Dumbledore's Magnaminity

[colebiancardi]

No: HPFGUIDX 142974

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_svirn" <a_svirn at y...> wrote:
>
> > Valky:
> > I specifically said Petunia, Petunia has accepted both Dumbledore's
> > letters addressed to her. The other correspondence you refer to was
> > correspondence with Harry, The Dursleys had no obligation (or 
> right)
> > to accept or to refuse it as it wasn't their's.
> 
> a_svirn:
> Well, it's not true either. Petunia did not accept the letter from a 
> presumptuous old man. She accepted her little orphaned nephew. And 
> what do you mean by this interesting turn of the phrase "accepted 
> the letter", anyway? We do not usually *accept* letters. We 
> *receive* letters. We *reply* to them when we feel like it. It's 
> called *correspondence*. If we don't feel like replying, why, we 
> ignore them. In which case it cannot be called correspondence by any 
> stretch of imagination. There is also blackmail; that's a criminal 
> offence. There is junk mail and hate-mail – that's not supposed to 
> be reciprocal. Or do you mean to say that Hermione "accepted" the 
> letter with bobotuber by simply opening it?
> 

colebiancardi:  I've been trying to say out of this topic, but I can't
help myself here :-)  By accepting Harry, Petunia also accepted the
terms that DD outlined in the letter.  She could have dumped Harry off
at the orphanage if she didn't agree to the terms in the letter. 
There was no love lost between Petunia & Lily, so why did she keep
Harry?  Something in the letter told her in was in the Dursley's best
interests to keep him there at Privit Drive, IMHO.   I view the letter
that was attached to Harry as a binding contract of some sorts - if
Petunia agreed to keep Harry, she also agreed to follow the letter's
instructions.  

DD's scene with the Dursley's in HBP was an admonishment of the
Durlsey's failure to adhere to the instructions outlined in the
letter.  He had expressed that they treat & raise Harry as if he was
one of their own, which they had not.  

As far as Harry being uncomfortable in the scene, well, he is the one
that has to return there, not DD.  The Dursley's can and have made his
life very uncomfortable in the past - I think that Harry just wanted
to go because he was eager to get back to *his world*, where he could
be with his friends.

colebiancardi
(throwing in my 2 knuts...)