Who knows Snape's past? (was Snape's gang)

[Edblanning at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 31363

Elizabeth says

>Actually, I think Snape has to have been a spy by 1980, if your date 
>of Karkaroff's capture is correct, because Karkaroff tries to finger 
>him at his own inquisition and Dumbledore defends Snape at that 
>point, naming him as an informant. Rather publically, too. One hopes 
>his spying days are at an end at that point... despite our theories 
>about how he might try to resume that activity again now.

The apparant publicity of that announcement has bothered me.

If the announcement were truly public, then the spying would have to be at an 
end as Voldemort's supporters would know about it. It would also make any 
future spying role hard to imagine.

I rather assume that the announcement was privy to those at the trial and 
that knowledge of Snape's involvement, both as DE and spy was suppressed. I 
can't imagine the Board of Governors allowing a known former DE to become a 
teacher, even if he had reformed.

It could tie in with what's has been going on with the Malfoys:
whatever Snape and Malfoy know or don't know of each other's pasts as DEs or 
their current true positions, there has to be a risk that if Lucius is still 
loyal to Voldemort and is given  reason to belive that Snape has changed 
sides he might have some incriminating info which he could let slip to the 
governors. Malfoy himself seems to have built himself an unassailable 
position.

Does Fudge know? Is his reaction to Snape's Dark Mark at the end of GoF 
simply one of revulsion or also of surprise that Dumbledore could stoop to 
employing a DE? If even the Minister for Magic doesn't know, then it must 
have been suppressed.

By the end of GoF, Snape has been told that that Malfoy is still a DE  . It 
just struck me, what does Malfoy think? Which of the three DE's at Hogwarts 
does he think is the "most loyal servant"?

Eloise





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