| “ | Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. | „ |
| ~ Introduction to the Dursleys in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
| “ | Albus, do you really think it’s safe leaving him with these people? I’ve watched them all day, they’re the worst sort of Muggles imaginable. | „ |
| ~ Professor McGonagall noting the Dursley’s awful nature |
| “ | There's no such thing as magic! | „ |
| ~ Vernon Dursley to Harry following an incident at the zoo |
The Dursleys are supporting antagonists of the Harry Potter series. They are a muggle (i.e. non-magical) family and the only living relatives of Harry Potter. Although staunchly anti-magical, Vernon and Petunia reluctantly took Harry in following the death of his parents, James and Lily Potter at the end of the First Wizarding War.
Despite their relation, everyone in the Dursley family is extremely abusive towards Harry, treating him with open disdain and borderline cruelty. In the early stages of the Philosopher's Stone, Vernon and Petunia were the only members of the family that knew about Harry's heritage and capabilities. Dudley would find out that his cousin was a wizard at the same time as Harry himself. Marjorie Dursley meanwhile discovered the truth following an altercation with Harry in 1993 but had her memory of the event erased that same night (see below for details).
Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley usually appear in the opening chapters of the books, although they appear in some epilogues as well. They also appear in the opening segments of most of the corresponding movies. Marge Dursley made her only appearance in the third book/movie; The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Vernon was portrayed by the late Richard Griffiths who also played King George II in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz in the 2005 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film. Petunia was portrayed by Fiona Shaw who also portrayed Mombi in Emerald City, Father in the 1998 film The Avengers, Ramona Linscott in The Black Dahlia, Lena in the 1993 film Super Mario Bros, Marnie Stonebrook in True Blood and Carolyn Martens in Killing Eve, Dudley was portrayed by Harry Melling and Marjorie was portrayed by Pam Ferris who also played Miss Trunchbull in Matilda
Biography[]
Note: This section contains a small summary of the Dursley family's actions in the Harry Potter books, which are considered the true source for the characters villainous actions. Supplementary material is not included since the canonicity is questionable and liable to change in the future. For a more in-depth analysis of each character, please check out their respective pages in the links provided.
Early Lives[]
Virtually nothing is known about the Dursley families early lives or how Vernon and Petunia met and got married. Since neither Vernon nor Marjorie Dursley made any reference to their parents in the series, it can be assumed that the senior Dursley's passed away at some point prior to 1991. The same also appears to be true for Petunia Dursley, whose maiden name was Evans. Dumbledore mentioned in 1981 that Petunia, her husband and son were Harry James Potter's only living relatives, which indicates that the senior Evan's family members had also died at some point during or before The First Wizarding War.
Whatever the case, Vernon and Petunia Dursley were aware about the existence of magic and the wizarding community. Petunia's younger sister, Lily Evan's was a muggle born witch, who in 1971 received a letter inviting her to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Whilst Mr and Mrs Evan's were both intrigued and fascinated by their youngest daughters new found powers, Petunia was both bitter and jealous. These factors, coupled with a lack of understanding about magic resulted in her becoming estranged from her sister. Vernon Dursley, who hated anything out of the ordinary, shared his wife's opinions and by 1981, magic and the Potter family were taboo subjects within the Dursleys residence.
By 1st November 1981, Petunia and Vernon Dursley had been married for four years. They lived at Number 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Sussex. Vernon was the director of a local drill manufacturing company called Grunnings. Petunia on the other hand was a house wife, who stayed at home looking after the couples one year old son. This greedy and short tempered child was called Dudley. Meanwhile, Vernon's older sister Marjorie, who preferred to be called "Marge", lived at an undisclosed address in the countryside. Despite her implied wealth, she never married and had no children. She worked at home, breeding bulldogs and selling the puppies once they were mature enough. Although Vernon and Petunia considered Marge to be unpleasant, they maintained regular contact with her and allowed her to stay with them on a number of occasions.
In contrast, the Dursley family had very limited contact with the Potters. It is not known if James and Lily ever visited Privet Drive or when the two families last made contact. Vernon and Petunia were aware that they had a nephew called Harry, who was a few months younger than Dudley, but this information was of little concern to them. They also did not know that James and Lily had been forced to go into hiding. Unbeknownst to the Dursley family, the magical community was currently engaged in a covert war against the forces of the Dark Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard to have ever lived.
During the final years of the conflict the seer and future divination teacher, Sybill Trelawney, made a prophecy that foretold the coming of a child capable of stopping Voldemort forever. When Severus Snape notified his master about what he had heard, the Dark Lord concluded that Trelawney was talking about Harry Potter. Not wanting the prophecy to come true, Voldemort made it his priority to find and kill the child, an act that would change the Dursley families lives forever.
Raising Harry Potter[]
On 2nd November 1981, Petunia Dursley opened the front door of her house to put the milk bottles out, There, she found a baby, wrapped in a blanket lying on the doorstep. Despite her horror and confusion, she brought the infant inside and alongside her husband, read the letter that accompanied the child. From it's contents, the Dursleys learnt that the little boy was nephew Harry. The note, written by Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, also informed Vernon and Petunia about the untimely deaths of James and Lily, who had been killed by Voldemort two days previously. Although, Dumbledore knew about the families cruel nature and the fact that many wizarding families would have happily adopted Harry, necessity forced him to leave the young boy with his relatives.
As he explained in his letter, Lily Potter sacrificed her life to save her infant son. In doing so, she bestowed a powerful magical protection upon Harry. So long as he lived with an immediate family member who shared the same bloodline, Voldemort, who Dumbledore knew would one day return, could not harm the boy. Thus, for the time being, Dumbledore entrusted Harry into the care of his aunt and uncle with the hope that Vernon and Petunia would raise Harry as if he was their own.
Despite their dislike for both magic and the Potters, Vernon and Petunia allowed Harry to stay at Privet Drive, but that was as far as their affection extended. Defying Dumbledore's wishes and hopes, Vernon and Petunia abused and mistreated Harry, something that both Dudley and Marge (whom Harry was forced to call Aunt Marge) were quick to emulate. Between 1981 and 1997 Harry Potter was frequently chastised, looked down upon and bullied by his relatives, Vernon and Petunia treated the boy like unwanted baggage. They usually ignored him, refused to give Harry pocket money, buy him new clothes or toys, rarely remembered his birthday and initially locked him in the cupboard under the stairs, despite living in a four bedroom house.
The couple also swore to never let Harry learn about the existence of magic or the wizarding world. From the reactions of the neighbourhood children, it is heavily implied that the Dursleys told their neighbors that Harry was a deranged and unstable boy. By 1995, word had spread that Harry spent his school terms at St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys. Vernon and Petunia also forbade Harry to ask questions about his parents and would yell at/punish him if he displayed any signs of imagination or magic, usually by locking him in his cupboard and denying him food. Despite their best efforts to "stomp the magic out of him" however, strange and wonderful things kept happening around Harry that defied explanation. These were caused by Harry subconsciously using his magical abilities, which he had no knowledge or control over.
Like her brother and sister-in-law, Marjorie Dursley also hated Harry, to the point of comparing him to the runt of a dog litter. Whenever she visited her relatives, Marge was both physically and emotionally abusive towards the boy. For example, she told Vernon and Petunia that she would have taken Harry straight to the orphanage if he arrived on her doorstep. She also insulted Harry and his dead parents openly, all the while comparing him unfavorably to Dudley. At one point, Marge even allowed her pet dog Ripper to chase Harry after he accidentally stepped on Ripper's paw (tail in the book's American version), showing absolutely no concern for his wellbeing.
In contrast to Harry, Dudley Dursley was spoilt rotten by his both parents and aunt. To the three older Dursleys, Dudley was the perfect child, who could do no wrong. Harry could do nothing but watch as his cousin was morphed into an obese, greedy, selfish and awful bully. Following in his parents footsteps, Dudley spent much of his youth bullying Harry. In addition to making sure that his cousin had no friends at school, Dudley and his gang of thugs would regularly terrorised the local children, though Harry remained their favorite target. Harry spent most of his early life being chased and beaten up by his cousin for the latter's twisted amusement. Harry quickly learnt that there was no point in telling either his Aunt or Uncle about this, because they always took Dudley's side and ignored what he had done.
If things had carried on like this, it is very likely that the unfairness of the situation would have eventually gotten to Harry James Potter and things would have ended badly for both him and his relatives. By 1991, Harry had lost all hope of escaping from the Dursley's clutches and it appeared that nobody in the outside world was going to save him. That would all change in July 1991.
The Truth Revealed[]
By the summer of 1991, Harry and Dudley had finally graduated from primary school and were now looking forward to entering secondary school. Dudley had been accepted into his father's old academy Smeltings, which Vernon and Petunia hoped would shape their son into a fine young man. Harry meanwhile was to be shipped off to the local state school Stonewall High. Although he was not looking forward to this, Harry was at least relieved that he would, at the very least, be away from Dudley's taunts and fists.
On the morning that would change Harry's life, Petunia was dying some of Dudley's old clothes to serve as his new school uniform, since she and her husband refused to spend any of their money on buying him a fresh set. Fortunately for Harry, he would never wear this "uniform". The trouble began, when the Dursley's heard the letter box clatter. Vernon made the fateful mistake of sending his nephew to retrieve the correspondence. To Harry's astonishment, one of the letters was addressed to - Mr H. Potter, The Cupboard Under the Stairs, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Having never received any mail in his life before, the confused Harry brought the post through to the kitchen, sat down at the table and began to open his letter.
Before he could read the message within the envelope however, Dudley informed his father about that Harry was holding something. Prompted, Uncle Vernon snatched the paper out of Harry's hands, mockingly asked who would write to his nephew, then browsed the contents. A moment later, the smile vanished from Vernon Dursleys face. He called out to his wife, who was equally horrified by what she saw. Their reactions confused both Harry and Dudley but Uncle Vernon threw them from the room, before either of them could find out what the letter said. Unbeknownst to the two boys, the letter was a notification of Harry's acceptance into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
With their opinions of magic unchanged, Vernon and Petunia decided to ignore the letter and keep the children in the dark. Even so, they moved Harry out of the cupboard and into the smallest bedroom, fearing (quite correctly) that they were being spied on. Unfortunately, the Dursleys efforts to ignore the Hogwarts administration were in vain. Over the next few days, Harry received an ever increasing number of letters, until finally the sitting room was practically buried in them. Although he successfully prevented his nephew from reading any of the messages, after a weeks worth of harassment, Vernon Dursley decided that enough was enough.
He ordered his wife, son and nephew to pack a few belongings and get into the family car. Vernon then drove his family across the country, hoping to lose their pursuers. By the time Harry's eleventh birthday came around, the Dursley's and Harry had taken up residence in a small hut on a rock in the middle of the sea. Yet even this extreme measure was not enough.
On 31st July 1991, the Dursleys slumber was interrupted by the arrival of Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts Castle. Having rescued Harry from his parents house ten years previously, Hagrid was outraged to learn that Vernon and Petunia had kept Harry, who was famous in the wizarding world, in the dark about his heritage. Despite Vernon Dursley's protests, Hagrid finally revealed to Harry that he was a wizard and what the letters he had been receiving contained. He also, somewhat reluctantly, told Harry about Voldemort and the truth behind his parents demise. As Harry processed this information, he finally realised why so many strange things had happened to him and the great secret that Vernon and Petunia Dursley had tried to keep hidden for nearly a decade was finally revealed.
Despite this setback, Uncle Vernon made one final attempt to deny Harry entry into Hogwarts. He told Hagrid flat out that he would not accept a wizard within his family or pay to have his nephew educated in such a manner. Unfortunately, during this rant, Vernon made the mistake of insulting Albus Dumbledore to whom Hagrid was both extreme loyal and grateful. In retaliation, Hagrid cast a transfiguration spell on Dudley, causing the boy to grow a pigs tail, though he later told Harry that he intended to turn him into a pig. Horrified, Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley ran into the master bedroom and shut the door.
The family did not emerge again until the following day after Hagrid and Harry had left to buy the latter's school supplies. Through means unspecified the Dursley's made it back to shore and returned to Privet Drive. Harry also returned to the residence where he would remain until 1st September, when the Hogwarts term started. He was largely ignored by his Aunt and Uncle, which suited him fine, although he was forced to ask for a lift to Kings Cross Station, London. Since Dudley was due to have the tail Hagrid had given him removed that same day, Uncle Vernon agreed to take Harry to the station where, according to his ticket, Harry was to catch the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 3/4.
When the big day finally arrived, Vernon helped Harry load all of his school supplies into the back of the family car. Upon reaching the station however, Harry found that there were no directions to the relevant platform, a fact which his uncle was quick to point out. Instead of helping him find his way however, Vernon Dursley sarcastically wished his nephew a good term, then left him without a backwards glance. The last image that Harry saw of his relatives that year was of the three Dursley's driving away, laughing at his misfortune. Fortunately for Harry, with a bit of help from the Weasley Family, he was able to find the train and start his education at Hogwarts.
No Peace for the Wicked[]
Harry Potter would spent the next six years of his life at Hogwarts. He had minimal contact with his relatives, whose only correspondence were a couple of Christmas presents in his first two years (a fifty pence piece in 1991, followed by a toothpick and a note to ask for permission to stay over the summer in 1992). Although necessity forced Harry to return to Privet Drive during the summer holidays, during the Christmas and Easter breaks he always signed up to stay at the Castle and was often joined by his new friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Despite this the Dursley's were always there to pick Harry up from the station at the end of the school year.
Even though Harry and Dudley now knew about the existence of magic, Vernon and Petunia Dursley were determined to keep act as if nothing changed and to stay as far away as possible, from that strange and unfamiliar world. Whenever Harry returned to Privet Drive, his spell books and other materials were kept firmly out of sight in the under-stairs cupboard under lock and key. They completely ignored Harry's complaints that he had been given homework and would shout at him if he ever referenced the word magic, let alone his school.
Unfortunately for the Dursley's trouble seemed to follow Harry back to their residence. Between 1992 and 1996, a number of strange events happened as described in the following table, which caused the family, no small amount of problems.
1992[]
| Events and Consequences |
|---|
| In what would become a running trend from that point onwards, the Dursleys completely ignored Harry's twelfth birthday. Instead, Uncle Vernon had arranged a fancy dinner party for Mr and Mrs Mason; the former was a potential Grunnings client, looking to buy a large quantity of drills for an unspecified building project. It was repeatedly noted that if successful, the deal would have made the Dursley family extremely wealthy.
The Dursleys intended to keep Harry away from the Masons, with Vernon ordering his nephew to keep out of everyone's way. Unfortunately, Dudley decided to tease Harry over the fact that nobody had remembered his birthday. In retaliation, Harry pretended to be practising magic, which got him into trouble with Aunt Petunia, who made him perform several menial tasks as punishment. When the Masons finally arrived, Harry was sent unceremoniously to his bedroom. In what can only be described as bad timing, Dobby the House Elf chose to visit Privet Drive that evening, to warn Harry not to attend Hogwarts that year stating that somebody had sinister plans for the castle. When Harry refused to listen to him, Dobby deliberately sabotaged the dinner party to get Harry in big trouble and prevent him from returning to school. The attempt was almost successful, as the Ministry of Magic sent a letter to Harry later that evening via owl, to remind him not to use magic outside of Hogwarts. This not only ruined both the dinner party but Uncle Vernon's chances of making a profitable deal. Mrs Mason, who was ornithophobic (i.e. afraid of birds), ran out of the house at the sight of the animal with her angry husband soon following. Now aware that Harry had "conveniently forgotten" to mention that he could not harm them with magic, Vernon Dursley enacted his worst punishment ever. Enraged at the loss of his deal, he locked Harry up in his bedroom like a prisoner, making it very clear that he was not going to let Harry return to Hogwarts ever again. Several locks and bars were installed on Harry's door and window to ensure that he could not escape. For the rest of Harry's time at Privet Drive, the Dursleys' only contact with Harry was to push tins of food through a newly installed catflap at the base of his door and let him out to use the bathroom. Fortunately for Harry, he only had to endure three days of confinement. On the third evening, he was rescued by Ron and his older brothers Fred and George. The four boys managed to quietly retrieve all of Harry's possessions and load them into the trunk of Arthur Weasley's car, which the three brothers had "borrowed" to rescue their friend. They would have made a clean getaway, had Harry not forgotten his pet owl, Hedwig. Realising she was being left behind, she screeched loudly. The Dursleys were only made aware of what was happening when Hedwig, Harry's pet owl screeched loudly so as not to be forgotten. Woken by the commotion, Uncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door and when he saw what was happening tried to prevent Harry from escaping. The Weasleys however, managed to pull Harry free before driving off into the night. Unable to do anything, the three Dursleys could only watch in stunned disbelief as the flying car carried Harry off into the sky. Knowing that he would not have to deal with his relatives for another year, Harry bade the Dursleys a mocking farewell. He then spent the rest of the summer with Ron's family and did not see the Dursleys again until the summer of 1993. |
1993[]
| Events and Consequences |
|---|
| Harry sadly managed to get on the wrong side of his relatives within the first week of his return to Privet Drive. Before leaving the Hogwarts Express he gave Ron and Hermione the Dursleys telephone number, wanting to have a better line of communication than letters through owls. Unfortunately, Ron, who had never used a telephone in his life, was the first to try and call him. To make matters worse, Uncle Vernon answered the phone. Thanks to a poor choice of words from Ron, Harry was shouted at by his uncle and neither Ron nor Hermione ever attempted to contact him via telephone again.
When Harry's birthday came around soon afterwards, it turned out to be the worst one that he would ever spend with the Dursleys. Vernon's sister Marge came to stay with the family that week. Harry was forced to not only hide anything related to Hogwarts but endure seven long days of ridicule and bullying at the hands of his step-aunt, which the rest of the family completely ignored. Harry managed to keep his anger in check for the most part, except for one occasion when Marge insulted his dead mother. This was because Harry needed his uncle to sign a permission form that would allow him to visit Hogsmeade, a wizarding village close to Hogwarts. The latter only promised to do so if Harry kept a civil tongue and his magic a secret. Despite all of the abuse Marge threw at him over the next seven days, Harry managed to keep his emotions in check. The only exception was when she insulted his dead mother, whereupon Harry made Marge's wine glass explode. Then, on the final day of Marge's visit, just when it looked as though Harry was going to fulfil his promise, Marge made the mistake of insulting his father. Harry tried his best to ignore her, but in the end, he could not stand to hear Marge badmouthing the man who gave his life to try and save both his wife and son. Furious, Harry snapped and stood up to his uncle's sister and when she refused to stop, he subconsciously used his magic to inflate her like a giant balloon. As Harry rushed upstairs to fetch his possessions, the horrified Vernon and Petunia tried to pull Marge back to Earth. This resulted in Vernon being bitten by Marge's dog Ripper. Unable to rescue Marge, Vernon Dursley ran into the hallway where he found Harry with his trunk and other possessions in hand. He angrily ordered Harry to return to the living room and undo what he had done. Harry, however, having enough of taking his family's abuse lying down, stood up to his uncle for the first time in his life. Pointing his wand at Vernon Dursley, Harry not only refused to do as he was told but told his uncle flat out that as far as he was concerned, Marjorie Dursley got what she deserved. He then left the house without a backward glance and did not return until the following year. Fortunately for Marge, she did not remain inflated for too long. Witches and wizards from the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad restored her to her proper size and then modified Marge's memory so that she would not remember the event. Vernon, Petunia and Dudley (who already knew of magic) were allowed to keep their memories remember. According to Fudge, Vernon and Petunia initially did not want Harry back. However, the Ministry eventually negotiated a deal: Harry could return the following year, provided he stayed at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays, which Harry had always did anyway. Although Harry had unintentionally violated the laws regarding the statute of secrecy, he was not punished for what happened. This was because Sirius Black, a (falsely accused) Death Eater and notorious murderer had escaped from Azkaban, the wizard prison. Thinking that Sirius was trying to track down and kill Harry, the Ministry let this particular slide for the time being. |
1994[]
| Events and Consequences |
|---|
| In contrast to the previous two years, the Dursley family's encounter with the magical community in 1994 was relatively tame. Instead, the much more pressing and concerning issue related, surprisingly, to Dudley Dursley. In his end-of-year report, the Smeltings school nurse expressed the serious concerns she had about Dudley's overall health, particularly his weight. As a result of this, she sent the Dursleys a diet sheet, with strict instructions that Dudley follow the regime until he returned to the academy. Petunia Dursley forced the whole family to go on the diet, though Harry's friends sent him secret parcels ensuring, that, unlike the rest of his relatives for once he did not starve.
Not long after the holiday began, Ron's parents invited Harry to stay with them for the summer, so that he could attend the Quidditch World Cup, a massive sporting event. Instead of contacting them by owl post, she sent it by muggle post, adding far too many stamps, much to Uncle Vernon's annoyance. Although Vernon did not initially wish to let Harry go, he relented when Harry pointed out that it would mean being free of him for the rest of the summer. Unfortunately, instead of just simply picking Harry up from the door, the Weasleys used the floo network, i.e. transportation via the fireplace. Since the Dursleys had installed an electric fireplace, Arthur Weasley was forced to blow the fitting up, covering both the room and the Dursleys in soot. Despite this incident and being creeped out by the Weasleys' actions, Harry's parting with the Dursleys would have gone off without a hitch, had it not been for Fred and George. The twins, who were planning to start their own joke shop, were experimenting with various sweet items. Knowing that Dudley was on a diet, they deliberately dropped some sweets in the living room, knowing full well that the greedy boy would gobble one or more up. Sure enough, Dudley ate one of the sweets, a Ton Tongue Toffee. This caused his tongue to swell to gigantic proportions to the point that it almost choked him. As Petunia Dursley tried frantically to help her son, Vernon Dursley began hurling china ornaments at Arthur Weasley. Harry wisely retreated to the Burrow via the Floo network, before he could get injured in the crossfire. When Ron's irate father finally returned home, he told both Harry and his sons that Dudley's tongue was nearly four feet long before Vernon and Petunia let him undo the curse. After that, he repaired and cleaned the damaged living room with a few waves of his wand, then disapparated. The Dursleys were, rather understandably, glad to see him go. |
1995[]
| Events and Consequences |
|---|
| The summer of 1995 would prove to be the most perilous one that Harry ever spent with his relatives. Unbeknownst to the Dursleys, less than a month before Harry's return, Voldemort, the man responsible for making Harry an orphan was restored to life. After rallying his followers that had escaped imprisonment to his side and failing to kill Harry, the Dark Lord started to build up his army once again in order to make a new bid for power. Not knowing what Voldemort was planning or doing, Harry remained on full alert that summer, keeping an extremely close watch over both the muggle and magical news for any signs of danger.
Although suspicious of this strange behaviour, Petunia and Vernon chose to focus their attention on Dudley once again. Thanks to the diet and a recently discovered talent, the youngest Dursley had become his school's boxing champion. In typical fashion, Dudley spent his summer terrorising the local children with the help of his gang and doing other illegal things such as underage smoking, whilst keeping his activities hidden from his parents. One evening, after seeing Dudley with his friends, Harry, who was frustrated over the minimal contact that he'd had with his friends, decided to have a bit of fun with his cousin. He waited until Dudley was alone and then proceeded to taunt him for picking on small children who couldn't fight back. Unfortunately, Dudley swiftly turned the tables, mocking Harry over talking about a boy named Cedric in his sleep. Not knowing that the still traumatised Harry had seen Cedric murdered upon Voldemort's orders just a few weeks previously, Dudley continued to ridicule his cousin, until Harry pulled out his wand. Although Dudley was horrified by the sight of his cousin's wand, it turned out to be a very good thing that Harry was carrying it. Shortly after Harry drew his weapon, the temperature around the two boys started to drop and a cold sense of despair came over them. Not knowing what was happening, Dudley started to flay around as a series of terrifying images flashed before his eyes. Harry on the other hand knew straight away what was happening. They were under attack by a pair of Dementors, the sinister, soul-sucking guards of Azkaban. What Harry did not know was that the Ministry of Magic, led by Minister, Cornelius Fudge, had refused to accept Harry and Dumbledore's declarations that Voldemort had returned. Having already started a smear against him, Fudge and his colleagues had recently spent most of their time discussing ways in which to discredit and silence Harry's so-called "lies". Without the knowledge or consent of her superiors, Dolores Umbridge, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, secretly sent the Dementors to Little Whinging in the hope that Harry would either be killed or forced defend himself. Sure enough, Harry had no choice but to cast the patronus charm in order to save both his and Dudley's lives. This was extremely fortunate for Dudley. who was almost kissed by one of the Dementors, an act that would have left him in a state of undeath and left his soul destroyed. As both the Ministry and Dumbledore were notified about the incident, Harry escorted his traumatised cousin home. Vernon and Petunia were understandably horrified when they saw the state that their son was in. Since Dudley couldn't see the Dementors (due to being a muggle) he initially blamed Harry for what had happened. Furious, Uncle Vernon demanded an explanation, whilst Petunia tended to her sickly son. Although the conversation was interrupted at frequent intervals by a number of owls from the Ministry, Arthur Weasley and Sirius Black, Harry eventually managed to tell his relatives about the Dementors. He was only vindicated when Aunt Petunia, to everybody's astonishment admitted that she knew of the existence of Dementors. She had heard Lily talking to their neighbour and fellow wizard Severus Snape about it once when she was a child. Although relieved to hear that Dudley had not been kissed, Vernon still demanded to know what could have possibly made those vile creatures leave their posts at the wizard's prison. Left with no choice, Harry told them about Voldemort's return. Upon hearing that his nephew was being hunted by a mass murderer, Vernon Dursley refused to put his family in any more danger. Without a moment's hesitation, he ordered Harry to get out of his house and never come back, even threatening to throw the boy out when his stunned nephew did not move. Uncle Vernon was only stopped when his wife received a howler from Albus Dumbledore. After the magical message reminded Petunia Dursley of what he had said in the letter fourteen years ago, Harry's aunt allowed him to stay but confined him to his bedroom from that point onwards. Left with no choice Harry obeyed. Ultimately, Harry did not remain at Privet Drive for much longer. About a week after the attack, the Dursleys received a letter saying that they had won an award for the best-kept garden in England. Invited to a rewards ceremony, the three Dursleys left Harry unattended. They eventually discovered that the ceremony had been a farce to lure them away. When they returned to Privet Drive they found the house empty, save for a note from the Order of the Phoenix wizards, who explained that they had taken Harry away without his family's knowledge in order to keep both parties safe. It is not known how the Dursleys reacted to this news, but in all likelihood, they were probably just glad to be rid of Harry once again. Towards the end of the school year, Harry had a meeting with Albus Dumbledore. Furious and devastated over the loss of his godfather, Sirius Black, Harry lashed out at Dumbledore verbally. Taking this abuse in stride, Dumbledore realised that he needed to explain everything to Harry. Aside from telling the boy about his ultimate destiny and his magical bond with Voldemort, Dumbledore also told him why he had left Harry with the Dursleys, specifically his Aunt Petunia. Harry pointed out that his aunt had never loved or looked after him, which Dumbledore acknowledged. However, he also reminded Harry that despite all of that, Petunia Dursley still took him in and, whatever her faults, gave him a home and a place to keep him safe. When Harry arrived at Platform 9 3/4 at the end of that year, he got an unexpected and welcome surprise. With Voldemort's return now publicly confirmed, the Order of the Phoenix made it their top priority to keep him safe from both any external and internal threats. As such, the group confronted the Dursleys en masse, making it very clear that if they got word that Harry was being mistreated again, then the family would have to answer to them. Vernon Dursley tried to put on a brave face but was ultimately intimidated into silence. |
1996[]
| Events and Consequences |
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| Harry's penultimate year with the Dursley proved to be the most uneventful since he started Hogwarts. After returning to Privet Drive, the Dursleys largely ignored Harry, which suited him just fine. Harry was soon contacted by Albus Dumbledore who intended to take him to the Burrow. Unfortunately, Harry forgot to tell his aunt and uncle about this and by the time he remembered to do so, the Headmaster was already knocking on the front door.
Vernon Dursley answered the door and was completely horrified to see Dumbledore, who was still wearing wizard robes standing on his front porch. Realising what Harry had done, Dumbledore casually invited himself in. He then "accompanied" all three Dursleys and Harry to the sitting. There, after serving them all glasses of mead, which the Dursleys refused to touch or drink, resulting in the glasses bouncing off of their heads until Dumbledore vanished them, Dumbledore notified Harry about some serious issues. First up, was the subject of the late Sirius Black's last will and testament. Harry's godfather had left him everything he owned including his old residence. To make sure that the house did indeed belong to Harry, Dumbledore summoned the family elf Kreacher to the residence, much to Aunt Petunia's dismay. Fortunately, Harry was able to clear up this matter very quickly, resulting in Kreacher's departure. Once Harry had collected all of his possessions, Dumbledore turned to the Dursley family. Although he did not raise his voice, he criticised both Vernon and Petunia for the way that they treated both Harry and Dudley. Although the pair had never mistreated the latter, Dumbledore considered their spoiling of their son to be just as bad, as the abuse that they had heaped upon Harry, Dumbledore's final message to the family was that Harry would return to their home one last time. The moment he turned seventeen, the magical enchantment would be broken, whereupon Harry would be free to do as he pleased. Harry and Dumbledore left soon afterwards. The Dursleys did not see them out. Instead, they remained on the sofa. Petunia and Vernon were left to reflect upon what Dumbledore had told them, whilst Dudley was left to wonder when he had ever been mistreated. |
Final Farewell[]
Despite Harry's dislike for the Dursleys, in 1997 he helped to ensure their safety at the height of The Second Wizarding War. As Dumbledore had explained the previous year, the magical protection that Lily Potter's sacrifice had bestowed upon Harry would break in a few weeks time, when he came of age at seventeen. Knowing that Voldemort would not hesitate to go after Harry's relatives in order to try and draw him out, Harry urged his uncle, aunt and cousin to go into hiding, stating that the Order of the Phoenix had arranged special protection for the whole lot of them.
Vernon and Petunia were reluctant to leave their beloved home, but Dudley was convinced by Harry's arguments. After listening to what his cousin had to say, he told his parents that they should listen to Harry and that he was going to accept the Order's offer. Not wanting to leave their beloved son, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia finally relented. The family left with Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones from the Order soon afterwards.
Before leaving however, Dudley exchanged a final farewell with his cousin. He shook hands with Harry, wished him luck and sincerely thanked him for saving his life two years previously. In contrast, Petunia and Vernon did not exchange any pleasantries with their nephew. The pair hesitated, but ultimately chose to walk out of the door without saying a word. The last image that Harry Potter had of his relatives, before undertaking the mission that would see the end of Voldemort was of them being driven off into the distance and safety.
It is not known if Harry ever returned to Privet Drive following Voldemort's final defeat, but given everything that had happened it seems very unlikely. Whilst it is not clear how much contact he had with either Petunia or Vernon, Harry remained on Christmas card terms with Dudley and would occasionally visit with his children. When Petunia passed away in 2020, she left Harry something very precious; the blanket that he had been wrapped in when Dumbledore left him on the doorstep. This small token would later prove instrumental in helping Harry and his friends to defeat Voldemort's daughter Delphini, whilst at the same time rescuing Harry's own son, Albus Potter.
Family Members[]
Vernon Dursley[]
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| Vernon Dursley is the patriarch and breadwinner of the Dursley family. His deepest desire is to live a normal life and avoid any strange phenomena that might affect his or his family's safety. For this reason, Vernon despised magic and anybody who practised it. These opinions were also demonstrated in the treatment of his relatives. Whilst he was shown to be a loving husband, brother and father, Vernon held no affection towards his nephew Harry, whom he considered to be "a waste of space".
As the most anti-magical member of his family, Vernon was the most abusive of Harry's immediate relatives. Throughout Harry's childhood, his uncle did everything within his power to keep him away from the wizarding world and issued extreme punishments for the tiniest infraction. For example, in 1991, when Harry innocently mentioned a dream about a flying motorcycle, his uncle shouted at him as if Harry had just said a cruel swear word. It should be noted however that whilst most of his punishments were cruel and unlawful, in the books at least, Vernon Dursley never attempted to hit Harry. Despite his cowardly tendencies, Vernon was very protective of his family and feared what Harry could do to them if he turned his magic upon them. His fears were somewhat justified since Harry made Marge inflate like a balloon in 1993 and in 1995, Dudley was nearly killed by a pair of Dementors. In spite of this, Vernon never once thought that the best thing to was to treat Harry better and therefore, never showed him any compassion. On the contrary, following the incident with the Dementors, Vernon nearly evicted Harry from the premises and was only stopped by Petunia. When the family parted from Little Whinging in 1997, Vernon was the only member to show no concern for Harry, being the only one not to disagree with his sarcastic comment that he was a "waste of space". Although he did briefly move to shake Harry's hand and wish him luck, Vernon stopped himself and left without another word. | ||||
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Petunia Dursley[]
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| The matriarch of the Dursley family, Petunia Evans was the older sister of Harry's late mother, Lily. Due to a combination of her own lack of magic and their parent's blatant favouritism, Petunia developed a very poor opinion of magic and those who practised it. This resulted in an estrangement from her younger sister, which the pair never managed to resolve before the latter's death. Following Lily's demise, Petunia generally acted as though she had been an only child.
Despite this, some of Petunia's actions suggest that she did in fact, secretly care about both Lily and Harry. Although she would never openly admit it, even calling her sister a freak on one occasion, it is implied that Petunia deeply regretted not being able to reconcile with her sister for what she had said during their childhood. Dumbledore highlighted this in the Order of the Phoenix when he pointed out that despite her attitude towards magic, Lily and Harry himself, Petunia nevertheless took Harry into her home. It should also be noted that whilst Vernon was portrayed as a genuinely horrible man, who abused Harry whenever possible, Petunia's abuse was mostly disciplinary. Petunia would ultimately prove that she did care about Harry when the Dursley's left Privet Drive in 1997. She was the last member of the family to leave and upon reaching the kitchen door, she paused and looked back at her nephew. Teetering on the verge of wishing him luck, she like her husband, stopped herself at the last moment and simply walked out. It is not known if Petunia maintained contact with Harry following this event. | ||||
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Dudley Dursley[]
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| Dudley is Harry's older cousin (by one month) and the only child of Vernon and Petunia Dursley. In contrast to Harry, who was abused and mistreated throughout his youth, Dudley was both pampered and spoiled rotten by his adult relatives. Vernon, Petunia and Marge never said "no" to any of his demands, frequently bought Dudley whatever he wanted and swallowed every lie he told them, whilst deliberately ignoring his many flaws. Whenever they did something he did not like, Dudley would throw a tantrum until he got his way. By 1994, Dudley Dursley was a morbidly obese, bully who was greatly feared by all of the neighbourhood children.
Like his parents, Dudley enjoyed making his cousin's life miserable. Whenever he and his gang of thugs were not terrorising other people, they were bullying Harry both at home and at school. They would frequently chase Harry across the street/schoolyard, made sure that he never had any friends and used him as a punching bag whenever they caught him. Harry had no choice but to endure this abuse. Not only was he physically unable to overpower his cousin but his aunt and uncle always took their son's side over him. Thus, when the pair graduated from primary school Harry was actually glad that he would not be attending the same high school as Dudley. However, in the summer of 1995, Dudley Dursley finally got his comeuppance. Whilst walking home with his cousin one evening, with the pair antagonising each other along the way, they were attacked by a pair of Dementors. One of the foul creatures used its powers upon Dudley and tried to kiss him (i.e. eat his soul). Dudley was left both extremely sick and traumatised by the experience, but ultimately it did him a lot of good, Although he initially blamed Harry for what happened, Dudley was present for Harry's explanation, which made him realise that Harry had in fact saved his life. As a result of this and what he had witnessed under the Dementor's influence, Dudley had a profound change of heart about his cousin. In 1997, he was the only member of the family to willingly accept Harry and the Order of the Phoenix's offer of sanctuary. He even stood up to his parents, telling them that they should listen to Harry. He was also the only member of his family to exchange a proper goodbye with his cousin. He shook Harry's hand and thanked him for saving his life. Harry was deeply moved by this display of affection, so much so that he decided to keep Dudley in his life. The pair remained in contact throughout their adult lives, sending each other Christmas cards and occasionally meeting up so that their children could play together. | ||||
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Marjorie Dursley[]
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| Marjorie Dursley aka Marge is Uncle Vernon's older sister. Although she rarely appeared in Harry's life, he dreaded her visits to Privet Drive because unlike the other Dursleys, who usually ignored him, Marge openly insulted, abused and degraded him. Showing no concern for Harry's feelings or well-being, Marge seemingly wanted to punish the boy simply for existing. E.g. in 1985, Marge hit 4-year-old Harry with her walking stick because he beat Dudley at musical statues. Five years later, in 1990, she allowed her aggressive bulldog Ripper to chase Harry up a tree after he accidentally trod on the dog's paw. As Harry clung to the tree for dear life, Marge (and the other Dursleys) laughed uproariously and then went about with her business, not caring that Ripper could have potentially bitten or badly mauled the boy.
Harry initially had to endure Marge's abuse, since nobody spoke up for him. However, in the summer of 1993, after enduring 7 days of torment, Harry finally snapped when Marge crossed the line by insulting his dead parents. Now aware that James and Lily had given their lives to save him from Voldemort, he stood up to his abusive aunt and when Marge would not stop, he (subconsciously) used his magic to inflate her like a balloon. Furious, Harry fled the house shortly afterwards, refusing to fix what he had done, telling Uncle Vernon that Marge deserved it. The Ministry of Magic later intervened on Harry's behalf, deflating Marge and erasing her memory of the incident. Harry never saw Marjorie Dursley again following this altercation, which suited him just fine. | |
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Gallery[]
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone[]
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban[]
Trivia[]
- The Dursleys, along with fellow antagonists Severus Snape, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle are recurring antagonists, who appear within all seven of the original Harry Potter novels.
- It was confirmed by J.K. Rowling that if Dudley were to have children, Vernon's DNA would prevent them from having magic.[1]
- In very many ways Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley can be considered some of Harry's most personal enemies. The group deliberately set out to make his life miserable and frequently mistreated him. This only changed when Harry finally learned to stand up to them.
- Following the shocking introduction of Obscurials (wizards or witches who consciously repress their powers through enduring abuse to the point of their magic warping into a destructive, out-of-control force) in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, many fans became curious and wonder how Harry didn't became one due to Dursleys' mistreatments on him. Thus, J.K. Rowling assured them by explaining: "An Obscurus is developed under very specific conditions: trauma associated with the use of magic, internalized hatred of one's own magic and a conscious attempt to suppress it. The Dursleys were too frightened of magic ever to acknowledge its existence to Harry. While Vernon and Petunia had a confused hope that if they were nasty enough to Harry his strange abilities might somehow evaporate, they never taught him to be ashamed or afraid of magic. Even when he was scolded for ‘making things happen’, he didn’t make any attempt to suppress his true nature, nor did he ever imagine that he had the power to do so." As such, Dursleys were EXTREMELY lucky not to create one out of the Boy Who Lived, more so since Harry's very ability to feel and be empowered by love practically made his overall magic grew close to match Voldemort and Dumbledore's own.
- While still remaining unpleasant in the films, a number of the Dursleys' dark traits were toned down or removed to ensure the film adaptations remain family friendly. These alterations made them comic relief antagonists or comedic villains instead. Below are some key elements:
- Vernon does not beat Harry like he does in the books. This is due to Richard Griffiths' background as a comedian, which gave Vernon a humorous characteristic.
- The only closest physical assault that Vernon does to Harry is pulling his hair when he demands an accounting on the zoo incident.
- Marge is depicted verbally abusing Harry in the third film by insulting his parents. This is due to Pam Ferris giving a more comedic approach to the character, especially when she is inflated.
- It is also implied she physically abused Harry offscreen.
- Vernon does not beat Harry like he does in the books. This is due to Richard Griffiths' background as a comedian, which gave Vernon a humorous characteristic.
- A popular misconception about Dursley Family which certainly inspired by how Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes negatively affected those around them (the Diary forces Ginny to be Voldemort's pawn in unleashing Serpent of Slytherin the Basilisk upon Muggle-borns while the Locket nearly turned The Trio against one another) along with the plot twist of Harry being Lord Voldemort's accidental 7th Horcrux in Deathly Hallows was they originally decent people as much as Ron's family up until unknowingly corrupted by Lord Voldemort's soul fragment in Harry's scar. This is a hoax however, as Dursleys harbored resentments toward James and Lily to begin with and Harry gets along with everyone else without much issues. As Voldemort's accidental Horcrux, Harry simply gained the ability to peer into the Dark Lord's mind, speak Parseltongue as good as the latter, and in the films, sensing Voldemort's Horcruxes through his scar's reaction upon their presence.
- To further drive this point, the Diary and the Locket's aforementioned ability to corrupt people was among features Lord Voldemort added while turning them into his Horcruxes and circumstances surrounding his attempt murder on The Boy Who Lived when he was still a baby made it impossible for The Dark Lord to do the same (his decayed soul already maimed so much that his cold-blooded killings of James and Lily resulted a fragment of it latched onto Harry when his Killing Curse re-bounded, which also rendered him too weak to properly remade the survived Harry into a proper Horcrux).
References[]
- ↑ J.K.Rowling Official Site (archive.org)
