Back to Harry and a question?

[Brandgwen G.]

No: HPFGUIDX 5643

> After both of us finished Blaise's awesome fic...

Okay, I have GOT to read this!

> ...we couldn't figure out why Snape didn't know that Sirius was 
innocent, and Peter was the informer. Snape says in the GoF that when 
Voldemort touched the mark they all apparated to his side to form the 
circle of Death Eaters. He would have seen Peter there in the circle, 
and not Sirius. 

Of the Death Eaters who apparated, I doubt there were any spies 
amongst them.  Snape says the Mark is there, both so that the Death 
Eaters can be called to their Master, and so they can distinguish
each other.  Thus, all the Death Eaters who apparated had the Death 
Mark.  Would a spy have such a tell-tale feature?

> Sirius was supposed to be Voldemort's second in command, a position 
that no Death Eater wouldn't know he held, so we were confused. Does 
anyone have a theory? 

What was actually said was the Sirius was to become second in
command, once Voldemort had taken over.  In the mean time, it is 
reasonable to assume the identity of a spy, particularly one 
positioned to close to Dumbledore, would be kept a secret.  If all of 
the Death Eaters who apparated in GoF are part of the inner circle, 
this is a bloody big inner circle.  Voldemort isn't stupid and he 
knows about maintaining control.  I'm sure there are a great many 
things he kept from his Death Eaters, even his trusted ones, in the 
name of power.  Why would he tell people as slimy as Lucius Malfoy,
or as presumably dense as Crabbe and Goyle, who his best-placed spy 
was?

Also, as I recall, we got the "second in command" story from Stan 
Shunpine, the Knight Bus conductor.  I'd say that this is a bit of 
hysteria-forged folk law.  Not only was Sirius never a Death Eater, 
but the true spy, Pettigrew, was far from leadership material.  I 
doubt that people like Snape or Crouch Snr. would have taken it too 
seriously, so the fact no Death Eater knew about Sirius would have 
been a pretty poor defense.

That's it.  
Cheers, 
Gwen.