life's debt and how does it work? And Snapes Life debt.

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 134905

 
> Tonks:
>  
> > I also wonder if it involves an enemy. If you save the life of
> > someone that is not your friend, but someone that you hate, maybe
> > that has a special magic of its own. The love of enemy sort of
> > thing.
> > 
> 
> I always assumed it was something along these lines.  Or perhaps the
> fact that Wormtail probably deserved to die, but Harry saved him
> anyway.  While reading everyone's posts about the life debt, I am
> constantly reminded of The Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf
> explains to Frodo, many who deserve death live, and vice versa.  It
> takes a lot more courage and pure-heartedness to save someone you
> hate, someone who has caused you great pain and suffering, than to
> save your innocent frient.  Thus the guilty person is more indebted 
> to you.
> --Mrs. HS
> 

Valky:
Yes I'm on this boat with you HS and Tonks. I posited (many months or
possibly even a couple of years ago) That the Life debt is earned at
some sacrifice to yourself, namely a deeper compassion for others who
have done wrong by you, or even more so, are in the process of doing
wrong by you, hurting you in some way. It's a selfless compassion that
earns a life debt, more selfless than just a saving people thing but
similar. 

The canon words that support the Life Debt magic working this way are 
PS/SS - James saved Snape at great risk to his own life.
POA - Harry spares the traitor that betrayed him to Voldemort, leading
him to the pain and suffering of his childhood.
Interview - Ginny doesn't owe Harry a Life Debt.

The limits of this logic very narrow. If one is true then the other is
false *unless* this:

Snape caused James to suffer, like Wormtail has caused Harry to
suffer. Young!Snape was as culpable as Wormtail and both are far less
culpable than Ginny.

The one major difference is Ginny's innocence. After all *she* failed
to report the diary to her teachers or to Dumbledore thereby
inadvertantly causing pain and suffering to many (including Harry). If
she had done this willfully and knowingly instead, then there would be
no difference at all between Harry saving her, and Harry/James saving
Wormtail/Snape as far as I can tell. It would mean all three cases are
too similar to separate.

Snapes curses revealed in HBP, make it all the more possible that at
some stage Young!Snape did a terrible wrong by Harry's father, perhaps
even an attempt on or sickening disregard for his life, not unlike the
betrayal of the Potters by Wormtail. 

It is not hard to believe that at some stage Young!Severus wanted
James dead or would have chosen to help him along somehow willfully
and knowingly. There is no lack of evidence of their animosity at that
age. The interesting thing is, tht Dumbledore knew of the Life Debt,
so if Life Debt's work this way then Dumbledore also knew of Snapes
wrongs against James that James was able to put aside and replace with
compassion for him when he was alone with the werewolf. 

I like the theory I read earlier, saying that Snape panicked when he
realised the one he owed a life debt to would be killed because it
would curse him to be involved with James death again. However, I am
not sure that meshes with the concept of Snape *hating* that he was in
debt to James. That very thing in fact tends to indicate that Snape
understood the nobility and compassion it took for James to earn the
life debt. It indicates that Snape hated James being *noble*. Why
would Severus hate the reminder that James acted *nobly* for him if he
was truly evil. Wouldn't Voldemort just laugh it off, say "Oh yeah
powerful magic, but he's a fool, because it's just love, and now I am
not dead I don't care." But Sevvie did care, he cared immensely, and
to wit he spends his many years in complete denial of James nobility
and honour. 

These thoughts above are the ones that have plagued me for a while
about SS. Without canon proof that Snape was capable of unimaginable
honour it was difficult to put him beside these words. All the
ambiguity in his character ran deep on either side. And so far the
only thing it truly proved was that at one stage Sevvie was capable of
great evil. HBP is a different kettle of fish, and although for many
of us it may have seemd the clincher that Snape was as evil as we ever
believed, for me it was quite the opposite. Snapes emotional, human
side actually slipped through the cracks in HBP and we got a glimpse
of it. Despite the outward appearance of his actions, a subtle reveal
of Sevvies heart slid down his sleeve in HBP, and it seemed to me that
Dumbledore was right. Snape was truly sorry for what he'd done to
James Lily and Harry. And as much as he hates it, he really does like
who Harry is. He just doesn't want to.

It will take a little while to pull the canon, but, I am not a Snape
apologist. SS was a bad person and he knows it, he can't apologise for
what he's done. It's a hard road back for him now and his choices
reveal just how determined he really is to do it, and how much he is
wiling to give for his second chance at being the righteous man he
always wanted to be. IMHO he is already willfully on the path to
giving his own life for Harry. It's just a matter of time. If anyone
cares to question this please do, it will help remind me of where I
need to look in HBP to back this statement.

Valky








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