Snape at Godrics Hollow

[snow15145]

No: HPFGUIDX 120803


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" 
<justcarol67 at y...> wrote:
> 
> Snow wrote:
> > I agree with most everything you had to say to this point but 
> > envisioned a little different scenario: where James was aware 
that 
> > Snape was Dumbledore's informant about the Potter's being in 
danger. 
> > Could you just imagine James face when Dumbledore tells him that 
he 
> > now trusts Snape, no specific details as to why, and reveals the 
> > information that Snape had divulged to him. Continuing, 
Dumbledore 
> > announces that, under the circumstances, they should hide under 
the 
> > Fidelius charm and that he should be secret keeper. James would 
be a 
> > little skeptical about the source of the information coming from 
a 
> > known death-eater whether Dumbledore trusted him or not. <snip>
> 
> Carol responds:
> Potioncat has already pointed out that Sirius didn't know that Snape
> had been a DE. For that reason, I don't think that James did, 
either,
> or he would have told Sirius.
> 
> Moreover, Snape is not a "known Death Eater." We know from the
> Pensieve that he was charged with being a DE but that the charges 
were
> dismissed, not because he claimed to be Imperio'd like the DEs whose
> names were published in the Daily Prophet and elsewhere (Malfoy,
> Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Nott, et al.) but because he was a spy for
> Dumbledore whose identity as a seemingly still loyal DE could not be
> released to the general public without jeopardizing his mission and
> his life. AFWK, the only people besides Snape and a handful of DEs 
who
> know that Snape was a DE are those who attended Karkaroff's hearing,
> and they appear to have been silenced in some way. Clearly his DE 
past
> is not public knowledge or three-quarters of the parents at Hogwarts
> would protest. (The Slytherins, in contrast, presumably think he's
> still a loyal and active DE--or did, up until the end of OoP. JKR 
only
> knows what they think now that Lucius Malfoy and company have been
> arrested.)
> 
> Carol, who is very curious about Snape's activities between OoP and
> HBP and wonders if we'll somehow find out about them

Snow:

You're right, Potioncat, had pointed out a few discrepancies, which I 
feel can easily be corrected without changing the scenario. Sirius 
still may have known that the informant was Snape, whom he had 
suspected, according to GOF pg. 531 of being a Voldy supporter 
because of the company he kept:

"Ever since I found out Snape was teaching here, I've wondered why 
Dumbledore hired him. Snape's always been fascinated by the Dark 
Arts, he was famous for it at school. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, 
he was, [
] "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than 
half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of 
Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters."

And

"
Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater- not that that 
means much."

It isn't really necessary for Sirius to have known that Snape had 
been a death-eater because he already suspected that much, which 
would be a very good reason for Sirius to want to change the secret 
keeper. (In fact, if you suspect an ESE Snape this would have been a 
beautiful way to target the Potters, know exactly where they are, and 
ensure the secret keeper would not be Sirius, but someone more likely 
to be broken. Another post perhaps.)

I can't see James being told the information from Dumbledore about 
Voldemort's threats on his family without being told the source of 
the information as verification. James had saved Snape's life once so 
Dumbledore would not have hesitated to trust James with at least the 
partial information that Snape had come to him with valuable 
information. It may not have been necessary to divulge the fact that 
Snape defected from the ranks of Voldemort or that Dumbledore has now 
entrusted Snape with any position, after all Dumbledore rarely gives 
more information than is necessary. 

James would had to have told Sirius why he wanted him to be secret 
keeper under the Fidelius charm and share the information that 
Dumbledore told him and where the information came from. I don't 
think that James or Sirius would be satisfied with receiving 
information of this magnitude without demanding to know where it came 
from. James may have been all right with the fact that Snape had 
supplied them with the info because James might have seen this action 
as a repayment for the life debt Snape owed him and attempted to sell 
Sirius this same reasoning for trusting Snape. Sirius and James argue 
a bit about trusting the information and they compromise with a 
secret keeper change with Sirius as watch dog to the new secret 
keeper. Nothing would have gone wrong
except Sirius demanded the 
secret keeper change.  

Hopefully this revised version helps make the original scenario more 
palatable. 

Snow