[HPforGrownups] Identifying with Muggles - The Dursley and 'Terrifying' Abuse

[Jordan Abel]

No: HPFGUIDX 158199

On 9/12/06, Steve <bboyminn at yahoo.com> wrote:
> For example, while Dumbledore forced the courtesy of
> inviting himself in, which by the way was a move as much
> for safety and security as it was for hospitality, he did
> not force his way in against the objections of Vernon. I
> don't recall Vernon objecting.

Some readers interpreted the scene with the perception that he had
used a wandless/wordless silencing charm.


> Post #158187 by Marion Ros
>
> " ...than to offer tea to somebody who barged in when you
> told him to get out or to cuddle to your heart a child you
> did not want but were forced to accept..."
>
> Vernon never told Dumbledore to 'get out', and the
> Dursleys were not 'forced' to accept Harry. It is this
> kind of overstated hyperbole that creates such polarized
> discussions. No one objects to you or Marion not liking
> the scene, but we do object to such extreme
> overstatements.
>
> True it is clear that the Vernon is not pleased to have
> Dumbledore there, but there is no indication, that he is
> even remotely 'scared to death'. (which is a bit of my
> own hyperbole used to make exactly the counterpoint)
>
> Marion carries on in this vein -
>
> "They were forced, by Dumbledore, to accept Harry as
> their 'guest',..."
>
> "But they did not *choose* to take in the boy.(Harry)"
>
> First and foremost, the Dusleys have a legal and social
> obligation to look after Harry. Yes, is is a legal and
> social obligation they can legally and socially refuse,

It's not clear where this "legal obligation" comes from, particularly
if one uses the quite reasonable (and relevant, since it's likely the
Dursleys share it) view that the MoM/wizengamot/etc's "laws", at least
in as much as they create any obligation in any muggles, are rather
extralegal in character. If you mean they were named as Harry's
guardians in any sense other than in the imagination of the WW,
there's no evidence of that - it seems much more likely that DD formed
the idea of leaving him with Petunia after discovering the nature of
the charm that Lily used to protect him than that James or Lily would
have appointed the Dursleys to be Harry's guardians.

> but until they refuse it, the obligation is theirs.

There's no evidence either way for whether they were offered the
option to refuse. We've seen no evidence otherwise of any wizard
offering any muggle the option to refuse anything, from hogwarts
attendance to obliviation, so it doesn't seem likely this is an
exception.