Occlumency lessons

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 180404

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214"
<dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Annemehr:
> > 
> > Oh, I completely agree that Harry's mind wasn't ONLY opened
> > during lessons.  We saw Harry's repeated dreams of the DoM
> > door since the beginning of OoP.
> > 
> > But, Harry complained that Snape was making it *worse.*  
> > And then Dumbledore said that Occlumency lessons opened
> > Harry's mind *further.*  ...
> <SNIP>
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> If I remember correctly back in the days I argued that 
> Dumbledore did not know this piece of information - what 
> Snape did and what not during occlumency - now I do not 
> know.
> 
> But actually I reread the passage again and now think that 
> it can be interpreted that if Dumbledore would have taught
> Harry, then his mind could have been opened further, ...
> 
> Does that make any sense to you? I tend to think up wierd 
> and often incorrect things when I am tired.
> 
> I know one thing - this paragraph definitely is ambiguous 
> to me.
>

bboyminn:

I think Dumbledore thought when the cause was great enough
Snape and Harry could set aside their differences and work
toward a common goal. BOY WAS HE WRONG! Lessons, especially
with Snape have the effect of enraging and frustrating
Harry. The very emotions he need to control to protect
himself were being inflamed by the humiliation of Snape
digging into his deepest and most private memories.

So, regardless of the actually Occlumency lesson, it was
that they were being taught by Snape that inflamed the
sitiation and made it impossible for Harry to effectively
practice Occlumency.

Also, I think Snape tends to rely on the 'brute force' method
of teaching. Some one with more patience and much to Snape's
discredit, someone with more of a sense of subtly, and
Harry would have been a fair Occlumens. 

Note Harry is not completely without talent in this area. 
One of the problems was that Harry was just as interested
as Snape in seeing these memories come wandering by, but
when a truly private memory began to appear, Harry cut it
off immediately. If Snape had been a better and less 
emotionally involved teacher he would have picked up on 
that and built on it. Instead, he just used it as an
excuse to bully Harry even more.

Also, note that Voldemort emotions, thoughts, feeling, and
sense of excitement are also rising during this time. That 
combined with the other frustration confronting Harry 
(Umbridge, Cho, Quidditch, etc...) and Harry was, in my
opinion, emotionally near the breaking point. None of this
is helping at all, and it all explains why Harry appears
to be getting worse at blocking access to his mind instead
of getting better. 

Just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn