Asleep was the way Harry liked the Dursleys best; it wasn't as though they were ever any help to him awake.
Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire
What does it refer to here and what's the meaning of the whole sentence?
(For those who don't know, Harry and the dursleys hate each other very much.)
Best Answer
"It" is an "empty" or "dummy" subject in this case. The pronoun has no referent; it merely satisfies the grammatical function of supplying a subject for the clause. So the meaning is
Harry was happiest when the Dursleys were asleep because they were never any help when awake.