Threatening the Dursleys at the station (was Re: Why not BRIBE ...)

[festuco]

No: HPFGUIDX 123155



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

> Meri again: Again, IIRC, Mad Eye and Lupin weren't threatening the 
> Dursleys to keep Harry, just to treat him better, and they probably 
> weren't doing this with DD's knowledge or permission, but I don't 
> see why their actions would negate the protection. OTOH, I would 
> imagine that after what happened last summer the Dursleys probably 
> wouldn't be able to treat Harry any way they wanted. After all, he 
> saved Dudley's life. Now I know the Dursleys are Muggles, but there 
> may very well be some sort of debt between them now. 
> 
Interesting, and I really liked your argument. Some other thing about
threats: a threat is only effective as long as you are willing to act
up on it. For DD to effectively threathen the Dursleys he would have
threathened them for the whole ten years. In ten years time, there
would have been at least a couple of occasions in which he would be
forced to act. And for an effective threat it would have involved
something unpleasant with magic. Apart from breaking the law, I cannot
see him (or Minerva for that matter) as someone who would willingly do
such a thing to a person. Result: the Dursleys would have called his
bluff and guess who would suffer for it. Now Snape on the other hand,
could easily have pulled this off. But Snape taking care of a nice
environment for little Harry...

Gerry