A Thought About Petunia Dursley (Harry's Aunt)

[anne_t_squires]

No: HPFGUIDX 161162

 "Rashi"  wrote:

 I think that it is more than obvious that Aunt Petunia's contempt for
> Harry and especially his mother Lily, is stemmed from her jealousy.

<snip>

Anne Squires responds:
I have to agree that there is a of of jealousy there.  I also think
there is also a lot of fear. Fear of what?  I'm not exactly sure.  I
think partly she is afraid that she and her family won't be seen as
"normal" by neighbors and other associates.  I also think that in OotP
Petunia shows prior knowledge of and real fear of Voldemort. I think
she understands who and what LV is. Lily may have explained the
situation in the Wizarding World to her sister.  Regardless of whether
Petunia learned anything from Lily or not, I am certain that DD
explained a great deal in his letter/letters to Harry's aunt.  He is
handing "the child of prophecy" over to her for ten years.  I am sure
he would make certain that Petunia understand the threats to Harry
(and by association, the threats to her and her family).  At any rate,
she definitely knows the real threat that LV represents.

I understand Petunia's fear.  Let's look at what Petunia likely knows
about the dangers of magic.  First of all, her sister and
brother-in-law, who everyone acknowledges were powerful wizards, were
murdered by this madman.  A madman, I might add, who was trying to
kill an infant.  Think about that.  Any "normal" person would regard
that as extreme, unbalanced, crazy behavior.  Petunia can also
conclude (if DD hasn't told her straight out)that Lily and James'
friends were not able to help them. I wonder if DD has informed her
that Lily and James were betrayed by a so-called friend.  He probably
informed her of the threat of the Death Eaters as well.  So, what is a
"normal" woman to deduce from all of this:

1.  Magic is dangerous.
2.  Wizards are dangerous.
3.  Wizards cannot protect themselves, their families, nor their   
friends.
4.  Wizards are crazy.
5.  Wizards can't be trusted.
6.  Wizards are homicidal.
7.  Wizards harbor extreme prejudices and act on them.

I believe I would want to stay as far away as possible from anything
even remotely connected to the Wizarding World if I were Petunia.  But
no, she is forced to take in her nephew who is a target of all of this
madness.  I totally understand why she would resent the situation.  (I
don't condone her actions toward Harry, who is a completely innocent
child. However, I understand that she would resent the circumstances.)
 I really don't blame her for not wanting Harry to go away to that
world.  I think she sees the magical world as threatening in the
extreme.  Harry becoming a part of it could very likely invite nothing
but disaster for her and hers.

All of this is just mho, of course.

Rashi also wrote:
 Yet, in the
> first book and in the first movie, when young Harry and the Dursleys met
> Hagrid for the first time and Petunia admitted in her monologue the
> family's well-kept secret, she stated that her parents, "were so proud
> that her sister got her letter". Why would they have been proud? Were
> they wizards as well? Petunia was versed in wizardry as we saw in Order
> of the Phoenix.  Could it be that Petunia was indeed a scrubb??
> 
> What do you all think?
 

Anne Squires responds:

I do not think that Petunia is a squib.  I believe it is
well-established that Lily's family are muggles.  I think Lily's
parents are proud because their daughter has been selected for
something which is highly prestigious.  Hermione's parents also appear
to be proud of their daughter.  There is no indication that Dr. & Dr.
Granger are magical. However, I have often wondered if Petunia is a
muggleborn witch, like her sister.  In OotP Petunia is "versed in
wizardary" because of her exposure to Lily, "that awful boy" (Harry
assumes she means James, but I'm not so sure), and  Dumbeldore.  See
my comments above.


Rashi, in your language is a squib called a scrubb?  I find that very
interesting because Petunia is seen to "scrub" and clean all the time.
 So, maybe that is a clue and you are right about Petunia after all. 
BTW, what is your native language?