Petunia is a *Squib*

[jhlupin]

No: HPFGUIDX 58645

.--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, robert haberfield 
<rhaberfield at y...> wrote:

> How about this; is aunt Petunia a squib? Were her and Lilly 
Potter's mum and dad WW's? It would go some way towards 
explaining her extreem anti wizard atitude. Has this been 
discussed before?
> 
> Robert (the old)

LH:

The Petunia is a squib theory is widely held.  The only way it 
makes sense though, as squibs are quite rare, and obviously 
Petunia takes great pains to distance herself from the wizarding 
world, is that at least one of her and Lily's parents were indeed a 
witch or wizard.  I agree, Petunia's hostility is indicative of more 
than simple jealousy of the attention her sister received as a 
witch.

What seems more likely is that either Mum or Pop Evans were 
either witch or wizard and they both made a deliberate decision 
to live as muggles.  This is likely to protect a secret that would 
otherwise put their family at great risk.  My favorite theory is that 
one of them is a descendant of Slytherin, and as Voldemort is 
gaining power and influence, they choose to sacrifice life in the 
wizarding world for the safety of themselves and their future 
family.  We don't know which sister is older, but I assume 
Petunia was born first, a near-squib, and showed little sign of 
her magical potential.  Therefore her family presumed she was a 
squib.  Lily was born, and at some point between birth and 
receiving her Hogwart's letter, her parents became aware of her 
magical potential.

They may have had some misgivings, but at some very basic 
level were pleased that Lily was a witch.  It seems that having a 
squib child is very hard for wizarding families, as is evidenced by 
the Longbottoms' concern over Neville.  Their secret remained 
safe as long as Lily was thought to have been muggle-born, so 
they could share their overabundant joy and relief and keep their 
family safe.

At some point, Petunia became aware of the true nature of her 
family, and distanced herself, feeling betrayed, rejected and an 
outsider in her own family.

This also explains why Voldemort started showing intrest in the 
Potters around the time Harry was born.  Likely a jealous Snape 
in a moment of extreme resentment, let slip to Voldemort Lily's 
true heritage.  How he knew I haven't figured out, but there are 
infinte posts about a presumed Snape-Lily -James triangle.  
Voldemort sees the combination of the Gryffindor and Slytherin 
blood lines as a obstacle to his goals.  As Snape sent 
Voldemort's plan to kill Harry into motion (albeit unintentionally), 
he re-examines his life and leaves the Death Eaters.  He resents 
Harry because he is the child of the man who stole away the love 
of his life, but feels a debt to protect Harry's life.

Many reject this theory as it does seem rather obvious, but i'm 
sure it will be the basis for even more plot twists.  Others feel it 
undermines the "choice" theme by giving Harry such a 
prestigious bloodline, but I don't.  Lily chooses against Slytherin 
and becomes a Gryffindor.  Harry, tested as he is by the Sorting 
Hat, also chooses Gryffindor.  It is in the end about the choices 
we make.

All in my humble opinion, and of course, likely to be proven 
completely wrong in less than a month...

LH