Chapter 24: Occlumency

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 108804

>>2) Harry questions whether or not working with Snape is really 
helping to close off his mind. Harry believes that it may be making 
it more open. Is there any truth to Harry's thinking? Would his 
lessons have gone differently had someone else been in charge of  
them?<<

Huntergreen:
> Personally, I don't think another teacher would have had much more 
> luck than Snape unless they were able to convince Harry that he 
> *needed* the skill (which, after the Arthur/snake incident, I don't 
> blame Harry for having misgivings about blocking his mind).


SSSusan:
While I agree with you that Harry would have be greatly helped by 
having someone *fully* explain why he needed to block the visions he 
was having, I disagree with you somewhat about how it might have gone 
with another teacher.  

While I think Snape took some steps [for him!] towards being 
reasonable with Harry in that first lesson, things fell apart yet 
again.  Harry's attitude, Snape's anger, blah blah blah.  I think if 
DD had taught Harry, then 1) Harry would have been *slightly* more 
likely to have asked questions; and 2) he would have trusted DD more 
and so would have been calmer, more likely to work harder and thus 
have been more successful.

Of course, I realize that this *couldn't* have happened w/o 
DD 'fessing up to all that he knew--the Prophecy, his concern about 
looking into Harry's eyes, etc.--and if that had happened, then Harry 
WOULD have had a more full explanation.  So that fits with your 
point, Hunter.  If DD wasn't ready to spill the beans, then he 
COULDN'T teach Harry.  But still....

As far as we know, there's no one else on staff capable of teaching 
Harry, so it came to Snape.  *If* Flitwick or McGonagall, for 
instance, had been able, though, I also think Harry would have been 
more successful simply because the build-up of angry emotion wouldn't 
have been there.

Siriusly Snapey Susan