SS Chapter 1

The Boy Who Lived

Summary:

We meet the Dursleys and get a glimpse into their lives. We see the mundanity of their routine and realize that these people are not about whimsy and excitement, but of complete normalcy and who are closed off to anything that would disrupt their normal life. We find a cat reading a map, owls in flight in the middle of the day, and strange people dressed in cloaks. In the dead of night, Albus Dumbledore, accompanied by Professor McGonagall and Hagrid, come to drop off a special package to the Dursleys; their 1-year old nephew, Harry Potter. The murder of his parent and the attempt on his own life by Voldemort has left him shrouded in mystery and scarred by the spell that couldn’t kill him. He must remain with his aunt and uncle until he is ready to return to the magical world.

Initial thoughts:

I know what you’re thinking, “Who knew that such an amazing series could start with such a slow first chapter?” But that is not so true when reading the second time around! This chapter has so much packed in it that comes back in later chapters, and later books as well! I have read on many fan-sites that this chapter is what stopped many people from continuing with the series on their first attempt at reading the books, and I confess I almost didn’t continue them either, but after completing the series and re-reading these books, I see just how many things are referenced in later parts of the story.

The Dursleys:

The first element of this chapter that we need to dissect is the Dursleys.  This chapter says it all; the Dursleys are boring. The mundanity of their life and their absolute loathing for anything out of the ordinary is fundamental to understanding why Professor McGonagall took issue with leaving baby Harry in their care. They are mean-spirited and rude, with Mr. Dursley taking pleasure in shouting at people over the phone at work and Mrs. Dursley gossiping about the entire street. We even see how they ignore, and quite frankly endear, the bad behavior of their son at his earliest age. We know what happens next. Harry grows up living along side his cousin, but their treatment is completely different. But this chapter explains why.

Dudley is “normal.” Harry is different. The Dursleys don’t like different.  So, they show favor, love, and encouragement to their son, spoiling him rotten. Harry, on the other hand, is little more than a live-in servant. They despise him. But Harry is not like most kids. He grew up to become a boy that is polite and good-natured, despite the awful circumstances he found himself in.

The Cat and The Map:

We get to my favorite character, Minerva McGonagall. Her first appearance in this story is on the corner of Privet Drive, as a CAT reading a MAP. As we read on through the chapter, we find her watching the Dursley home and awaiting Dumbledore’s arrival.  At his acknowledgement to her approaching, she transformed from cat to woman. This is an important bit of magic that resurfaces several times throughout the series. She is an Animagus, a witch/wizard that has the ability to transform into an animal at will. McGonagall reveals this ability to the readers (and viewers of the Sorcerer’s Stone movie) at the beginning of the story, but we do not learn what an Animagus is until Prisoner of Azkaban. McGonagall teaches them about how to become an Animagus in Harry’s 3rd year, and that it is a difficult branch of magic that many wizards are not able to master.

We find out that Sirius , James , and Peter had learned how to transform into animals at will in order to keep Lupin company when the he transformed at the full moon into a werewolf during their time at Hogwarts.

The Animagus plot device returns in Goblet of Fire, when Hermione captures a blue beetle in a glass jar. This beetle turns out to be Rita Skeeter, the infamous journalist that had written many tabloid articles that contained nothing but embellishments and lies.

The Put-Outer:

Mike Schubert, of Potterless Podcast, is the poster boy of the great debate on this little item. The Put-Outer is an object that is roughly the size of a cigarette lighter and has the ability to extinguish lights in a given areas and house the light orbs within itself (and more), and is an instrument of Dumbledore’s own design. We find that the Put-Outer is used several times in the series, including in Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince, and obviously The Deathly Hallows. In the Deathly Hallows, we see that Dumbledore leaves this item to Ron in his will, but we are introduced to it with a new name. The Deluminator. This is an upset to many fans, Mike, it seems, most of all! The argument is made that the Put-Outer is what Harry thought the item was called, but that Dumbledore always thought of it as the Deluminator. Others just believe that is just a retcon that J.K. Rowling implemented to remove the childish nature of the name of such an important magical item.

The Put-Outer, or Deluminator, also possess the power to provide guidance for a person to get to an unknown destination, as used by Ron in the Deathly Hallows. The magic behind this devise is still very ambiguous, but, as we saw in Crimes of Grindelwald, wihch means the Deluminator was created in the 1920’s or earlier. The appearance of this magical object in the 2^nd film of the Fantastic Beast series could mean a potential explanation to its hidden qualities.

The Enchanted Motorbike:

An important element that returns in subsequent books/movies is the enchanted motorbike. The bike in question is manufactured by Triumph, a renowned motorcycle manufacture in the UK. According to the Harry Potter Fandom Wiki article about the bike, it was created in 1977 and imbued with magic by Sirius Black to increase its size, and allow the bike to fly. It was later enchanted for the transport of Harry from Number 4 Privet Drive to the safe house In Deathly Hallows. It was equipped with a magical brick wall, a net, and, most importantly, dragon’s breath flames.

Unlike the film adaptation, this chapter of Sorcerer’s Stone reveals that Hagrid borrowed the magical bike from none other than Sirius Black. At this moment in time, we don’t think much of this name upon the first time reading through. We associate the bike from this point forward as Hagrid’s bike. It is not until Prisoner of Azkaban that we find out that the bike had belonged to Sirius. Hagrid explains that he had asked to use it to transport Harry the night of his parents’ murders, and the night of the alleged betrayal of Sirius to his friends. From that point Hagrid maintained control of the bike. Upon Sirius’ death in Order of the Phoenix, the bike passed to Harry who had allowed it to stay in Hagrid’s possession. During the Battle of the Seven Potters in Deathly Hallows, Hagrid uses the modifications that Arthur Weasley had made to help Harry and Hagrid escape should they be followed. Well, we know how that goes; they are ambushed but manage to make it to the safe house, but in the process, the bike is destroyed as Harry crashes in to the pond at the Tonks’ house. From there the bike passes to Aurthur Weasley, who planned to fix the bike when he had time.

The Letter:

This is the most subtle of the tid-bits in this chapter that resurfaces later on in the series. It is only referenced back to in two books; Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince. This letter is written by Dumbledore to explain to Mrs. Dursley what happened to Harry and his parents, why he is at her home, and why he must stay there. It explains how there is now a magical protection around Number 4 Privet Drive, and that it is imperative that Harry can call the place home until he turns 17 or else, they all would be in great danger.

From then on, we forget about the letter until the Order of the Phoenix, when Dumbledore sends a howler to Mrs. Dursley when she and Mr. Dursley planned to kick Harry out of the house for doing magic in front of Dudley, and upon realizing that Voldemort had returned. The reference reappears one more time in Half Blood Prince, when Dumbledore addresses Harry’s poor treatment all of his life to the Dursleys and explains that the following summer will be the last time he would need to stay with them, as that was the summer when he turned 17.

Wrap It Up:

One chapter in and I’m already rambling! As I said, there is so much jammed into the chapter that ties in to the rest of the story that it is hardly a boring a chapter. Coming back to it with an understanding of the complete series makes it a treasure trove of Easter Eggs! There are several more that I probably missed this round, but if you have any more that you want addressed, please leave a comment below!