Stan and Ern saw only what they expected

[ms_petra_pan]

No: HPFGUIDX 37526

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Jennifer Boggess Ramon <boggles at e...> 
wrote:

> At 2:39 PM -0500 4/4/02, Bernadette M. Crumb wrote:
> >Well, perhaps Harry didn't match up with Stan's internal image of
> >what THE BOY WHO LIVED looked like.  True, Harry is famous, but
> >we really don't have much indication that there are many accurate
> >wizardly photos of him out there...
> 
> No, but we are repeatedly hit over the head with his uncanny 
> resemblance to James, who seems to have been rather popular in his 
> day.  Stan might not recognize Harry through the resemblance, but 
> Ernie should, if they move in the Hogwarts circles.  I rather like 
> the theory that they both left Hogwarts after their OWLs, as it 
keeps 
> them out of the loop without kludging "extra" wizarding schools.
 
There's also the probability that neither Stan nor Ern expected to 
ever meet the "Famous Harry Potter."  Therefore, they are more likely 
to accept Harry's act than to go with their gut instinct in the form 
of an "unbelievable" suspicion.  Our own expectations often shape our 
interpretation of reality...often to the point of distorting our 
perception.

Stan and Ern's expectations are very different from Fudge's, who's 
actually on the lookout for Harry.  For that matter, these 
expectations differ from those of the members of the WW who went 
LOOKING for Harry in Little Whinging, hoping for a "celebrity 
sighting" (mentioned in the beginning of HPSS/PS).

Of course, this brings up the question of how these witches and 
wizards bypassed Dumbledore's security measures, the same measures, I 
assume, meant to prevent Voldemort from doing the same...though for 
entirely different reasons.  However Dumbledore's charm works, it 
seems to be able to differentiate between people who intend harm, and 
those who are harmless.

:) Petra