James and Lily, or Lily and Severus?

[Cammie]

I'm interested to see what people decide :-)

[Camille]

Snilly, XD. You forget James was a bully to Snape too.

[April]

James and Lily

[Annie]

I believe Lilly and James even though Snape truly loved Lilly, she did not feel the same kind of love towards him.

[Jessi]

James and Lily just because Snape had a crush doesn't mean they were meant to be besides I still think Snape was totally creepy whether or not in the end he was doing stuff for Harry's own good or not

[Saakshi]

I think it should've been Snape. He was the one who deserved her, really.

[[deleted user]]

I believe that James and Lily were a good couple and they still are:)

[Gayatri]

Okay, personally I think Lily/James is a nice couple. But I'm not against Lily/Severus either.

But an analysis:

James and Lily are straight out of a cliche chick-lit high school novel. Popular guy who is actually a jerk, wants the girl who wouldn't touch him with a ten feet long pole. Guy grows up and both of them get together. Happily ever after.

Except a guy called Severus suffers for it.

Now, Severus is by no means innocent. He chose to associate with Rosier and other Death Eater wanna-bes. Not just that, he called Lily a mudblood.

But is that enough reason for Lily to dump her best friend?

Maybe, maybe not. I'm not judging her. It was certainly an awful thing to hear, and I realise that the 'mudblood' issue is the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

I can't help but think though, that Lily gave up on her six year friendship a bit too easily. I think I would have a lot less friends in the world if I lost one every time a friend insulted me.

The fact that Severus was under duress then, should be considered too. He had just been publicly humiliated after all.

But, like I said, I'm not going to judge Lily. Severus had been hanging out with future Death Eaters, and maybe Lily was afraid for herself because of that. Maybe Lily was just emotional that day and got a tad bit too wound up. Maybe Lily just did not want to go through the effort to save her friendship with a guy who increasingly seemed to be a deviant. I can't blame her for that. She was just fifteen. Teens grow out of their friends all the time when they are fifteen.

So maybe Sevily could have worked out. Or maybe the sallow, greasy-haired Severus was destined to be an underdog for a reason. After all, there is no guarantee that Severus would not have been a Death Eater even if he had Lily. After all, he associated with Rosier even when he was friends with Lily,didn't he?

But on the other hand, I can;t help wondering: If Lily and James weren't killed that fateful Halloween night, would their marriage have lasted? They did marry rather young after all, and the divorce rates for young couples are not optimistic.

That, and I am still a tad sceptical about the Lily/James fairytale romance. There's just too much icing in it for me.

But well, that's me.

[Isabel]

James & Lily.

For sure and forever. For me there's no other way it could have been.

Snape just had a crush on Lily, her friend form childhood. He didn't really "care" for her, he even insulted her and joined the bad guys. He could have showned her his true love but he decided to go on his own way. That is not love.

And James... Of course it's kind of a fairy tale but just because it's a beautiful love story it's just too good to be true? I think he was a good man even though when he was a teenager he was trouble. A lot of guys are and that doesn't mean they are not good people. What I mean is that I don't think James was a bully with everybody, just with Snape. And Snape was a bully with James, and then with everyone else...

During the Last years at school James grow up and changed, because he was older and because of Lily. He showed her he was a good guy and that he was in love with her. And she fell in love with him too.

It's as simple as that. James & Lily loved each other.


PS: English is not my mother tongue, I'm sorry for the mistakes!!

[Reem]

James and Lily for sure.. I know James was a bully but he loved Lily and he just wanted to make her happy.. He died for her and Harry! I dont imagine Lily and Snape together.. Okay he loves her but he did hurt her.. Remember when she was trying to help and he called her a Mudblood ? Severus Snape: "I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just —"
Lily: "Slipped out? It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends ... You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine."

[Reem]

I have nothing against Snape tho! I mean who doesnt love Snape

[Reem]

I have nothing against Snape tho! I mean who doesnt love Snape

[Cheryl]

I think in an alternate universe I could support Sev/Lily, maybe one in which Sev is placed in Gryffindor.

In cannon however I have to support James/Lily.

[Inkweaver]

Severus and Lily all the way.

[Madeline]

Snape and Lily! Most definitely.

Maybe it's just the way he's painted, but James was never one of my favourite characters. I couldn't really see past his bullying faze.

But that isn't the mane reason I vote snily- Snape is, in my opinion, the most complex and 'real' character in the series. If you read the series at quite a young age you'll probably see Snape as the bad guy (my review of HP explains this much better), but I was intrigued as soon as he made his appearance. He's got a background, a bit of a morbid past- he has reasons for what he does. But one thing I was 100% sure about when reading the series was that Snape loved Lily.
Even through calling her a Mudblood- which was a last attempt at getting James of his back.

For someone so void of external emotion to show a mixture of sheer agony and pain on his face is surely a sign of true compassion- and this is seen when Snape finds a lifeless Lily, dead to save her son. To me this speaks volumes- it shows his sorrowful regret, regret that the only person he ever loved is dead because of him, and that he caused the destruction of their relationship. If that act isn't love at its strongest I don't know what is.

Anyway, that's what I think, I am a massive Snape supporter and to me he's better for Lily than James.

[Natasha ⚡️]

I do love the thing that was between Snape and Lily but Lily was mean't for James in my opinion. Snape liked the dark arts too much...

[Amphitrite]

James and Lily have to be together or no Harry Potter and none of us can live with no Harry Potter but I really wish that Snape and Lily could stay best friends

[Brooklyn]

Agreed. Though Severus is my favourite character, it's always been Lily and James.

[Ali]

Madeline wrote: "Snape and Lily! Most definitely.

Maybe it's just the way he's painted, but James was never one of my favourite characters. I couldn't really see past his bullying faze.

But that isn't the mane ..."

Sure the guy who went around killing/torturing muggleborns was the better choice. Lily was the 'special snowflake', Snape did not leave The Death Eater cause because he realised muggleborns didn't deserve to be exterminated but because his master chose to kill Lily and was manipulated by Albus. However you can argue that Snape seemed to learn to tolerate muggleborns near the end of his life but that doesnt excuse his past behaviour neither does his abusive muggle father.

Snape's hate towards muggleborns stems from a deeper issue of self hatred etc. and this kind of thinking is not washed away by romantic love. That issue needed to be resolved way before he could even begin any romantic affairs with anyone.

I can never see Snape/Lily as a healthy love story, it just wouldn't work. Say Lily never left behind that unhealthy friendship, what would happen? Snape and Lily would get together and yet Snape would continue murdering/torturing muggles, muggleborns and halfbloods under the DE's reign and do you think Lily would have stayed with him through all this. If their friendship was not enough to turn him away from associating with future/current DE, what makes you think anything else would. Snapes love would only lead to Lilys death or her being a pale shadow of what she was or could have been.

Snapes actions has already led to Lilys death, he is the one who relayed the prophecy to Lord Voldemort.

James was a bully, no argument from me. The other thing you failed to mention was Snape was a bully too. Therefore you cant use that knock down James and highlight Snape in a better manner. They were both bullies, what's worse is Snape not only people his age as a teenager but continued to bully children half his age as a teacher. He bullied Neville to the point where he was his boggart.

James atleast learnt better and stopped bullying somewhere around sixth/seventh year whilst Snape grew up to be worse than a bully. To people who say James' only bullied Snape, thats wrong, it's canon that he bullied others.

So when you bring up James' being a bully, please make sure to bring up Snape being a bully too.

Whilst I love Snape's character as one of the few complex characters, I do not like Snape at all. Snape was a nasty person and I applaud Lily for letting go an unhealthy friendship, Lily did not betray Snape. Snape betrayed Lily by associating with people who tortured other muggleborns (this is canon) and a group known to kill them. Why should Lily stick around and live in the hope that they wont turn on her next, especially after Snape called her a mudblood, how can she trust him to have her back when her kind is being killed for daring to be born?

So you can't see past James' bullying phase but yet you can see past Snape's bullying throughout his whole life? Double standard much here?

[Kevin]

^ agreed! I always thought Snape was an ass. I was bullied in school but never by a teacher! Forgiving dumb kids (James bullying) is one thing, but an adult bully, that's just sad.

oh and without James there'd be no Harry thus no discussion. ;)

[B]

It's not so much of a double standard as an understanding of what snape went through. that's not to say that snape was justified in what he did - bullying is NEVER justified - but he did have a hard childhood. His parents hated him, he had no friends, he was always dirty and wore oversized clothes, he always said the wrong thing that pushed away the girl he loved, and then all of a sudden in prances an arrogant boy who never had to work a day in his life and had everything handed to him on a silver platter, and thought he deserved lily Evans. Snaps knew lily as a child from before she knew she was a witch, and then james comes in and invites lily into his group, mocking and bullying snape, who happened to be lilys only friend and one of her biggest supporters at the time.

Snape made plenty of bad choices and mistake in his life, and did many things that lily didn't approve of, but who's to say that if he had lily he wouldn't have turned out a much better man? James bullied people because he was arrogant and felt he was above everyone one else, whereas snape was taking his hurt out on other people. James had no reason for his hate that he unleashed out on others - snape had somewhere it was coming from and no where for it to go. Snape was wrong, yes, but James was so much wronger. And snape bullied people even as a man, but there were so many unfair factors that contributed to the creation of that man that it's not possible to really judge or condemn the man. That was something that harry finally understood.

[Georgia]

James and Lily all the way :F

[Georgia]

Sorry
*:D

[Jenna]

James and Lily, no doubt about it.

[Anthony]

Ahlaam said it all

[Emma]

James wasn't really polite to snape but I would pick james and lily because harry wouldn't have been born at all if lily and snape married

[Jolijn]

Lily and Snape!
But still happy Lily and James made Harry;)
i liked the love from Snape to Lily in the flashbacks

[Donut]

James and lily they made harry without that harry potter wouldn't exsist

[[deleted user]]

Difficult question.

Well, Severus did call her racist names, torture thousands of her blood-type and only gave up on it for her.

James was a bully, but not a killer.

I go with him on this one.

[[deleted user]]

Victoria wrote: "I feel like james and lily were created for each other. like, literally, in rowling's mind they existed first as a couple (harry's parents) before they branched off and became their own characters...."

They probably were originally just his parents, nothing more. Just some genetics to use.

Severus has always been fascinated by the Dark Arts and wasn't going to give his life's ambition up for his love. I don't blame him, isn't ambition one of Slytherin's traits? But his friends and their hatred of her blood and the whole house rivalry didn't help.

[Camilap81]

James and Lily- Snape might of liked Lily, but Lily loved James and at the end HE died for her and Snape still hated him so I think the relationship wouldn't of worked out with Snape and Lily anyway.

[Anny]

James and Lily withoit a doubt. Snape was a complete asshole, and no one in their right mind would marry someone who called them a racist slur. It's about as likely as a black person marrying a skinhead who goes on nazi meetings.

[B]

i dont know that's true. When he was a kid, maybe, but later when he probably wouldve given it all up for lily, she was already married to james. he couldnt exactly choose her after that.

[[deleted user]]

My opinion is that both Severus and James loved lily. They both were willing to give up their life for her. And although we kinda know what was between Severus and Lily, we don't have that kind of information between James and her. Thus, it is easier to pair Severus and lily together. But we as I mentioned before, we don't know about James.we can judge who is a better person, but perhaps Lily did not merely like men because of their pros. Also, I can't say whether James or Severus was better. They were both decent. There. If we don't have all the facts,how can we efficiently judge which is a better couple?

[[deleted user]]

Musicbox wrote: "My opinion is that both Severus and James loved lily. They both were willing to give up their life for her. And although we kinda know what was between Severus and Lily, we don't have that kind of ..."

There's always Severus' memories, where James pops up every now and then.

[[deleted user]]

I meant when James and Lily were dating , not when Lily disliked him.

[LENA]

Snape deserved happiness. That doesn't mean he and Lily should be together. After all, if they had been together Harry wouldn't exist. The way the story of this love triangle unfolds is perfect. Harry came in this world because Lily saw behind the bully and together they created a lovely family. Snape was ALWAYS there to look after Harry. I just wish he had been a bit more happier before the end... One of the reasons I will never forget this book is the character of Severus.

[B]

Musicbox wrote: "My opinion is that both Severus and James loved lily. They both were willing to give up their life for her. And although we kinda know what was between Severus and Lily, we don't have that kind of ..."

the thing is, I find it hard to think of James as a decent person. I know everyone tries to convince Harry that his father was a good man, and he was in the Order of the Phoenix, so he obviously wasnt evil, but no matter what anyone says about James hating the dark arts, he still sounds like a jerk. And its possible to be both. i think the reason for this is that we have tangible evidence when we judge the rest of the characters - we can decide ourselves how to view them based on their actions. But the only time James really shows up is when he's being a complete jerk, and there's no other proof to show that he wasn't. So personally, i find it hard to like James, which makes me more benevolent when it comes to Snape, even though he has done horrible things - but he has many redeeming qualities too. We've never really seen any redeeming qualities of James, or someone who said that he wasnt a jerk....

[Muddy]

Severus Snape and lily evans. definitely.

[Grace]

Ok. James was a bully for a phase of his life, and at the time, he might not have necessarily have thought of it as bullying.

By this I mean that in James' mind, he thought that he was purely making fun of Snape, not bullying. In later life he probably realised that he was bullying and probably would have felt remorse.
Because James decided to grow up, that is why he and Lily eventually fell in love.

Snape on the other hand, was a bully for, practically, life.
He never matured.
He bullied Neville- an innocent student- so much that he became Neville's worst fear.

Why did Lily 'suddenly' cut her ties with Snape?
It wasn't sudden. The 'mudblood' incident was the last straw.
He's mixing with the wrong people- Death Eaters- who want to kill people like her, as well as not having basic hygiene.
Once Lily cut ties with Snape, there was no going back.
Therefore, Snily is totally based on Snape's dying obsession with Lily, not that Lily gets in say in the matter.

So I'm in team James and Lily, because it's a two way street and if Lily had married Snape, would they have ended up in an abusive relationship like Snape's Parents? Highly unlikely, but we all saw the way he treated his students.

[[deleted user]]

Grace wrote: "So I'm in team James and Lily, because it's a two way street and if Lily had married Snape, would they have ended up in an abusive relationship like Snape's Parents? "

I doubt Severus would have been an abusive guy towards his wife, he despised his father and didn't want to be like him in any way.

Although I wonder why Lily would consider marrying Severus, he was rather racist towards her blood type...

[Emmy]

Late to the party here...

I'll confess that I love the idea of a romance between Snape and Lily. Some of the things that were revealed throughout the books and especially in Deathly Hallows were heart-wrenching. I do believe that, as much as he was capable of, Snape truly loved Lily.

But...

Going by canon I would have to say between the two James and Lily (which pains me, because Alan Rickman in DH: Part 2 was incredible in those flashback scenes...what am I saying, Alan Rickman is incredible period).

J.K. Rowling has said that Lily might have come to love Snape romantically if not for his interest in the Dark Arts (from a live chat in 2007: https://archive.org/stream/J.k.Rowlin...), but unfortunately Snape did make a choice. I'd like to think that if he would have told Lily the night after he called her that horrible name that he was renouncing the Dark Arts she would have forgiven him and something would have developed. But his choice led to other choices, each one worse than the other.

Also, when he requested Dumbledore's help he initially only wanted help in protecting Lily. While I could understand him not caring about the man who was his worst enemy in school and who humiliated him on a regular basis, I believe a true and mature love is when we place our loved one's needs and wants above our own. Had Snape's love been a healthy one I believe he would have wanted protection for the people Lily card about, too (although Snape agreeing to protect Harry after Lily's and James' deaths did show some growth in this, as he wasn't going to get any reward from Lily for his actions).

And his behavior in the first six books, especially towards the students, was deplorable. Regardless of his history (although his family abuse, being bullied in school and losing the love of his life are all heart-wrenching) he continued to make those bad choices and inflict emotional damage on others as a way of dealing with his own pain.

However, I agree with "Musicbox" in that we don't get to see a lot of James and his marriage. We know snippets here and there, but I despised his treatment of Snape. People can grow and change (James, Snape, Neville, Draco, etc.), but I would have liked to learn a lot more about the adult James and the relationship James and Lily had Hogwarts.

Bottom line: I loved how J.K. Rowling put so much depth in her characters. Not all good people were good, and not all bad people were bad. It made me think hard, challenged my own preconceived notions and at the end left me so happy that I made the journey and so sad that it had to end.

[hedda]

I would rather Lily have ended up with Severus, but I can understand that J.K. had to put her with James (cough, Harry POTTER). As much as I dislike the pairing, it was necessary for the story. I mean, their son is the MAIN CHARACTER.

[Megan]

Lily and Severus all the way!!!!!

[B]

Lizzie wrote: "I think Severus had more of an obsession with Lily--it wasn't true love. James and Lily were a team. With Severus and Lily he was obsessed with her while she just wanted to be his friend.
A Patron..."

I just wanted to say that I really like your point about patronuses!

[Jojobean]

Snape and Lily. Or lily can go with james and leave snape for me

[[deleted user]]

I feel like Severus would have loved her a lot, but he was very dark, and we wouldn't have a lot of the plotlines we do. I think that it's Lily and James. And anyways, can't we respect Lily's choice? She chose James, and for good reason. Snape just couldn't get past his history. And it made him the bat we see in the books.

[Tone]

So, I'm all team James and Lily.

I read the books as an adult first - I was in my twenties when the books were published in Norway, and I bought the books to my then 6 year old son. Therefor, I don't agree with the former who claimed you probably hate Snape because you read the books as a child.

I don't like Snape. Yes, he was brave, and he did die to protect Lilys son. He did it because Harry is Lilys son, not because it is the right thing to do. He changed sides because Voldemort killed Lily, not because it is the right thing to do. If Voldemort had left Lily alone, Snape would still be a deatheater.

This is the main thing. Snape was a bully all his life. Not only in school. He bullied Petunia before he started at Hogwarts, because she was "only a muggle". Even if Petuina was being very Petunia, Snape attacked her with magic.
He bullied pupils working as a teacher, to the degree that he became Nevilles worst fear. I've had teachers like that, they are not good people. Even if they came up with the cure for all types of cancer, they would still be spiteful, evil, childish and, in this case, racist. One good deed does not make up for a lifetime of being an ass.

He asked Dumbledore to save Lily because he loved her. He didn't care if she lost her husband - witch I can understand, to some degree - or her son - witch I really don't understand at all - and he was a total ass to Harry all the 6 years he was his teacher - a child, who can't be blamed for who his parents are.

Yes, James was a bully. To Snape. I can't remember any evidence of James being a bully in general, the Marauders were more like the Weasley-twins to others. We know Snape disliked both James and Sirius from the first trainride to Hogwarts, how do we know that James treatment of Snape isn't a reaction to Snapes treatment of James? And why are we holding James up to another standard than both Snape and Sirius? Or Harry and Draco, for that matter?

James also is the guy who learned to be an animagus to keep Lupin company when he was a werewolf. He joined the Order of The Phoenix while Snape was still a deatheater. He and his family took Sirius in when Sirius ran away from his parents. James grew up. Snape did not.

Last, but not least - Lily fell in love with James, not Snape. Her choice, not Snapes, even though he never learned to accept that fact.

[anya]

@Tone- I think that was really well put. James was certainly an asshole to snape simply because he overheard snape expressing his desire to be in slytherin which is inexcusable, but snape killed people. I mean, they really can’t compare in terms of morals.
Also, snape’s love for lily really seemed to border on an obsession to me. He claimed to love her while at the same time disrespecting her family (I mean, it’s little wonder that petunia grew to hate magic after his treatment of her), and still holding her in low regards as a mudblood. If lily chose snape, then that still would have been her decision to make, but I could not see that being a mutually respectful relationship.
While it may be fun to imagine snape and lily together, I just can’t see it happening for real. Plus, as others have pointed out, the book is about Harry POTTER. Not Harry Snape. Which is actually kind of a cool name but totally would not have been the same series.

[Julia]

James and Lily. I mean, I want to see more of how their relationship evolved. We only see it from Snape's perspective, really, when I think there was a lot more going on there. Snape's memories portrayed it like "Lily was insulted by me and she rushed into James' arms." No, Lily is a stronger character than that, and I'm sure that James had to earn her affection.

Yes, Snape loved Lily immensely. But he never wanted what was best for her, and he never considered how the two of them would work as a couple. Relationships are about give and take, and even if Lily did end up having romantic feelings for him, I don't think they would ever be on the same page, and it would cause the relationship to fall apart.