Correction: Assassin!Snape

[Cindy C.]

Uh, next time I'll proofread before I post.  Sorry.

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Assassin!Snape

The final scenes of GoF suggest that Snape may spy on 
Voldemort at Dumbledore's request. There remains, however, the 
perplexing question of exactly how Snape could manage this, 
especially after Dumbledore revealed in the Pensieve that Snape 
turned spy for Dumbledore. Would Snape have to perform a difficult 
task to Voldemort's satisfaction to earn his trust, and if so, what 
would that task be? 

According to Assassin!Snape, the key is Voldemort's graveyard speech 
in GoF:

"And here we have six missing Death Eaters . . . three dead in my 
service. One, too cowardly to return . . . he will pay. One, who I 
believe has left me forever . . . he will be killed, of 
course. . . . and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who 
has already reentered my service.'"

If Karkaroff is the DE who will be killed, who will do Voldemort's 
dirty work and kill Karkaroff? Could it be Assassin!Snape, 
perhaps in a bid to prove his loyalty to Voldemort by delivering 
Karkaroff's head on a pike? Is there another way Snape might put 
one over on Voldemort and return to spying short of murdering 
Karkaroff in cold blood? 

Assassin!Snape was proposed in Message 46741. It met considerable 
resistance from Snape fans, some of whom advocated variants in which 
Snape can continue to spy without spilling Karkaroff's blood. 
Messages 46822, 46839, 46852, 46853, 46857, 46873, 46878, 46887, 
46906, 46918, 46947, 46970, 46987, 46907, 46944, 46951, 46979, 
46987, 46991, 47007, 47008, 47037, 47038, 47045, 47046.

For those taken with the idea of Snape proving his loyalty to 
Voldemort, there is an especially chilling variant, affectionately 
known as "Dumbledore's Head On A Platter." Proposed in Message 
47077, the theory is a rare and unlikely marriage of the gut-
wrenching with the irresistible:

"[Snape's] task will be something that will be hard for Snape (or it 
wouldn't be proof) and good for Voldemort (probably). Ergo, Snape 
won't be sent after Sirius Black or Karkaroff. Killing? Hardly a 
challenge, in Voldemort's eyes. Killing an enemy? Candy. And neither 
Black nor Karkaroff are strategic targets for Voldemort. But killing 
Dumbledore? Proof *and* the removal of Voldemort's greatest obstacle. 
Likely."

Brrrr!

The "Dumbledore's Head" variant quickly earned two acronyms: the 
gruesome CHOP ("Cranium of Headmaster on a Platter") in Message 47103 
and the more refined PASHMINAS (Prejudiced Against Snape, Harry 
Misinterprets Involvement in Noble Albus' Sacrifice) in Message 
47124. Theorists –- those with cast-iron stomachs, 
anyway -– ultimately came to no consensus on whether Snape would 
really, actually slay Dumbledore himself or whether Snape would 
have the good fortune to capitalize on Dumbledore's timely and 
convenient death from other causes.  Messages 47044, 47067, 47121.