Speaking up for Petunia

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 83305

You know, little as I love Petunia Dursley, and much as I'd love to see her
snog a Dementor (and then the Dementor would be licking the south end of a
north-bound horse to get the taste out of its "mouth") there is something to
be said on her behalf.

We never hear of the Dursleys having any sort of help around the house, and
a fifteen-month-old baby is, I am told (never had one of them around myself;
I'm waiting till they come out with a model featuring an instruction
booklet, a warranty, and a helpline, among a few other features---hey, if
they can do it with computers, why not? *grin*) a bit of a handful.  They're
mobile, but not really verbal yet, and have no as in N-O sense.  To top it
off, Dudley-as-described would probably be even more of a handful than a
normal baby, and the Dursleys' parenting skills are, shall we say,
not-so-hot-so.

Now, out of the blue, blue sky, they get _another_ fifteen-month-old.  Now
Petunia's workload is about doubled (somehow, I "hae me doots" that Vernon
helps around the house---if he knows _how_ to wash dishes or where the
washing machine/dryer are, I'd be very surprised) and it's for a child that
may be bringing all sorts of disasters down on their home.  She may well
have seen spontaneous magic from her sister before Lily got her Hogwarts
letter, and been thoroughly frightened by it, particularly if it was at all
destructive.

A lot of her attitude toward Harry could well be resentment based on the
extra workload he represented when he was small.  Even if there were monies
provided to pay for his upkeep, she'd have had two active toddlers to keep
track of.  Even one toddler, when I've been exposed to them (seldom) has
reminded me of a line from Lois Bujold's wonderful work _Barrayar:_
"There's all of us, adults, and one of him.  We should be able to keep up.
Why do I always feel like he has us outnumbered and surrounded?"