Snape's position

[suehpfan]

No: HPFGUIDX 92447

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> 
wrote:
> > Sue wrote:
> > > The big question to me is why is Snape still alive.  He is too 
> > > smart to just be running around for Lucius Malfoy while Crabb 
and 
> > > Goyle are showing up at important events like the MoM.  
> <big snip> 
> 
> 
> > Susan here, checking in:
> > Well, Sue, I do NOT know what the story is w/ Severus Snape any 
> more 
> > than anybody else [and a lot less than many esteemed members of 
> this 
> > list].  **For now** I am taking some things at face value [while 
> > some of those esteemed members are probably rolling their eyes at 
> my 
> > naivete].  
> > 
> > Assumptions:
> > 1) Snape really was a DE [well, that one's a fact]
> > 2) Snape really did choose to leave Voldy before his downfall
> > 3) Snape really is on the side of The Order
> > 4) Snape really is spying on Voldy while having convinced Voldy 
> he's 
> > spying on DD & The Order
> <big snip> 
> 
> 
> Neri:
> Accepting the assumptions above for a minute, I'll try to answer 
just 
> one small part: how could Snape not know in advance about the MoM 
> raid, when even Crabbe and Goyle (the DEs) know about it?
> 
> In a secret military organization such as the DEs, everybody 
operates 
> on a need-to-know basis. Crabbe and Goyle most likely did not know 
> about the LV's plans for Harry. There was no need for them to know. 
> snip> So was Snape told about the MoM operation in advance? The 
first 
> question is: does he need to know? If not, he is simply not told, 
> however high he is in the DE organization. From LV's point of view, 
I 
> think it is not necessary for Snape to know about the Grand Plan, 
but 
> I can see two reasons why it may be of advantage to warn him at the 
> day of the operation. First, as a teacher Snape might find out that 
> Harry is trying to get away from Hogwarts and naturally detain him, 
> unless he is told to let Harry go. Secondly, Harry will need some 
> transportation to the MoM (LV was probably assuming Harry will take 
> someone's broom) and Snape might prevent it from him. So all the 
> information Snape is likely to get is, several hrs before the 
> operation: "Potter will be trying to get to London. Let him do so". 
> No need to even tell Snape where in London and why. If Snape indeed 
> got such directions, and we assume he is actually on the side of 
> Good, he was probably thinking "Harry must not get to London, but 
it 
> mustn't look as if I was the one who prevented him from doing so". 
> Then Umbridge detained Harry and his friends anyhow, so Snape 
thought 
> he doesn't have to do anything except let the Order know, which he 
> did.
> 
> I hope this hepls,
> 
> Neri

Thanks for the response (everyone). I am still bothered (as is at 
least one other poster I read tonight) about the reason Snape is 
still alive.  I think I must be giving him too much credit.  There is 
no other way for this all to work unless Voldemort and Malfoy both 
see Snape as less capable than most of us who read the books do.  

It seems to me there were so many things Snape could have done to 
stop Harry from going to the MoM, and didn't.  Why not follow them 
into the forest?  He could have said he was helping Umbridge with 
the "weapon" and stopped them from leaving.  He could have contacted 
DD and told him Harry and co. had left, possibly getting DD to the 
DoM sooner, etc.

DD as puppetmaster?
Snape the pawn?
Snape the evil capitulater with Voldemort?

Obviously I'm going to have to sit on this one until the end, 
probably of book 7 would be my guess.

I'll try to think about it less :)!

Sue