Did Snape betray his friends?

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 34731

Cindysphynx wrote:

> I think canon is consistent with the idea that Snape ambushed Avery 
> and the Lestranges before Voldemort fell and before the Longbottoms 
> were tortured.  In "Padfoot Returns," Sirius says:  "Crouch's own 
> son 
> was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their 
> way out of Azkaban."  This means that the Lestranges were in Azkaban 
> (due to the ambush?) and talked their way out, only to attack Frank 
> Longbottom with Crouch Jr. and get sent right back to Azkaban.  So 
> that part fits the ambush theory well enough.<

So, you're claiming that 1 ) Snape told Dumbledore "The Lestranges, 
Rosier, Wilkes, and Avery are Death Eaters", and 2) these five (and 
maybe some others) got caught in an ambush by Moody, and yet three out 
of the five were acquited of being Death Eaters anyway?  Sorry, can't 
buy it.  Even the Ministry of Magic isn't *that* gullible. 

Cindy also said:
> I'm in the camp that believes Snape 
> was a low-level DE because Snape apparently lacked some key 
> information about the DEs, specifically, Snape apparently didn't 
> know Wormtail was the spy and Black was not... <

This has been discussed here before.  It's possible that some Death 
Eaters *saw* Peter tell Voldy "I'm the Secret keeper", and that Snape 
just wasn't there at the time.  Also, we don't even know for sure that 
any of the Death Eaters in Azkaban know that Wormtail is Peter; maybe 
only Voldy himself knew. The Death Eaters could be denouncing 
"Wormtail" in their sleep, or even just denouncing "the spy" 
without knowing exactly who the spy was. Peter would still have reason 
to avoid the Death Eaters, because if they knew he was still alive, 
they could guess that the whole confrontation between Sirius and Peter 
was a set-up and that Peter was the one who betrayed the Potters. 

And, Cindy continued:
> If Snape really was in the inner circle and treated well and having 
> a grand old time, then why did he leave?  Yes, Snape might have 
> certain 
> skills (potions, for example), but I don't see why Voldemort and the 
> DEs would value potion-making skills....<

Well, the Death Eaters might need a source of the veritaserum, which 
is carefully controlled by the MoM.  And, Snape doesn't just have 
potion making skills, he's also good at the Dark Arts, which the Death 
Eaters *definitely* do value.  If Snape wasn't all that high up, it 
was probably because he was so young.  He was only a couple of years 
out of Hogwarts when Voldy fell. 

My theory of why Snape left the Death Eaters is that he was in love 
with Lily.  The Death Eaters did a lot of awful things, and Snape 
could handle that, but when they were going after the one person he 
cared about (and planning to kill her only child, if not Lily 
herself), he couldn't stand it.  So, he went to the only person who 
could help -- Dumbledore.  Dumbledore saw that Snape actually cared 
about someone, and was even willing to risk his life for this person, 
so he gave Snape a second chance.

Sure, this is pure speculation.  But, it has a big advantage over the 
theory that Snape betrayed his friends.  Dumbledore didn't just strike 
a deal with Snape that kept Snape out of Azkaban, he *trusts* Snape.  
Why would Dumbledore trust a guy who sells out all his friends? 

-- Judy