by Scott King
As mentioned above, Mr. Dursley thinks the choices he makes are the right ones and he does what he thinks is best for his family. In his head he is the good guy, Hagrid is the bad guy, and Harry is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. That view would taint the story. Instead of Hagrid’s introduction being comical, it might have read more scary or dark. Learning these things in an upfront manner from Mr. Dursley’s own head would help put the reader more on Mr. Dursley’s side. That’s the nature of point of view. It creates a bond.
The reader needs to care about Harry as the story moves forward. After seeing how Harry was treated by the Dursleys in “The Vanishing Glass” the reader is on Team Harry, but that will only go so far, especially with Harry leaving to Hogwarts. Including his reactions to important things will make sure the reader continues to connect and understand the choices he makes.
Besides, without having reactions and thoughts, like Harry does in this chapter, the reader might as well be watching a movie. Harry’s reactions matter because it informs the reader who he is.
Establishing Character:
The reader got to see quick glimpses of Dumbledore and McGonagall in the first chapter, but Hagrid’s entrance in this chapter is the first extended look at someone from the wizarding world. From the second he bursts through the door, he is a contradiction of reader expectations. He’s a giant scary man, and what are the first things he does? He picks up the broken door and he asks for a cup of tea!
Hagrid is everything you wouldn’t expect a wizard to be. This character introduction is great because it says to the reader, “Forget everything you think wizards and magic are about. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.” He’s also a delight, because like Dudley, his character is easy to understand.
The novel isn’t told from Hagrid’s point of view and so the reader doesn’t get into his head. They have to figure him out based on the things he does and the actions he takes. Here are some of the things Hagrid does in this chapter:
•Kicks in the door.
•Picks the door back up, after kicking it in.
•Makes fun of Dudley (multiple times).
•Gives Harry a homemade birthday cake.
•Makes sausages and tea.
•Argues with Mr. Dursley.
•Tells Harry he is a wizard.
•Gives Harry the letter for him to read.
•Tells Harry the truth about his parents.
•Tries and fails to turn Dudley into a pig.
The actions a character takes informs the reader about who that character is. Each of those actions tells us something about Hagrid. Him kicking in the door tells us he’s powerful. Him making fun of Dudley tells us that he sees the horrible parenting that the Dursleys have done. Him giving Harry a birthday cake shows that he cares about Harry. Him stopping to make sausage and tea says that although there is so much important stuff that they all need to talk about, food and tea are a higher priority. Him being honest with Harry and revealing all the stuff that the Dursleys were hiding shows that, instead of sheltering Harry, he wants to empower Harry. Finally, him trying and failing to turn Dudley into a pig shows that he might not be the most powerful or skillful wizard.
This ties back into how you make your protagonist active in the story. When characters do things, it reveals information about them. Harry waking up and attempting to sneak out to check for the letter in the last chapter shows the reader that he’s OK with breaking the rules, which is something that will happen a lot later in the novel.
Hagrid asking Harry to not tell anyone that he attempted to turn Dudley into a pig shows that Hagrid, too, lives in a gray area and that he doesn’t always follow the rules either. Further in the book, there are plot-heavy events and if Hagrid had been set-up to be a stiff, wooden character who always followed the rules, what happens later wouldn’t make sense.
The more active a character is, the more chances a reader will have to learn new information about that character. Take, for example, Mrs. Dursley. Up until this point in the novel, she’s been kind of a dud. It’s hard to peg who exactly she is as a character. She’s uptight and cares about appearances, in a social sense. She spoils her kid and nags Harry, so we have a taste of her personality, but that’s it. She’s also not taken many actions on her own. Most of the things she has said or done are reactionary. Even though she’s appeared in four chapters, the reader at this point has a better understanding of Hagrid because of how active Hagrid is.
Chapter Four Takeaways:
•The more you build to the reveal of a mystery, the more impactful the reveal should be.
•Conflict occurs between characters when characters have wants that contradict each other.
•Your POV character, throughout the story should mentally react to the things that occur.
•When dealing with non-POV characters, action is the best way to reveal who that character is to the reader.
Chapter Five
Diagon Alley
Chapter Summary:
Harry wakes up the next morning in the shack with Hagrid and the two leave for London to buy school supplies. Hagrid tells Harry about Gringotts and that his parents left him more than enough money to pay for his schooling. Before they head to the bank, they stop at The Leaky Cauldron. Harry is treated like a celebrity, which is a bit overwhelming. He also meets Quirinus Quirrell, Hogwarts’s Defense Against Dark Arts teacher and an odd, nervous man who has a stuttering problem.
At Gringotts, Harry witnesses the layers of the bank’s security system, maze-like tunnels, vaults that trap intruders inside, and hints of a dragon. Harry visits his vault and sees a horde of money. They only take what Harry will need for the school year and then visit vault 713 where Hagrid retrieves something secret for Dumbledore.
After leaving Gringotts, Harry visits Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions. There he meets a pale, thin, bullying boy who is later revealed to be Malfoy. From talking to Malfoy, Harry learns about Slytherin and that some wizards are prejudice against other wizards who have muggle parents, calling them “mudbloods.”
Harry reunites with Hagrid. They run a few more errands, and Hagrid explains that Quidditch is a popular wizarding sport and that Hogwarts has four houses, Slytherin being the worst. Their final stop is at Mr. Ollivander’s where Harry is fitted for a wand. The wand that chooses him is made of holly, and a Phoenix feather. It is the brother-wand to the one that had been Voldemort’s.
Set-ups:
“Diagon Alley” is like a reboot for the story. After so much was paid off and revealed in the last chapter, Rowling takes the time to set-up things that will resolve much later, some not until the very end of the novel. This is one of the longest chapters in the book, which makes sense since this is the reader’s first full look at the wizarding world.
A lot of writing professors and books use the word “foreshadow.” They would say things like Harry meeting Quirrell is foreshadowing a big reveal that happens later in the book. That can feel daunting to a newer writer, so instead, think of it as “setting something up.”
In many cases, you don’t want your readers to be able to fully predict what will happen, especially if you are trying to build up a feeling of suspense and mystery. However, when events play out, you want the reader to look back at what they’ve already read and be able to say, “Oh my gosh, I should have seen that coming!” You the author are setting up events that will happen later, so that they make sense and feel logical. You will also use misdirection to distract the reader so that they don’t suspect and figure things out before they are supposed to.
The way Rowling introduces Quirrell is so sneaky and smart. Quirrell gets a half-page introduction where he meets Harry. He stutters, mentions vampires and werewolves, and then that’s it. Just enough happens so that the reader will later be able to remember who Quirrell is. At the same time, Quirrell talks about cool new magical things, like vampires, so that the reader is distracted and doesn’t think anything else weird about the in
troduction. Yet, later in the novel when it’s revealed why Quirrell is there, it makes sense.
Tons of things are set-up in this chapter, and all of which will later tie into a reveal or another plot-based event:
•Quirrell was at Diagon Alley
•Hagrid mentions wanting a dragon.
•Gringotts has a crazy security system.
•Hagrid gets an odd package from vault 713.
•Hogwarts has four houses.
•Quidditch is a super popular sport.
•Some wizards hate those with muggle parents.
•Harry’s wand is the brother-wand to Voldemort’s.
Some of the things set-up in this chapter are obviously set-ups. When Hagrid picks up the You-Know-What from vault 713, it’s obvious that whatever it is will play a big part of the plot. Other things, like the introduction of Quirrell, Hagrid wanting a dragon, the Hogwarts Houses and such, are much more subtle and blend in. When planning out your own novel, you’ll want to balance the things you are setting up. Dole out the details carefully. String your readers along enough so that they suspect where the story might go, but hold back enough information so that when you reveal mysteries, they feel exciting and fresh.
World-Building:
J.R.R. Tolkien is often considered the master when it comes to world-building. Trudging through Lord of the Rings, it’s hard to deny that the world feels alive. It feels like a real place and he went so far as to invent two languages for it, as well as thousands of years of history, which leak into the naming of places and characters. Tolkien was a linguist and historian. It makes sense that in his work, those things would be strengths.
But world-building isn’t just about magic systems, backstory, or the history of the world. It’s the setting that the characters exist in, the clothes they wear, social norms and interactions. World-building isn’t a term that should only apply to fantasy or science fiction. The act of world-building is populating the world your characters exist in to create a sense of reality so that the readers think it might be real. Because of the nature of speculative fiction, it is important that the world-building happens when writing fantasy, sci-fi, and all of their sub-genres, but it is a tool that should be used in all storytelling.
World-building is a con-game. It’s manipulation. It’s setting up dressing and decorations so that it is easier for your readers to suspend their disbelief. Everyone knows that fiction is not real, yet readers want to read a book, immerse themselves for hours and be able to forget that.
Picture a standard television sit-com set, something like the main living rooms on Friends, The Big Bang Theory, or How I Met Your Mother. The sets for these shows are created in a backlot building and are only half built. They have one full back wall and two half walls on the sides. The fake living rooms don’t have ceilings because there needs to be room for the lighting rigs.
The sets are populated with furniture. Each piece of that furniture has been meticulously picked and placed. If you look closer, the shelves in the background will have books, magazines, trinkets, and sometimes callbacks to old episodes. As random as those items might appear, they have been purposely placed to show character and to give the set a lived-in personality and vibe.
There is an art director or set designer who is responsible for the overall look of the set, but they don’t do the job alone. There are entire departments that support them. There is a props master and props department who goes to flea markets and picks up trinkets to use as props. Costume designers make, modify, or buy the clothes that characters wear. The hair and makeup departments ensure that the actors consistently look like their characters. All of these roles have nothing to do with the plot. They are done for the sake of world-building. As an author, it is your job to fill all those roles. You have to create a set for your novel to take place and you have to do it in such a way that it doesn’t bog down the readers or hinder the progression of the story.
“Diagon Alley” is all world-building and some of it is more subtle and nuanced. Early in the chapter, Harry has to pay an owl and is introduced to wizarding money. It’s important he and the readers have a sense of how it works, so that later when Harry’s loaded vault is revealed, we can comprehend just how rich he is.
Over the course of the chapter, the reader learns so much about the wizarding world. They learn that goblins, dragons, werewolves, and vampires all exist. They learn that wizards have sports and their own culture separate from “muggles.” Something so small as discovering that toads are out of fashion as pets plays a part later when it is revealed that Neville Longbottom has a pet toad. That’s where Rowling’s world-building really shines. She doesn’t just throw random stuff into her book; the world-building that happens occurs in such a way that it services the characters or plot. If it’s not obvious in the moment, it almost always pays off later.
Harry’s Reactions:
Harry is passive in this chapter. He is simply along for the ride, watching and learning in the same way that the reader is. The saving grace of this is that some of his reactions offer meaningful insight into his character, allowing the reader to better understand who Harry is.
At the start of “Diagon Alley,” Harry awakens in the shack and is scared that everything that happened the evening before was a dream. When he meets all the people at The Leaky Cauldron he is overwhelmed and surprised at being seen as a celebrity. When meeting Malfoy he associates him with Dudley and dislikes him and Slytherin. Finally, at the end of the chapter, Harry opens up to Hagrid and admits he is worried about failing. He says that everyone sees him as being special, but he doesn’t see himself that way.
These may not seem like big reactions, and on the page some are shorter than a paragraph, but when grouped together they give the reader a better idea at who Harry is, so although Harry is more of a stand-in for the reader, he still has some personality, and manages to react to the magical world in a way that would likely mimic how the reader would.
Chapter Five Takeaways:
•Future reveals and twist need to be set-up in advance.
•World-building is everything and important to all genres.
•World-building should be meaningful.
•When in a more passive role, make sure your POV character reacts to what is happening.
Chapter Six
The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
Chapter Summary:
Harry rounds out his summer with the Dursleys by being ignored, which is both a relief and depressing. A day before leaving for Hogwarts, he has to ask Mr. Dursley to take him to the train station. He agrees and during the whole trip, the Dursleys mock him because he is supposed to go to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, which they all know doesn’t exist.
On his own at the station, Harry spots a family of red-heads who are clearly not muggles, and asks them for help. In doing so he meets the Weasleys which include Fred, George, Ron, Percy, Ginny and their mother. They help him board the train, and he’s off on his way to Hogwarts.
On the train, Harry befriends Ron and uses his money to buy a whole stash of treats, including Bertie’s Every Flavor Beans and Chocolate Frogs which come with Famous Witches and Wizards trading cards. Harry gets an Albus Dumbledore card which mentions Nicolas Flamel.
Harry and Ron meet Hermione and Neville. Neville lost his toad and Hermione decided to take charge, leading the search for Trevor. Moments later Draco Malfoy, the boy from Madam Malkin’s, introduces himself along with his buddies Crabbe and Goyle. Harry and Draco butt heads, but before the confrontation can get physical, Ron’s rat Scabbers bites Goyle, causing the soon-to-be-Slytherins to leave.
Upon arriving at their destination, Hagrid loads the first years into boats and they sail across a lake to Hogwarts.
End of Act I
We will cover structure later in this book, but it is important to note that “The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters” marks the end of Act I and the start of Act II. For now, just know
that the novel is transitioning out of “the beginning” and into “the middle” of the story. Lots of stuff will happen now that we are in Act II. The biggest of which is that Harry will strengthen his relationship with the supporting cast. When Act II ends that will bring us to the “end” section of the novel.
Supporting Cast:
This chapter is all about Harry meeting the supporting cast and starting to form relationships with them. The chapter is twenty-four pages long and in that time, Rowling manages to introduce the majority of the Weasley family, Hermione, Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle. She also does a nice job of further fleshing out Draco and creating the friendship between Ron and Harry.
Of all the things that Rowling does in the Harry Potter series, one of the best is characters. She is able to put characters onto the page that feel and act different, and she manages to do it in a minimal amount of space. Let’s look at the introduction of the Weasley family.
Fred and George constantly crack jokes. They come off as class clowns who don’t take anything seriously, and at the same time, they’re clearly intelligent. They are capable. Percy is a Prefect and through his interactions with his family, he seems to bring it up all the time. He’s a goody-two-shoes who always follows the rules, and the complete opposite of Fred and George. Then there is Ron. Ron is the typical younger brother and it’s clear from the start that he feels like he’s stuck living in his brothers’ shadows.
Rowling doesn’t come out say these revelations about the Weasley boys. Instead, she shows who they are through the way they interact with each other, their mother, and Ginny. We know Fred and George are goofs because of what they do. They tease their mother about her not being able to tell them apart. They give Percy a hard time about how he brags about being a Prefect. They joke about blowing up a toilet and follow that up by joking about sending Ginny a toilet seat from Hogwarts.
