Petunia Dursley

"You didn't just lose a mother that night in Godric's Hollow, you know. I lost a sister."

- Petunia to Harry before they seperate in 1997.

Petunia Dursley (née Evans) was a Muggle, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and the older sister of the Muggle-born witch Lily. During her childhood, she broke off contact with her sister, because she was jealous of her magical abilities, and thus stopped any contact with the wizarding world.

She married a Muggle, Vernon Dursley, and they had a son, Dudley. However, when Lily was killed by Lord Voldemort, she was sent her nephew, Harry Potter. She gave him a home, but disliked him and treated him badly. In 1991, when Harry went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she became very angry. She and her family left their home in 1997, in order to be protected from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. After the Second Wizarding War, she had several grandchildren. She also remained in contact with Harry.

Early life
"Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that ... that school - and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning tea-cups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was ... a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

- Petunia to Harry Potter.

Petunia is the oldest child of Muggles Mr. and Mrs. Evans, and had a sister, Lily, who was two years younger. Petunia did have a good relationship with her sister, even letting Lily call her "Tuney." However, Lily was quite "talented" at doing some unusual things, such as making a flower's petals move, without touching them. Petunia found this to be quite disturbing and often wanted Lily to "make it stop". Petunia was acquainted with Severus Snape, a boy who lived near their house, even before Lily received her Hogwarts letter. Snape treated her disdainfully and she heartily disapproved of him, and never made any secret of it. Petunia eventually learned from him, that Lily was a witch. When her sister received a letter from Hogwarts confirming that she was a witch, Petunia wrote a letter to Albus Dumbledore, asking if she could also study there with her sister. Even though the Headmaster had taken the time to personally reply and reject her kindly, that rejection caused Petunia to become very upset and grow jealous of Lily. That jealousy then created a certain disdain and loathing for the wizarding world, one she frequently took out on her sister, often calling Lily a "freak".

After that, she barely talked to her sister, to the point that she even pretended that Lily didn't exist. Both Lily and Petunia fell pregnant with baby boys, Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley respectively, at around the same time and each gave birth to their first born only a month apart. Petunia deeply hated Severus Snape, who dragged Lily away from her and made Lily stand out from the norm and Petunia carried out this hate even after Lily's death.



Family life
"I have lived in this house for twenty years."

- Petunia mentioning her house.

Petunia had little contact with her sister once they had grown up (though she did send her a horrible vase over Christmas), partly to do with her jealousy of Lily being a witch. Petunia married Vernon Dursley and settled with him at 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey in 1977. Their son, Dudley was born on 23 June, 1980. They took pride in being a "normal" family unlike Lily's.

Giving a home to her nephew
This changed on 1 November, 1981 when Petunia opened her door to find a baby on her doorstep. The child turned out to be her sister's son, Harry Potter. A letter had been left by Albus Dumbledore, explaining the circumstances of Harry's arrival, including the death of both her sister, Lily, and her brother-in-law, James. As she was the only member of the family that had her sister's blood running through her, this ensured the protection of Harry and her family from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She reluctantly agreed to take her orphaned nephew into her home and family, taking the responsibility to not tell Harry or anyone else about the fact that Harry was a wizard.

Petunia, however, didn't treat Harry as a welcome addition to her family. A constant reminder of her sister and the world she herself had been refused entrance to, she treated Harry like a disease, even keeping him in the cupboard under the stairs as a bedroom for much of his childhood. She deliberately spoiled Dudley and neglected Harry, who were both around the same age, showing Harry neither affection nor love. She forced him to do all of the chores while Dudley was free to do anything he pleased. Petunia also told Harry that his parents had died in a car crash and that the scar on his forehead came from that same accident. She didn't let Harry ask any questions about his family, nor any questions at all for that matter.

Harry's letter from Hogwarts


When Harry's Hogwarts letter arrived in 1991, she supported her husband's decision to keep the truth from Harry. They constantly tried to burn or rip the letters but they found that nothing was helping to stop the letters coming to Harry, so Petunia and the rest of the family moved to different places to try to outrun wizards until finally being tracked down by Rubeus Hagrid. When Hagrid forced the issue of Harry's origin, Petunia lost control and let loose all of the resentment she'd held about Lily's life.

Over the next several years, Petunia still permitted Harry to remain in her home over the summers, recharging the blood protections that kept him and her family safe from Lord Voldemort throughout the rest of the year.

Dudley's attack and contact with the wizarding world


In the summer before Harry's fifth year, Dudley and Harry were attacked by Dementors, and were only saved by Harry performing underage magic. She unintentionally revealed some knowledge of the wizarding world by telling Vernon what Dementors were. When asked how she knew, she said that she heard "that awful boy" and Lily talking about them (Although Harry assumed at the time that this was referring to his father due to his ignorance of Snape's childhood friendship with his mother). When Vernon ordered Harry out of the house, she reluctantly stepped in after a howler (later revealed to have been from Dumbledore) arrived telling Petunia to "remember my last." Petunia cloaked her decision to allow Harry to stay in that she knew it would appear strange to the neighbours if Harry suddenly vanished. Whether this was the true reason for allowing her nephew to remain there or perhaps a glimmer of family loyalty, was left unsaid.

Hiding from Death Eaters
"She stopped and looked back. For a moment Harry had the strangest feeling that she wanted to say something to him: she gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech"

- Petunia fighting to say goodbye and good luck to Harry as she leaves.

In the summer of 1997, the blood protections were due to expire. Petunia, Dudley, and Vernon were placed under the protection of Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, both members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Just before the group left Privet Drive, Petunia watched her son offer the first words of acceptance Harry had ever heard and burst into tears on Dudley. Petunia walked towards the door to leave, looked back at Harry and opened her mouth to speak, but shortly after she pursed them back up and walked out. Petunia had wanted to wish Harry luck with his quest, but decided against it perhaps because she thought that it showed weakness and interest in the world she could never be part of. Petunia left Privet Drive with her family and went into hiding from Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort who may wish to question them for information on Harry's whereabouts.

Later life
In later life, her only son Dudley married and had at least two children, making her a grandmother and mother-in-law to Dudley's wife. Harry has said to have been on "Christmas card" terms with Dudley and his family and went to visit them occasionally, which his children hated.

Physical appearance
Petunia is a thin, blonde-haired woman, and described as having "nearly twice the usual amount of neck." It is also mentioned that she looked like a horse when she pursed her lips. Many times it was also stated that she had horse-like front teeth.

Personality and traits
Petunia is very nosy and often spends her time spying on her neighbours and has to have everything very clean. Petunia over loved her family and it showed, her son was spoiled and both her husband and son were overweight. Petunia's role in her family was to be a housewife and wait hand and foot on the men of her house, excluding Harry.

Petunia is frequently heard referring to wizards and witches as "freaks." When Lily left for Hogwarts for the first time she referred to it as a place for "weirdos," a place where they may be "separated from normal people" for the safety of the latter. In 1995 she received a Howler from Dumbledore, which didn't help her dislike the wizarding world and community in general.

Petunia's attitudes toward the wizarding world most probably stem from her deep desire to attend Hogwarts only to be rejected. After Lily's invitation to attend, Petunia wrote to Dumbledore, asking that she also be permitted to study there. Dumbledore's kind rejection seemed to have resulted in severe jealousy towards Hogwarts and the wizarding world in general.

In 1997, Petunia realised that she didn't hate her nephew so much, and she attempted to explain Harry about her jealousy, and that it was the reason she disliked magic so much. It is possible that she told him about those things after the Second Wizarding War.

Family
"I was the only one who saw her for what she was -- a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"

- Petunia to Harry

Petunia may have had a good relationship with her parents. However, they made her jealous when they were showing their interest on Lily's magical abilities, and favoured her. It is known that they had died by the time Petunia had a son.

Lily Evans was Petunia's only sibling. They were very close and always played together. When Lily started developing her magical powers Petunia was torn between her curiosity and her disapproval of magic. She tried protecting Lily when she became friends with Snape, a young boy who lived nearby and called Petunia a "Muggle", which to her was an insult even though she had no understanding of the meaning of the word.

Come the time of her sister's Hogwarts acceptance letter, Petunia was heartbroken she hadn't been asked to attend. She wrote to Hogwarts headmaster asking if she could attend and received a polite and kind letter saying she had no magical ability. Upset with her rejection Petunia went on to loathe the wizarding world and her sister. She called her sister a freak on her visits back from Hogwarts. Though despite her new hate for her sister, Petunia would later bring up Lily's only son after her death.

Vernon Dursley
Petunia was married to Vernon Dursley. She seemed to love him very much, as she shows affection towards him and is proud of his position at work. Petunia's role in her family, prior to Harry's arrival, was to do all the housework whilst her husband Vernon worked at the drill factory-Grunnings. She cooked all the meals, and seemed to overfeed her family.

However, Vernon and Petunia's lives revolve around the two children, Dudley and Harry. They give Dudley everything he wants, allowing him to rule the house. Conversely, they kept strict control over Harry; he performed the chores, cooked the meals (or at least breakfast), and spent time otherwise locked in the cupboard under the stairs. After Harry re-enters the wizarding world, Petunia and Vernon's control over him diminishes, culminating in Harry's threatening them at wand point or using the fact that his Godfather was supposedly a murderer of thirteen people and leaving the house at the beginning of his third year. After this, the Dursleys make a point of completely ignoring Harry when he is in their house.

It is unknown if Vernon knew that his wife wanted to attend Hogwarts herself in the past, her previously close relationship with Lily, or her childhood with wizard Severus Snape.

Dudley Dursley
Dudley was Petunia's first and only child. Petunia did, however, also raise Harry Potter, her nephew, at the same time. The amount of love and affection she gave was not shared equally and it was obvious that she didn't like Harry. Petunia gave in to every demand of Dudley's, one summer Minerva McGonagall spotted Dudley kicking his mother so she would buy him sweets, which she did. Petunia massively spoiled Dudley, resulting in him being very overweight; she denied it for many years though, calling it baby fat or saying he had big bones. She gave him anything he wanted and comforted him through tantrums. She often explained away all the reports of Dudley's bullying behaviour as well as overfeeding him.

Petunia also deliberately put Dudley's word before Harry's even if Harry was right. She appears to have loved him very much and burst into tears every time he said something that wasn't cruel or mean. Even when Dudley was a teenager she called him "Diddy-kins" and other sickeningly sweet nicknames, which would be patronizing and perhaps funny to a third party, if not for the sheer sincerity she expresses when employing the names.

Petunia overindulged her only son, and as a result, his upbringing was spoiled and he turned out to be a nasty piece of work. He was especially horrible to Harry, until he rescued Dudley from a Dementor attack, after which Dudley seemed to respect him more.

When Dudley showed affection for Harry, Petunia burst into tears, for she was so overcome with pride for her Diddy-kins.

Vernon Dursley's views of his son was different to Petunia's as he was proud of Dudley when he became a boxer ("the noble sport") and instead of wailing that the teachers didn't understand their son causing poor school grades he says that he doesn't want a swotty little nancy boy anyway. Vernon's sister as also know to say that Dudley would be proper man like his father and hinted that he was not at least scrawny like Harry.

Harry Potter
Petunia never showed any love and affection at all towards Harry because he reminded her of Lily and the wizarding world. She treated him as if he were a waste of space, giving him the cupboard under the stairs at first and making him do all the chores. She, along with Vernon, ignored most of Harry's birthdays and gave him something minor like a toothpick when they didn't.

She didn't accept Harry as a second son and never gave him the love and affection he needed and craved from her. She also helped to keep him out of the wizarding world and tried to make themselves look as normal as possible as part of her attempts at hiding Harry from other people. When Harry left to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes in 1997, Petunia was almost able to bring herself to wish him luck and admit that her poor treatment of him was born out of jealousy, but backed out at the last moment and left without saying a word.

Petunia would later become an aunt-in-law to Harry's wife Ginny Weasley, and the great-aunt to Harry and Ginny's three children; James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna. Although Harry's relationship with her son Dudley had mended to the point that they remained on "Christmas card terms" and visited occasionally, it is unknown if Petunia herself ever had contact with Harry again. In spite everything Harry cared for her enough to push them to go into hiding for their protection. Although it is not known if Petunia contacted Harry again after the war, it is highly possible that Petunia reconciled with her nephew and were in Christmas cards terms with him.

Severus Snape
Snape first met Petunia during their childhood. Snape was a boy who loved Lily, and was interested in her magical abilities. That made Petunia jealous. Snape and Petunia strongly disliked each other, from the first minute they met each other. Petunia disliked him because of his poor economic status and for his friendship with Lily. She was also jealous that Snape told Lily she was a witch, something that Petunia was not. Petunia also called Snape and Lily "freaks", during their first day at Hogwarts. While on Hogwarts Express, Snape expressed his disdain for Petunia, making Lily angry with him. Even when Petunia was an adult, she still disliked Snape, calling him "that awful boy," when she remembered him. Although they had one thing in common, they both disliked Harry for very different reasons.

Etymology
Petunia's name is the meaning of flower and the origin of the name is English. Petunia's maiden name was Evans. Evans is a Welsh or English surname derived from the given name Evan. As a Welsh name, Evan means "young warrior"; it can also be considered a form of the name John, meaning "God is gracious".

Petunia's married surname is Dursley. Dursley is a town in Gloucestershire, England. J. K. Rowling has commented that she visited the place as a child, and hated it, which likely affected her choice of surname for the awful family, remarking "I don't imagine I'm very popular in Dursley".

Behind the scenes

 * The role of Petunia Dursley is played by Fiona Shaw.
 * Her appearance in the films is somewhat different than the books, where she is described as being "blonde and horse-toothed." Actress Fiona Shaw is neither of these things, nor do the film makers attempt to alter her appearance with wigs or prosthetics.
 * In a deleted scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Petunia is seen looking very solemn, standing in the middle of the empty living room at Privet Drive. Harry walks down the stairs and stops when he sees her. She says that she has lived in this house for twenty years, and now she's expected to leave in one night. Harry explains how they will torture her, and stop at nothing. Petunia replies that she knows what they are capable of, that night at Godric's Hollow, Harry didn't just lose a mother, Petunia lost a sister. After which, she hurries out the door. This is very likely what Petunia was going to say in the book, but chose not to.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 
 * Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4

Notes and references
Petunia Dursley Pétunia Dursley Петуния Дурсль ペチュニア・ダーズリー Petunia Duffeling