Snape's half truths in "Spinner's End"

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 149325

I am fairly certain that Snape's explanations to Bellatrix in
"Spinner's End" are a mixture of truths, half truths, and lies. The
problem is determining which statements are which, but two of them
seem paarticularly suspicious to me. 

A bit of background first to support my view that Snape's answers to
Bellatrix in general can't be taken at face value as the full truth: 
 
We know that Bellatrix is suspicious of Snape and that it is necessary
to convince her of his loyalty. WE know that LV trusts no one and that
Snape would not be alive if he had not at least half-persuaded LV of
his loyalty (as Lucius Malfoy did in the graveyard). Given Snape's
rhetorical question to Bellatrix in "Spinner's End," "Do you really
think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those
questions?" (Am. ed. 26), it seems probable that his responses to her
(with the exception of the new and questionable information regarding
Sirius Black and Emmeline Vance), are essentially, if not exactly,
those he had already provided to Voldemort when he returned to him at
the end of GoF. And it seems equally likely that these responses were
carefully prepared well in advance of the meeting with Voldemort two
hours after the events in the graveyard scene in GoF, on Dumbledore's
orders: "If you are ready . . . if you are prepared" (Am. ed. 713).
Both DD and Snape knew, at least from the moment that the Dark Mark
began to grow more distinct, that LV was alive and growing stronger.
It was necessary, even before the events in the graveyard, for Snape
to prepare his tale and to know exactly what to conceal to avoid any
appearance of loyalty to Dumbledore. And more recent events also must
be explained or concealed, for example his sending the Order to the
MoM and his role in saving DD from the ring Horcrux.

We know that Snape is a superb Occlumens, and there are hints in both
the first Occlumency lesson in OoP and in "Spinner's End" that he is
using Occlumency to lie to LV without detection. (I can supply the
quotes if anyone wants them but am trying to be concise here.) Without
question he is suppressing information in his answers to Bellatrix
(see previous paragraph) that he must also have concealed from LV or
he would not be alive (unless LV knows what he's doing but has other
uses for him, but I don't want to go into that here). 

We have seen Snape tell partial truths in other instances, notably in
telling Draco only about the provision of the UV requiring Snape to
protect him (not to "help" him or "do the deed" if it appears that
Draco will fail. I'm half-convinced that Snape was not bluffing when
he told Narcissa and Bellatrix that he knew what Draco's task was, but
even that would be a half-truth rather than a truth, as he certainly
did not know about the vanishing cabinet or he would not have tried to
use Legilimency on Draco (whose clumsy attempt at blocking him was
easily detectable, very different from the more sophisticated
Occlumency that Snape apparently uses on LV).

Without examining every explanation that Snape gives to Bella in
"Spinner's End," I want to point out two that strike me as probable
half-truths or partial truths. One is Snape's assertion that he
thought that LV was dead, which seems improbable if he was in DD's
confidence and has been working with him from at least SS/PS to help
defeat Voldemort, which would require his knowledge that LV wasn't
dead. Surely the Dark Mark had faded but not disappeared altogether as
it would have done if LV were really dead? Possibly Snape thought or
hoped that LV would not return, that he was permanently defeated, but
having been told by LV himself that LV was taking steps to protect
himself from death (and perhaps even aided him in protecting his
mortal body, as opposed to his soul, from death), it seems unlikely
that Snape ever believed that LV was dead. (Probably Lucius Malfoy and
the others didn't believe it, either; certainly Bellatrix didn't.)

The other is Snape's assertion that he tried to thwart the "unworthy"
Quirrell without realizing that LV was inside Quirrell's head. The lie
(or half-truth) that Snape thought LV was dead would be necessary to
make the half-truth about thwarting Quirrell without knowing he was
possessed believable. But Snape is a Legilimens, and he could have
read Quirrell's mind fairly easily without detection. If Quirrell
didn't detect the invasion, LV, looking out the back of Quirrell's
head, would not have detected it, either. And once Snape knew or
suspected what was going on, he would have avoided looking at the back
of Quirrell's head or used his sophisticated version of Occlumency to
conceal his suspicions if he was forced to do so.

In short, I think that Snape knew that LV was coming back and that LV
was possessing Quirrell. Again, I'm sure that Snape prepared the story
that he told LV after he failed to show up in the graveyard very
carefully, and these two statements strike me as particularly likely
to be lies or half truths that he originally used to protect himself
from death at LV's hands and repeated to Bellatrix to persuade her of
his loyalty to LV, essentially placing himself in the same category as
Lucius Malfoy and concealing his role as Dumbledore's agent or spy.

Carol, wondering what everyone else thinks about Snape's "spin" on
these two questions and his use of half-truths in general