The Best Thing Dudley Dursley Ever Did In The Harry Potter Films Got Cut
Any fan of the "Harry Potter" franchise would unanimously agree that the Dursley family abused Daniel Radcliffe's Harry. We can see right away that not only do they profess how much they don't want him in their lives, but they also try as hard as possible to pretend that he isn't there aside from the services that he might provide them as a butler of sorts. Harry famously lives in the cupboard under the stairs as well because, for some time, the Dursleys wouldn't even provide him a proper room to sleep in. As we know, Harry is in this particular situation due to Albus Dumbledore's (Richard Harris) decision to leave him with his Uncle Vernon (Richard Griffiths) and Aunt Petunia (Fiona Shaw) after Harry's parents' death at the hands of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes).
Many fans are torn on Dumbledore's decisions in general when it comes to Harry, with many believing that he selfishly raised Harry knowing that he would have to die at the hands of Voldemort one day. It is a little bit messed up that Dumbledore would knowingly leave Harry in the hands of a bad family who didn't want him, even with his protection supposedly in mind. Either way, Harry begins to slowly break free from the Dursleys and specifically his cousin's bullying throughout the course of the books and movies.
Although Dudley Dursley (Harry Melling) appears as your typical childhood bully who is spoiled rotten by his parents and never really taught any moral values, things begin to change for the character after "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." In the books, Dudley even did something good in the end. Here's what we know.
Dudley showed genuine concern for Harry's well-being
At the very beginning of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1," Harry sends the Dursley family away from their home for good given Voldemort and the Death Eaters' willingness to hunt and torture anyone who might know Harry's whereabouts. As the family leaves, Vernon expresses no concern, and Aunt Petunia merely gives Harry a look, but Dudley does something we had never seen him do up until this point: He shows care for Harry. In a deleted scene, Dudley reaches out and shakes Harry's hand before leaving, only able to muster out "I don't think you're a waste of space," paired with a look of concern on his face. Harry appears slightly surprised by this and thanks Dudley.
Although this kind of thing is extremely out of the ordinary for the typical bullying Harry was subjected to in nearly every film prior, things likely changed for Dudley after he nearly lost his soul at the hands of a Dementor if it hadn't been for Harry in "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." This experience terrified him more than anything ever had before, and he had to rely on Harry, the person he had despised and bullied for reasons he truly didn't know, to save him when it counted. After that, and knowing that Harry could die, he came to respect and care for the closest thing to a brother he'd ever had.
Sometimes, it's the littlest interactions between characters that tell us the most about who they are and what they think — and this is certainly an excellent example of that happening.