Redeemable! Dursleys?

[alhewison]

No: HPFGUIDX 40797

All the recent discussions about "Goodies" really being evil has made 
me wonder whether the converse can be true. Can a baddy become (or 
actually "be" ) good?

The Dursleys are probably my most hated characters and imo are really 
little more than charactures. Yet they have a vital role in the 
Potterverse – both serving to show the strict contrast in Harry's pre-
 and Hogwart years: hated and venerated, and also being comic figures 
for Harry to thwart.

JKR has said that we will see them in a different light in future 
books (sorry I can't find the quote and I have tried), and also that 
someone will find magic late in life. Obviously, a Dursley is a 
strong candidate for this.

I am therefore wondering if the Dursleys can be redeemed. In the 
context of the Potterverse, imo this means can Harry and the Dursleys 
be reconciled?

The Dursleys are shown to be bigoted and small-minded and would 
undoubtedly be guilty of child-neglect/ cruelty in real life. Yet, 
they do take Harry in, and have inadvertently contributed to him 
becoming the hero he undoubtedly is. Whilst the Dursleys reasoning 
for taking Harry is still a moot point, the protection they offer is 
important.

GoF really shows how Harry has grown away from the Dursleys. He has 
been able to shut his emotions from them. Imo, for them to continue 
to have a function in the rest of the series, they must change. Their 
characterisation has rested chiefly on their cruelty, lack of love 
for Harry and over indulgence of Dudley. If they are to be 
transformed they need a life-changing event. In the case of the 
Dursleys, one of them discovering hitherto untapped magical powers 
would do it. I think that perhaps the funniest event would be for 
Dudley to find out he is a wizard, but I suspect that it will be Aunt 
Petunia (of course it could be Filch, Aunt Marge or even Uncle 
Vernon
). Once endowed with magical powers how would the Dursleys be?

At this stage I would have to agree with the posters who think that 
the Dursleys must be doomed. After all, if Harry can't be touched 
when he's in their "care", surely an answer for Voldemort would be to 
kill them.  This seems too easy though. I do wonder exactly WHAT 
Dumbledore told them, what they actually know. Petunia appears to 
have felt no grief at her sister's death. At that moment would she 
have cared if her nephew, a boy she despised on principle, was at 
risk? So why did the Dursleys take Harry in?

Scenario A:- It would look good to take in their orphaned nephew. The 
Dursleys are certainly keen on appearances – in the zoo they allow 
Harry to have a looly, albeit a cheap one, rather than have the ice 
cream lady think them mean.
- After the snake incident, Uncle Vernon waits until Piers has gone 
home before turning on Harry.

and yet, the clothes they force Harry to wear, and their seeming 
reluctance to repair his glasses make him a laughing stock, which 
surely can only reflect badly on them.
BUT how would anyone in their circles have known about Harry if they 
had refused to take him in?
BUT they seem to lack any basic humanity, when raising Harry. The 
idea that Harry's first memory of being hugged as "though by a 
mother" is just short of his fifteenth birthday speaks volumes about 
Aunt Petunia, and it's not favourable. Personally, as a mother, I 
cannot understand another mother failing to offer any kind of comfort 
to a small child, whoever it is. Surely, if the decision was 
between "looking good" and hatred/fear [of all things wizarding and 
therefore by implication, Harry], hatred was the stronger and should 
have won.

Scenario B:- Their future is somehow entwined with Harry's
This could either be by way of cash – which they have come to rely on 
to spoil Dudley, or that Dumbledore has made them understand that thy 
are in some way at risk, but this risk is diminished if they keep 
Harry. In other words, they might need him as a safety measure as 
much as he needs them. This could explain why they are so keen to 
squash magic out of Harry and prevent him going/returning to Hogwarts 
once he knows about his wizardry. Perhaps they feel that if he does 
not take up his place in the WW he will not be endangered and neither 
will they.

If Scenario B is plausible, then how will they – and Harry be 
effected if say, Aunt Petunia suddenly becomes aware of her latent 
magical abilities.

It has been suggested the Dursleys treatment of Harry will provide 
some much need cathartic effect. Perhaps the Dursleys will finally 
realise that Harry needs to be treated with care and love, but if 
they continue as they always have, it's more than possible that Harry 
will snap. Perhaps if this happens and he uses magic against Dudley 
(as JKR has hinted) this will provoke [Aunt Petunia's] latent magic 
to surface. The alternative incident that might force out latent 
magic would be if the Dursley family came under attack. Once again, I 
can only think that it would be an attack on a Dursley rather than 
Harry that would provoke Aunt Petunia, and I can't think what latent 
magic she would have that would be sufficient to ward off a murderous 
attack.

If you agree with me that the "life-changing event" will be Petunia 
discovering magic, could the Dursleys be reconciled with Harry if it 
was his attack that provoked the magic to surface? On the face of it 
the answer would be no. But, if she really had no idea that she had 
any magical ability than Imo the psychological impact could be 
profound. Would the psychological shock be enough to change the way 
Petunia views her dead sister and her abused nephew? If it is, will 
it be enough to win over Uncle Vernon – or will it cause a marital 
split?

If the Dursleys were able to offer genuine love then imo Harry would 
be able to forgive them. He is the hero after all. As much as his 
aunt and uncle have sadistically tried to make Harry's life 
miserable, he has been able to move on. 



Ali

saying hi! to all the over Alis, Alleys and Alisons now posting!