Did Snape betray his friends?

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 34737

Marina wrote:

> Well, I happen to believe that Snape *did* turn in his friends, and 
> that it makes him *more* trustworthy to Dumbledore, not less.  See, 

I tend to agree with this.  This all occurred in a time when you 
didn't know who to trust.  Dumbledore cannot be dumb enough to just 
take Snape's word for the fact that he now wishes to be on 
Dumbledore's team.  How could Dumbledore be sure that Snape wasn't 
just going to spy for Voldemort?

The answer, I suggest, is that there has to be a price to be welcomed 
back.  Maybe an ambush wasn't the price, but there had to be a price, 
and a big one.

Marina again:

> No, I think that somewhere down the line Snape came to genuinely 
> hate Voldy and everything the DEs stood for; and to hate them *on 
> principle*, not just emotionally.  

Maybe so, but *why*?  What changed between the time Snape became a DE 
and the time he reversed himself?  Surely Snape didn't have a 
powerful religious conversion and realize the error of his ways?  
There must have been a catalyst, and a powerful one.

Marina again:

>And if Snape is clear on what his duty is, and is willing to 
> stick to it regardless of his personal feelings, then Dumbledore 
can 
> rightfully trust him.
> 

Hmmm.  It is correct that Dumbledore trusts Snape, but I don't think 
it is the same sort of trust that Dumbledore has in Hagrid.  
Dumbledore trusts Hagrid with his life, and Hagrid has a blind 
loyalty to Dumbledore.  I think Snape is held in lower regard; 
Dumbledore simply is convinced that Snape is loyal to Dumbledore, not 
Voldemort.  After all, I can think of two circumstances in which 
Snape did something inconsistent with Dumbledore's orders.  First, he 
leaked Lupin's werewolf problem despite direct orders from Dumbledore 
to keep it a secret.  Second, he (I think) allowed a dementor into 
the castle.  I think those sorts of things have caused Dumbledore not 
to have quite the same high level of trust in Snape.  

In other words, Dumbledore believes (correctly) that Hagrid would lay 
down his life to save Dumbledore.  I doubt that Dumbledore expects 
Snape to lay down his life to save Dumbledore.  

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but that's what my gut tells me.

Cindy (who doesn't see why Snape would leave the DEs and turn spy at 
great personal risk just to save a woman who married his enemy)