Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Vernon and Marge

Ah, Vernon and Marge Dursley, one of the most hated characters in the books. They were major assholes to Harry and everybody different from them. Let's start with Vernon first. We meet him in the first chapter of The Sorcerer's Stone in his point of view. We get a taste of Vernon's life and it tasted bland. He's quick to dismiss anything out of the ordinary like a cat reading a map (Nonsense, Vernon thought, that's just a trick of the light). Vernon loves to complain and yell at people, suggesting his character as an unpleasant man. But we didn't know just how unpleasant he can be.

Vernon didn't like the Potter family despite not knowing much about them. He knew the Potters had powers he hated and didn't understand, thanks to his horsey wife, Petunia. So he didn't want anyone to know his family's connection with them. Vernon and Petunia prefer not to think about the Potters, thank you very much. But Lady Fate loves to play with the mortals' lives. After Lily and James were killed, Dumbledore took Harry, their son, and sent him to live with his only living relatives, the Dursleys.

I can't imagine Vernon (and Petunia) taking this well. Petunia probably convinced Vernon to take Harry in. But it was probably Vernon's idea to "stamp the magic out of the boy". Being totally ignorant of the magical world, he didn't know it was impossible to get rid of magic inside a wizard. It's part of who they are; the magic is in their blood. But Vernon didn't care so long as Harry turn out "normal" in his eyes.

As the years go by, Vernon Dursleys is shown as a cruel man; abusing poor Harry. Vernon is also a complete idiot when it comes to things outside his narrow-minded view of the world. When the letters for Harry arrives, he tries to get rid of them in ridiculous ways; nailing the mailslot, complaining to the post office, etc. Vernon even tries to stop Harry from getting the mail by sleeping next to the door. Yeah, like that's totally normal. What did Petunia ever see in that clown of a thing she calls a man?

In the end, Vernon took his family to a hut on the rock, thinking that no wizard would dare go near the hut surrounded by the sea. He was wrong, of course; a giant by the name of Hagrid shows up and gives Harry his letter from Hogwarts (and a birthday cake). Vernon tried to stop Hagrid from telling Harry the truth about his identity. If I were him, I would've kept my mouth shut seeing as a magical giant is present. But alas, Vernon was too stupid to figure that out and insults Dumbledore. His son, Dudley, had to pay the price for his father's stupidity.

After Harry returns to Privet Drive from his first year at Hogwarts, Vernon locks all of his things and padlocked Hedwig's, Harry's snowy owl, cage in an attempt to show who's the one with the power in the Dursley house. This goes on all the way through Prisoner of Azkaban (though Hedwig is let out of her cage and Harry manages to sneak in a couple of books from the cupboard under the stairs).

Vernon get's his ass handed to him several times. In Order of the Phoenix, Mad-Eye Moody threatens him to treat Harry nicely or else he and a couple of wizards will show up to Vernon's house. Vernon tried to intimidate him by making himself look big and loudly asked if Mad-Eye Moody was threatening him. Of course, this doesn't work as Mad-Eye Moody took off his bowler hat revealing his magical eye, scaring the Dursley family. In the Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore gives the Dursley family a stern talking to for the mistreatment of Harry.

In the Deathly Hallows, the Dursleys must leave their home in Privet Drive to a safe house under the protection of the Order of the Phoenix. Vernon kept changing his mind, packing and unpacking his things. He even confronts Harry about the possibility of him stealing his house! How much of an idiot can he be? After Harry convinces him that the dangers were real and might be after his family, Vernon tries to shake his nephew's hand but fails because of his dislike for Harry. I wouldn't be surprised if Vernon wanted Harry to die trying to save the world. He even says he wished Harry was given the death penalty in the fifth book! He really didn't give a damn about Harry.

Now on to Marge Dursley, Vernon's vile sister. She's crueler than her brother. Marge gave Harry dog biscuits, said vicious things about his parents whom she never met, and she just oozed with hatred. Marge was mentioned in the second chapter of the Sorcerer's Stone by Vernon when he suggested that she watch Harry while the Dursley family go to the zoo for Dudley's eleventh birthday (which was quickly cut down when Petunia said Marge hated Harry). Marge was also mentioned in the third chapter of the first book when she sent a letter to Vernon, saying she ate "a funny whelk".

Marge finally made an appearance in the Prisoner of Azkaban when she visited the Dursley family. You already hate her as soon as she steps inside the house. She didn't know Harry was a wizard so she wasn't afraid of him. She didn't know about Lily and James, yet she talks about them like they were garbage. Marge even called Lily a bitch! Who wouldn't want to strangle her at that moment? The irony and hypocrisy starts when she calls them drunks when she was drinking and getting drunk herself. Thankfully, Harry gets his revenge on Marge by turning her into a human balloon and running away. Unfortunately, the wizards who worked for the Ministry of Magic shows up and deflates Marge and erased her memory. That's the last time we see Marge Dursley.

The Dursleys' stupidity

We all know the Dursleys fear magic, so why did they mistreat Harry? Because they wanted to stamp the magic out of him. They didn't think their plan through, did they? They didn't think that Harry would tell his magical friends about their treatment of him (they were lucky he didn't) nor they didn't think that Harry would probably want to get revenge on them (again they were lucky). Suddenly, all those years of neglect seem rather foolish. Think about it; all the magical incidents could've been avoided if the Dursleys treated Harry kindly.

If the Dursleys treated Harry nicely, told the truth about his identity, and given him his letter:

Dudley would never had gotten a pig's tail.

The incident with the fireplace (with the Weasleys accidently destroying it) would never happen.

Dudley's tongue wouldn't grow (Fred and George "gave" him the candy because he was a "bullying git").

However, there were some incidents that couldn't possibly be avoided if the Dursleys didn't neglect Harry, like when Dobby the house-elf dropped the Petunia's pudding on the floor and the Dementor attack (it would probably happen differently).

And what about the neighbors? We all knew the Dursleys wanted to appear as normal as possible to them. They cared about their appearance and reputation. But with all that shouting from Vernon, temper tantrums from Dudley and his bullying ways, and all the weird things that kept going on in the Dursley household, I wonder what the neighbors think about the family if they saw or heard them.

The Cousins' Upbringing

The cousins, Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley, are as different as night and day. One was magical and the other was a Muggle. They were even raised differently. Harry was neglected and Dudley was pampered and spoiled beyond belief. This was one of the worse ways to raise children. Dudley was going to be a criminal if the Dementors hadn't showed up. Like I said in the last chapter, Vernon and Petunia were setting their son up for failure in life. They didn't teach him anything positive. Harry, on the other hand, was abused and neglected but still turned out to be a better man than Dudley could ever hope to be.

Although the way the Dursleys raised Harry was bad, it did shaped him to be the hero he needed to be. They taught him to appreciate love and family more, how to take care of himself, and taught him that the world isn't perfect. The only thing Dudley knew from his parents that the world revolved around him and that throwing tantrums and using his fists would get his way. Luckily for Dudley, the Dementor attack helped him pull away from his parents influence and shaped him to be a decent person.

Harry and Dudley are as different as night and day, but maybe they might develop a friendship Petunia and Vernon never allowed them to have.