A Muggle's side of the story

by PhiDragon

Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and Dudley were horrible caretakers of Harry Potter. Or were they? This is a story written from Petunia's point of view. It starts as the Dursleys are leaving their home (at the beginning of the 7th book in the series). Petunia takes us through a flash-back of her life and what it was like raising a magical child in a muggle world.

A muggle's viewpoint.

The car door slammed. Lifting her face from her handkerchief, Petunia looked around. She was alone. No, the boy was in the room with her, staring at her impatiently. Hastily, she stowed her handkerchief in her pocket, straightened, and said "Well - good-bye," and marched toward the door without looking at him.

"Good-bye," said Harry.

Petunia stopped suddenly. She didn't detect a hint of derision or hatred she had become accustomed to from the boy. Furtively, she looked back.

He stood, tall and straight. Messy hair tumbling about begging to be combed. Looking at her calmly. The spitting image of his father, except his eyes. My poor dead sister's eyes.

All Petunia had ever wanted was to live a normal life. She had given that up to raise Lily's son. Forced her husband and child to do the same.

Would Lily forgive me, if she knew how I tried? Would the boy, if he knew how he destroyed not only my life, but that of my husband and son? Took every dream that we had and dashed them away. Would he hate us so if he understood just what raising him had been like? The fear, the frustration, the wrongness in him and the sheer unfairness of it all. Would it hurt to try to explain? To let him know that she had tried, tried so very hard to love him and be a good mother to him. Could he ever forgive her for falling short of the expectations the magical community had thrust upon her.

Petunia remembered how she had once wanted to be part of that community. Wanted with all her heart to share the world and its wonders with Lily.

-Author's Note-

I love the Harry Potter books. Love the world. Love the characters. I mean no disrespect to the author or community they created.
But it always bothered me how horrible Harry treated the Dursleys and vise versa. A part of me asks the question "Why? Why would they treat each other so badly?"
I decided to answer the question with my own musings. My work takes a few things for granted that the reader should probably be aware of.
1.) There are at least three sides to every story. This side, That side and the truth. The books show Harry's viewpoint. This story shows what Petunia sees.
2.) We all know how horrible the locket that was a horcrux was. They only had the locket for a short bit. The books state that Harry, too, was a horcrux. Imagine living 17 years under the influence of one. What might that do to a caring family? What relief must they feel when it leaves?