Snape the Spy (WAS Re: Who was responsible for Sirius' death? ...)

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 167676


> > zgirnius before:
> > Snape confirmed that Voldemort was getting stronger in GoF.
> 
> Alla:
> 
> He did, but doesn't JKR inserts there DD saying that he could have 
> figure it out without Snape? ( paraphrasing)
> 
> Could that be a hint that the only information Snape brings is the 
one 
> that could be deciphered without him and he would be safe saying it 
> anyways?

zgirnius:
I could be a hint to us from the author, all other things being 
equal. Not from Dumbledore to Harry, though, he belibes in Snape at 
that point in my view. And we don't know the timing of the 
conversation, just when Harry learns of it, so it could have been a 
confirming clue at a time when Dumbledore wasn;t sure. He had some 
idea it was coming from Trelawney's second prophecy, oif which Snape 
might or might not know.

I don't, however, consider all other things equal.

> Alla:
> 
> Possibly, but I was always suspicious of **him** coming to the 
kitchen. 
> Isn't Snape name never mentioned there? I could be wrong - OOP is 
the 
> book which I barely reread.

zgirnius:
Yes, you are wrong. He most certainly does appear, giving a report at 
the Order meeting from which Harry is excluded, the day he arrives at 
12 GP.

> OotP:
> Fred heaved a deep sigh.

> 'Shame. I really fancied finding out what old Snape's been up to.'

> 'Snape!' said Harry quickly. 'Is he here?'

> 'Yeah,' said George, carefully closing the door and sitting down on 
one of the beds; Fred and Ginny followed. 'Giving a report. Top 
secret.'

... and a follow up after the meeting ends...

> OotP:
> The three of them looked cautiously over the banisters. The gloomy 
hallway below was packed with witches and wizards, including all of 
Harry's guard. They were whispering excitedly together. In the very 
centre of the group Harry saw the dark, greasy-haired head and 
prominent nose of his least favourite teacher at Hogwarts, Professor 
Snape. Harry leant further over the banisters. He was very interested 
in what Snape was doing for the Order of the Phoenix



> Dana:
> I was wondering about his spying for the Order and the so-called 
> great personal risk, he endures because of it. 

zgirnius:
The one unavoidable risk of his job as a spy is facing Voldemort 
while hiding information from him or lying to him. Thed consequences 
of discovery are quite serious. Naturally, if Snape is neither lying 
nor concealing information from Voldemort, there is no risk. I an 
just convinced that Snape has hidden information.

Voldemort is in no hurry to kill Dumbledore. If he knew that 
Dumbledore had tangled with a certain curse on a certain black ring 
over the summer, I think he would find a different way to torture the 
Malfoys than leaving the task of killing the man who is destroying 
his Horcruxes to an unqualified teenager.

I also don't think he knows about Snape's role in sending the Order 
to the MoM, because that I don't think he would forgive. It was a 
disloyal act for a Death Eater.

Naturally, since I believe he is a spy for the Order, I think he has 
a lot more to hide than that.

Assuming these other risks you insist he ought to assume (such as  
thanking Harry and assuring him Sirius will be taken care of in front 
of Umbridge and Draco) is suicidal or sloppy, not risky.

> Dana:
>Then it occurred to 
> me, what would have put Snape more at risk, returning to LV or not 
> returning? 

zgirnius:
Absolutely staying away, unless Dumbledore offered him protection. I 
think he would have, personally, for his service in the first war. 
Dumbledore's words to and concern for him before he leaves to go back 
to Voldemort suggest to me Snape volunteered.

> Dana:
> And of course like Snape 
> claims himself, he had 16 year of information to offer, so the 
chance 
> of him being killed on the spot, was pretty low. 

zgirnius:
Yes, and I am sure Snape spent a good deal of time putting together 
his story and preparing himself. I actually think being killed on the 
spot was a reasonable chance, though a lot less than 50%. Voldemort 
must have been in a foul mood. But once Snape had a chance to say 
anything in his own defense, I think the odds improved in his favor, 
so long as he did not slip in his Occlumency.

Death is of course not the only unpleasant thing thta can happen to 
someone Voldemort is peeved at, though.

> Dana:
> And do we see Snape, do anything that truly risks his DE friends? I 

zgirnius:
Sending the Order seems to me the perfect example of this. If he did 
not do it, there would be basically no chance of failure. Instead 
Lucius is in jail and Bella is in trouble with the boss.
 
Finally, we do not see Snape act to protect individual Order members. 
He does engage in dangerous activities that further that agenda, 
though, like trying to apprehend Black and his accomplice in PoA. He 
also does protect Harry, who of course is not an Order member, but 
surely matters.