Sirius and the Dursleys

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 60598

Okay, maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I was rereading the 
early chapters of PoA for the first time, and something struck me as 
odd.  When Vernon is watching the TV news report about Sirius' 
escape, he shows no sign of recognition.  As far as he's concerned, 
Sirius Black is just a regular escaped psycho convict who should be 
hanged for having bad hair.  Neither he nor Petunia seem to make any 
connection between Sirius and Harry until the end of the book when 
Harry threatens them with his godfather's wrath.

But shouldn't the Dursley's know who he is.  Not in detail, but I 
would've at least expected one of them to say, "Sirius Black?  
Wasn't he the freak who served as best man when Lily married that 
other freak?"  After all, it's not exactly a common name.

The only explanation I can think of is that the Dursleys completely 
cut off all contact with Lily when she became engaged to James, to 
the point of not even attending the wedding.  Which seems pretty 
harsh even for them, but probably made for a much more pleasant 
wedding. :-)

Marina
Sick at home, and unable to think of anything except "Whee! New 
book!"
rusalka at ix.netcom.com