[HPforGrownups] OOP: DUMBLEDORE , PETUNIA AND THE HOWLER

[T.M. Sommers]

No: HPFGUIDX 65336

ssmith621964 wrote:
> 
> Clearly he and Petunia are on a first name basis.  The howler he
> sends addresses her by first name. So, it is likely that Dumbledore
> and Harry are related on his mother's side.  Obviously, A.D.'s
> involvement with Lilly and Petunia Evan's family goes beyond beyond
> the role of headmaster. Petunia obviously knew him before the
> prophecy 16 years earlier and before Harry's birth. Otherwise why
> would she ever take in baby Harry based on the instructions in a
> letter from a stranger.  As far as she knew, he was involved in that
> horrible world of Magic that she wanted nothing to do with.  And,if
> she knows Dumbledore than Petunia knows much more than she will admit
> about the world of magic.

Lily surely mentioned Dumbledore while home for the holidays, and a name
like Dumbledore is not easy to forget.  He may even have visited Lily at
home; perhaps he visits incoming Head Boys and Girls to brief them on
their duties.  Or maybe the Evanses visited Hogwarts.  It also seems
perfectly natural for Dumbledore to use Petunia's first name.  He is
vastly older than her, and if he had met her before, she was a child.