The “safest place” in the magical world

After ten long and silent years on the Voldemort front, Harry gets re-introduced into the magical world. Our Tom decides it is time for a big splash and to come back to the land of the living. Although we could argue that having the philosopher stone being on the move could have been the catalyst in addition to a Hogwarts teacher seeking him out. The ten years of abuse Harry has suffered were thus for absolutely nothing because those ten years were the most peaceful they had had. Meaning that Harry could have grown up loved and healthy for those ten years. The whole blood ward situation is stupid because the boy goes to primary school where anyone could have grabbed him. In contrast, if he lived in the magical world he would have been home-schooled for primary but I digress.

Letters and secrets
We know two things Harry is sent a letter we presume that magically-raised children get their letter through the post (by owl, not mailman). Muggle-born students though, get a visit from a teacher explaining magic as we see with Tom and Lily. Although the latter just says ‘she got her letter’. Although Harry has been raised muggle his family was magical originally. It’s a flaw in the system, especially after a war where other half-blood children might have gone to live with their muggle family. Harry gets a letter in their postbox and the school keeps sending letters because Harry hasn’t read them or responded whichever they check for. This goes on for days, driving the Dursleys crazy. It truly is muggle-baiting at this point. After days of no replies, Dumbledore sends Hagrid in the middle of the night, to give Harry his letter. These decisions make no sense. After two days of letters, you know something is up and should send a teacher or quit with the letters and put the child on the muggle-born roster Not only that but why send Hagrid in the first place? Hagrid has no formal magical education, he is not allowed to use magic at all. This is Dumbledore’s idea as he gets a reply when Harry has read his letter (PS: 4, 56). It makes you wonder. Hagrid is nice and all but the information Harry receives is lacking. Not to mention that Dudley Dursley is cursed, which is the worst idea for a family that hates magic so much that they rather sleep in a shack on a rock than give their nephew his letter. This child is already abused and this whole stunt could have been a life-or-death situation had it been real. After this whole ordeal, Dumbledore never talks to Harry about it and he should have because there is clearly something wrong with his family. Hagrid’s character is clearly someone who doesn’t see the harm in anything really and has great loyalty to Dumbledore. It makes sense for Dumbledore to send him, but what is best for Albus is not necessarily best for Harry (PS: 4, 63). I know for the story that Harry has to see Hagrid take a special package out of the vault but it’s stupid and dangerous. Telling an eleven-year-old something is top secret is asking for them to figure it out (PS: 5, 68). Not only that but Hagrid takes the boy away, now Hagrid is a kind man and there is nothing wrong with him but this sixty-something guy snatches a young eleven-year-old boy with him to drop him off with odd books a day later. Albus Dumbledore ought to count his lucky stars that Harry has apparently never learned stranger danger nor does any of the neighbours care for Harry.

On another note: Explain to me exactly how Albus Dumbledore has Harry’s key and why the cloak is not in his vault (PS: 5, 78). Wouldn’t it have made more sense if he came to show his identity and pick up his key right there at the bank? How did Dumbledore get this key, did he use the key himself before? Who gave it to him and when and most importantly why? Wouldn’t it make more sense for Sirius to originally have it and for it to be in an evidence bag at the Auror office? Why would James and Lily give the key to their child’s bank account to their old headmaster? Or it was in their home and Dumbledore stole it, just as he stole their son from going to his rightful guardian. Do I think Dumbledore stole Harry’s money? No, I think he has enough money because he is racking in the salary of three jobs. Two of which are high-level government jobs. But he shouldn’t have had the key in the first place and that is a problem.

Isn’t it also interesting that the man who comes to tell Harry he is a Wizard and tells him about the Wizarding world is so utterly devoted to Dumbledore that he is making Harry interested in the Wizard and look up to him? Isn’t it peculiar that he learns about the magical world in a prejudiced way? We cannot deny that Hagrid is prejudiced towards Slytherin he says that ‘not a wizard that went bad wasn’t in Slytherin’ Uhm who is Peter Pettigrew then? A cousin? Or as Hagrid thought at that moment, Sirius Black. Also, what an odd thing for someone to say to an eleven-year-old). To me, this is something to take note of because it establishes something we see time and time again until book 7 when Slytherin House is judged by making choices that were made for them.

Health checks
Harry shows up at Hogwarts what did Dumbledore say again “nor as well-nourished as I would have liked” (OOTF: 37,771)? Yet, not once in the whole school year does Harry get a check-up. He isn’t sent to the hospital. He isn’t helped with the effects of the malnutrition he has suffered. His eyes aren’t checked. He isn’t checked out before he starts on the Quidditch team. He does not get any occultations he has missed because he was kidnapped. This is a boarding school where a ton of people didn’t have access to a magical hospital all their lives (as they are born from muggles), the last thing they could do was a health check for these children. If only for things such as allergies. I can imagine a muggle-born being allergic to an ingredient seen in most health-related potions but not knowing because they never had that ingredient because the muggle world uses synthetic materials to make painkillers. It’s a safety hazard and it lets people like Vernon and Petunia Dursley get away with abuse. In addition, Harry has glasses and he has not had his eyes checked for seven years. You are a boarding school, which means you take care of things like that while the child is at school. When you think you have seen it all I remind you that Harry does not undergo any medical examination before he is catered off to performing in the Triwizard tournament, while his wand gets a thorough check-up. After he is used in a resurrection ritual he stays in the hospital wing instead of going to a hospital. Then again, he should have gone there at the end of the first, second, and third year up until that point. Truly the only time it wasn’t necessary was at the end of 6^th year. Although one could argue that he did go through so much within 24 hours that a full check would be for the best.

The question of Quirrell
When Harry starts Hogwarts, probably right after his first potions lesson (PS,8). Snape is in Dumbledore’s office talking about Harry and his arrogance. Dumbledore explains what other teachers have said about Harry making it clear that this is early in the school year. Before Snape leaves Dumbledore says “Keep an eye on Quirrell won’t you?” (DH, 33, 555). He knows something is wrong with Quirrell, he knew before Halloween when the stone was almost stolen. He knew before anyone else knew something was wrong and what did he do? What he always does, is absolutely nothing. I think it’s the most damming evidence, he might not have known it was Voldemort but he knew something was up. He could have suspended Quirrell or asked the Aurors to question him. This is his school, it isn’t as if his hands are tied. Once again, we see Dumbledore doing nothing when he could have easily. There is no reason for such a shady character to be a teacher in his school. But taking away the danger before it has occurred is obviously less heroic and thus less glamorous. But surely that cannot be Dumbledore’s reasoning, right?

The cloak
A quick recap in August Lily sends Sirius a letter about Harry’s first birthday party. The birthday happens July 31^st it makes sense for the letter to be penned the first week of August. In this letter, Lily says that Dumbledore still has James’ invisibility cloak. At the end of July or early August, he still has it so he had it for a while (DH, 10, 145). Being generous I think Dumbledore asked for the cloak in June which is when the photo of the Order of the Phoenix was taken. Now first of all where does he get the audacity to ask for this family heirloom not to use mind you but to study? We are at war here. People are dying left, right and center there is a target on a baby’s back and you ask for the cloak that could save lives. Then he keeps it for another three months, which is of course because he doesn’t know the secret even though he later lies and says Sirius was the secret keeper. That is neither here nor there. Then he didn’t put it in Harry’s vault to keep it safe. Nor did he give it to Harry at the first opportunity. No, no he kept it for 10 years. Then when Harry re-entered the wizarding world he had the audacity to keep it for another four months. He kept this cloak for 127 months after Lily said that he still had the cloak. We don’t know how long he had it in total but I would say, long enough. Then he lies to Harry about this whole ordeal twice. He says “Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you” (PS, 12,216). I agree with the latter statement but not the first. If you ask to borrow something, the other person lets you lend it. They didn’t ‘leave it in your possession’. But of course, that would have made him look bad if he said I borrowed this from your parents at a time they were in danger. Eleven-year-old Harry would think ‘You bastard it could have saved their lives’. Indoctrinated, gas-lit 17-year-old Harry though.. is another story. We might excuse this lie, for the sake of them moving forward cordially but then he does it again and beyond the grave this time. He says that James showed him the cloak ‘just a few days previously’ which isn’t true and if it was true then he would have known Sirius’ wasn’t the secret keeper (DH: 35,584). But it isn’t true because he already had it before Harry’s first birthday which is in July and that isn’t a few days before the first of November. And our darling Harry says that it wouldn’t have mattered because a cloak doesn’t make anyone curse proof which is true but it does make it very hard to curse someone when you cannot see them. If only James had the cloak. In Dumbledore’s version of the world, James’ death didn’t matter whatsoever. If he had had the cloak Harry would have been brought up by his father. Once again for a final time showing someone your heirloom because it came up does not mean in the slightest that you can just ask them for it in a war. Dumbledore is a big authority figure in James and Lily’s lives. They do not have any family and have a small social circle because they are hunted down like dogs. The audacity of this situation is baffling. The problem isn’t 21-year-old James Potter giving the cloak to someone he knows he shouldn’t cross the problem is a 100-year-old Dumbledore asking for it in a war to study. Taking away the Potter’s last defense.

A very special mirror
Harry finds a mirror in the school and Dumbledore knows he visits this mirror because he catches Harry and tells him he does not need a cloak to be invisible. Which no one does, we learn later the Disillusionment Charm is a well-known charm. It’s one of those things to make Dumbledore seem better than others to young Harry. It also makes the cloak seem less special but it isn’t just a cloak is the best invisibility cloak there is. It is a part of Harry’s family or their origin. Which should be kept secret, especially for people looking for the deathly Hallows but you know that doesn’t to Dumbledore who tells his whole order about the cloak.

Back to this mirror, Harry stumbles upon this ancient dangerous artifact. He goes back a few times. Dumbledore is well aware of this but does nothing to protect Harry. By locking the door or moving the object. The worst thing about this situation to me is that Harry looks into it because he doesn’t know what his family looks like. But if Dumbledore had kept his nose out of Harry’s life and not kidnapped him, Harry would have lived in the magical world. He would have known very well what his family looked like. He would have had pictures and stories maybe even memories. But no, he is allowed and able to gaze into this dangerous artifact that others have wasted away in front. (PS: 12,229). This man is the headmaster of a school and he puts this dangerous thing in a random classroom for children to find. Children who all grew up in a war-ridden world. The war ended and these children were between the ages of 8 and one years old. Harry isn’t the only one that lost a family. In addition, the blasé way Dumbledore talks about dark and dangerous artifacts makes them seem not so bad. So, should we be surprised that Harry writes in a certain diary come next year? I think not.

Bullying
We already know bullying is a big thing at Hogwarts but to me, helping Hagrid with his dragon and then losing 50 points each and a detention at night in the forbidden forest is too excessive. A detention for a full night at eleven is too much in general. It’s outrageous. I do like McGonagall but in this she is awful. I also feel that this is the time and place for a headmaster to step in and tell their staff that they are being unfair. But that does not happen. McGonagall’s actions directly lead to extreme bullying and ostracisation, especially in their own house which she is the head of and she does nothing to stop this (PS:15,262).

The prophecy and the trap
Dumbledore might not know about the Horcruxes, if we are being fair he has no idea but he does know about the prophecy and he doesn’t say anything about it to Harry. The trouble I have is that if he did not know about the Horcruxes but did know about Tom still being alive what has he been doing? He knowingly brought Tom into his school and staged a confrontation between eleven-year-old Harry and Adult Tom Riddle without doing anything. Except once again swoop in the last second, when the fight has been fought, and walk away with the glory. Surely that is what it would look like from an outside perspective. He knew about Quirrell, he knew these protections didn’t actually protect the stone. Harry even said that he thinks that he ‘had the right to confront Voldemort if he could’ which might be true but not at eleven. This is all well and good. A fun adventure if you will for an eleven-year-old but it’s disgusting for a caregiver to do such a thing (PS:17,325). This is the direct result of Harry being let down by his teachers in this school and the abuse and neglect he faced at the Dursleys. It’s so upsetting that Harry actually did go to a teacher. Is poo-pooed to the side (PS: 16:287). He is clearly distraught by the idea of Voldemort and feels that the world is resting on his shoulders. If he had grown up in the magical world with good caregivers he would have known he could trust certain adults. He might have tried a different teacher and he would know that it’s not his fight (PS:16,290). It’s heartbreaking really. In the talk between Harry and Dumbledore. Dumbledore puts the burden of the death of the Flamels on Harry’s plate when the stone could have been destroyed back in July (PS: 17, 319). But who knows maybe it always would have been but Dumbledore ‘borrowed’ it to study of course. A new project after the cloak if you will.

Snape and proper names
Dumbledore explains that Professor Snape saved Harry’s life to sort of cash in on the life depth he had towards James. But he swore to protect Harry so this is not true once again. It diminishes any gratitude and good feelings between Snape and Harry (PS: 17, 322). Snape was friends with Lily and has memories of her. But Harry does not find this out until any goodwill between the pair is ruined and Harry learns about his mother in two fleeting memories. I must add that I think more highly of Lily and if she would have lived Harry would have no relationship whatsoever with Snape. But that is my opinion of course.

In their talk, Dumbledore encourages Harry to use Voldemort’s proper name. But the reason everyone is so fearful is probably because the taboo in the 7th book was active in the first war. Dumbledore knows Voldemort is coming back thus it would be better to teach Harry, who is in the most danger to not say his name. Or he could have told him to call him Tom as it is his real name but of course that would have been telling… (PS:17,320)

Slytherin house
After breaking all the rules Harry and Co are rewarded for this feat when they shouldn’t be. It was dangerous and unsafe and Harry should learn that his life is important. That it isn’t his place to save the world. Giving away last-minute points also increases the animosity between Slytherin and the rest of the school. Putting pressure on friendships between Slytherin and Gryffindor. As a result, it isolates Slytherins and they feel they have no one to turn to when they are forced to make tough choices. Who made this situation happen? Once again. Dumbledore.

In Harry’s first school year, he finds out his parents were murdered, and he meets this murderer. He learns some magic, he is indoctrinated into hating Slytherin’s house and giving up his life for everyone else. He finds a friend in the first person who talked to him and finds another after fighting with a troll. Which btw was able to get into a school with no problem. Harry learns nothing about his family and when he straight up asks Dumbledore why Voldemort went after his family and specifically him Dumbledore says he will not tell him now. We of course know that it’s about the prophecy. The thing with this ‘noble reason’ be it he is too young or he has to have a childhood falls apart when you realize that Dumbledore could have stopped Quirrell all the way back at the beginning of the year. He could have also stopped Harry and this whole confrontation. So, Harry is old enough to have a second murder attempt happen but he is too young to learn the murder attempt will keep happening (PS:17,321). Who knows. At least Harry is returned ‘safely’ to his abusers who now know they can abuse him for another day and there is nothing anyone will do about it.