Occlumency and Snape and Harry

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 122890


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "kaye60c" <cynjo at e...> wrote:
> 
> Does anyone else out there think Snape will be teaching Harry 
> Occlumency in book 6?  Doesn't someone have to?  I think they should 
> be forced to work together.  Might be good for both of these stubborn 
> men.
> 
> "kaye60c"

Well, certainly many fanfics have Snape and Harry working together in
Occlumency in Year 6.  It seems to be a favorite scenario in some
regions of the fandom.

Let's see what we can make of the issues:

1.  Does Harry still need to learn Occlumency?

    This is an interesting question.  Occlumency seems to be about
clearing your mind and blocking your emotions.  Yet, it was the exact
OPPOSITE of this that saved Harry in OOTP.  
 
   One could argue that the Harry/Voldy axis is a special case, I
suppose.  Snape in fact admits as much in OOTP.

   Sigh, I just don't know.  At present this issue seems hopelessly
muddled, and unfortunately I think it will remain so.  This kind of
situation is JKR's perennial hobgoblin.  JKR just isn't very good when
it comes to consistency and clarity in her plot points, or in the
magical system she imagines for her world.

  My guess, based on nothing more than instinct about where the story
seems to be heading, is the Harry will have Occlumency lessons in Book
6, but that, as with Book 5, they will function as narrative
opportunities for plot development and character interaction, and that
Occlumency per se will not figure large in Harry's confrontation with
Voldy.

2.  Will Snape teach Harry Occlumency?

  Once again, we have potential here for a fearful muddle.  At the end
of OOTP, Dumbledore states clearly and emphatically that HE should
have taught Harry Occlumency.  He also clearly states that it was a
mistake to choose Snape as Harry's teacher.  On the basis of this,
there is no way Snape could teach Harry Occlumency in Book 6 without
generating a glaring and ham-fisted plot contradiction.

  But this raises another problem.  The Snape/Harry dynamic is one of
the central threads of the series.  For it to develop Snape and Harry
have to have interaction.  Where?  It seems unlikely that Harry will
get an O on his Potions OWL and enter Snape's NEWT class, or that he
would want to.  Many fanfic writers therefore seize on Occlumency as a
way of perpetuating the Snape/Harry dynamic.

  In this particular instance I'm more inclined, however, to put trust
in McGonagall's promises over Snape's policies, and in Harry's desire
to get up Snape's nose over his desire to avoid the man.  I am
officially guessing that Harry WILL be in NEWT level potions by hook
or by crook, and that someone else will teach Harry Occlumency.

3.  Who will teach Harry Occlumency?

  Good question.  The obvious answer is Dumbledore, and this would
certainly create a situation where he could spill some of the cards he
has been holding tightly to his chest.  However, it would also be an
excellent opportunity to bring in that stalwart of all HP novels, the
new DADA professor.  I really just don't know, although if pressed
against the wall I'd have to guess that DD will take over this duty.


4.  Should Snape and Harry be forced to work together?

  Well, that failed monstrously in OOTP.  I don't think it would be a
good idea to leave them alone to work together.  Being forced to work
together under the close watch of another party might, however, be
fruitful.


Lupinlore