Can Occlumency be taught ?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 120262


Alla wrote previously:
> "This way of teaching smells TO ME of Voldemort's way of teaching
and I hope that occlumency can be taught."
> 
> Del replied :
> Well, we still don't know WHO taught Occlumency to Snape, if anyone
> did. It might very well have been LV.
>  
> And if Occlumency can be taught, my problem becomes : why isn't it
> taught to everyone? Or at least to everyone in the Order? But then,
> maybe it is?
> 
Carol responds:
First, regarading a poing made up thread about Occlumency possibly
being dark Magic: I'm almost certain that it is not since it protects
the Occlumens against intrusion into his own mind. Like Protego and
whatever Harry instinctively does to protect himself against the
Imperius Curse, Occlumency is DADA, not DA itself. It hurts no one; at
most it might protect a Death Eater who knew it against an auror or
judge who tried to use Legilimency on him. Almost certainly Snape uses
it to protect his true memories and feelings from detection by
Voldemort, which would be useless if Voldemort taught it to him. Nor
would Voldemort, who doesn't trust his Death Eaters any more than he
trusts anyone else, be likely to teach them a skill that would protect
them against his Legilimency.

For all these reasons I think that 1) Occlumency is not dark Magic. 2)
Dumbledore taught it to Snape. 3) Snape used the only methods he knew,
those that Dumbledore used on him, to teach Harry. 4) The Occlumency
lessons didn't wholly fail; Harry probably knew enough to block the
dreams if he had chosen to do so. 5) To the extent that it did fail,
it was for reasons that had nothing to do with Snape's teaching
methods (mutual animosity, Harry's mental state, Harry's desire to
continue his dream).

Carol, with apologies for having been kept away from the list by
Christmas preparations and other real-life obligations