The following is a friendly debate on who was better for Lily - James or Snape? Well, that's the main discussion beforehand.
I asked for this person's permission, and even spruced up spoiler's typos a bit, because this is not an argument.

Some sadly brilliant storylines are somewhere in here for some poor, inspired soul to adopt. I'm not very sure I want to read them, but please drop a link if you want to read it.

Friendly debates are almost as fun as a debate with a troll. No bashing, just a gentle swaying of thoughts and decisions.

Is Snape a redeemable character? is James justified for the way he acted? Is Snape justified for anything he ever did?

I missed a lot of key points when I talked about Snape, but I suppose I could save that for another discussion/debate/argument.

July 21, 2012

Review to HPDHT2, Chapter 8

Okay... I never expected Hermione and Harry to be a bit dark... But I guess it fits with your story...

Anyway, i love your story! It gives a new perspective and a better version (for me) of the Deathly Hallows... I love the part where Harry and Hermione talked some sense into Remus and when Hermione beat Ron up... I also like how Neville is brave enough to reform DA but I wonder what their new name would be... I like how you made Harry as someone who stands up for himself but doesn't lose his temper too much... I also like that Hermione isn't fussing that Harry should learn Occlumency...

I just have a few questions...

How will Remus find Harry and Hermione again when he has the potion for the Animagus transformation ready? Will Remus bring Tonks with him?

Does Mr. Weasley approve of Hermione and Harry? I have a feeling that he does but does he know why Hermione beat Ron up?

Is Dobby now Harry's house-elf? Does that mean that Harry has two house-elves now, Dobby and Kreacher?

Will Ron betray Harry and Hermione and tell the world about Horcruxes? What will Ginny's reaction be?

I really hope that Snape is a good guy in your remake... I really like that he protected Harry all those years just for Lily... That reminds me, why didn't Petunia say that Snape was Lily's best friend? And what did she mean when she said that Harry will know soon?

I really hope that Luna won't end up with Ron... Like Hermione said, Ron won't be good for Luna... It would be cool of she did end up with Draco (weird, I know... but I'm a fan) because he took care fo her when she was a prisoner in the Malfoy's basement...

And I saved this question for last... Is Neville dating Susan? I prefer Susan to Hannah Abbot... :)

Sorry about all the questions!

Update soon! I'm really looking forward on how different this version will be from the original, especially since Ron left earlier and that he doen't have his Deluminator to bring him back... I hope you give Neville more scenes!

Private Message sent later that night

Hi!! So I read your remake of the Deathly hallows... I also left a review and asked a lot of questions... sorry about that...

Anyway, I read on your profile the opinions that you have on the HP pairings that JK Rowling did...

I totally agree with you... Harry and Hermione ar emade for each other... Their relationship in the books are too close to jsut be best friends... I was actually surprised that Hermione ended up with Ron, the guy who insulted her in first year just because she helped him with Wingardium Leviosa, the guy who accused her kneazle of eating his rat without any proof whatsoever, the guy who turned his back on his "bestfriend" because he was jealous... Seriously, what was JK Rowling thinking?? 

Ron is too jealous of Harry.. He's been friends with Harry for years and he still doesn't see that Harry never wanted anything to do with the fame that he gets from survivng the Killing Curse that Voldemort used... He just wants the family that Ron has... Has he ever apologized to Hermione for the insults?? And I also didn't like that Hermione was making excuses for Ron's actions in 4th year when Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire... Ron is the only one in his family who ended up like that, well, besides Percy...

Ginny... To tell you the truth, I've always been a Harmony fan but when Harry ended up with Ginny and it was hinted that Hermione would end up with Ron, I went along with canon... After a year or two, I realized the error of my ways and went back to shipping Harmony... Ginny wasn't given too much character development for her to be a good match for Harry... She's always been a fan girl... A little bit obsessed in my opinion... Ginny herself confirmed that she wasn't over Harry when she started dating Michael Corner and Dean Thomas... it was unfair to both guys that Ginny just used them to make Harry notice her... It kind of sends a bad message to the readers...

Snape... Honestly, I started liking Snape when I found out that he was protecting Harry for the sake of Lily... I admit that he wasn't really an innocent person... I also didn't like that James bullied Snape... I don't hate James, but I don't like him as much as I like Lily... James is a bully and has prejudice against the Slytherins which was confirmed when he said that he's rather die (or something like that) than be in Slytherin... He didn't even know Snape back then... I believe that James started bullying and tormenting Snape when he got a crush on Lily because Lily was very close to Snape...

When James humiliated Snape after their OWLS, I believe that he jsut ended up calling Lily a "Mudblood" because of the humiliation of being bullied in front of others and of course, in front of the girl that he likes... It bruised his ego especially since Lily was the one who ended up defending him... Add the fact the James told Lily that he'll leave Snape alone if she went out with him, Snape snapped... Everyone has a limit.. And that was Snape's... And because of that, Lily never forgave him...

So, in Snape's eyes, James is the reason why he lost his best friend... If James just left him alone, then he wouldn't have called Lily that dreaded word... he would still have his best friend.... I'm not saying that what Snape did was right... I also believe that Lily was the only one keeping him from completely going to the Dark Side... From completely becoming a full-fledged Death Eater... Snape has always valued his friendship with Lily above anything else but with her gone, nothing was stopping him...

If you look at the time when Snape first met Lily, he was a shy boy and helped Lily understand the Wizarding World... He had a horrible childhood like Harry... But unlike Harry, whose aunt and uncle were the ones that were making his life miserable... Snape's parents were the ones who were making his life miserable... Harry's parents loved Harry very much before they died while Snape's parents always argued and I think Tobias also hated the fact the Severus was a wizard like his mother... But Severus still turned out to be okay until they arrived at Hogwarts... I really believe that if Severus was put into a house other than Slytherin, then he would have turned out okay... The ones that he hung out with were Pureblood Supporters... Of course, they'd be a bad influence on Severus...

Of course, I don't like how Snape treated Harry... But Harry looks a lot like James and Snape couldn't get past Harry's looks to see that he was more like Lily... But I think it was a clever cover up of the fact that he is protecting Harry...

What I don't understand is, why didn't anyone tell him that Snape used to be lily's best friend?? Lupin and Sirius surely must have known... Maybe they didn't want Harry to think that that was the reason why James bullied Snape...

Snape and James are two good examples of people who did bad things but eventually changed their ways proving that it isn't too late... So I think that Harry was right in naming one of his sons after Snape but I quite agree with you, Severus is not a good name for a person... Well, Prince was Severus' mother's maiden name so maybe that was the reason why JK Rowling named one of Harry's children Severus... :)

I think that that's enough... Sorry it's so long... Hope you update your story very soon.. I really like it... :)

The Next Day

My Reply to both review and PM

Thank you for all of your kind comments.

And I love long reviews. Gives me something to read beyond the usual "Cool Story, Bro."

I'll answer the easy questions first.

Yes, Neville is dating Susan. We'll see more of their relationship as we go on, along with interactions with Hannah.

Yes, Harry has two house-elves now.

God no, Luna will not be with Ron or Draco. I'm sorry, but Draco will never be redeemable in my eyes.

Mr. Weasley doesn't know anything yet.

Can't tell you what Ron's reaction will be, because I haven't written it yet :p

Will Snape be a good guy? Yes, because he's supposed to be a good guy in the books. But he's done too many bad things in the books that just can't be explained. I'll probably rant about it another day.

I don't like Snape. Not at all. But yeah, he is a good guy.
I'm just not sure if my version of Harry and Hermione will ever find that out.

Petunia said that Harry will know soon? Hm. I guess I had something planned back then...but now, I completely forgot. haha. Sorry. Forget she ever said that. I suppose she was thinking that Snape was just going to come out and say it when Harry asked. Pay it no mind.

I'll make sure to use your review as a checklist in case I forget to write a particular scene :p

I read your PM too, and you make some very valid points as well. Except with the Snape part.

Let me explain.
Yes, James was a bully, and I don't like him at all as a character. But I hate Sirius more. I mean, he actively tried to kill Snape. At least James saved his life. He knew not to go too far.

But James is much like Ron, and we all know my feelings about that git. The only reason I don't bash him is because people will assume that I like Snape more.

God no.

I understand Snape's sob story, but if you were in love with a pretty/handsome black person, would you call him/her the N word under ANY circumstances?

It was quite clear back then that Lily had no feelings for James. Snape obviously ruined his chance when that moment happened, therefore it was ultimately both of their faults.

So, to be honest, I don't think either deserved the girl in the end.

But James won somehow, and Severus has to accept that.

How did Severus 'protect' Harry, anyway? I remember the first Quidditch Match incident, but that's it. Would Lily approve of Snape being an unfair hardass?
"I want to make his life a living hell. I will make it my mission to make this the worst seven years of his life. But I don't want him dead."

The man became irredeemable to me the moment he said "Potter - our new celebrity."

But, as I said, just my opinion. I've tried swaying Heron fans, and I'm sure fans of any 'redeemed' characters, such as Draco or Pettigrew or Snape, won't be any different.

Still, think about it.

Thank you for reading, and reviewing :)

Private Message Sent Later that Night

You make a good point about Snape :) And I respect your opinion.. It's always good to hear good arguments from other HP fans.. I haven't really really read any HG or RHr arguments on why they like that ship... Reading your argument on why Harry should be with Hermione just made me stay on the Harmony ship... :D

I think it would have been better if Lily ended up with someone who didn't do something bad things like what James and Snape did... Remus isn't innocent either... He just let Sirius and James torment Snape for all those years... Who do you think would be a good match for Lily??? And do you think that if Snape ended up in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, he would have ended up being a better person??

I hope you give some insight on Neville's past... It would be cool if he found out that there was a possibility for him to be the Boy Who Lived... :)

Glad that you liked my review... Sorry again for all the questions... I tend to ask a lot of questions when the I love the story... :) Also, you haven't answered my question about Remus and Tonks... But it's okay... Just hope you update soon!!! :D

July 25

My Reply

I definitely suspect Snape would have probably been very different - Lily would never have been mad at Snape, because the marauders probably never would have touched Lily's best friend, a non-Slytherin. Snape, not oozing in sulkiness, would have probably won the girl in the end.

But since that didn't happen, there really is no one that Lily could have chosen. Both are, in their own way, a bit horrible. Maybe Remus, since he does sometimes try to stop their most dangerous hits. But that's pushing it.

It would have probably helped baby Harry John Lupin in the future to have a little lycan blood. But that's something else.

And about Remus and Tonks, well, you'll see ;)

In Conclusion: You know what's really surprising? I typed all of the replies through my phone. Just felt like bragging :p

So, in the end, we're not really sure who should have had Lily's heart. Now I know why there are so many fics where Harry travels to the past and bangs his own mother. Really, it's the only smart thing to do.

Your thoughts?