OoP - Occlumency - A case for Evil!Snape?

[mkaliz]

No: HPFGUIDX 66798

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "darrin_burnett" <bard7696 at a...> 
> We DON'T know that the true way to Occlumency is to clear your mind. 
> That was my whole point.

Very true. Thus far, all we know about Occlumency is what little that
Snape and Dumbledore have told us via Harry's perceptions.

> No one observes the lessons to see what Snape is doing. It's all on 
> trust, which is fine if Snape is truly what he says he is, but I'm 
> pointing out that we only have Snape's word that he was doing his 
> best to help Harry. 

Also true. And, as you've stated in earlier messages, we don't know
for certain that Snape has Harry's or the Order's best interests at
heart. He could well be a double agent for all we know. However...

Given that teaching Occlumency to Harry is such an important task, and
given that we know that Snape gave Dumbledore some information about
the progress of their lessons (he told Albus that Harry had been
dreaming about the room in the Dept. Of Mysteries), and given that
Harry is resourceful and has access to a rather extensive support
network (including teachers, order members, and smart, inquisitive
friends like Hermione)...it seems a bit unlikely to me that Snape
would risk the possibility that Harry would inform any one of these
key people of any suspicions that he had regarding Snape's teaching
methods. 

All it would have taken was for Harry to relate his suspicions to any
one of his allies (and he clearly was willing to find ways around
Umbridge's snooping in order to speak with Sirius and/or Lupin),
McGonagall for instance, or Hermione (who would have scoured the
library looking for anything about the practice/teaching of
Occlumency) and Snape's alleged 'Evil Plan' would have been dashed and
his cover blown. All it would have taken was for one of the Order
members to pull Harry aside and inquire about the lessons. Having
Snape's Plan hinge on expecting Harry *not* to discuss the contents of
their lessons seems like a very risky and un-Snape-like thing to do.
Snape knew that Harry *could* discuss their lessons at any time, it's
not like there was a magical injunction on Harry to keep him silent. 

There is also the fact that after Voldemort's snake attack on Arthur,
Voldemort apparently *knew* that 'the link' went both ways, and knew
that he'd be able to use it. Apparently, he's an excellent Legilimens
so why would he need Snape to 'soften' Harry up during the Occlumency
lessons (as Harry says to Dumbledore at the end) and possibly risk the
outing of a very highly- and well-placed double agent in Dumbledore's
camp? Yes, Harry could resist Voldemort's Imperius curse, but clearly
Legilimency is something much more subtle and undetectable--mucking
around with someone's dreams is far less obvious than attempting to
force them to do something they *don't* want to do when they are fully
conscious. 

Again, I don't claim that Snape is 'Good', but it seems like a stretch
to me to assume that, in this case, Snape was doing anything other
than trying to teach Occlumency to a student he disliked who wasn't
much interested in learning it anyway.

> C'mon, Snape knew this is what D-Dore wanted him to do, and he didn't 
> do it. Hate for James, and hate for Harry prevented him.
> 
> So, Snape has time to indulge in hate instead of actually performing 
> the task D-Dore sets for him? 
>
> [ stuff snipped]
>
> Hate on your own time, Severus. 

I don't think that's entirely fair to Snape. From what we're shown,
Snape was grudgingly willing to teach Harry Occlumency right up until
Harry trespassed in his Pensieve. Perhaps he wasn't doing the greatest
job at it, but he *was* doing it. (Snape might not be the best teacher
on earth, but all his students *do* manage to pass their OWLS!) Snape
broke off the lessons right then because of what *Harry* did, not what
Jame and Sirius did way back when. Any person, no matter how
professional or mature, can be pushed past the emotional breaking point. 

Harry's transgression was the final straw for Snape and I don't blame
him in the least. Assuming that the memory we saw was accurate, and
assuming that Snape had a reasonable expectation of privacy when he
put those thoughts into the Pensieve, then having the son of the man
who publicly assaulted and humiliated you in front of a crowd
*witness* an instant replay of that assault...well, I'm rather
surprised that Snape had enough restraint only to throw the jar of
cockroaches at Harry, rather than hexing him on the spot.

As for indulging in hate, as Dumbledore said, there are some wounds
that simply cannot be healed. The fact that Snape couldn't "just get
over it" speaks volumes to me about the kinds of trauma he experienced
as a teenager and the sorts of grievances he has against James. Yes,
his short-comings interfered with Harry's education. However Harry
wasn't a willing or interested student to begin with (which would make
Snape's already difficult task that much harder) and on top of all
that, he violated Snape's privacy. 

Dumbledore knows Snape and his history vey well...the final
responsibility lies with Albus for not providing some safeguards that
would ensure that Harry's Occlumency lessons were progressing well. 

YMMV!

--kai