Harry's Protection

[beccafran <rbroeker@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48537

> > Pickle Jimmy wrote:
> > 
> > >If Harry is so protected (by ancient magic) at the Dursleys, why
> > >could Sirius (the dog) find him so easily in PoA??
> > >I know that when Harry saw Sirius!Dog he wasn't at home - he 
> > had just 
> > >escaped Aunt Marge - but surely the protection isn't just over 
> > >Privett Drive or he'd be vunerable while at school (muggle not 
> > >hogwarts).
> > >
> And Emma, in her first post, asked a sensible question:
> > Equally, how did Dobby find Harry? Even without the ancient 
> > magical protection,
> > how on earth did he know where Harry was? We know Ron and the 
> > other Weasley's
> > know (they write to him by Muggle post, they drive magical 
> > cars there),
> > but by what route could Dobby possibly have found out Harry's 
address?
> > 
"heiditandy" <heidit at n...> wrote:
> There are a variety of possible answers to these questions.
> > It's possible that the ancient magic protecting Harry protects 
him only from wizards or witches who intend to do him harm (which 
would make the protection useless at keeping the house elves awak 
<snip> 
> I can't see how the ancient magic protects him from anyone who 
wants to
> hurt him, though, as Dudley seems to do a bit of that in canon, so 
it seems like it should be something in between total protection and
> something limited. 

Here's my thought on this (my first on this board!):

a) I think the protection is tied to the Dursleys, not to the 
location (Privet Drive). Dumbledore sends Harry to live with them 
because they're his only relatives, even though they're Muggles and 
hate magic. Also, I don't have my book with me, but doesn't Voldemort 
state that he can't touch Harry "when he's with his relations"?

b) I think Heidi must be right about the protection being limited 
either to Voldemort specifically or just to "witches and wizards" 
since Sirius!Dog (animal form), Dobby (house elf), and Dudley 
(Muggle) all manage to get to Harry while he's there.

Another question on this: Are Sirius or Dobby actually intending harm 
to Harry when they go to Privet Drive?  Could the spell be limited to 
only restrict those with evil intent?

c) I don't think there could be a restriction on anyone finding out 
where Harry is. After all, Errol finds him, and he's so decrepit he 
can barely fly. As far as Dobby finding him, "house elves have their 
own powerful brand of magic..." could that be it?

BeccaFran
*excited to be joining the discussion*