[HPforGrownups] life debt

[Elanor Isolda]

No: HPFGUIDX 122077


De-lurking to offer my crazy and probably hole-filled theory on life
debts:

Tonks wrote:

> DD says .When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it
> creates a certain bond between them."

What if he meant that it creates a *literal* bond, i.e. that the life of
the person whose life has been saved becomes inextricably linked to that
of their saviour?  This could even apply to the extent that, should the
wizard who did the saving dies, so would the wizard who was saved.

To take James and Snape as an example, after James supposedly saved
Snape's life, if James then died then so would Snape.  So when Snape
joined the DEs and heard of the prophecy (whether he was the one who
overheard it or merely heard it from someone else), he realised that
Voldy was going to go after the Potters, therefore he would die as well,
and so he left the DEs and went to Dumbledore.

As it happened, of course, James did die, but Snape didn't.  So, he
realised that it couldn't have been James who saved his life.

Going back to PoA, is it not a little strange to give a 13 year-old girl
a Time Turner (which we're told are dangerous things) just so that she
can take more classes than she can cope with?  I know this has already
been discussed and it is believed likely that DD knew that the kids
would need to know how to use a Time Turner at some point in the future.
I'm sure you see where this is going now...

So, DD and Snape both know that, at some point, Harry TT'd back to the
seventies and saved Snape's life.  Snape doesn't want him to do this
(perhaps something bad happens as a result, or perhaps he just doesn't
want Harry to save him), which is why he does his best to make Harry
hate him.  However, he keeps saving Harry's life because, of course, if
Harry dies then so will he.

OK, this might sound like a far-fetched fanfic-type theory, but it does
have the advantages of providing genuine reasons for Snape's leaving the
DEs and being a git towards Harry yet repeatedly saving his life, whilst
still retaining his Slytherin self-preservation instincts.

Any thoughts?

Elanor