Speaking up for Petunia

[yolandacarroll]

No: HPFGUIDX 84517

Susan wrote:
> Second, the Dursleys ARE absolutely terrified and ashamed of their 
> wizarding relatives. And, then let's review what's 
happened..there's 
> the incident with Dudley and the snake, Hagrid arrives and gives 
> Dudley a pig's tail, their business associates have cake dumped on 
> them...Aunt Marge is blown up.....Arthur blows their fireplace into 
> their living room, and then Dudley's tongue swells to gargantuan 
> size..then Dudley is attacked by Dementors...what have I missed?
> 
> On the one hand, people who abuse kids deserve what they get, and I 
> can't get too upset about what happens to bullies.....
<snip>
> Susan McGee

Actually, they've been horrible to Harry from 
the start and that was well before the above 
mentioned incidents.  (I believe their memories 
of the Aunt Marge incident were erased, by the 
way.)
 
To be fair, we know there were other incidents.  
The sweater that shrunk so Harry wouldn't have 
to wear it and Harry's hair growing back over 
night to fix a bad haircut are two examples but 
none of the Dursleys were harmed by any of that.
 
Look at the treatment Harry received.  They 
locked him in a cupboard under the stairs and 
treated the boy like a servant.
 
The adults let Dudley and his friends bully Harry 
with immunity.  "Harry Hunting", where Dudley and 
his friends hunt down, then beat up Harry, tells 
us as much.  Worse they even encouraged it.  Vernon 
told Dudley "Hit him with your smelting stick" 
when Harry didn't want to go fetch the mail. 
 
I understand the arguments that were made about 
caring for two toddlers and the fact that Petunia 
put herself and her family in danger when she took 
Harry in.  I still find her treatment of him 
inexcusable.
 
As an Aunt who has taken care of toddlers, all 
day long in some cases, I completly understand 
what a handful they are.  Despite that, I still 
think the Dursley's are horrible.  Yes, Petunia 
did the right thing for once, by taking Harry in, 
of course she may have been "convinced" to do so.  
We don't know yet.  It just doesn't seem in 
character for her so far to care about anyone, but 
herself, her son, and her spouse.
 
I don't see why she couldn't just be nice to him.  
Oh, by the way, since there was a good chance that 
Harry would grow up to be a wizard, I personally 
wouldn't have abused him for years.
 
Yolanda