My two knuts worth

[nlpnt at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 7628

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Flying Ford Anglia" 
<neilward at d...> wrote:
> Responding to Leilani, who said:
> 
> You've raised some interesting questions. Can I register a quick 
`no' 
> vote on Grandpa Dumbledore 

Me too; you could start an entire thread on the similarities between 
HP and Star Wars; particularly if you look at the SW novels as well. 
Luke seems to be turning into a Dumbledore without the eccentricity 
as the years wear on; Borsk Fey'lya and Cornelius Fudge are near-
clones; and Harry and Anakin Solo show a remarkable resemblance to 
each other which is all the more interesting given their wildly 
different backgrounds.
 
> <<<1.  Harry does not receive the accolades he deserves for the 
> amazing feats he has performed.  After all, he has overcome evil 
> personified and preserved the very existence of wizards and muggles 
> alike, several times now.  He should at least get his own room at 
> Hogwarts.>>>
> 
> Cosseting Harry by giving him a room of his own surely wouldn't fit 
> Dumbledore's apparent plan to toughen Harry up for his future 
role.  
> He would want to develop humility and modesty, as well as strength 
> and talent, in his protégé.  More to the point, I think Harry would 
> view a single room as a penance rather than a luxury, as it would 
> isolate him from his friends and give the other students 
(especially 
> Ron) even more reason to resent his fame and fortune.
> 
This ties in with #s 1 and 2; Harry wouldn't want his own room, 
because the only times he's slept alone in his conscious memory, was 
with the Dursleys. That's why the whole PoU-based subgenre of H/H as 
platonic roommates for YEARS seems to work so well; Harry, while 
afraid to open up, has a definite distaste for living alone.

> <<<2.  The Dursleys are child abusers.  You would think someone in 
> the neighborhood or a teacher would have recognized that and turned 
> them in before Harry was old enough to go to Hogwarts.>>>


I'm beginning to have an idea for a fanfic, here; what would Harry's 
life be like if the Dursleys were normal? How would he and Dudley be 
different? Two points that were brought up in the Sep/Oct. Abuse 
thread were 1)Dudley being a bully anyway, and 2) Harry being tempted 
to turn his back on his destiny and go home to the Muggles.
  Trick is, it's hard to take a well-written, three-dimensional 
character, modify his entire childhood, and have said character come 
out recognizeable.