Harry was never given any love or affection by Petunia because he made her think about Lily and the wizarding world. [4] She frequently treated him like a waste of space, gave him the cupboard under the stairs to start with, and had him do all the chores. She and Vernon neglected the most of Harry’s birthdays. [11] [13]
She refused to accept Harry as a second son and never showed him the warmth and love he yearned for from her. In an effort to hide Harry from others, she kept him completely uninformed of the wizarding world and made her family appear as normal as she could. In 1997, when Harry left to look for Horcruxes, Petunia was on the verge of saying goodbye to him and wishing him success while also acknowledging that her mistreatment of him was motivated by envy, but she pulled back at the last minute. [26]
After Severus Snape was killed by Nagini’s fangs during the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry was given access to various memories of Snape’s past and allegiances. Inadvertently explaining to Harry the reasons for his future aunt Petunia’s hate of him and magic in general, such as their falling out as children, Petunia’s jealousy of Lily’s magical powers, and her childhood animosity with Snape, was one of Harry’s first memories. However, Harry was more interested in learning Snape’s roots and allegiances than he was in unlocking Petunia’s animosity toward him.
Petunia would subsequently become Ginevra Weasley’s aunt-in-law and the great-aunt to James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna, the three children of Harry and Ginny. It is uncertain if Petunia herself ever got in touch with Harry again, despite the fact that Harry and Dudley were still on “Christmas card terms” and occasionally visited. Despite everything, Harry loved her enough to insist that they hide for their safety. Although it is unknown if Petunia got in touch with Harry once more after the war, it is very likely that she made up with her nephew and was exchanging Christmas cards with him as well. Harry developed a new appreciation for his aunt as a result of how he discovered what sparked the conflict between his mother and her sister. After she passed away, Dudley gave Harry the blanket that Petunia had been holding onto ever since he arrived at Privet Drive.
Severus Snape
“I heard that nasty boy telling her about them years ago,” said Petunia Dursley.
After Dementors attacked Dudley Dursley, Harry and Petunia talked about Snape[src].
Severus Snape and Petunia originally became friends when they were little. She was Lily Evans’ sister, but unlike Lily, Petunia was a Muggle. From the minute they met, Snape and Petunia had a profound disdain for one another. He was such an eccentric, and Petunia, who was dismissive of anything out of the ordinary, looked upon him with contempt because of his low economic standing. The fact that she was a Muggle and that she made derogatory remarks about his clothing, on the other hand, caused Snape to look at her with disdain. The issue of Snape, like with everything relating to magic, was never brought up under the Dursley’s roof until Dudley Dursley was attacked by dementors and he was implicitly addressed by Petunia as “that dreadful boy” when talking about dementors, possibly as a result of this early hate.
Ironically, Snape and Petunia’s unpleasant interactions contributed to the development of their individual adult personas. Snape’s experiences with Petunia probably contributed to his increasing contempt for the Muggle community and led him to dabble with pure-blood supremacy and the Dark Arts in his adolescence. Similarly, Petunia’s interactions with Snape probably made her less tolerant of anything or anyone associated with the wizarding community. In a tragic twist of irony, Lily, Petunia’s sister, died as a result of Snape’s pursuit of the Dark Arts.
As to why Petunia kept Harry,
The pledge Petunia Dursley made to Albus Dumbledore was one of her most important secrets. There was a letter with Harry when he was left off at 4 Privet Drive after Voldemort had killed James and Lily and before he was killed himself. In the note, Dumbledore stated that Lily had sacrificed her life for her son and done so by calling upon an old very potent magic. If Petunia were to take Harry in, it would seal the charm and give him protection from Voldemort since she is the last living blood relative of Lily. This would continue for as long as he could name the location of his mother’s blood “home.” Harry was able to call Privet Drive home—albeit very sad one—until his seventeenth birthday because to Petunia, who welcomed him in despite her dislike for her sister. Albus Dumbledore’s letter contained information that Petunia never appeared to reveal to anyone, thus she kept the one good deed she had committed to herself. Even if it took Dumbledore howling “Remember my last” to remind her, she did keep her word.
Was Aunt Petunia attempting to keep Harry safe?
Petunia didn’t just exhibit her positive side in that one instance, either. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Petunia tries to spare Harry’s life by letting him stay at their Privet Drive home after she receives a Howler from Dumbledore. She even goes so far as to contradict Vernon, who wasn’t in favor of this choice. This alludes to the fact that Harry was given permission to go back to the Dursleys’ house for the summer so he might be safe. In other words, Petunia did not want Harry to pass away like her sister, matter how cruelly she treated him.
Then, as she prepares to bid her nephew farewell, the following occurs:
Why was Petunia so cruel to Harry?
The Dursley family was an important part of the life of the titular wizard even if they were relatively minor characters in the overall scheme of Harry Potter.
Despite the fact that Harry’s evil aunt and uncle made his life miserable for the first few years of his childhood, J.K. Rowling has provided an explanation.
According to a post on Pottermore, Lily Potter’s sister was captivated to the “deliciously average” Vernon when she first met Petunia Dursley in an office.
Petunia was more sucked into her husband’s boring existence and loathed her “weird” sister for being a witch.
Vernon found it difficult to believe that such people could exist in his world of order and that conflicts could start as soon as people met.
The relationship “nosedived from there,” according to Rowling, after Lily, her boyfriend James Potter, and the engaged couple met for the first time.
Rowling writes that Vernon detested Harry because, like Snape, he recognized his father James in him.
After Lily and James died, Petunia, who had severed ties with her sister out of remorse, grudgingly took in Harry after he showed up at number 4 Privet Drive.
Rowling explains, “She did so reluctantly and spent the rest of Harry’s youth punishing him for her own choice.
She continued by saying that their dread of Lord Voldemort was a major factor in the lie they told Harry for the first few years of his life—that his parents had perished in a car accident.
In addition, Rowling explained the origins of the characters’ names, stating that she never liked them and linked them with unhappiness.
The Dursleys were said to have despised Harry because he was one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes and the enchantment around him had altered their perceptions.
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Petunia, did you want to be a witch?
4. Petunia aspired to become a witch, according to Rowling: “Petunia had some hidden sentiments of guilt about the way she had severed her relationship with Lily, whom she knew, in her heart of hearts, had always loved her. She also claims that Petunia had a secret wish that she would exhibit magical abilities and be whisked away to Hogwarts.
Vernon, on the other hand, shares a detest of Harry with a Hogwarts student. Harry’s likeness to the father Uncle Vernon and Severus Snape both detested is a contributing factor in Uncle Vernon’s disdain of him, according to Rowling.
5. J.K. Rowling explains how she came to choose the names of the Dursley family: “‘Vernon’ is just a name I never much liked, she says, adding that she always meant for them to be their names, even if she spent time exploring various names for other characters.
“When my sister Di and I were very little, I usually called terrible female characters that we would play make-believe games with the name “Petunia.
6. Hagrid and Dumble are named very specifically: Rubeus Hagrid and Albus Dumbledore were taken from the words “red and “white, two hues frequently connected with alchemy, whereas Petunia and Vernon may have been given names based on instinct. While Dumbledore is white, which is majestic and intelligent, Hagrid is red, which is warm and wild.
Did Petunia attend Harry’s nuptials?
“Large and neckless, this young businessman seemed to young Petunia a picture of manliness.”
“Petunia accepted right away when Vernon Dursley quite appropriately proposed marriage in his mother’s sitting room at the appropriate time.”
He solemnly assured Petunia that he would never hold that fact against her for having a weirdo for a sister.
Petunia had also long had the wish—which she never confided to Vernon—that one day, she too would exhibit magical abilities and be whisked away to Hogwarts.
The Dursleys’ names were chosen by J.K. Rowling because she believed they had an unpleasant sound.
“Vernon” is just a name I’ve never given much thought to, wrote Rowling. In make-believe games I played with my sister, I always called disagreeable female characters “Petunia.”
“Although some readers desired more from Aunt Petunia during [Harry’s departure], I still believe that I had her act in a manner that is most consistent with her thoughts and sentiments throughout the previous seven volumes,” the author said.
Uncle Vernon never seemed to live up to expectations, so people weren’t upset.
Who made Petunia aware of my previous?
Petunia’s animosity against Harry was probably a result of her long-standing envy of Lily, her magical sister. Remember my last,” read a Howler from Dumbledore addressed to Petunia. He was likely referring to the letter he left with baby Harry on Privet Drive’s front step. Albus had another motivation to write, though, and this one had far-reaching repercussions.
When Petunia wrote to the headmaster of Hogwarts as a young girl pleading to be admitted, he sent her a sympathetic reply. Dumbledore’s tactful rejection caused “Tuney” to start calling her sister a “weird.”
Petunia was disappointed and resentful, so she watched Lily and Snape as they become close friends and learned bits and pieces about the wizarding world she would never be able to enter.
Harry was more shocked than Uncle Vernon to hear Petunia mention “Azkaban” as she spat out a competent description of a Dementor. Even Petunia, who was so determined to despise the magic she never experienced, was horrified to learn of Voldemort’s reappearance; this was the one time Harry genuinely realized she was her mother’s sister.
Although she may have given Harry a place to grow up, it was obvious that Petunia’s unfulfilled magical aspirations were likely what made her the person she was—someone who was more concerned with the surgical cleanliness of her counters than the welfare of her sister’s son.
She paused briefly as she bid Harry farewell, as if to say something. Of course, she never did, but that shaky second revealed a lot about her character.
Vernon, did you care for Harry?
Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, both members of the Order of the Phoenix, were sent to watch after Petunia, Dudley, and Vernon in the summer of 1997 because it was thought that once Harry Potter reached seventeen, Voldemort would find every member of his family and torture information from them. Vernon did not care what would happen to Harry, and he left with his wife and children in tow. Dudley, who had come to appreciate Harry for saving his soul, brought up the subject, despite Vernon’s lack of communication with Harry. [7]
The Dursleys waved goodbye and then sped away, leaving Harry to continue his search by himself. When Petunia and Dudley said goodbye to Harry in 1997, they did it with some degree of affection. Vernon was about to bid Harry farewell by shaking his hand. However, at the last minute decided against it because he detested both Harry and magic in general. He escaped as swiftly as he could, trying to avoid Lord Voldemort, who he only knew to be a very strong and terrible wizard. [7]
Later life
Vernon married Dudley and had a few grandchildren after the war. [24] Although it is uncertain whether he kept in touch with his nephew, even just through Christmas cards, like Dudley did, he did have two great-nephews and a great-niece by Harry. Vernon may have stayed where he was kept in hiding throughout the Second Wizarding War, or he may have returned to his house at 4 Privet Drive.
Vernon said that Jeremy Clarkson’s hosting of the television show Top Gear was the only reason he had paid for a television license when he joined an internet petition in 2015 asking for his reinstatement.
[25]
Vernon most likely cast his ballot in favor of the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union in 2016.
[26]
Petunia, Vernon’s wife, passed away before the year 2020.
[4] If Vernon was still alive at this moment is unknown.
Who delivered a reminder of my previous Petunia?
Because she lacks magical skills, Harry’s aunt Petunia believes her nephew is a freak. Despite the fact that she and her husband have “raised” Harry since he was a baby and have hosted him every summer since he enrolled at Hogwarts, they detest him and wish he weren’t connected to them.
Most of Aunt Petunia’s actions in Book 5 are consistent with the racist, emotionally abusive foolishness she usually engages in. She continues to treat Harry like he is an embarrassing secret that the Dursleys are forced to keep hidden. However, she makes a fascinating character development that starts to make Aunt Petunia appear more human and less cartoonishly nasty and foolish. Harry informs his enraged aunt and uncle that Voldemort is returning after she almost loses her son to demonic attacks. In fact, Harry’s mother Lily’s sister, his aunt Petunia, truly appears to understand what that means:
She was gazing at Harry as if it was the first time she had ever done so. Harry suddenly understood, for the first time in his life, that Aunt Petunia was his mother’s sister. He was unable to express why this struck him so forcefully at the time. He only knew that other people in the space shared his suspicions about what Lord Voldemort’s return may entail. […] The vehement denial that Aunt Petunia had upheld during Harry’s entire life—that there was no magic and no other world save the one she shared with Uncle Vernon—seemed to have crumbled. (2.194)
Harry and Aunt Petunia share a moment of unexpected understanding when Harry suddenly realizes that his mother, who was killed by Voldemort, was also her sister. This moment serves as a reminder that the two worlds Harry lives in aren’t entirely separable. Beginning with Book 1, the wizarding and Muggle worlds have entirely different appearances. But starting with Book 5, we begin to realize that there are Squibs and Muggleborn wizards in the Muggle world as well. As Voldemort rises, Muggles are no more protected than magical beings, and Aunt Petunia appears to be aware that the line dividing the magic and non-magical realms is beginning to blur.
Of course, having Harry inside her house puts her entire family’s safety at danger. In order to prevent Voldemort from finding them, Uncle Vernon tries to kick Harry out of the house in Chapter 2. However, Aunt Petunia gets a unique enchanted letter from Howler that just says, “Remember my last, Petunia” (2.217). By the end of Book 5, Harry learns that Professor Dumbledore sent this Howler to remind Aunt Petunia of her promise to provide Harry with a place to reside. Uncle Petunia’s connection to Lily, who was murdered by Voldemort out of love for Harry, offers Harry a unique, age-old magical shield. As long as Harry is living with Lily’s blood relatives, Voldemort will not be able to discover him. So even though they don’t want to, the Dursleys still let Harry into their household. For the first several years of his life, Harry is kept secure thanks to this power.