Chapter Discussions - Chapter One, Dudley Demented

[linlou43]

No: HPFGUIDX 68507

  
   Wendy St John wrote:

> > I'm not sure I see a difference between wanting to "get
> > back" at Dudley and Harry actually bullying Dudley himself. A 
bit of the
> > victim becoming the bully here. I think in this scenario Dudley 
shows more
> > restraint, but it's because he's afraid of Harry, not because 
he's morally
> > superior or anything like that <g>. This particular scene 
concerns me just
> > a bit, because Harry's behaviour did surprise me - we've seen 
him be cheeky
> > before, but this was the first time I actually saw him being 
mean spirited
> > without being specifically provoked. (I'm not saying he's never 
been
> > provoked by Dudley, obviously. Just that Dudley hadn't done 
anything to
> > provoke him on this particular occasion). This was the first 
instance of
> > Harry's anger coming out in a not-so-pleasant way, which 
culminates with
> > the Cruicatus he casts at Bellatrix.

 
 Irene added:
 
> There was a bit in GoF - after the grapefruit breakfast he teases 
Dudley 
> about being really full and I didn't enjoy the pleasure Harry got 
out of it.


    I don't see any cause to worry about Harry from either of these 
scenes. I don't enjoy the pleasure Harry gets out of taunting Dudley 
either, however, I think it is actually a step forward. (Please hold 
the howlers for until after the explanation.) Back and forth 
taunting is often a normal part of a sibling relationship. Through 
POA(excepting the toilet comment in SS/PS, but after that one Harry 
runs before Dudley can work it out so I don't consider that an 
indication of them being evenly matched), the taunting is decidedly 
one sided. In GOF, it is openly two sided for the first time. Harry 
has reached a point where he can start to attempt some kind of equal 
footing relationship with Dudley. Unfortuanately, it may have taken 
Dudley being afraid of Harry to establish the beginings of the 
relationship, yet the seeds *have* been planted. 

    Now we move on to OOP. Not for a minute did I believe that Harry 
would have actually cursed Dudley. If he wanted to do that he would 
have called after him in the park. Dudley having his friends with 
him would have presented more entertainment value then cursing him 
alone in an alley. There is just no way Harry would have chanced 
getting expelled over Dudley. That decision had already been made 
while he sat on the swings. IMO, Harry was simply showing bravado in 
a relationship he now perceives to be equalized. 
   
      Dudley, also, is starting to see the relationship differently. 
Dudley not only knew that Harry was having nightmares but remembered 
exactly what Harry had been crying out in his sleep. Seems to me 
that he might be paying more notice to his cousin than in the past. 
Of course, that could be construed as getting information to use as 
a weapon, but then why wouldn't he have used it before that night in 
the alley? Harry has been having these dreams for a few weeks, ever 
since he got back to Privet drive. Why not use it against him 
sooner? He used it as a defensive weapon, not an offensive one. I 
also think, as someone else suggested(sorry don't remember who), 
that Dudley is beginning to see himself as seperate from his parents 
nad possibly seeing the as they are in relationship to what he has 
and will become. Essentially, methinks Dudley doth protest to much.



         -linlou, who grew up constantly being picked on by an older 
sister and consequently admits that her views on this matter may be 
skewed