Snape as a Spy, but for Whom?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86414

Aesha wrote:
<snip> JKR never said that Snape was ordered by LV to begin teaching
at Hogwarts. <snip>
As for the cemetary at the end of GOF, I think most people assume he
wasn't there. Voldemort says ... and one who's left the fold (I
> personally think he's referring to Snape). So while it's not
explictly stated that he's [not] there, I think he's not. 

Carol:
You did mean "not explicitly stated that he's *not* there, right,
Aesha? In any case, I agree with you that he's the one Voldemort
believes "will not return to us [and] must be killed." That statement
appears to be based on his decision to remain at Hogwarts rather than
heed the summons to be present at the cemetery. (He can't have been
there because he was at the Tri-Wizard tournament. He had no time to
hurry away to Hogsmeade, apparate to the cemetery, and return in time
to see Harry return with Cedric's body.)

Voldemort also presumably knows all about Snape's opposition to
Quirrell in SS/PS. We know he can see through that turban (Harry's
scar burning at the opening feast) and hear conversations. There's no
way he can be unaware of Snape's activities against him. It would be
extremely dangerous for Snape, even with his skill at occlumency, to
go directly to Voldemort with a reason for not appearing at the
cemetery. Going to Lucius Malfoy, however, is another matter, apoint
I'll return to in a moment.


bboy_mn wrote:
I don't think this idea [that LV ordered Snape to teach at Hogwarts}
comes from anything JKR specifically said or implied.

Carol:
You're right. It doesn't. There's nothing in canon, including the
interviews, to support it.

bboy again:
But it fits with one of my theories (shared by many, and equally
opposed) that Snape is a Double Agent (or maybe it's a Triple
Agent, or a Double-Double Agent). <snip>
 
Snape has kept close ties to the Death Eaters, most notibly Malfoy,
who escaped Azkaban. If they believe he were truly a spy against
Voldemort, they surely would not have associcated with the traitor
Snape, and would have probably done their best to kill him.

Carol:
Undeniably true. We know that he's in contact with Malfoy because
Malfoy told him that he saw Sirius in dog form at Platform 9 3/4.
Somehow Snape has convinced his old friend Malfoy that he's not a
traitor. That does not mean that Voldemort shares Malfoy's view of
snape, as I'll explain in a moment.

Snape's mission at the end of GoF was not necessarily to go directly
to Voldemort, which would have put him in extreme danger and was
wholly unnecessary given his friendship with Malfoy. It makes much
more sense for him to have explained to Malfoy (with the request that
he pass the information along to Voldemort) that it was impossible for
him to leave the Tri-Wizard tournament and get to the cemetery, that
he couldn't apparate from Hogwarts and even if that were possible, he
couldn't have done so right under Dumbledore's nose. Snape, whom we
know to be a convincing liar, has only to sneer in the right places,
express contempt for Dumbledore, and otherwise appear to share
Malfoy's views and goals to convince him that he is simply keeping an
eye on Harry and Dumbledore for Voldemort. He might even have revealed
something to Malfoy that Sirius had escaped Fudge and the Dementors
and was lurking near Hogwarts in dog form--a juicy tidbit that would
convince Malfoy that Snape was still on his side without betraying the
existence of the Order or his own membership in it.

<snip>
bboy: 
In GoF, Snape is sent on a mission by Dumbledore; most of us
speculated that mission was to get back into the good graces of
Voldemort. This would have been impossible if Voldemort truly thought
Snape was a spy for the good [g]uys.

Carol:
It would be impossible to go to Voldemort, who wants him dead and is
unlikely to listen to explanations ore excuses, but not to Malfoy, who
doesn't necessarily know about Snape's continuing opposition to
Voldemort or his various attempts to save Harry's life. Voldemort was
not in contact with Malfoy and the DEs until he summoned them to the
cemetery in GoF and even then the information he shares with them is
limited. Notice that he doesn't *name* the coward who must be punished
or the "one I believe has left us forever." Even his "slippery friend"
Lucius is too ambitious and cunning to be trusted fully with this
vital information. Malfoy could have gone to Voldemort with Snape's
explanation for his absence from the cemetery and Voldemort could have
pretended to believe it, biding his time since revenge against Snape
is impossible while he's at Hogwarts. Or he may want Snape to think
he's safe and can confide in Malfoy. Malfoy may be playing the same
game, only pretending to trust his old friend, but I don't think so.
Snape is probably the more intelligent and skilled of the two, given
his abilities as a Legilmens and Occlumens, and I think he has the
wool pulled over Lucius's eyes. That's the reason he could NOT show up
at the MoM and had to send other members to rescue Harry. (It's
notable that he tried and failed to get Sirius to remain behind. If
Sirius had listened to Snape, he'd still be alive.) 

bboy:
<snip>
 
So, Voldemort thinks Snape pretenting to be a spy for Dumbledore while
secretly spying for Voldemort. That's the only way that I can see that
Voldemort would allow Snape back in his presents without killing him.

Carol:
As I've said, there's no evidence that Snape has been in Voldemort's
presence, only in Lucius Malfoy's. There's a big difference.


<snip>

bboy: 
Now the question becomes, whose side is he really on. I think his true
allegiance is to Dumbledore, but Snape still may have to do some
pretty nasty things against the good guys before Voldemort is finally
defeated.

Carol:
I agree that his true allegiance is to Dumbledore, who, unlike
Voldemort, trusts him unconditionally and has never threatened to kill
him. That in itself, even without the life debt to James carried over
to Harry and whatever horrible event prompted him to go to Dumbledore
in the first place, is sufficient, I would think, to show where his
loyalties lie.

Since Snape is most often at Hogwarts and his mission when he's not
there is to spy on the Death Eaters (presumably through his
connections with Malfoy), I see no reason why he has to do anything
"nasty" other than let drop a stray piece of information on occasion,
presumably with the permission of Dumbledore.

Just how all this will change with Malfoy et al. in Azkaban and
Bellatrix at large, I can't guess. But I'm certain he won't be
foolhardy enough to go directly to Voldemort.

Carol