Snape's defection: the timeline question

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 151206

Neri:
> If Snape indeed "changed sides", one wonders how come he didn't turn 
> in Lucius, Bella, Rodolfus, Rabastan, Avery, McNair, Nott, Crabbe, 
> Goyle, Rookwood, or in fact any other DE that we know of, even after 
> GH. 

Pippin:
But Neri, they *were* turned in. At least Lucius, Macnair, Avery, Nott,
Crabbe and Goyle were accused and acquitted, and the group of Death 
Eaters Crouch Jr was caught with had "talked their way out of 
Azkaban." Lucius claimed he was under the Imperius curse, and I 
suppose the others were equally convincing. Apparently nobody 
knew about Rookwood except Karkaroff. 

It's possible Dumbledore cut some deals of his own, after all he's no
fan of Azkaban, but from  Snape's "sudden movement"  they may 
have believed Malfoy's story. 

Pippin