Heartless Dursleys

[stickbook41 <stix4141@hotmail.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52821

Nobody's Rib:
> I think that instead she _was_ jealous of the 
> attention Lilly received from her parents for being a witch, but not 
> so much that she hated her, and that she still mourned the death of 
> her sister.

Me:
Yeah, I never really bought the idea that Petunia could hold this enormous 
grudge against her long-dead sister just because their parents paid more 
attention to Lily than they did to her.  Even if they did, I can't imagine that Lily 
(as warm and caring as we imagine her to be) would have come from a family 
that practices the kind of favoritism that pits Harry against Dudley.

Rib:
> Blaming Lily for her own death seems like a likely 
> grieving mechanism.  ie, If Lily had not been so involved in the 
> wizard world, then she would not have died.  (Petunia might draw a 
> parallel between this and an addict dying from an overdose.  You love 
> the person, but hate them for getting involved with a dangerous 
> lifestyle that ended up killing them, and, ultimately, you also hate 
> that dangerous lifestyle - and anything associated with it.)

Me:
Yeah!  Petunia felt that she lost her sister when Lily became involved in the 
WW full-time.  Her grief was unresolved when Lily died, so it just lingers in a 
state of arrested development.  To insist that Lily got her just desserts for 
being their parents' favorite is her only way of coping.  It's obviously not 
effective--Petunia freaks out when Hagrid tells Harry that his parent's didn't 
really die in a car crash at the beginning of PS/SS.  (I don't have my canon with 
me right now, so I can't quote.)

Rib:
> Also, since Lily grew up in the muggle world, couldn't Petunia view 
> Lily's marrying a wizard and choosing to live in the wizard world as 
> a family betrayal?  (Plus, family loyalty/betrayal seems to be a 
> themes running through other familial relationships - Riddles, 
> Crouches, perhaps the Weasleys - *if* Percy chooses to be on the 
> Ministry's side in the future)

Me:
10 points for pointing this out.

Rib:
> Harry has been referred to as physically resembling James.  If 
> Petunia hates James and places responsibility for Lily's death on 
> magic/ blames James for keeping Lily in the magic world, then 
> everytime she looks at Harry she would see a reminder of the reason 
> her sister died - a likely explanation for (at least part of) the 
> Dursley's treatment of Harry.

Me:
Yep, fuel to the fire.  And perhaps Petunia knows even more than she's letting 
on--like maybe why Voldemort was after Harry.  In which case she might feel 
like Harry is as much to blame for Lily's death as James is.  No canon to 
support this, just pop-psych speculation.

I was always convinced that there was more to the story of the Dursleys than 
meets the eye.  I happen to be of the opinion that they will become more 
involved in Harry's ultimate struggle with Voldemort (and that perhaps they 
may even pleasantly surprise us) because *I can't see JKR ending the series 
without tying up each and every loose end*.  As awful as Petunia is, I don't 
wish this kind of unresolved anger/grief/whatever on her.  We always talk 
about Redeemed!Draco, but what about Redeemed!Dursleys?

Cheers!

-stickbook