Why was Snape spying on Trelawney's interview?

[SnapeAndSirius]

Originally Posted by TheMrsBlack

It was said that it was him in HBP page 544-545. Trelawney is talking about her first interview with Dumbledore in the Hog's Head. She said (paraphrased) " I well remember my first interview with Dumbledore... He was deeply impressed. I was staying at the Hog's Head...He did the courtesy of calling upon me in my room. He questioned me... I was starting to feel a little odd, but then, we were rudely interrupted by Severus Snape!"

This was when she made the prophecy, although she has no recollection of it, she only knows that Snape interrupted their meeting.

Did Snape hear the end of the prophacey, which is also the beginning, or the real first part of it.

[TheMrsBlack]

Originally Posted by SnapeAndSirius

Did Snape hear the end of the prophacey, which is also the beginning, or the real first part of it.

Good point. The prophecy starts " The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies" it then says " the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the dark lord knows not"

From the way things happened in the books, I was always under the impression that Snape only heard the first part from "the one with the power " to "as the seventh month dies". If he had only heard the end, which repeats the beginning "The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies", how would Voldemort possibly know where to look for this boy who was to be born at the end of the July. He had to have heard the part that said "born to those who have thrice defied him" or else how would Voldemort have known it was either the Potter boy or the Longbottom boy?

This is why I think that he heard the beginning, was approached by the barman, and was not able to hear the rest of the prophecy.

[victoriakrum]

I think that with Voldemort wanting a position at Hogwarts (athough clearly not in Divination) and him wanting to know everything Dumbledore was up to, it would make sense for him to send Snape to listen to the interview.

Maybe Voldemort wanted Snape to pick up some interview techniques

[Lucybird]

Originally Posted by victoriakrum

I think that with Voldemort wanting a position at Hogwarts (athough clearly not in Divination) and him wanting to know everything Dumbledore was up to, it would make sense for him to send Snape to listen to the interview.

Maybe Voldemort wanted Snape to pick up some interview techniques

I though Voldemort just wanted a spy in Hogwarts, it wouldn't matter which subject, and I don't see how spying on interviews could help him

[SnapeAndSirius]

Originally Posted by TheMrsBlack

Good point. The prophecy starts " The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies" it then says " the dark lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the dark lord knows not"

From the way things happened in the books, I was always under the impression that Snape only heard the first part from "the one with the power " to "as the seventh month dies". If he had only heard the end, which repeats the beginning "The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord will be born as the seventh month dies", how would Voldemort possibly know where to look for this boy who was to be born at the end of the July. He had to have heard the part that said "born to those who have thrice defied him" or else how would Voldemort have known it was either the Potter boy or the Longbottom boy?

This is why I think that he heard the beginning, was approached by the barman, and was not able to hear the rest of the prophecy.

Your right I never noticed the thrice defied line was not at the end.

[maylet]

Maybe he wasn't spying on Trelewney, he could have been spying Dumbledore like Voldemort told him to do

[EBJ23]

Yeah I think it was Dumbledore he was spying on, not Trelawney. My guess is that Voldemort told him to so they could get valuable information.

[Daelin]

I agree, I believe Snape was spying on Dumbledore.

As to the prophecy, let's remember that Snape would have had no reason to interrupt the prophecy while it was being uttered. I think - and this is a guess, no more - that he heard the first bit, but was then caught by the barman (Aberforth?), who prevented him from hearing the rest. Trelawney came out of her trance and saw/heard Snape and the barman arguing, and both rightly and wrongly concluded he had been trying to spy on her.

[Kimagine]

I think he wasn't so much spying on the interview as spying on Dumbledore, and, for all Snape knew, Trelawney's interview might have been a premise to pass information to Dumbledore. To be sure, Snape did some spying -- got caught -- and it's as simple as that.

[fruitia pickleweed]

Originally Posted by TheMrsBlack

...Yes, if Snape "interrupted" their meeting by eavesdropping, then he would have been seen and apprehended halfway through the prophecy, only hearing the beginning half. But here is an idea, possibly Snape was apprehended after hearing only the first half but the barman struggled with him and he wasn't able to hear the rest of it. And possibly it wasn't until the prophecy was over and Trelawney came back into what was happening that the door flew open as Trelawney said ("Yes, there was a commotion outside the door and it flew open, and there was the rather uncouth barman standing with Snape." -HBP 545)....Snape was only able to hear the first half properly because the barman was standing outside the door questioning him about what he was doing there.

Makes sense. With Sybill in an altered state of consciousness, she noticed and remembered nothing -- not the prophecy, not the commotion at the door -- only that her job interview was interrupted.

[Yoana]

Perhaps Snape was appionted to spy on Dumbledore by Voldemort, and that's why he applied for a job there - as he said, on Voldemort's orders.

[destany]

Originally Posted by crookshanks15

I think he was spying on DD but my real question of that scene is that how does trelawney know that snape was there? I know it is a bit off topic in a way but that is bothering me. If trelawney is in a trance then how does she know it happend!? She cant have known enless of course snape was listening the ENTIRE conversation and THEN kicked out. DD would be lieing then.


Sybill does make it sound like that and her interpretation could have been accurate.

Surely once she came out of her trance she would have noticed the commotion in the hallway? The trance doesn't seem like it lasted that long, and Snape only missed the last bit. I just assumed that Snape was interrupted when he got caught so he missed the ending, but Trelawny came out her trance as he was being chucked out.

[Daelin]

True, the prophecy is not inordinately long, and it strikes me that even in an upper room there would be bar noise to make it hard for an eavesdropper to hear the rest, especially with an angry barkeeper yelling at him.

[taupimu]

I believe that he was there to spy on Dumbledore and not Trelewney. Hearing the prophecy was a bonus. He may have been there to apply for a job at the same time and was to have an interview later.

[SusanBones]

Snape told Bellatrix in Spinners End that Voldemort had ordered Snape to spy on Dumbledore. He said he was at Hogwarts, where the Dark Lord has ordered him to be. Snape may have come to the Hogs Head to talk to Dumbledore about a teaching position when he overheard the first part of the prophecy.

I hope that DH answers this question.

[dobbysfriend]

This is a good question, Was Snape spying for himself to gain knowledge to ingrate himself to Voldermort or was he already in service to Voldermort? Was he just thinking of joining or was he already a Death Eater? If he was sent to spy on Dumbledore, then it is obvious why he was there. If he was just looking for a job to get close to Dumbledore for Voldermort, the he was just looking to get an idea of what Dumbledore wanted to hire, what an interview would be like. He didn't expect to find the type of information that he did.

[fruitia pickleweed]

Originally Posted by dobbysfriend

Was Snape spying for himself to gain knowledge to ingrate himself to Voldermort or was he already in service to Voldermort? Was he just thinking of joining or was he already a Death Eater? If he was sent to spy on Dumbledore, then it is obvious why he was there. If he was just looking for a job to get close to Dumbledore for Voldermort, the he was just looking to get an idea of what Dumbledore wanted to hire, what an interview would be like. He didn't expect to find the type of information that he did.

Wow, I think we've all been assuming that he must have been spying for Voldemort at the time.

Let's see, in book 5, when Harry was 15, Trelawney told Umbridge that she had worked at Hogwarts for "nearly sixteen" years. Umbridge's inspections came well into the first term, but before Christmas, which suggests that Trelawney may have started working there mid-year, say January, and Harry would have been born the following July.

Snape told Umbridge that he had worked at Hogwarts for fourteen years. That means he started teaching more than a year after Trelawney, when Harry was 1 year old, in fact, the very same school term that the Potter murders took place.

Based on that difference, I would guess that Snape was after more than interview tips, although he may not have known what to expect. He may not even have had instuctions to get hired at Hogwarts until after Voldie heard the half prophecy -- gosh, he might have even been ordered there in part to pump Trelawney further. I can't think of any other reason why he would be snooping, except on behalf of Voldie.

[jordmundt6]

Since he passed the information to Voldemort (all that he heard), it would seem clear that he was there on Voldemort's orders, probably because of Sybill Trelawney's ancestry--wouldn't that be deliciously ironic, eh? I must be going loopy. I thought that Dumbledore interviewed Trelawney "one night in June?" Anyone have OotP handy where they can flip to Dumbledore's explanation of the Prophecy? I thought he got the information barely a month before Harry and Neville were born.

[HedwigOwl]

It seems fairly obvious (to me, anyway) that Snape was spying on Dumbledore, not Trelawney. Trelawney was, ironically, incidental to Snape's original intention.

[fruitia pickleweed]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

I must be going loopy. I thought that Dumbledore interviewed Trelawney "one night in June?" Anyone have OotP handy where they can flip to Dumbledore's explanation of the Prophecy?

OOTP, American hard cover, page 840:

"On a cold, wet night sixteen years ago, in a room above the bar at the Hog's Head Inn."

This conversation with Harry was in June, so if Dumbledore was speaking precisely, he could have meant, I guess, an unseasonably cold June, one month before Harry's birth. But if he was speaking approximately, which seems likely, he probably meant the previous winter. That interpretation also would fit with Sybil's "almost sixteen years," which she says before Christmas. Sybil later says, "I've been here for sixteen years" on page 595 when Umbridge is firing her, which I think comes about the middle of the second term, say about March.

So I'm betting she joined Hogwarts mid-year, the winter before Harry's birth.