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In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (or Sorcerer's Stone), Hagrid Tells Harry he "flew" when asked how he'd gotten to the rock, but the two take the boat back to the mainland leaving the Dursleys on the rock in the little shack without transport back to the mainland themselves or Magic to help them get any.

The place is described as being so out of the way that I don't imagine cel service was good - Not that Dursley is ever described in a way that makes you think he had a phone with him to begin with.

So, first, how did they get back off the rock? and second, how is it they didn't kill Harry when he returned to them after his trip to Diagon Alley? After-all their son now has a tail and their experience trapped on the rock must have been harrowing.

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Not a real answer.. but this question has come up before... stepchildofthesun.tumblr.com/post/21282614514/… :) – KHW Jan 15 at 16:18
Related: scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/7712/… – DVK Jan 15 at 16:20
@KeithHWeston Very Funny! Love the answer there. – balanced mama Jan 15 at 16:27

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

The second question is easy: they were terrified of Harry's protector(s), e.g. Hagrid.

A popular theory is that the Ministry memory-flashy-thingied them to forget that, but that doesn't fly as the tail had to be surgically removed much later, and if MoM was involved, they'd have fixed that along with the memories.

The first question is harder - the answer is "no canon answer". Nothing in the books, nothing in JKR interviews, nothing (IIRC) on Pottermore. Either the island had some other boat, or Coastguard (or whateverthehell Limeys call it) chanced upon them and rescued them.

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Yeah that "popular theory" you mention sounds pretty dumb to me. Niether Harry nor Hagrid told anyone, there wasn't a trace yet, and the Dursleys know about witches and wizards so there wouldn't have been any reason for it. I'm in 100% agreement with you that the idea doesn't fly. – balanced mama Jan 16 at 0:21

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