new (?) thoughts about the Dursleys

[Stephanie Roark Keener]

No: HPFGUIDX 21523

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Melanie Brackney <ilovbrian_99 at y...> wrote:
> I never thought about it until now.  However, it did appear to me 
that they were trying to keep Harry from Hogwarts..and acted like 
they had never heard of the place. Perhaps, Dumbledore made no 
mention of Hogwarts in the letter.
> 

Doesn't Petunia, in one of her rants somewhere say something 
like, "Lily got one of those letters, and then went off to that 
school and she came home turning teapots into mice -- my parents were 
so proud to have a witch in the family.  BUt I saw her for what she 
was -- a freak" (I can't look this up at the moment) My take was that 
the Durselys took Harry in, and this is awful, to beat out 
his "abnormality" out of him -- I get the impression that Petunia was 
jealous of Lily and is quite bitter at the wizarding world -- so she 
wanted to deprive HArry of his legacy as revenge.  I think they 
either hid or destroyed the letter, and hoped that would be that.  I 
really doubt they know about Mrs. Figg, they were probably just happy 
to have a reliable (maybe even free) sitter, if she's kind of wierd, 
smells like cabbages, and makes Harry uncomfortable, all the better 
in thier opinion.  My question is, if Mrs. Figg is the right Figg, 
why didn't she ever let it slip to Harry OR tell Dumbledore the kind 
of abuse HArry is suffering?
  
 >Where are the other Potters?

And what happened to those O-so-supportive Lily/Petunia parents?

Stephanie