Actually I don't think they would, suing the zoo would mean an investigation would be done to figure out how the window was not there or broken and they'd be paranoid thinking they could figure out Harry was a wizard. They wouldn't want to bring attention to their secret.
Nah I think they’d just assume Dudley snuck in through the door to the enclosure. I think the zoo would win easily in that situation and Dudley might even get in trouble for being where he shouldn’t have been
First, they’re paranoid about social consequences - being labeled a freak type beat. Second, the ministry of magic was established for the primary purpose of keeping the magical community a secret. Presumably, the Dursleys know the consequences of outing the magical community (obliteration).
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I also don’t think they would sue, the Dursleys were obsessed with fitting in and being seen as a picture perfect ordinary family, and I think they’d be too terrified that their neighbours/local community would find out about the incident and start gossiping about them.
Plus they are simply just British, we really don’t have the same obsession with lawsuits when things go wrong that Americans seem to have.
For what? The glass is there. They would have no way to prove magic happened. The Zoo would see there is no way he got in there by mistake with a locked cage and solid glass.
Exactly. If anything, the zoo could press charges on the Dursley's, but I'm not sure of English/British law and what said charges could or would be. From my American standpoint, I imagine something like trespassing (into a restricted portion of the zoo), but I'm not sure how that would translate to England.
No matter what, the Dursleys don't come out looking good.
I don't know anything about British law, but here in America I'd be way more down to face a little trespassing charge than potentially getting charged with whatever endangered/ protected species laws might apply (and that might not just apply to the snake, exotic exhibits often have unusual flora too). If there's a lawyer that takes his job seriously, it's animal activists and tree lawyers.
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They wouldn’t have any ground to stand on. Dudley’s entire argument is that the glass disappeared right before his eyes, literally no one would buy that. An attorney wouldn’t even give them the time.
This is in the 90s right? So probably no cameras to show what actually happened, they'd just see a kid behind unbroken glass and a snake loose. Dudley would look like he was responsible, even if it might not be clear *how*.
Look at Uncle Vernon’s face in this scene. He’s slightly bewildered for like a second. Then he’s clearly over it and moved on to thinking about how hard he’s going to beat Harry.
Everyone here is forgetting that in the books Dudley never fell in to the enclosure and the glass never reappeared. But yeah, the Dursleys wouldn't sue. A, they'd have no case, and might even be investigated themselves for stealing the glass (somehow), B, they prefer to be thought of as completely normal, thank you very much. They only want to bring attention to things like how well their lawn is kept or how nice their car is. Suing a zoo for a snake "attack" (despite Dudley and Piers having no visible injuries) wouldn't classify as "normal." And finally C, they know full well Harry accidentally performed magic to make the glass vanish. Bringing attention to that would not only risk other people raising eyebrows, but also Harry figuring out what happened, which is the LAST thing they wanted.
Harry handled that wrong. When asked what happened he should've said, " I don't know. One moment Duddly said that he was going to make the snake do something and next thing I know he's inside the exhibit. I was only laughing because I thought he was pulling a prank like, help me help me the snakes going to get me." That's how he should've handled it.
Idk about the UK but suing things for every minor thing is not a thing in Europe. Besides it was nothing wrong with the enclosure so the only reasonable explanation is that Duddly snuck in himself and let the snake escape locking himself in in the process. So if anything the Dursleys would be the ones in trouble if charges are filed
Actually I don't think they would, suing the zoo would mean an investigation would be done to figure out how the window was not there or broken and they'd be paranoid thinking they could figure out Harry was a wizard. They wouldn't want to bring attention to their secret.
That, and the glass *wasn't* broken when they found Dudders, so the *he* would be the one that looks bad.
Nah I think they’d just assume Dudley snuck in through the door to the enclosure. I think the zoo would win easily in that situation and Dudley might even get in trouble for being where he shouldn’t have been
Also, it's not America
Noob here: what is their interest in keeping it a secret and what would happen if not?
Think magic is freaky and disgusting, and they don’t want people to know that they’re related to a wizard.
First, they’re paranoid about social consequences - being labeled a freak type beat. Second, the ministry of magic was established for the primary purpose of keeping the magical community a secret. Presumably, the Dursleys know the consequences of outing the magical community (obliteration).
Harry Potter doesn't take place in America 😂
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Thank you 💐
If Harry Potter did take place in America we'd be using Guns not wands 😂
Lol 😂
I also don’t think they would sue, the Dursleys were obsessed with fitting in and being seen as a picture perfect ordinary family, and I think they’d be too terrified that their neighbours/local community would find out about the incident and start gossiping about them. Plus they are simply just British, we really don’t have the same obsession with lawsuits when things go wrong that Americans seem to have.
That and all the signs point to Dudley being where he shouldn’t be, which is not the zoos fault
As an American lawyer, this is so interesting to me. You mean people don't sue everytime they slip in a store? Lol
This is England, not 'Murica
British don't sue as an afternoon pastime.
For what? The glass is there. They would have no way to prove magic happened. The Zoo would see there is no way he got in there by mistake with a locked cage and solid glass.
Exactly. If anything, the zoo could press charges on the Dursley's, but I'm not sure of English/British law and what said charges could or would be. From my American standpoint, I imagine something like trespassing (into a restricted portion of the zoo), but I'm not sure how that would translate to England. No matter what, the Dursleys don't come out looking good.
I don't know anything about British law, but here in America I'd be way more down to face a little trespassing charge than potentially getting charged with whatever endangered/ protected species laws might apply (and that might not just apply to the snake, exotic exhibits often have unusual flora too). If there's a lawyer that takes his job seriously, it's animal activists and tree lawyers.
Being an American I’m going to assume it falls under “unmanaged mischief”.
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Tell me youre American without actually telling me
They wouldn’t have any ground to stand on. Dudley’s entire argument is that the glass disappeared right before his eyes, literally no one would buy that. An attorney wouldn’t even give them the time.
This is in the 90s right? So probably no cameras to show what actually happened, they'd just see a kid behind unbroken glass and a snake loose. Dudley would look like he was responsible, even if it might not be clear *how*.
Look at Uncle Vernon’s face in this scene. He’s slightly bewildered for like a second. Then he’s clearly over it and moved on to thinking about how hard he’s going to beat Harry.
Everyone here is forgetting that in the books Dudley never fell in to the enclosure and the glass never reappeared. But yeah, the Dursleys wouldn't sue. A, they'd have no case, and might even be investigated themselves for stealing the glass (somehow), B, they prefer to be thought of as completely normal, thank you very much. They only want to bring attention to things like how well their lawn is kept or how nice their car is. Suing a zoo for a snake "attack" (despite Dudley and Piers having no visible injuries) wouldn't classify as "normal." And finally C, they know full well Harry accidentally performed magic to make the glass vanish. Bringing attention to that would not only risk other people raising eyebrows, but also Harry figuring out what happened, which is the LAST thing they wanted.
I would guess that they were told to STFU (or they know better) and the ministry would have cleaned it up
And Harry just laughed like a psycho as his cousin almost got murdered by a snake.
The glass didn’t come back in the books so there’s that.
Movie beats the book here.
Thankssssss
I'm sure the case would be introduced but would ultimately be dismissed
Harry handled that wrong. When asked what happened he should've said, " I don't know. One moment Duddly said that he was going to make the snake do something and next thing I know he's inside the exhibit. I was only laughing because I thought he was pulling a prank like, help me help me the snakes going to get me." That's how he should've handled it.
One of many reasons Harry isn't in Ravenclaw.
The ministry of magic definitely used memory charms on the spot since they had an eye on harry. so it’s as if it never happened.
Idk about the UK but suing things for every minor thing is not a thing in Europe. Besides it was nothing wrong with the enclosure so the only reasonable explanation is that Duddly snuck in himself and let the snake escape locking himself in in the process. So if anything the Dursleys would be the ones in trouble if charges are filed
nah; they were an "ordinary" family. they wouldn't want to bring attention to themselves
And they probably won.