Chapter 24: Occlumency and Ripper

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 108848

>Melanie wrote:  
> 5) Snape asked several questions about the images that were scene 
in his visions.  For example, he asked about Aunt Marge's dog. What 
purpose did he have in asking those questions?  Do they lead to 
something, stand out in his mind, or is he just merely curious about 
them?


Potioncat:
It is the first session and Harry sees: 5 years old watching Dudley 
on a bike; 9 years chased up a tree, while the family laughs; 
Sorting Hat speaking of Slytherin; Hermione with a cat face; 100 
dementors; Cho and mistletoe.

Harry asks if Snape saw it all and Snape says "flashes" then 
asks "to whom did the dog belong?" It's somewhat surprising he 
doesn't ask about the Sorting Hat or the dementors.  It almost seems 
he chose a neutral memory to ask about.  Almost like, "I saw the 
dog, but not the Sorting Hat and I certainly didn't see you under 
the mistletoe with Miss Chang." (My point being that he did see 
those things but did not mention them.)

Harry is hating Snape at  that point, but Snape is not smirking or 
making any remarks about the memories.  In fact, in spite of the 
fact that he was firm about "sir" Snape doesn't correct him for most 
of the conversation after this episode.  It is almost as if he is 
trying to put Harry at ease.  In fact, it seems to me, Snape has 
explained a great deal in this session. As others have said in other 
posts, for Snape,  he is positively nice.


Back to the dog.  I wonder if there is something about Ripper?(How 
old is he anyway?) There is a magical animal that looks like a 
Muggle dog, but it isn't the same breed as Ripper. But if this dog 
appears magical to Snape, is that why he wants to know who owns 
Ripper? I wonder if we'll learn something new about Marge in the 
next book.  Like, Ripper is gone?

Potioncat:
who once again came up with more questions than answers.