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There are a lot of unanswered questions about Snape and Voldemort...was Snape really the Dark Lord's right hand man, and if so, was he always, or did this only occur after Voldemort's return post-GoF? And how did Voldemort manage to recruit Snape and the other Death Eaters in the first place? I've seen it pointed out in other posts that what we see of Voldemort doesn't paint him as a particularly cunning or charismatic leader. It seems that aside from Bellatrix, most of the Death Eaters are serving him mainly out of fear.
In fact, it's pretty clear in HBP and DH that the Malfoys, who appear to have been among his biggest supporters in the past, are obeying Voldemort not out of loyalty, but because they're afraid that he will kill them if they try to leave. Even when they're already under the threat of death in HBP and you'd think that they wouldn't have much to lose, they still prefer the slim chance of Draco completing the mission to the certain death they're sure they'll face if they defect to Dumbledore's side. (To be fair, Narcissa is also counting on Snape and the Unbreakable Vow to help protect them.)
So why would the Death Eaters have agreed to serve such a leader in the first place? I have to imagine that Voldemort wasn't always like that, and that he must have been capable of using charm and persuasion in the old days. It seems likely to me that he was losing more and more of his humanity with each successive Horcrux, and by GOF, even his body is no longer truly human--it's a magical construct. It doesn't seem surprising to me that along with his body and soul, he's also lost his ability to feign the kind of human emotions that he initially used to recruit his followers.
I also think that Snape's initial recruitment was probably done by Lucius Malfoy and maybe some of the Slytherin friends that Lily disapproved of, like Mulciber. I suspect that new recruits didn't get much face time with the Dark Lord until they gained more experience and proved themselves. However, he must have proved himself eventually, because his arm bears the Dark Mark, and we are told in DH that not all the Death Eaters have it, only the Dark Lord's inner circle.
I'm not quite sure this means that Snape was Voldemort's right hand man at the time--he was still very young and relatively inexperienced, after all. I suspect that Voldemort saw him as a promising young recruit, and possibly--perhaps unconsciously--identified with Snape's half-blood status. Voldemort did, after all, assume that baby Harry was the greater threat, even though Harry has Muggle (or at least Muggleborn) blood, and Neville was a pureblood. So maybe he had marked Snape as someone to watch, someone that he expected great things from--a not unjustified expectation, since Snape was already a Potions genius and creating his own spells while still a student.
Whether or not Snape was actually Voldemort's right hand man during the years before Harry's birth, there is evidence that Voldemort valued him--as mentioned above, Snape was given the Dark Mark. And also, Voldemort agreed to spare Lily for Snape's sake--and more importantly, actually attempted to keep his promise. That more than anything convinces me that Voldemort thought Snape was valuable enough to humor his infatuation with a Mudblood girl, or perhaps he thought Lily might be useful as a hostage to control Snape and ensure his loyalty.
However, Voldemort's human veneer may have been wearing thin at this point, since he had completed most of his Horcruxes. Whatever the reason, he must have shown that he wasn't trustworthy enough for Snape to leave Lily's safety entirely in his hands, prompting Snape's defection to Dumbledore.
After Voldemort's return post-GoF, I think that Snape eventually did become his right hand man, or at least, the pawn that he favored the most, since I don't think that Voldemort really valued his Death Eaters as anything more than useful pawns at best. The fact that Bellatrix seems jealous of Snape indicates that Voldemort has been showing Snape more favor than he does even to his most loyal and devoted follower. And Voldemort seems to show a touch of regret when he kills Snape in DH--in a very shallow, offhand way, but it does seem to be genuine, although it's more along the lines of "it's too bad that I have to destroy this useful tool" rather than feeling sad about having to kill a comrade or even a favorite servant. He also still believes that Snape was loyal at the time, and doesn't seem to consider the possibility that Snape was double-crossing him until Harry defiantly tells him of Snape's true loyalties during their final confrontation.
So how did Snape rise to the rank of Voldemort's most trusted servant? When Voldemort gathered his Death Eaters in GoF, he referred to one of the absent Death Eaters as "One who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course". Assuming that he was referring to Snape, how did Snape go from traitor to right hand man?
Partly with some smooth talking, I believe--he tells Bellatrix in HBP that he managed to convince Voldemort that he delayed answering Voldemort's call in order to ensure Dumbledore's trust and strengthen his position as a spy. He claims that Voldemort was convinced; I think that Voldemort was convinced enough not to kill him, but probably kept a close eye on him after that and didn't immediately trust him. Having a spy that close to Dumbledore was probably worth enough to Voldemort that he would let Snape live long enough to prove his loyalty.
And it's pure speculation on my part, but I've always thought that Voldemort was impressed by the fact that Snape had the courage to return to him after the delay, knowing that he faced the possibility of torture and death if Voldemort didn't buy his excuse. I mean, you don't see anyone calling Wormtail "the Dark Lord's right hand man," even though he was instrumental in helping the Dark Lord create his new body. Voldemort rewarded him with the silver hand, but seems to regard him with contempt. (And the hand turns out to be not such a great reward after all in DH.) Of course, Snape would have to walk a pretty fine line--courageous enough to win Voldemort's respect, but deferential enough that his courage won't be seen as a challenge to Voldemort's authority. However, I think Snape is skilled enough to pull that off.
If we take Snape's explanation to Bellatrix at face value, he was able to provide Voldemort with valuable information--or at least he was able to convince Voldemort that his information was valuable. It's not clear whether he actually offered up some of the Order members as necessary sacrifices in order to seal his place in the Death Eaters, or whether he was able to somehow take credit for their deaths even though he didn't intentionally cause them. (I'd say the latter, since he seems worried about tearing his soul by killing Dumbledore. I don't think he'd be as worried about the state of his soul if he'd already committed murder, even indirectly. On the other hand, he does consider himself responsible for Lily's death...but I guess that's a topic for another essay.)
I think the fact that most of the Death Eaters were captured and imprisoned at the end of OotP also helped Snape's rise in the ranks. For one thing, the number of his rivals was immediately decreased. And even after they were freed, they would bear the stigma of having failed in their mission by (1) not getting the Prophecy as they were ordered, and (2) getting captured. We see in HBP and DH that Lucius has lost his position of power in the Death Eaters, and Voldemort punishes him for his failure by giving Draco a near-impossible task that will result in the entire family's deaths if he fails.
In contrast, Snape managed to remain free (if only by virtue of not having participated in the raid on the Ministry) and continue to make himself useful. It also seems like he may have shared spells with Voldemort--in DH, we see them both flying without a broomstick. If Snape has the ability to create such powerful spells, he would be valuable to Voldemort, and if Voldemort is the one who created the spell, it shows that he must favor Snape highly, since he seems to be the only one that Voldemort taught it to. (I include the possibility that Snape created the spell because he seems to have been creating his own spells, such as Sectumsempra, during his student years at Hogwarts, so he may have continued with his research as an adult.)
The power and position that Snape might have craved as a newly-recruited Death Eater probably seemed bitterly ironic to the older and more cynical Snape. It would mean little to him now, without his beloved Lily. And the people whose side he was truly on scorned him as a traitor and regarded him with contempt. Of course it was all part of the plan to have everyone on the Order's side believe that Snape had betrayed them, but at the same time, it must have hurt to have everyone believe it so easily.
So why would the Death Eaters have agreed to serve such a leader in the first place? I have to imagine that Voldemort wasn't always like that, and that he must have been capable of using charm and persuasion in the old days. It seems likely to me that he was losing more and more of his humanity with each successive Horcrux, and by GOF, even his body is no longer truly human--it's a magical construct. It doesn't seem surprising to me that along with his body and soul, he's also lost his ability to feign the kind of human emotions that he initially used to recruit his followers.
I also think that Snape's initial recruitment was probably done by Lucius Malfoy and maybe some of the Slytherin friends that Lily disapproved of, like Mulciber. I suspect that new recruits didn't get much face time with the Dark Lord until they gained more experience and proved themselves. However, he must have proved himself eventually, because his arm bears the Dark Mark, and we are told in DH that not all the Death Eaters have it, only the Dark Lord's inner circle.
I'm not quite sure this means that Snape was Voldemort's right hand man at the time--he was still very young and relatively inexperienced, after all. I suspect that Voldemort saw him as a promising young recruit, and possibly--perhaps unconsciously--identified with Snape's half-blood status. Voldemort did, after all, assume that baby Harry was the greater threat, even though Harry has Muggle (or at least Muggleborn) blood, and Neville was a pureblood. So maybe he had marked Snape as someone to watch, someone that he expected great things from--a not unjustified expectation, since Snape was already a Potions genius and creating his own spells while still a student.
Whether or not Snape was actually Voldemort's right hand man during the years before Harry's birth, there is evidence that Voldemort valued him--as mentioned above, Snape was given the Dark Mark. And also, Voldemort agreed to spare Lily for Snape's sake--and more importantly, actually attempted to keep his promise. That more than anything convinces me that Voldemort thought Snape was valuable enough to humor his infatuation with a Mudblood girl, or perhaps he thought Lily might be useful as a hostage to control Snape and ensure his loyalty.
However, Voldemort's human veneer may have been wearing thin at this point, since he had completed most of his Horcruxes. Whatever the reason, he must have shown that he wasn't trustworthy enough for Snape to leave Lily's safety entirely in his hands, prompting Snape's defection to Dumbledore.
After Voldemort's return post-GoF, I think that Snape eventually did become his right hand man, or at least, the pawn that he favored the most, since I don't think that Voldemort really valued his Death Eaters as anything more than useful pawns at best. The fact that Bellatrix seems jealous of Snape indicates that Voldemort has been showing Snape more favor than he does even to his most loyal and devoted follower. And Voldemort seems to show a touch of regret when he kills Snape in DH--in a very shallow, offhand way, but it does seem to be genuine, although it's more along the lines of "it's too bad that I have to destroy this useful tool" rather than feeling sad about having to kill a comrade or even a favorite servant. He also still believes that Snape was loyal at the time, and doesn't seem to consider the possibility that Snape was double-crossing him until Harry defiantly tells him of Snape's true loyalties during their final confrontation.
So how did Snape rise to the rank of Voldemort's most trusted servant? When Voldemort gathered his Death Eaters in GoF, he referred to one of the absent Death Eaters as "One who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course". Assuming that he was referring to Snape, how did Snape go from traitor to right hand man?
Partly with some smooth talking, I believe--he tells Bellatrix in HBP that he managed to convince Voldemort that he delayed answering Voldemort's call in order to ensure Dumbledore's trust and strengthen his position as a spy. He claims that Voldemort was convinced; I think that Voldemort was convinced enough not to kill him, but probably kept a close eye on him after that and didn't immediately trust him. Having a spy that close to Dumbledore was probably worth enough to Voldemort that he would let Snape live long enough to prove his loyalty.
And it's pure speculation on my part, but I've always thought that Voldemort was impressed by the fact that Snape had the courage to return to him after the delay, knowing that he faced the possibility of torture and death if Voldemort didn't buy his excuse. I mean, you don't see anyone calling Wormtail "the Dark Lord's right hand man," even though he was instrumental in helping the Dark Lord create his new body. Voldemort rewarded him with the silver hand, but seems to regard him with contempt. (And the hand turns out to be not such a great reward after all in DH.) Of course, Snape would have to walk a pretty fine line--courageous enough to win Voldemort's respect, but deferential enough that his courage won't be seen as a challenge to Voldemort's authority. However, I think Snape is skilled enough to pull that off.
If we take Snape's explanation to Bellatrix at face value, he was able to provide Voldemort with valuable information--or at least he was able to convince Voldemort that his information was valuable. It's not clear whether he actually offered up some of the Order members as necessary sacrifices in order to seal his place in the Death Eaters, or whether he was able to somehow take credit for their deaths even though he didn't intentionally cause them. (I'd say the latter, since he seems worried about tearing his soul by killing Dumbledore. I don't think he'd be as worried about the state of his soul if he'd already committed murder, even indirectly. On the other hand, he does consider himself responsible for Lily's death...but I guess that's a topic for another essay.)
I think the fact that most of the Death Eaters were captured and imprisoned at the end of OotP also helped Snape's rise in the ranks. For one thing, the number of his rivals was immediately decreased. And even after they were freed, they would bear the stigma of having failed in their mission by (1) not getting the Prophecy as they were ordered, and (2) getting captured. We see in HBP and DH that Lucius has lost his position of power in the Death Eaters, and Voldemort punishes him for his failure by giving Draco a near-impossible task that will result in the entire family's deaths if he fails.
In contrast, Snape managed to remain free (if only by virtue of not having participated in the raid on the Ministry) and continue to make himself useful. It also seems like he may have shared spells with Voldemort--in DH, we see them both flying without a broomstick. If Snape has the ability to create such powerful spells, he would be valuable to Voldemort, and if Voldemort is the one who created the spell, it shows that he must favor Snape highly, since he seems to be the only one that Voldemort taught it to. (I include the possibility that Snape created the spell because he seems to have been creating his own spells, such as Sectumsempra, during his student years at Hogwarts, so he may have continued with his research as an adult.)
The power and position that Snape might have craved as a newly-recruited Death Eater probably seemed bitterly ironic to the older and more cynical Snape. It would mean little to him now, without his beloved Lily. And the people whose side he was truly on scorned him as a traitor and regarded him with contempt. Of course it was all part of the plan to have everyone on the Order's side believe that Snape had betrayed them, but at the same time, it must have hurt to have everyone believe it so easily.
I agree that by his re-embodiment he had lost his touch. Notice that all the way until he took over the Ministry he hardly did any recruiting. On the day Harry left 4PD, when surely Voldemort would want as many people as possible in the sky all he can muster is thirtysome people, about the same number he had in the circle at the end of GOF. And in GOF there were still 10 people in Azkaban and one late-comer (Severus). So OK, Peter was guarding Ollivander, the wandless Lucius must have been left at home and perhaps there was a team headed by Yaxley doing some work at the Ministry. But there couldn't have been that many DEs. I don't think there were any full recruits from the end of GOF until the fall of the Ministry besides Draco. I suppose Stan Shunpike (and maybe the two others who were arrested by Scrimgeour for suspected DE association) were held in Azkaban in the same area where the genuine DEs were so they were all broken out together and forced to join, but we do not see Stan with the DEs later on, I doubt he was a fulltime recruit. After the Ministry was taken then perhaps there were people joining the bandwagon. Voldemort indicates that some of the Slytherin students joined the fighting on the DE side during the battle of Hogwarts. But despite the expectations of many fanfic writers, we do not see recent Slytherin alumni, not even Montague, let alone recent alumni of other Hogwarts Houses, recruited by Voldemort.
As for the difference between a full Marked DE and hanger-ons like Fenrir Greyback, I'm not sure how impressive one had to be considering that the Carrows got their Marks. I would tend to think the criteria were generally rather loose, but someone like Greyback couldn't be invited in because he was a part-human, and a werewolf at that. (I don't think Voldemort would want to be forced to avoid calling everyone to a circle on full moons.)
Severus' position during the first war: I think the first indication that he held special status was that he was Voldemort's choice as his spy and DADA teacher (and also very likely to be targeted for death-by-DADA-curse). That's assuming Trelawney was correct and Severus indeed was going to be interviewed after her and not merely hanging around at the Hog's Head. If he only became Voldemort's appointed spy later on then it was the prophecy that really brought him to Voldemort's attention.
Voldemort's promise to spare Lily: I think the promise was part of a manipulation by Voldemort to send Severus to Dumbledore. The only reason the promise needed to be made was that Severus found out that the Potters were going to be a specific target because of the prophecy, and how else would Severus have found out other than that Voldemort told him? Voldemort went alone to Godric's Hollow, nobody but Peter was involved at all, and nobody in the DE camp but Voldemort and Severus knew about the prophecy before Voldemort's return.
Severus' explanations to Bellatrix: He knew she'd be trying to catch him at a lie, so whatever he said had to agree with what she'd find if she asked other DEs, and even Voldemort himself. So I think he did have a hand, however remote, in Emmeline Vance's capture, and he had at least tacit approval from Dumbledore for that, if not more than that, considering Dumbledore's tactics at other times (for example Harry's removal from 4PD).
I said I would return later with my thoughts/theory on Vance's death.
Of first importance is that she was found dead outside and right around the corner from #10 Downing Street. The Prime Minister was complaining about how the media played it up as happening in his backyard. Anyways, unlike Madame Bones, she wasn't killed at home, where she could be reasonably expected to be 'found'.
Her death is lumped with Madame Bones which misleads us to think they were for similar reasons. But look at what else was happening in the same time period. A Junior Minister was discovered to be quacking like a duck, apparently from a bad imperio and sent to St. Mungo's. The fact that he was sent to St. Mungo's indicates that the person who found him quacking was a wizard. So what was one wizard (who found the Jr Minister) and another (Vance) both doing hanging out around #10 at roughly the same time (either jointly or possibly on alternate nights)?
It's my theory that Snape informed the Order (in advance) of a plan for an assassination plot on the Prime Minister. Notice that at the end of the time period, Kingsley is firmly in place as the Prime Minister's secretary - basically guarding him from anyone who might make it to the Prime Minister's actual office. I think that Vance interupted the Imperio process on the Jr Minister and was promptly killed for it, while the muggle escaped (unfortunately still quacking).
I'm sure the idea was to be sure he would obey the Imperio first (hence the quacking). After all, IF the Mulciber that was at the DoM was the same one who was the Imperio expert, then the DE casting this Imperio was not Voldy's usual go-to-guy for Imperio's. Then, once sure he WOULD obey, give him the order to kill the PM.
So, I think Vance was on Order 'duty' the night she was killed - just like Sirius was. And Snape claimed 'credit for both, since it was info he gave the Order that led to them being on that 'duty' -- Hwyla
Good point about the Carrows--they're not exactly outstanding examples of the "inner circle," are they? ;-) But by this point, Voldemort is probably scraping the bottom of the barrel for DE recruits.
Voldemort's promise to spare Lily: I think the promise was part of a manipulation by Voldemort to send Severus to Dumbledore.
Very interesting! I hadn't thought of it that way before. So he expected Severus to betray him? Or it provided a plausible excuse for Dumbledore to trust Snape, since he's sending Snape to spy on Dumbledore?
My pet reconstruction of Voldemort's strategy regarding Severus, Lily and the prophecy is based on the assumption that Voldemort was still a rather intelligent chess player at that point, not the idiot from DH. (It's not entirely my own, there are elements from Jodel, from duj and many others, like everything in fandom.)
Voldemort had a multi-stage plan in mind: kill the prophecy boy, make last Horcrux (which logically should have been the Gryffindor sword), very probably launch diary at Hogwarts to raise mayhem, use the opportunity to either kill Dumbledore at Hogwarts or force him out of the school so he could be killed. (And the next stage would be the final takeover of the Ministry.) In any case, he needed a DE at the school for the later stages - to steal the sword, help with the diary and ensuing mess, maybe even to kill Dumbledore. However by now it seems Dumbledore already found out that Severus Snape had joined the Death Eaters. So what to do? Get him concerned for the Mudblood girl, he will go running to Dumbledore and be genuinely repentant. Once Dumbledore fails to protect her poor Severus will be so mad at the old fool he will want to kill him there and then. Voldemort was going to lose Severus for a while but in the long run he expected Severus to be his, and of course eventually the DADA curse was supposed to get him. If all had gone according to plan, by June 1982 Harry, Dumbledore and Severus were supposed to be dead and Voldemort the immortal ruler of Wizarding Britain.
I've a rather insignificant point to add on this, but a point nonetheless, which is Voldemort displays legitimate early intentions to spare Lily (344, US Edition) when he confronts her at Harry's crib. His appeal for her to step aside represented to me his reluctant willingness to honor his promise to Severus. In the end, of course, he was unable to attempt murdering Harry without first offing Lily, yet reading his fleeting reluctance always meant something to me about his relationship with Severus, what that something is remains vague and amorphous.