Dementors kiss and the new Dursley theory!

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 41041

Jai wrote:

> 
> If I remember correctly, when the Dementors come to the Quidditch 
game where Harry falls off the broom, someone (forgive me, I don't 
have my book here, it may have been Dumbledore) mentions that they 
were attracted because of all the people there and that they had been 
too long without human souls.  So that would seem to imply that they 
DO need some sort of thoughts to feed on, and it also seemed implied 
that they would be happy.
> 


I think PoA does more than imply. 

On page 140, UK, we hear it from Lupin himself:

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. they 
infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair 
they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them. Even 
Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near 
a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory, will be sucked 
out of you."

On page 183, UK, Hagrid describes his time in Azkaban:

"Yeh've no idea. Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. 
Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind... the day I got expelled 
from Hogwarts...day me dad died...day I had ter let Norbert go."


On page 272, UK, Sirius answers Hermione's question about how he got 
out of Azkaban.

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason 
I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a 
happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me."


Ok, now for Nicole's interesting Dursley theory. Not quoting here, 
but to sum up, she speculated that the Dursleys have been purposely 
mistreating Harry to keep him from having tons of happy thoughts that 
can be sucked away.

The main problem with this is that happy thoughts are the main 
component for the defense against Dementors. Think of a happy 
thought, shout Expecto Patronum, and watch old Stag Boy Prongs go.

A life filled with bad memories would seem to make you even weaker in 
the presence of Dementors. Remember Hagrid "goin' over horrible stuff 
in me mind." 

Harry himself kept remembering his mother and father's death. My 
guess is that if he were in Azkaban, all those years as Dudley's 
punching bag would have popped up too.

So, it seems the Dursleys, even if they gave the Dementors less food, 
gave them more ammunition to weaken Harry.

Darrin
-- Stag Boy and the Prongs would be a GREAT name for a band