The Dursleys

The Dursley family are recurring minor antagonists in the Harry Potter series. They are Harry Potter's last living grumpy relatives, usually seen at the beginning of the books and movies and rarely appearing afterwards. In order to ensure Harry's safety, Albus Dumbledore placed Harry there when he was a baby. They are portrayed by Fiona Shaw, Harry Melling, and the now dead Richard Griffiths.

Harry Potter franchise
Uncle Vernon and his wife have grudgingly raised Harry from an early age. He and Petunia never informed Harry about the magical world and they explain away his parents death by lying and saying that they died in a car crash.They also treated him very cruelly, more like Harry was a prisoner and a servant than a nephew such as making him sleep under the stairs, while they spoil their own son, Dudley Dursley. Harry was often bullied by his cousin Dudley in his early years. When owls delivered letters from Hogwarts to tell Harry he was a wizard. The Dursleys tried to keep Harry from knowing the truth in order to keep him "normal" when hundreds of letters came from out from the chimney Uncle Vernon then informed the family they were going away where "they can't find us". Harry finally learns the truth later when Rubeus Hagrid turns up and tells him that he is a wizard, much to the Dursleys' displeasure he then uses his magic umbrella to give Dudley a pig's tail before leaving with Harry.

Every year, Harry had to spend the summer vacation with the Dursleys and it is noticeable that they turn from dominating him to being afraid of him as his years at Hogwarts progress. The Dursleys also have a number of unlucky incidents during Harry's visits.

In the final book Deathly Hallows, the Dursleys have to leave Privet Drive because the Order of the Phoenix has the feeling that Lord Voldemort is going to break into their house and torture them to tell where Harry Potter is. So, the Order came to Privet Drive and left with the Dursleys. Dudley was the only one who gave a proper goodbye to Harry. Harry responded to this with the words: "See ya, Big D!".

About Petunia Dursley
""I was the only one who saw her for what she was. . . a freak!""

- Petunia Dursley

Petunia Dursley takes Harry in after Albus Dumbledore writes to her explaining the death's of Harry's parents. Though she takes him in, it is with resentment (due to her own bitter feelings toward her late sister, Lily Potter). This is because she was jealous of Lily being a witch and that she didn't get to go to Hogwarts with her sister; after this, she convinced herself that Lily was a freak and she has nothing to do with her sister after this. Petunia is a house wife and constantly spoils Dudley while mistreating and ignoring Harry. However, she does show some moral obligation towards Harry later in the series and in Deathly Hallows, before departing Privet Drive due to the Dursleys being in danger from Voldemort and his followers, she nearly wishes Harry luck because she knows what he is up against but she leaves without saying this. She only refers to Harry as "Potter".

About Vernon Dursley
"I'm warning you now, boy. Any funny business, any at all, and you won't have any meals for a week. Get in."

- Vernon Dursley warning Harry about the funny business before going to the zoo

"There's no such thing as magic!"

- Vernon Dursley trying to convince Harry to forget about the wizarding world

"One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born boy. And fix that door."

- Vernon Dursley in The Chamber of Secrets

"You'll never go back to that school. You'll never gonna see those freaky friends of yours again. NEVER!"

- Vernon Dursley to Harry

Vernon Dursley is the head of the house hold and the director of a drill company called Grunnings. He is considered to be the meanest out of any of the family due to his nasty personality (It is even stated in one of the books that he supports the death penalty). He is obsessed with the family's social standing and he despises anything even slightly abnormal. Although Petunia feels the tiniest bit of moral obligation towards Harry, Vernon seems to hate his nephew so much that he wants to kick him out of the house (Order of the Phoenix book). In Deathly Hallows he doesn't say a proper goodbye to Harry, though he initially wishes to shake his hand. Unlike Petunia and Dudley, He only refers to Harry as "Boy".

About Dudley Dursley
"This one deserved it."

- Dudley Dursley

Dudley was a bully and he always picked on Harry. He has a very greedy personality and was overweight from a very young age. In Order of the Phoenix, Harry and Dudley get attacked by Dementors that were sent to Privet Drive by Umbridge, Harry then uses the Patronus charm to repel the Dementors to save his and Dudley's lives. In Deathly Hallows Dudley is the only member of the family to properly reconcile with Harry and regrets treating him badly. He tells Harry that he is not a waste of space and thanks him for saving his life. Like Petunia, he only refers to Harry as "Potter".

Trivia

 * The late Richard Griffiths, who portrayed Harry's evil uncle in the first, second, third, fifth movie and the first part of the final movie, said that he would miss the Dursleys immensely.
 * In Order Of The Phoenix, it isn't revealed whatever worst experiences Dudley thought about when being attacked by the Dementors. However, author J.K Rowling reveals that Dudley saw himself as the cruel bully he really was, which makes him realize that he needs to change before he becomes far worse than he is now.
 * J.K Rowling stated that her least favorite character in the series is Vernon Dursley, even after Dolores Umbridge was introduced.
 * Vernon is similar to Sir Ector as they both are mustached, have the same body structure, both are cynical of magic and it's existence and both have a son who they favor more and care very little about their foster son. They also call the protagonist by any name but their own ("Wart" in Ector's case and "You" or "Boy" most of the time in Vernon's case).
 * Dudley and Vernon both became internet memes - Vernon became one because of his "No Post On Sunday" quote, which became one of Harry Potter fan in-jokes, and Dudley became a center of a group known as The Dudley Church.