So tell me what you guys think and why. I plan on making a few more of these polls for MWPP era stuff so maybe people will get an idea of what to write.

Oy! Angie

I've always thought of Lily being

QUOTE

Popular and happy-go-lucky, as well as the smartest girl in school

Mainly because I dont like seeing Lily as a loner until she meets James & co.
Even if she wasn't close to the other girls in her dorm (like Hermione with Parvati & Lavendar), I'm sure the other girls wouldn't bully her- they're supposed to be in Gryffindor!!!
I've always imagined that Lily helped the boys out with some of the pranks etc. too- just enough not to get caught!

~*~Karen~*~

Keeps to herself but popular...

Because...I don't know. I've always thought her to be like that. There is something very endearing about someone who keeps to herself but is known anyway...

Well...none of the above...


...because I think she was an average girl. I don't see her as high profile or very popular. To me she's an intelligent girl with good grades trying to take her place in the wizarding world. She'd have some good friends although I don't see her being very close to the Marauders for her whole seven years at Hogwarts.

Just my two knuts.

Pommekitty.

I like to think that Lily mirrors Hermione to draw a parallel between L/J and H/Hr. She's bookish, sweet, loyal to her friends, but I also imagine her to be more outgoing thatn Hermione and consequentally, more popular [but not overly so].

QUOTE

A bit of a bookworm and something of a know-it-all at times, all though she only means well

I voted for this one because I liked the Parallels and I always thought Of (if Lilly was alive) Lilly being Hermoine's Role Moudle (can't spell it lol)

I'm definitely more inclined to believe that she was at least somewhat bookish, or worried about her book-larnin'...but I think that she had fun at the same time. She obviously isn't a Marauder, at least not in my mind, and I like to think that she's friends with the guys before anything sexual happens. I don't really see her as a "bad girl" just because then the professors wouldn't have such a good opinion of her. Besides, for her to get Head Girl and all, she would have to be book smart, as well as having recommendations by professors and colleagues. (I'm of the mind that HG and HB are chosen for more than grades...and certainly on more than popularity, though relations with the student body at large to seem important.)

I chose the "bookworm..." one, but I always just saw her as a responsible person. She would have to be well-liked for the whole of the Wizarding World to mourn her death - which they do, if you remember McGonagall talking about the rumors. I'm sure she's not a Mary Sue, but I just can't see her as Miss Popular or the rebel whore.

Waffling about,

everblue3

I think a lot of people see her as Hermione's twin. I have to admit I think that too. Hey, if it helps the H/Hr cause, why mess with it?

I think it's a mix of Adored by all because she tried to be sweet and helpful to everyone and A bit of a bookworm and something of a know-it-all at times, all though she only means well. If that's possible.
As many people mentioned already, I do see her being a lot like Hermione. But they have to be a little different, too. (Not that Hermione isn't sweet or helpful, because she is.) So I had to go with none of the above because I couldn't choose between the two. That's just my opinion on how I see Lily.

~Sweet

Similar to Hermione, I always thought. I think she might be more temperamental though. I don't think she was considered PERFECT (top marks, absolutely gorgeous, most popular girl, etc). And I don't think she was best friends with MWPP either. Sirius&Remus seem to mention James more, rather than Lily. If she was the 'fifth marauder' then you'd think they'd talk about her as much.

I will be closing this poll now since this thread has run its course. Thanks to everyone who gave their two knuts!

Hello,

I thought it's time to re-open this thread, as there might be newbies who'd want to add their 2 Knuts 8-)

I also agree with the parallels to Hermione. I imagine her being extremely smart, but I am not a fan of absolutely perfect-kiss-the-ground-I-walk-on-because-I am-so-perfect-and-popular type person. Those aren't too realistic, I mean, she has to have her faults somewhere. At the same time, I can't imagine her as some withdrawn loner.

I agree with SweetSolitude, I see Lily as a bookworm (like Hermione) and she was obviously very sweet to absolutely everyone. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so well-known by a world she didn't grow up in.

While this certainly doesn't preclude Lily's personality basically being sweet by the time of her death she'd have lived in the wizarding world for about a decade - combined with her and James' success at Hogwarts and then their actions against Voldemort that's plenty of time for her to be known.

The important thing, IMHO, is her strength. A doormat wouldn't have put the brakes on MWPP's pranks as a teenager, and wouldn't have had the moral courage to stand up to Voldemort - let alone escape from him three times. 'Nothing is soft as water... yet who can withstand the raging flood?'

Although I picked "Adored by all", I didn't see the one that the majority picked. And now I have to say, I "go with the flow"!

I think of Lily as some kind of mix between bookworm and shy-and-unpopular. i don't like when people make Lily very popular and perfect.

I always pictured Lily as being pretty smart, but also opinionated- not in a really bitchy way, though. In SWM, she had the courage to stand up to James and tell him exactly what she thought of him. It takes guts to get up and say something like that, especially when the crowd of onlookers is enjoying watching Snape being tortured by James. Kinda like Akane from Ranma 1/2... or maybe that's just me.

~Lady Mel

Just a thought...does it say in the books anywhere that Lily was very clever? Or is it just the Hermione parallel?
I don't think she'd have been adored by all though...there will have been some people who found her positively sickening!(Not to mention the fact that the Slytherins won't have been too keen on her, being a Muggle-born and all...)

I think of Lily as hell raiser mainly because of the way she blew up in Snape's Pensive. A shy girl wouldn't have been in James face like that or said that come back to Snape. I think she tried to do what was right but had an explosive temper.

I think Lily was very intelligent, but was modest about it. I can't picture her spouting off randoms facts like a show-off. I also think she was very strong, firm in her beliefs, and willing to stand up for what she thought was right. I also get the feeling that she did her own thing, and didn't worry about "fitting in" or being socially accepted by the other girls. (Though I'm sure she had friends.) I think she was the epitome of "unshallow."

I think that Lily was completely like Hermione except that she didn't really hang out with James until their 7th year. Maybe it's going to be the same with Harry and Hermione?! Or even sooner. In the sixth book! I dearly hope so.

Me as well. I see her as very Hermione-like: modest of her intelligence and had a good heart. The only difference between the two IMO, is that Lily got along with both the boys and the girls at Hogwarts; well, perhaps except for the Marauders. Hermione doesn't seem too keen to the girls her age in school.

I can't imagine Lily as a Loner, but not popular either. It just doesn't fit in the story, but that's just my opinion

I don't know how to see lily pretty much the only scene we saw of her was ion the fifth book when harry was looking into snapes pensieve. I guess I can see her in a hermoine sort of way smart and clever but still having guts. I think she was popular by some and not others but her best friend was a book. I guess thats how I see Lily

Ebba747: I think of Lily as some kind of mix between bookworm and shy-and-unpopular. i don't like when people make Lily very popular and perfect. true I see James the popular one.

Have I answered this already? Ah well.

I picked hellraiser because it was the closest option to how I see Lily. In the Pensieve scene we see someone who has very strong moral convictions, who's stubborn as a mule, and who is perfectly willing to pull her wand on people if she has to. I think she's intelligent, but not necessarily brilliant as far as book-smarts go - certainly not like Hermione.

To me Lily's most important quality is her moral grounding. She knows exactly what she thinks is right and she's willing to go against the grain if she has to. Then again, I think that personality-wise Harry is Lily's child much more than James', so much of how I see Lily is modeled on that.

- Lisse

To me, Lily is the most classic beauty. I don't think she is the kind of person who even needs makeup! She is angelic and gets along with everyone. I also see her as a very independent woman. I agree that she was also very intelligent.

I see Lily as one of those girls who you see and you think that they're average looking, but then, as you get to know her better, she gets prettier. I hate imagining her as some who was popular, pretty, had tons of friends....i don't want to see Lily as perfect. I think she had a close group of friends, became a bit more noticed as James kept chasing her, but mostly kept to herself and her friends. She's not afraid to stand up for herself and what she believes in, but won't do it all the time. James jsut puched her buttons, and in the scene in book 5, Lily was probably already annoyed with James and that was the straw that broke her back....it just happend to be a really strong piece of straw...

~Kara

I don't see Lily as being popular or a geek. I see her as being a bit Hermiome-ish. Having alot of book knoweledge. But I don't see her as know-it-all as Hermione. I think she has a few close friends. Like 2 or 3. But she isn't surounded my admirers. She gets along with alot of people, but can only call a select few her real friends. I can see James pushing her in the right buttons to make her angry. I see her as being independant and generally good looking, but not spectacularily so.

--Jessie

LILY EVANS IS A GODDESS!!

Anyway I see her as an extremely beautiful, very popular Hermione just so you know but shes so much more cooler than Hermione. I also reckon Lily was a bit of a prankster as well and thats why she disliked the marauders because they outshined her every time

to me LilY was 3 things out of the lost:

Kept to herself but managed to be popular because of her good looks and brilliant mind
Adored by all because she tried to be sweet and helpful to everyone
Popular and happy-go-lucky, as well as the smartest girl in school

I picked all of this three becose you can say there all the same. We all know by snape memory that Lily was really good to athers and tryed to help evryone coz after all she defended Snape. So here is where the the sweet and helpfull. she was also sorwnded by alot of girls in he's meomry that only ment she was pupiler too. and the fact that she was very smart well we all know that.

So i gess for me it was hard to dicied which on one of all of those catagoris to pick ..so I gess they all together mach her.

I chose "Kept to herself but managed to be popular because of her good looks and brilliant mind". That is the Lily Evans I imagine.

I think she was very pretty and so she got a lot of attention for her looks and even more attention because she was brilliant academically. I see her as a clever girl with good looks, but one of those modest, quirky personalities and so she shied away from the attention everyone gave her. Hence why she would hate someone so popular and superficial like James Potter.

I really think that makes the most sense out of what we've been given.

I chose...

"A no-nonsense serious type who thought James and the rest of MWPP were jerks until..."

...because, well, I'm not sure exactly. I am part of a Marauder's roleplay on Xanga and I roleplay as Lily. That's just the way I portray her in the roleplay. She isn't amused by James' pranks or his arrogance. I don't know, it just always seemed right to me to portray her that way.

I see Lily as a bit of a bookworm but not to the degree of Hermione, loyalty i think makes up the core of Lily's character and she tends to let first impressions be her guide to how she deals with people instead of recognizing how their characters could or did evolve or even change over time, I think she also holds a grudge as if its an olympic sport and only something absolutely HUGE would change her mind about someone
to me she's definately a champion of the underdog and i bet if harry had bothered searching hard enough he would have found that his mother was actually the real founder of SPEW but with a better name
in my head she follows her own rules, which are usually in line with the actual rules so she doesn't genereally get into trouble but she's not so perfect that she never got a detention, if she thinks its necessary she can and would be able to keep up with the marauders when it comes to dueling or pranking, though her pranks would be less malicious and the people she would prank would probably laugh with everyone else
i think that lily was eventually moderately popular on her own merit but she had few, if any, very close friends, she might have been considered the 'best friend' of a lot of people but it was more of a sort of friendship where they could rely on lily for things and she probably didn't, whether consciously or not, consider them best friends in return- i think petunia's jealously of lily as well as the likelihood of snape pressuring lily to keep their friendship a secret and possibly the problem of her being slightly more mature than many of her peers and being considered a bit of a know it all made her develop quite a few walls and when snape called her a mudblood and essentially betrayed her then it became even harder for her to reach out and make any real, dee, meaningful friendships with people- afterall, people are always telling harry that he has his mother's eyes and other people can tell him that she was good at charms and potions but they never say anything about her likes, her dislikes, her personality, which leads me to believe that many of their relationships with her were quite shallow and those that weren't, like snape's friendship with her and petunia's, well, they wouldn't talk about her
i think she was very kind, to those she likes at least, and adept with flying but not her preferred method of transportation so if she ever needs a broom she'd probably just borrow someone's instead of owning her own
incredibly creative and she would tend to think outside the box, her potions book probably had just as many if not more notes written in it than snape's did though any spells were probably random charms instead of curses
also, while she's pretty and she's vaguely aware that she's attractive she wouldn't go to any special lengths unless it's a special occasion like a ball or her wedding, usually she's neat and clean but doesn't do anything special, she probably forgets or doesn't bother with makeup most of the time and somehow i see her as someone who wakes up at some unearthly hour to go jogging just because she enjoys it- bit of a health nut but not consciously
she and hermione would get along very well

sorry for going on and on