Further thoughts on who knows what about the prophecy, particularly re: Snape

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 125053


So I was sitting at my son's biddy basketball practice yesterday... 
and, well, this can become quite tedious, as some of you know... so I 
started thinking some more about the prophecy and who knows what 
about it... and I had rather an epiphany of sorts in regards to 
Snape.  I have no idea why I never asked this question before –- 
surely most fans did ages ago.  

In spite of my HP moniker, I am actually not a Snape *apologist.*  A 
few here may know that I've adjusted my thoughts regarding Snape 
somewhat in the past 2 years.  This bit about the prophecy has the 
potential to adjust those even further.

I've gone off, on more than one occasion, about how it makes no sense 
for Snape to treat Harry as he does, at least to the extreme that he 
does, if he wants Prophecy Boy to trust him and to learn from him.  
I've argued that a person *truly* committed to bringing down LV would 
find a way to set aside his petty, and even his deep, hurts and 
dislikes for the good of the cause: read, to ensure that the brat 
Potter is learning what he can about potions, occlumency, Voldy and 
Voldy's tactics.  I realize now [rather a duh] that these arguments 
(or complaints, if you will) have been based upon the assumption that 
Snape *knows* part or all of the prophecy.  I'd like to consider the 
possibilities.


POSSIBILITY ONE:  SNAPE KNOWS (some or all of) THE CONTENTS OF THE 
PROPHECY

This raises many questions.  How would he have found out?  When would 
he have found out?  What would it mean if he knows?

*He might have been the Hog's Head eavesdropper, in which case he 
would know only the first portion of the prophecy.

*LV might have told him during his DE service, in which case he would 
know only the first portion of the prophecy.

*James or Lily might have told him [highly unlikely, I'll 
acknowledge, but trying to cover the bases here], in which case he 
might know the first part or the full contents.

*DD told him because:
     **he wanted to enlist his help and thought he should know this
     **he told all of The Order
     **he told key Order members [possibly including Snape, Black,   
       Lupin, McGonagall, M/M Weasley] based upon their 
       roles/interactions with Harry

IF Snape knows the first part of the prophecy, he knows either Harry 
or Neville is the wizard who possesses the power to vanquish Voldy.  
If this is fact, would it explain Snape's harsh, crappy & 
*singularly* negative treatment of Harry & Neville?  I think not.

IF Snape knows the prophecy in toto, he knows Harry is the one with 
the power to vanquish Voldy.  If this is fact, would it explain 
Snape's harsh, crappy & *singularly* negative treatment of Harry?  I 
think not.


POSSIBILITY TWO:  SNAPE DOES NOT KNOW (any of) THE CONTENTS OF THE 
PROPHECY

For this to make sense with what we have seen so far, we would have 
to assume that Snape is the kind of guy who would simply *do* 
whatever DD asked of him without question, without the requirement of 
a rationale being given.  Is this believable?  

*I* got the sense at the end of GoF, when DD sent Snape on his 
mysterious, presumably highly dangerous mission, that they had 
already discussed this in advance, because Snape understood the risk 
in what was being asked of him.  Would it make sense that DD would 
discuss SOME such matters of importance to the war effort and not 
others?  Possibly....

Certainly Snape's not knowing would explain much more of his manner 
with Harry.  That is, it would free him to truly believe Harry is NOT 
special or important.  It would make his unwillingness to change his 
methods & tactics for a clearly not-learning-to-full-capabilities 
Harry more understandable.  It might mean that he simply believes DD 
favors Harry for no reason other than an old fondness for James & 
Lily.  


So what would be the ADVANTAGES or DISADVANTAGES of telling Snape 
and/or others about the prophecy?

ADVANTAGES:
*Those who are fighting Voldy would know of Harry's absolute 
importance
*They would understand the need to watch Harry closely, to protect 
him, and to teach/show/tell/train him fully

DISADVANTAGES:
*The potential for a leak, deliberate or otherwise; hence:
     **LV/DEs could find out
     **Harry could find out
     **The WW at large could find out

Question:  So would each of these be a bad thing?  In what way(s)?

*If there is still a suspicion that Snape is a double-agent (or that 
someone in The Order is a spy for LV), this knowledge would make 
him/her more inclined to "serve up" Harry.
*It would make it easier to target others close to Harry as a way of 
drawing him out, a la Sirius.

So what do others make of this?  Would the disadvantages of sharing 
the prophecy with Snape or others have outweighed the advantages of 
sharing it?  What are the odds that Snape has learned of the prophecy 
in one of the above ways?  What are the odds that he hasn't a clue?

For me, if Snape does NOT know -- and if one believes Snape is the 
kind of man who could follow orders blindly while still holding onto 
his resentments & loathing -- then his behavior towards Harry finally 
makes sense.  If he in fact DOES know all -- or even part -- of the 
prophecy, then I still hold to my previous gripes about his inability 
to treat Harry like the valuable resource he is [beyond saving his 
life on occasion :-)].

One final thought.  If NO ONE besides DD & Harry presently knows the 
contents of the prophecy, will we now see DD telling a selection of 
others, now that Harry does know?  Will DD consider the failure of 
Occlumency, for instance, and see the need for (key) Order members to 
know *why* DD has issued the instructions he has?  Will he let Harry 
choose whether to tell others?

Siriusly Snapey Susan