CHAPDISC: PS/SS 1, The Boy Who Lived

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 187697

> Pippin:
> 
> I think he does deal with it. Not that he isn't arrogant -- heck, it's arrogant to oppose Voldemort at all. But the letter allows him to conceal his feelings and affect a casual air about a matter  of desperate importance to him, both for Harry's sake and for the sake of Dumbledore's plans. 
> 
>   This is Petunia we're talking about. If she knew how much it mattered to Dumbledore that she take Harry in, she'd have said no. He's the one who turned her down when she begged him to let her go to Hogwarts. She wouldn't pass up a chance to spite him for all the gold in Gringotts, IMO.

Alla:

I see your point, sure. I just think that him being there in person would have been a better safeguard in case Petunia does refuse to take Harry in rather than  him going to have to search orphanages after the fact (that is IF he learns about it soon enough).



Pippin:
<SNIP>
> It's true wizards tend to overlook the possibility of non-magical mishaps and attacks, but I think that's because they are truly rare. Ariana's case was so unusual that no one ever suspected what had really happened to her. 

Alla:

Apparently not so rare in Harry's case who spent " next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley". And it is so so easy to injure a baby even if another child has the best intentions in the world and just wants to play with him. And we know that Dudley did not have the best intentions in the world to put it mildly and somehow I doubt that Petunia stood nearby and told him to be careful.

No, I maintain that Dumbledore got incredibly lucky with the help of deus ex machina that no serious injury occurred to Harry in Dudley's household. But the fact that JKR decided it must be so does not stop me from thinking that it was incredibly arrogant (and I leave aside all other names I want to call this action right now) of Dumbledore to just leave Harry there.


But that leads me to an aside question about this sentence.  Here is the whole sentence :

"One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing that he was special, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dudley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, not that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley..." - p.17

Granted I have not reread PS in about a year, but I definitely do not remember thinking that hand in question was Harry's. Wierd that even now these little discoveries happen to me hehe. I thought it was either Petunia's or Dudley's lol, I do not know why I thought so.

So the question is, was it just a baby grabbing a new piece of paper to play with or was it Harry recognizing Dumbledore's magical signature or something like that as something familiar to hold on to?

I mean he is grabbing it while he is asleep.

Alla