting Severus off when he called here a mudblood, but dating his bully a year later like holy shit she must've hated him.
I absolutely hate the whole 'snape loved lily' plot twist. People often equate it to the way Sirius still loved and missed james years after his death and went to insane lengths to protect his son, but tht was so not the case with snily.
Coz snape and lily had such a toxic, imperfect relationship in canon, but instead of treating it tht way it was never addressed. It wud hv been so interesting to explore this, but the series just doesn't.
Both of them r awful friends to each other. Snape's faults r obviously pretty clear (aiming to join a terrorist group tht believes ppl lyk his friend shouldn't be alive...yea tht doesn't need to be mentioned twice lol). Don't get me wrong, lily was completely right to cut Snape off, but it wasn't lyk she was a good friend even before tht. Can u ever imagine Ron or Hermione almost smiling if Draco was exposing Harry's underpants to a crowd of jeering students? Nope. They wud throw hands, period. Can u imagine any of the marauders doing tht to each other? (their internal dynamics might not be the healthiest but they wudnt stand for it if an outsider bullied their friends). Absolutely not. Coz it's not about these characters, it's just... not how u react when ur 'friend' is getting tormented (or anyone else for tht matter, but friend in this context specifically). Also can u imagine Ron or Hermione relying on school rumours saying tht Draco saved Harry's life without asking Harry about his version of the event first? Nope. Can u see what I'm getting at here?
Lily wasn't even a good friend to Snape to begin with, but he loved her until the end (irrespective of whether u want to see it as romantic or platonic). Now, I cud buy the narrative tht lily was the only person who was ever kind to him and thts y he clung on to her, but thts not how canon sees it. The source material doesn't address the nuances of this relationship in any meaningful way other than 'snape loved lily and tht is y he switched sides'.
Which is y the reason he switches sides, and his continued love for lily until he dies at 38 seems sort of shallow to me. Coz it wud be different if he'd hurt someone who truly loved him, but thts clearly not the case (u cud say tht lily loved him and did wrong by him too but tht isn't canon, given tht canon doesn't think she ever wronged him to begin with). Just feels lyk he was gaslit by the author tbh
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