Dealing with Dementors: Harry v Snape, Love v Happy

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 140177

Carol earlier:
> > It's possible that Hermione will face a Dementor in Book 7, fail
> > utterly to cast a Patronus because she can't concentrate on a
happy memory in the circumstances, and remember Snape's method. 
> 
> Valky:
> But did Snape ever actually elaborate on or teach this alternative
> method? I don't remember that he did at all. 
> 
> Sorry to put sticks in your mud pie Carol ;D but I don't believe that
> Snapes method of dealing with Dementors is what you'd call *light*
> magic. A better method than a Patronus would be necessary to
> explainhow the MOM keep control over the Dementors in Azkaban, and for
> Death Eaters and Voldemort to have so much more power over them than
> the average wizard. It's also kind of surprising that Harry would only
> be taught a secondary method which was difficult to use while another
> one exists.  
> 
> Basically it all adds up to not boding for this alternative of
Snapes to be good magic. The MOM is given to using a bit of dirty work
when they deem it justified, and Voldemort there is no question, would
use whatever alternative was more powerful OTOH Dumbledore and Lupin
are firmly principled characters and it is they specifically that
appear to prefer the Patronus. It almost seems given that this
alternative is Dark Magic.
> 
> Valky

Carol responds:

Dark magic to defend against Dark magic? That doesn't make sense to
me. Also, if snape were teaching DADA in some suspicious way, surely
either Harry or Hermione would have noticed it. Harry is only
expecting a low grade on the essay because he disagrees with Snape,
not because he sees anything "dark" about Snape's method.

You've responded to one peripheral paragraph, not to the argument as a
whole, which was, in short:

A corporeal Patronus is difficult to cast and is regarded by both
Lupin and Madam Bones as advanced magic. (Harry had an advantage in
learning to cast it because his boggart happened to be a Dementor.)

The difficulty of casting a corporeal Patronus is immensely increased
in the presence of a real Dementor, who is attempting to suck out the
victim's happy memories just at the point when the victim needs to
focus on a happy memory in order to cast the spell.

Given these difficulties, an alternative method of repelling Dementors
would be extremely useful and desirable.

You're right that we didn't hear Snape elaborate on his method, but
that doesn't mean that it wouldn't work, only that JKR doesn't want us
to know what it is. I see no evidence to conclude that his method is
Dark Magic. If it were, it would work against a Patronus, not against
a Dementor, which is (along with a Horcrux) pretty much the essence of
Dark Magic. 

Nor is there any necessary connection between Snape's method and the
MoM's spells for controlling Dementors, which there's no reason for
Snape to know. What we do know is that he's quite creative in making
up his own spells, and this may be one instance in which he willingly
shares them without taking credit for his invention.

Carol