kerravonsen | Random Plot Bunny That I Want Someone Else To Write

What if Dumbledore couldn't read his own handwriting? What if he had left Harry Potter at the doorstep of #11 Privet Drive instead of #4?

(yes, I've obviously been reading too many Harry Potter AUs when I should be writing my Draco story...)

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Crossposts: http://kerravonsen.livejournal.com/726083.html

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From:

vilakins

Do we know who lived at 11?

From:

kerravonsen

Nope. It's a blank slate. The only people we know about in Little Whinging are the Dursleys and Mrs. Figg, and she didn't live in Privet Drive, but in another nearby street.

We know that Snape lived in the same neighbourhood as Lily Evans growing up, but, if the house at Spinner's End is the one he lived in as a child, then that's definitely not in Little Whinging.

From:

fred_mouse

Ooh, the possibilities. Is it a rental? Now long did the family stay there?

I has ideas I does, but they will have to go on the end of my wip list....

From:

kerravonsen

I'm glad to have inspired you.

From:

tree_and_leaf

It's very unlikely to be rented, given that the Dursleys live next door. I'm guessing the houses were newly built when the Dursleys bought theirs, and that Mrs Figg lives in an older and less expensive part of town.

From:

kerravonsen

Hmmm. Mrs Figg lived "two streets away" but we weren't told her address.
I think there's insufficient evidence for your surmises.

Mind you, it may not even matter who lives at #11 if they end up taking baby Harry to the police and Harry ends up in an orphanage and then gets adopted by someone else. A bit of plastic surgery and a new name, and nobody will know that he's Harry Potter. He'd be treated like a Muggleborn. Whether or not the staff of Hogwarts would notice his resemblance to James Potter might depend on whether they were looking for it...

Interesting thoughts, anyway.

From:

fred_mouse

Given that I know nothing about the housing market in the UK, why would a house in a new suburb necessarily not be rented? Also, what is the numbering scheme that would put #11 next to #4? And are you assuming that the houses were new when the Dursley's moved there because of a detail in the book, or because it is indicative of the type of people that they are?

Sorry if this is bombarding you with questions - I wandered back to think about this, and realised there are so many things that I have no idea about.

From:

tree_and_leaf

"Next door" metaphorically - in the same area.

I'm assuming it's not rented because of the type of house it is, and also because of Mr Dursely's income. The only way that kind of house would be rented would be if they were there very short term, or students - which they're not - or if it were social housing, which the Durselys wouldn't be living in. They'd think they were failures if they didn't own (apart from the mortgage, of course) their own homes.

From:

fred_mouse

next door - not a usage I have seen before (neighbours yes, but next door would be literally one house either side on the same side of the road).

In terms of rentals, I was thinking of the kinds of properties that are often available for visitors (from overseas) who are there for business/academic reasons, with a family. Such a family might be there for 6 months, or maybe a year, depending on the contract that the relevant individual is on. Similarly, rentals in some suburbs are chosen by people who want to get their kids into a particular school zone (is that a relevant concept here?), and thus quite new middle class (or climbers) suburbs will have quite a few rentals. Certainly, my kids have friends whose families are renting in brand new houses in recently built suburbs. The other group that I can think of that might have a house in a new suburb are military families, although that depends on the location of the suburb.

Also - I really appreciate you taking the time to answer, it has been really helpful.

From:

sue-bursztynski.livejournal.com

Well, an entire novel, "Good Omens", was based on the idea of "what if the anti-Christ baby had gone to the wrong family?"

From:

kerravonsen

Hmmm, but that's Pratchett...

From:

sue-bursztynski.livejournal.com

But I would imagine Harry would have been dead as soon as the returned Voldemort realised that he wasn't under the "family protection spell" and could get a faithful follower to go and kill him.

Katherine, seeing how fascinated you are by this universe, have you thought of joining "Harry Potter for Grown-ups"? It's a very good list, carefully moderated to make sure no one is too horribly rude to anyone else. I joined years ago - and actually scored when Gail Neville's daughter Monita, saw my name on the list and e-mailed to ask if i was her mother's friend Sue. :-)

From:

kerravonsen

8-)

Alas, I don't think I could take in another mailing list; it's hard enough to keep up with LJ and the other lists I'm on.

From:

jaxomsride.livejournal.com

Umm who lived at #11?
I mean the Dursleys at least would have some idea who Harry was. A total stranger might have just packed him off to Social Services.

On the other hand Dumbledore would find out if there is any truth to the "Blood Protection" idea, or not.

From:

kerravonsen

We don't know who lived at #11 - I just picked that number as the most likely number that one could misread "4" for.

If Harry was packed off to Social Services, he could get so thoroughly lost in the system that there'd be no need for "blood protection", since nobody would know where he was.