Who knew Snape was a DE Re: What if other teachers behaved like Snape?

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 101234

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "darrin_burnett" 
<bard7696 at a...> wrote:

> But it is not exactly a secret that Snape was a DE. It was said in 
> open court. Rita Skeeter was there. Fudge should have known.

It is a secret. Sirius does not know, in GoF, that Snape was a DE. 
In fact, he can't believe that Dumbledore would knowingly hire 
him if that were the case. (chapter 27, GoF) Wouldn't the parents 
and the Daily Prophey  be at least as exercised about that as 
they are about werewolves and half-giants? Wouldn't Umbridge 
want to question Snape about his past, and whether he knew the 
whereabouts of Sirius Black?

 It's odd that Fudge didn't tell her. But then he would have had to 
admit that Snape's mark was genuine and that Voldemort had 
returned. So instead he's dismissive-- asks what Dumbledore 
and his staff are playing at. He probably can't believe that 
Dumbledore would knowingly hire a former DE either. 

Rita Skeeter was not present at Karkaroff's trial AFAWK. She was 
at Bagman's. The trial of the Longbottom Four was also public, 
or so Sirius reports.  However, we have no information about 
whether Karkaroff's trial was open or not. Of course there were a 
lot of people present, but it seems there's no limit to how many 
can be restrained by a Secret Keeper spell. 

It is curious that Sirius believes that Karkaroff was able to betray 
a number of Death Eaters "he put a load of other people into 
Azkaban in his place" (GoF ch 19) when from what we see in the 
Pensieve, Karkaroff actually betrayed only Rookwood. The other 
people he tried to give away had already been discovered...and 
by whom? 

One of Dumbledore's useful spies, I suppose. My theory is  
Snape's cover is intact because Karkaroff was blamed for all his 
betrayals. 

Pippin