Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
In today’s video we’re going to be discussing another exciting “what if” scenario for
the Wizarding World: What if Dudley Dursley, Harry Potter’s volatile cousin, had turned
out to be a wizard too?
Now, although the mere idea of this what if scenario might have you immediately spewing
profanities my way, you must admit that the chance that Dudley might have possessed some
magical talent is not all that far-fetched of an idea.
Why is that you may ask?
Well, to start with, it’s common knowledge that plenty of witches and wizards are born
into Muggle families in which no other known relatives possess the ability to perform magic.
Which, of course, brings us to my second point: this is the exact situation Lily Evans, Harry’s
mum, found herself in.
As you likely well know, Lily’s family was comprised entirely of Muggles, including her
sister, Petunia, Dudley’s mum.
And although in adulthood, Petunia showed nothing but disdain for her sister’s magical
talents, even going so far as to call her a freak, we know from flashbacks of the girls’
childhood that Petunia actually rather envied Lily’s abilities and had wished to attend
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry herself.
In fact, as a child, she even sent a letter requesting admission to Professor Dumbledore.
Sadly – yet very understandably – Petunia was gently let down by Dumbledore who could
not allow admission of a Muggle to the school.
Unfortunately, this only seemed to spurn her jealousy of Lily into blatant hatred and resentment.
But alas…I digress…
In any case, it’s completely within reason to consider the possibility that Dudley Dursley,
son of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, very well could’ve been born a wizard.
Of course, we all know that this didn’t happen…but…what if it had?
I think the most obvious question that must first be addressed is how Mr. and Mrs. Dursley
would have taken the news.
So intent were they on preventing Harry from receiving his letter of acceptance from Hogwarts,
one must wonder if they would’ve done the same if their son was also bound for the magical
school of witchcraft and wizardry.
Would Vernon and Petunia have hidden away Dudley’s letters alongside Harry’s?
Would they have maintained that the Wizarding World was full of freaks and certainly not
to be trusted?
Or…by Merlin’s beard, would they have been proud of their son?
Perhaps, if Dudley had turned out to be a wizard, that would’ve changed Vernon and
Petunia’s entire perspective on magic.
From Petunia’s view, if her son had been a wizard and received his letter welcoming
him to Hogwarts, the very school that had rejected her decades before, maybe she would’ve
felt some sort of validation.
However, even if they had openly accepted Dudley’s letter to Hogwarts, there’s a
large part of me that thinks they still would’ve gone to the same great lengths that they did
in the actual series to prevent Harry from receiving his.
That is, they would’ve handed over Dudley’s but continued to withhold Harry’s.
I mean, they strike me as petty enough that even if their son was indeed magical, they
would still have felt the need to put Harry down and not acknowledge that he too was a
wizard.
There’s also the idea that if Vernon and Petunia had chosen to hide both boys’ letters
to Hogwarts and had still ended up in that isolated location where they – foolishly
– thought they could hide from “the mail,” Hagrid would’ve still come for Harry, as
he does in the actual series.
And despite not being particularly fond of Dudley – as I’m sure you remember the
pig’s tail he gave him for eating Harry’s birthday cake – I do believe that Hagrid
would’ve felt duty-bound to bring Dudley along with him and Harry to Hogwarts.
So, regardless of how Mr. and Mrs. Dursley felt about Dudley being a wizard, I believe
that one way or another he would’ve gone to Hogwarts – that is, even if Vernon and
Petunia had been hell-bent on preventing him from learning magic and attending the school,
Dudley still would’ve made it there, just like Harry did.
Which brings us to my speculations on what Dudley’s time at Hogwarts would’ve been
like.
To start with, I find it hard to believe that Dudley and Harry would NOT have sat together
on the Hogwarts Express.
I mean, true, they didn’t like each other all that much, but imagine being in a completely
foreign place in which you know very little of how things work.
I’m fairly confident that you’d stick pretty close to anyone you were even remotely
familiar with.
So, if the two boys were sitting together on the train, only to then be joined by Ron
Weasley, how would that first train ride have gone?
Would Harry have offered to pay for snacks for the whole lot of them with his new-found
fortune?
Or would he have kept quiet so as to not have to share with Dudley?
From what we know of Harry’s personality, he likely would’ve offered to purchase food
for all of them, wouldn’t he?
And so perhaps this would’ve been the first of many more positive interactions between
the cousins.
Once they’d arrived at Hogwarts, however, I don’t think they would’ve stayed together
all that long, since I’m pretty convinced that Dudley Dursley would NOT have been a
Gryffindor.
True, he does possess some characteristics of the scarlet and gold House – for example,
acting before thinking.
And later in the series, Dudley even shows some bravery when he stands up for Harry against
his parents.
Overall, though, I think that he would’ve been better suited to a different House.
You may be thinking that he obviously would’ve been sorted into Slytherin.
But I’m not so convinced.
I mean, of course, as a child, he’s a little terror who seems to strongly resemble Draco
Malfoy’s lackies, Crabbe and Goyle.
Yet, I think the Sorting Hat is a lot more intuitive than that.
It takes into account, not only who a young witch or wizard is at the age of 11, but also
who they have the capacity to be.
With all that in mind, I must admit that I rather think Dudley would’ve been sorted
into Hufflepuff.
He’s not the cleverest, which matches well with this House-being reserved more for Ravenclaw,
and he proves to be rather hardworking, going after things that he’s interested in, such
as his passion for boxing.
Think too on the fact that Hufflepuffs are known to always have good snacks, with their
common room being located right by the Hogwarts kitchen…and, of course, our dear Dudley
had a reputation for his love of food.
I also think the earlier example I mentioned of Dudley standing up for Harry showcases
his strength in loyalty, another quality associated with Hufflepuff.
So, with Dudley in Hufflepuff, I think it would’ve been a nice balance for the two
cousins – that is, they would’ve been part of the same world, learning magic – but
not side-by-side.
Perhaps this would’ve helped foster a friendly relationship between Harry and Dudley, similar
to the one we see start to emerge later in the actual series.
With a much-improved relationship with Harry, and Dudley possessing the ability to do magic,
I wonder if this would’ve led to Dudley being involved in Harry’s many adventures
over the year?
Or if he would have remained a more peripheral character.
In my opinion, if he and Harry were to come around to the point of being friendly to one
another, he likely would’ve had some involvement over the years – at the very least, near
the end of the series when Harry goes off to hunt Horcruxes.
And since something like Dumbledore’s Army involved students from almost every Hogwarts’
House, I think this is one such plotline that would’ve definitely altered to include Dudley
if he was also a wizarding student at the school.
Side note: in terms of personal interests, I’m not convinced that Dudley would’ve
made the Hufflepuff quidditch team but, if he did, I think he likely would’ve been
one of the Beaters.
I mean, can’t you just see him swinging one of those bats at the Bludgers, his face
filled with glee!
All in all, I truly believe that if Dudley had been a wizard, it would’ve done great
things for his personal growth and his relationship with Harry.
Being away from Vernon and Petunia, forming friendships with people outside of where he
grew up, would’ve likely helped shape him into a decent and loyal young man from an
earlier age.
And, with that, we’ve come to the end of another video!
What did you think?
Do you agree with what I’ve suggested in this what if scenario?
Or do you think that Dudley’s relationship with Harry would’ve remained strained even
if he’d been a wizard?
Or perhaps you think that he would’ve become best mates with Draco and ended up in Slytherin!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
And, as always, if you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to like it and subscribe to
the channel!
Until next time…
Yer a wizard Dudley