James released Snape from Petrificus Totalus. "Off you go. Count yourself lucky Evans is here, Snivellus—"
Then Snape said something none of them had expected. "I don't need help from a filthy little Mudblood like her!"
Lily looked furious. "Fine. I won't bother in future. And if I were you, I'd wash my underpants, Snivellus."
James demanded that Snape apologize to Lily, but Lily refused to accept it. James and Lily exchanged a few angry words.
Lily ran off, and James hoisted Snape into the air again with Levicorpus.
"Who wants to see me take off Snivellus's underpants?"
By this point, Harry was so shocked that he could barely make out what was being said. Fortunately, a professor came over just then and put an end to the whole ugly scene.
Finally, the memory dissolved. The sequence of memories seemed to end there, leaving nothing but silvery white.
Harry still hadn't recovered from the shock—ever since he had entered the Wizarding World, everything anyone had told him about his father had been positive.
Everyone said James had been perfect: handsome, brave, warmhearted, exceptionally talented, from a wealthy family, and surrounded by friends. Like Harry, he had been a popular Quidditch star. Sirius, in particular, always spoke of James with love and admiration.
Harry had always believed his father was exactly that sort of person. Deep down, he had been proud of his father—he had never believed any of the things Snape said.
But the memories he had seen today had shattered that image.
In his first year, Dumbledore had told him a few things, including that Snape and James had been enemies, just like Malfoy and Harry.
But it hadn't been like that at all—the last things Lily had said before leaving made Harry suspect that his father had been