The Dursleys Hatred for the Wizard World and Harry

[joanne0012]

No: HPFGUIDX 32923

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "finwitch" <finwitch at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Liz Sager" <ChaserChick at h...> wrote:
> > Erin wrote:
> > <snip to>
> > >B) They fear Voldemort.
> > 
> > This I agree with, but maybe that's not all they're afraid of. 
> Because if 
> > that's what Dumbledore tells them in the letter, they know that LV 
> killed 
> > James and Lily, but *Harry* defeated *him*. Perhaps they're not 
> only scared 
> > of LV (even though he's "dead" for all purposes), but scared of 
> Harry too.
> 
> Could be. At least the Dursleys have known that Harry Potter is 
> magical. They tried to rid Harry of magic with no success.

But they wouldn't have TRIED if they didn't think it might be possible.  Vernon has 
stated his determination to rid Harry of his magical tendencies, and refuses to 
pay to send Harry to a school to be "taught tricks." Petunia never mentions Lily 
showing any evidence of magical talent before getting her Hogwarts letter. So 
perhaps the Dursleys think that Harry's little displays of magical power can 
indeed be thwarted through their oppressive treatment.  If they'd been told that 
as an infant he had somehow defeated a powerful bad wizard, I expect they'd 
have a lot more fear and a lot less confidence in their own chances of repressing 
his magical powers.

Anyway, I doubt that Dumbledore would have revealed lots of wizarding business 
in the letter.  He was putting Harry with the Dursleys to keep him AWAY from 
the wizarding world, and must have realized that the Dursleys didn't have much 
contact or know much about it.  I wonder if we'll ever be told what was in the 
letter -- I assumed it mentioned that Harry's parents were killed but not lots of 
details about Voldemort's activities.