Acceptable Abuses?

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 96288

Alla wrote:
...So, are you saying that earlier in Harry's life Vernon run the
show adn Dumbledore was not about to risk the possibility that Harry
will be thrown out, if he interferes? Do you think that situation
changed so drastically at the end of the OOP that Vernon is no
longer "the man of the household"?
I mean sure, Petunia insisted that Harry will stay, but do you think
that she did not do so earlier? As you quoted Petunia took the boy
in "grudgingly, etc, but she took him"

vmonte responds:

I don't think that Petunia took Harry in out of some loyalty to her
dead sister. Petunia is hiding something big! Her hatred of the
wizarding world is very apparent. I think it's no coincidence that
she married someone like her husband. She was looking for a life that
had nothing to do with witches and wizards.

She does not care for Harry, Lily, her parents, or anyone involved
with the wizarding world. She fears what she cannot control.
Obsessive cleaning is a sign of compulsive behavior (in almost every
book someone mentions how clean her house is). In OOTP Tonks says
that the cleanliness is unnatural:

Page 51 OOTP, U.S. version: She followed Harry back into the hall and
up the stairs, looking around with much curiosity and
interest. "Funny place," she said, "it's a bit too clean, d'you know
what I mean? Bit unnatural."

People with obsessive behaviors are often people who feel that they
have no control over their lives (she cannot control Harry and the
wizarding world, and she is bitter about it). The fact that Petunia
was the one who said that Harry must stay (after the howler came)
means that she is not subservient to her husband. Like many wives,
they let their husbands think that they are the bosses--but in the
end they always get their way. It would make sense that Petunia would
marry someone who was boring, never a surprise, shared the same
outlook--someone who was completely wrapped around her finger.

Dumbledore is probably also protecting the Dursley's. I think
DD was reminding Petunia that if she threw out Harry they would lose 
his protection. 

Remember that before the howler came Petunia and her husband were
about to throw out Harry. After the howler came Petunia changed her
mind and announced that Harry had to stay.

I think that the Dementor that attacked Dudley made him remember
something he saw as a baby.

>From OOTP (Page 30, U.S. version): "All dark," Dudley said hoarsely,
shuddering. "Everything
dark. And then I heard.... things. Inside m-my head..."

Petunia then responds in a way that makes it seem that she is worried
that her son may be losing his mind:

"What sort of things did you hear, popkin?" breathed aunt Petunia,
very white-faced with tears in her eyes.

But maybe Petunia was worried that Dudley might have remembered
something that happened in the past. Something he should not have
seen.

"But Dudley seemed in capable of saying. He shuddered again and shook
his large blond head, and despite the sense of numb dread that had
settled on Harry since the arrival of the first owl, he felt a
certain curiosity. Dementors caused a person to relive the worst
moments of their life...What would spoiled, pampered, bullying Dudley
have been forced to hear?"

What if Voldemort got to Petunia before he received word from Peter
about James and Lily? What if Petunia sold out her sister in order to
save her own family? Did Voldemort's followers threaten her?

She knows who Voldemort is and what Dementors are. Maybe she knows
about them because she has seen them, not just heard about them.

What if Dudley saw a frightening encounter between his mother and the
death eaters? He may have seen Voldemort's people
attacking/frightening her. Maybe they threatened baby Dudley's life.
He is the same age as Harry and would have been too young to remember
what he saw.

About Lord Voldemort:

P37 "Back?" Whispered Aunt Petunia.
P38 "Aunt Petunia had never in her life looked at him like that
before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister's) were not
narrowed in dislike or anger: They were wide and fearful."

Petunia's hatred of the wizard world may be based on the danger her
family was subjected to.

Rowling has said that there will be one person who will gain magical
powers late in life and that this was very rare in the wizard world.
If Petunia is going to be that person, I think this power will emerge
during a crisis that forces her to use it. She may have to save
Dudley. (I think she is going to die in book six.)

You never hear what happened to Harry's grandparents (on either
side). Petunia may have witnessed the deaths of her parents and is
therefore bitter about the wizard world. She may think that all
wizards are evil....

I'm not saying that I feel sorry for Petunia. I think she is a
horrible person. (I have a three year old son and I know how much
love he needs and gets from his family. I keep invisioning 2 year old
Harry, unloved, neglected, and crying in a playpen...)