Theory on Petunia

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 156657

Carol earlier:
> > Dudley didn't really provide "testimony" regarding that memory,
but I agree that it was something horrible because we know that
Dementors force you to relive your worst memories. And the only really
horrible thing that has happened to Dudley in canon is nearly choking
on his own tongue and having it tugged on by his mother, which must
have been extremely painful. The only other possibilities I can think
of are the snake incident and being given a pig's tail by Hagrid,
neither of which seems to me as terrible as thinking that you're going
to suffocate *and* have your tongue ripped out and being absolutely
powerless to do anything about it. Of the three canonical incidents,
I'd say that fearing that you'll choke on your own tongue is the most
terrifying.
> 
> Ken: 
> 
> If we are the court that intends to convict the twins we have to
consider Dudley's comments, however imperfect, as testimony. ;-)
> 
> Significantly Harry also wonders what Dudley heard and he witnessed
all those incidents. Apparently he doesn't think Dudley heard talking
> toffees. Also significantly Petunia did try to pull Dudleys tongue out
> and nearly suffocated him by sitting on him. His mother caused about
> 2/3rds of whatever psychic harm you insist on ascribing to this 
> event. Could Petunia be Dudley's worst nightmare? If she isn't she
> should be. She may be well intentioned but she and Vernon are
> the source of Dudley's problems, not the wizarding world. And that 
> includes his fear of the wizarding world.
> 

Carol again:
I'm not talking about the Twins here, or about talking toffees. I'm
merely trying to figure out what Dudley's most terrifying memory could
be based on what has happened to him in canon. And as I noted in my
post, the sounds he could recall would include his own sputtering and
gagging, his mother's screams and his father's bellows--not easy to
describe in the best of circumstances and certainly not after a
Dementor attack renders you nearly speechless. It doesn't matter that
much of Dudley's pain was caused by his mother yanking on his tongue,
it's still a literally and figuratively painful memory, Dudley's worst
as far as we know. And it doesn't matter for the sake of the
Dementor-induced memory whether his parents are the ultimate source of
his problems. The fact remains that he, like them, is terrified of
magic. If you can produce a canonical memory for Dudley that's worse
than the one I've cited, please do so.

And no we do not need to consider Dudley's inarticulate comments,
which relate mainly to cold and darkness and an attempt to blame Harry
for the incident as "testimony" for or against the Twins. Dudley
doesn't say what the memory he heard was, and Harry perhaps didn't
think about the toffee incident because for him it was primarily
visual. He may also be under the impression that it was just one of
the Twins' jokes, though at the time he seemed almost as horrified as
the Weasleys. I think the fact that the Twins were the perpetrators
and that Mr. Weasley sorted things out minimizes the importance of the
memory to Harry. 

The toffee incident may be a practical joke to the Twins. For Dudley,
IMO, it's another matter entirely.

Carol, asking for a canonical alternative to the toffee memory rather
than uncanonical speculation about Petunia being Dudley's worst nightmare