Mimblewimble (from a post on alt.fan.harry-potter)

[mlle_bienvenu]

No: HPFGUIDX 61017

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Marco" <karmadharma at y...> 
wrote:

> I wonder if this ties into the GoF speech by Dumbledore that states
> that 'not even Voldemort' can touch Harry when he's with the
> Dursleys... are we absolutely positively sure that Vernon is a 
muggle
> or is it just something we're told? 
> 
> I also can't seem to recall the books ever saying that it is 
possible
> for a magical user to easily 'sense' if the other person is a muggle
> or not (if it was -that- obvious Harry wouldn't have been surprised
> about finding out that Filch is a squib...)
> 
> Marco

Mlle Bienvenu (Me):

While rereading SS a while back, something struck me as odd about 
Vernon, I haven't got a full blown thesis by any means, but during 
the conversation where Harry asks for a ride to King's Cross, I just 
got a very suspcious feeling about him. Here's the relavent passage:
 
""Er -- Uncle Vernon?"
Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.
"Er -- I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to -- to go to Hogwarts."
Uncle Vernon grunted again.
"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"
Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.
"Thank you."
He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.
"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all 
got punctures, have they?"
Harry didn't say anything.
"Where is this school, anyway?"
"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He 
pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket..."

The first thing I noticed was the magic carpet reference, which 
doesn't seem that remarkable upon first reading of the book, but 
later in the series, Arthur (I think. Can't remember which book it 
was in) mentions the problem they were having with the classification 
of flying carpets etc. Now, I know it could just be that Vernon's 
doing exactly what it appears he's doing, but somehow it struck me 
that perhaps Vernon knows more about the wizarding world than a 
muggle should. 

The next thing he asks is, where the school is.. which is a big 
secret. This is the thing that I really noticed, because later on we 
find out that Hogwarts is hidden... why would Vernon need to know 
where the school is? Harry's already told him he just needed to drop 
him off at King's Cross, and it doesn't really seem like they'd truly 
care where Harry was going really. So maybe there is something else 
behind this line of questioning (or I'm just being paranoid)

Also, notice the sequence of events when Harry gets his letter:

"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the
address -- how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't 
think they're watching the house?"
"Watching -- spying -- might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon
wildly.
"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we 
don't want --"
Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down 
the kitchen.
"No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an
answer... Yes, that's best... we won't do anything....
"But --"
"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we 
took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"..."

The question I have is: Why would Petunia be asking Vernon for 
advice? Don't you think it would be the other way around? Petunia is 
the one who grew up with a witch and would potentialy know more about 
magical things than Vernon. So why is she asking Vernon?

Anyway, I haven't really got a theory for you. All I can say is that 
I suspect Vernon is either a squib or a wizard who abhors the 
wizarding world. 

Mlle Bienvenu