[the_old_crowd] Snape's Social Life

[Eileen Rebstock]

I wrote:
> But there is some evidence for Wilkes being close to Snape, at least
> professionally, if you can call the Death Eaters a profession. Wilkes
> was killed by Aurors soon after Snape turned sides. Same with Evan
> Rosier. So it's often posited that Snape turned those two in.

Alec writes me off-list, and I'm c&ping it.
---------

Alec:
Whatever Snape's real motives, Voldemort seems to have ordered him to at
least pretend to defect to Dumbledore, to become a spy - and no doubt
trained him in Occlumency: Snape's real changing of sides (if there was
one) would appear to have been later, when the prophecy turned out to
refer to the Potters. And Voldemort must have known that the turncoat
would be
expected to betray some names, or at least where Death Eaters might be
found. Probably it was Voldemort that told Snape that Rosier and Wilkes
were the most expendable. Or (possibly) simply too soft to be of much
practical use, except as martyrs to the cause.

----

I respond now: 

That makes sense, though Rosier, of course, put on a good performance
going down. Took out a piece of Moody's nose, so he couldn't have been
*that* soft. Anyway, the selection of martyrs to the cause would be
limited to Snape's associates in the first place. Karkaroff indicates in
the pensieve scene that they did not know all the other Death Eaters'
names, and I can't imagine Snape was the exception to this rule. Rosier
and Wilkes as closely associated with Snape - friends or otherwise -
makes a lot of sense, even if Voldemort picked them out as sacrifices.

Eileen