How long has Snape been reading Harry's mind?

[colebiancardi]

No: HPFGUIDX 134805

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "oiboyz" <oiboyz at h...> wrote:
> From HBP, p. 154 (Brit edition):
> 
>    "Harry wondered whether he could slip his Invisibility Cloak 
back 
> on, thereby gaining his seat at the long Gryffindor table (which, 
> inconveniently, was the furthest from the Entrance Hall) without 
being 
> noticed.
>    As though he had read Harry's mind, however, Snape said, 'No 
Cloak.  
> You can walk in so that everyone sees you, which is what you 
wanted, 
> I'm sure.'"
> 
>    That could've been a lucky guess on Snape's part, but later in 
HBP 
> Snape definitely reads Harry's mind when he asks him where he 
learned 
> the Sectumsepra spell.  In the Occlumency lessons in Book 5, Snape 
> seemed to need a wand and the incantation "Legilimens!" for that 
sort 
> of thing, but in HBP he calls up the Potions textbook in Harry's 
mind 
> without any spoken incantation or wand use at all (that I'm aware 
of).  
> Harry can feel the effects-- "the bathroom seemed to shimmer before 
his 
> eyes"-- but what if you don't notice having your mind read unless 
> you're expecting it?
> 
>    This is likely to make me re-interpret every Snape/Harry 
interaction 
> in the canon.  If Snape can really read Harry's mind as easily as 
he 
> did for Sectumsempra... then surely he'll have been doing it for 
years 
> now.  There have been plenty of times when Snape tried to wring 
> confessions out of Harry, and he always seemed to know or suspect 
> whenever Harry was lying.  On the other hand, there were times when 
> Snape definitely didn't get the information he was seeking.  I 
> speculate that he could be under orders from Dumbledore not to use 
his 
> powers against the students; certainly that's one of the first 
orders 
> I'd give if I had a bad-tempered mind-reader on my staff.
> 
>    Of course, Harry's probably also a bad liar.  Didn't JKR say 
that he 
> carries his emotions too close to the surface, or something like 
that, 
> and that's why he sucks at Occlumency?
> 
> --oiboyz

 
well, when JKR spoke with Alan Rickman about the role of Snape, she 
mentioned some things to him about Snape's personality & whatnot.  I 
re-watched both SS/PS and CoS and I can tell you, when Rickman looks 
at Harry, I can "see" him trying to get into Harry's mind and 
dragging stuff out of it.  He always has a penetrating look in his 
eyes when he looks at Harry.

I think Snape's been dropping into Harry's mind uninvited since 
SS/PS.  

colebiancardi