Who Was the Backfired Curse Meant For?

[Weasleyfanforever]

I wasn't sure if this should go in here or in Character Wild Spec, so it can be moved if necessary.

OK, we all know that Voldemort supposedly went to Godrics Hollow on the night that he killed Lily and James, supposedly alone, but I am in agreement with Blaise that someone else was there, and not just anyone, but Snape.

So after killing James, Voldemort advances on Lily to kill Harry, while Snape stands behind him in the shadows. Voldemort tells Lily several times to get out of the way, that she doesn't need to die, but she doesn't move, and she is killed. Then Voldemort tries to kill Harry, and the curse backfires.

What if the reason that the curse backfired is because either Voldemort or Snape owed Lily a debt, therefore causing the curse that was supposed to kill Harry to backfire because he was the last of the blood line, and the debt had to be repaid? If it was Voldemort that owed Lily, it would be logical that he was the one hit by the curse when he tried to kill Harry. But what if the backfired curse was actually meant for Snape? There is a lot of speculation that Lily and Snape could have had some kind of relationship, such as one where they had to work in close quarters, and Lily could have saved Snape's life.

So, Voldemort kills Lily, transferring the debt to Harry, but when he tries to kill Harry the curse backfires because the debt must be paid, but instead of hitting Snape, as it was intended to, it hits Voldemort, because he unintentionally blocking Snape?

This is purely a wacky idea I had while looking at another post, so feel free to criticise, remark, or whatever :D

[Alz]

OoOhHH - I like it! :D
Yeah, now that is kinda cool!

I am loving the life debt of Voldemort to Lily - that is just to delicous to skip over!
Ohh, what could she have done to get that life debt from him ...
Would also explain the quasi relationship that seems to be there - the one I so long held onto before JKR cruelly snatched it away with Voldemort having no family!

The Snape one - that works as well - like hello he owed James a life debt!

Like OMG Wheezy - I am really liking this a huge deal!

Makes you see why JKR over emphasises the life debt all the time in her books!

[Tinkerbell]

Wheezy, I absolutely love this theory! Great stuff!

Perhaps this is another reason that Snape is constantly, and begrudgingly, assisting Harry, because he was there and witnessed the backfired curse, and perhaps too late realised why it happened, and as he owed James too, he felt compelled to keep an eye on Harry?!

[Kingsley]

Well it could not be narrowed to a debt to Lily in theory if Snape never repaid james
But definitely good theory--since Harry was defintely the last of James' kin or Lily's child it would make sense but if it was a debt to Lily I just think it would still be possible to be repaid to Petunia so I am not sure

[catchthesnitch]

Oh, Weezy this IS good stuff.

I think we may have some foreshadowing of some kind of debt owed to Lily by Snape in the Pensieve scene.

When James is picking on poor Snivellus, Lily steps up and defends him, "what's he done to you?" Maybe, just maybe, this continued and Lily defended or saved him at some later time we will hopefully soon find out.

Oh, I'll have to go searching for more....I like this theory a whole big lot! And I can just imagine Snape cowering behind Voldemort.

[Alz]

I dont think Snape would have been cowering ...
I think he went there to put to bed some gremlins - namely James ...
He wanted retribution for what James had inflicted on him - he was even willing to let the Dark Lord kill a baby - as long as he got to see James get his just deserts ...
I think the flaw in his plan was seeing Lily ... the same Lily that stood up for him, even thou he wasnt man enough to say thanks and instead insult her ... seeing her about to be killed ...
I dont think this ever figured in the big plan - in fact even Voldemort's words confirmed this ...

I did do a specualtion effort on Snape being there with various endings in this Wild Specualtion forums - but yeah I really like the idea Wheezy put forward :)

[Weasleyfanforever]

I don't see Snape cowering, or hiding on purpose either. I think that it is just the way that things played out that Voldemort was right in front of Harry when he sent the curse, and so it hit him instead of Snape...

I am wondering what Lily could have done to have made either Snape or Voldemort indebted to her? We know that she was in the Order, working against Voldemort, so what coud she have possibly done to make him owe her?

If the debt was infact Snapes, then that one would be easier to speculate on I think. I have always thought that Snape and Lily worked in close quarters at some point, so perhaps she saved him then...

[Alz]

You could theorise that Lily saved Snape during a later event at school - but would seem a bit crass that he was indebted to both Lily and James ...
If I had to speculate on Lily and Snape, I would point towards that she somehow saved him while at school - she seemed to have a power over James that she could have used for her own gains and thus save Snape ....

Voldemort is more difficult but offers the best person in this scenario ...
In order for him to become indebted to Lily, whatever it was would have been a coincidence and not something he or she planned for ...
I suppose one could speculate to the thrice defied moments which suggests encounters between Lily, James and Voldemort - probably in a Order kind of duty - perhaps something she did inadvertanly caused this debt?

[Weasleyfanforever]

You could theorise that Lily saved Snape during a later event at school - but would seem a bit crass that he was indebted to both Lily and James ...
If I had to speculate on Lily and Snape, I would point towards that she somehow saved him while at school - she seemed to have a power over James that she could have used for her own gains and thus save Snape ....

I have to disagree with you here. I think that if Lily ever saved Snape it was when they were adults, after he had changed sides, which did happen before Lily and James were killed. I think it would have been after Snape saw the error of his ways, and would have been in a situation for Lily to save him. Then again, it could have been in a situation where he was still a DE and during one of the battles, Lily found out who he was and didn't kill him. Perhaps that is how Dumbledore came to know that Snape was a DE, and it was Dumbledore that approached Snape about changing sides, not the other way around, as I had assumed earlier....

[Alz]

I can see your point - but just feel that it would be a co-incidence too far to have Snape indebted to both Lily and James ... while it would serve a purpose in your theory - I think JKR has enough debts being ready to be paid out in the final books ... and to expose another one just doesnt seem right in my head ...

Voldemort seems to be the most likely candidate in this scenario - but given he has a life debt to Pettigrew - once again I just feel it is one life debt too much ...

But, I do applaud the theory - it is a great bit of speculation :)

[Jenelle]

Maybe Snape told the Potters that Voldemort was coming, not Dumbledore, then when DD found out about it that is what made him trust him so much.

[Weasleyfanforever]

Voldemort seems to be the most likely candidate in this scenario - but given he has a life debt to Pettigrew - once again I just feel it is one life debt too much ...

Just to play Devil's advocate here, but Peter didn't really save Voldemort's life. He wasn't going to die if he remained in the vapor form, he could still posess animals or even people. All Peter did was help him regain a body. I know that JKR has stated that Peter owes Harry, but I don't think she has ever said that Voldemort owes Peter.

So, going on the basis that Snapes debt to James was to introduce the idea of life debt's, it could be just to show that Peter has to repay Harry, but it could also be Voldemort's downfall that he has a life debt, and either doesn't understand what it means (the power he knows not ;) ), just doesn't know that he has one, or thinks that since the curse that backfired didn't kill him, he won't be effected by the boundries of the debt.

[Boing]

See, I think Voldemort really could have died . . . he was drinking unicorn's blood which gives the person only a half-life. So, each time he drank it, his life was diminishing. I'm not sure what the steps were that he took to ensure his survival before he lost his body, but perhaps the unicorn's blood was enough to counteract that.

Also, in terms of the backfired curse, I actually do think it was Harry and Voldemort now that I hear Voldemort's side of the story in GoF. He specifically says that when he tried to curse Harry, the curse was reflected off of Harry due to Harry's mother's sacrifice.