On the other hand (was Re: Disliked Uncle Vernon)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 92947

Carol wrote:
Forgive me if I'm misunderstanding this part of your post. No one from
the WW has met the Dursleys face to face? What about Hagrid in SS/PS
and Mr. Weasley, Ron, and the twins in PoA, not to mention the MoM
employees who did a memory charm on Aunt Marge? Or are you talking
about Dumbledore himself and the original arrangement involving Harry?
(There's also Mrs. Figg, who could have communicated information to
Petunia regarding Harry that Vernon doesn't know about.)
 
Kneasy:
You have misunderstood, but I  forgive you.

The point at discussion was how the Dursleys could negotiate a
handling fee'  for looking after Harry after he had been dumped on the
front step.
What (if anything) did the Dursleys get for looking after Harry and
how, during Harry's infancy could they renegotiate the agreement or
even try a little discreet blackmail if they weren't satisfied.
 
The  canon suggests that no-one went near them for 10 years or so.
They apparently had no knowledge of Arabella's involvement with DD. In
any case, they would not be inclined to talk to neighbours about the
family shame.
 
DD could contact them at any time but so far as we are aware, there
were no arrangements for the Dursleys to initiate a correspondence.

Carol:
Thanks for the explanation. My feeling (it's not worthy of a reasoned
argument) is that Petunia knows more than she lets on to Vernon. After
all, she's frequently in the house alone and could easily conceal an
occasional letter to Dumbledore from him: "Remember my last!" could
refer to a much more recent letter than the one left with Harry on the
doorstep. I also think that she knows Mrs. Figg is a Squib with
connections to the WW and that it was Dumbledore who insisted on
having Mrs. Figg watch Harry when the Dursleys couldn't or wouldn't.
Since Petunia doesn't have an owl to carry her letters, she'd have to
rely on Mrs. Figg to send them. (If Squibs can communicate with cats,
why not with owls?)

As for the "handling fee," the idea of mutual protection (you take
care of Harry, we'll protect you and your family when things get ugly)
makes most sense to me. The implication would be that if they didn't
protect Harry, their fate would resemble James' and Lily's. As I said,
that's just what I think now based on what I know of the characters
involved. I seriously doubt that any money is involved, much less (as
others on this board have suggested) that Dudley could somehow be a
magical child whose magic is being squelched.

Carol