What did Snape accomplish as a double agent?

[Tim]

I've never been quite sure just how Snape was working against Voldemort. He probably was passing information back to Dumbledore, but was that it? Do we know what information he passed along? Do we know of anything else he did to help the cause?

[♥ Alexia -Team Malec ♥]

He gained Knowledge?


He chose the right side,

[Mickey]

I don't think it's possible to over-emphasize Snape's importance to the Order. He kept the Order informed of what Voldemort was doing (from his obsession with looking for the prophecy in the fifth book to identifying who was working for Voldemort and how). This was important because then the Order could develop strategies and defenses based on real information. He also gave the Order a way to control the information that Voldemort has, either by feeding true or false information (like Harry's escape in the last book). He also could work quietly to prevent further damage (like when he protected the students while he was headmaster).

[[deleted user]]

Haha, why did Severus Snape stand in the middle of the road?
So no one could tell what side he was on!

[Ursula]

He did what all double-agents do; he gave Dumbledore true info about Voldemort while feeding false info back.

[Tim]

Snape apparently gave true information to Voldemort about what Harry was going to do when he turned 17. I can see that helped Voldemort trust Snape more, but otherwise that didn't do anything good for the Order. It put Harry in extreme danger and it got Mad-Eye killed.

[Mickey]

Tim wrote: "Snape apparently gave true information to Voldemort about what Harry was going to do when he turned 17. I can see that helped Voldemort trust Snape more, but otherwise that didn't do anything good..."

But Dumbledore told Snape to give true information about Harry's departure. If Snape never gave Voldemort any accurate information, Voldemort either would guess that Snape's loyalties were compromised or that Snape didn't have good information (and would never follow it), thus making Snape a less effective asset.

[Mitali]

I don't see what Snape ever accomplished as a double agent. Given what a complete shambles the Order was in, and its extremely high death rate, I'm not sure how much worse it could have been without Snape's 'help'. Sure, he may have passed on a couple of pieces of information, such as Voldemort's obsession with the prophecy. But in the long run, did knowing that help the Order in any way? It only resulted in getting Sirius killed, Mr. Weasley attacked, and Sturgis Podmore arrested. The Death Eaters who were arrested at the end of OotP all managed to break out of Azkaban within a year, and Voldemort suffered no losses whatsoever, except that he finally didn't get to hear the full prophecy (which didn't really have any consequences for him at all).

[Erik]

We are meant to assume, I think, that anything the Order knows about the Death Eaters (including who they're working with, who is under the imperius curse, etc.) probably comes directly from Snape. Otherwise, the Order would know little to nothing. Which is why most of the Order respects his role, including others who would probably not like Snape at all. Sirius gets killed, sure, and Mr. Weasley attacked, but those have little to do with Snape. It could have been far worse: the Order could have all wound up dead. Still, Dumbledore put Snape to use in a very specific manner: protecting Harry. I think that came first, above even protecting the Order. And it's why, in the end, Snape was instrumental in getting Harry over the finish line. Without Snape there, trusted by Voldemort until the very end, Harry would not have succeeded.

[Victor]

Snape is perhaps the most mystified character in the entire Potter Universe. We may think and argue back and forth about his "true" role in the story. Rowling mades clear that Snape went along with Dumbledore's plan because of his affection to Lily. That may not seem as much, or just a pitiful gesture to a long lost love. Also, Snape hated Harry, yet for Lily's sake, he help "protect" him. In the end, his role mgiht be dminished because of the way things turned out, but he gave Harry confirmation of the last clue he needed. At least, that's something, right?

[Shubham]

Snape, without him there would have been no action possible by the Order of Phoenix.
It was Snape, who provided information to people of the Order to counter the moves of Lord Voldemort.
It was Snape who protected Harry from the first year onwards, even though the latter kept thinking ill of him all the time.
It was Snape, who sacrificed or dedicated his life to Lily (Harry's Mom) and fight against Lord Voldemort.
It was Snape who carried out Dumbledore's orders (The Lightning Struck Tower, Book 6) to help Harry gain the rightful authority over Elder Wand.
Sanpe was truly the person whom everyone loved to dismiss, but in the end He proved it that without him, Harry Potter would not have ended the tyranny of Lord Voldemort; without him the result would not have been possible!!
Snape, the super!!!