Because Petunia believes that her sister is a “freak,” she chooses to deny the bonds of family, bonds that should be much stronger than any judgmental disapproval. The Durlseys’ view of Lily Potter and her family is also portrayed in particularly negative terms. Although Rowling does not describe the Dursleys in truly malevolent terms – as she will later with Voldemort – their closed-mindedness and insistence on appearing “normal” are all expressed as negative characteristics. Rowling opens the book with a description of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, two characters who are very obviously not the protagonists of the book. Dumbledore gently leaves the baby on the Dursleys’ doorstep with a letter of explanation, and Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Hagrid leave the scene. Moreover, by living with the Dursleys, Harry will be protected from his own fame as “the boy-who-lived.”Ī few moments later, a giant named Hagrid drives out of the sky on a flying motorcycle and hands Dumbledore the bundle of blankets containing the infant Harry. Professor McGonagall vehemently protests Dumbledore’s decision, but Dumbledore explains that there is no one else. Dumbledore plans to leave Harry with the Dursleys they are his only remaining relatives and will have to raise him until he is old enough to understand about the death of his parents and his magical abilities. Their infant son, Harry, however, somehow survived Voldemort’s killing curse and broke the dark wizard’s power. The subject turns to the Potter family, and Dumbledore informs Professor McGonagall that Lily and James Potter are both dead, murdered by Voldemort. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall discuss the occurrences of the day and the rumored disappearance of You-Know-Who, also known as Voldemort, a dark wizard who has been in power in Britain for the past eleven years. The cat transforms into a severe-looking woman with square glasses who Dumbledore refers to as Professor McGonagall. Using a silver “Put-Outer,” Dumbledore swiftly puts out all of the street lamps until the street is completely dark and then notices the tabby cat, still keeping watch on the corner. As he uneasily falls asleep, Vernon concludes that, even if those strange people in the cloaks were talking about his sister-in-law and her family, it would hardly have any effect on his life.Ī few minutes before midnight, a tall, thin man named Albus Dumbledore suddenly appears on the street corner of Privet Drive. Vernon wonders if the mention of the Potters was a coincidence after all.
But still, the television news report was full of strange occurrences: showers of shooting stars and hundreds of owls flying during the day. Petunia’s day has been completely normal, and Vernon wonders if he should even bother telling her about the strange whispers about “the Potters.” It must have just been a coincidence. When he gets to his house, he is confronted by the same tabby cat as the morning, now sitting on his garden wall. Although he tries not to worry about it – after all, “Potter” is a very common name – Vernon spends the rest of the day in a state of distraction until 5pm, when he can go home to talk to Petunia about the strange goings-on of the day.
As he passes by, he overhears some of them talking about “the Potters,” and, in a moment of terror, he wonders if they might be talking about his bizarre sister-in-law and her family. When Vernon leaves for his lunch break, he is again irritated to notice numerous people wearing brightly-colored cloaks and milling together excitedly. Still, he decides to dismiss the odd occurrences and focus on the drill-making scheduled for the day. While stopped in traffic though, Vernon notices another strange thing: several people in the street wearing brightly-colored cloaks. Convinced that he is imagining things, Vernon continues his drive to work. When he takes a second look, however, the map has vanished, and the tabby cat is staring back at him. Yet, as Vernon leaves for work, he notices something strange: a cat reading a map. One morning, the Dursley family begins the day much as any other: Vernon gets dressed for work, while Petunia feeds Dudley and tells her husband about the latest gossip from the neighbors. In fact, their greatest fear is that someone will find out that one of their relatives is not completely normal and uninteresting: Petunia’s sister, Lily Potter, is decidedly “unDursleyish,” and, as a result, Petunia has not spoken to her in several years. The Dursley family is perfectly content to live normal and uninteresting lives. Their son, Dudley, is grotesquely fat, even as a toddler, and is spoiled rotten by both parents. Vernon Dursley, an overweight man with a bushy mustache, works as the director of a drill-making firm, while his wife, Petunia, is thin and blonde and has a particular penchant for spying on the neighbors.
The novel opens with a description of the Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive.