Dursley Questions

[Gen]

No: HPFGUIDX 5094

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Jim Flanagan" <jamesf at a...> wrote:
> There are some questions I have regarding the Dursleys:
> 
> - What do they know about Voldemort?  Surely they would have asked 
> questions when the Potters were killed and their house was blown to 
> smithereens.  Do they understand who Voldemort was (is), and what 
his 
> return might mean to Harry and his blood relations?

I believe they know as much as Dumbledore had chosen to tell them via 
the letter he left them when Harry was deposited at their doorstep. I 
doubt they would even want to question or discuss whatever was 
written at all on the basis that they have been dying to stamp out 
all the wizarding nonsense out of Harry. What I continue to be 
surprised about is that they continue to keep Harry, when they seem 
only to keen to leave him at train station in PS/SS. Maybe that was 
to scare him and they would have returned for him when he couldn't 
find Platform 9 3/4. Perhaps having Harry around is something which 
puts them in a good light. On the surface, they would appear to the 
unknowing public as good upright concerned relatives.

> 
> - What is the nature of the protection that living with blood 
> relatives affords Harry?  Is it akin to having a Secret Keeper?  
> Perhaps it is related to the protection that Harry received when 
his 
> mother died to protect him.


I wondered this myself as Voldemort said in GoF that Dumbledore had 
used ancient magic to protect Harry while he's with his relatives and 
or Privet Drive. It probably only keeps Voldemort and DEs away as it 
certainly didn't stop Dobby. I doubt it's a secret keeper type of 
spell otherwise the elf wouldn't even be able to locate him and 
Sirius in dog-form spotted him as well in the vicinity. Also, even 
though the Weasleys want him to stay for the summer after the fourth 
year, Dumbledore had insisted that Harry had to stay with the 
Dursleys first. I'm really curious about this point too.


> 
> - Does anyone in a position to know ever say explicitly that Lily 
was 
> a muggle-born witch?  Could Petunia have been a squib in a wizard 
> household instead?  Harry *assumes* that his grandparents were 
> muggles, but do we know for sure?  

Petunia had mentioned something to the effect that their parents were 
so proud to have a witch in the family. This would appear to imply 
that they were muggles. On the other hand, in the mirror of Erised, 
Harry came across many more people with "green eyes" which would 
imply Lily's family. I doubt that Muggles would appear in that 
Mirror ? 

> 
> - When and how did Lily and Petunia's parents die? They must have 
> been comparatively young (50s or 60s) when Harry was born.  Might 
> they have been killed by Voldemort?  If so, could that have 
> traumatized Petunia into rejecting "the wizarding world" completely?
> 
I don't have any comments as to how their parents died but I think 
Petunia must have no wizarding ability because she spoke so 
vehemently about her in PS/SS. If indeed she did have powers, some of 
that would have materialised when she was traumatised by Hagrid's 
appearance in that hut and also when the Weasley's came through the 
fire place in Privet Drive. It seems that fear tends to bring out 
one's wizarding abilities like Harry flying to the top of the roof, 
hair growing back et al and Neville bouncing away safely when his 
relative dropped him.Based on this, she has to be a Muggle or if 
you're right, maybe a Squib.

Gen


> Any thoughts?
> 
> -Jim Flanagan