Summary
The fifthHarry Potterbook -The Order of the Phoenixpicks up the pace of the story on the hottest day of the summer in Privet Drive. Harry’s forehead scar prickles more and more after Lord Voldemort’s return, he’s been having nightmares about Cedric Diggory and the Dursleys continue to give him a hard time. The first chapter, “Dudley Demented” ofThe Order of the Phoenixtalks about the change in the titular character’s physique. He’s become a local bully and he and his gang spend time indulging in acts of public vandalism and smoking on street corners. While Dudley and his lot continue to be a public nuisance, Harry is anxious and bides time wandering the streets around Little Whinging.
The fifthHarry Potterbook is home to the chilling Dementor attack that takes place in the alleyway between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. On the evening of the attack, the young Harry Potter dwells on how his nears and dears in the magical world, especially Albus Dumbledore have condemned him to Little Whinging. While he’s at it, he witnesses Dudley and his gang wheeling along Magnolia Road. After Piers, and Gordon say goodbye to “Big D” - Dudley, Harry appears in his view and starts to tease him about the names that Aunt Petunia likes to call him by. Harry, and Dudley, unaware of what is to befall them, argue back and forth. Shortly after, they havea run-in with the Dementors.
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Aunt Petunia And Uncle Vernon Demand Answers
As laid down in chapter 1 ofThe Order of the Phoenix,the boys quarrel along the way and Harry almost has his wand at the ready when something strange starts to happen. The balmy evening turns cold, the stars, moon, and streetlamps vanish and suddenly, a Dementor closes in on Harry. He yells out the defensive charm, “Expecto Patronum!” to fight the Dementor off, and it works the third time when he starts to think about Ron and Hermione. While his Dementor swoops away, he sees his defenseless cousin, Dudley curled on the ground. Eventually, Harry directs his Patronus (stag) towardthe second Dementor, and it soars away too. While a sense of normalcy prevails, Harry’s cat-obsessed neighbor, Mrs. Figg comes into his sight and asks him to hold onto his wand.
Since Dudley is ashen-faced, supine, and semi-conscious, Harry lifts him off the alley floor and carries him home. Mrs. Figg trots in front of the duo and instructs Harry to keep his wand out. She tells him she’s keeping an eye on him at Dumbledore’s orders. She also mentions that Dumbledore will need to work as quickly as possible because the Ministry have its ways of detecting underage magic. She walks the boys to the Dursleys and warns Harry to stay inside the house. Back atFour, Privet Drive, Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernonare livid at Dudley’s condition. They demand answers from Harry, starting with Vernon’s, “What have you done to my son?”
An owl scoops in through the kitchen window, and Harry receives an expulsion letter for performing the Patronus Charm.Uncle Vernon, known for his intense hatred of magic, is livid at the owls scooping in the mail. After intense interrogation, Harry loses his temper and tells his Aunt and Uncle that it wasn’t him but the Dementors who attacked their son. Petunia confirms that Dementors do exist, saying, “They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban.” Harry receives a third parchment informing him he’s got to attend a hearing. Uncle Vernon hopes he’s sentenced and continues to interrogate him inThe Order of the Phoenix.
Dumbledore’s Howler
In chapter 2 ofHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, “A Peck of Owls” Harry explains he used magic to get rid of the Dementors, and another roll of parchment, this time fromSirius Black arrives. Finally, Harry tells everyone that Voldemort, i.e., the one who murdered his parents is back. “He came back a month ago. I saw him,” says Harry, only to hear “And now he’s sending dismembers [Dementors] after you?” in response from his uncle. With that, Vernon asks Harry to leave his house:
“OUT! OUT! I should’ve done it years ago! Owls treating the place like a rest home, puddings exploding, half the lounge destroyed, Dudley’s tail, Marge bobbing around on the ceiling, and that flying Ford Anglia — OUT! OUT! You’ve had it! You’re history! You’re not staying here if some loony’s after you, you’re not endangering my wife and son, you’re not bringing trouble down on us, if you’re going the same way as your useless parents, I’ve had it! OUT!”
At that precise moment, a fifth owl drops a red envelope on Petunia’s head and Harry is quick to point out it’s a Howler. It is addressed to “Mrs. Petunia Dursley, The Kitchen, Number Four, Privet Drive —” and while Harry’s Aunt is hesitant to open it, the envelope bursts into flames. A voice reverberates around the room:
“REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA.”
Petunia takes a moment to think and decides Harry is not going anywhere. She orders him to stay inside his room and get to bed. While she doesn’t feel the need to explain anything, Dumbledore’s Howler refers to the last letter that he placed next to infant Harry inHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Lily’s sacrifice gave Harry the lingering magical protection that run in his veins. Because Petunia and Harry’s mother, Lily were sisters, Petunia’s blood offered Harry the protection that Dumbledore’s strongest and most protective spells and charms couldn’t. Simply put, Aunt Petunia’s blood acted as protection for Harry.
As explained by Dumbledore in chapter 37The Order of the Phoenix"The Lost Prophecy" the Dementors' attack did indeed alarm Petunia to the dangers of having Harry at her house. She was worried about the safety of her family and thus kept mum when Uncle Vernon wanted to chuck Harry out. Dumbledore reveals in chapter 37 of the fifthHarry Potterbook, he sent the Howler as he thought “…that she [Petunia] might need reminding of the pact she had sealed by taking you.” This explains whyHarry had to stay with the Dursleysbecause it was the only place where Voldemort couldn’t touch or harm him. Dumbledore dispatched a Howler to Petunia because she did, after all, need reminding of Dumbledore’s last letter.
