Snape and the Order

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93793

Inge wrote:
> Yesterday a friend and I got to talking about Snape and when he 
> actually joined the Order. Suddenly both of us had doubts about that. 
> Help anyone?
> Was Snape a member of the Order during the First War leading up to 
> Voldemorts downfall? 
> Or did every member of the Order at that time at least know about 
> Snape switching sides and acting as a spy for the Order?
> Or didn't Snape become a member till after Voldemorts disappearing?
> Im confused - and I don't want to be....
> 
> Inge

Carol:
I know that Potioncat has already partially answered your question, so
I'll try not to duplicate what she said.

Snape was definitely not a member of the original Order; he "rejoined
our side" as a spy for Dumbledore only, as far as I can tell--probably
as a test of his loyalty. It would probably have been dangerous to
everyone, including Snape himself, if he had been admitted to the
Order while James was still a member of it. James would never have
trusted him, and their enmity might well have destroyed the Order. So
I think that Snape was working in the utmost secrecy, with only DD
aware of what he was doing until he was hauled in front of Crouch as a
suspected DE and cleared by Dumbledore's testimony. That was the
point, I'm guessing, when DD decided to give Snape a teaching position
to keep him safe.

Unlike Potioncat, I think he became a teacher before Voldemort's fall
(around September 1 rather than November 1 or so). That's the only way
I can explain the DEs in Azkaban knowing about Pettigrew when Snape
apparently didn't. If he was at Hogwarts that Halloween night (and the
week or so before while the Secret Keeper arrangements were being
made), he wouldn't know that Peter, not Sirius, betrayed the Potters.
He'd be as much in the dark as Dumbledore apparently was.

The Order itself, AFAIK, was dormant, virtually nonexistent, between
Voldemort's fall and Pettigrew's escape at the end of PoA. During that
time, the DEs who escaped Azkaban knew that Snape was teaching at
Hogwarts, but they probably assumed that he had told the same lie they
did ("I was under the Imperious curse") to get out of going to prison.
As for the DEs in Azkaban, they clearly never mentioned Snape in
Sirius's hearing or he would have known that Snape had been a DE
(Potioncat has already given you the quote); it was only Pettigrew's 
blunder (and possibly Karkaroff's treachery) that they were concerned
about.

Although Snape has presumably been secretly aiding Dumbledore during
his entire fourteen-year stay at Hogwarts, preparing against LV's
eventual return, I think it was a private arrangement between
themselves for much of that time. Clearly Dumbledore relies on him and
trusts him in all five books, but it's only after Pettigrew's escape
in PoA that Snape (as well as McGonagall, Tonks, Kingsley Shacklefold,
and the Weasleys), becomes a first-time member of the Order,
supplementing its few surviving original members (Lupin, Sirius, Mad
Eye, Sturgis Podmore, et al.).

I hope I haven't mixed too much theory/speculation into this post. The
straight answer is, Snape was a spy for DD before Voldemort fell and
became a teacher either two months before or very shortly after the
events at Godric's Hollow, but he didn't become a member of the Order
until it was reconstituted after Pettigrew's escape. That much is
canon; the rest of this post is my opinion.

Carol