Snape's redemptive possibilites (was re: Snape's Destiny et al)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 106283

Melanie said:
For Snape to really have been a DE means that we have to come to 
grips with the fact that he probably witnessed rape, torture, and 
murder and did nothing to stop it, at the very least. And if he 
did participate in the festivities (and let's be honest, you 
probably had to kill kittens and burn down orphanages to even be a 
DE candidate), chances are that when he was casting Unforgivables 
around, *he meant it.* 
 
Tiggersong responded:
Okay.  So, if Snape, while he was a DE, participated in rapes, 
murders, tortures and other Activities for the Well Rounded Death 
Eater, doesn't it stand to reason that he STILL IS?  
 
I mean, if he's spying for Dumbledore by pretending to still believe 
the whole DE party line, doesn't that mean that he needs to 
participate in the Campfire Activities?  Don't you think that he 
will have had to do something Really Horrible to prove to LV that 
he's really still on their side?

Redemption might be an ... ongoing need for our lovely Professor 
Snape.

Carol responds:
First, there's no indication that you have to "prove yourself" as a
candidate for induction into the DEs--I'm guessing that Snape had
Lucius' Malfoy's recommendation and credentials such as exceptional
marks in Potions, DADA, and possibly in Charms and Transfiguration as
well. There's no question that he was gifted with a wand (he knew all
those hexes at age eleven and we know he can duel), and I'm pretty
sure that Voldemort would have wanted to have this ambitious, cunning,
and intelligent young man on his side rather than having him work for,
say, the MoM.

Second, we have no evidence that the initiation ceremony involved rape
(or torture, given that these are children's books) or murder. It may
have involved nothing more than having the Dark Mark burned into the
new DE's arm and (probably) reciting an oath declaring lifelong
loyalty. The fact that Snape's Dark Mark pains him when Voldemort's
name is spoken is a strong indication that he has broken that oath.
The existence of any other "festivites" is pure speculation. (The
possibility, or even probablilty, that he witnessed other DEs
torturing Muggles or Voldemort's opponents is not a "fact" and should
not be labeled as such. The pain he feels on hearing the name
Voldemort, on the other hand, *is* a fact and can be supported by canon.)

As for what Snape was required to do, of course we don't know that,
either, but Voldemort seems to use the talents of his DEs when he
knows them rather than randomly assigning the same duties to everyone.
Bellatrix and her little gang (Rodolphus, Rabastan, and Barty Jr.)
seem to have been Cruciatus specialists. Mulciber specialized in the
Imperius Curse and "forced countless people to do horrific things"
(GoF Am. ed. 590). Travers, who helped murder the McKinnons, seems to
have preferred Avada Kedavra. Macnair, Buckbeak's would-be
executioner, specializes in dangerous creatures, both at the MoM and
for Voldemort. ("You shall have better victims than that soon,
Macnair. Lord Voldemort will provide," GoF Am. ed. 651. It's no
coincidence that Macnair was sent as emissary to the giants.) It would
make sense, given this tendency to use the DEs as their own
inclinations and abilities indicate, that Voldemort would have used
the young Snape for potion making. (There's more to potions than we've
seen so far, and LV was still working on insuring his own immortality
as well as using the potions as weapons. Veritaserum would have been
useful to Voldemort as well.) Snape's repertoire of curses and hexes
would have come in handy as well, particularly after he became a spy
and wanted to hide his disloyalty without resorting to using the
illegal and soul-corrupting Unforgiveable Curses, which he would not
want the MoM to find on his wand should he come under suspicion again.

I agree that the young Snape (pre-Hogwarts) probably stood by and did
nothing when his fellow DEs used the Unforgiveable Curses. How could
he avoid it if he was present? He could hardly say, "Don't, Lucius!
You'll go to Azkaban!" (The murder of Regulus Black at the hands of
his fellow DEs may have been the event that caused Snape to switch
sides, or at least pushed him in that direction.) And without doubt,
at least some of his potions were used to kill Voldemort's opponents,
which would make him an accessory to murder. But I don't think
Dumbledore would have hired him, however repentant he was, if he had
actually murdered anyone himself or performed any of the Unforgiveable
Curses. It would be too great a risk to his students, and particularly
the future student Harry Potter.

As for ongoing activities, the DE meetings stopped abruptly when Snape
was 21 or 22 because Voldemort was vaporized. They didn't begin again
until the end of GoF, when Snape (now about 36) was summoned to the
graveyard--and almost certainly didn't go because he couldn't apparate
from Hogwarts. At the end of GoF, he has some dangerous mission,
possibly to contact the DEs (Malfoy?) and explain why he wasn't at the
graveyard and reinstate himself in Voldemort's good graces.
(Occlumency would be essential if he had to communicate with Voldemort
directly.) Presumably he does attend DE meetings between GoF and OoP
because he is reporting to the Order on the DE's plans, showing them
the plans of a building (the MoM?) for one thing--but the DEs are not
engaged in torturing and killing at this point. They're concentrating
on the one thing that the newly resurrected Voldemort cares about at
the moment--finding a way to get to the Prophecy. For the rest of the
year, Snape is at Hogwarts, unable to attend any meetings, but perhaps
reporting to Voldemort or Malfoy under the pretense of being a spy for
the DE side.

Now that the majority of the DEs are in Azkaban, Voldemort's new
priority will almost certainly be getting them out. Assuming that
Snape has somehow managed to regain Voldemort's confidence and is not
under suspicion of possibly aiding the Order against the DEs in the
MoM, maybe Voldemort will expect him to aid in the escape. But raping
(in the HP books?) and killing? "Severus Snape is now no more a Death
Eater than I am," as DD says (paraphrased) in the Pensieve scene in
GoF. He isn't going to rape or torture anybody (sarcasm in the
classroom aside), and if he kills anyone, it will be in battle in the
last book. His role in the Order (as spy or informant or whatever) has
to remain consistent with the safety of Dumbledore's students. Sarcasm
is one thing; torture and murder are another. Severus Snape is
extremely intelligent and IMO he's not about to do anything that would
get him arrested or undermine Dumbledore's trust. 

Carol, who is trying to use canon and logic as the basis for her
speculations and to distinguish between fact and probability