[HPforGrownups] SUMMARIES: The Worst Birthday and Dobby's Warning

[dfrankiswork at netscape.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 22901

catherine wrote:

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

I think she has indicated that it was her own decision, as she couldnt be sure what order the books would be read in.  Knowing her style, she will carry on, but use the recaps to subtly introduce new plot points  just as the Quidditch matches serve a plot purpose.  It may be annoying to us, but if someone new to the series starts out of order, they may feel excluded.  That may be acceptable to adults, but think of a kid who has been given COS for Christmas by a well-meaning but ignorant uncle.  JKR is careful of her readers, and whatever we may say about the quality of HP as adult fiction, it's clearly the pleasure she gives to children that she values especially.

>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?

No, he is just following his own priorities.  In black and white on the page it seems abusive, but I have come close to similar behaviour with my own kids.

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

Or indeed any other problem.  Im torn between theories about how admitting to issues such as this would mean uncovering a whole lot of suppressed baggage about Lily, and just seeing the Dursleys outrageous behaviour as a foil for the welcome Harry has in the wizarding world.

>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?

They really believe this sort of thing makes a difference.  And it would, too, if they were invited out (as if!) - they would scrutinise their hosts for clues about how their own status was evaluated.

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

Not me, and Not necessarily.  It's as pretentious as the DJs.

>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?

Although he does sometimes need bribing, his essential solidarity with his parents on things that count (to them) is remarkable to behold in a twelve year old.

>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?

Mrs Figg.

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

Perhaps, rather, his low self esteem.  He just thinks that he is out-of-sight, out-of-mind.  It's normal for him that nobody pays any attention.  Its an ongoing theme  see his reaction in GOF when Moody asks him what hes good at.

>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?

I incline to the view that its just personal on Dobbys part  but its a good point.

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

Im sure this was Dobby acting on his own.  Its interesting to note, that while still technically a slave of the Malfoys, Dobby is actually free in the way that really counts.  He probably interfered not only with the owl post but also the regular mail in Hermione's case.

>11. Why did Dobby drop the pudding?  So it would have the effect
>it did have, or to try and get Harry immediately expelled?

I think all Dobby wanted was to get the Dursleys to forbid him to go.

>12. If Harry had been expelled, at the end of the year, would
>Dobby have cleared his name?

I think he would have tried  but as a house-elf, would anyone have listened?

>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?

Isnt it like a TV detector van  they pick up the 'waves', but they dont know who switched it on?  But it does suggest that HE magic is of the same basic kind as wizard magic  which may create problems for the House Elves dont apparate theory about Dobbys freedom to come and go at Hogwarts.

>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?

It is possible  though it would mean he was in fact trying to get Harry expelled, or rusticated, if they do that at Hogwarts.  Mrs Figg would be another possibility, though I see her as tipping off Dumbledore for Harry's safety, not the MOM for punishment.

>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?

Little Whinging may be not that far from MOM offices.  Parts of Surrey are really just suburbs of London  though see earlier posts on travel time to KX in PS.  Little Whinging has that suburban feel, and if Vernon commutes to central London this would explain the unusual concentration of Wizards he saw at the beginning of PS.  When I worked in Covent Garden in the eighties, one of my colleagues (a sort of young Vernon) remarked that all the people one saw in the street were trendies, perverts, foreigners and wierdos.  Of course, I now know they were wizards disguised as Muggles.

David


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