Why was this cloaked?

[Alz]

" - I confidently expect you to rise to Minister of Magic within twenty years. Fifteen, if you keep sending me pineapple, I have excellent contracts at the Ministry."
Tom Riddle merely smiled as the others laughed again. Harry noticed that he was by no means the eldest of the group of boys, but that they all seemed to look to him as their leader.
"I don't know that politics would suit me, sir," he said when the laughter had died away "I don't have the right kind of background, for one thing."
A couple of the boys around him smirked at each other. Harry was sure they were enjoying a private joke, undoubtedly about what they knew, or suspected, regarding their gang Leader's famous ancestor.
"Nonsense," said Slughorn briskly, "couldn't be plainer you come from decent Wizarding stock, abilities like yours. No, you'll go far, Tom, I've never been wrong about a student yet."

This is the missing part of Slughorns inital memory - the first part he 'clouded' ..
I have read it a few times and while I can see a few reasons why he might be embarresed at what he said - I can't see why he would want to obliterate them from his mind.
What came after - when he talked at length to Riddle about the Horcruxes - I can understand ... but is this just a simple matter that Slughorn would go to so much trouble to hide the fact he made some stupid obsevations?

[Hermione]

Pride? Perhaps he didn't want people to know he had been friendly with the most evil and powerful wizard in all history.

It also shows his oversight, one which he has not yet realized. He was so busy being charned by the students and forming his Slug Club, that he couldn't see past the flattery into what was really going on. If people knew this about him, they might not only think badly of him, but suspect him as a death eater.

But I wonder if there is even more to this that he covered up that Harry didn't find. Did he personally assist Tom Riddle? Was the original death eaters a Slytherin extension of the Slug Club, that grew into Voldemort's posse?

[The Welsh Witch]

It could just be that he was ashamed of himself for encouraging someone who turned out to be so evil - although he obviously didn't think he was so at the time - and that his prediction had come true when in retrospect he wished it hadn't.

A couple of the other boys in the room were undoubtedly Death Eaters later on but again this wasn't down to Slugthorn but Voldermort.

I agree that this isn't really a memory that needed to be tampered with compared to the later one but maybe we should consider why Slughorn felt the need to tamper with either and who he may have thought would be interested apart from Dumbledore!

[Sirius Potter Fan]

I agree that it may have been partly from embarassment that he had been so well manipulated, and that he had held such an evil person in shuch high regard, . . . I mean suggesting that Voldemort be minister of magic! :eek: I think that Sluggy wished the entire conversation had never occured. I think he had to do the "cloaking" rather quickly as well. I am assuming of course that Dumbledore was right there asking him about things, and he had to do something quickly, and just tried to mask it all where he could. Had he had more time to "prepare" he may have done a more seamless and convincing job.

[Alz]

Ohh - just for the record I agree here - I just wondered if anyone else could spot anything that would make him want to go to the trouble or tampering with it ...
I mean - I guess pride is a big thing and that is the most plausible - I just found it really obscure he would go to so much trouble for something that was pretty benign in approach - I mean not like it was going to effect the future or even Dumbledore's or anyone's view of him - just that he could be a poor judge of character - but then again we all know Riddle charmed everyone - apart from Dumbledore ;)

[Boing]

I have to agree that it is pride and embarrassment. Doesn't the "cloaked" memory say something like, "You'll never amount to anything" or "I always knew you were a bad seed" or something? It's something odd like that - that just didn't fit in. So that seems to confirm that Sluggy was just embarrassed that he hadn't seen through Tom and that he has let his favoritism blind him to the potential evil within.

[Hermione]

Perhaps there is something more sinister here. What if Voldemort went to his mentor in his early years, and got a lot of help in his evil path. This assistance helped him rise to power, and Slughorn, feeding off the attention, was oblivious. He might have wanted to guise the fact that he helped him so much.

So here is a way to do it, leave the true memory alone and create a fool proof false one. Then on top of that, layer an obviously tampered memory, so when someone uncovers it, they will go to the next layer. And the truth is still protected.

[The Frozen North]

Perhaps there is something more sinister here. What if Voldemort went to his mentor in his early years, and got a lot of help in his evil path. This assistance helped him rise to power, and Slughorn, feeding off the attention, was oblivious. He might have wanted to guise the fact that he helped him so much.

So here is a way to do it, leave the true memory alone and create a fool proof false one. Then on top of that, layer an obviously tampered memory, so when someone uncovers it, they will go to the next layer. And the truth is still protected.


Ooohh I like this one!!! I was thinking that maybe Sluggy had used some of his "contacts" and inadvertantly helped Riddle on his destructive path and that he just, maybe, wanted to cover that up, but this theory takes my idea to a whole new level!!! Nice one!!!!!

[Alz]

Perhaps there is something more sinister here. What if Voldemort went to his mentor in his early years, and got a lot of help in his evil path. This assistance helped him rise to power, and Slughorn, feeding off the attention, was oblivious. He might have wanted to guise the fact that he helped him so much.

So here is a way to do it, leave the true memory alone and create a fool proof false one. Then on top of that, layer an obviously tampered memory, so when someone uncovers it, they will go to the next layer. And the truth is still protected.
I like this a huge deal as well :D
It would be worth cloaking if indeed Slughorn used his contacts to acelerate Riddle through his young life - and would be also something he would want to be kept away from everyone based on how Riddle turned out.
Great post Mere - certainly goes a little towards other reasons he wanted this cloaked!

[Fortescue]

Because of the fact that the cloaked memory was so poorly done, I think his desire to cover it up wasn't as great as his true inclination toward goodness. Even though Slughorn was the head of Slytherin, and obviously, a prior Slytherin himself, I don't think he was there because of the evil tendencies that most are admitted to Slytherin House.

Slughorn seemed to be in Slytherin because of his selfish tendency to stoke his own ego - allying himself with those of power and status was really all he was about. Dumbledore knew of Slughorns weakness and used it to lure him back to Hogwarts to teach, and probably to get Harry's help getting the true memory from him. Slughorn wasn't Riddle's mentor, he was just a pawn used by Riddle like all others that he came in contact with and manipulated to get what he wanted.

[The Frozen North]

I don't think for one moment that Slughorn was Riddle's mentor but that fact does not mean that he didn't use his contacts to advance and help Riddle without fully realising the implications of his actions. Then comes the desire to cover-up!!!!

[Alz]

Not sure mentor was the right word to use ...
Slughorn prided himself on 'helping out' smart, bright students - the Slug Club members.
As such - when these obviously smart kids left school and took some of the 'leg ups' Slughorn offered - they would of course talk fondly of him and would in turn perhaps open up contacts for himself ..
My thoughts at least, is that he really saw how clever Riddle was and tried to pull out all the stops - but we know from HBP that Riddle didnt take any of them and instead decided to be a clerk for B&B ... hence the nice little lead on to how he found the Hufflepuff cup and Slytherin Necklace :)

[Fortescue]

Slughorn was sort of a "brown-noser," a "suck up," working in the business world as I do, those types abound. He seemed to look for every available opportunity to increase his stature with those he felt mattered in the Wizarding world. I don't think he doctored the memory to cover up the fact that he was helping Voldemort, but more for his own future comforts. What would others think if they found out he gave Voldemort the information he needed to become immortal? I don't think Slughorn could stand the backlash of something like that.

[Alz]

Slughorn's standing was very important to him - his stature was more important than real skill, ablility or motivations - I mean he overlooked other students that were not as obviously clever as the smarter ones - his Slug Clubs were filled with people of connection or ability.
I agree that he would have been forced into a really embaressing position if it became clear that he was the one that set Voldemort down his path - but I think in his defence he could use that Tom was already walking the path - he seemed to be looking for confirmation over the amount more than the thing itself ..

[god is broke]

i agree with fortesce about Slughorn being a pawn of voldy's. that combined that he didn't pick up on voldy's intentions earlier was a huge blow to him and his repuation i think would be enough to make Slughorn want to cover it up. that way he can still feel he did something, so he can keep his big ego.