The Worst Birthday

Harry Potter is enduring a miserable summer at the Dursleys' house on Privet Drive. His twelfth birthday passes without acknowledgment from his aunt, uncle, or cousin, and he has received no letters from his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The Dursleys are preparing for a dinner party with a wealthy client, and Harry is ordered to stay in his room and pretend he does not exist. Feeling lonely and cut off from the wizarding world, Harry sits in the garden and sings 'Happy Birthday' to himself, only to be taunted by his cousin Dudley. The day is a low point, highlighting Harry's isolation and his longing to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.