Veritaserum Question

[foxmoth at qnet.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 8151

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Ebony " <ebonyink at h...> wrote:
> While chatting with Carole this afternoon, the following technical 
> question came up...
> 
> Remember Veritaserum (truth potion from GoF)?  Say someone is 
> suffering from Memory Charm-induced amnesia so that they 
> have "forgotten" something crucial.  
> 
> If they were given Veritaserum, would they be able to give 
> information about an event that occurred in the Memory Gap?  In other 
> words, does Veritaserum give the questioner actual truth (events as 
> they actually occurred) or virtual truth (events as the person 
> remembers).

	I think it has to be virtual truth...otherwise you could ask 
anybody anything and get the truth ie, "What is the secret of life, the 
universe and everything?"

 With all the psychobabble floating around in my head, I'm inclined to 
> think that the memories were never really *erased*... perhaps just 
> irretrievably repressed. 
	 There *are* ways to break through a powerful memory charm, as 
Voldie did this to Bertha Jorkins, but they are apparently  drastic and 
cause irreparable damage to the subject. It doesn't sound like Voldie 
used veritaserum on BJ, though I admit it's a possibility I hadn't 
thought of before.
Pippin
	
>