Re: Ancient Magic – sacrifice, blood-protection and such (very long)

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 96352

First of all, I must say I admired Lilian's post *very* much; in fact,
I believe I'll be rereading the books with this in mind from now on.

> Lilian:
> > Can pacts be transferred to third parties?
> > The information that we have with regard to this question is 
> > limited. If we presume that blood is an identifying factor in 
> these 
> > types of ancient magic, than all that can be said is that if Harry 
> > owns a life debt to someone, LV now owns that life debt too. As he 
> > shares the same blood as Harry, he will be identified as a party. 
> > In the case of blood-protection, this is not a transferral of the 
> > pact of sacrifice bu an entirely new pact. Although the pact is 
> made 
> > possible because of the blood connection between Lily, Petunia and 
> > Harry. 
> 
> Jen: I don't have much to add here, but JKR did address this briefly 
> in the World Book Day chat:
> 
> MauraEllen: "Did the debt Wormtail has to Harry carry over to 
> Voldemort when he sacrificed his arm to restore his body?"
> 
> JK Rowling replies -> "No. Can't say any more than that!" 
> 
> So, not much information, but we can be assured that particular debt 
> wasn't transferred. I think it has to do with no 'informed consent' 
> on LV's part in that situation. It can't be transferred to LV if he 
> doesn't know what's coming his way.

Annemehr:
JKR seems to have been very carefully precise here.  IMO, she's left
room for LV to inherit the life-debt through Harry's blood, but (as
Lilian states above) it's in the other direction.

Apparently, LV was right about gaining Lily's protection from Harry's
blood.  He used Harry for that purpose, and then found he was right;
he could touch Harry's face.  This contrasts with his use of
Wormtail's hand, which he did only for the purpose of making the
potion, not to activate any ancient magic; therefore, Wormtail's life
debt to Harry would not pass to him.

Perhaps, in knowingly choosing Harry's blood for the ancient magic it
conveyed, he got more than he bargained for.  Perhaps, as Lilian
points out, with Harry's blood in LV's veins, Wormtail now owes a life
debt to his master.  I would also think LV would have the opportunity
to receive protection at Privet Drive, but only if Petunia consented
to take him in to live (gack, sorry for the mental images). 
Fortunately, that seems unlikely, although I'm suddenly reminded of a
piece of vampire lore (it's in _Salem's_Lot_ by Stephen King, anyway)
which says that a vampire cannot enter someone's house until he's
invited in.

If Wormtail owes life debts to both Harry and LV, might that cause
some strange effect in the final showdown?  What happens when you owe
a life debt to two people, and they are engaged in a battle to the
death?  Does LV know the details of Harry's Privet Drive protection,
or will he learn them, and will he show up on the doorstep one day,
looking to rent a room?

Annemehr