Occlumency lessons WAS: Slytherins come back WAS: Re: My Most Annoying Charact

[Annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 180412

> > Annemehr:
> > 
> > But, Harry complained that Snape was making it *worse.*  And then 
> > Dumbledore said that Occlumency lessons opened Harry's mind 
> > *further.*  I take that as confirmation that the mind/soul bit 
> link 
> > was stronger as a consequence of the lessons.  If this seems 
> > ambiguous to you, what other possible meaning do you take from 
> > Dumbledore's words?  Or do you just think DD may have been 
> mistaken?
> <SNIP>
> 
> 
> Alla:
> 
<snip>
> 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, not that any Occlumency 
teacher 
> would have.
> 
> 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.
>

Annemehr:

Well, I mulled it over, overnight...

The way I see it, the phrase "open your mind even further to 
Voldemort WHILE in my presence"  denotes the joining of two events in 
time:  1)opening Harry's mind and 2)being with Dumbledore.  And 
joining them in the sentence explaining why DD didn't teach Harry 
implies they *could* be separate, and in fact *were* separate, in the 
alternative situation DD did in fact set up: Harry's occlumency 
lessons with Snape opened his mind further to Voldemort WHILE NOT in 
the presence of Dumbledore.

Whereas, if DD had meant that lessons with himself, and himself 
alone, would have opened Harry's mind to LV, he would have said "I am 
aware of it," said Dumbledore heavily. "I have already said
that it was a mistake for me not to teach you myself, though I was
sure, at the time, that nothing could have been more dangerous, 
because if I was your teacher, it would have opened your mind further 
to Voldemort."  This is the structure that implies that its opposite 
would be that lessons with Snape would not open Harry's mind further 
to LV.

See how they're imparting different information?  The way DD
said it implies that opening Harry's mind is independent of DD's 
presence.  I can't get anything else out of the phrase as DD says it 
in the text, myself -- to me, it's still not ambiguous at all.

Annemehr