Snape, Harry and the Pensieve WAS Re: Pensieves objectivity

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 79842

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "msbeadsley" <msbeadsley at y...> 
wrote:
> msbeadsley:  No excuse needed.  Just human nature.  (OT note:  
> statistics show that a large percentage of guests peruse hosts' 
> medicine cabinets out of curiosity; kids are even snoopier <snip>
> 
> Pen Robinson:  Just to nitpick a bit, I'd say that equating between 
> snooping in the Pensieve and nosing through someone's medicine 
> cabinet is a bit generous.
> 
> I did say "kids are even snoopier" (than just looking in someone 
> else's medicine cabinet).  However, I'll admit my tone was somewhat 
> cavalier.
> 
> Pen Robinson:  What Harry did equates more nearly with a guest 
> reading his host's personal journal/diary.  If a guest *did* do so, 
> would the guest (or anyone?) think it unreasonable for the host to 
be 
> mightily peeved?
> 
> Does it?  Harry's one previous experience of the Pensieve made it 
> appear almost like a file cabinet for historical documents.  Do we 
> have canon that Snape used the Pensieve as a journal?  (I thought 
it 
> was more like a therapeutic tool here, a thing Harry could not have 
> known.)
> 


Geoff:
Can we actually consider fromn canon /why/ Harry looked in the 
Pensieve?

"He turned around. The light was coming from the Pensieve sitting on 
Snape's desk. The silver-white contents were ebbing and swirling 
within. Snape's thoughts.... things he did not want Harry to see if 
he broke through Sanpe's defences accidentally....

Harry gazed at the Pensieve, curiosity welling within him.... what 
was it that Snape was so keen to hide form Harry?

The silvery lights shivered on the wall.... Harry tok two steps 
towards the desk, thinking hard. Could it possibly be information 
about the Department of Mysteries that Snape was determined o keep 
from him?" (POA p.563 UK edition)

Harry was not expecting to see the scene involving his father; he 
wasn't prying to find out personal stuff to blab about Snape. He was 
trying to find out more about the DoM. OK, he should not have looked 
but Snape had effectively told him to mind his own business about the 
Department during his previous visit and, obviously, HP feels that 
there is something there which involves him. Since nobody seemd to 
want to tell him, the guy was trying to find out for himself. The 
wrong way, yes, but how else was he to go?

Geoff