The Official Harry Potter thread (SPOILERS - NO tags)

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Wouldn't it be funny if the handwriting were Lily's? Maybe she was like Hermione and just excelled in everything. Perhaps after all the tormenting from the James Gang Lily took pity on Severus and taught him spells and potions- it could be he owes his brilliance to her. He certainly wasn't very adept at blocking spells- remember James using the levitating spell on Severus? (That shows that it's likely Snape didn't invent that particular spell). Could also explain his dislike of Hermione's natural abilities- he had to really work for his knowledge.

This seems really off to me for a couple of reasons. One, Sirius tells us in Book 4 that Snape arrived at Hogwarts already knowing more hexes, etc. than most students. So whether he learned a lot from his mother, or picked up a lot on his own, I think it's safe to say he's really gifted/intelligent. Evil or good, those two things seem really clear to me. He is a glory hound, however, and does like to take credit where it isn't due, so....who konws?

But the writing is most likely Snape's or his mum's. I really don't think it's Lily's. Like Hermione said, there was an unkind sense of humor at play, and I don't think Lily was unkind. The book also said that the spell had a way of quickly circulating the school, and it makes sense that an aspect of Snape's complete humiliation in his so called "worst memory" would involve having his own hex/invention turned against him. (Or, possibly, his mother's hex.) It would also further explain why he's so vehement about being on one's guard, and non-verbal spells, etc. I'm guessing that Snape got the best of the Mauraders every bit as much as they got the best of him. I was under the impression that he was pretty good at blocking spells normally, and that particular memory was one of the more terrible exceptions.