When Petunia met James

[beldasnoop]

No: HPFGUIDX 70365

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "darrin_burnett" 
<bard7696 at a...> wrote:

> Still, that is an astonishing thing to remember, based on 
overhearing 
> something. Not only does Petunia remember Dementors, but SHE 
> volunteers the name of the prison.
> 
> How to resolve this?
> 
> 1) Petunia and Lily were a lot closer and Petunia never approved of 
> James. It wasn't Lily's magic that drove them apart, but her choice 
> in men. So, she would have been concerned about things like Wizard 
> Prison (if only to know where she thought James would end up.)
> 
> 2) They may not have met in several years, but they've been 
> corresponding actively, behind Vernon's back. 

While 2 is an intriguing possibility, my impression is much closer to 
your number 1.  I think that Petunia was probably closer to Lily when 
they were younger, and that she was kind of one of those "clingy" 
types who seem to latch onto stronger personalities and kind of live 
through them.  I think Petunia probably "ate up" all the wizard-
related info she could get from Lily until she just got tired of not 
being able to particate more directly in Lily's world, so she grew 
bitter.  I also think that she probably started dating Vernon when 
she was fairly young and just getting into the "bitter" phase.  Maybe 
she even started dating him as a way to spite her sister.  Anyway, 
Vernon's already-formed anti-magic attitude probably influenced 
Petunia to further break off ties with her sister.  I do, however, 
have the feeling that Petunia regrets the estrangement from Lily, and 
Lily's death at the hands of a *really* nasty wizard fueled her 
bitterness toward wizards and magic in general.  

I would guess that Lily didn't like Petunia's bitterness, and sent 
her a few letters in an effort to patch things up, which might have 
succeeded if Vernon hadn't been in the picture.

These ideas are all complete conjecture on my part, but IMO it's the 
best explanation for Petunia's behavior beyond the idea that she's a 
witch in denial or even a Squib (both of which I don't buy into).

Michelle (beldasnoop)