The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence
lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. Cars that were usually
gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay
parched and yellowing -for the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought.
Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of
Privet Drive had retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown
wide in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. The only person left
outdoors was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside
number four.