Snape and Occlumency

[inkling108]

No: HPFGUIDX 121602


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "nkafkafi" <nkafkafi at y...> 
wrote:
> Neri wrote:
> An interesting speculation, but it sounds a bit foolish even for 
> Voldy. If he wanted to test if the way was open, couldn't he do it 
> more covertly, and control his emotions a bit? Especially if Snape 
> was indeed his agent and he didn't want to cast any suspicion on 
him.

Inkling replies:

Yes, but..why was JKR so specific about the timeframe?  Not just 
very happy, but the happiest he had been in fourteen years.  The 
fourteen years thing clearly connects to Harry, IMHO.

 Neri:
> Immediately before the sentence you quoted, DD says:
> 
> "I have already said that it was a mistake for me not to teach you 
> myself, though I 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 - "
> 
> This implies that, had DD himself taught Harry occlumency, he also 
> would have "opened Harry's mind even further to Voldemort". It 
seems 
> that this is an unavoidable part of occlumency for beginners.

Yes, but notice that he says "in my presence," that is, during the 
lesson itself.  However the effect of Snape's lessons is to leave 
Harry's mind more open *all the time.*  And it gets worse and worse 
as the lessons proceed.  I'm not sure that Dumbledore himself has 
grasped what really happened, because he has not questioned Harry in 
detail about his experience during and after occlumency lessons. Why 
he would fail to do this after what Harry has told him  I can't 
fathom -- he must really trust Snape, to the point of blindness.

 > I agree with Lupinlore (in a post several days ago): Snape's 
mistake 
> here was that he did not warn Harry in advance (nor even after the 
> fact) of this danger. Either he didn't know, or (more likely) he 
was 
> too resentful to care. The obvious result was that Harry had lost 
> what was left of his trust in Snape. This was a bad result for 
Snape 
> whether he was acting on DD's side or on LV's side. So I tend to 
> think that Snape was guided here by his emotions rather than by 
> careful planning. This is of course rather ironic considering his 
> lecture to Harry about subtlety and controlling emotions.

I would (believe me)like to think this is true, but the "walking 
aerial" effect Snapes lessons produce still really bothers me.

 

> I'm not sure I was helpful ;-)

Thanks for trying! :-)