What did Dudley see with the Dementors? (WAS: Theory on Petunia)

[kibakianakaya]

No: HPFGUIDX 156663

> Abergoat suggests:
> What about Dudley's worst memory being the day he realized he was
> no longer an 'only child'? <snip> I understand that parents are
> encouraged to handle a toddler's transition from only child to
> 'older sibling' carefully. Dudley wouldn't have had that
> preparation - he would have woken up to sharing the house with
> another toddler...and at 15 months his understanding would be
> sufficiently limited that no matter what his parents said to him
> the fact that he couldn't scream and get rid of the 'unwanted
> competition' must have been the first time in his young life that
> screaming didn't get him what he wanted. <snip>
>
> Snow:
> Let's go one further and say that Petunia put the two children
> together to make it easier on herself. Harry was a young talented
> magical child who portrayed magical tendencies when he was angry
> or scared. <snip> Harry got his attention so-much-so that it
> scared their poor darling enough to land Harry a space under the
> stairs so he and his magical ways, that needed to be squashed,
> would not affect their precious.


Lilygale here:
There are stronger candidates for Dudley's 'worst memory', IMO.
Harry's arrival probably was a bit of a shock, but I don't believe
that it was cataclysmic event that it might have been had the other
child been wanted and loved.  *If* Dudley suddenly had to share his
parents with a cousin who was loved, pitied, given positive
attention, then it is likely that Dudley would have the very normal
reaction of feeling jealous.  Jealousy of a intruding child would be
(loosely) proportional to the original child's deep fear of losing
their parents' love.  The stronger the attachment between parent and
child initially, the less likely it is for the child to become
anxious about losing parental attention.

Dudley, I assume, is strongly attached to his parents and received
plenty of attention prior to Harry's arrival.  That is based on
canon in that the Dursleys' seem to spoil Dudley from their first
mention in PS/SS, and have baby pictures around that Harry later
comments about.

Sure, Harry probably got a lot of attention, as Snow points out.
But the attention was all negative.  Dudley would see his parents
berating Harry, and probably even blaming Harry for deeds for which
Dudley was responsible.