Harry’s last month with the Dursleys had not been a pleasant one. Dudley was now so afraid of Harry that he didn’t want to be in the same room as him, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn’t lock Harry in his cupboard, didn’t force him to do anything or shout at him – in fact, they didn’t talk to Harry at all. Half-frightened, half-angry, they acted as if the chair Harry was sitting in was empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, after a while this situation made Harry quite depressed as well.
Harry spent time in his room, with only his owl for company. He decides to name his owl Hedwig, a name he found in the book History of Magic . The school books are very interesting. He lay in bed, reading long into the night, Hedwig flying in and out of the window as he pleased. Luckily Aunt Petunia no longer came into Harry’s room, because Hedwig kept bringing in dead mice. Every night before bed, Harry marked the days on a piece of paper he stuck to the wall, up to the first of September.
On the last day of August, he decided it would be best to talk to his uncle and aunt about whether he should go to King’s Cross Station that day
next. So he went downstairs to the living room, where they were watching a quiz show on television. Harry cleared his throat to let him know he was coming, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.
“Er—Uncle Vernon?”
Uncle Vernon mumbled incoherently to show he was listening.
“Er—I have to go to King’s Cross tomorrow to—to go to Hogwarts.” Uncle Vernon grumbled again.
“Can I go in Uncle’s car?”
Incoherent grumbling. Harry interpreted that to mean okay. “Thank You.”
He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. “It’s strange, why do you want to go to magic school by train? The flying carpet
all holes, apparently?” Harry said nothing.
“Where is this school?”
“I don’t know,” said Harry, only realizing it then. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him from his pocket.
“I was just asked to take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven,” he read.
Her aunt and uncle stared. “What platform?”
“Nine and three quarters.”
“Don’t be silly,” said Uncle Vernon. “There’s no platform nine and three-quarters.”
“That’s what the ticket says.”
“Nonsense,” said Uncle Vernon, “they’re all mad. See for yourself later. Just wait. OK, we’ll take you to King’s Cross. “We’re going to London tomorrow, otherwise how would I care.”
“Why do you want to go to London?” Harry asked, trying to be friendly. “Took Dudley to hospital,” growled Uncle Vernon. “His reddish tail had to be cut off before he went to the Smeltings.”
Harry woke up at five the next morning and was too happy and tense at the same time, that he couldn’t sleep anymore. He got up and put on his jeans-
because he didn’t want to go to the station wearing his magic robe—he would just change clothes on the train. Once again he checked his Hogwarts list in case he was missing anything he needed, checked that Hedwig was safely trapped in her cage, and then paced back and forth in his room, waiting for the Dursleys to wake up. Two hours later, Harry’s large suitcase was loaded into the Dursleys’ car. Aunt Petunia had persuaded Dudley to sit next to Harry and off they went.
They arrived at King’s Cross at half past eleven. Uncle Vernon dropped Harry’s suitcase on the trolley and pushed him into the station. Harry thought Uncle Vernon was very nice, until Uncle Vernon suddenly stopped in front of the row of platforms with an annoying grin on his face.
“Well, here it is, son. Platform nine—platform ten. Your platform should be in between, but apparently it hasn’t been built yet, huh?”
Uncle Vernon was right, of course. There was a big plastic nine on one platform and a big plastic ten on the next platform, and in between there was absolutely nothing.
“Have fun at school,” said Uncle Vernon with a more annoying grin. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys’ car driving away from the station. The three of them laughed. Harry’s mouth went a little dry. What will he do? People started looking at him strangely, because of Hedwig. He had to ask someone.
He stopped a passing officer, but didn’t dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The officer had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn’t even tell which part of England the school was in, he started to get annoyed, as if Harry was acting stupid on purpose. Increasingly desperate, Harry asked for a train that would leave at eleven, but the officer said there wasn’t one. Finally the officer left, grumbling about people who like to waste time. Harry tried hard not to panic. According to the big clock above the arrival board, he only had ten minutes left to catch the train to Hogwarts and he had absolutely no idea what to do. He’s confused in the middle of the station with a suitcase he can barely lift, a pocket full of magic money, and a huge owl.
Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something he had to do, such as tapping the third brick on the left to enter Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should take out his wand and tap the ticket box between platforms nine and ten.
At that time a group of people passed behind him and caught some of the words he was saying.
”…full of Muggles, of course…”
Harry immediately turned around. The one with the voice of a fat woman, speaking to four boys, all with fiery red hair. Each of them pushed a suitcase like Harry’s in front of them—and they had owls.
Heart pounding Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped, he stopped too, close enough to hear what they were saying.
“What platform?” asked the children’s mother.
”Nine and three quarters!” came the loud voice of a girl, also with red hair, who took his hand. “Mum, can’t I…”
“You’re not old enough yet, Ginny, now shut up. “Okay, Percy, you go in first.”
The child who looked the oldest walked towards platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, unblinking, afraid that there was something he didn’t see—but just as the boy reached the barrier between the platforms, a large group of tourists passed in front of him and by the time the last rucksack had cleared the boy was gone.
“Fred, you’re next,” the fat woman said.
“I’m not Fred, I’m George,” said the boy. “Oh my God, Mum! “Our mother said, can’t you tell that I’m George?”
”Sori, George.”
“Just kidding, I’m Fred,” said the boy, then walked away. His twin shouted for him to hurry, and he must have, because a second later he was gone—but how?
Now the third brother walked quickly towards the ticket barrier
—he was almost there—and suddenly, he was gone.
Just disappeared.
“Sorry,” Harry said to the fat woman.
“Hello, son,” he said. “First time at Hogwarts, huh? Ron is new too.” He pointed to his last and youngest son. He was thin and tall, with freckles on his face, big hands, and a long nose.
“Yes,” said Harry. “The thing—the thing is, I don’t know how…”
“How do you get to the platform?” he asked kindly, and Harry nodded.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “All you have to do is walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don’t stop and don’t be afraid that you will crash, this is the most important thing. It’s best to do it half a run, if you’re worried. Come on, get in now, before Ron.”
“Is—okay,” Harry snapped.
Harry turned his cart around and looked at the bar. It looks very strong.
He started walking towards the bar. Many times he was knocked over by people walking to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked faster and faster. In a moment he would hit the ticket box, then he would be in trouble – Harry bent over his trolley, he ran – the bar was getting closer and closer – he wouldn’t be able to stop – the trolley was out of control – only thirty inches to go – he closed his eyes waiting for the moment of collision…
But apparently he didn’t hit anything… he was still running… he opened his eyes.
A red train waited next to a platform full of people. The writing on it read Hogwarts Express, 11.00 . Harry looked back and saw an arched gate where the ticket box had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three Quarters written on it . He had succeeded.
The smoke of the locomotive drifted over the heads of people who were chatting loudly, while cats of various colors nestled between their legs. The owls called to each other, accompanied by the sound of chatter and the creak of heavy suitcases being dragged.
The series of several carriages in front were full of children. Some of them stuck their bodies out the windows to chat
with their families, others scramble for seats. Harry pushed his trolley along the platform, looking for an empty seat. He passed a boy with a round face who was saying, “Nek, my frog is gone again.”
“Oh, Neville ,” he heard the older woman sigh.
A boy with curly hair was surrounded by a group of children. “Let us see, Lee, come on.”
The child lifted the lid of the box he was holding and the children surrounding him immediately screamed and shouted when a long, hairy leg came out of the box.
Harry squeezed his way through the people until he came to an empty carriage almost at the end of the train. First he lifted Hedwig, then he started lifting and pushing her suitcase through the train door. He tried to lift it over the steps, but he could barely lift one end and twice the suitcase fell to his feet. It really hurts.
“Need help?” It turned out that one of the red-haired twins he had been following broke through the ticket box.
“Yes, please,” Harry answered breathlessly. “Hey, Fred! Here, help!”
With the twins’ help, Harry’s suitcase was finally placed in the corner of the carriage.
“Thank you,” said Harry, wiping his sweaty hair from his eyes.
“What’s that?” said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry’s scar in the shape of a flash of lightning.
“Jesus Christ,” said the other twin. “Are you…?”
” He’s right ,” said the first twin. “Yes, right?” he asked Harry. “What?” asked Harry.
“Harry Potter,” the twins answered at the same time.
“Oh, him,” said Harry. “I mean, yeah, I’m Harry Potter.”
The two children glared at him and Harry’s face turned red. Then, to his relief, a voice came from the car door.
“Fred? George? Are you in there?” “Yes, Mum.”
Glancing at Harry, the twins jumped out of the car.
Harry sat by the window. From there, half hidden, he could see the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out a handkerchief.
“Ron, you have dirt on your nose.”
The youngest boy tried to get away, but the mother grabbed him and started rubbing the tip of his nose.
” Mum — ta’ no need.” He writhed free.
“Ah, what’s on the tip of Ronnie’s nose?” said one of the twins. “Shut up,” said Ron.
“Where’s Percy?” asked their mother. “Thats it.”
The eldest son appeared. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and Harry saw a shiny silver badge with the letter P pinned to his chest.
“Can’t stay long, Mum,” he said. “I’m at the front, two special carriages have been provided for the prefects…” Prefects are several senior students who are given the responsibility to maintain order.
“Oh, so you’re a Prefect, Percy?” said one of the twins, as if completely shocked. “You should have said something. We don’t know at all.”
“Wait, I think I remember what he said,” said the other twin. “Very…”
“Or twice…” “Every minute…”
”All summer long…”
“Oh, shut up,” said Percy the Prefect.
“How did Percy get a new robe anyway?” asked one of the twins.
“Because he’s a prefect,” answered their mother affectionately. “Well, darling, have a good time at school—send an owl when you arrive, okay?”
He kissed Percy on the cheek and Percy left again. Then the mother turned to the twins.
“Now, you two—don’t be naughty this year. If one more time I receive an owl telling me you have—have blown up
toilet or…”
”Blow up the toilet? We have never blown up a toilet.” “But that’s a great idea. Thanks, Mum.”
” Not funny . And look after Ron.”
”Don’t worry, little Ronnie will be safe with us.”
“Shut up,” said Ron again. He was almost the same height as the twins and his nose was still red where his mother had rubbed it.
“Hey, Mum, you know what? Guess who we just met on the train?”
Harry quickly leaned back so they couldn’t see him watching them.
“Mum, do you know who the black-haired boy was near us at the station? Do you know who he is?”
“Who?”
”Harry Potter!”
Harry heard the little girl’s voice.
“Oh, Mum, can I get in the car and see him, Mum, oh, yes, yes….”
“You’ve seen it, Ginny, and the poor thing is not to be looked at like a zookeeper. Is he really Harry Potter, Fred? How did you know?”
“I asked him. Look at the scar. It really was there—like a bolt of lightning.”
“Poor thing—no wonder he’s alone. I was wondering in my heart.
He was very polite when he asked how to get to the platform.”
“That’s not important. Does Mum think he remembers what You-Know-Who was like?”
Their mother suddenly became very strict.
“I forbid you to ask him, Fred. Don’t you dare ask him. Do you think he needed to be reminded of that disaster on his first day of school?”
“Okay, don’t worry.” A whistle sounded.
”Hurry up!” said their mother, and the three boys climbed into the carriage. They leaned out the window to get a kiss goodbye, and their little sister started crying.
“Don’t cry, Ginny, we’ll send lots of owls.” “We will send you a set of Hogwarts toilets.” “George!”
“Just kidding, Mum.”
The car started moving. Harry saw the children’s mother waving and their younger brother, half laughing, half crying, running after the car until it was moving faster and faster. Only then did he stop and wave.
Harry saw the girl and her mother disappear as the carriage turned. Houses seemed to run across the windows. Harry felt very excited. He didn’t know what would happen, but it would definitely be better than what he was leaving behind.
The compartment door slid open and the youngest red haired boy entered.
“Is anyone sitting here?” he asked, pointing to the seat in front of Harry. “Everywhere else is full.”
Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry, then quickly looked out the window, pretending not to see Harry. Harry saw that there was still a black spot on the tip of his nose.
“Hey, Ron.”
The twins are back.
“Listen, we’re going to the middle of the train—Lee Jordan has a giant tarantula.”
“Okay,” muttered Ron.
“Harry,” said the other twin, “we haven’t introduced ourselves, have we?
Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our little brother. See you later, okay?”
“Daah,” said Harry and Ron. The twins closed the door behind them.
“Are you really Harry Potter?” Ron blurted out. Harry nodded.
“Oh—well, I thought Fred and George were just joking,” said Ron. “And is there really—you know…”
He pointed at Harry’s forehead.
Harry pushed his bangs back to reveal his lightning scar. Ron stared.
“So that’s where You-Know-Who is…?”
“Yes,” said Harry, “but I don’t remember any more.” “Absolutely not?” Ron asked curiously.
“Well—I remember a lot of green light, but that’s about it.”
“Wow,” said Ron. For a moment he stared wide-eyed at Harry, then, as if realizing what he was doing, he quickly looked out the window again.
”Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry, who found Ron as attractive as Ron found himself.
“Er—yeah, I think so,” said Ron. “If I’m not mistaken, Mum’s distant cousin is an accountant, but we never talked about it.”
“Then you must know a lot about magic.”
The Weasleys must be one of the old wizarding families that the pale boy mentioned in Diagon Alley.
“I heard you live with Muggles,” said Ron. “What are they like?”
“It’s terrible—well, not all of it, really. But my uncles, aunts and cousins are terrible. If only I had three wizard brothers.”
“Five,” said Ron. Somehow he looked gloomy. “I am the sixth child in our family to attend Hogwarts. It could be said that a lot was expected from me. Bill and Charlie had graduated and left Hogwarts—Bill was Head Boy and Charlie Quidditch captain. Now Percy is elected Prefect. Fred and George fool around a lot, but their grades are good and everyone thinks they’re hilarious. Everyone expects me to do as well as they do, but even if I do, it’s nothing special, because they’ve done it before. You also won’t have anything new if you have five older siblings. My robes and clothes are Bill’s, my wand is Charlie’s, and my mouse is an old mouse that was Percy’s.”
Ron reached into his jacket and pulled out a fat, sleeping gray rat.
“His name is Scabbers and he’s completely useless. He just sleeps all the time. Percy got an owl from my dad for being elected Prefect, but they didn’t make it – I mean, I got Scabbers.”
Ron’s ears turned red. Apparently he thought he had said too much, because he looked out the window again.
For Harry there was nothing wrong if he couldn’t afford an owl. Besides, he himself never had a penny until a month ago. So he told Ron everything, about how he had to wear Dudley’s second-hand clothes and never got a proper birthday present. This seemed to make Ron happy.
“…and until Hagrid told me, I didn’t know anything about myself being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort…”
Ron yelped in surprise.
“What is it?” Harry asked.
“You mentioned You-Know-Who!” said Ron, sounding
shocked and amazed. “I thought you, more so…”
“I wasn’t trying to be brave or anything, by saying that name,” said Harry. “I just never knew that name was never mentioned. You know, I mean? I still have a lot to learn… for sure,” he added, expressing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately. “I must be the dumbest in class.”
“No. A lot of people come from Muggle families and they learn quite quickly.”
While they were chatting, the train had taken them away from London. Now they passed through rice fields full of cows and sheep. For some time they were silent, looking at the rice fields and the fast passing road.
At about half-past one in the afternoon, there was a clanging sound in the hallway, then a smiling, dimpled woman opened their door and said, “Want to buy something from the trolley, boys?”
Harry, who had not had breakfast, jumped to his feet, but Ron’s ears turned red again and he muttered that he had brought a sandwich . Harry went out into the hall.
Harry had never had money for sweets during his time with the Dursleys, and now that his pockets were full of gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry – but she had no Mars Bars. What he sells are Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Greatest Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frog, Pumpkin Pastel, Pot Sponge, Licorice Sticks, and some
another strange food that Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting anyone to miss out, Harry bought them all and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.
Ron stared wide-eyed as Harry carried all his shopping into their compartment and dumped it on the empty seats.
“Hungry it seems?”
“Hungry as hell,” said Harry, biting into a large piece of pumpkin pastel.
Ron had already taken out a large package and opened it. There are four sandwiches inside. Ron opened one and said: “Mum always forgets I don’t like corned beef.”
“Swap for this,” said Harry, holding out the pastel. ”Come on, swap…”
“You won’t want this bread, it’s dry,” said Ron. “Mum doesn’t have much time,” he added quickly, “you know, there are a lot of children.”
“Come on, these pastels are for you,” said Harry, who had never had anything to share or, indeed, anyone else to share it with. It was nice, sitting with Ron, eating pastels and cakes along the way ( his sandwiches lay forgotten).
“What’s this?” Harry asked Ron as he held up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. “Not a real frog , right?” He began to feel that nothing could surprise him anymore.
“No,” said Ron. ”But look what the cards are. I lack Agrippa.” “What?”
“Oh, of course, you didn’t know—Chocolate Frogs have cards in them, for collecting—Famous Witches. I already have about five hundred, and I don’t have Agrippa or Ptolemy yet.”
Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and took out the card. There is a photo of a man’s face. He wore half-moon glasses, his nose was hooked, and his hair, beard, and mustache were long, silvery white. Under the photo was the name Albus Dumbledore.
” So this is Dumbledore!” said Harry.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of Dumbledore!” Ron said. ”Can I have Frog? Who knows, maybe I might get Agrippa—thanks…”
Harry turned the card over and read:
Albus Dumbledore is currently Headmaster of Hogwarts.
Many consider him to be the greatest wizard of modern times. Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the black wizard Grindelwald in 1945, his discovery of twelve uses for dragon’s blood, and his work in alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore loves chamber music and bowling.
Harry turned the card back over and was shocked to see that Dumbledore’s face had disappeared.
“He gone!”
“Well, he can’t be here all day,” said Ron. ”He will appear again. Oops, I got Morgana again. Even though I already have six… do you want one? You can start collecting.”
Ron’s eyes fell on the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.
“Just take it,” said Harry. “But in the Muggle world, people’s faces don’t leave photos.”
“So? What? They are not moving at all?” Ron sounded surprised. “Strange!”
Harry stared as Dumbledore appeared again at the card he was holding and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating his chocolate than looking at Famous Wizards, but Harry couldn’t take his eyes off the cards. Soon he not only had Dumbledore and Morgana, but also Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally looked away from priestess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.
“Be careful, you know,” Ron warned Harry. “The Flavors in there really are all flavors—you know, you get the usual flavors like chocolate, fresh mint , jam, but you also get spinach, liver, and tripe. George even thought he had devil-flavored peanuts.”
Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and nibbled a little at the end.
”Bleaaargh—really, right? Bean sprouts.”
They had so much fun eating Every-Flavour Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked beans, strawberries, curry, grass, coffee, sardines, and was even brave enough to nibble on the tip of a gray bean that Ron didn’t even dare touch, and it turned out to be pepper flavored.
The countryside that drifted past them grew increasingly wild. The neat rice fields are now gone. There are forests, winding rivers, and dark green hills.
There was a knock on their compartment door and the round-faced boy, whom Harry had passed on platform nine and three quarters, entered. He looked like he had been crying.
“Excuse me,” he said, “but have you seen a frog?”
When they shook their heads, the child wailed. “It’s gone!
He keeps running away from me!”
“He’ll appear,” said Harry.
“Yes,” said the child sadly. “Well, if you look…” He walked away.
“I don’t know why he’s so sad,” said Ron. “If I had a frog with me, I would lose him as quickly as possible. You know, I brought Scabbers, so I couldn’t talk.”
The rat was still sleeping in Ron’s lap.
“He could be dead and you wouldn’t know the difference,” said Ron irritably. “I tried turning it yellow yesterday, but the spell didn’t work. I’ll show you, look…”
He rummaged through his trunk and pulled out a very battered cane. The stick was scratched and chipped all over and there was a shiny white thing on the tip.
” Her unicorn hair is almost gone. Obviously…”
Ron had only raised his wand when their compartment door slid open again. The child who lost the frog appears again, but this time accompanied by a girl. The girl was already wearing her Hogwarts robes.
“Has anyone seen a frog? Neville’s frog is missing,” he said. His voice was authoritative, his hair was thick brown and his front teeth were quite large.
“We told him not to look,” said Ron, but the girl didn’t listen. Instead he looked at the wand in Ron’s hand.
“Oh, you’re doing magic, aren’t you? Let me see.”
The girl sat down. Ron looked shocked. “Er—okay.”
Ron cleared his throat.
“Sunlight, butter, yellow ,
Turn this stupid fat rat yellow.”
Ron waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers remained gray and remained sleeping soundly.
“Are you sure what you said was a spell?” asked the girl. “Not very effective, yes. I myself have tried several simple mantras for practice and they all work. Nobody in my family is a witch. It was a big surprise when I received my letter, but I was very happy, of course, I mean, this is the best magic school, I’ve heard—I’ve memorized all our books, of course, I just hope that’s enough—oh yes, I Hermione Granger, who are you?”
He said all this very quickly.
Harry looked at Ron and was immediately relieved. Seeing his stunned face, it meant that Ron also hadn’t memorized all the contents of the books.
“I’m Ron Weasley,” Ron muttered. “Harry Potter,” said Harry.
“Are you Harry Potter?” said Hermione. “I know all about you, of course—I bought a few other books for extra reading, and you’re in History of Modern Magic and The Rise and Fall of Black Magic and Great Events in the Wizarding World of the Twentieth Century .”
“Is it right?” said Harry, amazed.
“Jesus Christ, didn’t you know? “If I were you, I would have researched everything about myself,” said Hermione. “Do you know which dorm you will be entering? I’ve been looking for information and I hope I get into Gryffindor. That sounds the best. I heard that Dumbledore himself was there too. But I guess Ravenclaw isn’t so bad either…. But we’d better look for Neville’s frog again. “You two should get changed, I don’t think we’ll be there long.”
And he went, inviting the child who lost the frog.
“Whichever boarding house I end up in, I hope it’s not the same house as him,” said Ron. He threw his wand back into his suitcase.
“Stupid stick—George gave it to him, he must have known it wouldn’t work.” “Which dorm are your brothers in?” Harry asked.
“Gryffindor,” said Ron. Gloom enveloped his face again. “Mum and Dad are there too. I don’t know what they will say if I can’t get in there. I guess Ravenclaw isn’t so bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin.”
“Vol-I mean, You-Know-Who was in that dorm?”
“Yeah,” said Ron. He slumped back in his seat, looking distressed.
“Eh, Ron, the tips of Scabbers’ mustache are a lighter color, aren’t they,” said Harry, trying to divert Ron’s thoughts from the dorms. “What are your two older brothers doing now that they’ve left Hogwarts?”
Harry wondered what wizards did after school was over.
“Charlie is in Romania studying dragons and Bill is in Africa doing something for Gringotts,” said Ron. “Have you heard about Gringotts? It’s all over the Daily Prophet , but I don’t think Muggles read that paper. “Someone tried to rob the vault where security is very tight.”
Harry stared.
“Really? What happened to them?”
“Nothing, that’s why this is big news. They weren’t caught. My father said it must have been a great dark wizard to escape Gringotts, but he said they didn’t take anything. That’s what’s strange. Of course everyone gets scared if something like this happens, who knows You-Know-Who could be behind it.”
Harry processed this news in his mind. He began to be overcome with fear whenever You-Know-Who was mentioned. He guessed this was part of entering the wizarding world, but it was more convenient to be able to say “Voldemort” without worrying.
“What’s your favorite Quidditch team?” Ron asked.
“Er—I don’t know any Quidditch teams,” Harry admitted.
“What!” Ron was stunned. “Oh, just wait, this is the greatest game in the world…” Ron immediately burst into tears explaining about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, telling about the big matches he had watched with his brothers and the flying broomsticks that
he wanted to buy it if he had enough money. He was explaining the rules of the game when their compartment door slid open again. But this time it wasn’t Neville who had lost the frog or Hermione Granger who came.
Three boys entered and Harry immediately recognized the one in the middle. The pale boy in Madam Malkin’s cloak shop. He looked at Harry with more interest than he had in Diagon Alley.
“Is it right?” he said. “All over the carriage kids were saying Harry Potter was in this compartment. So, it’s you, huh?”
“Yes,” said Harry. He looked at the other two children. They are big and look really sadistic. Standing on the left and right of the pale child, they looked like guards.
“Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle,” said the pale man casually, when he saw who Harry was looking at. “And my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.”
Ron coughed, which he probably did to disguise a chuckle.
Draco Malfoy looked at him.
“You think my name is funny, don’t you? I don’t need to ask who you are. My father said all the Weasleys had red hair, had freckles on their cheeks, and had more children than they could bear.”
He looked back at Harry.
“You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. Don’t make friends with the wrong people. I can help you with this.”
He reached out to shake Harry’s hand, but Harry didn’t take it.
“I think I can decide for myself which person is at fault, thank you,” he said coldly.
Draco Malfoy’s face didn’t turn red, but a pink blush appeared on his pale cheeks.
“I’d be careful if I were you, Potter,” he said slowly. “If you don’t be a little more polite, you will have the same fate as your parents. They also don’t know what is good for them. If you hang around with snotty people like the Weasleys and Hagrid, you’re bound to catch something.”
Both Harry and Ron got up. Ron’s face was as red as his hair. “Tell me again,” he said.
“Oh, you guys want to fight with us, huh?” Malfoy grinned.
“If you guys don’t get out now,” said Harry, braver than he felt, as Crabbe and Goyle were much bigger than him or Ron.
“But we don’t want to go, do we, friends? We’ve finished our food, while you guys still have some left.”
Goyle reached out to the Chocolate Frog next to Ron. Ron jumped forward, but before he could touch Goyle, Goyle screamed horribly.
Scabbers the rat hung on his finger, his sharp little teeth sinking into Goyle’s knuckles. Crabbe and Malfoy backed away while Goyle threw Scabbers around, howling. And when Scabbers finally let go and hit the window, the three of them immediately ran away. Maybe they thought there were more mice hiding among the chocolates, or maybe they heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger came in.
“What happened?” he asked, looking at the candy scattered on the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.
“I think he’s passed out,” said Ron to Harry. He examined Scabbers carefully. “My God—I can’t believe it—he’s asleep again.”
Scabbers did sleep.
“Have you met Malfoy before?”
Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
“I’ve heard about his family,” said Ron grimly. “They were among the first group to return to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. He said they were bewitched. My father couldn’t believe it. He said Malfoy’s father didn’t need a reason to favor Dark Magic.” Ron turned to Hermione. “Is there anything we can do to help?”
“You’d better hurry and put on your robes. I just came from the front to ask the driver and he said we’ll be there in a minute. You guys haven’t been fighting, have you? You’ll be in trouble before we even get there!”
“It’s Scabbers who’s fighting, not us,” said Ron irritably. “Please step aside while we change.”
“Okay—I only came here because the people outside were acting very childish, running around the halls,” said Hermione
condescending tone. “And you have dirt on your nose, did you know that?”
Ron glanced at Hermione’s back. Harry looked out the window. It’s getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under the dark purple sky. The train seemed to be slowing down.
Harry and Ron took off their jackets and put on their long black robes. Ron’s robe was a bit shorter. His training pants were visible under the robe.
An announcement was heard throughout the train. “We’ll be at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your belongings on the train. These items will be brought to school separately.”
Harry’s stomach clenched and he saw that Ron’s face was pale beneath his freckles. They stuffed the remaining candy into their bags and joined the children already filling the aisles.
The train slowed down and finally stopped. The children crowded against the door and out onto the small dark platform. Harry shuddered in the cold night air. Then lights flickered above the children’s heads and Harry heard a familiar voice: “First class! First class here! Everything okay, Harry?”
Hagrid’s big, shaggy face smiled above the sea of children’s heads.
“Come on, follow me—is there still first class? Step carefully. First class, come with me!”
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down the steep narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry suspected the trees there must be thick. Nobody said much. Neville, the child who lost the frog, sobbed once or twice.
“In a moment you’ll see Hogwarts for the first time,” Hagrid called, turning around, “just after this turn.”
There was an exclamation of “Oooooh!” hard.
The narrow path suddenly opened up to the edge of a large, dark lake. On a high mountain across the lake, its windows sparkling brightly under a sky full of stars, perched a huge castle with many large and small towers.
“There can be no more than four children in one boat!” shouted Hagrid, pointing to a fleet of small boats waiting near the edge
lake. Harry and Ron headed to their boat, followed by Neville and Hermione.
“Everyone on the boat?” shouted Hagrid, who was alone on a boat. “Okay then—LEAVE!”
And a fleet of small boats simultaneously glided across the surface of the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, looking at the huge castle above. The castle towered above them as they drew closer to the rocky hill on which it stood.
“Keep your heads down!” Hagrid shouted as the first row of boats reached the cliff. They all lowered their heads and the small boats carried them through the curtain of tendrils that hid the gaping hole in the hill wall. They were led through dark passages, which apparently ran directly beneath the castle, until they arrived at some kind of underground harbor. They climbed onto rocky and gravelly land. ”Oi, you! Is this your frog?” said Hagrid, who was examining the boats-
boat after the children disembark.
”Trevor!” Neville shouted happily, holding out his hand. Then they climbed the path on the rocky hill, following the light of Hagrid’s lamp, until they finally came to a stretch of soft, dewy grass just in front of the shadow of the castle.
They climbed the stone steps and crowded in front of the large oak front door.
“Is everyone here? You, your frog is still there?”
Hagrid raised his giant fist and knocked on the castle door three times.
