PoA - Snape knew?/Who is the real dark character in the series?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 143478

Alla wrote:
<snip>
> 
> As to the "getting rid of marauders" being the driving force of the
books, I think that there are some very significant hints that Snape
getting rid of Marauders for good is ALREADY one of the driving forces
behind major events. Not the only one and probably not the most
important, but to me it absolutely could be there.
> 
> Let's see. We know that Snape told Voldemort about first part of the
Prophecy. He may have tried to save the Potters of course, or not.

Carol responds:
But Harry had not been born yet at the time of the Prophecy, which
takes place on a "cold, wet night," presumably either in winter 1979
or spring 1980. So at that time neither Severus nor Voldemort could
have known who the Prophecy referred to. Possibly, once young Snape
realized that LV intended to kill the baby and his parents, he was
keeping an eye on the birth announcements in the Daily Prophet. He may
have gone to Dumbledore immediately after the births of Harry and
Neville were announced. But until that time, he could not possibly
have known who would be "born as the seventh month died." (BTW, I
don't think he knew who Trelawney was since neither he nor she had yet
taught at Hogwarts, so he couldn't have revealed that info to LV.
Trelawney probably didn't know who he was, either, but recognized him
later when he became the Potions teacher.)
> 
Alla wrote:
> We know that Snape threatened to feed Sirius and Lupin to Dementors.
Of course one can say that he would not have done it,ever, but I
speculate that the only reason that he did not do it in the forest was
because he wanted to be recognised for capturing them.

Carol responds:
Snape did not overhear the entire conversation in the Shrieking Shack,
nor did he see any evidence that Peter Pettigrew was actually present.
In his state of mind--determined to prove that he was right about the
werewolf helping the homicidal maniac and mass murderer (his view)
into Hogwarts, his restraint in *not* killing Sirius when he had the
chance is amazing. I do agree that he wanted credit for capturing them
and for rescuing the kids from the werewolf. What's important, I
think, is not what he wanted to do, but what he actually did--which is
conjure up stretchers to convey the unconscious kids and "murderer" to
Hogwarts. Snape also had the opportunity to murder Remus Lupin, or
expose him before he endangered any students, by "accidentally"
messing up the potion. Instead, "he made it, and he made it
perfectly," to quote Lupin in HBP.

Alla wrote: 
> We know that Snape let it slip about Remus' condition. Of course it
is possible that he was concerned about safety of his students, but I
think that it is just as reasonable to assume that the only thing he
was concerned about was to make poor Remus leave his first paying job
in years. Maybe Snape was hoping he would starve to death or something
like that?

Carol responds:
The truth about Lupin would have come out in any case. Fudge by this
time knew that he was a werewolf, and Lupin himself would have
resigned as an act of contrition. He had failed to take his potion and
run outside knowing that there were students on the grounds: Scabbers
was in Ron's pocket, so if he saw PP on the map, he also saw Ron. It
was his *duty* to resign, as I'm sure DD would have reminded him.
(Besides, he was a victim of the DADA curse. You teach that class, you
 lose your job--or worse. Voldemort has made sure of that.)
> 
Alla wrote:
> Oh, and of course we have Snape telling Bella that he played a role 
> in Sirius' death. Now, we know that Kreacher went to Malfoys, but as 
> far as I remember there is nothing in canon which stops me from 
> speculating that Snape gave the information to Voldemort about 
> special bond between Harry and Sirius thus making Voldemort decide 
> that the person he should lure Harry with would be Sirius OR that 
> Snape went to Malfoys too with the same information Kreacher did, 
> just in case you know. :-)

Carol responds:
Surely Wormtail, who was with Voldemort for a full year before
restoring him, would have informed Voldemort of the details of his
escape, including Lupin's transformation into a werewolf and Black's
Animagus form. And Voldemort would already know that they had both
been members of the Order of the Phoenix. Neither Snape nor Kreacher
can reveal the location of the headquarters of the Order, but Kreacher
provides the details about Black's relationship with Harry. (That's
canon. Snape going to the Malfoys is speculation.) 

What else could Snape have revealed besides this information? I think
he's simply lying to Bellatrix about revealing information on Black,
and probably on Emmeline Vance as well. (As I noted in an earlier
post, he's taken care to establish that Bellatrix is no longer in a
position to confirm the truth or falsity of his statements by asking
Voldemort about them.) I can't prove that I'm right, but it's
certainly as likely that Snape was lying as that he provided any
useful information on Black other than that provided by Pettigrew or
Kreacher. 

Whatever Snape's motive is (and I do think his remorse and his loyalty
to Dumbledore are genuine), I'm willing to bet it isn't "getting rid
of the Marauders." He owed James a life debt. For that reason alone,
he wouldn't have wanted him to die. And he has saved, or attempted to
save, Harry's life more than once, and rescued him from a Crucio in
HBP when he could easily have let the DE continue torturing him if
hurting Harry gave him sadistic pleasure. Yes, Snape has some old
grudges against the Marauders that he's unwilling to let go, but he is
not responsible for Lupin's dismissal or for Sirius Black's death, and
he's only partially responsible for James's (and Lily's) murders. Lest
we forget, it was Wormtail who betrayed the Potters and Voldemort who
killed them, and neither of them has shown any trace of remorse.

Carol, wondering why some posters still think that Snape was at
Godric's Hollow when we know from HBP that he was teaching at Hogwarts
(and JKR has made it clear that Wormtail witnessed the Potters'
murders and retrieved Voldemort's wand)