Is Snape's Life Debt Paid?

[Neri]

No: HPFGUIDX 162986

>Pippin wrote:
> One of the disturbing things about the Unbreakable Vow is that
> it seems to come between Snape and his duty to Harry. How can
> he pledge his life to defend Draco when it's supposedly already
> pledged to defend Harry Potter. Isn't it a conflict of interest?
> 

Neri:
So? I thought that vow was full of loopholes anyway <g>.


>Pippin:
> But what if Snape's life debt is already paid? 
> 
> Of course we don't know exactly what it takes to incur a life
> debt, much less pay one off, but we may speculate that it
> requires two things. First, the rescuer must go beyond the
> call of duty, and second, he must take the danger on himself.
> 
> So James's rescue of Snape qualifies because James was not
> a prefect and he himself was endangered by the werewolf. 
> Harry's rescue of Peter qualifies because he had no duty to save
> Peter and because Harry stood facing the wands.
> 

Neri:
Was Harry in danger of being killed by Sirius and Lupin? I don't think
he was.


>Pippin:
> Snape's counterjinx on the broomstick didn't count because
> he was doing his duty as a teacher,

Neri:
You make here an additional hidden speculation: that the repaying of
the debt is subject to the exact same terms that create the debt in
the first place. This isn't self evident. Especially not in Snape's
case, because Snape originally owed his debt to James, and James is
dead because of, in part, Snape's actions.

And of course, there's a much more straightforward reason why the
broomstick counterjinx wouldn't count: that Hermione saved Harry while
robbing Snape of his ability to do so.   


>Pippin:
> and Harry's rescue of
> Ginny didn't count because, although Harry's life was in danger,
> he couldn't have been possessed. 

Neri:
So, because Harry couldn't die the exact same way Ginny was dying, it
didn't count, even though he almost died in several other ways? I find
this rather arbitrary.   


>Pippin:
> Now, what about Snape sending the Order to rescue Harry
> at the MoM? IMO, he was going beyond his duty as a teacher 
> since Harry was not at the school, and going beyond his
> duty as an Order member if he disobeyed orders and broke
> his cover.

Neri:
I'd say this depends on the Order's priorities. If the Order's
objectives of keeping Harry alive and the prophecy out of Voldemort's
hands were considered more important than keeping Snape's cover, then
Snape's duty as an Order member would certainly be to prevent Harry
from going to the DoM, even at the price of his cover. It is of course
possible that the Order considered Snape's cover more important than
Harry and the prophecy combined, but somehow I doubt it.


>Pippin: 
> He was putting himself in identical danger
> (assuming that Voldemort would want Snape dead if he
> found out.)
>

Neri:
It doesn't look like identical danger to me. Snape would certainly
blow his cover, but he'd still be at Hogwarts and protected by
Dumbledore. Harry OTOH was going straight into Voldemort's hands. 


>Pippin:
> It would be just like JKR to sneak this past us.

Neri:
Sounds like a waste of good plot potential to me. "Hey, remember that
debt of Snape from Book 1? Well, actually it was active until Book 5,
and then I sneaked it past you."


>Pippin:
> ---
> "I do believe he worked so hard to protect you this year
> because he felt that would make him and your father
> quits. Then he could go back to hating your father's
> memory in peace..."
> 
> Harry tried to understand this, but it made his head
> pound so he stopped. -- PS/SS ch 17.
> --
> It's been six years since Dumbledore said that, and
> Harry still doesn't understand what he meant.
> 

Neri:
Precisely. What's the point in settling the debt if Harry (as well as
many readers) have never realized Snape was indebted in the first place?  

Anyway, it's exactly the above quote that convinces me Snape hasn't
paid his debt yet. Because he's still not "hating James's memory in
peace". There isn't any change in the way he treats Harry. Right after
the tower scene he doesn't mention Dumbledore at all, but he mentions
James *twice*. It's obvious he's more obsessed with James than ever.  


Neri