Peril on Privet Drive (Was: DD and Lily's Charm)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 135135

digger wrote:
> 
> Interesting idea. Harry is in need of a new protective charm,
because Dumbledore explicitly states that Harry's current protection
via Petunia runs out the moment Harry turns 17.
> 
> That means that Harry has at most a couple of weeks of safety with
the Dursleys before Voldemort and his Death Eaters can come swarming
into 4 Privet Drive and attempt murder. I hope that Harry appreciates
this, and makes himself scarce before midnight on 30th July, or we
might see scenes of carnage in suburban Surrey, and who knows, even
witness an act of magic from a desperate muggle in the process ;-)

Carol responds:
Possibly I'm making a mistake in responding to this post since I'll
only have one left, but I can't let this idea go by. I think you're
absolutely right that something terrible will happen on Privet Drive
at midnight as July 29 turns into July 30, but IMO it would be in the
last degree irresponsible if Harry left three helpless Muggles to face
Death Eaters or Dementors alone. Yes, the Dursleys have treated Harry
poorly, but neglecting Harry and psychologically abusing him because
they're terrified of magic is not sufficiently evil (in my view) to
earn them such a horrible fate. And we saw Harry save Dudley in Book
5, doing what was right rather than what was easy (i.e., leaving
Dudley to his fate and claiming he couldn't prevent it). He doesn't
like Dudley, but he had a responsibility to save him just the same. He
has power and an understanding of the WW that the Dursleys can never
have. And it's possible that Dudley will belatedly realize this and
beg for Harry's help. It would be wrong--indeed, it would be
murder--to ignore his pleas and save his own skin.

Muggles can't perform magic, and Petunia is a Muggle, as we have
repeatedly been told. I think we're going to witness magic late in
life from Harry's Squib neighbor, whose courage and devotion to Harry
we have already witnessed. The circumstances in Book 7 will be more
desperate, and Mrs. Figg will be a hero. Or so I expect and hope.

One last point--IMO it's too late for protective charms. Seventeen is
the age of majority in the WW. Harry, boy though he will still seem to
many of us, will be a man in his own eyes and in the eyes of the WW.
No hiding now; no protection. He must fight his own battles, with the
help of his friends while he has them, and maybe the help of an enemy
as well. But the time for protective charms has ended.

Carol

P.S. We will apparently hear more from Petunia regarding her knowledge
of the WW, but she wouldn't know a spell from a rock lyric even if a
wand was any more to her than a stick to poke in someone's eye