The Dursley Family

The Dursley family are Harry Potter's only living relatives, a family of non-magical people, or Muggles, residing at Number Four, Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey. The family consists of Vernon Dursley, his wife Petunia (née Evans), and their son, Dudley. They are defined by their vehement hatred and fear of the Wizarding World and their obsession with maintaining a life of perfect, mundane normality. For the first ten years of his life, they served as Harry's abusive and neglectful guardians, yet their home inadvertently provided him with powerful blood protection stemming from his mother's sacrifice.

• Vernon Dursley: The patriarch of the family and the director of a drill-manufacturing firm called Grunnings. He is a large, beefy man with a prominent moustache and an aggressive, bullying demeanor, especially concerning anything related to magic.
• Petunia Dursley (née Evans): Lily Potter's older sister and Harry's maternal aunt. She is described as thin and blonde with an unusually long neck, which she uses for spying on her neighbors. Her animosity towards magic stems from childhood jealousy of her sister's magical abilities.
• Dudley Dursley: Vernon and Petunia's only son and Harry's cousin. He is spoiled, obese for most of his childhood, and a bully. A life-altering encounter with Dementors prompts a significant and positive change in his character.
• Marjorie Dursley: Vernon's sister, known as Aunt Marge. She is a cruel woman who breeds Bulldogs and takes great pleasure in tormenting Harry. She is not a permanent resident but a significant figure in Harry's unpleasant childhood.

Petunia grew up aware of the Wizarding World due to her sister Lily's magical nature. After being rejected from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry herself, she turned away from magic entirely, choosing to pursue a life of resolute normality with Vernon Dursley, who shared her disdain for anything out of the ordinary. Their carefully constructed world was shattered on November 1st, 1981, when Albus Dumbledore left the infant Harry Potter on their doorstep following the murder of his parents by Lord Voldemort. Bound by a reluctant sense of duty, Petunia took Harry in. For the next decade, the Dursleys subjected Harry to severe emotional abuse and neglect, forcing him to live in the Cupboard Under the Stairs, wearing Dudley's cast-off clothes, and attempting to “stamp the magic out of him.” Their attempts to prevent Harry from attending Hogwarts in 1991 were spectacularly unsuccessful, culminating in a visit from Rubeus Hagrid. Throughout Harry's school years, his summers at Privet Drive were marked by misery, confinement, and the Dursleys' continuous attempts to ignore his magical life. Notable events during this time include Harry accidentally inflating Aunt Marge, the disastrous visit from the Weasley family via the Floo Network, and the Dementor attack in the summer of 1995, which forced them to confront the reality of the dangers Harry faced. In 1997, with Lord Voldemort's return to power, the Dursleys were forced to abandon their home and go into hiding under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix, as Petunia's blood relationship to Harry no longer guaranteed their safety. It was upon their departure that Dudley expressed genuine concern and gratitude towards Harry, signifying a mending of their relationship.

The Dursleys' core belief is that normality is the highest ideal. They are intensely materialistic, status-conscious, and deeply prejudiced against anything different, with magic being the ultimate “abnormality.” Their house is kept immaculately clean as a reflection of their orderly, predictable lives. They doted on their son Dudley to a grotesque extent while simultaneously treating Harry with cruelty and disdain. Physically, Vernon and Dudley were characterized by their bulk and pinkish complexions, while Petunia was thin and “horsey-faced.”

• With Harry Potter: The Dursleys' relationship with Harry was defined by abuse and neglect. However, Petunia's decision to house him was the crucial act that sealed the blood protection charm created by Lily Potter's sacrifice. This charm kept Harry safe from Lord Voldemort as long as he could call their house “home.” Dudley's final, awkward handshake with Harry represented the family's only true moment of reconciliation.
• With the Wizarding World: They react to all witches and wizards with fear and rage. They locked away Harry's wand and school supplies each summer and forbade any mention of magic. Their encounters with figures like Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, Arthur Weasley, and Alastor Moody left them variously terrified, furious, and bewildered.

• Dursley: The surname is taken from a real market town in Gloucestershire, England, not far from J.K. Rowling's birthplace.
• Petunia: A common flowering plant. J.K. Rowling has stated she often chose flower and plant names for female characters in Lily's generation, and chose Petunia as a contrast to the more elegant Lily.
• Vernon: A common, somewhat dated English masculine name, fitting his character's desire for an ordinary, traditional life.
• Dudley: A large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. The name can also carry connotations of being a “dud” or boring.

• J.K. Rowling has stated that the Dursleys' motivation for mistreating Harry was rooted in fear and, for Petunia, residual jealousy of her magically gifted sister. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, a deleted scene shows Petunia having a moment of reflection, telling Harry, “You didn't just lose a mother that night in Godric's Hollow, you know. I lost a sister.” This moment is not in the novel. (film)
• Dudley's reconciliation with Harry is slightly more explicit in the book, where he insists Harry is “not a waste of space” and shakes his hand, an act that leaves Harry stunned.
• The Dursleys were portrayed in the films by Richard Griffiths (Vernon), Fiona Shaw (Petunia), Harry Melling (Dudley), and Pam Ferris (Marge). (film)