LID!Snape rides again (was: High Noon for OFH!Snape)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 149863

> Neri:
> Resorting to sound effects now, Sydney <g>? Answer Jen's question, why
> did Dumbledore say he told Harry "everything" when he obviously didn't? 

Pippin:
I'm not Sydney, but I'll take a stab at it.

When Dumbledore met with Harry at the end of OOP, he only
had what  he "considered" to be certain proof that Voldemort had
split his soul. Though Dumbledore was confident of his conclusions, 
other wizards might not have been convinced.  Since he believed what
the Diary had done, the conclusion was inescapable, but  the only 
evidence was what a couple of kids had seen. That wouldn't be
good enough for other wizards. 

However, Dumbledore told Harry that he trusted Snape when he was
telling him all he knew.That means to me that he trusted Snape based
on evidence good enough for any reasonable wizard. 

As for how the life debt works, I think Dumbledore told us. It creates
a bond. Snape could hate James, aim curses at him all through
seventh year ( *after* the prank), heartily wish that he was dead, even,
IMO, participate in his death as Peter planned to participate in Harry's.
But he couldn't be apathetic. He couldn't tell himself that killing James
was the same as killing any other nameless, faceless enemy of the 
Dark Lord. 

I think that was Snape's Damascus moment, when he
was forced to reconsider everything. Up to then, whatever he'd done,
I don't think he'd faced all his feelings about it. He'd
shut down his compassion, but  it didn't work with James.

Tthe difference between this and anklemonitor!Snape is that I
think Snape came to a more general conclusion: shutting down
his compassion  and allowing himself to feel no pity for innocent
lives had been wrong. 

I think the bond is created when a wizard saves another's life by
exposing himself to the same danger. There's no bond between Harry and
Ginny, then,  because Harry wasn't in danger of having his life force
sucked away. Ditto for Snape saving Harry from the broomstick
hex. But James did expose himself to the werewolf, and Harry did
face the wands that were about to kill Peter. I think JKR was evasive
because she doesn't want us to think about whether
Harry's life was in real danger from Sirius and Lupin. Not yet.

Pippin