Mr?and?Mrs?Dursley,?of?number?four,?Privet?Drive,?were?proud?to?say?that?they?were?perfectly?normal,?thank?you?very?much.?They?were?the?last?people?you’d?expect?to?be?involved?in?anything?strange?or?mysterious,?because?they?just?didn’t?hold?with?such?nonsense.

Mr?Dursley?was?the?director?of?a?firm?called?Grunnings,?which?made?drills.?He?was?a?big,?beefy?man?with?hardly?any?neck,?although?he?did?have?a?very?large?moustache.?Mrs?Dursley?was?thin?and?blonde?and?had?nearly?twice?the?usual?amount?of?neck,?which?came?in?very?useful?as?she?spent?so?much?of?her?time?craning?over?garden?fences,?spying?on?the?neighbours.?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?discover?it.?They?didn’t?think?they?could?bear?it?if?anyone?found?out?about?the?Potters.?Mrs?Potter?was?Mrs?Dursley’s?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?neighbours?would?say?if?the?Potters?arrived?in?the?street.?The?Dursleys?knew?that?the?Potters?had?a?small?son,?too,?but?they?had?never?even?seen?him.?This?boy?was?another?good?reason?for?keeping?the?Potters?away;?they?didn’t?want?Dudley?mixing?with?a?child?like?that.

When?Mr?and?Mrs?Dursley?woke?up?on?the?dull,?grey?Tuesday?our?story?starts,?there?was?nothing?about?the?cloudy?sky?outside?to?suggest?that?strange?and?mysterious?things?would?soon?be?happening?all?over?the?country.?Mr?Dursley?hummed?as?he?picked?out?his?most?boring?tie?for?work?and?Mrs?Dursley?gossiped?away?happily?as?she?wrestled?a?screaming?Dudley?into?his?high?chair.

None?of?them?noticed?a?large?tawny?owl?flutter?past?the?window.

At?half?past?eight,?Mr?Dursley?picked?up?his?briefcase,?pecked?Mrs?Dursley?on?the?cheek?and?tried?to?kiss?Dudley?goodbye?but?missed,?because?Dudley?was?tled?Mr?Dursley?as?he?left?the?house.?He?got?into?his?car?and?backed?out?of?number?four’s?drive.

It?was?on?the?corner?of?the?street?that?he?noticed?the?first?sign?of?something?peculiar?a?cat?reading?a?map.?For?a?second,?Mr?Dursley?didn’t?realise?what?he?had?seen?then?he?jerked?his?head?around?to?look?again.?There?was?a?tabby?cat?standing?on?the?corner?of?Privet?Drive,?but?there?wasn’t?a?map?in?sight.?What?could?he?have?been?thinking?of??It?must?have?been?a?trick?of?the?light.?Mr?Dursley?blinked?and?stared?at?the?cat.?It?stared?back.?As?Mr?Dursley?drove?around?the?corner?and?up?the?road,?he?watched?the?cat?in?his?mirror.?It?was?now?reading?the?sign?that?said?Privet?Drive?no,?looking?at?the?sign;?cats?couldn’t?read?maps?or?signs.?Mr?Dursley?gave?himself?a?little?shake?and?put?the?cat?out?of?his?mind.?As?he?drove?towards?town?he?thought?of?nothing?except?a?large?order?of?drills?he?was?hoping?to?get?that?day.