Shit, man. I got my ass tanned, either with a tough, plastic mixing spoon or a green switch cut from a young maple in front of our house, so many times I couldn't count them. Even had one or two spoons get broken in the process (hehe) but I still wouldn't describe it as abuse in a million years. I can't recall ever even being bruised by it, though the red stripes those switches left behind stung like hell, especially if it caught you on the backs of the legs. I will, however, admit that it didn't teach me a damn thing except not to get caught (FYI, lighting a fire in your Spiderman trash can is not something you can easily hide).

Harry, on the other hand... What we know for sure is that he was locked in a cupboard, had a frying pan swung at him, was beaten by Dudley and his friends with no intervention by his guardians and was strangled on one occasion. One can easily infer that these are not isolated incidents. One doesn't swing a cast iron skillet at a kid's head, even as an empty threat. The strangling... damn.

Do I think that Harry was beaten bloody or ass-raped? No.

Emotionally and physically neglected? Absolutely.

Emotionally abused? Yes. Being constantly told that you are the worthless spawn of worthless parents, a freak and a burden certainly qualifies. Let's not forget the presents he gets from them. Getting nothing is one thing, getting stuff like Vernon's old socks, a 50p coin, broken rubbish, etc. is done for the sole purpose of reminding him of his worthlessness and that he means nothing to them.

Treated to frequent corporal punishment? Undoubtedly.

Daily corporal punishment? Maybe...

Harry was definitely abused and it would certainly affect him. His reluctance to turn to authority figures and adults for help is a symptom; his stoicism is another. It would be reasonable to assume that his self-esteem is in the shitter too. Is he contemplating suicide? No but others have done it over less than he's been through, even if you only take into account what's been done to him by his muggle relatives. Harry's just made of sterner stuff than that.
It could very well be (thought it seems to be so popular a notion in fanon that it's cliched) that Harry's harsh upbringing is partially responsible for some of his more admirable traits like his courage and fortitude. Then again, maybe he just got the good genes and it's just as likely that some of his better qualities have been repressed by that abuse as well.

We can see that he received worse treatment than is actually mentioned in the books, just by looking at the incidents that ARE mentioned but the back-scourging, skull-cracking, finger-breaking, ass-raping treatment he receives from his loving fanfiction authors is a purely fanon construction. It is a somewhat poor literary tool when it comes from out of the blue, because it presumes too much from what we've read in canon. It deviates too far from canon without giving the proper background and buildup.

If we're given a catalyst for this extremely abusive behavior, that's different. Vernon does seem like the kind of guy who would snap if something big happened and he could lay the blame at Harry's feet. Maybe Dudley, his pride and joy, gets kissed by the dementors and is now reduced to a drooling shell. I could see Vernon kicking Harry's ass for that one. Breaking every bone in Harry's body just because some wizards at the train station told him to treat his nephew better... that's a bit much. If authors are going to put that level of abuse in their story, they need to give plausible reasons for why it's happening, not just take canon and 'turn it to eleven' without so much as a 'heads up.'

 

I will prove to you that Harry Potter was nearly never physically touched or starved in any way by the Dursleys because

1st Canon says so. Harry was mostly ignored by the Dursleys, not hurt.

- Pg. 25 PoA, American Version

2nd You can infer from the same quote, ignoring the bolded words, that Harry wasn't abused. Harry Potter thinks life's better without Marge because she likes to "boom out suggestions for improvement" and the Dursleys don't. If he was abused, I'm sure that this would be the least of his complaints.

3rd Harry wasn't starved by the Dursleys before CoS, as is readily found using the incident where he was locked into his room. (I don't have the quote for it.) The book makes the incident sound like an extraordinary and extremely unusual action for the Dursleys to take, so you can conclude from this that he normally gets enough food.

4th Harry would use accidental magic (and the protection of his mother?) to stop physical harm. When Vernon tries to choke Harry in OotP, this comes into play.

- Pg. 5 OotP, American Version

5th Once again you can look to Aunt Marge. Harry hates her, and he thinks of her visits as the low points in his life before Hogwarts. And yet the most Marge does is wack his shins and have her dog chase him around, which is nothing compared to, say, a beating. Moreover, the latter would never have gone to an injury occuring with Harry, as you can infer from the fact that Marge can call Ripper off at any time - and she eventually does.

- Pg. 18 PoA, American Version

6th In OotP, Harry is confident enough to insult Dudley, indicating that he isn't being abused in any means.

- Pg. 15 OotP, American Version

7th Dumbledore would stop the Dursleys. Harry has a feeling that Dumbledore knows everything that goes on inside the household, and Dumbledore upholds this by saying,

- Pg. 3 HBP

 

See now thats a challenge...[cracks knuckles]

But that was in PoA, two years after he got accepted into hogwarts... they want him away as much to protect themselves from him, as they constantly fear he will curse them. Cannon also states that Harry was shoved in a cupboard, threatened by durseley to behave or face extreme consequences, the frying pan incident... cupboard... and so forth.

Thats a big assumptions... there are any number of reasons why harry doesn't like aunt marge around... one of them could be that he can't really frighten her with magic as technicly she isn't supposed to know. The Durselys have been scared into compliance because of Harry's magic, and Harry's life has improved considerably in terms of home life, considerinng where he began.

I vaguely recall harry complaining to ron on the train how he never gets much to eat but that could be fanfiction. I'm loath to admit that there is no conclusive evidence that harry was starved before year two. the only thing I could find was one line after the boa constrictor escaped and dursely told Harry he was to have no meals as in plural.

Though I feel I have to strongly point out that it is implied...

Just because he did it once doesn't mean he did it all the time. Harry is still clearly in denial about the existence of magic before hagrid shows... granted he made up the most ridiculus excused like the wind lifted him up on the room, but if he had done it enough he would eventually realize something was afoot.

Why didn't he use it to escape Ripper, or avoid getting hit by dudley everytime... Harry clearly describes being used as a punching bag.

I refer you to my previous comments about aunt marge. She is the annoying elderly women you can't really insult as its rude, but no one really likes as she is a bitch. Even Petunia is disgusted by her to an extent. see her reaction to her when she visists...

Dudley is more on harry's level. He is the bully, and Harry is developing a rebelious streak. Harry also goes around disrespecting Voldemort and Snape, doesn't mean they each wouldn't lay into him in there oh so special ways.

Eventually the nerd who was picked on will fight back. its just the way things are.

Really All I have to do is remind you that this was HBP we are talking about... I still remmeber reading that and wondering wheter a harry/ginny shipper had some how gotten hold of the story before it got sent off to printing.

Dumbledore does not make any reference to the cupboard under the stairs, or the neglect... For all we know he is only talkingg about the open hostility he knows goes on between the harry and the dursely's and what Hagrid told him when he went to pick harry up.

I still maintain that Dumbledore would not allow harry to live 10 years in a cupboard.

That entire speech was just a half assed way on J.K.'s part to offer week retribution and cumuppence for Harry.

Dumbledore, the almighty wizard stopping in to give a speach worthy of buffy in the last season of her vampire slaying series... please.

There was abuse, no doubt about it. Neglect... hell yes. Emotional scarring as well...

the only question is how much.

 

So what do you think is better for a story; Harry being beaten and acting like a pussy, but getting help from his friends (dear god tell me no); Harry not being beaten and acting like Malfoy; Harry being beaten, but standing up for himself; or Harry killing the Dursleys and turning into an emo loving, angst ridden maniac? Did I miss one?

 

Kolskit, you actually want Harry to be abused?

Well...I have nothing more to say, except that DLP might not be the right forum for you.

 

Um....

I kind of like the cliche 'Harry was abused as a child but rose above it to become a hero..." stories.

the average Cannon abuse... not fannon abuse.

Thats the thing that made me stop and go huh; when I first read philosophers stone. He was the runt, the nobody, the weak underdog.

... then tada, he's a hero, and hundreds of women want to have his babies. Even if they are so old it is physicl impossible, or so young they they don't realize they have to pop them out themselves.

I liked the idea of a guy who had such a obviously hard life learning to become stronger and rising above his tormentors...

Though I wouldn't say no to a little vindication, ie dursleys go to jail, become spectacles of society as harry reveals how truly horrbile they were, you know a real cumuppance.

not a wordy lecture, trying to make them realize how horrible they have been and suddenly realizing what a special kid harry really was.

I almost called it quits when I heard dumbledore give that speech in the beggining of HBP... That was worse than cliche, that was mpreg worthy.

 

Did you miss one? Are you kidding?

Harry doesn't like the Dursleys. And they don't like him. Presto. That's all anyone needs to establish the relationship between them. No one's asking why. Anyone who's ever read canon will understand that.

But if you need to fap to little boys getting their arms broken, crying for mommy, or even better fat "abnormal-hating" Uncle Vernon ass-raping Harry then do it. But quit trying to justify why with 'evidence' from canon or being upset when readers stop reading. It's a story element an author chooses to include. Or chooses not to. It's a cliched one. Like Harry falling madly in love with Ginny overnight. A story element the author chooses to use or not.

Did Uncle Ben ever improperly touch Peter Parker when he was young? Did John and Martha Kent take turns with the kryptonite belt buckle slapping Clark to keep him in line? What about Frodo Baggins? Or any other character in the fictional world?

If you want a measure of just "how much" abuse I like in my fanfic, I'll say this: no more than canon. That's it. It potentially can be inferred but it's never been an issue. JKR could come out and state whether any particulars were actually implied. But it's not necessary. And I don't want to read it.

 

Are you saying that the Dursley's abuse, as miniscule as it was, should be cut from the story? Harry needs the trauma from the abuse to make him stronger or else he'd most likely be some pussy, Malfoy lover in the end? I don't think he should be some well trained, heroic protagonist that always comes in the save the day - something that annoys the shit out of me in Rowling's writing - but I think that, at the end of the day, he should be able to sit back and think over everything he's had to overcome and be able to live with himself for doing everything he has to do.

 

I've never, and will never, write a story detailing Harry as a beaten, abused pussy or an ass-raped, blubbering idiot. Abuse happens anywhere and everywere, no need for justification. It affects things. I think it should be part of the story, my personal opinion and the reason I made this thread, as it was ten years of Harry's life. If you want to keep it out of the story entirely, more power to you, but that just an easy way to start Harry of powerful instead of allowing him to work his way through his trauma and become stronger for it.

 

That's just it though. Harry's already worked through his trauma, and he already is stronger for it. Anyone who spends time in a fanfic detailing Harry getting his ass whooped is either using it for filler or gets off to abuse.