"What if ... ?" scenarios
"These are the questions that directly come to my mind and I would like to hear your opinion:
What if Ginny actually developed a crush on the young Sev?
Would she even stand a chance against Lily?
Would Sev even be interested in her?
And how would the others react to her?"
Such an interesting premise! Cannot wait to be reading something like this, as I've always been so fascinated with the similarities of Lily and Ginny as characters and how they would go with each other. Although, with Ginny and Sev, I do believe that Ginny would just instinctively think of Severus as his usual tenebrous, ill-tempered teacher self and then she might let it grow to something more friendly. For Sev's part, I'd say he'd notice their similarities, and he might think of her as more; of course with the dependence on what she says to him.
Overall, I'm very interested to see what you do with this!
Quote from Bol_Stark on July 20, 2023, 4:50 pmQuote from Dark Angel on July 20, 2023, 3:40 pmThat really depends on when and how all things turned out bad for the light side. If Voldenort defeated Harry during the battle of Hogwarts, I highly doubt he had enough time to share the memories with other people. The only way would be if Ginny stumbled upon the memories in the pensieve which again would be difficult if Hogwarts had fallen.
And because she lost Harry in her original timeline, she would subconsciously use James as a substitute. Severus on the other hand, does not need a real substitute as his Lily is alive and well...at least for now. He may try to even get her to forgive him.
I would say it would be better if Ginny and Sev fall in love accidentally. If Ginny does know of the memories, she'd know that Snape brought the prophecy to Voldemort, she would try to prevent Voldemort from hunting down the Potters and Longbottoms in the first place by trying to prevent Snape from joining the Death Eaters. She plans to befriend him so she can influence his decisions but then ends up developing feelings for him.
You’re right, if Harry did fall during the battle it would have been hard for him to share the memories with her. Also that she got back to the headmaster office seems unlikely.
A scenario I could imagine is that after she did get killed she meets Harry and Dumbledore in the afterlife who show her the memories and make the offer to go back to the Marauder time.
True words again, James would remind her of Harry and Sev still has Lily around and might hope to get her to forgive him.
Even though, wouldn’t want Ginny that James and Lily get together so that Harry gets born?
I agree, them accidentally falling in love makes the most sense. Going from the point that she knew the memories it could be that Harry and/or Dumbledore told her that Sev is the key to winning the war much earlier, but that he needs to get down from the dark path he is on in that time of his life.
I like that it would give Ginny a Slytherin side, befriending him to have an influence. Even though it backfires when she develops feelings for him.
I see it this way, Ginny would involuntarily develop feelings for James because she isn't over Harry yet since he is the perfect replacement. Her head knows that this isn't James and of course she wants that James and Lily get together so Harry is born but this Harry won't be HER Harry, he can hardly replace her boyfriend when she is almost two decades older....or that's another part of her plan? She notices that Severus has feelings for Lily and doesn't want to risk that they end up together thus erasing Harry's existence completely. So she would try to divert Snape's attention, maybe even try to arrange dates for him that fail spectacularly. It would add some fun to it and you would still have the whole "accidental love" thing going on.
There can even be moments where she just decides to stay single in this timeline in order not to mess with anything, just to fall head over heels later.
Quote from Naaga on July 21, 2023, 1:06 amI think it would be better if Ginny doesn't know whole deal with Snape, just enough that he was responsible for prophecy and one of the key factor for wizarding world.
Ginny would try not to interfere with Lily/James. Mostly time travelling fics often doesn't interfere with canon ships unless they are subject of interest, Ginny would like Harry to be born so it would be amusing to see James chasing Ginny and Ginny wondering wtf is going on. 😹😹
Ginny would try to get closer to Snape to prevent him from joining DEs and better have him as an ally rather than an enemy.
James is personality wise opposite to Harry. While she could end up befriending James, his arrogance, toxic masculinity, obnoxiousness and entitlement won't suit Ginny.
Ginny is quite vicious herself but she often didn't start hexing at first unless other party offended her first. Marauders were often people who started hexing first.
Actually Snape is more closer to Harry's personality than James. Both are sarcastic, have dry sense of humour, sassy, vicious (Snape more than Harry) and loyal friends. Ginny also liked Half-blood Prince, who was a representation of teenage Snape so she would get along with real deal.
Accidentally falling for Snape is better, this Ginny is rather looking to save the world, get Harry a good family life he was denied and save her family members like her uncles Gideon and Fabian Prewett. She won't be exactly looking for a lover or boyfriend in the past, at least initially.
Hmm, that is an interesting thought. I think Dumbledore wouldn't even let her know about the prophecy as it could influence her judgement of Sev even more.
So maybe even along the lines of: "Severus Snape is the key factor to end it all. Get him on our side and a lot of bloodshed won't happen."
I do agree, I mean she loved Harry and so probably wishes for him to be born again so that he can have a happy life with his parents this time around.
With the words of Dumbledore - or maybe even a prophecy made in the afterlife? - in her mind she probably would try to get him on the side of the Order, away from the DE's in his house and the influence they have on him.
In the matter of Ginny and James I could imagine that at the beginning she is attracted to him as he looks so much like Harry, but when the differences between him and Harry show that attraction will quickly be over.
Yes, Ginny is quite vicious but I think she doesn't agree with the Marauders always ganging up on Snape and not even giving him a fair chance.
Never thought about the similarities between Harry and Sev to be honest... Interesting.
Also I didn't remember that Ginny liked the Half-Blood Prince, I will have to read up on that once more. Thank you for bringing it up, it will be good to use in the fic.
I agree, that does make the most sense.
And I'm kinda tempted to maybe pair her with Sev and Lily as endgame. The dynamic between the three of them does really interest me and I think they would fit well.
Quote from InterwovenMadness on July 21, 2023, 8:12 am"These are the questions that directly come to my mind and I would like to hear your opinion:
What if Ginny actually developed a crush on the young Sev?
Would she even stand a chance against Lily?
Would Sev even be interested in her?
And how would the others react to her?"Such an interesting premise! Cannot wait to be reading something like this, as I've always been so fascinated with the similarities of Lily and Ginny as characters and how they would go with each other. Although, with Ginny and Sev, I do believe that Ginny would just instinctively think of Severus as his usual tenebrous, ill-tempered teacher self and then she might let it grow to something more friendly. For Sev's part, I'd say he'd notice their similarities, and he might think of her as more; of course with the dependence on what she says to him.
Overall, I'm very interested to see what you do with this!
I think you got a point there, especially at the beginning she probably really would think of Teacher Severus all the time she does see him. She may even compare the differences of his young self to his future teacher self. It might need some time until she accepts that the young Sev isn't to blame for the teacher Severus.
The Ginny and Lily dynamic does also interest me and I really want to explore it, especially if Lily is jealous at the beginning and may not even like her.
Sev probably would also think it is a prank at the beginning and not trust her at all.
Thank you for your encouragement. Maybe I get to write it soon.
Quote from Dark Angel on July 21, 2023, 11:59 amI see it this way, Ginny would involuntarily develop feelings for James because she isn't over Harry yet since he is the perfect replacement. Her head knows that this isn't James and of course she wants that James and Lily get together so Harry is born but this Harry won't be HER Harry, he can hardly replace her boyfriend when she is almost two decades older....or that's another part of her plan? She notices that Severus has feelings for Lily and doesn't want to risk that they end up together thus erasing Harry's existence completely. So she would try to divert Snape's attention, maybe even try to arrange dates for him that fail spectacularly. It would add some fun to it and you would still have the whole "accidental love" thing going on.
There can even be moments where she just decides to stay single in this timeline in order not to mess with anything, just to fall head over heels later.
As I already mentioned above I do agree, at first Ginny would probably have a crush on James because he does remind her so much of Harry.
But as he shows his real character she would notice the difference between him and Harry, and I think that would kinda let the crush on James die because he is very different to Harry in many point.
It might be interesting to also show that inner conflict of Ginny during the story. At first she still wants Harry back but slowly she realizes that it wouldn't be her Harry. Until she finally does let go, just wanting that Harry will have a happier life this time.
Yeah, I actually could see that become a plan of her, wanting to ensure Harry is born and has a happy life. So as she notices Sev's crush on Lily she might try to get his interest on someone else.
The arranged dates that fail spectacularly really would bring some fun to the story and I think it is a good thing to add.
Correct, the "accidental love" thing would still be going.
Interesting thought once more. As I mentioned above I even consider to make it Ginny/Sev/Lily, at first she wants to do everything to make sure Harry does exist but then she falls in love with Sev and Lily. I think it would be kinda funny.
So many good ideas and input from you all, I really have a lot of thinking to do now. 😀
Another "What if...." scenario, what do y'all think would Lily's reaction be if she had survived Halloween 1981 and found out what part Severus played in Voldemort targeting her family?
I have seen some Snater authors who had her hunt him down and murder him.
Quote from Dark Angel on July 22, 2023, 7:12 amAnother "What if...." scenario, what do y'all think would Lily's reaction be if she had survived Halloween 1981 and found out what part Severus played in Voldemort targeting her family?
I have seen some Snater authors who had her hunt him down and murder him.
I often see Snaters making such prompt in r/hpff, mostly involving her hunting Snape down, putting him under crucio and cruelly killing him for getting the her sainted husband James 🤢🤮 killed.
I would require more information, how she'd survive, did Harry survive or not, did Voldemort give her to Snape, did James also survive, did someone kill Voldemort before Halloween, did Voldemort go after Neville? etc. before giving my thoughts on this scenario @darkangel.
All scenarios are possible I would say Voldemort spares her for Snape, James and Harry die or Voldemort attempts to recruit James one last time but ends up killing him after the latter refuses (that was part of a prompt I posted) and this sacrifice will protect Harry from the killing curse.
In either case, Lily finds out that Voldemort spared her for Severus and then that he was the one who informed him of the prophecy. What do you think happens.
The Snater scenario is actually very funny. It is supposed to be a children's franchise and then you have one of the protagonists go on a murder spree? Aren't you supposed to preach goodness, forgiveness and the power of love?
Quote from Dark Angel on July 22, 2023, 7:12 amAnother "What if...." scenario, what do y'all think would Lily's reaction be if she had survived Halloween 1981 and found out what part Severus played in Voldemort targeting her family?
I have seen some Snater authors who had her hunt him down and murder him.
I do assume that James died but her and Harry survived.
Also I will assume we go from the movies version where Sev had found her, where he was too late.
So assuming that Sev was in time and was able to help Lily and Harry escape that would change a lot of things.
It might very well be that Harry wasn’t marked that night. Maybe Sev got into a battle with Voldy, and maybe there was a second prophecy that made him suddenly the one marked as equal.
There is a lot that could have happened, but I think what would stay the same is that Lily would hate him at first.
For her he went down that dark path and it is his fault that James is dead now, she would probably even claim that he did let James die, that he didn’t want to save him.
Sirius definitely wouldn’t help the situation of Sev and Lily, especially as Lily could help him out of Askaban with revealing the secret keeper.
But then there is Dumbledore, and I do think that Dumbledore may regret everything he did let slip during Sev’s time as student.
So maybe Dumbledore would try to talk some sense in Lily.
It would take time, but I think with time they would both be able to heal. They might develop a friendship again and if Sev really is fighting against Voldy, has kept the burden of being the chosen one from Harry… If he really is ready to do everything just to ensure her and Harry’s happy life, even if it would cost his own… I think maybe then Lily would understand just how much he really loved her, and maybe she would even return that love.
Quote from Dark Angel on July 22, 2023, 7:40 amAll scenarios are possible I would say Voldemort spares her for Snape, James and Harry die or Voldemort attempts to recruit James one last time but ends up killing him after the latter refuses (that was part of a prompt I posted) and this sacrifice will protect Harry from the killing curse.
In either case, Lily finds out that Voldemort spared her for Severus and then that he was the one who informed him of the prophecy. What do you think happens.
The Snater scenario is actually very funny. It is supposed to be a children's franchise and then you have one of the protagonists go on a murder spree? Aren't you supposed to preach goodness, forgiveness and the power of love?
Snaters think Snape was the worst character in the books, in Pro Marauders fics he is often portrayed as devil incarnate and pretty much responsible for every bad thing happening to Marauders 🤮.
I don't think Voldemort would spare James, he doesn't spare those who crossed him and in Potters case they did it thrice. He tried to spare Lily more out of Snape's request but later killed her because she denied his mercy effects.
So I'm going with other dark scenario, Voldemort spares her by pushing as aside as he thought he could do in canon but decided against that action. Here, he does it and kills Harry.
I don't think he'd gift Lily to Snape, Voldemort's promise was only to spare her, rest was left for Snape.
I don't think Voldemort would tell her because he doesn't want to compromise his spy, Dumbledore won't because he liked to keep information hidden till it suits him plus he also won't want to compromise his spy. Let's assume she somehow finds out by investing the reason for Voldemort targeting her family.
Snape's situation would be interesting. From his POV, Lily survived due to Voldemort and not due to Dumbledore and a interesting character arc of swinging loyalty could be explored. Snape would feel grateful towards Voldemort for sparing Lily and gleeful that his childhood bully is dead.
Voldemort would go after Neville now and also kill him. With both prophecy candidates dead, Voldemort will focus on subjugation of Wizarding UK.
Order will meet handful of successes, Peter's identity as traitor known who fully defects towards DEs, a vengeful rabid Sirius Black, a mourning Lily Potter and a regretful Remus Lupin is what remains of Marauders.
If Lily confronts Snape, she won't kill him because Snape would confess he did turn to order after the prophecy and he had been spying since then, he was also responsible for Fidelius charm placed on their Potter house. Expect a bitter exchange between them. Lily certainly won't forgive Snape and Snape won't expect anything less.
I feel Snape ultimate loyalty would depend upon Voldemort's actions, if he feels Snape is more loyal to him by sparing Lily Potter, he could keep dangling his promise, as long as she doesn't cross him, Voldemort would spare her. Snape would feel disillusioned by Dumbledore's failure to protect her and would feel faith in Voldemort's ability to keep his promises despite how much he finds his actions distasteful.
An interesting arc could be Dumbledore sensing the fraying loyalty of his spy, would instruct Lily to sway Snape towards her, by any means necessary, forgetting her trauma. He may emotionally manipulate Lily by saying James and Harry sacrifices won't be in vain if they defeat Voldemort.
How will Lily proceed depends on how much she would be willing to sacrifice and if Snape would be willing to turn against this Voldemort who actually kept his promises?
Quote from Dark Angel on July 22, 2023, 7:40 amAll scenarios are possible I would say Voldemort spares her for Snape, James and Harry die or Voldemort attempts to recruit James one last time but ends up killing him after the latter refuses (that was part of a prompt I posted) and this sacrifice will protect Harry from the killing curse.
In either case, Lily finds out that Voldemort spared her for Severus and then that he was the one who informed him of the prophecy. What do you think happens.
The Snater scenario is actually very funny. It is supposed to be a children's franchise and then you have one of the protagonists go on a murder spree? Aren't you supposed to preach goodness, forgiveness and the power of love?
And what do you think would happen if Sev actually was able to save all three of them?
If he had been in time and attacked Voldemort before the man could fire the Killing Curse at James?
If Sev fought a furious duel against Voldemort while shouting at them to get away, to get to Hogwarts where Dumbledore is.
If Sev later arrived in Dumbledore’s office, barely able to stand as blood runs down his hands and face, robes torn into pieces, providing view on huge gashes that were heavily bleeding.
“Headmaster. He is gone.” is all he says with heavy breaths that have a whistling sound to them before his breathing completely stopped and collapsed in the office without even noticing the Potter’s.
Quote from Bol_Stark on July 22, 2023, 9:18 amQuote from Dark Angel on July 22, 2023, 7:40 amAll scenarios are possible I would say Voldemort spares her for Snape, James and Harry die or Voldemort attempts to recruit James one last time but ends up killing him after the latter refuses (that was part of a prompt I posted) and this sacrifice will protect Harry from the killing curse.
In either case, Lily finds out that Voldemort spared her for Severus and then that he was the one who informed him of the prophecy. What do you think happens.
The Snater scenario is actually very funny. It is supposed to be a children's franchise and then you have one of the protagonists go on a murder spree? Aren't you supposed to preach goodness, forgiveness and the power of love?
And what do you think would happen if Sev actually was able to save all three of them?
If he had been in time and attacked Voldemort before the man could fire the Killing Curse at James?
If Sev fought a furious duel against Voldemort while shouting at them to get away, to get to Hogwarts where Dumbledore is.If Sev later arrived in Dumbledore’s office, barely able to stand as blood runs down his hands and face, robes torn into pieces, providing view on huge gashes that were heavily bleeding.
“Headmaster. He is gone.” is all he says with heavy breaths that have a whistling sound to them before his breathing completely stopped and collapsed in the office without even noticing the Potter’s.
In this scenario, Snape would be proclaimed a hero, for vanquishing Voldemort. All his supposed crimes spared and he might earn an Order of Merlin. Lily would be grateful for him saving her and instantly forgive him. He would become hated by hardcore DEs like Bellatrix, coveted by opportunistic DEs like Lucius and some might try to rally behind him as next Dark Lord.
I think Snape would feel his debts clear after killing Voldemort. He would certainly not teach in Hogwarts anymore, he can't spy and there won't be any obligation for him towards Dumbledore plus with his new found popularity, he won't lack for job opportunities.
DE trials proceed as usual, with only exception being Pettigrew going Azkaban instead of Sirius and Snape not requiring Dumbledore vouching for him.
Snape would find himself moving on with no guilt, no remorse and repaired friendship with Lily. He won't be bffs with her due to Potter but he won't be as estranged as he was before.
Snape would find himself leading a happier, better life with his past behind him looking forward to the future.
