Draco and occlumency - WAS Re: Is Lupin a Legilimens? Spell vs Skill

[Aida Costa]

No: HPFGUIDX 157335

Eddie wrote:

> All this makes sense except I can't reconcile any of it with Draco's
> ability to block out Snape's Legilimens.

<snip>


I don't think my original reply posted so here it is again.  The
Mugglenet/Leaky Cauldron interview explains it:

http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview2.shtml

JKR: Well, I'm glad you think so, because I enjoyed this one. Draco
did a lot of growing up in this book as well. I had an interesting
discussion, I thought, with my editor Emma, about Draco. She said to
me, "So, Malfoy can do Occlumency," which obviously Harry never
mastered and has now pretty much given up on doing, or attempting. And
she was querying this and wondering whether he should be as good as
it, but I think Draco would be very gifted in Occlumency, unlike
Harry. Harry's problem with it was always that his emotions were too
near the surface and that he is in some ways too damaged. But he's
also very in touch with his feelings about what's happened to him.
He's not repressed, he's quite honest about facing them, and he
couldn't suppress them, he couldn't suppress these memories. But I
thought of Draco as someone who is very capable of compartmentalizing
his life and his emotions, and always has done. So he's shut down his
pity, enabling him to bully effectively. He's shut down compassion -
how else would you become a Death Eater? So he suppresses virtually
all of the good side of himself. But then he's playing with the big
boys, as the phrase has it, and suddenly, having talked the talk he's
asked to walk it for the first time and it is absolutely terrifying.
And I think that that is an accurate depiction of how some people fall
into that kind of way of life and they realize what they're in for. I
felt sorry for Draco. Well, I've always known this was coming for
Draco, obviously, however nasty he was.


Aida.