Dursleys

Harry Potter and the Dursleys.

July 15, 2016

The Boy Who Lived Under The Stairs

We all know the famous Story of the little wizard who lived under the stairs right.

But have you ever wondered why? Why exactly were the Dursleys such jerks to Harry? Was it simply because they hated anything not perfectly ordinary or was there more?

I mean shoving a kid into a tiny cupboard is a bit extreme by most people's standards.

Turns out, it wasn’t as simple as the movies may have portrayed, as explained by the Pottermore article written by J.K. Rowling.

It turns out that Petunia Dursley had a deep seeded jealousy for her sister's Magical Abilities. This later grew to resentment, resulting in her leaving home and marrying the ordinary and obnoxious Vernon Dursley.

Upon meeting the Potters, Vernon and James Potter immediately developed a dislike of each other, resulting in the Potter's being uninvited to the Dursleys wedding.

Vernon and Petunia also choose not to attend the Potters wedding and were uninterested in the news of Harry's impending arrival.

Therefore, it was with great shock, did they find a tiny bundle of a child on their front porch a year later.

Dumbledore and Baby Harry at Pivet Lane

Petunia felt obligated to take in Harry after learning of the heroic way her sister sacrificed herself to save him, however she treated him so poorly as an offshoot of her regret for never mending the relationship with her sister while she had the chance. Vernon Dursley, much like Professor Snape, simply disliked Harry because of his great resemblance to his father.

Turns out the Dursley's may not have been as one dimensional as we assumed.

The full article can be read on the Pottermore website created by the Harry Potter author.

 

Shonel
Author: Shonel Sonakjee
More Than Just a Muggle



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