Snape as a Spy, but for Whom?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 86458

> > Carol in response to Aesha:
> > 
> > Voldemort also presumably knows all about Snape's opposition to
> > Quirrell in SS/PS. ... 
> > 
> 
> bboy_mn:
> 
> One minor point regarding Snape's interaction with Quirrell while
> Voldemort possessed Quirrell; Voldemort did not reveal himself to
> Snape, therefore Snape had no way of knowing he was working against
> Voldemort. So, while Voldemort can be unhappy about it, he certainly
> can't blame Snape, or consider Snape's actions as being directed
> against Voldemort. 

Carol:
Don't you think that Snape knows that Quirrell is trying to get the
stone for Voldemort? He taunts Quirrell about "where his loyalties
lie," which to me means with Voldemort or with Dumbledore. Snape is
very sharp and he can sense when people are lying. He would have used
his talents as a Legilmens to read as much of Quirrell's mind as he
could without actually casting a spell on him.

As far as I can see, the only real point on which we disagree is that
Snape started off as a double agent. You don't seem fully convinced of
his loyalty to Dumbledore; I am. Also, I don't see any need for him to
 come face to face with Voldemort, but if he did, he'd need every bit
of his expertise in occlumency. I still think that being at Hogwarts
protects Snape (and everyone else) during the school year, at least as
long as Dumbledore is there. (DEs can't apparate in, and Snape will
have his eye on the DADA teacher, whoever it is.) Once he leaves the
safe bounds of the school, though, he may be in danger, especially if
Voldemort now feels that his suspicions regarding Snape's loyalty to
Dumbledore are confirmed. If the DEs escape and Malfoy suspects he's
been double-crossed, he *will* be in danger. (OTOH, we know he
survives at least into Book 7, so I won't worry about him too much.)

I'm still not clear about your reference to Snape being familiar with
the room Voldemort was in. Can you provide a page reference and an
explanation?

As for Snape sending Voldemort an owl, I really don't think so. I'm
sure that until the Mom incident, he dealt exclusively with Lucius
Malfoy. His choices for go-betweens are even more limited now. Nothing
to do but wait and see, I guess.

One last question to anyone who's interested: Do we know for sure that
Snape knows Voldemort's true identity? Or are we just assuming that he
knew because he was a Death Eater or because Dumbledore told him? I'm
guessing that Dumbledore told him the whole story of the diary and the
destruction of Young Tom's memory at some point, do we have any
stronger evidence? Bellatrix seems not to know, or else she knows
about Tom Riddle but didn't know that he was a half-blood. Both Snape
and Bellatrix are very much younger than Tom Riddle and could not have
known him when he was his (outwardly) normal self.

Carol