In Defense of Scrimgeour & Offense against DD

[lizzyben04]

No: HPFGUIDX 179574

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "muscatel1988" <cottell at ...> 
wrote:
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_svirn" <a_svirn@> wrote:
> >
> > > Pippin:
> > > Dumbledore did try to get the Ministry to realize that Morfin 
was 
> > > the wrong man <snip>
> > 
> > a_svirn:
> > I don't remember that from canon.

Mus:
> It's in "A Sluggish Memory": " 'However, I was able to secure a 
visit
> to Morfin in the last weeks of his life, by which time I was
> attempting to discover as much as I could about Voldemort's past.  
I
> extracted this memory [of Tom's visit to the Gaunt house at the 
time
> the Riddle family get murdered - Mus] with difficulty.  When I saw
> what it contained, I attempted to use it to secure Morfin's release
> from Azkaban.  Before the Ministry reached their decision, however,
> Morfin died.' " [HBP UKhb: 344]
> 
> If you believe him, that is.  <eg>
> 
> Mus, who would have difficulty at this stage believing DD's word 
that
> fire is hot.
>

lizzyben:

And gosh, I wonder what Morfin died of? Let's see... he died within 
weeks of seeing Dumbledore, & shortly after DD extracted these 
memories. Riddle had placed a powerful memory charm on Morfin that 
would erase his real memories & place a false one in its place. So, 
in order for DD to reach the "real" memory behind the false one, DD 
would have to use some powerful magic indeed to break the memory 
charm - DD says that he had to use a "great deal of skilled 
Legimancy" to "coax" it out of him. 


Funnily enough, Hokey the elf also died shortly after DD managed 
to "extract" a memory from her of Riddle's murder of Hepizah Smith. 
(DD:"As in the case of Morfin, by the time I traced her & managed to 
extract this memory, her life was almost over.") But I'm sure DD 
lobbied for her freedom as well. ;)

And hmmm, where else have we heard of a powerful wizard using 
Legimancy to "extract" hidden memories? Voldemort did exactly that 
to Bertha Jorkins. Her "real" memories had been modified & hidden 
behind a powerful Memory Charm. But LV broke this charm in order to 
extract her real memories about the TWT & Barty Crouch Jr. LV tells 
us that memory charms aren't 100% safe, because they can be broken 
by a powerful wizard.

Voldemort: "We could have modified her memory? But Memory Charms can 
be broken by a powerful wizard, as I proved when I questioned her. 
It would be an insult to her memory not to use the information I 
extracted from her, Wormtail." (GOF 10)

So, Voldemort used powerful magic to break the memory charm & reach 
Bertha Jorkin's real memories. Voldemort says that this magic 
(skilled Legimency?) allowed him to reach the memories that had been 
hidden behind the Charm. And Voldemort also tells us what effect 
this process has: "She told me many things. . . but the means I used 
to break the Memory Charm upon her were powerful, and when I had 
extracted all useful information from her, her mind and body were 
both damaged beyond repair. She had now served her purpose. I could 
not possess her. I disposed of her."Voldemort smiled his terrible 
smile, his red eyes blank and pitiless." (GOF, 424)

Thank you for the information! So, LV placed powerful Memory Charms 
on both Morfin & Hokey in order to erase their memories of his visit 
& make them think that they had committed the murders. LV tells us 
that a powerful wizard can break this Charm, & "extract" the real 
memory, but that this process damages the subject's mind and body 
beyond repair. Voldemort used this process to break the Charm & 
"extract" Bertha Jorkins' real memories -  disposing of her once 
the "questioning" was completed. I submit that DD used the same 
process to break LV's memory charms & "extract" hidden memories from 
both Morfin & Hokey. They both died within weeks after DD visited 
them, shortly after DD himself says that he used powerful magic to  
extract their real memories (with great difficulty). After damaging 
their minds & bodies beyond repair, DD decided that they had served 
their purpose, & disposed of them.

*Adds Morfin & Hokey to the DD death toll.*


lizzyben