[HPforGrownups] Re: Whoa Nelly! Lots of Snape, was Harry in NEWT Potions Class?

[Amanda Geist]

No: HPFGUIDX 87723

Alla:

> OK, I love, love, love this part of your analysis too. But and here
> comes my disagreement - supposedly before Dumbledore asked Snape to
> teach Harry Occlumency, he (on his own or together with Snape) went
> through all these reasons and decided that it is more important to
> teach Harry and Snape has to risk his cover. Correct?

I'd agree. But I think an important part of that discussion also involved
Snape's use of the Pensieve to remove certain memories, so that Harry could
not by any accident access these during lessons. We have all assumed it is
because they are the most painful or humiliating to Snape--they may be--but
I submit that it may also be because a "bleedover" to Harry of those
memories might endanger Snape's ability to successfully Occlumens before
Voldemort.

In other words, Harry invading Snape's memories in the Pensieve might well
have changed the ground rules and "safety margin" set forth in any original
agreement between Snape and Dumbledore.

> So, it is even worse offense in my book for Snape deciding on his own
> to stop the lessons.

And even worse for Dumbledore to have known about it and allowed it, eh?

Alla:

> He [Harry] was not told enough about the link between him and Voldemort.
> Maybe I will beforced to eat my words again, but can you tell me
> where in the OoP Harry was told that Voldemort will try and plant
> FALSE visions in his mind about Department of Mysteries?

In the first Occlumency lesson, when Snape is talking to Harry:

(Snape speaking) "The important point is that the Dark Lord is now aware
that you are gaining access to his thoughts and feelings. He has also
deduced that the process is likely to work in reverse; that is to say, he
has realized that he might be able to access your thoughts and feelings in
return--"

"And he might try and make me do things?" asked Harry. "Sir?" he added
hurriedly.

"He might," said Snape, sounding cold and unconcerned. "Which brings us back
to Occlumency."

OoP, US, p. 533

This seems pretty clear to me, and right up front when they were starting.
He must have understood it enough to explain it to Hermione, too, because
when she's trying to talk sense into him after he's seen the vision of
Sirius, she says

"I'm trying to say--Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the
Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it's the kind of thing he does, he
knows you're the -- the sort of person who'd go to Sirius' aid! What if he's
just trying to get you into the Department of Myst--?"
....
"But Harry -- what if your dream was -- was just that, a dream?"
.....
"But Harry, you've just said it," said Hermione fiercely. "Dumbledore wanted
you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if you'd done Occlumency
properly you'd never have seen this ---"

OoP, US, 734-735

So Hermione understands that the link can work both ways; Harry's just too
emotional at the moment to listen to her. And the only way she could have
understood this is if Harry told her. He knows this too; he's just carried
away and won't listen.

~Amanda