Squib or muggle - who's a late bloomer?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 89635

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kathy King" <kking0731 at h...> wrote:
> "lizvega2" <lizvega2 at y...> wrote:
> >I was rereading some random JK interviews, and in one quote she said
> >that someone very late in life (no specific age given), who has
> >never shown any ability for magic previously, will be able to do
> >magic in very desperate conditions.
> >
> >I'm sure it's been discussed, but anyone have a thought on who this
> >could be?
> >
> >Obviously a few names come to mind: Petunia, Dudley, Filch or Mrs
> >Figg. >>>
> 
> 
> I've been waiting for someone to bring up the subject of the
Dursleys. Aunt 
> Petunia at the very least has to be a squib that is hiding the fact
that she 
> can do a bit of magic, her very, very clean kitchen is mentioned
many times 
> and especially when Tonks replies that "it's a bit too clean, d'you
know what 
> I mean? Bit unnatural."
> 
> As far as Dudley I feel he must be a wizard that has been protected
from 
> knowing this fact by being pacified dramatically so that he is not
upset and 
> does not unintentionally show the signs that come out with rage.
Mrs. Figg 
> is a squib and although she told the ministry she saw the dementors
she told 
> Harry that Mr.Tibbles alerted her. Muggles on the other hand get a
feeling 
> of despair but can't see them. Dudley felt and described through
Harry the 
> dementors. This is actually what I think DD and Petunia are keeping
secret 
> about their pact. Petunia would take Harry as long as DD doesn't send a 
> letter of acceptance to Hogwarts for Dudley.
> 
> "Kathy King"

Although we can doubt statements made from Harry's point of view, the
statement "they were Muggles" is made about all of the Dursleys in
every book, including chapter one of SS/PS which is not written from
Harry's point of view because he has not yet been born. Nor is that
statement from Mr. Dursley's point of view; he doesn't yet know what a
Muggle is. Also in a passage I've quoted at least twice and don't have
time to look up again now (sorry), JKR herself has explained how Lily
and Petunia's Muggle parents could have one daughter who was a witch
and one who was a Muggle. Squibs, she says in the same passage, are
non-magical children born into an otherwise magical family, so Petunia
by definition can't be a squib. As for Dudley being magical, he would
have exhibited signs like those Harry exhibited at age ten and younger
if he had any magic in him at all.

One other thing: Dudley can't be the person who learns magic "late in
life": he'll be all of seventeen in Book 7. Even Petunia is probably
only in her late thirties or early forties; I doubt that she's much
older than Lily. That's middle-aged, not old. The only two nonmagical
people who have much chance of displaying magical talent "late in
life" are Mrs. Figg and Filch, both Squibs and both, as far as we can
tell, considerably more advanced in years than Petunia.

I doubt if anyone wants to see Filch acquire magical powers, but Mrs.
Figg (who has already shown that she can see Dementors and communicate
with cats) is a member of the Order. I have a feeling we're going to
see more of her--and that her maiden name, which she revealed to the
MoM but not to us, may be significant. McGonagall? Dumbledore? I'll be
interested in finding out.

As for Petunia, she clearly does have some secret bargain with
Dumbledore, but he would never have agreed to keep a magical child out
of Hogwarts. It has to be something else.

Carol