Snapedom

I have to say, this essay really appeals to me as a Snupin shipper! ^_^ Although of course the bond that Snape desires with Lupin need not necessarily be romantic, but could be platonic, as proposed here. When I first read about Snape spying on the Marauders in PoA, I pictured him as a lonely kid who was envious of their friendship--not so much that he wanted to be friends with James and Sirius, but just wished that he could have friends who were as close and loyal. Now we know that he did apparently have some friends in Slytherin, or at least people that he hung out with, but it's not clear how close or how loyal they really were.

I do think that Lupin could have been friends with Snape under different circumstances. He's quieter, more studious and serious compared to the other Marauders; I could see them making good study partners. And as you said, both outcasts. Snape didn't know that Lupin was a werewolf, at least at first, but I think that he was smart enough to sense that Lupin was hiding a pretty big secret, somethng that he was ashamed of. And if Hermione could figure it out, maybe the young Snape did, too?

I think he still did feel something for Lupin as an adult, since he risks blowing his cover trying to save Lupin during the broomstick chase from the Dursleys', as Hwyla pointed out above. It has to be something more than just protecting a colleague, since he stood by and allowed Charity Burbage to be killed. What, one might wonder, makes Lupin so special?