Looking up as a couple of first years reacted to what he had said about Yetis eating people, Truebridge nodded. "Yes, Yetis eat people. Among other things really. But unless you are alone in the Tibetan mountains I'd not worry overmuch."
There certainly weren't any Yeti here.
"You are all quite right with your answers. We can certainly assume that the charms would have been more effective and better executed had Obliviators been present and likely 'Dodgy Dirk' would not have gotten away with the impression of the dragon that he did." Truebridge watched the escaped chocolate frog in fascination for a minute, then vanished his banana peel with a negligent wave of his wand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Paintbrush 
Natka chewed on the end of her quill as she tried to come up with the right answer. For the life of her she could not recall this incident in great detail... and really, she had actually looked over her books this summer!
Well, she'd give it ago anyway, and hope an answer base don logic would do the trick
"Perhaps the charm would have been stronger?" she suggested, realising too late she was echoing one of her classmates. Hmm, that wouldn't do at all... "Professional Obliviators would know exactly how strong a charm to put on the people in question...
Professor, does the strength of an Oblivitaion charm vary from person to person, depending on how good their memory in the first place, and how much of it we are trying to erase?" she asked thoughtfully.
"There are two factors with an Obliviation charm, Natka. The first is how complex and deep rooted the memories of the target are and how linked they are to other memories, the second is the magical ability and training of the witch or wizard casting it. Memory charms are very, very difficult to cast correctly without leaving lasting damage. It is entirely possible that, in casting a memory charm on Dodgy Dirk, instead of his memory of the event being targeted, other parts of his brain were effected. If he showed mental imbalances or strange behaviours in other ways then it is little wonder no muggles believed his stories." Truebridge explained.
"In any case, most adult witches and wizards can cast a very basic 'you did not see what you just saw' sort of Obliviate, but the risk is indeed higher that something will go wrong. Replacing an erased memory with something new, or rebuilding linked memories is domain of very advanced and experienced Obliviators only, just as recovering lost memories is the domain of specialist healers." Ethan hoped he'd answered her question sufficiently.
"Now, can anyone summarize what we've learned and talked about so far today?"