Petunia's Secret

[Rayjo]

Discussion for Petunia's Secret by Stain726.

[ayumidah]

never thought anyone could make me feel sorry for Petunia. Kudos!

[DeathlyHabitue]

I still think there's more to it then that. I think that Petunia's hatred of Harry, her sister and the magical world in general can only make sense if she and Lily had some sort of big falling out rather then gradually drifting apart.

[abbisnan]

Excellent theory, well written and answers some questions about the enigma that is Petunia Dursley. Wouldn't suprise me to find out that this author was pretty close to the mark.

[Ticci]

Interesting theory. Good job!

[Falconpilot_5]

This is a good theory. As Ayumidah said, I also never thought I would feel sorry for Petunia. Petunia seems to know more than she is letting on to about the Wizarding world and this seems to make more sense than her lurking in the shadows listening to Lily and James talk. If Lily and Petunia used to talk about the Wizarding world together, they were closer than Petunia ever let on.

[hpalwaysn4ever]

I liked this editorial. It's not so far-fetched, it's definitely possible. Good job!

[Ben24]

Excellent editorial. Very plausible idea. Never thought of it actually. I can picture the scene where Petunia confesses her love for her sister. Nice job.

[Night Owl]

"...and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!”

I have long detected pain in that sentence.... Petunia seems to be taking out her grief over her sister's death by being angry at her (and Harry). In a way, I don't think she ever went through a full grieving process for her sister - I think she's been putting it out of mind for all these years, or changing it into anger and taking it out on Harry, who essentially was the messenger of Lily's death. I think the author of this editorial is on to something - it would not be surprising to me if Petunia really has to face Lily's death for the first time when Harry leaves. We might see some sincere emotion from her for the first (OK the second) time.

Even sisters who fight frequently will usually cry if something really bad happens to the other sister. If Petunia didn't cry, that probably means she has been in a state of denial these past sixteen years. She either doesn't talk about her sister at all (i.e. she can in a way pretend that Lily is alive, just somewhere else), or if anything exists to remind her of Lily, she either gets angry at it because it was the perceived cause of her death (i.e. the entire magical world) or she tries to keep it out of sight - perhaps in the cupboard under the stairs. Suppressing Harry is suppressing the reality of what actually happened to Lily.

As for this being a deep, dark secret - well, I wouldn't call it that, because I don't think she is deliberately hiding it from anyone except herself. I'm sure even Vernon Dursley wouldn't have a problem with Petunia loving her sister (as long as the whole magic thing was hidden from his view, and especially since Lily is dead anyway and can do no harm, some sort of sisterly affection is such standard fare that Vernon couldn't possibly have too much of an issue with it).

I think most of us missed what was going on in the first book because we didn't have a good grasp of the characters, and took everything Harry (or the narrator) said at face value. So of course we believed Harry's understanding of Petunia and why she treats him as she does.

On a side note - how many people actually believe now that the reason why Neville's grandmother cried the first time he showed magic was simply because she would have been ashamed to have a squib in the family? That was Neville's understanding at the time, as he told Harry in the first book - but now I think we know there was a lot more going on with those tears. I think the same kind of thing is true with Petunia - we believed an 11-year old boy's interpretation of reality, and it was a little bit skewed. (My apologies to the 11-year-old boys reading this - you'll understand what I'm saying in two or three years.)

Overall, given that one can only speculate based on the little information out there on Petunia, I think this editorial does give a good portrayal of Petunia's psychology. I do think Petunia will redeem herself somewhat in readers' eyes before the end of the series. Thanks for providing my Harry Potter fix for the day!

Interesting editorial. JK Rowling has indicated there will be some revelation about Petunia in book 7 and this editorial could be on the right track. We will know for sure come July 21.

[misskneazle]

This is really a great theory! I think this may well turn out to be right. I really cant think of an argument against it. Good job!

[susanova]

Very good editorial, and very well reasoned. If it isn't right on the money, it will be close... but we only have a few more weeks until we find out!

[Fairest_Lily]

I love speculative editorials, and this was a really good one. I also think that Petunia really does love Lily, but is afraid to show it, either because of Vernon or because she's afraid of her own feelings. Harry would never have been taken in by her if there wasn't someting deep-down. I like the author's idea that the "awful boy" of so many editorials might really be Petunia trying to cover what she knows about the wizarding world. Really insightful editorial, I think you're right on the mark with your theories!!!

[dweaselqueen]

I have always thought that Petunia and Lily were once close, but drifted apart over the years because Lily was so caught up in school, so I definately agree with this editrorial. I had orignally thought that there may've been something else that made Petunia hate magic so much, like maybe she blamed Lily for their parent's deaths or something, but I like your explanation for Petunia's aversion to magic much better. It makes Petunia a much more sympathetic person and is just better.

Kudos!

[meenaxi]

I liked this editorial. I am usually not convinced by any theory I read but this one was well presented.
Good Job!!

[MrsJamesPotter]

Great editorial! There is just one thing that's niggling me: Petunia says she overheard a conversation between Lily and "that awful boy" when asked how she knows about the Dementors of Azkaban. Petunia is telling the truth; here is a quote from JKR:

Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005
David Moulds for the News of the World - How does Aunt Petunia know about dementors and all the other magical facts she knows?

JK Rowling: Another very good question. She overheard a conversation, that is all I am going to say. She overheard conversation. The answer is in the beginning of Phoenix, she said she overheard Lily being told about them basically.

Is that true?

JK Rowling: Yes. The reason I am hesitant is because there is more to it than that. As I think you suspect. Correctly, but I don't want to say what else there is because it relates to book 7.

There is 'more to it than that'? Very suspicous

And here's another very interesting quote:

J K Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival
Is Aunt Petunia a Squib?

Good question. No, she is not, but—[Laughter]. No, she is not a Squib. She is a Muggle, but—[Laughter]. You will have to read the other books. You might have got the impression that there is a little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye, and you will find out what it is. She is not a squib, although that is a very good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly indiscreet.
(JKR)

She's 'almost' a squib? Hm, very intriguing!

Just some food for thought Other than that, excellent editorial that was enjoyable to read. Congrats!

[sheppc01]

I wonder if a person can renounce their magical ability, in a similar way to Merope Gaunt after Tom Riddle Senior left her. I can't imagine any particular reason why Petunia would renounce a magical ability,or that she would even have any magical ability, unless something to do with it traumatised her at a young age - such as bullying at school because she was different, such as happened to Harry. If she felt that her being 'different' was causing her personal harm, she may have made a determined effort to renounce her abilities. It might also explain why she is married to such a prosaic person as Vernon Dudley.

I suppose it is very unlikely that this is the case, but it might also explain the person who is able to perform magic very late in life - someone who suppressed magic may be able to break that suppression if the need was dire enough.

I have always believed that 'the awful boy' is not James Potter. It would seem too obvious for it to be James. I have heard it put forward that Snape could be the person mentioned there, and that would support the current theory that there was more to the relationship between Lily and Snape than meets the eye. This would explain to some extent why Snape hates Harry - he is Lily's son, but is a constant reminder of James because he looks so much like his father.

Otherwise I agree with the editorial in principle, that there is something about Petunia's relationship with Lily which might be very important. There seem to be a few years missing between end of school for James and Lily and the birth of Harry, and perhaps this will have something to do with Lily's relationship with Petunia as well as the mystery profession of both James and Lily.

[Illythia]

That was excellent. I absolutely agree with you.

Although...my sister certainly wasn't my best friend at that age!

[cdmHPfan]

I have always wanted Petunia to be more than she appeared to be. How could you not love your sibling's child? No matter how mad you were at your sibling. Plus, Harry was a baby! The only way she could "hate" him is by transference.

What if Dumbledore requested this treatment to form Harry's personality. To build his strength of mind? To help form the character needed to fight for what he believed in. What if the hateful and disgusted looks were because of what she was required to do.

Even if she overheard a conversation with that "aweful boy" ( I believe this is Snape, therefore why it is so inportant in book 7), how does that explain her fear? How much credence is given to overheard conversation? How much backstory does she know from Lily?

Just how much does Petunia know about the magic world? And how? All from Lily?

Here's an interesting thought... what if Petunia and Lily were twins? Not identical obviously. But even twins that are not identical have a unique bond.

[Auror Harry]

Well written theory.