[HPforGrownups] Re: Freindship outside trio -Draco Malfoy - Snape/Black

[Kathryn Cawte]

No: HPFGUIDX 56145

 
 
 
 
On Friday, April 25, 2003, at 10:20 AM, JessaDrow at aol.com wrote:
 
> Does this mean that Ginny would owe Harry a life debt for saving her 
> life in CoS? And Ron and Harry would owe Hermione a life debt for 
> saving their lives in PS/SS, when she saved them from the Devils > Snare?

 Then Dan answered -
 
Good question. I saw that "life debt" thing not so much as one that 
occurs just because someone saves your life in a situation where you 
are in danger (as in the examples you stated), but rather when someone 
who is in the position to KILL you decides to SPARE your life.

Now me -

But Severus owes James a life debt - that's why he's trying so hard to keep
Harry alive, although frankly I'd like to believe that's not the only reason
he tried to save Harry when Quirrelmort was cursing his broom. I mean he's a
teacher for goodness sake - if it weren't for the life debt would he really
have let Harry fall?
Anyway back to my point, James wasn't in a position to kill Snape, to let
him die sure, but Remus would have been the one who killed him. And for that
matter Harry didn't refrain from killing Pettigrew himself (well he did,
bearing in mind how he went after Sirius at first but he wasn't the
immediate threat at the point we assume the life debt occurred) he stopped
Sirius and Remus from killing him.

I'm not sure about the Ginny-Harry situation. I mean yes TR was draining the
life from Ginny and Harry's actions stopped that but really he was saving
his own life. I don't think it's as clear cut as the James-Severus and
Harry-Peter situations. 
I'm not sure about the Hermione v the Devil's Snare thing either. I don't
remember exactly how it went in the books (the way it went in the films
would fit my 'it has to be direct intervention' theory since she just gave
them the information to save themselves). I think she cast the spell that
saved them - in which case it might fit the pattern. Although if she was
saving herself in the process maybe not.

K