Snape's involvement in the murder of Sirius

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 169269

> Jen: Maybe I'm thick but isn't that blowing his cover if he's on the 
> up and up?  He's saying he passed information to help dispose of 
> Black but Black wasn't actually supposed to be at the MOM. 
> members weren't supposed to be there.  <snip> So isn't Snape 
saying he had something to do with  getting Sirius to the DOM 
by making that claim?


Pippin:
The point I was trying to make is that "helped dispose" need not
have anything to do with  getting Black to the DOM.
We, the readers, are primed to think so by Harry's accusations, 
which we find like bookends a few chapters before and after  
Spinner's End. But to Narcissa and Bella, Snape might simply be
taking credit for disposing of Black as a threat, by keeping
him bottled up in Order HQ until Bella got a chance to 
finish him.

There is an irony in that the information Snape gave to
the *Order* may have resulted in Sirius's death. But Snape
is talking about what he told Voldemort and presumably 
Voldemort doesn't know how the Order discovered that
Harry had gone to the Ministry. (Of course Traitor!Lupin 
could have told him, and if so, Snape is alive only because
Voldemort isn't sure whether he can believe Lupin or not.)

Dumbledore's instructions to Sirius in GoF were  to lie
low at Lupin's. Dumbledore clearly thought  it was no longer 
safe for Sirius to hide in the vicinity of Hogwarts.  And  it 
certainly wouldn't be if  Snape had instructions to tell
Voldemort that he'd just seen Sirius in the Hospital Wing!

Jen:
 And Harry was supposed to be at Hogwarts with no 
Order members around except Snape to know when he
left the premises.

Pippin:
This is speculation, and there's canon against it.
Voldemort had been sending Harry visions of the DOM
for months in hopes that they would lure him to the prophecy,
without concern that Order members were present at Hogwarts.

Voldemort showed in CoS that he knew Harry would not be 
deterred from pursuing a mystery, and that he believed
Harry would  be able to bypass adult interference just
as he had done. 

Pippin