An old reddit post of mine that I figured I’d memorialize here. I always enjoy digging into data and imo this survey provides an interesting peek into how fans perceive Snape's morality and how that relates to their judgments about Snape's redemption.

This is by no means a perfect sample, survey, analysis, or write-up so take this with a grain of salt. But I think it’s a more interesting way to talk about the Great Snape Debate and I welcome the conversation that might spawn from this!

Takeaways:

No wonder Snape discussions are contentious: Almost evenly split on the redeemed question. (Petition for no stance on Snape's redemption to be labeled as "unpopular" ever again?)

Common ground: Both those who considered Snape redeemed and those who did not tended to recognize that Snape’s morality is dynamic and followed a U-shape. Almost everyone acknowledged that he reached his lowest point during his Death Eater years and improved so that at the end of his life, he had a moral rating that was similar to his pre-Hogwarts years.

A blank slate or a decent kid?: When rating Snape’s morality in childhood, those who considered Snape redeemed tended to rate him unambiguously positively, whereas those who did not view Snape as redeemed tended to rate him more neutrally.

Not blameless: When providing morality judgments for Snape’s actions as a Death Eater, there was no significant difference in morality ratings between those who view Snape as redeemed and those who do not. This suggests that those who view Snape as redeemed are not underestimating or excusing his actions as a death eater. (No more hurling “nazi apologist” about, how about it?) This makes sense; Snape needs to have done terrible things to be able to be redeemed from them.

Point of contention: The widest gap between ratings for those who believe Snape to be redeemed and those who do not is during Snape’s years as a double agent, corresponding to the end of Goblet through Dumbledore’s death.

More extreme ratings: Those who viewed Snape as redeemed provide a wider range of ratings on average than those who did not.

Methods and Results below.

^ The Prince's Tale starts on Page 263. But here is probably the most outright telling quotes

“DON’T!” bellowed Snape. “Gone . . . dead . . . ” “Is this remorse, Severus?” “I wish . . . I wish I were dead . . . ” “And what use would that be to anyone?” said Dumbledore coldly. “If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear.”

Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledore’s words appeared to take a long time to reach him. “What — what do you mean?” “You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily’s son.” “He does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone — ” “The Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does.” There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, “Very well."

Then

“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?” “For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum! ” From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. “After all this time?” “Always,” said Snape.

So, if you need the cliff notes of that: Snape would have never even been at Hogwarts much less in Harry's life if he hadn't loved Lily. His entire life was driven by here after her death as a way to atone for her loss. Obviously whether he was successful in his cause is obviously up for debate (he was still an asshole to Lily's kid...but I guess he was a rat for Dumbledore (who turned out to be morally dubious surrounding Harry's life too ) so I guess you can cherry pick your moral stance on your own.)

It's very clear in the text in the second quote that Severus would have never helped Dumbledore or been a teacher if it wasn't for his love for lily. It wasn't for mending his own morals or switching over to the good side or "seeing the truth" or whatever. He lost Lily. He felt like shit. He changed his life for her.

Again, I'm not necessarily disagreeing that Snape didn't deserve a lot of shit. He joined a fascist hate group and I highly suspect that if Lily never died he would have still been a Death Eater---but as it is in the text, Lily's loss is the one swift kick in the nuts he needs to actually do something good for once in his life. Does that make him redeemable? That's completely your decision to make (JKR writes like she wants you to forgive him but I think it's a 50/50 shot on that one. I don't really forgive him).

But can we argue that he loved Lily? No, I think that's pretty clear.

tldr:

Is snape redeemable despite doing bad shit? Debatable and/or a decision you as a reader can make.

But if we are talking about what the text says here, I think we should be clear that it’s also not really up for debate whether or not Snape is redeemed for becoming a death eater and turning over the prophecy. There is a very clear redemption arc written for him, parts of which you cite above.

Literary analysis - "The author used [literary tool] therefore we can make a reasonable argument that this character's choices reflect [motivation]"

If troll's anon's point is that Snape didn't love Lily but that he instead had an unhealthy fixation on her, they need to argue with textual evidence otherwise it's their personal reading and can reasonably be dismissed by anyone who sees no evidence for this in the text. Responding to this kind of goading, clearly incendiary and pointless ask is a waste of energy, but I'm having the kind of day where I feel like getting into what critical reading and reading comprehension entail, and OP's response feels pretty subjective and more about their personal interpretation rather than a critical reading, which is their prerogative but I wanted to add a bit more of the latter, so here we are.

If the only evidence of Snape's love was his own assertion of it, it might be easier to interpret loosely. However, the author (boo, hiss) draws our attention to Snape's love for Lily in several ways, making sure to build up to it even before the big reveal:

‘Tonks’s Patronus has changed its form,’ he told him. ‘Snape said so, anyway. I didn’t know that could happen. Why would your Patronus change?’ Lupin took his time chewing his turkey and swallowing before saying slowly, ‘Sometimes … a great shock … an emotional upheaval …’

-Half-Blood Prince, Ch. 16

‘But I don’t care either, I don’t care!’ said Tonks, seizing the front of Lupin’s robes and shaking them. ‘I’ve told you a million times …’ And the meaning of Tonks’s Patronus and her mouse-coloured hair, and the reason she had come running to find Dumbledore when she had heard a rumour someone had been attacked by Greyback, all suddenly became clear to Harry; it had not been Sirius that Tonks had fallen in love with after all …

-Half-Blood Prince, Ch. 29

The author could have chosen various ways to show that Tonks was in love with Lupin, but she chose to illustrate it using her patronus. The choice of language here is deliberate: "in love with." Tonks' patronus and her being in love with Lupin are directly connected. Therefore when we see Snape's doe patronus in direct response to Dumbledore's question about his affection for Harry, we already have a framework for understanding that in the world of the story a patronus can reflect a strong love.

“After all this time?” “Always,” said Snape.

-Deathly Hallows, Ch. 33

Even without knowing that this is one of the most widely known quotes from the series, and that this exchange was the root of the author's explanation to Alan Rickman about his character's love of Harry's mother, the knowledge we have of what a patronus can mean is enough for us to understand that both Dumbledore and Snape are referring to Snape's love of Lily. There's a clear series of events: Dumbledore asks if Snape has come to care for Harry, Snape replies "for him?" indignantly and produces a doe patronus, and Dumbledore shares the above exchange with him.

In case there's any confusion about the doe patronus reflecting Lily, we know that Harry's patronus is a stag and that it reflects his father, whose animagus form was a stag. Harry also feels a connection with the doe patronus:

It was a silver-white doe, moon-bright and dazzling, picking her way over the ground, still silent, and leaving no hoof prints in the fine powdering of snow. She stepped towards him, her beautiful head with its wide, long-lashed eyes held high. Harry stared at the creature, filled with wonder, not at her strangeness, but at her inexplicable familiarity. He felt that he had been waiting for her to come, but that he had forgotten, until this moment, that they had arranged to meet. His impulse to shout for Hermione, which had been so strong a moment ago, had gone. He knew, he would have staked his life on it, that she had come for him, and him alone. ... At last, she came to a halt. She turned her beautiful head towards him once more, and he broke into a run, a question burning in him, but as he opened his lips to ask it, she vanished. Though the darkness had swallowed her whole, her burnished image was still imprinted on his retinas; it obscured his vision, brightening when he lowered his eyelids, disorientating him. Now fear came: her presence had meant safety.

-Deathly Hallows, Ch. 20

The doe feels familiar to Harry and gives him a sense of safety, attributes that can be reflective of both love and motherhood. Nevertheless, the author makes this intention clear by putting the words clearly into her protagonist's mouth, as he confirms both that the doe represented Lily and that Snape loved her:

‘Snape’s Patronus was a doe,’ said Harry, ‘the same as my mother’s, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children.’

-Deathly Hallows, Ch. 36

When Harry says this it's at the climactic moment of the series where all of his dialogue exists to provide clarity and exposition. The author is making a conscious and deliberate decision here to give a clear statement through this character that Snape loved Lily. While for most of the series the voice of exposition tends to be Hermione or Dumbledore, Harry spends much of it uncertain and seeking answers, often misinterpreting what he sees and falling for literary foils. In this moment, however, he's figured everything out and as the protagonist who's about to slay the antagonist, he's informing the reader as much as Voldemort, because this is the point where the author answers all the questions that still remain outstanding before the story can end. Therefore we can accept what he says as the author's intention to explain the truths of the world of the story.

As for anon's assertion, a statement like "disgusting obsession" is also very broad and liable to interpretation. Their meaning might be clear to them, but assuming it will be clear to anyone else with minimal information mostly just reflects a difficulty with theory of mind.

It's hard to find any kind of basis for Snape's love being obsessive in the text, however, even considering several possible interpretations of anon's meaning. If the implication was that Snape was obsessive in a predatory way that sees friendship as transactional and ignores Lily's autonomy, I would point to the textual evidence that after Lily ended their friendship, Snape seems to have no more memories of her, indicating he respected the boundaries she set. I would also point to the textual evidence that Snape risked his life to save hers, and continued to risk it for many years after despite the impossibility of any kind of transactional relationship seeing as Lily was dead. The only thing he did that might have crossed a boundary was taking the second page of her letter to Sirius from Grimmauld Place, however he did so when it could be reasonably assumed the house had been abandoned and the person the letter was addressed to had died and had no more use for it.

If anon's implication was, instead, that Snape was obsessed with Lily because he continued to have feelings for her after she died, then I would point out that calling it "disgusting" is a subjective statement, not the objective literary criticism that can be expected from someone asserting their reading comprehension. We can't help our emotions, and continuing to feel love for someone who's rejected us is part of the human experience. Policing our own, or others', emotions is unhealthy and also futile. As long as we don't act on those emotions and respect the boundaries that have been set, we aren't causing harm. If anon was implying this, that Snape continued to feel strong emotions for Lily throughout the story, then it's unclear what makes them obsessive and not affectionate given all of the above, and the text offers no evidence I can see that would support anon's argument. Perhaps that's why they offered none and instead defaulted to a baseless insult instead of writing a thoughtful, critical post and sending it to OP.

Finally, anon asserts that Snape was never reformed. Again, given all the above citations from the text, we get confirmation from Dumbledore, who's used as the author's mouthpiece throughout the series, that Snape was a trusted ally. We also have this quote from Harry in the Epilogue:

‘Albus Severus,’ Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, ‘you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.’

-Deathly Hallows, Epilogue

The author makes a deliberate choice for Harry, the protagonist, to refer to Snape not only as brave, but the "bravest man [he] ever knew." This is the Epilogue, so there's no reason this statement would be a misdirect or anything but what the author wants us to understand about Snape and Harry's perspective of him.

^ The Prince's Tale starts on Page 263. But here is probably the most outright telling quotes

“DON’T!” bellowed Snape. “Gone . . . dead . . . ” “Is this remorse, Severus?” “I wish . . . I wish I were dead . . . ” “And what use would that be to anyone?” said Dumbledore coldly. “If you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear.”

Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledore’s words appeared to take a long time to reach him. “What — what do you mean?” “You know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lily’s son.” “He does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone — ” “The Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does.” There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, “Very well."

Then

“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?” “For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum! ” From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. “After all this time?” “Always,” said Snape.

So, if you need the cliff notes of that: Snape would have never even been at Hogwarts much less in Harry's life if he hadn't loved Lily. His entire life was driven by here after her death as a way to atone for her loss. Obviously whether he was successful in his cause is obviously up for debate (he was still an asshole to Lily's kid...but I guess he was a rat for Dumbledore (who turned out to be morally dubious surrounding Harry's life too ) so I guess you can cherry pick your moral stance on your own.)

It's very clear in the text in the second quote that Severus would have never helped Dumbledore or been a teacher if it wasn't for his love for lily. It wasn't for mending his own morals or switching over to the good side or "seeing the truth" or whatever. He lost Lily. He felt like shit. He changed his life for her.

Again, I'm not necessarily disagreeing that Snape didn't deserve a lot of shit. He joined a fascist hate group and I highly suspect that if Lily never died he would have still been a Death Eater---but as it is in the text, Lily's loss is the one swift kick in the nuts he needs to actually do something good for once in his life. Does that make him redeemable? That's completely your decision to make (JKR writes like she wants you to forgive him but I think it's a 50/50 shot on that one. I don't really forgive him).

But can we argue that he loved Lily? No, I think that's pretty clear.

tldr:

Is snape redeemable despite doing bad shit? Debatable and/or a decision you as a reader can make.

But if we are talking about what the text says here, I think we should be clear that it’s also not really up for debate whether or not Snape is redeemed for becoming a death eater and turning over the prophecy. There is a very clear redemption arc written for him, parts of which you cite above.

Snape’s poverty is also of its era; the deprivation alluded to is difficult for anyone who grew up in the last 15 or so years to completely appreciate.  That’s not to say that people can’t read up about it, but it’s not quite the same as having that first hand experience.  There’s a specificity about it which means that if your experiences are of the Blair era onwards, and/or you grew up in a different social class, you possibly won’t quite grasp it - not least because, thankfully, society has improved a lot in many areas.  

So much of what JK writes about Snape’s background relies on shared culture, as opposed to being categorically spelled out within the text.  Harry’s neglect and abuse is explicitly written; Snape’s is alluded to - and the disparity in how she depicts the two means that many miss what’s really being suggested when it comes to Snape.

Personally, I find her handling of Snape’s background incredibly deft.  That shared culture means that many people read the passage where Tobias is shouting at Eileen, and those people nod their heads and say, “I know exactly what went on in that house.”

Snape’s background is a depiction of endemic unending poverty, domestic unrest (and implied violence), and abject neglect.  It’s also why so many readers leap to the conclusion that Tobias is violent towards Eileen and towards Severus.  That presumption seems to leave so many on the internet baffled at such certainty when it’s not actually written in black and white - but what they’re missing is that JK has used a social shorthand that everyone ‘in’ on the meaning understands.

Furthermore, it’s rarely discussed, but there’s a very good reason why Lily responds to Snape’s Mudblood insult by highlighting his poverty and neglect.  Snape’s ‘greying’ pants aren’t about him being unclean - white clothes ‘grey’ when they’re old, and that’s what Lily’s remarking upon.  (After all, it seems unlikely that the kids are responsible for their own washing - you would’ve thought Harry would’ve whined about washing his socks and pants, as opposed to his magical homework. Do we really think Snape wasn’t washing his clothes, or rather that his clothing was substandard to begin with?) 

Notably, Snape highlighted her otherness in the magical world, and she threw his otherness in society right back at him.

And that’s just looking at his comparison with Lily - she was loved by her parents, and grew up in a middle class home.  The only thing Snape has is his knowledge of magic…and that’s the one aspect he can bring to their friendship which impresses Lily.

James, on the other hand, has the full house - he grew up in a wealthy home, with parents who adored him, in a magical society.  The situation between James and Severus could not be more unequal - and it’s got nothing to do with dark magic.

It’s also an analogy for the grammar school system - which again, is lost on a lot of people, because it’s very of its time.  Snape is the kid who comes from the sink estate who passed the exams against all odds - and when he gets to the school, where he’s earned his place, he sticks out like a sore thumb.  He has the talent to be at Hogwarts, but not the social background.

On the flipside, James is the depiction of a kid who was always going to get to grammar school, who belongs at the grammar school…he also has the talent, but he has everything else as well - and he can’t fathom why someone from Snape’s background is sitting next to him.

That’s not a criticism of James - it’s an understanding of where his character comes from, and why he reacts so violently towards Snape, but he doesn’t react in a similar way to Sirius.  This doesn’t excuse his dislike, but it goes some way to explain it.  It shows why other characters like him so much - he’s fun, and clever, and nicely dressed, and confident, and sporty, and talented…but he can’t get past his outright dislike of Snape, which grows over the years and encompasses other issues (such as being jealous of his friendship with Lily).

That very morning

I was inspired by @lazarusquince request about Severus enjoying a cup of tea, but then it went really dark and sad in my head… :) I’m so sorry! It should’ve been nice and sweet!!

"I cared about you too much," said Dumbledore simply. "I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act."

“Is there a defense? I defy anyone who has watched you as I have — and I have watched you more closely than you can have imagined — not to want to save you more pain than you had already suffered. What did I care if numbers of nameless and faceless people and creatures were slaughtered in the vague future, if in the here and now you were alive, and well, and happy? I never dreamed that I would have such a person on my hands.”

People will quote the "Pig for Slaughter" while conveniently forgetting that it was a red herring that would go on to be disproven literally 2 chapters later

“But . . . ” Harry raised his hand instinctively towards the lightningscar. It did not seem to be there. “But I should have died — I didn’tdefend myself! I meant to let him kill me!”“And that,” said Dumbledore, “will, I think, have made all thedifference.”Happiness seemed to radiate from Dumbledore like light, like fire:Harry had never seen the man so utterly, so palpably, content.

Definitly didn't care on whether Harry died or not.

And

Dumbledore smiled at Harry, and Harry stared at him.“And you knew this? You knew — all along?”“I guessed. But my guesses have usually been good,” said Dumbledore happily

'Pig for Slaughter' did not happen because Dumbledore risked the entire world on a GUESS that might maybe save Harry.

He lays it out in all above messages from OP and Prev - he was struggling with how much he loved Harry. He cared more for a vague future where Harry was okay than for a future where he acted for the 'greater good'.

All through OotP was battling that inside of himself, trying to distance himself, trying to stay focused on doing 'the right thing' - and then by the end saying 'fuck it, we ball' And risked everything on a gamble to save Harry's life.

Like a fool. A fool who loves. And Harry is the first time he has allowed himself to properly love someone for a century. He learns not to fear his love but to trust it.

Huh! This description of the young spy’s composure, though of course filtered through Trelawney’s perspective, isn’t very far removed from how he is described in his younger teen years (sputtering, protesting, becoming incoherent when emotional — far from socially deft). It’s markedly different from how we see him operating during the course of the HP timeline; intimidating Quirrell in Philosopher’s Stone, talking his way out of a death sentence in Goblet of Fire, and having the time of his life running circles around Bellatrix in Half-Blood Prince. I’m certainly not the first to note that at some point, Snape had to put quite bit of effort into this transformation. I had always envisioned a 90s-movie makeover/training montage during years 6/7 and into his first years of service with the Death Eaters in which he cultivates a more aristocratic and confident facade, learns skills like Occlumency, and develops the social aptitude which seemed to elude him as a younger teen; I always had a hard time imagining Snape trying to establish credibility with the Death Eaters without quite a bit of work on his end to conform.

But this description from Trelawney has made me consider that Snape might have picked up a lot of these skills later than I originally thought — towards the end of the war and into his first years as a professor. Interesting possibility. While I’d always considered his sink-or-swim brand of instruction to be borne of his own brilliance and lack of a safety net while he was in school, this could add some more color as to why his instruction (particularly of Occlumency) is so focused on self-preservation; perhaps learning the skill quickly was literally life or death for him once he defected and began working as a double agent for the Order. 

Of course, it could be that he did indeed develop these skills before or shortly upon joining the Death Eaters, but Dumbledore’s presence has a way of making Snape’s hard work evaporate. After all, Dumbledore — and his trust — have the ability to get under Snape’s skin even years later when he’s fully accustomed to his role as a spy...!

The scene above shows him trying to prove himself, I'd say, although I'm a bit on the fence about whether he was there of his own accord or Voldemort sent him there. I can see both options; Voldemort being slightly annoyed by Severus and sending him to apply for a job at Hogwarts, promising him to make him his spy in the castle, just to get him out of his hair for a while, and Severus going there to prove he can be useful and stumbling upon what had to feel like the holy grail for him back then by pure accident. I do headcanon him delivering the prophecy as the event that finally got him the Dark Mark, though. It seems to be the only notable thing he did during the first war.

Love all these observations - one of the big overstatements people make about Severus in general is in his role as a Death Eater in the first war. As if he climbed the ranks with cruelty and grit. It seems evident through multiple peoples reactions and underestimations of him (a particular notable case being Bellatrix like prev details) he really didn't do much at all.

Except betray Dumbledore so absolutely as to leak the prophecy.

Which, even back then, I doubt gave him much more than perhaps getting his Dark Mark. I think he remained a nobody in the first war.

I mean, what proof is there that the prophecy is real at all...? Then Voldemort actually goes to kill the boy, just in case - and gets fucked up by it. That would've proved to him that Severus wasn't full of shit and had tried to help save him.

Severus willingly coming back to him again in GoF, a much more put-together grown man than the desperate little worm he once was - willing to keep betraying Dumbledore's trust... I think that's what cemented him as so worthy.

And Bellatrix, breaking out of Azkaban, knows none of this. She knew Severus as some little kid biting at their heels and suddenly he's this 'capable' right-hand-man... despite doing barely a fraction of what she has done. (tbh, fair - she does a lot lol)

But I'm not sure this transformation was a conscious effort. 'I need to work on myself to be an expert spy in the future' nah...

I think its a mix of simply growing up, feeling settled somewhere, skills gained to control a class of rowdy magical teenagers - and a general lack of joy and desire in his life.

He doesn't WANT anything anymore. He isn't stumbling over his feet to talk to a young Witch, he isn't trying to impress anyone, he isn't trying to prove himself worthwhile... His ambition is dimmed. He isn't fighting to claim something. He has lost everything he cared about.

But like... note how intense and wild he gets at the prospect of capturing Sirius Black, and proving Remus Lupin to be a wolf-in-sheeps-clothing. He goes feral! He wanted that really badly.

Huh! This description of the young spy’s composure, though of course filtered through Trelawney’s perspective, isn’t very far removed from how he is described in his younger teen years (sputtering, protesting, becoming incoherent when emotional — far from socially deft). It’s markedly different from how we see him operating during the course of the HP timeline; intimidating Quirrell in Philosopher’s Stone, talking his way out of a death sentence in Goblet of Fire, and having the time of his life running circles around Bellatrix in Half-Blood Prince. I’m certainly not the first to note that at some point, Snape had to put quite bit of effort into this transformation. I had always envisioned a 90s-movie makeover/training montage during years 6/7 and into his first years of service with the Death Eaters in which he cultivates a more aristocratic and confident facade, learns skills like Occlumency, and develops the social aptitude which seemed to elude him as a younger teen; I always had a hard time imagining Snape trying to establish credibility with the Death Eaters without quite a bit of work on his end to conform.

But this description from Trelawney has made me consider that Snape might have picked up a lot of these skills later than I originally thought — towards the end of the war and into his first years as a professor. Interesting possibility. While I’d always considered his sink-or-swim brand of instruction to be borne of his own brilliance and lack of a safety net while he was in school, this could add some more color as to why his instruction (particularly of Occlumency) is so focused on self-preservation; perhaps learning the skill quickly was literally life or death for him once he defected and began working as a double agent for the Order. 

Of course, it could be that he did indeed develop these skills before or shortly upon joining the Death Eaters, but Dumbledore’s presence has a way of making Snape’s hard work evaporate. After all, Dumbledore — and his trust — have the ability to get under Snape’s skin even years later when he’s fully accustomed to his role as a spy...!

The scene above shows him trying to prove himself, I'd say, although I'm a bit on the fence about whether he was there of his own accord or Voldemort sent him there. I can see both options; Voldemort being slightly annoyed by Severus and sending him to apply for a job at Hogwarts, promising him to make him his spy in the castle, just to get him out of his hair for a while, and Severus going there to prove he can be useful and stumbling upon what had to feel like the holy grail for him back then by pure accident. I do headcanon him delivering the prophecy as the event that finally got him the Dark Mark, though. It seems to be the only notable thing he did during the first war.

This is a difficult question, in fact! I don’t think canon set it up very well. Lily herself is barely a character – not in terms of importance, but in development. Who is she? What’s she really like? Although, like James, we only know her through memories, she’s harder to get a handle on. 

(this got fucking long lol. sorry that readmores don’t work on mobile.)