Mrs. Figg as babysitter

[aprilgc at ivillage.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 15334


> > Stacy wrote:
<snip>
> And by the way . . . why *couldn't* she let him in on anything? And 
> if she was communicating with Dumbledore all this time, why on Earth 
> didn't Hagrid know that Harry was completely clueless about his 
> parentage? You'd think that around Harry's ninth birthday or so, Mrs. 
> Figg might have owled Dumbledore and said something like, "You 
> know . . . the Potter boy really has no idea about what he is. The 
> invitation from Hogwarts will probably be a bit of a shock. Do you 
> think I should whip out the *real* photo albums and have a chat with 
> him next time the Muggles send him over?" Would have helped Harry out 
> immensely, I think . . . though PS might have been less entertaining.
> 
Even if the Dursleys had told Harry about his abilities, how would Mrs. 
Figg know?  Harry would know not to tell anyone outside the family (for 
fear of retribution/ridicule, if nothing else).  Why would he tell the 
"mad" old lady who babysits him once a year... "You know what, I'm a 
wizard..."?  Without planting bugs in the Dursley home, or reading 
Harry's mind they have no way of knowing what Harry's been told (or 
not).  The little old lady can't very well ask him if he knows he's a 
wizard.
About seeing/not seeing Harry:
She lives two streets over (I think).  If she went too long without 
seeing him, she'd probably check up on him, but depending on schedules 
its possible to go days/weeks without seeing the kids who live a couple 
houses over.  Wouldn't necessarily mean there's a problem.
a.