Did They Ever Meet?

[Minerva the Bookwyrm]

This is something that a person on another website asked, and I thought it was a great topic, so I decided to see what the lovely HP fans at The Haven think about it! smile

Quote:

Had Petunia and Vernon met the Marauders? Perhaps on Lily`s and James wedding, or in the school holydays?
OK, Lily and Petunia weren't on the best of therms, but I think that they would have been invited to the wedding, even when it was only out of an act of courtesy.
What do you think?

Personally, I definitely believe Petunia met James because Lily would've wanted her parents to meet James before she married him, and her parents would have urged Petunia to come to a family dinner with them.

Also, in spite of all of her jealousy, I do think that Petunia cared for Lily. She didn't love her the way that a big sister should, but some love existed. Due to this affection, Petunia would have wanted to make sure that James (the man Lily was considering marrying) was different from Severus (the boy that Lily had been close to that Petunia thoroughly disapproved of).

As for the other Marauders...I honestly don't believe Petunia met them. I enjoy reading fics where she does, but I doubt that it happened because in PoA when there are shots of Sirius on the Muggle news neither Petunia nor Vernon recognise him.

The wedding? It’s my speculation that Petunia was invited, and Lily was very hurt when she didn't show up.

What are YOUR thoughts and opinions? whee  

[Jedi Knight26]

I agree that Petunia would have definitely met James, mostly for the same reasons that you stated in your past Minerva, that she would want to make sure that her sister was marrying someone who would be good for her and take care of her, because underneath her hatred for Lily and anyone else from the wizarding world, she truly did care for Lily, I mean, she took care of Harry, didn't she?

I doubt Petunia would have met Lupin or Peter, but there is the possibility that she might have met Sirius. Lily and James might have been going home on a break or something, and Sirius might have tagged along or something and so Petunia might have met Sirius. The reason Petunia didn't recognize Sirius in PoA is because if she only met him once or twice, she probably doesn't remember what he looks like, and people change a lot when they get older, so she just simply didn't recognize him simply because she had only seen him maybe once, if at all, in her entire life.

I think the only chance that Vernon would have had to meet James would have been at holiday gatherings at Lily and Petunia's parent's house, but considering Petunia's hatred for Lily and the wizarding world, it's doubtful that they were ever together in a house. So I think the chances that James and Vernon ever met would be slim.  

[Matelia legwll]

Something I think you are overlooking is that the difference between the deranged picture plastered all over the Muggle televisions and the happy eighteen year-old Sirius is DRAMATIC. Twelve years in Azkaban seems to age one's features at least twice as much.

So I don't think it unlikely that Petunia, even if she had a good passing remembrance of Sirius, to regard the vivacious Marauder as anything more than sort of similar to the criminal in a vague, undefinable way. No reason to comment aloud about any of it.

Besides, the criminal is on Muggle news. Petunia's mind shouldn't immediately jump to that wizard that was Lily's husband's best friend. Even if the name is Sirius.

Didn't Harry say of the wedding photographs that if he hadn't already known that Sirius was the same person, he would have never guessed?

However, as to the original question of whether Petunia would have met any of the Marauders, I think the better question would be whether she remembered any of their names. She remembers the conversation about dementors and Azkaban, but she doesn't mention Snape by name.

But anyway, I concur with Min and Jedi that she probably was forced, persuaded, enticed, etc into at least one dinner with the family and Lily's boyfriend/fiance. Depending on how far along her relationship with Vernon is at that point, she might have been forced to bring him along as well.

And we know one thing about James and Sirius. They were practically attached at the hip to each other. Peter tags along after them whenever he can, and Remus in a more dignified way also includes himself. But the duo is Sirius and James.

To sum, I think it highly probable that Petunia met James, highly possible that she also encountered Sirius, but less likely that Peter and/or Lupin were able to make her acquaintance.
And extremely unlikely that their names stuck in her memory.

Petunia and Lily were passingly courteous to each other, even if all they were doing is exchanging bad gifts for Christmas. Remember that Lily had an ugly vase from Petunia that she had on display at her house that Harry managed to crash into and ruin. They knew the basics about each other's life through wedding announcements and baby announcements.

I think it likely that they attended each other's weddings. The only reason I could see for Petunia to avoid Lily's wedding would be if she saw it as the last step of losing Lily to the wizarding world. But even then, curiosity might win out. She had always been secretly intrigued by and jealous of Lily's world.