Harry Potter, a fourth year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, longs to escape his hateful relatives, the Dursleys, and live as a normal fourteen year old wizard, but what Harry does not yet realize is that he is not a normal wizard, and in his case, different can be deadly.

Harry Potter leaves the miserable home of his aunt and uncle to begin studying magic at Hogwarts, the best school of witchcraft in England.

Presents four spooky stories for children, including the title work in which a young boy expects only the worst when he arrives at school on the first day to discover his teacher is the "monstrous" Mrs. Green.