James, Albus, Devon, and Lily settled into a pattern of meeting in the Room of Requirement every Sunday at 1 P.M. Hogwarts time to read and discuss the book on the Potters and the Dursleys family histories. On schedule, they had their third such meeting on Sunday, May 10th, 2020 at 1 P.M. Hogwarts time. As usual, Lily held the door for James, Albus, and Devon and shut the door behind her after entering herself. They all made absolutely sure to wait for the now familiar distinct locking sound before starting. The things they were learning about during these readings were private except to each other and they took no chances when it came to keeping it that way.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all sat down on the long white sofa and pulled open their books on Potter and Dursley history and turned to chapter three.
Chapter three was titled The Role of Severus Snape in the lives of Petunia and Lily Evans. James, Albus, Devon, and Lily read:
...
Severus Snape grew up in a neighborhood nearby the neighborhood the Evans sisters had grown up in. Severus grew up in an unhappy household with an abusive father. Both Severus and his mother, Eileen Prince, were magical so he recognized early on that Lily Evans was a witch. Severus had been very interested in Lily for a long time but his first attempt at a meeting with her couldn't have gone any worse than it did. Lily, being muggleborn and unfamiliar with the Wizarding World, had taken offense when Severus had called her a witch. This first meeting was totally blown after Severus insulted Lily's sister and both sisters got up to leave. Still, Lily took pity on Severus when she learned of his horrible home life and became his friend. It had been Severus who had explained to Lily how the Hogwarts letter system worked. Prior to going to Hogwarts, Severus and Lily had seen Dumbledore's reply letter to Petunia. This enraged Petunia when she found out and she had accused magical people of being nosy. Once at Hogwarts, Lily and Severus stayed friends through most of their first five years. This friendship had an increasing amount of tension attached to it as time went on due to Severus's lust for Dark Magic and his choice of friends, who were also fond of Dark Magic. Severus had also called other muggleborn students mudbloods and although Severus avoided using the word with Lily, his use of it towards others like her made Lily feel increasingly uneasy about staying friends with Severus as did his growing love of the Dark Arts. Finally, after an incident in which Severus had let the word mudblood slip when referring to Lily, Lily ended the friendship. Severus made a couple of attempts at reconciliation, but Lily took no interest in them and ended the friendship permanently. Lily, who was firmly against all Dark Magic, especially the Dark Arts, reached a point where she could no longer befriend someone who was in love with the Dark Arts. Sometimes, principal and values had to override friendship. After graduating from Hogwarts Lily had joined Dumbledore's anti Voldemort Organization, the Order of the Phoenix, while Severus had joined Voldemort's Death Eaters, a move that Lily had foreseen and was largely responsible for Lily having no wish to make up with Severus. However, while working for Voldemort, Severus overheard part of a prophecy and relayed it to Voldemort. Unfortunately, Voldemort interpreted the prophecy in such a way that he believed Harry Potter to be his greatest threat. Voldemort intended to hunt down and kill the Potters to eliminate the threat. This meant Lily was in danger and it was at this point that Severus abandoned Voldemort. Severus turned spy for the Order of the Phoenix against Lord Voldemort at great personal risk to himself. Sadly, the Potters, who had escaped Voldemort's clutches three times, were betrayed by their Secret keeper, Peter Pettigrew, and James and Lily were murdered by Voldemort. Voldemort then failed to kill Harry Potter and lost his powers that night. Severus continued to work for Dumbledore as Potions Master of Hogwarts. An interesting juxtaposition of Severus was that he always hated Harry Potter because he was James Potter's son yet was willing to help Dumbledore protect Harry because he was Lily's son. As Dumbledore had known all along was inevitable, Lord Voldemort returned at the end of Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts. Severus once again took up the role of spy and kept Dumbledore and the Order informed about Voldemort and his plans and thoughts. At the end of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, Severus Snape had been forced to kill Albus Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders. About a year later, Voldemort had ordered his snake Nagani to kill Snape because Voldemort had incorrectly believed Severus to be the master of the Elder Wand and that killing Severus would make him its master. Just before he died, Severus provided Harry Potter with memories that gave Harry key information that helped Harry defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all. A few nanoseconds before his death, Severus asked Harry to look at him so he could see Lily's eyes one last time. Harry, in spite of being the target of bullying and dislike at Severus's hands in his Hogwarts years, became aware of Severus's love for his mother and his bravery in the wars and gave his second son the middle name of Severus in his honor.
...
"I must say," said Devon bluntly, "That even if she was my grandma, I can feel NO sympathy whatsoever for Petunia over the issue of Severus's and Lily's nosing into her business. I can certainly understand her being unhappy that Severus and Lily saw what she considered to be a private letter of hers. But you know what? As nosy and gossip loving as Petunia was herself, I cannot sympathize with her in this situation."
"Devon?" asked James, "I remember you telling us a few weeks ago even as you struggled to absorb the revelation that your grandma Petunia had a much more flawed life than you would have ever guessed, you also knew that Petunia wasn't perfect. Was that a reference to her nosy and gossiping nature?"
"Partially," said Devon matter of factly, "Even at a young age I would notice that she tended to crane her neck over fences to spy on her neighbors and she never met a tabloid or piece of gossip she didn't like. According to Hogwarts a History, a girl in the same year as Harry who was named Lavender Brown and died in the Battle of Hogwarts is the all time gossip queen in Hogwarts history. But if Petunia Evans had been a witch, she would have been Hogwarts all time gossip queen."
"A liking for gossip is a common flaw in girls," said Lily with disgust. "That's why I'm not close with cousin Rose, I can't stand her love of gossip."
"Even with Rose as my closest cousin and one of my best friends, I'll readily admit that Rose's fondness for gossip is a trait I dislike about her," said Albus honestly.
"Anyway," asked Lily, "Devon, do you believe that Severus and Lily seeing Dumbledore's letter to Petunia played a significant role in the estrangement of Lily and Petunia Evans?"
"Only in the sense that it may have served as a catalyst to speed up the process of the estrangement of Lily and Petunia Evans. From what we read about Petunia's jealousy in chapter one, I believe the estrangement was inevitable." said Devon tonelessly.
"Speaking of estrangements, " said James crisply, "I think Lily made a mistake in ending her friendship with Severus. Do not misunderstand. Severus was out of line when he called Lily mudblood. There are three offensive words that no person should EVER call another person or refer to another person as at any time under any circumstances. These three words are fat, the "u" word, and mudblood. That being as it is, Lily should have felt very hurt to have been called mudblood by someone she thought a friend. I could even have understood if Lily had acknowledged her hurt feelings to Severus and requested that he stay away from her for a specified period of time. But to end a friendship entirely..."
"But it doesn't seem like an isolated incident," said Albus, "Apparently, Severus had already been regularly calling other muggleborns mudbloods. Besides, it sounds like that was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. But as I'm a believer in forgiveness, I do wish Lily would have been more open to reconciling with Severus."
"I can't fault Lily here," said Lily clearly, "The fact is, before Lily ended her friendship with Severus, Severus had shown an interest even in first year in the Dark Arts. As he grew older, his interest in the Dark Arts only intensified. Remember that there had been tension between them over Severus's choice of friends and interest in the Dark Arts. The incident in which Severus called Lily mudblood was indeed merely the straw that broke the camel's back. I got the sense when we were reading that the friendship between Severus and Lily had been deteriorating or at very least teetering for a while before that incident. Severus's interest in Dark Magic had been steadily growing whereas Lily was clearly principled against the use of Dark Magic from the start. As I see it, Lily stayed friends with Severus as long as she could but reached a point where it would have been too against her own ideals to continue to befriend a kid with a lust for Dark Magic and the Dark Arts."
James nodded.
"You're right, Lily, I guess, ultimately, Lily had to choose between her friend and her principals, and she chose her principals," acknowledged James.
"I can't fault Lily for having no interest in reconciliation when it was clear that Severus was not about to give up his interest in Dark Magic," said Lily firmly.
Albus nodded in understanding.
"Albus, how do you feel about bearing the middle name of Severus now that you know that Severus Snape played in a major role in your grandma Lily's death through the relaying of that prophecy to Lord Voldemort?" asked Devon.
"Still very proud," said Albus fiercely, "Because I have no doubt about how truly remorseful Severus ultimately was about Lily's death."
"It speaks for itself," said Lily briskly, "That Severus would turn spy against Voldemort at great personal risk. His love for Lily helped bring his bravery out of him when he realized she was in danger from Voldemort."
"And it would have taken a man of immense bravery to have spied on Voldemort," said James matter of factly.
"Then there's Snape's role in the second war," said Albus clearly, "From the night Voldemort returned until the time of his death, Severus Snape was running between Order meetings and Death Eater meetings with Voldemort. And he turned out to die the most horrific death you could imagine."
"I don't know what to think," admitted Devon, "On one hand, Severus Snape's bravery in both wars is indisputable and I do believe in the sincerity of his remorse over Lily's death. But he was still bitter and bullying. I mean he constantly bullied Harry and his friends at Hogwarts because he couldn't let go of his grudges towards Sirius Black and especially James Potter. He hated Harry for being James Potter's son."
"Severus Snape was a complex man," said James bluntly, "Varying opinions may all have merit when it comes to Severus Snape."
"I will say this," said Albus firmly, "Regardless of whether he made the right decision or the wrong decision, I respect the hell out of dad for not only his conviction in naming me Albus Severus Potter but also for his conviction in keeping it his and only his decision. I'm so glad that dad understood that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hannah all had no right to have any say in my naming and that he and only he had the right to make that decision. I'm also very proud of dad for keeping the decisions to name James Sirius Potter and Lily Luna Potter to himself and not sharing those decisions with anyone either."
"Yeah, Harry showed right then and there what a great father he is," agreed Devon, "I'm equally proud of my dad for making sure that he was only person who had any input into naming me. The only person who should ever have any say in the naming of any baby is the baby's father."
"Exactly," chorused James, Albus, and Lily.
"You know what?" said Albus after a pause, "I think bearing the name of Severus means that I have a responsibility to be a brave person myself should the situation call for it. I hope never to find myself in the positions Severus Snape was in but if I do, I hope can be a third as brave as he was."
"That would be a tall order," admitted Devon, "Still the Sorting Hat did put you in Gryffindor so you must have at least some courage in you."
At that nanosecond, a note popped up out of thin air.
The note read: Dear James, Albus, Devon, and Lily: Chapter four in the Potter-Dursley family history will be the most intensely emotional of all. This chapter, titled the roles of Petunia Dursley and Lily Potter in the Life and Survival of Harry Potter, will bring heartaches, heavy hearts, tears, tears with burning sensations and perhaps more. This chapter is a major reason I deemed it inappropriate for anyone at Hogwarts besides you four to read this book. You will all have some intensely personal and emotional feelings about chapter four and you will all need to help each other and support each other through the emotions of the chapter when this reading comes. My view is that you four should know these things as it is your family history. That's why I gave you these books. But some very emotional times will come with the territory of these readings and chapter four will be the worst for that. Fair warning. Sincerely - The Room of Requirement.
James, Albus, Devon, and Lily all felt a bit of foreboding at that but they all still agreed they should learn as much as possible about this history. And if they had one thing that made them feel able to handle what was to come, it was that they had each other. James, Albus, Devon, and Lily truly were in this together.
