Scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Scene from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
A dinner table bust up between Harry Potter's parents and his aunt and uncle sparked the Dursley's animosity towards the young wizard.
JK Rowling has finally explained why Potter's Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia Dursley disliked him enough to leave him languishing in the cupboard under the stairs.
She writeson her fan website, Pottermore, that the rift started when Potter's mother Lily introduced her then boyfriend James Potter to the Dursleys.
James was amused by Vernon, and made the mistake of showing it," Rowling writes.
"Vernon tried to patronise James, asking what car he drove. James described his racing broom."
She said Vernon suggested wizards must live on unemployment benefits then James explained his parents had saved a fortune in solid gold at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
"(He) could not tell whether he was being made fun of or not, and grew angry," Rowling writes.
"The evening ended with Vernon and Petunia storming out of the restaurant, while Lily burst into tears and James (a little ashamed of himself) promised to make things up with Vernon at the earliest opportunity."
