Question: If Harry's relatives hate him, then why are they against him going to Hogwarts to study magic? Why wouldn't they be excited to be rid of him most of the time?
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Answer: Because they know of his wizard heritage and they hate it. They think he and his parents were freaks.
lionhead
Good answer, but I'd add they also knew it was something Harry would very much want, and they would always deny him simply to be as mean-spirited as possible.
raywest ★
Not to mention one of Vernon and Petunia's overriding motivations is to appear normal to their neighbors, and the more magic Harry knows, the less likely they are to achieve that. It could presumably also be dangerous for them, as future books/movies confirm.
1. They were constantly being barraged with letters from Hogwarts in an increasingly disruptive manner. Eventually, this would be noticed as something weird by their neighbors, which is something they REALLY don't want: anyone to know about Petunia's magical relations. 2. They were flat out threatened by Hagrid and terrified on both him and Dumbledore Better to let him go there then have to spend their entire lives on the run without it even working.
LorgSkyegon
They were against it long before the barrage of letters or Hagrid showing up. They knew about the school, Petunia's sister went there and she told Vernon. They don't want to seem weird to the neighbors in general, they aren't afraid people around them will think they have a wizard in their family because nobody believes in wizards.
lionhead