Snape's DE past (was:Re:Snape's "mind set")

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 44245

In a message dated 20/09/2002 04:05:20 GMT Standard Time, 
kellybroughton at yahoo.com writes:


> I cannot help but notice that you make the assumption that Snape's DE
> background is well-known... but is it? I have to wonder. Granted, Harry is
> still learning things about the WW while he lives in it, but until PoA he
> didn't have a clue that Snape used to be a DE, and neither did Ron (who
> you think would know, if Snape's past IS "common knowledge") or Hermione.

Eloise:
A great many people make the same asssumption, which in itself is not 
unreasonable, given the apparently public outing he gets in the Pensieve 
hearing.

I don't pay too much attention to Harry's ignorance, given that he knows 
nothing about the WW and isn't interested in finding out anything that 
doesn't advance the plot! That's an exaggeration, but things like never 
having heard of Azkaban in over a year of living in the WW beggar belief.

But I agree totally that if we hadn't seen that Pensieve scene, we would 
automatically assume that his background was a secret: there is no sign of it 
being general knowledge. I think that it *is* secret and that there is some 
explanation which we don't yet understand for the Pensieve scene. Perhaps 
some kind of 'binding magical contract' which prevents those present from 
divulging information about those acquitted. There are problems with this, 
which I'm sure someone will point out, but I think I have found a canon which 
may support the idea:

At Bagman's court appearance, Rita Skeeter is present. In the Leaky Cauldron, 
she tells Hermione that she could tell her things about Bagman which would 
make her hair curl. Yet these things about Bagman don't seem widely known. It 
implies to me that Rita has had to keep her poison pen under wraps. If Rita 
can keep quiet.......!
Well, you take my point?

kel:

> From what I can tell from canon, the only ppl who seem to be aware of
> Snape's history are:
> the Hogwarts faculty (and probrably not all of them)
> 
Eloise:
It's not clear to me that 'any' of them know, aside from Dumbledore. 
Unless you count Crouch/Moody.

kel:

> the few Slytherins that we actually know of

Eloise:
Again, I don't actually see evidence of that. Why would they know?

kel:

> at least some of the DE's (Lucius, for example)
> Voldemort

Eloise:
This is undisputable. Voldemort obviously knows all of them and even though 
it is commonly though that the DE's operate in cells and don't know the 
identity of many other DE's, each individual must surely know some others.
Lucius *may* know, or he may not. It's not clear. Snape undoubtedly knows 
that Lucius was a DE though and I have long speculated that his favouritism 
towards Draco may stem from his resulting cautious approach to Lucius. 
Whether the latter does, or doesn't know, Snape has to assume that he does. 
Get on the wrong side of him and he could let the cat out of the bag. Lucius 
would have the upper hand in any conflict of interests. After all, his past 
*does* seem to be commonly known, but he has enough power and influence for 
it not to matter. Snape, OTOH, would be out on his ear.

kel:
> Harry and co. 
> Sirius (I think- correct me if I'm wrong) 

Eloise:
I don't think Sirius knows until the end of GoF.
He warns Harry about Karkaroff; surely he'd warn him about Snape too, if he 
knew.

kel:
> Speaking of Sirius, he had no clue what it meant when Harry tells him
> about Karkaroff showing Snape something on his left arm in PoA, which does
> make me wonder if he knew Snape was a DE. If there are others that know,
> Rowling has not yet seen fit to let us know about it.

Eloise:
It doesn't seem to be universally known that DE's have the Dark Mark branded 
on their arm. If it were, and iven that he knows Karkaroff was a DE, Sirius 
would understand what he was showing Snape, wouldn't he? Snape even feel the 
need to explain about it to Fudge.
I don't know how the MOM managed to miss then on the DE's it captured before 
Voldemort's fall, but they seem to have.

And of course, Karkaroff knows. I wonder if we'll see him again?

But I don't see that it *can* be common knowledge. I'm sure the parents and 
Governors wouldn't stand for an ex-DE on the staff, no matter how reformed he 
was. Fudge says he allowed Dumbledore to employ a werewolf, yet seems shocked 
that he'd employed a DE. 

And just think of the student rumour machine. All it says about Snape is that 
he's into the Dark Arts and wants the DADA job. Surely the rumour would be 
that Snape is into the Dark Arts because 'he was once a follower of You Know 
Who', if it were common knowledge? Ron says that everyone knows that Lucius 
was a big supporter of You Know Who. Yet he doesn't know about Snape. I don't 
see that his past *can* be known.

Eloise


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