Vernon's backstory (was Harry's family)

Wed May 1 15:36:22 UTC 2002

No: HPFGUIDX 38375

Bernadette wrote:

> I admit that I do wonder why Vernon is even more anti-Magic in
> attitude than Petunia though... we get that incredibly
> vituperative speech about Lily being a "freak" from her when
> Hagrid comes to get Harry, but Vernon is the one who really goes
> overboard in the ranting against the WW... Just WHY is he so
> afraid of it?  Beyond the "normal" fear of the unknown?  Could
> the Marauders have pulled a magical prank on him?  Who knows...
> but it's fun to speculate!

Speculate? Who here would do such a thing?

I have long maintained that there must be some secret in Vernon's life that accounts for his anti-magic attitude.  Broadly speaking, there are two possibilities: that it is as Petunia's friend, fiance or spouse that he developed this attitude, or that it was their extreme anti-magic views that brought them together.

The 'prank' idea is a special case of the first possibility - doubtless it will mysteriously inflate, acquire an acronym and a motley crew, and float off without apparent support.

However, I prefer the second possibility, which requires Vernon to have a connection to the WW *independently of Petunia*.  Is there any canon support for this?  Let's see if we can narrow down the possibilities.  Can we take the time-honoured approach of finding an irrelevant character who has not been named, and equating him with VD?  Yes, indeed we can.  Molly Weasley's cousin who is an accountant, of whom they never speak, simply leaps off the page.  Consider the evidence:

1) VD is the Director of a firm that makes drills.  But does he show any engineering knowledge?  No, he does not.  His various DIY attempts to keep Harry locked up are crude and pathetic.  Furthermore, he is not Mr/Mrs/Miss Grunning, the firm's founder.  In short, he is your typical second generation director, an *accountant* who has got the job on the flimsy excuse that cash flow is the life blood of any business.  You've all seen it before.  Just as most politicians turn out to be lawyers when you scratch the surface (Fudge is Way Evil, remember?), so most businessmen turn out to be accountants when you look behind the moustache.

2) At Kings Cross, who does Vernon eye suspiciously?  Molly Weasley.  Why?  Because he suspects her of being a wizard?  No, because he is worried she will *recognise* him.  He is her cousin.  He knows who she is.  And this brings us to the third piece of evidence.

3) What could cause young Vernon Dursley to become so embittered?  It's clear.  Rejection, that's what.  *We*, through Harry's POV, see the kind, tolerant, welcoming Weasleys.  But Vernon has suffered from their dark side.  As so often happens with liberal-minded people, the Weasleys love Muggles from a distance, but have no intention of letting one anywhere near their family.  When Mrs Dursley Sr (nee Weasley - well, no, but possibly nee the same as Molly) married a Muggle and gave birth to a Muggle son, their wrath knew no bounds.  They cut her off without a knut.  In turn, she brought young Vernon up to have nothing to do with magic in any form. She sent him to Smeltings where a regime of cold baths and knobbly sticks could guarantee to knock any magical thought out of his head.   She groomed him for that most unmagical of all professions, accountancy.

4) What unites Vernon and Petunia?  Fear and hatred of magic.  They are kindred souls.  Look how much they have in common.  Both from mixed Muggle-wizard families where the wizard side is unfairly honoured and the Muggle side despised.

I think I have said more than enough to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Vernon is the unmentionable Weasley accountant.

And notice one final, important consequence of this incontrovertible conclusion:  Harry is *already* part of One Big Happy Weasley Family (OBHWF - who thought up that acronym? I can't pronounce it without eating a pillow first.).  There is no need to construct elaborate romantic relationships to achieve this literarily desirable outcome.  It is there from the start.

David

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