Something that just struck me hard - in part thanks to a very clever fic I just read - is that Harry just being adopted by someone who loves him straight from the Dursleys is neigh impossible with their cooperation, and I can't believe this hasn't been more obvious to me before.
Like, look at their behavior in the books!! One would think that they'd be desperate to get him out of the house, just based on how much they hate him and associating with magic, but that is very much not the case!! Like with them trying to send him to Stonewall High instead of Hogwarts, sure that could be them trying to prevent one more wizard from being in the world by preventing said wizard from getting a magical education, but after that?? The cats outta the bag guys he's a wizard! So why tf are they constantly resisting his attempts to leave?
Like, book two, they lock him in his room with the words 'you are never going to that school again', which is already crazy but ok maybe the same principle even though it technically gets him out of their hair for ten months of the year, but then - and here's the kicker - when the Weasleys come to grab him they try to stop the attempt and go so far as try to physically prevent him from leaving!! Like him being somewhere else for the summer isn't just a different solution to their problem!! The thought to say he's gone, good riddance, doesn't cross their minds until after theres absolutely nothing left they can do to keep him from going!!
Same in book three, although much weaker: Harry tries to leave with all of his shit, very clearly not intending to come back, and they don't say GTFO, they say where do you think you're going?? (Altho tbf, I'm not sure they realized that ministry of magic officials would be coming to fix Marge).
Same in book four, the Dursleys genuinely contemplate not letting Harry stay with the Weasleys for the rest of the summer, like it doesn't get him off their hands! Harry decides that its because they don't want him to be happy, but I think it's more complicated than that.
In book five Harry gets kidnapped by the Order after the Dursleys were brought to the end of their rope and they give up lol.
So what is it that they want then? Bc it's not to have Harry be part of the family.
I think, in the Dursleys' ideal world, Harry would have been practically non-existent, BUT Securely In Their Home often enough that they most definitely know for a fact that his blood wards are protecting them, 100%. Like, that's gotta be the only reason they took him in, right? To act like an anti-other-wizard talisman?
I have to believe that in the letter, Dumbledore told Petunia (and then Petunia communicated something along the same lines to Vernon) that they WERE going to be a target if Voldemort ever came back. Now, whether or not that's true - and personally I think it only became true because they became The Family That Housed Harry Potter, ironically enough lol - the Dursleys must have thought that someone was going to come for them regardless, so it was better to have a blood protection possible-wizard orphan boy than not.
Which means then, by extension, that if anyone ever actually offered to take him off their hands, for good, they would throw a SHIT FIT.
(This also makes sense for Vernon's freak out in book five. They had the protective talisman orphan this whole time and wizard bullshit STILL attacked his son?? Alrighty!! Deal is off!! Get the fuck out of my house because it's clear you were actually useless and we've been duped!!)
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