Unanswered Dursley Questions

[doddiemoemoe]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Joe Bento" <joseph at k...> 
wrote:
> The Half-Blood Prince was certainly a shocker, adding as many 
> questions to the queue as were answered.
> 
> Am I the only one that wished there was a bit more dialog about the 
> Dursleys - Petunia in particular.  Back in OotP, when Harry arrives 
> home with Dudley following the Dementor attack, Petunia dropped the 
> bomb when Vernon asked what the ruddy hell dememtors were.  Petunia 
> blurts out that they guard the wizard prison, Azkaban.  Harry was 
> obviously as shocked by this statement as learning Mrs Figg was a 
> witch.
> 
> For someone who hates the wizarding world as much as the Dursleys, 
> that's a rather trivial piece of information to retain for so many 
> years.
> 
> Do we just accept the fact that Petunia has some basic 
understanding 
> of the wizarding world because her sister was a witch, or is there 
> more to this woman than we've been led to believe?
> 
> I'm also trying to understand Dumbledore's statement of how 
> important it is that Harry return to Number 4 Privet drive before 
he comes of age.  Is this to protect Harry, or the Dursleys?  When 
> Harry does come of age, the protection spell apparently no longer 
> works.  What danger does this put the Dursleys in?
> 
snip
> 
> Joe

Doddie here:

  I wish there had been more dialog but the fact that there was not 
and what was spoken speaks more than not...

Petunia was not only the hope for not only Dudley, but for Harry too..

If she could not raise Harry with love then neither could she raise 
Dudley as such(something Dumbledore did not count on)...and she does 
a grave disservice to both with this inability. However Harry obtains 
his love from other sources--the memories of his mother that DD give 
him...the memories of his father Sirius gives him--and the memory of 
both that Lupin gives him...and his friendships over the years.

Dudley has no future. I do not even see him succeeding in his 
father's shoes..(which by this point Harry has already surpassed his 
own father's shoes--evidence is Harry's reactions to his father's 
behavior--Harry sees it and chooses to do otherwise!)

The only people who have set boundaries for Dudley thus far have been 
Hagrid, Harry, and George and Fred!

The fact that Petunia didn't ignore it, lent the fact that; Petunia 
does indeed believe that the magical world exists(she fears her son 
will be a wizard)...All these years she's probably given Harry house 
room so Vernon, Dudders, and herself can be safe, yet she treats 
Harry like Poo on her shoe..(why would she decide otherwise after all 
these years--and given what sort of folks they are why would they 
even take Harry in if not for their own best intrests...I oft wonder 
if DD gave them Harry's scholarship money!)

I hope Harry makes pig tails grow out of all of them before he 
leaves....ones that could be surgically removed--but grow back again 
and again and again!!

To put the Dursley protections question into play---one must parallel 
Dudley's and Harry's experience...then make them swap places numerous 
times to imagine how they would act/react...

Harry come out ahead every time IMO.

DD says Harry must return one last time..Dd says to protect Harry..I 
say to protect Harry's blood line..

I really hope Hermione and Ron show up there...I'm sure they'd give 
the Dursleys a run for their money just normal folk having a good 
time.

My guess is that Voly will kill the durseleys if they don't listen to 
Harry and he will try to save them..

OMG--horribe thought....final battle at the Dursleys! (Is this why DD 
was so kind to them?!??)

I dunno just my thoughts on the matter,
Doddie

(who would like to see a page or two of Dudley and Snape 
interactions.)