(ETA: I guess I had a lot to say on the matter, so I hope you don't mind rambling. XD)
Well, first off, what Voldemort was doing to Harry in the fifth book wasn't exactly Ligilimency. He was using the connection forged between them when Harry was a baby. This is why he was able to do it from such a distance and without the incantation "Ligilimens". To fend from this attack, Harry only needed to clear his mind so Voldemort wouldn't find anything useful.
Regarding the lessons with Snape, Harry did have his wand out and he did use it to stop Snape using offensive spells, though he never used any sort of Occlumency spell, per se. I think what he did with Snape is a lot like what he did with Mad Eye Moody in the fourth book. Harry was able to overcome the Imperius curse using only will power, which is basically all he used to overcome Snape. He didn't want Snape to see certain memories, so he willed the intrusion to stop. Having a wand just helped the process along because he was able to break Snape's focus.
Still, I think there is more hidden beneath the surface that prooves that practicing Occlumency doesn't require a wand. Take Snape, for example. He is a superb Occlumens; he would have to be to lie to Voldemort. But I can't see him whipping out a wand and shouting "Occlumens!" every time he's in Voldemort's presense. That might be a bit too obvious. XD And yet, I don't think Occlumency is a wandless magic either. I don't think it's a lot of magic at all. It's more about the mind. Ligilimency only requires magic to gain access to someone else's mind, and then from there it's a mind trick too.
But that's just my personal head canon -- hope it helps! XD
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 04:33 pm (UTC)Well, first off, what Voldemort was doing to Harry in the fifth book wasn't exactly Ligilimency. He was using the connection forged between them when Harry was a baby. This is why he was able to do it from such a distance and without the incantation "Ligilimens". To fend from this attack, Harry only needed to clear his mind so Voldemort wouldn't find anything useful.
Regarding the lessons with Snape, Harry did have his wand out and he did use it to stop Snape using offensive spells, though he never used any sort of Occlumency spell, per se. I think what he did with Snape is a lot like what he did with Mad Eye Moody in the fourth book. Harry was able to overcome the Imperius curse using only will power, which is basically all he used to overcome Snape. He didn't want Snape to see certain memories, so he willed the intrusion to stop. Having a wand just helped the process along because he was able to break Snape's focus.
Still, I think there is more hidden beneath the surface that prooves that practicing Occlumency doesn't require a wand. Take Snape, for example. He is a superb Occlumens; he would have to be to lie to Voldemort. But I can't see him whipping out a wand and shouting "Occlumens!" every time he's in Voldemort's presense. That might be a bit too obvious. XD And yet, I don't think Occlumency is a wandless magic either. I don't think it's a lot of magic at all. It's more about the mind. Ligilimency only requires magic to gain access to someone else's mind, and then from there it's a mind trick too.
But that's just my personal head canon -- hope it helps! XD