Snape as past/future spy WAS Re: Question about Snape and Quirrell

[beccafran <rbroeker@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49718

Okay, I've been thinking about Snape's task at the end of GoF for a 
while, and this discussion has convinced me to post them... 


> > > marephraim: (?)
> > > >Was he protecting the Stone as a 'lone ranger' or as part of 
> > > >Dumbledore's team? Will Book Five *ever* reach the publishers?
> > > >-end this part-
> 
> > isiscolo continues:
> > 
> > I think that he was working for the Good Guys and not 
> > hiding it from Q and V.  I just don't see how V could
> > possibly still believe Snape to be on his side.
> > 
> > I.
> 
> bboy_mn:
> Snape has no way of knowing that Quirrel was working with or for
> Voldemort. I guess it's possible that Quirrel told Snape but I doubt
> it. I think the story would have gone much differently if Snape knew
> Voldemort was in the castle.
> 
> So, from Snape perspective, all he was doing was keeping the stone
> away from an marginally competent and obviously corrupt wizard like
> Quirrel. I imagine the wizard world is full of greedy people who 
would
> love to get their hands on the Stone. But the alchemist have closely
> guard it the Stone and it's secrets for Millenium. Those who
> understand it power, and it's power to corrupt; guard it very 
closely.
> Only a very priviledge enlightened few are allowed to know the 
secret,
> and that really how it should be.
> 
> So, Snape was not acting against Voldemort. He was not conciously
> choosing Dumbledore over Voldemort. He was simply guarding a very
> dangerous magical artifact from a very dangerous wizard like 
Quirrel.
<snip>

BeccaFran:
First- I think it is very telling that Snape went so far out of his 
way to fight to keep the Stone out of the hands of a thief. He really 
went above and beyond what most of the teachers did, even going off 
on his own to stop the thief when everyone else was distracted by the 
troll. Snape did all this *even though he didn't know it was 
Voldemort.* If Snape really was evil, it seems to me that he wouldn't 
care if someone tried to steal the Stone. After all, "the enemy of my 
enemy is my friend," as they say. The only way DE!Snape would be 
interested in the theft would be if he knew it *was* LV, in which 
case Evil!Snape would probably pretend to try to stop the theft, but 
actually help LV get it. I see Snape's decisive action on behalf of 
Dumbledore as clear evidence that he has been on that side all along.

Second- Why would DE!Snape want to protect Harry from Quirrell at the 
Quidditch match? He wouldn't! He'd be out to get Harry, just like 
Quirrel!Mort, and Barty Jr. were.


 > > isiscolo:
> > I read Lord V's "one who has left me forever" comment to mean
> > that he *knows* that Snape is no longer a DE.  
> > -end this part-
> 
> bboy_mn:
> It's common knowledge that Snape got out of being prosecuted as a
> Death Eater by claiming with the backing of Dumbledore that he was a
> spy. All the other Death Eater who got out of trouble, all had their
> own lies as excuses for getting out of trouble. They don't believe
> Snape was a spy any more that Snape believes that Malfoy was 
bewitched.

BeccaFran:
Snape and Mr. Weasley may not believe that Malfoy was bewitched, but 
clearly many people in the wizarding world (as exemplified by Fudge) 
do believe it, or at least want very badly to believe it. In terms of 
Voldemort, he must have known that there were spies in his ranks. I 
think he is smart enough to put two and two together and accept that 
Snape was truly a spy.

> > isiscolo:
> > Why, oh why, does just about everyone assume that Snape *will
> > be* a spy in later books?  <snip> 
> bboy_mn:
> Got a better explaination? What else is Snape going to do? The only
> way I can see him being effective in the fight against Voldemort is 
to
> get back in VOldemort's good graces. If not that then what?
<snip> 
bboy_mn:
> The only options I can see, is that Snape goes back to Voldemort 
sucks
> up a bit, and convinces Voldie that he, Snape, was a double agent
> essentially giving genuine but worthless information to Dumbledore
> while bringing much more valuable information back to Voldie. If
> that's not what he's going to do, then what? What good is he in the
> fight, if he's not a spy?

I agree with Isiscolo on this one. I know Snape *was* a spy, but I 
think that his cover is blown now and he can't go back. My idea 
hinges on the fact that Snape was friends with a "gang of Slytherins 
who nearly all became Death Eaters." Someone suggested earlier that 
his friends were those DEs who were killed. I seriously doubt that, 
personally. What is Snape has some close school friends who are still 
active DEs? One of them could perhaps have been a spy in the past who 
was *never unmasked* and who is now going back to active spying. 
Alternatively, Snape could be talking a previously loyal DE into 
spying now. After all, in 13 law-abiding years, some of the DEs were 
bound to lose their taste for murder & mayhem.

Any thoughts?

BeccaFran