We need to talk about why Severus Snape treated Peter Pettigrew like a annoying houseguest at Spinner’s End instead of tearing him apart for murdering Lily Potter Casual fans always assume Snape’s rage was entirely fueled by Lily. So logically, when he found out Wormtail was the real traitor, he should have unleashed hell on him. Instead, he saved all his psychotic, unhinged fury for Sirius Black. Why? Because the fandom constantly tries to downplay the absolute horror of what James and Sirius did to Snape at Hogwarts. The deepest truth is that Snape’s hatred for the Marauders wasn't just about Lily, it was about survival and extreme humiliation. In "Snape's Worst Memory," James didn't just cast a funny hex; he hoisted Snape upside down and threatened to strip him naked in front of the entire student body while Sirius cheered him on. The text heavily implies that James went through with it, emasculating and traumatizing Snape in a way he never recovered from. People love to give James the benefit of the doubt so they can keep hating Snape with a clear conscience, but the reality is brutal: James and Sirius ruthlessly persecuted him for seven straight years. Wormtail’s betrayal was a cosmic tragedy, but Snape ultimately blamed himself more than anyone else for Lily's death because he was the one who delivered the prophecy to Voldemort. His anger over Lily was internalized into quiet, self-sacrificing guilt. But his anger toward Sirius? That was a self-refilling glass of pure, unresolved high school trauma. He didn't give Wormtail a pass. He was playing the long game, quietly tormenting Peter while he served him drinks, waiting for Voldemort's fall to exact real vengeance. But Sirius was the one who personally broke his psyche decades prior. Snape is a deeply flawed dichotomy of human nature. He could forgive a lot of things, but he never forgot the monsters who stripped him of his dignity in front of the world. 🎬