Lily Josephine Evans (30 January, 1960–31 October, 1981) was an English Muggle-born witch, a daughter of Marion Evans and John Evans, the younger sister of Petunia Evans and elder twin sister of Willow Evans.
Letter information
Although Dumbledore wrote a reply letter very kindly, which refused her entry on the grounds of her being a Muggle, Petunia still felt left out. This caused Petunia to cut off contact with Lily, her sister and the wizarding world.
No doubt Petunia would have been saddened by the news of Lily's death but those complicated emotions – grief, regret and unresolved jealousy – were probably buried in the distractions of housework, gossip and pandering to her son Dudley's every whim.
For the same reason Lily was a red head and Petunia was blond: by accident of genetics. Magical ability, like red hair, is a recessive mutation. It can appear spontaneously or be passed down from an ancestor. The more people in the family who do not have the mutation, the less likely it is to be expressed.
One of Petunia Dursley's biggest secrets was the promise she made to Albus Dumbledore. When James and Lily were killed at the hand of Voldemort and Harry was dropped off on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive, there was a letter accompanying him.
The fan asked the author if Aunt Petunia was a Squib (a non-magical person who is born to at least one magical parent) and Rowling replied: "Good question. No, she is not, she is not a Squib. She is a Muggle.
Petunia never showed any love and affection at all towards Harry because he reminded her of Lily and the wizarding world. She treated him as a waste of space, giving him the cupboard under the stairs at first and making him do all the chores. She, along with Vernon, ignored most of Harry's birthdays.
And the Dursleys didn't attend the Potters' marriage ceremony. "[Petunia] and Vernon chose not to attend Lily and James' wedding.
Her last line there is, "You didn't just lose a mother that night in Godric's Hollow, you know. I lost a sister." Since Aunt Petunia usually prefers not to acknowledge Harry's mother at all, it's a surprisingly sweet moment. In the book, she uses her last words to say "Well — goodbye" to Harry.
But there was another occasion when Albus had a reason to write, and it had long-lasting consequences. The Hogwarts headmaster sent a kindly response to Petunia when she wrote to him as a child, begging to join Hogwarts. After Dumbledore's gentle rejection, 'Tuney' started referring to her sister as a 'freak.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia (who had secretly longed for magic herself) didn't see much of their nephew, for obvious reasons. Dudley, on the other hand, reunited with Harry a few times so that their children could play together. Their relationship was awkward, but this was a major change from when they grew up.
Queenie and Jacobs' marriage is a joyous moment for the characters after their victory, but Albus is forced to watch from afar. He's dealing with his own heartbreak. During the battle in Bhutan, Albus had been freed from his blood pact with Grindelwald.
6 The Dursleys Kept Harry's Baby Blanket
Dudley found it in Aunt Petunia's belongings after she passed away and sent it to Harry. This insinuates that Petunia held onto it for years, in spite of her resentment toward the Wizarding World and Harry, because it was another piece of Lily.
Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.
Petunia was jealous of Harry's magical heritage, and she confined him to a cupboard under the stairs. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone shows cousin Dudley's attempt to cause discomfort to Harry by stomping up and down these stairs.
At some point before 2020, Petunia passed away for unknown reasons. It was revealed that she kept the blanket that Harry was brought to her in when he was a baby, which was given back to him after her death.
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Petunia Dursley receives a Howler, later revealed to be from Albus Dumbledore himself, shouting only the words, “REMEMBER MY LAST, PETUNIA” (OoTP 40).
The unsaid is the detail that Harry finds out two years later — Dumbledore had written to Petunia last to tell her that in her home, and in her home only, was Harry safe from Voldemort. By giving her nephew shelter, she was keeping him alive.
Dumbledore sent this to Petunia to remind her of the contents of the letter left on the porch with Harry when he was a baby that explained what happened and the protection Harry was under while in her home. This reminder caused her to stand up to Vernon and Harry go to stay.
Harry and Dudley maintained a relationship:
The once-estranged cousins made amends after Dudley's admission that Harry wasn't a “waste of space” and remained on “Christmas-card terms” as they grew older. However, their relationship never blossomed into a true friendship.
Petunia is likely one to two years older than Lily (but possibly as much as five years older) There's no specific birthdate given for Petunia but we can make inferences from the text and movie. We know Petunia to be the older sister which places her birthdate prior to 1960.
Family Lineage
Though nominally a Muggle-born witch, Hermione is descended from the Dagworth-Granger family through her father's squib heritage.
She knew the truth about Lily's death, and Dumbledore even wrote to her in OOTP.
Harry himself is a half-blood, since his pure-blood father, James, married a Muggle-born witch named Lily, and his maternal grandparents were Muggles.