Dragons, Produced and Tickled, and Other Pleasantries

[pippin_999]

> --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> wrote:
> >
> > Snape probably doesn't *know* what happened in the tunnel. If he was
> > under Imperius when he went in, 
> >
> 
> Canon?

Pippin:
HBP ch 24. "...that necklace...can you remember who gave it to you now?"
"No," said Katie, shaking her head ruefully. "Everyone's been asking me
but I haven't got a clue. The last thing I remember was walking into the
ladies' in the Three Broomsticks."

"You definitely went into the bathroom, then?" said Hermione.
"Well, I know I pushed open the door," said Katie, "so I suppose whoever
Imperiused me was standing just behind it. After that my memory's a
blank until about two weeks ago in St. Mungo's."

OOP ch 26
"So that's why they killed him," [Hermione] said quietly, withdrawing
her gaze from Fred and George at last. "When Bode tried to steal
this weapon, something funny happened to him. I think there
must be defensive spells on it, or around it, to stop people from
touching it. That's why he was in St. Mungo's, his brain had gone
all funny and he couldn't talk. But remember what the Healer 
told us? He was recovering. And they couldn't risk him getting
better, could they? I mean, the shock of whatever happened when
he touched that weapon probably made the Imperius curse lift.
Once he'd got his voice back, he'd explain what he'd been
doing, wouldn't he. They would have known he'd been sent
to steal the weapon."

CoS ch 16
"I shall take a bit of this skin back up to the school, tell them
I was too late to save the girl and that you *tragically* lost
your minds at the sight of her mangled body."

GoF ch 30
"A connection I could have made without assistance," Dumbledore
sighed, "but never mind." 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 explanation about Fudge]

Dumbledore shook his head. "Curiousity is not a sin," he said. "But
we should exercise caution with our curiousity...yes, indeed..."
Frowning slightly, he prodded the thoughts within the basin with
the tip of his wand. Instantly a figure rose out of it, a plump,
scowling girl of about sixteen, who began to revolve slowly,
with her feet still in the basin.<snip>
"But why, Bertha," said Dumbledore sadly, looking up at the 
now silently revolving girl,"why did you have to follow him in the
first place?"

--
Sooo....Dumbledore's pensieve connects Snape with Bertha, who
also followed somebody she shouldn't have. Dumbledore blames
curiousity. But if he's wrong...

Snape wouldn't be able to  explain why he entered the tunnel 
if the curse made him forget. The curse itself could have been
broken by the shock of seeing the monster, but Snape, like 
Katy, still might not remember anything that happened after 
it was put on him. (Considering Bode, Draco was lucky there --
or rather, Madame Rosmerta was.) 

The shock of seeing the monster also provides a reason for 
Snape's memory to be damaged, especially if Snape's head got
smacked on the roof of the tunnel a few times as James was 
pulling him out.

(I like to think that James flew down the tunnel after Snape
on his broom, and Dumbledore was inclined to think that it
was lucky James *had* been down the tunnel before, so that
he knew the twists and turns well enough to take it at speed
in the dark. Very thrilling. But that's just my imagination.)

It's only a theory that any coercion was used, but we agreed it
was likely. Another possibility is the confundus curse, which
seems to make people do the opposite of what they intend.


Pippin