Harry Potter The films cut a lot of scenes from the books that could have greatly improved some of the supporting characters, and among them there’s one big Dudley Dursley mystery that could have benefited Aunt Petunia’s character. Harry Potter the novels transported generations of readers into the wizarding world to meet the main character and many other wizards and witches, showing how different this world was from the “Muggle” world. The most famous characters in the Muggle world were Harry’s relatives, the Dursleys, who abused him throughout his childhood.
Harry’s admission to Hogwarts not only changed his life in terms of him becoming a wizard, but also freed him from an abusive home. Despite Harry PottThe books and films that focused more on Harry’s time and adventures at Hogwarts and other parts of the wizarding world also took time to explore parts of his life in the Muggle world – after all, The Dursleys were the only biological family he had left.. However, they also forgot to delve into some parts of Harry’s history with the Dursleys, such as solving Dudley’s huge mystery that could improve Aunt Petunia.
Solving Dudley’s Biggest Mystery in Harry Potter History Could Improve Petunia Dursley
Petunia Dursley turned out to be a more complex character than she thought
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban introduced Dementors, some of the darkest and most terrifying creatures in the wizarding world. Dementors fed on human happiness and instilled feelings of depression and despair in their targets. Dementors can also force their victims to relive their worst memories. and could go so far as to consume their souls. IN Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry came across two Dementors near the Dursleys’ house on Privet Drive, and he and Dudley were ambushed.
Although Harry successfully got rid of them using the Patronus Charm, Dudley suffered from the effects of intimacy with a dementoreven if he couldn’t see them. During the attack, Dudley heard something in his head, telling his parents that everything had gone dark. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were deeply concerned about what happened to Dudley, but Harry knew that Dementors forced their victims to rid themselves of their worst memories, but he couldn’t imagine what Dudley could see and hear as he always seemed to have it was an ideal life.
Dudley’s worst memory might have been Petunia’s reaction to the news of Lily’s death.
When this happened to Harry, he heard his mother die, although it was a memory of when he was still a child. It was possible, then, that Dudley’s worst memory was watching Petunia react to the news of Lily’s death. Throughout Harry Potter books and films, Petunia never showed her pain over Lily’s death. and had always shown a distaste for everything related to the wizarding world, but confirming that Dudley’s worst memory was his mother’s pain would show a depressed and important side of Petunia.
Harry Potter doesn’t delve deeply enough into Petunia and Lily’s relationship
Petunia and Lily’s relationship was never properly addressed
Petunia and Lily’s relationship is not portrayed well. Harry Potterbut from a couple of details and bits of information presented in the books, it is more than clear that they had a complicated relationship. Petunia was the older sister and a Muggle, but Lily began to exhibit unusual abilities from an early age. This led to Lily becoming close to the young Severus Snape, who lived in the same city and also exhibited magical abilities. Petunia was jealous of Lily and did not approve of her abilitiesand her jealousy only intensified when her parents began to praise Lily and her magical abilities.
When Lily received her acceptance letter from Hogwarts confirming that she was a witch, Petunia felt even more left out and wrote to Dumbledore asking if she could go to Hogwarts too. Although Dumbledore responded kindly and politely, Petunia felt insulted and wanted nothing to do with the wizarding world.to the point where she called Lily a “freak”.
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However, several details indicate that Petunia still holds Lily close to her heart, despite claiming to hate her. At one point in Order of the Phoenix in the novel, when Harry tells Vernon and Petunia that the dementors appeared due to the return of Voldemort, Petunia’s face completely changed, showing Harry that behind the mask of hatred there is a lot of pain and fear. and the contempt she always carried with her.
Dudley’s worst memory of his mother’s pain over her sister’s death would have shown that she truly loved her sister and would have further confirmed why she so hated the wizarding world that took her sister away twice: once to take her away to Hogwarts, and again. when she was killed.
Harry Potter missed many opportunities to make the Dursleys more interesting
Some key scenes with the Dursleys were cut from the films.
The Dursleys have become one of the most hated characters in the world. Harry Potterand while there are good reasons for this, the films missed big opportunities to make them more interesting. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Part 2. cut the farewell scene between Dudley and Harry, the only evidence in the films of how his encounter with the Dementors changed Dudley. Vernon is as cold as ever and Harry stands his ground, but Dudley approaches his cousin to shake his hand.telling him that he doesn’t consider himself a waste of space like his father.
Dudley and Harry exchange soft smiles before Harry simply says:See you, Big D” In another cutscene, Petunia and Harry were in the now empty Dursley’s house, where Petunia said that she had lived in the house for 20 years and now she had to leave overnight. Harry reminds her that this is for their safety, and Petunia tells him that she knows of the horrors that Voldemort and his men can unleash.because that night in Godric’s Hollow he didn’t just lose his mother, she lost her sister.
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While these moments would not redeem the Dursleys, and they do not erase the years of neglect and abuse Harry put them through, they show that Petunia and Dudley were more than just hatred and angerand there was a lot of emotional complexity that was never explored.