Petunia had been very contemplative Harry's ninth Christmas. She had always hated magic because she couldn't do it and she had only seen it do harm or create embarrassment. Magic had taken away many of her dreams, but she now had seen magic do good. Her despised nephew had used something she hated to save something she loved.
Marge was with them that Christmas but instead of letting her degrade Harry as she usually did Vernon stopped her, by offering a distraction instead. "Marge, I was wanting your opinion. Pet and I aren't sure of what we should do we love this house and it's just the right size for us but it lacks sufficient room for the entertaining that would help me advance at Grunings. What would you do?"
Harry ignored Marge's slightly drunken pontificating and helped Aunt Petunia with clearing the table and serving dessert. A few days later when Marge left he spoke to his Uncle. " Uncle Vernon have you and Aunt Petunia ever thought of adding on a great room? You could use it for entertaining, and that way we wouldn't leave Privet Drive but you could still get ahead."
"A great room huh? What brings this on?" Vernon asked suspiciously.
"Well I thought about your question to Marge on Christmas, and before break started I heard Shelly at school talking about how her parents had built on a great room and how much she was looking forward to their Christmas party. And well it occurred to me maybe you and Aunt Petunia could do that."
Vernon looked at his nephew. As much as he hated to admit it, the boy wasn't a terrible person. He wasn't even much of a burden anymore. He was polite, he did his chores without being reminded, he never asked for more than he was given, and he always was thankful for what he got. He found he could no longer hate him. He still didn't like him, but he didn't hate him.
When Harry was almost eleven his Uncle finally got the promotion to Vice President of Marketing in Britain at Grunnings. The great room they added to the house served it's purpose. The Dursleys celebrated with a trip. They left Harry with Mrs. Figg that trip because they were going to Euro Disney and Vernon didn't want the expense of taking Harry, they would be back three days before his birthday. It was a week before his birthday and he was helping Mrs. Figg give one of her cats a bath when the mail arrived. To his surprise Mrs. Figg handed him a parchment envelope with emerald writing and a funny wax seal. Harry opened it. When Harry saw the name Albus Dumbledore he had to resist the urge to shred it. He read through it and found what his Aunt told him to expect. He decided to test his Aunt's theory that Mrs. Figg was a Dumbledore plant. "What a bunch of nonsense!" And he crumpled the letter and made to throw it away.
Mrs. Figg's eyes widened and she stopped him. "NO! You mustn't!"
"But it's nonsense! We await your owl? Foolishness."
"Harry I assure you, Hogwarts is quite real and you are a wizard!"
"Do you work for him, Mrs. Figg?"
Her eye widened still further when she realized what she had given away. "Do you mean He-who-Must-Not-be-Named?"
Harry's eye roll said it all.
"You mean Albus Dumbledore?"
Harry's smirk and slight nod was her answer.
She sighed Albus wouldn't like this, but she wouldn't lie to the boy since it was obvious he already knew. "Yes." she said timidly.
"How do I owl them?"
"I could forward your response through the floo."
"Fine I'll think about it."
The day his relatives returned from Paris, Harry showed Aunt Petunia his letter. "So do I or don't I?"
"If you don't they will just come and get you. We are rather powerless against them."
"Fine I'll go, but I swear to you Aunt Petunia, I won't dance to their tune. I'll march to my own drum."
"Tell them you need someone to guide you to get your supplies. I would take you but I don't remember exactly how to get there. Also mention we won't pay for your things. I'm sure your parents left something for you."
"Yes ma'am."
"You're a good boy, Harry."
Petunia Dursley inwardly smiled. Her revenge on Albus Dumbledore was going to be so sweet.
....
Years ago she had been shaken horribly when she found out there would be no more children and had skirted catatonic behavior for months and part of her had never stopped asking why, what did Dumbledore have to gain by putting Harry in their home. Especially since he undoubtably knew of the bad blood between herself and Lily. While she was at the hospital with Harry it dawned on her. Harry's father had been a selfish spoiled lord, which meant power.
She didn't know anything of the Magical world and wouldn't spoil Harry, since she hated his father and didn't get along with his mother. Harry would be ignorant at best and possibly abused and malleable and if he was treated poorly, Dumbledore would make his life in the magical world heavenly by comparison and Harry would do anything the old fart wanted in gratitude.
If Harry grew up naïve, and downtrodden it was to Dumbledore's advantage, well she never agreed to be part of his scheme, she was paying a heavy price for his manipulations too. She would see to it Dumbledore was denied what he sought, just as he had dared deny her her dreams of a daughter and more sons and success for Vernon.
Petunia had carefully considered what Harry would need to be like, she had a fine line to walk as well it wouldn't do for Dumbledore to get wind of this nor would it do for her to put her desire for revenge ahead of Dudley and Vernon. The hours at the hospital had given her time to plan. First she had put a stop to the almost criminal behavior of her husband and son towards Harry. The family meeting had been followed by a long private chat with Vernon to explain things.
Training them, especially Harry, to have fine manners well that took a while, but her own experience and DeBrett's were enough. There was the household managing she taught him as part of his chores, and the accounting class she had him take in school.
Getting Harry training to be a warrior, that had taken much persuading. Harry's light almost feminine build had helped with that. She had persuaded Vernon that since the boy had enemies in the magical world he needed to be able to defend himself. But she allowed that the traditional English defense of boxing that so suited his and Dudley's well built physique wasn't suited to Harry's. Vernon had agreed that that foreign namby-pamby karate probably would suit the boy better. Petunia had selected the deadliest one available.
Petunia had forbidden the boy TV, and computers but had encouraged him to read history and political philosophy. She had also seen to it he learned strategy games. When she took him and Dudley to the park Dudley played on the playground while Harry learned chess from the acknowledged chess master of the park. He also was taught bridge by acting as a fourth with her bridge club, and his sensei taught him go. She wanted Harry to be sly and sneaky, so on the sly she allowed him to play the computer games that taught planning and conservation of resources. It wasn't hard just take Dudley's usual games, and replace them with the ones she wanted him to play on Sundays when the rest of the family was going out.
When Harry was nine she allowed herself to seemingly slip occasionally in her manipulating of him and she and was more transparent in her manipulation of Dudley and Vernon. As result, she watched him pick it up as well. Harry's reaction to his letter was everything she could have hoped. She had his loyalty and all it had cost her was what she owed Harry as a blood relative anyway. The occasional crumb of affection together with decent treatment on life basics was a cheap price to pay for her revenge.