Obliviation

Summary: Obliviation is dangerous and shouldn't be performed lightly. Reversing it is possible but not without risk or cost to the patient.


 * Obliviation is mostly performed on Muggles, so the psychological costs aren't considered.
 * Oblivation can only be performed on a conscious mind.
 * Altered memories may be detectable, particularly when removed and viewed in a pensieve. When Obliviators are given time to prepare for a Memory charm, particularly on a wizard, they are skilled at crafting fabricated memories.
 * Obliviation removes memories but unless there's a specific stated memory implanted, doesn't inherently cover the missing memories with something else.
 * Obliviation is easier on certain kinds of minds and more difficult on others. Specifically, if someone has a history of repressed memories, that person will be easy to Obliviate.
 * Obliviation effects can be altered/augmented by additional spell work.
 * Casting a Memory charm is classed as a Traumatic Neurological Event, one that leaves the brain highly sensitive for a refractory period to additional assaults to the mind. Spells that affect consciousness in any way from a range of magic as innocuous as Cheering Charms or as harsh as Stunning Spells have the potential to cause unpredictable side effects in victims of recent Obliviation. Within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic of the United Kingdom, casting any spell or applying any mind altering magic within thirty minutes of initial Obliviation is strictly forbidden on wizardfolk, with the obvious exception of necessary memory alterations.
 * Obliviation removes memories but not the emotions generated by those memories. The longer you have a memory before it's Obliviated, the more the emotional content remains and the stronger the residual emotions are. One implication is that the further back you Obliviate someone, the more you mess them up because they have strong "random" feelings that have no basis. The subconscious may rebuild false memories to cover the gap, or the subject may suffer nightmares. Any of these problems may be a clue that someone's been Obliviated.
 * The mind of an Obliviated person may reject implanted memories. If a memory doesn't make sense to the person, their mind may reject the foreign memory in favour of creating its own replacement or showing that empty, altered space to the person. This problem complicates the Obliviator's job and forces them to keep fabricated memories for Muggles as simple as possible or to leave the blank spaces; it also makes working on a wizarding mind more complex.
 * Obliviation can be undone, but there's cost and difficulty involved. Recovery can happen because Obliviation merely buries the memory in the subconscious and that with probing, it may be recovered. But it's difficult and risky on a good day and if you know that, you may not want to reverse the Obliviation at all.
 * It's not easy to do in the first place unless you know what you're doing.
 * It's harder if there's a memory charm.
 * It's harder if the Obliviator was skilled.
 * It's harder the longer ago the person was Obliviated.
 * It's harder the more memories that were altered.
 * Anything that makes the Obliviation harder to undo increases the risk of permanent psychological damage or even brain damage to the person being treated.
 * Obliviations and reversals gone wrong have varying effects. Possibilities include permanent memory loss, neurological damage, and mental illness, such as phobias.
 * Obliviation per se is generally not used as a Mindhealing technique. Related memory-blurring techniques or long-term courses of mini-Obliviations are used by Mindhealers. Wizards also use different means to obtain relief from difficult memories and thoughts, such as Oblivious Unction and Cheering Charms.
 * Obliviation is not directly related to Occlumency and Legilimency, and those skills are useful to but not required for an Obliviator. Only the most skilled Obliviators know Legilimency and Occlumency.
 * Obliviation is not fully understood because Memory is not fully understood. The Department of Mysteries has theorised that Memory is dual-form, both specific to the person and platonic. If this dual nature is ever completely understood, Obliviation will become easier.