Snily

Snily

Snily is the ship of the characters Severus Snape and Lilly Potter (nee. Evans) from the Harry Potter fandom.

Severus Snape
Professor Severus Snape (9 January, 1960 – 2 May, 1998) was a half-blood wizard who was the son of the witch Eileen Snape (née Prince) and Muggle Tobias Snape. During his lifetime, Severus Snape was Potions master (1981–1996), Defence Against the Dark Arts professor (1996-1997), and Headmaster (1997-1998) of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (which he attended as a student from 1971 until 1978). He was also member of the Order of the Phoenix and played a very important role in both of the Wizarding Wars against Lord Voldemort.

Lily Evans
Lily Potter (née Evans) (30 January, 1960 – 31 October, 1981) was a Muggle-born witch, the younger daughter of Mr and Mrs Evans and the younger sister of Petunia. She learned that she was a witch as a child, after Severus Snape, a wizard boy who lived nearby, recognised her as a witch and told her of the existence of magic. The two became close friends, but their friendship became strained over the years due to Snape's irrepressible interest in the Dark Arts and his passion in joining the Death Eaters. Lily ended the friendship in their fifth year, after Snape called her a Mudblood. She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1971 to 1978 and was sorted into Gryffindor house. A talented student, Lily was a member of the Slug Club and was made Head Girl in her seventh year.

Canon Relationship
Snape's friendship with Lily Evans was probably the only meaningful relationship he ever had. He first met Lily at a very young age, recognising her as a witch one day as she and her sister Petunia played in the park near his house. Longing to escape his humiliating home life, Snape immediately sought to make her his friend. Despite the fact that Lily came from a Muggle family, he never truly saw her as being one of them because he was so smitten with her. In 1971, the two of them were accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and continued a close friendship up until around their fifth year, despite being sorted into different houses.

During this time, Snape began hanging out with people who embraced sadistic magic and pure-blood supremacy, which put a huge strain on their friendship. Lily was offended by many of the views that Snape was beginning to adopt and disliked the qualities that his new cohorts were bringing out in him. Given time over again, Snape would never have done many of the things he did, but at the time he did not truly understand her aversion. He was so insecure and blinded by his attraction to the Dark side that he imagined she would find it impressive if he became a real Death Eater. Ironically, Lily might have grown to love Snape romantically (she certainly loved him as a friend) if he had not loved Dark Magic so much, and been drawn to such loathsome people and acts, yet it was Snape's desire for Lily's admiration that drew him to the dark arts in the first place. When Snape called Lily a "Mudblood" in a fit of anger and humiliation, it was the last straw for Lily. When she later asked him if he still intended to become a Death Eater and he did not deny it, she severed all ties with him, despite Snape's profuse apologies.

When Snape overheard the Prophecy, he immediately relayed its contents to the Dark Lord, not knowing that it would have anything to do with Lily. Upon discovering that Lord Voldemort was planning on targeting the Potter family, Snape pleaded with him to spare Lily in exchange for her husband and son. He later appealed to Albus Dumbledore, asking him to do everything in his power to protect Lily and the rest of her family, if he had to.

Snape was so devastated by Lily's death and ridden with guilt over the circumstances that he wished he were dead as well. At Dumbledore's behest, he became committed to protecting her son Harry and assisting him in defeating the Dark Wizard. Indeed, Snape's Patronus was a doe, just like Lily's, because he loved her throughout his entire life. As Snape died, he asked Harry to look into his eyes; his last wish in his final moments was to die looking into the same green eyes that reminded him so much of Lily.