Patronus

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 190486

> Potioncat:
> But, if Dementors didn't affect Death Eaters, then why have Azkaban? It seemed to have taken a toll on all those who went there,if you ask me. 
> 
> We know that Snape offered a difference defense against Dementors. I imagine DEs would use that spell (whatever it is) rather than Expecto Patronum.
>
Carol responds:

My guess is that they used Occlumency. Snape would be especially good at keeping them from affecting him if that were the case. That might explain how Bellatrix, who knew enough Occlumency to teach the basics of it to Draco, survived Azkaban. (Maybe being a bit crazy to begin with helped her, too. ;-) ). Sirius Black, of course, survived by concentrating on his innocence and/or transforming into a dog.

I think that the reason Snape didn't teach his alternate defense (only its existence) to his DADA is that it was much too difficult for most of the students and did not involve a spell; it would have been nearly impossible to teach to a group of students. As for Harry, if Occlumency was the alternate defense, we can see why he would prefer a Patronus! (We also know that the Dementors affected him more than they did other people because of his terrible memories. Other people with terrible memories--among them Snape, DD, Black, and Lupin--seem to have had some sort of defense, whether a Patronus, Occlumency, an Animagus form or something else.)

I suspect that Fudge also used Occlumency. Barty Jr. apparently never learned it, or he wouldn't have been so badly affected by the Dementors during his sentencing and in Azkaban. (Of course, at the end of GoF, he was in no condition to attempt it even if he knew it.)

To answer someone else's question, it seems clear that the Dementors do know English or they couldn't obey (or disobey) the Ministry (and DD), nor could they know to bury the dead prisoners (e.g., Barty's Polyjuiced mother). How they could tell Sirius Black from anyone else, being blind, I don't know.

Carol, wondering if Wormtail could have escaped being soul-sucked by transforming into a rat