Endless and tough as chewing gum, the summer vacations seem to Harry. If his foster parents, the Dursleys, weren't afraid he'd turn them all into dung beetles, he'd certainly have to spend the whole time in the broom cupboard. But Harry is very much looking forward to the new school year. But how could it be otherwise - this does not run without incidents. First he misses the train to Hogwarts with his friend Ron, then everything goes wrong at the first Quidditch game, and finally something sinister appears in the castle, for which even the wise Dumbledore has no explanation.