Snape and Umbridge and abuse again/ Ending for Snape

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 162965

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" 
<dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Magpie:
> <SNIP>
> > Harry tends to feel defensive a lot of the time, and that 
sometimes 
> > makes him feel like he's acting defensively even when he's not. 
> > Like, for instance Harry is angry at how violated he feels 
during 
> > the lessons, and he and Ron even wonder if Snape isn't opening 
> > Harry's mind up more to help Voldemort. But really it seems more 
> > likely that the kind of mind violation Harry's suffered is part 
of 
> > anyone's learning Occlumency--how could it not be? <SNIP> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> How can it not be? Um, easy, IMO. :) We do not see anybody else's 
> lessons of Occlumency, no? That is why it of corse can be 
perfectly 
> normal reaction to the lessons, or it can be indeed Snape opening 
> Harry's mind to Voldemort. 
> 
> Is there anything in the text to contradict that?


Magpie:
Given what Occlumency is, I can't honestly see how one would teach 
it without ever getting into someone's mind. The point is that the 
person doing Occlumency is trying to block you, and since they don't 
yet know the skill, the person is going to get into their mind at 
first. Teaching Occlumency without the violation of someone in your 
mind seems to me like imagining someone teaching you how to bat 
without your ever striking out. Unless you already have the skill, 
you're going to miss sometimes.  It's no different than Lupin 
actually letting a boggart loose to turn into a fear to practice 
Patronuses.

[Thanks to Pippin for providing actual canon of Dumbledore referring 
to this opening of the mind as part of the teaching]

-m