How much does Snape know? was Wormtail's Name In the Confession (WAS: Spying Game...)

[Amanda Geist]

No: HPFGUIDX 40396

The snazzzzzzzzy one speaketh:

All right, Snape "will shortly
be forced to accept Sirius' freedom, if not necessarily his
innocence".  I think something's coming, plotwise, that will *only*
work if Snape believes -- or can appear to believe -- that Sirius is
guilty of betraying James and Lily and killing a street full of
Muggles.  JKR is making Snape's knowledge of Sirius' innocence
*plausibly deniable*.

Me now:

Are you saying that as of the end of GoF, Snape has not been filled in on
all the details? Because Snape's reaction to Sirius at the end of GoF seems
to me to be purely hatred, purely personal. (And part of the hatred likely
due to the fact that Sirius *is* innocent; how *dare* he be, and force Snape
to have to admit anything even remotely positive about him! Another part of
the hatred likely being that Snape realizes that Sirius has just heard *all*
that was said in front of Fudge.)

The clincher, for me, was the handshake--unwilling as it is, it was an
acknowledgement. Snape has accepted Dumbledore's ruling on this, albeit
unwillingly, and although he will doubtless be on the lookout for any
betrayals from Sirius' direction (the exact same thing can be said of
Sirius, about Snape, for Sirius now knows that Snape was a Death Eater).
Snape's action, if he did not believe Sirius innocent, would probably have
been to attack immediately, to defend Dumbledore or possibly Harry. He does
nothing of the sort, just stands there and hates him.

This is not to say that the mutual suspicion will not cause major problems
in the future....but it will, I believe, be grounded in their doubts of the
other's character, rather than any sincere doubt of the events of the past.
This is especially likely if anything should happen to Dumbledore, either
temporarily or permanently, as his is the guiding will making them run, if
very grudgingly, in tandem.

--Amandageist, premier Snapologist, who is devoutly wishing (not for the
first time) that JKR had selected names that did *not* begin with the same
letter for her most ambiguous and interesting character and one of his
runners-up....