[HPforGrownups] Magical protection

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 45013

(As usual, I've been reading HPGFU backwards; having responded to several 
posts Sue's original post generated, I've finally read it and have a few 
things to say -  *unrelated* to the Fidelius Charm!)

At 16:44 04/10/02 +1000, Sue Rodgers wrote:
>I've always wondered about the special magic that keeps Harry safe when
>he is with the Dursleys.  Is it perhaps that they are so unmagical that
>this, oddly enough, gives them special powers, or makes them impervious
>to seriously damaging magic?  After all, Harry is delivered to the
>Dursleys because he will be safe there according to Dumbledore.  If
>anyone has read the "Scent of Magic" books by Cliff McNish, the most
>magical child of all the children has no magical powers whatsoever and
>accordingly is impervious to magic.

It would seem from canon that the important thing for Harry's protection 
about the Dursleys is not that they are utter Muggleness, but that Petunia 
(and by extension, Dudley) are blood relatives.

When dropping Harry off on their doorstep, of course he comments that 
growing up away from the magical world will be good for Harry, but later 
references to Harry's protection make it clear that the *essence* of the 
protection is the family connection.

Or, to put it another way, the benefit of growing up where nobody knows 
that Harry is important is that Harry will survive childhood as a "normal" 
person. The benefit of  growing up in the care of relatives is that he'll 
survive his childhood at all. :-)

Most attentive HP readers have wondered about the precise nature of this 
protection, and significant speculation at this stage is difficult because 
we know very little beyond the importance of "family".

In the knowledge that at this stage we can propose nothing but 
generalities, my own feelings are that apart from the Fidelius Charm not 
being involved in any way, shape or form (<grin>), it's got something to do 
with blood. Specifically, *unspilt* blood. Something I found interesting 
about Harry's early childhood with the Dursleys and the various things we 
know about their treatment of him is that they have never actually 
physically harmed him. In particular, although Dudley persistently hit 
Harry on the nose and broke his glasses, he has never given him a 
nosebleed. Hitting someone in the face forcefully enough to break their 
specs, but not to give them a nosebleed, is very difficult. I'm painfully 
aware of that from personal experience. :-)

I have absolutely no idea whether the above is significant or the 
implications deliberate on JKR's part, but I've noticed it nevertheless. :-)

>A second not really related thought.  I always loved the concept of the
>secret keeper.  I wonder if Dumbledore keeps Snape safe from Voldemort
>in return for Snape keeping an eye out for Harry.  ie  If anything
>happens to Harry, Snape will lose Dumbledore's protection.

I'm not sure in what way the Secret-Keeper Charm could be connected to that 
scenario. :-) Anyway, I can't see any canon to support the notion that 
Snape has been given any special role in protecting Harry. He might be 
nastier as a person than most of the Hogwarts faculty and singles Harry and 
his friends out for ridicule, but he doesn't appear to be around to help 
Harry any more than other people.

He saved Harry during the first book's Quidditch match because he was in a 
position to do so. He followed everyone down to the Shrieking Shack in Book 
Three not because he was looking out for Harry's interests, but because he 
was looking for Remus. Those are the only times I can think of when he's 
been the one to come to Harry's rescue before anyone else. Any more?

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, UK