Snape at Godrics Hollow

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 120681


Magda wrote: 
<snip> 
> So let's posit a scenario: Snape is at Hogwarts, as a teacher from
> September 1 1981 on.  He tells Dumbledore that Voldemort is after
the Potters and the Potters go into hiding.  He continues to spy, and
> tells Dumbledore that the Potters' secret-keeper has turned traitor. 
<snip>

Carol responds:
While I agree that Snape must have tried to warn James in some way, I
don't think he could have gone to Godric's Hollow without being told
the location by Peter himself, which goes against everything we know
about Snape's later reactions and events in PoA. Also, I don't see how
he could have continued to spy while he was teaching at Hogwarts, much
less have been absent from school (presumably without leave) to be a
GH when the Potters were killed. I can see him being at school and
alerting Dumbledore to some change in his Dark Mark. I can *almost*
see him trying and failing to alert James to the treachery of one of
his friends at some location other than GH while he was still a spy
and not yet a teacher, but the problem there is that he would have had
to give away his identity as a(n ex-) Death Eater still attending
their meetings in order to inform James of these developments. It
makes more sense (to me) for him to tell Dumbledore and have
Dumbledore tell James. James would still be ignoring Severus's
warning, though he wouldn't know whose it was, and Severus would still
resent his stubborn loyalty to Sirius despite Sirius's seeming
treachery. ("How dare he ignore my warning and let himself be
murdered, leaving me with this unfulfilled life debt?")

I really, really hope that HBP answers at least some of our questions
about Snape *and* Godric's Hollow, but I'm betting that all
connections between the two are indirect. I.e., I think Snape knew
that James was in danger and tried to warn him *indirectly*, but I
don't think he knew about GH, much less that he was actually there.

And, like Eloise somewhere in this thread, I'm taking at face value
(till canon proves otherwise) the statement that the voice at Godric's
Hollow was James's.

Carol, hoping that everyone who celebrates Christmas had a merry one
(Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas, if anyone besides me is counting.)