[HPforGrownups] Harry left at the Dursleys (Was Re: Plot in OotP)

[Magda Grantwich]

No: HPFGUIDX 118248


--- dumbledore11214 <dumbledore11214 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I don't understand what did you mean by "Dumbledore recognising
> that they are mean to Harry, does not equal allowing them to be 
> mean to Harry?"  [snip]
> I am very confused, sorry.


Well, I'm confused by your confusion.  Dumbledore knows that the
Dursleys are jerks and he knows that they'll probably be jerky to
Harry.  But being with the Dursleys is required under the protection
spell and there's nothing Dumbledore can do about that.  So he has to
take the bad (Dursleys being jerks) with the good (Harry being
protected).  Dumbledore is not all-powerful and can't force people to
be nice.

In Dumbledore's explanation at the end of OOTP, he tells Harry that
Petunia sealed the spell by accepting Harry into her home and Harry
protests that she hates him, resents him, etc.  Dumbledore agrees
that she did it bitterly, resentfully, etc. but the point is that she
did do it, even if her attitude sucked big time.   

Some people have suggested that he placed some kind of spell on
Petunia or blackmailed her into accepting Harry.  I don't think so
because her voluntary acceptance of Harry was the key to sealing the
spell.  

He also indicates that he kept Harry under observation, obviously
partly through Mrs. Figg and less obviously through some other
method.  So he did put some method of monitoring the situation in
place so that Harry had some degree of oversight.

All of the above is canon and we don't know anymore - yet.  I prefer
to wait until the end of book 7 with whatever revelations we find out
between now and then to determine whether Dumbledore could have done
more to change the Dursleys' treatment of Harry.  Personally I don't
think he had much leverage.  Once they got over their shock, I think
the Dursleys insisted that the WW keep away from them, and Vernon
says in PS/SS that they "swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to
that rubbish" which might imply that they actually made it a
condition of keeping him. 

Magda


		
__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Meet the all-new My Yahoo! - Try it today! 
http://my.yahoo.com