New leader of the Order (Snape with Fawkes?)

[Rehan Shamim]

No: HPFGUIDX 132998

Hey everyone, I've been a longtime lurker but haven't really posted 
much since the time when OotP came out.  However, with new canon, 
I'm ready to roar once more...

I am throwing my hat in with those who think that Snape is a 
quadruple agent - that is, he is really still loyal to the Order.  I 
am writing this with the assumption he is a good guy, or else the 
rest of the post won't really be relevant.  However, I won't go into 
the evidence for that, since I have seen about 50 posts already that 
provide ample evidence for this theory.

My question is, now that Dumbledore's plan succeeded and he has 
successfully installed Snape as Voldemort's #2 man, what happens 
from here?  It will be of zero use to the Order if none of them 
realize Snape is still on their side.  Indeed, anybody in the Order 
is likely to hex or even kill Snape on sight, thus making Snape's 
highly placed position in Voldemort's hierarchy completely useless.

My initial reaction upon finishing HBP was that Dumbledore probably 
told one person in the Order about the plan between himself and 
Snape that would ultimately result in AD's death.  Presumably, this 
person would be Dumbledore's #2 man.  I was thinking Mad-Eye Moody. 
It would make sense - we know he fought in the first war, and that 
he and Dumbledore are very good friends.  

I thought it was curious that he wasn't in this book at all.  I 
figured it was possible that JKR left him out of the hospital wing 
scene after AD's death because she didn't want him to reveal to 
Harry (and the readers) that Snape was actually still a good guy 
just yet.

Then, I got to thinking, what if Dumbledore never appointed a 
successor, because he intended for it to be Snape?  Obviously Snape 
can't just waltz straight into 12 Grimmauld Place, because he would 
likely be killed by the rest of the Order.  This problem remains 
even if Snape isn't the new leader, but just needs to return to 12GP 
to report back to the Order.

Then I saw this quote, which provides what I believe to be support 
for the most amazing plot twist in the entire Harry Potter series.  
This is from the cub reporter interview:

Peter Humphreys for BBC Newsround. - Who did Fawkes previously 
belong to and will he play a vital role in the next book?

JK Rowling: I am not going to answer about the role in the next 
books, which probably gives you a big clue, and he has never been 
owned by anyone but Dumbledore. You will notice that when Harry goes 
back in the Pensieve in this book, Fawkes is never there, and no, I 
am sorry, not in this book, I take that back. When Harry has 
previously seen the study with a different headmaster he saw it with 
Dippet and Fawkes was not there then. Fawkes is Dumbledore's 
possession, not a Hogwarts possession. 

What is the full name of the Order?  The Order of the PHOENIX.  (All 
indications point to the phoenix being Fawkes.)  We saw Fawkes 
leaving Hogwarts at the end of HBP.  JKR's quote above strongly 
suggests that Fawkes will have a significant role in book 7, and she 
makes a point of noting that he belongs to Dumbledore, not Hogwarts.

When I read the quote, I began thinking of what role Fawkes could 
have.  What if Dumbledore had ordered Fawkes to remain loyal to 
Snape after his death?  (We certainly know Snape could use the 
healing effect of phoenix song with all the dirty work he has to 
do.)  Then, Snape uses this as "proof" that he is still a good guy 
to get back in the good graces of the Order.  They will likely 
believe this, as everyone knows that phoenixes don't trust dark 
wizards and are only loyal to the good guys, etc.  Finally, since it 
is the Order of the Phoenix, whoever Fawkes is loyal to might be the 
default leader of the group.  Snape does seem to know many things 
that the rest of the Order does not.

Whether Snape uses this simply to prove his loyalty to Dumbledore, 
or to stake his claim as leader of the Order, it would still be 
pretty cool.  What do you all think?  Any holes in the theory?

-Rehan