TBAY: ...NOT a Snape Theory - NO Debt Repayment

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 145544

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, juli17 at a... wrote:
>
>  
> Steve wrote:
> 
> In fact, exactly what creates a Life Debt is a little  grey.
> ... The action has to be direct, clear, and unambiguos and
> which saves a person from imminent, direct, and indisputable
> death.
> 
>  
> Julie:
> ...edited...
>  
> So why would Snape owe James a life debt, if his death
> wasn't a certain outcome? I'm not disputing the debt was 
> owed, just the circumstances under which a life debt is 
> incurred. We know Snape did owe that life debt to James.
> And since James effort to save Snape was from a *possible*
> death, wouldn't Snape doing the same for Harry in PS/SS--
> trying to save Harry from a *possible* death--in effect pay
> the life debt (as Dumbledore did imply later in  PS/SS)?
> 
> 
> Julie

bboyminn:

Well, on the details, I can only speculate. It's one thing to think
that Snape got so far, and James caught him and told Snape it was
unwise to continue, and the two wandered back to the castle. But it's
quite another if Snape resists. If Snape insist on going into the
Shreiking Shack where he would be trapped in a confined space with a
werewolf which would most likely kill him, and James had to force
Snape to return to the castle. In the second case, James would surely
be saving Snape. In the first case, they merely avoided a problem, but
in the second case, James actively prevented a problem. 

Further, Snape, or was it Lupin, said Snape caught a glimpse of the
werewolf, but what if it was more than a glimse? What if James had to
fight off Lupin in order to save Snape? Again, to catch a glimpse is
not that big a deal, but to actively have to fight off the werewolf to
prevent him from getting to Snape is definitely a big deal.

Again, this is just pure speculation, but it illustrates the point
that there could have been circumstances in which Snape's life was
truly in danger. All involved seem to agree that if Snape had actually
entered the Shrieking Shack, he would be dead. 

We can argue that Snape could have fought the Werewolf, but I don't
think werewolves are that much for face-to-face dueling. They more
likely attack unexpectedly from a place of hiding, and rip your throat
out before you even have a chance to react. 

Again, it's just speculation, but Dumbledore, Snape, James, and Lupin
seem to agree that Snape would have been dead, and if pressed on the
issue, I suspect Sirius would agree as well.

Not sure what that all adds up to, but there it is.

Steve/bboyminn