Vernon and his Rifle

[Sea Change]

No: HPFGUIDX 97034


> 
> Geoff posted [snip]:

> 
Geo > An alternative which occurred to me was the purchase of an air 
Geo >rifle which I think can be held without a licence. After all, 
Geo >Vernon doesn't know how Hogwarts will proceed next and may have 
Geo >obtained the rifle just to give him a sense of security.

_________________

Sea Change responds:

There doesn't seem to be anything in particular that I can see in
canon that suggests the rifle was meant to be a real rifle or an air
rifle.  The movie makes it look like a shotgun, but this is clearly
contamination.

I do think that Dursley would be happy with an air rifle, because it's
Owls that deliver mail, and owls which are the 'threat' he expects to
encounter.  

I've had discussions on message boards about gun control with some
Unitedkingdomese folk before, and most of those who would defend
themselves (not all of them, for the record) seem happy with the idea
of getting a (cricket?) bat to physically defend themselves against
break-in and assault.  Would somone snooty and social-climbing, from a
place called Little Whinging, Surrey, feel this same way, or would
they pretend to have a Country place, and insist they needed a rifle
for varmints?

Maybe this is just a good way to show just how unhinged Vernon really is.



Sea Change, who grew up in a neighborhood subdivided from a walnut
orchard, and who shot at squirrels as a kid