[HPforGrownups] Harry, Snape and James (was:Re: Sadistic!Snape?...)

[Sherry Gomes]

No: HPFGUIDX 140527

> Betsy Hp:
<snip>
 So Snape catches Harry acting in an incredibly stupid fashion, 
> following a path taken by his father before him.  Harry is saying 
> nothing.  Actually, Harry is thinking (correctly I think) 
> that, "Snape was trying to provoke him into telling the truth." 
> (ibid p. 284)  But nothing is working, so Snape brings up James in 
> the most insulting manner possible.  Why?
> 
> Now that we know a bit about legilmency and occulmency the answer 
> seems somewhat obvious, IMO.  Snape is trying to jolt Harry into 
> thinking about his father, possibly in connection with Lupin.  
Just 
> as he prompted Harry to think about his potions textbook in HBP, 
> Snape is trying to prompt Harry into thinking about instructions 
> given to him by Lupin.  Of course, Lupin had nothing to do with 
> Harry sneaking into Hogsmeade so Snape doesn't find what he's 
> looking for.  (Though he does zero in on the Map quite quickly, so 
> his detective work isn't *completely* in vain.)
> 
> It wasn't nice for Snape to talk about James in such a manner to 
> Harry.  And it certainly wasn't a good way to turn Harry's 
> affections away from James.  But it was a good way for a 
legilmentor 
> to draw specific thoughts to the surface.  And, if Snape's 
> suspicions had been true, it was a good way to protect Harry from 
an 
> evil influence.







Sherry now:

I don't know why this has never occurred to me before, but reading Betsy's
post and then Alla's response suddenly made me sit up and think.  In all the
defending of Snape and discussing what he could or could not have learned
doing legilimency on Harry, I just realized what an invasion, almost a
mental rape that was.  Harry's thoughts and feelings being read, without his
consent or even his knowledge.  I don't care who was doing it either--Snape,
Dumbledore or Lupin--so I can't be accused of slandering poor sevvy.  Harry
doesn't even know the practice exists till OOTP, but we've often discussed
here how Snape could have been using it on Harry all these years.  It's even
worse than Harry looking at Snape's memory once, because if we're correct,
Snape, at least, has been doing it for years.  Shudder.  It would be one
thing if people who are skilled at it can just sort of pick up stray
thoughts and feelings, like getting an unexpected radio signal.  However, if
it is done deliberately, and we know now that wizards can do spells
nonverbally as well as without wands, then it is a serious invasion of
privacy at the very least, and something even worse, in my opinion.  I am
suddenly looking at the art of legilimency in a whole new light, and it
makes me kind of sick to think it could have been routinely practiced on a
child by one, two or even three adults.

Sherry