In Sorcerer's Stone

[ANGIE]

No: HPFGUIDX 177958

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "johnson_fan4evre48"
<johnson_fan4evre48 at ...> wrote:
>
> I have decided to start to read the series all over again. I am at a
> point where two ideas of Dumbledore do not make any sense.
>
> **Why in the world leave the child with someone who hates all he is
> about?  There was no guarantee at first that the Dursley's would
> take in Little Harry.

angie:
For the protection spell to take effect and keep Harry safe until he
is legally able to attend Hogwarts, he must be left with the Dursleys.
To have left him in the care of any other family he could have been vulnerable to Voldemort even in his spirit form.  DD would have been 100% sure they would take him.  We don't know what was written in the letter he left with Harry but obviously it hit home hard with Petunia as she took him in and kept taking him in.


> ** It almost seems as though Dumbledore cares not about all the
> abuse Harry will suffer and he does.

angie:
DD does care as we know he "sees" everything, but he cannot risk telling Harry about who he is until the time is right; therefore, he
must let Harry grow up with all the difficulties, which in a regretful sort of way, will help to prepare him for the very tough life he will face once he gets into the wizard world.  If he had not learned to defend himself against Dudley it is very likely he would never have been able to defend himself against Voldemort.


> **How does Dumbledore expect the spell to hold if he cannot be
> sure if the Dursleys will keep Harry?

angie:
He is sure.  Petunia kept the boy because he was family and because
of something Dd wrote in that letter. She may have regretted it but
as we find out later, when DD sent the howler to her reminding her of
her promise, she made a promise and she keeps her promises.

>
> **Hypothetically, you would figure they would not know when Harry's
> powers would come to fruition, so why would they treat Harry so bad
> straight away?  How does she think keeping a child she does not
> want makes her look, as that is all the Dursleys seem to think of
> is how things make them look.

angie:
Petunia does not exactly not want Harry.  She is just bitter because
he reminds her of the "special" treatment her sister got and that she
was refused.  Also it seems as the series moves on that all children
start to develop magical powers at different times so the Dursleys
most probably believe that by suppressing Harry immediately they
would stop the process and he would never show signs of magic skill.

>
> **For some people being so scared of magic they sure take great
chances in mistreating Harry, that made no sense.  It seems as they
> are trying to goad him into doing things just so they can yell at
> him but that is just MO. Please jump in. I wonder how you all feel
> about theses points?

angie:
They are not actually trying to goad him with the exception of Dudley.  Dudley does it because he gets great pleasure from Harry
being punished and is very jealous over the fact that he now has to share his home and parents with anyone else.

>
> **Oh before I forget why does it take so long for someone who truly
> cares about Harry to step up and say something on his behalf to the
> Dursleys?

angie:
As I said before, they could not risk letting Harry know who he was
before he was able to go to Hogwarts.  If he had found out he would
have tried to practice magic at any chance he had, we know he is
stubborn and adventurous, and this would have only made his living
arrangements even worse.  Harry had to live with the Dursleys for
the protection to be at its most powerful.  Could you imagine how
terrible that living arrangement would have been if Harry had known
ahead of time who and what he was!  I would never have told him ahead
of time either or sent anything or anyone who would have made the
Dursleys treat him even more badly.