Invisible: the Philosopher's Stone

V. Slideshow

He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference.

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Their last month with the Dursleys isn't fun. True, Dudley is now so scared of the twins he won't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon don't shut Harry in his cupboard, force the two of them to do anything, or shout at them—in fact, they don't speak to them at all.

Half-terrified, half-furious, they act as though any chair with Harry or Lily in it is empty. Although this is an improvement in many ways, it does become a bit depressing after a while.

The twins keep to their room, with their new owl for company. Harry has decided to call their snowy owl Hedwig, a name he found in A History of Magic—one of their new books which Lily has read twice but still doesn't understand.

It's a lot better name than Fart, which is what Lily wanted to name the owl. It's a special and unique name, but not too dramatic or boring. She doesn't expect many owls to be named Fart. She was glad when Harry came up with Hedwig instead.

She sits on the bed, their owl in front of her, and draws her in her sketchbook. Her face is scrunched up and her eyes are halfway closed, concentrating on the owl's face. Harry chuckles at her and looks at the pile of books on the bedside table.

Their school books are very interesting. Lily hasn't read them all yet, but she's sure they're very useful. Harry lies on his side of the bed reading late into the night, while Lily snores quite loudly on her side of the bed. Hedwig swoops in and out of the open window as she pleases.

Luckily, Aunt Petunia doesn't come in to vacuum anymore because the owl keeps bringing back dead mice. Every night before they go to sleep, Harry ticks off another day on the piece of paper he's pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.

On the last day of August Lily decides they better speak to their aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so they go down to the living-room where the two are watching a quiz show on television.

Harry clears his throat to let them know they're there, and Dudley screams and runs from the room, but not before Lily trips him.

"Er . . . Uncle Vernon?" Harry begins.

The man grunts to show he's listening.

"Er, we need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to–to go to Hogwarts."

Uncle Vernon grunts again.

"Would it be all right if you gave us a lift?" Lily asks, hoping he'll say yes.

Grunt.

Harry and Lily share a look and suppose that means yes.

"Thank you," they say at the same time.

They're about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon decides to speak.

"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"

The twins don't say anything.

"Where is this school, anyway?"

"I don't know," Harry says, both twins realising this for the first time.

After sharing an alarmed look, Harry pulls one of the tickets Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.

"We just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he reads.

Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon stare.

"Platform what?"

"Nine and three-quarters," Lily repeats with a wince, feeling like she said something wrong.