Snape Is Not A Spy

[Sydney]

No: HPFGUIDX 81157

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Tim Johnson Family"
<tkj_etal at b...> wrote:
> I have a proposal to make: the formation of, not a ship, but a club, of
> those who believe that the idea of Snape rejoining the Death Eaters and
> spying on them is NOT TRUE.
> 
> SINAS: Snape Is Not A Spy.
> 
> --RTJ (Who can defend her position with canon)


Ooh, I'll join-- but if I was good at acronyms, I'd find a good reason
to call it SINAS HEADACHE! If he's NOT spying, what the heck is he doing?

To arm the SINAS canons (I hope I'm not overstepping my bounds on this
vessel, Captain RTJ):

1.  "One, I believe, has left me for ever".  This has evidently been
confirmed as Snape in an unrecorded Q&A session (see message no.
7901).  Snape is darn clever, and this would not in itself be our big
gun, for me that would be:

2.  "It is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to
his Death Eaters."
    "No- that's your job isn't it?' Harry shot at him....
    ... there was a curious, almost satisfied expression on Snape's
face when he answered.
    "Yes, Potter," he said, his eyes glinting, "That is my job"

Now from anyone else this would mean... that was his job.  From Snape
though, that 'satisfied exression' is mighty fishy.  What's he so smug
about?  That he has such a cool job?  Or because Harry got it wrong?

3.  Occulomency.  Evidently it's too dangerous for Dumbledore to even
LOOK at Harry, for fear of Voldemort finding stuff out.  Isn't a bit
insane to have supposedly undercover Snape on basically a tapped
direct line during the Occulomency lessons?  Teaching Harry classified
defensive measures?  Couldn't V-mort access that?

4.  Speaking of undercover, what's Order's most super-secret mole
doing having big meetings full of the entire crew?  I'm not an expert,
but isn't that a gaping security hole?  Don't you usually do that sort
of thing only with maximally trusted contacts and secret codes and
things?  

The counter to this is that Snape is a double-agent-- he's supposed to
be pretending to be a spy anyways.  But in that case, why is everyone
so excited after his meetings?  He's not just going in, saying,
"sorry, nothing this week", then giving the real dirt to Dumbledore. 
If there's another Pettigrew lurking, Snape's cover would be blown by
now.  Speaking of which...

5.  His previous role in the Order WAS of the super-secret variety. 
Not only does he not appear in the group photo, but more crucially,
Sirius had no idea Snape had EVER been a Death Eater.  Meaning he did
not know Snape was the Order's spy either, meaning this was not
general knowledge.  This seems a much more sensible system.


I'm happy to acknowledge though, that there are plenty of issues with
the SINAS theory.  I'm not thrilled to be on this boat myself, as I
think Snape spying is terribly cool and Snapey and just what I would
WANT him to be doing.  The principal leaks are:

1.  Lucius Malfoy.  Still in with Snape.  Snape, still making an
effort to be in with Malfoy.  Is Malfoy playing a double game with
Voldemort, or is he just an idiot, or has Snape somehow maintained his
cover after all?  Whatever it is, it HAS to come back to the famous
"sudden movement" at Harry's outing of Lucius to Fudge at the end of GoF.

2.  Plotting.  Scar-O-Vision aside, Rowling could really use a mole of
her own in the Death Eaters, just to be able to have scenes of their
inner workings and to keep a non-pasteboard-cut-out player in there. 
Also, the spy thing is just TOO COOL.  SOMEBODY has to be a spy!  

3.  Snape.  As in still breathing.  Pettigrew spent twelve years as a
rat to evade angry Death Eaters;  and here's Snape just walking around
and having tea with the Malfoys.  Any reader of gangland fiction knows
the informer is always the first one to be bumped off.  Barty Crouch
would have done it with bells on, but he seemed to be distinctly not
sure what to think of Snape's position.  He was actively feeling him
out in the "Egg and the Eye" scene in GoF-- a scene that in retrospect
almost certainly involves some Occulomency... something else to think
about, but anyways, the most serious objection:

4.  What the heck is Snape doing, then?  It seems to involve running
around, giving reports, keeping in with Lucius Malfoy, and risking his
life.  And, um, not spying. 

Surveying the evidence, there has to be some huge misdirection going
on here.  But I simply can't think of anything, nor have I read any
theory, that fits all the facts.

Anybody have cure for a SINAS HEADACHE?

Sydney