By Dee Lockett
Yesterday, Harry Potter’s idiotic cousin Dudley Dursley turned 35. To celebrate, JK Rowling updated her Pottermore fan page with even more background information and new tidbits to keep fans entertained until the next Deathly Hallows Stories resonate.
– The script for “Fantastic Beasts” is “very special”
– Harry Potter spin-off finds its female lead
– Redmayne confirmed for Fantastic Beasts
Last night, Rowling explained how Dudley’s parents, Vernon and Petunia, fell in love. According to Rowling, they met at an office job where Petunia quickly “dreamed of the moment he would put a ring on her finger.” He did, and shortly after, on a “tearful” date, Petunia confessed that Vernon’s future sister-in-law, Lily, was a witch. And that’s where it gets especially sweet:
“He told Petunia solemnly that he would never hold it against her for having a mad sister, and Petunia threw herself at his feet in such intense gratitude that the breaded sausage fell from his hand.”
We’ll let you guess which beast Rowling is referring to here. The two then went on a double date with Lily and James Potter (just her boyfriend at the time), which ended rather disastrously when Vernon implied that wizards had no money and James boasted that he was actually filthy rich. Even after both couples got married, their relationship never improved. (Petunia and Vernon weren’t even at Lily and James’ wedding.) Tragically, the last thing Petunia ever heard from Lily was an announcement of Harry’s birth (which Petunia threw away). Rowling also explained that Vernon hated Harry for the same reason Severus Snape claimed to: he looked too much like his father. She also wanted to show Petunia’s softer side by giving her a more meaningful goodbye to Harry, but had to stay true to her unpleasant ways.
Related: JK Rowling hints at an American Hogwarts
Watch a scene with the Dursleys from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone:
In other new stories, Rowling also revealed that Hermione’s Mary Poppins bag was made of Deathly Hallows was not entirely legal. She apparently used a lengthening charm without permission, but was never punished because it “played no insignificant part in the defeat of the greatest Dark wizard of all time.” We also learn that Hagrid and Dumbledore’s first names represent both the red and white of alchemy, and thus the two sides of human nature: Rubeus which means the warmth and wildness of red, and Albus which means the impressive and intellectual side of the white man. No wonder they were practically best friends!
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