Who Will Teach Harry Occlumency

[bookraptor11]

No: HPFGUIDX 73902

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sephora063" <sephora063 at y...> 
wrote: (Snip)
>...Harry is able to fight off the spell and responds 
> with "Protego." The legilimens spell is reversed and Harry is able 
to 
> see some of Snape's memories. Upon the next try, Snape purposely 
> casts the spell before Harry is able to set up his defenses. He 
> doesn't count to three (ooh!), but starts on two. It's a small 
thing, 
> but I don't think he gave Harry a real chance and he didn't want 
to. 
> That's petty. It's also petty to bring this up, but only because 
it's 
> petty to disregard it. Punishment for doing a good job...for once. 
> -Sephora
> Let the owls come...

Me:

I think this example is more that Snape is trying to give Harry real 
life experience. Voldemort isn't going to play fair and give Harry 
time to prepare himself. It isn't only this incident, after Harry has 
been training for a while; in the very first lesson, Snape does the 
same thing.  Snape probably thinks by this time Harry should be canny 
enough to be preparing himself while he's walking to Snape's office. 
If the lessons had gone on, Snape might have used Legilimens as Harry 
came in.

Snape isn't being petty by giving him combat experience. His 
enjoyment of watching Harry struggle probably is :), but that's what 
makes him so complex and interesting.

Donna