Petunia and Dumbledore (was: SPOILERS. Re: JKR site update)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 115005


Sophierom wrote:
> 
> Here's what I find most interesting in the update of the JKR site
> (I'll put more spoiler space below in case you still haven't gone to
> read the site yet):
> 
> S
> P
> O
> I
> L
> E
> R
> S
> P
> A
> C
> E
> 
> 
> 
> JKR wrote in response to the FAQ Poll Question: 
> 
> "What did Dumbledore's Howler to Aunt Petunia mean? ('Remember my
> last'?)...So: Dumbledore is referring to his last letter, which means,
> of course, the letter he left upon the Dursleys' doorstep when Harry
> was one year old. But why then(you may well ask) did he not just say
> 'remember my letter?' Why did he say my last
> letter? Why, obviously because there were letters before that
Now
> let
> the speculation begin, and mind you type 
> clearly, I'll be watching
"
> 
> Sophierom: 
> 
> Why would Dumbledore have been in correspondence with Petunia before
> Harry came into the picture? I know there was, at one time, some
> speculation that Petunia or Dudley was actually magical, which might
> give Dumbledore reason to write Petunia... but I've also heard that
> these rumors were squashed by JKR.  Can anyone point me to the
webchat or other interview where she might have indicated that neither
Petunia nor Dudley would develop magical ability late in life? 
> 
> I believe that someone else has postulated (I'm sorry, I can't
> remember who) that Death Eaters killed Lily and Petunia's parents. 
> Other reasons why Dumbledore would have written to Petunia before
> Harry landed on her doorstep?


Carol responds:
Quite probably he knew that the Potters, especially Harry, were in
danger and had been in correspondence with her for some time,
preparing her for the possibility that she might have to take Harry
in, and persuading her to do it if necessary (no easy task). He may
also have asked her whether there were other relatives on her side of
the family and found out that there weren't (which leads me to believe
that he *might* have consulted with *Lily* about "ancient magic" as
yet another last-ditch protection). I think that Petunia was hoping
against hope that the Potters would not be killed and Harry would not
end up on her doorstep and she screamed in shock when she discovered
that it had actually happened. She would have known, though, even
without Dumbledore's "last," that she had no choice but to take him
in. (Notice her reluctance to talk about the Potters in the first
chapter of SS/PS, *before* Harry shows up on the doorstep. Surely
she's hiding something, and maybe afraid?)

Anyway, I'm sure that others have already directed you to the
interview in which JKR first states that Petunia isn't a witch and
tries to explain that Muggleborns like Lily are the magical children
of nonmagical parents and Squibs (which Petunia can't be, by
definition) are the nonmagical children of magical parents. You can
find it easily through Quick Quotes if no one has directed you to the
specific interview. And of course there's the recent addition to JKR's
website where she reiterates the statement made in all the books, that
Petunia is a Muggle.

So, yes, IMO Petunia knows a lot more about the WW than she lets on to
Vernon--or Harry, and we'll learn more about that in Book 6 or 7.
Maybe she'll even talk to Harry about his mother, but that seems out
of character. But, no, she's not a Witch or a potential Witch or a
Squib, and she can't produce magic any more than you or I can. (A much
more likely candidate for the person who does magic for the first time
*at an advanced age* is Mrs. Figg, who is not only the child of
magical parents, thoroughly familiar with magic even though she's
never been able to do anything more than talk to cats and see
Dementors, but is also *old,* whereas Petunia is presumably in her
late thirties or early forties--not an "advanced age" even by Muggle
standards.)

Carol