1991

Harry Potter proved he had exceptional talent for Quidditch

1991 is a notable year in the Harry Potter book series. Harry Potter discovers he is a wizard, returning to the wizarding world to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Tom Riddle steps back out of the shadows for the first time in ten years after possessing Professor Quirrell in an effort to steal the Philosopher's Stone.

Events

June

• Late June on Saturday: Dudley Dursley's eleventh birthday.
  • Vernon and Petunia Dursley take Dudley, Piers Polkiss and Harry Potter to the Zoo. Harry causes a glass pane separating Dudley, Piers and a boa constrictor to disappear, and the snake escapes.
  • Harry works out he can speak to snakes.

July

• Monday 23 July: Harry stays at Arabella Figg's house while Petunia takes Dudley to buy hus new school uniform. Petunia cried and Vernon is proud when he shows them his outfit.
• Tuesday 24 July: Harry's first acceptance letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry arrives but Vernon and Petunia destroy it. Petunia is worried about the letter being addressed to the "Cupboard under the Stairs" and moves Harry into the second bedroom instead.
• Wednesday 25 July: Another acceptance letter arrives to the new address, "The Smallest Bedroom". Harry, Dudley and Vernon fight each other for it. Vernon wins and he destroys it again.
• Thursday 26 July: Harry wales up at six in the morning in an effort to get to the postman first on the corner of the road, but he falls over Vernon who is sleeping by the front door. Three letters arrive that day which Vernon rips to pieces in front of Harry. Vernon nails the letter box shut.
• Friday 27 July: The postman delivers twelve letters through the side of the front door and through the window downstairs. Vernon boards up gaps in the side of every door at 4 Privet Drive.
• Saturday 28 July: Petunia accepts a delivery of two dozen eggs in a box which are handed to her through the window. They contain twenty-four letters instead of eggs, which Petunia shreds.
• Sunday 29 July: The Dursley family are happy knowing that they don't get post on Sunday. However, around thirty letters arrive through the fireplace. Vernon decides they have to leave Privet Drive for a while in the hope the letters can't follow them. They stay at the Railview Hotel.
• Monday 30 July: The Dursley family and Harry stay at the Hut-on-the-Rock.
• Tuesday 31 July: Rubeus Hagrid knocks down the door and gives Harry his acceptance letter for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
  • Later that same day, Hagrid takes Harry shopping in Diagon Alley and purchases Hedwig for him. He also collects the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts.
  • That evening, Voldemort attempts to break into Gringotts to take the Philosopher's Stone.

August

• 31 August: Harry goes into the living room which causes Dudley to run out the room screaming. He has spent the whole of August in fear of Harry since he found out he was a wizard.
  • Harry tells Vernon he needs to be at King's Cross Station for eleven the next day. Vernon and Petunia laugh because they did not realise Platform Nine and Three-Quarters is real. They agree to drop him off on the way to take Dudley to the doctors.

September

• 1 September: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy and many others begin their first-year at Hogwarts and are Sorted into their school Houses.
• The next Friday: Hagrid asks Harry and Ron to have tea at the Hut where they find out that the Gringotts vault he visited with Hagrid, who collected an unknown parcel there, was broken into the same day they were there.

Late September - early October

• Thursday: In Flying, Neville Longbottom spirals out of control on a broomstick and falls. Professor Hooch takes him to the Hospital Wing for a broken wrist. In her absence, Draco takes his Remembrall and throws into the air. Professor McGonagall witnesses Harry catch it on a broomstick and makes him the youngest Seeker in a century.
  • Draco challenges Harry to a duel. Ron agrees to be Harry's second and they arrange to sneak out at midnight.
  • Harry and Ron sneak out after curfew with Hermione and Neville for their midnight duel. Draco had set them up and tipped Argus Filch off. He is waiting in the trophy room instead. They run away and end up on the out-of-bounds third-floor corridor where thry get confronted by Fluffy. Hermione realises that he is guarding a trapdoor.
• Friday: Draco is shocked to find Harry and Ron in the Great Hall because he thought they were going to get expelled when Filch caught them.
  • Harry is given a new broomstick, the Nimbus 2000. He attends a training session at the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch where Oliver Wood explains the rules of the game.

October

• 31 October: Hermione gives a lecture to Ron about the correct pronunciation of the Levitation Charm and she overhears him calling her a nightmare. Hermione runs away in tears and didn't show up to the feast that evening.
  • Professor Quirrell let a troll loose in the school and Harry and Ron have to save Hermione which is the beginning of their friendship.

November

• Friday at the beginning of November: Harry checks out the book Quidditch Through the Ages from the Hogwarts library to stydy for the match against Slytherin the next day.
• The next day: Gryffindor and Slytherin play Quidditch. Professor Quirrell curses Harry's broomstick in an effort knock him off it. Hermione intervenes and saves Harry, and he wins Gryffindor the match by catching the Golden Snitch.
  • Hagrid tells Harry, Ron and Hermione at dinner that Fluffy is guarding a secret known only to Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.

December

• Mid-December: Harry, Ron and Hermione begin researching for information about Nicolas Flamel but are unsuccessful. Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Percy Weasley sign up to stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. Hermione goes home. The Great Hall is decorated.
• Mid-December - 24 December: Harry, Ron, Fred and George have fun over the holidays. Ron teaches Harry how to play Wizard's Chess.
• 25 December: Harry wakes up on Christmas Day and finds loads of gifts for him, including the Cloak of Invisibility. Harry and Ron attend a feast. Harry sneaks out at night under the Invisibility Cloak and goes to the library. He opens a screaming book and has to run away from Filch. He finds the Mirror of Erised which shows him the Potter family.
• 26 December: Harry tells Ron about the mirror but Ron is shown a different image. They figure out it shows you want you desire. Ron tells Harry he needs to let go of the mirror but he goes back anyway.
• 27 December: Harry goes back to find the mirror. Dumbledore is waiting for him. He tells Harry what the mirror does and also tells him that he needs to let it go because it "does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live". The Mirror of Erised is later moved.

Notes and sources

For the general timeline of the Harry Potter universe, click here. Please go to one of the pages below for the events that happen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998