We know from CoS that wizarding celebrities get fan mail just like celebrities in the real world. My question is why does Harry never get fan mail in canon? We can safely assume that he didn't get any mail at the Dursley's in his childhood either due to the wards blocking owls or Dumbledore interfering somehow to protect Harry and prevent him from finding out about the wizarding world. That part is not that hard to think of an explanation for, but why doesn't Harry get fan/hate mail when he returns to the wizarding world and attends Hogwarts? You would think he would get three times the amount of mail that Lockhart got in the height of his popularity. Harry should have been getting tons of fanmail from kids (mostly little girls like Ginny), adults thanking him, businesses wanting endorsements, marriage offerings, hate/cursed mail, etc. It seems likely that he should be swarmed by owls every morning, yet this never happens.

The only time I recall anything like this was in GoF when I think Hermione got hate mail due to Rita's article proclaiming her Harry's girlfriend. If she got hatemail, why doesn't Harry (from disappointed/angry girls)? Is his mail still being withheld or interfered with in his Hogwarts years? If so, is it reasonable to assume that Dumbledore is behind it? I just can't believe that in six years at Hogwarts (even in HBP when Harry is suddenly the 'Chosen One'), Harry doesn't get a shred of fan/hate mail. Is this just a plothole, or fodder for manipulative!Dumbledore writers or something else?

 

I suppose Dumbledore assumed that Harry didn't want fan mails when he learned about the Wizarding World. And (canon) Harry is too 'stupid' to notice things like this.

Or he did get them, but JKR never bottered to write it.

Beside, Dumbledore had to make Harry as fragile as possible, to make him willing to die for other people; if that meant no mails from everyone during summers, no fan mails during his whole life, then so be it.

 

It's one more thing to chalk up to the conspiracy theory. I mean, Hermione received some hate mail in GoF, so it's decidedly strange that Harry never got fan/hate mail.

 

Damn that's pretty cynical. While Dumbledore isn't the most honest wizard, and while he has made some pretty huge mistakes, I don't see him as cold as that; to intentionally have made Harry abused, fragile, and trusting. He's manipulative sure, but that goes above and beyond simple manipulation. I don't think Dumbledore's intentions were that malicious. I could be wrong though. I do love a good evil!Dumbledore fic where he completely fucks Harry over though. Most aren't written well, and are full of cliches and recycled plots, but if done well, they are fun to read.

 

I've narrowed it down to two options:

The quasi-Manipulative!Dumbledore option, and the loopholes of magic that love to befuddle the aspects of Potterverse.

A manipulative Dumbledore, wishes to keep Harry pure, kind, and all those happy fluffy things that make children happy at night. Ergo, he does not want Harry to be jaded with the endearing thoughts of foreign lovers, or feel hurt for the implications of his actions. While at Privet Drive there is the possibility that his identity is unknown to a large number of individuals outside of the government. The only government letters that come to Harry come from the Ministry for improper use of magic (in addition to school letters). The rest come from Dumbledore & Co. It can be assumed that government regulated mail and Hogwarts are dictated by magical methods and automated -- a hand-written process seems unlikely.

The second option is the influence of wards surrounding Privet Drive. The very nature of the wards are very imprecise, and would be the perfect getaway card for JKR. The mail could be turned away if not keyed by specific people, notably Harry's friends. Yet this can also fall under the repertoire of manipulation -- Dumbledore can 'modify' said wards to stop mail.

In this case however, Hogwarts remains a mystery. As a domain of Dumbledore, I'd expect him to execute power over Harry when fearing any threats against his life. Yet he shows favouritism, he doesn't block Hermione's mail when it is somewhat damaging (Badly reacting Pus? Something upon those lines).

But in all these cases, anomalies exist. During the printing of the Quibbler article in OotP, Harry is able to recieve both destructive and inspiring material. Dumbledore had not left at this time, thus Umbridge wouldn't have been able to 'remove' any 'special' placements through Headmistress powers.

Basically, it's a plot hole. In some cases, Harry is able to obtain fan-mail and in others it is explicitly banned. My two cents on this is that Dumbledore wanted to keep Harry as stress-free as possible, in his grandfatherly way. If that meant stopping Harry from recieving current reminders of his purpose in this war, so be it.

 

And he hated getting it in book 5, and hated pretty much all forms of attention throughout the series. Personally, I think that canon Harry would be grateful if it turned out that Dumbledore was blocking it.

It was just a plothole. And not even a big one at that.

 

That would be a fun story.

"Harry, Dumbledore is stealing your money for Snape's All Death Eater Jacuzzi parties!"
"Oh well, if relieving his stress is the only way to keep him civil in Potions, I don't mind."
"And he's blocking your mail."
"Have you read my mail recently? Most of it's dull anyway."
"And he's getting all your friends to spy on you!"
"Did I ever tell you about my voyeuristic fantasies? To be watched? Dumbledore made them all come true."

 

No, no conspiracy theory. It's one of two options.

1) Rowling is a complete moron.

2) Dumbledore is a manipulative old fucker.

Or a combination of both.

 

Well Vash said I needed to post moar so whatever.

Anyway I also feel it probably had something to do with Dumbledore, really a long the same line of what The Doctor just posted. Oh course it could also just be another plot hole. Really I find it best to just ignore these types of things as trying to pick out every plot hole in Rowling's series could cause insanity.

 

QFT, Doctor. I like world-building as much as any other bloke, and Jo didn't succeed that much at it (considering the potential), but calling her a moron just because you don't read about Harry getting fan-mails is in itself seriously moronic. There're other, and much better, reasons to insult her.

... I know insulting Jo is a favourite past-time at DLP (it's mine too, sometimes), but shit like this often manages to irritate me.

 

It just stinks of "fill in the gaps" storytelling, which I can't stand.

How hard is it to include a throwaway line in one of the books for it? Hell, I'll do it:

It's easy as piss to send letters in the Wizarding World. Why wasn't Skeeter sending Harry interview requests since he went to Hogwarts? Why didn't Fudge/Scrimgeour send Harry letters, asking for his support? Why didn't Harry recieve a letter explaining that Sirius Black was hunting for him? Hell, why wasn't Malfoy conversing with Harry since the moment they met at Madam Malkin's?

One giant hole in a ship will sink it, but so will a million tiny ones.

 

Ah, Hermione. Whenever you want to let your hero know something seriously out-of-the-way, bring her out. She specialises in Shit Nobody Cares About.

... Aside from the fact that the mechanism of a spell that'll help you sort out the junk mail (find the right algorithm, Doctor, and you're going to be an overnight millionaire) totally evades me (how do you define "junk"? How do you know that some mail is useless, when the very concept of usefulness depends on the circumstances?), it'll be far better for Dumbledore just to "redirect" all Harry's mail to himself. I rather think owls find the recipients by some sort of inherent rader, and Dobby used his magic to short that out near Number Four Privet Drive. No "sorting" involved. No sorting is possible, probably.

 

Plus, the use of "wards" is a purely fanon invention - I don't recall them ever being mentioned in the books at all (correct me if I'm wrong). I wouldn't say this warrants some kind of "Hermione Explains Again" exposition, although a bit where Harry is inundated by fan mail in his FIRST year might be somewhat appropriate - and perhaps could create some interesting conflicts about Harry's hatred of his fame.

But I cannot condone the idea of "throwaway" lines - which BY THEIR VERY NAME are completely unnecessary. Come to think of it, we've never gotten the definitive Magical alternative to the toilet... DO WIZARDS EVEN NEED IT, or do they "magic" their colons clean? I think we could've used a throwaway line:

Then again, I'm a perfectionist and a cynic - I demand answers to all the questions (which this upcoming "encyclopedia" claims to do), but I also realize they won't all get answered. And perhaps they shouldn't.

I don't think your question was so bad, really - but perhaps you could've proffered your own potential solution? At least then, we'd have a starting off point for discussion.


Till we nitpick again,
-J

 

I was actually thinking of #2; as in "Dumbledore pulled strings so that Harry would be easy to manipulate and control" thinking. #1 works, too.

 

Something that has always puzzled me. That spell would've been a lot of help in certain IRL situations.

... This thread has been exhausted IMHO. Kill eet.

 

Yeah, I think so. It's just a fanon thing that's become widely accepted.

They use regular toilets. I'm just wondering where the waste goes. If it's as Victorian as their morals are... well, let's just say I wouldn't go swimming in the Lake.

I think the "Dumbledore is a git and blocked everything" theory fits well. I was just trying to present an alternative view.

 

True but EWWWWW. And Harry went swimming in that... Personally, I think the House Elves banish it with other rubbish. It is, after all, stuff that they want rid of. Then again, it also might what makes Hagrid's pumpkins grow so big.

I like that theory when I'm in a mood for Manipulative!Bastard!Dumbledore stories. (I've gotten to the point where I think I've read all the good ones.)