Harrys childhood

[jennifer.k at lycos.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16951

Amy Gourley wrote:

> I was thinking of Harry's childhood with the Dursley's. We know how 
awful he's treated at age 10, 11-living under the stairs, wearing 
> Dudley's hand-me-downs but how was he treated when he was a 
toddler, 3, 4, 5 years old? Could they have treated him as badly 
then? It seems like he would be more messed up mentally if the 
Dursleys treated him awful as a small child. Did he have any toys to 
play with or did Dudley have all the toys?

jenny from ravenclaw wrote:

 I hate to say this, but the Dursleys were pretty disgusting 
> from Day 1 with Harry.  In SS there are no photos of Harry, just 
> Dudley.  When he is finally allowed to move out of the cupboard, it 
> takes just one trip to move his things upstairs, which means there 
> were no toys to carry.  In PoA (which I'm re reading now and loving 
> more than ever), there is mention of Aunt Marge hitting Harry's 
legs with a stick (I think) because he was beating Dudley in a game - 
when they were only five years old.  

Now. The In Defense of the Dursley´s Behavior towards Harry as a 
Small Kid-squad (*only* member=me) kicks in.

There´s little things that they actually did which kind of kept
Harry from going slighlty insane during childhood or later in life 
beacuse of it. 

They seems to be violent peoples (Vernon in particular) but it 
doesn´t seem like they ever hit him badly. Actually I can´t find any
reference to him being hit at all...Petunia does try to mark him with 
a pan in Chamber of Secrets, but fails. Other than that, there are no 
comments about it. And Harrys "mentiones" how he is forced to polish 
the silver and how he never is allowed to watch what he he likes on 
the TV, but he never mentiones being hit. I mean, its even allowed in 
Britain, and still they doesn´t beat him up on regular basis. 

 In HP and the Chamber of Secrets (English Edition), page 55, Harrys 
sais that "the Dursleys haven´t given me pocketmoney for
about six years." So up until the age of six, he Was given money - 
without any highly demanding/forcing reason that I can think of.
 
 the Dursleys let him participate at Dudleys birthday-feast when he 
was 5. If aunt Marge hadn´t whacked him around to prevent him from 
beating Dudley in musical statues...he might (er) have had a good 
time. He wasn´t locked up in his room, told not to make a noice (that 
might have been bad for a 5-years old), which he is as he grows up. 

 Page 92 of HP and the Philosopher´s Stone: "...the Dursleys had 
never exactly starved Harry..." 
Now look at that! They never exactly starved him.

 And they didn´t hand him over to an orphanage (thus maybe 
preventing him from becoming a new Tom Riddle! ;). As aunt Marge 
sais, in HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban, page 23: "It´s damn good
of Vernon and Petunia to keep you. Wouldn´t have done it myself.
You´d have gone straight to an orphanage if you´d been dumped on My 
doorstep."
Of course there could have been some sort of threat in the letter 
from Dumbledore that scared them into keeping Harry (or a plead of 
some sort, but I certainly don´t know what it could be). But would 
that really go along with Dumbledore´s "style"? 

Going through this little list, I can tell its awfully poor. I 
tried... But I guess the Dursleys Were quite nasty to Harry all 
along. But...*no, no buts!* 

 /Jennifer