Is Dudley...slow?

[ericoppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 117837


  
> (from page 21, PS, Bloomsbury/Raincoast)
> 
> 'And we'll buy you two presents while we're out today. How's that, 
> popkin? Two more presents. Is that alright?'
> 
> Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he 
> said slowly, "So I'll have thirty ... thirty ...'
> 
> 'Thirty-nine, sweetums,' said Aunt Petunia.
> 
> 'Oh.' Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. 'All 
> right then.'
> 
>  ---
> > Maddy again:
> > Petunia doesn't encourage him to figure it out for himself, but
> > provides the answer for him so he doesn't have to work it out. 
> 
> 
> Erin now:
> 
> I know I quoted too much, but I wanted to get that scene in there.  
> Because, taken by itself, that scene could be explained away by 
> Petunia's not encouraging Duds to think for himself, but when 
> combined with these lines...
> 
> PS/SS, Chapter Three:
> -------
> "Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had beaten him 
> around the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his 
> television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag."
> -------
> 
> ... one just has to wonder.  I mean, that is not normal behavior 
for 
> an 11-year-old, is it?  Even toddlers have a better understanding 
of 
> spatial relationships than that!
> 
> --Erin

Precisely!  This is the sort of thing that made me begin to wonder 
about Dinky Duddums.  Yes, being horribly spoilt (poor kid!) accounts 
for a great deal, but still...I have to wonder.  

If DD or someone _did_ repress/suppress his magical abilities as part 
of the bargain that gave Baby Harry a place to live, being or 
seeming "differently abled" (GODS, I hate that sort of language!) 
might be a side-effect...sort of like how some of the stuff they 
might have done to/for Neville after his parents' torture might be 
part of why he struggled for so long.  

--Eric, who honestly pities Dudley from the bottom of whatever he 
uses for a heart...and wonders if the Eavesdropper at the Hog's Head 
wasn't snooping around hoping to catch Dumbledore getting a little 
bit of hanky-panky in.  (Blazing headlines: "Hogwarts Scandal!  
Headmaster Caught in Loathsome, Frenzied Naked Embrace With Scarlet 
Woman!  As our correspondent, Miss Rita Skeeter, reports, she was at 
the Hog's Head when she noticed a tryst beginning...")