Chapter 3: Letters From No One
In the third chapter of our novel, some minor things happen, like magical letters from no one, Uncle Vernon descending into madness and using a piece of fruit cake as a hammer, and the whole family journeying to a tiny shack on a rock in the middle of the sea.
(Please be advised that this is a reread and I will be discussing book and movie spoilers.)
But all of that pales in comparison to our first sighting of Sassy Harry. I repeat, this is not a drill: it is the emergence of Sassy Harry. While I do greatly enjoy the movies, they severely underrepresent the level of sass our young Mr. Potter has, and generally leaves the comic relief to Ron and his “bloody hells!” Well, not so in the books
Jokes about the glory of our King Sassy Harry aside, I’ve always thought that Harry is a very well rounded character. He could easily be a wooden 2D cardboard hero like many protagonists are, but it’s the addition of little touches, like his sass, that make him feel real to us.
But back to our plot! Harry’s going to a new school with terrible, embarrassing clothes (as if teenage me didn’t relate to him enough) because the Dursley’s are still the worst garbage people alive
when he receives a mysterious letter from no one. Before he can read this strange missive, Uncle Vernon rips the letter from his hand, possibly denies Dudley something for the first time in his life when he’s not allowed to read it either, and promptly kicks out both boys to have a feverish and mysterious talk with Aunt Petunia. We want to find out who is writing these letters and why, and the tension is ratcheted up still further when the letters come in more improbable numbers and places, inside of eggs, through the fireplace, at a hotel, and addressed suspiciously accurately to the “cupboard under the stairs.” (Please join me in visualizing Dumbledore hollowing out eggs and inserting tiny letters into them while cackling.) This is enough to spook Uncle “The Worst” Vernon
and he gives Dudley’s precious second bedroom to Harry. (Side note: how rich are the Dursley’s that they own a four bedroom house in England on one income? And is Uncle Vernon’s job hiring?!) But it isn’t enough, the letters keep coming, and the Dursley’s flee until they end up on a hut on a rock in the middle of the sea…and someone is knocking. Someone whom we can all hope is a sea monster coming to swallow Uncle Vernon alive.
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What was your favorite Sassy Harry line in this chapter?
Who did you guess was trying to contact Harry?
Why are the Dursley’s so stingy with money for Harry, when they clearly have it?
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