i heard we were supposed to learn there was a significance with harry having her eyes?
but it wasnt mentioned
or do you think it was just a rumour/fake spoiler?

I agree with you that i was expecting something dramatic about harry having lily's eyes. but i think the significance is more of an emotional one. it sort of explains the complicated relationship between harry and snape. snape loved lily and hated james because lily loved him instead. so think about all the times that snape was absolutely wretched to harry, it was like he was projecting james onto him instead. but then there was times when snape looked him straight in the eyes and something was different about the way he acted. i guess sometimes it would remind him about lily and other times it would remind him that she married james instead of him. the emotion conflict made him a very complicated man. so the significance lies more in snape than it does in harry.

yeah you are right i reckon that could be it
i thought maybe they held some kind of special power or something haha
but it was all because of love and stuff
there was a lot of love in this book lol

yeah i was confused too.

but in snapes memories it was after lily and james got killed dumbledore was telling snape that harry survived and he was describing harry's eyes and how much alike they were to his mothers.

I've always felt that the connection between Lily's and Harry's eyes has been sweet. And it really made me teary when Snape was dying, and we found out that he had loved Lily. Just before he died, he said to Harry "Look...at...me." I think it was because he wanted to see Lily looking back at him one last time through Harry's eyes. That was very symbolic for me.

I agree Ladie Lily Potter. It appears that after hearing the line, "you look so much like your dad, except you have your mother's eyes", over and over again in the series, is that the only real significance for this is so that the reader finds out about Snape loving Lily.

I got teary eyed too when Snape said to Harry, "Look...at...me", just before dying. This unrequited love really pulled at my heartstrings!

Exactly. I thought it was all pretty clear, the significance of Harry having her eyes...
Snape wanted to see Lily's eyes before he died, "the green eyes met the black", he wanted to see the only eyes he'd ever loved. And despite the fact that Snape was not fond of Harry, it didnt matter as long as he saw Lily looking back at him. *sigh*

NM
xxx

i didnt actually pick up on that lol!
probably cause i was rushing through the book so much!
but yeah awww that was really sweet
snape had a bit of good in him!

understatement!
Snape did so much to honour Lily's life

NM
xxx

lol i agree with everyone here - i just think his eyes were symbolic because of what we find out about snape and lilys past. i reckon that its because harry had lilys eyes that snape remained so loyal to her and protected harry all the way.

oh and then of course the whole eye thing was used to make everyone wanna cry like a baby when snape says 'look...at...me' just before he dies - all very bittersweet!

I agree. The "look...at...me" part was very sweet. I didn't get it at first, but after reading the Prince's tale, I went back to that section several times just to read it over and over and over. It finally all made sense and explained a whole lot why Snape remained so loyal to the Order even though we all thought that he was a sneaky character. I also like that the last thing Snape wanted to see before going to his own King's Cross were Lily's eyes, the one person he loved, through Harry's, instead of someone's lips pressed against his own like *ahem* some other character....

I think we were all expecting something special because 2-3 books have emphasized Lily's skill with potions--her ties to snape in HBP and the multiple references to her sacrifice and the 'old magic' mentioned by Voldemort--the power of love. I've heard many theories after HBP that something tied to her eyes about her abilities would be revealed--but end the end it was a sentimental attachment.

I didn't actually pick up on the significance when i was reading, partially because i was speed reading to get to the end , and partially because i thought when snape said 'look at me' he was going to tell harry something. but later, after i thought it over, the eye thing just hit me, and it's so sweet and sad at the same time.

i just thought he said look at me because he referred to his memorys in which he wanted harry to see them to see the man he was, not look at me as in that moment and his eyes there and then. but when i come to think about it after reading what everyone says here, i might´ve been wrong. hmm makes sense

It was mentioned about Harry having Lily's eyes...when Snape gave Harry his momories upon his death...
Harry was looking into Snapes memory's, Dumbledore said to Snape, "He has her eyes, you remember Lily's eyes?"
Snape was in tears, etc...
Anyways, it was in there, not a great deal of deapth to it, but with Snape emotion never really showed that much...he kept it inside.

Reading all of the posts, I'm pretty much on the brink of depression. Snape was so brave, it's unbelivable, I didn't even see it coming. Lily's eyes, yes, I think as many said, the reason we expected more, is because the eyes were so emphasized, and so was Lily's love.
"Look..at..me" that was so sad. I just, man.. JKR is really amazing.

Also, someone said "the green eyes met the black" I forgot about that line. I don't even remember reading it, but I was just thinking..

Do you remember supposedly, things in the 3rd movie were supposed to forshadow the end of the series? Was it when Lupin told harry, he is more like his mother then he knows?

Snape... I love him.

I agree with everyone. I actually just realized that the reason he told harry to look at him was because he wanted to see Lily's eyes. "Look... at...me." I read that whole chapter over again after I read the book because it was so beautiful. Jk out did herself. I would have never imagined snape being good let alone in love with Harry mom. I cant believe that snape wanted to protect harry. After the chaper, I understood why snape was so mean. When he looked at harry he saw James. He never really saw Lily because he would have had to get to know Harry to really see her. I never saw it coming. [size=2]

Yeah that's what I said Chrissiep, that somehow ties into the story i'm sure

amen to that! snape is truly the bravest character in the entire series

i agree with you. and with all that post here.
i think the explanation is in prince's tale chapter (i loved this chapter, snape's memories, oh i cried when i read that). but yeah, Harry was looking into Snapes memory's and DD said to Snape, "He has her eyes, you remember Lily's eyes?" and Snape was in tears...
and when snape dies, when he said 'look..at...me', i totally agree, he wanted to see lily looking back at him one last time..

yeah it was everywhere that we'll finally know the secret of this color it's probably just biology and no magic in that

Harry's eyes are important because they are Lily's eyes. They are the thing that kept Snape on the good side, because they reminded him of his one true love. DD told Snape that Harry had Lily's eyes, and Snape agreed to help protect Harry. Then as Snape is dying, he tells Harry "Look... at... me." The last thing he sees before he dies is Harry's--Lily's-- eyes.

Another interesting fact is that Harry's eyes are green while Voldy's eyes are red. Harry's "signature spell" is expelliarmus while Voldy's is Avada Kedavra, but the light for expelliarmus is red and that for Avada Kedavra is green. Color is a reflection of light. At the end of DH, when Voldy and Harry duel, their curses (Avada Kedavra and expelliarmus, respectively) hit and rebound (or reflect) back towards the caster, green towrads Voldy and red towards Harry.So its kinda like the light from their eyes is reflecting towards their opponent, if that makes any sense.

Well I think we kind of did....I mean the part I found kind of cool was when Snape was dying, he said to Haryy Look....at.....me....he wanted to see Lily's eyes one more time.

That was the one part of Harry Snape liked. He wanted to see that part of Lily before he died. But otherwise I don't know about "the eyes"

all in all snape got his job done (the one dumbledore ask him to tell harry about the snake when LV has put protection to his snake and stop sending it to do his bidding) and got his last wish to look at lily's eyes just before his very last breath
what a pang
bittersweet end to severus snape's life

Wow. I didn't even think about the 'Look at me' Thing as wanting to see Lily's eyes one last time...but it's so sweet. Makes total sense. And I never thought I'd view Snape as sweet in any form- but I do now....

Also, did anyone love when Harry realized that Mrs.Weasley had Ginny's honey colored eyes? And it said 'This did not help.' I was laughing so much! Can you imagine how much Snape was frusturated? When Harry constantly had Lily's eyes and he had to see them every day and not do anything about it? Poor guy...

I don't think that Lily's eyes are that significant. Harry inherited some of his looks from his father, and some from his mother. That's like with anybody's child. And of course, Harry was told about this because his parent's had died and he never knew what they looked like.

What Snape saw in Harry might have complicated the issue, though. A lot of the time he might have seen James in him and hated him for that but at the same time he was protecting Lily's child and wished that Harry would have been more like her.

At first I thought there was more to this topic as well. I imagined something huge to be revealed. But now I see that it mostly comes down to Snape loving Lily. When that was definately confirmed, and Harry saw everything in the pensieve I really felt sorry for Snape. And just before he died, when he said 'Look..at..me' to Harry I felt so sad. That line and seeing Snape's past in the pensieve really changed a lot for me. I think this was one of the amazing things in DH!

I was expecting somthing big. I was on a thread before about "Albus Severus Potter being the new Dark Lord" The person said it had something to do with Albus having Lillys eyes.

I think it was cute and sad how Snape told Harry to look at him when he was dying, because he wanted to see Lillys eyes before he died, so sweet!

Oh u guys...u totally made me cry this time I love Snape too Snape`s death didn`t shock me at that moment, but after reading The Prince`s tale...well...u can imagine. I was just too tired (I was reading the whole night, with almost no light at all, I was cold and I felt so much sadness that it will soon end) I know I`ll cry out loud the next time I`ll read DH...maby it will be the last time `cause I`m not sure I can go through all that again. Harry Potter was really important to me.
It ended beautifully

going back to MissRandom,
That makes me feel so bad for snape, it was a constant reminder of the woman he loved so much.The eyes would also have reminded Snape of the worst mistake of his life every time he looked at Harry, how awful. No one diserves to have to relive that over and over.

I got really excited when i read that Lily's eyes were really important in the 7th book. I was expecting something, like, phenomenal to happen, but i have no idea when that phenomenal thing could be mmm, o well. But the significance of Lily's eyes connecting to Snape... that was just as good! (for me anyway ) It was more... poetic rather than... harry eye's having magical abilities or something. I honestly dont know where im going with this, but i hope you get the idea I guess what im trying to say is... i was expecting something a lot different to happen than what happened in the book, but the thing that actually happened was just as good as what i was expecting

I agree! That is so terrible to live through every day, no wonder Snape concentrated on venting his grief through his hatred of James, it probably built up more and more over time. But then at the end, before he died he finally gave in and when he said "look at me" I think that's when he looked at Harry's eyes not as a reminder of his grief and the worst mistake of his life but actually as a reminder of his love.

Aww, I'm getting all teary thinking about it.

yeah, there was something important about lily's eye was about to be revealed.there was never anything about them in the last book.

I always know that Severus was in love with Lily but I never for once made the connection that the emphasis of Harry's eyes being the same as Lily was due to Severus's love for her.
The colour in particular i thought was a clue to Harry being related/ connected to Voldemort and he would have to die in order to save the world. lol It was nice to find out that it was merely to do with the fact that Severus could reach out in a way to the woman he loved even though she was gone. How nice .

When I heard that Lily's eyes were going to be significant in later books I thought that this fact would be bigger than it actually was.
I thought it was really cute that the last thing snape wanted to see was Lily's eyes and the last thing he wanted to think about was Lily. I cried so much when I read The Prince's Tale.
I though the significance of Harry having Lily's eyes was beautiful! Even if it wasn't as big a deal as I though it would be, it was better than I thought it would be.
In my opinion it was one of the most beautiful scenes in the book. I'm starting to get teary-eyed just thinking about it!!

I was expecting something really big to happen as well. however, thats not to say that it was not important. notcie that throughout all of the books, we always hear people say how much harry looks like his father, except his eyes. snape however never mentioned this. it was always how very like his father he was. the fact that harry had his mothers eyes was a reminder of snapes love fro lily. it was this alone that probably kept snape from giving up. he had lilys eyes and for that, he had a reason to protect him. so that some part of lily survived. otherwise hed have seen harry as just a part of james and would have been all too happy to see him killed.

I was expecting something more to come out as the significance of Lily's eyes. I am not saying that Harry having her eyes didn't save him sometimes when it came to Snape. I guess I was expecting JKR to say something more about them. She never really said why him having her eyes was important. But, due to the fact that she mentioned them all the time I thought it was going to be more important.

why. . .it was really important. it was important for snape, and we all know what snape's significance in the entire series. i think it wasn't supposed to be some hidden bomb ready to explode when the right time comes. it was to signify the importance of love in the plot, as the power that the dark lord knows not, the power of love.

I'm not sure what the real importance of Harry having Lily's eyes was. I thought before the book that it would be that Voldemort looked into Harry's eyes and they killed him, kind of like Basilisk eyes. But if what everyone is saying about them is true, then what is so important about that??? I'm confused!!!!

Lily's eyes DID have significance. Snape was always aving to stare at Lily's eyes all the time in his classes because of Harry. It's one of the reasons he hated Harry so much. He had to put up with the memory of her. And when he died Snape asked Harry to look at him. 'The green eyes found the black'. He didn't want to see Harry, or have Harry look at him. He wanted to see the love of his life's eyes one last time before he died.

i was really dissapointed with jkr's explanation of why harry has these eyes...like yeah i know it's touching and all that but still, i excepted it to be something really magical and with all the build up..i don't know it was just dissapointing for me

I thought Lily/Harry's eyes in the book was HIGHLY significant. It explained why Snape hated Harry so much all those years. He had to remember the women he loved and the mistakes he made and losing her every time he looked at Harry. And then other than his eyes Harry looked just like James who Snape hated. So it had to have been very painful for Snape those 6 years.

OMG guys...I'm totally depressed about Snape now...I already felt bad about him living his life knowing he was the reason Lily had died...loving her ''always'' hating that Harry was James' son...but staying true to protecting Harry to honor Lily...

But I had not gotten as far as to thinking that every time Snape saw Harry he's see Lily's eyes; Lily and the fact she chose James over him...and to see a mixture of James and Lily in Harry every day...wow

I agree with mrsgeorgeweasley 100%



...so well put
Harry's eyes are the reason Snape stayed good...and faithful to Lily's memory...wow In my opinion that is a major, earth shattering significance!

(Oh and I like the analogy about the green/red eyes opposing the green/red emitting spells...Never thought of that)

I heard that Lilly's eyes will a BIG role in the books,but I never say/heard/read anything. Nothing about it,not even the usual "You looks just like your father..except your eyes. Those are Lily's."
Nadda.

well...i guess one of the chief themes that jk rowling wanted to convey was that love was the most powerful spell/greatest magic anyone can ever produce. In a way, Lily's eyes were extremely significant in that it instilled love in Snape, which made him very different from Voldemort. The anger harry (and many subsequent readers) had felt towards Snape at the end of HBP rivaled that of which Harry felt towards Voldemort, and he saw many parallels b/w Snape and Voldemort. The one thing that kept Snape distant from the Dark Arts, however, was his ability to love Lily and that is best portayed in the symbolism of her eyes. It was her love reflected in Harry's eyes that caused Snape to save his life in Harry's first year of Hogwarts up until the Deathly Hallows (with the doe and Gryffindor's sword).

Harry having Lily's eyes was so important because they were the last thing that Snape saw and Snape was in love with Lily. When he said "Look... at... me..." he didn't mean that he wanted to actually see Harry himslef. He just wanted to look into Lily's eyes one more time before he died. I was expecting something bigger, but was actually pleased with the significance of Lily's eyes. I thought that it was rather sweet and touching.

I really liked the importance that Lily's eyes held. It was really sad though how Snape just wanted to look at Harry's eyes before he died. It was such a tear jerker!

But like it's been said previously his eyes held so much. I mean it wasn't some sort of super power... that'd kind of be weird! But Harry having Lily's eyes really did give Snape the motivation to continue protecting Harry. It's just so sad. Again I say, total tear jerker!

I never heard that rumor but I do agree that it is more an emotional connection to her rather than some special magical thing. I definitely agree with the whole snape thing. It was sooooo sad at the end. The one thing that makes me mad though is the factthat Daniel Radcliffe has blue eyes [in the movies] when Lily's green eyes are so important. They will totally miss out on thngs in DH movie!

--Fleur

umm you realize that they could get him to wear green colored contacts...he's just an actor, and I think he does a damn good job of portraying Harry.

[font=Fixedsys]I found myself, that the significence of Lilly's eyes isn't really mentioned alot, however as we all learnt in the last book, they mean everything to Severus Snape. It took me a while to click, when Snape said "Look at me", when I realised he wanted to look at those almond shaped green eyes for the last time, which does make sense in a way, we all know that Severus loves Lilly. We could also say that he wanted to look at those eyes for the last time to remind him what he has been fighting for, for Lilly.