Harry Potter, #1
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
by J.K. Rowling
Contents
The Letters from No One
Overview
Harry receives a mysterious, precisely addressed letter, which Uncle Vernon confiscates in terror. As letters multiply through every possible entry, the Dursleys escalate from blocking the post to fleeing their home. They hide in a storm-battered sea shack, where, at midnight on Harry’s eleventh birthday, a powerful knock heralds an intruder.
Summary
After the snake escape, Harry endures his longest punishment. Summer brings Dudley’s gang and the looming split to different secondary schools. During Smeltings preparations, Aunt Petunia dyes Dudley’s old clothes for Harry’s Stonewall High uniform, highlighting the Dursleys’ disdain.
When the mail arrives, Harry receives a thick, parchment letter addressed exactly to “The Cupboard under the Stairs.” Uncle Vernon seizes it, turning ashen, and resolves to ignore the sender. That night he claims to have burned it, then abruptly moves Harry to Dudley’s second bedroom to disrupt the watchers’ knowledge.
The following morning, a new letter arrives addressed to “The Smallest Bedroom,” proving the sender’s awareness. Chaos erupts as Uncle Vernon fights both boys for the letter. Harry plots to intercept the postman, but Uncle Vernon sleeps by the door and destroys more letters, then nails up the mail slot and seals the house.
Despite these measures, letters pour in through cracks, windows, and even inside eggs. On Sunday, dozens blast from the fireplace, prompting Uncle Vernon to order an immediate departure. The family drives aimlessly, stays at a shabby hotel (where more letters find Harry’s room), and continues fleeing without explanation.
At the coast, Uncle Vernon secures a boat and ferries them to a desolate shack on a rock amid a storm. With meager rations and no warmth, Harry counts down to his eleventh birthday, wondering about the letter’s sender. As the clock strikes midnight, a booming knock rattles the shack door, signaling someone has found them.
Who Appears
- Harry PotterTargets of strange letters; moved from cupboard to Dudley’s spare room; determined to read his letter; turns eleven at chapter’s end.
- Vernon DursleyConfiscates and destroys letters; boards up the house; leads a frantic flight to a remote sea shack.
- Petunia DursleyTerrified upon reading the letter; dyes Dudley’s old clothes for Harry; follows Vernon’s escalating plans.
- Dudley DursleyParades Smeltings gear; fights for the letter; loses his spare room to Harry; complains throughout the flight.