The tears given by Snape to Harry were a form of memories. Snape wanted Harry to witness his memories using the Pensieve to unearth the truth. The Pensieve was a magical, shallow basin, kept in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. It was used to store and view memories.
To see his memories. Harry was later seen dropping Snape's tears into the Pensieve. Snape told him to. It was necessary for Harry to take his tears so that he would know what he needed to do to defeat voldemort.
In Deathly Hallows, when Harry approached the Pensieve, he was grief-stricken and broken by battle. He practically fell into Snape's memories, and discovered a little thin-faced boy who once knew a girl called Lily Harry's mother and Snape were childhood friends.
Now, as firmly established, Snape was not the greatest fan of Harry, but that didn't mean that he ever stopped loving Lily. Dumbledore was surprised that Snape seemed to care for the boy. With a swish of his wand, Snape conjured up a Patronus – Lily's Patronus, a doe. 'Always,' he said.
A Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Snape is hostile to Harry due to his resemblance to his father James Potter, who bullied Snape during their time together at Hogwarts.
Snape's love for Lily fed his hatred for James, and meant he would stop at nothing ' even arranging the murder of her child ' to possess Lily. Lily's life would be spared in return for Snape giving information of the prophesy to Lord Voldemort.
Severus Snape spent the majority of his life in love with Lily Potter. It is easy to understand why Snape, who had an unhappy homelife as a child, fell hard for the first person to show him love and kindness.
With Harry and Hermione despondent after the events in Godric's Hollow and Ron trying desperately to find his way back to them, it was Snape's Patronus – the Silver Doe that was somehow familiar to Harry, perhaps because it recalled his mother's own Patronus – that brought them back together.
The acclaimed author explained that Harry paid tribute to Snape because of “forgiveness and gratitude.” Though Snape bullied Harry, he also saved him.
In the [Deathly Hallows] book, Snape's dying words to Harry were "Look at me". Right then we did not realize the significance of his words but in the very next chapter when Harry goes through Snape's memories in the Pensieve, he comes to know how much Snape loved Lily.
Dumbledore reveals how thoroughly he loves Harry. Harry is brave, and Dumbledore is proud as any father would be. More than that, Dumbledore succumbs to a parent's weakness; he cares more about Harry's happiness and wellbeing than the wizarding world he is trying to protect.
As Rowling explained in a series of tweets, Snape loved Harry's mother, Lily, and his unrequited affection drove him to resent Harry's father, James — and by extension, Harry himself.
Harry's scar had hurt during Arrival Feast because of Quirrell's connection to Voldemort; Snape was then talking to Quirrell, allowing Voldemort, from the back of Quirrell's head, to sense Harry's presence.
Draco Malfoy's mother Narcissa was cold, cunning and devoted to the Dark Lord. But she was also a mother, which meant she was willing to risk everything to make sure her son was safe. When Harry survived Voldemort's Killing Curse for the second time, Narcissa pretended he was dead so she could get to Draco.
They were close friends, she saw in him someone special that she could care about. But she couldn't be with him. So, it seems like it was very unlikely that Lily ever found out Snape loved her.
First, we have to correct a misunderstanding: Snape never loved Harry. Even JK Rowling said he "loathed Harry until the very end".
Lily Only Ever Saw Him as a Friend
As much as people romanticize Snape's infatuation with Lily, the fact that she did not love him back—at least in a romantic fashion—seems to go ignored by many fans of the series.
Case study 2: Severus Snape
A doe. And in his final battle with Lord Voldemort, Harry explained the significance of this to his adversary, and to us: 'Snape's Patronus was a doe,' said Harry, 'the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children'.
If Lily had chosen Severus, she wouldn't have defied and escaped Lord Voldemort(thrice), then Voldemort would have been left with one choice... Neville Longbottom, the child of parents who have defied Lord Voldemort thrice and who was born on closing day of July, and have the powers which Voldy had not...
The movies show a scene where Snape went to Dumbledore begging him to protect the Potters because Voldemort was after Harry and his parents due to the prophecy. Yes, Dumbledore knew that Severus had loved Lily when they were in school together and for some time after.
James saved Snape from Sirius'' attempt to kill him. We see in Snape''s Worst Memory (Order of the Phoenix, “Snape's Worst Memory,” pp. 641-50) that there is very little love lost between Snape and the Marauders (particularly James).
The day afterward, Arabella was tortured and killed by an unknown person.
Snape's secrecy is revealed to have been a mask and he has sacrificed being well-liked to be able to save Harry, all because of his love for Harry's dead mother: the only friend Snape ever had.