GOF Chapter 3: The Invitation

[oryx_leucoryx]

This is the obligatory Dursley chapter, in which we are treated to the home life of this family and learn how inferior they are to wizard families.

Dudley takes up a whole side of the square kitchen table. Ahem, I doubt a square kitchen table (as opposed to a dining room table) was designed to seat 8 people, 2 on a side. His parents excuse away his teachers' accusations of bullying. As opposed to the Weasleys who never receive reports making such heinous accusations against the twins (we'll see the school does occasionally owl their parents, but I don't see any awareness that some of what the twins do is bullying behavior). (This starts the theme of parents dealing with wayward sons in this book.) Dudley is forced into a diet of fruit and vegetables rather than his favorites. From the descriptions we get of the food Harry eats at Hogwarts I get the feeling Harry's favorites are closer to Dudley's than to the health foods, nor does he limit his intake. But somehow Harry remains thin, regardless of whether he gets starved by Petunia or stuffed by Molly or the House-elves.

Changing the food choices of the entire family is a good thing! However adjusting Harry's serving size to Dudley's (perceived?) emotional needs isn't. I don't begrudge Harry for working around a diet he doesn't need, but then I also sympathize with Dudley who does. Changing eating habits of years is hard.
This is also the place to say Dudley must have grown up as an emotional wreck. Knowing that his parents were capable of such physical and emotional deprivation of someone in their care - what if he ever failed to please them? I think a big part of his misbehavior is both making sure his parents know he *isn't* Harry as well as wanting the reassurance that they still love him, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Of Harry's 4 sources of help only one sends food he appreciates. Odd that even Hagrid managed to send an edible birthday cake. But how edible is it (or any of the others) 3 weeks later?

Harry is surprised that the Weasleys wrote directly to the Dursleys. Vernon is embarrassed that they didn't know how many stamps to use. But really, how hard is it to find out? Didn't they go to the post office to buy the stamps? What does it say about the exchange rate between Galleons and pounds that a family so poor finds it reasonable to spend on so many stamps for one letter? Molly's letter sounds as if she is trying too hard to make the Quidditch World Cup sound special and to make Arthur sound important. And of course she doesn't have enough imagination to realize that sending a letter by owl isn't normal for the Dursleys.

Harry is offended on Molly's behalf when Vernon calls her 'dumpy'. Since Molly likes Harry nobody is allowed to notice she is overweight.

I must say that the scene where Harry threatens Vernon with Sirius looks a lot less humorous now that I have seen Harry enjoy torturing a man for punishment, and Sirius engaging in Muggle-baiting.

If I am correct in my understanding that Ron is claiming that he and Molly wrote their respective letters at about the same time, then I am impressed with the UK post. Molly's letter arrived on Saturday morning. Pig arrived the same morning. Considering the speed of owls elsewhere, it looks as though Ron's letter was sent earlier that morning. So a letter got delivered the morning it was sent?

I am less impressed with the Weasleys. They plan on taking Harry regardless of the Dursleys' consent. One could argue that eventually Molly and Arthur realized their sons were not exaggerating when they said Harry had been imprisoned and starved, but seeing how Arthur views the treatment of Muggles, both in this book and in COS, I doubt this made a difference.

Harry is happy specifically because Dudley is suffering and he isn't. The seeds of the bully of HBP and war criminal of DH.

Comments

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Lucius...is not going to win any awards for altruism. But that has nothing to do with his parenting abilities. People are too quick to equate being a DE with being a completely foul and worthless human being with no redeeming qualities. You can have criminals who love their family and would do anything for them. But people either talk about how Lucius must be an abusive father (because they love the woobie!abused!Draco trope) or he's just a failure because of the values and work ethic he taught him.

You'll note that Lucius never got Snape to put Draco on the first year quidditch team- apparently only Gryffindors disregard the rules like that. (or long-entrenched tradition; even if it wasn't a hard-and-fast rule, it was accepted that first years cannot join the team)

And he refused to indulge the boy's whims and buy him what he wanted, telling him to instead pull his socks up and work harder if he wanted a reward.

And to Draco's credit, he wound up knowing the difference between right and wrong and being unable to kill someone- while Harry blithely Crucios Amycus.

doesn't Mr. Weasley work in a department which deals specifically with Muggles and Muggle objects

What a joke. He still doesn't know how to pronounce electricity, obviously he's not trying hard enough. If he really was putting in the effort to learn his field, he'd be questioning Muggle-borns. Sure, Hermione doesn't volunteer that much info, but if he specifically asked her to put aside an hour or so to help him with stuff, she'd be happy to help. And there have to be other Muggle-borns at the Ministry. But I guess it doesn't occur to him to ask them to help him understand their own culture. Or they're too ashamed of their background. That's def plausible.

ETA. I read this secret the other day in the HiH Owl Secret Post ostensibly from Draco saying he 'teases Weasley because I wish my family loved me as much'- and I'm like, wtf? O.o If Draco's wand broke, you can be sure he wouldn't go the rest of the year without a functioning wand. And I love when Harry notes Draco's weekly care package from his parents! And Lucius isn't the one setting a crappy example for his kid and showing that violence is the way to solve conflict, that bashing someone is a first resort. *shakes head*

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

And there have to be other Muggle-borns at the Ministry. But I guess it doesn't occur to him to ask them to help him understand their own culture.

At the very least have them show him how to get a library card, so he can check out books on our culture for himself...

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

IKR? Internet for Dummies, Knitting for Dummies, Science for Dummies, all the other 'For Dummies' (http://www.shearersbookshop.com.au/DummiesBooks.asp?gclid=CNrfzcydyqYCFU80pAodyGj_IA) books to help him gain greater understanding of Muggle ways.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/And to Draco's credit, he wound up knowing the difference between right and wrong and being unable to kill someone- while Harry blithely Crucios Amycus./

It's ironic that the boy who grew up in a Death Eater family finds himself incapable of murder and is extremely uncomfortable with using the Unforgivables, while the boy who grew up on the Light Side relishes in using them. I think that in an earlier post, someone commented that it would be interesting if somebody else wrote a fic of how Draco ended up being the savior of the wizarding world, while Harry became Voldemort's heir.

/He still doesn't know how to pronounce electricity, obviously he's not trying hard enough. If he really was putting in the effort to learn his field, he'd be questioning Muggle-borns./

I know that Arthur's inability to pronounce electricity and general cluelessness regarding the Muggle world are meant to be humorous, but Muggles are his *job.* He's not supposed to be in his department just because he's *interested* in Muggles; he's supposed to be there because he's a genuine expert who knows what he's doing. I'm interested in East Asian cultures, but does that alone automatically make me qualified to be a professor of East Asian studies? Of course not.

/If Draco's wand broke, you can be sure he wouldn't go the rest of the year without a functioning wand./

Well, Draco is an only child, as opposed to being one out of seven, and his family is rich. Still, you have a good point there.

/And Lucius isn't the one setting a crappy example for his kid and showing that violence is the way to solve conflict, that bashing someone is a first resort./

Well...Lucius is a Death Eater and he did take part in the Muggle-baiting after the Quidditch World Cup. So, maybe he doesn't tell Draco that bashing *wizards* is a first resort, but he does show that Muggles are not worth such consideration.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

I'd really have loved to read that story. But it's too subtle for JKR. *eyeroll* Fanfic, anyone?

He's not supposed to be in his department just because he's *interested* in Muggles; he's supposed to be there because he's a genuine expert who knows what he's doing.

Thank you! Too many people say 'but Arthur loves Muggles', like that makes it okay that he's so incompetent at his job! But I can see the WW being like, 'Ew, Muggles! Cooties! I don't want to deal with it...oh, this chap is bonkers, he loves them, well, give him the job!'

(Isn't he the one that's supposed to fix Muggle-related problems, if someone screws up, he comes up with a Muggle fix-it to cover up the situation? So if he doesn't actually know anything useful about Muggles, how can he do that?)

Draco is an only child, as opposed to being one out of seven, and his family is rich

True that. But I just wanted to point out how his family supports him on both a practical and emotional level. More than I can say for Molly 'Passive-Aggressive' Weasley.

Lucius is a Death Eater and he did take part in the Muggle-baiting after the Quidditch World Cup

Again, point- but Draco grew up without the DE influence til Voldy's return, when he'd already grown up quite a bit. And the Muggle-baiting was in GoF, but Arthur was setting a bad example as early as CoS.

And yes, I know there was the whole 'releasing the basilisk' thing, but I don't know if Draco knew about that. Although there's the rub- because I can't work out why Lucius would release the bloody thing when there's every chance his kid might be in danger!

You know what bugs me, though? When people talk about Draco 'wussing out' in HBP, like it's a bad thing he couldn't bring himself to kill someone! IDEK. O.o I mean, this was a huge thing for his character- his morals were put to the test, his life was in danger, his family was in danger, but he still couldn't kill another person. And they act like it's a weakness! *headdesk*

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Regarding Ron's broken wand in CoS: To be fair to Molly, Ron didn't tell his parents that he broke his wand (in the process of crashing the illegally enchanted car he "borrowed"). Not that Molly's Howler exactly encouraged him to tell her.

Although I don't know... I'm not surprised that the twins and Ginny wouldn't tell Molly, but Percy? He had to have noticed, and you'd really think he'd write to his parents about it. Maybe they did know, after all.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Okay, then, I hadn't thought about that. At least they eventually got a new wand for him, right?

Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.

*eyeroll* I don't want to sound like an elitist snob or anything, but...THEY WONDER WHY THEY'RE POOR? They just HAD to fritter it all away on a family trip for several people to Egypt and waste it all in one go? I mean, they have every right to go on vacation, but if they're struggling for clothes and such, you think they'd budget a bit better, FFS. I'm not saying they deserve poverty, but when they get this windfall and don't save it and use it wisely, it bugs me.

I think Ron should count himself lucky that at least they saved enough for his wand.

Percy? He had to have noticed, and you'd really think he'd write to his parents about it. Maybe they did know, after all.

Oh, yes, def! My point might still stand, then! Because you know Percy is that observant and conscientious, he would bring it to their attention.

It's just such a stupid plot thread, though. Ron not having a usable wand for a whole year, like, wtf was he doing in class? It's not like a textbook that you can share with the person next to you.

Although since they had spare textbooks, you think they might have a few spare old wands. Considering how it wound up being ultimately unimportant whether the wand chooses you or any of that now-defunct garbage. If a kid selected a wand from the stores, it probably counts as 'winning it' off the previous user. *eyeroll*

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

Although since they had spare textbooks, you think they might have a few spare old wands. Considering how it wound up being ultimately unimportant whether the wand chooses you or any of that now-defunct garbage.

But they didn't even have to go that route...in HBP we see Dumbles telling Tommie that there's a fund set up at Hogwarts to help poor students get their needed supplies. If the Weasleys really couldn't afford to buy Ron a new wand, then why didn't they avail themselves of that fund?

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

BECAUSE THEY'RE PROOOOUUUUUD.

I really don't want to offend anyone, but this thing about being proud and not accepting 'charity', I will never get. If you can't afford something and you really need it, why not just accept if someone not totally repulsive is offering? Of course if it's someone who's gonna lord it over you, that's a totally different matter, but otherwise, why let pride stand in the way?

But I can see the Weasleys refusing to avail themselves of any hand-outs 'coz they're an ancient pureblood family and have standards, kthxbai.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

It doesn't *have* to be because they're proud. What if the fund is determined by family income without taking the number of dependents into account? That wouldn't be a good rule, but that could probably disqualify the Weasleys. Riddle obviously wouldn't've had a problem with that, though.

Also... Ron's the one who makes the most noise about being poor. Well, he's also the one we hear the most from, but the twins don't complain -- they're strongly focused on making money, but they don't complain about their current situation. Percy doesn't complain. *Ginny* doesn't complain.

I don't think we've heard Arthur or Molly bemoan their poverty, either. Molly complains about Arthur's lack of ambition, which could be an indirect way of mentioning it, but all in all, they manage.

That isn't necessarily just a flaw on Ron's part, because he probably got more hand-me-downs than anyone else in the family, including Ginny. Still, the Weasleys may not *be* quite as poor as Ron's complaints and Draco's insults would lead us to believe. Not at all well-off, of course, but perhaps not so poor that the fund was a possibility for them.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Ron just got unlucky in birth order, in a way, you mean? That they have enough to cover everyone but it gets stretched tight right at the end, and Ron as the youngest boy comes in last, so he gets the worst of it (and so is more inclined to complain)? Makes sense to me. Bill and Charlie do get new brooms for winning important roles at school, IIRC. And they clearly aren't having to save the last penny to buy an apple for the whole family to have dinner.

The wand thing is a bit too much, though. It's not that huge an expense and is the most vital part of a student/wizard's magical equipment. That seems a bit like authorial fiat to me.

[merrymelody.livejournal.com]

I think Ginny might be mentioned as complaining about hand-me-downs in CoS to the Riddle diary, but I don't have the books anymore, so I'm not 100% on that. (And after CoS, of course, V1.0 Ginny died, and V2.0 Ginny would never dream of complaining! ;)

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

But I can see the Weasleys refusing to avail themselves of any hand-outs 'coz they're an ancient pureblood family and have standards, kthxbai.

Okay, I can buy that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had misplaced pride and might not want charity.

But if the fund exists, why would anyone even have to tell them? Why couldn't McGonagall have just mentioned to Dumbledore that Ron Weasley was in desperate need of a wand, and that she was going to utilze the Hogwarts Charity Fund to see that he got it.

Or why couldn't Ron have done that himself? Surely he wasn't so proud of all the problems his broken wand was causing him! Why didn't he just go to McGonagall and say, "Gee, my parents won't buy me a new wand, but it's really affecting my coursework! Do you think I could use some of the Hogwarts Charity Fund to get myself a new one?"

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/I really don't want to offend anyone, but this thing about being proud and not accepting 'charity', I will never get. If you can't afford something and you really need it, why not just accept if someone not totally repulsive is offering? Of course if it's someone who's gonna lord it over you, that's a totally different matter, but otherwise, why let pride stand in the way?/

Or not even you, what if your *child* needs it? There's this one scene in "The Brothers Karamazov" which really bugged me for this reason. In the scene, Alyosha Karamazov, who's a really nice guy, is giving back this other guy's money back to him (long story short: one of Alyosha's brothers got into a fight with the guy which led to the money being taken). This man's son is very ill and the man needs the money in order to help his son. So, Alyosha is giving the money back to him. At first, the man accepts it. But then he changes his mind and decides to reject it. Why? Because he doesn't want his son to know that his father was in anybody's debt.

...Yeah, never mind that his son was on the verge of dying. Never mind that money is money, no matter who it comes from, and that it could have been used to save his son. No, nothing is more important than his pride and sense of self-worth, and if his son dies, so be it. It's better that his son die than grow up knowing that his father once had to accept money from a stranger in order to save his life. Great priorities there, Dad. -_-

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

Although I don't know... I'm not surprised that the twins and Ginny wouldn't tell Molly, but Percy? He had to have noticed, and you'd really think he'd write to his parents about it. Maybe they did know, after all.

Also, why didn't McGonagall, as Ron's Head of House, let his parents know he could do with a new wand?

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Exactly, his teachers would've known and none of them bothered. I guess unless it's the Chosen One, the other students don't matter? Ron's just Harry's sidekick, he doesn't need any attention!

(that moment in CoS where Minerva rushes off to get Harry when Hermione's petrified...and then absent-mindedly includes Ron as well as an after-thought...wow. Nice)

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

And, the teachers know the Weasleys are poor and might not be able to buy him a new wand right off. Some compassionate teacher could front it for him - he or she wouldn't even need to make it a gift as much as a loaner that the Weasleys could pay back. I mean, some teacher bought the rich kid a broom without expecting any reimbursement, right?

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

IFKR? Wow, great point there. And Minerva's supposed to be the awesomest Head of House ever, too. We talk about favoritism between houses, but god, there's an example of appalling favoritism within a house. She'll buy an expensive, brand spanking new broom to increase Gryffindor's chances of winning a mere quidditch match, but a kid lacks a vital tool to complete his schoolwork and is left to fend for himself all year. PRIORITIES, LACKING, MUCH?

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Really. I rather like Ron in some ways; he's a fairly decent guy who gets a lot of crap dumped on him and who gets repeatedly ignored. The times when he does get fed up with it he usually is rather sympathetic, IMO. One wonders what his life would have been like if he didn't end up the friend of the BWL: better, worse, about the same??

And people accuse Snape of being biased in favor of his House, but there's rather more direct evidence of blatant favoritism on Minerva's part than on Snape's. (I'm not saying it's impossible for him to be as well, but out of what we actually see, Minerva is definitely worse.)

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Better, probably. We see him as the most sociable of the trio- when he and Harry were on the outs, he got on perfectly well with Dean and Seamus. I think he'd've been happier friends with two normal guys. Not feeling like he's living in Harry's shadow and not good enough and even his mother would prefer Harry as her son instead. Ugh.

And without Harry making him go rescue Hermione, the trio would never have formed and he he wouldn't have had all that dramallama over Hermione. I think if he hadn't had her at the back of his mind, been obsessed with her reactions and feelings, he could've had a perfectly happy relationship with Lavender. (I honestly don't see what he gets from a relationship with Hermione, aside from frequent criticism and greater insecurity and the threat of violence if he steps out of line)

there's rather more direct evidence of blatant favoritism on Minerva's part than on Snape's

YES. He's a more obvious target because he's unpleasant and the head of the rival house, but Minerva's not gonna win any awards for her actions either.

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

She'll buy an expensive, brand spanking new broom to increase Gryffindor's chances of winning a mere quidditch match, but a kid lacks a vital tool to complete his schoolwork and is left to fend for himself all year. PRIORITIES, LACKING, MUCH?

Does make one wonder about Rowling's own abilities -- or lack thereof -- as a teacher...

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/But I can see the WW being like, 'Ew, Muggles! Cooties! I don't want to deal with it...oh, this chap is bonkers, he loves them, well, give him the job!'/

The sad part is that you may be right. That could very well be a reason for why Arthur still has his job.

/You know what bugs me, though? When people talk about Draco 'wussing out' in HBP, like it's a bad thing he couldn't bring himself to kill someone! IDEK. O.o I mean, this was a huge thing for his character- his morals were put to the test, his life was in danger, his family was in danger, but he still couldn't kill another person. And they act like it's a weakness!*headdesk*/

Oh, don't get me started on that. Yes, and what a wimp Draco was for actually *crying.* Because, you know, it's not like he'd been under a lot of stress the whole year for the simple reason of his parents' *lives* depending on him being able to murder another human being. Boys should never cry; it just makes them girly! And yes, what a coward he was for still not being able to kill Dumbledore, even though he had a good reason for doing so. No, in order to be a brave, valiant man, Draco should have constantly hexed people like Harry did and thrown around the Unforgiveable Curses 24/7. I guess that Draco was being "brave" when he threw the Cruciatus Curse at Harry. Because apparently, if you don't like to kill or torture people, then you're a wimp, and not, you know, a normal, decent human being. *sarcasm*

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

The sad part is that you may be right

Yeah, it makes sense, doesn't it? Considering the WW and the lack of correlation between having qualifications and getting a job. Just being interested is enough. (*glares at Hagrid*)

I actually think people might've had more respect for Draco if he HAD killed Dumbles. But 'choking' and then crying about it, wooooow, look at dem haters! It's like, here's Harry, Chosen One, determined to kill Voldy. And there's Draco, his DE equivalent, who can't kill his Voldy equivalent. EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT EVEN THE SAME THING AT ALL AND THERE ARE TOTALLY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. But I think that's why people judge him so harshly, because they're holding him up against Harry's shining example. *eyeroll*

[oryx_leucoryx]

Thank you! Too many people say 'but Arthur loves Muggles', like that makes it okay that he's so incompetent at his job! But I can see the WW being like, 'Ew, Muggles! Cooties! I don't want to deal with it...oh, this chap is bonkers, he loves them, well, give him the job!'

(Isn't he the one that's supposed to fix Muggle-related problems, if someone screws up, he comes up with a Muggle fix-it to cover up the situation? So if he doesn't actually know anything useful about Muggles, how can he do that?)

Do we know which way it went? Did Arthur get the job because he liked Muggle stuff or did he fall in love with Muggle stuff because his job got him somewhat acquainted with it?

As for how he covers up situations - well we see what he does - Obliviates anyone who noticed anything amiss.

Again, point- but Draco grew up without the DE influence til Voldy's return, when he'd already grown up quite a bit. And the Muggle-baiting was in GoF, but Arthur was setting a bad example as early as CoS.

Bad example regarding Muggles too - he was Obliviating them right and left as early as COS. (But wizards are allowed to marry Muggles if they have nobody else to marry, so he's an all-around swell guy, all for 'tolerance'.)

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this is fanon or not, but I seem to recall Molly's frustration with Arthur because he was on his way up at the Ministry until he took the Muggle Artifacts job and then his career stalled. So her passive-aggressive thing with him is because he chose to take a job that was 'beneath' him and in so doing, their family's chances at greater prosperity and status stalled. He chose his hobby over them, to her thinking.

Like I said, it might just be what I picked up from fanfics, but that's what's in my head when I think about Molly's attitude. Her disappointment in him for taking this dead-end job because he was enchanted by quaint Muggle objects instead of climbing the ladder.

Don't get me started on Obliviation, such a despicable thing to do, really. *glares*