"I haven't heard a word of remorse or regret from you for Colin's death or endangering my life trying to rescue you from your own stupidity. Nor you urging your brother to issue an apology to me for his blatant attempt at manslaughter. I've not heard a word of thanks from you for either your rescue or my near death down there effecting said rescue. Both of which I was owed from you. Wasn't I Ginerva? But you can't admit that, can you? Admitting you owe me an apology and your thanks means admitting you did something wrong. Admitting a boy died because of your bad act. Admitting you put the entire school in danger because you wanted a diary to write in and spill your daydreams within."
"Robindore keeps trying to tell me about life debts, trying to claim I owe my life to him. He's wrong. I don't owe him my life. But his efforts made me research the subject and guess what I discovered, you foolish little strumpet? I discovered that while I don't owe anyone, except possibly our Potions Master, there are people who owe me. Our snarky Potions Master has actually saved my life more than once over the last few years while placing himself at great risk to do so. He might even have saved me from that snake you were playing with had your brother let me get him to help us as I wanted to. Just as I did for you." In the stacks, Severus Snape blinked in surprised shock. Potter had wanted to get him for that adventure? Since when? He thought the boy hated him. In fact, he knew the boy hated him. So why would he have wanted to get him?
Harry fixed Ginny with a fierce glare of his own. His glares were much more effective than hers ever would be. Then he switched his gaze to Hermione and concluded, "And her." Turning back to Ginny he said, "In that regard she's no different than you. Both of you owe me your life. Because in the case of a life debt, 'The threat to a life must be equal. The one doing the saving needs to be as imperiled as the one being saved.' My action in saving you only confirmed the debt she owed me from her own first year deadly encounter. But it established a new debt between yourself and me. Because if I hadn't saved you, the school would have closed and chances are good she'd have remained a stone statue while you would have died to the diary you were writing in all year."
"As for my debt to Professor Snape, punching out a Werewolf on a full moon night isn't exactly safe, you know. Nor is inserting yourself between said werewolf and his chosen victim. Especially when said werewolf didn't take the Nice Doggie potion to render it harmless." Snickers again erupted quietly at the spectators tables. Even Madam Pince was wearing a small smile. Snape smirked thinking he'd have to remember that name for his potion. He had to hand it to the kid. Potter had a way with words.
"Yet he did it because it was the only way to get it away from me long enough to insert himself between us. Which only meant Lupin would go through him first to get to me. And since both your brother and Hermione were ineffectively trying to hide themselves behind me, there's a damn good chance Lupin would've gotten both of them as well. So by saving me, he saved them also. But just as you've never said thank you to me for saving your life, they've never thanked him either. I have. But they haven't." The listeners again looked to the stacks wondering if that was true and the Potions Master inclined his head just enough to confirm it. Potter had thanked him for saving him that night while the other two hadn't said a word.
The dictation quills were going a mile a minute as the listeners watched and listened to the Confrontation taking place. Each student now had a second parchment and quill that they were using to write down their own thoughts and questions about what was being said. They were also taking note of the expressions on the antagonists faces or in their body language. These quills were also under a silencing spell lest their scratching make them miss something.
Harry was still speaking to Ginny but his voice was getting rough again and the Potions Master could see his shoulders tensing up. So he hit him with another soothing charm and hoped the boy would get through the scene without his voice giving out. Idly, he wondered why the teen was having such a hard time speaking right now. Teenagers normally didn't have a hard time talking. Generally they talked too much and didn't listen often enough. But it was clear to him, Potter was having a hard time with all this talking.
"He knew full well when he placed himself between me and that werewolf, he was gambling with his life. But it was also the only chance he had of keeping it away from me in the hopes that I could survive. That's the kind of actions necessary to invoke a life debt. The kind of action I took to save the two of you. Because you and your friends, as well as your boss, keep putting me into places I Do Not wish to be where my life is at grave risk of ending, he has to keep coming to my rescue."
Ginny had heard enough. He was shredding her reputation and telling the whole room things that were never supposed to see the light of day in the process. Hotly she declared, "You lying little freak. I do not owe you anything. Not an apology Not my life. Nothing. I have heard enough lies from you today. It was Fawkes who saved me. Not you. That makes your claim nothing but a lie. You're standing here making a mountain out of a gnomehole claiming I'm responsible for things I'm not. I didn't kill anyone. I was eleven and yes, I made a mistake using that book as my diary. But I didn't kill anyone. Or endanger the school. And you just admitted you only came to save me because Ron made you. So your intent in being there didn't have anything to do with me and my danger at the time. So I owe you nothing. I am a pureblood and I will be damned if I owe my life to a halfblood like you. But you owe me because it's your duty to put yourself in danger whenever someone else is in peril. The Headmaster says it is," she screamed.
Severus stepped out of the stacks as his Slytherins growled and stood up ready to take a stand on the matter. Even the Librarian seemed unwilling to let her get away with that declaration. But Harry cut them all off at the pass. Fawkes himself soared into the Library trilling his cheerful song. With a burst of melody he alighted on Harry's shoulder and began to butt heads with the green eyed boy.
Reaching up to stroke the fiery bird, Harry calmly replied. "I guess you'll be damned then because that's where you're wrong, Ms. Weasely." Snickers drifted quietly from the occupied nearby tables and both the adults gave little smiles as Severus sunk back into the shadows and Ginny flushed in embarrassment. her anger was still strong but he'd neatly taken the wind out of her sails and she knew it.
"You see, what you fail to understand is, Fawkes wouldn't have been in the Chamber to save either one of us had I not called for him to come aid me. Because you certainly didn't call for him. Did you? As I recall you were near dead on the dirty floor when I found you. Laying in the muck and grime of the last century as if it was a bed covered in the finest silk and satin bedding available. Totally insentient. Unable to ask anyone or anything for aid to save your life. Nor did your brother call on the school for aide when he found himself blocked by a rockslide and trapped under the school with a brain addled fool of a wanna-be teacher. He could've but then he's never been the most intelligent or quick thinking of people, has he?"
"I did though. I called out mentally for help when the shade that was stored in that damn book began calling for the basilisk to come out to play and Fawkes here answered that call. I asked him to aid you once the basilisk was no longer a threat and the diary had been dealt with. Isn't that right, Fawkes?" Fawkes trilled again and gave a bobbing nod of his head.
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