Motives with Magic.

[sirius_kase]

No: HPFGUIDX 36330

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "abigail_draconi" <chynarose8 at h...> 
wrote:
> I am not sure if this particular subject has been examined 
before, as I am new to the list and find the task of searching the 
archives rather daunting, but has anyone explored why Vernon is 
so fanatically anti-magic. His attitude seems, to me at least, to 
far surpass his wife's in terms of the hatred. Yet Petunia's the 
only one for whom we have a hunch as for why: jealousy over her 
sister Lily. Personally, I figure that Vernon, his father, or his 
grandfather had an *extremely* bad run in with magic or a 
magical person.
@---<-- Chyna Rose
>

How about his wife and her family?  I tend to go a little easier on 
Vernon than most around here.  I think he is extremely protective 
of his family especially from what he sees as a powerful evil 
force that he doesn't understand.  The discussion of magic is 
taboo in the Dursley household, I don't think that even the adults 
talk about it, so Vernon knows nothing more than the fact that 
Petunia's family was wiped out and that the mere mention of 
magic greatly upsets her.  Petunia went out of her way to marry 
the most mundane muggle she could find and hasn't educated 
him much at all regarding magic.  The letter from Dumbledore is 
probably all he knows and I suspect Petunia was so frightened 
by the sudden arrival of Harry that he didn't read the letter with an 
open mind.  I wonder if he ever met James and Lily?