I dont't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling and Warner Bros. do.
July 24, 1991
They heard the click of the mail slot.
These first couple of quotes are derived from the original text of the book.
"Get the mail, Dudley," Uncle Vernon said from behind his paper. "Make Harry get it."
"Get the mail, Harry."
"Make Dudley get it."
"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Four things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and – two letters, one for Dudley (which Harry rolled his eyes at as it must have been from either Smeltings or one of Dudley's teachers or friends) and one for Harry. Harry picked his up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives – he'd didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addresses so plainly there couldn't be any mistake, he then looked at both letters:
Mr. H. Potter
The Cupboard Under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
Mr. D. Dursley
The Largest Bedroom
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
The envelopes was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the addresses were written in emerald-green ink. There were no stamps. Turning the envelopes over, his hands trembling, Harry saw purple wax seals bearing coats of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. "Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke. Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. "Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…"
"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!" Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. "That's mine!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back. "Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it.
"You've got something, too," Harry said, as he secretly gave Dudley his letter. Dudley nodded.
His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the greyish white of old porridge. "P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. "Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!" They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. "I want to read that letter," he said loudly. Petunia then saw that Dudley had another letter behind his back. "What is that?" she asked. "A letter," Dudley explained. And he gave it to Petunia, who was shocked. "Oh, Vernon," said Petunia.
"We want to read our letters," Harry said.
"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didn't move. "WE WANT OUR LETTERS!" they shouted.
"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.
"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"
"Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.
"What do we say?" Petunia asked.
"We'll tell them the truth," Vernon said. "They have a right to know, anyways," he added. Petunia nodded.
"Harry, Dudley," he said.
"Now I have something to tell, both of you," Petunia said.
"You're both wizards," he explained. Their hearts thumped with joy.
"Now, Harry, I want to tell you the truth. Your parents didn't really die in a car crash," Vernon explained honestly.
"A few years ago, there was this real evil wizard, his name was Voldemort. He was trying to recruit your parents. And he killed them both with a curse, but when he tried to kill you, it failed." Petunia explained.
"That's how you got your scar, and that's why that man bowed to you in public, he was telling you his thanks for stopping Voldemort," Petunia added.
"Now can we read the letters?" Dudley asked, impatiently.
"Yes," Petunia said.
"First, Harry, you and Dudley will share a room," Vernon explained.
"Dudley, do you understand?" Vernon asked.
"I guess," Dudley said.
"Now, let's read Harry's letter, since he has been waiting patiently for it," Vernon said.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.
Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"
"It means to tell the owl, if he is around, to write a letter, telling the school that you and Dudley are either not or are going. In this case, you are." Vernon explained.
"We don't need to read Dudley's since we already read yours Harry," Vernon explained.
"But the supplies?" Petunia asked.
"Oh, right," Vernon said.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope set
1 brass scales
Student may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered.
"If you know where to go," Petunia said.
"Let's take the car," Vernon said.
As soon as they knew it, Vernon, Petunia, Harry, and Dudley were in the car on their way to Diagon Alley.
The map said to head south on Guildford Road/A320 toward Hill View Road, which they did. Vernon then turned left on White Rose Lane, he then turned left onto Old Woking Road/B382. After that, at the roundabout, continued straight onto Old Woking Road/A245. Next, he took the 2nd exit onto Byfleet Road/A245. He then took the 1st exit onto the A3 ramp to London/Kingston. He then continued on A3 to Vauxhall, London, he then merged onto the Esther Bypass/A3, they then turned right onto West Hill/A3, they turned slight right onto Armoury Way/A3, he then turned slightly to the left onto Swandon Way/A217, At Wandsworth Roundabout, he took the 2nd exit onto York Road/A3205, he then turned left onto Wandsworth Rd/A3036, they then continued straight on Albert Embankment/A3036, after that they took the 1st exit onto A3203, they then took the 3rd exit onto Millbank/A3212, after that, they kept right on Great George Street/Parliament Square/A302/A3212/A3214, and they turned left onto Parliament Street/A3212, and they took the 3rd exit onto Trafalgar Square/A4/A400, and they continued to follow the route. On Charring Cross Road, they parked and locked the car.
They then reached an pub called "The Leaky Cauldron".
"Hello, Petunia, it has been fourteen years," Tom the Innkeeper said.
"Hello, Tom," Aunt Petunia said.
Vernon tried to hide Harry's scar, but it failed.
"Bless my soul, it's Harry Potter," Tom said.
"Damn it," Vernon said.
"Welcome back, Mr Potter," a man said. The man was the same man who told Vernon that "Voldemort" was gone and the man who bowed to Harry in public.
"H-Harry P-Potter. C-can't t-tell y-you h-how p-pleased I am t-to m-meet y-you," a stuttering man said.
"Let me take a look at your letter, Harry," Aunt Petunia said.
"Hello, Potter, I will be your teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts," the man said, before introducing himself as Quirinus Quirrell. When he shaked Harry's hand, Harry's scar hurt, which Petunia noticed, she asked if he was alright, and stared at Quirrell suspiciously.
"Welcome, Harry, Dudley, to Diagon Alley!" Petunia said to her two sons, smiling at their reactions, which Vernon noticed.