OoP: Confused and bemused - some questions about Snape's Worst Memory

[Catherine Coleman]

Hi all,

Some spoiler space just in case anyone hasn't finished the book yet (and 
as an aside - is there anyone who hasn't finished?  How long are we 
planning to keep the spoiler space up?)

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Firstly, Amanda said:

"I refuse to believe that being turned upside down in public was the 
worst
thing that James and Sirius ever did to Snape. They didn't turn him into
anything, they didn't poison him, they didn't change him. So there had 
to be another factor that made it so traumatic."

I agree, and may I just say that I wasn't really impressed with the 
title of that chapter?  That is the only indication we have that it 
*was* Snape's worst memory.  Does JKR believe that, or was it just 
something that sounded good?    Mind you - Harry was yanked out during 
the memory - if James carried out his threat and removed Snape's pants 
(underpants to all Americans who didn't think this was as bad as the 
Brits did), it could conceivably have been his worst memory.  James 
wouldn't have been that cruel, surely?  Even the Death Eaters left the 
muggles' underwear on (I hope).  Another thought - anyone think that 
this is where the Death Eaters got the idea from in the first place?

Anyway, onto my thoughts.

I now have more questions about how the Pensieve works - and really, 
with recorded memories in general.   In the three examples we have, 
(Riddle's diary, Dumbledore's pensieve trials, and Snape's "worst 
memory")  there is one thing that seems inconsistent with how a memory 
should work.  There is definitely a sense that whoever is accessing the 
memory can move outside the ambit of the person who is recalling the 
events.  The exception is the trial scenes because Harry does not try to 
see anything which Dumbledore can't.  But in Riddle's diary, Harry finds 
himself in the headmaster's office - prior to Tom Riddle's entrance and 
therefore before the memory proper can start, and in Snape's memory, he 
does try to stick as close to James & Co as much as possible, and away 
from Snape.  This is to the extent that he hears them making reference 
to the fact that Lupin is a werewolf.  So, one of my questions is - is 
this something which Snape also overheard, and can we date it before or 
after the Prank?  Or, is anyone who accesses the memory, including 
Snape, able to move around freely and listen to things that he did not 
hear originally?  Basically - does using the Pensieve have another 
purpose - in that not only are you storing up your memories for further 
examination, but you can actually get a wider perspective and knowledge 
of the events, which you were possibly not privy to when the event 
actually occurred?

If so, then it pokes a lot of unhelpful holes in my other theory.  If 
the above theory is true, then it would imply that the memory is a pure 
and unbiased record of what actually happened.  I was hoping, for 
Harry's sake, that Snape's memory had been exaggerated over time, as is 
often the case when dwelling on things of an unpleasant nature.  There 
was no reason to consider this with Dumbledore in GoF.  During the trial 
scenes, there wasn't any need to question the reliability of his 
memories - after all, he was mainly an onlooker during these 
proceedings.    I assumed, therefore, that his memory was completely 
accurate, and that it was a true depiction of what occurred - and not in 
anyway manipulated by his personal feelings about what was going on 
around him.

However, Snape is most certainly *not* a bystander in this memory, but 
is at the heart of it, which is why I wanted to ask the question. 
Yet Harry can still move around quite freely as long as he kept Snape in 
sight (although he didn't try to do otherwise).  So, how does this work? 
Can you have a biased and exaggerated memory and move outside its 
original ambit?

Catherine