"Remember my Last, Petunia." (was Petunia's Rules )

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 86567

Jen R: Entropy's post upthread reminded me that we haven't had a 
really good discussion on Petunia's Howler since about August (if my 
archive search was correct). One discussion starts with message 
#64162.

Dumbledore acknowledges sending the Howler by telling Harry: "I 
thought... that she might need reminding of the pact she had sealed 
by taking you. I suspected the dementor attack might have awoken her 
to the dangers of having you as a surrogate son" (US, chap. 37, p. 
836). 

So we have that information as well as the cryptic 
wording, "Remember my Last", which begs the question "last what?!?"

Here are some previous thoughts:

1) Last letter sent to Petunia, which may or may not have been the 
one left on the doorstep at Privet Dr. (mentioned by several people 
on several threads).

2) Last Heir of Gryffindor, as in Harry is the last 'spiritual' not 
familial heir, after Dumbledore (credit to susiedale).

3) Last promise to Petunia by Dumbledore, a pact to keep Dudley's or 
Petunia's magical powers a secret or somehow remove Petunia or 
Dudley's magical abilities if the Dursley's provide houseroom for 
Harry. (credit to Ali H., I think she originated the one about 
keeping the powers secret)

4) Last 'Hope', as in Petunia knows at least part of the Prophecy 
and understands Harry is the last hope to rid the world of Voldemort 
(credit to Richelle Votaw).

I wish I had a new idea to propose; until then I'm looking at the 
evidence for each theory above ;).

1) Last Letter: The letter itself wouldn't be evidence for such a 
cryptic howler; there would have to be something IN the first letter 
or a later letter that Vernon has no clue about. That takes us to 
options 2 & 3.

2) & 3) Last Heir of Gryffindor or Last pact between Petunia/DD: On 
the first one, I'm not sure Petunia would care! She wants no part of 
the magical world so what would the Gryffindor Heir mean to her, if 
in exchange she puts Dudley in harm's way by taking Harry in? 

The thought about a pact between the two, where each one gets 
something from the bargain, is consistent--that's the type of thing 
I see Petunia going for. Dissenting opinion seems to be that 
Dumbledore would not deny anyone his/her magical heritage and that 
DD doesn't have the power to completely take away someone's magical 
abilities.

That leaves 4) Last Hope. This theory ties into the story well, 
especially if Petunia's parents were killed by LV. I've always loved 
the scene where Harry tells the Dursleys LV is back (chap. 2, p.37):

"Back?" whispered Aunt Petunia. She was looking at Harry as she had 
never looked at him before. And all of a sudden, for the very first 
time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his 
mother's sister....All he knew was that he was not the only person 
in the room who had an inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back 
might mean."

Sniff, sniff (wipes eyes). Petunia became real to *me* in that 
moment too, and it made me wonder what Petunia, like Lily, had lost 
at the hands of LV. The idea of Petunia knowing part of the 
Prophecy, understanding that her family's life is in danger if LV 
returns and that Harry is the One, would be enough for her 
to 'grudgingly accept' Harry, IMO. This idea also fits with DD's 
explanation that Petunia 'awoke to the danger of having Harry as a 
surrogate son', i.e., LV was just a possible threat before, but now 
the danger is real.

Any other theories? 

Jen Reese