Snape/Lily: Rose Among the Briar

A/N: Originally posted at ship_manifestoship_manifesto, this is my analysis of, and argument for, the canonicity of the Snape/Lily ship as of the end of Order of the Phoenix.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to [info]pandoraculpa, [info]verseblack,
[info]eska_rina, [info]givemethechild, [info]junediamanti, [info]sevter, and Harriett for their help, feedback and encouragement.

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The Harry Potter books are filled with complex and mysterious characters. Among them, two who stand out as particularly intriguing are the surly, unpopular Potions Master, Severus Snape, and Harry's long-dead mother, Lily Potter.

At first glance, these two seem to have little in common, beyond their age and the wildly differing circumstances linking both to the irrepressible James Potter. There is only one recorded instance of the two characters interacting, and that less-than-pleasant incident only comes to light well into the fifth book. So the notion of a romantic link might seem far-fetched.

But if we've learned one thing watching Harry's story unfold, it is to look beyond the obvious. JKR delights in pulling the wool over our eyes, and Snape seems to be one of her favorite agents for doing so. Time and again, she makes us believe he is a villain, irrational, unfair, or just plain wrong--only to show us later that we were partly or wholly mistaken.

It's easy to overlook, with the books' wealth of characters and detail, but Snape is among the most key figures in Harry's life. In fact, as of the end of Order of the Phoenix--with Sirius dead, Remus away from Hogwarts, and Wormtail working for the enemy--he seems to be Harry's only immediate, concrete link to his own past. Indeed, Harry's only vivid impression of his mother comes to him through Snape, albeit involuntarily.

I don't believe we've seen the full story, nor that JKR has finished using her unfortunate Potions Master to reveal it to us. There is a reckoning due between Harry and Snape--some final revelation that will either seal their mutual animosity forever, or bring them to some sort of understanding at last.

Could that revelation have something to do with a thus-far-undisclosed connection between Severus Snape and Lily Potter?

My intention is not to "prove" that this ship is canonical--who knows what ships will be sunk by the publication of the next two volumes?--but to demonstrate its compatibility with canon as of the end of Order of the Phoenix, and to try to explain the pairing's appeal.


I. Severus Snape

"...a teacher with greasy hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin...His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but...They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels."

--Philosopher's Stone, Chapters 7 & 8

We know quite a bit about Severus Snape--arguably, more than we know about any other adult character in the series. But far more compelling are the things we don't know: his motivations; his private demons; his true opinions and loyalties.

What we know:

Roughly 36 years old, Snape has shoulder-length, greasy-looking black hair; uneven yellowish teeth; pale, sallow skin; and glittering black eyes. He is described as thin and always wearing black, with a cold, "silky" voice. He tends to speak somewhat formally, but is seldom lacking for something sarcastic (if not downright hurtful) to say. His expression is rarely, if ever, pleasant, and his behavior suggests both a volatile temper and a flair for the dramatic.

His hatred for James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew* is well-documented. Nevertheless, Snape takes very seriously the Life Debt incurred when James saved him from a messy demise at the hands of Lupin-the-Werewolf.

Sometime after leaving Hogwarts, Snape joined Lord Voldemort's cause and became a Death Eater. Within a few years, however, he renounced the cult and gave his loyalty to Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, serving as a spy among the Death Eaters for the Order of the Phoenix. It was presumably during this time that Dumbledore taught him the psychic arts of Legilimency and Occlumency.

Following the deaths of James and Lily Potter and the Dark Lord's disappearance, Dumbledore vouched for Snape to the Ministry of Magic, shielding him from prosecution, and hired him as Potions Master.

Though predisposed to hate James and Lily's son, Harry, Snape has gone to considerable trouble to keep the boy alive and safe--ostensibly due to the unresolved Life Debt.

At the end of Goblet of Fire, Snape's Dark Mark (the symbol of his servitude to Voldemort) reappeared for the first time since the Dark Lord's fall, and he undertook some undisclosed, but seemingly dangerous task for Dumbledore. Throughout Order of the Phoenix, he repeatedly came to the Order's headquarters, apparently with important information. Harry suspects Snape is spying for the Order, but this is still unconfirmed.

During this same time, Dumbledore persuaded Snape to tutor Harry in Occlumency. The attempt ended disastrously due to the Pensieve incident (below.)

*aka Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs (MWPP); sometimes termed "The Marauders" by fans, due to their creation of the Marauder's Map.


II. Lily (Evans) Potter

"She was a very pretty woman."

--Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 12

"She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes--Harry's eyes."

--Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 28

The information we have regarding Lily is, alas, much less detailed, and entirely secondhand.

What we know:

Lily was a lovely, red-haired, green-eyed Gryffindor. Her maiden name was Evans; her Muggle sister, Petunia, thought her a "freak" and wished nothing to do with her. She was Head Girl in her seventh year, and so must have been an excellent student. And--as of the day the Class of '78 took their O.W.L.S.--she loathed James Potter, denouncing him as a bully and a show-off, and was not afraid to stand up to him in public on behalf of his victims (see below.)

Nonetheless, after leaving Hogwarts, she and James married. They joined the Order of the Phoenix and fought against Voldemort, surviving three direct confrontations. Following a prophecy which suggested their child might prove the Dark Lord's downfall, the Potters went into hiding as Muggles in the town of Godric's Hollow.

Harry was born on July 31, 1980. On October 31, 1981, James and Lily were betrayed by their Secret-keeper, Peter Pettigrew, and died at Voldemort's hands--but Lily invoked an ancient magic which turned back the Killing Curse meant for Harry, and Voldemort was defeated and banished.

Lily carried an Ollivander wand made of willow--a "Nice wand for charm work." So we can surmise that she had some talent for Charms.

It's also worth noting that Lily may have had a chance to save herself--Voldemort apparently told her to stand aside as he prepared to kill Harry. She, naturally, refused.


III. Canon

It is important to remember that everything we learn about both Snape and Lily in the books comes to us through Harry--and that Harry is young, biased, and working largely from incomplete secondhand information.

While the idea of a Snape/Lily relationship existed in the fandom prior to the publication of Order of the Phoenix, its major canonical support lies in that volume, and particularly in Chapter 28, "Snape's Worst Memory."

In this chapter, Harry (who is studying Occlumency with Snape) sneaks a look into the latter's memories, stored in a Pensieve. He witnesses a scene from Snape's fifth year at Hogwarts--a memory involving his own parents.

The full scene is too long to quote here, so to summarize:


There are several other canonical references which may be significant:

And finally, three observations:

IV. Interpretations

By itself, nothing in the preceding section suggests a connection between Snape and Lily. But reading between the lines, it's possible to see how such a connection could exist.

The memories Harry glimpsed, plus the fact that Snape was well-versed in the Dark Arts at age eleven, suggest that his home life was not a happy one, and that he was accustomed to fending for himself. And from the very beginning, he made an enemy of James Potter, though we aren't told exactly how that came about.

Five years later, James was a popular Quidditch star, but also had a reputation as an egotist who hexed anyone he didn't like; while Snape had apparently become unpopular indeed, and the two remained bosom enemies. James had his Marauders, and Snape had fallen in with Rosier, Wilkes and the rest.

Let's look first at the Pensieve scene.

- After five years of rivalry, why did Snape--an intelligent person, with good reasons to feel paranoid--absent-mindedly wander off alone while the Marauders were in the vicinity, leaving himself completely vulnerable? How could he relax enough to make that mistake?

My guess is, he didn't. Chances are, some of his Slytherin comrades were nearby as well, part of the crowd that Harry noticed.

- Why did none of them speak up when James began picking on Snape? Even if they didn't really care, or were afraid of the Marauders, there were enough witnesses present that House pride should have compelled them to act.

Could they have let the situation play out just to see how Snape would deal with it?

- Why did Lily step in on behalf of an unpopular, unattractive Slytherin known to practice the Dark Arts? The simplest answer is that she was a nice, fair-minded person, and found Snape no more annoying than James. The hardcore shipper's answer, of course, would be that she liked Snape. (I'm not entirely convinced, but there's nothing in canon to preclude it.)

The point upon which the entire issue hinges, for me, is the 'Mudblood' remark.

- If Snape had any positive feelings toward Lily, how could he call her a Mudblood?

Well, consider: what else could he have done, under the circumstances?

There he was, at the mercy of the Marauders, with an audience looking on. Either his friends weren't around, or they chose not to intervene. Regardless, it seems very likely that they would hear all about the incident. And this was during Voldemort's first rise to power, when anti-Muggle sentiment was raging among the purebloods--including the Slytherin students.

And then up steps a Muggle-born Gryffindor girl, and lays into James Potter on Snape's behalf.

Imagine what must have gone through Severus's mind. On the one hand, a beautiful girl was trying to help him, standing up to the big Gryffindor Quidditch hero and giving him what-for in front of everyone. Positive attention of any kind from a pretty girl was likely a rarity in Snape's life. I don't see how it could not turn his head.

But on the other hand, rescue by a mere girl must have been a serious blow to an already-fragile, adolescent male ego. And what would happen if he let the incident pass unremarked, or worse yet, thanked her? If the other Slytherins got the idea that they were friends, or more than friends? Surely Snape was aware of the situation outside the castle's walls, and the anti-Muggle sentiment within his House. (He may also have bought into the propaganda, rendering the situation all the more confusing and disconcerting if he was attracted to Lily.)

And this isn't even taking into account what the Marauders might do to him later, after Lily was safely out of earshot. Alpha Male James was unlikely to tolerate even the remote possibility of competition from his arch-enemy.

In short, it's quite possible that Lily put Severus in an even worse predicament by interfering--and endangered herself to boot.

Note that Snape didn't come right out with the insult the moment Lily appeared, or even the moment he was out of James' clutches. He said nothing, until James pointedly called attention to the fact that Lily had just saved his bacon.

We don't know whether this was the first such intervention--but no one acted surprised. And Lily apparently was surprised at the insult--which she shouldn't have been, given the state of House politics and Snape's unsavory reputation, unless she'd had some reason to believe he would behave differently.

My final observation regarding the Pensieve memory: the chapter title. Why "Snape's Worst Memory"?

We're talking about a man who has spent his life being humiliated, ignored, attacked, and used in turn. He's taken the Dark Mark...betrayed and spied upon the most dangerous people in the Wizarding World...barely escaped becoming a chew toy for a werewolf and an enormous three-headed dog. He's had long-awaited vengeance snatched from under his prominent nose by a meddlesome teenager. (It's possible that the title simply reflects Harry's impression of the scene--but Harry knows these things as well as we do.)

It seems to me a little incredible that being flipped wrong-side up with his drawers exposed could really be the worst thing that ever happened to Snape. Unless, perhaps, what makes it so bad is the memory of his own behavior that day--and the knowledge of what it may have cost him.

Moving right along...

- What could spark an attraction between two such vastly different characters, particularly a Slytherin and a Gryffindor? This is probably the single most difficult point of the ship to justify.

The simple fact that James Potter was interested in Lily may have been enough to attract Snape's attention. She is of course described as beautiful, and her status as Head Girl suggests that she must have been highly intelligent, a diligent student, or both. Considering his own zealousness in taking his O.W.L.S., the standards he sets for his N.E.W.T.-level classes, and the amount of time he spends denigrating his students' intelligence (or lack thereof,) Snape apparently places a great deal of value on intellect and academic achievement. (Although, given his opinion of Hermione, we'll assume for the sake of the ship that Lily didn't act like a know-it-all!)

Beyond that, I don't think we've seen anyone else in canon (with the arguable exception of Dumbledore) do Snape a genuine kindness. Quick to take to heart any perceived injustice, I think he'd be equally affected by an act of compassion--perhaps more so, given their rarity. Granted, Lily may have been motivated more by annoyance at James than by concern for Severus; but a fifteen-year-old-boy, whom we have every reason to believe was starved for affection, would not necessarily have recognized the difference--particularly if it happened more than once.

As for Lily, though I'm not convinced that the interest was reciprocated, she did seem to have a soft spot for underdogs. If he had nothing else going for him, Snape was smart and a good student, something Lily would have respected. He demonstrates a quick mind and an effective command of the language. Granted we've rarely seen him use those traits for much besides cutting people down; but then, most times we've been treated to a display of his caustic wit, he has either been speaking in Harry's presence, or to someone else he has reasons to dislike--Quirrel, Lockhart, Crouch!Moody, Umbridge, or one of the Marauders. Outside of such situations, I can picture Snape possessing a dry, ironic sense of humor that could be quite attractive.

One point of debate within the fandom is whether or not the five or six references within the books to Snape speaking silkily or sleekly, and to his ability to effortlessly command a class's attention, are a clue that he has an attractive or seductive voice. Some say this idea is "movie contamination" stemming from Alan Rickman's portrayal of the character. My guess, since JKR approved of Rickman's casting, is that his voice can't be too far off the mark. While I doubt Snape would have used it as effectively at fifteen as he does in his thirties, likely by that age it would have finished changing, and may have become one of his few noticeable, genuinely appealing traits. (But one which Harry, our POV character, would be unlikely to appreciate.)

A device often used to bring Snape and Lily together in fanfiction is an assigned partnership in some class project, where they would notice one another's virtues and share their common annoyance at James and company. This strikes me as about the most plausible way it could happen--otherwise, their paths wouldn't cross often or closely enough for anything to develop.

- What prompted Sirius to play his Prank? Was he really stupid enough to take such a risk, not only with Snape's life but with Remus's, out of pure dislike--or could he have suspected that the "greasy git" had his eye on the girl James fancied, and perhaps vice versa? Marauder loyalty aside, being a pureblood and a Black, he would have known what a disaster that kind of love triangle could become.

- Why did James and Snape continue to clash, after James had stopped bullying everyone else? It seems unlikely that Quidditch Envy alone was to blame by their seventh year. But jealousy of another kind might well explain it. And how did such a blistering rivalry manage to fly under Lily's radar--unless both young men intentionally kept it from her?

- What changed Lily's mind about James? We must assume that his oversize ego did eventually shrink. But a nice Gryffindor girl who found herself attracted to a nasty Slytherin boy might also go to considerable lengths to convince everyone (herself included) that this was not the case. (Thanks to verseblack for pointing this out.)

- Why did Snape join the Death Eaters? Likely for the same reasons his peers did--Pureblood pride, power and glory. But the fact that he quit, where most Death Eaters didn't, suggests to me that there's something in him that the others lack--courage, intelligence, self-respect, take your pick--and that therefore it may have taken more than the standard Minions Benefit Package to make him join in the first place. Seeing Lily with James might not have been enough by itself, but it could have been the final straw.

Likewise, Snape may be too much the rationalist to have risked life and limb defecting to Dumbledore's side merely because Lily was in danger. But it could have been one of several factors leading to the decision.

- Why did Voldemort tell Lily to stand aside? I can't think of a single reason why he would do that of his own accord. He doesn't scruple at killing "Mudbloods," obviously, and he didn't hesitate to strike down James or to try for Harry. Someone must have persuaded him to give Lily a chance--almost certainly a Death Eater. And they'd have to offer a hell of a reason, and/or be highly valuable to the cause.

A talented Dark Artist and Potions expert, perhaps--one who could plausibly claim that he fancied his arch-enemy's Mudblood wife for a plaything?

- What is the significance of asphodel and wormwood? ThirteenRavens notes in discussions here and here, "Asphodel is a plant of the Lily family," and "Wormwood - Bitterness, and absence or separation. Also protection and love. Asphodel - 'memorial sorrow, my regrets follow you to the grave'." An ironic allusion which Harry couldn't possibly understand. (Perhaps now we know why Snape didn't ask Hermione.)

- If Snape loved Lily, how could he hate Harry? He certainly wasted no time in making his dislike known. Snape, the rationalist who would later upbraid the same boy for failing to keep his emotions in check. (One would almost think he was speaking from experience.) Was his hatred of James-the-bully really so strong that he was unable to overcome it, even a decade after James's death? Or was there more to it?

If we accept the premise of the Severus/Lily ship, then Harry Potter is a walking, talking, green-eyed reminder of the two people Snape least wants to remember, and of his failure to save them--the enemy to whom he owed his life, and the woman he loved, but lost to that same man.

The child who, if things had been different, could--perhaps should--have been his.

No wonder he hates the kid. No wonder he tries so hard to protect him.

It strikes me as unlikely (though not wholly unbelievable) that there was any ongoing physical relationship/affair. To me the whole thing feels necessarily unrequited, and exclusive to Snape. If, however, such a relationship did exist, I would guess that it ended due to its discovery by the Marauders or by Rosier, Wilkes, etc. before or during their seventh year; or else when Severus took the Dark Mark. (I can't picture Lily continuing a romance with an unrepentant Death Eater.)

There is one aspect of this ship I've chosen not to explore, due to length and because I personally find it implausible, and that is Snape-as-Harry's-real-father. This one I simply can't buy into at all, for two reasons: Harry's striking resemblance to James, and his Patronus, the stag--which manifested before he even knew of James's Animagus form. While it's possible to explain these things away, I've yet to see it done convincingly.


V. Conclusion

The notion of unrequited or star-crossed lovers upon which this ship rests is sometimes dismissed as cliché, or too obvious. But if it is a cliché, it's one as old as love stories, and it forms the basis for some of the most beloved and enduring: Romeo and Juliet; Lancelot and Gueneviere; The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Bonny Barbara Allen; Beauty and the Beast. Love lost, denied, misplaced, gone wrong, doomed from the beginning--don't we see these themes played out in reality every day? And such tragic, misbegotten attractions have been at the root of some of the most spectacular hatreds the world has ever seen.

To me, a Snape who hates Harry Potter solely because he was bullied by James is a somewhat pathetic figure. His attempts to protect the boy out of a sense of obligation are admirable, but not particularly moving. I'd expect no less of any responsible adult, and with a good deal less attitude.

But a Snape who hates Harry as the walking incarnation, not only of his own childhood trauma, but of everything he ever wanted and was denied--the reminder of what might have been, if not for Voldemort, or fate, or his own mistakes--that's something different. It lends a poignancy to their interactions, making Snape's efforts to get along with Harry look less like a half-hearted concession to duty, and more like a real struggle to honor something good and worthy that was once part of his life.

It also casts Lily's shadow over the present in an immediate and tangible way, where otherwise she seems a remote, idealized figure (in contrast to James, whose presence permeates the series strongly, through Harry and in the memories of his classmates.)

And, perhaps most important--it makes a deeply horrible person seem just a little more human.

Dumbledore has told us of the power of love over evil. A Snape who has never loved, cannot be loved, is incapable of love--what is there, really, to set him apart from Voldemort? Isn't one such soulless creature more than enough?

I leave you, Gentle Reader, with a few quotes, and a collection of links to begin your exploration of this ship:

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Jeremy Paxman: And Harry's mother? Did [Snape] have a crush on Harry's mother or unrequited love or anything like that?
JK Rowling: Hence his animosity to Harry?
Jeremy Paxman: Yes.
JK Rowling: You speculate?
Jeremy Paxman: I speculate, yes, I'm just asking whether you can tell us.
JK Rowling: No I can't tell you. But you do find out a lot more about Snape and quite a lot more about him actually.

Interview

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"One of our internet correspondents wondered if Snape is going to fall in love."
(JKR laughs) "Who on earth would want Snape in love with them? That's a very horrible idea."

(Author's note: What a sad thing to say about anyone--and how beautifully JKR sidesteps the question!)

Interview

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"Not only a singularly gifted witch but also an uncommonly kind one... [Lily] had a way of seeing the beauty in others, even and perhaps most especially when that person could not see it in themselves."

--Remus J. Lupin, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (The Movie)

"I really got goose bumps when I saw a couple of those things, and I thought, people are going to look back on the film and think that those were put in deliberately as clues."

--J.K. Rowling

Article


VI. Snape/Lily on the Internet


A. Resources
B. Fanfiction

My own take on the ship:

The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

A series of vignettes spanning twenty years--from Severus and Lily's Sorting Night, to Harry's. PG



And a selection of my favorite Severus/Lily fics:

To Sever the Lining from a Cloud by Textualsphinx

Beautiful, if rather fanciful piece; very sad.


Therapy by Azazello

Severus tells his story to a Muggle counselor. Widely recommended. Multi-chapter. PG


Requited by FayJay

Severus remembers the real Lily.


Doubly Cloaked by Katharine Frost

Clever premise, mildly angsty. PG-13


By Any Other Name by Didodikali ([info]trickofthedark)

Not canonical, but funny, bittersweet and brilliantly illustrated. PG-13/R


Slytherin Pride by Minerva Waters

A young Severus regrets his rash words. Short. PG-13


There Is No Such Place by Liz Barr ([info]lizbee)

Wonderful look at House politics and how they affect the ship. A lengthy work-in-progress; apparently abandoned, but still highly recommended. PG-13/R


More Snape/Lily stories at: Fanfiction.net | FictionAlley.org


C. Art

There's very little nice Snape/Lily fanart to be found, but Elisa Poggese has some nifty pieces, mostly in a style reminiscent of Barry Windsor-Smith. Two examples:

Love Among the Ruins

Sweet Dreams (WARNING: Unbearably cute!!)

And again, don't miss [info]trickofthedark's wonderful illustrations, scattered throughout the five chapters of By Any Other Name.


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