Lily Potter was almost saved by Severus Snape.
In an interview conducted by Daniel Radcliffe, Rowling revealed that Lily Potter's maiden name, Evans, was based on the real name of the author George Eliot, Mary Anne Evans
 When Voldemort kills Snape later in the story, Harry discovers that Snape was not the traitorous murderer he believed him to be, but a tragic antihero who was loyal to Dumbledore

