The first chapter, as is expected of a first chapter, has more questions than answers. However, the nature of a few of those questions is already, even this early in the series, indicative.
- It says that Dursley is a “director” of the firm. This term was, interestingly enough, not translated for the American editions, despite the fact that as best I can tell, they do not mean someone on the board of directors, but something more akin to a president of the company employed by the board.
- The description of the Dursley family is highly reminiscent of a Dickens work. That might be me reading into it though from familiarity with the series.
- November 1st is a workday, thus a school day, yet the cat is there from the beginning of Dursley’s day. We will find out latter in this chapter that she is doing so on her own initiative and not as an assignment from either the Ministry nor from Dumbledore. Who is covering her classes? Her responsibilities as Head of House? Is she already Deputy Head of School?
- While people are described as being in strangely dressed, and their cloaks are noticeable, Dursley does not remark on the men wearing dresses (as he would no doubt think robes are dresses). The clothing choices may not fit in, but robes are not ubiquitous. Where does the insistence on robes come from?
- It is very curious that Dumbledore, who will go on in later books to invariably refer to Riddle by his birth name, has spent years persuading others to use that made up anagram. Dumbledore claims fear of the name induces fear. One would think that encouraging others to, like he himself does, ignore the anagram in favour of Riddle’s birth name, would achieve the reduction of fear even more effectively. Has Mrs. Rowling, despite her later claims, not in fact thought out this plot point at this early date?1
- As this is November, Harry cannot be less than three months old, and may be as much as 18 months old. At that age, the differences are profound. Babies start to crawl between seven and 12 months, but some may be walking by as early as 12, much less 18. Has Harry been spelled or potioned to sleep through the night? If so, when? Equally, if so, why ask if Hagrid had any trouble?
- We see no evidence of Dumbledore
using Lily’s sacrifice to
place protections on the house or family. It is clear from the next that
neither has McGonagall. Any such
protections are either woven into the letter we do see and triggered by
it, were placed before McGonagall arrived, or
were placed when Dumbledore
returns at some unknown point.
- If triggered by the letter, does this explain why they did not knock on the door? Does this mean that Harry is not particularly extra protected, in ways he would not be in literally any house or place, until Petunia opens the letter?
- If placed before she arrived, there is a very narrow window for it to have happened in unless Dumbledore planned everything before the attack. I wish, if only to make him a less evil character, I could eliminate that possibility.
- If placed at some subsequent time, there is a window of time that Harry is incredibly vulnerable.
There is some evidence of this, Mrs. Rowling calls the device that Dumbledore uses a “Put-Outer” but it will later be called by the more elegant name “Deluminator.”↩︎