Snape Question

[James Lawlor]

No: HPFGUIDX 104905

enderbean wrote:
> Harry's parents were killed on October 31, 1981 
> when Harry was 1, right? School starts _before_ 
> that in September. It would seem that Snape started 
> teaching a month before the Potters were attacked. 
> So he probably rejoined the good side before or 
> around that time quite possibly to play a double 
> agent.


I think it's clear that Snape rejoined the Order before the Potters
were attacked. In the first chapter of PS/SS it's clear that everybody
in the WW knows that Voldemort is gone very quickly after the attack
on the Potters (How is an interesting question - perhaps Voldemort's
original (using the term loosely, heh) body was found in Godric's
Hollow?). In the Pensieve scene in GoF we see Dumbledore defending
Snape to the Wizengamot, reminding them that he came clean *before*
Voldemort's downfall (unlike, say, Malfoy). It obviously took time to
catch the remaining Death Eaters and organize trials, but it doesn't
seem likely that Dumbledore would have argued a technicality like that
(if he had come back immediatly after the Potters' murder or just
before most of the DEs were caught or gave themselves up).

- James Lawlor
jlawlor at gmail.com