From an interview, Rowling said we'll find loads more about Aunt Petunia, about the Howler that said "Remember my last," and why she kept Harry all these times.

So, I read the early chapters of Deathly Hallows, and there wasn't any explanation on that. I'm disappointed. But anyway, why did the Dumbledore say the Dursleys mistreat Dudley? Huh?

I think the reason is because they pampered him so much. Thats how they mistreated him, they gave him no discipline at all. That may sound really wierd i know... as for the Howler thing i have no idea
but the reason y she kept him was so that his mothers protective charm didnt break, ya know, the place he calls home thing...

where does it say they miss treated dudley? The only thing i can think of is in the begining when dumbldor says something about the boy sitting btween them but i believe he is refering to harry like the figure of speach?

I agree, that I think it was because they spoiled him so much. Clearly any parent who spoils their child is mistreating them, because they aren't helping their child at all. This is probably what is meant by the Dursleys mistreating them.

Wow, that's it? I was expecting to read in Deathly Hallows that Dudley was mistreated because his magical powers were kept from him by the Dursleys or that Aunt Petunia was a Death Eater in disguise.

Nope, sorry. It really is simple. To tell the truth, I am an oldest child, and I am slightly spoiled. No where near as much as Dudley, but slightly. And Kids don't like me for it. I'm that spoiled know-it-all who has everything. I actually don't have everything, but my parents put educational tools like computers first, so I look all fancy with the expencive computer and phone and stuff.

Yes, he was mistreated by being spoiled and undisciplined. He will suffer through life with no responsibilities and getting his way all of the time. I thought it would be justice if JKR would make Dudley produce a magical child and end up sending that child to Hogwarts. That would be funny to me.

I agree, I assumed the 'mistreatment' to be their spoiling of him, but mostly I considered him to be referring to Dudley's weight; even if he had made some of it muscle by boxing as she stated in OotP, he was still huge and plenty of it must have been fat. I'm not trying to pass any judgement, or offend anyone, but the diet and size of Dudley (at the very least BEFORE book 5) was extremely unhealthy. I'm hoping and assuming that J.K. Rowling exaggerated a lot when she said he took up a whole side of the table, or was roughly the size and weight of a baby whale, or that he was as wide as he was tall, but still, eating junk ALL day and never moving around at ALL (and like I said, I'm not trying to judge, I'm no health freak myself, not in the least) is dangerous, and that could be considered mistreatment even if it was intended to be comical by Rowling (and I'm not dissing her either, , I'm just stating my opinion and interpretation of what it meant).

I only read Kiristina's post, but I agree with it and it's probably all the same. I think it was an indirect way of mistreating him, meaning that they pampered him so much and fed him so much that he became a fat, spoiled brat. It makes sense though! I can't say that it's a good thing to make your kid fat and spoiled and bratty, etc etc.

I agree I think that their spoiling of him is the mistreadment.

But, I think that Dudely did a 180 in DH. His actual worry about leaving harry behind. I think that he had finaly seen the light & did consider harry part of his family. The fact that he was making food for harry & bringing him tea( at the time harry himself did not understand but, understood after they left)

I just wonder how they (the dursley's) got on after they spllitup.

I think that any psychologist will tell you that spoiling your child is mistreatment.

Think about it. Dudley may have everything he wants, but he also gets away with everything, and thus he becomes a bully, and by the time he's fifteen, he is a gangster, a smoker, he commits vandalism, and he beats up children. Would he be that way if his parents hadn't spoiled him in the way they did?

To make things worse, why did the Dursleys spoil him? Oh, they already were before Harry arrived, but when Harry was left in their care, they spoiled Dudley even worse than before, because they wanted Dudley to appear to be above Harry, and they wanted to make that clear to a young Harry. So they mistreated Harry using physical and verbal abuse, and they mistreated Dudley by using him as a method of abuse against Harry.

The Dursleys spoiled Dudley rotten: he was very fat, he was lazy, and he got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. He was not brave, or ambtious, or smart like Harry and he was pretty much a loser . He never learned how to do anything for himself so he is sortof destinded to become unsuccessful.(Am i making sence ???)

No George without Fred

I agree with youre statement. I think he is kind of a "reverse harry"
He could be just like him if he tried, but his dursleyness comes through everytime.

I think that the mistreatment is partly about his weight and his spoiltness but partly because he has been braught up to bully his cousin.

Any other ideas?

How Did The Dursleys Mistreat Dudley?
With their own failure at being good and honest people...if they were good and honest people-they would have given a much better education for their son (and taken much better care of Harry but thats another thing).

i have to say that i wouldn't use the word mistreat
they just loved their only son soooo much that they
"pampered" him and they fed him ALOT
soon enough he became a bully and not very smart
they let him go to a good school
but didn't make sure he was getting the proper education
so that is how the Dursley's "mistreat/ed" Dudleu

I see your point gissgon about the use of the word 'mistreat' however that is the word Dumbledore used and being that Dumbledore was so perceptive we are trying to figure out what he meant.

It could be the whole spoilt thing but that seems a bit obvious doesn't it? Then again maybe not because when he said it, Petunia looked thoroughly confused at the prospect that her precious Diddykins was the one Dumbledore was referring to. I just think that Dudleys' mistreatment was that he was taught to be intolorant, to think of himself as superior to Harry. He, like Draco didn't have a chance to discover his own mind but had his parents ideas forced down his throat. The difference between Dudley and Draco is that Dudley recognized Harry at the end for having worth. Draco didn't.

Besides the fact that they spoiled him rotten, no-one has picked up on the fact that you don't have to starve a child to mistreat them.

Dudley was greedy and this was encouraged by both his parents. He's seen to have a healthy appetite. Only once do they seem to try to do anything about it and that's when the Smeltings nurse sends Dudley home with a diet sheet. Because of the way they indulged him to the point that he became morbidly overweight, they put there own child at risk of future problems such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.

I always thought that this was the 'mistreatment' that Dumbledore spoke of.

i agree with practically all of you guys who have been writing on here
I think that when Dumbledore said he was mistreated by his parents, he meant that they had given him so much and always had everything he wanted, that it would hurt him in the future.(not literally, physically hurt) He wouldn't know how to fend for himself if at his word people gave him everything he wanted. He might believe that everything would be handed to him which would put him in danger.

I agree with most of you. They don't outright mistreat him, but the way they take care of him can be seen as "neglectful" in some way, and I think that's what Dumbledore was getting at.



They fed him to the point of obesity, setting him up for a lot of health problems. They spoiled him rotton and never gave him a chance to develop his own character, the perception of necessity vs. wants, and generally raised him poorly, though obviously they loved him very much. I also think they made everything worse with him to make Harry feel worse.

yea good point . i always wanted to know what the howler was trying to say. & its obvious with the dudley thing i mean he's spoiled & thats no good they never taught him REAL values. & i wish that howler that was suprisingly connnected with petunia was elaborated a bit more >.<

I think Dudley was mistreated because he was pampered so much, and he sort of got fat, and he took his anger out in very bad ways. He depended on his parents too much, and you could see that when he wasn't around his gang, he needed them to protect him like when Dumbledore came to the house. They didn't teach him to look out for himself or to think by himself. He always needs other people to help him.

I dont remember but i think the answer is the princes tale chapter and some of it is answered in ootp or hbp im not but i think it is? i havent read the books in a while im starting the series over for the 12th time and then im gunna read hbp 2 days before hbp comes out i cant wait!!!!!!!