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amberheart123 · 24 days ago

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Since you have read the context before replying back to me so sweetly, judging my entire character and friendship circle, let's go through the text once again together. Let's not insult each other for sharing a different opinion about mere fictional characters, about whom we do not know much since they barely have much context about the story and their relationship status.

One thing that must be considered before making our assumptions about the Marauders era is life back then. JK Rowling seemed to have included the life she'd lived in that era, showing the classist attitude of people during that time. People looked down on the poor, treating them like dirt.

You seem to blame Lily for being ignorant about his life and his struggles, which I do agree with in a way, since she is also egoistic. For her, life revolves around her studies, her family, and her friends. She seemed to be ignorant of Snape. I obviously do not encourage this behavior. I called her simple for a reason, since how many people around you, say, suppose your colleagues or your classmates, know about your internal struggles and mental health? They might leave a playful comment or seem ignorant, which might cause you to take the comment to heart, or they might seem too distant to reach out to and confide in them.

I've had such an experience, where a friend, who was all so happy and cheerful, suddenly decided to leave the earth, saying that he had always tried it and finally, enough was enough. We still blame ourselves for asking him about his mental health and being busy with studies and trying to survive the peer pressure, without paying attention to each other.

Before we start the discussion, I would like to make it clear that you know how much I dislike James and Sirius, how I consider Lily as an egoistic character who happens to make a questionable choice (that post to which you responded so harshly was not to defend Lily, but to understand and debate why she could have made such a strange choice), and how I am conflicted about Snape (quite a depth in his character, since he is morally grey) but do not wish to dismiss Snape's questionable actions because of sympathy.

So, if you automatically become defensive, thinking of me as a blind Snape hater and James supporter, I hope you let your guard down and open your ears to hear different opinions and perspectives regarding the incidents. I've had some awesome Snape fans enlighten me about certain incidents, sharing their perspectives with me kindly, and I am glad to have a change in my thoughts because of them. Although I still do not like Snape, since every single HP character is toxic in a way, and I tend not to judge characters based on their struggles but their actions (no matter what your intentions are, your actions and the way you present something, say suppose your speech, speak a lot about your character), I am glad that I no longer hate Snape blindly. I feel that there was an incredible scope for him to be the best and most redeemable character if he were kind. I criticized Snape since there was a massive potential for improvement for him.

Second of all, since the text related to these characters is very limited, and certain incidents are only talked about and not shown, every person tends to make assumptions and see the same incident in different lights. There can be various interpretations of the same lines, and the characters are judged based on our emotions and experiences. There is no right or wrong, since these aren't real people but merely fictional characters.

However, every post and comment I wrote, addressing any incident, was to hold every person accountable for their actions. No one is a saint. They should be responsible for their actions. By such comments and posts, I do not wish to ruin or ridicule the understanding of Snape's character and the concept of bullying against him, but against worshiping.

For me, the Potterworld is just a fictional world, with a limited story about Harry's parents. So I will judge the story from the Golden Trio's perspective. I do not wish to care how JK Rowling projects her own Mary Sue character onto us by bringing Lily and how she tries to glorify James and Lily's relationship as her and her husband's, which I heard was also abusive and toxic.

I have the right to have my interpretation and opinions regarding the context. Just like you are entitled to your opinions and interpretations, which you think are superior to anyone else's (since they are yours), am I not entitled to my own opinion? Every person feels connected to a particular character and tries to justify them, hoping that people will understand the character better. My aim was not to justify Lily's actions, but to prevent people from projecting all their hatred onto Lily and using her like a moral compass between Snape and James.

I've had a history of friends who've been bullied and insulted, and despite being questioned by my peers, I used to befriend them, hoping that I could change them for the better and make them happy. But those friends have only ever projected their insecurities, envy, etc, by sabotaging me or shaming me in front of others. That's why, when Lily leaves Severus, I think of it as something justified, not ignorant. It is disappointing that you use your words so casually to talk about someone's personal life without knowing what a person has been through.

Just because there is someone who has suffered more, doesn't mean that those who are privileged never suffer. It's the fact that people only criticize them for being privileged and are unsympathetic to them that makes people unapproachable and suffer silently. I hope you don't put aside others and only sympathize with the person who suffers the most. More struggles are not a measure of who is a better person.

Here's my interpretation of these lines. I just hope that you accept another perspective of thought. It takes various perspectives to form an opinion about anyone or anything, and we should try not to disregard or ignore any say.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said in a constricted voice. “Why not?” “Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumble dore.” “So what?” She threw him a look of deep dislike. “So she’s my sister!” “She’s only a —” He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him.

"But we’re going!” he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. “This is it! We’re off to Hogwarts!” She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

Here, Lily is angry at Snape since Snape seems ignorant and uninterested in the fact that her sister, who is a close person to her, just insulted her and now hates her for being a witch and sneaking into her room and going through her letters. He was a friend, so she might have thought that he would care a little and ask about Petunia and offer comfort.

(Now, before you might counterattack me, calling Lily ignorant here and not caring and asking about his family, let me tell you why, in my opinion, it feels better to not force Snape to tell about himself. He grew up in a poor household, which was looked down upon during that time. On top of that, his household was severely abusive. It is best to be understanding, giving them the confidence to speak up and let the person pluck up the courage and confess first.)

I won't blame Snape for being the reason for their snooping. Lily was also curious, so they both risked it to find out what Petunia had written to Dumbledore. Lily was equally at fault, so blaming Snape for giving the idea makes no sense.

We cannot dismiss Snape's blood supremacist beliefs (although not strong yet), but let's move on now.

“Slytherin?” One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily or Snape until that point, looked around at the word, and Harry, whose attention had been focused entirely on the two beside the window, saw his father: slight, black-haired like Snape, but with that indefinable air of having been well-cared-for, even adored, that Snape so conspicuously lacked. “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. “My whole family have been in Slytherin,” he said. “Blimey,” said James, “and I thought you seemed all right!” Sirius grinned. “Maybe I’ll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?” James lifted an invisible sword. “‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.” Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. “Got a problem with that?”

“No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy —” “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. “Come on, Severus, let’s find another compartment.” “Oooooo . . .” James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Snape as he passed. “See ya, Snivellus!”

Let's now talk about the wizards and their beliefs. It would make sense that certain beliefs could be taken from the Muggle world also, like their classist views. But before that, I would like to let you know how Slytherin got rebranded as a 'misunderstood' house and not a blindly racist house.

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James Potter's family is strictly a blood-traitor family and does not accept the ideas of the prestigious wizarding families. Obviously, not every Pureblood from such a family would have acted upon their blood supremacy beliefs as violently as certain people. They could have just looked down on them and ignored them. There could obviously be certain Slytherins who have no business being racist about anything and just mind their own business. But I don't think anti-blood supremacists tolerated any of that behavior. (I mean, looking down on someone for their origin or background is wrong in the first place.)

It was during that time (later years) that Voldemort was rising to power and gathering followers, spreading his ideas about a pure world consisting of Purebloods and half-bloods. His ideas were destructive and murderous. I've seen many people compare his movement to that of the N@zis.

It makes sense that Muggle-borns, blood traitors, and certain half-bloods feel disgusted by those prestigious families' ideas and their support towards such a horrible person. Their hate towards the entire house grew stronger, with no tolerance against any Slytherin. If anyone were to choose to be in that house, they were considered to be ambitious and wanting to be prestigious by supporting Slytherin's beliefs against them.

But one thing must be noted: hating a person for being or choosing to be in Slytherin is wrong. Despite many Slytherins being purely racist and insulting, assuming a person to be bad should not happen. Even if it does, it can be kindly talked about and put aside. On top of that, bullying or picking on them is even more wrong. Bullying a racist or another bully won't make you a saint, but it will make you stoop to their level.

It was wrong for James to immediately pick on Snape for choosing to be in Slytherin. He could have remained silent or asked why he chose the house kindly. But he didn't and kept talking about how great Gryffindor was, boasting about it. It made sense that Snape sneered, since that was a git move from James.

But we should note that Snape also retorted back (Before you claim that I am trying to demean Snape for standing up for himself, I hope you know that there is a clear difference between standing up for oneself and snapping back. You should not stand up for yourself by hitting back, but by resolving the issue civilly. If he did not make an attempt to throw shade at James and instead would have questioned why he believed as such, I would have called Snape a saint and defended him instead.

One thing that must be noted about Lily was that she was new to the wizarding world. It seems bold to assume that she was never going to defend her friend because of this incident. (Not before and from Petunia, since she held her guard up against Snape for calling her a witch, and also being unsure since it was her sister against a stranger. Also, just being cautious around him, since he was a stranger, and his clothes were in such a poor condition. These are all assumptions, but I hope you understand another perspective of it.) If it were a Muggle environment, would she have defended him? JK Rowling never wrote, since that would be irrelevant to the main story, but some might assume that she would, while others do not believe so. After all, either of the cases is just an assumption.

However, she clearly showed her dislike towards James and Snape for their degrading comments and took Snape away with her. It would have been messy if she had started a fight with them before even reaching Hogwarts and getting sorted into a house.

Harry heard Snape let out a tiny groan. Lily took off the hat, handed it back to Professor McGonagall, then hurried toward the cheering Gryffindors, but as she went, she glanced back at Snape, and there was a sad little smile on her face. Harry saw Sirius move up the bench to make room for her. She took one look at him, seemed to recognize him from the train, folded her arms, and firmly turned her back on him.

“. . . 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 —”

The thing I wish to point out here is that, unlike Snape's horrible incident in his 5th year, we do not get to see what actually happened to Mary.

Also, Snape considers it something humorous, which seems to gather conflicting opinions. Some disregard the issue as something harmless, as Snape said, while some criticize him for finding the usage of Dark Arts on Muggleborns funny.

Something definitely happened to Mary, and we do not know the depth of the situation since it was only hinted at.

Also, we should not take dark magic lightly. It is shown as something grave, but only hinted at how evil it actually is, for example, when Harry used a spell against Draco in the 6th year. We tend to dismiss the intensity of something when it is not given much focus, but we should not do that. Yes, it is wrong to make assumptions that it is very horrendous and criminal, but it is also wrong to assume that it is harmless when the books clearly warn about it. There is literally a subject called 'Defense against the Dark Arts', but there are certain people who practice dark arts instead of defense against them.

Through this, I am not only criticizing Snape for taking an interest in them, but certain peers of his who feel the same about it, too. Yes, some 'good' characters have used dark arts at places, and I won't defend them for it. Just so you know, when I criticize someone, it doesn't mean that I support the opposite side. It's just that I focus on one person at a time and criticize them completely for that particular time.

“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.”

Obviously, it was wrong to ask Snape why he 'obsessed' with the Marauders since they were the reason as to why he is so miserable in Hogwarts. In fact, both of them called out each other for their choice of friends or peers. Holding Lily accountable for being controlling in his life when she probably avoided him for what his friends did to Mary, considering that she was a Muggleborn herself, doesn't make much sense to me. Snape also brings up her housemates, hoping that she would detest them just like him, bringing up certain incidents, even after clearly knowing how much she dislikes them.

Also, about Remus, I have conflicting opinions about his character, too. After all, a bystander is equally or, if not more fault than the perpetrator. I do wish to hold him accountable for being ignorant. I'm not sure if he was a prefect year, but he could have used his authority to seek help for Snape, and I wish he were not a plain coward and did something. Considering how vulnerable he was for being a werewolf in the wizarding world, which treats werewolves as ‘soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death'. They are isolated and it is almost impossible for them to even have any education or job opportunities.

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, “Get away from me, werewolf!” Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione and said, “How long have you known?”

His own shared such insulting views about werewolves. After his friends found out about his secret, he was probably even more under pressure to be on their good side, to not trigger them so that they won't accidentally reveal his secret.

“Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her… I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth…"

Sirius thought it would be—er—amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he’d be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it—if he’d got as far as this house, he’d have met a fully grown werewolf— but your father, who’d heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…”

“It served him right,” he sneered. “Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…”

Snape was on his feet again, and was stowing the O.W.L. paper in his bag. As he emerged from the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting: Lupin was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows. Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.

Why am I talking about Remus all of a sudden? Because he was also a vulnerable person, and his biggest secret was with the group of troublemakers, who were capable of ruining people's lives for the fun of it. But he was mature enough to know that whatever Snape was going through was wrong. He knew that harassing and bullying is wrong. Unlike Snape, who thought using dark arts on someone was something funny.

“How’d the exam go, Snivelly?” said James. “I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment,” said Sirius viciously. “There’ll be great grease marks all over it, they won’t be able to read a word.” Several people watching laughed; Snape was clearly unpopular. Wormtail sniggered shrilly. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

“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?”

Did you say that Lily never defended him, that she was just a controlling brat who preferred flight over fight? I get it that you're mad at Lily because of the past, but at least you should not be so prejudiced against her. You seemed to be mad at me for apparently holding prejudice against Snape (which I don't anymore), but how is it that you do not wish to bat an eye when she is being what it is to be a friend?

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James’s face, spattering his robes with blood. 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!” James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse.

I've also heard some people say that Lily was a horrible person to have smiled, smirked, chuckled, laughed, etc, as per people's interpretations. But I want you to think again. If your friend and another git had a quarrel and your friend slips and trips on her feet (I'm not sure about you), a small smile slips on the face as an instinct, before we focus back on the situation. I feel that Lily did the same. She did not laugh along with the crowd and focused on defending Snape.

Another thing which I wish to point out about this incident is that a classist society. We tend to blame everything on James and ignore the others' horrible views. The fact that everyone, except Lily, just watched the incident unfold, as if it was a joke instead of stepping in the protect him, shows that Snape was considered unprivileged and someone worth only being a punching bag. If it were Lucius, Mucliber, or Avery hanging in the air, at least someone would have stepped up to protect Lucius and would have attacked James instead.

About Snape's friends group, I agree that they are simply his acquaintances. If he were to befriend the Slytherins, he would have been bullied by anti-pureblood supremacists and anti-Slytherins for having such disgusting views about Half-bloods, Muggle-borns borns etc (even though he probably didn't have such extreme views). If he were to hang around with Lily and defend Muggle-borns, he would have been a target of the Slytherins for being poor and would have had dark arts used on him instead. He really didn't have much of a choice.

“There you go,” he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, “you’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus —” “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.

It was wrong of her to call him by the name the marauders use and say all this. But at the same time, calling her an awful slur is also wrong. No matter how humiliated you feel, you don't insult your defenders, calling it a 'slip of the tongue'. I mean, they were just a bunch of teenagers with egotistic emotions and acted upon them before thinking, so it's hard to justify anyone here for acting like kids. I dislike Lily for humiliating Snape here, but let's not dismiss that mudblood is a horrible slur, too. Mudbloods were killed, used dark arts upon, etc. They were looked upon for 'stealing magic'.

“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.”

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 Wil low, 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 render ing 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 Mul ciber 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 also tend to ignore Lily for putting James in his place. We tend to vilify Lily for being a horrible friend and not defending Snape, when she clearly defended him against the Marauders, showing her strong dislike towards them. When Snape suddenly confronts her about the Marauders, which has nothing to do with the topic they were discussing, she cuts him off, expressing her hatred toward them.

I don't believe that Snape has to ever thank the Marauders for saving his life or to forgive them if they ever apologize to him (which I don't think anyone other than Remus is capable of doing). Lily saying that he should be thankful, in my opinion, was to tell him to be glad that he was alive and not in danger, and maybe out of concern, not because the marauders are some sort of amazing people and did some heroic work out there. She had clearly expressed her dislike when Snape confessed about James.

Also, just because we don't see Avery and Mulciber's ideas of evil, doesn't mean that we should disregard them and call Lily controlling and toxic. We are aware of the kind of humor and the detentions the Death Eater teachers gave to the students in the 7th year at Hogwarts. They tortured the students with dark arts. Lily has every right to speak up and confront him about his 'friends', who did horrible stuff to her other friend.

He watched as Lily joined the group and went to Snape’s defense. Distantly he heard Snape shout at her in his humiliation and his fury, the unforgivable word: “Mudblood.”

“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.

Now here we are in a pickle. Is what Lily is saying the truth, or is she being ignorant?

Your perspective about this is that Snape wanted to confess to her, but felt conflicted to do so, since she was being blatantly ignorant and controlling about his life.

However, my perception about this is that Lily finally calls him out for his shared pureblood supremacist ideas after hanging around with the Slytherins for quite a long time. For me, the fact that JK Rowling only wrote about this incident (since she had to rush about the memories and just give a brief idea about the situation), rather than any other incident where Snape was seen disagreeing with those ideas, makes me feel that he agrees with them. But he also loves Lily (not romantically, obviously), which made him feel conflicted.

“I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.”

But with time, he chose his path of dark arts and grew distant from her until a point where they could never mend their friendship and be like the way they used to be; just two kids enjoying their time together, with no societal struggles.

“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?”

This shows that he looked down on other Muggleborns. We know that he did look down on Petunia (she is a horrible person), but from this line, it can be concluded that he always looked down on her Muggleborn friends, too. The fact that she was the only person he did not insult or look down upon made her feel guilty and horrible. Imagine being a woman and having a male friend, who always considers women less than men and calls women with degrading comments, like whores, and also finding it humor in harassment or bullying that women face. Would she feel proud of being a woman and also being his friend? Would his degrading words make her feel any better about herself?

“The prophecy did not refer to a woman,” said Dumbledore. “It spoke of a boy born at the end of July —” “You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down — kill them all —” “If she means so much to you,” said Dumbledore, “surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?” “I have — I have asked him —” “You disgust me,” said Dumbledore, and Harry had never heard so much contempt in his voice. Snape seemed to shrink a little. “You do not care, then, about the deaths of her husband and child? They can die, as long as you have what you want?” Snape said nothing, but merely looked up at Dumbledore.

I would have encouraged Snape if he traded Lily for James, since that bastard deserved to be tortured to death. He has no reason to feel any remorse for having James dead, which he obviously shouldn't. As I had said, you do not have to forgive your bullies just because they said that they've changed and are apologizing to you, for what has happened has happened already. They left a permanent scar, which cannot be mended.

But how disgusting it is that he wished to exchange her for her own son (my opinion, obviously) and have her alive and happy. But would she be happy at all? He wanted her for himself as just alive, but why did he not care about the fact that she had a son and would feel miserable her entire life for losing her child? Sure, the son was James's, but it was her son too. A son that she loved dearly and wished to protect with her own life.

Alright, this was my interpretation of all this. Since JK Rowling just wanted to give us a brief glimpse of the past and not delve deep into it, there is limited context about it. People are entitled to their own opinions and interpretations, but we must know that no one is superior. I am a person who pays attention to the story in the larger picture and does not pay attention to the little details. That's why I hold people accountable for their actions before understanding their emotions. My opinions might come off as rude or ignorant, which is exactly why you criticize me, and that I was not paying attention to Snape's emotions and struggles.

You might be a person who would sympathize with the characters and understand why they must have done something. You might be lenient with certain characters for struggling more than the others, which is why I criticize you.

Just because you delve into their emotions and don't judge them for their actions, doesn't make you a better person with a higher opinion. Neither have I justified bullying nor have I justified harassment. Then how is it that you feel confident enough to insult another person for having an opposite perception about something?

Also, I have a little doubt. If you are an empathetic person, then how is it that the only person you ever empathize with is Snape? Are the other characters not capable of having emotions and acting accordingly? You say that Snape suffered a lot. But does that mean the others aren't capable of suffering, just because they are privileged?

Remember that I only stated my opinion and never insulted on demeaned any character to show support for the other side. This is not a fight. If you disagree with me, feel free to block me. Many people may have different opinions, but that shouldn't offend you unless they mean hatred or violence.

Also, I know this might be off-topic, but I have a drama suggestion for you. It's called 'The Glory'. It talks about a woman who had been harassed, bullied, assaulted, etc, by a dysfunctional group of friends. She plans her harmless revenge, where she does absolutely nothing and lets the bullies ruin their lives themselves. However, she never involves their kids, since she knows that their kids are not like their parents and do not have to live in guilt and suffering because of their parents' abuses. I know that a victim needs several years to heal from their bullies' actions and how it takes toll on them mentally.

Since I see the similarities between Snape and that amazing woman, I tend to criticize Snape at times, since he had the potential to be a great person like her. She took her time to heal and mature. She became the bully's child's homeroom teacher and taught her students the importance of equality and told them that she would be strict and make them and their parents apologize if they ever boasted about themselves or bullied anyone, unlike Snape, who, on the very first class, humiliated Harry and always turned blinded eyed whenever Draco picked on Harry and his friends.

You could call Snape for being 'human' and not being able to forgive Harry since Harry isn't James, and they are two entirely different people. Then how is it that Lily is such a horrible person and not a 'human' for breaking their long friendship?

Also, about Cho and Lily. These are the two types of friends you may have. One will support you no matter how wrong you've been, while the other will criticize you if you've done wrong. By the end of the day, it's your choice, what kind of friends you'd like to have around you. My preference for a friend is Lily, who will express her opinions and correct me if I'm ever wrong, so that I can be a better person. I would not want to have a blind supporter, because they will never tell me to learn from my actions and improve. Then again, it's my preference because we are different people and may want different stuff. In fact, I once asked my friends if they would prefer Sympathy or Support, and their answers were the exact opposite. But that doesn't mean that either of their opinions was better than the other.

I do not dislike Cho at all. She was just a teenager. Fans tend to hate her for no reason. The same thing could be said about Lily. She doesn't deserve to be hated for defending your faves.

'Lily is so entitled, argue with a wall. She is such a hypocrite!' (Snape vs Marauders rant Part 3)

There were so many comments under this post criticizing Lily for marrying Snape's bully and ruining his life, knowing that Snape liked her. They sympathized with him.

"SHE IS THE WORST EXAMPLE OF FEMINISM FOR CHOOSING A R4PIST!" I even saw such a comment.

Some even claimed that Snape betrayed Voldemort on his own record and not because of Lily. They thought that he did not fancy her but was a good person at heart who wanted to save everyone, and that's why he did so.

Hypocrite? Fake friend? Are we seriously talking about Lily like this?

Fake friend, my ass.

Let's deep dive into their friendship story.

Young Snape was the one to approach young Lily first. They lived in the same neighborhood. Initially Lily was not glad to have him around since he looked down on her sister, Petunia, for being a muggle and insulted her (not as if Petunia didn't insult him back... Both were at fault.). She decided to ignore his pureblood ideology, thinking that he wasn't at all serious.

However, Lily stuck with Snape since she was a Muggle-born and had no idea about the new world that awaited her. He was her first and only wizard friend.

When she comes across James, he is an arrogant boy who is so full of himself. Yes, he was so extremely talented that people envied him. When he constantly kept asking her out, she was disgusted and annoyed. Snape kept asking her to stay away from James, knowing how arrogant James was and also probably because of jealousy, and she listened to him. (Yes, jealousy. Accept it or not, the books clearly say that everyone envied him. But he was so full of himself at that time that his big head outweighed his talents.)

As years passed, Snape interested himself in dark arts, and his pureblood ideology only deepened. Lily was left concerned about the influence his Pureblood Slytherin friends had over him. She constantly reminded him about their horrible actions and how dangerous they were, asking him to distance himself from them. However, Snape never listened to her.

Lily had always ignored his horrible influence and had always stood in support and defense of him until that one incident in the 5th year when the term 'mudblood' slipped from his tongue. That was when she realized that he had reached a point at which they could no longer consider themselves friends.

He had chosen dark arts over their friendship. For the sake of her self-respect, she chose to stand up for herself and not defend him.

(Mind you, mudblood is not something 'oh-so-cool' to say. It was a horrible and demeaning insult for someone.)

After the incident, she also found out that Snape was present with his Slytherin gang of friends, who picked on Lily's friend, Mary, who was another fellow Muggle-born and did horrible things to her. That was when she was horrified by the person he turned out to be and immediately decided to break the friendship.

Now, let's compare Snape and James and talk about how she made the right decision by choosing James over Snape.

Snape probably had fancied her; in fact, many did. However, he probably never had the guts to confess and ruin his long friendship.

But he definitely ruined the relationship by taking an interest in dark arts, evil and sadistic ways to harm people, inventing curses for such a sadistic purpose, and hanging around with pureblood supremacist Slytherins, who did horrible things to Muggle-borns like her.

'Mudblood' was never a slip of the tongue. He was not being forced by James at that time to call her that word. He did it on his own record.

He never defended and protected Lily's friend, knowing how disappointed Lily would be once she heard what happened to Mary. It could have been fear of being a target. But the problem is that he was never apologetic or guilty. While Lily accused his Slytherin friends, he kept defending them instead of feeling any remorse.

He chose his interests over their friendship. He definitely had a choice. Lily does not deserve to be hated for a choice he decided to make. If he suffered because of her loss from his life, he should have held himself responsible and not blamed James for 'stealing' her from him.

As time passed, Lily had thought that he would mature and give up on dark arts, but how wrong she was. He always remained an immature boy who never wished to grow up.

Now about James.

He had many talents that people were envious of. However, as I mentioned above, he was arrogant and so full of himself. Lily was right about feeling disgusted by the boy in the early years since he was a shenanigan. He was wrong to pick on Snape and, too, throw a spell at him while he was unaware and unarmed. How he publicly humiliated Snape can never be forgiven.

However, the reason why some Snape fans do not understand why James is considered to be better as a person than Snape is because he reflected on his past and grew up. There are definitely some James fans who justify the bullying, which is very wrong. However, if we were to talk about the unbiased Potterheads, James seems more redeemable than Snape. When James was made the head boy in the final year, he gave up on his stupid antics and lived up to the role and responsibilities.

It was actually Sirius who had a huge dislike towards Snape and wanted to trap him when Snape was desperate to find out Remus' secret and expose it to everyone. He had led Snape to the werewolf form of Remus, and James had to step in to save Snape from the danger.

After their final year at Hogwarts, James actively indulged himself in the 'Order of the Phoenix' to protect Muggle-borns, half-bloods, and half-breeds, who were in danger since Voldemort was rising to power and he was gathering more followers.

Let's keep feminism aside and not taint its name since feminism has nothing to do with romance.

(We are only here to debate why Lily chose James over Snape, not to justify James and Lily's relationship. Personally, both of them are a pile of shit.)

Lily chose a man who changed for her; a man who reflected upon his mistakes and improved himself just for her, a man who wanted to protect her from danger and protect everyone around her.

She gave up on a man who made her feel less, a man who insulted and looked down upon people like her, a man who claimed to protect her but ruined people around her.

She was a simple woman who chose a person who valued her, not devalued her.

So, my dear women (not just women, but everyone!), if you ever wish to be in a relationship, choose a person who is willing to improve themselves for you, protect you, and respect you. Do not choose a person who would want you to change yourself entirely for them and be forgiven every time due to sympathy.

Edit: Find a Ron. Both James and Snape are shitty people. If you ever find someone like those two, run as far as you can.

Believe me, I've had many friends in the past who made me feel less and made me change myself for them. I hung around them since I was not a social butterfly and had only them as close friends. But every time I hung around them, I would only feel insecure and disappointed.

#lily evans #marauders era #notantisnape #the marauders #jk rowling #TvsF #holdpeopleaccountablefortheiractions #summary #my opinion #whispers #lily potter #ifyoucriticzesomeonecriticizeeveryone #dontcallmeajamespotterfanforcriticizingsnape #dontprojectyourjkrowlinghateonme #idislikejkrowlingtoo #chochangwasjustateenagerandsowaslily

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