The people who lived in Privet Drive had, over the years, accepted that from time to time strange things happened where they lived. After all, it seemed these days that strange things happened all the time somewhere or another. They were simply getting their share. The fact that the frequency of such events in Privet Drive had increased gradually over the past ten years had generally escaped their notice in the way that one might overlook the movement of a cloud or the rising of the tide unless you really paid attention over a period of time.