Quote:
Originally Posted by yvanleterrible
Petunia has access to the magic world in the way of an alarm belll, no doubt also to protection charms.
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I don't think this is described in the books anywhere. Petunia certainly knows more than she usually lets on about the wizard world, as we see in scenes at the beginning of books 5 and 6, but I think if she'd had an alarm bell, she'd have tried to use it to get rid of Harry when his hair grew back overnight, etc.
I agree, Yvan, that part of the purpose of the Dursleys (beyond humor value) is that they make Harry so miserable that he's actually relieved to go back to Hogwarts and into genuine peril each year. He's often not all that happy at Hogwarts, e.g. when he's under suspicion for speaking Parseltongue, or when everyone thinks he's nuts for believing Voldemort is back. And he's often at physical risk there, as well. If he had the option of just staying at The Burrow with the Weasleys all the time, he might not want to go back to Hogwarts at all.