Life-debts

[corinthum]

No: HPFGUIDX 42310

John MsCutcheon wrote:

> I was wondering what people thought about this.  Since James saved 
> Snape from the Willow tree, did Snape owe James like Pettigrew owes 
> Harry? Several different people stated James saved Snapes life 
> throughout a couple of the books.  Maybe that's another reason he 
> hated James.  Maybe it's why Dumbledore trusts him.  Who knows?  Any 
> thoughts on this would be appreciated, Thanks.


I'm going to take this moment to put forth my "Snape does NOT owe
James for the life-debt, nor does anyone else" theory.

The life-debt seems to be a pretty consistent theme on this list. 
However, I don't believe this is as important a concept to wizards as
many make it out to be.  

The concept of a life debt has been mentioned only once in canon as
far as I can recall (at work, no books to consult).  This is when
Harry asks Dumbledore why Snape hated him, and why he would then save
his life.  Dumbledore replies by saying that James had done something
Snape could never forgive: saved his life.  Harry accepts this as the
only reason for the dislike, and the only reason Snape would try to
save him.  However, I believe Dumbledore intentionally oversimplified
things in order to 1) give Harry some positive info. about his father
and 2) to stop any further questions regarding Snape's role in his
organization.  

Any support for this theory?  Yes, though indirect.

Reason #1: Snape has much better motivations for his actions in PS/SS.
 Snape works for Dumbledore, not just as a professor but as an
anti-Voldemort soldier-type person.  His objective throughout PS/SS is
to stop Quirrelmort from finding the stone.  Once Quirrelmort
discovers that Harry Potter is at Hogwarts, he renews his attempts on
Harry's life.  Whether or not Snape's hatred of Harry is real or an
elaborate plot, he isn't about to let Harry die.  His hatred seems
much more petty than that.  This behavior continues throughout the
series: Snape    always maintains a distinct dislike for Harry during
times of relative peace, but any time Harry's life is in danger, he
attempts a rescue (and I include the end of PoA in the latter
category; that Snape was mistaken is irrelevant).  All in all, Snape
seems to have much more important reasons to save Harry than some
childhood life-debt.  That Dumbledore didn't go into detail about
Snape's role in the fight against Voldemort in Harry's first year
seems perfectly normal, especially considering that by Harry's fourth
year, he still does not know Snape's full role.

Reason #2:  Snape's reaction to Harry assertion.  When Harry mentions
that he knows Snape hated his father because James saved Snape's life,
Snape gets angry.  Not because he feels Harry is correct, though. 
Because he feels Harry is putting James on a pedastal that Snape
himself has never seen.  He procedes to set the record straight: James
and his friends endangered his life, then corrected the mistake.  I
get the impression that Snape hated James long before then.  This
incident simply added fuel to the fire.  Does Snape feel slightly
indebted to James?  Possibly, a little, enough to increase his hatred
of James.  But not enough to risk his own life for him later.  Snape
seems to have justified James' behavior in his own mind as simple
self-preservation.  It is Dumbledore, not Snape, who feels Snape ought
to be indebted.

So, I believe that before the PS/SS time period, Snape may have felt
slightly indebted to James, but not nearly enough to switch sides or
anything drastic like that.  The motivation for this was entirely
separate.  After PS/SS, there is absolutely no debt left.  James saved
him, he saved Harry, everyone's even.

And as far as the Peter-Harry life-debt goes, I doubt this exists so
explicitly.  If Peter felt an overwhelming sense of guilt at hurting
his benefactor, he certainly didn't show it in the graveyard scene. 
If the so-called life-debt didn't manifest itself then, then I don't
think it ever will.  Which isn't to say I don't think Harry's actions
in letting Peter live will go unanswered.  I simply don't think it
will be such a straightforward result.

Well, that's my theory.  Life-debts lead (in the one case we've seen)
to petty jealousy, but need  additional motives to lead to reciprocal
action.  They may influence but do not command.      

-Corinth