Dudley Dursley

Dudley Dursley is Harry Potter's Muggle cousin, the first and only child and son of Vernon and Petunia Dursley. He was a very spoiled child, and thus became unpleasantly fat and insolent. He often tormented Harry, taking after the example set by his parents. After the humbling experience of running into Dementors in 1995, however, he mellowed and began to be kinder to Harry.

Biography

Early life

Dudley was born on June 23, 1980,^[1] about a month before his cousin Harry Potter. On Halloween night in 1981, Harry was delivered to the Dursleys after the attack on the Potters in Godric's Hollow. Over the following few weeks, Dudley took to prodding and pinching his younger cousin.^[2]

At Dudley's fifth birthday party, his Aunt Marge whacked Harry around the shins so he wouldn't beat Dudley at musical statues.^[3] A few years later, Marge turned up at Christmas with a computerized robot for Dudley and a box of dog treats for his cousin, Harry.^[3] During their years at primary school together, Dudley frequently chose Harry as his favourite punching bag. Because of the pair's differing sizes, Dudley often had trouble catching him.^[2]

1990

During one of Aunt Marge's visits, Dudley laughed himself silly when Harry, after having accidentally trodden on Ripper's tail, was chased up a tree by the dog, and Marge refused to call him off until well past midnight.^[3]

1991

"Thirty Six. That's two less than last year"

— Dudley^[src]

PS C2 — Dudley on his eleventh birthday.

Dudley celebrated his eleventh birthday on June 23. His presents included a new computer, a second television, and a racing bicycle^[2] (which mystified Harry, as Dudley hated exercise). When Dudley counted his presents, he was disappointed that he had two fewer than his last birthday; he cheered up when his mother showed him the present from his Aunt Marge. Sensing danger, Petunia promised that when the family went out, she would buy him two additional presents.

The Vanishing Glass

Dudley trapped PS 1 — Dudley trapped behind the glass

When Mrs. Figg called the Dursleys to tell them she couldn't take Harry for the day, Dudley was horrified. While Vernon and Petunia decided what to do with Harry, Dudley pretended to cry, playing on his mother's habit of giving him whatever he wanted. In between "sobs," Dudley commented that he didn't want Harry to spoil his birthday by tagging along; when his mother wasn't looking, he shot Harry a nasty grin. When his friend Piers Polkiss arrived, he ceased his act immediately.

With no other option, the Dursleys took Harry with them to the zoo for Dudley's birthday. At the entrance, his parents bought him a large chocolate ice cream. At lunch time, he had a tantrum because his Knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top; his parents bought him another one, while Harry was allowed to finish the first one.

After lunch, the group visited the reptile house, and Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. Dudley pressed his nose against the glass, and asked his father to make the snake move. When it made no movements at all, Dudley walked away, bored. A few moments later, Piers drew Dudley's attention back to the snake when he saw Harry talking to it; waddling over, Dudley quickly shoved Harry out of the way. Within a few moments, Dudley found the protective glass gone and as the snake uncoiled itself and slithered away, Dudley and Piers ran away, screaming. In the car on the way home, Dudley claimed that the snake had nearly bitten his leg off; Harry, on the other hand, only saw that the snake had playfully snapped at his heel on the way past. In the film, Dudley had fallen into the cage and remained trapped there when the glass reappeared. He was apparently extremely cold and wet from the experience.

Harry, the Wizard

"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?"

— Dudley, about the number of letters sent to Harry^[src]

By the beginning of the summer holidays, Dudley had broken his video camera, crashed a remote-controlled airplane, and knocked Mrs. Figg over on his racing bike. Near the beginning of July, Dudley was accepted into Smeltings private school, his father's alma mater. After returning from London with his new school uniform, Dudley paraded around the house in the get-up, which included a maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers, a boater, and a knobbly stick.

The following morning when the post arrived, Dudley alerted his father that Harry had received a letter. Seeing his parents' reactions to the letter's contents, Dudley demanded to see it. Not used to being ignored, Dudley rapped his father on the head with his Smelting stick. Dudley and Harry were thrown out of the kitchen, but overheard the conversation through the door.

When Vernon and Petunia gave Dudley's second bedroom to Harry, Dudley threw a tantrum, claiming that he needed the room. In an attempt to change his parents' minds, to no avail, Dudley screamed, hit his father with his Smelting stick, threw up on purpose, kicked his mother, and threw his pet tortoise through the greenhouse roof. When the mail arrived, Dudley was sent to collect it (in an attempt by Vernon to be "nice" to Harry). From the hall, Dudley yelled that Harry had received another letter. Vernon wrestled Dudley to the ground and took the letter away.

PetuniaszzeE — Dudley and his mother react in surprise as Harry's letters fly through the room

Within a week, no fewer than two dozen letters arrived for Harry. Dudley wondered who on Earth would want to talk to Harry so badly. When so many letters for Harry arrived, Vernon had had enough; he told the family to get ready to leave. Dudley drew his father's ire when he dawdled, trying to pack his television, VCR, and computer into his bag. By nightfall, Dudley was in an unpleasant mood. He was hungry and had missed five TV shows he wanted to watch. At a gloomy-looking hotel, Dudley shared a room with Harry; while Harry remained awake, Dudley fell asleep almost immediately.

The following day, Vernon brought Dudley and the family to a hut on a rock well out in the sea. Using some mouldy blankets, Petunia made Dudley a makeshift bed on the couch, while she and Vernon took the second bedroom, and Harry was left to his own devices to find comfort. At midnight, when Harry's birthday came, Dudley was jerked out of his sleep by a loud crashing outside the hut; he 'stupidly' wondered where "the cannon" was. A few moments later, the hut's door was knocked off by Rubeus Hagrid. Dudley remained on the couch, frozen in fear. When Hagrid nudged him out of the way, Dudley ran and hid behind his mother.

"Meant to turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."

— Rubeus Hagrid, after giving Dudley a pig's tail.^[src]

When Vernon insulted Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid used magic to sprout a pig's tail from Dudley's fat bottom, which caused immense pain. After dropping Harry off at King's Cross Station on September 1, the Dursleys took Dudley to a private hospital in London to have the tail removed.

1992

"Today's your birthday. How come you haven't got any cards? Haven't you even got any friends at that freak place?"

— Dudley, taunting Harry on July 31.^[src]

In June, Dudley accompanied his parents to King's Cross to pick Harry up for the summer holidays.

By the summer, Dudley has grown even more massive; so much so that his bottom drooped over each side of his chair. Somehow, even with his massiveness, his clothes were still depicted as loose, as he has to hitch up his trousers "which were slipping down his fat bottom" during a conversation with Harry.

One morning during breakfast, Dudley wanted more bacon. He asked Harry to pass the frying pan; when Harry said he forgot the magic word (meaning "please"), Dudley fell out of his chair with a crash that shook the whole kitchen.^[4]

On July 31, Dudley taunted Harry about not receiving any birthday presents from his friends. That night, the Dursleys (sans Harry) hosted a dinner party for a client of Vernon's. At eight o'clock, Dudley was by the front door, waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Mason to arrive. He offered to take their coats, and then offered his arm to accompany Mrs. Mason to the dining room.

In the early hours of the following morning, Dudley was dumbfounded when he and his parents witnessed Harry's escape with Fred, George, and Ron Weasley in a Flying Ford Anglia.

1993

By summer, he was even more fat. At some point, Dudley complained about the walk between the living room and the kitchen, so his father installed a new TV in the kitchen. Dudley sat at the TV all day, eating constantly. He gained five chins.

Along with his parents and Harry, Dudley learned one day of an escaped convict named "Black," whom the newscasters warned was armed and dangerous.

On July 31, His Aunt Marge came to visit to their house. When Marge arrived, Dudley waddled into the hall to greet her. Marge seized Dudley in a one-armed hug and kissed him on the cheek. In a move unnoticed by anyone except Harry, Marge also gave Dudley some spending money, in the form of a twenty-pound note.

1994

By the summer of 1994, Dudley had grown so large, the school outfitters at Smeltings didn't stock knickerbockers big enough for him anymore. To rectify the situation, the school nurse forced a diet regime upon Dudley, which emptied his eating habits of all the things he enjoyed: soda pop, cakes, chocolate bars, and burgers, etc., and replaced with fruits and vegetables; items that Vernon called "rabbit food." Dudley wasn't pleased, and threw numerous tantrums about it. To make Dudley feel better, Petunia insisted that the whole family follow the diet, as well; to raise Dudley's morale, she also tended to give him more to eat than Harry. When Vernon left the kitchen to collect the post, Dudley stole his grapefruit quarter.

The following day when the Weasleys arrived to take Harry to the Quidditch World Cup, Dudley nervously ran his hands over his backside; remembering the incident with Hagrid in 1991, he was unwilling to present the same target to wizards again.

As the Weasleys returned to The Burrow through the Floo Network, Fred "accidentally" dropped numerous sweets in brightly coloured wrappers on the floor, knowing Dudley would eat one of them. The sweet, revealed to be a Ton-Tongue Toffee, caused Dudley's tongue to expand greatly and cause him immense pain. Before allowing Mr. Weasley to fix it, Petunia tried to rip the tongue out of Dudley's mouth, which nearly suffocated him. His tongue was more than four feet long before the Dursleys allowed Mr. Weasley to shrink it.^[5]

1995

""Don't kill Cedric!" Who's Cedric? Your boyfriend?"

— Dudley taunting Harry in 1995.^[src]

Dudley Dursley Gang — Dudley and his gang in 1995.

In 1995, Dudley took up boxing, which didn't change his figure, but gave him even more prominence over other children. His obesity, in fact, was said to continue until 1997, when his is described as more muscular. After taking up his workout regime, Dudley became boxing champion at his school.

On his way home one night with his gang, Dudley ran into Harry. He and Harry were attacked in the street by two Dementors, sent by Dolores Umbridge to harm Harry. They were saved by Harry's stag Patronus, but Dudley, confused by what had happened, pinned the blame for the attack on his cousin as he could not see the Dementors.

1996

When Albus Dumbledore paid a personal visit to the Dursleys in 1996, he showed pity for Dudley, and blamed the Dursleys for the "appalling damage" their parenting inflicted on their son.

1997

When Harry parted ways with the Dursleys in 1997, Dudley was the only member to bid Harry a heartfelt farewell. He shook Harry's hand, and thanked him for saving his life. The members of the Order of the Phoenix escorting the Dursleys into hiding were not satisfied by this, and thought a more adequate apology was in order, but the Dursleys left with nothing more to say.

Post-War

In Dudley's adult life, he and Harry remained on "Christmas Card terms". Harry sometimes took his children to Dudley's when they were in the neighborhood, occasions dreaded by James, Albus and Lily.^[6] However, Dudley and Harry maintained contact mainly out of duty, and during visits would sit silently together while their children interacted.^[7]

==Physical description==x

"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father."

— Vernon Dursley^[src]

Dudley is very fat, about four times bigger than Harry is.^[2] Harry often thought Dudley looked like a pig in a wig. In 1994, he had "reached the size and weight of a young killer whale."^[5]Even in 1995, where he became even more imposing, he was "as massive as ever". By 1997, he became more muscular than he is fat.

Behind the scenes

In one of Harry's several letters to Sirius Black, he states that Dudley chucked his Playstation out a window. However, the Sony PlayStation wasn't released in Britain until 1995; this detail was written in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which takes place in 1994. However, considering his parents gave him whatever he wanted, they could have gone out of Britain to get it.
- The original PlayStation was what is known as a "region locked system," meaning that a disc purchased in America would not work on system from Japan and vice versa. This could further show Dudley's control over his parents as they would have to import games and accessories as well as the Playstation itself.
Although not mentioned in the books, J.K. Rowling said during the Dementor attack, Dudley envisioned himself as a cruel bully, indicating that deep down, he regrets his treatment of Harry.
It was mentioned in the book that Dudley's hair is actually blond but in the movies, it's dark brown.
Dudley is portrayed as fat in the books and movies. In an interview on the POA DVD, Harry Melling stated he had lost weight and had to wear a fat suit to show Dudley's chubbiness.
J.K. Rowling has stated that she originally planned to have Dudley have a wizard child in the Epilogue but decided that no magical blood would ever get past Uncle Vernon's DNA.
In the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film, Dudley did not appeared in the movie.

Notes and references

Appearances

[hpencyclopedia-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Dudley Dursley at the Harry Potter Encyclopedia

[PS-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

[POA-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

[4] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

[GOF-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[6] JK Rowling comments on Harry and Dudley's future relationship

[7] J.K. Rowling's comments at Carnegie Hall

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