OOP: Thoughts on the pensieve and a bit of Snape

[Audra1976 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 65541

In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Heather Gauen <miss_dumblydore at y...> wrote:

> b) A pensieve will show an *entire* situation,
> including details that the person may have forgotten
> or had no way to know in the first place. [This could
> provide an answer to those complaining that Harry saw
> things that Snape couldn't have seen. Perhaps that's
> one of the perks of a pensieve. Remember, if Harry can
> dive in and hear MWPP talking about Lupin's werewolf
> status, Snape could do the same thing.]

Me:

Wow, in that case, the Pensieve would be *really* useful for eavesdropping on conversations.  Just go stand in a room for a while, go home and put the memory of it in a Pensieve, then go into the Pensieve and walk around and listen in on anyone's private conversation?  I somehow don't think this is how the Pensieve works.  It would be a major invasion of people's privacy, if so.  I think there are other explanations for all the details in Snape's memory.  

First, Snape was not far away from MWPP.  Maybe he did actually overhear their conversation.  His non-reaction to the werewolf comment could have been because this memory took place after The Prank and he already knew Lupin's secret, or if it was before The Prank, Snape heard it, but wasn't sure whether to take it seriously or if it was just some sort of private joke.  Maybe even the comment, if he overheard it, fueled his curiosity about Lupin and lead to The Prank.

Second, maybe Snape didn't actually hear what MWPP were talking about before he came over toward them, but he just filled in the details of the conversation in his own mind.  Obviously Snape knows now that Lupin is a werewolf, so in his memory in the Pensieve, whether it was before or after he Prank, MWPP were under the tree chatting among themselves, and Snape's own mind made up something that they could be talking about, based on what he knows of them and their personalities.  I think it makes sense for the Pensieve to work this way, and there wouldn't be so much potential for invasion of privacy in usuing one.

-Audra-