Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 1 opens with a description of breakfast in the Dursley household. The Dursleys and Harry are seated at the table, and a familiar scene unfolds. Mr. Dursley is becoming more and more angry. He is upset because Harry's owl, Hedwig, woke him up during the night, for the third time that week. Harry defends Hedwig, explaining that she is hooting in the middle of the night because she's bored. This explanation only makes Mr. Dursley angrier, and he threatens to lock the owl in the cupboard under the stairs, where he has locked all of the magical items belonging to Harry. Meanwhile, fat Dudley Dursley is eating as much as he possibly can, because his mother is worried that he won't get fed properly when he goes away to boarding school. He exploits Harry, demanding that he fetch more food. Harry reminds him...