Did Snape know about Quirrell!mort? (Was: Snape's half truths in "Spinner's End"

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 149462

Magda wrote: 
<I've snipped the parts where you agree with me> 
> But I don't believe that Snape (or Dumbledore) knew that Voldemort
was attached to the back of Quirrell's head.  They probably thought
something was up with Quirrell - after all, unlike HRH they knew that
Quirrell's manner had changed during his sabbatical away from
> Hogwarts.  I'm sure that when Snape did find out about Voldemort's
literal possession of Quirrell, he reviewed his previous conversations
carefully and came up with good alibis in case they were needed in the
future. 

Carol responds:
Snape must have known that something was going on with the turban and
pegged that as the key difference, the thing that was making Quirrell
act differently. He also, as you say, would have noted the changes in
his behavior and known that he was terrified of something or someone.
He knew that Quirrell was after the Sorceror's Stone, and if as you
say, he knew that LV was not dead, he must have known, or suspected,
whom DD was hiding the stone from. "Greedy, unworthy Quirrell" after
the Stoen for himself? Why? This si clearly a lie for LV's and
Bellatrix's benefit.

Snape would have known that Quirrell had gone to Albania ostensibly
looking for vampires. If he (Snape) was working closely with
Dumbledore, as I think he was, he would have known where Voldemort was
hiding. So even if Voldemort wasn't hiding in the turban (or
possessing Quirrell), Snape would have suspected that it was Voldemort
who was manipulating and controlling Quirrell. What can "where your
loyalties lie" mean other than with Dumbledore or with Voldemort? I
don't think Snape is talking about loyalty to himself vs. Quirrell's
self-interest or he would have phrased the statement differently. I
think he means loyalty to a master or leader, the undead Dark Lord or
the only wizard that the Dark Lord fears.

And another thing that I thought of as I was writing to a fellow
poster offlist: We've seen Snape clutch at his Dark Mark twice as if
it pained him, once in GoF when Crouch!Moody is speaking of Death
Eaters who walked free ("some spots don't come off") and once in OoP
when Harry speaks Voldemorts' name. (I have an idea that DDM!Snape's
Dark Mark hurts him when it senses disloyalty to its master, but I
won't go into that here.) The Dark Mark must have been at least dimly
visible during SS/PS because Voldie was stirring in the WW. (Okay, he
was possessing Quirrell, but he was stronger than he had been when he
was possessing animals in Albania so the Dark Mark would have been
less faded.) Maybe Snape's Dark Mark hurt him when he was around
Quirrell and that was a clue to the possession?

In any case, we know that Snape is a Legilimens. We know that he
distrusted Quirrell. Why would he not have used Legilimency on
Quirrell, who is clearly weaker than he is and afraid of him, to find
out Quirrell's secret? Voldemort, looking out the back of Quirrell's
head, would not have known what was happening, and once Snape knew the
secret, he would have been very careful to use Occlumency if there was
any chance of Voldemort's looking at him. Once DDM!Snape knew that LV
was possessing Quirrell, he would have informed Dumbledore. And that,
perhaps, was the point when Dumbledore moved the Mirror of Erised into
the third-floor corridor as the final protection. And I can't imagine
Dumbledore hiding the stone in the first place if he didn't know that
Voldemort was after it. 

Carol, wondering (apropos of Snape if not of this thread) whether Neri
saw the Acid Pops candy buried beneath disks and papers on JKR's
virtual desk and thought of tears falling onto Snape's chest :-)