Spoiler-free book guide
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Book 1 of 7 in Harry Potter · by J.K. Rowling
How it opens
Albus Dumbledore leaves the baby Harry Potter on the doorstep of number four, Privet Drive, with a letter tucked into his blankets, to be raised by his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. Nearly ten years later, Harry sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs, wears his cousin Dudley's old clothes and is told not to ask questions. On Dudley's birthday the Dursleys take Harry to the zoo, where the glass front of a boa constrictor's tank vanishes after Harry talks to the snake. Back home, Uncle Vernon sends Harry to his cupboard with no meals.
Who you meet early
- Harry PotterHarry Potter is a boy raised among Muggles who is famous among witches and wizards before he can walk or talk, for something he does not even remember.
- Vernon DursleyVernon Dursley is Harry's uncle, a big, beefy director of the drill firm Grunnings who lives at number four, Privet Drive and prides himself on being perfectly normal.
- Petunia DursleyHarry Potter's aunt at number four Privet Drive: a thin, blonde Muggle woman fixated on appearing normal, doting on her son Dudley, hostile to magic and to anything else out of the ordinary.
- Dudley DursleyDudley Dursley is the son of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, and he lives with them at number four, Privet Drive.
- Piers PolkissPiers Polkiss was a Muggle and Dudley Dursley's best friend.
Where it sits
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the first of 7 books in Harry Potter. Start here.
Next · Book 2
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