Harry Potter’s biggest Dudley mystery missed an opportunity to improve Petunia’s character

The Harry Potter Movies have cut many scenes from the books, which could have greatly improved some minor characters, and among them is one great mystery of Dudley Dursley, which could have been beneficial for the character of Aunt Petunia. The Harry Potter Novels brought generations of readers into the wizarding world to meet the title character and many other wizards and witches, showing how different the world was from the “muggle”. The most notable characters in the Muggle world are Harry’s relatives, the Dursleys, who were abusive to him during his childhood.

Harry’s admission to Hogwarts not only changed his life in terms of becoming a wizard, but it also took him out of his abusive home. Despite these Harry PotteWith books and movies focusing more on Harry’s time and adventures at Hogwarts and other parts of the wizarding world, it 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 go deeper into some parts of Harry’s story with the Dursleys, such as addressing a huge Dudley mystery that would have impressed Aunt Petunia.

Solving Harry Potter’s biggest Dudley mystery could have improved Petunia Dursley

Petunia Dursley was a more complex character than she seemed

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Introducing the Dementors, some of the darkest and most horrifying creatures in the wizarding world. The Dementors feed on human happiness and generate feelings of depression and despair in their targets. Dementors can also force their victims to relive their worst memories and may go so far as to consume their souls. in Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry came across two dementors near the Dursley’s home on Privet Drive, and he and Dudley became close to them.

Although Harry successfully gets rid of them with the Patronus Charm, Dudley suffered the consequences of being so close to a DementorEven if he can’t see them. During the attack, Dudley heard things in his head, telling his parents that everything went dark. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were deeply concerned about what happened to Dudley, but Harry knew that Dementors force their victims to release their worst memories, but he couldn’t imagine what Dudley could have seen and heard as he always seemed to live.

When it happened to Harry, he heard his mother die even though it was a memory from when he was just a baby. It is therefore possible that Dudley’s worst memory may have been hearing Petunia react to the news of Lily’s death. Over the Harry Potter books and movies, Petunia never showed her pain over Lily’s death And always showed disgust for everything related to the wizarding world, but acknowledging that Dudley’s worst memory is his mother’s pain would have shown a repressed and important side of Petunia.

Harry Potter doesn’t dig deep enough into Petunia and Lily’s relationship

Petunia and Lily’s relationship is never properly addressed

Petunia and Lily’s relationship is not correct Harry PotterBut from the few details and pieces of information that were given throughout the books, it is more than clear that they had a complicated relationship. Petunia was the oldest sister and a muggle, but Lily began to show unusual abilities from an early age. This led Lily to bond with a young Severus Snape, who lived in their same town and also displayed magical abilities. Petunia envies Lily and disapproves of her abilitiesAnd her jealousy only grew when her parents started praising Lily and her magic skills.

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 also attend Hogwarts. Although Dumbledore answered kindly and politely, Petunia felt hurt and wanted nothing to do with the wizarding worldTo the point where she would call Lily a “freak”.

However, several details point to Petunia still holding Lily close to her heart, despite claiming to hate her. At one point in the US Order of the Phoenix novel, when Harry tells Vernon and Petunia that the Dementors have appeared because Voldemort has returned, Petunia’s face completely changes, Showing Harry that there was a lot of pain and fear behind the mask of hatred And contempt she always carried.

Dudley’s worst memory, his mother’s pain over her sister’s death, would have shown that she loved her sister, and would have further confirmed why she hated the wizarding world as much as it took her sister twice: Once to take her to Hogwarts and again when she was killed.

Harry Potter missed a lot of opportunities to make the Dursleys more interesting

Several key scenes with the Dursleys were cut from the movies

The Dursleys became some of the most hated characters in the world of Harry PotterAnd while there are good reasons for that, the movies missed great opportunities to make them more interesting. Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows – Part 2 Cut the goodbye scene between Dudley and Harry, the only proof there is in the movies of how his encounter with the Dementors changed Dudley. Vernon is as cold as ever and Harry stands his ground, however Dudley approaches his cousin to shake his handTelling him that he thinks he is no place like his father.

Dudley and Harry exchange soft smiles before Harry simply says “See you, Big D.” Another cut scene saw Petunia and Harry in the now-vacant Dursley home, with Petunia saying that she had lived in that house for 20 years and now had to leave in one night. Harry reminded her that it was for their safety, And Petunia tells him that she is aware of the horrors that Voldemort and his men can unleashJust as he didn’t just lose a mother that night, in Godric’s half, she lost a sister.

While these moments wouldn’t have redeemed the Dursleys, and they don’t erase the years of neglect and abuse Harry put them through, They show there was much more to Petunia and Dudley than just hate and angerAnd there was a lot of emotional complexity in them that was never explored.