[HPforGrownups] Re: Who is the adult (Was: Who's to blame for Occlumency?)

[Lynx412 at AOL.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 100839

In a message dated 6/11/2004 11:13:40 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
miamibarb at BellSouth.net writes:

> I sense that it's a set up.  It is possible that Snape is trying to 
> get out of teaching occlumeny to Harry.  In real life, people do play 
> these sorts of games 

        Interesting thought. Hm.

> It is suspicious that out of all the dangerous memories that an adult spy 
> would want hushed, we find Snape has placed an embarrassing incident 
> from his adolescence.  What? Doesn’t he have a score of more dangerous 
> memories? Instead we find an incident that is possibly more disturbing 
> for Harry to witness than embarrassing to Snape to have revealed.  

And, note, it was not the 'Prank', either. Yes, Harry would be embarrassed to 
see what his dad was like at 15, but surely, Snape's worst memory of his 
school years was not the one Harry stumbled across.

 
> To me that was curious.  Who's the adult?  Snape, for he knows how to end 
> the occulumency lessons, even if Harry can’t figure how to get out of 
> them.  Is that a bad thing?  Not if Prof. Snape has come to the 
> conclusion Harry's link to LV something beyond traditional occlumency 
> skills.  And it may be that these lessons are hurting Harry more than 
> they are helping him. So why blame Harry? Or Prof. Snape?

       I also wonder about why the lessons seemed to do more damage, but I 
believe that DD also says something to this: that is was a mistake not to have 
taught Harry himself, but that he was "sure, at the time, that nothing could 
have been more dangerous than to open your mind even further to Voldemort while 
in my presence---" So, perhaps, the opening to outside visions was a part of 
the process, ment to be cancled out by the strengthening of the shields 
occulumency was to provide.

> There have been several incidents between Harry and Prof. Snape where 
> it seems that Snape was picking a fight on purpose. More games.  It’s 
> as if he wants to make sure that Harry to hates him. The last fight in 
> OoP was timed just as Prof. McGonagall arrives.  I think Prof. Snape 
> knows that McGonagall is arriving.  I even think that he is on his way 
> out to meet her and help her in.  (There is a surprising respect 
> between these two.) He sees that Harry is being ganged up against.  He 
> stops the fight.  Then he docks points from Harry, but not from he 
> bullies? Is it fair? Perhaps.  He saves his image as the loyal 
> Slytherin head of house, but stops any real harm to Harry. Harry gets 
> rebuked for having a bad attitude (however understandable), and 
> McGonagall is given an opportunity to award points to make point 
> situation fairer.

       I don't think he knew she was arriving. I think he'd planned on 
finding a way to resume the lessons. No points left? "In that case, Potter, we will 
simply have to--" How was he going to finish that if McGonagall hadn't spoken? 
Give you detention? Then use the 'detention' to resume the lessons? makes 
sense to me. For all the blame and self-blame that's been cast for the 'vision' 
incident and it's ramifications, we haven't seen Snape's reactions. He hated 
Sirius, a given. he'd have gleefully turned Sirius over to the Dementors. He 
loved tormenting Sirius. He KNEW how important Sirius was to Harry, to the Order. 
There's been a lot of talk about Snape's emotional immaturity. I think he's 
had a shock that may help him grow. I wish he'd drop dead is a common kids 
wish. Should it actually happen, though, they often will never forgive themselves. 
I think Snape was trying to repair the damage to Harry, in his own, 
inimitable, Snapeish way.

       Cheryl


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