TBAY: Memory Charm Neville Meets Reverse Memory Char...

[elfundeb at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 38847

Debbie, working late again, is nodding off over a large tome, when suddenly 
there comes a tapping at her window.  Glancing up, she sees not one, but two 
owls.  Debbie opens the window whereupon two rolls of parchment are dropped 
gently on the table.  One bears a sphinx seal.  Debbie opens it and is 
astonished to find that Tough! Cindy has made a genuine offer of compromise 
in the case of Memory Charm Neville vs. Reverse Memory Charm Neville.  Hmm, 
she's proposing a merger, to be entitled "The Double Memory Charm theory!"  
It states:

And this is where I'm willing to offer up a compromise.  [snip] Avery does 
the 
Memory Charm, but being a bit of a coward, he doesn't do a really 
*Big* Memory Charm.  He takes a little something off of it because 
he doesn't want to hurt Frank's boy.  But when Moody arrives, he and 
Crouch Sr. use a *monster* Reverse Memory Charm, which breaks 
through Avery's mini-Memory Charm and gets Moody an identification 
of the Pensieve Four.

Debbie ponders this offer a moment, remembering an earlier brief in which she 
objected to psychological memory enhancement for our poor Neville.  Then she 
opens the other scroll, whereupon she becomes quite excited.  What's this?  A 
Symposium on Memory Charms, to be conducted by the leading expert in the 
field!  Swayed by the promise of continuing education credit, Debbie packs 
her things.  Cindy's reply will have to wait until Prof. Elkins has her say.

At the last moment, overcome by a fit of fashion consciousness, she grabs a 
shocking pink FEATHERBOA and throws it over her legal robes before heading 
off.

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

Debbie sits quietly in the last row of the meeting room and scans the 
symposium agenda.  Ah, her Memory Charms of choice, deemed too dark for some, 
will not be covered till the second day of the program.  But her opponent's 
theory, the Reverse Memory Charm, is on today's agenda.  Always wary of the 
refreshments, Debbie surreptitiously draws her water bottle out from under 
her robes, then turns to Prof. Elkins' program outline, and finds the 
following under "Reverse Memory Charm":

> 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, most of which I've already 
> covered in my comments on the "No Memory Charm At All" Theory.  
> 
> 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 --  

Flipping quickly to the No Memory Charm at All section, Debbie realizes that 
Prof. Elkins has used one of her own arguments:

> And then there's also the evidence to which both Debbie and Finwitch 
> alluded: Neville's behavior when confronted by the Dementor on the 
> train at the beginning of PoA.
> 
<scans down page>


> Neville and Ginny are there to 
> indicate to the reader that they do not have memories nearly as dire 
> as Harry's.
> 
> Or that they are simply incapable of *accessing* them.
> 
Debbie contemplates this for a moment, then concludes regrettably that, at 
this time, she cannot accept Cindy's offer.  A shame, really, because Cindy 
is right over there, across the meeting room, wielding a very 
dangerous-looking paddle with what looks like . . . h'ors d'oevres? on it.  
And now Cindy is addressing the Professor directly.

Debbie spots Avery sitting nervously at the far end of her row, prompting 
Debbie to review Cindy's offer again.  Wait, what about this part?:  

Could one of the four Pensieve Four have Cracked and ratted out the 
group?  <Debbie focuses on #4.>

Maybe, just maybe, the way 
Avery wormed his way out of trouble was by mustering the courage to 
rat out Mrs. Lestrange.  He stands there silent in the Pensieve 
scene (well, there probably was some trembling and sniffing and 
sniveling going on that young Harry missed), knowing he has cut a 
deal to be sprung from Azkaban.  Yes, that's why he didn't prostrate 
himself before Crouch Jr. like he did in the graveyard.  That guilt 
certainly does give Avery good reason to Crack in the graveyard all 
those many years later, doesn't it?  

That's it, Debbie concludes.  She'll concede Fourth Man Avery!  But there are 
some pesky counterarguments to sort through first. Debbie wanders over to the 
refreshment table, where Cindy is helping herself to more Cheez-wiz, and asks 
for a word.  Cindy obliges, no doubt expecting complete capitulation in light 
of her cogent arguments to our esteemed professor.  But, Debbie points at 
Cindy's first argument:

First, I 
always like to assume that Moody was involved in the arrest of the 
Pensieve Four.  This explains Neville's terrified reaction to Moody, 
and it gives me a nifty way to explain the absence of Moody's leg 
and eye.  It also explains Moody's absence from the trial of the 
Pensieve Four -- Moody was undergoing some *serious* physical 
therapy at the time.  

Debbie replies gently:

"But Cindy, there is nothing in Cracked Fourth Man Avery that negates Moody's 
involvement.  The Pensieve Four did indeed cause those injuries.  But it was 
dear, Tough-as-Nails Mrs. Lestrange, when Moody finally cornered her and her 
catatonic husband and smoked them out of their hiding place.  Have you seen 
her fingernails?  Three inches long, curled and painted black to match her 
hair.  Took that eye right out.  As for Avery, he was indeed caught by Moody, 
right at the Longbottom house.  But being a SYCOPHANT (but a Tough one at 
times), he surrendered, meekly as a lamb.  And poor Neville, newly freed of 
memory, transfixed his eyes on Moody's nose and soaks that memory right in."

Debbie pauses for Cindy to take this in.  Her eyes wander across the room, 
where she spies Avery drifting off to sleep.  After a moment, however, Cindy 
points to her second argument:

Now, I doubt that Real Moody would resort to a Cruciatus Curse to 
get Avery to Crack.  Sirius says, "[Moody] was tough, but he never 
descended to the level of the Death Eaters."  Now, Sirius was either 
in Azkaban or possibly hunting down Peter when the Longbottoms' 
torture occured, so maybe he is unaware that Moody used the 
Cruciatus Curse to get Avery to Crack.  But I rather doubt it.

"Explain that," Cindy replies.  Debbie begins, fingering her FEATHERBOA, 
"You're right, of course.  Moody didn't use Cruciatus on Avery."  Cindy 
displays a look of satisfaction.  "But I'm not finished.  Moody is a dark 
wizard catcher.  Avery was turned over to Crouch Sr. and his minions.  And 
old Barty has a problem on his hands, worse than he ever had when Voldemort 
was around and the populace expected violence around every corner.  No, the 
WW has gotten used to the calm by now, and the Longbottom attack has shaken 
their confidence.  Barty knows he needs convictions to calm everyone down.  
He's got to break Avery.  Is it legal?  Of course!  Barty himself "authorized 
the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects."  And he's not 
descending to the DE level, no siree, it's a narrow exception in pursuit of 
justice for all and peace across the WW."

Cindy nods again, but points to argument number 3:

Besides, Sirius tells us exactly how Avery wormed his way out of 
trouble:  "From what I've heard he wormed his way out of trouble by 
saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse."  Sirius also 
makes it clear how Karkaroff gets off -- he "did a deal" with the 
Ministry.  So Sirius definitely knows the difference between getting 
off by claiming Imperius and doing a deal, so I think it's fair to 
assume Fourth Man Avery didn't turn in his accomplices.

"Ahh," Debbie says soothingly, "But Cindy, you've forgotten the basis for my 
willingness to entertain the parallel universes where Avery is and is not 
Fourth Man.  The Imperius defense doesn't add up, so you can't believe 
everything Sirius says. His information is thirdhand, acquired years after 
the events in question.  <waves earlier brief, numbered 38353 at Cindy>  He 
has to be wrong about Avery and the Imperius Curse.  But we *could* get 
there.  Maybe that's exactly what Avery did.  Just a little Crucio was all it 
took, and our man Avery starts babbling all about how the DEs used the 
Imperius Curse to make him take them to visit the Longbottoms.  But he still 
has enough wherewithall to make a deal.  (Avery conveniently omits the Memory 
Charm he performed on Neville, as it has not been discovered.)  Crouch & Co. 
thereupon make a deal with Avery.  He will be formally convicted with the 
others, when found (Crouch can't appear soft and let him off when the public 
is crying *Send them to the Dementors*, but Avery will be quietly released on 
the way to Azkaban in exchange for his cooperation."

Cindy contemplates these irrefutable arguments for a moment.  Debbie observes 
Avery, who woke with a start at the fifth mention of his name and began to 
eye them suspiciously.  Cindy, however, whips out the draft of her reply 
brief, and points to a citation.  GoF, ch. 27, "Padfoot Returns," in which 
Sirius stated that Crouch Jr. was caught with a group of DEs who'd managed to 
talk their way out of Azkaban.  Cindy is pleased with herself now.  "Two is 
not a group! So Avery couldn't have been caught beforehand."  

Cindy stands quietly, waiting for Debbie to capitulate.  But Debbie is 
enjoying her FEATHERBOA, so she refers Cindy back to the fact that Sirius 
isn't always right.  This is thirdhand information, and whether it was a 
group or a pair is a very insignificant detail, unlike, for example, how 
Avery was sprung from Azkaban.  Silently agreeing to disagree, and seeing 
Avery striding toward them now, Cindy and Debbie move across the room and 
take seats, Cindy in a MATCHING ARMCHAIR, Debbie in a small but sturdy 
meetingroom chair.  After tossing the FEATHERBOA over her shoulder, Debbie 
draws Cindy's attention to her acquiescence to the arguments in favor of 
Memory Charmed Neville:

> 3.  Then there's the idea that Fourth Man knew the Longbottoms and 
> used that relationship to set them up.  Ooooh, my FEATHERBOAS have 
> become rather perky at the very idea of this.  Debbie is right that 
> this is *tremendously* Bangy.  
> 
>   If you'll 
> just give me Avery as Fourth Man, I can produce an ear-shattering 
> Bang for you -- bigger than Fourth Man Anonymous Friend.  If Avery 
> is Fourth Man and knows the Longbottoms, imagine the looks on their 
> faces when they swing open the door, expecting Avery to present them 
> with a nice hostess gift and a plate of his special homemade 
> brownies, only to be staring straight into Mrs. Lestrange's heavily-
> lidded eyes.  Oh, there's no time for escape at all under that 
> scenario, is there?  
> 
> And what of poor Neville?  Oh, he is a bit of a night owl and is 
> toddling around.  Mrs. Lestrange doesn't bother to knock him out or 
> anything, because she's planning to kill him once she has the 
> information she needs.  But Avery stops her from killing Neville or 
> killing the Longbottoms either.  Avery was raised right and knows it 
> is really *rude* to kill the host and hostess after an evening at 
> their home.  Avery proposes a Memory Charm on the kid.  Mrs. Lestrange 
agrees, 
persuaded by Avery's plea that Mrs. Lestrange recruited him for this 
mission by *promising* no one would get hurt.  

Debbie looks Cindy straight in the eye, straightens her FEATHERBOA and says, 
"Exactly right, up to this point, but I just can't buy that Reverse Memory 
Charm.  However, I will agree to live in the Fourth Man Avery parallel 
universe if you will agree to leave that wobbly MATCHING ARMCHAIR.  Instead, 
I offer the following:  Just as Avery raises his wand, there is a ruckus at 
the door.  Avery, nervous Avery, gives the wand a tremendous wave as he 
shrieks out "Obliviate!" leaving our poor Neville a veritable tabula rasa.  
The door swings open.  It's Moody, who manages to sweep up all four suspects, 
but at the price of an eye and a leg.  A Big Bang to end the day.  Just like 
you imagined it.  Could you live with that?"

Cindy opens her mouth to reply.  Just then she hears the good Professor 
Elkins say:

> 

Break time, she says?  "Anyone else want to find the nearest bar?  I've had 
enough of that Kool-Aid.  In fact, I'm rather suspicious of Kool-Aid."  
Debbie takes another swig from her water bottle and heads off with Cindy to 
look for the bar, FEATHERBOAs trailing behind.  The others, heartily sick of 
Kool-Aid and Cheez wiz, follow.



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






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