#harry seeing that snape’s patronus is the same as lily’s and thinking that snape was in love with james | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

darklinaforever · 6 months

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When people try to make it seem like the Marauders and Severus relationship was a shared rivalry instead of outright harassment. They were 4 to 1 ! That's not à rivality !

Also, I'm tired of people saying things like :

"Yes, James and his friends harassed Severus, that's not good. But it says in the text that Severus had a disproportionate hatred for James, and cast spells on him too."

Yes. So what ? It's basically victim blaming. As if the fact that Severus defends himself wasn't normal ?! As if hating James who bullied him from the moment he met him, just for his simple existence wasn't normal ?!

I would like to understand what is going on in people's heads when they say sentences like that.

Severus scorning James is justified. Severus attacking James back is fucking justified, especially when the harassment is daily !

What is this ridiculous logic ? "Yes, James bullied Severus, but Severus wasn't any better because he hated him and retaliated."

WHAT ?!

People speaking like that should never have been harassed. It's like those hating Severus / finding it unforgivable that Severus called Lily a mudblood after being publicly humiliated by James.

Translation ; suspended in the air upside down, underwear revealed and soap in his mouth...

I think your mood, your temperament, and your control over yourself and your words would take a hit too !

I was the victim of harassment almost throughout my schooling. From my first year of kindergarten until my second year of high school ! Do you think I loved my harassers ? Do you think that after a while I didn't fight back ? Do you think that after being publicly humiliated / harassed I didn't insult even innocent people ? (And again, Lily smiled seeing her so-called friend go through this, so for me the insult was deserved, I have no regrets in saying that...) But wake up the fuc ! Go live in the real world !

There is no excuse for what James put Severus through and there never will be ! Damn, he was doing it for fun ! Pure and simple !

Also, I'm tired of seeing this bullshit like if Harry had been a girl, Severus would have had inappropriate attitudes towards him... That it would even have gone completely like in the film Swenney Todd ! But what ?! And again, I saw a very intelligent film-loving woman, or so I thought, spouting this bullshit ! FOR WHAT ?! Where does this shit come from ?! Ginny is described as looking a lot like Lily from what I remember and Severus never went after her ?!

I've seen people like Snape say this types of shit and argue that it apparently made him complex !

Why is a man grieving his former best friend trying to be better in honor of her memory considered an obsession ? Why do people say Snape was obsessed with Lily, rather than James who literally pursued her throughout school and even blackmailed her into trying to date her, and never taking no for an answer ?! Why ?!

And why is Severus' patronus taking the same form as Lily's seen as proof of obsession ?! Didn't Thnks do the same thing for Lupin ?! I don't remember anyone seeing this as obsession on his part !

In fact, when a patronus changes depending on the author, for the person we love, it is specifically to match them, and is proof of eternal love.

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serpenera · 8 months

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One of the things that most irks me in the HP, and especially Snape discourse, is the misinterpretation of the meaning of the patronus. The general consensus seems to be that the shape of the patronus indicates one’s true love but that is a massive oversimplification that creates numerous inconsistencies. In other words, when we look at it like that, the patronus makes NO SENSE. Except the patronus makes PERFECT SENSE. Just let me explain.

The patronus, as we know, is a charm that repels Dementors - an anthropomorphized representation of clinical depression. Keep that in mind as this is important. You conjure it by focusing on a happy memory or should I rather say a happy thought.

Memory is the word Lupin uses when he first explains the patronus to Harry and I’d argue this is the reason why Harry initially fails at conjuring one. He remembers his first time on a broom and winning the house cup. Both happy memories to doubt but “not powerful enough” as Lupin puts it. So what makes a powerful memory?

Harry tries again and succeeds by focusing on the memory of finding out he was a wizard and would be leaving the Dursleys and going to Hogwarts. What makes this memory different than the other two is that it wasn’t just that of a fleeting moment of glee but of an event that marked a major change in Harry’s life, a change for the better. Yes, it was a moment from the PAST but one that influenced Harry’s PRESENT and FUTURE.

See, this is the key to understanding the patronus. The trick is not to remember a happy past long gone, it’s to find something in the past that gives you a reason to move forward. Anyone, who’s ever been depressed to the point of wanting to off themselves will know what I’m talking about here. And those who don’t, good for you.

Anyway, back to Harry. When he conjures his first fully corporeal patronus at the end of PoA, he thinks of going to live with Sirius. And when he uses the spell again in GoF he thinks of celebrating the end of the Tournament with Ron and Hermione. In both cases, he doesn’t even recall an event of the past but projects into the future. And note that regardless of whom or what he thinks of (and not once does he think of his dad), his patronus stays a stag. Even after his love and admiration for James falters due to the discovery of SWM, his patronus stays a stag. This is because the stag, while visually traceable back to James, does not represent James as a person but rather a concept that James himself is a representation of. The stag stands for family, legacy, and a sense of belonging. What keeps Harry moving forward despite all the obstacles is not the mere memory of having had a dad once, it’s the realization that he’s not alone in the world, that he has friends who care about him, and that he’s part of a community.

If we look at the patronus through this lens we can logically explain the shape and origin of all the major ones present in the books.

Snape is often accused of being a stalker incel and whatnot because (apparently) his doe patronus is the same as Lily’s.

First of all, did you pull that information out of your ass? ‘Cause I checked and nowhere in the book(s) does it say what shape her patronus was. The same goes for James. He was a stag animagus. We don’t know what shape his patronus was. That, assuming they both even knew the charm. Although, as Order members, they probably did. If they hadn’t learned it at school, Dumbledore or another Order member would’ve taught them.

Okay, for the sake of this argument, let’s assume that James’ patronus was in fact a stag and Lily’s was a doe and also that the animals represent them respectively. People will argue that the fact the patronuses match (they don’t actually cause they’re two different species of deer but never mind) implies they were each other’s soulmates. To back that argument they will cite Tonks’ patronus which changed into a wolf after she fell in love with Lupin. At the same time, they will argue that Snape’s doe indicates an unhealthy obsession with Lily. Can you spot the issue with this reasoning?

Snape’s and Tonks’ cases are analog: their patronuses turn into animals related to the other person. And yet in Snape’s case, it’s obsession, and in Tonks’, it’s love?

Lily/James and Tonks’ cases are opposite: Lily/James patronuses turn into animals related to themselves while Tonks’ turns into one related to her love interest. But in both cases, it’s true love?

If Snape’s obsessed with Lily then Tonks is obsessed with Lupin and Lily and James are just obsessed with themselves. Contrarily, if Tonks loves Lupin then Snape loves Lily, and Lily and James, again, just love themselves respectively. Moreover, if you follow either logic, Harry is obsessed / in love with James and Dumbledore with Fawkes.

See how none of that makes ANY SENSE whatsoever? Also, no, it’s not a plothole. Y’all are just looking at it wrong. Now let’s rewind and analyze all of these the same way we did with Harry’s at the beginning of this rant.

James’ case is very straightforward. Similarly to Harry, James finds meaning in the traditional idea of family, clan legacy, and belonging. Remember how on the train to Hogwarts he says he wants to be a Gryffindor just like his dad? That, in my opinion, is already very telling, and considering that right after school James marries the girl he decided would be the future mother of his children and promptly gets her pregnant we can easily deduce what he values and what he believes his higher purpose to be. When facing a Dementor and being consumed by despair, perhaps remembering the loss of his parents and perceived betrayal of his best friends, in order to push through he certainly focuses on his wife and especially his son.

Lily’s doe patronus has nothing to do with Snape. Or with James for that matter. Instead, it has everything to do with Harry. See, many real-life women who find themselves at the edge of despair for one reason or another declare they only push forward because of their children. I think Lily is no different. I mean, she did die trying to protect her child. So I think that facing a Dementor, she thinks of Harry. Her wish to be there for her son and protect him is what keeps her going forward despite everything. She has to be strong because she is needed and that is what her doe stands for.

The doe and the stag, somewhat complementary animals, both symbolize family-related but very different concepts. The stag carries a distinctly masculine meaning, that of the passing of legacy and prolonging the bloodline. The doe has a more feminine feel, that of nurturing and protecting.

Snape’s patronus is the same animal as Lily not because he loves her or is obsessed or even just friends with her. It’s the same because both these characters find purpose in the same thing: being needed.

While for Lily this mindset seems to stem from her motherhood, for Snape it seems to have always been there and for very a different reason. The severe neglect he experienced in his early childhood conditioned him to always seek external validation. It’s as if he couldn’t find value in himself unless someone else found it in him. This is why he was trying so hard to be useful to Lily when they first became friends. This is why he got himself groomed by the Death Eaters. This is also why he was so easily manipulated by Dumbledore.

Speaking of Dumbledore, he has to have taught Snape the patronus charm and it must have happened sometime between his defection and the Potters’ death. Now imagine what that might have looked like.

Dumbledore explains how the patronus works. Snape tries, recalling one of his happy childhood moments with Lily, and fails. He chooses another memory and fails again. Dumbledore tells him it has to be something really powerful. Snape is out of ideas, the only happy memories he has are of his childhood friendship with Lily but that friendship is over, it has been for a while, she’s married to his bully and having his child, and on top of that, she’s being targeted by Voldemort and it’s all his fault. Reminiscing their past together is nowhere near enough to fuel the patronus. Then Snape projects into the future in which thanks to him, Lily is safe, she forgives him for his past mistakes and they make up. This time he successfully conjures his trademark doe.

I imagine that, after Lily died, Snape would have had trouble producing a patronus. That would be until Dumbledore pointed out how even in death she still needed him to protect her child. He would then focus on a future in which Voldemort is defeated, Harry is safe, his debt with Lily is paid and his sins are redeemed.

Dumbledore knows that Snape’s doe patronus is related to Lily but it’s probably because he taught him the charm himself and in doing so he learned that it was thoughts and memories of her that fueled it. Not because it was (presumably, mind you) the same shape as hers.

That said, I’m firmly convinced that if Snape had survived the war he would again have had trouble producing a proper patronus, not because of any change in his feelings towards Lily but rather because with Harry safe and Voldemort gone, he’d find himself lacking a purpose. If, for example, he got himself involved with someone else, someone who would make him feel needed, he might be able to produce a patronus again but it would most certainly remain a doe.

Tonks’ patronus is an interesting one because it actually changes its shape in the course of the narrative. We know it became a wolf after Tonks fell in love with and started dating Lupin.

Yes, it’d be easy to assume that the wolf represents the character whose name is literally Wolfy McWolf and who’s also a werewolf but that would be both shallow and inaccurate.

Tonks’ wolf, not unlike Lily and James’ stag and dear, is symbolically tied to the concept of family and friendship. We don’t know what drove Tonks forward before she became involved with Lupin but we can easily deduce that what drives her afterward is the thought of being with him. When she conjures her patronus, she probably thinks of a future in which they have a proper relationship or perhaps start a family. When Snape makes a dab at her patronus he isn’t just being mean. Knowing Lupin, he probably expects him not to take responsibility for his actions towards Tonks and wiggle out of the relationship the moment things get a little bit too serious for his liking. In saying her patronus is weak he’s trying to warn her not to put her faith in Lupin.

In the end, I’d like to mention Dumbledore’s patronus. Just like a phoenix is reborn from its ashes, Dumbledore rises up from the pit of his troubled youth. When in the vicinity of a Dementor, he must be plagued by thoughts of his misplaced aspirations, of Ariana’s death, and his fall out with Grindelwald. The thought I believe he focuses on in those moments is that of having rehabilitated himself in the eyes of society, and having ultimately become a champion of the light.

#harry potter meta #Patronus meta #Patronus

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sideprince · 8 months

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If I'm honest I think the way the Deathly Hallows were made into a theme in the HP books is much more interesting than the whole Christ allegory, especially since it's a bit more original. I mean, sure, the Tale of the Three Brothers borrows heavily from the European storytelling tradition as filtered through the homogenized lens of the Grimm Brothers - the number three, the two older brothers being rash and unthinking and the youngest being wise, the outwitting of a dangerous foe, the lesson that brute force and bending nature's order will only end badly, etc. But there's still something interesting and original there, and I find that much more exciting than pinpointing how Christian tropes manifest in a children's story that follows them without building on them or raising questions.

What I find particularly fascinating about the Hallows theme is the way it connects to the characters, and how the three brothers and the objects they represent come to be reflected in three of the most key characters in HP:

Harry, Voldemort, and Snape are so inextricably connected, but even though the only moment they're all in the same place is when Snape is killed, it feels like Snape's the one whose journey to that moment is the most clearly laid out. It's the third time we know him to be in the Shrieking Shack: the first, when he's nearly killed by Lupin-turned-werewolf but escapes unscathed, and the second, when he corners Lupin and Black in PoA and is knocked unconscious sustaining a head wound. With each visit to the Shrieking Shack he inches closer to his own death metaphorically.

It's no secret that each Hallow is connected to or representative of one of these characters.

The Deathstick/Elder Wand is Voldemort: he's its penultimate wielder and even before possessing it, his own wand might as well be a death stick. He kills with impunity and without remorse. It's said several times in the series that ultimately all the death and destruction Harry, Ron, and Hermione fight against comes down to Voldemort; even the Death Eaters do what they do in his service. (And, while I take issue with the simplistic and naive perspective it conveys, the story makes it clear that as soon as Voldemort dies, the chaos he has wrought on the wizarding world is already beginning to be set right again.) Harry meets Voldemort in the forest at the end of DH in order to meet his death because it's Voldemort who brings it about.

The Resurrection Stone is Snape: we find out in DH that he has spent the entire septology haunted by the heartbreak and regret losing a loved one caused, and everything he's done has been in service of her. Though he never possesses the Resurrection Stone, he might as well - we see through his patronus that the memory of Lily is with him "always." Interestingly, it's also the Resurrection Stone that sets him on his final path - it's the stone in the ring that curses Dumbledore's hand, leading to Snape agreeing to kill him, and to him making the Unbreakable Vow. Killing Dumbledore draws him into Voldemort's trust even more, but also puts a target on his back. So, like the second Peverell brother, Snape's main drive is a departed loved one, his devotion to whom ultimately dooms him. The more he tries to keep her alive and honor her memory, the more she draws him to his death.

As in the Tale of the Three Brothers, death claims both the first and second brother.

It's the third brother who escapes death and meets him on his own terms through his use of the Invisibility Cloak. Harry literally wears it into the forest at the end of DH and throws it off to meet his death. Harry starts the story having escaped Death and working his way towards it on his own terms. When he dies, it's because he is ready and he chooses to - and once again, he escapes it. Harry is also closely connected to the youngest Peverell brother, being descended from him, and as per the Beadle the Bard's story, the cloak gets handed down from parent to child so Harry is its rightful owner.

Finally, there's the character of Death, whose parallel is, reluctantly but determinedly, Dumbledore. There's an irony in his ownership of the Elder Wand, in that he learned from the mistakes of his youth and understands and eschews its capacity for death and destruction. Even so, he becomes a character who plays a key role in the death of several other characters, not least of whom are Snape, Harry, and Voldemort. His main goal throughout the series is to bring about Voldemort's death. In the process, he sacrifices both Harry and Snape (not to mention countless others). Dumbledore is also the person who gives all three Hallows to their ultimate owner, Harry. In the process, it's from Dumbledore that Voldemort takes the Elder Wand, and it's through Dumbledore's actions that Snape is doomed by the Resurrection Stone, not to mention he's the one to give the Invisibility Cloak to Harry. When Harry escapes death as a baby, it's Dumbledore who leaves him with the Dursley knowing he will return for him later (or will do so through a proxy), sort of - but not quite - foreshadowing that death will come for Harry when the time is right. When Harry is killed by Voldemort, it's Dumbledore who meets him in Kings Cross limbo.

Interestingly, of these four characters it's only Voldemort who is not connected to all three hallows. Dumbledore has, at some point, had each in his possession, and at the end of the story Harry possesses all three and is the only person who knows where the Resurrection Stone is in the forest. Snape is the only person we see use the Invisibility Cloak without an invitation to do so from Harry (in the Shrieking Shack in PoA), and he's the only one aside from Dumbledore and Harry to be connected with the Resurrection Stone. Though he never does so, he was meant by Dumbledore to possess the Elder Wand, and it's the direct reason he's killed. There's an interesting parallel there, based on what Dumbledore says to Harry in King's Cross Limbo:

Harry is obviously the Specialest Boy™️ because he's the protagonist, so he's fit to unite the Hallows (which he never quite does - he uses the Resurrection Stone while wearing the Cloak, but drops the stone well before he physically takes possession of the Elder Wand and wields it). Dumbledore nevertheless has the Cloak for a decade between James' death and giving it to Harry, by which point he has had the Elder Wand for much longer. He takes possession of the Stone when he takes Marvolo's ring, and in the process experiences a parallel to the second brother's story (similar to Snape) as his efforts to reconnect to a deceased loved one instead sets him on the path towards his death. Snape, as stated above, is similarly connected to all three Hallows at one point or other.

As interesting as I find all this, I feel like these parallels and, really, this theme, could have been worked out more throughout the septology and been dealt with in richer, more wide-reaching ways. Maybe it didn't occur to Rowling (boo, hssss) until she was well into writing the series, whereas the Horcruxes clearly had, since Voldemort's inability to die is established in PS and the first Horcrux crops up in CoS. There's a clumsiness in the way Hallows vs. Horcruxes becomes the great dilemma in DH, and if the themes each represents had been established early on and been an undercurrent through the whole series it would have been more powerful.

That's not to say that the themes connected to each Hallow - death, loss, choosing wisdom over power - aren't overarching ones on their own. But Harry's contending with them against Voldemort's focus on that power and his fear of death alongside his cavalier implementation of it ends up being a bit flat, because Harry doesn't waver. It's one of the things Dumbledore points out when they discuss the prophecy, that because Voldemort killed his parents, Harry was never at risk of being seduced by all that Voldemort represents. So even though the themes are there, the tensions between them aren't really present in Harry - again, the protagonist - until the second half of the last book. Not until HBP do we start to see Voldemort's past and understand the parallels between him and Harry, and not until the Prince's Tale chapter in DH do we really see how Snape fits into this trio of "abandoned boys." The fleshing out of his character was sacrificed for the sake of the big reveal of his motivations and I think it would have been more interesting to have moments throughout the series that turned out to be foreshadowing along the theme of the Hallows, and not just ones that clarify his allegiances through the insight into his life.

#meta #long post

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hollowed-theory-hall · 1 month

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That theory in Riddle being sexually abused by a Doctor figure and the behaviours he depicted + the talk on unsympathetic victims... Kind of violently reminded me of Severus, and especially his Worst memory where the Marauders did what they did to him. Even his bond with Lily was this unhealthy dependency I think? Well not the right word. But Lily was the only thing keeping him sane and going I feel.

Anonymus: Adding on to the previous ask about Sev and Lily and unsympathetic victims. Do you think the Evans ever acted for Severus the way the weasleys did for Harry? A safe retreat? Do you think they ever tried to report Tobias? How do you interpret Sev and Lil's bond? I know a lot of the fandom thinks Sev was infatuated with her/ romantically loved her...but I often felt that Severus raised Lily to a holy Mary status, and that while he did in fact love her, it was platonic (in which case there is a comment to be made about the way platonic love between opp sex PPL is perceived and ridiculed)

I'm not the op of the post you mentioned, but yeah, Severus is a great example of an unsympathetic victim. Personally, he isn't a character I like all that much, but he is undeniably an interesting one. This turned out a little rambly, but that's what I got.

We don't know how SWM ended, but, yeah... not pleasant regardless of how far it went.

Severus was definitely a victim of abuse, both at his home and school and what he went through was awful. That victimhood doesn't excuse his treatment of students in his care. Like, I had a temporary position as an instructor for teenagers, and Severus' treatment of his students makes me want to throttle him a bit.

But as a child, as a teen — he definitely didn't deserve the life he got. Dumbledore has a tendency to turn a blind eye to abuse for various reasons, which ended up fucking a lot of people over, Snape included. (Tom and Hary too)

As for Severus' dependence on Lily, yeah, I think he was incredibly fixated on her. I agree with you that that fixation isn't necessarily romantic. Lily, was essentially Severus' first friend — his best friend. Lily was to Snape what Ron was to Harry in a way. The first person he felt he could trust.

I went through The Prince's Tale to refresh my memory on all of this, and I wanna talk about his friendship with Lily first, actually.

“. . . 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—” “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.

(DH, 569)

Severus sees himself and Lily as best friends. He's happy when she dislikes James, but, he never makes any attempt to become romantic with her. It can be read either way, but personally, I like to read it as a close friendship.

(A little unrelated note about the above quote I saw someone mention once somewhere: Severus knows James fancies Lily, and warns her about it in that same conversation above, and It's interesting he raises Lily's potential romantic interest in James as a retort when she says she doesn't know what he sees in Mulciber. Is anyone shipping Mulciber/Severus? 👀)

I mentioned in this post how I believe Severus' Patronus is a doe because he sees Lily as his defender. Even after all these years. And I think, that too, can be about friendship. Because Liy was his first friend, his first defender. The fact that in SWM we see her step in to defend him suggests to me it happened before. That Lily stepped in to defend Severus, so when he calls for a guardian, in the form of a Patronus, it's still Lily.

And after SWM, Severus is less concerned about what happened to him, he's more concerned about losing Lily. That was the worst thing about that memory. Not his humiliation or assualt, but the loss of his first, and probably only best friend. I don't think he ever trusted someone else like he trusted Lily:

“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.

(DH, 571)

Is he a blood-purist who thinks Lily is a perfect muggleborn and therefore an exception to everything? Yes. Severus is in the wrong here about calling Lily a mudblood and thinking it's fine because she's a good mudblood, she's not like the other muggleborns. Lily has every right to cease her friendship with him over it.

But it's telling about his priorities the first thing he does is try to fix their friendship, to apologize to her.

Did he deserve to be hanged upside down and likely stripped in the middle of a large audience at school? Hell no. James probably didn't see it as a big deal, but it's so messed up I don't really know what to say, really. Like, I think Severus definitely fought back and wasn't always the victim of the Marauders, though. In the scene I mentioned above with Mulciber it's implied Severus and his Death Eater buddies are just as bad as James and the Marauders are. Their targets are just different. I think what James did is awful and inexcusable, but at the same time, I think, in the same way Tom Riddle hung Billy's rabbit to scare his bullies away, Severus tried to do the same, if less successfully. It's why he invented spells like Langlock (used in SWM on him) and Sectumsempra.

A lot of his demeanor is the result of abuse. He bullies and scares his students because he's mimicking his father, his abuser. he learned from him to control by force, with fear threats, and degradation. Because that's what Severus experienced as a child. Also, the fact he became a professor as young as he did, meant he felt had to force his students to take him seriously. Some of his first students probably saw him in his lowest moments as a student himself. So, he resorted to the fear and insults that his father likely used when he wanted to be taken seriously.

I truly think the loss of Lily's friendship is what stung the most about the whole ordeal of SWM. I mean, Severus has a lot of bad memories. I'm sure this wasn't the only time he was humiliated and assaulted. He was abused by his father. He was almost killed by Lupin as a werewolf during the prank. And then he joined a terrorist organization where he was likely tortured, where he likely watched people die. And in all of this, his worst memory is this one case of assault that I doubt was the only one? This doesn't make much sense to me, I think it's his worst memory not because of what happened to him, but because he lost his friendship with Lily over what he considers a "stupid slip".

And yeah, after Lily's death, in his mind, Snape raised her to a saintly status. He never has a mean thought about her, because he feels guilty over her death. He feels like he killed his only defender. So, of course, his memories of her are colored like she was perfect. That's how he wants to remember her so he can keep feeling guilty and hating himself over it. He feels like he deserves to feel that way. This is something you see with victims of abuse, they rationalize their abuse by convincing themselves they deserve it.

And Snape is a very bitter character who doesn't want to get better.

As for whether I think he found solace in the Evans household the same way Harry did with the Weasleys? The answer is yes actually. And there's some evidence for it.

Lily knew things weren't good at home for Severus:

“How are things at your house?” Lily asked. A little crease appeared between his eyes. “Fine,” he said. “They’re not arguing anymore?” “Oh yes, they’re arguing,” said Snape. He picked up a fistful of leaves and began tearing them apart, apparently unaware of what he was doing. “But it won’t be that long and I’ll be gone.”

(DH, 563-564)

And Severus mentioned later in that conversation how his father doesn't just not like magic — he doesn't like anything. Severus and his mother are very clearly implied to be abused by his father when his mother is mentioned. He doesn't describe much of what goes on at home, he tries to act fine, but I'm calling it abuse because of what it most likely is. Severus can't wait to leave home as an eleven-year-old. This isn't something that usually happens in healthy households.

Additionally, Severus spent enough time in their house it was conceivable he and Lily snuck into Petunia's room to find her letter to Hogwarts:

“You shouldn’t have read—” whispered Petunia, “that was my private—how could you—?” Lily gave herself away by half-glancing toward where Snape stood nearby. Petunia gasped. “That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!”

(DH, 566)

So, he probably stayed over with the Evans parents most of the day and only returned home to sleep. That's what I think happened. And, Lily's parents seem very kind and accepting of magic from what little we hear of them:

Lily glanced toward her parents, who were looking around the platform with an air of wholehearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce

(DH, 566)

“You knew?” said Harry. “You knew I’m a — a wizard?” “Knew!” shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. “Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that school — and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!”

(PS, 41)

I think Severus preferred the Evans house over his own. His own where his parents argued and his father abused him and his mother. Where his parents both worked and left him wandering the streets as a young child.

As for whether the Evans parents ever tried to report Tobias, we just don't really know. I'd say no. Domestic abuse in the 1970s was still largely unrecognized and not treated legally and medically like it is today. So, I don't think they'd have anyone to report to even if they wanted to. Especially with where the Snapes lived, which was essentially slums that the police didn't bother with anyway.

#harry potter #hp #hp meta #harry potter meta #severus snape #lily potter #lily evans #hollowedtheory #asks #anon asks #anonymous

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greenerteacups · 1 month

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Do you think a patronus and an animagus need to be, or are likely to be, the same animal for a person?

Likely, yes; necessary, no. We know that patronuses can take forms it's not possible to become as an animagus, because Tonks's patronus becomes a werewolf after falling in love with Lupin. (I guess we don't rightly know you can't choose a werewolf as your animagus form, but the idea feels janky, like it's not reeeeeally what the magic system was conceived to do.)

My general philosophy of Patronuses gets explored a lot in an upcoming chapter, but the TLDR is I think they're a token of something that makes you happy. Harry's is a stag because his connection to his father brings him joy; Tonks, a representation of Remus; Snape, a representation of Lily; etc. That's also why patronuses can change when you seek joy/meaning from new places. Nowhere in the books do we see the kind of "spirit animal" reading that crops up in personality quizzes about it. Yeah, sometimes the animals happen to fit their characters, but why do McGonagall and Umbridge — two very different characters — have the same patronus? Wouldn't it make more sense if they were just two dames who like cats?

In contrast, your animagus form is said (extracanonically, so Doesn't Count, if you ask me, but whatever) to be involuntary and based on your personality. (This is part of the reason I don't think you can use animagus abilities to become a werewolf, because what would that even mean about the person doing it?) The animagus is supposed to function as a "spirit animal" type of thing, because it's technically still you.

So if your patronus and animagus form happened to match, I'd read it as a good indication that the things bringing you joy are closely related to things you like about yourself. It would be an indication of strong self-esteem and satisfaction. James Potter being one such character, and someone who's established in canon to think pretty highly of himself. Minerva McGonagall is a god damn delight and she knows it. Interestingly, Lupin's patronus is a wolf, but not a werewolf, which could mean any number of things — for one, the word "Lupin" being a cognate for wolf in Latin means that his patronus could reference his family or parents, or just his own identity as a person outside of his lycanthropy.

#greenteacup asks #lionheart spoilers #prognosticating #i put a lot of thought into why ron and hermione have the patronuses they do #like otter is such a left field choice! happy playful mischievous otters? for hermione 'cut a bitch' granger?#and a jack russell terrier? a faithful hunting animal for ron 'fuck camping' weasley?#not to say ron isn't loyal - he absolutely is! - but in theory it would make way more sense to switch them #unless... that... is the Point #and it is not in fact about Who they are but rather about What they prize most in themselves and others #which for hermione is fun and playfulness and delight. things she struggles with and come naturally to her friends #and for ron is duty and fidelity and enthusiasm and care. he craves undying love and affection #and harry? he wants his fucking dad back.

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sofoulandfairaday · 11 months

Text

N.B. This is not exclusively a Harry Potter blog, you will find many fandoms (and tons of non-fandom stuff too). But my original takes are MOSTLY about hp.

My HP meta & some additional little thoughts

Why do you like Bellamort so much?

Same question, part 2

On Bellatrix's relationship with her parents

Did Bellatrix know the Cup was a Horcrux?

Bellamort: love, lust, or is it just fucked-up?

What do the Blacks think of Bellamort?

Did Bellatrix's death make sense? (yes)

Same question, explained better because people got mad

How did Delphi feel about Narcissa?

Did Bella & Sirius really not see each other for years?

Reimagining Delphi in a world without TCC: two scenarios (long)

On Bella and Cissy's relationship, pre- and post-Azkaban

My headcanons

Random Marauders Era Headcanons (mostly about the Blacks)

Sirius Black Headcanons (long)

On Sirius, Regulus & their parents & generational abuse (long)

Patronus headcanons for the Blacks

Silly headcanons about Rodolphus

Random Bella headcanons

An obscenely long Bellamort headcanons post

Barty Crouch jr

Delphi

Delphi part 2

Lord Voldemort/Tom Riddle

Black Sisters

Does Andy get a job?

Rabastan (short version)

James Headcanons

Lily Headcanons

Remus Headcanons

Severus Snape Headcanons (long)

Peter Pettrigew

Lucius Malfoy

Canon > Fanon Death Eater simp (I know, pathetic) esp First Wizarding War. The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black is my Roman Empire. I hate character bashing of basically any character

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fresiants · 1 year

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your last post. y'know i've always found it insane people call sev's love for lily obsessive and his entire narrative regarding her as something foul or sick. like personally? i always hated it's put such emphasis on his feelings being romantic and how if his feelings weren't ""romantic"", he wouldn't have done All he did for harry and the order in the end. i find it really narrow-minded from r*wling to basically declare feelings can only be of romantic nature to motivate grand changes or life commitment and devotion. i didn't entirely hate love for a departed friend to change the course of his life - i'm familiar with feeling devout to someone you don't have contact with anymore, despite the years, despite everything - but the way people have managed to twist his motives and turned them into pettiness, jealousy, obsession, childishness even? like maybe Maybe his childhood friend's husband harassed him and humiliated him daily for seven years?????? maybe it doesn't have to do with him getting with lily but how sev only dealt with asshole james and not sweet uwu Good boyfriend james uwu!!1 so if he could never stop hating james, i really understand it, he didn't have to forgive the man lol. now to lily again, how, How could he be obsessive if obsessive behavior is akin to harassment, stalking, and he never ever bothered her again after they ended their friendship. How was he obsessive???? he left her be and Then begged for her protection, to both his lord and dumbledore. so really, what in his behavior is obsessive??? in what form???? wouldn't everything he did for her be what we all would do for a friend? and that friend's child???

It's wild now that i think about it because when I first read the book, I never once considered that Severus' love for Lily was romantic.

I have read many arguments made by Snaters, and here are the things they always list out to prove Severus' obsession :

1 - He stalked Lily when he was... nine

This is probably one of the stupidest 'proof' these people could ever provided. When I first joined the snapedom, I genuinely thought these haters were talking about teenage!Severus and was so confused cuz I don't remember such a thing. But then they started pulling passages from Snape and Lily's childhood memory when they first became friends. The fact that they called a 9 YEARS OLD creepy says a lot about them.

2 - He wanted to control who's Lily's friends with

I honestly couldn't understand this argument. It makes me wonder if these people have ever had a close friend before. I've been bullied when I was in high school, and I would never let my best friends disrespect me by getting close to those who hurt me. It's called friends code.

3 - If Harry was a girl, he would've done some creepy stuff to him

??? This is the most absurd one cuz it's not even a proof, it's a wild assumption. A creepy one at that. I was shocked to see many people agree with this, like bffr now... If you want to hate on my man, at least do it correctly. Not by spreading some creepy headcanons to make him looks worse.

4 - His Patronus is the exact copy of Lily's

Probably the same people who accused Nymphadora of rap!ng Remus. To them, complimenting someone's patronus = soulmate and mirroring someone's patronus = obsession. Does that means Harry was obsessed with his father since they both have a stag as their Patronus 🤯

5 - He only wanted to save Lily so that he could pursue a romantic relationship with her.

Yet another weird assumption made by them. As far as I remember, Severus respected Lily's wish and left her alone after their fifth year. I'm not sure how they got the idea that Severus would try to pursue Lily if he were to succeed in saving her from Voldemort. He probably would have continued to keep his distance from her as usual and protect her from afar.

It's crazy how these people are trying so hard bring Severus' down that they're willing to expose their distorted thinking to the public. They're risking everything just to hate on a fictional character.

#severus snape #pro snape #pro severus snape #anti snaters

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breaniebree · 1 year

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I know it was explained but I’m still a little confused. Why did Harrys patronus change to match Ginny later in life? In the books that only happens to snape who was unhealthily obsessed with Lily and Tonks who was unhealthily pining after Remus. I guess my biggest question is that why didn’t it naturally match Ginny’s from day one? James and Lily and Theo and Kane all naturally match one another without it having to change for each other but Harry and Ginny’s only started to match after years of dating. So don’t misunderstand me Hinny is my favorite couple but doesn’t that make them less soulmates than the other couples who’s have always matched each others? The couples with naturally matching ones have naturally matching souls where Harrys only changed because of his strong feelings and because he fell in love. Again Im just as much a hinny lover as the rest of you but isn’t their matching patnrouses not at all representative of them being soulmates and actually just that Harry has strong feelings for Ginny? I feel stupid I know it was explained but Im still confused 😅

My second question is since you say they are soulmates, is that ever going to be shown mutually? We’ve really only seen it magically shown that Harry loves Ginny. His love for her broke the love potion, his love for her broke him out of the veela trance, his love for her is reflected in his patnrouses, so on and so forth. I thought it was going to be shown when Ginny was under the bloodlust potion when he planned to kiss her and break her out of it because she loves him, but it didn’t work at all lmao. So again I love Hinny and love everything that’s happened I just have noticed only Harry’s love for Ginny has been shown magically. There hasn’t really been any visible magic that shows Ginny’s love for Harry. Even though we all know she loves him too.

I’m really just curious. I know you still have a lot of story to tell and I’m simply wondering if I should hold out hope for a big beautiful magic something that shows Ginny’s love for Harry. Im a romantic can you tell? 😅

Like many have said I am also counting down the days until Third Times the Charm. Im still a little in shock over Zee’s death but I am hoping that it wasn’t in vain and that Harry gets Sirius back, and not just this zombie inferi version of him. At least then the twins will have one of their parents again. But also I dont want the wizarding world going into chaos because they all now think they can bring their loved ones back to life, so maybe Im not sure what I want 😅. Im super exicted to see how it all goes down

Hi, @hjpisunderrated

I did explain it yes. First of all, I don't believe that every person who is in love or the perfect match have matching Patronuses. James and Lily did, but Harry and Ginny didn't in canon and yet I felt it was perfect for Harry to have a stag and Ginny to have a horse. I wanted to keep that same thing here. However, I gave Harry multiple Patronuses to show the love he felt for his fathers. He was too young when he first created his Patronus. He and Ginny were friends then, but nothing more. To me, the idea that as they grew, as their love blossomed to more, and as they became intimate, it was the final step that gave Harry an additional Patronus that matched Ginny's. It doesn't mean he cares for her more than him, its just that he has more than one and she does not.

I disagree with the stronger feelings notion. The reason Ginny survived the potion was because of her love for Harry. Harry's ability to break out of these trances is because he is a very powerful wizard (Ginny is as well in her own right, but Harry is vastly more powerful). It is because of this strength that he was able to defeat his while Ginny's strength and her love for Harry kept her alive, even if the hold the potion had on her didn't break. I think it's this connection that further makes them soul mates in ways no other couple can quite compete with. Theo and Sebastian and Remus and Tonks are meant to be together as well and yes their bond is strong, they have matching Patronuses, and are very much souls in love, but Hinny are of a different breed in my mind.

Ginny loves Harry more than anything and I think I have shown that throughout the story. They will have many more moments together in TTTC

I hope Third Times the Charm has a few surprises for you to come :D

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halfblood-princes-crown · 2 years

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I do not understand why some fans think that Snape had a weird obsession for Lily just because he mourned her, If Hermione had died in Canon and Harry mourned her, even if she and Harry ended the friendship, no one would be calling Harry actions Creepy,Harmonies shippers would see it as tragic love Story.

You can’t understand it because it doesn’t make sense. It’s a big misinterpretation.

A lot of them bring up the scene from the movies when he’s hugging her body and crying. That’s invalid because the movies aren’t canon and that never happened in the books. Even if it was canon, I see nothing wrong with it…do they know how many movies and tv shows have that exact same scene? Someone walks in on a family member or friends dead body and loses their shit and cries over them and holds them…it’s not new, but it’s creepy to them because it’s Snape 🙄

They also bring up when he was watching her when they were kids….emphasis on KIDS! Im almost positive that this poor (literally) little abused kid had NO social skills whatsoever, and he found this person that could potentially share a similar trait with him; a trait he took pride in: being magical. So he followed her to confirm it so that he could let her know and potentially make a new friend:

"Lily, come on, we're leaving!" she said shrilly. Lily obeyed her sister at once, glaring at Snape as she left. He stood watching them as they marched through the playground gate, and Harry, the only one left to observe him, recognized Snape's bitter disappointment, and understood that Snape had been planning this moment for a while, and that it had all gone wrong...”

He was planning on telling her she was a witch…that’s it…I find it weird how Snape haters make this out to be creepy, he was a KID…It said he looked to be 9 or 10 in this scene!

Another one is “Always”….this one is tragic…if they had reading comprehension then they’d know that it had nothing to do with whatever they have going on in their heads.. Dumbledore said to Severus “Don’t tell me you’ve grown to CARE for the boy” and Severus replied “The boy?” *queue his patronus* and Dumbledore said “Lily?…after all this time?” To which Snape replied “Always”…he will always care for her…it’s so simple and to the point but it flew over their heads apparently.

But the cherry on top is that it’s not specified that his love was EVER romantic…platonic love does exists whether they believe it or not💀 the only “confirmation” they got about Sev being obsessed and wanting to bang Lily was VOLDEMORT…aka Mr. CantUndersrandLove himself…so they believe Voldemort over literal HARRY who told him otherwise 💀

#severus snape #pro severus snape #anti snaters #snape community #snape fandom

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elvendorx · 2 years

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Hi 👋🏼

So I saw your post about Harry’s patronus the other day and it got me thinking.

It reminded me how odd it always seemed to me that we’re told Harry’s deepest nature is like his mothers yet for most of the series he’s constantly being compared back to James. (They even share a patronus which the shape of is suppose to be a reflection of who you are.) It’s always how he does xyz like James, he’s as good as James at this or that, or the “ no I think your like James...”, we get the singular “less like James than I thought…” to make a distinction (but you could argue that James also wouldn’t want to put Sirius at risk. I firmly believe Sirius getting hurt is a line James won’t cross. Cause you know✨soulmate things✨).

Like we get that he has Lily’s eyes, and that she was an “uncommonly kind witch” which pared with the deepest nature remark could be used to imply Harry is incredibly kind but I wouldn’t go as far as to call him uncommonly kind. In SWM we see more from her. Like her temper, desire to stand up for people which we could say Harry shares (James also shares a want to fight for what’s right but that a bit more complex with him) and she also fights backs a smile. Like it always bugged that we’re told this about his deepest nature yet the narrative never really backs it up I guess? Like we never hear about their similarities again outside of the green eyes. I get that Sirius and Remus are primarily James’ friends but they knew Lily. Sirius at least had a close relationship with ( her letter to him) the teachers at Hogwarts knew her, but we get a few lines about their deepest natures, their green eyes, a bit from Sluggy, and that’s like it? Which is just so strange to me. Like what? The whole idea of his deepest nature being like Lily’s hold no real weight narratively to me because nobody creates it. We’re told it and are just suppose to accept this and move on like it really means something when we’re never really give any reason as to what it means or why we should really care I guess? It bugs me how he’s suppose to be like his mother but hear about her so little in conjunction to her son.

I will mention that in Celtic mythology the stag is the “king of the forest and protector of all its creatures” (idk if jkr used that as inspo) and with James’ animagus form and patronus taking the shape of a stag it implies the stag is a real reflection of who he is as a person. Them having the same patronus puts Harry in line again with his father again opposed to his mother. It’s just something that has never made sense to me. It’s like we’re being told two different things at once. It’s like we’re supposed to believe one thing while being told/shown another.

It’s all very strange to me. I apologize if this makes zero sense. It ended up wayyy longer than I intended but I’m a big fan of your blog and you write so well about HP (especially my love j/s) that I felt compelled to share this since I never have before. I don’t really have anyone to share it with so again I apologize if this is just a bit too out of left field and an incoherent mess. It’s just some thoughts. Feel free to ignore it. ❤️💛

Hey! First of all, no way am I ignoring this, it’s such a thoughtful and insightful message, thank you, and I have to reply (even if it’s taken me a while) <3 I completely agree, there are sooo many contradictions when it comes to Lily and James and Harry and the patronus. This is the issue I have with Harry’s Patronus as well - it’s so unnecessarily gendered even though it’s inconsistent with 1. what we’re told about Harry’s character in this instance and 2. the precedence established by Snape’s Patronus, Tonks’ patronus etc. But it’s just bad writing and I’m more than happy to call JKR out for that lmao. I think within the narrative we’re probably supposed to see aspects of both James and Lily in Harry by the end of the series, but Lily can feel like such a stock figure that it’s not completely clear, and there’s still a sway towards James because we hear from his friends about him, as you say, and James’ best friend plays a significant role in Harry’s life, etc, whereas the closest we see of Lily’s friends in Harry’s life is Snape being his teacher and hating him lol.

It’s actually really sad that Sirius and Remus don’t mention Lily because we’re supposed to believe from the letter that Sirius and Lily had enough of a standalone friendship to communicate with each other. Probably it would be explained as there was just too much going on with the second war so Lily never came up, it was painful for Sirius maybe, but I do just think JKR hadn’t thought that far ahead and came up with the letter post-OotP. Harry also doesn’t seem to think much about Lily until he witnesses Snape’s memory. He hears her scream in PoA and he sees her come out of Voldemort’s wand in GoF but Lily is very much Mother and James is fleshed out more with Quidditch, the Animagus thing, Sirius, Remus. JKR does that with female characters, makes them mothers and only mothers, whether they had more defining attributes before that or not (there’s nothing wrong with being a mother but the older/non-mothers are outliers in the series which is something I find personally uncomfortable).

And I think a lot of the blank space around Lily can be put down to how bad JKR is at writing women and female friendships. I can only really think of Hermione and Ginny as a positive one, and I feel like the tone around Cho/Marietta and Parvarti/Lavender is supposed to make them come across as a bit silly (I haven’t read the full series for a while so that’s just an impression I remember from…years and years ago). BUT also James is shoved at Harry from when he starts Hogwarts, Petunia wasn’t someone Harry could talk to about Lily and so perhaps he detached from her a bit or she just took a back seat because information about her was less accessible (but we also don’t really see Harry try). I don’t know if I believe that was deliberate for the Snape/Lily friendship reveal or not.

I totally agree that Harry doesn’t read as especially kind either - maybe merciful, re: Wormtail and Snape, like Lily sacrificing herself for him and that maybe is supposed to signal their shared innate goodness as I feel like Lily’s sacrifice is one of the things that is routinely repeated about her through the series. Lily’s temper is also one of the consistent things we see in both SWM and The Prince’s Tale, but I love that connection of James and Lily’s quickness to fight, especially as we know from the prophecy that they defied Dumbledore thrice.

I actually think it’s in James and Lily’s similarities that Lily’s attributes get lost and they get emphasised as James’ traits or attributed to James when they fit with what we know about Lily much more neatly. One thing that sticks out to me is Slughorn calling Lily “cheeky”, and I like to think that Harry’s comments like “You don’t need to call me ‘sir’, Professor” are more of a Lily than a James thing, or at least a Lily as well as a James thing. Harry’s comments can be very dry and sarcastic and we don’t get much sarcasm from James, he’s very on the nose and goofy in his humour. You also mentioned Lily’s temper, and I think we see that in Harry in OotP and we also see his cutting remarks when he’s hurt or angry - “You might even have a scar now, if you’re lucky. . . . That’s what you want, isn’t it?” to Ron vs Lily’s “I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivelly”/“You didn’t think it was such a freak’s school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you”, although I doubt that’s what Dumbledore meant lol. Maybe also the dissimilarities between James and Harry indicate which elements of Harry’s nature come from Lily.

Dumbledore saying that Harry’s “deepest nature” is most like Lily’s is in response to Snape saying that “he is his father over again”. But Harry is never shown to be popular or arrogant or spoiled or cruel in the ways that James is - which are the ways that Snape means and I think it’s important to recognise that Snape talking about Harry being like James and the ways that the reader sees that Harry is actually like James are quite different. There’s also quite a distinction between the point that Snape talks about (Harry = arrogant bully) vs the point that Dumbledore is talking about (Harry’s deepest, innermost parts of his soul are like Lily) - so maybe his “deepest nature” isn’t actually the Harry we see often but the Harry that we see in those critical moments. I also think it's probably a tactic on Dumbledore’s part to get Snape to see Harry objectively and he knows that suggesting Snape will recognise parts of Lily in Harry is likely to get him to at least try to find those attributes.

Harry discovering that James wasn’t perfect, and was more like Dudley/Draco, is an important moment for him, especially when it comes shortly before Sirius’ death. It’s this moment of him coming to terms with the realisation that he has to be responsible for his own character, make his own choices rather than trying to emulate his parents, that he can’t rely on their reputation because their reputation isn’t universally positive (in James’ case). And while even then we don’t get much more of Lily, or a deeper interest in Lily which I think could have been very interesting, I think that the qualities we see Harry taking on from OotP onwards are probably those that liken his deeper nature to Lily’s. Harry doesn’t correlate distinctly or completely with what we see of either Lily or James in the series, but that’s not a lot. In fact in HBP Harry seems to seek alternate parental figures in Dumbledore and the Prince in the absence of Sirius and maybe the slight disillusionment from James (I don’t think this is all-encompassing by any means but I think it would be especially difficult for Harry to confront in the aftermath of Sirius’ death when James and Sirius are so closely aligned).

I love the stuff about the stag, and it makes me a bit :( because James clearly does make himself this protective presence in his friends’ lives but he’s also 21 himself so I struggle to see him as this full-blown patriarch (even though that’s his role in the series), much like it’s hard to see Lily as this homely Molly-Weasley-to-be because she’s also only 21! Interestingly the name ‘James’ means supplanter/substitute and we know that JKR does pay attention to names somewhat and it seems that in a lot of cases James is like substitute/second family for his friends/Lily. But I think probably calling him James rather than a wizard name was just to show that he had a normal, comfortable upbringing.

And before I can find another point to witter on about, I’ll finish by mentioning the great point that casquecest replied to the original post with, that Harry’s Patronus changed after he adjusted his view of James to be more realistic. I like this idea of Harry coming into himself more post-war and his Patronus changing to reflect that, maybe he doesn’t feel like he has to be a leader or protector anymore.

Ty again for this thoughtful message! <3

#ask #harry james potter #lily evans #james potter #also ya didn't want to start myself on j/s bc i cant stop but james&harry are absolutely united #in not taking risks that are likely to injure sirius

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jmagnabo92 · 2 years

Text

Drabble - Stay

Rather than follow Dumbledore’s orders, after he shakes Snape’s hand at the end of GOF, he decides to stay for Harry - to support him as he’d been doing all year.

***

Sirius drops Snape’s hand and looks at Dumbledore, “I’m sorry?”

“I need you to go to Lupin’s and alert the old crowd …”

“No.”

“Pardon?” Dumbledore asks, looking shocked.

“It doesn’t make any sense to have me do it – I’m a fugitive, most people think I’m escaped mass murderer,” Sirius scoffs.

“You’ll tell Lupin, and he will reach out to the old crowd,” Dumbledore retorts, slowly, as if talking to a child that wouldn’t understand him.

“I can do that from here,” Sirius states. Before Dumbledore could argue further, he moves back to Harry’s side, looking at those hopeful eyes that he would stay and support him, and continues, “I’m not leaving Harry so soon after everything that he’s been through tonight. He needs support and I didn’t live in a cave in Hogsmeade just to leave him after something actually happens.”

He’s only slightly surprised by Dumbledore’s nod of acceptance. “You’re right, please get a message to Lupin as soon as possible.”

Sirius nods, and without bothering to listen to Dumbledore order Snape around, focuses on Harry. “Can I borrow your wand?”

Harry nods, despite looking confused.

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Sirius states, picking up a wand for the first time since the night in the shack the previous year. He focuses on the memories of James that he regained over the course of the last year or so but knows that his happiest memories with James (their first kiss, their first time, the moment he promised that he wouldn’t choose Lily over Sirius, that they could share him) are tainted by him being dead and gone. Tainted by his wondering for years for James would hate him for what happened that night. Frowning, he decides to focus on Harry’s acceptance of living with him so soon and saving his life the previous year and summons his patronus. He’s not surprised to see that it’s still a stag – still Prongs.

He tells it to go to Remus and tell him that Pettigrew had taken Harry and used his blood to resurrect Voldemort. Harry was – returned – but Fudge was being stupid. He finishes with Dumbledore’s order to get the Order back together.

The stag takes off and he looks back at Harry, who’s staring at the space it had occupied in awe.

Despite wanting to hold onto the wand for the feeling it gives him, he hands it back, “Thank you, kid.”

“You’re – er – welcome,” Harry states, hesitantly. “I – er – I didn’t know you knew the patronus…”

Sirius nods, “I learned it in seventh year – your parents did, too. We used them to communicate sometimes, but you have to know where the person is and risk the message getting out to whoever’s present when it finds the person you sent it to.”

Harry nods, uncertainly. He looks like he wants an answer to why it’s Prongs and not Padfoot, which Sirius doesn’t know how to explain without explaining the complicated relationship between him, James and Lily.

Before he could figure out how, Harry asks, “It’s not Padfoot?”

“Er no, it’s never been Padfoot,” Sirius states.

“But Dad’s was – Lupin told me,” Harry states, frowning.

“Hmm-mm, in normal cases, your Animagus and patronus are the same, but I suppose – like you – all of my happiest memories involve your dad or you,” Sirius sighs. “Most of the ones with your dad are a bit – er – tainted by … everything … and so I actually chose that moment last year with you – since your patronus is a stag, that means it wouldn’t change, even though I half expected it to.”

Harry cocks his head to the side in confusion, but Sirius smiles, running his hand through Harry’s hair. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, you should get some sleep. You’ve been through a lot tonight.”

“But I – I want to talk now,” Harry states. The words ‘before you leave again’ hangs in the air between them.

“I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise,” Sirius assures him.

“You’re going to stay?” Harry questions, looking hopeful.

“Yes, I’ll stay.”

“Thanks,” Harry grins.

“Anything for you, Kid.”

#Sirius Black #Harry James Potter #Sirius and Harry #sirius and harry saturday #GOF changed moment #Always thought Sirius leaving made no sense and was OOC

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thebeautifuldreamer · 4 months

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*Spoilers* for the Harry Potter books.

Recently, I spent time with a group of people around my age who were watching the Harry Potter movies for either the first time or the first time in a long time. It was fun to talk about Harry Potter canon and lore with people who didn’t know as much about Harry Potter as I did.

Eventually we started a discussion about Snape vs James and what each of their patronuses symbolize.

For those of you who have read the books, it is revealed that Snape has a doe patronus which is the same as Lily Potter's patronus. Early in the books, Harry finds out his father, James Potter’s patronus was a stag (which is also Harry's)

The contrast between Snape taking on the same patronus as Harry’s mother, the woman he loved since childhood symbolizes a desire of obsession and possession over Lily.

While Jame’s stag and Lily’s doe is a perfect representation of how they are true soulmates because they complement each other.

Snape might have once loved Harry’s mom, but after their falling out and Lily falling in love with James, that love turned into an obsession over the woman he loved but who had never loved him. It symbolizes his regret for losing Lily and how he still in some way has an intense desire to possess her affections.

You can see it in the way he begged the dark lord not to kill Lily while failing to make the same request for her husband and son. I don’t believe Snape is a horrible irredeemable person, actually it’s the opposite because I admire and am satisfied with his role in the dark lord’s downfall and his lengths he went to to help save Harry and stop the dark lord.

But I would say there are some things that are concerning about his character. When you think about the author adding information (After the books) about how Lily was pregnant with her second child when she died and she was trying to convince James to let Snape be the godfather, suggesting she might have forgiven him. He could have had Lily in his life in the form of a friend but failing to extend his request to Lily’s husband and son, it suggests he wouldn’t have been satisfied with her friendship. He might have never stopped trying to make Lily love him which might have led to another falling out but this time, It might’ve been permanent.

It was an interesting discussion to talk about and I loved detailing the hidden meaning behind Snape and James’s patronuses and how it signifies the different types of love they had for Lily.

#harrypottertheory #newblogpost #newharrypotterpost #harrypotter #blogpost #harrypottercanon #blogs #bloggers #harrypotterfandom #hpfandom

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seriousbrat · 4 months

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the james and severus places are reversed au ideas, I'm thinking about this now but probably won't ever write it lol. obviously a lot of this is OOC, it's an AU after all

none of this is serious btw it's just a stupid idea for fun 😭

I'd prefer it if Sev was still a DE and James was still in the order. I don't see it the other way around given their characters

So Lily's character/arc would be very different. (the main reason I don't want to write it lol) She could have dated James but it didn't work out. Actually it didn't work out because:

Snape could leave the DEs, join the Order and then the "thrice defied" stuff (once would be turning against voldemort)

James would refuse to work with Severus and leave the Order and Lily, trying to seek out Voldemort and kill him on his own by infiltrating the DEs. This is when he overhears the prophecy. Sev and Lily get together. Imo, not a good relationship. She's sad about James leaving and Sev's there.

Sirius and Lily become really close after James leaves, Sirius still Harry's godfather. He and Snape reconcile.

Peter leaves with James and he's the one who tells Voldemort about the prophecy after James confides in him. James then goes back to Dumbledore and becomes a spy like Snape did.

The Fidelius Charm bit is tricky, like who would replace Peter? Idk it would have to be someone both Lily and Sev trusted, so that rules out any marauders. Maybe just throw some rando in like Regulus.

That works tbh. I'll swap Regulus and Peter. and PETER is the one who destroys the horcrux out of guilt. POP (his initials in my head) redemption arc

Fuck it Regulus is an Animagus too. He's a cat. He was in the Order. The showdown is between Sirius and his brother.

So then Sev and Lily die, Harry Severus Snape (lol) survives.

James as a teacher. would have to be Transfiguration, so McG's out. Sorry Minerva. Slughorn stays on. Like Sev, James would want the DADA post. Except for Dumbledore, people think he defected from the Order, joined the DEs, and then defected again.

Harry is in his ugly era but still has Lily's eyes. Still sorted into Gryffindor imo, and is still friends with the trio and everything.

James isn't quite as nasty to him as Snape was but still fairly nasty. Cold and strict. He's head of Gryffindor house. Harry doesn't play quidditch though, and James treats him like a loser and a disgrace to Gryffindor. Harry is close to Slughorn.

PoA goes quite differently. Sirius breaks out because he sees CAT BOY REGULUS in a picture with HERMIONE. Btw he believes that James defected to the DEs and betrayed Lily and therefore hates him, they had a big falling out.

Remus believes the same, (he believes Sirius James and Peter all defected together) so their relationship is icy.

So the shrieking shack is: Remus, cat regulus, Sirius, the trio, and it's James who bursts in. He already HAS the invisibility cloak, not Harry. They talk about Snape, and how I guess idk Sirius came to respect him and they bonded over hating James. But James thinks it's Sirius who betrayed Lily and Sev. He's knocked out and cat boy regulus is revealed. it's not revealed what James's animagus form is. Harry's patronus is a doe.

SWM mostly serves to confirm all of harry's thoughts about Snape and James. However he sees Snape call Lily a mudblood and is shook. in the convo with Sirius and Remus, it's revealed that Snape was once a death eater. Tbh, it can be revealed too that Snape was a Slytherin.

It's James who teaches him occlumency. James's relationship with the other marauders is strained.

in HBP Harry still finds the prince's book. He DOES think it's Snape's. He uses sectumsempra on Malfoy and James finds them, recognises it as Snape's spell and tells him. This further shocks Harry's ideas about Snape. And he still finds out that it was James listening at the door from Trelawney

James kills Dumbledore, the same way Snape did. Etc.

DH goes much the same way as canon. Headmaster James gives him the sword. He leads Harry to the pool as a stag.

Peter's death becomes Reg's death.

Godric's Hollow replaced with Spinner's End. Bathilda replaced with EILEEN who is revealed to be alive

The Prince's Tale becomes The Stag's Tale. And in it Harry sees that James has always been protecting him, that he was in love with Lily, that he was never really a death eater. Along with his memories, James gives Harry the cloak, leaving him the first hallow with his death.

I'm going to go with Harry/Luna for this AU idk why. He's not cool enough for Ginny. honestly though maybe drarry lol

Albus James Snape lol. And Lily Luna Snape! Severus Sirius Snape RIP

"Dad what if I'm a Quidditch player?" "Son you were named after a Quidditch player and a Headmaster of Hogwarts and he was the bravest man I ever knew"

#LMAO sorry this is so ridiculous #this is mostly just bc i had thoughts and had to write them out somewhere #cat boy regulus is my fav part tbh #honestly harry could still be james's son but everyone thinks his dad is snape including him. obv that would be tricky if he looks exactly #like james. mb he looks like Lily.#he could be a girl!#worst part is sirius and james hating each other :(

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musecaravan-info · 9 months

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Severus Snape

"How far can you go down the wrong path before you can’t get back on the right one?" ~ Carolee Dean, Take Me There ~

Basic Information

FACE/BODY CLAIM: Adrien Brody

AGE: That depends 100% on the timeline you want him in

EYES: Black

HAIR: Black

HEIGHT: 6'1

PRIMARY OUTFIT: Severus doesn't really care much about his appearance regardless of the timeline. The only caveat to this rule is his Professor robes. Those are always neat and pristine.

His personal wardrobe (especially once he could afford to buy his own clothes) is worn, but well-cared for. Basically , he doesn't believe in waste. He has exactly the amount of clothes he feels are necessary, and wears them until they wear out to the point of irreparability.

His wardrobe consist of dark colors and long sleeves (to hide old scars... and other things.) Everything he wears is simple in make and design - no patterns or frills- just solid colors. He prefers to not stand out whenever possible.

Personality

The personality you get when dealing with Severus will rely heavily on who your muse is and what point in time we're writing in. He is, after all, many different things to many different people at different points in his life. In general, Severus is a quiet individual, who's mastered the art of observing while remaining invisible. He's spent his whole life 'getting used to disappointment' and it shows in his reactions to people and to the world at large. There's a lot of anger pent up inside of him. He tries to keep it in check - to not be like his father - but he's not always successful.

Powers & Weaknesses

Severus is an incredibly powerful wizard. In addition to being HIGHLY skilled at potions, he is an unsurpassed Occlumens AND Legilimens. He also excels at wandless magic, and can cast (and expertly control) a fully-formed Patronus. From a young age, he's also had the ability to create spells 'on the fly,' so to speak, using his knowledge of spellwork and Latin to summon spells only he knows how to do.

As for weaknesses... none when it comes to his magic. However, his personality leaves a lot to be desired. He allows bitterness, jealousy, and anger to rule many of his actions, and can be very self-serving when the mood strikes. I would say his biggest weakness is being unable to see the good in others. It's almost like he's afraid to. The only person he ever saw any good in was taken from him, and he never wants to get attached like that again.

Romance

It can happen. But even with people he knows it MUST build over time. The only obvious exception to this rule is Lily. He loves her. Always has, always will. With others he needs to trust... and then to care. Those aren't easy things for him, but that CAN happen, given enough time and patience (...and maybe an angsty scene where he thinks the person is dead, for example. ;D)

Where to Find Him

This will depend on the timeline you want to write in. Let me know what you're thinking, and I'm happy to give a few ideas about the best place your muse can meet him. ^_^

Verses

Just because a verse isn't listed here doesn't mean I'm not interested in writing it. I adore all kinds of AUs, and welcome the chance to get creative with my muses. If you've seen a verse that another of my muses has, and you'd like to see this muse in something similar, let me know. You can also check out my 'Plot Ideas' tag, too. ^_^

Main Verse:

Severus Snape is a canon character from the Harry Potter universe. A lot of what you’ll find here is canon to the books. This canon universe is my default when writing starters, etc. unless you ask me for something AU. The timeline I choose will likely depend on who your muse is. However, I'd much prefer we discuss it beforehand, so we're both on the same page. Thanks! :)

Current/Ongoing Threads

If your thread with Severus isn't listed here it's probably because it's been long enough since your last reply that I thought you'd dropped it. Message me to let me know you're still interested, and I'll happily add you to the list (with no pressure for a reply.) ♡

None at the Moment

Your Thread Here!

Stuff That's Good to Know Before Starting a Thread

I ask that you please keep in mind that there is only so much about Severus that’s actually canon - the rest is much more about perception. And if my perception differs from yours, telling me (while it might spark an interesting discussion) probably isn’t going to make any difference in how I choose to roleplay him.

I have watched the movies and read the books more than once (except for Deathly Hallows - that one is too hard for me to get through emotionally.) However, please know that I do not have a photographic memory, so if I make a mistake with something don’t be afraid to tell me. As long as you’re not rude about it, I promise to hear you out. ^_^

Links

Please keep in mind, this blog is an ongoing work in progress. Not all of these links may lead somewhere, but they're here because they link to potential tags for this muse.

All Things Severus

Headcanons

Drabbles

All Threads

Ask Replies

Meme Replies

Aesthetics

Face

Special Links

Original Blog

Quotes that Fit Severus

Fandom Meta about Severus that I Like

Return To Full Muse List

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endversewinchester · 1 year

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Bit of backstory on the wolfsbane potion. Relevant for any marauders read through tbh.

We get to see Tonks again (as she’s stationed now at Hogsmeade, presumably to stay away from Remus) and she is still on a sour mood over being rejected. But she’s also not overdoing it, or mistreating Harry. She’s just more quiet. I still think this is well within her right.

Her having a wolf patronus now because Remus is a werewolf is where I think this might have gotten out of line. We’ve seen many other canon couples at this point, and none of them have the exact same patronus (at least those we’ve seen the patronus of).

The one person whose patronus reflects someone else’s in canon is Snape re Lily’s, and that was arguably more of an obsession than love. So I’ll be taking this here as the first red flag 🚩 on remadora and Tonks’ feelings in general.

I would love to think it isn’t all Remus. She is a wizard cop after all, and we are under a terrorist threat at this point in the story. I don’t trust JKR, but I will give Tonks the benefit of doubt in this case and say it isn’t just over Remus.

Sirius counts, Harry brought him up. We know Sirius was close to her mother Andromeda when they were young (but how close could they be when she was much older than him? More so that she was this nice big cousin figure to him, I guess). But I don’t think Sirius is a big factor here at all for her.

Snape being a dick is his default, so I will just grit my teeth. He doesn’t really get to speak, as his patronus is the only other one we’ve seen shift due to love. I am guessing that’s precisely why he’s salty. I am also mad that he’s taking a dig at Lupin indirectly here. Fuck off, dude.

Here you lost me, Harry. I don’t really think Snape’s teasing is what prompted Sirius to go off. Yes, his words definitely stung as they were meant to, however Sirius would have chased after you into the ministry even without them. One for his reckless personality, two for a sense of loyalty towards your father, and three to “fulfill his duties as a godfather”, so out of love to you.

Not to mention he dies not because he went, but because he got overconfident and teased Bellatrix. Snape had very little to do with the outcome here, though I’m sure he’s happy about it.

#cami reads #Harry Potter and the half blood Prince

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