Memory charms (was "Slytherin" Hermione?)

[huntergreen_3]

No: HPFGUIDX 112346

~Yb:
> How can you "decide" what memories to erase? "Obliviate" seems to
> take care of everything, even how to write your own name in joined-
> up writing, as evidenced by Lockhart, but there must be varying
> degrees of Memory Charms, otherwise Marietta wouldn't have had much
> use for Hogwarts after this little encounter. So to erase 6 months
> of meetings, how would you go about just getting the ones you want?

TL replied:
>>I think this accuracy should just be ascribed to "magic".

"Obliviate!" pronounced with the proper emphasis, wand movements, and
**intention** to erase DA meetings, activities, and personnel does the
trick. No worrying about how the biological brain stores memories.
No worrying about how many DA meetings there were. <<

HunterGreen:
Ah, thank you for that explanation, however simple it was. I think 
that's the only way the memory charm thing would have worked without 
causing too much suspicion. He just pointed the want and 
said 'obliviate', while concentrating on DA meetings, or perhaps he 
said "obliviate meetings!" or something to that effect, sort of like 
the difference between 'accio' and 'accio Firebolt'.

TL:
>>Just the intent and training and power. Kingsley should have the 
talent and ability to accomplish it.
[snip]
 Gilderoy ended up in such a mess b/c he was really intending to wipe 
out huge parts of the boys' memories. [snip]
Gilderoy didn't know when or how the boys had figured out the secret
of the Chamber, so he was going to take it all away--can't leave any
straggling memory that might have contributed to the discovery.
Gilderoy wasn't going to take a chance of them remembering anything at
all that might expose him. Any loose ends might undo the spell and
reveal Lockhart's perfidy.<<

HunterGreen:
I think that Lockhart just wasn't as talented with memory charms as 
he claimed to be. He's not really talented with *anything* besides 
fame, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's not good at the one thing he 
thinks he can do. Kingsly is an auror, and I'll bet memory charms are 
part of auror training (either that or he's good with them because he 
was studious in school, which I'd guess most aurors were). Therefore, 
he was able to obliviate without harming Marietta's memory or erasing 
unnecessary parts. Lockhart on the other hand, was simply erasing 
memories. We don't know how far back he was *intending* to go (since 
the broken wand may have may the charm worse than he intended), but 
he had planned on telling people that Ron and Harry "lost their 
minds", so perhaps what happened to him was what he intended (when 
Ron used the 'eat slugs' hex/jinx/curse, it didn't appear to do 
anything beyond what he had planned). 
Perhaps Lockhart is unaware that obliviate can be used on *specific* 
memories. Perhaps he just uses it *strongly* (if there are different 
levels), and the reaction he's noticed is that it makes people appear 
to lose their minds, so he thinks thats what it does (as in, its the 
*only* thing it does). Then again, you could be right, and Lockhart 
really did want to completely wipe Harry and Ron's memories (which is 
pretty sadistic, although it does make me wonder what Dumbledore 
would have done if his weapon against Voldemort couldn't remember who 
he was).