[HPforGrownups] Re: Dumbledore, the Dursleys, & Mrs. Figg

[Janet Anderson]

No: HPFGUIDX 123460

bboymin at yahoo.com wondered:

>This was one of the immensely frustrating parts of OotP. How hard
>would it have been to tell Harry that Mrs. Figg was an ally, or even
>better, to let Harry know that Mrs. Figg was a friend of Dumbledore's
>and was in contact with the wizard world? She may not have been able
>to tell Harry any more than he was getting from anyone else, but it
>would have been someone to talk to.

I wondered quite a lot about that too, but I thought of two reasons, one of 
which has canon:  Mrs. Figg says that if, in his early years, the Dursleys 
had thought he liked spending time with Mrs. Figg they would not have sent 
him there.   (We may disagree about Dumbledore, but I think we can all agree 
that the Dursleys are pond scum.)  So if he had started going there for tea, 
he'd have had to do so without the Dursleys' knowledge or permission -- and 
remember she lives quite close to the Dursleys' and in a very nosy, gossipy 
neighborhood.

Another reason might be that Mrs. Figg is a Squib, and that if Harry started 
spending too much time with her it might be dangerous to *her.*  Remember, 
Harry's protection only works when he's inside the Dursley house, and Mrs. 
Figg's only protection appears to be that most of the WW doesn't know she 
exists.

>Certainly, if Harry knew who she was he would have dropped over for
>tea. Mrs. Figg place would have also make a nice safe haven at which
>Harry could visit and have tea with other people like Ron and
>Hermione, or Sirius and Remus. Certainly Sirius could have apparated
>to Mrs. Figg's and done so without notice.

I think that would have been a bad idea, attracting attention to Mrs. Figg 
-- especially Apparating, which is a noticeable act of magic.  The people at 
Harry's trial said that the area had been closely monitored, and the 
Ministry of Magic definitely notices when magic is done in the area.  
(Although they can't tell house-elf magic from wizard magic, and apparently 
failed to notice Mundungus Fletcher Apparating away ...)


Janet Anderson