Was Snape's betrayal set up from Bk4?

[Tammy]

No: HPFGUIDX 133001

Lisa wrote:
> Potter experts help me out- This passage has been bugging me since I
> finished HPB yesterday:
> 
> GoF p. 651:
> Voldemort- "And here we have six missing Death Eaters...three dead in
> my service.  
> One, too cowardly to return...he will pay.  
> One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of
> course...
> and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already
> reentered my service."
> 
> Does he mean Snape is and *always was* his most faithful servant???
> Before HBP I thought Snape was the "one who left forever" and
> Karkaroff was the "one too cowardly to return." I still wasnt sure
> about his "most faithful servant", but now it seems that was Snape.
> Maybe I'm missing somehing completely obvious, But now it seems:
> 
> too cowardly to return- Karkaroff?
> gone forever- ????
> most faithful servant- Snape?
> 
> 
> Lisa


Tammy replies:

Snape himself addresses this (sort of) in Chapter Two of HBP... Page
28 of the Scholastic edition:

{Bellatrix Black speaking first}
"But you didn't return when he came back, you didn't fly back to him
at once when you felt the Dark Mark burn - "
"Correct. I returned two hours later. I returned two hours later. I
returned on Dumbledore's orders."
..... snipped passage to skip to relevant part......
"The Dark Lord's initial displeasure at my lateness vanished entirely,
I assure you, when I explained that I remained faithful, although
Dumbledore thought I was his man. Yes the Dark Lord thought that I had
left him forever, but he was wrong."

So yes, Snape is the one who left forever, but Snape managed to get
himself back into LV's good graces. I'm sure it took a lot of
explaining and a few painful curses, but Snape managed it.

-Tammy, who is carefully weighing out her three posts :)