Harry Potter

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Harry Potter Question

A question about the relationship between Lily and Petunia.

I watched Prisoner of Azkaban yesterday and I noticed an interesting detail in my opinion.

When Marge began saying bad things about Harry's parents, when she said "when there's a problem with the bitch, there's a problem with the pup", we can see Petunia making a face. After all, Marge was criticizing her own sister ! Have you noticed it too ?

It sent me back to that deleted scene in DH Part 1, when Petunia told Harry he had not been the only one to lose a mother, that she had lost a sister too.

Your input is most welcome.
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I forgot to add that in the same scene, Petunia waves Marge goodbye with her napkin, not too much bothered by Marge's dramatic departure !
LadyNottingham posted over a year ago
 LadyNottingham posted over a year ago
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Harry Potter Answers

dragonsmemory said:
Now, in order to give you a full answer, I have to send you to two of the books. Maybe more, but let's stick with two.
So, in Sorcerer's Stone, Petunia, for most of her life, denied even having a sister. Then, when Harry finds out he's a wizard, she actually admits it. Thing is, she calls her sister a freak. Her parents had been proud of her. Lily this and lily that. They had been proud to have a witch in the family. Petunia was shunted aside in favor of Lily, which probably led to the denial.
Again, in Deathly Hallows, during Snape's memories, young Petunia calls young Lily a freak because of Lily's magic. Petunia is jealous of the Wizarding world. In the books, on the platform, we read that Petunia wrote to Dumbledore, hoping to be accepted to the school. Of course, when Petunia finds out that Lily saw it, she changes her mind.

And, to answer your question, Petunia always has that look on her face when she has to deal with anything to do with Harry, for reasons outlined above.
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posted over a year ago 
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Yes, that was only the impression I got from the movies. But I had found interesting that bit the filmmakers introduced in the movie. Fiona Shaw (Petunia) is an actress that is very expressive. She could have introduced that bit of feeling there too. She may not like magic, she may be jealous of her sister, but deep down, I think she still loves her because Lily was her sister. She always looks cross when it comes to Harry, as you put it so rightfully, but there again, she accepted to take care of him in her home.
LadyNottingham posted over a year ago
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To finish my answer, there was the letter from Dumbledore, detailing what had to be done. I haven't seen the movie in a while, but I know the look. It's her "someone's mentioning magic" look. She's used it quite a few times. Shhe may have loved Lily, but only from a sister's perspective. Sisters love each other through arguing and saying they hate each other. She hates magic, and the Potters, yet she agreed to take in Harry, since the Dursleys are his only family.
dragonsmemory posted over a year ago
fanpup3 said:
I think that it is GENIUS that you posted this and yes I noticed. Of course it is nothing but understandable that Petunia was not happy with what Marge was saying because: 1.Marge wasn´t even related to her so Petunia can´t care for her THAT much and 2.Although Petunia seems to HATE her sister in jealousy of her magic, she still, as you explained from the deleted scene in DH part one, she cared for Lily too.
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posted over a year ago 
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Thanks about the genius part, but it is not genius if others have noticed as well. Unless we are all geniuses ? LOL
LadyNottingham posted over a year ago
Sweet_Insanity said:
I know the scene you speak of here is what I think:

Petunia hates magic and therefore dislikes how her sister was, but you can hate how someone is without hating them. Besides there is a special bond between sisters and for nearly eleven years the two grew together and made that bond. She must still care for her sister in some way, because she allows Harry to stay in her home and even stands up to Vernon when he tries to kick Harry out. But I don't think this is the full reason for her "waving" good bye to Marge. I think that Petunia is completely OCD about things being clean and organized. Having Marge and Marge's dog in the house represents dirt, mess, and disfunction and I believe you can also see her dislike and almost fear of it in the movie. The fact that Marge not only brings this dirt, mess, and disfunction to Petunia home followed by the mentioning of her late-sister, Lily, only would make Petunia want her out more. After all, we all allow ourselves to vent or fuss about our family, but anyone that does it, who is outside the family, is generally stopped in their tracks.
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posted over a year ago 
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She winced when Ripper spilled tea on the floor
dragonsmemory posted over a year ago
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Yep, that is what it was. I couldn't remember exactly what the incident was.
Sweet_Insanity posted over a year ago
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Yes, I agree, about the cleanliness and disruption part - I felt it as well. Petunia hates magic, which makes her an ordinary girl compared to her sister Lily. Yet, despite her conformism, she may dislike her sister-in-law even more. Marge is the complete opposite of Petunia. She runs her own business, she's not a mom, she's single, she's bossy, while Petunia is a stay-at-home mother, a mom, a married woman and pretty much submissive to her husband's will. In a sense, Petunia has more things in common with her sister Lily in terms of family life and values, than with Marge. Well, that's what I feel.
LadyNottingham posted over a year ago
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