Snape's Remorse

[nkafkafi]

Pippin wrote:
> <snip>
> But then Harry says, "Kill me like you killed him, you 
> coward--" and we get a reaction we've *never* seen
> before...
> 
> "DON'T--" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly
> demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain
> as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house
> behind them --"CALL ME COWARD!"
> 
> 
> Now, Harry is only thinking of Dumbledore when he
> says "like you killed him," but Snape has been talking
> of James. Could it be that the "DON'T--" is our first glimpse of
> Snape's remorse for his part in James's death, an interpretation
> reinforced  by the hellish image of the dog burning alive, and the 
> word 'demented' which calls up worst memories?
> 
> Then, realizing he's giving himself away, Snape
> finishes with "CALL ME  COWARD!" 
> 

Neri:

This is an interesting interpretation. Although I must say, if at 
this point Snape thinks even for just one second that by "killed him" 
Harry means James rather than Dumbledore, then he must be extremely 
obsessed with James. But I think he is indeed obsessed with James, so 
I can buy this interpretation.

I personally think that HBP gave a big boost to the old Snape-owes-a-
Life-Debt-to-James theory, because we found out that Snape was the 
one who heard the prophecy and told Voldy about it, and because he 
changed sides after he realized how Voldy interpreted it and whom 
Voldy intends to kill. Of course, in Spinner's End Snape says that it 
was Voldy who sent him to DD, and this must be true, but Snape must 
have given DD at least one piece of information that Voldy didn't 
plan to feed DD, and this was the fact that Voldy is after the 
Potters and their son. It certainly looks like Snape's first priority 
here was to save James' life.

In the TLC/Mugglenet interview JKR said the Life Debt is a good 
direction to theorize about. When asked if Ginny owes a LD to Harry 
she said something like (paraphrasing from memory) "not really, but I 
can't explain it now". This suggests that LD mechanics is a central 
plot point. It's pretty much canon that in the Potterverse cosmology 
LD is up there with Ancient Magic, Fidelius, Patronus and that sort 
of things, but no details are supplied, which is probably for a good 
reason. However, if LD magic follows moral rules like most of the 
Potterverse high magic I'd guess that you only owe LD to somebody who 
saved your life if he had a good reason not to do it, or if you 
wouldn't do it for him. So Peter owes a LD to Harry but Ginny 
doesn't, because Ginny had never wronged Harry but Peter had (or 
something corny like that).

During the fated "prank" James saves Severus' life despite the hate 
between them. If this isn't enough to generate a LD immediately, then 
it certainly does after Snape telling Voldy about the prophecy. He 
had put the man he owes his life to in mortal danger, so in order to 
acquit himself of the debt he must prevent James' death, and this is 
why he tells Dumbledore. But telling DD fails to prevent James and 
Lily's death at GH, and now Snape owes a double LD to Harry.

So while I tend to think that Snape has always been his own agent, 
and he indeed killed DD, I agree that his first priority during the 
series was keeping Harry alive, and this hasn't changed, which 
promises some dramatic moments in Book 7.


Neri