Is Snape doomed? Spying On and For Everybody

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 125286


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Ehren" <clehrenet_81 at y...> wrote:
> 
> 
> Long time reader...first time poster, my apologies if this has 
> already been covered.
> 
> I do beleive that Snape is on DD's side whatever his motives are for 
> being there. However, is he the DE that has left Voldemort forever? 
> If he is I just do not understand how he could be a spy as well.
> 

bboyminn:

How about...

...Voldemort originally sent Snape to spy on Dumbledore. That would
mean that Snape would have to join the good guys and pretend to be
against Voldemort. 

Now after being on the good side for a while, Snape decides to really
join Dumbledore's side, but obviously doesn't bother to tell Voldemort
about it. That way he can stay cozy with the Dark Wizards and keep
spying ON them while appearing to spy FOR them. 

That way, Voldemort thinks Snape is working for the Dark Side, while
pretending to work for the good side.

On the other hand, Dumbledore thinks Snape is working for the Light
Side, while pretending to work for Dark Side.

That's a double agent; working both sides against each other.

So, each side expects Snape to betray them at some point in order to
prove to the /other/ side the he is actually working for them.

Since each side knows that Snape will have to betray them in some
minor way, they can forgive those actions as long as Snape appears to
also be providing valuable information to the side that appears to
have been betrayed. It's a give and take situation; each side expects
to lose a little now in hopes of gaining something greater later.

This works out perfect for Snape. He can stay with Dumbledore and work
for the school all these years, and still be friends with the Death
Eater-Lucius Malfoy. Lucius has put up a respectable front to the
world, but behind the scenes still supports the Dark Arts and the
Purebloods. I'm sure all the Death Eaters are doing the same, and
Snape is no different than any of them. He presents a respectible
front as a teacher to the world, but when he and his buddies are
quaffing ales and swapping stories, Snape is as /dark/ spoken as any
of them. 

Now Voldemort comes back. It's understandable that Snape can't
maintain his cover as a just-pretend-good-guy if he apparates out of
Hogwarts in the thick of things. So after the fact, Snape contacts
Malfoy and has him tell Voldemort that he is still spying for the Dark
Side, and that he is ready to return to Voldemort's service and
continue spy against Dumbledore. Of course, Snape's in the perfect
position to spy because he maintained a favorable relationship with
Dumbledore during all the intervening years.

On the other hand, because Snape has maintained his ties and his good
standing with the remaining Death Eaters, like Lucius Malfoy, he is
still in a perfect position to continue spying for Dumbledore. 

So, since Snape has to play the role of both friend and enemy to EACH
SIDE, at some point, he will have to betray each side, and at other
points he will have to support each side against the other. Only in
the final showdown, or some earlier heroic act, will we learn which
side Snape is really supporting. Personally, I think Snape is one of
the good guys, even if he isn't a nice guy.

The only way I can see, or that I have ever seen, that allows Snape to
return to Voldemort, is if Voldemort sent Snape to Dumbledore in the
first place.



> If Snape was a double agent for DD during the first war (GF pg.
> 590-1 US paperback) and can be presumed thats what he is doing now
> and  wouldn't Voldemort know GF713 OoP591? I mean, when Quirrel had
> Voldy hiding underneath his turban in SS/PS, don't you think he 
> would have known Snape had been warning Quirrel about where his 
> "loyalties lie".  So if Voldemort knows: why is Snape still hanging 
> out with Lucius?
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> Ehren- 
> who is rereading all the books in anticipation of the HBP!

bboyminn:

This interaction between Possessed!Quirrel and Snape are of no
consequence because Voldemort never makes his presents know to Snape.
As far as Snape is concerned he is just working against Quirrel. From
Snape's perspective, Voldemort doesn't come into the equation at all.
So, if Voldemort never makes his presences known, how can Snape be
suspected of working against Voldemort? 

I think at that time, Voldemort felt too vulnerable and felt the Stone
was far too valuable to risk revealing himself to anyone. And since,
Voldemort had been away for all those years, he had know way of
knowing if Snape would continue to support him if he did reveal
himself. So, Big-V played it safe and told no one. There would be
plenty of time to sort out loyalties once he had the Stone and had
returned himself to power.

Voldemort can't blame Snape for something that Snape knew nothing
about. Snape was just doing his job which was to appear loyal to
Dumbledore.

I've heard people argue against my position that Voldemort sent Snape
to spy on Dumbledore, but they have never offered a counter-theory
that even came remotely close to explaining what we clearly see is
happening in the story. 

You heard it here first ...again.

Steve/bboyminn.