What would convince Harry/canned memories

[Amanda Geist]

No: HPFGUIDX 134457

I had two questions. Why didn't Dumbledore just *tell* Harry why he could
trust Snape? And how, now, can Harry possibly learn, and *believe in,* the
reason Dumbledore trusted Snape? I think the only person who knew,
Dumbledore, made it impossible for himself to tell anyone. I think it is
only Dumbledore, still, who has a reasonable chance of making Harry
understand. And I think it will still be Dumbledore who tells him.

I grant you, death is a bit of an obstacle to communication. But given all
that we now know of Pensieves, I think I can see an explanation for why
Dumbledore did not tell him (or anyone else, evidently) and the way for
Dumbledore to give this last bit of information to Harry.

Here's my summation of Pensieve knowledge (forgive the caps, please--I
cannot underline or otherwise set off for ease of reading):

(1) PUTTING A MEMORY IN THE PENSIEVE TAKES IT OUT OF YOUR HEAD. Canon
supports this:

Dumbledore says in GoF: (p. 597) [Dumbledore is speaking]:

   "'I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply
have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind.' ...
   "'At these times,' said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, 'I use
the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours
them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure.'"

To me, this sounds like it's *removal* of a memory or thought, rather than a
*copy.*

This is borne out by Snape's apparently "defensive" use of the Pensieve in
OoP, removing memories so Harry cannot accidentally "see" them, and by the
terms Dumbledore uses in reference to other people's memories in HBP:

(p. 363) Dumbledore, speaking of Morfin's memory, uses the term "collect."
(pp. 489-491) Harry speaking to Slughorn, uses the term "give." This does
not sound like a copy. This sounds like you take the actual item out of the
person's head.

The obvious corollary I draw is: if it's not in your head, *you don't know
it anymore.*

(2) MEMORIES SHOW THE TRUTH (AS IN, THE REALITY OF WHAT HAPPENED). And
unless it's done very skillfully, a viewer can tell when a memory has been
tampered with (HBP, p. 371). This is borne out by info in Part 3 of JKR's
interview, up on the Leaky Cauldron (quoted below):

MA: ..."Do the memories stored in a Pensieve reflect reality or the views of
the person they belong to?"

JKR: It's reality. It's important that I have got that across, because
Slughorn gave Dumbledore this pathetic cut-and-paste memory. He didn't want
to give the real thing, and he very obviously patched it up and cobbled it
together. So, what you remember is accurate in the Pensieve.
...
JKR: Yeah. Otherwise it really would just be like a diary, wouldn't it?
Confined to what you remember. But the Pensieve recreates a moment for you,
so you could go into your own memory and relive things that you didn't
notice the time. It's somewhere in your head, which I'm sure it is, in all
of our brains. I'm sure if you could access it, things that you don't know
you remember are all in there somewhere.

(3) MEMORIES CAN BE STORED. The memories that Dumbledore and Harry view are
in bottles; Harry collects Slughorn's memory in a bottle. Dumbledore has
evidently been collecting memories for years, keeping them, bringing them
out when needed, and examining them for clues.

(4) MEMORIES CAN OUTLIVE THEIR OWNERS. The first memory that Dumbledore and
Harry view in HBP belongs to Bob Ogden, who has died (p. 198).

So what does this mean? Two things.

ONE--I think the reason Dumbledore never told Harry why he trusts Snape is
that he *can't,* meaning he honestly is not able to. I believe he *doesn't
know,* because he has taken that memory out of his head, as insurance,
because he knew it was quite likely he'd be facing Voldemort. I think, to be
safe, Dumbledore would allow himself to remember that he trusts Snape, and
that he has a good reason--but not the reason itself.  Because if Voldemort
managed to "see" the first two things, he would think only that Snape was
damn good at fooling Dumbledore, which would *strengthen* Snape's position
with Voldemort. But if Voldemort ever managed to see the "ironclad" reason
*why* Dumbledore trusted Snape? That would doom Snape.

So that memory is not in Dumbledore's head. He does not know the actual
reason at the moment--and won't, until he puts the memory back--and so
cannot tell it to Harry. I think this explains the following scene (p. 549,
HBP) [Harry is speaking]:

   "'You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized
how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be
the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned --' ...
   "'...Professor...how can you be *sure* Snape's on our side?'
   "Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he were
trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, 'I am sure. I
trust Severus Snape completely.'"

Maybe Dumbledore wasn't making up his mind; maybe he didn't have that
information to give. The timeframe of this exchange is that Dumbledore has
called Harry to his office to go try to find and destroy a Horcrux. This is
a time I would expect Dumbledore to have removed any memories that could
endanger the cause. So he told Harry all he honestly could at that
moment--and what he could tell him matched what Snape has told Voldemort and
the DEs: Snape spun a tale of remorse and Dumbledore trusts him completely.

TWO--All this, then, means to me that there's a memory in a bottle somewhere
that shows that ironclad reason that so convinced Dumbledore. I predict the
existence of this, and that Harry will see it in Book 7, and it will show
him the truth; in a form he cannot argue with, from a source he cannot
disbelieve.

When he sees it; what he has already done based on incomplete knowledge and
belief of Snape's treachery; who may also see it--these are variables that
have great plot and character potential.

Thoughts?

~Amandageist