Understanding Snape

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 153512

Against Snape wrote:
>>> 1)  Snape was a Death-Eater until he knew that  Voldemort was 
going to murder the Potters. At this point, I believe, as a  result 
of his life debt to James, he either decided he had to warn DD, or  
else the life debt forced him to. <<<
 
Julie responded:
>> I don't think we have any indication a life debt forces someone to 
act on it. In PS/SS Dumbledore told Harry he suspected Snape saved 
Harry because he owed Harry's father (James) a life debt. <snip> 
Unlike an Unbreakable Vow, a life debt seems to be more of a 
psychological burden that a physical one. <<
 
Alla added:
> There are PLENTY of hints in canon that IMO can be interpreted that 
> Life Debt ( waves at Neri) indeed acts as very physical burden.
<snip>
> Besides, we have DD's insistence that life debt between Harry and 
> Pettigrew is magic at its deepest ( paraphrase), sounds like 
> pretty "physical" burden to me.


SSSusan:
But this raises a major question for me.  If it's true that a Life 
Debt includes a *physical* burden as well as or instead of a 
psychological one, if it's true that Life Debts can "force" people to 
take action, then why DIDN'T Wormtail save or at least help Harry in 
the graveyard at the end of GoF?  The Life Debt he presumably owes 
Harry dates from the end of PoA, so it would've been in effect at the 
end of GoF.

I know, I know, Pippin ;-), you're going to argue that it was a 
*different* Wormtail [ESE!Lupin] in the graveyard, but as I don't buy 
that, as I'm assuming it was really Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail who was 
there, then how's come he wasn't "forced" into helping Harry in the 
graveyard?  I know that Voldy didn't manage to kill Harry, but it 
certainly wasn't because of anything Pettigrew did to interfere or to 
specifically assist Harry.

Nope, to me, that scene speaks to more of a psychological Life Debt 
burden, to one which tends to "eat away" at people, rather than one 
which "forces" them to act upon it.

Siriusly Snapey Susan