Another Snape thread

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 151903

Carol:  
> Ideas, anyone? What do you think Snape will be up to, mostly off page,
> in Book 7? Surely all those revelations about him in HBP don't lead to
> a dead end on the tower.

zgirnius:
I have been giving this matter some thought. First, I think your 
suggestion of 'faking' crimes could be an option, but it owuld be hard 
to do if Snape were part of (in command of) a group. An alternative way 
out might be to leak the information about the raid in advance to the 
Order...if they showed up in force it would be a reason to call a raid 
off. 

I can see ways around the problem of being believed. First, I have seen 
a suggestion somewhere online (maybe even here!) that Snape's Patronus 
might change to a Phoenix. Since people in the Order would know thay 
was Dumbledore's Patronus, they might believe a message such a Patronus 
brought. Alternatively, where did Fawkes go? I bet oif he brought a 
message, it would be taken seriously...

Personally I doubt the events of the Tower were part of a worked out 
plan. But if they were, Dumbledore would have seen the problem just as 
you and I do. He would have shared this part of the plan with someone, 
and so Snape would have a secret contact within the Order. (If this 
scenario holds, I vote for Aberforth as the contact).

I can also see one duty Voldemort might assign Snape instead of killing 
Muggles (or whoever). I think it is possible he might be getting antsy 
about his Horcruxes merely from Slughorn's presence at the school all 
year. Did Dumbledore know of his interest in a seven-part soul? Also, 
the Ministry was aware of Dumbledore's disappearances. And what they 
know, I suspect, Voldemort also knows, through one source or another. 
We also know that Voldemort has entrusted Horcruxes to his DEs in the 
past. (Lucius and the Diary for sure, Bellatrix and the locket, I also 
suspect). He might have Snape do something to protect one of the other 
Horcruxes.

Finally, I am not so sure that Snape will first encounter Harry during 
the final, climactic sequence in which Harry defeats Voldemort. I think 
it is possible Harry may meet him along the way. 

I don't have any ideas about his healing abilities. But I wonder about 
his alternative way to deal with Dementors. Is this something Voldemort 
knows about/could use? Or will it come up in some other way?