Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia treat Harry as if he doesn’t exist

For the last month before Harry was to start Hogwarts, the Dursleys ignored him and acted like he didn’t exist. They were both furious and scared of him. It wasn’t just that they wouldn’t speak to him, they would also view any chair that he was sitting in as being empty as well.  Although it was an improvement in many ways, it also got depressing, so Harry spent most his time in his room with his new owl, Hedwig.