As soon as I read that Draco was to be pulled out of Hogwarts, I imagined Lucius was going to obliviate or memory charm Harry’s influence on Draco away.
It’s pretty much a given that Draco was interrogated under Veritaserum by Lucius privately, what we don’t know is if Lucius is aware of the total extent of Harry’s influence over his son. Precisely what questions would he ask Draco, and based on these questions and the quantity of veritaserum taken, what would the answers be?
He can’t know the full extent of what Harry taught Draco, because it would take a lot of time for Draco to explain it, and because Lucius would then also have to forcibly see the flawed logic behind blood purism if he happens to analize what Harry said and it makes sense to him, as he would want to understand the details behind Draco’s brainwash (from his point of view) in a deep level. Perhaps. Maybe.
How much would he be willing to invade his son’s privacy and forcibly extract information from him? Does he know the gist of what Harry did or in full detail according to Draco’s recollections? To Lucius, Draco’s knowledge about Harry is extremely valuable intel, and it’d make sense for him to want to know Harry’s modus operandi in as much detail as possible.
Draco compared his awakening as a scientist to unknowingly participating in a ritual that irreversibly sacrificed his belief in blood purism. Would Lucius see the irreversibility of this state of mind and decide that the best thing for his son would be to not have this knowledge any more? I assume the obliviation of such a large amount of memories would take its toll on the mind of the mind-wiped as it has happened in canon, but it’s more likely Lucius would want to do this carefully and not screw around with his only Son’s brain. Would it result in a slightly different personality from the original Draco none the less?
IIRC, at multiple drops of Veritaserum, you volunteer information you think is relevant. So unless Lucius is holding the idiot ball, he should know all about the blood purity experiment stuff.
Of course, Draco was entangled with Harry from the start, so unless Lucius wants to Obliviate his entire Hogwarts career, basically setting him back a grade...
When canon!Hermione memory charmed her parents she didn’t have to take out all fifteen years of their lives that she’d spent with them. Likewise, when Mr. Hat and Cloak erased himself from Blaise’s mind he left in all the other stuff Blaise had done between talking to Mr. Hat and Cloak.
Memory charms can be selective. Lucius has time, money, and influence. He can afford to have a trustworthy expert go through Draco’s memory and edit out only the events that increased Harry’s influences over Draco in a fashion Lucius disapproved of.
“Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I’ll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don’t… well, I think I’ve cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don’t know that they’ve got a daughter, you see.”
That doesn’t undermine my argument, though, since that’s canon and not EY’s version. Blaise remains proof that memory charms are selective and don’t just wipe out a whole patch of time.
(People don’t remember in a linear fashion, anyway.)
As soon as I read that Draco was to be pulled out of Hogwarts, I imagined Lucius was going to obliviate or memory charm Harry’s influence on Draco away.
It’s pretty much a given that Draco was interrogated under Veritaserum by Lucius privately, what we don’t know is if Lucius is aware of the total extent of Harry’s influence over his son. Precisely what questions would he ask Draco, and based on these questions and the quantity of veritaserum taken, what would the answers be?
He can’t know the full extent of what Harry taught Draco, because it would take a lot of time for Draco to explain it, and because Lucius would then also have to forcibly see the flawed logic behind blood purism if he happens to analize what Harry said and it makes sense to him, as he would want to understand the details behind Draco’s brainwash (from his point of view) in a deep level. Perhaps. Maybe.
How much would he be willing to invade his son’s privacy and forcibly extract information from him? Does he know the gist of what Harry did or in full detail according to Draco’s recollections? To Lucius, Draco’s knowledge about Harry is extremely valuable intel, and it’d make sense for him to want to know Harry’s modus operandi in as much detail as possible.
Draco compared his awakening as a scientist to unknowingly participating in a ritual that irreversibly sacrificed his belief in blood purism. Would Lucius see the irreversibility of this state of mind and decide that the best thing for his son would be to not have this knowledge any more? I assume the obliviation of such a large amount of memories would take its toll on the mind of the mind-wiped as it has happened in canon, but it’s more likely Lucius would want to do this carefully and not screw around with his only Son’s brain. Would it result in a slightly different personality from the original Draco none the less?
I was under the impression that Draco thought that that was literally what happened.
You know what they say, sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic.
I hear this inversion all the time, but this is the first circumstance under which it was actually very appropriate and witty! Well done.
Yeah, I saw the comment above, and was sort of surprised nobody had made the joke yet. I doubt I’ll ever see a more perfect spot for it, either.
IIRC, at multiple drops of Veritaserum, you volunteer information you think is relevant. So unless Lucius is holding the idiot ball, he should know all about the blood purity experiment stuff.
Of course, Draco was entangled with Harry from the start, so unless Lucius wants to Obliviate his entire Hogwarts career, basically setting him back a grade...
When canon!Hermione memory charmed her parents she didn’t have to take out all fifteen years of their lives that she’d spent with them. Likewise, when Mr. Hat and Cloak erased himself from Blaise’s mind he left in all the other stuff Blaise had done between talking to Mr. Hat and Cloak.
Memory charms can be selective. Lucius has time, money, and influence. He can afford to have a trustworthy expert go through Draco’s memory and edit out only the events that increased Harry’s influences over Draco in a fashion Lucius disapproved of.
You read
as being selective?
I admit I never read it at all.
That doesn’t undermine my argument, though, since that’s canon and not EY’s version. Blaise remains proof that memory charms are selective and don’t just wipe out a whole patch of time.
(People don’t remember in a linear fashion, anyway.)