[HPforGrownups] Harry¹s Summer Holiday

[Robert A. Rosenberg]

No: HPFGUIDX 68970

At 20:35 -0500 on 07/09/2003, Melinda Leydon wrote about 
[HPforGrownups] Harrys Summer Holiday:

>Okay, so where do we go from here, do you think?  How is Harry going to cope
>this summer with the Dursleys?
>
>[snip]
>
>What about the strange connection between Petunia and Harry at the beginning
>of OotP?  How will that come into play and will a new understanding be
>formed between the two of them.  Will we finally get to get some information
>on Lily?  Will Petunia warm up to Harry at all now that she understands his
>life is in danger, or will she even care?  Something about her reaction to
>the news that Voldemort is back makes me think that she might.  If so, how
>will Dudley take to that, or Vernon?  Will Vernon be afraid of the threats
>the Order gave him or will he be even more incensed at their interference
>and take it out on Harry?
>
>So what are your thoughts on Harrys summer?

The events of the Dementor Attack and its aftermath (ie: The Kitchen 
Table debriefing up to the Howler arrival) have irrevocably altered 
the status-quo of the Social Dynamics at the Dursleys.

Note that Petunia ends up being the Dursley in control of handling 
Harry as of the arrival of the Howler. She started to assume this 
role as soon as the Dementors were mentioned and she exercised it 
when she rescinded Vernon's eviction order and just CALMLY ordered 
Harry to his room. Harry also stopped catering to them as soon as he 
walked in the door (or at least as soon as Petunias outburst - I do 
not have the book in front of me to trace the progression of the 
inter-personal changes). The latter part of the debriefing was 
carried out in a civilized manner (even though Vernon still had his 
habit of not letting Harry respond to his questions but just 
answering for Harry by misunderstanding what Harry is saying or 
trying to say). Once in his room, Harry  is ignored. I see Petunias 
order to go to his room not so much as a punishment but as a 
automatic reaction to Data Overload (ie: Get him out of the room so 
she can try to recover from the shock ["Out of Sight - Out of 
Mind"]). By the time 4 days have passed, Harry is just ignoring them 
and has a very civilized discussion with Uncle Vernon who is 
civilized back (Vernon, I think, is still in shock from the 
possibility that Dudley might have been killed if Harry had not 
intervened and protected him [the latter fact might still be not 
consciously recognized but I do not think he is so self centered that 
he does not unconsciously realize it]). This is the situation when 
Harry is removed from the House by the Order. There is then a 9 month 
gap where Petunia and Vernon have to get their lives back in order 
and settle on what occurred and what info about the WW Petunia has 
been hiding. We then get to the well intended Tongue Lashing 
administered to Vernon by the Phoenix Order Welcome Committee at the 
train station. Vernon is never given a change to express to Harry ANY 
change in his attitude due to the aftermath of the events of Chapters 
1-3 so we do not know how he would have behaved if the Order had not 
Interfered. Harry on the other hand signals HIS response by (for the 
first time in 5 books) being the one to lead the exodus from the 
Train Platform to the Dursley Car (IOW: He is now ready and willing 
to try to define his relationship with the Dursleys while he is 
living with them).

Here are my views of what might happen at the start of Book 6.

Given that Harry has to live with the Dursleys for a while until he 
moves for the rest of the Summer to an Order Stronghold, he should 
(as his walking from the Platform signals/telegraphs) take the 
offensive in restructuring the new relationships by extending the 
hand of peace. He should (as I noting in another message) try to 
downplay the insult to Vernon's Pride that the Order's Warnings (I do 
not call them threats) caused. So long as Vernon does not lean too 
hard on Harry, I think that Harry is willing to cut him some slack. 
Harry has the ultimate Weapon against any attempt by Vernon to 
reestablish the Pre-Demontor Situation - Wait 3 days without sending 
any "I'm Fine" messages and the Order will descend on Vernon like a 
Ton of Bricks. I do not think that Harry will use this Weapon unless 
it is needed (see his last talk with Vernon prior to getting 
"rescued" in Chapter 4 for his willingness to ignore Vernon's 
arbitrariness if not leaned on too hard). Any "Armed Truce" situation 
would be enough although I'd rather see Harry TRY to establish better 
relations with each of the Dursley. An offer to keep them in the loop 
as to how they stand in the WW [remember they are now OFFICIALLY part 
of it whether they like it or not] would be a good start since any 
attempt to remove their protection from Harry [such as kicking him 
out of the house or making him leave on his own] will turn the house 
into Ground Zero from a Preemptive Strike from LV and/or DE to remove 
the house as a "Safe House" for Harry to return to when not in School 
(His presence there during the summer protects them for the rest of 
the year since it recharges the Protection Spell). Given that Vernon 
STARTED to politely ask for information during the debriefing, I see 
no reason for Harry to be unwilling to answer questions and bring 
Vernon up to speed on the true Dursley situation in relation to the 
WW (ie: In DEEP SH1T if they continue to ignore it). They are now no 
longer in a position where it is viable to ignore the WW. They have 
big "Collateral Damage" signs on their foreheads and need to realize 
that their best hope for survival is a peaceful relationship with 
Harry (and the Order).

I expect that some reconciliation is going to occur prior to Harry 
leaving for another School year.


--

Bob Rosenberg