[HPforGrownups] New/Old Friends?

[martin.soilleux-cardwell at aon.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 54345

>Fred told us:
>My question is this; Do you think that now, seeing Harry knows
>who and what Mrs. Figg is, will he want to go and visit her?
>I mean, after Harry has found out that Mrs. Figg is Arabella
>Figg of "the old croud", and she only lives 2 blocks away.

Me again:
Apologies for following my own post on this. But can someone please
enlighten me on the backstory of Mrs Figg and her relationship with the
Dursleys? I know she lives 2 streets away and Harry was sent to stay with
her on occasions in the past when Vernon and Petunia took Dudley out and
wanted to be shot of Harry. But is she just a friend, or a relative? If she
is a plant by Dumbeldore as part of the protection for Harry, isn't it more
than suspiciously convenient that she lives 2 streets away *and* is a
friend or relative (esp the latter) prior to Harry's birth? Or has she
become a friend since Harry was left on the Dursley's doorstep? Might the
letter Dumbeldore left for Vernon have introduced her - in which case
surely Vernon would have had nothing whatever to do with her.

For there not to be a coincidence of plot-shattering proportions she must
have been moved to the area by Dumbeldore at the same time Harry arrived
and become friends with the Dursleys during Harry's infancy. But would the
oh-so-respectable Vernon and Petunia have struck up a friendship with such
an odd woman? An old crone who dotes on cats and whose house smells of
cabbage? So many questions, many of which smell like a plot loophole.

Regards
Martin
"...I want to fix that in my memory for ever," said Ron, his eyes closed
and an uplifted expression on his face. "Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing
ferret..."