Dumbledore's letters to Petunia (Re: Petunia's Eyes)

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 169949

> Carol:
> > However, I've always considered it interesting that the first part
> > of the first chapter of SS/PS, is from the arch-Muggle, Vernon's, 
> > pov rather than from Petunia's. She reminds me of Lupin in PoA, 
very touchy and obviously hiding something. Vernon's explanation for
> > Petunia's becoming upset every time her sister is mentioned, 
given to us by the limited omniscient narrator, is simple 
embarrassment at being connected with abnormal people: "He didn't 
blame her--if *he'd* had a sister like that" (5). 
> <snip>
> > To me it's obvious that she knows something that she's concealing 
> > from Vernon. Maybe she hasn't heard from her sister directly, but 
I think she may have heard from Dumbledore, who has only recently 
> > suggested the Fidelius Charm to the Potters. Maybe he's mentioned 
> > it to Petunia, along with the name of the supposed Secret Keeper? 
> > And *somebody* has told them both that the Potters have a son 
named Harry only a month younger than Dudley.
> 
> Jen:  You're saying JKR couldn't use Petunia as the limited 
> omniscient narrator in this chapter because she would give too much 
> away? That's a new idea to me and it fits so well with a comment by 
> JKR that you touched on in your post (from FAQ section of her 
> website): 

Dung:
That's brilliant! It's new to me, too. (Goodness, Carol, you're on 
form at the moment! The pressure to come up with new takes before the 
end of all this fun is showing!)

Jen:
> "Dumbledore is referring to his last letter, which means, of 
course, the letter he left upon the Dursleys' doorstep when Harry was 
one year old. But why then (you may well ask) did he not just 
> say 'remember my letter?' Why did he say my last letter? Why, 
> obviously because there were letters before that
"
> 
> JKR goes on to say the 'last' refers to letters written only to 
> Petunia.  Now that you've mentioned the bit about the narrator, I 
> want to take one last stab at deducing why Dumbledore would have 
> contacted Petunia prior to the night he delivered his 'last' letter 
> along with Harry.
> 
> It's seems highly unlikely the blood protection would come up prior 
> to the night of Godric's Hollow since the outcome of Lily's 
sacrifice was such a phenomenal event and it had to take place in 
order for Dumbledore to place his charm on Harry.  Dumbledore says as 
much in "The Lost Prophecy," that he made his decision after Lily 
died.  

Dung:
Yes, I agree.

Jen:
> I suppose it's possible Dumbledore revealed the Secret Keeper and 
the fact that the Potters were hidden by the Fidelius like you 
mentioned, Carol, but it's not Dumbledore's modus operandi to give 
out more information than necessary to anyone, let alone someone he 
wouldn't know well.  It would more likely be up to Sirius (Peter) to 
contact Petunia on Lily's behalf if Lily wanted Petunia to have such 
> information.
>
> *Unless*....there's something I've wondered about since we found 
out Sirius was Harry's godfather.  Since he was also the Secret 
Keeper, sworn to die if needed in order to save the secret, how does 
that mesh together?  Then Harry loses his godfather.  Presumably the 
> Potters would still be alive but it's not like *all* risk would be 
> removed even after the Secret Keeper died with the secret, would 
it?  It's not called a foolproof plan by Dumbledore, just their 'best 
> chance.'  
 
Dung:
Well actually, having a dead SK is perfect, because then nobody else 
can ever be told the secret again. The weakness of fidelius lies in 
the SK, while the SK stood firm, the Potters were safe, if the SK had 
died without revealing the secret, their hiding place would have been 
completely safe.

Jen:
> Maybe during the time Sirius was Secret Keeper, Lily, estranged 
from her sister, requested Dumbledore contact Petunia about being 
Harry's guardian should something happen to herself, James and 
Sirius.  And that would have started a communication from Dumbledore 
to Petunia. (It's not clear if it was a two-way communication.)  The 
only thing I'm not sure about is why Lily would want Petunia to be 
guardian since there's nothing to show they cared for each other.  
> Unless Lily thought Harry would be safer in the Muggle world. 

Dung:
I think the last thing they'd have been planning for was orphaned!
Harry. James and Lily were the last line of defence, if they died, 
they imagined, so would Harry. They could never have predicted what 
happened at GH. Although... thinking about it, if they didn't know 
about the prophecy, they might have thought that Voldy was after 
them, rather than Harry, so they could have wondered if Harry would 
be orphaned, I suppose. But if they did know it was Harry that Voldy 
was after, I don't think it would have occured to them that they 
might die and that Harry might live.

> Carol:
> > At any rate, there's more to learn from Petunia. Maybe terror for 
> > her family, fear that they'll no longer be protected when the 
blood protection expires on Harry's seventeenth birthday (she clearly
> > assumed that it would last till he was eighteen) will prompt her 
to disclose her secrets in exchange for protection.
> 
> Jen: Petunia is such a curious person it seems likely she would 
read Dumbledore's letters even if she didn't respond.  What if 
Dumbledore wanted to caution her that Voldemort is very adept at 
using a person's family and friends when targeting someone?  And that 
as Lily's last living relative, Petunia and her family could be in 
grave danger.  
>
> But...that doesn't quite work with Petunia agreeing to 
take Harry because she's taking on *more* danger by doing so.  Once 
her supposedly hated sister was gone, Petunia should be able to wash 
her hands of the situation, right?  I'd say yes, but not if 1) she 
had some feelings left for Lily and/or 2) Dumbledore stressed in the 
last letter that Voldemort's followers were 'almost as terrible as 
he' and that somehow Petunia and her family would be protected in 
> exchange.  

Dung:
I'm reminded of this bit in OotP:

*********************
"But he's gone," said Uncle Vernon impatiently, without the slightest 
sign that the murder of Harry's parents might be a painful 
topic. "That giant bloke said so. He's gone."
"He's back," said Harry heavily.
[
]
"Back?" whispered Aunt Petunia.
She was looking at Harry as she had never looked at him before. And 
all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully 
appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother's sister. He could not 
have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment. All he 
knew was that he was not the only person in the room who had an 
inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back might mean. 
*********************
OotP, ch2, UK p39.

Then, Petunia says and does little while Vernon gets all hot under 
the collar and tries to throw Harry out. Until the howler arrives, 
and the howler *terrifies* Petunia, she looks as though she might 
faint, she's still trembling. She insists that Harry must stay, and 
makes up an excuse about the neighbours talking to appease Vernon.

Petunia may not have known or even believed that Voldemort could come 
back, if she thought the protection was just to keep them safe from 
the DEs, she would, by now, think that they were secure. To hear that 
Voldemort *himself* was again at large would make her realise that 
she still needs the protection.

But

How did Petunia find out about Voldemort? Canon gives us two options:
1. Dumbledore's correspondence explained about Voldemort
2. The conversation Petunia overheard where she learned about 
dementors.

Whatever was in Dumbledore's "last", (the letter he left with Harry) 
is the reason why Petunia actually agreed to take Harry in, and why 
she insists that he must stay when Uncle V tries to throw him out. 
The other letters, from beforehand, we know absolutely nothing about 
from the books, just from that evil comment from JKR.

I wondered, briefly, whether DD had lent James' invisibility cloak to 
Petunia, but I don't think that can be right, because somebody would 
have had to collect it, and we have no canon that Petunia was in 
contact with anybody at all from the time DD left Harry and the 
letter on their doorstep.

Alternatively, what happens if we hypothesise that when Vernon asks 
Petunia if she's heard from her sister lately, and she replies "No, 
why?" she is in fact lying? Could Petunia be the GH witness under the 
invisibility cloak? Unlikely, I think, but worth opening up for 
speculation


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