Several questions about the Dursleys, the Fidelius charm and Dumbledore

[Grey Wolf]

No: HPFGUIDX 47524

Meira wrote:
> Dumbledore placed Harry on the doorstep of no. 4 Privet Drive for the 
> Dursleys to care for him and raise Harry.
> 
> for 11 years, the Dursley's greatest wish was to get rid of Harry, 
> and suddenly Harry gets this letter from Hogwarts telling him that he 
> has been accepted to study there, and the Dursleys do everything they 
> can to prevent him from going there (they don't have much success in 
> that endeavor, but that is another matter).
> 
> Having a wizard in the house would be a bad thing (from Vernon's and 
> Petunia's POV) for a few reasons: It's the most un-normal thing 
> possible, and they don't want people handling frog spawn and wands 
> under their roof, and it's a *very* bad influence on Dinky Duddydums. 
> That is why, when Harry does come back for the summer vacation, that 
> they lock his things away and padlock Hedwig's cage.
> 
> But... sending Harry to a very far away place should be (for the 
> Dursleys) as if 10 years worth of Christmass's, Hannuka's, Birthdays  
> have been cramped into a single day.
> 
> So, why would they want to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts?

IMO, there are, at any given point, three distinctly strong impulses 
happening inside the Dursleys. The first and foremost is that impulse 
that has been driving them ever since harry arrived at their doorstep: 
the primal fear that he will turn out to be a wizard, thus 
"contaminating" them, making them "freaks". The have little 
understanding of magic, and hey seem to really believe that they can 
prevent Harry from becoming a wizard by stopping him from going to 
school and by discouraging magical acts by making his life even worse 
than it already was anytime anything magical happened around him.

The second impulse is, of course, seeing as little of Harry as possibe. 
They hate his guts, consider him a freak, an unsolicited foundling they 
have to care for (and there are several theories surronding this point: 
what is in it for them that they are willing to care for him? What 
threats did Dumbledore use?). This can be seen in the fact that they 
tell Harry to ask if he can stay at Hogwarts during the summer.

And finally, there is a third impulse, the worst of the three, which is 
that, above all, they *don't want Harry to be happy*. Harry himself 
knows about this, and says as much in the opening chapters of GoF: 
Uncle Vernon was doubting whether to allow him to go to the Wesley's, 
because, although it would mean Harry leaving a month earlier, it would 
also mean making him happy (by this point, note, Harry speaks of the 
*two* driving impulses of Vernon's life: the first one is by them a 
lost cause).

So, to answer your question, The Dursleys try to stop Harry from going 
to the school because it would make him happy and educate him in magic, 
two things they don't want to allow, even if it does take Harry away 
for months. But, since they could put him into some muggle boarding 
school if worse came to worst, they would've prefered Harry staying, 
where they can make his life miserable.

> What would have happened if the Dursleys would have decided to move? 
> The charms protecting Harry would have moved too? What would Mrs. 
> Figg do, since she's there to keep an eye on Harry? Do the charms 
> prevent the Dursleys of moving because of Mrs. Figg and the 
> logisitical challenge it would be to move the charms with them?

Yes, this has indeed been troted by the list before indeed, but never 
from this angle. I don't recall, at least, the suggestion of the 
DUrsleys packing up and leaving. The general idea, however, seems to be 
tht Harry is protected by being with his family, not in Privet Drive. 
Which is why Harry could go shopping with Petunia, or to the zoo. If 
they moved, the protection would go with them.

Now, for the problem of Mrs Figg. I can think of several possible 
solutions for such occasion. For example, she might come up with an 
excuse to move close to them. Or she might pass the job to another 
wizard, thus making the situation less suspicious. Or, if some of the 
polyjuice!Figg theories happen to be true, she simply changes hair and 
moves in with another identity. And I'm sure there are multiple other 
solutions.

> Another opinion that I have (which might not be too original and 
> innovative but I like it *g*) is that Dumbledore knew about Harry's 
> problematic (putting it nicely) family: "'I never expected this,' he 
> [Hagrid] said, in a low, worried voice. 'I had no idea, when 
> Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh,...'"
> ~PS, chapter 4 - "The Keeper of the Keys", p. 44 in the Bloomsbury 
> version~
> 
> And more questions: Is it possible that Dumbledore knew from the 
> start that they were going to be like that? Maybe that is why he 
> wanted Harry growing up there, to prepare him mentally or emotionally 
> for the future?
> 
> Meira.

I definetely believe that Dumbledore knew what the Dursleys were like 
(maybe from Lily's description of them, maybe from meeting them in the 
wedding - Dumbledore would be the sort to try and speak with the 
muggles), but he put Harry in their hands nonetheless because it was 
necessary: the magical protection called for relatives and they are the 
only ones available. I do think that the letter that was left with 
Harry did not only contain instructions on the ways of the WW, but also 
some threats so that Harry would be allowed to live with them (and not 
immediately taken to the nearest orphanage).

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf