Painfully memorable. Well told.

I didn't "get it" either, until I read Rachel's review.

I can't help but think if Lily'd freaking bothered to try to *explain* it instead of just blaming Severus for not *getting* it...but I suppose that would have been OOC. (They say women tend to do that. They especially say *young* women tend to do that. When it comes to JKR's characters, I'm torn...I like how realistically she portrays people, but sometimes I think she goes too far in making *everyone* *typical*. Just because the *typical* teenage girl behaves a certain way doesn't mean *every teenage girl in the world* does...)

In canon Lily tried to explain it somewhat, but when Severus somewhat listened and replied with the -- valid -- point that James Potter got away with behavior that was similar in kind though directed at different targets...that *even she* *let* him get away with it...*she* didn't get *that*. Each was so focused on his/her own enemy, his/her own needs, the unjust attacks on him/herself...neither could step back and see that they were both wrong, that they were both victims of bigotry, that each of them, by supporting the person who would protect him/her from his/her own bigots was betraying his/her "best friend" to the other bigots...

But I digress. This story would have left me mystified if it weren't for Rachel's review. I'm glad I read both -- together they really increased my understanding of these characters.

I'm not saying this story needs to be changed. It's just that it sticks so closely to Lily's perspective that if you don't already understand it... For the reader who does, though, it's a masterpiece of characterization.

well i love it
i think sev should have been slightly nicer though

~bunny

I really like the last paragraph when Lily says she is sorry too...I imagine that it pained Lily to "break up" with Snape since they were such close friends at one point.

pawz

Oh, poor Snivelus...

Poor Sev. ANd poor Lily.

I'm so glad to get a chance to read this story again -- it is truly lovely and very well-written (and thank you so much for your kind response to my earlier comments). I especially like this line: "He was like a child, saying the magic word over and over in case it worked the next time, trying and trying to repair something that hadn’t worked right even before it was broken." You captured so much with that line, I think. It showed that Lily knew their friendship had always been shaky because they hadn't really shared enough common ground to give it a firm foundation -- or perhaps the Dark Arts had just been a fault line breaking up what common ground they did share. For Lily, the friendship had always been a balancing act that was teetering on the brink of disaster. Yet the line also showed that she understood that Snape hadn't seen it that way, and couldn't grasp what had gone wrong. For Snape, being close to her had been brilliant and elevating and desperately important, and he was clinging to that closeness like a child, not understanding why she was taking it away. I think you did a great job with the subtleties and regrets of both characters. And, now having read your other stories, the words that came to my mind at the end of this one were: "With my burned hand I write on the nature of fire." Lily may have been the one who understood the nature of their friendship and its destructive potential, but Snape was the one who burnt his hands trying to hold onto its light, and he's the one who never really let go. So his burned hands at the end of this story took on a little extra meaning for me this time...very sad and beautiful. Thanks again for writing!

aww this was beautifully written!

oh i like it... i really do.
characterization was spot on ESPECIALLY for snivelly. he's sorry... and at the same time he won't stop doing what he's sorry for...
honestly, you've got me believing even more than i did before that his heart really wasn't in this whole death-eating business. it was more the strange fusion between needing somewhere to fit in and being pressured into doing things he didn't want to do...
rambling over.
loved the fic.

This was really good! Very well-written. I really feel the end of Snape and Lily's friendship could have happened that way.

"the Fearsome Foursome (or, really, the Damnable Duo and friends)" I liked that lol.
Good job!
- Gaby

Well done! I love your description! it was gr8 :D

Hope to see more from you in the future
Keep up the good work
Confessions