Petunia

[snow15145]

No: HPFGUIDX 167687


I'm pretty sure I found the answer to Petunia's surgically clean 
kitchen and why Petunia refused to acknowledge her sister! She was 
jinxed!

That awful boy taught Petunia a lesson for snooping and spying; he 
jinxed her to clean Lily's frog spawn (she liked to complain about) 
and just keep right on cleaning. This would surely keep her nose out 
of Lily and James business and away from the current harm that had 
come to the wizarding world. 

This could be why Petunia called James that awful boy and why, like 
Dudley; she doesn't want to have anything to do with magic after that 
nor anything to do with James and Lily. Once you've been jinxed, you 
don't go looking for any reason to provoke another incident when 
you're a muggle. 

Petunia grudgingly took Harry, a child born to magical parents, into 
her home (if Harry is protected there, then so are anyone with that 
same blood...until Harry becomes seventeen that is). Petunia and 
Vernon may have thought that their influence in the boy's life would 
squash any magic he may have been born with and at the same time 
Petunia could realize all the same protections that Harry has while 
he remains under her roof. 

The only problem I foresee with this interpretation would be Petunia 
calling James that awful boy. I wouldn't think she would have a 
problem pinpointing the deed on James if it were James that jinxed 
Petunia to clean till her fingers became bony. Then again, Petunia 
being jinxed by James may not refer to the awful boy quote at all but 
only to her reason for disliking the wizarding world which includes 
her sister and husband. 

I did find one very small and farfetched clue that the awful boy that 
Petunia was referring to was Lucius. In SS (The Keeper of the Keys), 
Vernon tells Harry that he knew that his parents would come to a 
sticky end very similarly to Lucius telling Harry the exact same in 
COS (Dobby's Reward). Strange that. 

I also think it would be more Lucius-like for him to be the awful boy 
who was telling Lily about the Dementors of Azkaban. 

Originally when I thought of Petunia's behavior and why she acted the 
way in which she does, I clumped all the circumstances together and 
tried to think of a common ground. The only thing I could think of 
was that Dumbledore may have bribed Petunia with a bit of magic to 
help her through her day. Of course, once upon a time the squib idea 
was still plausibility and I had a brief notion that Petunia asked 
for Lily's wand in exchange for houseroom. 

Since then I think it may be best to take each action separately; the 
letter from Dumbledore; why she took Harry in; why she rejected her 
sister and the magic world; who was that awful boy; and why her 
kitchen is so very clean. It could be that none of these 
circumstances touch on any other. 

As Steve would say "just some thoughts"

Snow