LoopyLuna96 Also, Draco wasn't Hermione's friend, he always picked on her. So calling her Mudblood, whilst insulting, was bound to happen. On the other hand, Snape was Lily's best friend. He introduced her to the magical world, and he was the one to say 'No, it doesn't make a difference', about being a Muggle born. She trusted Severus enormously, and for him to call her that was a lot a huge betrayal, and shock, and much worse than when Malfoy did it.

bri-marie Couple of things I want to say about this. For starters, I don't really think the people who are comparing Draco calling Hermione a mudblood to Sev calling Lily a mudblood are really thinking that argument through (unless they've only seen CoS). Hermione didn't even know what a mudblood [i]was[/i] the first time Draco called her that. Lily did. Lily and Sev were (supposedly) best friends. Hermione and Draco were enemies from the get-go. The initial actions and words that led up to that word being thrown out, really weren't all that bad. There really isn't a whole lot in common with the two situations. Secondly, I [i]do[/i] think Lily over-reacted. And here's why: It wasn't exactly like Severus just up and called her 'mudblood' out of the blue. Nor was it like with Hermione and Draco, where Hermione made a snippy little comment in front of a small group of people and Draco retaliated with that it just because he could. Severus was [i]humiliated[/i]. He'd been attacked, chocked with soap, hung up side-down, laughed at, degraded, and de-pantsed (which showed even more of his poor life-style) in front of a large group of people. For no real reason other than the fact that "he exists." Was he out of line? Totally. Was he wrong to call her that? Of course. Was it understandable? Yes. He was hurt, embarrassed, and angry. He'd lost all control of the situation and, as we know from his behavior as an adult, he does not do well in situations that he can't control. I, personally, don't see how Lily's barb (that probably hurt him just as much as his name-calling hurt her) was handling it "calmly." It's the exact same thing he did: lashing out in pain and embarrassment. As to Lily's comments while he was apologizing: Lily isn't one to hold back. We've seen her get in fights about her feelings in Severus' personal choices. So why, if he was [i]honestly[/i] calling people mudbloods, has she not said something before? It's not exactly a topic that she would sweep under the rug. It's not that she's afraid of him or fighting with him. So, if that's the case, why hasn't she said something before now, when she's angry and hurt? I think Silver Ink Pot says everything about Lily's comment "I've made excuses for you for years" better than I could: [i]Not only is it an indication that Lily always saw Snape as an inferior in a Wuthering Heights sense, but also it means she has been uncomfortable in their friendship for years and talked about him with other Gryffindors. It's a humiliation piled onto a boy who has all ready been humilated in a brutal way that day.[/i]

wotcher-tonks I like this article. I agree with it. I kinda...dislike Snape...alot...*Runs to the mansion to hide*

Ultimately57 I have to agree. Hermione didn't evcen know what a mudblood was, no one had ever explained it to her. She knew that being muggldeborn, purebloods saw her as scum. She didn't know what the term mudblood was or what it meant, however. Draco, as an affect of being raised in a pureblood home, with a deatheater for a father, he knew what that insult meant. He was annoyed at the Gryffindor team for tking their Quidditch practicing time, so he lashed out at Hermione, in and argument of some sort. He pretty much despised her for being muggleborn and Gryffindor, and her house team (which included Harry Potter, his nemesis) was taking up his Quidditch practicing time. No strings attached. He was her enemy. Lily first met Severus when she was about none or ten. He explained the whole wizarding world to her and when she asked himj about being muggleborn he said it didn't matter. He was her first magical friend. On the train, he sat with her at a different compartment after James and Sirius insulted him. That began her grudge against James and Sirius. She was split at the sorting from him, into rival houses. But they tried to not let it bother them. Severus was Lily's first magical friend, and they didn't want to be seperated. But their houses did get in the way and they grew apart. Lily's comment 'I've made excuses for you for years' proves that. Severus was humiliated. He was practically tortured. He was choked and had his pants threatening to disappear over the needed area. He was hung upside down by his ankle with a spell HE invented. If that happened to me, I would make revenge my top priority. Who wouldn't? Severus wasn't thinking. The boys who had made his life hell had just degraded him in such a horrible way, in front of a crowd of people, who were all cheering for them. He didn't think, but he shouldn't had said that. If you were to place yourself in that position, you wouldn't be thinking, would you? Lily tried to help him, and James then told Severus that he was lucky Lily was there to save him, and he should be thankful. Severus wasn't thinking but, was he? And to be humiliated even more. At that moment, Lily wasn't his first real friend. She was just another Gryffindor, Gryffindors who were laughing at him while he was mercilessly tortured. He called his first friend a Mudblood. He was her first magical friend, one who had told her being a muggleborn didn't matter. It would be like a nice little reality shattering, wouldn't it? Suddenly, Lily is pulled into the real world. Being muggleborn DID matter, and the person who had told her otherwise had said differently. She reacted normally. She was in despair. Her world of happiness had come crashing down. Her first friend had called her a mudblood. That was against everything he had said to her. She was in shock. How could he do that to her? Why did she even hang out with him? Was he like the rest of those pureblood snobs? Lily didn't over-react one bit. She was in shock as realisations of her first ever magical friend came to her.

SilverDoe29 Finally. Someone who doesn't think I'm insane when I defend Lily's side about this situation. I fully agree. I know this seems like a really short comment, but you guys said it all for me.

boolander25 ^This, haha.

cunha27 I must agree with bri-marie. Lily over reacted. Snape was gagging and choking on the soap and all Lily did was tell James to stop and argue with James about weather or not she'd go out with him. Other than that, she made no move to help him and neither did anyone else around him. I can't imagine what that would feel like, choking and gagging while people around you laughed and argued. And then when James hung Snape upside down exposing him to the gathered crowd, Harry noticed that Lily looked like she was about to smile along with the cheering and laughing crowd. Snape was put in a powerless position, was attacked and physically hurt, chocked, hung upside down, exposed, humiliated, verbally abused, laughed at, ignored by a prefect, dropped from a height onto the ground and then immobilised. It wasn't until James cast Petrificus Totalus on Snape that Lily finally pulled her wand on James and made him let Snape go. If I was Snape I would feel very angry and betrayed by Lily. She made a half-assed effort trying to help him when he most needed her and then almost joined in in laughing at his predicament. Snape should not have called her that name, but that's the thing with friends, we know the other person the best and when we lash out we're much more likely to hurt them the most. Lily herself demonstrated this when she then turned around and said 'Fine, I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.' She not only made a comment that added to his humiliation, but committed exactly the same offence as Snape by calling him Snivellus. It might not have been a racial slur but it was just as abusive and insulting. And I'm sure she called him that because she knew it was what would hurt him the most. Lily didn't just walk off and wash her hands off Snape, she added to the bullying with her parting shot. She knew he didn't really believe in the whole pureblood thing. They wouldn't be friends otherwise and he'd also told her as much when they were children. Being verbally insulted was all it took for Lily to lash out at Snape and leave him to the mercy of his bullies, yet she found Snape name calling her unforgivable. That was simply hypocritical. But then they were pretty young then, 15 or so.