Snape's DE past (Was: Favorite Snape Scenes)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 122536


Vivamus wrote:
<snip> 
> The only justification I can see for his {Snape's] behavior towards
the Gryffindors is that he is acting as a spy again, pretending to be
a loyal DE, and so must be consistently nasty towards them where the
Slytherins will see it.  It's hard to see him doing that, with DD
publicly testifying that he was a spy, <snip>

Carol responds:
Snape's own hearing, in which he was cleared of all charges, was
apparently a small affair that was not publicized. His name did not
appear on the list of DEs found innocent by reason of Imperius
(Malfoy, nott, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Macnair, et al.--the ones Harry
named as being present in the graveyard scene). Karkaroff's hearing
was before about 200 members of the Wizengamot, but because Karkaroff
was doing a sort of plea bargain, exchanging names of fellow DEs for
his own freedom, neither the public nor the press was present (Ritat
Skeeter attends Bagman's hearing, not Karkaroff's). Apparently
Dumbledore's statement to the Wizengamot that Snape switched sides and
spied for him before Godric's Hollow was sufficient to ensure the
silence of the Wizengamot members. Clearly Snape's DE past is not a
matter of public knowledge, or, as I said in another post, three
quarters of the parents would write letters of protest to Dumbledore
and Rita Skeeter would have played up that story rather than Hagrid's
being a half-giant.

Carol