Imperius Resistance and Occlumency was Harry's anger (was Re: Draco's anger.)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 122575


Pippin:
> > the student must learn to fight 
> > back with everything he has 
> 
Eggplant:
> Yes, and fighting back with everything he has was exactly what Harry 
> was doing when he looked into the Pensive. If you find that your 
> opponent has made a mistake, like being careless where you put your 
> memories, then the warrior must exploit that mistake. And that is 
> what Harry is really in training to become, a warrior. 

Carol responds:
Looking in the Pensieve is not fighting back. It's violating Snape's
privacy. Fighting back is using a stinging hex or a Protego, both of
which Snape *praises* Harry for using, even though he did it
involuntarily. He also tells him to fight back with his mind and he
won't need a wand. But Harry isn't listening, any more than he's
listening when Snape tells him to clear his mind of anger. 

Maybe Harry *can't* clear his mind because LV's venom has confused his
thinking so that he's angry about everything. But also, he wants to
continue having that dream, and he hates Snape and uses that hatred as
an excuse not to follow his instructions: 

"'You are to rid your mind of all emotion every night before
sleep--empty it, make it blank and calm, you understand?'

"'Yes,' said Harry, *who was barely listening*" (OoP Am. ed. 538).

In any case, putting those three memories in the Pensieve is not being
unfair. It's the only protection Snape has. All of Snape's other
memories are open to Harry if he follows instructions. He tells Harry
to use whatever weapons he has to protect himself: "'You may use your
wand to attempt to disarm me, or defend yourself in any other way you
can think of,' said Snape" (534). Harry can stupefy him or petrify him
or make him eat slugs and Snape won't fight back because Harry will be
doing what he's told. When Harry succeeds in seeing three of Snape's
childhood memories, Snape does not punish him or hex him. He praises
him. "Well, Potter, that was certainly an improvement" (592).

Almost certainly snape has good reasons for putting the memories in
the Pensieve. The one memory we see relates to Harry's father and is
therefore highly personal to *both* parties. It would have been highly
disruptive had that memory come out during an Occlumency lesson. And
what the other two memories are we don't know--possibly things that
Snape doesn't want *Voldemort* to access through Harry--for example,
his decision to spy for Dumbledore instead of working for Voldemort.
We can't judge Snape's use of the Pensieve without knowing his
motives. And if Dumbledore had not seen the necessity for Snape to
conceal these memories, he would not have allowed Snape to borrow the
Pensieve. 

There is no need and no excuse for Harry's violating Snape's privacy
by entering the Pensieve. He should have fought back in the lessons
instead, as instructed. He was not being a warrior. He was being a spy
against someone fighting on his own side.

Carol