[HPforGrownups] JKR's crying at the end of writing DH/ Double agent's death

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 171533

From: dumbledore11214 <dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com>
>Hm, I think that you are using **double agent** to have the same 
>meaning as spy, right?
>
>Because if you are arguing that Snape as **double agent**, meaning 
>that he is playing both sides equally - reporting information to BOTH 
>Dumbledore and Voldemort in the equal way, then I am really really 
>not sure what is so tragic about his situation?

Bart:
This can be a BIT confusing, so I'm going to break it down. 

You have two sides in a contention. A double agent is a spy who pretends to be working for one side, but is really working for the other. Now, depending on how much each side knows, the agent can be a triple agent, quadruple agent, on up. Snape either is a double agent, pretending to work for the Death Eaters (DE's) when he is really working for the Order of the Phoenix (OOP's), or he WAS a triple agent, where he was an agent of the DE's pretending to work as a double agent for the OOP's, and is currently just an agent for the DE's. The thing is, WE DON'T KNOW. And that's the problem with double agents. Even a loyal person, when in close contact with an enemy, can become sympathetic to the enemy's cause. 

Someone who is out for himself in the spy game is called a "freelancer". A prominent real world example is Ahmed Chalabi, who was instrumental in getting the United States (and Britain) to decide to invade Iraq. It turns out that he was in the pay of a number of different countries, each of whom had their own reasons for wanting the U.S. to invade Iraq. While there is much disagreement on the actions taken based partially on his information, there is little disagreement as to its lack of accuracy and its origins.  

In a couple of weeks, we will determine if Snape is:

A) A double agent, really working for the OOP's (DDM!Snape)
B) Formerly a triple agent for the DE's, currently an agent for the DE's (ESE!Snape)
C) A freelancer, ready to go to whichever side benefits him the most (OFH!Snape)

Bart