A Peck of Owls

Chapter 2 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: A Peck of Owls

Synopsis

As Harry struggles to comprehend the Dementor attack and Mrs. Figg's enigmatic announcement, she assumes control. She reveals she is a Squib and has long been in contact with Albus Dumbledore. Harry has been closely watched all summer. Mundungus Fletcher was supposed to be on duty but left early — the cracking noise Harry had heard was him Disapparating. As they struggle to move Dudley to the house, Mundungus reappears. Mrs. Figg chastises him before sending him to update Dumbledore. Mrs. Figg and Harry reach the Dursleys front door. Mrs. Figg now leaves to await Dumbledore's orders, leaving Harry to face the Dursleys alone.

While Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia berate him about Dudley, an owl letter from the Ministry of Magic arrives, expelling Harry from Hogwarts. Harry decides his only option is to become a fugitive, but before he can get past Uncle Vernon, another owl letter arrives from Mr. Weasley, telling him to remain in the house while Dumbledore sorts things out. Harry tries to explain what happened to his aunt and uncle, insisting it was Dementors that attacked Dudley. When Uncle Vernon asks what Dementors are, Aunt Petunia responds, "they are the guards of the Wizard prison, Azkaban." Petunia's shocking revelation stuns everyone.

As Harry answers questions about the Wizarding world, more owls arrives, one from Mr. Weasley, and another from his godfather, Sirius Black, saying that the situation is being sorted out. Finally, a Ministry of Magic owl arrives revoking his expulsion. Harry's fate now rests on a hearing scheduled for "9 A.M. on August 12th."

After hearing that Lord Voldemort has returned, Uncle Vernon, recognizing the danger while housing Harry, demands he leave. However, arrives Howler—surprisingly, for Petunia Dursley. A menacing voice reverberates: "Remember my last, Petunia!" Petunia quickly overrides her husband, insisting that Harry remain at their house.

Analysis

Even the casual reader will be left with questions after this chapter. The largest unanswered ones are: How did Petunia learn about Dementors, and given that she knows that much, what other knowledge does she possess about the Wizarding world she has never shared? And, someone who was reasonably aware of what was happening in the house probably sent the Howler, possibly because they knew Petunia and Vernon's likely reactions, and who must hold some power over Petunia, considering how quickly she reversed her decision after the Howler uttered its four words; who could that person be? While we can speculate, the true answers are withheld until later in the series.

Petunia's explanation about Dementors and Azkaban not only shocks her family, but shows she knows far more about the Wizarding world than she has ever let on. Based largely on this, Harry leaps to the conclusion that Dumbledore sent her the Howler; this is fueled largely by wishful thinking, as Harry has been unsuccessfully hoping for a communication from Dumbledore all summer. However, if the Howler is from Dumbledore, it implies that he and Petunia have had more contact than has been previoiusly revealed. And though Harry may be unaware, this is hardly surprising as Petunia, having been Harry's guardian, would need to be informed regarding anything affecting her nephew, regardless what her personal feelings are toward him.

That Harry would be expelled from school and have his wand broken, without an official inquiry and for such a minor offense, indicates the Ministry of Magic must have some ulterior motive in moving so quickly against him. Obviously, others (apparently including Dumbledore) have intervened on his behalf, and a hearing is scheduled so Harry can defend himself. As Harry often does, his first response to a difficult situation is to run away or isolate himself, rather than attempt to find a solution or seek help from others. Luckily he is overridden by Arthur Weasley.

While Harry has been protected from Voldemort with the magic created by his mother's death, Dumbledore has cast additional protective spells as an extra precaution. Also, Arabella Figg, a Squib, has apparently been watching Harry ever since he was left at the Dursleys. She explains that her rather mean behavior to him was because she knew if his aunt and uncle suspected he had a friend, she never would have been allowed to occasionally watch him. No doubt others also guard Harry whenever he stays with the Dursleys.

For reasons revealed later, the reader should particularly note Mrs. Figg's first statement in this chapter.

Questions

Review

1. Who or what are 'Squibs'?
2. How does Petunia know about Dementors and Azkaban prison?
3. Why does Uncle Vernon order Harry to leave the house? Who overrules him and why?

Further Study

1. Why would the Ministry of Magic want to break Harry's wand and expel him from Hogwarts without an official inquiry?
2. Who sent Petunia the Howler? What does its message say and what might it mean?
3. Why does Petunia react so strongly to the Howler?

Greater Picture

Dumbledore mentions later in the book that the Howler was, as Harry surmised, from him. This, in association with comments Dumbledore makes in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, would indicate he has kept a closer eye on the Dursley household than we have, to date, realized. Mrs. Figg's revelation that the house is being watched, at Dumbledore's instructions, would account for some of the knowledge he has of the Dursleys, but the sort of observation that Mrs. Figg would be capable of likely would not include sufficient detail to allow Dumbledore to understand the need for a Howler at that specific time.

It is perhaps interesting that Dumbledore's Howler says "Remember my last" instead of "Remember my letter." The implication here is that there have been more letters than the single one which we have seen, left with Harry on the doorstep at the beginning of the series. It is not until the final book of the series that we learn that Dumbledore had written a letter to Petunia earlier, refusing her entry into Hogwarts. We learn at the same time that much of Petunia's understanding of the Wizarding world actually comes, not from Harry's father, as we would expect given her apparent dislike of "that dreadful boy", but Severus Snape, who at the time was telling Lily Evans, Petunia's sister and later Harry's mother, what to expect in the Wizarding world.