Petunia *will* do magic (long)

[noesumeragi]

No: HPFGUIDX 123240


Hi, my name is Noe and this is my first post after lurking for ages, 
so please, be gentle with me!

I know Petunia's magical status, or its lack thereof, had been 
discussed in many threads, some of them quite recent. All 
possibilities had been explored: if she is a simple muggle, a squib 
or a repressed witch.

I want to argue that Petunia is a muggle, but only *for now*. She 
cannot be a squib because her parents are muggles (so Lily is 
muggleborn), and she cannot be considered a witch because she never, 
never has made any kind of magic, from the day she was born until 
now, present day. But she *will* do magic, in a near future. (My 
guess is seventh book)

I'd like to quote Rowling's words as a justification.

At the Edinburgh Book Festival, when she was asked if Petunia was a 
Squib, she said: 

    "Good question. No, she is not, but [Laughter]. No, she is not a 
Squib. She is a Muggle, but [Laughter]. You will have to read the 
other books. You might have got the impression that there is a 
little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye, and you will 
find out what it is. She is not a squib, although that is a very 
good guess."


And then, in the Barnes and Noble chat from 1999:

    "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? 
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."


I'm almost sure this `character' is going to be Petunia. The only 
muggles important enough in the series are the Dursleys, and then, 
referred to Dudley, she said at the Edinburgh Book Festival:

    "Is there more to Dudley than meets the eye?
No. [Laughter]. What you see is what you get. I am happy to say that 
he is definitely a character without much back story. He is just 
Dudley."


I think `what you see is what you get' pretty much sums up Dudley is 
a muggle and he is going to be that way forever. Vernon is the 
most `muggle-ish' character, if he hadn't got married with Petunia, 
he wouldn't have any kind of connection or knowledge about magic. 
But Petunia... 

Petunia is not a stranger to magic. After all, her sister Lily was a 
witch, the first one in her family (as far as we know) *and* Lily 
did a spell which needed Petunia –as a blood relative- to work.

Rowling said this character –Petunia, IMHO- would manage to do 
magic "in desperate circumstances".
 
Usually, when the first time magic shows itself, there is a *very* 
emotional situation going around. What could be Petunia's trigger? 
Maybe an attack on Privet Drive –and on her family? Rowling said, 
also at the Edinburgh Book Festival: 

    "The next book, HBP, is the least that you see of the Dursleys. 
You see them quite briefly. You see them a bit more in the final 
book."

An Death Eater's attack on Privet Drive could justify seeing the 
Dursleys a bit more. 

On the other hand, it could be something related to Lily's spell. 
Maybe Lily's magic could trigger Petunia's own? I think the last 
letter from Dumbledore to Petunia (yes, the one he left upon the 
Dursleys' doorstep when Harry was one year old) could have said just 
the following:

>>>> You see, Petunia, Lily performed a spell before dying, and from 
now on, you -as her last blood relative, must house Harry because 
it's the only way to keep him safe. And if Harry is not safe enough 
that someone tries to AK him someday, you could suffer some nasty 
**magical** side effects. <<<<

After all, the famous "Remember my last, Petunia" (Ootp, page 41) 
happened when Vernon was trying to throw Harry out, and after the 
opportune DD's remark, she stated firmly "The boy –the boy will have 
to stay" (Ootp, page 41). No room for arguments.


So, what do you think about this?


Noe


I got the quotes from: www.hpandthehalfbloodprince.org


Note to the elves: English is not my first language. I'm truly sorry 
for any grammatical mistakes.