The book starts out with the Dursley family. Mr Dursley (large, mean, and has a mustache) is a salesman at a drill-making factory. Mrs Dursley (skinny, tall, and rude) stays at home with their son, Dudley (spoiled, also large, and also rude). Dudley gets 36 presents on his birthday.

Harry Potter (orphan, wears glasses, and has no friends) lives with the Dursleys because his parents (kind, met at school, and killed by an evil wizard) are dead. The Dursleys make Harry sleep in a cupboard under the stairs and treat him like a servant. They don't even care about his birthday.

When Harry turns 11, he is invited to attend a mysterious boarding school for witches and wizards. Harry's life starts to get a lot better except that now the evil wizard (disembodied, powerful, and failed to kill a baby) is trying to kill him.