The Scholastic cover (Was: Advanced Potion Making???)

[justcarol67]

Dungrollin wrote: 
> > The US version shows Harry and Dumbledore looking into a pensieve,
Harry with his wand ready. The question is, whose memories are in the
pensieve? Harry's memories from Godric's Hollow? <snip>

SSS responded: 
<snip> 
> One thought I had was that Harry *is* watching the GH memory, and
the reason I think so is that the light, which appears to be emanating
from the penseive, is GREEN.  As in, AK-green.
> 
> Good question, though, about whose memories they'd be.  DD's? 
Snape's? ??
> 
> This wouldn't be pleasant for Harry to see, but wouldn't it be 
> refreshing if, FINALLY, DD allowed Harry to get some real facts?
> 
> SSSusan

Carol adds:
Absolutely, it would be great if Harry had some facts for once--and if
we readers did, too. And good observation about the sickly green of
the light (and the entire cover), SSS. The flash of green light from
an AK would explain it perfectly.

I have a problem with it being Harry's memory, though. The only people
who have removed memories so far (Snape and Dumbledore) have done so
from their own heads, and both of them were highly skilled Occlumens.
Harry certainly has not mastered enough Occlumency to remove a memory
from his own head, especially one so dim and distant that all he can
recall (with no Dementors present) is green light and a high-pitched
laugh. So how could he possibly remove it? And we've seen no evidence
so far that anyone, even a skilled Legilimens like Dumbledore, can
remove a memory from *someone else's* head.

That leaves Dumbledore and Snape. But we know that DD wasn't at
Godric's Hollow, and I don't think Snape was there, either. And even
if he was, surely he wouldn't remove the memory from his own head and
place it in a Pensieve for Dumbledore and Harry to examine when he's
not even present!

Of course, *Voldemort* was definitely present, but we don't know
whether he's an Occlumens (and thus able to remove a memory from his
own mind) or "only" a Legilimens. In any case, it's most unlikely that
he'd place a memory in a Pensieve under any circumstances (he's not
the introspective type) and, if he did, he certainly wouldn't leave it
there for someone else to find.

I'm forced to reluctantly conclude that DD is so skilled in bringing
the right memory to the surface when he's "legilimencing" that he's
able to deliberately extract that particular memory from Harry's mind
even though it's dim and unformed. I find that prospect scary. If
Legilimency can take that extreme form, it's a very dangerous skill
and a lot scarier than Voldemort!

Regardless of whose memory it is, I'm sure SSS is right that it's
Godric's Hollow. But why are they using someone else's cracked
Pensieve, and why is it balanced on a Corinthian column? I don't
recall any such furnishing in Dumbledore's office! (Maybe they're in
the Department of Mysteries?

Carol