the young lady took me into the house. the first thing i noticed was that the hall
was very dark and she had left a candle burning there. she picked it up, and we
walked along more passages and up the stairs, and only the candle lighted us.
at last we came to the door of a room, and she said, "there, boy. go in.' and then
she walked away - and took the candle with her.
this was very uncomfortable, and i was afraid. however, the only thing i could do
was to knock at the door and a voice from inside told me to enter. i found myself
in a fairly large room, lighted with candles. no daylight was allowed to get in. a lot
of the furniture had shapes and uses that i did not recognise. but there was a table
with a gold-coloured mirror, and i could see that it was a fine lady's dressing-table.
in an armchair, with an elbow on the table and her head leaning on her hand, sat
the strangest lady i have ever seen, or will ever see.​

Chapter One

The Boy Who Lived

The chapter starts with description of the Dursley family, who are proud to be "perfectly normal". We learn that Mrs Dursley has a sister, Mrs Potter, but their families haven't met for several years. Both families have sons.

Then the story begins on a "dull, grey Tuesday". Mr Dursley notices a lot of strange things hapenning - owls flying in town, people in cloaks, a strange cat sitting on the wall of his garden, unusual news on TV. The Dursleys go to bed wondering what it all could mean. At night, a tall, thin and very old man appears near their house. It's Albus Dumbledore. The cat turns out to be Professor McGonagall, and the two are professors from Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. Then comes Hagrid, a giant, who brings little Harry Potter. Harry's parents were killed by Lord Voldermort, a dark wizard, but Harry survived and Voldermort's power "somehow broke" .

So little Harry is left asleep on the doorstep of the Dursley's house with a letter written by Dumbledore. The professors and Hagrid go to join the celebrations.

Дома

Привет! Это снова Маргарет Баркер. Сейчас пять часов вечера. Я дома и собираюсь готовить обед. Я часто занимаюсь этим на кухне, а мои дети очень мне В пять часов они всегда дома. Их занятия заканчиваются в четыре. Мой муж Гарри приходит домой к шести часам вечера и мы вместе обедаем. После обеда мы смотрим телевизор, читаем книги или слушаем музыку. Иногда Салли играет на фортепиано, а мы её слушаем. Мои дети нечасто смотрят телевизор. Нам нравится ходить в кино и мы часто это делаем по воскресеньям. Гарри и Джон выгуливают нашего пса Чейза в восемь часов вечера. Джон и Салли пьют молоко в пол-девятого, а в четверть одиннадцатого они ложатся спать.