Quote from Naaga on April 10, 2023, 4:26 am

Source: Spinners End: Use of truth, half truths and lies

I think Spinner's End chapter in HBP is a very effective show of how Snape plays his role as a double agent. It's an interesting mix of half truths, truth, lies and using people's own understanding against them. It's quite clever. So let's begin, shall we?

When Narcissa calls for his help, he is immediately responsive with her that one can even go as far to call kind. The Malfoys think highly of him (and we know Lucius was a prefect at the time of Snape's sorting), so this is possibly built on years of good relationship. In fact, at the end of GOF, where Harry names Lucius Malfoy as a Death Eater, Snape is said to have made a "sudden movement" in the background. In contrast, he has a "mocking smile" when admitting Bellatrix into his house, and the scene will go further to show why.

When Bellatrix starts questioning him, Snape counters with "don't you think the Dark Lord asked me every one of those questions? Do you think I fooled the Dark Lord, the most accomplished Legilimens the world had ever seen?". What Snape is doing here is using Bellatrix's extremely high opinion of Voldemort against her. He does this several times in the scene. ("Perhaps you disagree with the Dark Lord? You think Dumbledore would not have noticed if I had joined forces with Death Eaters and fought against the Order of Phoenix?").

Just because Dumbledore is the kind to take in Hagrid, send envoys to giants etc, he is seen as someone who sees the "best in everyone". As we know from DH, that is categorically not true. Dumbledore's trust in people is very calculated and not at all based on "seeing the best in people". However, Snape uses that wide prevailing assumption about Dumbledore against Bellatrix (and also the reader at that point of time). "You overlook Dumbledore's greatest weakness, he has to believe in the best of people. I spun a tale of great remorse and he embraced me with open arms".

After he says this, he says an interesting bit of dialogue which I think is true. "- he embraced me with open arms, though I say, never allowing me nearer the Dark Arts than he could help". I think there is an element of truth in what he is saying here. While one reason that Dumbledore doesn't allow Snape on the DADA job is because the job is jinxed, the second reason is that Snape's fascination with Dark Arts is a temptation. It was temptation enough in his youth that it strained his friendship with Lily, and it clearly something he speaks of with passion in HBP, so I imagine Dumbledore is very careful about this. Snape isn't too happy about this though - he has a lot of pride in his role as someone Dumbledore trusts. So when Umbridge asks him about his unsuccessful attempts to get the DADA job in OOTP, Snape responds "jerkily" : " I suggest you ask him". I think it offends Snape that Dumbledore isn't trusting him enough here.

Then he says: "Dumbledore is a great wizard - oh yes, he has, the Dark Lord acknowledges it". This is true. No matter what kind of role he is playing, he is not going to pretend he doesn't respect Dumbledore, so he says the truth. Interestingly, the other person he speaks his true opinion of apart from Dumbledore is Harry. The "mediocre, obnoxious and self satisfied as his father before him". He says as much to Dumbledore in DH, so this is how he truly feels. He also talks, interestingly, of being curious about Harry and his powers (before dismissing him). This is also corroborated in Chamber of Secrets, when Snape is throwing Harry a "shrewd, calculating look" after Harry speaks Parseltongue.

After which, here is his interesting use of half truth. "I am pleased to say, however, Dumbledore is growing old. The duel with Dark Lord shook him. He has since sustained a serious injury because his reactions were slower than they once were". While it is true that Dumbledore is injured and he is slower, it is not because of the duel with Voldemort but of the incident with the ring. Once again, Snape is using Bellatrix's high opinion of Voldemort against her.

Then, of course, Snape's mocking of Bellatrix's loyalty. "oh, indeed, most admirable. The gesture was undoubtedly fine" "I had a rather more useful welcome back present than endless reminiscences of how unpleasant Azkaban is"- I think he finds Bellatrix "brawny" rather than "brainy" lol. Snape seems to value high intellect, and magical capabilities quite a bit ("you have loads of magic," he tells Lily). He insults people on their capabilities rather than anything else, which gives you a good indication of what he values. Snape as a character craves respect, rather being universally liked. It makes sense, considering his abusive home situation where he feels powerless. I don't think being disliked bothers him as much as being disrespected (see his reaction to being called a coward by Harry in HBP).

If there are any other instances of Snape cleverly using information, do share.