Occlumency: Relax or resist? (Was: CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 29, Career Advice

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 117346


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Kathryn Jones <kjones at t...> 
wrote:
> 
>         Lupinlore wrote:
> 
> With this in mind, Snape was the most likely to be successful in 
teaching 
> Harry to develop instinctual and reliable reaction to the feel of 
> legilimency being performed on his mind.  He did in fact learn to 
do 
> this.  Snape made him feel threatened enough to defend.
> 
> If you think it was painful and difficult for Harry, think of how 
Snape 
> must have felt at encouraging a student to face him with a wand and 
allow 
> the student to hex him, said student, perhaps containing some part 
of the 
> mind of Voldemort.  Snape did not become angry with Harry for the 
stinging 
> hex, or using "protego".  He became "infuriated" when Harry did not 
defend. 
>  Snape might not be a nice person, but he is the only character who 
is 
> perfect for this kind of training.  
> 

And yet, Dumbledore says, "It was a mistake not to teach you 
myself."  I'm inclined to take Dumbledore at his word, that he would 
have taught Harry himself had he not feared for Harry's safety, and 
that he feels Snape was the second best choice.  

Well, we can go round and round with this one forever.  My own 
personal experience of both martial arts and rifle training was 
different than yours, so we'll just have to agree to disagree.  
Hopefully when the next book comes out Harry will have a different 
Occlumency teacher and we can see if Snape's method is universal or 
idiosyncratic to him.

Lupinlore