Marjorie Dursley

**Marjorie "Marge" Dursley** was a character seen in *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*. She was the Muggle sister of Vernon Dursley and the aunt of Dudley Dursley.

## Biography

### Early life

Marge was the elder sister of Vernon Dursley. She had a sister-in-law, Petunia Evans through Vernon's marriage. She doted on her nephew Dudley Dursley and bred bulldogs for a living. She had twelve bulldogs but her favourite dog was Ripper. She lived in the countryside and had a very large garden in her house. She doted upon her bulldogs, and she hated leaving her house for too long to take a holiday.

Because she was caring for twelve dogs, she usually had a fry-up for dinner every evening instead of a proper dinner. Her neighbour was Colonel Fubster. She was annoyed that Vernon and Petunia had to bring up Harry Potter. She was led to think James and Lily had been lazy and unemployed, and they abandoned Harry in the care of a hardworking aunt and uncle. She says she'd have given Harry to an orphanage if he was put on her doorstep.

She used to stay at Vernon's house whenever she could. Harry didn't like it because she was judgemental and unkind to him. She once whacked him round the shins at Dudley's birthday party to help her nephew win at musical statues. She once gave Dudley a computerised robot, and gave Harry a box of dog biscuits. During one of Dudley's birthdays, she let Ripper chase Harry up a tree and wouldn't call him back until midnight.

### Philosopher's Stone

In June 1991, Marge bought Dudley a birthday present which helped Petunia calm Dudley down when he thought that she and Vernon had given him thirty-six presents instead of thirty-seven. Petunia was taking Dudley and a friend to the zoo but their childminder was unable to care for Harry. Petunia thought about asking Marge to instead, but Vernon told her that Marge hated Harry and would not want to.

In July, Marge sent a postcard to Vernon when she was on holiday.

### Prisoner of Azkaban

When Harry started attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Vernon and Petunia told her that Harry was attending St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.

In July to August 1993, she went to stay at Privet Drive for seven days. She took Ripper too because he pined for her if she was away. Her other bulldogs were cared for by Colonel Fubster. Harry was asked to be civil, to not to do anything funny and support a story that he was attending St Brutus's. Vernon collected her at a train station that evening. Harry had to be nice to her, because he had bribed Vernon into signing a Hogsmeade permission slip if he was.

When she arrived at the house, she shoved her suitcase at Harry and run to Dudley. Over tea, she began poking at Harry by telling him that he was ungrateful for Vernon and Petunia. She kept suggesting ways to improve Harry's behaviour, saying she thought beating people who deserve it was a good thing. He smiled at her, but she thought it was a smirk. She asked about St Brutus, so he lied about getting beaten by a cane. She thought he sounded too casual about it, and that Petunia had to tell the school she thought Harry needed to get beaten harder.

On her third evening at Privet Drive, she talked about Harry being rotten on the inside and insulted James and Lily. Harry snapped and broke her wine glass by accident. She thought she had too firm a grip, but he and the Dursleys knew she didn't. He tried not to get angry, but she started saying that he was "mentally subnormal" because he looked blank when she was talking. She thought Harry had bad blood, Lily was a bad egg and James a wastrel "good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger". Harry shouted that she was wrong, angering her.

Vernon asked Harry to go to bed, but Marge started telling Harry that the "car accident" that killed James and Lily was probably caused by drunk driving, but he shouted again that she was wrong. She called Harry an ungrateful liar but she began to feel strange and stopped talking. Harry was unintentionally causing her to swell up like a balloon. She started inflating and she floated up to the ceiling. Vernon was trying to pull her down while Harry was leaving. He begged him to help her, but he thought she had what she deserved and run away.

Marge was saved by the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad who punctured her and erased her memory of what happened.

## Appearance

Marge had a beefy and pink-face, and was large like Vernon.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 2
2. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 2
3. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 3
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban*, Chapter 3