Petunia Dursley

Petunia Dursley (née Evans) was a Muggle, the maternal aunt of Harry Potter, the older sister of Lily Potter, and the wife of Vernon Dursley. Residing at number four, Privet Drive with her husband and son, Dudley Dursley, she reluctantly became Harry's guardian following the murder of her sister and brother-in-law. Defined by her obsession with normalcy and a deep-seated resentment of magic, Petunia treated Harry with cruelty and neglect for most of his childhood. Her character serves as a stark representation of the prejudiced and fearful side of the Muggle world, while her complex history with her magical sister provides a crucial and tragic backstory to the series.

Petunia grew up in the town of Cokeworth with her parents and her younger sister, Lily Evans. As children, Petunia and Lily were close, but their relationship began to fracture when Lily's magical abilities emerged. Petunia was both frightened and deeply envious of her sister's powers, a jealousy that was exacerbated by Lily's friendship with a young, odd neighbourhood boy, Severus Snape. Desperate not to be left out, Petunia wrote a letter to Albus Dumbledore, pleading to be allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry alongside her sister. Dumbledore sent a kind but firm rejection, which solidified Petunia's bitterness towards the Wizarding World. After Lily left for Hogwarts, their relationship deteriorated completely, with Petunia referring to her sister as a “freak.”

After finishing school, Petunia left Cokeworth for a typing course, which led to an office job where she met Vernon Dursley. Vernon was, in her eyes, the perfect man: “supremely normal” and completely unimaginative. They married and settled into a life of determined conventionality at number four, Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey. They had one son, Dudley Dursley, whom Petunia doted on to an extreme degree. Her contact with her sister remained minimal and strained. She and Vernon looked down on James Potter, finding his magical nature and casual attitude offensive. They last saw the Potters shortly before Harry's birth.

On 1 November 1981, Petunia found her infant nephew, Harry Potter, on her doorstep. A letter from Albus Dumbledore explained that Lily and James had been murdered by Lord Voldemort, and that for Harry to be protected by his mother's sacrifice, he had to live with her family. By taking Harry in, Petunia sealed the powerful blood protection charm, ensuring Harry's safety from Voldemort as long as he could call her house home. For the next ten years, the Dursleys raised Harry with resentment and neglect, forcing him to live in the cupboard under the stairs and lavishing all their affection on Dudley. They attempted to stamp out any sign of magic in him and lied about his parents' deaths, claiming they died in a car crash. Their efforts to prevent him from attending Hogwarts failed spectacularly with the arrival of Rubeus Hagrid on Harry's eleventh birthday.

Throughout Harry's school years, Petunia's home remained his reluctant sanctuary during the summer holidays. Her deeply buried connection to the Wizarding World surfaced in a moment of crisis when Dementors attacked Harry and Dudley in Little Whinging. She shocked everyone by revealing that she knew what Dementors were, having overheard “that awful boy” (Severus Snape) telling Lily about them years ago. When Vernon tried to throw Harry out, Petunia received a Howler from Dumbledore containing only the words, “Remember my last,” a stark reminder of her role in protecting Harry, which compelled her to let him stay. In the summer of 1997, as the blood protection charm was about to break upon Harry's seventeenth birthday, the Dursley family was forced into hiding under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix. During their departure, Petunia shared a final, hesitant moment with Harry. She seemed to struggle to express a deeper sentiment, ultimately only wishing him luck, but acknowledging that she knew the danger he faced was not just his, but also hers because of her sister.

Petunia is described as a thin, blonde woman with a face that Harry Potter considered “horsey.” She had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which proved very useful for her favorite hobby: spying on her neighbors. Her personality was dominated by a desperate desire to be perceived as normal, respectable, and conventional. She was materialistic, judgmental, and intensely proud of her tidy home and her “perfect” family. Her fear and hatred of magic were a direct result of the jealousy she felt toward her sister, Lily. This resentment fueled her cruel treatment of Harry. Beneath her harsh exterior, however, lay a tragic figure burdened by grief and a complex, unspoken sense of familial duty. Her decision to take Harry in, and her momentary hesitation upon leaving him for the last time, reveal a buried layer of her humanity.

Petunia was a Muggle and possessed no magical abilities. Her only connection to the Wizarding World was through her sister, and her knowledge of it was limited to what she had overheard as a child. Despite her revulsion, she retained some of this information, as demonstrated by her knowledge of Azkaban and Dementors.

As a Muggle, Petunia owned no magical objects. Her most significant possessions were non-magical and reflected her middle-class, suburban lifestyle.

• Number four, Privet Drive: Her home, which she kept immaculately clean. It served as the anchor for the blood protection that kept Harry Potter safe from Lord Voldemort.
• Various Household Appliances: She took great pride in her modern kitchen and other domestic possessions, which symbolized her normal life.

• Lily Potter: Her younger sister. Their relationship is central to Petunia's character, evolving from childhood affection to bitter estrangement fueled by Petunia's jealousy of Lily's magical gifts. Her actions are largely a reaction to her unresolved feelings about her sister.
• Vernon Dursley: Her husband. They shared a perfectly matched worldview, prizing normalcy and conformity above all else and sharing a profound disdain for magic and the Potters.
• Dudley Dursley: Her deeply loved and spoiled son. Petunia was blind to his faults and encouraged his bullying behavior, particularly towards Harry.
• Harry Potter: Her nephew. She saw Harry as a freakish burden and a painful reminder of the world that took her sister. While her treatment of him was abusive, she fulfilled the basic, crucial duty of giving him a home, thereby protecting his life.
• Severus Snape: She knew Snape as a child and detested him, viewing him as the “awful boy” who introduced Lily to the magical world.
• Albus Dumbledore: She feared and resented Dumbledore, but ultimately obeyed his commands regarding Harry's safety, first through his letter and later through his Howler.

• Petunia: The name of a common garden flower. In the Victorian language of flowers, petunias can symbolize anger and resentment, reflecting her feelings towards her sister and the magical world. The flower's ordinary, common nature also aligns with her desire for a normal life.
• Dursley: J.K. Rowling has stated that she named the family after the town of Dursley in Gloucestershire, England, simply because she did not like the sound of the name. (J.K. Rowling interview).

• J.K. Rowling has revealed that she always saw Petunia as a tragic character. In her final scene with Harry, Rowling intended to show that Petunia wanted to say more but was “overcome by her long-held habit of suppressing her feelings.” (J.K. Rowling interview).
• In a deleted scene from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, Petunia's farewell is more explicit. She tells Harry, “You didn't just lose a mother that night in Godric's Hollow, you know. I lost a sister.” (film, deleted scene).
• According to J.K. Rowling, Petunia and Harry's relationship did not improve in later life. They would continue to exchange Christmas cards, but there was no further reconciliation. (Pottermore).
• In the film series, Petunia Dursley was portrayed by the late actress Fiona Shaw.