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?? What makes you think Voldemort definitely already ordered him to seek the job? I don't think I follow your timeline at all. I'm afraid this is causing us to talk past one another.
I place the prophecy as late as spring 1980 but could have been several months earlier. I don't see a need to place it particularly early. In fact, since I believe the war escalated sometime around early 1979 (causing the drop in wizarding birth rate and increasing dissatisfaction with the Ministry, leading to the appointment of Milicent Bagnold as Minister in 1980 and the arrival of Crouch to the top of DMLE - and the enactment of his extreme policies). With this in mind I think the earliest Voldmeort would be seeking to land a DADA teacher as a spy would be for the '80-'81 year, but he might have waited even longer to really bring the Ministry to its knees.
I find it plausible that Severus wasn't even looking for a teaching job for the '80-'81 year. I also find it plausible that he was but his interview was scheduled for a later time (say a few days later) and the prophecy made the whole thing moot. Of course he may have had an interview that failed a few weeks earlier but I don't see why that would be a necessary interpretation. Definitely not for the '79-'80 year. Not when he only left school in June '78. What credentials did he have?
The '16 years of information on Dumbledore' is obviously a mistake because whatever information Severus had on Dumbledore before Godric's Hollow was already reported to Voldemort, there was no need to report it again after Voldmeort's return. (Though if Dumbledore and Severus came up with some scheme involving disinformation from the early days Severus could have 'remembered' to report it to the returned Voldemort.)
Just to clarify more: After reviewing some more of my timelines, I have decided to place Kreacher's trip to the cave during Christmas break of '78. This allows Regulus to be at home to get Kreacher as well as to spend a few weeks researching Horcruxes at home and to die in January '79. Voldemort's increased confidence in his immortality after having placed Slytherin's locket in such a well protected location would then be the reason to increase the intensity of his attacks. This timing also fits with Regulus' idealism at the time of his recruitment - he really had reason to believe he wasn't joining a bunch of mass murderers.
I place the prophecy as late as spring 1980 but could have been several months earlier. I don't see a need to place it particularly early. In fact, since I believe the war escalated sometime around early 1979 (causing the drop in wizarding birth rate and increasing dissatisfaction with the Ministry, leading to the appointment of Milicent Bagnold as Minister in 1980 and the arrival of Crouch to the top of DMLE - and the enactment of his extreme policies). With this in mind I think the earliest Voldmeort would be seeking to land a DADA teacher as a spy would be for the '80-'81 year, but he might have waited even longer to really bring the Ministry to its knees.
I find it plausible that Severus wasn't even looking for a teaching job for the '80-'81 year. I also find it plausible that he was but his interview was scheduled for a later time (say a few days later) and the prophecy made the whole thing moot. Of course he may have had an interview that failed a few weeks earlier but I don't see why that would be a necessary interpretation. Definitely not for the '79-'80 year. Not when he only left school in June '78. What credentials did he have?
The '16 years of information on Dumbledore' is obviously a mistake because whatever information Severus had on Dumbledore before Godric's Hollow was already reported to Voldemort, there was no need to report it again after Voldmeort's return. (Though if Dumbledore and Severus came up with some scheme involving disinformation from the early days Severus could have 'remembered' to report it to the returned Voldemort.)
Just to clarify more: After reviewing some more of my timelines, I have decided to place Kreacher's trip to the cave during Christmas break of '78. This allows Regulus to be at home to get Kreacher as well as to spend a few weeks researching Horcruxes at home and to die in January '79. Voldemort's increased confidence in his immortality after having placed Slytherin's locket in such a well protected location would then be the reason to increase the intensity of his attacks. This timing also fits with Regulus' idealism at the time of his recruitment - he really had reason to believe he wasn't joining a bunch of mass murderers.