Baby Harry survived and was taken to live the beginning of his life on Privet Drive in Little Whining, Surrey, with his mother's sister Petunia, and his Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley. He was miserable here, and was treated very poorly because of his wizarding heritage (which was kept a secret from him), until the time when Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, found him and revealed everything. He told Harry that he was accepted into the famous wizarding school.

After learning of how famous he is, as the Boy Who Lived, Harry's first year at Hogwarts was interesting, to say the least. He befriended Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, fellow Gryffindors, and learned of the secret Philosopher's Stone being guarded right beneath the school, and suspected the suspicious Professor Severus Snape of attempting to steal it. They decided to try and stop him, and discovered it was Professor Quirrell instead, under the influence of a ghostly Lord Voldemort. Together, they attacked Harry, but failed when the love impregnated within Harry's skin killed Quirrell. The stone remained safe.

His second year was slightly more eventful. He discovered he could speak Parseltongue (talk to snakes) and everyone suspected him of being the heir of Slytherin, who had returned to Hogwarts to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash a monster to kill all of the Muggle-born students in the school. It was, however, Lord Voldemort himself disguised as a memory implanted within Tom Riddle's diary. The spirit of Voldemort possessed Ginny Weasley and had her open the Chamber. Harry, Ron and Professor Lockheart went down into the Chamber of Secrets and stopped Tom Riddle's spirit from fully realizing and returning. Harry also succeeded in killing the monster basilisk within the Chamber.