What will happen to Harry at 16?/Protection

[Kirstini]

No: HPFGUIDX 72271

Angel wrote:
>I wonder what most kids will do when they are 16 in UK. Are they 
legally an adult? Can they choose to live away from their parents or 
guardians? 
At OOP, Vernon wanted to throw Harry out for fear that his family 
would be endangered because of the very existence of Harry. I'm 
wondering, 
1. if Harry is legally an adult at 16, Vernon will demand him to 
leave his house forever. 
2. LV revived, as now the wizarding world have realised, what's the 
point for keeping Harry with Petunia? LV was reborn with the blood of 
Harry, which implied, Harry was no longer protected by his mother's 
blood. Staying with Petunia is not safe for Harry anymore. > 

The status of sixteen year olds is funny in Britain. They aren't 
legally adults (that's 18 in Muggle Britain), but they are allowed to 
have sex with people of both sexes, and to work properly (you get 
your National Insurance card at 16, and realise that it's not a 
hugely important step to becoming adult three weeks later), and to 
leave school.
I don't think Vernon will be able to throw Harry out at sixteen 
because Petunia is bound by a magical, not a Muggle contract to keep 
him. And WW law conviniently states that a person comes of age at 
seventeen, at which age Sirius was able to "get his own place". I 
say "conviniently" because if Book 7 follows the normal trajectory, 
it will end before Harry's 18th birthday (not that Harry will make it 
to his 18th birthday...), therefore we will be allowed to see Harry 
experiencing the legal distinction of an adult wizard.
I disagree that staying with Petunia is not safe for Harry, because 
Dumbledore spoke about the protection spell in the present tense, and 
forced Harry to *stay in the house* after the Dementor attack. 
Something I don't understand about that protection is it's 
limitations. If he only needs to go back for one day a year, this 
would imply that the protection is renewed for that entire year. But 
therefore, how were the Dementors able to get into Little Whinging at 
all? Is it that he is only protected against Voldmort? If so, why 
does Voldemort keep on assuming that AK is suddnely going to work 
against Harry?
Another thought on Mark Evans. Dumbledore said that Petunia was 
Lily's only living relative, but Dudley also sprung from the same 
gene pool. Dumbledore said that the protection works if the place 
Harry calls "home" is where Lily's blood is, but Harry has been 
calling Hogwarts "Home" from CoS, hasn't he (I'm sure that's not just 
movie contamination)?
Therefore a) It is still possible for Mark Evans to be a relative of 
some description.
b)If Mark Evans comes to Hogwarts, will that increase Harry's 
protection, or merely shift the definition of "Home"?
Kirstini
thinking herself into knots.