Yes, I didn't look up Harry's first experience of Pensieves, so I had sort of forgotten that they were set up as being useful for objectivity. And I do like your idea about the magic being aware of things beyond the wizard/witch's notice, which is in turn enhanced by the Pensieve. Head canon applied ;)

I understand the need for Legilimency, and I love that Harry (and by extension, we) got that opportunity to see Snape's past. However, I can't see why, with a bit of tweaking, she couldn't have portrayed the glimpses of Snape's childhood from a first person perspective. I admit it is quicker to mention Snape's appearance--the reader can deduce a lot from a little that way--but it really doesn't seem that difficult.

I like people adding to the HP universe, whether it's spells, places, characters, creatures, whatever. I do think there is a point though where, if you change fundamental aspects of the lore behind magical practices, I begin to wonder why we're still calling it HP. If it's very IC, and the changes serve a purpose and are warned for, then I don't necessarily mind. It's more when I stumble across something which contradicts canon and start to wonder if the author even bothered doing any research!

Thank you for your thoughts =)