Occlumency & Imperio

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 149248

PAR wrote:
>
> "Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry and 
> said, "Imperio!"
..Jump onto the desk
.Why, though?  Another voice 
> had awoken in the back of his brain
.no I don't really want to
 
> (pages 231 & 232 American edition, GOF)
> 
> And then we have: "I have been told that you have already shown 
> aptitude at resisting the Imperius Curse.. You will find that 
> similar powers are needed for this
 Legilimens!...
> 
.No, said a voice in Harry's head, as the memory of Cho grew 
> nearer, you're not watching that
.. Snape's office had come back 
> into view and he realized that he'd fallen to the floor; 
> "did you mean to produce a Stinging Hex?"
 (page 534 OOP).
> We are meant to believe that Harry isn't any good at occlumency, but 
> I think a comparison of the two passages indicates that actually 
> Harry
> is innately GOOD at keeping unwanted intrusions out of his mind.  He 
> has the same initial problem with Imperio, then throws it off as he 
> does with Legilimens.  The difference is that whereas fake!Moody 
> actually lets him succeed, Snape disparages Harry's response even 
> although it works well enough to force Snape OUT of Harry's head and 
> add a stinging hex to boot.  Thereafter, Snape uses Harry's emotions 
> to unsettle him and insists that Harry "rid your mind of all 
> emotion..."(page 538 OOP).  Moody doesn't insist that Harry fight 
> off the Imperius in a particular fashion -- he merely encourages 
> Harry in doing it.
> I find the comparison interesting.

Carol responds:
I also see a parallel between the two lessons, as does Snape, who
points it out. However, what you see as criticism, I see as Snape's
closest approach to praise. He *doesn't* criticize Harry for producing
the stinging hex or punish him for it. He has, in fact, told him to
use any spell he wishes to defend himself, but he has also indicated
that the preferred method is to close his mind and deflect the spells
mentally--as he (Harry) did with the Imperius curses. (I would not
praise Crouch!Moody's methods, considering what his motive was and
that Imperius is an Unforgiveable curse for good reason, but that's
just me.) 

The main problem with the Occlumency lessons, whether or not Harry has
a natural aptitude for them (JKR's recent interview suggests
otherwise) is that Harry doesn't *want* to close his mind, either to
the anger he feels throughout OoP (Voldemort's intrusions into his
mind affecting his emotions?) or to the dream of the corridor, which
he *wants* to have. Snape has given him as much information as
Dumbledore will allow, but he can't tell Harry what's behind the door
or why DD doesn't want him to see it. The antipathy between Snape and
Harry doesn't help matters, of course, but IMO Snape is trying to
suppress it, being unusually patient and careful in his explanations
and even offering faint praise ("That was not as bad as it might have
been."). But Harry distrusts him and fails to practice, as he admits
to Dumbledore at the end of the book. Admittedly Snape, despite his
mastery of the subject, is not the ideal teacher for Harry, but he is
not the sole or even the primary reason that the lessons failed, and
would (IMO) have failed even if they had continued beyond the Pensieve
incident. Harry was already on the verge of having that dream and
*trying* to have it. Unsurprisingly, he made no effort to block the
implanted "vision" when it came.

Funny how we can see the same parallel and yet read the scene so
differently.

Carol, noting that evil Crouch!Moody is a fact but Evil!Snape remains
an interpretation, as does DDM!Snape, at least until Book 7