TBAY: Yellow Flags & Jobberknolls (WAS Memory Charm Symposium (2 of 3)

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 38830

What's this gathering Cindy has found in the basement of the Canon 
Museum?  The pamphlet announces the "Memory Charm Symposium:  The 
Final Word On The Neville Backstory."  There's even a schedule of 
afternoon break-out groups for all sorts of Memory Charm variants.  
Wizards in Black.  Benevolent Memory Charms.  No Memory Charm At 
All.  Even Regressive Hypnosis.  And the whole thing is . . . Free!

Always willing to partake of something free, Cindy strides into the 
room.  It is packed with Memory Charm Enthusiasts, each bearing a 
Paddle with his or her favorite Memory Charm Variant.  Elkins stands 
before the assembled crowd, her knuckles white from her death grip 
on the sides of the podium.  Cindy's eyes flick over to the side of 
the room, where Elkins has thoughtfully provided quite a selection 
of refreshments.  There are pitchers of Kool-Aid in every flavor 
ever conceived, including unpopular varieties like "Black Olive."  
Elkins is very thorough that way.  

Cindy loads her own Big Paddle with a roll of Ritz crackers and a 
can of Cheeze Wiz.  She pours Kool-Aid from the pitcher 
marked "Unsweetened."  She moves to the front row, easing herself 
into her MATCHINGARMCHAIR.  Everyone else in the front row 
immediately moves several rows back.  George, sensing trouble, 
humbly offers Cindy a GIANTCUSHION upon which to rest her feet.  
Cindy kicks it roughly in the direction of the podium and fixes 
Elkins with a withering stare.

******************
Elkins:

> Ah.  But speaking of those yellow flag violations, we now come at 
> last to...

Whoa!  Hang on!  Stop right there!

Before we start talking about Reverse Memory Charm Neville, we have 
to get our terminology straight.  Let's make sure we all agree on 
the nature of a Yellow Flat Violation.  Maybe I can help here.  Just 
let me grab my TBAY Rulebook. . . 

What?  You didn't know there was a TBAY Rulebook?  Well there is!  I 
have it right here.  

What's that?  You want your own copy?  Sorry, I'm so sorry.  I'm 
*terribly* sorry.  There's only the one copy and . . . um . . . it 
will burst into *flames* if I try to copy it.  But you can ask me 
any question about TBAY rules and I'll be more than happy to look it 
up for you.

<dons reading glasses, licks thumb>

Let's see . . . We have "Yapping" . . . "Yelling" . . . Ah yes, here 
it is.  "Yellow Flag Violation -- attempting to resolve a FLINT or 
other mystery in a past book by inventing a spell, charm, potion, 
magical device or character that would have been described or used 
in that book had such a spell, charm, potion, magical device or 
character existed."

Oh, look.  Here are a few helpful purely hypothetical examples of 
Yellow Flag Violations:

"Inventing a Tractor Beam Charm to explain why Lily and James didn't 
just apparate away with Harry when Voldemort appeared."

"Inventing a Sticky Fingers Charm to explain how Voldemort managed 
to keep hold of his wand when the AK curse rebounded onto him."

"Addressing the question of whether Hogwarts teachers marry by 
inventing Mr. McGonagall."

Oh, wait.  Wow!  This is a *great* Rulebook.  There's even a cross-
reference.  "Creative Theorizing."  Oooh, that looks interesting.  
Let's turn to that.

<flips pages>

"Creative Theorizing -- solving open canon questions or mysteries 
using existing canon devices or *reasonable variants* thereof, 
especially including antidotes to potions and reverse charms, so 
long as the variant violates no existing canon principles and makes 
good sense. "

Oh, wait, there are some examples under "Creative Theorizing."

"Includes the Reverse Memory Charm as a variant of the canon Memory 
Charm."

"Includes the ToadKeeper spell as a variant of having one's soul 
removed by a dementor."

<slams book abruptly>

What's that?  Just what are you trying to say there?  Well, *of 
course* those last examples are actually in the Rulebook.  Why would 
I just make those up?

Oh, no.  I'm terribly sorry.  I can't let you see for yourself.  
You'd probably go *blind* if you try to read the Rulebook yourself.  
You don't want to take that chance, do you?  Didn't think so.

All right.  Now on to The Reverse Memory Charm Theory itself.  

***********

Sorry to interrupt, Elkins, you go right ahead:

> Neville is indeed the victim of a memory spell, but it is not one 
> designed to *suppress* his memories at all.  Rather, he was 
exposed 
> to some form of magical memory-enhancement, probably by ministry 
> officials hoping to get some leads on the identities of the 
> Longbottoms' attackers.  The end result of this has been that 
Neville 
> now helplessly relives the memory of having witnessed his parents' 
> torture, particularly whenever he is under stress, thus rendering 
him 
> incapable of concentrating on other matters.
> MATCHINGARMCHAIR, the "Reverse Memory Charm" Theory, is definitely
> appealing in that it caters to all of our worst suspicions about 
the
> MOM.  By suggesting that Neville is tormented on a near-constant 
> basis by the sound of his parents screaming in agony, it also 
pleases 
> the anti-sap brigade. There is not a single ewwwwy bit of 
sappiness 
> to be found in the Reverse Memory Charm theory.  It is not in the 
> least bit sappy.  It isn't even *nice.*  

Aw, Elkins.  That is so *sweet*!  I mean, I couldn't have said it 
better myself.  Reverse Memory Charm Neville has a lot to recommend 
him, and I'm glad you think so.  

But, let's not forget to do a Bang assessment.  Reverse Memory Charm 
Neville is consistent with the idea that the Pensieve Four didn't 
just sling Frank and his wife around and rough them up.  No, JKR 
went for the *worst* thing she could think up for Frank and his 
wife.  Torture.  Hours and hours of torture, to the point of driving 
them insane.  Does she torture them until they die?  No, that would 
be *too good* for Frank and his wife.  JKR goes all out by leaving 
them alive but insane.  She is working so hard to generate a Bang 
here that she just skips right over the objection that people don't 
go insane from torture in this fashion.  

Heck, JKR was so hell-bent on getting a Bang out of the Longbottoms 
that she completely lost her head and even got a bit FLINT-y.  We 
know for a fact that Crouch Jr. knows how to perform the Imperius 
Curse quite well, and it is almost an undisputed fact that he was 
one of the Pensieve Four.  Why, I ask, didn't the Pensieve Four just 
use the Imperius Curse to get the information out of Frank and his 
wife, kill them both, and be done with it?  

I'll tell you why.  JKR is swinging for the fence on the torture of 
the Longbottoms.  She is going for a Monster Bang there.  That's one 
reason why Reverse Memory Charm Neville has *so darn much appeal* to 
Bangers.  Heck, even George starts stroking his FEATHERBOA when we 
start talking about Reverse Memory Charm Neville.
 
Elkins (resisting the irresistible tug of Reverse Memory Charm 
Neville):

> I mean, there's just so much to like here that I really find 
>myself *wanting* to believe in the Reverse Memory Charm.  But I 
>can't.  I just can't.  There are far too many holes . . .  

Holes?  

<blinks>

You're seeing *holes*?  I'm seeing a theory that can be molded and 
tailored to the tastes of the individual.  It's not riddled with 
holes; it's *inclusive*!

Here, let me show you.

Elkins:

> See, I just can't believe that Neville has been walking around 
> reliving the horrible image of his parents being tortured into 
> insanity for the past four books.  I just can't buy that.  There's 
> far too much evidence to the contrary.  There's his overall 
>demeanor, 
> and his reaction to the Second Task's mermaid song, and his 
>reaction 
> to the Dementor on the train 

Ah, but that is because you have apparently turned the Dolby sound 
up really high to the setting marked "Earsplitting Shrieks".  You've 
also apparently selected the "Continuous Loop" setting in which 
Neville hears these magnified shrieks 24/7.  That's very courageous 
of you, really it is.

Now, me?  I can live with the 24/7 earsplitting shrieking because it 
is so Bang-worthy.  But you can tone it down a bit if you like.  Do 
your own sound-check, if you know what I mean.  You can do this by 
turning those 24/7 shrieks into that annoying high-pitched whining 
sound stores use to keep dogs out, or you can do this by having the 
screaming be intermittent.  You make the call there.

Personally, I'd recommend the intermittent Dolby screaming for you, 
Elkins.  That way, Neville doesn't have to be a complete basket 
case.   There's the extra added bonus that Neville never knows when 
he's going to get a huge blast of his mother's screams.  I like the 
tension there.  He can be brave and heroic at times, and he can be 
melting cauldrons at other times.  Can you work with that?

Elkins:

> And then there's also the, er...
> 
> <nervous look at Cindy>
> 
> Well, the yellow flag violation.  I mean, what in blazes is a 
Reverse 
> Memory Charm, anyway?  I hate to hurl such monstrous accusations 
in a 
> public forum, but I have to admit that there are times, terrible 
> times, Long Dark Nights of my Soul, when I almost find myself 
> suspecting that Cindy...
> 
> <Elkins winces, then lowers her voice>
> 
> Well, that Cindy might have just made the Reverse Memory Charm 
>*up.*
 
Cindy raises her eyes from her Symposium Notebook at the sound of 
her name.  But it isn't the sound of her name that caught her 
attention, if truth be told.  It is the *hideous and unthinkable 
slander* spoken in connection with her name.

Her brow furrows.  What is the best response to this?  There are so 
many possibilities.  There's always the Big Paddle she carries with 
her to these events.  But she has carefully balanced her 
refreshments on her Paddle, and she doesn't wish to set them down 
with that voracious Avery eyeing them hungrily.  Besides, all Cindy 
can accomplish with the Big Paddle is to make Elkins flinch again.  
Cindy doesn't want Elkins to buy Reverse Memory Charm Neville out 
of . . . a desire to avoid bodily harm.  Cindy wants a Full-Fledged 
Conversion out of Elkins.

But . . . but . . . there's also something that Cindy hasn't tried 
before:  Addressing the issue directly with reference to actual 
*canon*.  

Cindy shrugs.  It's worth a try, she figures, so she'll wait to see 
where Elkins is going with this . . . 

Elkins:

> We've not had one mention *anywhere* of a memory retrieval spell.  
> We've had memory storage, with the Pensieve, and we've had coerced 
> remembrance, with the Dementors, and we've had veritaserum -- all 
of 
> which are admittedly getting pretty close -- but we've yet to see 
> anything like a Reverse Memory Charm.

Well, I see where you are going there.  I have to admit that JKR 
hasn't explicitly established the Reverse Memory Charm in canon.  No 
doubt about it.  So is that enough to dispatch Reverse Memory Charm 
Neville once and for all?  

Heck no.  In fact, I'm glad you mentioned it.  Because you have led 
me toward a *Huge* Blockbuster New Canon for Reverse Memory Charm 
Neville.  I can't believe I didn't catch on to this months ago.  
It's been right there under my nose the whole time.

OK.  It's time for *me* to swing for the fence, so stand back -- 

<Dixie cup and refreshments fly into the crowd as Cindy hoists her 
Big Paddle to her shoulder>

How about if I find something in canon related to memory that JKR 
has already established, something that is right there in black and 
white, but something that JKR seems to have intentionally left 
vague?  How about if I can even link it to Truth Serum, which is 
similar to the Reverse Memory Charm?  OK, here goes . . . 

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, p. 23.  "Jobberknoll:  The 
Jobberknoll (northern Europe and America) is a tiny blue, speckled 
bird which eats small insects.  It makes no sound until the moment 
of its death, at which point it lets out a long scream made up of 
every sound it has ever heard, regurgitated backwards.  Jobberknoll 
feathers are used in Truth Serums and Memory Potions."

What's this?  A canon potion that has yet to figure into the plot 
and has to do with memory?  A link to Truth Serums, which are the 
sorts of things that are useful for getting information out of 
someone in an interrogation, especially if one is investigating a 
crime.  And (yeah, it's almost too good to be true) a link to 
*screams* – like the tortured screams of Frank and his wife.  

Yeah.  I'm thinking that's enough canon basis to support the concept 
of Memory Retrieval.  Reverse Memory Charm, Reverse Memory Potion -- 
take your pick.  I'm *very* inclusive on that point.  ;-)

Elkins:

> And then finally, there's this problem of the foreshadowing.  See, 
> the main support for the entire memory charm speculation in the 
first 
> place is all of that emphasis that the books have already placed 
on 
> the existence of memory charms, right?  In every single volume, 
we've 
> had some mention of memory charms, or of some other form of magic 
> (Riddle's Diary, the Fidelius Charm) that has the effect of 
rendering 
> someone amnesiac, or of hiding information from their conscious 
> mind.  References to that sort of thing are just scattered 
throughout 
> canon.  There are spells that erase specific memories, and then 
> there's magic that causes amnesia, and then there are botched 
memory 
> charms that effectively lobotomize their recipients

Let me launch a spirited attack on the notion that the failure to 
establish the Reverse Memory Charm in Books 1-4 means that JKR won't 
whip it out in Book 5.  What did we see with Polyjuice potion?  JKR 
established it in CoS, and turned to it again as the major plot 
twist in Book 4.  How about Animagi?  JKR established that in PS/SS 
and used it as the major plot twist in Book 3.

Does that mean that the Reverse Memory Charm won't turn out to be 
important in Book 5 because JKR hasn't mentioned it yet?  Heck no.  

See, there are *lots* of times when an important spell, potion or 
device is introduced in the very same book in which it is most 
important.  Veritaserum.  The Summoning Charm.  Voldemort's 
Rebirthing Potion.  And in the case of Voldemort's Rebirthing 
Potion, which was *Huge*, it came completely out of the blue with no 
foreshadowing at all.  So could JKR finish off the Neville Backstory 
by pulling a Reverse Memory Charm out of her back pocket?  Yup, and 
none of us would feel the least bit cheated.

But why would she fail to foreshadow the Reverse Memory Charm?  I 
mean, JKR *loves* to slip these things past us.  Why would she not 
at least *mention* a Reverse Memory Charm somewhere to lay a 
foundation for it in OoP?  That's easy, really.  

Because we are all onto her, that's why!  Big time.  Oh, we were 
fooled by Animagi and Polyjuice, even though JKR established them 
early on and we all just forgot about them.  But is there anyone 
here at the Symposium who thinks there is any way at all JKR could 
have worked a mention of a Reverse Memory Charm into Books 1-4 
without ruining the Reverse Memory Charm plot twist in Book 5?  

Anyone?

No, I didn't think so.  All JKR can hope to do is lay a foundation.  
She can, as Elkins pointed out, load the text of Books 1-4 with all 
manner of memory charm-related events, none of which are really 
necessary to the plots of those books at all.  And she has.  But it 
isn't because she's setting up Memory Charm Neville.  She's setting 
up the misdirection (and, at the same time, the foundation) for 
Reverse Memory Charm Neville.

Elkins:

> Wobbly.  The Matching Armchair is indeed Ever So Comfy.  But it is 
> also just so very *wobbly.*

Oh, no.  It's not wobbly.  It's rock solid.  That's because the legs 
of the MATCHINGARMCHAIR are loaded with *canon*.  Very stable and 
heavy canon.  That's the best kind of canon, you know.  ;-)
 
Cindy

><(("> ><(("> ><(("> ><(("> ><(("> ><(("> ><(("> ><(("> ><(("> 

Glossary:

Ritz Crackers -- round butter-flavored crackers that contain no 
butter at all.

Cheeze Wiz -- bright orange processed cheese sold in a pressurized 
can that dispenses the cheese in a squiggly line.  See Also -- 
Velveeta.

***************

For an explanation of the acronyms and theories in this post, visit
Hypothetic Alley at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Admin%
20Files/hypotheticalley.htm 
and Inish Alley at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database?
method=reportRows&tbl=13