Snape's supposed involvement in the murder of Sirius

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 169076

zgirnius:
> If Peter was talking (and why whould Dumbledore and Snape believe he
was not?), none of this was news to Voldemort. He should have known 
Sirius was an Animagus, and that Sirius offered Harry a home and 
Harry, who has lousy guarduians, accepted joyfully. This is all stuff
Scabbers/Peter knows.
>
Carol responds:

Exactly. Voldemort knows as of the first chapter of GoF and probably
before that Wormtail is a rat Animagus ("You know that I can disguise
myself most effectively," Wormtail says). Surely, Wormtail has told
him the whole story of his escape from his former friends, the dog
Animagus and the werewolf. (If he didn't tell it voluntarily,
Voldemort, being a Legilimens and fond of the Cruciatus Curse, would
have forced the whole story out of him.) Moreover, he would have told
Voldemort (perhaps when Harry was a baby) that Black was Harry's
godfather.

Unlike Snape, who arrived late and then was knocked unconscious,
Wormtail heard the entire conversation between Lupin, Black, and HRH
in the Shrieking Shack and afterwards, including Black's offer to let
Harry live with him, which occurs while he is in human form before his
escape. And we can be pretty sure that Voldemort obtained every scrap
of information possible from him, and Wormtail, no Occlumens, so far
as we know, and terrified of Voldemort yet having no place else to go,
would have willingly told him. 

Wormtail knows much more about the Marauders and their history than
Snape does, having been one himself. He may even have told Voldemort
their Animagus forms and appearance before Godric's Hollow. Certainly,
he told him about the Secret Keeper switch, and it seems likely that
he also told him about the extra-close friendship between James Potter
and Sirius Black. He would have seen in the Shrieking Shack evidence
of that affection being passed on to Harry.

As far as I can see, the only piece of information that Snape could
have added to this wealth of knowledge and used to claim a share of
the credit in Black's death to Bellatrix, who knew quite well who
actually killed Black, is that he had seen Black at Hogwarts in
Animagus form shortly before DD sent him to "return" to LV. But Snape
would have known that DD would keep Black safe (as he did Hagrid and
Trelawney). As long as Black didn't set foot out of Order HQ (which
would have been set up as quickly as possible), he was safe from both
Aurors and DEs (as Snape in his snarky way kept reminding him).

Where all this places Kreacher, I'm not sure, but it's important to
point out that the plot in which he was involved related to Harry and
the Prophecy orb, not to the death of Black, which was an unintended
side effect. I don't think we can dispute Kreacher's escaping to the
Malfoys, which is canon. So is his injury of Buckbeak, complete with
bandaged hands (either he ironed them for disobeying his master or
Buckbeak injured him back). And we know he lied to Harry and laughed
when he found out that Harry believed he had gone to the MoM. But
Kreacher could hardly know that "master" would never return since he
wasn't even there.

So my question is, how did Kreacher know that it was time to injure
Buckbeak? Was he communicating with the Malfoys? And how did *they*
know that the vision had actually gone through this time around? It
can't be Snape, who finds out that Harry thinks Black is being
tortured *after* Harry has talked to Kreacher and supposedly confirmed
that Black is gone. Nor can it be Umbridge or Draco, who know still
less about the matter. all I can figure out is that LV knew that the
vision had gone through and notified Narcissa, who summoned him (being
a Black, she would have that power). Okay, I think I've answered my
own question.

But as far as Sirius Black being the person Harry was most likely to
want to rescue is concerned (setting aside people like Ron, whose
kidnapping would be difficult to feign considering that he was always
in Harry's company), about all Kreacher could do is confirm what
Wormtail had already said about the relationship between Harry and
Black. And, again, there was no specific plot to kill Black. The plot
was to lure Harry to the Mom under the *pretense* that Black had been
captured.

Carol, who thinks that Kreacher's role is just as it appears to be and
that Snape had no real share in Sirius Black's unplanned death,
however little he may regret Black's passing