/Is this like how Draco is somehow worse than Dudley now? /
I think that key to understanding Harry's though process lays in the next chapter, where narrative gives us this oh so wonderful line: "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human" (the line is in response to Dobby describing how Malfoy's treat him) From what we can see in chapter 1, Harry's treatment (especially compared to Dobby's) is decent. Sure he cannot train his magical skills and his pet is on lock up, but he is fed, has roof over his head and Vernon hadn't kicked him out of the house for constantly threatening his traumatized son. Yet, Harry doesn't consider Durslays to be humans. Considering how through whole series Durlays are portrayed as those caricatures of human beings and books being writen from Harry's POV I would go a step further and say that Harry doesn't consider his time outside magical parts of the world to be real.
/How are Muggle-born students supposed to train their skills during the summer when they can't perform magic in front of the Muggles that they live with?/
A few years ago I played a visual novel called Magical Diary. It's a game that clearly takes a lot of inspirations from HP books. Author of said VN explored the problem of secrecy and muggle families and found a smart solution to this problem: students from non magical families are encouraged to integrate into magical society and to distance themselves from mundane world by atmosphere in the school and by enchantment placed on their families that caused them to gradually forget about magic and their kid being magical. In the end a lot of students from non-magical families ended up staying at the school all year-round. Now I'm not saying it to promote the game or something, but to point out that thanks to Jo's Tunnel Vision, she not only fails to plug up her plot holes, but managed to once again walk pass a very interesting plot line.
/Except why is Vernon conducting a business dinner at his house? Why isn't he meeting them at a fancy restaurant instead? /
In my barbaric part of Europe that would be the case, but I must admit that I'm not exactly fluent in British culture so I decided to put it in "it's a British thing" box and do something more productive.
/ No, Harry was throwing temper tantrums left and right because JKR wanted OOTP to be the 'dark, gloomy, and angsty' book. Not because it was 'realistic.' /
Yup, either Jo doesn't have much contact with teenagers or all of her progeny were this capslock happy harpies.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2018-08-18 09:43 am (UTC)I think that key to understanding Harry's though process lays in the next chapter, where narrative gives us this oh so wonderful line: "This makes the Dursleys sound almost human" (the line is in response to Dobby describing how Malfoy's treat him)
From what we can see in chapter 1, Harry's treatment (especially compared to Dobby's) is decent. Sure he cannot train his magical skills and his pet is on lock up, but he is fed, has roof over his head and Vernon hadn't kicked him out of the house for constantly threatening his traumatized son. Yet, Harry doesn't consider Durslays to be humans.
Considering how through whole series Durlays are portrayed as those caricatures of human beings and books being writen from Harry's POV I would go a step further and say that Harry doesn't consider his time outside magical parts of the world to be real.
/How are Muggle-born students supposed to train their skills during the summer when they can't perform magic in front of the Muggles that they live with?/
A few years ago I played a visual novel called Magical Diary. It's a game that clearly takes a lot of inspirations from HP books.
Author of said VN explored the problem of secrecy and muggle families and found a smart solution to this problem: students from non magical families are encouraged to integrate into magical society and to distance themselves from mundane world by atmosphere in the school and by enchantment placed on their families that caused them to gradually forget about magic and their kid being magical. In the end a lot of students from non-magical families ended up staying at the school all year-round.
Now I'm not saying it to promote the game or something, but to point out that thanks to Jo's Tunnel Vision, she not only fails to plug up her plot holes, but managed to once again walk pass a very interesting plot line.
/Except why is Vernon conducting a business dinner at his house? Why isn't he meeting them at a fancy restaurant instead? /
In my barbaric part of Europe that would be the case, but I must admit that I'm not exactly fluent in British culture so I decided to put it in "it's a British thing" box and do something more productive.
/ No, Harry was throwing temper tantrums left and right because JKR wanted OOTP to be the 'dark, gloomy, and angsty' book. Not because it was 'realistic.' /
Yup, either Jo doesn't have much contact with teenagers or all of her progeny were this capslock happy harpies.