HBP Chapters 27 - 30 post DH look LONG SORRY

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 184485

> Alla:
> I dare to speculate that if Dumbledore the greatest wizard of all
> times would have wanted to design the way to make sure Dursleys
> obeyed them, he could have done so, much better than any of the
> people you listed. After all Dumbledore seems to always find a way
> to make sure people do what he wants them to do ( the ones whom he
> commands, before you say that, not Voldemort and DE), IMO.
> 
> No, I do not believe Petunia would have wanted to put up with it, of
> course not. But do I have any doubt that Dumbledore could have 
forced
> her to put up with it? No, I do not.
> 
> You think that threat of being turned into mushrooms as it was
> suggested in the past or being turned into anything period would not
> have made them act differently?

Magpie:
Seems like a little leaning on the Dursleys is considered just fine 
and also affective at other moments. He stops living in the cupboard 
once wizards get involved, I think they back off him after Hagrid 
shows up. He keeps Dudley in line by threatening him with magic. 
Order members make a show of threatening them in OotP. Harry 
threatens them with Sirius at the end of PoA. The Dursleys never love 
him but they leave him alone when they're intimidated into it by 
Wizards.

And of course, Dumbledore picks on them when he shows up in HBP when 
he wants them to agree to Harry staying with them for a while longer. 
Granted that seems to be more to make a good impression on Harry or 
just enjoying  himself by magically teasing Muggles who've earned it 
through their bad behavior--he's let himself so much off the hook 
he's actually telling them that they disappointed him by not treating 
him as their own child the way he hoped they would. I don't see 
anything in the books that says that physical intimidation can't ever 
be an affective and righteous way of dealing with people. Bullying is 
wrong, but that's why nobody in the series would call this bullying.

-m