Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Chapter 3 - The Letters From No One

Because of the boa constrictor incident, Harry is forced to stay in his cupboard for an uncanny amount of time - until summer. However, as soon as the summer activities begin, Dudley and his gang play Hunting Harry, destined to destroy his life, whether imprisoned or free. Dudley gets a new pinstriped uniform for school, in bright colors and sparkling white design. It is a sight that gives Harry a decent amount of laughter and humor, no matter how much he holds it in. One day, the post (mail) comes, causing a frenzy in the Dursley household. Among the three letters on their doorstep, there is one addressed to Harry, noting his residence in the Cupboard Under the Stairs. As soon as Uncle Vernon opens the letter and reads what is written, he is shocked, frightened, and confused. Aunt Petunia is likewise flabbergasted, wondering how 'they' know where Harry lives and is treated. They had planned to eradicate all of the weirdness and 'those' type of people from their lives and cannot understand how it still exists. Dudley erupts with desperation wanting to see Harry's letter, while Harry craves his only possession - a letter addressed to him (and not anyone else in the family). Uncle Vernon calls it a mistake and tells Harry to move to Dudley's second bedroom, now filled with all of his broken toys. Dudley complains and Harry wishes he could be back in his cupboard with his personal letter. However, when the post comes the following day, a letter arrives addressed to Harry Potter in the smallest bedroom in 4 Privet Drive. The family is outraged and Harry is thrilled, wondering how someone could know exactly where he is all the time. Furthermore, he realizes that if these people wanted to get a hold of him badly enough, he knows that they will.

Topic Tracking: Friendship 1
Topic Tracking: Hopes and Desires 2

The letters continue to come...by the dozens. One day Harry awakens early and races outside to catch the mailman before he arrives. Unfortunately, Uncle Vernon had slept outside on the doorstep waiting for Harry before he has the chance to retrieve a letter. Over the next week, the letters multiply by the dozens. Uncle Vernon does everything possible to stop them. He stays home from work and boards up the mail slot with nails and wood. Finally on Sunday, he relaxes, realizing that no post arrives on the day of rest. However, during the relaxing Sunday brunch, forty letters bolt through the chimney and inside the house, desperate to find their way into Harry's hands. Outraged, Uncle Vernon takes the family immediately away from the house and on a road trip.

The family checks into a gloomy hotel outside the city, with Harry and Dudley sharing a musty room. Dudley complains of hunger and missing his television, and snores loudly. Suddenly, a porter knocks on the hotel door with another letter for Harry Potter, this time care of Room 17 at the Railview Hotel. Uncle Vernon snags the letter before Harry can take it, again. Harry realizes that it is only hours until his eleventh birthday, and despite his terrible past ten years, knows that an eleventh birthday is something special. Uncle Vernon seems to be going insane, stopping the car and running out to a cliff several times, until he finds a deserted, morose shack in the middle of nowhere. The family stays there overnight, as Dudley snores and Harry awaits the ticking of the clock telling him that he is changing into an eleven year old man. At the stroke of midnight, he hears a loud knock on the door and awaits the visitor on the other end.