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amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so
much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on
neighbors. The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and
in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.
The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had
a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would dis-
cover it. They didn t think they could bear it if anyone found
out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursleys sister,
but they hadn t met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley
pretended she didn t have a sister, because her sister and her
good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was
possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the
neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The
Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they
had never seen him. This boy was another good reason for
keeping the Potters away; they didn t want Dudley mixing
2
with a child like that.
A few pages later, Mr. Dursley listens to the nightly news, which
reports that strange things are occurring throughout England:
74
THE M ESSAGE: Magic Versus Muggles
Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over
Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in
cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the
3
Potters& .
As the unsuspecting Dursleys tucked in for the night, apparently
out of nowhere&
A man appeared on the corner [a] cat had been watching& so
suddenly and silently you d have thought he d just popped out
of the ground. The cat s tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.
Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He
was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair
and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt.
He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the
ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were
light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles&
4
This man s name was Albus Dumbledore.
I kept reading& Harry s parents, James and Lily Potter, had just
been murdered by a super-sinister warlock named Lord Voldemort, and
Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry, had come to place the tiny survivor in a little basket on
the Dursleys doorstep. Whispering to another witch accompanying
him, Albus explained:
It s the best place for him, said Dumbledore firmly. His
aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when
he s older. I ve written them a letter.
A letter? repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting
back on a wall. Really, Dumbledore, you think you can ex-
plain all this in a letter? These people will never understand
him! He ll be famous a legend I wouldn t be surprised if
today was known as Harry Potter day in the future there
will be books written about Harry every child in the world
will know his name!
75
Hou r of the Witch
Exactly, said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the
top of his half-moon glasses. It would be enough to turn any
boy s head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for
something he won t even remember! Can t you see how much
better off he ll be, growing up away from all that until he s
ready to take it?
Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind,
swallowed, and then said, Yes yes, you re right, of
course& .
A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay
silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you
would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter
rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small
hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not
knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not
knowing he would be woken in a few hours time by Mrs.
Dursley s scream as she opened the front door to put out the
milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks
being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley& He
couldn t have known that at this very moment, people meet-
ing in secret all over the country were holding up their glass-
es and saying in hushed voices: To Harry Potter the boy
5
who lived!
I closed the book. What an introduction! I thought to myself. If I
was an average boy and not a Christian man, after having read this, I
would probably want to learn more about the secret world of witches!
Yes indeed.
One sentence was particularly mysterious. Professor McGonagall,
a teacher at Hogwarts, mused:
These people will never understand him! He ll be famous
a legend I wouldn t be surprised if today was known as
Harry Potter day in the future there will be books written
about Harry every child in the world will know his name!
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THE M ESSAGE: Magic Versus Muggles
This seemed like a prophecy come true. In real life, kids around
the world do know Harry Potter s name. Thus, a certain element of re-
alism intruded itself, right off the bat, fantasy aside. And the line,
These people will never understand him! conveyed the idea that
those who aren t witches will never grasp the truth.
The Dursleys were people whom wizards sarcastically called
Muggles, that is, those without a drop of magical blood in their
6
veins. In every Harry Potter book, Muggles are mentioned. Muggles
are:
7
& members of the non-magical community&
8
& non-magic folk&
The world is pictured as:
9
& the dark Muggle world&
Wizards must only perform magic:
10
& far from prying Muggle eyes.
There was no mistaking it. Wizards versus Muggles that was
the message.
After Petunia Dursley s horrified scream, the reluctant family
nevertheless took baby Harry in. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone
continued:
Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink
face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond
hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia
often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel Harry often
11
said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.
There are exceptions, but generally speaking, Harry Potter books
don t flatter Muggles much. Book four injects another round of sarcasm:
By the time Harry arrived in the kitchen, the three Dursleys
were already seated around the table. None of them looked
up as he entered or sat down. Uncle Vernon s large red face
77
Hou r of the Witch
was hidden behind the morning s Daily Mail, and Aunt
Petunia was cutting a grapefruit into quarters, her lips pursed
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