Legilimency v. Occlumency

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 188022

Carol earlier:
> > Because Snape's Occlumency is so subtle that Voldemort can enter his mind, see exactly what Snape wants him to see, and not even realize that part of Snape's thought or memory is being hidden from him. (Contrast Draco, whose crude Occlumency is both slow and obvious. IOW, the Dark Lord either doesn't know that Snape is an Occlumens or doesn't know that Snape would dare to use Occlumency against *him.* [big snip]
> >   
> > And another thing--Snape's life depended on his concealing that particular ability. Quite possibly, he had to conceal other abilities as well, appearing competent and intelligent but not as brilliant as he really was or Voldemort would perceive him as a rival rather than a talented henchman and kill him off. Just a thought.
> >   
Rick responded: 
> All good points, but then how do we account for Snape off-loading  memories before he teaches HP, no great shakes at Occlumency.

Carol again:
Harry's ineptitude at Occlumency wasn't the point of Snape's removing those memories. (He'd need to be good at *Legilimency* to see them deliberately.) Snape probably anticipated Harry's using a Protego (Shield Charm), either accidentally or deliberately, which would backfire on the caster of the Legilimens spell (Snape) and release random memories, which is exactly what happened when Harry saw Severus as a small child cowering in fear as his father yelled at his mother, a somewhat older Severus riding a bucking broom, and a teenage Severus killing flies. Snape clearly didn't want Harry to see SWM and two other memories (probably of his going to Dumbledore for help or promising to protect Harry--he hadn't yet agreed to kill Dumbledore or saved his life). Whether he was protecting his cover from Voldemort or simply didn't want Harry to know his true motivation (love of Lily) is unclear, but, either way, he was protecting those particular memories from accidentally being revealed. (I know that other people have other theories, but I'm convinced that mine is correct and that it's supported by the text.) 

Rick:
  Of  course, TDL did, in the end, kill off Snape. 
> 
> I've wondered if TDL wasn't aware at some level that Snape wasn't that reliable an ally anyway.  He used him and then, once he'd finished, he did kill him off. 

Carol responds:
I don't think so. He doesn't really trust anybody, but he comes close to trusting Snape. And he says that he "regrets" killing Snape, which may be true in the sense that he's killing what he views as a loyal and highly competent DE (no personal regret as in affection for Snape, of course). He simply thinks that once he's killed Harry, he will have won the war and that sacrificing this skilled and intelligent "servant" will enable him to do that. He no longer needs Snape as a spy, and he can always find another DE headmaster for Hogwarts. It's not that he distrusts him; Snape, after all, killed Dumbledore, supposedly on LV's orders. It's just that, in LV's view, he's expendable.

Carol, wishing that Snape had managed to talk to Harry at Hogwarts instead of being thwarted by McGonagall and forced to fly from the school
>