Dumbledore's Magnaminity

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 143059

 
> PJ:  
> Petunia isn't a "regular" muggle.  

a_svirn:
Yes, she is. Until it's proven otherwise she is a regular and 
ordinary muggle.

PJ:
>Her sister was a Witch and both her 
> Brother-in-law and nephew were/are Wizards.  She was well aware of 
all this 
> and just what it entailed when they took Harry in.  Their desire 
not to have 
> anything to do with the WW goes down the tubes once they 
*willingly* take a 
> Wizard into their homes to raise!

a_svirn:
They took their nephew, because his life was endangered. We don't 
know by the way whether they knew for sure that Harry was a wizard 
at the time. Moreover, Dumbledore suggested that they should bring 
him up as their own. I think to them it meant as muggle. 

PJ
> All in all I would say the WW was very good about respecting the 
Dursley's 
> wishes to be left alone.  Until Harry's 11th birthday officially 
put him 
> under the auspices of the WW he belonged to rather the the muggle 
world the 
> Dursleys wanted him to stay in, no one bothered them.  

a_svirn:

This is certainly one way of putting it. I would say though that in 
*our* world when you leave your child, or at any rate, a child you 
are responsible for at other people's doorstep, you therefore 
renounce any claim on him, don't you? 

PJ:
The MoM didn't send 
> anyone around monthly or even yearly for home visits to check on 
Harry - 
> something that Social Services would automatically do when placing 
a child 
> in our world - Dumbledore didn't insist on visitation rights even 
though as 
> head of the Wizangamott he probably had the authority.

a_svirn:
Had he though? I was under the impression that he took the task of 
arranging Harry's future upon himself without consulting any 
authorities. 

PJ:
  It was their choice of 
> giving him "house room" to begin with which brought them to this 
juncture.

a_svirn:
This is certainly true. Even though we don't know just how free was 
that choice.  The long and short of it however, that they did give 
him a houseroom and by doing so have kept him alive for nearly 
sixteen years. The least Dumbledore could do under the circumstances 
is to keep his contempt for himself.