Thinking back to the Remembrall incident, it’s likely Harry has memories of Voldemort that are slowly coming out...
The far easier explanation for this, which does not have all the problems of being an ridiculousness easy and yet unknown method for detecting of Obliviation having occured is that Harry forgot that he is strictly forbidden to use a Time-Turner in view of the public!
That makes sense.. but immediately afterward both Harry and McGonnagal thought it was unusual how bright the remembrall shined; neither seemed to think it was solely due to the use of the Time Turner:
“The Remembrall was glowing bright red in his hand, blazing like a miniature sun that cast shadows on the ground in broad daylight.”
and
“”More importantly, why did the Remembrall go off like that?” Harry said. “Does it mean I’ve been Obliviated?”
“That puzzles me as well,” Professor McGonagall said slowly. “If it were that simple, I would think that the courts would use Remembralls, and they do not. I shall look into it, Mr. Potter.”″
And then of course she doesn’t. Perhaps the courts simply don’t use Remembralls because they would never definitively prove obliviation—only that something was forgotten. Harry’s remembrall “blazing like a miniature sun” may be due to an overwhelmingly large obliviation—like an entire life as a Dark Lord? Obliviating a day or week may just produce a normal glow...
I think he’s referring to JoeA’s Obliviated-Voldimort-Memories theory. I agree that forgetting about the Time-Turner rules is a more likely explanation of the phenomena.
I’d place a very low probability on that possibility, speaking strictly from a narrative point of view. It has been far too long since that event for the answer to be that mundane.
The far easier explanation for this, which does not have all the problems of being an ridiculousness easy and yet unknown method for detecting of Obliviation having occured is that Harry forgot that he is strictly forbidden to use a Time-Turner in view of the public!
That makes sense.. but immediately afterward both Harry and McGonnagal thought it was unusual how bright the remembrall shined; neither seemed to think it was solely due to the use of the Time Turner:
“The Remembrall was glowing bright red in his hand, blazing like a miniature sun that cast shadows on the ground in broad daylight.”
and
“”More importantly, why did the Remembrall go off like that?” Harry said. “Does it mean I’ve been Obliviated?”
“That puzzles me as well,” Professor McGonagall said slowly. “If it were that simple, I would think that the courts would use Remembralls, and they do not. I shall look into it, Mr. Potter.”″
And then of course she doesn’t. Perhaps the courts simply don’t use Remembralls because they would never definitively prove obliviation—only that something was forgotten. Harry’s remembrall “blazing like a miniature sun” may be due to an overwhelmingly large obliviation—like an entire life as a Dark Lord? Obliviating a day or week may just produce a normal glow...
That would make sense, except that it was really bright, I was under the impression that McGonnagal was puzzled about it.
What Obliviation?
I think he’s referring to JoeA’s Obliviated-Voldimort-Memories theory. I agree that forgetting about the Time-Turner rules is a more likely explanation of the phenomena.
I’d place a very low probability on that possibility, speaking strictly from a narrative point of view. It has been far too long since that event for the answer to be that mundane.