Snape's and Wormtail's life debts

[pigwidgeon37]

No: HPFGUIDX 31058

Catherine wrote:

>Doesn't Dumbledore say at the end 
>of PS was that Snape was spending so much time keeping Harry alive 
>because of the debt between him and James - and that once this was 
>done (as it was partly during the Quidditch game, and also by the 
>fact that Snape was keeping his eye on Harry the rest of the time) 
>that Snape could go back to hating the memory of James in peace?  In 
>other words, Dumbledore seems to think that Snape has paid his debt 
>to James by saving his son, and doesn't owe him anything else.

Depends on the nature of the debt, I'd say. In PS/SS, Dumbledore 
doesn't use the same words he uses in PoA. In PoA, the word "debt" is 
never mentioned, there Dumbledore speaks of a "bond" that is created 
between the one who saves and the one who is saved. And a bond 
certainly seems to be something deeper and more meaningful than a 
debt you can repay, simply by doing the same thing.
OTOH, the two situations are quite different: IMO (I already 
expressed this opinion in a previous post), James saved Snape as much 
as he saved his friend Remus- I'm not so sure who of them would have 
remained dead on the spot, had there really been a confrontation with 
the werewolf.
There can be no doubt that Harry really saved Wormtail from being 
executed in cold blood by Remus and Sirius, having far less reason to 
do so than James had for pulling Snape out of the tunnel. 
Between Snape and the Marauders, there was only more or less 
justified hate (Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, pranks played on each 
other), at least so it seems. Between Harry and Wormtail, there is 
the monstrosity of Peter's betrayal of Harry's parents which is much 
more difficult to overcome.

Another question in this context: If his "debt" to James is the real 
motive of Snape's watchfulness for Harry- something I'm beginning to 
doubt- why would that debt or that bond be automatically transferred 
from father to son? What if the wizard in question dies without 
leaving a spouse or children? What happens to the debt in that case? 
Yes, I am definitely beginning to doubt whether Dumbledore told Harry 
the whole truth about Snape's reasons. It sounds credible to Harry, 
but it is not convincing.

If anybody can enlighten me, please do so!
Susanna/pigwidgeon37 (yearning for enlightenment)


Going back a few years as well, and repeating something said before, 
I think that it was from Snape that Dumbledore heard that the Potters 
were in danger.  So did Snape feel that he had tried to pay the debt 
back at this point as well - only to be ignored?  Or did Snape feel 
that because the Potters died anyway, then he failed?  Perhaps he was 
sure that it was Sirius who was the spy.