Abusive Dursleys (was Innocent Alby?)

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 123041


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "horridporrid03"
<horridporrid03 at y...> wrote:
> 

> Betsy:
> The easiest way?  I've never seen a more reluctant group than 
> Dumbledore, Hagrid and McGonagall when Harry was left on the Dursley 
> doorstep.  And as per Dumbledore the ancient magic Lily used to 
> protect Harry was the one branch of magic that Voldemort dismissed.  
> Dumbledore doesn't even say that Voldemort was unaware of the ancient 
> magic, he just had a contempt for it that caused him to underestimate 
> it.
> 
> Folks have been giving Dumbledore a hard way to go on the Dursley 
> issue, but seriously - what was the other option?  I'd love to know.

That argument may perhaps work for leaving Harry with the Dursleys to
begin with (although I'm not about to concede that point).  It most
emphatically does not explain, however, why he took no steps to
alleviate Harry's suffering during the next ten years.  Would a Howler
saying "Let the kid out of the closet" be out of the question.  More
pointendly, why can't the greatest wizard in the world say "Mushrooms
are wonderful things.  Why don't you let Harry have more?  Of course,
perhaps you need to be one for a while to appreciate just how
wonderful they are."

His failure to take exactly these kind of actions is where Dumbledore
cooperates with the Dursleys abuse of Harry (and yes, it most
definitely IS abuse, even if not legally actionable).

Lupinlore