The pensieve is a magical object in Harry Potter used to collect and process memories. It is a shallow stone bowl that holds silvery cloud-like memories that can be physically pulled out of the head with a wand. It is a rare and valuable item used by Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, and can be used to shed light on new information. Snape uses it to keep private memories away from Harry during Occlumency training, but Harry later examines it and uncovers unpleasant information about his father.
A pensieve is a magical object in the Harry Potter books that is used by characters to collect and process their memories, or to remove the burden of excess memories. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, owns one and lends it to Severus Snape during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The pensieve is assumed to be a valuable and rare object, due to its unusual properties. There is no evidence that another think tank exists and it may be a one-of-a-kind item. The name is a play on the word “pensiero”, meaning thoughtful, and could also be seen as a play on sifting or sifting thoughts.
The pensieve is described as a shallow stone bowl with strange carvings along the edges. The bowl is designed to hold thoughts, which in the Harry Potter books can be physically pulled out of the head with a wand. Memories are a silvery cloud-like substance, swirling in the pensieve like ever-moving water. If a memory is corrupted or tampered with, the silvery color will fade and thought will move slowly, like the memory of Professor Slughorn does during Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
A think tank can be used in several ways. When Harry Potter is introduced, he is actually physically drawn into a memory because he touches the substance in the bowl. Harry has had experience with being pulled into someone else’s memory before, and is familiar with the sensation. Dumbledore appears and takes Harry out of memory, explaining how the pensieve is used. Dumbledore says he uses it to store thoughts that weigh on his mind, or to organize memories that appear to be related. The ability to enter a vivid memory also helps shed light on new information.
Severus Snape uses the pensieve to get private memories out of his mind when he trains Harry in Occlumency, the art of entering another wizard’s mind. Snape clearly has memories that he doesn’t want Harry to access, even by accident, and so he keeps them in thought while the two are training together. Harry can’t contain his curiosity about the contents of the pensieve, and later examines it, uncovering some unpleasant information about his father as a result.
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