harry potter and the philosophers stone half ch 1

The Darcy family appeared to be perfectly normal and didn't believe in anything strange or mysterious. They had a secret fear of someone discovering the Potters, Mrs. Darcy's ambitious sister and her husband. They were worried about what the neighbors would say if the Potters showed up in their street. Mr. Darcy noticed a cat reading a map, but dismissed it as a trick of the light. He focused on his work and a large order of drools he was hoping to get. Hello everyone, this is Shibboleth, and welcome to my podcast, Harry Potter Audio Series. Today, I'm going to tell you 7 paragraphs of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 1. Chapter 1, The Boy Who Lived Mr. and Mrs. Darcy, of No. 4 Private Drive, are proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. Mr. Darcy was the director of a firm called Grunning, which made drools. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large moustache. Mrs. Darcy was thin and blond, and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in a very useful way, as she spent so much of time crannying over garden fences and spying over the neighbours. The Darclys had a small son, too, called Dudley, and in their opinion, there was no finer boy anywhere. The Darclys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Darcy's sister, but they hadn't met for several years. In fact, Mrs. Darcy pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as ambitious as it was possible to be. The Darclys started to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Darclys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away. They didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that. Though Mr. and Mrs. Dudley woke up on the dull, great Tuesday our story begins. There was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Darcy hummed as he picked out his most boring toy for work, and Mrs. Darcy gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. At half-past eight, Mr. Darcy picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Darcy on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye, but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the wall. Little Pike chortled Mr. Darcy as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of No. 4 Thrive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar, a cat reading a map. For a second, Mr. Darcy didn't realise what he had seen, then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Private Thrive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could it have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Darcy blinked and stared at the cat. He stared back. As Mr. Darcy drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. He was now reading the sign that said Private Thrive. No, looking at the sign, cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Darcy gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town, he thought of nothing except a large order of grills he was hoping to get that day.