Harry at the Dursleys

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 118304



Pippin:

snip.

> Granted  it would have been better for Harry to grow up in a safe, 
> stable, loving home. But  Dumbledore knew that if he found such 
> a home in the wizarding world, the love and stability would last 
> only as long as the safety did. 

Alla:

Some will argue that some love and stability is better than nothing 
at all.

Pippin:
I don't think that Dumbledore left Harry with the Dursleys for any 
kind of life lessons reason, but I do think that he may have felt 
that any pressure on the Dursleys would have a bad effect
(especially on Vernon) and take away the one advantage, besides a 
whole skin, that Harry might glean from being with them. 


Alla:

I am glad that we agree on "life lessons" part, but I am unclear 
what is the other advantage besides being alive Harry has fromstayng 
with Dursleys?



Pippin: 
> I think we sometimes exaggerate how miserable Harry is at 
> Privet Drive. Voldemort has made him feel much worse than the 
> Dursleys have. The Dursleys have *never* made Harry wish he 
> were dead. Voldemort has.


Alla:

I don't remember Hary "wishing" that he was dead at Dursleys, but I 
sure remember him being AFRAID that he will die there at least once.


"Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that 
Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, he had 
lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from horrible 
happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd probably 
starve to death anyway" - CoS, p.22, paperback.

Sounds to me that he was being miserable enough there.