[HPforGrownups] Re: Occlumency & Shield Charm/Snape's Ability - Simple Explanation

[Dennis]

No: HPFGUIDX 89512



bboy_mn:

<much snipping throughout>

We must, I believe, make a distinction between the Ability of
Legilimency and the Spell of Legilimency, which, reasonable so, are
related but not necessarily the same thing. 

<s>

Presumably, before meeting Voldemort or the Death Eaters, Snape has a
chance to mentally prepare himself, and focus his mind so he blocks
all attempts at being probed. The event with Harry simply cause him
off guard.

In addition, I think the spell is more powerful, but less useful. It
can force the thoughts to come, but the thoughts seem very random
making it very difficult to determine truth at that moment in time.

The GIFT or ABILITY of Legilimency, I speculate, is more a for of
intuitive Psychic ability; a form of Seer Divination. One has an
emaphathic sense of the other person's thoughts and feelings. I also
speculate that the abilitiy of Legilimency is less visual and more
emotional, and also, more realtime than the spell. 

<s>
_______________________________

Dennis, chiming in, trying to figure how no one has already mentioned this:

After reading everyone's complicated theories on Occlumency and Legilimency,
and Snape's ability respective thereof, I think I would like to offer a
simple, and much neater possibility.

We've established that Harry was a capable caster of the 'Protego' charm,
which rebounded Snape's 'Legilimens' spell back toward him.  Even that is
failure, as the whole point of the exercise was to have Harry expel Snape
from his mind without using his wand, as Snape pointed out after the
Stinging Hex.

Anyway, we look at the next Occlumency lesson where Harry had still not made
progress on mentally deflecting the Legilimency spell.  Harry cast 'protego'
separating Snape from his wand.  But that didn't stop Snape from ending the
spell by simply shouting, "ENOUGH!"

This leads me to believe that Occlumency is all about the control one has
over his own mind, an idea reinforced many times in cannon.  Snape merely
had to think Harry had seen enough to end the intrusion.  I think it likely
that Snape's control of his own mind is such that he can actively select
which memories to present to an intruder.  Snape has made it clear in
Harry's lessons that the key to success is to free your mind of thought and
emotion.  Let's say, for instance, that Lord V. is trying to determine
whether Severus has gotten any clue about where Dumbledore may be hiding
from talking with McGonagall, and doubts his honesty when he says no.  Given
that LV is quite talented naturally, it seems given to me that Snape might
simply bury his emotion and fill his mind with useless drivel, like giving
out detentions and zeros to Harry to satisfy LV.  If there is no emotion to
expose the lie, and no hint of contradictory memory, it is assumed he's
telling the truth.

In conclusion, Snape is revered as a good Occlumens because regardless of
the spell cast, the strength of said spell, or the caster of the spell, it
is him who remains in control of what is seen and what emotions are past
between the two connected minds.  The key to everything is to control what
is available in the mind, and all the rest is irrelevant.  Per cannon, a
charm is superfluous in blocking memories from leaving the mind, if you can
simply eliminate the memories so that they aren't there to escape in the
first place, something that Snape is obviously skilled at, by reputation and
by demonstration.

Dennis