Petunia and love for Lily? NOT

[jjjjjuliep]

No: HPFGUIDX 137419

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:

> Jen: I'm confused how Merope would still be an option as the late-
> bloomer, from the canon we have (and please tell me if I've 
> misunderstood your comment above).
> 
> First canon point is the quote you provided from JKR: 
> Q: Will there be, or have there been, any "late blooming" students
> in the school who come into their magic potential as adults, rather
> than as children? 
> 
> JKR: No, is the answer. In my books, magic almost always shows
> itself in a person before age 11; however, there is a character who
> does manage in desperate circumstances to do magic quite late in
> life, but that is very rare in the world I am writing about.
> *************
> 
> Jen again: 'Quite late in life', especially in the WW, is pretty 
> definitive. We're talking about an older person who has *never* 
> performed magic before the moment they do so in 'desperate 
> circumstances'. 

Are we?  JKR's comment seems to indicate, to me, showing ability 
after age 11, the cutoff point, could also be considered late in 
life.  There are two different time schemes I guess we are working 
with. One is chronological age, and yes, someone who is 18 is 
not "late in life" (in either the Muggle or the wizarding world!). 

The other is time frame in which magic shows itself.  In that case, 
magic showing itself a nearly decade after the cutoff point could 
indeed be considered "later in life".  All things are relative.

> When we consider Merope, she doesn't qualify in either 
> way as the person JKR is talking about.
> 
> For one, we see Merope perform magic: "Merope....drew her wand from
> her wand shakily from her pocket, pointed it at the pot, and
> muttered a hasty, inaudible spell that caused the pot to shoot
> across the floor away from her, hit the opposite wall, and crack in
> two." (chap. 10, p.  205, US).
> 
> Also, at the moment Merope performs this magic she is most
> definitely in an abusive circumstance which I'm sure she feels
> desperate about, but she is not in the required 'desperate
> circumstance' JKR mentions.  

Agreed, and that was not what I was referring to.

> And after the Gaunt men are carted off to Azkaban and Merope is
> alone, she blossoms into her magical powers because she is no
> longer in an abusive and degrading environment. So she is not
> in 'desperate circumstances' at that point either, nor is it her

I would not agree that the absence of her father and brother ipso 
facto removes the desperation from her life.  They were going to get 
out of Azkaban, and when they came back they were going to be even 
worse, and her life was going to be even worse.  That, to me, seems 
like the kind of survival situation where someone might produce real, 
usable, magic as a means to escape, while they had the chance.

> first time to perform magic. (I believe, and this is opinion from
> the way Merope and Marvolo behave together, that the event with the
> pot is probably an almost daily occurrence of fear and intimidation
> on Marvolo's part.I do not think that was Merope's one and only
> example of performing magic in her lifetime so far).

Fair enough.  Now juxtapose that with these comments from Marvolo 
(the first one coming a couple of paragraphs after what you quoted):

-------------------
Gaunt looked for a moment as though he was going to shout at Ogden, 
but seemed to think better of it: Instead, he jeered at his 
daughter, "Lucky the nice man from the Ministry's here, isn't it? 
Perhaps he'll take you off my hands, perhaps he doesn't mind dirty 
Squibs. . . ."
------------------

and then this one:

-------------------
Merope shook her head frantically, pressing herself into the wall, 
apparently unable to speak. 

"But I got him, Father!" cackled Morfin. "I got him as he went by and 
he didn't look so pretty with hives all over him, did he, Merope?" 

"You disgusting little Squib, you filthy little blood traitor!" 
roared Gaunt, losing control, and his hands closed around his 
daughter's throat.
-------------------

Marvolo is many horrible things, but the things he tells us in the 
scene we see are true:  he is the descendant of Salazar Slytherin, 
that is the ring of Slytherin and that is the Slytherin locket.  
Should we doubt his characterization of his daughter?

Also, the Lexicon says Squibs have "such a low level of magical power 
that they are essentially unable to do any magic at all."  "A low 
level of magical power" is not the same as no magical power at atll.  
While Merope does do some magic, it is completely useless magic, and 
probably the little she can do is a function of the extremely 
powerful wizarding skills that are in her family (for I believe 
Marvolo and Morfin, as disgusting as they are, are powerful wizards).

>From a more literary point of view:  JKR isn't really given to cheap 
stunts in the books.  I can't see an episode in Book 7 where someone 
suddenly gets superhuman powers to turn the tide.  All of Harry's 
victories have come as a result of study and/or practice, coupled 
with his bravery. 

Merope's real magic is, IMO, the true turning point of the long story 
we are told in this series, and once I read HBP I just had a gut 
feeling (the same kind of feeling I did when I figured out 
Voldemort's plan for the Horcruxes [although, of course, I didn't 
know they would be called that. ;-)]) that that quote referred to 
Merope.

I guess we'll find out for sure in 2 years.  ;-)

jujube