Snape's reporting methods

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 97766

Tanya Swaine wrote:
> While I was reading GOF, yet again.  Something registered with me,
for the first time about Snape's reporting methods.  First, here is
the segment in the book

<snip> Harry saw his own face change smoothly into Snape's, who opened
his mouth and spoke to the ceiling, his voice echoing slightly.
<snip> He peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles at
> Harry, who was gaping at Snape's face, which was continuing to swirl
around the bowl. <snip>
 
Right, reading this, it had me wondering.  I have heard often that
Snape is likely to report regularly to Dumbledore, and as these are
Dumbledore's personal memories.  I wonder if the fact that Snape is
not looking at Dumbledore while talking, whether that actually helps
him with occulumcy.  If he doesn't have a visual memory.

Carol:
I'm not quite sure what you mean in that last part. Are you saying
that DD doesn't have a visual memory of Snape because Snape wasn't
looking at him?

The way I read the scene, Dumbledore is focusing on people (Harry,
Bertha Jorkins, Snape) and so the people show up in the Pensieve out
of their context. Harry is not actually inside these memories--in
Snape's case, he's looking down into the bowl and Memory!Snape is
looking up because he's inside the bowl. If Harry were to enter the
memory, IMO Snape would be looking directly at Dumbledore as he would
in any ordinary conversation. I don't think it has anything to do with
occlumency or Snape's own visual memories. It's Snape's words (which
in any case conjure up a vivid image) that are important here--at
least to us as readers, even if DD had already made the connection for
himself.

Carol