The Opening Chapter of Book 6

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 104927

> Eustace_Scrubb wrote:
> I think JKR said the person who finds he/she can do magic late in
life will do so under "desperate circumstances." (sorry don't have the
> exact citation but I'm certain she used a phrase close to this) While
> Dudley may feel that being threatened by Harry fits that phrase, I
> doubt that JKR would have termed it so--unless Harry has truly lost it
> and is really going to try an Unforgiveable on his cousin, which I
> can't see happening.
> 
> I also favor either Petunia or Dudley as the late-blooming
> witch/wizard, but I suspect the talent will appear as a result of an
> attack by Death Eaters--who will not be expecting any magical defense.
> (I doubt that spontaneous magic will do much good against LV himself
> or Dementors, but given that many of the DEs seem to be a brick shy of
> a load I think a late-blooming Dursley stands a chance of thwarting
> them.)
.

Carol:
Dudley hardly fits the description "late in life." He'll be all of
seventeen at the end of Book 7 (if he survives). Even Petunia, who is
probably not much older than Lily would be, is no older than, say,
45--a late-bloomer, certainly, if she performs magic now, but
certainly not "late in life." She has an aversion to magic and is IMO
unlikely to perform it--though she does know something about the WW
and could be an interesting source of information about Lily if she
chose to speak.

OTOH, Mrs. Figg has all the qualifications to be the person to do
magic. As an Order member, she's likely to find herself in "desperate
circumstances." She unquestionably qualifies as being "late in life."
And she knows something about magic and probably could perform it,
maybe by picking up Harry's dropped wand and shouting a spell as a
desperate measure. What spells does Petunia know and how likely is she
to pick up Harry's or anyone else's wand? If she could do magic
without one, she'd have been sent to Hogwarts along with Lily.

Carol, wondering why people don't see Mrs. Figg as the obvious
candidate for the position