A Peck of Owls
chapter two of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
A very surprised Harry talks with Mrs. Figg about Dumbledore as he drags Dudley back to the Dursleys; there, he explains what happened to Dudley (and is surprised to learn Aunt Petunia knows about dementors), as owls arrive, chastising him for using magic and ordering him to stay put.
“He left!” said Mrs. Figg, wringing her hands. “Left to see someone about a batch of cauldrons that fell off the back of a broom! I told him I’d flay him alive if he went, and now look! Dementors! … Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will kill him!”
(by haystax45)
“‘S’ up, Figgy?” he said, staring from Mrs. Figg to Harry and Dudley. “What ‘appened to staying undercover?”
(by haystax45)
But at that precise moment a screech owl swooped in through the kitchen window. Narrowly missing the top off Uncle Vernon’s head, it soared across the kitchen…. “OWLS!” bellowed Uncle Vernon…. “OWLS AGAIN! I WILL NOT HAVE ANY MORE OWLS IN MY HOUSE!”
(by Leela Starsky)
Two seconds’ ringing silence followed these words and then Aunt Petunia clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had let slip a disgusting swear word. Uncle Vernon was goggling at her. Harry’s brain reeled. Mrs. Figg was one thing – but Aunt Petunia?
(by Marta T)
Aunt Petunia… looked wildly around the kitchen as though looking for an escape route, but too late – the envelope burst into flames. Aunt Petunia screamed and dropped it. An awful voice filled the kitchen, echoing in the confined space, issuing from the burning letter on the table.
“REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA.”
(by Tealin Raintree)
about the chapter
Something You May Not Have Noticed
Harry is so stunned to learn that Mrs. Figg is a Squib that he doesn’t even stop to ask himself why she’s there. Could it really be a coincidence that somebody who works for Dumbledore – and the only person to do so who has the time to live a Muggle-style life – resides just down the street from the Dursleys? She mentions that Dumbledore has ordered her not to reveal her true identity to Harry. But it’s almost certain that Dumbledore, at one point, also ordered her to move to Little Whinging in the first place. Without his realizing a thing, Mrs. Figg has been a guardian of sorts for Harry for fifteen years.
The Wizarding World
Harry only talks with Mrs. Figg for a few minutes, but she reveals herself to be quite the fountain of wizarding expressions. They’re all based on Muggle expressions, and are lots of fun to read – “the cat’s among the pixies” instead of among the pigeons; “fell off the back of a broom” rather than the back of a truck; and “no use crying over spilled potion” instead of milk. With a mind full of expressions like these, she must have found it quite challenging to host Harry in her house while pretending to be a simple Muggle.
The Power of Magic
It’s interesting that the Ministry instantly knows that Harry not only performed a Patronus Charm – we’ve heard before of their ability to detect underage magic – but also that he performed it in the presence of a Muggle. What kind of surveillance have they got to be doing to know this? And what laws must exist to prevent Dumbledore from doing similar surveillance – remember that Mrs. Figg assumes he can’t find out unless Mundungus tells him about it? It’s pretty intense, and an early warning sign for Harry that he is being watched very, very closely.
Life at Hogwarts
As Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in Britain, the divide between the school and the Ministry of Magic has always been a little sketchy. But it’s interesting that the Ministry actually expells Harry from Hogwarts. It’s never made completely clear how much control the Ministry has over the school – though we did hear Fudge say last year that he’s “always given [Dumbledore] free rein.” And the school also has a board of Governors, which somehow factor into its decisions. But exactly who holds what power seems to be a constant battle – and is about to become even more of one.
Something to Remember
Aunt Petunia gives us a very interesting, rather sideways glimpse into her childhood, growing up with Harry’s mother. Harry doesn’t think much of the things she says, though he’s certainly surprised – but why on earth would Petunia still remember hearing about dementors, decades later? And who the heck in the wizarding world (with “a terrible voice”) would be sending her a Howler? It will take quite a while, but Harry will eventually find out just what’s going on here.
The Final Word
“You know what Mundungus means? Mundungus is an old word for tobacco because, Mundungus’s always smelling of his pipe and other various unsavoury things so that’s why he called Mundungus. “–J.K. Rowling, June 2003
I’m pretty sure this is one of my favorite chapters just because it’s so funny to read. All sorts of little surprises pop up and poor Uncle Vernon is left pretty much with his jaw on the floor.
I very much remember arguing with my roommates about the identity of “that awful boy” and whether it meant James, Severus, or someone completely different. JKR sure knows how to keep our interest, doesn’t she? :)
Natalia said this on October 16, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I love going back and reading the books and finding little clues to book seven, and Order of the Phoenix is chock full of them!
Sarah said this on October 16, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I absolutely love Mrs. Figg’s expressions – so much so that I’ve started using them myself, and it’s now become something of a habit. If I’m out when I’m not allowed to be, I always assure my friends it doesn’t matter how late I stay, because I “might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg!”
hpboy13 said this on October 16, 2009 at 9:09 pm
hmm… I’m mixed about this chapter…. there were so many things that confused me, that I just lost a bit track. Also, the dumbness from the dursleys (just because you know so much as reader) annoyes me somehow.
At the other hand, it’s pretty cool that the wizarding world and the muggle world isn’t longer divided by a trainstation and a wall. It’s mixing :)
x-kim-x
kim said this on October 18, 2009 at 12:47 pm
The next chapter link goes back to the beginning of Chapter 2.
berlin said this on October 26, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Regarding the Something You May Not Have Noticed: You’re right. I automatically assumed that’s why she was around, but Harry didn’t necessarily.
“no use crying over spilled potion” is one of my favorite phrases I use in real life now. :-)
Regarding “The Power of Magic”: Also the owls seem to be very quick.
I hadn’t noticed that in book 1, but apparently the Dursleys have a kitchen fireplace as well. Is that common in Britain? And if you travel by floo powder, do you have to state which fireplace you want to go to? Had only Arthur Weasley known about this in book 4.
Harry must be very confused about Mrs. Figg and Aunt Petunia as he does not think of giving chocolate to Dudley after the Dementor attack.
Uncle Vernon says: “This Lord Voldything…” Fans sometimes call Lord Voldemort Voldy. Is this why? Or is it the other way around, might this be a tribute to the fans by JRK?
Kim said this on November 3, 2009 at 1:17 pm
I don’t know about Mrs. Figg being moved there to look over Harry. Personally, I don’t think even Petunia would be dense enough not to be mildly suspiscious of a newly arrived neighbour offering to look after her nephew right off the bat. I’d think Mrs.Figg would pre-date Harry.
During the first war after the prophesy Dumbledore could have placed Mrs Figg to keep an eye on the Durseleys. To be their guardian, making sure Voldemort didn’t get to the Potters through them and providing a place for Mrs. figg to be useful and safe during te worst attacks. As an already established neighbour when Harry arrives it would have been more likely for Petunia to trust Mrs. Figg and she’d be less likely to connect her to the wizarding world. Dumbledore could then quite simply re-use someone already present with new instructions to make extra sure she wasn’t found out.
Liz said this on April 4, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Liz, you make a good point about Petunia being suspicious of a new neighbor, but at the same time, would she care? It’s not as if Mrs. Figg ever looks after the son that Petunia actually cares about. Also, Mrs. Figg presumably wouldn’t have started looking after Harry until he was a little bit older, by which point she’d have been around a while (and Petunia wouldn’t have a reason to keep track of precisely when she moved in).
Although another thing that occurred to me to support your point is that Mrs. Figg was in the original Order of the Phoenix – so what would her role have been? Keeping tabs on the Dursleys might have made sense. Hmm… I’ll have to think about this one.
John Kearns said this on April 4, 2010 at 8:37 pm
I can’t say that I thought over much about it, but I assumed that Mrs. Figg had “always” been there. Otherwise, I think that the Dursleys WOULD be suspicious of anyone new in the neighborhood at the time of Harry’s arrival, given all the odd happenings around the same time. Especially a “crazy cat lady” that doesn’t quite fit in.
Kim – I’m not sure that I ever noticed the kitchen fireplace, but the Dursleys not having screens on their windows bugged the daylights out of me when I read it the first time. I’m from Florida — I didn’t know that screens didn’t come standard on windows the world over!
Amanda said this on May 23, 2010 at 2:00 am