it was dark times, harry, dark times. voldemort started to gather some followers, brought them over to the dark side. anyone who stood up to him ended up dead. your parents fought against him, but nobody lived once he decided to kill them. nobody, not one, except you.
he couldn’t know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: “to harry potter - the boy who lived!”