#dursleys

This is a shot of the cupboard under the stairs from the Finding Harry show on HBO. I have so many thoughts😭

First of all, the drawings??? The motorbike with the green light — I love the way it shows that Harry is trying to place his vague memories and dreams of the night his parents died (the green light, a flying motorbike), and he drew it as though the green light was coming from the motorbike’s headlights! And then all the other bicycle drawings and clippings — I can spot at least four. We know how much Harry wanted a bicycle (“he was five, watching Dudley riding a new red bicycle, and his heart was bursting with jealousy” — OOTP chapter 24, Occlumency). Break my heart, why not.

And then the other drawings: a drawing of himself playing football, a cute dog, a squirrel, a bird, a skateboard…and the clippings of football players, and skateboarders, and nature scenes. Yes yes yes to showing Harry having normal interests as a kid!

Second of all: the stickers. The STICKERS. They are the stickers you find on fruits from the grocery store, and it looks like he has a whole collection of them😭 Idk why this makes me sad, it just does. It’s like his own little makeshift sticker book, my gosh.

Session Seven : Relatives

Harry: "My aunt and uncle locked me in a cupboard for ten years."

Therapist (horrified): "Finally, a metaphor I understand."

He wasn't abused; yes okay. He absolutely did not grow up inside a cupboard; the tiny place that is mostly reserved for brooms or cleaning supply. He absolutely was not treated inferior to the other child who lived in the same house. He was totally was not treated like a "freak" or a "stain" that his family was ashamed off. He grew up inside a cupboard while there was a literal unused bed in the same house. And you want to know what that screamed to a child, a baby — who slept inside a cupboard while there being a perfectly usable room right there? You are worth nothing and we don't love you and we are ashamed of what you are.

He wasn't starved, or at least he was fed; Yeah, no. We see it from the first book. How Vernon was no food for you and in the cupboard you go — and by the looks of it, that was like his most common punishment. And then, in the second book — you practically see it happen. He was locked, inside a room with only a can of soup that he shared with Hedwig. Now, tell me what it would do to a child — to be given food through a cat flap, and fun fact? Harry got to eat less than people on war rations; in short? He was starved, yes.

He wasn't abused physically so it's not abuse; As for people's thinks abuse isn't abuse until it's physical (which is inherently wrong because abuse isn't only physically, fyi); Harry has learned to dodge Vernon and he states that, very proudly when his uncle tries to grab him. He dodges a flying pan and states that fact, again very proudly as if it is the norm; do you know how heavy pans are? And do you know what would happen when one hits you? If you want an even clearer proof; Vernon Dursley strangles Harry in Ootp. There you go. Also, in the first book, we clearly see Vernon encouraging Dudley to hit Harry. Read between the lines and actually try to understand what that signifies.

And favourite part; When he wasn't treated like a prisoner, or a freak— he was their servant. And that is very much canonical. Tending Petunia's garden during summers and drinking from the water hose in the garden because of how hot it was? Having to wake up early so he can tend the kitchen and when he wasn't doing all that he is locked away. And it is all canon.

Lily and James have the best intentions when showing up to Petunia's engagement party.

Written for Day 2 of Jily Week (hosted by @sunshinemarauder and @kay-elle-cee) , Prompt: Partners in Crime

AO3 link Here

“She’s going to be cruel.”

“Brilliant, I love women who are dastardly.”

“No, I mean she’s going to find the thing deep inside you that you hold most dear, taunt it to oblivion– then crush it.”

“Very poetic of you Evans.”

“James, I need you to be serious. I need us to be a united front.”

They walked down the main street of Cokeworth. On a normal day where she wasn’t dreading her near future, Lily would have relished the idea of taking James on a little tour of her town. The fall leaves were littering the walkways and little shops had placed out intricate decorations ushering in the fall weather. 

Lily stopped abruptly and James followed suit. Paces ahead of them was a heavily flowered awning with large pink and yellow bows plastered all over it. Cresting the door to the building was a large sign that read in flowing script:  Congratulations soon to be Mr. and Mrs. Dursley.

lily, on the other hand, is described as beautiful and yes, part of that is absolutely harry’s bias. she’s his mother, he knows she loved him so much to die for him, so even if she’d looked monstrous he probably would’ve seen her as beautiful anyway. she’s literally bigger than life.

but still, lily is consistently framed as genuinely attractive, not exactly veela-level breathtaking but more like beautiful in a warm, magnetic way. shs's described as charming, lively, kind, resourceful, like her inner beauty enhances her outer beauty. everyone harry speaks to who actually knew her was drawn to her to some degree.

lily's physical traits are distinctive, memorable, her eyes especially. i've always imagined harry and lily’s eyes as something you never forget once you’ve seen them, and yeah, some people just have that charm to them, and lily’s charisma only amplifies it.

so it’s always felt strange to me that petunia is framed as outright ugly. because if you strip away harry’s narration what’s actually described is just a thin woman with a long, sinuous neck. blond hair and pale, icy-blue eyes. those are not inherently ugly features: they’re sharp, striking, maybe severe. and yes, her personality absolutely makes her uglier in harry’s eyes.

i’ve always imagined petunia as very angular, almost sculptural. not beautiful like lily, because she simply lacks the warmth that made lily essentially unique, but not ugly either. average-looking, even pretty, just hardened by bitterness. severe, yes. unpleasant, yes. but not physically grotesque.

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All of Harry Potter's Summers Ranked from Worst to Best

Summer is the most anticipated season of the year, at least for students. What could be better than having a couple of months of total fun and freedom? Well, we reckon Harry Potter could give you a long list of things he would consider much more preferable than having some time off from school. Most of his summer holidays were bad, if not disastrous, and only a couple of them were relatively good. Since we are enjoying the hottest season, we decided to rank all of Harry’s summer breaks from worst to best from his own perspective.

1. Order of the Phoenix

The summer before Harry’s fifth year at Hogwarts was hands down the worst. Not only did he lose his classmate, witness Voldemort’s return and fight him, but he also ended up living in total unawareness for a long while. He could feel that something was going on, but didn’t have a clue since his friends were pretty much ghosting him. If things weren’t bad enough already, he was attacked by Dementors and almost expelled from Hogwarts.

  Harry is attacked by a Dementor in Little Whinging.

  2. Deathly Hallows

Before leaving for his deadly mission, Harry had to spend one last summer with the Dursleys. He wasn’t bothered by Dudley or Vernon anymore, but the thought of the upcoming danger made his time troublesome. Not to mention that he lost his favorite pet Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody, and had to run away from the Death Eaters at Bill and Fleur’s wedding and hide in the Grimmauld Place, doing pretty much nothing and being bored again.

  Harry’s last moments at Privet Drive.

  3. Chamber of Secrets

Imagine spending the best year of your life at Hogwarts and then coming back to the people you hate with your whole heart. That must have felt miserable. All of Harry’s magical belongings were confiscated by the Dursleys, so he couldn’t even entertain himself by doing homework. To top it all off, Harry thought that he was ignored and forgotten by his first-ever friends, and then was locked in his bedroom. Luckily, he got to spend the last month of the holidays with the Weasleys, and he did have a lot of fun, which somehow compensated for the previous sad month.

  Dobby visits Harry at Privet Drive.

  4. Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry’s third summer break wasn’t that horrible. He was receiving letters and great birthday presents from his friends, plus he managed to hide all his magical stuff in his room, so he wasn’t that bored. Things got a little messy when Aunt Marge came to visit, however. And then there was the feeling of danger because Sirius escaped from Azkaban. But on the positive side, Harry stayed at the Leaky Cauldron for a while and spent his time walking around Diagon Alley, shopping, and eating delicious ice-cream with his friends.

  Harry confronts Aunt Marge during dinner.

  5. Sorcerer’s Stone

Harry’s first-ever summer break we got to witness started not that good, but became one of the most important ones in his life. Sure, at first he was badly treated by his aunt and uncle and bullied by Dudley, but later he found out that he’s a wizard and will be attending Hogwarts. We’re sure that it was one of the happiest moments in Harry’s life, which made up for all the bad things he experienced that summer.

  Harry finds out he’s a wizard.

  6. Half-Blood Prince

This could have been the perfect summer holidays for Harry, as he spent most of the season in the Burrow, hanging out with his friends playing Quidditch and just having a good and peaceful time, which is quite rare for our troublemaker. The only thing that made this break not the best one in Harry’s life was the loss of Sirius. Even though he wasn’t as depressed as he had been a year before, he still couldn’t help but think about his godfather now and then.

  Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Burrow.

  7. Goblet of Fire

Harry’s fourth summer break was surely his best one, and we’ll explain why. Firstly, he just found his godfather and was keeping in correspondence with him. Secondly, the Dursleys weren’t bothering him that much because they were afraid of the mere thought of Harry having a criminal godfather, so they weren’t giving him a hard time, and it was true bliss. Lastly, Harry attended the Quidditch World Cup, which was a huge deal for him since he was a big fan of the sport and had never been to such an event before. And, of course, staying at the Burrow is always a pleasant bonus. To be fully objective, we should mention that Harry did have some problems with his recurring nightmares and the Death Eaters appearing after the match, but let’s be fair, that isn’t the worst that has ever happened to Harry, is it?

  Harry and his friends at the Quidditch World Cup.