SUMMARIES: The Worst Birthday and Dobby's Warning

[catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 22867

Chapter One:  The Worst Birthday.

The chapter opens with a description of Harry and the Dursleys 
sitting around the kitchen table in Privet Drive.  Harry is having an 
argument with Mr Dursley about the fact that Hedwig is locked up, and 
as a result is making too much noise for the Dursleys' liking.  Aunt 
Petunia is cooing over Dudley and trying to feed him up, despite the 
fact that he is grossly overweight.  Harry tells Dudley to use 
the "magic word" which results in his being shouted at by Mr 
Dursley.  It is explained that the Dursleys are over sensitive about 
references to magic, because Harry is a wizard.  Facts about Harry 
from PS are recapped.  It is also mentioned that all his belongings, 
which are associated with the wizarding world, have been locked away.

It is Harry's 12th birthday.  For a moment he thinks that Mr Dursley 
has remembered when he says that "today is a very important day," but 
he is only talking about a deal he hopes to make with Mr Mason, who 
is coming to dinner that night.  Mr Dursley runs through the schedule 
for that night.  Harry is to keep to his room and pretend that he is 
not there.

Harry goes into the garden, upset that he hasn't received any cards, 
presents or any communication whatsoever from the friends he made at 
Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione.  He is extremely lonely, and worried that 
they have forgotten him.  He wants to risk sending them a message, 
but is too worried about using magic, as it is forbidden for underage 
wizards to do so out of school.  He hasn't told the Dursleys this, 
however.  He is also still having nightmares about his encounter with 
Voldemort, which had taken place at the end of the previous term.

Suddenly, Harry sees two large green eyes staring back at him from 
inside the hedge.  Before he has a chance to investigate however, 
Dudley comes out to taunt him about the fact it is his birthday and 
that he hasn't had any cards.  For once, Dudley's comments hit a 
little too close to home for Harry's comfort – they reinforce the way 
he has been feeling.  Harry retaliates by pretending to do magic, 
which results in punishment from Aunt Petunia – Harry spends the rest 
of the day gardening.

At the end of the day, Harry goes up to his room after a very meagre 
supper, to find someone sitting on his bed.


Chapter Two:  Dobby's warning.

The creature sitting on his bed has "large, bat-like ears and bulging 
green eyes" and is wearing an old pillowcase.  He introduces himself 
as Dobby the house elf, and professes to be honoured to meet Harry.  
He speaks in a high-pitched voice, which obviously carries.  This 
worries Harry, because the Masons have arrived downstairs, and he 
doesn't want to get into trouble.  Dobby bursts into tears because 
Harry asks him to sit down, and is treating him like an equal.  A 
conversation follows, in which Harry finds out that Dobby is unable 
to criticise the family he serves, without punishing himself, and 
that he will have to serve them until he dies.  He praises Harry for 
his second defeat of Voldemort, but warns him that he must not go 
back to Hogwarts.  He says that Harry is "too great, too good, to 
lose."  There is a plot to make terrible things happen there, which 
Dobby has known about for months.  He won't, however, give Harry any 
details, and will only say "Not – not, He Who Must Not Be Named," 
when Harry asks if it is something to do with Voldemort, although he 
appears to be trying to hint at something.  When Harry tries to tell 
Dobby that Hogwarts is safe because of Dumbledore, Dobby tells Harry 
that isn't so, because there are powers that no decent wizard would 
use.

Noise from Dobby beating himself around the head with Harry's desk 
lamp brings Mr Dursley upstairs, who berates Harry, after making an 
excuse about Dudley leaving his television on.    

The conversation between Harry and Dobby continues.  It transpires 
that Dobby has been intercepting all Harry's mail, in an attempt to 
make Harry not want to go back to school.  Dobby refuses to give 
Harry the letters, and as Harry also refuses to promise not to go 
back to school, Dobby says he has no choice, and opens the door and 
runs downstairs.   Harry races after him, trying not to make any 
noise, and finds that Dobby has made Aunt Petunia's violet cream 
pudding float up near the ceiling.  As Harry still refuses to 
promise, Dobby smashes the pudding on the floor, and with a loud 
crack, disappears.

Uncle Vernon tries to gloss over the appearance in the kitchen of a 
cream-covered Harry, by saying that he is disturbed, but then an owl 
from the Ministry of Magic's Improper Use of Magic Office arrives, 
giving Harry an official warning about the Hover Charm and 
threatening expulsion if it happens again.  The effects of this 
letter are twofold:  Firstly, it ruins Mr Dursley's chance of making 
the deal, as Mrs Mason is terrified of birds, but more importantly, 
it also informs Mr Dursley that Harry isn't allowed to use magic out 
of school.  Mr Dursley uses this information to lock Harry up in his 
room and to tell him that he is never to return to Hogwarts.  He is 
tickled by the fact that if Harry tries to escape by using magic, he 
will be expelled.

The next day, bars are fitted to Harry's window, and he is only let 
out twice a day to use the bathroom.  Three days later, things 
haven't improved.  Harry is being half-starved (dinner being a cold 
tin of soup he has to share with Hedwig).  Harry spends his time 
pondering his situation – wondering how he is going to get out, when 
he has a dream about being an exhibit in a zoo, with Dobby telling 
him that at least he is safe there.  He awakes to find Ron staring at 
him through his bedroom window.

Questions:

Bad Doreen raised some of the questions I had for these chapters last 
week, but I decided to leave them in anyway, just in case someone has 
something fresh to add...

1.	When will JKR stop putting in the annoying reminders about 
events in past books?    Do her publishers tell her to do so?

2.	When Mr Dursley says that today is an important day, do you 
think that he is deliberately and sadistically raising Harry's hopes 
that they have remembered his birthday - and care?

3.	Why can't Petunia see that Dudley has a serious weight 
problem?

4.	Why are Mr Dursley and Dudley wearing dinner jackets?  Did 
the Dursleys stipulate Black Tie when they invited the Masons?  What 
does this say about them?

5.	Has anyone ever eaten a pudding made of cream and sugared 
violets?  Is it as sickly and as revolting as it sounds?

6.	Why is Dudley being so co-operative about the dinner party?  
Is he being bribed with promises of extra treats if the Dursleys 
become richer?

7.	Harry notes that he won't be taken on holiday with the 
Dursleys.  What do they usually do with him when they go away?

8.	Why does Harry assume that his friends have forgotten him, 
rather than thinking something may have happened?  Is he very 
insecure?

9.	Dobby says that Harry is too important to be put at risk.  
Why is this?  Is it just because of what Harry stands for among the 
oppressed, or does it refer to something which is going to happen in 
the future?  Could this be an early reference to Professor 
Trelawney's first prediction?

10.	What happened to Harry's letters?  Did Dobby take them with 
him?  Did Lucius Malfoy intercept them?

11.	Why did Dobby drop the pudding?  So it would have the effect 
it did have, or to try and get Harry immediately expelled?
 
12.	If Harry had been expelled, at the end of the year, would 
Dobby have cleared his name?


13.	If the MoM knew that magic had been performed in the house, 
why didn't they also know that it wasn't Harry who had done it?

14.	The MoM say that they have "received information" that magic 
has been performed in the house.  Is it possible that Dobby 
anonymously tipped them off?

15.	How did the owl arrive so quickly?  Is it possible that owls 
can apparate, or did the wizard who sent it apparate close by before 
releasing the owl?

Catherine