C H A P T E R T H R E E
THE LETTERS
FROM NO ONE
T
he escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his
longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of
his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started and Dudley
had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote con-
trol airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down
old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.
Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dud-
ley’s gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis,
Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was
the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. The rest of
them were all quite happy 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 holi-
days, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came
he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in
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