가져가 세요 . CHAPTER THREETHE LETTERS FROM NO ONEThe escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry hislongest - ever punishment . By the time he was allowed out of his cupboardagain , the summer holidays had started and Dudley had already broken hisnew video camera , crashed his remote control airplane , and , first timeout on his racing bike , knocked down old Mrs . Figg as she crossed PrivetDrive on her crutches . Harry was glad school was over , but there was no escaping Dudley ' s gang , who visited the house every single day . Piers , Dennis , Malcolm , andGordon were all big and stupid , but as Dudley was the biggest andstupidest of the lot , he was the leader . The rest of them were all quitehappy to join in Dudley ' s favorite sport : Harry Hunting . This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house , wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays , where hecould see a tiny ray of hope . When September came he would be going offto secondary school and , for the first time in his life , he wouldn ' t bewith Dudley . Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon ' s old privateschool , Smeltings . Piers Polkiss was going there too . Harry , on theother hand , was going to Stonewall High , the local public school . Dudleythought this was very funny . " They stuff people ' s heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall , " he told Harry . " Want to come upstairs and practice ? "" No , thanks , " said Harry . " The poor toilet ' s never had anything ashorrible as your head down it -- it might be sick . " Then he ran , beforeDudley could work out what he ' d said . One day in July , Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltingsuniform , leaving Harry at Mrs . Figg ' s . Mrs . Figg wasn ' t as bad asusual . It turned out she ' d broken her leg tripping over one of her cats , 24 and she didn ' t seem quite as fond of them as before . She let Harry watchtelevision and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as thoughshe ' d had it for several years . That evening , Dudley paraded around the living room for the family inhis brand - new uniform . Smeltings ' boys wore maroon tailcoats , orangeknickerbockers , and flat straw hats called boaters . They also carriedknobbly sticks , used for hitting each other while the teachers weren ' tlooking . This was supposed to be good training for later life . As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers , Uncle Vernon saidgruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life . Aunt Petunia burstinto tears and said she couldn ' t believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins , helooked so handsome and grown - up . Harry didn ' t trust himself to speak . Hethought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not tolaugh . There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harrywent in for breakfast . It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub inthe sink . He went to have a look . The tub was full of what looked likedirty rags swimming in gray water . " What ' s this ? " he asked Aunt Petunia . Her lips tightened as they alwaysdid if he dared to ask a question . " Your new school uniform , " she said . Harry looked in the bowl again . " Oh , " he said , " I didn ' t realize it had to be so wet . "" DotA be stupid , " snapped Aunt Petunia . " I ' m dyeing some of Dudley ' s oldthings gray for you . It ' ll look just like everyone else ' s when I ' vefinished . " Harry seriously doubted this , but thought it best not to argue . He satdown at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to lookon his first day at Stonewall High -- like he was wearing bits of oldelephant skin , probably . Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in , both with wrinkled noses because of thesmell from Harry ' s new uniform . Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper asusual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick , which he carried everywhere , 25 on the table . They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on thedoormat . " Get the mail , Dudley , " said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper . " Make Harry get it . "" Get the mail , Harry . "" Make Dudley get it . "" Poke him with your Smelting stick , Dudley . " Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail . Three thingslay on the doormat : a postcard from Uncle Vernon ' s sister Marge , who wasvacationing on the Isle of Wight , a brown envelope that looked like abill , and -- a letter for Harry . Harry picked it up and stared at it , his heart twanging like a giantelastic band . No one , ever , in his whole life , had written to him . Whowould ? He had no friends , no other relatives -- he didn ' t belong to thelibrary , so he ' d never even got rude notes asking for books back . Yethere it was , a letter , addressed so plainly there could be no mistake : Mr . H . PotterThe Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet DriveLittle WhingingSurreyThe envelope was thick and heavy , made of yellowish parchment , and theaddress was written in emerald - green ink . There was no stamp . Turning the envelope over , his hand trembling , Harry saw a purple waxseal bearing a coat of arms ; a lion , an eagle , a badger , and a snakesurrounding a large letter H . 26 " Hurry up , boy ! " shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen . " What are youdoing , checking for letter bombs ? " He chuckled at his own joke . Harry went back to the kitchen , still staring at his letter . He handedUncle Vernon the bill and the postcard , sat down , and slowly began toopen the yellow envelope . Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill , snorted in disgust , and flipped overthe postcard . " Marge ' s ill , " he informed Aunt Petunia . " Ate a funny whelk . --."" Dad ! " said Dudley suddenly . " Dad , Harry ' s got something ! " Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter , which was written on thesame heavy parchment as the envelope , when it was jerked sharply out ofhis hand by Uncle Vernon . " That ' s mine ! " said Harry , trying to snatch it back . " Who ' d be writing to you ? " sneered Uncle Vernon , shaking the letter openwith one hand and glancing at it . His face went from red to green fasterthan a set of traffic lights . And it didn ' t stop there . Within secondsit was the grayish white of old porridge . " P - P - Petunia ! " he gasped . Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it , but Uncle Vernon held ithigh out of his reach . Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the firstline . For a moment it looked as though she might faint . She clutched herthroat and made a choking noise . " Vernon ! Oh my goodness -- Vernon ! " They stared at each other , seeming to have forgotten that Harry andDudley were still in the room . Dudley wasn ' t used to being ignored . Hegave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick . " I want to read that letter , " he said loudly . want to read it , " saidHarry furiously , " as it ' s mine . "" Get out , both of you , " croaked Uncle Vernon , stuffing the letter backinside its envelope . 27 Harry didn ' t move . I WANT MY LETTER ! " he shouted . " Let me see it ! " demanded Dudley . " OUT ! " roared Uncle Vernon , and he took both Harry and Dudley by thescruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall , slamming thekitchen door behind them . Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious butsilent fight over who would listen at the keyhole ; Dudley won , so Harry , his glasses dangling from one ear , lay flat on his stomach to listen atthe crack between door and floor . " Vernon , " Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice , " look at theaddress -- how could they possibly know where he sleeps ? You don ' t thinkthey ' re watching the house ? "" Watching -- spying -- might be following us , " muttered Uncle Vernonwildly . " But what should we do , Vernon ? Should we write back ? Tell them we don ' twant --" Harry could see Uncle Vernon ' s shiny black shoes pacing up and down thekitchen . " No , " he said finally . " No , we ' ll ignore it . If they don ' t get ananswer . .. Yes , that ' s best . .. we won ' t do anything . ..." But --"" I ' m not having one in the house , Petunia ! Didn ' t we swear when we tookhim in we ' d stamp out that dangerous nonsense ? " That evening when he got back from work , Uncle Vernon did something he ' dnever done before ; he visited Harry in his cupboard . " Where ' s my letter ? " said Harry , the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezedthrough the door . " Who ' s writing to me ? "" No one . it was addressed to you by mistake , " said Uncle Vernon shortly . " I have burned it . " 28 " It was not a mistake , " said Harry angrily , " it had my cupboard on it . "" SILENCE ! " yelled Uncle Vernon , and a couple of spiders fell from theceiling . He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into asmile , which looked quite painful . " Er -- yes , Harry -- about this cupboard . Your aunt and I have beenthinking . .. you ' re really getting a bit big for it . .. we think it mightbe nice if you moved into Dudley ' s second bedroom . " Why ? " said Harry . " Don ' t ask questions ! " snapped his uncle . " Take this stuff upstairs , now . " The Dursleys ' house had four bedrooms : one for Uncle Vernon and AuntPetunia , one for visitors ( usually Uncle Vernon ' s sister , Marge ) , onewhere Dudley slept , and one where Dudley kept all the toys and thingsthat wouldn ' t fit into his first bedroom . It only took Harry one tripupstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room . Hesat down on the bed and stared around him . Nearly everything in here wasbroken . The month - old video camera was lying on top of a small , workingtank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor ' s dog ; in thecorner was Dudley ' s first - ever television set , which he ' d put his footthrough when his favorite program had been canceled ; there was a largebirdcage , which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at schoolfor a real air rifle , which was up on a shelf with the end all bentbecause Dudley had sat on it . Other shelves were full of books . Theywere the only things in the room that looked as though they ' d never beentouched . From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother , I don ' twant him in there . .. I need that room . .. make him get out . ..." Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed . Yesterday he ' d have givenanything to be up here . Today he ' d rather be back in his cupboard withthat letter than up here without it . Next morning at breakfast , everyone was rather quiet . Dudley was inshock . He ' d screamed , whacked his father with his Smelting stick , beensick on purpose , kicked his mother , and thrown his tortoise through thegreenhouse roof , and he still didn ' t have his room back . Harry was 29 thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he ' d opened theletter in the hall . Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at eachother darkly . When the mail arrived , Uncle Vernon , who seemed to be trying to be niceto Harry , made Dudley go and get it . They heard him banging things withhis Smelting stick all the way down the hall . Then he shouted , " There ' sanother one ! ' Mr . H . Potter , The Smallest Bedroom , 4 Privet Drive --'" With a strangled cry , Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down thehall , Harry right behind him . Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to theground to get the letter from him , which was made difficult by the factthat Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind . After aminute of confused fighting , in which everyone got hit a lot by theSmelting stick , Uncle Vernon straightened up , gasping for breath , withHarry ' s letter clutched in his hand . " Go to your cupboard -- I mean , your bedroom , " he wheezed at Harry . " Dudley -- go -- just go . " Harry walked round and round his new room . Someone knew he had moved outof his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn ' t received his firstletter . Surely that meant they ' d try again ? And this time he ' d make surethey didn ' t fail . He had a plan . The repaired alarm clock rang at six o ' clock the next morning . Harryturned it off quickly and dressed silently . He mustn ' t wake theDursleys . He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights . He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive andget the letters for number four first . His heart hammered as he creptacross the dark hall toward the front door -- Harry leapt into the air ; he ' d trodden on something big and squashy onthe doormat -- something alive ! Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that thebig , squashy something had been his uncle ' s face . Uncle Vernon had beenlying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag , clearly makingsure that Harry didn ' t do exactly what he ' d been trying to do . Heshouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and makea cup of tea . Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by thetime he got back , the mail had arrived , right into Uncle Vernon ' s lap . 30 Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink . I want --" he began , but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters intopieces before his eyes . Uncle Vernon didnt go to work that day . Hestayed at home and nailed up the mail slot . " See , " he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails , " ifthey can ' t deliver them they ' ll just give up . "" I ' m not sure that ' ll work , Vernon . "" Oh , these people ' s minds work in strange ways , Petunia , they ' re notlike you and me , " said Uncle Vernon , trying to knock in a nail with thepiece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him . On Friday , no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry . As theycouldn ' t go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door , slotted through the sides , and a few even forced through the smallwindow in the downstairs bathroom . Uncle Vernon stayed at home again . After burning all the letters , he gotout a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front andback doors so no one could go out . He hummed " Tiptoe Through the Tulips " as he worked , and jumped at small noises . On Saturday , things began to get out of hand . Twenty - four letters toHarry found their way into the house , rolled up and hidden inside eachof the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed AuntPetunia through the living room window . While Uncle Vernon made furioustelephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someoneto complain to , Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor . " Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly ? " Dudley asked Harry inamazement . On Sunday morning , Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table lookingtired and rather ill , but happy . " No post on Sundays , " he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmaladeon his newspapers , " no damn letters today --" Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caughthim sharply on the back of the head . Next moment , thirty or forty 31 letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets . The Dursleysducked , but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one . " Out ! OUT ! " Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall . When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over theirfaces , Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut . They could hear the lettersstill streaming into the room , bouncing off the walls and floor . " That does it , " said Uncle Vernon , trying to speak calmly but pullinggreat tufts out of his mustache at the same time . I want you all backhere in five minutes ready to leave . We ' re going away . Just pack someclothes . No arguments ! " He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one daredargue . Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through theboarded - up doors and were in the car , speeding toward the highway . Dudley was sniffling in the back seat ; his father had hit him round thehead for holding them up while he tried to pack his television , VCR , andcomputer in his sports bag . They drove . And they drove . Even Aunt Petunia didn ' t dare ask where theywere going . Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn anddrive in the opposite direction for a while . " Shake ' em off . .. shake ' emoff , " he would mutter whenever he did this . They didn ' t stop to eat or drink all day . By nightfall Dudley washowling . He ' d never had such a bad day in his life . He was hungry , he ' dmissed five television programs he ' d wanted to see , and he ' d never goneso long without blowing up an alien on his computer . Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy - looking hotel on theoutskirts of a big city . Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin bedsand damp , musty sheets . Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake , sitting onthe windowsill , staring down at the lights of passing cars andwondering . ... They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast forbreakfast the next day . They had just finished when the owner of thehotel came over to their table . "' Scuse me , but is one of you Mr . H . Potter ? Only I got about an ' undred 32 of these at the front desk . " She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address : Mr . H . PotterRoom 17 Railview HotelCokeworthHarry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand outof the way . The woman stared . " I ' ll take them , " said Uncle Vernon , standing up quickly and followingher from the dining room . Wouldn ' t it be better just to go home , dear ? " Aunt Petunia suggestedtimidly , hours later , but Uncle Vernon didn ' t seem to hear her . Exactlywhat he was looking for , none of them knew . He drove them into themiddle of a forest , got out , looked around , shook his head , got back inthe car , and off they went again . The same thing happened in the middleof a plowed field , halfway across a suspension bridge , and at the top ofa multilevel parking garage . " Daddy ' s gone mad , hasn ' t he ? " Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late thatafternoon . Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast , locked them all insidethe car , and disappeared . It started to rain . Great drops beat on the roof of the car . Dud leysniveled . " It ' s Monday , " he told his mother . " The Great Humberto ' s on tonight . Iwant to stay somewhere with a television . " Monday . This reminded Harry of something . If it was Monday -- and youcould usually count on Dudley to know the days the week , because oftelevision -- then tomorrow , Tuesday , was Harry ' s eleventh birthday . Ofcourse , his birthdays were never exactly fun -- last year , the Dursleyshad given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon ' s old socks . Still , you weren ' t eleven every day . 33 Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling . He was also carrying a long , thin package and didn ' t answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he ' dbought . " Found the perfect place ! " he said . " Come on ! Everyone out ! " It was very cold outside the car . Uncle Vernon was pointing at whatlooked like a large rock way out at sea . Perched on top of the rock wasthe most miserable little shack you could imagine . One thing wascertain , there was no television in there . " Storm forecast for tonight ! " said Uncle Vernon gleefully , clapping hishands together . " And this gentleman ' s kindly agreed to lend us hisboat ! " A toothless old man came ambling up to them , pointing , with a ratherwicked grin , at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron - gray water belowthem . " I ' ve already got us some rations , " said Uncle Vernon , " so all aboard ! " It was freezing in the boat . Icy sea spray and rain crept down theirnecks and a chilly wind whipped their faces . After what seemed likehours they reached the rock , where Uncle Vernon , slipping and sliding , led the way to the broken - down house . The inside was horrible ; it smelled strongly of seaweed , the windwhistled through the gaps in the wooden walls , and the fireplace wasdamp and empty . There were only two rooms . Uncle Vernon ' s rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and fourbananas . He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smokedand shriveled up . " Could do with some of those letters now , eh ? " he said cheerfully . He was in a very good mood . Obviously he thought nobody stood a chanceof reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail . Harry privatelyagreed , though the thought didn ' t cheer him up at all . As night fell , the promised storm blew up around them . Spray from thehigh waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled thefilthy windows . Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second