Life Debts
A compilation of research by Perdix Tinnegean
A Life Debt, as colloquially called, is a branch of ancient magic. As part of the "Old Magick", it has no restriction on whom it can involve- muggles, squibs, wizarding folk, and creatures alike are subject to its bonds. Other similar types of magic include blood magic and certain types of dark magic. To read further refer to page 3321.
The Life Debt in common wizarding lore is said to be an exchange of services, in which the individual whose life was saved is compelled to recoup this debt by preventing the death of their savior at the next instance. The first recorded life debt was made over 200 years ago, however the contemporary understanding of this bond is superficial. Current knowledge is based off of verbal histories and case studies. Within these limited accounts, it has been noted that preservation of life does not have to be the sole mandate of the pact. One can demand payment in other forms of protection (importantly, not in favors), which can extend to requests to forgo memory charms or torture.
What is concretely known is that the Life Debt occurs at the moment one entity consciously saves the life of another. At least one of the participants must be of wizarding folk. The debt can be called to attention at any time with a specific request. This request cannot be altered later in time. There are a few theories that in choosing to specify the type of protection desired, the Debtor is released from preventing all types of bodily harm to the Debtee. This has not been verified.
Debtors are then compelled to fulfill their promises. Compulsion occurs in a syndrome of symptoms. The most common one is pain or intense discomfort when they are in danger of failing to keep their word. Pain is amplified as their Debtee is in increasing danger, and stops once the danger has been resolved. Few wizards have described witnessing visions or dream-like images after implementation of a pact. It is thought that the visions of the centaur Seer Ixion were in actuality visions from the witch Megara, who lived in the troubled region of Greece he often made predictions about. Other symptoms include: nausea and vomiting, headache, vertigo, diarrhea, fever, dizziness, drowsiness, low energy, rash, and stuffy nose.
The symptoms of compulsion are not life-threatening and are rarely debilitating, however they are unresponsive to known remedies. There is some speculation that this is the case because the pact is made between two souls or magical essences. To read more on this, refer to page 40.
It is important to note that compulsion does not occur with definite direction. The Debtor, if not educated of their situation, may not realize what they are experiencing and perish when they have failed their duty.
The existence of the Life Debt has long been a point of contention. Many efforts have been made to find the magical roots of the binding in order to destroy the link it creates. Due to its ancient nature, it is able to flout all modern rules of civilization. If a government official were to be indebted to a criminal, there would be no way to prevent the repayment of the debt without death of said official. In part, this is why the Aurory is vigorously audited and those involved in pacts are stripped of titles and privileges.
Ways of demolishing the effects of the Life Debt have long been researched, with little usable results. Upon post-mortem examination, all participants in these small studies died within hours of their partner's death due to nonspecific causes. Subjects were healthy males between the ages of 19 and 41. The controversy of this study lead to complete abolition of all wizarding research on Life Debts.
The only known way of escaping the stipulations of the pact is through natural death of the Debtee.
Creation of a Horcrux as a method skirting the effects of the pact has much evidence backing its hypothetical success, but it is an entirely unacceptable and illegal method. To read more on Horcruxes, refer to Appendix D.