What Snape knows; and what he's asked to do

[inyron at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 15324

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Hillman, Lee" <lee_hillman at u...> wrote:



> ....And what he's asked to do:
> In response to the questions at the end of Chapter 36, Caius wrote:
> 
> > > > 8. What do we think about what Dumbledore has asked Snape to 
do?
> > > 
> > > I haven't ever been exactly clear on what he intends Snape to 
do.  I
> > > assume he wants Snape to return and infiltrate the Death 
Eaters, 
> > but I'm
> > > not sure how he's supposed to manage that, since V. already 
knows
> > > (presumed from his listing of the DEs that aren't in 
attendance) 
> > Snape
> > > is no longer faithful to him.
> >
> 
> There are some factors to consider regarding this problem. First of 
all,
> it's true that Karkaroff tried to name him and Dumbledore publicly 
stated
> that Snape "rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and 
turned
> spy for us, at great personal risk." (GoF, Ch. 30) So it's very 
possible
> that many DE's know that this is what Dumbledore believes, and that 
V has
> gathered this intelligence already through Crouch and Wormtail.
> 
> However, consider the consequences to Snape if he _doesn't_ try to 
return to
> the DE's. In Ch. 33, Voldemort refers to the missing death eaters:
> 
> "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."
> 
> The three dead guys could be Rosier, Wilkes, and someone else 
unnamed. The
> coward is Karkaroff and the faithful servant is of course young 
Crouch,
> leaving Snape the one who has left forever. If V isn't exaggerating 
(and why
> should he do?), the alternative to not returning is death.


That's what I thought when I first read the passage, that Karkaroff, 
and Snape is the one who has left forever (because at that point, we 
know Karkaroff is a coward and that Snape left Voldemorts service 
before his downfall.)  But after finishing the book and (repeatedly) 
re-reading, I think that Voldemort is refering to Snape as the coward 
and Karkaroff as the one who has left forever.  After all, Karkaroff 
did renounce Voldemort and *publically* finger fellow death eaters to 
get release from Azkaban.  (Some of the information Karkaroff gave 
was used in court cases, so it had to be public.)  Then, when 
Voldemort returned, he fled.  A coward for sure, but he also left the 
service forever.  Snape also betrayed Voldemort, but how many people 
know this?  Karkaroff was suprised, a couple years after Voldemort's 
fall.  Voldemort might not suspect Snape, but simply think soft or a 
coward after spending years under Dumbledore's thumb.  


inyron

jumping right in.