Petunia Dursley

"*Mrs Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.*"
— Petunia's aversion to anything magical

## Relationship information

### Family members

* Howard Evans (father)
* Rose Evans (mother)
* Liliana Potter I (née Selwyn-Evans) (adopted younger sister) †
* Vernon Dursley (husband)
* Dudley Dursley (son)
* Marjorie Dursley (sister-in-law)
* James Potter I (adopted brother-in-law) †
* Harry Potter (adopted nephew)
* Ginevra Potter (née Weasley) (adopted niece-in-law)

### Romances

Vernon Dursley (husband)

**Petunia Dursley** (née **Evans**) (b.1960) was an English Muggle woman, the elder daughter of Howard and Rose Evans and the adopted sister of the Pure-blood witch Liliana Potter. During her childhood, she broke off contact with her adopted sister and refused to have any contact with the wizarding world.

She married a Muggle, Vernon Dursley and they had a son, Dudley. However, when Liliana was murdered by Voldemort, Petunia became guardian of her nephew, Harry Potter, who was only an infant then. She neglected and treated him cruelly for the most part, and confined him to sleep in the cupboard under the stairs (although she allowed him a room of his own after receiving his acceptance letters to Hogwarts in order to attempt to trick Hogwarts into not sending letters). In 1991, when Rubeus Hagrid came and said that Harry would go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she became very angry at the fact her nephew had discovered his true magical heritage. She and her family left their home in 1997 in order to be protected from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

After the Second Wizarding War, her son married and she had two grandchildren.

## Biography

### Early life

"*Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that... that school — and came home every holiday with her pockets full of frog-spawn, turning tea-cups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was... a freak! But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Liliana this and Liliana that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!*"
— Petunia regarding her's and Liliana's childhood

Petunia was the only child of Muggles Mr and Mrs Evans, until Liliana was adopted as an infant. However, Liliana had many unusual abilities, such as making a flower's petals move without touching them, which her sister viewed with a mixture of envy and disapproval. One reason could have been because of the fact her parents praised Liliana for her magical abilities and Petunia would have been jealous.

Severus Snape was a boy who also lived in the town of Cokeworth who possessed similar abilities and the two (Petunia and Snape) treated each other disdainfully. Liliana, however, was intrigued by Snape and soon became good friends with him, actually developing a crush on him later on. Snape, later on, also developed a sisterly bond with her. When she received a letter from Hogwarts confirming that she was a witch, Petunia wrote to Albus Dumbledore asking if she could also study there too. Dumbledore responded saying that Petunia may not study at Hogwarts, and even though he responded kindly, Petunia felt hurt and left out, which also in part could have been because her parents were so proud of Liliana's talents. From that point on, Petunia wanted nothing to do with magic or the wizarding world and frequently called Liliana a "freak".

### Marriage and estrangement from Liliana

"*When, in due course, Vernon Dursley proposed marriage, very correctly, on one knee in his mother’s sitting room, Petunia accepted at once. The one fly in her delicious ointment was the fear of what her new fiancé would make of her sister, who was now in her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.*"
— Petunia's predicament with Vernon

At some point in the early 1970s, Petunia left her home in Cokeworth to pursue a typing course in London. This led to her getting a clerical job, where she met Vernon Dursley, a junior executive whose complete ordinariness she found appealing. Vernon also took a fancy to Petunia and the two went on a number of dates, which mainly involved Vernon discussing himself and his narrow views of the world.

Vernon proposed to Petunia in his mother's sitting room in late 1977. Petunia gladly accepted, but secretly worried what Vernon would think when he met Liliana, who was then in her seventh year at Hogwarts. She eventually told Vernon about Liliana being a witch on a date in his car that was parked overlooking a chip shop from which they had purchased battered sausage, and while he was shocked, he assured her he would not hold it against her.

The couple's first meeting with Liliana and her boyfriend, James Potter, went poorly. Vernon tried to impress James with the car he drove and when James responded by describing his racing broom, Vernon assumed he must be living on unemployment benefits. James told Vernon about his parents' fortune in Galleons, but since Vernon could not tell whether he was being had on or not, he became angry. The evening ended with Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant and Liliana bursting into tears.

Petunia and Vernon were married and settled at 4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey by the end of 1977. Fearing that she would be overshadowed, Petunia refused to have Liliana as a bridesmaid, which upset Liliana. At the reception, Vernon would not talk to James, but insultingly described him as "some magician" within his earshot.

Petunia had little contact with her sister thereafter. She and Vernon chose not to attend James and Liliana's wedding and the last piece of mail Liliana sent her was an announcement of her son Harry's birth on 31 July, 1980, which she took one look at and promptly threw away. However, Liliana mentioned having been sent a vase for Christmas by Petunia in a letter to Sirius Black dated around 31 October, 1979.

Petunia and Vernon's only child, a son named Dudley, was born on 23 June, 1980. The couple took pride in being a "normal" family, unlike Liliana's.

### Giving a home to her nephew

**Vernon Dursley** : "*Their son... he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?*"
**Petunia**: "*I suppose so.*"
**Vernon Dursley** : "*What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?*"
**Petunia**: "*Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.*"
— A negative discussion of their nephew
Everything changed on the morning of 2 November, 1981, when Petunia opened her door to find a baby abandoned on her doorstep. The child turned out to be her sister's son, Harry Potter. A letter had been left by Albus Dumbledore, explaining the circumstances of Harry's arrival, including the death of both her adopted sister, Liliana and her brother-in-law, James. As she was the only member of the family that had her sister's blood running through her, this ensured the protection of Harry and his family from Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She reluctantly agreed to take her orphaned nephew into her home and family, taking the responsibility to not tell Harry or anyone else about the fact that Harry was a wizard.