Also available:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
HARRY
POTTER
and the Prisoner of A^kaban

J.K.ROWLING

RAINCOAST BOOKS

Vancouver

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.

First published in Great Britain in 1999 by
Bloomsbury Publishing Pic, 38 Soho Square, London W1V 5DF

Published in Canada in 1999 by
Raincoast Books
8680 Cambie Street
Vancouver, B.C.
V6P 6M9
(604) 323-7100
www. raincoast.com

Copyright J.K. Rowling 1999

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Rowling, J. K.
Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban

ISBN 1-55192-246-0
I. Title.
PZ7.R79835Harpr 1999 J813'.54 C99-910501-9

109876543

printed AND BOUND IN canada

Tojill Prewett and Aine Kiely,
the Godmothers of Swing
CHAPTER ONE

Owl Post

Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways. For one
thing, he hated the summer holidays more than any other time of
year. For another, he really wanted to do his homework, but was
forced to do it in secret, in the dead of night. And he also happened
to be a wizard.
It was nearly midnight, and he was lying on his front in bed,
the blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a torch in one
hand and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic, by Adalbert
Waffling) propped open against the pillow. Harry moved the
tip of his eagle-feather quill down the page, frowning as he looked
for something that would help him write his essay, 'Witch-Burning
in the Fourteenth Century Was Completely Pointless - discuss'.

The quill paused at the top of a likely-looking paragraph. Harry
pushed his round glasses up his nose, moved his torch closer to
the book and read:

Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were
particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very
good at recognising it. On the rare occasion that they did catch
a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The
witch or wizard would perform a basic Flame-Freezing Charm
and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle,
tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being
burnt so much that she allowed herself to be caught no fewer
than forty-seven times in various disguises.

Harry put his quill between his teeth and reached underneath his
pillow for his ink bottle and a roll of parchment. Slowly and very

8 harry potter

carefully he unscrewed the ink bottle, dipped his quill into it and
began to write, pausing every now and then to listen, because if
any of the Dursleys heard the scratching of his quill on their way
to the bathroom, he'd probably find himself locked in the cupboard
under the stairs for the rest of the summer.
The Dursley family of number four, Privet Drive, was the reason
that Harry never enjoyed his summer holidays. Uncle Vernon,
Aunt Petunia and their son, Dudley, were Harry's only living relatives.
They were Muggles, and they had a very medieval attitude
towards magic. Harry's dead parents, who had been a witch and
wizard themselves, were never mentioned under the Dursleys'
roof. For years. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if
they kept Harry as downtrodden as possible, they would be able
to squash the magic out of him. To their fury, they had been
unsuccessful, and now lived in terror of anyone finding out that
Harry had spent most of the last two years at Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. The most the Dursleys could do these
days was to lock away Harry's spellbooks, wand, cauldron and
broomstick at the start of the summer holidays, and forbid him to
talk to the neighbours.
This separation from his spellbooks had been a real problem for
Harry, because his teachers at Hogwarts had given him a lot of
holiday work. One of the essays, a particularly nasty one about
Shrinking Potions, was for Harry's least favourite teacher. Professor
Snape, who would be delighted to have an excuse to give
Harry detention for a month. Harry had therefore seized his
chance in the first week of the holidays. Whilst Uncle Vernon,
Aunt Petunia and Dudley had gone out into the front garden to
admire Uncle Vernon's new company car (in very loud voices, so
that the rest of the street would notice it too), Harry had crept
downstairs, picked the lock on the cupboard under the stairs,
grabbed some of his books and hidden them in his bedroom. As
long as he didn't leave spots of ink on the sheets, the Dursleys
need never know that he was studying magic by night.
Harry was keen to avoid trouble with his aunt and uncle at the
moment, as they were already in a bad mood with him, all
because he'd received a telephone call from a fellow wizard one
week into the school holidays.
Ron Weasley, who was one of Harry's best friends at Hogwarts,
came from a whole family of wizards. This meant that he knew a
owl post 9

lot of things Harry didn't, but had never used a telephone before.
Most unluckily, it had been Uncle Vernon who had answered the
call.
'Vernon Dursley speaking.'
Harry, who happened to be in the room at the time, froze as he
heard Ron's voice answer.
'HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I - WANT - TO -
TALK - TO - HARRY - POTTER!'
Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held
the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression
of mingled fury and alarm.
'WHO IS THIS?' he roared in the direction of the mouthpiece.
'WHO ARE YOU?'
'RON - WEASLEY!' Ron bellowed back, as though he and
Uncle Vernon were speaking from opposite ends of a football
pitch. 'I'M - A - FRIEND - OF - HARRY'S - FROM - SCHOOL -
Uncle Vernon's small eyes swivelled around to Harry, who was
rooted to the spot.
THERE IS NO HARRY POTTER HERE!' he roared, now holding
the receiver at arm's length, as though frightened it might
explode. 'I DON'T KNOW WHAT SCHOOL YOU'RE TALKING
ABOUT! NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN! DON'T YOU COME
NEAR MY FAMILY!'
And he threw the receiver back onto the telephone as if dropping
a poisonous spider.
The row that had followed had been one of the worst ever.
'HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE -
PEOPLE LIKE YOL7!' Uncle Vernon had roared, spraying Harry
with spit.
Ron obviously realised that he'd got Harry into trouble, because
he hadn't called again. Harry's other best friend from Hogwarts,
Hermione Granger, hadn't been in touch either. Harry suspected
that Ron had warned Hermione not to call, which was a pity,
because Hermione, the cleverest witch in Harry's year, had Muggle
parents, knew perfectly well how to use a telephone, and would
probably have had enough sense not to say that she went to Hogwarts.

So Harry had had no word from any of his wizarding friends for
five long weeks, and this summer was turning out to be almost as
bad as the last one. There was just one, very small improvement:
10 harry potter

after swearing that he wouldn't use her to send letters to any of
his friends, Harry had been allowed to let his owl, Hedwig, out at
night. Uncle Vernon had given in because of the racket Hedwig
made if she was locked in her cage all the time.
Harry finished writing about Wendelin the Weird and paused
to listen again. The silence in the dark house was broken only by
the distant, grunting snores of his enormous cousin, Dudley. It
must be very late. Harry's eyes were itching with tiredness. Perhaps
he'd finish this essay tomorrow night...
He replaced the top of the ink bottle, pulled an old pillowcase
from under his bed, put the torch, A History of Magic, his essay,
quill and ink inside it, got out of bed and hid the lot under a loose
floorboard under his bed. Then he stood up, stretched, and
checked the time on the luminous alarm clock on his bedside
table.
It was one o'clock in the morning. Harry's stomach gave a
funny jolt. He had been thirteen years old, without realising it, for
a whole hour.
Yet another unusual thing about Harry was how little he looked
forward to his birthdays. He had never received a birthday card in
his life. The Dursleys had completely ignored his last two birthdays,
and he had no reason to suppose they would remember this one.
Harry walked across the dark room, past Hedwig's large, empty
cage, to the open window. He leaned on the sill, the cool night air
pleasant on his face after a long time under the blankets. Hedwig
had been absent for two nights now. Harry wasn't worried about
her - she'd been gone this long before -- but he hoped she'd be
back soon. She was the only living creature in this house who
didn't flinch at the sight of him.
Harry, though still rather small and skinny for his age, had
grown a few inches over the last year. His jet-black hair, however,
was just as it always had been: stubbornly untidy, whatever he did
to it. The eyes behind his glasses were bright green, and on his
forehead, clearly visible through his hair, was a thin scar, shaped
like a bolt of lightning.
Of all the unusual things about Harry, this scar was the most
extraordinary of all. It was not, as the Dursleys had pretended for
ten years, a souvenir of the car crash that had killed Harry's parents,
because Lily and James Potter had not died in a car crash.
They had been murdered, murdered by the most feared Dark wiz-
owl post 11

ard for a hundred years, Lord Voldemort. Harry had escaped from
the same attack with nothing more than a scar on his forehead,
when Voldemort's curse, instead of killing him, had rebounded
upon its originator. Barely alive, Voldemort had fled ...
But Harry had come face to face with him since at Hogwarts.
Remembering their last meeting as he stood at the dark window,
Harry had to admit he was lucky even to have reached his thirteenth
birthday.
He scanned the starry sky for a sign of Hedwig, perhaps soaring
back to him with a dead mouse dangling from her beak, expecting
praise. Gazing absently over the rooftops, it was a few seconds
before Harry realised what he was seeing.
Silhouetted against the golden moon, and growing larger every
moment, was a large, strangely lop-sided creature, and it was flapping
in Harry's direction. He stood quite still, watching it sink
lower and lower. For a split second, he hesitated, his hand on the
window-latch, wondering whether to slam it shut, but then the
bizarre creature soared over one of the streetlamps of Privet Drive,
and Harry, realising what it was, leapt aside.
Through the window soared three owls, two of them holding
up the third, which appeared to be unconscious. They landed
with a soft flump on Harry's bed, and the middle owl, which was
large and grey, keeled right over and lay motionless. There was a
large package tied to its legs.
Harry recognised the unconscious owl at once - his name was
Errol, and he belonged to the Weasley family. Harry dashed to the
bed at once, untied the cords around Errol's legs, took off the parcel
and then carried Errol to Hedwig's cage. Errol opened one
bleary eye, gave a feeble hoot of thanks, and began to gulp some
water.
Harry turned back to the remaining owls. One of them, the
large snowy female, was his own Hedwig. She, too, was carrying a
parcel, and looked extremely pleased with herself. She gave Harry
an affectionate nip with her beak as he removed her burden, then
flew across the room to join Errol.
Harry didn't recognise the third owl, a handsome tawny one,
but he knew at once where it had come from, because in addition
to a third parcel, it was carrying a letter bearing the Hogwarts
crest. When Harry relieved this owl of its post it ruffled its
feathers importantly, stretched its wings and took off through the
12 harry potter

window into the night.
Harry sat down on his bed, grabbed Errol's package, ripped off
the brown paper and discovered a present wrapped in gold,
and his first ever birthday card. Fingers trembling slightly, he
opened the envelope. Two pieces of paper fell out - a letter and a
newspaper cutting.
The cutting had clearly come out of the wizarding newspaper,
the Daily Prophet, because the people in the black and white picture
were moving. Harry picked up the cutting, smoothed it out
and read:

MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts
Office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the annual Daily
Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw.
A delighted Mr Weasley told the Daily Prophet, 'We will be
spending the gold on a summer holiday in Egypt, where our
eldest son. Bill, works as a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizard-
ing Bank.'
The Weasley family will be spending a month in Egypt,
returning for the start of the new school year at Hogwarts,
which five of the Weasley children currently attend.

Harry scanned the moving photograph, and a grin spread across
his face as he saw all nine of the Weasleys waving furiously at
him, standing in front of a large pyramid. Plump little Mrs
Weasley, tall, balding Mr Weasley, six sons and one daughter, all
(though the black and white picture didn't show it) with flaming
red hair. Right in the middle of the picture was Ron, tall and gangling,
with his pet rat Scabbers on his shoulder and his arm
around his little sister, Ginny.
Harry couldn't think of anyone who deserved to win a large pile
of gold more than the Weasleys, who were very nice and extremely
poor. He picked up Ron's letter and unfolded it.

Dear Harry,
Happy birthday!
Look, I'm really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the
Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't
have shouted.
owl post 13

It's brilliant here in Egypt. Bill's taken us round all the tombs
and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards
put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one.
There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles
who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff.
I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw.
Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this holiday, but
they're going to buy me a new wand for next year.

Harry remembered only too well the occasion when Ron's old
wand had snapped. It had happened when the car the two of them
had been flying to Hogwarts had crashed into a tree in the school
grounds.

We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be
going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any
chance of meeting you there?
Don't let the Muggles get you down!
Try and come to London,
Ron

PS: Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week.

Harry glanced back at the photograph. Percy, who was in his seventh
and final year at Hogwarts, was looking particularly smug.
He had pinned his Head Boy badge to the fez perched jauntily on
top of his neat hair, his horn-rimmed glasses flashing in the
Egyptian sun.
Harry now turned to his present and unwrapped it. Inside was
what looked like a miniature glass spinning top. There was another
note from Ron beneath it.

Harry - this is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone
untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill
says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable,
because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't
realise Fred and George had put beetles in his soup.
Bye - Ron

Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it

14 harry potter

stood quite still, balanced on its point, reflecting the luminous
hands of his clock. He looked at it happily for a few seconds, then
picked up the parcel Hedwig had brought.
Inside this, too, there was a wrapped present, a card and a
letter, this time from Hermione.

Dear Harry,
Ron wrote to me and told me about his phone call to your
Uncle Vernon. I do hope you're all right.
I'm on holiday in France at the moment and I didn't know
how I was going to send this to you - what if they'd opened it at
Customs? - but then Hedwig turned up! I think she wanted to
make sure you got something for your birthday for a change. I
bought your present by owl-order; there was an advertisement
in the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered, it's so good
to keep up with what's going on in the wizarding world). Did
you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he's
learning loads, I'm really jealous - the ancient Egyptian wizwere fascinating.
There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too.
I've re-written my whole History of Magic essay to include some
of the things I've found out. I hope it's not too long, it's two rolls
of parchment more than Professor Binns asked for.
Ron says he's going to be in London in the last week of the
holidays. Can you make it? Will your aunt and uncle let you
come? I really hope you can. If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts
Express on September the first!
Love from
Hermione

P.S. Ron says Percy's Head Boy. I'll bet Percy's really pleased.
Ron doesn't seem too happy about it.

Harry laughed again as he put Hermione's letter aside and picked
up her present. It was very heavy. Knowing Hermione, he was
sure it would be a large book full of very difficult spells - but it
wasn't. His heart gave a huge bound as he ripped back the paper
and saw a sleek black leather case with silver words stamped
across it: Broomstick Servicing Kit.
'Wow, Hermione!' Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look
owl post 15

inside.
There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish,
a pair of gleaming silver Tail-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass
to clip onto your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook ofDo-
it-Yourself Broomcare.
Apart from his friends, the thing that Harry missed most about
Hogwarts was Quidditch, the most popular sport in the magical
world - highly dangerous, very exciting and played on broomsticks.
Harry happened to be a very good Quidditch player; he
had been the youngest person in a century to be picked for one of
the Hogwarts house teams. One of Harry's most prized possessions
was his Nimbus Two Thousand racing broom.
Harry put the leather case aside and picked up his last parcel.
He recognised the untidy scrawl on the brown paper at once: this
was from Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper. He tore off the top
layer of paper and glimpsed something green and leathery, but
before he could unwrap it properly, the parcel gave a strange
quiver, and whatever was inside it snapped loudly - as though it
had jaws.
Harry froze. He knew that Hagrid would never send him anything
dangerous on purpose, but then, Hagrid didn't have a normal
person's view of what was dangerous. Hagrid had been known
to befriend giant spiders, buy vicious, three-headed dogs from
men in pubs and sneak illegal dragon eggs into his cabin.
Harry poked the parcel nervously. It snapped loudly again.
Harry reached for the lamp on his bedside table, gripped it firmly
in one hand and raised it over his head, ready to strike. Then he
seized the rest of the wrapping paper in his other hand and
pulled.
And out fell - a book. Harry just had time to register its handsome
green cover, emblazoned with the golden title. The Monster
Book of Monsters, before it flipped onto its edge and scuttled sideways
along the bed like some weird crab.
'Uh oh,' Harry muttered.
The book toppled off the bed with a loud clunk and shuffled
rapidly across the room. Harry followed it stealthily. The book
was hiding in the dark space under his desk. Praying that the
Dursleys were still fast asleep, Harry got down on his hands and
knees and reached towards it.
'Ouch!'
16 harry potter

The book snapped shut on his hand and then flapped past him,
still scuttling on its covers. Harry scrambled around, threw
himself forward and managed to flatten it. Uncle Vernon gave a
loud, sleepy grunt in the room next door.
Hedwig and Errol watched interestedly as Harry clamped the
struggling book tightly in his arms, hurried to his chest of drawers
and pulled out a belt, which he buckled tightly around it. The
Monster Book shuddered angrily, but could no longer flap and
snap, so Harry threw it down on the bed and reached for Hagrid's
card.

Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday!
Think you might find this useful for next year. Won't say no
more here. Tell you when I see you.
Hope the Muggles are treating you right.
All the best,
Hagrid

It struck Harry as ominous that Hagrid thought a biting book
would come in useful, but he put up Hagrid's card next to Ron
and Hermione's, grinning more broadly than ever. Now there was
only the letter from Hogwarts left.
Noticing that it was rather thicker than usual, Harry slit open
the envelope, pulled out the first page of parchment within and
read:

Dear Mr Potter,
Please note that the new school year will begin on September
the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross
Station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.
Third-years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade
at certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form
to your parent or guardian to sign.
A list of books for next year is enclosed.
Yours sincerely,
Professor M. McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress

Harry pulled out the Hogsmeade permission form and looked

owl post 17

at it, no longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit
Hogsmeade at weekends; he knew it was an entirely wizarding
village, and he had never set foot there. But how on earth was he
going to persuade Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia to sign the
form?
He looked over at the alarm clock. It was now two o'clock in
the morning.
Deciding that he'd worry about the Hogsmeade form when he
woke up, Harry got back into bed and reached up to cross off
another day on the chart he'd made for himself, counting down
the days left until his return to Hogwarts. Then he took off his
glasses and lay down, eyes open, facing his three birthday cards.
Extremely unusual though he was, at that moment Harry Potter
felt just like everyone else: glad, for the first time in his life,
that it was his birthday.
-- CHAPTER TWO --

Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

Harry went down to breakfast next morning to find the three
Dursleys already sitting around the kitchen table. They were
watching a brand-new television, a welcome-home-for-the-
summer present for Dudley, who had been complaining loudly
about the long walk between the fridge and the television in the
living room. Dudley had spent most of the summer in the kitchen,
his piggy little eyes fixed on the screen and his five chins wobbling
as he ate continually.
Harry sat down between Dudley and Uncle Vernon, a large,
beefy man with very little neck and a lot of moustache. Far from
wishing Harry a happy birthday, none of the Dursleys gave any
sign that they had noticed Harry enter the room, but Harry was
far too used to this to care. He helped himself to a piece of toast
and then looked up at the newsreader on the television, who was
hallway through a report on an escaped convict.
'... the public is warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous.
A special hotline has been set up, and any sighting of
Black should be reported immediately.'
'No need to tell us he's no good,' snorted Uncle Vernon, staring
over the top of his newspaper at the prisoner. 'Look at the state of
him, the filthy layabout! Look at his hair!'
He shot a nasty look sideways at Harry, whose untidy hair had
always been a source of great annoyance to Uncle Vernon. Compared
to the man on the television, however, whose gaunt face
was surrounded by a matted, elbow-length tangle, Harry felt very
well groomed indeed.
The newsreader had reappeared.
'The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce today -'
'Hang on!' barked Uncle Vernon, staring furiously at the newsreader.
'You didn't tell us where that maniac's escaped from! What
aunt marge's big mistake 19

use is that? Lunatic could be coming up the street right now!'
Aunt Petunia, who was bony and horse-faced, whipped around
and peered intently out of the kitchen window. Harry knew Aunt
Petunia would simply love to be the one to call the hotline number.
She was the nosiest woman in the world and spent most of
her life spying on her boring, law-abiding neighbours.
'When will they learn,' said Uncle Vernon, pounding the table
with his large purple fist, 'that hanging's the only way to deal with
these people?'
'Very true,' said Aunt Petunia, who was still squinting into next
door's runner-beans.
Uncle Vernon drained his teacup, glanced at his watch and added, 'I'd better be off in a minute, Petunia, Marge's train gets in
at ten.'
Harry, whose thoughts had been upstairs with the Broomstick
Servicing Kit, was brought back to earth with an unpleasant
bump.
'Aunt Marge?' he blurted out. 'Sh-she's not coming here, is she?'
Aunt Marge was Uncle Vernon's sister. Even though she was
not a blood relative of Harry's (whose mother had been Aunt
Petunia's sister), he had been forced to call her 'Aunt' all his life.
Aunt Marge lived in the country, in a house with a large garden,
where she bred bulldogs. She didn't often stay in Privet Drive,
because she couldn't bear to leave her precious dogs, but each of
her visits stood out horribly vividly in Harry's mind.
At Dudley's fifth birthday party, Aunt Marge had whacked
Harry around the shins with her walking stick to stop him beating
Dudley at musical statues. A few years later, she had turned up at
Christmas with a computerised robot for Dudley and a box of dog
biscuits for Harry. On her last visit, the year before Harry had
started at Hogwarts, Harry had accidentally trodden on the paw of
her favourite dog. Ripper had chased Harry out into the garden
and up a tree, and Aunt Marge had refused to call him off until
past midnight. The memory of this incident still brought tears of
laughter to Dudley's eyes.
'Marge'11 be here for a week,' Uncle Vernon snarled, 'and while
we're on the subject,' he pointed a fat finger threateningly at
Harry, 'we need to get a few things straight before I go and collect
her.'

Dudley smirked and withdrew his gaze from the television.

i*^..^-

20	harry potter

Watching Harry being bullied by Uncle Vernon was Dudley's
favourite form of entertainment.
'Firstly,' growled Uncle Vernon, 'you'll keep a civil tongue in
your head when you're talking to Marge.'
'All right,' said Harry bitterly, 'if she does when she's talking to
me.
'Secondly,' said Uncle Vernon, acting as though he had not
heard Harry's reply, 'as Marge doesn't know anything about your
abnormality, I don't want any - any funny stuff while she's here.
You behave yourself, got me?'
'I will if she does,' said Harry through gritted teeth.
'And thirdly,' said Uncle Vernon, his mean little eyes now slits
in his great purple face, 'we've told Marge you attend St Brutus's
Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.'
'What?' Harry yelled.
'And you'll be sticking to that story, boy, or there'll be trouble,'
spat Uncle Vernon.
Harry sat there, white-faced and furious, staring at Uncle Ver-
non, hardly able to believe it. Aunt Marge coming for a week-long
visit - it was the worst birthday present the Dursleys had ever
given him, including that pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. .|
'Well, Petunia,' said Uncle Vernon, getting heavily to his feet,
'I'll be off to the station, then. Want to come along for the ride,
Dudders?'
'No,' said Dudley, whose attention had returned to the televi-
sion now that Uncle Vernon had finished threatening Harry.
'Duddy's got to make himself smart for his auntie,' said Aunt
Petunia, smoothing Dudley's thick blond hair. 'Mummy's bought
him a lovely new bow-tie.'
Uncle Vernon clapped Dudley on his porky shoulder.
'See you in a bit, then,' he said, and he left the kitchen.
Harry, who had been sitting in a kind of horrified trance, had a
sudden idea. Abandoning his toast, he got quickly to his feet and
followed Uncle Vernon to the front door.
Uncle Vernon was pulling on his car coat.
'I'm not taking you,' he snarled, as he turned to see Harry
watching him.
'Like I wanted to come,' said Harry coldly. 'I want to ask you
something.'
Uncle Vernon eyed him suspiciously.
aunt marge's big mistake 21

Third years at Hog - at my school are allowed to visit the
village sometimes,' said Harry.
'So?' snapped Uncle Vernon, taking his car keys from a hook
next to the door.
'I need you to sign the permission form,' said Harry in a rush.
'And why should I do that?' sneered Uncle Vernon.
'Well,' said Harry, choosing his words carefully, 'it'll be hard
work, pretending to Aunt Marge I go to that St Whatsits ...'
'St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys!' bellowed
Uncle Vernon, and Harry was pleased to hear a definite
note of panic in Uncle Vernon's voice.
'Exactly,' said Harry, looking calmly up into Uncle Vernon's
large, purple face. 'It's a lot to remember. I'll have to make it
sound convincing, won't I? What if I accidentally let something
slip?'
'You'll get the stuffing knocked out of you, won't you?' roared
Uncle Vernon, advancing on Harry with his fist raised. But Harry
stood his ground.
'Knocking the stuffing out of me won't make Aunt Marge forget
what I could tell her,' he said grimly.
Uncle Vernon stopped, his fist still raised, his face an ugly
puce.
'But if you sign my permission form,' Harry went on quickly, 'I
swear I'll remember where I'm supposed to go to school, and I'll
act like a Mug - like I'm normal and everything.'
Harry could tell that Uncle Vernon was thinking it over, even if
his teeth were bared and a vein was throbbing in his temple.
'Right,' he snapped finally. 'I shall monitor your behaviour carefully
during Marge's visit. If, at the end of it, you've toed the line
and kept to the story, I'll sign your ruddy form.'
He wheeled around, pulled open the front door and slammed it
so hard that one of the little panes of glass at the top fell out.
Harry didn't return to the kitchen. He went back upstairs to his
bedroom. If he was going to act like a real Muggle, he'd better
start now. Slowly and sadly he gathered up all his presents and his
birthday cards and hid them under the loose floorboard with his
homework. Then he went to Hedwig's cage. Errol seemed to have
recovered; he and Hedwig were both asleep, heads under their
wings. Harry sighed, then poked them both awake.
'Hedwig,' he said gloomily, 'you're going to have to clear off for
22 harry potter

a week. Go with Errol, Ron'11 look after you. I'll write him a note,
explaining. And don't look at me like that' - Hedwig's large amber
eyes were reproachful, 'it's not my fault. It's the only way I'll be
allowed to visit Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione.'
Ten minutes later, Errol and Hedwig (who had a note to Ron
bound to her leg) soared out of the window and out of sight.
Harry, now feeling thoroughly miserable, put the empty cage away
inside the wardrobe.
But Harry didn't have long to brood. In next to no time, Aunt
Petunia was shrieking up the stairs for Harry to come down and
get ready to welcome their guest.
'Do something about your hair!' Aunt Petunia snapped as he
reached the hall.
Harry couldn't see the point of trying to make his hair lie flat.
Aunt Marge loved criticising him, so the untidier he looked, the
happier she would be.
All too soon, there was a crunch of gravel outside as Uncle Ver-
non's car pulled back into the driveway, then the clunk of the car
doors, and footsteps on the garden path.
'Get the door!' Aunt Petunia hissed at Harry.
A feeling of great gloom in his stomach, Harry pulled the door
open.
On the threshold stood Aunt Marge. She was very like Uncle
Vernon; large, beefy and purple-faced, she even had a moustache,
though not as bushy as his. In one hand she held an enormous
suitcase, and tucked under the other was an old and evil-
tempered bulldog.
Where's my Dudders?' roared Aunt Marge. 'Where's my neffy poo?'
Dudley came waddling down the hall, his blond hair plastered
flat to his fat head, a bow-tie just visible under his many chins.
Aunt Marge thrust the suitcase into Harry's stomach, knocking
the wind out of him, seized Dudley in a tight one-armed hug and
planted a large kiss on his cheek.
Harry knew perfectly well that Dudley only put up with Aunt
Marge's hugs because he was well paid for it, and sure enough,
when they broke apart, Dudley had a crisp twenty-pound note
clutched in his fat fist.
'Petunia!' shouted Aunt Marge, striding past Harry as though
he was a hat-stand. Aunt Marge and Aunt Petunia kissed, or
rather, Aunt Marge bumped her large jaw against Aunt Petunia's
aunt marge's big mistake 23

bony cheekbone.
Uncle Vernon now came in, smiling jovially as he shut the
door.
Tea, Marge?' he said. 'And what will Ripper take?'
'Ripper can have some tea out of my saucer,' said Aunt Marge,
as they all trooped into the kitchen, leaving Harry alone in the
hall with the suitcase. But Harry wasn't complaining; any excuse
not to be with Aunt Marge was fine by him, so he began to heave
the case upstairs into the spare bedroom, taking as long as he
could.
By the time he got back to the kitchen, Aunt Marge had been
supplied with tea and fruitcake and Ripper was lapping noisily in
the corner. Harry saw Aunt Petunia wince slightly as specks of tea
and drool flecked her clean floor. Aunt Petunia hated animals.
'Who's looking after the other dogs, Marge?' Uncle Vernon
asked.
'Oh, I've got Colonel Fubster managing them,' boomed Aunt
Marge. 'He's retired now, good for him to have something to do.
But I couldn't leave poor old Ripper. He pines if he's away from
me.'
Ripper began to growl again as Harry sat down. This directed
Aunt Marge's attention to Harry for the first time.
'So!' she barked. 'Still here, are you?'
'Yes,' said Harry
'Don't you say "yes" in that ungrateful tone,' Aunt Marge
growled. 'It's damn good of Vernon and Petunia to keep you.
Wouldn't have done it myself. You'd have gone straight to an
orphanage if you'd been dumped on my doorstep.'
Harry was bursting to say that he'd rather live in an orphanage
than with the Dursleys, but the thought of the Hogsmeade form
stopped him. He forced his face into a painful smile.
'Don't you smirk at me!' boomed Aunt Marge. 'I can see you
haven't improved since I last saw you. I hoped school would
knock some manners into you.' She took a large gulp of tea,
wiped her moustache and said, 'Where is it that you send him,
again, Vernon?'
'St Brutus's,' said Uncle Vernon promptly. 'It's a first-rate institution
for hopeless cases.'
'I see,' said Aunt Marge. 'Do they use the cane at St Brutus's,
boy?' she barked across the table.

-tt^jti^.

24 harry potter

'Er-
Uncle Vernon nodded curtly behind Aunt Marge's back.
'Yes,' said Harry. Then, feeling he might as well do the thing
properly, he added, 'All the time.'
'Excellent,' said Aunt Marge. 'I won't have this namby-pamby,
wishy-washy nonsense about not hitting people who deserve it. A
good thrashing is what's needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred.
Have you been beaten often?'
'Oh, yeah,' said Harry, 'loads of times.'
Aunt Marge narrowed her eyes.
'I still don't like your tone, boy,' she said. 'If you can speak of
your beatings in that casual way, they clearly aren't hitting you
hard enough. Petunia, I'd write if I were you. Make it clear that
you approve the use of extreme force in this boy's case.'
Perhaps Uncle Vernon was worried that Harry might forget
their bargain; in any case, he changed the subject abruptly.
'Heard the news this morning, Marge? What about that escaped
prisoner, eh?'
*
As Aunt Marge started to make herself at home. Harry caught
himself thinking almost longingly of life at number four without
her. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia usually encouraged Harry to
stay out of their way, which Harry was only too happy to do. Aunt
Marge, on the other hand, wanted Harry under her eye at all
times, so that she could boom out suggestions for his improvement.
She delighted in comparing Harry with Dudley, and took
huge pleasure in buying Dudley expensive presents whilst glaring
at Harry, as though daring him to ask why he hadn't got a present
too. She also kept throwing out dark hints about what made
Harry such an unsatisfactory person.
'You mustn't blame yourself for the way the boy's turned out,
Vernon,' she said over lunch on the third day. 'If there's something
rotten on the inside, there's nothing anyone can do about it.'
Harry tried to concentrate on his food, but his hands shook and
his face was starting to bum with anger. Remember the form, he told
himself. Think about Hogsmeade. Don't say anything. Don't rise -
Aunt Marge reached for her glass of wine.
'It's one of the basic rules of breeding,' she said. 'You see it all
the time with dogs. If there's something wrong with the bitch,
there'll be something wrong with the pup -'
aunt marge's big mistake 25

At that moment, the wine glass Aunt Marge was holding
exploded in her hand. Shards of glass flew in every direction and
Aunt Marge spluttered and blinked, her great ruddy face dripping.
'Marge!' squealed Aunt Petunia. 'Marge, are you all right?'
'Not to worry,' grunted Aunt Marge, mopping her face with her
napkin. 'Must have squeezed it too hard. Did the same thing at
Colonel Fubster's the other day. No need to fuss. Petunia, I have a
very firm grip ...'
But Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were both looking at Harry
suspiciously, so he decided he'd better skip pudding and escape
from the table as soon as he could.
Outside in the hall, he leaned against the wall, breathing
deeply. It had been a long time since he'd lost control and made
something explode. He couldn't afford to let it happen again. The
Hogsmeade form wasn't the only thing at stake - if he carried on
like that, he'd be in trouble with the Ministry of Magic.
Harry was still an underage wizard, and he was forbidden by
wizard law to do magic outside school. His record wasn't exactly
clean, either. Only last summer he'd got an official warning which
had stated quite clearly that if the Ministry got wind of any more
magic in Privet Drive, Harry would face expulsion from Hogwarts.
He heard the Dursleys leaving the table and hurried upstairs
out of the way.
*
Harry got through the next three days by forcing himself to think
about his Handbook of Do-it-Yourself Broomcare whenever Aunt
Marge started on him. This worked quite well, though it seemed
to give him a glazed look, because Aunt Marge started voicing the
opinion that he was mentally subnormal.
At last, at long last, the final evening of Marge's stay arrived.
Aunt Petunia cooked a fancy dinner and Uncle Vernon uncorked
several bottles of wine. They got all the way through the soup and
the salmon without a single mention of Harry's faults; during the
lemon meringue pie, Uncle Vernon bored them all with a long
talk about Grunnings, his drill-making company; then Aunt Petunia
made coffee and Uncle Vernon brought out a bottle of brandy.
'Can I tempt you. Marge?'
Aunt Marge had already had rather a lot of wine. Her huge face
was very red.
'Just a small one, then,' she chuckled. 'A bit more than that ...
26 harry potter

and a bit. more ... that's the boy.'
Dudley was eating his fourth slice of pie. Aunt Petunia was sipping
coffee with her little finger sticking out. Harry really wanted
to disappear into his bedroom, but he met Uncle Vernon's angry
little eyes and knew he would have to sit it out.
'Aah,' said Aunt Marge, smacking her lips and putting the
empty brandy glass back down. 'Excellent nosh, Petunia. It's normally
just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look
after ...' She burped richly and patted her great tweed stomach.
'Pardon me. But I do like to see a healthy-sized boy,' she went on,
winking at Dudley. 'You'll be a proper-sized man, Dudders, like
your father. Yes, I'll have a spot more brandy, Vernon ...'
'Now, this one here -'
She jerked her head at Harry, who felt his stomach clench. The
Handbook, he thought quickly.
'This one's got a mean, runty look about him. You get that with
dogs. I had Colonel Fubster drown one last year. Ratty little thing
it was. Weak. Underbred.'
Harry was trying to remember page twelve of his book: A
Charm to Cure Reluctant Reversers.
Tt all comes down to blood, as I was saying the other day. Bad
blood will out. Now, I'm saying nothing against your family. Petunia' -
she patted Aunt Petunia's bony hand with her shovel-like
one, 'but your sister was a bad egg. They turn up in the best families.
Then she ran off with a wastrel and here's the result right in
front of us.'
Harry was staring at his plate, a funny ringing in his ears. Grasp
your broom firmly by the tail, he thought. But he couldn't remember
what came next. Aunt Marge's voice seemed to be boring into
him like one of Uncle Vernon's drills.
'This Potter,' said Aunt Marge loudly, seizing the brandy bottle
and splashing more into her glass and over the tablecloth, 'you
never told me what he did?'
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were looking extremely tense.
Dudley had even looked up from his pie to gape at his parents.
'He - didn't work,' said Uncle Vernon, with half a glance at
Harry. 'Unemployed.'
'As I expected!' said Aunt Marge, taking a huge swig of brandy
and wiping her chin on her sleeve. 'A no-account, good-for-
nothing, lazy scrounger who --'
aunt marge's big mistake 27

'He was not,' said Harry suddenly. The table went very quiet.
Harry was shaking all over. He had never felt so angry in his life.
'MORE BRANDY!' yelled Uncle Vernon, who had gone very
white. He emptied the bottle into Aunt Marge's glass. 'You, boy,' he
snarled at Harry. 'Go to bed, go on -'
'No, Vernon,' hiccoughed Aunt Marge, holding up a hand, her
tiny bloodshot eyes fixed on Harry's. 'Go on, boy, go on. Proud of
your parents, are you? They go and get themselves killed in a car
crash (drunk, I expect) -'
'They didn't die in a car crash!' said Harry, who found himself
on his feet.
'They died in a car crash, you nasty little liar, and left you to be
a burden on their decent, hardworking relatives!' screamed Aunt
Marge, swelling with fury. 'You are an insolent, ungrateful little -'
But Aunt Marge suddenly stopped speaking. For a moment, it
looked as though words had failed her. She seemed to be swelling
with inexpressible anger - but the swelling didn't stop. Her great
red face started to expand, her tiny eyes bulged and her mouth
stretched too tightly for speech. Next second, several buttons
burst from her tweed jacket and pinged off the walls - she was
inflating like a monstrous balloon, her stomach bursting free of
her tweed waistband, each of her fingers blowing up like a
salami...
'MARGE!' yelled Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia together, as
Aunt Marge's whole body began to rise off her chair towards the
ceiling. She was entirely round, now, like a vast life buoy with
piggy eyes, and her hands and feet stuck out weirdly as she drifted
up into the air, making apoplectic popping noises. Ripper came
skidding into the room, barking madly.
'N0000000!'
Uncle Vernon seized one of Marge's feet and tried to pull her
down again, but was almost lifted from the floor himself. Next
second, Ripper had leapt forward and sunk his teeth into Uncle
Vernon's leg.
Harry tore from the dining room before anyone could stop him,
heading for the cupboard under the stairs. The cupboard door
burst magically open as he reached it. In seconds, he had heaved
his trunk to the front door. He sprinted upstairs and threw himself
under the bed, wrenched up the loose floorboard and grabbed
the pillowcase full of his books and birthday presents. He wrig-

-- k^.

28 harry potter i
I
gled out, seized Hedwig's empty cage and dashed back downstairs
to his trunk, just as Uncle Vernon burst out of the dining room,
his trouser leg in bloody tatters.
'COME BACK IN HERE!' he bellowed. 'COME BACK AND
PUT HER RIGHT!'
But a reckless rage had come over Harry. He kicked his trunk
open, pulled out his wand and pointed it at Uncle Vernon.
'She deserved it,' Harry said, breathing very fast. 'She deserved
what she got. You keep away from me.'
He fumbled behind him for the catch on the door.
'I'm going,' Harry said. 'I've had enough.'
1
And next moment, he was out in the dark, quiet street, heaving
his heavy trunk behind him, Hedwig's cage under his arm.

I

i
i

CHAPTER THREE

The Knight Bus

Harry was several streets away before he collapsed onto a low wall in Magnolia Crescent, panting from the effort of dragging his
trunk. He sat quite still, anger still surging through him, listening
to the frantic thumping of his heart.
But after ten minutes alone in the dark street, a new emotion
overtook him: panic. Whichever way he looked at it, he had never
been in a worse fix. He was stranded, quite alone, in the dark
Muggle world, with absolutely nowhere to go. And the worst of it
was, he had just done serious magic, which meant that he was
almost certainly expelled from Hogwarts. He had broken the
Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry so badly, he was
surprised Ministry of Magic representatives weren't swooping
down on him where he sat.
Harry shivered and looked up and down Magnolia Crescent.
What was going to happen to him? Would he be arrested, or
would he simply be outlawed from the wizarding world? He
thought of Ron and Hermione, and his heart sank even lower.
Harry was sure that, criminal or not, Ron and Hermione would
want to help him now, but they were both abroad, and with Hed-
wig gone, he had no means of contacting them.
He didn't have any Muggle money, either. There was a little
wizard gold in the moneybag at the bottom of his trunk, but the
rest of the fortune his parents had left him was stored in a vault at
Gringotts Wizarding Bank in London. He'd never be able to drag
his trunk all the way to London. Unless ...
He looked down at his wand, which he was still clutching in
his hand. If he was already expelled (his heart was now thumping
painfully fast), a bit more magic couldn't hurt. He had the Invisibility
Cloak he had inherited from his father - what if he
bewitched the trunk to make it feather-light, tied it to his
30 harry potter

broomstick, covered himself in the Cloak and flew to London?
Then he could get the rest of his money out of his vault and ...
begin his life as an outcast. It was a horrible prospect, but he
couldn't sit on this wall for ever or he'd find himself trying to
explain to Muggle police why he was out in the dead of night with
a trunkful of spellbooks and a broomstick.
Harry opened his trunk again and pushed the contents aside,
looking for the Invisibility Cloak - but before he had found it, he
straightened up suddenly, looking around him once more.
A funny prickling on the back of his neck had made Harry feel
he was being watched, but the street appeared to be deserted, and
no lights shone from any of the large square houses.
He bent over his trunk again, but almost immediately stood up
once more, his hand clenched on his wand. He had sensed rather
than heard it: someone or something was standing in the narrow
gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted
at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he'd know
whether it was just a stray cat or -- something else.
'Lumos,' Harry muttered, and a light appeared at the end of his
wand, almost dazzling him. He held it high over his head, and the
pebble-dashed walls of number two suddenly sparkled; the garage
door gleamed, and between them, Harry saw, quite distinctly, the
hulking outline of something very big, with wide, gleaming eyes.
Harry stepped backwards. His legs hit his trunk and he tripped.
His wand flew out of his hand as he flung out an arm to break his
fall, and he landed, hard, in the gutter.
There was a deafening BANG and Harry threw up his hands to
shield his eyes against a sudden blinding light...
With a yell, he rolled back onto the pavement, just in time. A
second later, a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights had
screeched to a halt exactly where Harry had just been lying. They
belonged, as Harry saw when he raised his head, to a triple-
decker, violently purple bus, which had appeared out of thin air.
Gold lettering over the windscreen spelled The Knight Bus.
For a split second, Harry wondered if he had been knocked
silly by his fall. Then a conductor in a purple uniform leapt out of
the bus and began to speak loudly to the night.
'Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the
stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is
" the knight Bus 31

Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve-
The conductor stopped abruptly. He had just caught sight of
Harry, who was still sitting on the ground. Harry snatched up his
wand again and scrambled to his feet. Close to, he saw that Stan
Shunpike was only a few years older than he was; eighteen or nineteen
at most, with large, protruding ears and a fair few pimples.
'What were you doin' down there?' said Stan, dropping his professional
manner.
'Fell over,' said Harry.
"Choo fall over for?' sniggered Stan.
'I didn't do it on purpose,' said Harry, annoyed. One of the
knees in his jeans was torn, and the hand he had thrown out to
break his fall was bleeding. He suddenly remembered why he had
fallen over, and turned around quickly to stare at the alleyway
between the garage and fence. The Knight Bus's headlamps were
flooding it with light, and it was empty.
"Choo lookin' at?' said Stan.
There was a big black thing,' said Harry, pointing uncertainly
into the gap. 'Like a dog ... but massive ...'
He looked around at Stan, whose mouth was slightly open.
With a feeling of unease, Harry saw Stan's eyes move to the scar
on Harry's forehead.
'Woss that on your 'ead?' said Stan abruptly.
'Nothing,' said Harry quickly, flattening his hair over his scar. If
the Ministry of Magic was looking for him, he didn't want to
make it too easy for them.
'Woss your name?' Stan persisted, i
'Neville Longbottom,' said Harry, saying the first name that
came into his head. 'So - so this bus,' he went on quickly, hoping
to distract Stan, 'did you say it goes anywhere7'
'Yep,' said Stan proudly, 'anywhere you like, long's it's on land.
Can't do nuffink underwater. 'Ere,' he said, looking suspicious
again, 'you did flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and,
dincha?'
'Yes,' said Harry quickly. 'Listen, how much would it be to get
to London?'
'Eleven Sickles,' said Stan, 'but for firteen you get 'of chocolate,
and for fifteen you get an 'ot-water bottle an' a toofbrush in the
colour of your choice.'
Harry rummaged once more in his trunk, extracted his money
32 harry potter

bag and shoved some silver into Stan's hand. He and Stan then
lifted his trunk, with Hedwig's cage balanced on top, up the steps
of the bus.
There were no seats; instead, half-a-dozen brass bedsteads
stood beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in
brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-panelled walls. A
tiny wizard in a nightcap at the rear of the bus muttered, 'Not
now, thanks, I'm pickling some slugs,' and rolled over in his sleep.
'You 'ave this one,' Stan whispered, shoving Harry's trunk under
the bed right behind the driver, who was sitting in an armchair in
front of the steering wheel. This is our driver, Ernie Prang. This is
Neville Longbottom, Ern.'
Ernie Prang, an elderly wizard wearing very thick glasses,
nodded to Harry, who nervously flattened his fringe again and sat
11111 down on his bed.
'Take 'er away, Ern,' said Stan, sitting down in the armchair
next to Ernie's.
There was another tremendous BANG, and next moment Harry
found himself flat on his bed, thrown backwards by the speed of
the Knight Bus. Pulling himself up. Harry stared out of the dark
window and saw that they were now bowling along a completely
different street. Stan was watching Harry's stunned face with great
enjoyment.
'This is where we was before you flagged us down,' he said.
'Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales?'
'Ar,' said Ernie.
'How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?' said Harry.
Them!' said Stan contemptuously. 'Don' listen properly, do
they? Don' look properly either. Never notice nuffink, they don'.'
'Best go wake up Madam Marsh, Stan,' said Ern. 'We'll be in
Abergavenny in a minute.'
Stan passed Harry's bed and disappeared up a narrow wooden
staircase. Harry was still looking out of the window, feeling
increasingly nervous. Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use
of a steering wheel. The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement,
but it didn't hit anything; lines of lamp posts, letter boxes and
bins jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position
once it had passed.
Stan came back downstairs, followed by a faintly green witch
wrapped in a travelling cloak.
the knight Bus 33

"Ere you go. Madam Marsh,' said Stan happily, as Ern stamped on the brake and the beds slid a foot or so towards the front of the
bus. Madam Marsh clamped a handkerchief to her mouth and tottered
down the steps. Stan threw her bag out after her and rammed
the doors shut; there was another loud BANG, and they were thundering
down a narrow country lane, trees leaping out of the way.
Harry wouldn't have been able to sleep even if he had been
travelling on a bus that didn't keep banging loudly and jumping a
hundred miles at a time. His stomach churned as he fell back to
wondering what was going to happen to him, and whether the
Dursleys had managed to get Aunt Marge off the ceiling yet.
Stan had unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet and was now
reading with his tongue between his teeth. A large photograph of
a sunken-faced man with long, matted hair blinked slowly at
Harry from the front page. He looked strangely familiar.
'That man!' Harry said, forgetting his troubles for a moment.
'He was on the Muggle news!'
Stanley turned to the front page and chuckled.
'Sirius Black,' he said, nodding. "Course 'e was on the Muggle
news, Neville. Where you been?'
He gave a superior sort of chuckle at the blank look on Harry's
face, removed the front page and handed it to Harry.
'You oughta read the papers more, Neville.'
Harry held the paper up to the candlelight and read:

BLACK STILL AT LARGE
Sinus Black, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be
held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of
Magic confirmed today.
'We are doing all we can to recapture Black,' said the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, 'and we beg the
Magical community to remain calm.'
Fudge has been criticised by some members of the International
Federation of Warlocks /or informing the Muggle Prime
Minister of the crisis.
'Well, really, I had to, don't you know,' said an irritable
Fudge. 'Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who crosses him, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he
will not breathe a word of Black's true identity to anyone. And
let's/ace it - who'd believe him if he did?'
34 . harry potter

While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun I
(a kind of metal wand which Muggles use to kill each other),
the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of
twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a
single curse.'

Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part
of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire,
but he had seen pictures of them in his Defence Against the
Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked
just like one.
'Scary-lookin' fing, inee?' said Stan, who had been watching
Harry read.
'He murdered thirteen people7' said Harry, handing the page
back to Stan, 'with one curse7'
'Yep,' said Stan. 'In front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big
trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?'
'Ar,' said Ern darkly.
Stan swivelled in his armchair, his hands on the back, the better
to look at Harry.
'Black woz a big supporter ofYou-Know-'Oo,' he said.
'What, Voldemort?' said Harry, without thinking.
Even Stan's pimples went white; Ern jerked the steering wheel
so hard that a whole farmhouse had to jump aside to avoid the
bus.
'You outta your tree?' yelped Stan. "Choo say 'is name for?'
'Sorry,' said Harry hastily. 'Sorry, I -- I forgot --'
'Forgot!' said Stan weakly. 'Blimey, my 'eart's goin' that fast...'
'So -- so Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?' Harry
prompted apologetically.
'Yeah,' said Stan, still rubbing his chest. 'Yeah, that's right. Very
close to You-Know-'Oo, they say ... anyway, when little 'Arry Potter
put paid to You-Know-'Oo' - Harry nervously flattened his
fringe down again - 'all You-Know-'Oo's supporters was tracked
down, wasn't they, Em? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-
Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'card
he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad
taken over.
'Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of
Muggles an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street
the knight Bus 35

apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in
the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?' Stan
continued in a dramatic whisper.
'What?' said Harry.
'Laughed,' said Stan. 'Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when
reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wiv
'em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee,
Ern? Inee mad?'
'If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now,' said
Ern in his slow voice. 'I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that
place. Serves him right, mind ... after what he did ...'
'They 'ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, Ern?' Stan said. "Ole
street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said
'ad 'appened, Ern?'
'Gas explosion,' grunted Ernie.
'An' now 'e's out,' said Stan, examining the newspaper picture
of Black's gaunt face again. 'Never been a breakout from Azkaban
before, 'as there, Ern? Beats me 'ow 'e did it. Frightenin', eh?
Mind, I don't fancy 'is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh,
Ern?'
Ernie suddenly shivered.
'Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban
guards give me the collywobbles.'
Stan put the paper away reluctantly and Harry leaned against
the window of the Knight Bus, feeling worse than ever. He couldn't
help imagining what Stan might be telling his passengers in a few
nights' time.
"Ear about that 'Arry Potter? Blew up 'is Aunt! We 'ad 'im 'ere
on the Knight Bus, di'n't we, Ern? 'E was tryin' to run for it...'
He, Harry, had broken wizard law just like Sirius Black.
Was inflating Aunt Marge bad enough to land him in Azkaban?
Harry didn't know anything about the wizard prison, though
everyone he'd ever heard speak of it did so in the same
fearful tone. Hagrid the Hogwarts gamekeeper had spent two
months there only last year. Harry wouldn't soon forget the
look of terror on Hagrid's face when he had been told where
he was going, and Hagrid was one of the bravest people Harry
knew.
The Knight Bus rolled through the darkness, scattering bushes
and bollards, telephone boxes and trees, and Harry lay, restless
36 harry potter

and miserable, on his feather bed. After a while, Stan remembered
that Harry had paid for hot chocolate, but poured it all over
Harry's pillow when the bus moved abruptly from Anglesea to
Aberdeen. One by one, wizards and witches in dressing gowns
and slippers descended from the upper floors to leave the bus.
They all looked very pleased to go.
Finally, Harry was the only passenger left.
'Right then, Neville,' said Stan, clapping his hands, 'whereabouts
in London?'
'Diagon Alley,' said Harry.
'Righto,' said Stan, "old tight, then ...'
BANG
They were thundering along Charing Cross Road. Harry sat up
and watched buildings and benches squeezing themselves out of
the Knight Bus's way. The sky was getting a little lighter. He would
lie low for a couple of hours, go to Gringotts the moment it
opened, then set off - where, he didn't know
Em slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a
halt in front of a small and shabby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron,
behind which lay the magical entrance to Diagon Alley.
'Thanks,' Harry said to Ern.
He jumped down the steps and helped Stan lower his trunk and
Hedwig's cage onto the pavement.
'Well,' said Harry, 'bye then!'
But Stan wasn't paying attention. Still standing in the doorway
to the bus, he was goggling at the shadowy entrance to the Leaky
Cauldron.
'There you are. Harry,' said a voice.
Before Harry could turn, he felt a hand on his shoulder. At the
same time, Stan shouted, 'Blimey! Ern, come 'ere! Come 'ere!'
Harry looked up at the owner of the hand on his shoulder
and felt a bucketful of ice cascade into his stomach - he had
walked right into Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic
himself.
Stan leapt onto the pavement beside them.
'What didja call Neville, Minister?' he said excitedly.
Fudge, a portly little man in a long, pinstriped cloak, looked
cold and exhausted.
'Neville?' he repeated, frowning. 'This is Harry Potter.'
'I knew it!' Stan shouted gleefully. 'Ern! Ern! Guess 'oo Neville
the knight Bus 37

is Ern! 'E's 'Any Potter! I can see 'is scar!'
'Yes,' said Fudge testily. 'Well, I'm very glad the Knight Bus
picked Harry up, but he and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron
now ...'
Fudge increased the pressure on Harry's shoulder, and Harry
found himself being steered inside the pub. A stooping figure
bearing a lantern appeared through the door behind the bar. It
was Tom, the wizened, toothless landlord.
'You've got him, Minister!' said Tom. 'Will you be wanting anything?
Beer? Brandy?'
'Perhaps a pot of tea,' said Fudge, who still hadn't let go of
Harry.
There was a loud scraping and puffing from behind them, and
Stan and Ern appeared, carrying Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage
and looking around excitedly.
"Ow come you di'n't tell us 'oo you are, eh, Neville?' said Stan,
beaming at Harry, while Ernie's owlish face peered interestedly
over Stan's shoulder.
'And a private parlour, please, Tom,' said Fudge pointedly.
'Bye,' Harry said miserably to Stan and Ern, as Tom beckoned
Fudge towards the passage that led from the bar.
'Bye, Neville!' called Stan.
Fudge marched Harry along the narrow passage after Tom's
lantern, and then into a small parlour. Tom clicked his fingers, a
fire burst into life in the grate, and he bowed himself out of the
room.
'Sit down. Harry,' said Fudge, indicating a chair by the fire.
Harry sat down, feeling goosebumps rising up his arms despite
the glow of the fire. Fudge took off his pinstriped cloak and
tossed it aside, then hitched up the trousers of his bottle-green
suit and sat down opposite Harry.
'I am Cornelius Fudge, Harry. The Minister for Magic.'
Harry already knew this, of course; he had seen Fudge once
before, but as he had been wearing his father's Invisibility Cloak at
the time. Fudge wasn't to know that.
Tom the innkeeper reappeared, wearing an apron over his
nightshirt and bearing a tray of tea and crumpets. He placed the
tray on a table betwen Fudge and Harry, and left the parlour, clos- "ig the door behind him.
Well, Harry,' said Fudge, pouring out tea, 'you've had us all in a
38 harry potter

right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt
and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think ... but you're safe,
and that's what matters.'
Fudge buttered himself a crumpet and pushed the plate
towards Harry.
'Eat, Harry, you look dead on your feet. Now then ... You will
be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up
of Miss Marjorie Dursley. Two members of the Accidental
Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few
hours ago. Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has
been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So
that's that, and no harm done.'
Fudge smiled at Harry over the rim of his teacup, rather like an
uncle surveying a favourite nephew. Harry, who couldn't believe
his ears, opened his mouth to speak, couldn't think of anything to
say, and closed it again.
'Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and
uncle?' said Fudge. 'Well, I won't deny that they are extremely
angry. Harry, but they are prepared to take you back next summer
as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter
holidays.'
Harry unstuck his throat.
'I always stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays,'
he said, 'and I don't ever want to go back to Privet Drive.'
'Now, now, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've calmed
down,' said Fudge in a worried tone. 'They are your family, after
all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other -- er - very deep
down.'
It didn't occur to Harry to put Fudge right. He was still waiting
to hear what was going to happen to him now.
'So all that remains,' said Fudge, now buttering himself a
second crumpet, 'is to decide where you're going to spend the last
two weeks of your holidays. I suggest you take a room here at the
Leaky Cauldron and -
'Hang on,' blurted Harry, 'what about my punishment?'
Fudge blinked.
'Punishment?'
'I broke the law!' Harry said. 'The Decree for the Restriction of
Underage Wizardry!'
'Oh, my dear boy, we're not going to punish you for a little
the knight Bus ' 39

thing like that!' cried Fudge, waving his crumpet impatiently. 'It
was an accident! We don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing
up their aunts!'
But this didn't tally at all with Harry's past dealings with the
Ministry of Magic.
'Last year, I got an official warning just because a house-elf
smashed a pudding in my uncle's house!' said Harry, frowning.
'The Ministry of Magic said I'd be expelled from Hogwarts if there
was any more magic there!'
Unless Harry's eyes were deceiving him, Fudge was suddenly
looking awkward.
'Circumstances change, Harry ... we have to take into account
... in the present climate ... surely you don't want to be expelled?'
'Of course I don't,' said Harry.
'Well then, what's all the fuss about?' laughed Fudge airily.
'Now, have a crumpet, Harry, while I go and see if Tom's got a
room for you.'
Fudge strode out of the parlour and Harry stared after him.
There was something extremely odd going on. Why had Fudge
been waiting for him at the Leaky Cauldron, if not to punish him
for what he'd done. And now Harry came to think of it, surely it
wasn't usual for the Minister for Magic himself to get involved in
matters of underage magic?
Fudge came back, accompanied by Tom the innkeeper.
'Room eleven's free. Harry,' said Fudge. 'I think you'll be very
comfortable. Just one thing, and I'm sure you'll understand: I
don't want you wandering off into Muggle London, all right? Keep
to Diagon Alley. And you're to be back here before dark each
night. Sure you'll understand. Tom will be keeping an eye on you
for me.'
'OK,' said Harry slowly, 'but why -?'
'Don't want to lose you again, do we?' said Fudge with a hearty
laugh. 'No, no ... best we know where you are ... I mean ...'
Fudge cleared his throat loudly and picked up his pinstriped
cloak.
'Well, I'll be off, plenty to do, you know.'
'Have you had any luck with Black yet?' Harry asked.
Fudge's fingers slipped on the silver fastenings of his cloak.
'What's that? Oh, you've heard - well, no, not yet, but it's only a
"latter of time. The Azkaban guards have never yet failed ... and
1
40	harry potter


they are angrier than I've ever seen them.'
Fudge shuddered slightly.
'So, I'll say goodbye.' |
He held out his hand and Harry, shaking it, had a sudden idea.
'Er - Minister? Can I ask you something?'
'Certainly,' smiled Fudge.
'Well, third years at Hogwarts are allowed to visit Hogsmeade,
but my aunt and uncle didn't sign the permission form. D'you
think you could?'
Fudge was looking uncomfortable.
'Ah,' he said. 'No. No, I'm very sorry, Harry, but as I'm not your
parent or guardian -'
'But you're the Minister for Magic,' said Harry eagerly. 'If you
gave me permission -'
'No, I'm sorry. Harry, but rules are rules,' said Fudge flatly. 'Per-
haps you'll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year. In fact, I think it
best if you don't... yes ... well, I'll be off. Enjoy your stay. Harry.'
And with a last smile and shake of Harry's hand. Fudge left the
room. Tom now moved forward, beaming at Harry.
'If you'll follow me, Mr Potter,' he said. 'I've already taken your
things up ...'
Harry followed Tom up a handsome wooden staircase to a door
with a brass number eleven on it, which Tom unlocked and
opened for him.
Inside was a very comfortable-looking bed, some highly pol-
ished oak furniture, a cheerfully crackling fire and, perched on
top of the wardrobe -
'Hedwig!' Harry gasped.
The snowy owl clicked her break and fluttered down onto Harry's arm.
'Very smart owl you've got there,' chuckled Tom. 'Arrived about
five minutes after you did. If there's anything you need, Mr Potter,
don't hesitate to ask.'
He gave another bow and left.
Harry sat on his bed for a long time, absent-mindedly stroking
Hedwig. The sky outside the window was changing rapidly from
deep, velvety blue to cold, steely grey and then, slowly, to pink
shot with gold. Harry could hardly believe that he'd only left Priv-
et Drive a few hours ago, that he wasn't expelled, and that he was
now facing two completely Dursley-free weeks.
the knight Bus . 41

'It's been a very weird night, Hedwig,' he yawned.
And without even removing his glasses, he slumped back onto
his pillows and fell asleep.

CHAPTER FOUR --

The Leaky Cauldron

It took Harry several days to get used to his strange new freedom.
Never before had he been able to get up whenever he wanted or
eat whatever he fancied. He could even go wherever he liked, as
long as it was in Diagon Alley, and as this long cobbled street was
packed with the most fascinating wizarding shops in the world,
Harry felt no desire to break his word to Fudge and stray back
into the Muggle world.
Harry ate breakfast each morning in the Leaky Cauldron, where
he liked watching the other guests: funny little witches from the
country, up for a day's shopping; venerable-looking wizards arguing
over the latest article in Transfiguration Today; wild-looking
warlocks, raucous dwarfs and, once, what looked suspiciously
like a hag, who ordered a plate of raw liver from behind a thick
woollen balaclava.
After breakfast Harry would go out into the back yard, take out
his wand, tap the third brick from the left above the dustbin, and
stand back as the archway into Diagon Alley opened in the wall.
Harry spent the long sunny days exploring the shops and eating
under the brightly coloured umbrellas outside cafes, where his
fellow diners were showing each other their purchases ('it's a
lunascope, old boy - no more messing around with moon charts,
see?') or else discussing the case of Sirius Black ('personally, I
won't let any of the children out alone until he's back in Azka-
ban'). Harry didn't have to do his homework under the blankets
by torchlight any more; now he could sit in the bright sunshine
outside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, finishing all his
essays with occasional help from Florean Fortescue himself, who,
apart from knowing a great deal about medieval witch-burnings,
gave Harry free sundaes every half-hour.
Once Harry had refilled his money bag with gold Galleons,
the leaky cauldron 43

silver Sickles and bronze Knuts from his vault at Gringotts, he
needed to exercise a lot of self-control not to spend the whole lot
at once. He had to keep reminding himself that he had five years
to eo at Hogwarts, and how it would feel to ask the Dursleys for
money for spellbooks, to stop himself buying a handsome set of
solid gold Gobstones (a wizarding game rather like marbles, in
which the stones squirted a nasty-smelling liquid into the other
player's face when they lost a point). He was sorely tempted, too,
by the perfect, moving model of the galaxy in a large glass ball,
which would have meant he never had to take another Astronomy
lesson. But the thing that tested Harry's resolution most appeared
in his favourite shop. Quality Quidditch Supplies, a week after
ne'd arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.
Curious to know what the crowd in the shop was staring at,
Harry edged his way inside and squeezed in amongst the excited
ivitches and wizards until he glimpsed a newly erected podium on
"which was mounted the most magnificent broom he had ever seen
in his life.
'just come out ... prototype ...' a square-jawed wizard was
telling his companion.
'It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it. Dad?' squeaked a
boy younger than Harry, who was swinging off his father's arm.
'Irish International Side's just put in an order for seven of these
beauties!' the proprietor of the shop told the crowd. 'And they're
favourites for the World Cup!'
A large witch in front of Harry moved, and he was able to read
the sign next to the broom:

THE FIREBOLT

This state-of-the-art racing broom sports a streamlined, superfine
handle of ash, treated with a diamond-hard polish and
hand-numbered with its own registration number. Each individually
selected birch twig in the broomtail has been honed to
aerodynamic perfection, giving the Firebolt unsurpassable balance
and pinpoint precision. The Firebolt has an acceleration of
0-150 miles an hour in ten seconds and incorporates an
unbreakable braking charm. Price on request.

Price on request ... Harry didn't like to think how much gold the

44 ' harry potter ,

Firebolt would cost. He had never wanted anything so much in
his whole life - but he had never lost a Quidditch match on his
Nimbus Two Thousand, and what was the point in emptying his
Gringotts vault for the Firebolt, when he had a very good broom
already? Harry didn't ask for the price, but he returned, almost
every day after that, just to look at the Firebolt.
There were, however, things that Harry needed to buy. He went
to the Apothecary to replenish his store of potions' ingredients,
and as his school robes were now several inches too short in the
arm and leg, he visited Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions
and bought new ones. Most important of all, he had to buy his
new school books, which would include those for his two new
subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination.
Harry got a surprise as he looked in at the bookshop window.
Instead of the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size
of paving slabs, there was a large iron cage behind the glass which
held about a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters.
Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with
each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and
snapping aggressively.
Harry pulled his booklist out of his pocket and consulted it for
the first time. The Monster Book of Monsters was listed as the set
book for Care of Magical Creatures. Now Harry understood why
Hagrid had said it would come in useful. He felt relieved; he had
been wondering whether Hagrid wanted help with some terrifying
new pet.
As Harry entered Flourish and Blotts, the manager came hurrying
towards him.
'Hogwarts?' he said abruptly. 'Come to get your new books?'
'Yes,' said Harry. 'I need -'
'Get out of the way,' said the manager impatiently, brushing
Harry aside. He drew on a pair of very thick gloves, picked up a
large, knobbly walking stick and proceeded towards the door of
the Monster books' cage.
'Hang on,' said Harry quickly, 'I've already got one of those.'
'Have you?' A look of enormous relief spread over the manager's
face. 'Thank heavens for that, I've been bitten five times
already this morning -
A loud ripping noise rent the air; two of the Monster books had
seized a third and were pulling it apart.
the leaky cauldron 45

'Stop it! Stop it!' cried the manager, poking the walking stick
through the bars and knocking the books apart. 'I'm never stock-
ine them again, never! It's been bedlam! I thought we'd seen the
worst when we bought two hundred copies of The Invisible Book
of Invisibility - cost a fortune, and we never found them ... Well, is
there anything else I can help you with?'
'Yes,' said Harry, looking down his booklist. 'I need Unfogging
the Future, by Cassandra Vablatsky.'
'Ah, starting Divination, are you?' said the manager stripping off
his gloves and leading Harry into the back of the shop, where there
was a corner devoted to fortune-telling. A small table was stacked
with volumes such as Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself
against Shocks and Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul.
'Here you are,' said the manager, who had climbed a set of steps
to take down a thick, black-bound book. 'Unfogging the Future.
Very good guide to all your basic fortune-telling methods - palmistry,
crystal balls, bird entrails ...'
But Harry wasn't listening. His eyes had fallen on another book,
which was among a display on a small table: Death Omens: What
to Do When You Know the Worst is Coming.
'Oh, I wouldn't read that if I were you,' said the assistant lightly,
looking to see what Harry was staring at, 'You'll start seeing death
omens everywhere, it's enough to frighten anyone to death.'
But Harry continued to stare at the front cover of the book; it
showed a black dog large as a bear, with gleaming eyes. It looked
oddly familiar...
The assistant pressed Unfogging the Future into Harry's hands.
'Anything else?' he said.
'Yes,' said Harry, tearing his eyes away from the dog's and
dazedly consulting his booklist. 'Er - I need Intermediate Transfigration
and The Standard Booh of Spells, Grade Three.'
Harry emerged from Flourish and Blotts ten minutes later with
his new books under his arms, and made his way back to the
Leaky Cauldron, hardly noticing where he was going and bumpng
into several people.
He tramped up the stairs to his room, went inside and tipped
"is books onto his bed. Somebody had been in to tidy; the windows
were open and sun was pouring inside. Harry could hear the
"uses rolling by in the unseen Muggle street behind him, and the
sound of the invisible crowd below in Diagon Alley He caught
46 harry potter

sight of himself in the mirror over the basin.
'It can't have been a death omen,' he told his reflection defiantly.
'I was panicking when I saw that thing in Magnolia Crescent. It
was probably just a stray dog ...'
He raised his hand automatically and tried to make his hair lie
Hat.
'You're fighting a losing battle there, dear,' said his mirror in a
wheezy voice. 'I
*
As the days slipped by. Harry started looking wherever he went
for a sign of Ron or Hermione. Plenty of Hogwarts students were
arriving in Diagon Alley now, with the start of term so near. Harry
met Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, his fellow Gryffindors,
in Quality Quidditch Supplies, where they, too, were ogling the
Firebolt; he also ran into the real Neville Longbottom, a round-
faced, forgetful boy, outside Flourish and Blotts. Harry didn't stop
to chat; Neville appeared to have mislaid his booklist, and was
being told off by his very formidable-looking grandmother. Harry
hoped she never found out that he'd pretended to be Neville while
on the run from the Ministry of Magic.
Harry woke on the last day of the holidays, thinking that he
would at least meet Ron and Hermione tomorrow, on the Hogwarts
Express. He got up, dressed, went for a last look at the Fire-
bolt, and was just wondering where he'd have lunch, when someone
yelled his name and he turned.
'Harry! HARRY!'
They were there, both of them, sitting outside Florean Fortes-
cue's Ice-Cream Parlour; Ron looking incredibly freckly, Hermione
very brown, both waving frantically at him.
'Finally!' said Ron, grinning at Harry as he sat down. 'We went
to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to
Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and -'
'I got all my school stuff last week,' Harry explained. 'And how
come you know I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?'
'Dad,' said Ron simply.
Mr Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, would of
course have heard the whole story of what had happened to Aunt
Marge.
'Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?' said Hermione in a
very serious voice.
the leaky cauldron 47

'I didn't mean to,' said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. 'I
,ust - lost control.'
'It's not funny, Ron,' said Hermione sharply. 'Honestly, I'm
amazed Harry wasn't expelled.'
'So am I,' admitted Harry. 'Forget expelled, I thought I was
going to be arrested.' He looked at Ron. 'Your dad doesn't know
why Fudge let me off, does he?'
'Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?' shrugged Ron, still chuckling.
'Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Min-
istry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig
me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can
ask Dad yourself this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron
tonight, too! So you can come to King's Cross with us
tomorrow! Hermione's there as well!'
Hermione nodded, beaming. 'Mum and Dad dropped me off
this morning with all my Hogwarts things.'
'Excellent!' said Harry happily. 'So, have you got all your new
books and stuff?'
'Look at this,' said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and
opening it. 'Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing
one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books' - he pointed at
a large bag under his chair. 'What about those Monster books, eh?
The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two.'
'What's all that, Hermione?' Harry asked, pointing at not one,
but three, bulging bags in the chair next to her.
'Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?' said
Hermione. 'Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical
Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies-'
'What are you doing Muggle Studies for?' said Ron, rolling his
eyes at Harry. 'You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Mug-
gles! You already know all about Muggles!'
'But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point
of view,' said Hermione earnestly
'Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?'
asked Harry, while Ron sniggered. Hermione ignored them.
I we still got ten Galleons,' she said, checking her purse. 'It's my
"irthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money
to get myself an early birthday present.'
How about a nice booh?' said Ron innocently.

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50 harry potter

carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous
ginger cat.
'You bought that monster?' said Ron, his mouth hanging open.
'He's gorgeous, isn't he?' said Hermione, glowing.
That was a matter of opinion, thought Harry. The cat's ginger
fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bow-legged and
its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run
headlong into a brick wall. Now that Scabbers was out of sight,
however, the cat was purring contentedly in Hermione's arms.
'Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!' said Ron.
'He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?' said Hermione.
'And what about Scabbers?' said Ron, pointing at the lump in
his chest pocket. 'He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to
get it with that thing around?'
'That reminds me, you forgot your Rat Tonic,' said Hermione,
slapping the small red bottle into Ron's hand. 'And stop worrying,
Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in
yours. What's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said
he'd been in there for ages: no one wanted him.'
'I wonder why,' said Ron sarcastically, as they set off towards the
Leaky Cauldron.
They found Mr Weasley sitting in the bar, reading the Daily
Prophet.
'Harry!' he said, smiling as he looked up. 'How are you?'
'Fine, thanks,' said Harry, as he, Ron and Hermione joined Mr
Weasley with all their shopping.
Mr Weasley put down his paper, and Harry saw the now familiar
picture of Sirius Black staring up at him.
'They still haven't caught him, then?' he asked.
'No,' said Mr Weasley, looking extremely grave. 'They've pulled
us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but
no luck so far.'
'Would we get a reward if we caught him?' asked Ron. 'It'd be
good to get some more money -'
'Don't be ridiculous, Ron,' said Mr Weasley, who on closer
inspection looked very strained. 'Black's not going to be caught by
a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him
back, you mark my words.'
At that moment Mrs Weasley entered the bar, laden with shopping
and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about
the leaky cauldron 51

to start their fifth year at Hogwarts, the newly elected Head Boy,
Percy, and the Weasleys' youngest child and only girl, Ginny
Ginny, who had always been very taken with Harry, seemed
even more heartily embarrassed than usual when she saw him,
perhaps because he had saved her life during their last term at
Hoewarts. She went very red and muttered 'hello' without looking
at him. Percy, however, held out his hand solemnly as though he
and Harry had never met and said, 'Harry. How nice to see you.'
'Hello, Percy,' said Harry, trying not to laugh.
'I hope you're well?' said Percy pompously, shaking hands. It
was rather like being introduced to the mayor.
'Very well, thanks -'
'Harry!' said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing
deeply. 'Simply splendid to see you, old boy -'
'Marvellous,' said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing
Harry's hand in turn. 'Absolutely spiffing.'
Percy scowled.
'That's enough, now,' said Mrs Weasley.
'Mum!' said Fred, as though he'd only just spotted her, and
seized her hand, too. 'How really corking to see you -'
'I said, that's enough,' said Mrs Weasley, depositing her shopping
in an empty chair. 'Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard
our exciting news?' She pointed at the brand-new silver badge on
Percy's chest. 'Second Head Boy in the family!' she said, swelling
with pride.
'And last,' Fred muttered under his breath.
'I don't doubt that,' said Mrs Weasley, frowning suddenly. 'I
notice they haven't made you two prefects.'
'What do we want to be prefects for?' said George, looking
revolted at the very idea. 'It'd take all the fun out of life.'
Ginny giggled.
You want to set a better example to your sister!' snapped Mrs
Weasley
Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother,' said
Percy loftily 'I'm going up to change for dinner ...'
He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.
We tried to shut him in a pyramid,' he told Harry. 'But Mum
spotted us.'
52 harry potter

Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper
put three tables together in the parlour and the seven Weasleys
Harry and Hermione ate their way through five delicious
courses.
'How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?' asked Fred
as they tucked into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.
The Ministry's providing a couple of cars,' said Mr Weasley.
Everyone looked up at him.
'Why?' said Percy curiously.
'It's because of you, Perce,' said George seriously. 'And there'll
be little flags on the bonnets, with HB on them -'
'- for Humungous Bighead,' said Fred.
Everyone except Percy and Mrs Weasley snorted into their pudding.

'Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?' Percy asked
again, in a dignified voice.
'Well, as we haven't got one any more,' said Mr Weasley, 'and as
I work there, they're doing me a favour ...'
His voice was casual, but Harry couldn't help noticing that Mr
Weasley's ears had gone red, just like Ron's did when he was
under pressure.
'Good job too,' said Mrs Weasley briskly. 'Do you realise how
much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be
on the Muggle Underground ... You are all packed, aren't you?'
'Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet,' said Percy,
in a long-suffering voice. 'He's dumped them on my bed.'
'You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have
much time in the morning,' Mrs Weasley called down the table.
Ron scowled at Percy.
After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they
made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for
the next day. Ron and Percy were next door to Harry. He had just
closed and locked his own trunk when he heard angry voices
through the wall, and went to see what was going on.
The door of number twelve was ajar and Percy was shouting.
'It was here, on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing -'
'I haven't touched it, all right?' Ron roared back.
'What's up?' said Harry.
'My Head Boy badge has gone,' said Percy, rounding on Harry.
'So's Scabbers' Rat Tonic,' said Ron, throwing things out of his
the leaky cauldron 53

trunk to look. 'I think I might've left it in the bar -'
'You're not going anywhere till you've found my badge!' yelled

Percy
'I'll get Scabbers' stuff, I'm packed,' Harry said to Ron, and he
went downstairs.
Harry was halfway along the passage to the bar, which was now
very dark, when he heard another pair of angry voices coming
from the parlour. A second later, he recognised them as Mr and
Mrs Weasley's. He hesitated, not wanting them to know he'd
heard them rowing, when the sound of his own name made him
stop, then move closer to the parlour door.
'... makes no sense not to tell him,' Mr Weasley was saying heatedly. 'Harry's got a right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he
insists on treating Harry like a child. He's thirteen years old and -'
'Arthur, the truth would terrify him!' said Mrs Weasley shrilly.
'Do you really want to send Harry back to school with that hanging
over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing!'
'I don't want to make him miserable, I want to put him on his
guard!' retorted Mr Weasley. 'You know what Harry and Ron are
like, wandering off by themselves - they've ended up in the Forbidden
Forest twice! But Harry mustn't do that this year! When I
think what could have happened to him that night he ran away
from home! If the Knight Bus hadn't picked him up, I'm prepared
to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him.'
'But he's not dead, he's fine, so what's the point -'
'Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was
clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be
impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair
of him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily
Prophet, we're no nearer catching Black than inventing self-
spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black's
after -'

'But Harry will be perfectly safe at Hogwarts.' '
We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out
of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts.'
'But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry -'
There was a thud on wood, and Harry was sure Mr Weasley had
"anged his fist on the table.
Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't
feport it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but
I
54 harry potter
Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards
told Fudge that Black's been talking in his sleep for a while now
Always the same words: "He's at Hogwarts ... he's at Hogwarts."
Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask
me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back
to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-
Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood
on that...'
There was a silence. Harry leaned still closer to the door, desperate
to hear more.
'Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're
forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt
Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's Headmaster. I suppose he
knows about all this?'
'Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban
guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the
school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed.'
'Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to
catch Black?'
'Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards,' said Mr Weasley
heavily. 'Nor am I, if it comes to that ... but when you're dealing
In | with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with
E L-&4 I 111111111111111111111111 -' J
those you'd rather avoid.' <
'If they save Harry -'
'- then I will never say another word against them,' said Mr
Weasley wearily. 'It's late, Molly, we'd better go up ...'
Harry heard chairs move. As quietly as he could, he hurried
down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlour door
opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told him that Mr and
Mrs Weasley were climbing the stairs.
The bottle of rat tonic was lying under the table they had sat at
earlier. Harry waited until he heard Mr and Mrs Weasley's bedroom
door close, then headed back upstairs with the bottle.
Fred and George were crouching in the shadows on the landing,
heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling
his and Ron's room in the search for his badge.
'We've got it,' Fred whispered to Harry. 'We've been improving it.
The badge now read Bighead Boy.
Harry forced a laugh, went to give Ron the rat tonic, then shut
himself in his room and lay down on his bed.
the leaky cauldron 55

So Sinus Black was after him. That explained everything.
Fudee had been lenient with him because he was so relieved to
find him alive. He'd made Harry promise to stay in Diagon Alley
where there were plenty of wizards to keep an eye on him. And he
was sending two Ministry cars to take them all to the station
tomorrow, so that the Weasleys could look after Harry until he
was on the train.
Harry lay listening to the muffled shouting next door and wondered
why he didn't feel more scared. Sirius Black had murdered
thirteen people with one curse; Mr and Mrs Weasley obviously
thought Harry would be panic-stricken if he knew the truth. But
Harry happened to agree whole-heartedly with Mrs Weasley that
the safest place on earth was wherever Albus Dumbledore happened
to be. Didn't people always say that Dumbledore was the
only person Lord Voldemort had ever been afraid of? Surely Black,
as Voldemort's right-hand man, would be just as frightened of
him?
And then there were these Azkaban guards everyone kept talking
about. They seemed to scare most people senseless, and if they
were stationed all around the school. Black's chances of getting
inside seemed very remote.
No, all in all, the thing that bothered Harry most was the fact
that his chances of visiting Hogsmeade now looked like zero.
Nobody would want Harry to leave the safety of the castle until
Black was caught; in fact, Harry suspected his every move would
be carefully watched until the danger had passed.
He scowled at the dark ceiling. Did they think he couldn't look
after himself? He'd escaped Lord Voldemort three times, he wasn't
completely useless ...
Unbidden, the image of the beast in the shadows of Magnolia
Crescent crossed his mind. What to do when you know the worst is
coming...
'I'm not going to be murdered,' Harry said out loud.
That's the spirit, dear,' said his mirror sleepily

i^-,

-- CHAPTER FIVE --

The Dementor

Tom woke Harry next morning with his usual toothless grin and a
cup of tea. Harry got dressed and was just persuading a disgruntled
Hedwig to get back into her cage when Ron banged his
way into the room, pulling a sweatshirt over his head and looking
irritable.
The sooner we get on the train, the better,' he said. 'At least I
can get away from Percy at Hogwarts. Now he's accusing me of
dripping tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater. You know,' Ron
grimaced, 'his girlfriend. She's hidden her face under the frame
because her nose has gone all blotchy ...'
'I've got something to tell you,' Harry began, but they were interrupted by Fred and George, who had looked in to congratulate
Ron on infuriating Percy again.
They headed down to breakfast, where Mr Weasley was reading
the front page of the Daily Prophet with a furrowed brow and Mrs
Weasley was telling Hermione and Ginny about a Love Potion
she'd made as a young girl. All three of them were rather giggly-
'What were you saying?' Ron asked Harry, as they sat down.
'Later,' Harry muttered, as Percy stormed in.
Harry had no chance to speak to Ron or Hermione in the chaos
of leaving; they were too busy heaving all their trunks down the
Leaky Cauldron's narrow staircase and piling them up near the
door, with Hedwig and Hermes, Percy's screech owl, perched on
top in their cages. A small wickerwork basket stood beside the
heap of trunks, spitting loudly.
'It's all right, Crookshanks,' Hermione cooed through the wickerwork,
'I'll let you out on the train.'
'You won't,' snapped Ron. 'What about poor Scabbers, eh?'
He pointed at his chest, where a large lump indicated that Scabbers
was curled up in his pocket.
the dementor 57

Mr Weasley, who had been outside waiting for the Ministry
cars, stuck his head inside.
They're here,' he said. 'Harry, come on.'
Mr Weasley marched Harry across the short stretch of pavement
towards the first of two old-fashioned dark green cars, each
of which was driven by a furtive-looking wizard, wearing a suit of
emerald velvet.
'In you get, Harry,' said Mr Weasley, glancing up and down the
crowded street.
Harry got into the back of the car, and was shortly joined by
Hermione, Ron and, to Ron's disgust, Percy
The journey to King's Cross was very uneventful compared to
Harry's trip on the Knight Bus. The Ministry of Magic cars seemed
almost ordinary, though Harry noticed that they could slide
through gaps that Uncle Vernon's new company car certainly
couldn't have managed. They reached King's Cross with twenty
minutes to spare; the Ministry drivers found them trolleys,
unloaded their trunks, touched their hats to Mr Weasley and
drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of an
unmoving queue for the traffic lights.
Mr Weasley kept close to Harry's elbow all the way into the |
station.
'Right then,' he said, glancing around them. 'Let's do this in
pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go through first with Harry.'
Mr Weasley strolled towards the barrier between platforms nine
and ten, pushing Harry's trolley and apparently very interested in
the InterCity 125 that had just arrived at platform nine. With a
meaningful look at Harry, he leaned casually against the barrier.
Harry imitated him.
Next moment, they had fallen sideways through the solid metal
onto platform nine and three-quarters and looked up to see the
"ogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine, puffing smoke over a
platform packed with witches and wizards seeing their children
onto the train.
Percy and Ginny suddenly appeared behind Harry. They were
panting, and had apparently taken the barrier at a run.
Ah, there's Penelope!' said Percy, smoothing his hair and going
Pink again. Ginny caught Harry's eye and they both turned away
o hide their laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long,
^ly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so that she couldn't
58 harry potter

miss his shiny badge.
Once the remaining Weasleys and Hermione had joined them
Harry and Mr Weasley led the way to the end of the train, past
packed compartments, to a carriage that looked quite empty They
loaded the trunks onto it, stowed Hedwig and Crookshanks in the
luggage rank, then went back outside to say goodbye to Mr and
Mrs Weasley.
Mrs Weasley kissed all her children, then Hermione, and finally,
Harry. He was embarrassed, but really quite pleased, when she
gave him an extra hug.
'Do take care, won't you. Harry?' she said as she straightened
up, her eyes oddly bright. Then she opened her enormous handbag
and said, 'I've made you all sandwiches. Here you are, Ron ...
no, they're not corned beef ... Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are,
dear ...'
'Harry,' said Mr Weasley quietly, 'come over here a moment.'
He jerked his head towards a pillar, and Harry followed him
behind it, leaving the others crowded around Mrs Weasley.
'There's something I've got to tell you before you leave -' said
Mr Weasley, in a tense voice. ^
'It's all right, Mr Weasley,' said Harry, 'I already know.'
'You know? How could you know?'
T - er - I heard you and Mrs Weasley talking last night. I couldn't
help hearing,' Harry added quickly. 'Sorry -'
'That's not the way I'd have chosen for you to find out,' said Mr
Weasley, looking anxious.
'No - honestly, it's OK. This way, you haven't broken your word
to Fudge and I know what's going on.'
'Harry, you must be very scared -'
'I'm not,' said Harry sincerely. 'Really,' he added, because Mr
Weasley was looking disbelieving. 'I'm not trying to be a hero, but
seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?'
Mr Weasley flinched at the sound of the name, but overlooked
it.
'Harry, I knew you were, well, made of stronger stuff than
Fudge seems to think, and I'm obviously pleased that you're not
scared, but -'
'Arthur!' called Mrs Weasley, who was now shepherding the
rest onto the train. 'Arthur, what are you doing? It's about to go!
'He's coming, Molly!' said Mr Weasley, but he turned back to
the dementor 59

Harry and kept talking in a lower and more hurried voice. 'Listen,
1 want you to give me your word -
- that I'll be a good boy and stay in the castle?' said Harry

gloomily
'Not entirely,' said Mr Weasley, who looked more serious than
Harry had ever seen him. 'Harry, swear to me you won't go looking
for Black.'
Harry stared. 'What?'
There was a loud whistle. Guards were walking along the train,
slamming all the doors shut.
'Promise me. Harry,' said Mr Weasley, talking more quickly still,
'that whatever happens -'
'Why would I go looking for someone I know wants to kill me?'
said Harry blankly
'Swear to me that whatever you might hear -'
'Arthur, quickly!' cried Mrs Weasley.
Steam was billowing from the train; it had started to move.
Harry ran to the compartment door and Ron threw it open and
stood back to let him on. They leaned out of the window and
waved at Mr and Mrs Weasley until the train turned a corner and
blocked them from view.
'I need to talk to you in private,' Harry muttered to Ron and
Hermione as the train picked up speed.
'Go away, Ginny,' said Ron.
'Oh, that's nice,' said Ginny huffily, and she stalked off.
Harry, Ron and Hermione set off down the corridor, looking for
an empty compartment, but all were full except for the one at the
very end of the train.
This only had one occupant, a man sitting fast asleep next to
the window. Harry, Ron and Hermione checked on the threshold.
The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they
had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who
pushed the food trolley
The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's
robes which had been darned in several places. He looked ill and
exhausted. Though quite young, his light-brown hair was flecked
with grey.
Who d'you reckon he is?' Ron hissed, as they sat down and slid
e door shut, taking the seats furthest away from the window.
rotessor R. J. Lupin,' whispered Hermione at once.
60 harry potter

'How d'you know that?'
'It's on his case,' replied Hermione, pointing at the luggage rack
over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held
together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The
name 'Professor R. J. Lupin' was stamped across one corner in
peeling letters.
'Wonder what he teaches?' said Ron, frowning at Professor
Lupin's pallid profile.
'That's obvious,' whispered Hermione. 'There's only one vacancy,
isn't there? Defence Against the Dark Arts.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione had already had two Defence Against
the Dark Arts teachers, both of whom had only lasted one year.
There were rumours that the job was jinxed.
'Well, I hope he's up to it,' said Ron doubtfully. 'He looks like
one good hex would finish him off, doesn't he? Anyway ...' he
turned to Harry, 'what were you going to tell us?'
Harry explained all about Mr and Mrs Weasley's argument and
the warning Mr Weasley had just given him. When he'd finished,
Ron looked thunderstruck, and Hermione had her hands over her
mouth. She finally lowered them to say, 'Sirius Black escaped to
come after you? Oh, Harry ... you'll have to be really, really careful.
Don't go looking for trouble, Harry ...'
'I don't go looking for trouble,' said Harry, nettled. 'Trouble usually
finds me.'
'How thick would Harry have to be, to go looking for a nutter
who wants to kill him?' said Ron shakily.
They were taking the news worse than Harry had expected.
Both Ron and Hermione seemed to be much more frightened of
Black than he was.
'No one knows how he got out of Azkaban,' said Ron uncomfortably.
'No one's ever done it before. And he was a top-security
prisoner, too.'
'But they'll catch him, won't they?' said Hermione earnestly 'I
mean, they've got all the Muggles looking out for him, too ...'
'What's that noise?' said Ron suddenly.
A faint, tinny sort of whistle was coming from somewhere.
They looked all around the compartment.
'It's coming from your trunk, Harry,' said Ron, standing up and
reaching into the luggage rack. A moment later he had pulled the
Pocket Sneakoscope out from between Harry's robes. It was spin'
the dementor 61

ine very fast in the palm of Ron's hand, and glowing brilliantly.
I 'Is that a SneakoscopeY said Hermione interestedly, standing up

for a better look.
'Yeah ... mind you, it's a very cheap one,' Ron said. 'It went haywire
just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry'
'Were you doing anything untrustworthy at the time?' said
Hermione shrewdly
'No! Well... I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know he's i
not really up to long journeys ... but how else was I supposed to 1
get Harry's present to him?'
'Stick it back in the trunk,' Harry advised, as the Sneakoscope
whistled piercingly, 'or it'll wake him up.'
He nodded towards Professor Lupin. Ron stuffed the Sneakoscope
into a particularly horrible pair of Uncle Vemon's old socks, which
deadened the sound, then closed the lid of the trunk on it.
'We could get it checked in Hogsmeade,' said Ron, sitting back
down. 'They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical
instruments and stuff, Fred and George told me.'
'Do you know much about Hogsmeade?' asked Hermione keenly.
'I've read it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain -'
'Yeah, I think it is,' said Ron in an offhand sort of way, 'but
that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside Honeydukes!'
'What's that?' said Hermione.
'It's this sweetshop,' said Ron, a dreamy look coming over his
face, 'where they've got everything ... Pepper Imps - they make
you smoke at the mouth - and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry
mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills
which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking
what to write next -'
'But Hogsmeade's a very interesting place, isn't it?' Hermione
pressed on eagerly. 'In Sites of Historical Sorcery it says the inn was
the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking
Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in
Britain -
~ and massive sherbert balls that make you levitate a few
'nches off the ground while you're sucking them,' said Ron, who
^s plainly not listening to a word Hermione was saying.
Hermione looked around at Harry
Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit and explore
"ogsmeade?'
62 harry potter

"Spect it will,' said Harry heavily. 'You'll have to tell me when
you've found out.'
'What d'you mean?' said Ron. J
'I can't go. The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form, and
Fudge wouldn't, either.'
Ron looked horrified.
'You're not allowed to come? But - no way - McGonagall or
someone will give you permission --'
Harry gave a hollow laugh. Professor McGonagall, head of
Gryffindor house, was very strict.
'- or we can ask Fred and George, they know every secret passage
out of the castle --'
'Ron!' said Hermione sharply. 'I don't think Harry should be
sneaking out of school with Black on the loose -'
'Yeah, I expect that's what McGonagall will say when I ask for
permission,' said Harry bitterly.
'But if we're with him,' said Ron spiritedly to Hermione, 'Black
wouldn't dare -'
'Oh, Ron, don't talk rubbish,' snapped Hermione. 'Black's
already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a
crowded street, do you really think he's going to worry about
attacking Harry just because we're there?'
She was fumbling with the straps of Crookshanks' basket as she
spoke.
'Don't let that thing out!' Ron said, but too late; Crookshanks
leapt lightly from the basket, stretched, yawned, and sprang onto
Ron's knees; the lump in Ron's pocket trembled and he shoved
Crookshanks angrily away.
'Get out of it!'
'Ron, don't!' said Hermione angrily.
Ron was about to answer back when Professor Lupin stirred.
They watched him apprehensively, but he simply turned his head
the other way, mouth slightly open, and slept on.
The Hogwarts Express moved steadily north and the scenery
outside the window became wilder and darker while the clouds
overhead thickened. People were chasing backwards and forwards
past the door of their compartment. Crookshanks had now settled
in an empty seat, his squashed face turned towards Ron, "is
yellow eyes on Ron's top pocket.
At one o'clock the plump witch with the food trolley arrived at
the dementor 63

the compartment door.
'D'you think we should wake him up?' Ron asked awkwardly,
nodding towards Professor Lupin. 'He looks like he could do with
some food.'
Hermione approached Professor Lupin cautiously.
'Er - Professor?' she said. 'Excuse me - Professor?'
He didn't move.
'Don't worry, dear,' said the witch, as she handed Harry a large
stack of cauldron cakes. 'If he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up
front with the driver.'
'I suppose he is asleep?' said Ron quietly, as the witch slid the
compartment door closed. 'I mean - he hasn't died, has he?'
'No, no, he's breathing,' whispered Hermione, taking the cauldron
cake Harry passed her.
He might not be very good company, but Professor Lupin's
presence in their compartment had its uses. Mid-afternoon, just as
it had started to rain, blurring the rolling hills outside the window,
they heard footsteps in the corridor again, and their three
least favourite people appeared at the door: Draco Malfoy, flanked
by his cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.
Draco Malfoy and Harry had been enemies ever since they had
met on their very first train journey to Hogwarts. Malfoy, who had
a pale, pointed, sneering face, was in Slytherin house; he played
Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team, the same position that
Harry played on the Gryffindor team. Crabbe and Goyle seemed
to exist to do Malfoy's bidding. They were both wide and muscly;
Crabbe was the taller, with a pudding-basin haircut and a
very thick neck; Goyle had short, bristly hair and long, gorilla
arms.
'Well, look who it is,' said Malfoy in his usual lazy drawl,
pulling open the compartment door. 'Potty and the Weasel.'
Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly
I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold this
summer, Weasley' said Malfoy 'Did your mother die of shock?'
Ron stood up so quickly he knocked Crookshanks' basket to
'"e floor. Professor Lupin gave a snort.
Whos that?' said Malfoy, taking an automatic step backwards
as he spotted Lupin.
*
i-'ew teacher,' said Harry, who had got to his feet, too, in case
"^ded to hold Ron back. 'What were you saying, Malfoy?'
64 harry potter

Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed; he wasn't fool enough to pick a
fight right under a teacher's nose.
'C'mon,' he muttered resentfully to Crabbe and Goyle, and they
disappeared.
Harry and Ron sat down again, Ron massaging his knuckles.
'I'm not going to take any rubbish from Malfoy this year,' he
said angrily. 'I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family,
I'm going to get hold of his head and -'
Ron made a violent gesture in mid-air.
'Ron,' hissed Hermione, pointing at Professor Lupin, 'be careful..."
But Professor Lupin was still fast asleep.
The rain thickened as the train sped yet further north; the windows
were now a solid, shimmering grey, which gradually darkened
until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and
over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the
wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept.
'We must be nearly there,' said Ron, leaning forward to look
past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window.
The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow
down.
'Brilliant,' said Ron, getting up and walking carefully past Professor
Lupin to try and see outside. 'I'm starving, I want to get to
the feast...'
'We can't be there yet,' said Hermione, checking her watch.
'So why're we stopping?'
The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the
pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever
against the windows.
Harry, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor.
All along the carriage, heads were sticking curiously out of
their compartments.
The train came to a stop with a jolt and distant thuds and
bangs told them that luggage had fallen out of the racks. Then,
without warning, all the lamps went out and they were plunged
into total darkness.
'What's going on?' said Ron's voice from behind Harry.
'Ouch!' gasped Hermione. 'Ron, that was my foot!'
Harry felt his way back to his seat.
'D'you think we've broken down?'
'Dunno ...'
the dementor 65

There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw the dim black
outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering

out.
'There's something moving out there,' Ron said. 'I think people
are coming aboard ...'
The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell
painfully over Harry's legs.
'Sorry! D'you know what's going on? Ouch! Sorry -'
'Hullo, Neville,' said Harry, feeling around in the dark and
pulling Neville up by his cloak.
'Harry? Is that you? What's happening?'
'No idea! Sit down -'
There was a loud hissing and a yelp of pain; Neville had tried to
sit on Crookshanks.
'I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on,' came
Hermione's voice. Harry felt her pass him, heard the door slide
open again and then a thud and two loud squeals of pain.
'Who's that?'
Who's that?'
'Ginny?'
'Hermione?'
'What are you doing?'
'I was looking for Ron -'
'Come in and sit down -'
'Not here!' said Harry hurriedly 'I'm here!'
'Ouch!' said Neville.
'Quiet!' said a hoarse voice suddenly.
Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last. Harry could
hear movements in his corner. None of them spoke.
There was a soft, crackling noise and a shivering light filled the
compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful
of flames. They illuminated his tired grey face, but his eyes looked
alert and wary.
Stay where you are,' he said, in the same hoarse voice, and he
got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of
him.
But the door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it.
Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in
upms hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its
ace was Gompletely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted
66	harry potter

downwards, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There
was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grey-
ish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something dead that had
decayed in water...
It was visible only for a split second. As though the creature
beneath the cloak sensed Harrys gaze, the hand was suddenly
withdrawn into the folds of the black material.
And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a
long, slow, rattling breath, as though it was trying to suck some-
thing more than air from its surroundings.
An intense cold swept over them all. Harry felt his own breath
catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was
inside his chest, it was inside his very heart...
Harrys eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn't see. He was
drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of
water. He was being dragged downwards, the roaring growing
louder...
And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified,
pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to
move his arms, but couldn't ... a thick white fog was swirling
around him, inside him -
'Harry! Harry' Are you all right?'
Someone was slapping his face.
'W-what?'
Harry opened his eyes. There were lanterns above him, and the
floor was shaking - the Hogwarts Express was moving again and
the lights had come back on. He seemed to have slid out of his
seat onto the floor. Ron and Hermione were kneeling next to him,
and above them he could see Neville and Professor Lupin watch-
ing. Harry felt very sick; when he put up his hand to push his
glasses back on, he felt cold sweat on his face.
Ron and Hermione heaved him back onto his seat. -^
'Are you OK?' Ron asked nervously.
'Yeah,' said Harry, looking quickly towards the door. The hood-
ed creature had vanished. 'What happened? Where's that - that
thing? Who screamed?'
'No one screamed,' said Ron, more nervously still.
Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny a"
Neville looked back at him, both very pale.
'But I heard screaming -'
the dementor 67

loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking
ormous slab of chocolate into pieces.

re ' he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece.
. It'll help.'
ry took the chocolate but didn't eat it.
iat was that thing?' he asked Lupin.

3ementor,' said Lupin, who was now giving chocolate to
ne else. 'One of the Dementors ofAzkaban.'
yone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the
chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket.
he repeated. 'It'll help. I need to speak to the driver,
me ...'

rolled past Harry and disappeared into the corridor.

you sure you're OK, Harry?' said Hermione, watching
ixiously. ,

't get it... what happened?' said Harry, wiping more sweat
ce.

that thing - the Dementor - stood there and looked
t mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face) - and you -
/

ght you were having a fit or something,' said Ron, who

d scared. 'You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat
d twitching -'

rofessor Lupin stepped over you, and walked towards
"itor, and pulled out his wand,' said Hermione. 'And he
e of us is hiding Sinus Black under our cloaks. Go." But
itor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a

ig shot out of his wand at it, and it turned round and
sd away...'

orrible,' said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. 'Did
 cold it went when it came in?'

ird,' said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.
er be cheerful again ...'

10 was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as

ave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a com-
iround her.

't any of you - fall off your seats?' said Harry

Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. 'Ginny was
nad, though ...'

68 harry potter

Harry didn't understand. He felt weak and shivery, as though he
was recovering from a bad bout of flu; he also felt the beginnings
of shame. Why had he gone to pieces like that, when no one else I
had? '
Professor Lupin had come back. He paused as he entered
looked around and said, with a small smile, 'I haven't poisoned
that chocolate, you know ...'
Harry took a bite and to his great surprise felt warmth spread
suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.
'We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes,' said Professor Lupin. 'Are
you all right. Harry?'
Harry didn't ask how Professor Lupin knew his name.
'Fine,' he muttered, embarrassed.
They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey At
long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a
great scramble to get out; owls hooted, cats miaowed, and
Neville's pet toad croaked loudly from under his hat. It was freezing
on the tiny platform; rain was driving down in icy sheets.
'Firs' years this way!' called a familiar voice. Harry, Ron and
Hermione turned and saw the gigantic outline of Hagrid at the
other end of the platform, beckoning the terrified-looking new
students forward for their traditional journey across the lake.
'All righ', you three?' Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd.
They waved at him, but had no chance to speak to him because
the mass of people around them was shunting them away along
the platform. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed the rest of the
school out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred
stagecoaches awaited the remaining students, each pulled, Harry
could only assume, by an invisible horse, because when they
climbed inside one and shut the door, the coach set off all by
itself, bumping and swaying in procession.
The coach smelled faintly of mould and straw. Harry felt better
since the chocolate, but still weak. Ron and Hermione kept looking
at him sideways, as though frightened he might collapse
again. 1
As the carriage trundled towards a pair of magnificent wrought-
iron gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars,
Harry saw two more towering, hooded Dementors, standing g^
on either side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf "lln
again; he leaned back into the lumpy seat and closed his ey
JJ
the dementor 69

ntil they had passed through the gates. The carriage picked up
ped on the long, sloping drive up to the castle; Hermione was
lieanine out of the tiny window, watching the many turrets and
towers draw nearer. At last, the carriage swayed to a halt, and
Hermione and Ron got out.
As Harry stepped down, a drawling, delighted voice sounded in

his ear.
'You fainted. Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually Jointed?'
Malfoy elbowed past Hermione to block Harry's way up the
stone steps to the castle, his face gleeful and his pale eyes glinting
maliciously
'Shove off, Malfoy,' said Ron, whose jaw was clenched.
'Did you faint as well, Weasley?' said Malfoy loudly. 'Did the
scary old Dementor frighten you, too, Weasley?'
'Is there a problem?' said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just
got out of the next carriage.
Malfoy gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in
the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase. With a tiny
hint of sarcasm in his voice, he said, 'Oh, no - er - Professor,' then
he smirked at Crabbe and Goyle, and led them up the steps into
the castle.
Hermione prodded Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the
three of them joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through
the giant oak front doors, and into the cavernous Entrance Hall,
which was lit with flaming torches and housed a magnificent marble
staircase which led to the upper floors.
The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Harry followed
the crowd towards it, but had barely glimpsed the enchanted
ceiling, which was black and cloudy tonight, when a voice
called, 'Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!'
Harry and Hermione turned around, surprised. Professor McG-
onagall. Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor house,
^s calling over the heads of the crowd. She was a stern-looking
witch who wore her hair in a tight bun; her sharp eyes were
famed with square spectacles. Harry fought his way over to her
^th a feeling of foreboding; Professor McGonagall had a way of
leaking him feel he must have done something wrong.
,-. eres "o need to look so worried - I just want a word in my I
""ice,' she told them. 'Move along there, Weasley.'
72 harry potter

his beard. 'Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few
things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think
it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by
our excellent feast...'
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued. 'As you will all
be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is
presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who
are here on Ministry of Magic business.'
He paused, and Harry remembered what Mr Weasley had said
about Dumbledore not being happy with the Dementors guarding
the school.
They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds,' Dumbledore
continued, 'and while they are with us, I must make it plain
that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are
not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility
Cloaks,' he added blandly, and Harry and Ron glanced at each
other. 'It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading
or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give
them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new
Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the
Dementors.'
Percy, who was sitting a few seats along from Harry, puffed out
his chest again and stared around impressively. Dumbledore
paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and
nobody moved or made a sound.
'On a happier note,' he continued, 'I am pleased to welcome
two new teachers to our ranks this year.
'Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the
post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.'
There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic, applause.
Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with
Professor Lupin clapped hard. Harry among them. Professor
Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in
their best robes.
'Look at Snape!' Ron hissed in Harry's ear.
Professor Snape, the Potions master, was staring along the stall
table at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape
wanted the Defence Against the Dark Arts job, but even Harry,
who hated Snape, was startled at the expression twisting his thin,
sallow face. It was beyond anger: it was loathing. Harry knew tha
the dementor 73

H| nression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time
he set eyes on Harry.
'as to our second new appointment,' Dumbledore continued, as
the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away, 'well, I am
sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical
Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy
more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to
say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid,
who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his
gamekeeping duties.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at each other, stunned. Then
they joined in with the applause, which was tumultuous at the
Gryffindor table in particular. Harry leaned forward to see Hagrid,
who was ruby red in the face and staring down at his enormous
hands, his wide grin hidden in the tangle of his black beard.
'We should've known!' Ron roared, pounding the table. 'Who
else would have set us a biting book?'
Harry, Ron and Hermione were the last to stop clapping, and as
--Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that
^lagrid was wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.
"Well, I think that's everything of importance,' said Dumble- Jdore. 'Let the feast begin!'
The golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with
food and drink. Harry, suddenly ravenous, helped himself to
everything he could reach and began to eat.
It was a delicious feast; the Hall echoed with talk, laughter and
the clatter of knives and forks. Harry, Ron and Hermione, however,
were eager for it to finish so that they could talk to Hagrid.
They knew how much being made a teacher would mean to him.
Hagnd wasn't a fully qualified wizard; he had been expelled from
Mogwarts in his third year, for a crime he had not commited. It
had been Harry, Ron and Hermione who had cleared Hagrid's
"ame last year.
At long last, when the last morsels of pumpkin tart had melted
from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was
tlme for Aem all to go to bed, and they got their chance.
^ngratulations, Hagrid!' Hermione squealed, as they reached
^ teachers' table.
All down ter you three,' said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on
^^^ napkin as he looked up at them. 'Can' believe it ... great man, |
74 harry potter

Dumbledore ... came straight down to me hut after Professor Kei
tieburn said he'd had enough ... it's what I always wanted ...'
Overcome with emotion, he buried his face in his napkin, and
Professor McGonagall shooed them away.
Harry, Ron and Hermione joined the Gryffindors streaming un
the marble staircase and, very tired now, along more corridors, im
more and more stairs, to the hidden entrance to Gryffindor Tower
A large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress asked them, 'Password?'
'Coming through, coming through!' Percy called from behind
the crowd. 'The new password's Fortuna Major!'
'Oh no,' said Neville Longbottom sadly. He always had trouble
remembering the passwords.
Through the portrait hole and across the common room, the
girls and boys divided towards their separate staircases. Harry
climbed the spiral stairs with no thought in his head except how glad he was to be back. They reached their familiar, circular dormitory
with its five four-poster beds and Harry, looking around,
felt he was home at last.
-- CHAPTER SIX --

Talons and Tea Leaves

When Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall for breakfast
next day, the first thing they saw was Draco Malfoy, who
seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very
funny story. As they passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of
a swooning fit and there was a roar of laughter.
'Ignore him,' said Hermione, who was right behind Harry. 'Just
ignore him, it's not worth it...'
'Hey, Potter!' shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl with a
face like a pug. 'Potter! The Dementors are coming. Potter!
WooooooooF
Harry dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor table, next to
George Weasley.
'New third-year timetables,' said George, passing them over.
'What's up with you. Harry?'
'Malfoy,' said Ron, sitting down on George's other side and glaring
over at the Slytherin table.
George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint
with terror again.
'That little git,' he said calmly 'He wasn't so cocky last night
when the Dementors were down our end of the train. Came runng
into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?'
Nearly wet himself,' said Fred, with a contemptuous glance at
Malfoy
wasn't too happy myself,' said George. 'They're horrible
'"ings, those Dementors...'
Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?' said Fred.
^u didn't pass out, though, did you?' said Harry in a low

A u ^et u' ^""y' sal^ George bracingly. 'Dad had to go out to
_ aban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst

76 harry potter

place he'd ever been. He came back all weak and shaking ... n,
suck the happiness out of a place, Dementors. Most of the prison
ers go mad in there.'
'Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quid.
ditch match,' said Fred. 'Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first same nt
the season, remember?'
The only time Harry and Malfoy had faced each other in a
Quidditch match, Malfoy had definitely come off worse. Feeling
slightly more cheerful. Harry helped himself to sausages and fried
tomatoes.
Hermione was examining her new timetable.
'Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today,' she said
happily.
'Hermione,' said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder,
'they've messed up your timetable. Look - they've got you down
for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time.'
'I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall.'
'But look,' said Ron, laughing, 'see this morning? Nine o'clock,
Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. And -'
Ron leaned closer to the timetable, disbelieving, 'look - underneath
that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good,
Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in
three classes at once?'
'Don't be silly,' said Hermione shortly. 'Of course I won't be in
three classes at once.'
'Well, then -'
'Pass the marmalade,'said Hermione. ';'
'But-'
'Oh, Ron, what's it to you if my timetable's a bit full?' Hermione
snapped. 'I told you, I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall.'
Just then, Hagrid entered the Great Hall. He was wearing his
long moleskin overcoat and was absent-mindedly swinging a dead
polecat from one enormous hand.
'All righ'?' he said eagerly, pausing on the way to the staff table.
'Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five ff1'
tin' everythin' ready ... hope it's OK ... me, a teacher ... hones'ly -
He grinned broadly at them and headed off to the staff table,
still swinging the polecat.
'Wonder what he's been getting ready?' said Ron, a note of anxiety
in his voice.
talons AND tea leaves 77 ;

The Hall was starting to empty as people headed off towards
iheir first lesson. Ron checked his timetable.
'We'd better go, look. Divination's at the top of North Tower.
It'll take us ten minutes to get there ...'
They finished their breakfast hastily, said goodbye to Fred and
Georee and walked back through the hall. As they passed the
Sivtherin table, Malfoy did yet another impression of a fainting fit.
The shouts of laughter followed Harry into the Entrance Hall. I
The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one. I
Two years at Hogwarts hadn't taught them everything about the ~
castle, and they had never been inside North Tower before.
There's - got - to - be - a - short - cut,' Ron panted, as they
climbed their seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar I
landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of a bare
stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall.
'I think it's this way,' said Hermione, peering down the empty
passage to the right. I --
'Can't be,' said Ron. That's south. Look, you can see a bit of the
lake out of the window ...'
1!H
Harry was watching the painting. A fat, dapple-grey pony had
just ambled onto the grass and was grazing nonchalantly. Harry
was used to the subjects of Hogwarts paintings moving around
and leaving their frames to visit each other, but he always enjoyed
watching them. A moment later, a short, squat knight in a suit of
armour had clanked into the picture after his pony. By the look of
the grass stains on his metal knees, he had just fallen off.
II
'Aha!' he yelled, seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'What vil- fl ^
lams are these that trespass upon my private lands! Come to scorn
 my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!'
They watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his "v
sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hop-
P^g up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a
particularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed face
aown in the grass.
^e you all right?' said Harry, moving closer to the picture. 
Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!'
he knight seized his sword again and used it to push himself
ac up, but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though he
pu ed with all his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally he ^
to flop back down onto the grass and push up his visor to
JJ
78 harry potter |
i

mop his sweating face.
'Listen,' said Harry, taking advantage of the knight's exhaustion
'we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way dn
you?'
'A quest!' The knight's rage seemed to vanish instantly. He
clanked to his feet and shouted, 'Come follow me, dear friends
and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the
charge!'
He gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to
mount the fat pony, and cried, 'On foot then, good sirs and gentle
lady! On! On!'
And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left-hand side of the frame
and out of sight.
They hurried after him along the corridor, following the sound
of his armour. Every now and then they spotted him running
through a picture ahead. ^~
'Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!' yelled the knight,
and they saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of
women in crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow,
spiral staircase.
Puffing loudly. Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed the tightly
spiralling steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last they heard
the murmer of voices above them, and knew they had reached the
classroom.
'Farewell!' cried the knight, popping his head into a painting of
some sinister-looking monks. 'Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! II
ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir
Cadogan!'
'Yeah, we'll call you,' muttered Ron, as the knight disappeared,
'if we ever need someone mental.'
They climbed the last few steps and emerged onto a tiny landing,
where most of the class was already assembled. There were no
doors off this landing; Ron nudged Harry and pointed at the
ceiling where there was a circular trap door with a brass plaque
on it. 3
'Sybill Trelawney, Divination teacher', Harry read. 'How're we
supposed to get up there?'
As though in answer to his question, the trap door sudden
opened, and a silvery ladder descended right at Harrys tee
Everyone went quiet.
talons AND tea leaves 79

'After you,' said Ron, grinning, so Harry climbed the ladder

He emerged into the strangest-looking classroom he had ever
^ fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all; more like a cross
hftween someone's attic and an old-fashioned teashop. At least
twenty small, circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded
by chintz armchairs and fat little pouffes. Everything was lit
with a dim, crimson light; the curtains at the windows were all
closed, and the many lamps were draped with dark red scarves. It
was stiflingly warm, and the fire which was burning under the
crowded mantelpiece was giving off a heavy, sickly sort of perfume
as it heated a large, copper kettle. The shelves running
around the circular walls were crammed with dusty-looking feathers,
stubs of candles, many packs of tattered playing cards, countless
silvery crystal balls and a huge array of teacups.
Ron appeared at Harry's shoulder as the class assembled around
them, all talking in whispers. |
'Where is she?' Ron said.
A voice came suddenly out of the shadows, a soft, misty sort of
voice.
'Welcome,' it said. 'How nice to see you in the physical world at
last.'
Harry's immediate impression was of a large, glittering insect.
Professor Trelawney moved into the firelight, and they saw that she I
was very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times j
their natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy spangled shawl.
Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and
her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings.
'Sit, my children, sit,' she said, and they all climbed awkwardly
into armchairs or sank onto pouffes. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat
themselves around the same round table.
Welcome to Divination,' said Professor Trelawney, who had
seated herself in a winged armchair in front of the fire. 'My name :
's Professor Trelawney You may not have seen me before. I find
at descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main
sch001 clouds my Inner Eye.' J
Nobody said anything in answer to this extraordinary pro-
"ncement. Professor Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl
, ^"tmued, 'So you have chosen to study Divination, the most
lcult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if
80 harry potter '

you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach
you. Books can take you only so far in this field ...' |
At these words, both Harry and Ron glanced, grinning
Hermione, who looked startled at the news that books wouldn't
be much help in this subject.
'Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area
of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearings, are yet
unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future,' Professor
Trelawney went on, her enormous, gleaming eyes moving from
face to nervous face. 'It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy,' she said
suddenly to Neville, who almost toppled off his pouffe, 'is your
grandmother well?'
'I think so,' said Neville tremulously.
'I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear,' said Professor
Trelawney, the firelight glinting on her long emerald earrings.
Neville gulped. Professor Trelawney continued placidly, 'We wil^H
be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The tirst^l
term will be devoted to reading the tea leaves. Next term we shal^B
progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear,' she shot suddenly at 1
Parvati Patil, 'beware a red-haired man.'
Parvati gave a startled look at Ron, who was right behind her,
and edged her chair away from him.
'In the summer term,' Professor Trelawney went on, 'we shall
progress to the crystal ball - if we have finished with fire-omens,
that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a
nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter,
one of our number will leave us for ever.'
A very tense silence followed this pronouncement, but Professor
Trelawney seemed unaware of it.
'I wonder, dear,' she said to Lavender Brown, who was nearest
and shrank back in her chair, 'if you could pass me the largest
silver teapot?'
Lavender, looking relieved, stood up, took an enormous teapot
from the shelf and put it down on the table in front of Professor
Trelawney.
'Thank you, my dear. Incidentally, that thing you are dreading -
it will happen on Friday the sixteenth of October.'
Lavender trembled.
'Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup fro"1
the shelf, come to me and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink,

TALONS AND tea leaves 81

a k until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup
, myes with the left hand, then turn the cup upside-down on
gaucer; wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your
' up to your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using
pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among
you helping and instructing. Oh, and dear -' she caught Neville
iw the arm as he made to stand up, 'after you've broken your first
cup would you be so kind as to select one of the blue patterned

ones? I'm rather attached to the pink.'
Sure enough, Neville had no sooner reached the shelf of
teacups when there was a tinkle of breaking china. Professor
Trelawney swept over to him holding a dustpan and brush and
said, 'One of the blue ones, then, dear, if you wouldn't mind ...

thank you ...'
When Harry and Ron had had their teacups filled, they went
back to their table and tried to drink the scalding tea quickly.
They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had
instructed, then drained the cups and swapped them.
'Right,' said Ron, as they both opened their books at pages five

and six. 'What can you see in mine?'
'A load of soggy brown stuff,' said Harry. The heavily perfumed
smoke in the room was making him feel sleepy and stupid.
'Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see past
the mundane!' Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom.
Harry tried to pull himself together.
'Right, you've got a wonky sort of cross ...' he said, consulting
Unjogging the Future. 'That means you're going to have "trials and
suffering" - sorry about that - but there's a thing that could be the
sun. Hang on ... that means "great happiness" ... so you're going
to suffer but be very happy ...'
You need your Inner Eye testing, if you ask me,' said Ron, and
hey both had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed
n their direction.
My turn ...' Ron peered into Harry's teacup, his forehead wrin-
led with effort. 'There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat,' he said.
Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic ...'
He turned the teacup the other way up.
ut this way it looks more like an acorn ... what's that?' He
canned his copy of Unfogging the Future. '"A windfall, unexpect-
go d. Excellent, you can lend me some. And there's a thing
82 harry potter

here,' he turned the cup again, 'that looks like an animal. Yeah f
that was its head ... it looks like a hippo ... no, a sheep ...'
Professor Trelawney whirled around as Harry let out a snort nf
laughter.
'Let me see that, my dear,' she said reprovingly to Ron, sweeo-
ing over and snatching Harry's cup from him. Everyone went
quiet to watch.
Profesor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it anticlockwise.

'The falcon ... my dear, you have a deadly enemy.'
'But everyone knows that,' said Hermione in a loud whisper,
Professor Trelawney stared at her.
'Well, they do,' said Hermione. 'Everybody knows about Harry
and You-Know-Who.'
Harry and Ron stared at her with a mixture of amazement and
admiration. They had never heard Hermione speak to a teacher
like that before. Professor Trelawney chose not to reply. She lowered
her huge eyes to Harry's cup again and continued to turn it.
The club ... an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup ...'
'I thought that was a bowler hat,' said Ron sheepishly.
The skull... danger in your path, my dear ...'
Everyone was staring, transfixed, at Professor Trelawney, who
gave the cup a final turn, gasped, and then screamed.
There was another tinkle of breaking china; Neville had
smashed his second cup. Professor Trelawney sank into a vacant
armchair, her glittering hand at her heart and her eyes closed.
'My dear boy - my poor dear boy - no - it is kinder not to say -
no -- don't ask me ...'
'What is it. Professor?' said Dean Thomas at once. Everyone
had got to their feet, and slowly, they crowded around Harry and
Ron's table, pressing close to Professor Trelawney's chair to get a
good look at Harry's cup.
'My dear,' Professor Trelawney's huge eyes opened dramatically,
'you have the Grim.'
The what?' said Harry.
He could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand;
Dean Thomas shrugged at him and Lavender Brown looke puzzled, but nearly everybody else clapped their hands to their
mouths in horror.
The Grim, my dear, the Grim!' cried Professor Trelawney who
talons AND tea leaves 83

ked shocked that Harry hadn't understood. The giant, spectral ,
0 ^t haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen - the
worst omen-of death'.' |
Harry's stomach lurched. That dog on the cover of Death Omens j
Flourish and Blotts - the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Cres-
nt Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth, too. :
Everyone was looking at Harry; everyone except Hermione, who
had eot up and moved around to the back of Professor Trelawney's
chair, 'i
^S} don't think it looks like a Grim,' she said flatly
^Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione with mounting dislike.
'You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very
little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of
the future.'
Seamus Finnigan was tilting his head from side to side.
It looks like a Grim if you do this,' he said, with his eyes
almost shut, 'but it looks more like a donkey from here,' he said,
leaning to the left. -I
'When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or
not!' said Harry, taking even himself by surprise. Now nobody
seemed to want to look at him.
I
"I think we will leave the lesson here for today,' said Professor
Trelawney, in her mistiest voice. 'Yes ... please pack away your
things ...'
Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor
Trelawney, packed away their books and closed their bags. Even
Ron was avoiding Harry's eyes.
'Until we meet again,' said Professor Trelawney faintly, 'fair fortune
be yours. Oh, and dear -' she pointed at Neville, 'you'll be I
late next time, so mind you work extra hard to catch up.'
Harry, Ron and Hermione descended Professor Trelawney's ladder
and the winding staircase in silence, then set off for Professor
McGonagall's Transfiguration lesson. It took them so long to find
r ^ssroom that, early as they had left Divination, they were
""y just in time.
Harry chose a seat right at the back of the room, feeling as
' ough he was sitting in a very bright spotlight; the rest of the
c '>ss kept shooting furtive glances at him, as though he was about
0 rop dead at any moment. He hardly heard what Professor
I c "^gall was telling them about Animagi (wizards who could
84 harry potter

transform at will into animals), and wasn't even watching wh
she transformed herself in front of their eyes into a tabby cat with
spectacle markings around her eyes.
'Really, what has got into you all today?' said Professor McGo- nagall, turning back into herself with a faint pop, and starin?
around at them all. 'Not that it matters, but that's the first time my
transformation's not got applause from a class.'
Everybody's heads turned towards Harry again, but nobody
spoke. Then Hermione raised her hand.
'Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and
we were reading the tea leaves, and -'
'Ah, of course,' said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning.
'There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which
of you will be dying this year?'
Everyone stared at her.
The,' said Harry, finally.
'I see,' said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady
eyes. 'Then you should know. Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has
predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this
school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her
favourite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact
that I never speak ill of my colleagues -' Professor McGonagall
broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went
on, more calmly, 'Divination is one of the most imprecise
branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very
little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor
Trelawney ...'
She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone,
'You look in excellent health to me. Potter, so you will excuse me
if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die,
you need not hand it in.'
Hermione laughed. Harry felt a bit better. It was harder to feel
scared of a lump of tea leaves away from the dim red light and
befuddling perfume of Professor Trelawney's classroom. Not
everyone was convinced, however. Ron still looked worried, an
Lavender whispered, 'But what about Neville's cup?'
When the Transfiguration class had finished, they joined the
crowd thundering towards the Great Hall for lunch.
'Ron, cheer up,' said Hermione, pushing a dish of stew toward
him. 'You heard what Professor McGonagall said.'
talons AND tea leaves 85

Ron spooned stew onto his plate and picked up his fork but

didn't start. . - i. .
Harry' he said, in a low, serious voice, you haven t seen a great
black dog anywhere, have you?'
'Yeah I have,' said Harry. 'I saw one the night I left the Durs-

leys.'
Ron let his fork fall with a clatter.
Probably a stray,' said Hermione calmly
Ron looked at Hermione as though she had gone mad.
'Hennione, if Harry's seen a Grim, that's - that's bad,' he said.
My - my Uncle Bilius saw one and - and he died twenty-four
hours later!'
'Coincidence,' said Hermione airily, pouring herself some
pumpkin juice.
'You don't know what you're talking about!' said Ron, starting
to get angry. 'Grims scare the living daylights out of most
wizards!'
'There you are, then,' said Hermione in a superior tone. They
see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the
cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid
enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better pop my clogs
then!'
Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag,
took out her new Arithmancy book and propped it open against
the juice jug.
1 think Divination seems very woolly,' she said, searching for
her page. 'A lot of guesswork, if you ask me.'
There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!' said
Kon hotly.
^u didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling
Harry it was a sheep,' said Hermione coolly
D r
rrotessor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You
just don't like being rubbish at something for a change!'
ie had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy
ok down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot Hew
everywere.
being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see
eat ""^"s in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying
uch longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to my
^"thmancy class!'
86 harry potter

She snatched up her bag and stalked away.
Ron frowned after her.
'What's she talking about?' he said to Harry. 'She hasn't been
an Arithmancy class yet.'
*
Harry was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's
rain had cleared; the sky was a clear, pale grey and the grass was
springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care
of Magical Creatures class.
Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. Harry
walked beside them in silence as they went down the sloping
lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was
only when he spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them
that he realised they must be having these lessons with the
Slytherins. Malfoy was talking animatedly to Crabbe and Goyle,
who were chortling. Harry was quite sure he knew what they were
talking about.
Hagrid was waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood
in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels,
looking impatient to start. |
'C'mon, now, get a move on!' he called, as the class approached.
'Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone
here? Right, follow me!'
For one nasty moment. Harry thought that Hagrid was going to
lead them into the Forest; Harry had had enough unpleasant
experiences in there to last him a lifetime. However, Hagrid
strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later,
they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was
nothing in there.
'Everyone gather round the fence here!' he called. 'That's it -
make sure yeh can see. Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open
yer books -'
'How?' said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.
'Eh?' said Hagrid.
'How do we open our books?' Malfoy repeated. He took out his
copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shu
with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out, too; some,
like Harry had belted their book shut; others had crammed them
inside tight bags or clamped them together with bullclips.
'Hasn' - hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books? sal
talons AND tea leaves 87
I
Hagrid, looking crestfallen.
The class all shook their heads.
'Yeh've got ter stroke 'em,' said Hagrid, as though this was the
must obvious thing in the world. 'Look ...'
He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that
hound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger
jown its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay
quiet in his hand.
'Oh how silly we've all been!' Malfoy sneered. 'We should have
stroked them! Why didn't we guess!'
I I thought they were funny,' Hagrid said uncertainly to
Hermione.
'Oh, tremendously funny!' said Malfoy 'Really witty, giving us
books that try and rip our hands off!'
'Shut up, Malfoy,' said Harry quietly Hagrid was looking downcast
and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.
'Righ' then,' said Hagrid, who seemed to have lost his thread,
'so ... so yeh've got yer books an' ... an' ... now yeh need the Magi- |
cal Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on ...'
I I
He strode away from them into the Forest and out of sight.
'God, this place is going to the dogs,' said Malfoy loudly. 'That 
oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him - 1
'Shut up, Malfoy,' Harry repeated.
'Careful, Potter, there's a Dementor behind you -'
'Oooooooh!' squealed Lavender Brown, pointing towards the
opposite side of the paddock.
Trotting towards them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures
Harry had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs and
lails of horses, but the front legs, wings and heads of what seemed |
to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-coloured beaks and large, brilliantly
orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot
long and deadly-looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather
"liar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and
e ^ds of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who
came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.
Gee up, there!' he roared, shaking the chains and urging the
"eatures towards the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew
ack slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to
the fence.

'Ppognffs!' Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them;

88 harry potter I

'Beau'iful, aren' they?'
Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you had o I
over the first shock of seeing something that was half horse halt
bird, you started to appreciate the Hippogriffs' gleaming coat
changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different
colour: stormy grey, bronze, a pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut
and inky black.
'So,' said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beamine
around, 'ifyeh wan' ter come a bit nearer ...'
No one seemed to want to. Harry, Ron and Hermione, however
approached the fence cautiously.
'Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is they're
proud,' said Hagrid. 'Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never
insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do.'
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle weren't listening; they were talking
in an undertone and Harry had a nasty feeling they were plotting
how best to disrupt the lesson.
'Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move,'
Hagrid continued. 'It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh
bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him.
If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those
talons hurt.'
'Right - who wants ter go first?'
Most of the class backed further away in answer. Even Harry,
Ron and Hermione had misgivings. The Hippogriffs were tossing
their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't
seem to like being tethered like this.
'No one?' said Hagrid, with a pleading look.
'I'll do it,' said Harry.
There was an intake of breath from behind him and both
Lavender and Parvati whispered, 'Oooh, no, Harry, remember
your tea leaves!'
Harry ignored them. He climbed over the paddock fence.
'Good man. Harry!' roared Hagrid. 'Right then - let's see how
yeh get on with Buckbeak.'
He untied one of the chains, pulled the grey Hippogriff a^
from his fellows and slipped off his leather collar. The class on the
other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Ma
toy's eyes were narrowed maliciously.
Easy, now. Harry,' said Hagrid quietly 'Yeh've got eye contact, j
1
89
talons AND tea leaves


^ not ter blink - Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too

Harry's eyes immediately began to water, but he didn't shut
, Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head, and was staring
' Harry with one fierce orange eye.
Tha's it,' said Hagrid. Tha's it. Harry ... now, bow ...'
Harry didn't feel much like exposing the back of his neck to
Buckbeak, but he did as he was told. He gave a short bow and

then looked up.
The Hippogriffwas still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move.
'Ah,' said Hagrid, sounding worried. 'Right - back away, now,

Harry, easy does it -'
But then, to Harry's enormous surprise, the Hippogriff suddenly
bent his scaly front knees, and sank into what was an unmistake-

able bow.
'Well done. Harry!' said Hagrid, ecstatic. 'Right - yeh can touch

him! Pat his beak, go on!'
Feeling that a better reward would have been to back away,
I
Harry moved slowly towards the Hippogriff and reached out I
towards him. He patted the beak several times and the Hippogriff |
closed his eyes lazily, as though enjoying it. |
The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe and
^)yle, who were looking deeply disappointed.
^Righ' then, Harry,' said Hagrid, 'I reckon he migh' let yeh ride

him!'
This was more than Harry had bargained for. He was used to a
broomstick; but he wasn't sure a Hippogriff would be quite the
'.amp
same.
-xtine.
'Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint,' said Hagrid, 'an'
mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that...'
Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted --
himself onto his back. Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure
^'here to hold on; everything in front of him was covered in |
Fathers.
^o on, then'.' roared Hagrid, slapping the Hippogriffs
hindquarters.
without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either
slde of Harry; he just had time to seize the Hippogriff around the
"eck ^tore he was soaring upwards. It was nothing like a broom- ^11CK' ^d Harry knew which one he preferred; the Hippogriffs
r
90	harry potter

wings were beating uncomfortably on either side of him, catch'
him under his legs and making him feel he was about to l
thrown off; the glossy feathers slipped under his fingers and li
didn't dare get a stronger grip; instead of the smooth action of hi
Nimbus Two Thousand, he now felt himself rocking backward
and forwards as the hindquarters of the Hippogriff rose and fell
with his wings.
Buckbeak flew him once around the paddock and then headed
back to the ground; this was the bit Harry had been dreading; he
leaned back as the smooth neck lowered, feeling he was going to
slip off over the beak; then he felt a heavy thud as the four ill.
assorted feet hit the ground, and just managed to hold on and
push himself straight again.
'Good work, Harry!' roared Hagrid, as everyone except Malfoy,
Crabbe and Goyle cheered. 'OK, who else wants a go?'
Emboldened by Harry's success, the rest of the class climbed
cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by
one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the pad-
dock. Neville ran repeatedly backwards from his, which didn't
seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practised on
the chestnut, while Harry watched.
Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He
had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking
disdainful.
'This is very easy,' Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Harry to
hear him. 'I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it... I bet
you're not dangerous at all, are you?' he said to the Hippogriff.
'Are you, you ugly great brute?'
It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high- pitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak
back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled
in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes.
'I'm dying!' Malfoy yelled, as the class panicked. 'I'm dying,
look at me! It's killed me!'
'Yer not dyin'!' said Hagrid, who had gone very white. 'Someone
help me -- gotta get him outta here -'
Hermione ran to open the gate while Hagrid lifted Malfoy e^''
ly As they passed. Harry saw that there was a long, deep ga5" '
Malfoy's arm; blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him,
up the slope towards the castle. I
talons AND tea leaves 91

v rv shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a
^ -r^e slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.
Thev should sack him straight away!' said Pansy Parkinson,
w<"

wh

"^10 was in tears.
It was Malfoy's fault!' snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe and
Goyle Hexed their muscles threateningly
They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted Entrance Hall.
'I'm eoing to see if he's OK!' said Pansy, and they all watched
her run up the marble staircase. The Slytherins, still muttering
about Hagrid, headed away in the direction of their dungeon common
room; Harry, Ron and Hermione proceeded upstairs to

Gryffindor Tower.
D'you think he'll be all right?' said Hermione nervously.
"Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a
second,' said Harry, who had had far worse injuries mended magically
by the matron.
That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class,
though, wasn't it?' said Ron, looking worried. Trust Malfoy to
mess things up for him ...'
They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinner-
lime, hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there.
They wouldn't sack him, would they?' said Hermione anxiously,
not touching her steak-and-kidney pudding.
'They'd better not,' said Ron, who wasn't eating either.
Harry was watching the Slytherin table. A large group including
Crabbe and Goyle were huddled together, deep in conversation.
Harry was sure they were cooking up their own version of how
Malfoy had got injured.
Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back,' said
Ron gloomily.
They went up to the crowded Gryffindor common room after
"'"ner and tried to do the homework Professor McGonagall had
set them, but all three of them kept breaking off and glancing out
"f the tower window.
'here's a light on in Hagrid's window,' Harry said suddenly.
^on looked at his watch. |
we hurried, we could go down and see him, it's still quite
early, ' " ^

. ont know,' Hermione said slowly, and Harry saw her glance

92 harry potter

'I'm allowed to walk across the grounds,' he said pointedly 's
his Black hasn't got past the Dementors here, has he?' ,;'
So they put their things away and headed out of the portra
hole, glad not to meet anybody on their way to the front doors
they weren't entirely sure they were supposed to be out.
The grass was still wet and looked almost black in the twilight
When they reached Hagrid's hut, they knocked, and a voice
growled,'C'min.' ;
Hagrid was sitting in his shirt-sleeves at his scrubbed wooden
table; his boarhound, Fang, had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look
told them that Hagrid had been drinking a lot; there was a pewter
tankard almost as a big as a bucket in front of him, and he seemed
to be having difficulty in getting them into focus.
"Spect it's a record,' he said thickly, when he recognised them.
'Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who on'y lasted a day
before.'
'You haven't been sacked, Hagrid!' gasped Hermione.
'Not yet,' said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever
was in the tankard. 'But 'sonly a matter o' time, i'n't it, after
Malfoy ...'
'How is he?' said Ron, as they all sat down. 'It wasn't serious,
was it?'
'Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could,' said Hagrid dully,
'but he's sayin' it's still agony ... covered in bandages ... moanin'...'
'He's faking it,' said Harry at once. 'Madam Pomfrey can mend
anything. She regrew half my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk
it for all it's worth.' |
'School gov'nors have bin told, o' course,' said Hagrid miserably
'They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer
later ... done Flobberworms or summat... jus' thought it'd make a
good firs' lesson ... s'all my fault...'
'It's all Mai/bys fault, Hagrid!' said Hermione earnestly
'We're witnesses,' said Harry. 'You said Hippogriffs attack if yo"
insult them. It's Malfoy's problem he wasn't listening. We'll tel
Dumbledore what really happened.'
'Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up,' said Ron.
Tears leaked out of the crinkled corners of Hagrid's beetle-blac
eyes. He grabbed both Harry and Ron and pulled them into a
bone-breaking hug.
'I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid,' said Hennio
93
talons AND tea leaves


l She took the tankard from the table and went outside to

empty ^'
Ar maybe she's right,' said Hagrid, letting go of Harry and Ron,
, ^pth staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Hagrid heaved him-
>lf out of his chair and followed Hermione unsteadily outside.

"They heard a loud splash.
What's he done?' said Harry nervously, as Hermione came back

in with the empty tankard.
Stuck his head in the water barrel,' said Hermione, putting the

tankard away
Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping

the water out of his eyes.
'Tha's better,' he said, shaking his head like a dog and drenching
them all. 'Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I

really -
Hagrid stopped dead, staring at Harry as though he'd only just

realised he was there.
'WHAT D'YEH THINK YOU'RE DOIN', EH?' he roared, so suddenly
that they jumped a foot in the air. 'YEH'RE NOT TO GO WANDERIN' AROUND AFTER DARK, HARRY! AN' YOU TWO!
LETT1N' HIM!'
Hagrid strode over to Harry, grabbed his arm and pulled him to
the door.
'C'mon!' Hagrid said angrily. 'I'm takin' yer all back up ter
school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after
dark again. I'm not worth that!'
CHAPTER SEVEN --

The Boggart in the Wardrobe

Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning
when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double
Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in
bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Harry's opinion, as
though he was the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.
'How is it, Draco?' simpered Pansy Parkinson. 'Does it hurt
much?'
'Yeah,' said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But
Harry saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked
away.
'Settle down, settle down,' said Professor Snape idly.
Harry and Ron scowled at each other; Snape wouldn't have said
'settle down' if they'd walked in late, he'd have given them detention.
But Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything
in Snape's classes; Snape was Head of Slytherin house, and generally
favoured his own students before all others.
They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution.
Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ron, so that
they were preparing their ingredients on the same table.
'Sir,' Malfoy called, 'sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy
roots, because of my arm --'
'Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him,' said Snape, without
looking up.
Ron went brick red.
'There's nothing wrong with your arm,' he hissed at Malfoy
Malfoy smirked across the table.
'Weasley, you heard Professor Snape, cut up these roots.
Ron seized his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots towards him an
began to chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes, [~
'Professor,' drawled Malfoy, 'Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir-
the boggart IN THE wardrobe 95

approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at --
ots then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his m
M greasy black hair. I
Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley.'

But sir-!'
Ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding
his own roots into exactly equal pieces.
Now,' said Snape in his most dangerous voice.
Ron shoved his own beautifully cut roots across the table at
Malfoy, then took up the knife again.
And, sir, I'll need this Shrivelfig skinned,' said Malfoy, his voice
full of malicious laughter.
Potter, you can skin Malfoy's Shrivelfig,' said Snape, giving
Harry the look of loathing he always reserved just for him.
Harry took Malfoy's Shrivelfig as Ron set about trying to repair
the damage to the roots he now had to use. Harry skinned the
Shrivelfig as fast as he could and flung it back across the table at
Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than
ever.
'Seen your pal Hagrid lately?' he asked them quietly.
'None of your business,' said Ron jerkily, without looking up.
'I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer,' said Malfoy, in a
lone of mock sorrow. 'Father's not very happy about my injury -'
'Keep talking, Malfoy, and I'll give you a real injury,' snarled
Ron. ,
'- he's complained to the school governors. And to the Ministry
of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting
'"Jury like this -' he gave a huge, fake sigh, 'who knows if my
arm'll ever be the same again?'
So that's why you're putting it on,' said Harry, accidentally
sheading a dead caterpillar because his hand was shaking in
"iger. 'To try and get Hagrid sacked.'
"ell,' said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, 'partly, Pot-
ler But there are other benefits, too. Weasley, slice my caterpillars
for me;
A tew cauldrons away, Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly . I
ent lo Pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and
great tear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His
ion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had
96 harry potter ^

'Orange, Longbottom,' said Snape, ladling some up and a
ing it to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could
'Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick sky
yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one
spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech h
would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understa
Longbottom?'
Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he w
on the verge of tears.
'Please, sir,' said Hermione, 'please, I could help Neville put
right-'
'I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger,' sail
Snape coldly and Hermione went as pink as Neville. 'Longbottom,
at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to
your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you
to do it properly'
Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear.
'Help me.1' he moaned to Hermione.
"Hey, Harry,' said Seamus Finnigan, leaning over to borrow
Harry's brass scales, 'have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning -
they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted.'
'Where?' said Harry and Ron quickly On the other side oftlie
table, Malfoy looked up, listening closely.
'Not too far from here,' said Seamus, who looked excited, 'h
was a Muggle who saw him. 'Course, she didn't really understand
The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? S<
she 'phoned the telephone hotline. By the time the Ministry o
Magic got there, he was gone.' f
'Not too far from here ...' Ron repeated, looking significantly al
Harry He turned around and saw Malfoy watching closely 'Wh31'
Malfoy? Need something else skinning?'
But Malfoy's eyes were shining malevolently, and they we
fixed on Harry He leaned across the table.
'Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?
'Yeah, that's right,' said Harry offhandedly. ^H
Malfoy's thin mouth was curving in a mean smile. B^
'Of course, if it was me,' he said quietly 'I'd have done sorn
thing before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a go
I'd be out there looking for him.'
'What are you talking about, Malfoy?' said Ron roughly
the boggart IN THE wardrobe 97

"qw- -Don't you know. Potter?' breathed Malfoy, his pale eyes
see' narrowed.
11 t -Know what?'

121 Malfby let out a low, sneering laugh.

"ce ^Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck,' he said. 'Want to leave

"d, it to the Dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd
hunt him down myself.'

'as 'What are you talking about?' said Harry angrily but at that
moment Snape called, 'You should have finished adding your
^^ingredients by now. This potion needs to stew before it can be
^"Irunk; clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Longbot-
i lom's...'

Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly, watching Neville sweat as he
slirred his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions '
10 him out of the corner of her mouth, so that Snape wouldn't see.
Harry and Ron packed away their unused ingredients and went to --
wash their hands and ladles in the stone basin in the corner.
'What did Malfoy mean?' Harry muttered to Ron, as he stuck
his hands under the icy jet that poured from a gargoyle's mouth.

Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to
me-yet.'

'He's making it up,' said Ron, savagely, 'he's trying to make you
tlo something stupid ...'

^_ The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville,
who was cowering by his cauldron.

| Everyone gather round,' said Snape, his black eyes glittering,
ana ^'ch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed
'<' produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If,

dont doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be
poisoned.'

,The ^tfindors watched fearfully The Slytherins looked excit-
'"''P*' P'^ed up Trevor the toad in his left hand, and dipped a
a" spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trick- "a'ew drops down Trevor's throat.

euln ^re was a moment f hushed silence, in which Trevor
-'. then ^re was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was -
"Wng in Snapes palm. J ^

e "'"yffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, ^^^B
a small bottle from the pocket of his robe. nniir^ " c--
on top of Trevor .^ ^
98 harry potter ^_

'Five points from Gryffindor,' said Snape, which wiped ih smiles from every face. 'I told you not to help him, Miss Grano
Class dismissed.' j
Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed the steps to the Entran
Hall. Harry was still thinking about what Malfoy had said whil
Ron was seething about Snape.
'Five points from Gryffindor because the potion was all righii
Why didn't you lie, Hermione? You should've said Neville did it
all by himself!'
Hermione didn't answer. Ron looked around.
'Where is she?'
Harry turned, too. They were at the top of the steps now,
watching the rest of the class pass them, heading for the Great
Hall and lunch. i|
'She was right behind us,' said Ron, frowning.
Malfoy passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He
smirked at Harry and disappeared.
'There she is,' said Harry.
Hermione was panting slightly, hurrying up the stairs; one
hand was clutching her bag, the other seemed to be tucking something
down the front of her robes.
'How did you do that?' said Ron.
'What?' said Hermione, joining them.
'One minute you were right behind us, and next moment, you
were back at the bottom of the stairs again.'
'What?' Hermione looked slightly confused. 'Oh - I had to go
back for something. Oh, no ...'
A seam had split on Hermione's bag. Harry wasn't surprised; he
could see that it was crammed with at least a dozen large and
heavy books.
'Why are you carrying all these around with you?' Ron asked her.
'You know how many subjects I'm taking,' said Hermione
breathlessly. 'Couldn't hold these for me, could you?'
'But -' Ron was turning over the books she had handed him.
looking at the covers - 'you haven't got any of these subjec
today It's only Defence Against the Dark Arts this afternoon.
'Oh, yes,' said Hermione vaguely, but she packed all the go
back into her bag just the same. 'I hope there's something go0 ,
lunch, I'm starving,' she added, and she marched off towards ^B
Great Hall. ^1
^^ the boggart IN THE wardrobe 99 H

D'vou get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?'
Ron asked Harry.

fessor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defence
.gainst the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their
hooks quills and parchment, and were talking when he finally
entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old j|
briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but H m
looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a
few square meals.
Good afternoon,' he said. 'Would you please put all your books
back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will only
need your wands.'
A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their
books. They had never had a practical Defence Against the Dark
Arts before, unless you counted the memorable class last year
when their old teacher had brought a cageful of pixies to class and
set them loose.
'Right then,' said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready, 'if
you'd follow me.'
I
Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed
Professor Lupin out of the classroom. He led them along the
deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they
saw was Peeves the poltergeist, who was floating upside-down in
mid-air and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.
Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away,
then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song.
Loony, loopy Lupin,' Peeves sang. 'Loony, loopy Lupin, loony,
loopy Lupin -' -
Rude and unmanageable as he almost always was. Peeves usu- ' B
ally showed some respect towards the teachers. Everyone looked
quickly at Professor Lupin to see how he would take this; to their
''"'Prise, he was still smiling.
'd take that gum out of the keyhole, if I were you. Peeves,' he
"'d pleasantly 'Mr Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms.'
' ch was the Hogwarts caretaker, a bad-tempered, failed wiz-
who waged a constant war against the students and, indeed,
es' ""wever, Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's
or ^^Pt to blow a loud wet raspberry.
to essor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand.
100 harry potter ^

This is a useful little spell,' he told the class over his should
'Please watch closely.'
He raised the wand to shoulder height, said 'Waddiwasi!' and
pointed it at Peeves.
With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of
the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril; he whirled
right way up and zoomed away, cursing.
'Cool, sir!' said Dean Thomas in amazement.
'Thank you, Dean,' said Professor Lupin, putting his wand away
again. 'Shall we proceed?'
They set off again, the class looking at shabby Professor Lupin
with increased respect. He led them down a second corridor and m
stopped, right outside the staff room door.
'Inside, please,' said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing
back.
The staff room, a long, panelled room full of old, mismatched
chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting
in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in.
His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing
around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close
the door behind him, Snape said, 'Leave it open. Lupin. I'd rather
not witness this.' He got to his feet and strode past the class, his
black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on
his heel and said, 'Possibly no one's warned you. Lupin, but this
class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to
entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is
hissing instructions in his ear.'
Neville went scarlet. Harry glared at Snape; it was bad enough
that he bullied Neville in his own classes, let alone doing it in
front of other teachers.
Professor Lupin had raised his eyebrows.
'I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage
of the operation,' he said, 'and I am sure he will perform it
admirably.'
Neville's face went, if possible, even redder. Snape's lip curk .
but he left, shutting the door with a snap.
'Now, then,' said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class towar
the end of the room, where there was nothing except an o
wardrobe in which the teachers kept their spare robes. As Pro
sor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a su J
the boggart IN THE wardrobe 101

wobble, banging off the wall.
Nothing to worry about,' said Professor Lupin calmly, as a few |
me lumped backwards in alarm. There's a Boggart in there.' "
Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry 
hout Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Sea- I
mus Finnigan eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively
Boeearts like dark, enclosed spaces,' said Professor Lupin. X
Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks - I
once met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This
one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the Headmaster if
the staff would leave it to give my third-years some practice.
So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?'
Hermione put up her hand.
It's a shape-shifter,' she said. 'It can take the shape of whatever
it thinks will frighten us most.'
'Couldn't have put it better myself,' said Professor Lupin, and
Hermione glowed. 'So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within
has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will
frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows
what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him
out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.
!i
This means,' said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's
small splutter of terror, 'that we have a huge advantage over the
Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?'
Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to him, bobbing
up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air,
was very off-putting, but Harry had a go.
Er - because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape
'I should be?'
Precisely,' said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand
wn looking a little disappointed. 'It's always best to have com- ^"y when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused.
ich should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating
"g- I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake - tried to
g ten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug.
of ^motely frightening.
e charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force

itr"^, You see> the t-hin that ^^ ""^es a Boggart is laugh-
i,., at y0" need to do is force it to assume a shape that you
""d amusing.
| 'cr }V
| ^nda
102 harry potter

'We will practise the charm without wands first. After m
please ... riddikulusV
'Riddikulus!' said the class together.
'Good,' said Professor Lupin. 'Very good. But that was the easv
part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this i
where you come in, Neville.'
The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville
who walked forward as though he was heading for (he
gallows. |
'Right, Neville,' said Professor Lupin. 'First things first: whail
would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?'
Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.
'Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry,' said Professor Lupin cheerfully.
Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging some-1
one to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, 'Professor
Snape.'
Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically.
Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful. --
'Professor Snape ... hmmm ... Neville, I believe you live withH
your grandmother?' |
'Er - yes,' said Neville nervously. 'But - I don't want the Boggart
to turn into her, either.'
'No, no, you misunderstand me,' said Professor Lupin, now
smiling. 'I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your
grandmother usually wears?'
Neville looked startled, but said, 'Well ... always the same hal.
A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress ... green,
normally ... and sometimes a fox-fur scarf.'
'And a handbag?' prompted Professor Lupin.
'A big red one,' said Neville. H
'Right then,' said Professor Lupin. 'Can you picture thostm
clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind
eye?'
'Yes,' said Neville uncertainly, plainly wondering what was coming
next. ^
'When the Boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville,
sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape,' said lip
'And you will raise your wand - thus - and cry 'Riddikulus -
concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all go65 _.
Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topp1"
^^ the boggart IN THE wardrobe 103

, ^at green dress, that big red handbag;
There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled j

more violently.
If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to turn his atten-
n to each of us in turn,' said Professor Lupin. 'I would like all
f 'ou to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you
most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical...'
The room went quiet. Harry thought ... What scared him most I

in the world?
His first thought was Lord Voldemort - a Voldemort returned to
mil strength. But before he had even started to plan a possible
counter-attack on a Boggart-Voldemort, a horrible image came
floating to the surface of his mind ...
A rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black
cloak ... a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth ... then a
cold so penetrating it felt like drowning ...
Harry shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had
noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Ron was muttering
to himself, 'Take its legs off.' Harry was sure he knew what
that was about. Ron's greatest fear was spiders. I
'Everyone ready?' said Professor Lupin.
Harry felt a lurch of fear. He wasn't ready. How could you make
a Dementor less frightening? But he didn't want to ask for more
lime; everyone else was nodding and rolling up their sleeves.
'Neville, we're going to back away,' said Professor Lupin. 'Let
you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward ...
everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot -'
They all retreated, backing against the walls, leaving Neville
alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he
"ad pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand
ready
On the count of three, Neville,' said Professor Lupin, who was |
pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. 'One - two
wee-now!'
Jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and
e doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and men- ^g. Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes Hashing at Neville.
^ , e "^ked away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape
^nng down upon him, reaching inside his robes.
^-nddikulus!' squeaked Neville.
104 harry potter h

There was a noise like a whip-crack. Snape stumbled' h
wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat ton ^
with a moth-eaten vulture, and swinging a huge crimson hand
from his hand.
There was a roar of laughter; the Boggart paused, confused
Professor Lupin shouted, 'Parvati! Forward!'
Parvati walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her
There was another crack, and where he had stood was a bloodstained,
bandaged mummy; its sightless face was turned to Parvati
and it began to walk towards her, very slowly, dragging its feet its
stiff arms rising -
'Riddikulus!'cried Parvati. H
A bandage unravelled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled,
fell face forwards and its head rolled off.
'Seamus!' roared Professor Lupin.
Seamus darted past Parvati.
Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor- length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face - a banshee.
She opened her mouth wide, and an unearthly sound filled the
room, a long, wailing shriek which made the hair on Harry's head
stand on end - H
'Riddikulus!' shouted Seamus.
The banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her
voice was gone.
Crack! The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a
circle, then - crack! - became a rattlesnake, which slithered and
writhed before - crack! - becoming a single, bloody eyeball.
'It's confused!' shouted Lupin. 'We're getting there! Dean!'
Dean hurried forward.
Crack! The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over.
and began to creep along the floor like a crab.
'Riddikulus!' yelled Dean. H
There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.
'Excellent! Ron, you next!'
Ron leapt forward.
'Crack!' i
Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers
acingly. For a moment. Harry thought Ron had frozen. T^en, n
'Riddikulus!' bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished.
I the boggart IN THE wardrobe 105

, y gpd over; Lavender Brown squealed and ran out of its

to e ^ ir came to a halt at Harry's feet. He raised his wand,
way a"" 1L

""''Here!' shouted Professor Lupin suddenly, hurrying forward.

Crack! -m
The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked m
ildiv around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white 'J
irb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said 'Riddikulus!' ' I
almost lazily
Crack! m ~"
Forward, Neville, and finish him off!' said Lupin, as the Bog-
nart landed on the floor as a cockroach. Crack! Snape was back.
This time Neville charged forward looking determined.
'Riddikulus!' he shouted, and they had a split second's view of
Snape in his lacy dress before Neville let out a great 'Ha!' of laugh-
ler, and the Boggart exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of
imoke, and was gone.
'Excellent!' cried Professor Lupin, as the class broke into
applause. 'Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone. Let me see ...
five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the Boggart -
len for Neville because he did it twice - and five each to
Hermione and Harry.'
'But I didn't do anything,' said Harry.
'You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start
"f the class. Harry,' Lupin said lightly. 'Very well, everyone, an
excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts
>"d summarise it for me ... to be handed in on Monday That will
be all.'
Talking excitedly the class left the staff room. Harry, however,
wasn' feeling cheerful. Professor Lupin had deliberately stopped
m 'skiing the Boggart. Why? Was it because he'd seen Harry
"llapse on the train, and thought he wasn't up to much? Had he
' ""ught Harry would pass out again?
-t no one else seemed to have noticed anything.
"id you see me take that banshee?' shouted Seamus.
,, e hand!' said Dean, waving his own around.
^"d Snape in that hat!'
And my mummy!'
said wonder ^y Professor Lupin's frightened of crystal balls?'
^ Lavender thoughtfully
106 harry potter

That was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson w '
ever had, wasn't it?' said Ron excitedly, as they made their w
back to the classroom to get their bags. '
'He seems a very good teacher,' said Hermione approvingly -r,
I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart -'
'What would it have been for you?' said Ron, sniggering 'A
piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?'
-- CHAPTER EIGHT
l

Flight of the Fat Lady

In no time at all. Defence Against the Dark Arts had become most J
people's favourite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of
Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.
'Look at the state of his robes,' Malfoy would say in a loud whis- j
per as Professor Lupin passed. 'He dresses like our old house-elf.'
But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched
and frayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the
first. After Boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin-like _
creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed, in the I
dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting
to bludgeon those who had got lost. From Red Caps they I
moved on to Kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly
monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting |
waders in their ponds. *
Harry only wished he was as happy with some of his other
classes. Worst of all was Potions. Snape was in a particularly vindictive
mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The
Mory of the Boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way that
Seville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had travelled
through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny
is eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor
"Pin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever.
srry was also growing to dread the hours he spent in Profes-
r relawney's stilling tower room, deciphering lop-sided shapes
symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enor- ous ^es "Hed with tears every time she looked at him. He
with nt Professor Trelawney, even though she was treated
p , ^^ bordering on reverence by many of the class. Parvati
Trela > Lavender Brown had taken to haunting Professor
^^^ cys tower room at lunchtimes, and always returned with
109
flight OF THE fat lady
harry potter
108
I
his other hand, the old manic glint back in his eye.
annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though they k
things the others didn't. They had also started using hustle
voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he was on h
deathbed.

'"'We've got three superb Chasers;
Wood pointed at Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson and Katie

We've got two unbeatable Beaters;
Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after th
action-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hasrid
seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending ik.
son after lesson learning how to look after Flobberworms, which
had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence.
'Why would anyone bother looking after them?' said Ron, afiei
yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the Flobber slimy throats.
At the start of October, however. Harry had something else to
occupy him, something so enjoyable it made up for his unsatisfao
tory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and Oliv<
Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor team, called a meeting on
Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season.
There were seven people on a Quidditch team: three Chaser
whose job it was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a re<
football-sized ball) through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops ai
each end of the pitch; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy
bats to repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls which zoomed
around trying to attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the
goalposts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that of
catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized ball)
whose capture ended the game and earned the Seeker's team an
extra one hundred and fifty points. ^|
Oliver Wood was a burly seventeen-year-old, now in his seventh
and final year at Hogwarts. There was a quiet sort of desperation
in his voice as he addressed his six fellow team members in
the chilly changing rooms on the edge of the darkening Quidditch
pitch. ,
'This is our last chance - my last chance - to win the Quid ditc^
cup,' he told them, striding up and down in front of them. 1
leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it.
'Gryffindor haven't won for seven years now. OK, so we we
the worst luck in the world - injuries - then the tournament g
ting called off last year ...' Wood swallowed, as though the mem
ry still brought a lump to his throat. 'But we also know we we 8
the best - ruddy - team -in- the - school,' he said, punching a
Slop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us,' said Fred and George
Weasley together, pretending to blush.
And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!'
Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a kind of furious pride. 'And
me; he added, as an afterthought.
We think you're very good, too, Oliver,' said George.
Cracking Keeper,' said Fred.
The point is,' Wood went on, resuming his pacing, 'the Quid-
ditch cup should have had our name on it these last two years.
Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in
the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll
gel to finally see our name on the thing ...'
Wood spoke so dejectedly that even Fred and George looked

sympathetic.
'Oliver, this year's our year,' said Fred.
'We'll do it, Oliver!' said Angelina.
'Definitely,' said Harry.
around trying to attack the players,); a Keeper, wno aeienaeu u.c -- Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three
goalposts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that o^^Brvenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the
catchine the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized baf nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind or rain could tarnish
Harry's wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quid-
dilch cup.
Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening
f'er training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had
Kne, to find the room buzzing excitedly
What's happened?' he asked Ron and Hermione, who were sit- "g in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some
'ar charts for Astronomy
irst Hogsmeade weekend,' said Ron, pointing at a notice that
sd appeared on the battered old notice board. 'End of October.
nallowe'en;
^Excenent'' said Fred, who had followed Harry through the por-
le. 'I need to visit Zonko's, I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets.'
^ srry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, his high spirits
'8 sway Hermione seemed to read his mind.
111
110 harry potter
flight OF THE fat lady


 streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath
^ Id chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched
jn . ^5 bandy legs and started making furious swipes beneath
'Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time,' she said. Thpv'
bound to catch Black soon, he's been sighted once already.'
'Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade' sad
Ron. 'Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry, the next on
might not be for ages -'
'Ron.'' said Hermione. 'Harry's supposed to stay in school -'
'He can't be the only third-year left behind,' said Ron.
McGonagall, go on, Harry -'
'Yeah, I think I will,' said Harry, making up his mind.
Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but at that mome!?
Crookshanks leapt lightly onto her lap. A large, dead spider was
dangling from his mouth.
'Does he have to eat that in front of us?' said Ron, scowling. |
'Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?' said
Hermione.
Crookshanks slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes
fixed insolently on Ron.
'Just keep him over there, that's all,' said Ron irritably, turning
back to his star chart. 'I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag.'
Harry yawned. He really wanted to go to bed, but he still had
his own star chart to complete. He pulled his bag towards him,
took out parchment, ink and quill, and started work.
'You can copy mine, if you like,' said Ron, labelling his last star
with a flourish and shoving the chart towards Harry.
Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips, but
didn't say anything. Crookshanks was still staring unblinkingly al
Ron, flicking the end of his bushy tail. Then, without warning, he
pounced.
^ chest of drawers with his front paw.
Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crook-
hanks around the middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himelf
onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers

out by the tail.
Look at him!' he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers
in front of her. 'He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from

him!'
Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!' said Hermione,
her voice shaking. 'All cats chase rats, Ron!'
'There's something funny about that animal!' said Ron, who
was trying to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into
his pocket. 'It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!'
'Oh, what rubbish,' said Hermione impatiently. 'Crookshanks
could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think -
'That cat's got it in for Scabbers!' said Ron, ignoring the people
around him, who were starting to giggle. 'And Scabbers was here
first, and he's ill!'
Ron inarched through the common room and out of sight up
the stairs to the boys' dormitories.
*
Ron was still in a bad mood with Hermione next day. He barely
talked to her all through Herbology, even though he. Harry and
Hermione were working together on the same Puffapod.
'r-ivr r> j ^ows ^abbers?' Hermione asked timidly, as they stripped fat
OY' Ron roared, seizing his bag, as Crookshanks sank four _ pink pods from the plants and emptied the shining beans into a
-s of claws deeply into it, and began tearing ferociously 'GET^^^vooden pail.
sets of claws deeply into it, and began tearing ferociously 'G
OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!'
Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but Crookshanks
clung on, spitting and slashing.
'Ron, don't hurt him!' squealed Hermione. The whole common
room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshani"
still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top -
'CATCH THAT CAT!' Ron yelled, as Crookshanks freed himse^
from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table and c
after the terrified Scabbers. . j.
George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks but niiss
^F, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!' _ ,^^H'Hes hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking,' said Ron angrily,
missing the pail and scattering beans over the greenhouse floor.
Careful, Weasley, careful!' cried Professor Sprout, as the beans
urst lnto bloom before their very eyes.
hey had Transfiguration next. Harry, who had resolved to ask
to essor McGonagall after the lesson whether he could go into
^ogsmeade with the rest, joined the queue outside the classroom,
ira i^10!- ^ow ^e was S011^ to ^g^ his case. He was dis-
Lav' however' ^ a disturbance at the front of the line.
finder Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm
112 harry potter

around her, and was explaining something to Seamus Finn'
and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious.
'What's the matter. Lavender?' said Hermione anxiously as sh I
Harry and Ron went to join the group. 'I
'She got a letter from home this morning,' Parvati whispered
'It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox.'
'Oh,' said Hermione. 'I'm sorry, Lavender.'
'I should have known!' said Lavender tragically 'You know
what day it is?'
'Er-
The sixteenth of October! "That thing you're dreading, it will
happen on the sixteenth of October!" Remember? She was right
she was right!'
The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamus
shook his head seriously. Hermione hesitated; then she said, 'You
- you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?'
'Well, not necessarily by a fox,' said Lavender, looking up at
Hermione with streaming eyes, 'but I was obviously dreading him
dying, wasn't I?'
'Oh,' said Hermione. She paused again. Then -
'Was Binky an old rabbit?'
'N-no!' sobbed Lavender. 'H-he was only a baby!'
Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders.
'But then, why would you dread him dying?' said Hermione.
Parvati glared at her.
'Well, look at it logically,' said Hermione, turning to the rest of
the group. 'I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he, Lavender
just got the news today -' Lavender wailed loudly '- and she cani
have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock -'
'Don't mind Hermione, Lavender,' said Ron loudly 'she doesn't
think other people's pets matter very much.'
Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door at tw
moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were loo
ing daggers at each other, and when they got into class, they sea
ed themselves either side of Harry and didn't talk to each other a
lesson.
Harry still hadn't decided what he was going to say to Profess
McGonagall when the bell rang at the end of the lesson, but it
she who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first.
'One moment, please!' she called, as the class made to leave.
flight OF THE fat lady 113

all in my house, you should hand Hogsmeade permission
F11 to me before Hallowe'en. No form, no visiting the village,
^ don't forget!'

Neville P"1 "P hls hand- Please, Professor, I -1 think I've lost -'
Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Longbottom; said
Professor McGonagall. 'She seemed to think it was safer. Well,
that's all, you may leave.'
Ask her now,' Ron hissed at Harry.
Oh, but - Hermione began.
Go for it. Harry,' said Ron stubbornly.
Harry waited for the rest of the class to disappear, then headed
nervously for Professor McGonagall's desk.
Yes, Potter?'
Harry took a deep breath.
Professor, my aunt and uncle - er - forgot to sign my form,' he
said.
Professor McGonagall looked over her square spectacles at him,
but didn't say anything.
B 'So - er - d'you think it would be all right - I mean, will it be
OK if I - if I go to Hogsmeade?'
Professor McGonagall looked down and began shuffling papers
on her desk.
'I'm afraid not. Potter,' she said. 'You heard what I said. No
form, no visiting the village. That's the rule.'
'But - Professor, my aunt and uncle - you know, they're Mug-
gles, they don't really understand about - about Hogwarts forms
and stuff,' Harry said, while Ron egged him on with vigorous
nods. -If you said I could go -'
But I don't say so,' said Professor McGonagall, standing up and
piling her papers neatly into a drawer. 'The form clearly states that
1 e parent or guardian must give permission.' She turned to look
al him, with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? 'I'm sorry,
""er, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be
lale for your next lesson.'
*
i ere was "othing to be done. Ron called Professor McGonagall a
an names tnat greatly annoyed Hermione; Hermione assumed
Han-v or-tne"^est' expression that made Ron even angrier, and
' ad to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and
114 : harry potter

happily about what they were going to do first, once they got j
Hogsmeade. 
There's always the feast,' said Ron, in an effort to cheer Ha
up. 'You know, the Hallowe'en feast, in the evening.'
'Yeah,' said Harry, gloomily, 'great.'
The Hallowe'en feast was always good, but it would taste a 1m
better if he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone
else. Nothing anyone said made him feel any better abom
being left behind. Dean Thomas, who was good with a quill, had
offered to forge Uncle Vernon's signature on the form, but as
Harry had already told Professor McGonagall he hadn't had ii
signed, that was no good. Ron half-heartedly suggested the Invisibility
Cloak, but Hermione stamped on that one, reminding Ron
what Dumbledore had told them about the Dementors being able
to see through them. Percy had what were possibly the least helpful
words of comfort.
'They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, Harry,
it's not all it's cracked up to be,' he said seriously. 'All right, the
sweetshop's rather good, but Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous,
and yes, the Shrieking Shacks always worth a visit, but really,
Harry, apart from that, you're not missing anything.'
*
On Hallowe'en morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went
down to breakfast feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his
best to act normally.
'We'll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes,' sa_
Hermione, looking desperately sorry for him. |
'Yeah, loads,' said Ron. He and Hermione had finally forgotten
their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Harrys
disappointment.
'Don't worry about me,' said Harry, in what he hoped was a_
offhand voice. 'I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time.'
He accompanied them to the Entrance Hall, where Filch, w
caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off name
against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face,
making sure that no one was sneaking out who should"
going.
'Staying here, Potter?' shouted Malfoy, who was standing in
with Crabbe and Goyle. 'Scared of passing the Dementors?
Harry ignored him and made his solitary way up the marble  J
flight OF THE fat lady 115

through the deserted corridors, and back to GryHindor Tower. .
password?' said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze. I
Fortuna Major; said Harry listlessly
The portrait swung open and he climbed through the hole into
ihc common room. It was full of chattering first- and secondrs
and a few older students who had obviously visited
Hogsmeade so often the novelty had worn off.
Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!' 1
It was Colin Creevey, a second-year who was deeply in awe of
Harry and never missed an opportunity to speak to him.
Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry? Why not? Hey -' Colin j
looked eagerly around at his friends, 'you can come and sit with
us, if you like. Harry!'
Er - no, thanks, Colin,' said Harry, who wasn't in the mood to
have a lot of people staring avidly at the scar on his forehead. 'I -
I've got to go to the library, got to get some work done.'
After that, he had no choice but to turn right around and head
back out of the portrait hole again. I
'What was the point of waking me up?' the Fat Lady called
grumpily after him as he walked away.
Harry wandered dispiritedly towards the library, but halfway
there he changed his mind; he didn't feel like working. He turned
around and came face to face with Filch, who had obviously just |
seen off the last of the Hogsmeade visitors.
'What are you doing?' Filch snarled suspiciously
Nothing,' said Harry truthfully
Nothing!' spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly 'A likely
story! Sneaking around on your own, why aren't you in
Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing
^rms like the rest of your nasty little friends?'
Harry shrugged.
e11- get back to your common room where you belong!'
^ -ipped Filch, and he stood glaring until Harry had passed out of '

staiut Harry did"[ go back to the t^"1"1"" room; he climbed a
and"38' ^"^"S ^guely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig,
on> r""'--^"g along another corridor when a voice from inside
"^IAe rooms said, Harry?'
iLuo'T oubled ^k to see who had spoken and met Professor
| t^n, looking around his office door. m
116 ' harry potter

'What are you doing?' said Lupin, in a very different voice f
Filch. 'Where are Ron and Hermione?'
'Hogsmeade,' said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.
'Ah,' said Lupin. He considered Harry for a moment
don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a Grindylow for
next lesson.'
'A what?' said Harry.
He followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a ver
large tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little hoire
had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its
long, spindly fingers. ^^*
'Water demon,' said Lupin, surveying the Grindylow thought^^
fully. 'We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the
Kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally
long fingers? Strong, but very brittle.' ^1
The Grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a
tangle of weed in a corner.
'Cup of tea?' Lupin said, looking around for his kettle. "I was
just thinking of making one.' ^^
'All right,' said Harry awkwardly. ^|
Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam
issued suddenly from the spout. ^B
'Sit down,' said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. 'I've onl^
got teabags, I'm afraid - but I daresay you've had enough of tea
leaves?' ^_
Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling. ^1
'How did you know about that?' Harry asked. ^|
'Professor McGonagall told me,' said Lupin, passing Harry a
chipped mug of tea. 'You're not worried, are you?'
7

ieTl
am |
'No,' said Harry.
He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog he
seen in Magnolia Crescent, but decided not to. He didn't wan
Lupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin alrea
seemed to think he couldn't cope with a Boggart.
Something of Harry's thoughts seemed to have shown on
face, because Lupin said,'Anything worrying you. Harry.
'No,' Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea and watched the Gnnd^
low brandishing a fist at him. 'Yes,' he said suddenly, P"""^
tea down on Lupin's desk. 'You know that day we fought the
gart?'
flight OF THE fat lady 117

Yes' said Lupin slowly.
Why didn't you let me fight it?' said Harry abruptly

Lupin raised his eyebrows.
 .ypuld have thought that was obvious, Harry,' he said, sounding
surprised.
Harry who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any

luch thing, was taken aback.
Why7'he said again.
Well,' said Lupin, frowning slightly, 'I assumed that if the Bog-
leart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort.'
Harry stared. Not only was this the last answer he'd expected,
but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Harry had
ever heard say the name aloud (apart from himself) was Professor
I

Dumbledore.
'Clearly, I was wrong,' said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. 'But I
didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialise in the
siaff room. I imagined that people would panic.'
"I did think of Voldemort first,' said Harry honestly. 'But then I

1 remembered those Dementors.'
"I see,' said Lupin thoughtfully. 'Well, well... I'm impressed.' He
smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. 'That sugests
that what you fear most of all is - fear. Very wise. Harry.'
Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he drank some more
lea.
'So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of
4'' "ning the Boggart?' said Lupin shrewdly
Well... yeah,' said Harry. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier, j
Lessor Lupin, you know the Dementors -'
He was interrupted by a knock on the door.
'Come in,' called Lupin.
The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet,
whlch ^s smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his
black eyes narrowing.
Ah- ^verus; said Lupin, smiling. 'Thanks very much. Could
yu leave it here on the desk for me?'
spe set the smoking goblet down, his eyes wandering

^een Harry and Lupin. 6 ' y
was just showing Harry my Grindylow,' said Lupin pleasantly,

P01"^ at the tank.
^cinating; said Snape, without looking at it. 'You should
118 harry potter

drink that directly. Lupin.'
'Yes, yes, I will,' said Lupin.
'I made an entire cauldronful,' Snape continued. 'If you n j
more.'
'I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks we
much, Severus.'
'Not at all,' said Snape, but there was a look in his eye Ham'
didn't like. He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful
Harry looked curiously at the goblet. Lupin smiled.
'Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me,' he
said. 'I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is
particularly complex.' He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. 'Pity
sugar makes it useless,' he added, taking a sip and shuddering.
'Why -?' Harry began. Lupin looked at him and answered the
unfinished question.
'I've been feeling a bit off-colour,' he said. 'This potion is the
only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside
Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making
it.'
Professor Lupin took another sip and Harry had a mad urge ill
knock the goblet out of his hands. I
'Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts,' he blurted
it.
out.
'Really?' said Lupin, looking only mildly interested as he took
another gulp of potion.
'Some people reckon -' Harry hesitated, then plunged recklessly
on, 'some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defenc
Against the Dark Arts job.'
Lupin drained the goblet and pulled a face.
'Disgusting,' he said. 'Well, Harry, I'd better get back to work
I'll see you at the feast later.'
'Right,' said Harry, putting his empty teacup down.
The empty goblet was still smoking.
*

There you go,' said Ron. 'We got as much as we could carry.
A shower of brilliantly coloured sweets fell into Harry's lap
was dusk, and Ron and Hermione had just turned up in ^'^
mon room, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as tho g
they'd had the time of their lives. ^,
'Thanks,' said Harry picking up a packet of tiny black PepP_
flight OF THE fat lady 119

^What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?'
r' the sound of it - everywhere. Dervish and Ranges, the wiz-
,._ equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three
broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot Butterbeer and many places

besides.
The post office. Harry! About two hundred owls, all sitting on
helves all colour-coded depending on how fast you want your
letter to get there!'
Honeydukes have got a new kind of fudge, they were giving
out free samples, there's a bit, look -'
We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at the |
Three Broomsticks -'
Wish we could have brought you some Butterbeer, really warms you up -'
'What did you do?' said Hermione, looking anxious. 'Did you
get any work done?'
'No,' said Harry. 'Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office. And
then Snape came in ...'
1 I
I
He told them all about the goblet. Ron's mouth fell open.
'Lupin drank it?' he gasped. 'Is he mad?'
Hermione checked her watch.
'We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in five
minutes ...' They hurried through the portrait hole and into the
crowd, still discussing Snape.
But if he - you know -' Hermione dropped her voice, glancing
nervously around, 'if he was trying to - to poison Lupin - he
wouldn't have done it in front of Harry' ~
Yeah, maybe,' said Harry, as they reached the Entrance Hall and --
crossed into the Great Hall. It had been decorated with hundreds
and ""ndreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of Puttering live
s and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming
azly across Ae stormy ceiling like brilliant watersnakes.
he food was delicious; even Hermione and Ron, who were full
^o urstmg with Honeydukes sweets managed second helpings of
I ryt *" ^rry kept glancing at the staff table. Professor Lupin
ediv8 c ul and as weu as he ever did; he was talking animat-
'"ovedh11"7 little professor ^twick, the Charms teacher. Harry
he i^ '"^y" along the table, to the place where Snape sat. Was
more ^'"'"g lt. or were Snape's eyes flickering towards Lupin
^__iten than was natural?
120 harry potter

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the ti
warts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a ^
of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor eh
had a great success with a re-enactment of his own hotels
beheading.
It had been such a good evening that Harry's good mood could
n't even be spoiled by Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd k
they all left the Hall, 'The Dementors send their love, Potter''
Harry, Ron and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindors
along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached
the corridor which ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they
found it jammed with students.
'Why isn't anyone going in?' said Ron curiously.
Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait
seemed to be closed.
'Let me through, please,' came Percy's voice, and he camt
bustling importantly through the crowd. 'What's the hold-up
here? You can't all have forgotten the password - excuse me, I'm
Head Boy -
And then a silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so
that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They heard Percy
say, in a suddenly sharp voice, 'Somebody get Professor Durable- dore. Quick.'
People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on lip- toe.
'What's going on?' said Ginny, who had just arrived.
Next moment, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping
towards the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him
through, and Harry, Ron and Hermione moved closer to see whal
the trouble was.
'Oh, my -' Hermione exclaimed and grabbed Harry's arm.
The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been
slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; gre<'
chunks of it had been torn away completely, j
Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting a
turned, his eyes sombre, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin
Snape hurrying towards him. ,}
'We need to find her,' said Dumbledore. 'Professor McGonaga
please go to Mr Filch at once and tell him to search every pai" '
in the castle for the Fat Lady.' _
flight OF THE fat lady 121

You'll be lucky'.' said a cackling voice.
peeves the poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and look-
, delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.
'"^what do you mean, Peeves?' said Dumbledore calmly, and
'es's grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore.
instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle.
Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a
horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the
fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something
dreadful,' he said happily 'Poor thing,' he added, unconvincingly
Did she say who did it?' said Dumbledore quietly. -I
Oh, yes, Professorhead,' said Peeves, with the air of one
cradling a large bombshell in his arms. 'He got very angry when
she wouldn't let him in, you see.' Peeves flipped over, and grinned
at Dumbledore from between his own legs. 'Nasty temper he's got,

that Sirius Black.'

-- CHAPTER NINE

Grim Defeat

Professor Dumbledore sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great
Hall, where they were joined ten minutes later by the students [
from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, who all looked
extremely confused. ,|
The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the
castle,' Professor Dumbledore told them as Professors McGonagall
and Flitwick closed all doors into the Hall. 'I'm afraid that, for
your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the
Prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the Hall and I am
leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should
be reported to me immediately,' he added to Percy, who was looking
immensely proud and important. 'Send word with one of the
ghosts.'
Professor Dumbledore paused, about to the leave the Hall, and
said, _
'Oh, yes, you'll be needing ...'
One casual wave of his wand and the long tables flew to the
edges of the Hall and stood themselves against the walls; another
wave, and the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple
sleeping bags.
'Sleep well,' said Professor Dumbledore, closing the do. behind him.
The Hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors
were telling the rest of the school what had just happened.
'Everyone into their sleeping bags!' shouted Percy 'Come o
now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!'
'C'mon; Ron said to Harry and Hermione; they seized thr
sleeping bags and dragged them into a corner.
'Do you think Black's still in the castle?' Hermione whispe
anxiously.
 grim defeat 123 -

In nibledore obviously thinks he might be,' said Ron.
very lucky he picked tonight, you know,' said Hermione, as
'climbed fully dressed into their sleeping bags and propped
' e lygs on their elbows to talk. The one night we weren't in

the lower...'
 ,g(;kon he's lost track of time, being on the run,' said Ron.
n'fln't realise it was Hallowe'en. Otherwise he'd have come burst-
ff'n here.' |
ermione shuddered.
All around them, people were asking each other the same ques- ,s
lion-'How did he get in?' "
'Maybe he knows how to Apparate,' said a Ravenclaw a few feet
away. 'Just appear out of thin air, you know.'
'Disguised himself, probably,' said a Hufflepuff fifth-year, j
'He could've flown in,' suggested Dean Thomas.
'Honestly am I the only person who's ever bothered to read
Hof;warts, A History?' said Hermione crossly to Harry and Ron.
Probably,' said Ron. 'Why?'
'Because the castle's protected by more than walls, you know,'
said Hermione. There are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop
people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd |
like to see the disguise that could fool those Dementors. They're
guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen ..:
him fly in, too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll -
have them covered ...'
The lights are going out now!' Percy shouted. 'I want everyone
in their sleeping bags and no more talking!' .
The candles all went out at once. The only light now came
From the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously
'"the Prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky out- ''de, was scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering
'"at still filled the Hall, Harry felt as though he was sleeping out
of doors in a light wind.
nee every hour, a teacher would reappear in the Hall to check
everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when
cair^ sludents had ""^y ^lle" asleep, Professor Dumbledore
beer^ in Harry watched him looking around for Percy who had
taiki prowlin between the sleeping bags, telling people off for -

Hen"8 ercy was only a short way away from ^""y' Ron and a
lone' who quickly pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's

124 harry potter

footsteps drew nearer.
'Any sign of him, Professor?' asked Percy in a whisper
'No. All well here?'
'Everything under control, sir.'
'Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a tp u
porary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able r
move them back in tomorrow.'
'And the Fat Lady, sir?' I
'Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently
she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked
She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr
Filch restore her.'
Harry heard the door of the Hall creak open again, and more
footsteps.
'Headmaster?' It was Snape. Harry kept quite still, listening
hard. 'The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's noi
there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there, either.'
'What about the Astronomy tower? Professor TrelawneyP
room? The Owlery?' _
'All searched ...' I
'Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger.' I
'Have you any theory as to how he got in. Professor?' asked
Snape.
Harry raised his head very slightly off his arms to free his other
ear. _
'Many, Severus, each of them as unlikely as the next.' B
Harry opened his eyes a fraction and squinted up to where they
stood; Dumbledore's back was to him, but he could see Percys
face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profile, which looked angry.
'You remember the conversation we had. Headmaster, jus'
before - ah - the start of term?' said Snape, who was bareh
opening his lips, as though trying to block Percy out of th_
conversation. ,B
I do, Severus,' said Dumbledore, and there was something li (
warning in his voice, j
'It seems - almost impossible - that Black could have ente
the school without inside help. I did express my concerns ^ _
you appointed -' , *
'I do not believe a single person inside this castle would ^
helped Black enter it,' said Dumbledore, and his tone made i
grim defeat 125

J ,^ (he subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. 'I must go
in the Dementors,' said Dumbledore. 'I said I would inform
Swhen our search was complete;
Didn't they want to help, sir?' said Percy
nh ves' said Dumbledore coldly. 'But I'm afraid no Dementor
11 cross the threshold of this castle while I am Headmaster.'
Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walk-
ine quickly and quietly Snape stood for a moment, watching the
Headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face,
then he, too, left.
Harry glanced sideways at Ron and Hermione. Both of them
had their eyes open, too, reflecting the starry ceiling.
f -What was all that about?' Ron mouthed.
*
Jrhe school talked of nothing but Sirius Black for the next few
days. The theories about how he had entered the castle became
|wilder and wilder; Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, spent much
*of their next Herbology class telling anyone who'd listen that
Black could turn into a flowering shrub.
The Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and
replaced with the portrait of Sir Cadogan and his fat grey pony.
Nobody was very happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his
lime challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously
complicated passwords, which he changed at least twice a
day.
He's barking mad,' said Seamus Finnigan angrily to Percy.
Can't we get anyone else?'
None of the other pictures wanted the job,' said Percy 'Frightened
of what happened to the Fat Lady Sir Cadogan was the only
one brave enough to volunteer.'
r Cadogan, however, was the least of Harry's worries. He was
"ow being closely watched. Teachers found excuses to walk along
corridors with him and Percy Weasley (acting. Harry suspected,
"is mother's orders) was tailing him everywhere like an
Wremely pompous guard dog. To cap it all, Professor McGona-
ummoned Harry into her office, with such a sombre expres-
onon her face Harry thought someone must have died.
said eres no P01111- biding it from you any longer. Potter,' she
vni, 1'" a ver^ serious voice. 'I know this will come as a shock to
'ou. but Sirius Black-'
126 harry potter

'I know he's after me,' said Harry wearily. 'I heard Ron's d a
telling his mum. Mr Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic'
Professor McGonagall seemed very taken aback. She stared
Harry for a moment or two, then said, 'I see! Well, in that ca
Potter, you'll understand why I don't think it's a good idea for v
to be practising Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the pitch will
only your team members, it's very exposed, Potter -'
'We've got our first match on Saturday!' said Harry, outrage!
'I've got to train. Professor!'
Professor McGonagall considered him intently. Harry knew she
was deeply interested in the Gryffindor team's prospects; it had
been she, after all, who'd suggested him as Seeker in the first
place. He waited, holding his breath.
'Hmm ...' Professor McGonagall stood up and stared out of the
window at the Quidditch pitch, just visible through the rain. 'Well
... goodness knows, I'd like to see us win the cup at last... but all
the same, Potter ... I'd be happier if a teacher were present. I'll ask
Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions.'
*
The weather worsened steadily as the first Quidditch match drew
nearer. Undaunted, the Gryffindor team were training harder than
ever under the eye of Madam Hooch. Then, at their final training
session before Saturday's match, Oliver Wood gave his team some
unwelcome news.
'We're not playing Slytherin!' he told them, looking very angry.
'Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead.'
'Why?' chorused the rest of the team.
'Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm's still injured,' said
Wood, grinding his teeth furiously. 'But it's obvious why they"
doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage
their chances ...'
There had been strong winds and heavy rain all day, and
Wood spoke, they heard a distant rumble of thunder.
'There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm!' said Harry furiously
'He's faking it!' ,
'I know that, but we can't prove it,' said Wood bitterly.
we've been practising all those moves assuming we're pa)
Slytherin, and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite dit
ent. They've got a new captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory -
Angelina, Ahcia and Katie suddenly giggled.
grim defeat 127

what7' said Wood, frowning at this light-hearted behaviour. ' '
hp's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?' said Angelina.
Strong and silent,' said Katie, and they started to giggle again.
He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words
ether' said Fred impatiently. 'I don't know why you're worried,
Oliver, Hufflepuff are a pushover. Last time we played them,
Harry caught the Snitch in about five minutes, remember?' m
We were playing in completely different conditions!' Wood
shouted, his eyes bulging slightly 'Diggory's put a very strong side
together! He's an excellent Seeker! I was afraid you'd take it like
this! We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! Slytherin are trying
to wrong-foot us! We must win!'
Oliver, calm down!' said Fred, looking slightly alarmed. 'We're
taking Hufflepuff very seriously Seriously.'
* '.

The day before the match, the winds reached howling point and
the rain fell harder than ever. It was so dark inside the corridors |
and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns were lit. The
Slytherin team were looking very smug indeed, and none more so
than Malfoy.
'Ah, if only my arm was feeling a bit better!' he sighed, as the
gale outside pounded the windows.
Harry had no room in his head to worry about anything except
the match next day. Oliver Wood kept hurrying up to him
between classes and giving him tips. The third time this happened,
Wood talked for so long that Harry suddenly realised he
was ten minutes late for Defence Against the Dark Arts, and set
on at a run with Wood shouting after him, 'Diggory's got a very ;
(asi swerve, Harry, so you might want to try looping him -'
Harry skidded to a halt outside the Defence Against the Dark
^ts classroom, pulled the door open and dashed inside.
^orry I'm late, Professor Lupin, I -'
Gut it wasn't Professor Lupin who looked up at him from the
'Mcher's desk; it was Snape.
his lesson began ten minutes ago. Potter, so I think we'll
^e it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down.'
""^""ry didn't move.
sere's Professor Lupin?' he said.
twi t^5^ ^e is ^""g t00 in t-o teach today,' said Snape with a
|""^ile. 'I believe I told you to sit down?'
128 harry potter 

But Harry stayed where he was.
'What's wrong with him?'
Snape's black eyes glittered.
'Nothing life-threatening,' he said, looking as though he wish a
it was. 'Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask v
to sit down again, it will be fifty.'
Harry walked slowly to his seat and sat down. Snape looked
around at the class.
'As I was saying before Potter interrupted. Professor Lupin has
not left any record of the topics you have covered so far -
'Please, sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas and Grindy-
lows,' said Hermione quickly, 'and we're just about to start-'
'Be quiet,' said Snape coldly. 'I did not ask for information.
I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack o(
organisation.'
'He's the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever
had,' said Dean Thomas boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement
from the rest of the class. Snape looked more menacing than
ever.
'You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly over-taxing you - I
would expect first-years to be able to deal with Red Caps and
Grindylows. Today we shall discuss -'
Harry watched him flick through the textbook, to the very back
chapter, which he must know they hadn't covered.
'- werewolves,' said Snape.
'But, sir,' said Hermione, seemingly unable to restrain herself,
'we're not supposed to do werewolves yet, we're due to start
Hinkypunks-'
'Miss Granger,' said Snape, in a voice of deadly calm, 'I was
under the impression that I was taking this lesson, not you. And
am telling you all to turn to page three hundred and ninety-four
He glanced around again. 'All of you! NowF
With many bitter sidelong looks and some sullen muttering.
the class opened their books.
'Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the
werewolf and the true wolf?' said Snape.
Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Herrni
whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.
'Anyone?' Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted
was back. 'Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasnt e
I
grim defeat 129

hi you the basic distinction between - ""we told you,' said Parvati suddenly, 'we haven't got as far as
wolves yet, we're still on -'
m-Silence'.' snarled Snape. 'Well, well, well, I never thought I'd
^, a third-year class who wouldn't even recognise a werewolf
m ^gy saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor
numbledore how very behind you all are ...'
IB Please, sir,' said Hermione, whose hand was still in the air, 'the
'erewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The
snout of the werewolf -'
That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Miss I
Granger,' said Snape coolly. 'Five more points from Gryffindor for
being an insufferable know-it-all.'
Hermione went very red, put down her hand and stared at the
floor with her eyes full of tears. It was a mark of how much the
class loathed Snape that they were all glaring at him, because
every one of them had called Hermione a know-it-all at least once,
and Ron, who told Hermione she was a know-it-all at least twice a
week, said loudly, 'You asked us a question and she knows the l
answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?' -
The class knew instantly he'd gone too far. Snape advanced on
Ron slowly, and the room held its breath.
'Detention, Weasley,' Snape said silkily, his face very close to
Ron's. 'And if I ever hear you criticise the way I teach a class
again, you will be very sorry indeed.'
No one made a sound throughout the rest of the lesson. They
sat and made notes on werewolves from the textbook, while
Snape prowled up and down the rows of desks, examining the
ork they had been doing with Professor Lupin.
^ry poorly explained ... that is incorrect, the Kappa is more
"mmonly found in Mongolia ... Professor Lupin gave this eight
|'"t of ten? I wouldn't have given it three ...'
^en the bell rang at last, Snape held them back.
ou will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the
ays you recognise and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parch- em on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is
e somebody took this class in hand. Weasley, stay behind, we
e^ to arrange your detention;
*h rry an^ Hermione Ifift the room with the rest of the class,
^ited until they were well out of earshot, then burst into a
130 harry potter B|

furious tirade about Snape.
'Snape's never been like this with any of our other Dpf
Against the Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job' H ct
said to Hermione. 'Why's he got it in for Lupin? D'you think ih
is all because of the Boggart?'
'I don't know,' said Hermione pensively. 'But I really hope Pr
fessor Lupin gets better soon ...'
Ron caught up with them five minutes later, in a towering raee
'D'you know what that -' (he called Snape something that mad(
Hermione say 'Ron.'') '- is making me do? I've got to scrub out the
bedpans in the hospital wing. Without magic;' He was breathinc
deeply, his fists clenched. 'Why couldn't Black have hidden in
Snape's office, eh? He could have finished him off for us!'
*
Harry woke extremely early next morning; so early that it was still
dark. For a moment he thought the roaring of the wind had
woken him, then he felt a cold breeze on the back of his neck and
sat bolt upright - Peeves the poltergeist had been floating next 10
him, blowing hard in his ear.
'What did you do that for?' said Harry furiously.
Peeves puffed out his cheeks, blew hard and zoomed backwards
out of the room, cackling.
Harry fumbled for his alarm clock and looked at it. It was half
past four. Cursing Peeves, he rolled over and tried to get back to
sleep, but it was very difficult, now he was awake, to ignore the
sounds of the thunder rumbling overhead, the pounding of the
wind against the castle walls and the distant creaking of the trees
in the Forbidden Forest. In a few hours he would be out on the
Quidditch pitch, battling through that gale. Finally he gave up
any thought of more sleep, got up, dressed, picked up his Nimbus
Two Thousand and walked quietly out of the dormitory.
As Harry opened the door, something brushed against his leg- He bent down just in time to grab Crookshanks by the end of his
bushy tail, and drag him outside. ,1
'You know, I reckon Ron was right about you,' Harry
Crookshanks suspiciously. 'There are plenty of mice aroun
place, go and chase them. Go on,' he added, nudging to
shanks down the spiral staircase with his foot, 'leave i?ca

alone.' nrt.
The noise of the storm was even louder in the common
grim defeat 131

knew better than to think the match would be cancelled;
^"Litch matches weren't called off for trifles such as thunder- ^"'ms Nevertheless, he was starting to feel very apprehensive.
^o'od had pointed out Cedric Diggory to him in the corridor;
Diegory was a fifth year and a lot bigger than Harry Seekers were
usually lig111 and ''P^y' but ^gg01^ weight would be an advan-
, ge in this weather because he was less likely to be blown off

Harry whiled away the hours until dawn in front of the fire,
setting up every now and then to stop Crookshanks sneaking up
the boys' staircase again. At long last Harry thought it must be
lime for breakfast, so he headed through the portrait hole alone.
Stand and fight, you mangy cur!' yelled Sir Cadogan.
Oh, shut up,' Harry yawned.
He revived a bit over a large bowl of porridge, and by the time
he'd started on toast, the rest of the team had turned up.
'It's going to be a tough one,' said Wood, who wasn't eating anyhing.

'Stop worrying, Oliver,' said Alicia soothingly, 'we don't mind a
bit of rain.'
But it was considerably more than a bit of rain. Such was the
popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to
watch the match as usual, but they ran down the lawns towards
the Quidditch pitch, heads bowed against the ferocious wind,
umbrellas being whipped out of their hands as they went. Just
before he entered the changing room. Harry saw Malfoy, Crabbe
and Goyle laughing and pointing at him from under an enormous
rfmbrella on their way to the stadium.
The team changed into their scarlet robes and waited for
woods "sual pre-match pep talk, but it didn't come. He tried to
^peak several times, made an odd gulping noise, then shook his
head hopelessly and beckoned them to follow him.
he wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they
*> ed out onto the pitch. If the crowd was cheering they could- n car it over the fresh rolls of thunder. Rain was splattering over
ih 7s "asses- ^ow on earth was he going to see the Snitch in

Pilch e ^P^ were approaching from the opposite side of the
each ^""S ^"aiy-yellow robes. The captains walked up to
| er and shook hands; Diggory smiled at Wood but Wood

132 harry potter '

now looked as though he had lockjaw and merely nodded H
saw Madam Hooch's mouth form the words, 'Mount your bro I
He pulled his right foot out of the mud with a squelch and swi
it over his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch put her will il^
to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded shrill and distant
they were off.
Harry rose fast, but his Nimbus was swerving slightly with th
wind. He held it as steady as he could and turned, squinting into |
the rain. _
Within five minutes Harry was soaked to his skin and frozej^
hardly able to see his team-mates, let alone the tiny Snitch. He
flew backwards and forwards across the pitch, past blurred red
and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest
of the game. He couldn't hear the commentary over the wind. The
crowd was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and battered umbrellas
Twice Harry came very close to being unseated by a Bludger; his
vision was so clouded by the rain on his glasses he hadn't seen
them coming.
He lost track of time. It was getting harder and harder to hold
his broom straight. The sky was getting darker, as though night
had decided to come early. Twice Harry nearly hit another player,
without knowing whether it was a team-mate or opponent; everyone
was now so wet, and the rain so thick, he could hardly tell
them apart...
With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam
Hooch's whistle; Harry could just see the outline of Wood through
the thick rain, gesturing him to the ground. The whole team
splashed down into the mud.
'I called for time out!' Wood roared at his team. 'Come on,
under here -'
They huddled at the edge of the pitch under a large umbrella;
Harry took off his glasses and wiped them hurriedly on his robes.
'What's the score?' . ,
'We're fifty points up,' said Wood, "but unless we get the Sniicti
soon, we'll be playing into the night.' ,
'I've got no chance with these on,' Harry said exasperate .
waving his glasses. ., ^
At that very moment, Hermione appeared at his shou
she was holding her cloak over her head and was, inexp ie
beaming.
/
grim defeat 133
I've had an idea. Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!'
handed them to her and, as the team watched in amaze-
Hermione tapped them with her wand and said, 'Impervius!'
"^There'' she said, handing them back to Harry. They'll repel


water!'
Wood looked as though he could have kissed her.
Brilliant!' he called hoarsely after her, as she disappeared into
the crowd. 'OK, team, let's go for it!'
Hermione's spell had done the trick. Harry was still numb with
old still wetter than he'd ever been in his life, but he could see.
Full of fresh determination, he urged his broom through the turbulent
air, staring in every direction for the Snitch, avoiding a
Bludger, ducking beneath Diggory, who was streaking in the
opposite direction...
There was another clap of thunder, followed immediately by
forked lightning. This was getting more and more dangerous.
Harry needed to get the Snitch quickly -
He turned, intending to head back towards the middle of the
pitch, but at that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated ~
the stands, and Harry saw something that distracted him completely:
the silhouette of an enormous shaggy black dog, clearly
imprinted against the sky, motionless in the topmost, empty row
of seats.

< I
Harry's numb hands slipped on the broom handle and his Nimbus
dropped a few feet. Shaking his sodden fringe out of his eyes,
he squinted back into the stands. The dog had vanished.
Harry!' came Wood's anguished yell from the Gryffindor goalposts.
'Harry, behind you!'
Harry looked wildly around. Cedric Diggory was pelting up the
Pilch, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled
air between them...
wlt^ a Jolt of panic. Harry threw himself flat to the broom han- ^ and zoomed towards the Snitch.
Come on!' he growled at his Nimbus, as the rain whipped his
la" 'Faster.''
something odd was happening. An eerie silence was falling
- ss the ^adium. The wind, though as strong as ever, was for-
'"g to roar. It was as though someone had turned off the )
as though Harry had gone suddenly deaf - what was going
jn?
134 harry potter

And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over h'
inside him, just as he became aware of something moving on k
pitch below ... J
Before he'd had time to think. Harry had taken his eyes off A
Snitch and looked down.
At least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointine
at him, were standing below. It was as though freezing water wa
rising in his chest, cutting at his insides. And then he heard ii
again ... someone was screaming, screaming inside his head
woman ...
'Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!'
'Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now ...'
'Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead - _
Numbing, swirling white mist was filling Harry's brain ... What
was he doing? Why was he flying? He needed to help her ... she
was going to die ... she was going to be murdered ... ^H
He was falling, falling through the icy mist. ^1
'Not Harry I Please ... have mercy ... have mercy ...' ^B
A shrill voice was laughing, the woman was screaming, and
Harry knew no more.
*

'Lucky the ground was so soft.'
'I thought he was dead for sure.'
'But he didn't even break his glasses.'
Harry could hear the voices whispering, but they made no
sense whatsoever. He didn't have a clue where he was, or how
he'd got there, or what he'd been doing before he got there. All he
knew was that every inch of him was aching as though it had
been beaten.
'That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life.' H
Scariest ... the scariest thing ... hooded black figures ... cold
screaming...
Harry's eyes snapped open. He was lying in the hospital wing
The Gryffindor Quidditch team, spattered with mud from headto
foot, was gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione were a
there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming
pool. l(
'Harry!' said Fred, who looked extremely white underneain
mud. 'How're you feeling?' i-i.^
It was as though Harry's memory was on fast torwa
* grim defeat 135

ne the Grim ... the Snitch ... and the Dementors ...
^What happened?' he said, sitting up so suddenly they all

^ou fell off,' said Fred. 'Must've been - what - fifty feet?'
We thought you'd died,' said Alicia, who was shaking.
Hermione made a small, squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely

bloodshot.
But the match,' said Harry. 'What happened? Are we having a

replay7'
No one said anything. The horrible truth sank into Harry like a

sione.
We didn't - lose?'
Dieeory got the Snitch,' said George. 'Just after you fell. He
didn't realise what had happened. When he looked back and saw
vuu on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a re-match. But
ihey won fair and square ... even Wood admits it.'
Where is Wood?' said Harry, suddenly realising he wasn't there.
Still in the showers,' said Fred. 'We think he's trying to drown
himself.'
Harry put his face to his knees, his hands gripping his hair.
Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly.
'C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before.'
'There had to be one time you didn't get it,' said George.
'It's not over yet,' said Fred. 'We lost by a hundred points, right?
So if Hufflepuff lose to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and
Slytherin...'
'Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points,' said
George.
'But if they beat Ravenclaw ...'
^ way, Ravenclaw are too good. But if Slytherin lose against
Hufflepuff...- "

f all depends on the points - a margin of a hundred either way -'
Harry lay there, not saying a word. They had lost... for the first
"me ever, he had lost a Quidditch match.
er ten minutes or so. Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the
^ to leave him in peace.
e come and see you later,' Fred told him. 'Don't beat yourself
P;Harry you're still the best Seeker we've ever had.'
frev eteam ^"Ped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Porn-
__ l the door behind them looking disapproving. Ron and

k^

136 harry potter

Hermione moved nearer to Harry's bed.
'Dumbledore was really angry,' Hermione said in a au 1; "
voice. 'I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the n i
as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down bpf
you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the Dementn
Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium straight away li
was furious they'd come into the grounds, we heard him -'
Then he magicked you onto a stretcher,' said Ron. 'And walked i
up to school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were ^1
His voice faded away, but Harry hardly noticed. He was thini^^
ing about what the Dementors had done to him ... about the i
screaming voice. He looked up and saw Ron and Hermione look- _
ing at him so anxiously that he quickly cast around for somethjnc
matter-of-fact to say.
'Did someone get my Nimbus?'
Ron and Hermione looked quickly at each other.
'Er-
'What?' said Harry, looking from one to the other.
'Well ... when you fell off, it got blown away,' said Hermione
hesitantly.
'And?' , /
'And it hit - it hit - oh, Harry - it hit the Whomping Willow.'
Harry's insides lurched. The Whomping Willow was a very
violent tree which stood alone in the middle of the grounds.
'And?' he said, dreading the answer. I
'Well, you know the Whomping Willow,' said Ron. 'It - 11
doesn't like being hit.'
'Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came round.
said Hermione in a very small voice.
Slowly she reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside-
down and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and iwg
onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten
broomstick.
^

-- CHAPTER TEN --

The Marauder's Map

Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing
tor the rest of the weekend. He didn't argue or complain, but he
wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remnants of his Nimbus
Two Thousand. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimus
was beyond repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as -
Iihough he'd lost one of his best friends. I
He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up.
Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow
cabbages and Ginny Weasley, blushing furiously, turned up
with a 'get well' card she had made herself, which sang shrilly B
unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor a "
team visited again on Sunday morning, this time accompanied by
^ood, who told Harry, in a hollow, dead sort of voice, that he
didn't blame him in the slightest. Ron and Hermione only left
Harry's bedside at night. But nothing anyone said or did could
make Harry feel any better, because they only knew half of what
^as troubling him.
He hadn't told anyone about the Grim, not even Ron and
"ennione, because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione
^'ould scoff. The fact remained, however, that it had now appeared
^ce, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal acci- Was ; the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight
"s: the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick. Was the
nm going to haunt him until he actually died? Was he going to
spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder for the beast?
nd then there were the Dementors. Harry felt sick and humili-
every time he thought of them. Everyone said the Dementors
on """^i but no one else collapsed every time they went near
no one else heard echoes in their head of their dying
138 harry potter

For Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to no
had heard her words, heard them over and over again durin ^
night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, startup a> J
strips of moonlight on the ceiling. When the Demem (
approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's 1if
her attempts to protect him, Harry, from Lord Voldemon a d
Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her ... Harry dozed fii
fully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and peiri
fied pleading, jerking awake only to dwell again on the sound of
his mother's voice.
*
It was a relief to return on Monday to the noise and bustle of the
main school, where he was forced to think about other things,
even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting. Malfoy was
almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He had
finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full us<
of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off
his broom. Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing
Dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked,
flinging a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him
in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor.
'If Snape's taking Defence Against the Dark Arts again, I'm
going off sick,' said Ron, as they headed towards Lupin's classroom
after lunch. 'Check who's in there, Hermione.'
Hermione peered around the classroom door.
'It's OK!'
Professor Lupin was back at work. It certainly looked as
though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely
on him and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless,
he smiled at the class as they took their seats, and they burst
at once into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behaviour
while Lupin had been ill.
'It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he set us homework?'
'We don't know anything about werewolves -'
'- two rolls of parchment!' ,
'Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them e
Lupin asked, frowning slightly.
The babble broke out again.
'Yes, but he said we were really behind -'
the marauder's map 139

._ he wouldn't listen -
C two rolls of parchment!'
fgssor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face.
. ^,orry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do

the essay.' . i . , .3
Oh no,' said Hermione, looking very disappointed. I we already

finished it!'
They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought |
alone a glass box containing a Hinkypunk, a little one-legged |
creature who seemed as though he was made of wisps of smoke,
rather frail and harmless-looking. |
Lures travellers into bogs,' said Professor Lupin, as they took
notes. 'You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Hops
ahead - people follow the light - then -'
The Hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the
glass.
When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and
headed for the door. Harry amongst them, but - .
'Wait a moment. Harry,' Lupin called, 'I'd like a word.'
Harry doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the
Hinkypunk's box with a cloth.
"I heard about the match,' said Lupin, turning back to his desk
and starting to pile books into his briefcase, 'and I'm sorry about
your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?'
'No,' said Harry. 'The tree smashed it to bits.'
Lupin sighed.
'T^hey planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I
"nved at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near
"ough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gud- ^on nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No
"roomstick would have a chance.'
Did you hear about the Dementors, too?' said Harry with
acuity.

Lupin looked at him quickly
es^ did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumble-
 e l ^ffy- They have been growing restless for some time ...
ih0"5 at his ^'al to let them inside the grounds ... I suppose
he^ere the reason you fell?'
|^ esl sald ^n-y He hesitated, and then the question he had to - urst from him before he could stop himself. 'Why? Why do

/

140 harry potter

they affect me like that? Am I just -?'
'It has nothing to do with weakness,' said Professor 1
sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind. The Dement111
affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in v
past that the others don't have.'
A ray of wintry sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminatin
Lupin's grey hairs and the lines on his young face.
'Dementors are among the foulest creatures thai walk (hi
earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decav
and despair, they drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air
around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't
see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, even'
happy memory, will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Demenior
will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something likt
itself - soulless and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst
experiences of your life. And the worst that has happened to you,
Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have
nothing to feel ashamed of.'
'When they get near me -' Harry stared at Lupin's desk, his
throat tight, 'I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum.' |
Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though he had
made to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it. There was
a moment's silence; then -
'Why did they have to come to the match?' said Harry bitterly.
They're getting hungry,' said Lupin coolly, shutting his briefcase
with a snap. 'Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their
supply of human prey has dried up ... I don't think they could
resist the large crowd around the Quidditch pitch. All that excitement ...
emotions running high ... it was their idea of a feast.
'Azkaban must be terrible,' Harry muttered. Lupin nodded grimly-
The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they
don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when
they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a sing
cheerful thought. Most of them go mad within weeks.'
'But Sirius Black escaped from them,' Harry said slowly 'He g
away ...' . ,l,
Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop ^_
to catch it. BB
'Yes,' he said, straightening up. 'Black must have found a wa)^
fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible ... Demento
the marauder's map 141
d to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them

'^v made that Dementor on the train back off,' said Harry

'"There are - certain defences one can use,' said Lupin. 'But
. 35 only one Dementor on the train. The more there are,
'the more difficult it becomes to resist.'
What defences?' said Harry at once. 'Can you teach me?'
I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry -
quite the contrary...'
But if the Dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need
to be able to fight them -'
Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said,
Well... all right. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next
term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a
very inconvenient time to fall ill.'
*
What with the promise of Anti-Dementor lessons from Lupin, the
thought that he might never have to hear his mother's death
again, and the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their I
Quidditch match at the end of November, Harry's mood took a
definite upturn. Gryffindor were not out of the running after all,
although they could not afford to lose another match. Wood
became repossessed of his manic energy, and worked his team as
hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December.
Harry saw no hint of a Dementor within the grounds. Dumb-
ledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the
entrances.
Two weeks before the end of term, the sky lightened suddenly
1' a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed
"e morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there
ttas a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms
'^her, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering
8 ts that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students
^rea11 ^Ppily discussing their plans for the holidays. Both Ron
[ ermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts, and though
, , sala n was because he couldn't stand two weeks with Percy, '"
[Hermione insisted she needed to use the library, Harry wasn't
a. r e^ were doing it to keep him company, and he was very
142	harry potter

To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be a
Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of term.
'We can do all our Christmas shopping there!' said Herm
'Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossine Strinom1"
r t t -i i 11 b^UltS
from Honeydukes! ^
Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third-vJ?
staying behind again, Harry borrowed a copy of Which Broomstick
from Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on th
different makes. He had been riding one of the school brooms
team practice, an ancient Shooting Star, which was very slow and
jerky; he definitely needed a new broom of his own.
On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid
goodbye to Ron and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and
scarves, then turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed
back towards Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside
the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.
'Psst-Harry!' "
He turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred
and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a
humpbacked, one-eyed witch. |
'What are you doing?' said Harry curiously. 'How come you re
not going to Hogsmeade?'
'We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go,' said
Fred, with a mysterious wink. 'Come in here ...'
He nodded towards an empty classroom to the left of the one- eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside. George
closed the door quietly and then turned, beaming, to look al
Harry.
'Early Christmas present for you, Harry,' he said.
Fred pulled something from inside his cloak with a flourish
and laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn
piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecti"?
one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it.
'What's that supposed to be?'
'This, Harry, is the secret of our success,' said George, pat""8
the parchment fondly. , .^
'It's a wrench, giving it to you,' said Fred, 'but we decide
night, your need's greater than ours.' , ^
'Anyway, we know it off by heart,' said George. 'We bequea
to you. We don't really need it any more.' H
r
the marauder's map 143
, pgt do I need with a bit of old parchment?' said

lAbit of old parchment!' said Fred, closing his eyes with a gri- ' . as though Harry had mortally offended him. 'Explain,

Well when we were in our first year. Harry - young, carefree
4nd innocent -'
Harry snorted. He doubted whether Fred and George had ever I
been innocent. |
- well, more innocent than we are now - we got into a spot of
bother with Filch.'
We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for
some reason -'
-So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with
the usual -'
- detention -' j
'- disembowelment -'
- and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing
cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous.'
< I
'Don't tell me -' said Harry, starting to grin.
'Well, what would you've done?' said Fred. 'George caused a
diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer
open and grabbed - this.'
'It's not as bad as it sounds, you know,' said George. 'We
don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably
inspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated
.'

'And you know how to work it?'
'Oh yes,' said Fred, smirking. 'This little beauty's taught us
_e than all the teachers in this school.'
pou're winding me up,' said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit
01 parchment.

Oh, are we?'said George.
 e t00^ out his wand, touched the parchment lightly and said,
solemnly swear that I am up to no good;
, ' at Q^e, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web
oih ^olnt t^at G^^^ wand had touched. They joined each
r, they criss-crossed, they fanned into every corner of the I:
ment; then words began to blossom across the top, great,
y green ^rds, that proclaimed:
144 harry potter

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Pad/hot and Pronss
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP

It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle a d
grounds. But the truly remarkable thing was the tiny ink d
moving around it, each labelled with a name in minuscule wrii
ing. Astounded, Harry bent over it. A labelled dot in the top led
corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study
the caretaker's cat, Mrs Norris, was prowling the second floor and
Peeves the poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy
room. And as Harry's eyes travelled up and down the familiar corridors,
he noticed something else. |
This map showed a set of passages he had never entered. And
many of them seemed to lead -
'Right into Hogsmeade,' said Fred, tracing one of them with his
finger. There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four
-' he pointed them out, '- but we're sure we're the only ones who
know about these. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on
the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in -
completely blocked. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the
entrance. But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of
Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you mighi'vt
noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one- eyed old crone's hump.'
'Moony Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,' sighed George, palling
the heading of the map. 'We owe them so much.'
'Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of law- breakers,' said Fred solemnly. ^ ,
'Right,' said George briskly, 'don't forget to wipe it after youvc
used it -'
'- or anyone can read it,' Fred said warningly.
'Just tap it again and say, "Mischief managed!" And ill 8
blank.' . ^
'So, young Harry,' said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation
Percy, 'mind you behave yourself.'
'See you in Honeydukes,' said George, winking.
They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.
the marauder's map 145

^od there, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched
v ink Mrs Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something
h floor. It Filch really didn't know ... he wouldn't have to
asstheDementorsatall...
' g^ as he stood there, flooded with excitement, something

Harry ha'1 once hear(l Mr ^b^y ^Y came ^oa1"^ out of his
memory.
Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you cant see where
k keeps its brain.
This map was one of those dangerous magical objects Mr
Weasley had been warning against ... Aids for Magical Mischief- makers ... but then. Harry reasoned, he only wanted to use it to
eel into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as though he wanted to steal anyhing or attack anyone ... and Fred and George had been using it
tor years without anything horrible happening ...
Harry traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger.
Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up
the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the
classroom. He opened it a couple of inches. There was no one
outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and slipped
behind the statue of the one-eyed witch.
What did he have to do? He pulled out the map again and saw,
to his astonishment, that a new ink figure had appeared upon it,
labelled 'Harry Potter'. This figure was standing exactly where the
real Harry was standing, about halfway down the third-floor corridor.
Harry watched carefully His little ink self appeared to be tapping
the witch with his minute wand. Harry quickly took out his
real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked
Kk at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to
hls figure. The word inside said 'Dissendium'.
Dissendium!' Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again.
At once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit a fair-
_ 'n person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor,
, ''"tucked the map away again, hoisted himself into the hole
^"rst, and pushed himself forwards.
the e! d a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide,
 anded on cold, damp earth. He stood up, looking around. It
Thai h ^'lle ^d ^ ^is wand' muttered, 'Lumos!' and saw
id ^ was in a ver^ narrow' 1^ earthy passageway. He raised the
^--^Pped it with the tip of his wand and muttered, 'Mischief
146 harry potter _

managed!' The map went blank at once. He folded it car f
tucked it inside his robes, then, heart beating fast, both e )
and apprehensive, he set off. _
The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of
giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumblin
now and then on the uneven floor, holding his wand out in fr
of him.
It took ages, but Harry had the thought of Honeydukes to sustain
him. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise
Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot, his feet very cold.
Ten minutes later, he came to the foot of some worn, stone
steps which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any
noise. Harry began to climb. A hundred steps, two hundred steps
he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet ... then, without
warning, his head hit something hard.
It seemed to be a trapdoor. Harry stood there, massaging the
top of his head, listening. He couldn't hear any sounds above him.
Very slowly, he pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the
edge.
He was in a cellar which was full of wooden crates and boxes
Harry climbed out of the trapdoor and replaced it - it blended so
perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was
there. Harry crept slowly towards the wooden staircase that led
upstairs. Now he could definitely hear voices, not to mention lh(
tinkle of a bell and the opening and shutting of a door.
Wondering what he ought to do, he suddenly heard a door
open much closer at hand; somebody was about to come downstairs.
'And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned
us out - said a woman's voice.
A pair of feet was coming down the staircase. Harry leap*
behind an enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass. (
heard the man shifting boxes against the wall opposite. He n"8
not get another chance - ,
Quickly and silently Harry dodged out from his hiding P ^
and climbed the stairs; looking back, he saw an enormous
side and a shiny bald head buried in a box. Harry ^"^if
door at the top of the stairs, slipped through it, and foun d 1
behind the counter of Honeydukes - he ducked, crept si e
and then straightened up.
' the marauder's map 147

pvdukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no
"looked twice at Harry. He edged amongst them, looking
in d and suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that
lro Id spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry

nas now.
There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking
weets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink
Luares of coconut ice, fat, honey-coloured toffees; hundreds of I
Jifferent kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel
of Every Flavour Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizzbees, the
levitating sherbert balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another
wall were 'Special Effects' sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum
.which filled a room with bluebell-coloured bubbles that refused
10 pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints,
unv black Pepper Imps ('breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice
i hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams |
shaped like toads ('hop realistically in the stomach!'), fragile
sugar-spun quills and exploding bonbons.
Harry squeezed himself through a crowd of sixth-years and saw a
sign hanging in the furthest corner of the shop ('Unusual Tastes').
Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray
of blood-flavoured lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them.
I
'Urgh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires,
_pect,' Hermione was saying.
|How about these?' said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clus-
'" under Hermione's nose.
E definitely not,' said Harry
on nearly dropped the jar.
iarryi.' squealed Hermione. What are you doing here? How - row did you -?'

Wow! said Ron, looking very impressed. 'You've learned to
Apparate!'

bourse I haven't,' said Harry He dropped his voice so that
ik"^ ^ "^h-years could hear him and told them all about
WK Marauder's Map.
,, ow come Fred and George never gave it to me!' said Ron, out- r^^ their brother!'
idea an^ lsnt S011^ to ^ee? it!' ^d Hermione, as though the
as udicrous. 'He's going to hand it in to Professor McGona-
B'l, aren't you. Harry?-
1

>nJ
148 harry potter

'No, I'm not!' said Harry.
'Are you mad?' said Ron, goggling at Hermione. 'Hand in
thing that good?'
'If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would kn i
Fred and George nicked it!'
'But what about Sirius Black?' Hermione hissed. 'He could h.
using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle' Th
teachers have got to know!' |
'He can't be getting in through a passage,' said Harry quickly
'There are seven secret tunnels on the map, right? Fred and
George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And the
other three - one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it
One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the
entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came
through - well - it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in
the cellar - so unless he knew it was there -'
Harry hesitated. What if Black did know the passage was there?
Ron, however, cleared his throat significantly, and pointed to a
notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door.

BY ORDER OF THE MJM5TRY OF MAGIC
Customers are reminded that until further notice, Demenlors
will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after
sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of
Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of
Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your
shopping well before nightfall.
Merry Christmas!

'See?' said Ron quietly 'I'd like to see Black try and break into
Honeydukes with Dementors swarming all over the village. Am- way, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a brea
wouldn't they? They live over the shop!' ,
'Yes, but - but -' Hermione seemed to be struggling to 1"^
another problem. 'Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming
Hogsmeade, he hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out.
be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet - what i
Black turns up today? Now?' ij^d
'He'd have a job spotting Harry in this,' said Ron, no ^
through the mullioned windows at the thick, swirling _d

J

the marauder's map 149


Hermione, it's Christmas, Harry deserves a break.'
l:om<
pounds one bit her lip, looking extremely worried.
you going to report me?' Harry asked her, grinning.
.Oh - of course not - but honestly, Harry -'
.. ^e Fizzing Whizzbees, Harry?' said Ron, grabbing him
| leading him over to their barrel. 'And the Jelly Slugs? And the
., pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven - it burnt
hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him '--
l-ilh her broomstick.' Ron stared broodingly into the Acid Pop
ho'Reckon Fred'd take a bit of Cockroach Cluster if I told him
they were peanuts?'
When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the
Ihree of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside.
Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched
oliages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there _
uere holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles I
unging in the trees.
Harry shivered; unlike the other two, he didn't have his cloak.
They headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind, Ron
ind Hermione shouting through their scarves.
That's the Post Office -
Zonko's is up there -'
We could go up to the Shrieking Shack -'
'Tell you what,' said Ron, his teeth chattering, 'shall we go for a
Buiierbeer in the Three Broomsticks?'
Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands
m freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were
rmering the tiny inn.
It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm and smoky. A curvy sort
 wom^ with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy war- locl(s up at the bar.
Thai's Madam Rosmerta; said Ron. 'I'll get the drinks, shall I?'
"^ded, going slightly red.
"ry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room,
hand e was a sman' ^cant table between the window and a
cam k"18 ^nrlstmas tree which stood next to the fireplace. Ron
hoi r ^lve """t1165 later, carrying three foaming tankards of
"Utterbeer.

Barr!^) tmas! ne sai(^ ^PP^y' raising his tankard.
' wsr^ deeply It was the most delicious thing he'd ever
150 harry potter --

tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside I
A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three R
sticks had opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his ta l"1
and choked. "
Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the nul^
a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was d111
in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat a^
a pinstriped cloak: Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic.
In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on th
top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under ihc
table. Dripping with Butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Ham
clutched his empty tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudges
feet move towards the bar, pause, then turn and walk riehi
towards him.
Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, 'Mobiliarinisf
The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the
ground, drifted sideways and landed with a soft thump right in
front of their table, hiding them from view. Staring through lh(
dense lower branches. Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back
from the table right beside theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs
of the teachers and Minister as they sat down.
Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoist
high heels, and heard a woman's voice.
'A small Gillywater -'
'Mine,' said Professor McGonagall's voice.
'Four pints of mulled mead -'
'Ta, Rosmerta,' said Hagrid.
'A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella -'
'Mmm!' said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips.
'So you'll be the redcurrant rum. Minister.'
'Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear,' said Fudge's voice. 'Lovely l
see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you; lp
and join us ...'
'Well, thank you very much. Minister.'
Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back aga^
His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why
it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of term or
. fhpre' "^
teachers, too? And how long were they going to sn , ^
needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wan ^
return to school tonight ... Hermione's leg gave a nervous
the marauder's map 151

ncxt hat brines you to this neck of the woods. Minister?' came
uadam Rosmerta's voice.
gg^y the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his
as though he was checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said
a ouiet voice, 'What else, m'dear, but Sinus Black? I daresay
heard what happened up at the school at Hallowe'en?'
I did hear a rumour,' admitted Madam Rosmerta. 3
Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?' said Professor McGona- |
yllexasperatedly
Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?' whispered
Madam Rosmerta.
1m sure of it,' said Fudge shortly
You know that the Dementors have searched my pub twice?'
said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. 'Scared all my
customers away ... it's very bad for business, Minister.' |
'Rosmerta, m'dear, I don't like them any more than you do,' said
Fudge uncomfortably. 'Necessary precaution ... unfortunate, but
ihere you are ... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury
igainst Dumbledore - he won't let them inside the castle grounds.'
"I should think not,' said Professor McGonagall sharply. 'How
arc we supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?'
'Hear, hear!' squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were
^n^'ng a foot from the ground.
jaii the same,' demurred Fudge, 'they are here to protect you all I
from something much worse ... we all know what Black's capable
of. '
D" you know, I still have trouble believing it,' said Madam Ros- m(rla thoughtfully 'Of all the people to go over to the Dark side,
""us Black was the last I'd have thought ... I mean, I remember :^
.m when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what
was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead.'
'ou don't know the half of it, Rosmerta,' said Fudge gruffly
w worst he did isn't widely known.'

iiv worst? sai(^ ^tadam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curios-
orse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?'
.[ Mainly do,'said Fudge.
^"t believe that. What could possibly be worse?'
'rotes sa^ ^ou remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta,' murmured
| sor ^Gonagall 'Do you remember who his best friend
152 harry potter
fl
1
11B

was?'
'Naturally,' said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh 'N "
saw one without the other, did you? The number of times 11 tt
them in here - ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the i ble act, Sirius Black and James Potter!'
Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked hii _
'Precisely,' said Professor McGonagall. 'Black and Potter Rir"
leaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course - excel I
tionally bright, in fact - but I don't think we've ever had such I
pair of troublemakers --' ^^
'I dunno,' chuckled Hagrid. 'Fred and George Weasley coJH
give 'em a run fer their money.' |
'You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!' chimed in '
Professor Flitwick.'Inseparable!' ^B
'Of course they were,' said Fudge. 'Potter trusted Black beyora
all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school.
Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named
him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can
imagine how the idea would torment him.' |
01.
ed
an|

^
'Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know- Who?' whispered Madam Rosmerta.
'Worse even than that, m'dear ...' Fudge dropped his voice and
proceeded in a sort of low rumble. 'Not many people are aware
that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumblt- dore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know- Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off.
and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go inio
hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person 10
hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was u_
Fidelius Charm.' u
'How does that work?' said Madam Rosmerta, breathless win
interest. Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.
'An immensely complex spell,' he said squeakily 'involving t
magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living sou
information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret- e V~
and is henceforth impossible to find - unless, of course, the
Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper re
to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Li y^ ^
James were staying for years and never find them, not e
had his nose pressed against their sitting-room window.
U the marauder's map 153
Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?' whispered Madam

osme rally,' said Professor McGonagall. 'James Potter told Dum-
, ^at Black would die rather than tell where they were, that
l1!^ was planning to go into hiding himself ... and yet, Dumble-
remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters'
^cret-Keeper himself.'
He suspected Black?' gasped Madam Rosmerta.
He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keep-
You-Know-Who informed of their movements,' said Professor
u^Gonaeall darkly. 'Indeed, he had suspected for some time that
wmeone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of
ntormation to You-Know-Who.'
But James Potter insisted on using Black?'
He did,' said Fudge heavily. 'And then, barely a week after the
ridelius Charm had been performed -
'Black betrayed them?' breathed Madam Rosmerta.
He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was
cady to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he
terns to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death.
?ui, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little
larry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this
ffi Black in a very nasty position indeed. His Master had fallen at
he very moment when he. Black, had shown his true colours as a
raiior. He had no choice but to run for it -'
Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!' Hagrid said, so loudly that half the
w went quiet.
Shh!' said Professor McGonagall.
1 met him!' growled Hagrid. 'I musta bin the last ter see him
ore ^e killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry
from Lily an'James' house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta
^'"s, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead,
'" hls PBrents dead ... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin'
orbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was
were. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James' Secret-Keeper.
q ught held Jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an'
(no^,1",^ ^at he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh
laor,^ I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!'
^nd roared.

i 'Snd, please!' said Professor McGonagall. 'Keep your voice

yy
154	harry potter

down!'
'How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' lam
was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he savs "r
Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him -" h"
But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black
Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's Bl
argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbi
ter get Harry there. "I won' need it any more," he says.
'I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then 1
loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Wh?
wouldn' he need it any more? Fact was, it was too easy ter tract
Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew
he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a mailer
o' hours before the Ministry was after him. ~
'But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitchecHiii
off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friend's son! But when
wizard goes over ter the dark side, there's nothin' and no one th,
matters to 'em any more ...'
A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmer
said with some satisfaction, 'But he didn't manage to disappear.
did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!' |
'Alas, if only we had,' said Fudge bitterly 'It was not we whB
found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew - another of the Pollen
friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black
had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself.
'Pettigrew ... that fat little boy who was always tagging aroiin
after them at Hogwarts?' said Madam Rosmerta.
'Hero-worshipped Black and Potter,' said Professor McGonagal
'Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp
with him. You can imagine how I - how I regret that now
sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.
There, now, Minerva,' said Fudge kindly, 'Pettigrew
hero's death. Eye-witnesses - Muggles, of course, we wiped (
memories later - told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. The)^
he was sobbing. "Lily and James, Sirius! How could you.
then he went for his wand. Well, of course. Black was qu^^
Blew Pettigrew to smithereens ...' '^Sfl
Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, ^
boy ... foolish boy ... he was always hopeless at duelling
have left it to the Ministry ...'
^^^ the marauder's map 155

11 veh if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I
Mn't've messed around with wands - I'd've ripped him limb - ^ limb,'Hagrid growled.
"3,, jon't know what you're talking about, Hagrid,' said Fudge
t iv 'Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law
', "ment Squad would have stood a chance against Black once
I- -as cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Mag-
. catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the
ucne after Black murdered all those people. I - I will never forget
1 still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the
street so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere.
Mueeles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what
as left of Pettigrew in front of him ... a heap of blood-stained
.)bes and a few - a few fragments -'
Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five
noses being blown.
Well, there you have it, Rosmerta,' said Fudge thickly. 'Black
.as taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforceent
Patrol and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First
.lass, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's
fen in Azkaban ever since.'
Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh.
Is it true he's mad, Minister?'
'I wish I could say that he was,' said Fudge slowly. 'I certainly
lieve his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder
'I Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered
"nd desperate man - cruel ... pointless. Yet I met Black on my last
inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there
s" '"""ering to themselves in the dark, there's no sense in them ...
" I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite
Wionally to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was
y ^^d - asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as
w please, said he missed doing the en y.word. Yes, I was
ounded at how little effect the Dementors seemed to be having
lm ~ m<^ he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place,
g now- ^mentors outside his door, day and night.'
6- ut what do you think he's broken out to do?' said Madam
'"SITleria t .1
Knnu ' gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You- '""-Who, is he?'

ay that is his - er - eventual plan,' said Fudge evasively.

156 harry potter ^

'But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must saw v
Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing ... but give hini Iv,""
his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how an ll
i in i i^CKjy
he 11 rise again ... ^
There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had(P
down their glass.
'You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the Headmaster
we'd better head back up to the castle,' said Professor McGona
gall.
One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weiehi
of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sieht and
Madam Rosmerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar
The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was
another flurry of snow, and the teachers disappeared.
'Harry?'
Ron and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They v^
both staring at him, lost for words.
CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Firebolt l



.prry didn't have a very clear idea of how he had managed to get
Har
back into the Honeydukes cellar, through the tunnel and into the
osile once more. All he knew was that the return trip seemed to
uke no time at all, and that he hardly noticed what he was doing,
because his head was still pounding with the conversation he had j
just heard. "
Why had nobody ever told him? Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr
Weasley, Cornelius Fudge ... why hadn't anyone ever mentioned
the fact that Harry's parents had died because their best friend had
betrayed them? i
HRon and Hermione watched Harry nervously all through dinner.
not daring to talk about what they'd overheard, because Percy
was sitting close by them. When they went upstairs to the crowdd
common room, it was to find Fred and George had set off half- i-dozen Dungbombs in a fit of end-of-term high spirits. Harry, |
^'ro didn't want Fred and George asking him whether he'd
reached Hogsmeade or not, sneaked quietly up to the empty dor- ""lory, and headed straight for his bedside cabinet. He pushed his
rtj"ks aside and quickly found what he was looking for - the
ther-bound photo album Hagrid had given him two years ago,
* 'ch was full of wizard pictures of his mother and father. He sat
_" on nls bed, drew the hangings around him, and started
y"g the pages, searching, until...
e popped on a picture of his parents' wedding day There was
,alher ^ving up at him, beaming, the untidy black hair Harry
'n ented standing up in all directions. There was his mother,
".^""^Ppiness, arm in arm with his Dad. And there ... that
ou h k Tneir best man ... Harry had never given him a

___nt known it was the same person, he would never

158 harry potter _

have guessed it was Black in this old photograph. His face
sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter. Had he al ^
been working for Voldemort when this picture had been '
Was he already planning the deaths of the two people next"1
him? Did he realise he was facing twelve years in Azkaban tw I 
years which would make him unrecognisable?
But the Dementors don't affect him. Harry thought, starine im
the handsome, laughing face. He doesn't have to hear my Mim
screaming if they get too close - ' jH
Harry slammed the album shut, reached over and stuffed 11
back into his cabinet, took off his robes and glasses and got imo
bed, making sure the hangings were hiding him from view. ^
The dormitory door opened. H
'Harry?' said Ron's voice uncertainly. ^|
But Harry lay still, pretending to be asleep. He heard Ron leave
again, and rolled over on his back, his eyes wide open.
A hatred such as he had never known before was coursing
through Harry like poison. He could see Black laughing at him
through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture
from the album over his eyes. He watched, as though somebody
was playing him a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Petti- grew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand
pieces. He could hear (though he had no idea what Black's voice
might sound like) a low, excited mutter. 'It has happened, my
Lord ... the Potters have made me their Secret-Keeper ...' And then
came another voice, laughing shrilly the same laugh that Ham- heard inside his head whenever the Dementors drew near...
*

'Harry, you - you look terrible.' .
Harry hadn't got to sleep until daybreak. He had awoken to find
the dormitory deserted, dressed and gone down the spiral star- case to a common room that was completely empty excep
Ron, who was eating a Peppermint Toad and massaging his storo
ach, and Hermione, who had spread her homework over l
tables.
'Where is everyone?' said Harry. ,, n ^
'Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?' sald^^
watching Harry closely 'It's nearly lunchtime, I was going to
and wake you up in a minute.' gj
Harry slumped into a chair next to the fire. Snow wa'
the firebolt 159

tside the windows. Crookshanks was spread out in front
fSe like a large, ginger rug.
You really don't look well, you know,' Hermione said, peering
piously into his face.
I'm fine; said Harry. , , ,
Harry, listen,' said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron, 'you
list be really upset about what we heard yesterday But the thing
m,, you mustn't go doing anything stupid.'
Like what?'said Harry.
Like trying to go after Black,' said Ron sharply.
Harry could tell they had rehearsed this conversation while he
had been asleep. He didn't say anything.
You won't, will you. Harry?' said Hermione.
Because Black's not worth dying for,' said Ron.
Harry looked at them. They didn't seem to understand at all.
'D'you know what I see and hear every time a Dementor gets
100 near me?' Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking
apprehensive. 'I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with
Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just
about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you
found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers
betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her -'
'There's nothing you can do!' said Hermione, looking stricken.
'The Dementors will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and
- and serve him right!'
'You heard what Fudge said. Black isn't affected by Azkaban like
normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the
"ihers.'
so what are you saying?' said Ron, looking very tense. 'You
^nt to - to kill Black or something?'
on t be silly,' said Hermione in a panicky voice. 'Harry doesn't
_ to kill anyone, do you, Harry?'
galn' ^""y didn't answer. He didn't know what he wanted to
(| ' "e ^w was that the idea of doing nothing, while Black

Vlf yl was almost more than he could stand- ^ a oy ^ows; he said abruptly 'Remember what he said to
wan," otions? "If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself ... I'd
"'"I revenge."'

furio""' goln&to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?' said Ron
^J^ Listen ... you know what Pettigrew's mother got back

160 harry potter

after Black had finished with him? Dad told me - the 0 d
Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That w t! ^
biggest bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Harrv ^
he's dangerous -' '
'Malfoy's dad must have told him,' said Harry, ignoring Ron 'n
was right in Voldemort's inner circle --'
'Say You-Know-Who, will you?' interjected Ron angrily.
'- so obviously, the Malfoys knew Black was working for Vold
mort -
'- and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million
pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip, Malfoy's just hoping you'll yn
yourself killed before he has to play you at Quidditch.'
'Harry, please,' said Hermione, her eyes now shining with tears.
'please be sensible. Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don'i
put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants ... oh. Harry, you'd bt
playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your
mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd
never want you to go looking for Black!'
'I'll never know what they'd have wanted because, thanks to
Black, I've never spoken to them,' said Harry shortly
There was a silence, in which Crookshanks stretched luxuriously,
flexing his claws. Ron's pocket quivered.
'Look,' said Ron, obviously casting around for a change of subject,
'it's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's - let's go down
and see Hagrid. We haven't visited him for ages!'
'No!' said Hermione quickly 'Harry isn't supposed to leave the
castle, Ron -'
'Yeah, let's go,' said Harry sitting up, 'and I can ask him how
come he never mentioned Black when he told me all about to)
parents!' .
Further discussion of Sirius Black plainly wasn't what Ronh_d
had in mind. ^1
'Or we could have a game of chess,' he said hastily, 'or "
stones. Percy left a set -'
'No, let's visit Hagrid,' said Harry firmly, js
So they got their cloaks from their dormitories and se
through the portrait hole ('Stand and fight, you yellow-^ ^
mongrels!'), down through the empty castle and out throug
oak front doors, hallo*
They made their way slowly down the lawn, making a
the firebolt 161

h n the glittering, powdery snow, their socks and the hems
'"""h r cloaks soaked and freezing. The Forbidden Forest looked
'h ?h it had been enchanted, each tree smattered with silver,
^, ^grid's cabin looked like an iced cake.
''"Ron knocked, but there was no answer.
He's not out, is he?' said Hermione, who was shivering under
her cloak. |
Ron had his ear to the door.
There's a weird noise,' he said. 'Listen - is that Fang?'
Harry and Hermione put their ears to the door, too. From
inside the cabin came a series of low, throbbing moans.
Think we'd better go and get someone?' said Ron nervously.
Hagrid!' called Harry, thumping the door. 'Hagrid, are you in
ihere?'
There was a sound of heavy footsteps, then the door creaked ,
open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen; tears I
splashing down the front of his leather waistcoat.
Yeh've heard!' he bellowed, and he flung himself onto Harry's
ck.
Hagrid being at least twice the size of a normal man, this was a
no laughing matter. Harry, about to collapse under Hagrid's "
weight, was rescued by Ron and Hermione, who each seized
Hagrid under an arm and heaved him, Harry helping, back into
the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and
slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed
wnh tears which dripped down into his tangled beard.
Hagrid, what is it?' said Hermione, aghast.
Harry spotted an official-looking letter lying open on the table.
That's this, Hagrid?'
Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter towards
"ny, who picked it up and read aloud:

Dear Mr Hagrid,
""rther to our inquiry into the attack by a Hippogriff on a
s u ent in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Pro- jrssor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the
Stable incident.

phoul'rf ats ^)I<' ^len) ^g^'' said Ron, clapping Hagrid on the
| ut Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one of his

162 harry potter
gigantic hands, inviting Harry to read on.

However, we must register our concern about the Hivnovrifl
in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint I
Mr Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken (o ih
Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hear
ing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present
yourself and your Hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London
on that date. In the meantime, the Hippogriff should be hew
tethered and isolated.
Yours in fellowship ...

There followed a list of the school governors.
'Oh,' said Ron. 'But you said Buckbeak isn't a bad Hippogrilt
Hagrid. I bet he'll get off-' ft
'Yeh don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal
o' Dangerous Creatures!' choked Hagrid, wiping his eyes on
his sleeve. 'They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!'
A sudden sound from the corner of Hagrid's cabin made Ham.
Ron and Hermione whip around. Buckbeak the Hippogriff was
lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing
blood all over the floor.
'I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow!' choked
Hagrid. 'All on his own! At Christmas!'
Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at each other. They had never
seen eye to eye with Hagrid about what he called 'interesting creatures'
and other people called 'terrifying monsters'. On the other
hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. Ic
fact, by Hagrid's usual standards, he was positively cute.
'You'll have to put up a good strong defence, Hagnd, sai
Hermione, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagnd's mass
forearm. 'I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe.' ^
Won' make no diff'rence!' sobbed Hagrid. 'Them Dispo^
devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An i
lose the case, Buckbeak -' --
Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gav^
great wail and lurched forwards, his face in his arms.
'What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?' said Harry. ,y
'He's done more'n enough fer me already' groaned Hagn ^
enough on his plate what with keepin' them Dementors o
the firebolt 163

,le an' Sinus Black lurkin' around -' "Is . gnd Hermione looked quickly at Harry, as though expect-
'him to start berating Hagrid for not telling him the truth
l"^ v, But Harry couldn't bring himself to do it, not now he
^ Hagrid so miserable and scared.
Listen, Hagrid,' he said, 'you can't give up. Hermione's right,
just need a good defence. You can call us as witnesses -'
I'm sure I've read about a case of Hippogriff-baiting,' said
Hermione thoughtfully, 'where the Hippogriff got off. I'll look it
up (or you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened.'
Haerid howled still more loudly. Harry and Hermione looked at
Ron to help them.
Er - shall I make a cup of tea?' said Ron.
Harry stared at him.
'It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset,' Ron mut-
Itrtd, shrugging.
At last, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming
mug of tea in front of him, Hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief
the size of a tablecloth and said, 'Yer right. I can' afford to go
icr pieces. Gotta pull meself together ...'
Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and
laid his head on Hagrid's knee.
"I we not bin meself lately,' said Hagrid, stroking Fang with one
hand and mopping his face with the other. 'Worried abou' Buck-
_ak, an' no one likin' me classes -'
We do like them!' lied Hermione at once.
Yeah, they're great!' said Ron, crossing his fingers under the
Hble. Er - how are the Flobberworms?'
--Dead; said Hagrid gloomily 'Too much lettuce.'
^oh;n()!' said Ron, his lip twitching.
"An them Dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all,' said
agn- with a sudden shudder. 'Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I
^"l a drink in the Three Broomsticks. 'S like being' back in Azka-

ai I a ^^t, gulping his tea. Harry, Ron and Hermione
his b him ^eathlessly They had never heard Hagrid talk about
u,j . e s^ in Azkaban before. After a brief pause, Hermione

Yei^v 'ils u awful in there' Hagrid?'
 ouph no ' salc^ Hagrid quietly. 'Never bin anywhere like it.
was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me
164 harry potter

mind ... the day I got expelled from Hogwarts ... day me n ^ a
... day I had ter let Norbert go ...' '^
His eyes filled with tears. Norbert was the baby dragon H
had once won in a game of cards. |||
'Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while An'^
can' see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in
sleep ... when they let me out, it was like being' born again ev'rv
thin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world Mind
the Dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go.'
'But you were innocent!' said Hermione.
Hagrid snorted.
Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've
got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can
leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's
guilty an' who's not.'
Hagrid went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea. Then h(
said quietly. Thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go ... tryin' ter make
him fly away ... but how d'yeh explain ter a Hippogriff it's gotta go
inter hidin'? An' - an' I'm scared o' breakin' the law ...' He looked
up at them, tears leaking down his face again. T don' ever want to
go back ter Azkaban.'
*
The trip to Hagrid's, though far from fun, had nevertheless had
the effect Ron and Hermione had hoped. Though Harry had by no
means forgotten about Black, he couldn't brood constantly oh
revenge if he wanted to help Hagrid win his case against the Committee
for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. He, Ron and
Hermione went to the library next day, and returned to the empt)
common room laden with books which might help prepare'
defence for Buckbeak. The three of them sat in front of the roar'
ing fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous
cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they
across something relevant. .
'Here's something ... there was a case in 1722 ... but the
pogriff was convicted - urgh, look what they did to it, thais
gusting- p%
This might help, look - a Manticore savaged someone in ^
and they let the Manticore off - oh - no, that was only be
everyone was too scared to go near it...' .r.c
Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magn
the FiREBOLT 165

mas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hard- L , nf the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of
h ?i"}nd mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious
ho. ^one from inside every suit of armour and the Great Hall
*? filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with
,j g^s A powerful and delicious smell of cooking pervaded
^e corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had grown so strong that
Scabbers poked his nose out of the shelter of Ron's pocket to
sniff hopefully at the air.
On Christmas morning. Harry was woken by Ron throwing his

pillow at him.
Oy! Presents!'
Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, squinting
through the semi-darkness to the foot of his bed, where a small
heap of parcels had appeared. Ron was already ripping the paper
oft his own presents.
'Another jumper from Mum ... maroon again ... see if you've got
ie.'
Harry had. Mrs Weasley had sent him a scarlet jumper with the
Iryffindor lion knitted on the front, also a dozen home-baked
mince pies, some Christmas cake and a box of nut brittle. As he
moved all these things aside, he saw a long, thin package lying
underneath.
What's that?' said Ron, looking over, a freshly unwrapped pair
f maroon socks in his hand.
'Dunno ...'
Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent,
learning broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. Ron dropped
^is socks and jumped off his bed for a closer look.
1 don't believe it,' he said hoarsely
l was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone
|' see every day in Diagon Alley. Its handle glittered as he picked
"P He could feel it vibrating, and let go; it hung in mid-air,
""supported, at exactly the right height for him to mount it. His
l move^ ^rom Ae golden registration number at the top of the
,. e, "S^t down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch
"^hat made up the tail.
sent it to you?' said Ron in a hushed voice.
^ k and see if there's a card,' said Harry.
" "PP^ apart the Firebolt's wrappings.
166 harry potter |

'Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you?'
'Well,' said Harry, feeling stunned, 'I'm betting it wasn'i
Dursleys.' the
'I bet it was Dumbledore,' said Ron, now walking round ^
round the Firebolt, taking in every glorious inch. 'He sent you ik.
Invisibility Cloak anonymously ...' ^J
'That was my dad's, though,' said Harry. 'Dumbledore wasH
passing it on to me. He wouldn't spend hundreds of Galleons on
me. He can't go giving students stuff like this -'
'That's why he wouldn't say it was from him!' said Ron. 'In cast
some git like Malfoy said it was favouritism. Hey, Harry -' Ron
gave a great whoop of laughter, 'Malfoy! Wait 'til he sees you on
this! He'll be sick as a pig! This is an international standard
broom, this is!'
'I can't believe this,' Harry muttered, running a hand along (he
Firebolt, while Ron sank onto Harry's bed, laughing his head offal
the thought of Malfoy 'Who -?'
'I know,' said Ron, controlling himself. 'I know who it could'vc
been- Lupin!'
'What?' said Harry, now starting to laugh himself. 'Lupin? Listen,
if he had this much gold, he'd be able to buy himself some
new robes.'
'Yeah, but he likes you,' said Ron. 'And he was away when your
Nimbus got smashed, and he might've heard about it and decided
to visit Diagon Alley and get this for you -'
'What d'you mean, he was away?' said Harry 'He was ill when 1
was playing in that match.'
'Well, he wasn't in the hospital wing,' said Ron. 'I was there.
cleaning out the bedpans on that detention from Snap*.
remember?'
Harry frowned at Ron.
'I can't see Lupin affording something like this.'
'What're you two laughing about?' j
Hermione had just come in, wearing her dressing gown
carrying Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy. wl
string of tinsel tied around his neck. i^
'Don't bring him in here!' said Ron, hurriedly snatching Sca^
from the depths of his bed and stowing him in his pyjaina P".^
But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks on
mus's empty bed and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebo t.
the FiREBOLT 167

Oh Hd"^' who sent you thatr
'^ga; said Harry. There wasn't a card or anything with it.'
t his ereat surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or
ed by this news. On the contrary, her face fell, and she bit

What's the matter with you?' said Ron.
1 don't know,' said Hermione slowly, 'but it's a bit odd, isn't it? I
"|an, this is supposed to be quite a good broom, isn't it?'
<
Ron sighed exasperatedly
It's the best broom there is, Hermione,' he said.
So it must've been really expensive ...'
Probably cost more than all the Slytherins' brooms put togethr;
said Ron happily
Well... who'd send Harry something as expensive as that, and
not even tell him they'd sent it?' said Hermione.
Who cares?' said Ron, impatiently 'Listen, Harry, can I have a j
go on it? Can I?'
0
n
1 don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!' said
rmione shrilly. ,
Harry and Ron looked at her. ll
'What d'you think Harry's going to do with it - sweep the
lloor?' said Ron.
(But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from
amus's bed, right at Ron's chest. |
GET - HIM - OUT - OF - HERE!' Ron bellowed, as Crook- a
shanks's claws ripped his pyjamas and Scabbers attempted a wild
""pe over his shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and .
timed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks which hit the trunk at
en<^ f Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop
on the spot, howling with pain.
Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tinny
nistling was filling the room. The Pocket Sneakoscope had
.ome dislodged from Uncle Vernon's old socks and was
w"^ ing and gleaming on the floor.
 ^ot about that!' Harry said, bending down and picking up
neakoscope. 'I never wear those socks if I can help it...'
ihani^ nea^oscoPe whirled and whistled in his palm. Crook-
- ye was ^mg snd spitting at it.

siv h take tllat cat out of here' Hermione'' said Ron Iuri- e was sitting on Harry's bed nursing his toe. 'Can't you

168 harry potter

shut that thing up?' he added to Harry, as Hermione strode
the room, Crookshanks's yellow eyes still fixed maliciou 1.
Ron. y 011
Harry stuffed the Sneakoscope back inside the socks and th
it back into his trunk. All that could be heard now were Ron'
fled moans of pain and rage. Scabbers was huddled in R
hands. It had been a while since Harry had seen him out of Ron'
pocket, and he was unpleasantly surprised to see that Scabbm
once so fat, was now very skinny; patches of fur seemed to have
fallen out, too.
'He's not looking too good, is he?' Harry said.
'It's stress!' said Ron. 'He'd be fine if that stupid great furball led
him alone!'
But Harry, remembering what the woman at the Magical
Menagerie had said about rats only living three years, couldn't
help feeling that unless Scabbers had powers he had never
revealed, he was reaching the end of his life. And despite Ron's
frequent complaints that Scabbers was both boring and useless, h(
was sure Ron would be very miserable if Scabbers died.
Christmas spirit was definitely thin on the ground in the
Gryffindor common room that morning. Hermione had shut
Crookshanks in her dormitory, but was furious with Ron for trying
to kick him; Ron was still fuming about Crookshanks's fresh
attempt to eat Scabbers. Harry gave up trying to make them talk
to each other, and devoted himself to examing the Firebolt, which
he had brought down to the common room with him. For some
reason this seemed to annoy Hermione as well; she didn't say anything,
but she kept looking darkly at the broom as though it, too.
had been criticising her cat.
At lunchtime they went down to the Great Hall, to find that the
house tables had been moved against the walls again, and thai >
single table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. "^
fessors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Fllw'',
were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken o
usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather m
looking tail coat. There were only three other students.
extremely nervous-looking first-years, and a sul e
Slytherin fifth-year. ^
'Merry Christmas!' said Dumbledore, as Harry, 1^ ^ ^
Hermione approached the table. 'As there are so few o
the firebolt 169

, foolish to use the house tables ... sit down, sit down!' j

'rtnl Ron and Hermione sat down side by side at the end of
Harry,

--. ,-kers!' said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end
( bree silver one to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged.
^'h a bane like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a
i iv pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture.
Harry, remembering the Boggart, caught Ron's eye and they
both grinned; Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat
towards Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once.
Tuck in!' he advised the table, beaming around.
}s Harry was helping himself to roast potatoes, the doors of the
Great Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding
towards them as though on wheels. She had put on a green
siquined dress in honour of the occasion, making her look more |
lhan ever like a glittering, oversize dragonfly.
'Sybill, this is a pleasant surprise!' said Dumbledore, standing
up
1 have been crystal-gazing. Headmaster,' said Professor
Trelawney, in her mistiest, most faraway voice, 'and to my astonishment,
I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and
aiming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I
11 once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my
Idleness...'
Certainly, certainly,' said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. 'Let
c draw you up a chair -'
And he did indeed draw a chair in mid-air with his wand,
*hich revolved for a few seconds before falling with a thud
'ween Professors Snape and McGonagall. Professor Trelawney,
f^ever, did not sit down; her enormous eyes had been roving
und the table, and she suddenly uttered a kind of soft scream.
-- dare ""t, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen!
of '"g could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen

'"w1?*"'the first to rise wm be the first to die!'
e 11 nsk it, Sybill,' said Professor McGonagall impatiently 'Do
p^n, the turkey's getting stone cold.'
^ oessor Trelawney hesitated, then lowered herself into the
tpe^ c eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though
oked'"? a thunderbolt to hit the table. Professor McGonagall
3 ^ ^oon into the nearest tureen.
170 harry potter i

Tripe, Sybill?'
Professor Trelawney ignored her. Eyes open again, she 1
around once more and said, 'But where is dear Professor bin r
'I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again,' said Dumbledore " ,1
eating that everybody should start serving themselves 'm
unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day.'
'But surely you already knew that, Sybill?' said Professor Mcf
nagall, her eyebrows raised.
Professor Trelawney gave Professor McGonagall a very col
look.
'Certainly I knew, Minerva,' she said quietly. 'But one does nc
parade the fact that one is All-Knowing. I frequently act as thouri
I am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make otha
nervous.'
'That explains a great deal,' said Professor McGonagall tartly.
Professor Trelawney's voice suddenly became a good deal Ie
misty.
'If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professa
Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himsel
that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crysu
gaze for him -'
'Imagine that,' said Professor McGonagall drily.
'I doubt,' said Dumbledore, in a cheerful but slightly raist
voice, which put an end to Professor McGonagall and Professt
Trelawney's conversation, 'that Professor Lupin is in any immed
ate danger. Severus, you've made the Potion for him again?'
'Yes, Headmaster,' said Snape. H
'Good,' said Dumbledore. 'Then he should be up and aboul i
no time ... Derek, have you had any of these chipolatas? Theyi
excellent.' ,
The first-year boy went furiously red on being addressed direct
by Dumbledore, and took the platter of sausages with treinbim
hands.
Professor Trelawney behaved almost normally until the v
end of Christmas dinner, two hours later. Full to bursting *
Christmas dinner and still wearing their cracker hats, Harry
Ron got up first from the table and she shrieked loudly
'My dears! Which of you left his seat first? Which?'
'Dunno,' said Ron, looking uneasily at Harry, y
'I doubt it will make much difference,' said Professor M
^* the FiREBOLT 171

}A 'unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to
111 enter the first into the Entrance Hall.'
11" ngn laughed. Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted.

laming?' Ha^ said to Hermione.
}i ' Hermione muttered. 'I want a quick word with Professor

IcGonagall.'
Probably trying to see it she can take any more classes, yawned
Eas they made their way into the Entrance Hall, which was
pletely devoid of mad axe-men.
\'hen they reached the portrait hole they found Sir Cadogan
noving a Christmas party with a couple of monks, several previ-
as headmasters of Hogwarts and his fat pony He pushed up his
,or and toasted them with a flagon of mead.
Merry - hie - Christmas! Password?'
Scurvy cur,' said Ron.
And the same to you, sir!' roared Sir Cadogan, as the painting
t-ung forward to admit them.
Many went straight up to the dormitory, collected his Firebolt
id the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given him for his
nhday, brought them downstairs and tried to find something to
) to the Firebolt; however, there were no bent twigs to clip, and
ic handle was so shiny already it seemed pointless to polish it.
c and Ron simply sat admiring it from every angle, until the
wait hole opened, and Hermione came in, accompanied by
'ofessor McGonagall.
Though Professor McGonagall was Head of Gryffindor house,
airy had only seen her in the common room once before, and
lal "^ been to make a very grave announcement. He and Ron
"cd at her, both holding the Firebolt. Hermione walked around
en'. sat down, picked up the nearest book and hid her face
hind it.
so that's it, is it?' said Professor McGonagall beadily, walking
"to the fireside and staring at the Firebolt. 'Miss Granger has
^informed me that you have been sent a broomstick, Potter.'
ny and Ron looked around at Hermione. They could see her
^dening over the top of her book, which was upside-

^ ^'^^ ^ot^sor McGonagall, but she didn't wait for an
^ r before pulling the Firebolt out of their hands. She exam-
__^^fully from handle to twig-ends. 'Hmm. And there was
172 harry potter ^

no note at all, Potter? No card? No message of any kind?'
'No,' said Harry blankly.
'I see ...' said Professor McGonagall. 'Well, I'm afraid l
have to take this, Potter.'
'W-what?' said Harry, scrambling to his feet. 'Why?'
'It will need to be checked for jinxes,' said Professor McGn
gall. 'Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch an
Professor Flitwick will strip it down -'
'Strip it down?' repeated Ron, as though Professor McGonaea
was mad.
'It shouldn't take more than a few weeks,' said Professor McGc
nagall. 'You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free.'
'There's nothing wrong with it!' said Harry, his voice shakm
slightly. 'Honestly, Professor -'
'You can't know that. Potter,' said Professor McGonagall, quil
kindly, 'not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that
out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tan
pered with. I shall keep you informed.'
Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and carried the Fir
bolt out of the portrait hole, which closed behind her. Harry sloe
staring after her, the tin of High-Finish Polish still clutched in h
hands. Ron, however, rounded on Hermione.
'What did you go running to McGonagall for?'
Hermione threw her book aside. She was still pink in the fac
but stood up and faced Ron defiantly.
'Because I thought - and Professor McGonagall agrees with n
- that that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!
-- CHAPTER TWELVE --

The Patronus

H.iiTv knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop
Aim being angry with her. He had been the owner of the best
Iroom in the world for a few short hours, and now, because of her
interference, he didn't know whether he would ever see it again.
Re was positive that there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt
now, but what sort of state would it be in once it had been sub-
cled to all sorts of anti-jinx tests?
Ron was furious with Hermione, too. As far as he was con-
emed, the stripping-down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing
ess than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced
ui she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common
iwm. Harry and Ron supposed she had taken refuge in the
ibrary, and didn't try and persuade her to come back. All in all,
'ey were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after
'ew Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy
i^ain.
Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started.
Had a good Christmas?' he said, and then, without waiting for
a" answ", he sat down, lowered his voice and said, 'I've been
""'"g some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you
ow. if the Dementors come to the next one ... I mean ... we can't
"lord you to - well -
wood ^oke off, looking awkward.
he'd"1 ^^S on u'' said Harry quickly 'Professor Lupin said
^am me to ward the Dementors off. We should be starting
_/eek;he said he'd have time after Christmas.'
Kail.'^sau! w00^' ms expression clearing. 'Well, in that case - I
orrip7 (, want to lose y011 as Seeker, Harry And have you
rder^ a new broom yet?'
I"0.'said Harry.
174 harry potter _

'What! You'd better get a move on, you know - you can't
that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!' n(<
'He got a Firebolt for Christmas,' said Ron.
' A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A - a real Firebolt?'
'Don't get excited, Oliver,' said Harry gloomily 'I haven't o
any more. It was confiscated.' And he explained all about how ik.
Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes.
'Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?'
'Sirius Black,' Harry said wearily. 'He's supposed to be after me
So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it.' ^1
Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was off
his Seeker, Wood said, 'But Black couldn't have bought a Fireboli'
He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him'
How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and bin- a broomstick?' H
'I know,' said Harry, 'but McGonagall still wants to strip n
down -'
Wood went pale.
'I'll go and talk to her, Harry,' he promised. 'I'll make her s
reason ... a Firebolt ... a real Firebolt, on our team ... she wants
Gryffindor to win as much as we do ... I'll make her see sense ...l
Firebolt...'
*
Lessons started again next day The last thing anyone felt like
doing was spending two hours in the grounds on a raw, January
morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders
for their enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting
dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing, while iht
flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling.
white-hot logs. The first Divination lesson of the new term was
much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them paw
istry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had l
shortest life-lines she had ever seen.
It was Defence Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen^
get to; after his conversation with Wood, he wanted to get sta
on his Anti-Dementor lessons as soon as possible.
'Ah yes,' said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his pr ^
at the end of class. 'Let me see ... how about eight oco^ ^
Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom sho
large enough ... I'll have to think carefully about how wer s
I
175
the patronus

.his we can't bring a real Dementor into the castle to prac-
iii do w~ '''
[se n looks ill, doesn't he?' said Ron, as they walked down the
rrirlor heading to dinner. 'What d'you reckon's the matter with
^rridor,
l-.m?'
' There was a loud and impatient 'tuh' from behind them. It was
^.Qne who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armour, re-
-ckine her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn't close. |
^ 'And what are you tutting at us for?' said Ron irritably
Nothing,' said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back

,'vcr her shoulder.
Yes you were,' said Ron. 'I said I wonder what's wrong with

Lupin, and you -'
Well isn't it obvious?' said Hermione, with a look of maddening
superiority
1 you don't want to tell us, don't,' snapped Ron. .1
Fine,' said Hermione haughtily, and she marched off.
She doesn't know,' said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione.
She's just trying to get us to talk to her again.'
*

Ai eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower
fe the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when
^ff arrived, but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited
only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a
l"ge packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk.
What's that?' said Harry.
Another Boggart,' said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. 'I've been
^"mbing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found
'"is one lurking inside Mr Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest
e I* get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Demen- 1r when he sees you, so we'll be able to practise on him. I can
ore "lm in my office when we're not using him; there's a cup-
"u under my desk he'll like.'
' ^d Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehen- e <u all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good sub-
"me ?or a real Dementor.
kai i} i, ess01' Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indi-
P"d i IHarry should do the same. 'The spell I am going to try
"di ^ou is ^S^y advanced magic. Harry - well beyond
ary Warding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm.'
176 harry potter

'How does it work?' said Harry nervously.
'Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a PatroniK'
Lupin, 'which is a kind of Anti-Dementor - a guardian which
as a shield between you and the Dementor.'
Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind
Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor ludi
continued, 'The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projeciin
of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon - hope hann
ness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as res
humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn yoi
Harry, that the Charm might be too advanced for you. Many qual
tied wizards have difficulty with it.'
'What does a Patronus look like?' said Harry curiously
'Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it.'
'And how do you conjure it?'
'With an incantation, which will work only if you are concel
trating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory.'
Harry cast about for a happy memory. Certainly noihir
that had happened to him at the Dursleys' was going to do. Fiiu
ly, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broon
stick.
'Right,' he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the woi
derful, soaring sensation in his stomach.
'The incantation is this -' Lupin cleared his throat, 'exprt
patronum!'
'Expecto patronum,' Harry repeated under his breath, 'expec
patronum.'
'Concentrating hard on your happy memory?'
'Oh - yeah -' said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back
that first broom-ride. 'Expecto patrono - no, patronum - sorry
expecto patronum, expecto patronum -'
Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand,
looked like a wisp of silvery gas. ,
'Did you see that?' said Harry excitedly 'Something happened
'Very good,' said Lupin, smiling. 'Right then - ready to try n
a Dementor?' ^
'Yes,' Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and mo ^
into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to e p
mind on flying, but something else kept intruding ... w^
now, he might hear his mother again ... but he shou
THE PATRONUS
177



he would hear her again, and he didn't want to ... or did
ibai. or
1,7

'"lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.
"mentor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned
wards Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak.
igmps around the classroom flickered and went out. The
i-mentor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently
Iwards Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing
I

cold broke over him -
Expecto patronumf Harry yelled. 'Expecto patronum! Expecto -'
But the classroom and the Dementor were dissolving ... Harry
was falling again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice
as louder than ever, echoing inside his head - 'Not Harry? Not

Harry! Please - I'll do anything -
I'Stand aside - stand aside, girl -'
Harry!' -
Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the
.floor. The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn't have to

isk what had happened.
'Sorry,' he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling
down behind his glasses.
Are you all right?' said Lupin.
'Yes ...' Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned
against it.
Here -' Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. 'Eat this before
we try again. I didn't expect you to do it first time. In fact, I would
have been astounded if you had.'
Its getting worse,' Harry muttered, biting the Frog's head off. 'I
"uld hear her louder that time - and him - Voldemort -'
Lupin looked paler than usual.
Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than under-
Mand -
do! said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog
 his mouth. 'I've got tol What if the Dementors turn up at our
,, ^iist Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose
----^arne we've lost the Quidditch Cup!'
 "S"1 Aen ...' said Lupin. 'You might want to select another
dotsi^ a PPy memory, I mean, to concentrate on ... that one
^ l seem to have been strong enough ...'
""y nought hard, and decided his feelings when Gryffindor
178 harry potter

had won the House Championship last year had definitely
fied as very happy He gripped his wand tightly again, and to^
his position in the middle of the classroom. '
'Ready?' said Lupin, gripping the box lid.
'Ready' said Harry, trying hard to fill his head with
thoughts about Gryffindor winning, and not dark thoughts aS
what was going to happen when the box opened.
'Go!' said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cokl
and dark once more. The Dementor glided forwards, drawing i- rattly breath; one rotting hand was extending towards Harry -
'Expecto patronum!' Harry yelled. 'Expecto patronum! Expec
pat-
White fog obscured his senses ... big, blurred shapes were mo
ing around him ... then came a new voice, a man's voice, shoutin
panicking -
'Lily, take Harry and go! It's Him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-
The sounds of someone stumbling from a room - a door bursting
open - a cackle of high-pitched laughter -
'Harry! Harry ... wake up ...' |
Lupin was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was i
minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty
classroom floor.
'I heard my dad,' Harry mumbled. 'That's the first time I've evn
heard him - he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give n_
mum time to run for it...' I
Harry suddenly realised that there were tears on his face minj
gling with the sweat. He bent his face low as possible, wiping
them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so ih11- Lupin wouldn't see.
'You heard James?' said Lupin, in a strange voice.
'Yeah ...' Face dry, Harry looked up. 'Why - you didn't know ay
dad, did you?'
'I - I did, as a matter of fact,' said Lupin. 'We were fr'E"'15
Hogwarts. Listen, Harry - perhaps we should leave it here
tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced ... I shouldnt
suggested putting you through this ...' ^
'No!' said Harry He got up again. 'I'll have one more go. 1
thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is ... hang
( ihte
He racked his brains. A really really happy memory one
he could turn into a good, strong Patronus ...
^B the patronus 179

oment when he'd first found out he was a wizard, and
e up leaving the Dursleys for Hogwans! If that wasn't a
1011 memory, he didn't know what was ... concentrating very
*a n how he had felt when he'd realised he'd be leaving Privet
ar Harry got to his feet and faced the packing case once more.
'"R^ady?' said Lupin, who looked as though he was doing this
earnst his better judgement. 'Concentrating hard? All right - go!'
I He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the
[mentor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark - 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' Harry bellowed. 'EXPECTO
l.TRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!'
The screaming inside Harry's head had started again - except
us time, it sounded as though it was coming from a badly tuned
idio. Softer and louder and softer again ... and he could still see
k Dementor ... it had halted ... and then a huge, silver shadow me bursting out of the end of Harry's wand, to hover between
im and the Dementor, and though Harry's legs felt like water,
c was still on his feet ... though for how much longer, he wasn't
ure...
Riddikulus!' roared Lupin, springing forwards.
There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished
long with the Dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted
s if he'd just run a mile, his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his
ye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the Boggart back into the
acking case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again.
'Excellent!' Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. 'Excel-
ni, Harry! That was definitely a start!'
'Can we have another go? Just one more go?'
Not now,' said Lupin firmly. 'You've had enough for one night.
Icre -
He handed Harry a large bar of Honey dukes' best chocolate.
"i the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same
"e next week?'

1<- said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched
"P'n extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disap- rance ^ Ae Dementor. A thought had just occurred to him.
to essor Lupin?' he said. 'If you knew my dad, you must've
now" Sirius Black as well'
Unturned very quickly
- "at gives you that idea?' he said sharply
180 harry potter
'Nothing - I mean, I just knew they were friends at Ho

LOO . ^^_
Lupin's face relaxed. H
'Yes, I knew him,' he said shortly. 'Or I thought 1 did. You'd lu.
ter get off, Harry, it's getting late.'
Harry left the classroom, walked along the corridor and aroi n-i
a corner, than took a detour behind a suit of armour and sa i
down on its plinth to finish his chocolate, wishing he hadn't men.
tioned Black, as Lupin was obviously not keen on the subjeci
Then Harry's thoughts wandered back to his mother and father
He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full
of chocolate. Terrible though it was to hear his parents' lay
moments replayed inside his head, these were the only times
Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. Bui
he'd never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half-warned
to hear his parents again ...
'They're dead,' he told himself sternly. 'They're dead, and listening
to echoes of them won't bring them back. You'd better get a
grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup.'
He stood up, crammed the last bit of chocolate into his mouth
and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.
*
Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slythenn
won, though narrowly According to Wood, this was good news for
Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw
too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a
week. This meant that with Lupin's Anti-Dementor classes, which
in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices.
Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Even so.
he wasn't showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whost
immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night.
without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the coinm
room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts. Runt
dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, an
upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybo y.
snapped when she was interrupted. . ^
'How's she doing it?' Ron muttered to Harry one evenlng'^
Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable pols0^ ,
Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible be
tottering pile of books.
-I PI
THE PATRONUS 10


nnS'what?'
oS"
. ^ all her classes'.' Ron said. 'I heard her talking to Pro-
e Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were
1 on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't've been
!;l" because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And
Fi^ie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class,
half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's

n^ver missed one of them, either!'
Harry didn't have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione's
impossible timetable at the moment; he really needed to get on
*nh Snape's essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted

igain, this time by Wood.
Bad news. Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall
ibout the Firebolt. She - er - got a bit shirty with me. Told me I'd
rot my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about win-
nine the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told
her 1 didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the
Snitch on it first.' Wood shook his head in disbelief. 'Honestly, the
way she was yelling at me ... you'd think I'd said something terrible
Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep
n ...' He screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall's
were voice, '"As long as necessary. Wood" ... I reckon it's time
you ordered a new broom. Harry. There's an order form at the
back of Which Broomstick ... you could get a Nimbus Two Thouand
and One, like Malfoy's got.'
1 m not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good,' said Harry flatly.
A
January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the
>'"ly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was draw nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn't ordered a new
room- He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of the
'reboli after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hope-
Y 31 his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face
vened. " - , o, Potter, you can't have it back yet,' Professor McGonagall
'm the twelfth time this happened, before he'd even opened
mouth- 'We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Pro- lltwlc^ believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling
unni. s te^ y011 once we've finished checking it. Now, please
^dgeringme;
182 harry potter

To make matters even worse, Harry's Anti-Dementor 1
were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several se us
on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow OBS
time the Boggart-Dementor approached him, but his Patronm "
too feeble to drive the Dementor away. All it did was hover lib
semi-transparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought
keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his seem
desire to hear his parents' voices again.
'You're expecting too much of yourself,' said Professor Lupin
sternly, in their fourth week of practice. 'For a thirteen-year-old
wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You
aren't passing out any more, are you?'
'I thought a Patronus would - charge the Dementors down or
something,' said Harry dispiritedly. 'Make them disappear -'
'The true Patronus does do that,' said Lupin. 'But you've
achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the Demen put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will
be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the
ground.'
'You said it's harder if there are loads of them,' said Harry.
'I have complete confidence in you,' said Lupin, smiling. 'Here
- you've earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks.
you won't have tried it before -'
He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase. '
'Butterbeer!' said Harry without thinking. 'Yeah, I like thai
stuff!'
Lupin raised an eyebrow.
'Oh - Ron and Hermione brought me some back from
Hogsmeade,' Harry lied quickly.
'I see,' said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious.
Well - let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! No<
that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher ...'he added hasti y^
They drank the Butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced some
thing he'd been wondering for a while.
'What's under a Dementor's hood?'
Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully ,
'Hmmm ... well, the only people who really know ar_ ^
condition to tell us. You see, the Dementor only lowers its
use its last and worst weapon.'
'What's that?'
the patronus 183

call it the Dementors' Kiss,' said Lupin, with a slightly
, -mile. 'It's what Dementors do to those they wish to
"is utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth 'a
Jt'. 'g because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the 3

'"n'm and - and suck out his soul;
Harry accidentally spat out a bit of Butterbeer.

What-they kill-?'
Oh no' said Lupin. 'Much worse than that. You can exist with-
your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still I
norkine. But you'll have no sense of self any more, no memory, 
no anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just -
ist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone for ever ... lost.'
Lupin drank a little more Butterbeer, then said, 'It's the fate that
.wails Sinus Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The
Ministry have given the Dementors permission to perform it if

ihey find him; .|
Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having "
iheir soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought

,)f Black.
j|He deserves it,' he said suddenly.
^--You think so?' said Lupin lightly. 'Do you really think anyone

Erves that?'
es,' said Harry defiantly. 'For ... for some things ...'
e would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation
"id overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black
btiraying his mother and father, but it would have involved
dealing that he'd gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and :
"t knew Lupin wouldn't be very impressed by that. So he finished
s ^tterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic class- from . ;
^ny half-wished that he hadn't asked what was under a
('mentor's hood, the answer had been so horrible, and he was so
1(11 in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your
)u sucked out of you, that he walked headlong into Professor
^Gonagall halfway up the stairs.
|  ^A where you're going. Potter!'
|.^"y Professor-'
1^'ell ^ust n ^"^"g for you m the Gryffindor common room.
|her ere u isI we've done everything we could think of, and
^_ oesnt seem to be anything wrong with it at all - you've got
184 harry potter

a very good friend somewhere, Potter ...'
Harry's jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt
looked as magnificent as ever. ' '
'I can have it back?' Harry said weakly. 'Seriously?'
'Seriously,' said Professor McGonagall, and she was ach 11.
smiling. 'I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturd -:
match, won't you? And Potter - do try and win, won't yoip nr
we'll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Prof
sor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night...'
Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs towards
Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashim
towards him, grinning from ear to ear.
'She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on n'
Tomorrow?' ^1
'Yeah ... anything ...' said Harry, his heart lighter than ith3
been in a month. 'You know what -- we should make it up with
Hermione. She was only trying to help ...'
'Yeah, all right,' said Ron. 'She's in the common room now -
working, for a change.'
They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and sa'
Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed lo
be refusing him entrance.
'I wrote them down,' Neville was saying tearfully, 'but I musi'vi
dropped them somewhere!'
'A likely tale!' roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and
Ron, 'Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loonir
irons, he is trying to force entry to the chambers within!'
'Oh, shut up,' said Ron, as he and Harry drew level wilt
Neville.
'I've lost the passwords!' Neville told them miserably "I "udl
him tell me what passwords he was going to use this wea
because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know wha
done with them!' . ,
Oddsbodikins; said Harry to Sir Cadogan, who lool^
extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forwar.cls,to^^
them into the common room. There was a sudden, excite
mur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry
rounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt.
'Where'd you get it, Harry?'
'Will you let me have a go?'
THE PATRONUS
185



Have you ridden it yet. Harry?'
ocvcnclaw'll have no chance, they're all on Cleansweep Sev-
Ravenc

^Cani just hold it. Harry?'
Afi r ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was passed
md and admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and
n rrv and Ron had a clear view of Hermione, the only person
ho hadn't rushed over to them, bent over her work, and careful-
l avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron approached her table and at

Usi, she looked up.
I got it back,' said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the

K'olt.
e, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!' said Ron.
ell - there might have been!' said Hermione. 'I mean, at least
you know now that it's safe!'
K'Veah, 1 suppose so,' said Harry. 'I'd better put it upstairs -'
'11 take it!' said Ron eagerly. Tve got to give Scabbers his Rat

ic.'
He took the Firebolt, and, holding it as if it were made of glass,
carried it away up the boys' staircase. |
Can 1 sit down, then?' Harry asked Hermione.
I suppose so,' said Hermione, moving a great stack of parch-
ni off a chair.
Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arith-
roancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even
longer Muggle Studies essay ('Explain why Muggles Need Elec-
iriciiy) and at the Rune translation Hermione was now poring
Kr.
I How are you getting through all this stuff?' Harry asked her.
Oh, well - you know - working hard,' said Hermione. Close to,
Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin.
^hy don't you just drop a couple of subjects?' Harry asked,
etching her lifting books as she searched for her Rune dictio- ary.
1 couldn't do that!' said Hermione, looking scandalised.
Anthrnancy looks terrible,' said Harry, picking up a very com-
["'"ted-looking number chart.
oh- no, it's wonderful!' said Hermione earnestly 'It's my
^""rite subject! It's -'
J1 ^actly what was wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry never
186 harry potter

found out. At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed ^
the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell silent OWI
petrified, at the entrance. There came hurried footsteps er "^
louder and louder - and then, Ron came leaping into view d*
ging with him a bedsheet. ' 
'LOOK!' he bellowed, striding over to Hennione's tahl.
'LOOK!' he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.
'Ron, what -?'
'SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!'
Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewil
dered. Harry looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. Ther
was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like -
'BLOOD!' Ron yelled into the stunned silence. 'HE'S GONE
AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?'
'N-no,' said Hermione, in a trembling voice.
Ron threw something down onto Hermione's Rune translatior
Hermione and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weire
spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.
-- CHAPTER THIRTEEN --

Cryffmdor versus Ravendaw


I
0.
ma
Tnooked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship. Each was
w angry with the other that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever

(he it up.
Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks's
iiicmpts to eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close
enough watch on him and was still trying to pretend that Crook-
<anks was innocent by suggesting Ron look for Scabbers under
the boys' beds. Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that
Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the
ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron
ad been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had
inded on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.
Personally Harry was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scab- rters. and when he tried to point out to Hermione that the evidence
all pointed that way, she lost her temper with Harry, too.
gin

E
OK, side with Ron, I knew you would!' she said shrilly. 'First
he ^rebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! Just
we me alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!'
^n had taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed.
Lome on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers
"v, said Fred bracingly 'And he's been off colour for ages, he
^wasting away It was probably better for him to snuff it quick- ' one mallow - he probably didn't feel a thing.'
rrd,' ^d Ginny indignantly
he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself,' said

Harr^r '^oyle for us once!' Ron said miserably 'Remember,

.^"^t's true; said Harry.
lnest hour,' said Fred, unable to keep a straight face. 'Let
188 harry potter

the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his rn
Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and h on
new rat. What's the point of moaning?' '
gryffindor VERSUS ravenclaw 189

,. ^ a green and grey blur; Harry turned it so sharply that
urne ^ninnet screamed, then he went into a perfectly controlled
^''brushing the grassy pitch with his toes before rising thirty,
. '^v fifty ket into the air again -
Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!' Wood called.
Harry turned and raced a Bludger towards the goalposts; he
irioped it easily, saw the Snitch dart out from behind Wood
^d within ten seconds had caught it tightly in his hand.
The team cheered madly. Harry let the Snitch go again, gave it a
minute's head start, then tore after it, weaving in and out of the
ihers; he spotted it lurking near Katie Bell's knee, looped her eas-
ilv, and caught it again.
It was the best practice ever; the team, inspired by the presence
of the Firebolt in their midst, performed their best moves faultlessly,
and by the time they hit the ground again. Wood didn't
have a single criticism to make, which, as George Weasley pointed
out, was a first.
Jl can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow'.' said Wood. 'Not
unless - Harry, you've sorted your Dementor problem, haven't
you?' 'I
'Yeah,' said Harry, thinking of his feeble Patronus and wishing it
was stronger.
The Dementors won't turn up again, Oliver, Dumbledore'd do
his nut,' said Fred confidently
j Well, let's hope not,' said Wood. 'Anyway - good work, every-
ne. Let's get back to the Tower - turn in early ...'
1 m staying out for a bit, Ron wants a go on the Firebolt,' Harry
Id Wood, and while the rest of the team headed off to the chang-
R rooms, Harry strode over to Ron, who vaulted the barrier to
" stands and came to meet him. Madam Hooch had fallen asleep
her seat.
^"e you go,' said Harry, handing Ron the Firebolt.
I on, an expression of ecstasy on his face, mounted the broom
^ zoomed off into the gathering darkness while Harry walked
[^"d the edge of the pitch, watching him. Night had fallen
me "^am Hooch awoke with a start, told Harry and Ron off
"of ^'"g her, and insisted that they go back to the castle.
c ^ryshouldered the Firebolt and he and Ron walked out of
(lion wy stadium- discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth
' phenomenal acceleration and its pinpoint turning.
190 " harry potter

They were halfway towards the castle when Harry, glanci
left, saw something that made his heart turn over - a pair f 
gleaming out of the darkness.
Harry stopped dead, his heart banging against his ribs
'What's the matter?' said Ron.
Harry pointed. Ron pulled out his wand and muttered Tun
A beam of light fell across the grass, hit the bottom of a "I
and illuminated its branches; there, crouching amongst the bill"
ding leaves, was Crookshanks. |
'Get out of it!' Ron roared, and he stooped down and seized
stone lying on the grass, but before he could do anything e31
Crookshanks had vanished with one swish of his long ginger tail
'See?' Ron said furiously, chucking the stone down again. 'Shcs
still letting him wander about wherever he wants - probabh'
washing down Scabbers with a couple of birds now ...' f
Harry didn't say anything. He took a deep breath as Ttua
seeped through him; he had been sure for a moment that thox
eyes had belonged to the Grim. They set off for the castle once
more. Slightly ashamed of his moment of panic, Harry didn't say
anything to Ron - nor did he look left or right until they had
reached the well lit Entrance Hall.
*
Harry went down to breakfast next morning with the rest of the
boys in his dormitory, all of whom seemed to think the Fireboll
deserved a sort of guard of honour. As Harry entered the Great
Hall, heads turned in the direction of the Firebolt, and there wast
good deal of excited muttering. Harry saw, with enormous satisfaction,
that the Slytherin team were all looking thunderstruck.
'Did you see his face?' said Ron gleefully, looking back at Mal- foy. 'He can't believe it! This is brilliant!' _
Wood, too, was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolt.
, 'Put it here. Harry,' he said, laying the broom in the "^'^B
the table and carefully turning it so that its name faced upwanc--
People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon_o^
ing over to look. Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate _^
on having acquired such a superb replacement for his ^
and Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, as
she could actually hold the Firebolt. ^c
'Now, now, Penny no sabotage!' said Percy heart ^'^y^
examined the Firebolt closely 'Penelope and I have got a
gryffindor VERSUS ravenclaw 191

, < ^gani. 'Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!'
lu looe put the Firebolt down again, thanked Harry and went

,k to her table.
u rv - make sure you win,' said Percy, in an urgent whisper. 'I
. '( got ten Galleons. Yes, I'm coming. Penny!' And he bustled
('wjoin her in a piece of toast.
sure you can manage that broom. Potter?' said a cold, drawling

Draco Malfoy had arrived for a closer look, Crabbe and Goyle
^ht behind him.
Yeah, reckon so,' said Harry casually
Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?' said Malfoy, eyes glit-
nne maliciously. 'Shame it doesn't come with a parachute - in
ise you get too near a Dementor.'
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy,' said Harry.
'hen it could catch the Snitch for you.'
The Gryffindor team laughed loudly. Malfoy's pale eyes nar-
wed, and he stalked away. They watched him rejoin the rest of
ic Slytherin team, who put their heads together, no doubt asking
lalfoy whether Harry's broom really was a Firebolt.
At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the
unging rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different
from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day, with a
'ry light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time,
id Harry, though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement
"ly a Quidditch match could bring. They could hear the rest of
le school moving into the stadium beyond. Harry took off his
^'k school robes, removed his wand from his pocket, and stuck
'"side the T-shirt he was going to wear under his Quidditch
lnes ble only hoped he wouldn't need it. He wondered suddenly
"her Professor Lupin was in the crowd, watching.
ou know what we've got to do,' said Wood, as they prepared
eave the changing rooms. If we lose this match, we're out of
Inning, just - just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and

ey ^Iked out onto the pitch to tumultuous applause. The
nditiT team' ^^d in blue, were already standing in the
o the pitch. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl in
| tealn- she was shorter than Harry by about a head, and
192 harry potter

Harry couldn't help noticing, nervous as he was that h
extremely pretty She smiled at Harry as the teams faced ftl>
other behind their captains, and he felt a slight jolt in th
of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to d
nerves.
'Wood, Davies, shake hands,' Madam Hooch said briskly a
Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw captain.  ' --
'Mount your brooms ... on my whistle ... three - two - one -
Harry kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed high
and faster than any other broom; he soared around the stadium
and began squinting around for the Snitch, listening all the while
to the commentary, which was being provided by the Weaslo
twins' friend. Lee Jordan.
They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Fireboh
which Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which
Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for ihc
national teams at this year's World Championship -'
'Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in lh(
match?' interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice. H
'Right you are, Professor - just giving a bit of background intoT
mation. The Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and -'
'Jordan!'
'OK, OK, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor
heading for goal...'
Harry streaked past Katie in the opposite direction, gazing
around for a glint of gold and noticing that Cho Chang was tailing
him closely. She was undoubtedly a very good flier - she kept cutting
across him, forcing him to change direction.
'Show her your acceleration. Harry!' Fred yelled, as ht
whooshed past in pursuit of a Bludger that was aiming for Alicia
Harry urged the Firebolt forward as they rounded the RavO^
claw goalposts and Cho fell behind. Just as Katie succeeded in
scoring the first goal of the match, and the Gryffindor end of ^
pitch went wild, he saw it - the Snitch was close to the grou
flitting near one of the barriers. ,.m
Harry dived; Cho saw what he was doing and tore atter ^
Harry was speeding up, excitement flooding him; dives
speciality. He was ten feet away - mil.
Then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, csrn r
ing out of nowhere; Harry veered off course, avoiding 1 j
gryffindor VERSUS ravenclaw 193

"Hn those few, crucial seconds, the Snitch had vanished.
i, was a great 'Ooooooh' of disappointment from the
rr dor supporters, but much applause for their Beater from
Ravenclaw end. George Weasley vented his feelings by hitting
} gcond Bludger directly at the offending Beater, who was
1 ed to roll right over in mid-air to avoid it.
rrvffindor lead by eighty points to zero, and look at that Fire-
,li no! Potter's really putting it through its paces now. See it turn
Chane's Comet is just no match for it. The Firebolt's precision-
lance is really noticeable in these long -'
JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIRE- 1LTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!'
Ravenclaw were pulling back; they had now scored three goals,
iich put Gryffindor only fifty points ahead - if Cho got the
ilch before him, Ravenclaw would win. Harry dropped lower,
rrowly avoiding a Ravenclaw Chaser, scanning the pitch franti-
llv. A glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings - the Snitch was cir-
ng the Gryffindor goalpost...
Harry accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead - but
xi second, Cho had appeared out of thin air, blocking him -
HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!' Wood
wed, as Harry swerved to avoid a collision. 'KNOCK HER OFF
ER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO'.'
Harry turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning. The
inch had vanished again. Harry turned his Firebolt upwards and
s soon twenty feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye,
saw Cho following him ... she'd decided to mark him rather
" search for the Snitch herself. Right then ... if she wanted to
him, she'd have to take the consequences ...
rle dlved again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to
ow Harry pulled out of the dive very sharply, she hurtled
Rewards; he rose fast as a bullet once more, and then saw it,
1 < third time: the Snitch was glittering way above the pitch at
(Ravenclaw end.
e accelerated; so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning,
mg on the Snitch with every second - then -
uh! screamed Cho, pointing.
^cted, Harry looked down.
of" Mentors, three tall, black, hooded Dementors, were
""gup at him.
194 harry potter

He didn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck
robes, he whipped out his wand and roared, 'Expecto patronu^r
Something silver white, something enormous, erupted fr
end of his wand. He knew it had shot directly at the Dem
but didn't pause to watch; his mind still miraculously clear ^
looked ahead - he was nearly there. He stretched out the haiui
still grasping his wand and just managed to close his fingers ovn
the small, struggling Snitch.
Madam Hooch's whistle sounded, Harry turned around in mid.
air and saw six scarlet blurs bearing down on him. Next momeni
the whole team were hugging him so hard he was nearly pulU
off his broom. Down below he could hear the roars of ih(
Gryffindors in the crowd.
That's my boy!' Wood kept yelling. Alicia, Angelina and KalK
had all kissed Harry, and Fred had him in a grip so tight Harry Mi
as though his head would come off. In complete disarray, the team
managed to make its way back to the ground. Harry got off his
broom and looked up to see a gaggle of Gryffindor supponen
sprinting onto the pitch, Ron in the lead. Before he knew it, he
had been engulfed by the cheering crowd.
'Yes!' Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm into the air. 'Yes! Yes!'
'Well done, Harry!' said Percy, looking delighted. Ten Galleons
to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me -'
'Good on you. Harry!' roared Seamus Finnigan.
'Ruddy brilliant!' boomed Hagrid over the heads of the m
Gryffindors. ^B
'That was quite some Patronus,' said a voice in Harry's ear.
Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked boil
shaken and pleased.
The Dementors didn't affect me at all!' Harry said exciiedly-
didn't feel a thing!' , ,.
That would be because they - er - weren't Dementors, am
Professor Lupin. 'Come and see -' ^.
He led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see
edge of the pitch.
'You gave Mr Malfoy quite a fright,' said Lupin. ^
Harry stared. Lying in a crumpled heap on the grou
Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin w^
tain, all struggling to remove themselves from long, blac . ^
robes. It looked as though Malfoy had been standing on .
GRYFFINDOR VERSUS ravenclaw 195

Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost
'hou ^her face, was Professor McGonagall.
'""a unworthy trick!' she was shouting. 'A low and cowardly
to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of
ille and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Profes- u) numbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes

If anything could have set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it
(tug Ron, who had fought his way through to Harry's side,
Joubled up with laughter as they watched Malfoy fighting to
ctiricate himself from the robe, Goyle's head still stuck inside it.
Come on, Harry!' said George, fighting his way over. 'Party!
^.nffindor common room, now!'
Right,' said Harry, and feeling happier than he had done in
ii,ts, he and the rest of the team led the way, still in their scarlet
robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.
*
li felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the
party went on all day and well into the night. Fred and George
Weasley disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with arm-
fuls of bottles of Butterbeer, pumpkin fizz and several bags full of
Honeydukes sweets.
How did you do that?' squealed Angelina Johnson, as George
'uried throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.
'With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs,'
Fred muttered in Harry's ear.
Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities. Hermione,
iredibly, was sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous
1k entitled Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Harry
"roke away from the table where Fred and George had started jug- ^ '8 Butterbeer bottles, and went over to her.
"id you even come to the match?' he asked her.
course I did,' said Hermione, in a strangely high-pitched
ce. not looking up. 'And I'm very glad we won, and I think you
"ally well, but I need to read this by Monday'
e on, Hermione, come and have some food,' Harry said,
^ over at Ron anc^ wondering whether he was in a good
^ mood to bury the hatchet.
read?1 ry' I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages
salu Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. 'Any-
196 harry potter

way ...' She glanced over at Ron, too, 'he doesn't want me r
in.' o^ils
There was no arguing with this, as Ron chose that mom
say loudly, 'If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have d^
some of these Fudge Flies, he used to really like them -'
Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do a
thing, she had tucked the enormous book under her arm and
still sobbing, run towards the staircase to the girls' dormitori
and out of sight.
'Can't you give her a break?' Harry asked Ron quietly
'No,' said Ron flatly. 'If she just acted like she was sorry - bui
she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting likt
Scabbers has gone on holiday or something.'
The Gryffindor party only ended when Professor McGonagall
turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair-net at one in the
morning, to insist that they all went to bed. Harry and Ron
climbed the stairs to their dormitory, still discussing the match. At
last, exhausted. Harry climbed into bed, twitched the hangings of
his four-poster shut to block out a ray of moonlight, lay back and
felt himself almost instantly drifting off to sleep ...
He had a very strange dream. He was walking through a forest,
his Firebolt over his shoulder, following something silvery whilt
It was winding its way through the trees ahead, and he could onl)
catch glimpses of it between the leaves. Anxious to catch up wilt
it, he sped up, but as he moved faster, so did his quarry. Ham
broke into a run and ahead, he heard hooves gathering speed.
Now he was running flat out, and ahead he could hear galloping
Then he turned a corner into a clearing and -
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHH

N00000000000000000!'
Harry woke as suddenly as though he'd been hit in the W
Disorientated in the total darkness, he fumbled with his h3"?'"8
- he could hear movements around him, and Seamus Finniga
voice from the other side of the room.
'What's going on?' r...,!
Harry thought he heard the dormitory door slam. At last ^
ing the divide in his curtains, he ripped them back, an
same moment, Dean Thomas lit his lamp. .^ i
Ron was sitting up in bed, the hangings torn from one
look of the utmost terror on his face.
I
I GRYFFINDOR VERSUS ravenclaw 197

Black! Sirius Black'. With a knife!'

.Here 1 Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!'
You sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?' said Dean.
look at the curtains'. I tell you, he was here!'
They all scrambled out of bed; Harry reached the dormitory
i first and they sprinted back down the staircase. Doors
,pened behind them, and sleepy voices called after them.
Who shouted?'
What're you doing?'
The common room was lit by the glow of the dying fire, still lit-
itred with debris from the party. It was deserted.
Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?'
I'm telling you, I saw him!'
What's all the noise?'
|Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!'
|} few of the girls had come down their staircase, pulling on
!ssing gowns and yawning. Boys, too, were reappearing.
Excellent, are we carrying on?' said Fred Weasley brightly. |
Everyone back upstairs!' said Percy, hurrying into the common
room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pyjamas as he spoke.
BPerce - Sirius Black!' said Ron faintly. 'In our dormitory! With
iknife! Woke me up!'
The common room went very still.
Nonsense!' said Percy, looking startled. 'You had too much to
1. Ron - had a nightmare -'
I'm telling you -'
Now, really, enough's enough!'
Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait
"ind her as she entered the common room and stared furiously
ound.
am ^^hted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is get- n!? ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!'

imT31"^ didn't authorise this' Professor!' said Percy, puffing
d' J up ^S11'11111)' 'I was just telling them all to get back to
.My brother Ron here had a nightmare -'
i.q,, WASNT A NIGHTMARE!' Ron yelled. 'PROFESSOR, I
101 imk ' AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, J.
"LDING A KNIFE!' I

rolessor McGonagall stared at him.

- /
198 harry potter

'Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly h
through the portrait hole?' ^01
'Ask him!' said Ron, pointing a shaking finger at the back oK
Cadogan's picture. 'Ask him if he saw -' jL
Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed O?
portrait back open and went outside. The whole common roo
listened with baited breath.
'Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?'
'Certainly, good lady!' cried Sir Cadogan.
There was a stunned silence, both inside and outside the common
room.
'You - you did?' said Professor McGonagall. 'But - but the password!'
'He had 'em!' said Sir Cadogan proudly 'Had the whole week's.
my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!' H
Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the ponraii
hole to face the stunned crowd. She was white as chalk.
'Which person,' she said, her voice shaking, 'which abysmally
foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them
lying around?'
There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified
squeaks. Neville Longbottom, trembling from head to fluffy- slippered toes, raised his hand slowly into the air.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Snape's Grudge

So one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the
visile was being searched again, and the whole house stayed
iwake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had
been caught. Professor McGongall came back at dawn, to tell
them that he had again escaped.
Everywhere they went next day they saw signs of tighter securi-
Rrofessor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to
^nise a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly
hustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from
nny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been
sacked. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on
H seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been
(xpertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had only
igrced to return to her job on condition that she was given extra
Affllection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to
rd her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking
in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.
Harry couldn't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed
*ilch on the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. It
^twed that Fred and George had been right in thinking that they
'"d now Harry, Ron and Hermione - were the only ones who
-- ^""t the hidden passageway within it.
I,0" reckon we should tell someone?' Harry asked Ron.
e know he's not coming in through Honeydukes,' said Ron
""ssively -We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into.'
"J was glad Ron took this view. If the one-eyed witch was
"P too, he would never be able to go into Hogsmeade

t np "^ome an instant celebrity. For the first time in his
^^P^ were paying more attention to him than to Harry, and

200 harry potter

it was clear that Ron was rather enjoying the experience Tk W
still severely shaken by the night's events, he was hapnv i
anyone who asked, what had happened, with a wealth ofdpti
'... I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thoueh
was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draught- woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been puff
down ... I rolled over ... and I saw him standing over me lil
skeleton, with loads of filthy hair ... holding this great lone bif
must've been twelve inches ... and he looked at me, and 1 looked
at him, and then I yelled, and he scarpered.
'Why, though?' Ron added to Harry, as the group ofsecond-vor
girls who had been listening to his chilling tale departed. 'Why
did he scarper?'
Harry had been wondering the same thing. Why had Black.
having got the wrong bed, not silenced Ron and proceeded 10
Harry? Black had proved twelve years ago that he didn't mind
murdering innocent people, and this time he had been facing (ivr
unarmed boys, four of whom were asleep.
'He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle
once you'd yelled and woken people up,' said Harry thoughi-
fully. 'He'd've had to kill the whole house to get back through itx
portrait hole ... then he would've met the teachers ...'
Neville was in total disgrace. Professor McGonagall was so furious
with him she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits,
given him a detention and forbidden anyone to give him lit
password into the Tower. Poor Neville was forced to wait oulsldt
the common room every night for somebody to let him in, white
the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. None of these punishments,
however, came close to matching the one his graiw
mother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, s
sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student c^
receive over breakfast - a Howler. **
The school owls swooped into the Great Hall, carrying the P^
as usual, and Neville choked as a huge barn owl landed in tron^
him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak. Harry and Ron,
were sitting opposite him, recognised the letter as a
once - Ron had got one from his mother the year before.
'Run for it, Neville,' Ron advised. . 
Neville didn't need telling twice. He seized the wwo^
holding it before him like a bomb, sprinted out of the
snape's grudge 201

-1 therm table exploded with laughter at the sight of him.
'hi ' ^ (he Howler go off in the Entrance Hall - Neville's
Smother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its
pln yolume, shrieking about how he had brought shame on the

hole family
Harrv was too busy feeling sorry for Neville to notice immedi-
,ielv that he had a letter, too. Hedwig got his attention by nipping
him'sharply on the wrist.
Ouch! Oh - thanks, Hedwig ...'
Harry tore open the envelope while Hedwig helped herself to
^mc of Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said:

Dear Harry and Ron,
How about having tea with me this afternoon round six? I'll
come and collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE
ENTRANCE HALL, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR
OWN.
Cheers,

He probably wants to hear all about Black!' said Ron.
So at six o'clock that afternoon, Harry and Ron left Gryffindor
Tower, passed the security trolls at a run, and headed down to the
Entrance Hall.
Hagrid was already waiting for them.
baii right, Hagrid!' said Ron. 'S'pose you want to hear about Satrday
night, do you?'
Kve already heard all abou' it,' said Hagrid, opening the front
R and leading them outside.
)",' said Ron, looking slightly put out.
i "rst thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buck- r ' w^0 was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt,
enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate
| eaa 'Efets. Averting his eyes from this unpleasant sight. Harry
S'gwtic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow and
ngt the hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.
^WMe they for, Hagrid?' said Harry.
Ton0 beaks case gainst the Committee fer the Disposal o' Clan- ^ Creatures,' said Hagrid. This Friday Him an' me'll be goin'
"'-""don together. I've booked two beds on the Knight
202 harry potter

Bus ...'
Harry felt a nasty pang of guilt. He had completely fon,
that Buckbeak's trial was so near, and judging by the unea leB
on Ron's face, he had, too. They had also forgotten their nr
about helping him prepare Buckbeak's defence; the arrival of ^
Firebolt had driven it clean out of their minds.
Hagrid poured them tea and offered them a plate of Bath bu
but they knew better than to accept; they had had too much ex
rience of Hagrid's cooking.
'I got somethin' ter discuss with you two,' said Hagrid, sitlini
himself between them and looking uncharacteristically serious
'What?' said Harry.
'Hermione,' said Hagrid.
'What about her?' said Ron.
'She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter via
me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talk
ing to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin to he
because her cat -'
- ate Scabbers!' Ron interjected angrily.
'Because her cat acted like all cats do,' Hagrid continuo
doggedly. 'She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through,
rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yd
ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter hel]
me with Buckbeak's case, mind ... she's found some really goo
stuff fer me ... reckon he'll stand a good chance now ...'
'Hagrid, we should've helped as well - sorry -' Harry bega
awkwardly.
'I'm not blamin' yeh!' said Hagrid, waving Harry's apolog
aside. 'Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with, Ij
seen yeh practisin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night -
I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend moltl
broomsticks or rats. Tha's all.'
Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks.
'Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, ^
She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an yo"
not talkin' to her -' o n sai
If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!' Ko^ ^
angrily, 'but she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, a
won't hear a word against it!' , ya
'Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pe 'J
^^* snape's grudge 203

. ^sely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto

i Grid's pillo'^
Th v spent the rest of their visit discussing Gryffindor's
oved chances for the Quidditch Cup. At nine o'clock, Hagrid
"iSked them back up to the castle.
, gg group of people was bunched around the notice-board
;hen they returned to the common room.
Hoesmeade, next weekend!' said Ron, craning over the heads
. read the new notice. 'What d'you reckon?' he added quietly to
|,rry, as they went to sit down.
Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honey-
ukes...' Harry said, even more quietly.
Harry!' said a voice in his right ear. Harry started and looked
round at Hermione, who was sitting at the table right behind
iem and clearing a space in the wall of books that had been hid- igher.
Harry, if you go into Hogsmeade again ... I'll tell Professor
IcGonagall about that map!' said Hermione.
Can you hear someone talking. Harry?' growled Ron, not look- ig at Hermione.
| Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black
tarly did to you! I mean it, I'll tell -'
So now you're trying to get Harry expelled!' said Ron furiously.
laven't you done enough damage this year?'
Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss,
jrookshanks leapt onto her lap. Hermione took one frightened
p'k at the expression on Ron's face, gathered Crookshanks up
"d hurried away towards the girls' dormitories.
s" how about it?' Ron said to Harry, as though there had been
0 interruption. 'Come on, last time we went you didn't see any-
P11^ You haven't even been inside Zonko's yet!'
"sty looked around to check that Hermione was well out of
irshot. I

K. he said. 'But I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak this time.'
*
^ ^turday morning, Harry packed his Invisibility Cloak in his
^sipped the Marauder's Map into his pocket and went down
iou i wltn ^s^o^ else. Hermione kept shooting suspi-
ooks down the table at him, but he avoided her eye, and
__retul to let her see him walking back up the marble stair-
204 harry potter

case in the Entrance Hall as everybody else proceeded to th
doors. e to"
'Bye!' Harry called to Ron. 'See you when you get back''
Ron grinned and winked.
Harry hurried up to the third floor, slipping the Maraud
Map out of his pocket as he went. Crouching behind the one-?
witch, he smoothed it out. A tiny dot was moving in his direclio
Harry squinted at it. The minuscule writing next to it read 'Nevill
Longbottom'.
Harry quickly pulled out his wand, muttered 'Dissendium!' an
shoved his bag into the statue, but before he could climb in him
self, Neville came around the corner.
'Harry! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!'
'Hi, Neville,' said Harry, moving swiftly away from the stam
and pushing the map back into his pocket. 'What are you up to?'
'Nothing,' shrugged Neville. 'Want a game of Exploding Snap?'
'Er -- not now - I was going to go to the library and do itu
vampire essay for Lupin -'
'I'll come with you!' said Neville brightly. 'I haven't demy
either!' B
'Er - hang on - yeah, I forgot, I finished it last night!'
'Brilliant, you can help me!' said Neville, his round face aim
ious. 'I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all - do the
have to eat it, or -'
Neville broke off with a small gasp, looking over Harry's shouldci
It was Snape. Neville took a quick step behind Harry.
'And what are you two doing here?' said Snape, coming to
halt and looking from one to the other. 'An odd place to meet
To Harry's immense disquiet, Snape's black eyes flicked 10 in
doorways on either side of them, and then to the one-eyed wiic
'We're not - meeting here,' said Harry. 'We just - met here.
Indeed?' said Snape. 'You have a habit of turning up in und
pected places. Potter, and you are rarely there for no reason
suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower where y
belong.' ^
Harry and Neville set off without another word. As they to ^
the corner. Harry looked back. Snape was running one o
hands over the one-eyed witch's head, examining itclosey' 1^
Harry managed to shake Neville off at the Fat Lady 0'
him the password then pretending he'd left his vampi^ ^J
snape's grudge 205

i hrarv and doubling back. Once out of sight of the security
11 he pulled out the map again and held it close to his nose.
;r(l , third-floor corridor seemed to be deserted. Harry scanned
carefully and saw, with a leap of relief, that the tiny dot
11-lled 'Severus Snape' was now back in its office.
 sprinted back to the one-eyed witch, opened her hump,
ved himself inside and slid down to meet his bag at the bottom
(the stone chute. He wiped the Marauder's Map blank again,
ihen set off at a run.

Ham' completely hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, emerged
mio the sunlight outside Honeydukes and prodded Ron in the
back.
|lt's me,' he muttered.
|What kept you?' Ron hissed.
Snape was hanging around ...'
They set off up the High Street.
Where are you?' Ron kept muttering out of the corner of his
mouth. 'Are you still there? This feels weird ...'
They went to the Post Office; Ron pretended to be checking the
^ice of an owl to Bill in Egypt so that Harry could have a good
look around. The owls sat hooting softly down at him, at least
three hundred of them; from Great Greys right down to tiny little
Scops owls ('Local Deliveries Only') which were so small they
^uld have sat in the palm of Harry's hand.
Then they visited Zonko's, which was so packed with students
"arry had to exercise great care not to tread on anyone and cause
panic. There were jokes and tricks to fulfil even Fred and
corge's wildest dreams; Harry gave Ron whispered orders and
^d him some gold from under the Cloak. They left Zonko's
lnelr money bags considerably lighter than they had been on
nienng, but their pockets bulging with Dungbombs, Hiccough
^eets- ^"g Spawn Soap and a Nose-Biting Teacup apiece.
^y ^s fine and breezy, and neither of them felt like stay- g l^doots' so ^y ^^d P^t the Three Broomsticks and
k'n a slope to visit the shrieking Shack, the most haunted
'"g in Britain. It stood a little way above the rest of the vil-
Mnri even in ^y^g^1 was slightly creepy, with its boarded
^ws and dank overgrown garden.
en the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it,' said Ron, as they leaned on
206 harry potter

the fence, looking up at it. 'I asked Nearly Headless Nick
says he's heard a very rough crowd live here. No one can
Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are i111
shut..; sealt(i
Harry, feeling hot from their climb, was just considering taki
off the Cloak for a few minutes, when they heard voices nea h.^
Someone was climbing towards the house from the other sidpnt
the hill; moments later, Malfoy had appeared, followed closely hi
Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy was speaking.
'... should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to eo
to the hearing to tell them about my arm ... about how I couldni
use it for three months ...'
Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
'I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying 10
defend himself ... "There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest -" ... that Hip- pogriff's as good as dead -
Malfoy suddenly caught sight of Ron. His pale face split in a
malevolent grin.
'What are you doing, Weasley?'
Malfoy looked up at the crumbling house behind Ron.
'Suppose you'd love to live here, wouldn't you, Weasley?
Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family
all sleep in one room - is that true?'
Harry seized the back of Ron's robes to stop him leaping on
Malfoy.
'Leave him to me,' he hissed in Ron's ear.
The opportunity was too perfect to miss. Harry crept silently
around behind Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, bent down and scooped
a large handful of mud out of the path.
'We were just discussing your friend Hagrid,' Malfoy said 10
Ron. 'Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee 
the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry w <
they cut off his Hippogriff's -'
SPLAT! . ,.
Malfoy's head jerked forwards as the mud hit him; his si v
blond hair was suddenly dripping in muck.
'What the -?' ,. ^
Ron had to hold onto the fence to keep himself standing ^
was laughing so hard. Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle spun stupi^ -^
the spot, staring wildly around, Malfoy trying to wipe "n
207
SNAPE'S grudge

''^hat was that? Who did that?'
haunted up here, isn't it?' said Ron, with the air of one

renting on the weather.
Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared. Their bulging muscles
p no use against ghosts. Malfoy was staring madly around at

,he deserted landscape.
Harry sneaked along the path, where a particularly sloppy puddle
yielded some foul-smelling, green sludge.

SPIATTER!
Crabbe and Goyle caught some this time. Goyle hopped furiusly
on the spot, trying to rub it out of his small, dull eyes.
It came from over there!' said Malfoy, wiping his face, and star-
ine at a spot some six feet to the left of Harry.
Crabbe blundered forwards, his long arms outstretched like a
:ombie. Harry dodged around him, picked up a stick, and lobbed
11 at Crabbe's back. Harry doubled up with silent laughter as
Crabbe did a kind of pirouette in mid-air, trying to see who had
ihrown it. As Ron was the only person Crabbe could see, it was
Ron he started towards, but Harry stuck out his leg. Crabbe stumbled -
and his huge, flat foot caught the hem of Harry's Cloak.
Harry felt a great tug, then the Cloak slid off his face.
For a split second, Malfoy stared at him.
AAARGH!' he yelled, pointing at Harry's head. Then he turned
^il and ran, at breakneck speed, back down the hill, Crabbe and
(xiyle behind him.
Harry tugged the Cloak up again, but the damage was done.
Harry!' Ron said, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at
w point where Harry had disappeared, 'you'd better run for it! If
'^oy tells anyone - you'd better get back to the castle, quick -'
see you later,' said Harry, and without another word, he tore
ack down the path towards Hogsmeade.
ould Malfoy believe what he had seen? Would anyone believe
""y7 Nobody knew about the Invisibility Cloak - nobody
s ^^"^dore. Harry's stomach turned over - Dumbledore
BaIw ^^V what ha(l happened, if Malfoy said anything - ;,. lnto Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the
;1loor' through the trapdoor - Harry pulled off the Cloak,
u under his arm, and ran, flat out, along the passage ...
j| ^^d get back first... how long would it take him to find
208 harry potter

a teacher? Panting, 9 sharp pain in his side. Harry didn't
down until he reached the stone slide. He would have to lea ^
Cloak where it was, it was too much of a giveaway if Malfo l,
tipped off a teacher. He hid it in a shadowy corner, then start A
climb, fast as he could, his sweaty hands slipping on the sid i
the chute. He reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapced
with his wand, stuck his head through and hoisted himself 01
the hump closed, and just as Harry jumped out from behind ih<
statue, he heard quick footsteps approaching.
It was Snape. He approached Harry at a swift walk, his blad
robes swishing, then stopped in front of him.
'So,' he said.
There was a look of suppressed triumph about him. Harry tri
to look innocent, all too aware of his sweaty face and his mudA
hands, which he quickly hid in his pockets.
'Come with me. Potter,' said Snape.
Harry followed him downstairs, trying to wipe his hands deal
on the inside of his robes without Snape noticing. They walke<
down the stairs to the dungeons and then into Snape's office.
Harry had only been in here once before, and he had been ii
very serious trouble then, too. Snape had aquired a few more nor
rible slimy things in jars since last time, all standing on shelve
behind his desk, glinting in the firelight and adding to the threat
ening atmosphere.
'Sit,' said Snape.
Harry sat. Snape, however, remained standing.
'Mr Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potier
said Snape.
Harry didn't say anything.
He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he rai
into Weasley -- apparently alone.'
Still, Harry didn't speak. ,
'Mr Malfoy states that he was standing talking to Weasley, w"(
a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How
you think that could have happened?'
Harry tried to look mildly surprised.
'I don't know. Professor.' ^
Snape's eyes were boring into Harry's. It was exactly
to stare out a Hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink, y,,
'Mr Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition.
A
^B snape's grudge 209

,ne what it might have been. Potter?'
^ ' said Harry, now trying to sound innocently curious.
ltwas your head, Potter. Floating in mid-air.'
There was a long silence.
aMavbe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey,' said Harry. 'If he's

Ing things like -'
What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Pot-
,. ^ Snape softly. 'Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade.
o part of your body has permission to be in Hogsmeade.'
I know that,' said Harry, striving to keep his face free of guilt or
ar 'It sounds like Malfoy's having hallucm-
Malfoy is not having hallucinations,' snarled Snape, and he
|nt down, a hand on each arm of Harry's chair, so that their faces
m a foot apart. 'If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest
' you.'
I've been up in Gryffindor Tower,' said Harry. 'Like you told -'
Can anyone confirm that?'
Harry didn't say anything. Snape's thin mouth curled into a
amble smile.
'So,' he said, straightening up again. 'Everyone from the Minis-
r (or Magic downwards has been trying to keep famous Harry
liter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law
^lo himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety!
imous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for
ie consequences.' i,'
Harry stayed silent. Snape was trying to provoke him into telling
< truth. He wasn't going to do it. Snape had no proof-yet.
How extraordinarily like your father you are. Potter,' Snape
^ddenly, his eyes glinting. 'He, too, was exceedingly arro- lnl A small amount of talent on the Quidditch pitch made him
""" ne ^s a cut above the rest of us, too. Strutting around the
ace wltnl his friends and admirers ... the resemblance between
)u is uncanny'
^Y dad didn't strut,' said Harry, before he could stop himself.
"d nor do I.'
ur father didn't set much store by rules, either,' Snape went
^ Pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. 'Rules were
^.aer mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so

iHUTUP!-

210 harry potter ^

Harry was suddenly on his feet. Rage such as he had n
since his last night in Privet Drive was thundering through k
He didn't care that Snape's face had gone rigid, the black I'll
flashing dangerously. '
'What did you say to me. Potter?'
'I told you to shut up about my dad!' Harry yelled. 'I know ilu
truth, all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me' Y
wouldn't even be here if it weren't for my dad!' --
Snape's sallow skin had gone the colour of sour milk.
'And did the Headmaster tell you the circumstances in which
your father saved my life?' he whispered. 'Or did he consider ihc
details too unpleasant for precious Potter's delicate ears?'
Harry bit his lip. He didn't know what had happened and
didn't want to admit it - but Snape seemed to have guessed the
truth.
'I would hate you to run away with a false idea of your father,
Potter,' he said, a terrible grin twisting his face. 'Have you been
imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you
- your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke
on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn'i
got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave aboul
what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had
their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hog- warts.'
Snape's uneven, yellowish teeth were bared.
'Turn out your pockets, Potter!' he spat suddenly.
Harry didn't move. There was a pounding in his ears.
'Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the Headmaster
Pull them out, Potter!'
Cold with dread, Harry slowly pulled out the bag of Zonkos
tricks and the Marauder's Map.
Snape picked up the Zonko's bag.
'Ron gave them to me,' said Harry, praying he'd get a chance
tip Ron off before Snape saw him. 'He - brought them back Iro
Hogsmeade last time --' . -?
'Indeed? And you've been carrying them round ever si
How very touching ... and what is this?' ohi 10
Snape had picked up the map. Harry tried with all his mig
keep his face impassive.
'Spare bit of parchment,' he shrugged.
H snape's grudge 211

. pe turned it over, his eyes on Harry.
piv you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?' he
'purely / - , .
^ -Why don't I just - throw this away?
""His hand moved towards the fire.
Mo!' Harry said quickly
so'' said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. 'Is this another
asured gift from Mr Weasley? Or is it - something else? A let- ' nerhaps, written in invisible ink? Or - instructions to get into
Hoesmeade without passing the Dementors?'
Harry blinked. Snape's eyes gleamed.
Let me see, let me see ...'he muttered, taking out his wand and
smoothing the map out on his desk. 'Reveal your secret!' he said,
touching the wand to the parchment.
Nothing happened. Harry clenched his hands to stop them

'haking.
'Show yourself!' Snape said, tapping the map sharply.
ll stayed blank. Harry was taking deep, calming breaths.
'Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you
to yield the information you conceal!' Snape said, hitting the map

ith his wand.
As though an invisible hand was writing upon it, words
appeared on the smooth surface of the map.
'Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs
him (o keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.'
Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the
"up didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the
firsi.
'Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Pro-
-a'or Snape is an ugly git.'
It would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so

^"ous. And there was more...
Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot
wl'lat ^er became a Professor-
sny closed his eyes in horror. When he'd opened them, the
'P had had its last word.
' ormtail bids Professor Snape eood day, and advises him to
"^hairtheslimeball.'
^"Y waited for the blow to fall.
^ said Snape softly 'We'll see about this ...'
de across to his fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder
212 harry potter

from a jar on the fireplace, and threw it into the flames
'Lupin!' Snape called into the fire. 'I want a word!'
Utterly bewildered. Harry stared at the fire. A large shan
appeared in it, revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor 1 [u^
was clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off his sh lS"L
robes. ^B
'You called, Severus?' said Lupin mildly. I
'I certainly did,' said Snape, his face contorted with fury as h
strode back to his desk. 'I have just asked Potter to empty his
pockets. He was carrying this.'
Snape pointed at the parchment, on which the words of Messn
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs were still shining. An odd
closed expression appeared on Lupin's face.
'Well?' said Snape.
Lupin continued to stare at the map. Harry had the impression
that Lupin was doing some very quick thinking.
'Well?' said Snape again. 'This parchment is plainly full of Dark
Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise. Lupin
Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?' |
Lupin looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Ham's
direction, warned him not to interrupt.
'Full of Dark Magic?' he repeated mildly. 'Do you really think
so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment
that insults anybody who tries to read it. Childish, but surd.
not dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke-shop -' B
'Indeed?' said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. 'You
think a joke-shop could supply him with such a thing? You doni
think it more likely that he got it directly from the manufactured.
Harry didn't understand what Snape was talking about. NjL
apparently, did Lupin. m
'You mean, from Mr Wormtail or one of these people7' he w
'Harry, do you know any of these men?'
'No,' said Harry quickly. . i b
'You see, Severus?' said Lupin, turning back to Snape. I1
like a Zonko product to me -' -
Right on cue, Ron came bursting into the office. He was c
pletely out of breath, and stopped just short of Snapes
clutching the stitch in his chest and trying to speak. , _ m
'I - gave - Harry - that - stuff,' he choked. 'Bought
Zonkos - ages - ago ...'
^* snape's grudge 213

, ]' said Lupin, clapping his hands together and looking
j cheerfully. 'That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take
hack shall I7' He folded the map and tucked it inside his
, <^arry, Ron, come with me, I need a word about my vam-

re essay. Excuse us, Severus.'
Harry didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He, Ron
d Lupin walked all the way back into the Entrance Hall before
K-aking. Then Harry turned to Lupin.

professor, I -'
1 don't want to hear explanations,' said Lupin shortly. He
ianced around the empty Entrance Hall and lowered his voice. 'I
ijppen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr Filch many
ears ago. Yes, I know it's a map,' he said, as Harry and Ron
,wked amazed. T don't want to know how it fell into your posses-
,ion. 1 am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particu-
arly after what happened the last time a student left information
ibout the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back,

Harry.'
Harry had expected that, and was too keen for explanations to

protest.
Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?'
Because ...' Lupin hesitated, 'because these mapmakers would
have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely

(ntertaining.'
'Do you know them?' said Harry, impressed.
We've met,' he said shortly. He was looking at Harry more seri-
usly than ever before.
Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot
ITUke you take Sirius Black seriously But I would have thought
al wnat you have heard when the Dementors draw near you
ould have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their
es to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them - gam- ' ""8 their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks.'
e walked away, leaving Harry feeling worse by far than he had
^y point in Snape's office. Slowly, he and Ron mounted the
l e Crease. As Harry passed the one-eyed witch, he remem-
. e the Invisibility Cloak - it was still down there, but he didn't
^S" and get it.
ngL m^ lau^'' said Ron abruptly. 'I persuaded you to go. Lupin's
ll was stupid, we shouldn't've done it -
214 harry potter

He broke off; they had reached the corridor where the s
trolls were pacing, and Hermione was walking towards them n^
look at her face convinced Harry that she had heard what ^
happened. His heart plummeted - had she told Professor M r
nagall?
'Come to have a good gloat?' said Ron savagely as she stoDori
in front of them. 'Or have you just been to tell on us?'
'No,' said Hermione. She was holding a letter in her hands and
her lip was trembling. 'I just thought you ought to know ... Haerid
lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed.'
CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The Quidditch Final



He^^ sent me this,' Hermione said, holding out the letter.
Harry took it. The parchment was damp, and enormous
'.eardrops had smudged the ink so badly in places that it was very
difficult to read.

Dear Hermione,
We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execuion
date to be fixed.
Beaky has enjoyed London.
I won't forget all the help you gave us.
Hagrid I'

They can't do this,' said Harry. 'They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous.'

Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it,' said
Hermione, wiping her eyes. 'You know what he's like. They're a
winch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an
ippeal, though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope ... noth-
'"R will have changed.'
R'1'eah, it will,' said Ron fiercely 'You won't have to do all the
rk ''one this time, Hermione. I'll help.'
Oh,Ron!'
rmlone flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down
j P etely Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkward-
B0" ^P of ^e head. Finally, Hermione drew away
, on'l m really, really sorry about Scabbers ...' she sobbed.
. we" ~ he was old,' said Ron, looking thoroughly relieved
^ s e had let go of him. 'And he was a bit useless. You never
i urn ^d Dad might get me an owl now.'
now

K&...

216 harry potter

The safety measures imposed on the students since Black's
break-in made it impossible for Harry, Ron and Hermion
and visit Hagrid in the evenings. Their only chance of talk ^
him was during Care of Magical Creatures lessons. 10
He seemed numb with shock at the verdict. ^_
"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' therff
black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all the
dates yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Maltov
stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly wtui
he told 'em ...'
There's still the appeal!' said Ron fiercely. 'Don't give up yei
we're working on it!'
They were walking back up to the castle with the rest of the
class. Ahead they could see Malfoy, who was walking with Crabbt
and Goyle, and kept looking back, laughing derisively
"S'no good, Ron,' said Hagrid sadly as they reached the castle
steps. That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' goniu
make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. 1
owe him that...'
Hagrid turned round and hurried back towards his cabin, his
face buried in his handkerchief.
'Look at him blubber!'
Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle had been standing just inside the
castle doors, listening.
'Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?' said MaU,
'And he's supposed to be our teacher!' H
Harry and Ron both made furious moves towards Malfoy, bin
Hermione got there first - SMACK!
She had slapped Malfoy around the face with all the strength
she could muster. Malfoy staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe an
Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again.
'Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul - you evil -
'Hermione!' said Ron weakly and he tried to grab her han
she swung it back.
'Getojfjf, Ron!' , ^
Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backw
Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instructions, thoro .

bewildered, r ^effl
'C'mon,' Malfoy muttered, and next moment, all three
had disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons.
the quidditch final 217

^.nne.r Ron said again, sounding both stunned and

"'P you'd better beat him in the Quidditch Final 1' Hermione
, i.niiy. 'You just better had, because I can't stand it if
^iherinwin!'
We're due in Charms,' said Ron, still goggling at Hermione.
\e'd belter go.'
They hurried up the marble staircase towards Professor
Flnwick's classroom.
You're late, boys'.' said Professor Flitwick reprovingly, as Harry
opened the classroom door. 'Come along, quickly, wands out,
we're experimenting with Cheering Charms today. We've already
divided into pairs -'
Harry and Ron hurried to a desk at the back and opened their
bags. Ron looked behind him.
Where's Hermione gone?'
Harry looked around, too. Hermione hadn't entered the classroom,
yet Harry knew she had been right next to him when he
had opened the door.
That's weird,' said Harry, staring at Ron. 'Maybe - maybe she went to the bathroom or something?'
But Hermione didn't turn up all lesson.
'She could've done with a Cheering Charm on her, too,' said
Ron, as the class left for lunch, all grinning broadly - the Cheering
Charms had left them with a feeling of great contentment.
Hermione wasn't at lunch either. By the time they had finished
iheir apple pie, the after-effects of the Cheering Charms were
wearing off, and Harry and Ron had started to get slightly
worried.
You don't think Malfoy did something to her?' Ron said anx-
j^y, as they hurried upstairs towards Gryffindor Tower.
j They passed the security trolls, gave the Fat Lady the password
| libbertigibbet') and scrambled through the portrait hole into
le common room.
ennione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on
I "Pen Arithmancy book. They went to sit down either side of
^""y Prodded her awake.
y ^hat?' said Hermione, waking with a start, and staring wild- n"- Is it time to go? W-which lesson have we got now?'
^nation, but it's not for another twenty minutes,' said Harry.
218 harry potter _

'Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?'
'What? Oh no!' Hermione squeaked. 'I forgot to go to Ch
'But how could you forget?' said Harry. 'You were with us till
were right outside the classroom!' _
'I don't believe it!' Hermione wailed. 'Was Professor FlinJI
angry? Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and 11
track of things!'
'You know what, Hermione?' said Ron, looking down at ih
enormous Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow
'I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much.'
'No, I'm not!' said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eves
and staring hopelessly around for her bag. 'I just made a mistake
that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry..
I'll see you in Divination!' ^1
Hermione joined them at the foot of the ladder to Professor
Trelawney's classroom twenty minutes later, looking extremely
harassed.
'I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms! And I bet they come
up in our exams. Professor Flitwick hinted they might!'
Together they climbed the ladder into the dim, stilling tower
room. Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly
white mist. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down together at the
same rickety table.
'I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term,' Ron
muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in
case she was lurking nearby.
'Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry,' Ham'
muttered back. 'I was getting sick of her flinching every time sh(
looked at my hands.'
'Good day to you!' said the familiar, misty voice, and Professor
Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance out of the sha o
Parvati and Lavender quivered with excitement, their faces 11
the milky glow of their crystal ball. , i
'I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier tM
had planned,' said Professor Trelawney, seating herself wit ^
back to the fire and gazing around. 'The fates have inforrne ^
that your examination in June will concern the Orb, an
anxious to give you sufficient practice.'
Hermione snorted, eis lh<
'Well, honestly ... "the fates have informed her" ... who
the quidditch final 219

rug does! What an amazing prediction!' she said, not troub-
;Tio keep her voice low.
as hard to tell whether Professor Trelawney had heard
i,g^ face was hidden in shadow. She continued, however, though she had not.
rrvstal-Razing is a particularly refined art,' she said dreamily. 'I
, (expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's
finite depths. We shall start by practising relaxing the conscious
und and external eyes' - Ron began to snigger uncontrollably,
md had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise - 'so as to
ear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are
'ucky, some of you will See before the end of the class.'
And so they began. Harry, at least, felt extremely foolish, stare
blankly at the crystal ball, trying to keep his mind empty
when thoughts such as 'this is stupid' kept drifting across it. It
idn't help that Ron kept breaking into silent giggles and
[ Hermione kept tutting.
Seen anything yet?' Harry asked them, after a quarter of an
hour's quiet crystal-gazing.
'Yeah, there's a burn on this table,' said Ron, pointing. 'Someone's
spilled their candle.'
'This is such a waste of time,' Hermione hissed. 'I could be
practising something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering
Charms -
Professor Trelawney rustled past.
'Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy por- '("is within their Orb?' she murmured over the clinking of her
bangles.
don't need help,' Ron whispered. 'It's obvious what this
rans. There's going to be loads of fog tonight.'
"oth Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.
w, really!' said Professor Trelawney, as everyone's heads
in ^eir direction. Parvati and Lavender were looking scan- d- You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!' She
'Preached their table and peered into their crystal ball. Harry felt
can sinking. He was sure he knew what was coming ...
ere is ^mething here!' Professor Trelawney whispered, low-
8 er face to the ball, so that it was reflected twice in her huge
^es- Something moving ... but what is it?'
' was prepared to bet everything he owned, including his
220 harry potter

Firebolt, that it wasn't good news, whatever it was a
enough ... nd sut'
'My dear ...' Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at H
'It is here, plainer than ever before ... my dear, stalking towa^
you, growing ever closer ... the Gr-'
'Oh, for goodness' sake!' said Hermione, loudly. 'Not that rid
lous Grim again!'
Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hennion
face. Parvati whispered something to Lavender, and they boih
glared at Hermione, too. Professor Trelawney stood up, surveyinc
Hermione with unmistakeable anger.
'I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in
this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have whai
the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly Mundane.'
There was a moment's silence. Then -
'Fine!' said Hermione suddenly, getting up and cramming
Unfogging the Future back into her bag. 'Fine!' she repealed.
swinging the bag over her shoulder and almost knocking Ron oh
his chair. 'I give up! I'm leaving!'
And to the whole class's amazement, Hermione strode over to
the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder oui of
sight.
It took a few minutes for the class to settle down again. Professor
Trelawney seemed to have forgotten all about the Grim. Sh( turned abruptly from Harry and Ron's table, breathing rather
heavily as she tugged her gauzy shawl more closely to her.
'Ooooo!' said Lavender suddenly, making everyone sian.
'Oooooo, Professor Trelawney, I've just remembered! You saw her
leaving, didn't you? Didn't you. Professor? "Around Easter, one of
our number will leave us for ever!" You said it ages ago. Professor.
Professor Trelawney gave her a dewy smile.
'Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Miss Granger would
leaving us. One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken
Signs ... the Inner Eye can be a burden, you know ...' ^
Lavender and Parvati looked deeply impressed, and rno
over so that Professor Trelawney could join their table '"''^J
'Some day Hermione's having, eh?' Ron muttered to - looking awed.
'Yeah ...'
the quidditch final 221

-n, danced into the crystal ball, but saw nothing but
10 white mist. Had Professor Trelawney really seen the Grim
'"lr ? Would he? The last thing he needed was another near-fatal
^'dpnt with the Quidditch final drawing ever nearer.
I Ha"

h Easter holidays were not exactly relaxing. The third-years had
^gj so much homework. Neville Longbottom seemed close
o a nervous collapse, and he wasn't the only one.
1 Call this a holiday!' Seamus Finnigan roared at the common
wm one afternoon. 'The exams are ages away, what're they playng
at?' !'
But nobody had as much to do as Hermione. Even without Divination,
she was taking more subjects than anybody else. She was
usually last to leave the common room at night, first to arrive at
ie library next morning; she had shadows like Lupin's under her
eves, and seemed constantly close to tears.
Ron had taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal. When
>e wasn't doing his own work, he was poring over enormously
ihick volumes with names like The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology
and Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hippogrijfjf Brutality He was
so absorbed, he even forgot to be horrible to Crookshanks.
Harry, meanwhile, had to fit in his homework around Quid-
diich practice every day, not to mention endless discussions of
uciics with Wood. The Gryifindor-Slytherin match would take
place on the first Saturday after the Easter holidays. Slytherin
"'ere leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points. This
meant (as Wood constantly reminded his team) that they needed
10 win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It
_~ "leant that the burden of winning fell largely on Harry,
yause capturing the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty
Pinis.
 you must only catch it if we're more than fifty points up,'
0-- ^d Harry constantly. 'Only if we're more than fifty points
'P' Harry, or we win the match but lose the Cup. You've got that,
uven l y0117 You must only catch the Snitch if we're -'
^KNOW, OLIVER!' Harry yelled.
nui i! e ^ Gryftindor house was obsessed with the coming
( c ' ^'"yfflndor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup since the leg- }^ chariie Weasley (Ron's second-oldest brother) had been
^^__oui Harry doubted whether any of them, even Wood,
222 harry potter

wanted to win as much as he did. The enmity between H
Malfoy was at its highest point ever. Malfoy was still sin n(*
about the mud-throwing incident in Hogsmeade, and eve "^
furious that Harry had somehow wormed his way out of n T
ment. Harry hadn't forgotten Malfoy's attempt to sabotage him
the match against Ravenclaw, but it was the matter of BuckliM?
that made him most determined to beat Malfoy in front of ih
entire school.
Never, in anyone's memory, had a match approached in such
highly charged atmosphere. By the time the holidays were over
tension between the two teams and their houses was at breaking
point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, culminating
in a nasty incident in which a Gryffindor fourth-year
and a Slytherin sixth-year ended up in the hospital wing with
leeks sprouting out of their ears.
Harry was having a particularly bad time of it. He couldn't walk
to class without Slytherins sticking out their legs and trying to
trip him up; Crabbe and Goyle kept popping up wherever h(
went, and slouching away looking disappointed when they saw
him surrounded by people. Wood had given instructions thai
Harry should be accompanied everywhere, in case the Slythenns
tried to put him out of action. The whole of Gryffindor hous<
took up the challenge enthusiastically, so that it was impossible
for Harry to get to classes on time because he was surrounded by
a vast, chattering crowd. Harry was more concerned for his Fire- bolt's safety than his own. When he wasn't flying it, he locked 11
securely in his trunk, and frequently dashed back up to Gryffind Tower at break-times to check that it was still there.
*
All usual pursuits were abandoned in the Gryffindor common
room the night before the match. Even Hermione had put down
her books.
'I can't work, I can't concentrate,' she said nervously
There was a great deal of noise. Fred and George weasleywel
dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exu _
than ever. Oliver Wood was crouched over a model of a Qu'
pitch in the corner, prodding little figures across it with his
and muttering to himself. Angelina, Alicia and Katie were ^
ing at Fred and George's jokes. Harry was sitting with ko ^
Hermione, removed from the centre of things, trying not
the quidditch final 223
the next day, because every time he did, he had the horrible
^"rion that something very large was fighting to get out of his
' 'v i're eoing to be fine,' Hermione told him, though she looked
^lively terrified.
' You've got a FireboW said Ron.
Yeah ..' said Harry, his stomach writhing.
it came as a relief when Wood suddenly stood up and yelled,
Team! Bed'.'
*
Harrv slept badly. First he dreamed that he had overslept, and that
Wood was yelling, 'Where were you? We had to use Neville
instead!' Then he dreamed that Malfoy and the rest of the
^Ivtherin team arrived for the match riding dragons. He was flying
n breakneck speed, trying to avoid a spurt of flames from Malfoy's
sieed's mouth, when he realised he had forgotten his Firebolt. He
fell through the air and woke with a start.
It was a few seconds before Harry remembered that the match
hadn't taken place yet, that he was safe in bed and that the
ilytherin team definitely wouldn't be allowed to play on dragons.
He was feeling very thirsty. As quietly as he could, he got out of
his tour-poster and went to pour himself some water from the
_l,er jug beneath the window.
Jrhe grounds were still and quiet. No breath of wind disturbed
the treetops in the Forbidden Forest; the Whomping Willow was
motionless and innocent-looking. It looked as though conditions
iw the match would be perfect.
Harry set down his goblet and was about to turn back to his
"td when something caught his eye. An animal of some kind was
P_owhng across the silvery lawn.
Harry dashed to his bedside table, snatched up his glasses and
r1 them on, then hurried back to the window. It couldn't be the
nr" - not now - not right before the match - e peered out at the grounds again and, after a minute's frantic
rching, spotted it. It was skirting the edge of the Forest now ...
^nt the Grim at all ... it was a cat ... Harry clutched the win-
' edge in relief as he recognised the bottle-brush tail. It was
"'YCrookshanks...
was it only Crookshanks? Harry squinted, pressing his nose
gsinst the glass. Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt.
224 harry potter

Harry was sure he could see something else moving in the li
of the trees, too. s lw*
And next moment, it had emerged: a gigantic, shaggy ^
dog, moving stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting ai
side. Harry stared. What did this mean? If Crookshanks could lls
the dog as well, how could it be an omen of Harry's deatip
'Ron!' Harry hissed. 'Ron! Wake up!'
Huh?'
'I need you to tell me if you can see something!' ^^
"S'all dark. Harry,' Ron muttered thickly 'What're yotBI
about?'
'Down here -'
Harry looked quickly back out of the window.
Crookshanks and the dog had vanished. Harry climbed onio|
the window-sill to look right down into the shadows of the castlel
but they weren't there. Where had they gone?
A loud snore told him Ron had fallen asleep again.
*
Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall|
next day to enormous applause. Harry couldn't help grinning|
broadly as he saw that both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables|
were clapping them, too. The Slytherin table hissed loudly as they*
passed. Harry noticed that Malfoy looked even paler than usual.
Wood spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat, while
touching nothing himself. Then he hurried them off to the pilch
before anyone else had finished, so they could get an idea of the
conditions. As they left the Great Hall, everyone applauded again.
'Good luck. Harry!' called Cho Chang. Harry felt himself blushing.
'OK ... no wind to speak of ... sun's a bit bright, that could
impair your vision, watch out for it ... ground's fairly hard, good,
that'll give us a fast kick-off...' ,
Wood paced the pitch, staring around with the team behind
him. Finally they saw the front doors of the castle open in the distance,
and the rest of the school spill onto the lawn.
'Changing rooms,' said Wood tersely. .
None of them spoke as they changed into their scarlet ro_
Harry wondered if they were feeling like he was: as thoug
eaten something extremely wriggly for breakfast. In what se
like no time at all, Wood was saying, 'OK, it's time, let's go _
They walked out onto the pitch to a tidal wave of noise. _
^^H the quidditch final 225

rsof the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet
; la with the Gryffindor lion upon them or brandishing banners
^S slogans such as 'GO GRYFFINDOR1' and 'LIONS FOR THE
*",, gghind the Slytherin goalposts, however, two hundred
Ie were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered
their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wear-
' green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.
here are the Gryfiindors!' yelled Lee Jordan, who was act-
no as commentator as usual. 'Potter, Bell, johnson, Spinnet,
iVeasley, Weasley and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best
,ide Hogwarts has seen in a good few years -'
Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of 'boos' from the
ilytherin end.
|'And here come the Slytherin team, led by captain Flint. He's
"ade some changes in the line-up and seems to be going for size
alher than skill -
More boos from the Slytherin crowd. Harry, however, thought
|ee had a point. Malfoy was easily the smallest person on the
lytherin team; the rest of them were enormous.
'Captains, shake hands'.' said Madam Hooch.
Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each
ther's hands very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to
reak the other's fingers.
'Mount your brooms!' said Madam Hooch. Three ... two ... one ...'
The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as
wteen brooms rose into the air. Harry felt his hair fly back off
is forehead; his nerves left him in the thrill of the flight; he
lanced around, saw Malfoy on his tail, and sped off in search of
"e Snitch.
And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor
'th the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts,
^'"g good, Alicial Argh, no - Quaffle intercepted by Warring- )n. Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the pitch - WHAM! - '" Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the
^e, it's caught by - Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession,
e n, Angelina - nice swerve round Montague - duck, Angeli- ^'"at's a Bludger! - SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFIND-

ir-t,^^3 P111"^1^ the air as she soared round the end of the
- ' the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight -
|h;tl
226 harry potter

'OUCH!'
Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus pi I
went smashing into her. JU
'Sorry!' said Flint, as the crowd below booed. 'Sorry didn't^
her!' ' str
Next moment, Fred Weasley had chucked his Beater's cluh
the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle (
his broom and began to bleed.
'That will do!' shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between them
'Penalty to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser'
Penalty to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!'
'Come off it, Miss!' howled Fred, but Madam Hooch blew her
whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.
'Come on, Alicia!' yelled Lee into the silence that had descended
on the crowd. 'YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-
ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!'
Harry turned the Firebolt sharply to watch Flint, still bleeding
freely, fly forwards to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering
in front of the Gryffindor goalposts, his jaw clenched.
'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!' Lee Jordan told the crowd,
as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle. 'Superb! Very difficult
to pass - very difficult indeed - YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S
SAVED IT!'
Relieved, Harry zoomed away, gazing around for the Snitch, bui
still making sure he caught every word of Lee's commentary'. It
was essential that he hold Malfoy off the Snitch until Gryffindor
was more than fifty points up ...
'Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession - no! -
Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell tor
Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the pitch - THAT
WAS DELIBERATE!'
Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of KaiK.
and instead of seizing the Quaffle, had grabbed her head. Kaii^
cartwheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom but droppc
the Quaffle. ^
Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared ov^
Montague and began shouting at him. A minute later, K-a
put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper. ,
THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING -
'Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way -
I
the quidditch final 227

I'm telling it like it is, Professor'.'
fgi[ a huge jolt of excitement. He had seen the Snitch - it
himmering at the foot of one of the Gryffindor goalposts - ^he mustn't catch it yet. And if Malfoy saw it...
f kine a look of sudden concentration. Harry pulled his Fire-
li round and sped off towards the Slytherin end. It worked.
yalfov went baring after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the
Miiich there ...
WHOOSH.
One of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry's right ear, hit by
the gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick. Next moment -
WHOOSH.
The second Bludger had grazed Harry's elbow. The other Beater,
Bole, was closing in.
Harry had a fleeting glimpse of Bole and Derrick zooming
towards him, clubs raised -
He turned the Firebolt upwards at the last second, and Bole and
Derrick collided with a sickening crunch.
'Ha haaa!' yelled Lee Jordan, as the Slytherin Beaters lurched
away from each other, clutching their heads. 'Too bad, boys! You'll
need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's
Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle - Flint
ilongside her - poke him in the eye, Angelina! - it was a joke, Pro- ttssor, it was a joke - oh, no - Flint in possession, Flint flying
towards the Gryffindor goalposts, come on, now. Wood, save -I'
But Flint had scored; there was an eruption of cheers from the
Slytherin end and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall
Jed to tug the magical megaphone away from him.
Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in
the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession -'
It was turning into the dirtiest match Harry had ever played in.
Imaged that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the
1,'henns were rapidly resorting to any means to take the Quaffle.
e hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he'd thought she was
 w&e! George Weasley elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation.
_ a am Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled
Tivl?1101^1" ^^t'1'^'11' save, making the score forty-ten to

I witch had disappeared again. Malfoy was still keeping
}  "srry as he soared over the match, looking around for it
228 harry potter H

- once Gryffindor were fifty points ahead ...
Katie scored. Fifty-ten. Fred and George Weasley were sw
ing around her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins ^
thinking of revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of Fred "i
George's absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught h
in the stomach, one after the other, and he rolled over in the
clutching his broom, completely winded. ^
Madam Hooch was beside herself. ^
'You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area!' she shrieked at Bole and Derrick. 'Gryffindor penalty''
And Angelina scored. Sixty-ten. Moments later, Fred Weaslev
pelted a Bludger at Warrington, knocking the Quaffle out of his
hands; Alicia seized it and put it through the Slytherin goal;
seventy-ten.
The Gryffindor crowd below were screaming themselves hoarst
- Gryffindor were sixty points in the lead, and if Harry caught the
Snitch now, the Cup was theirs. Harry could almost feel hundreds
of eyes following him as he soared around the pitch, high above
the rest of the game, with Malfoy speeding along behind him.
And then he saw it. The Snitch was sparkling twenty feet above him.
Harry put on a huge burst of speed, the wind roaring in his
ears; he stretched out his hand, but suddenly, the Firebolt was
slowing down --
Horrified, he looked around. Malfoy had thrown himself forward,
grabbed hold of the Firebolt's tail and was pulling it back.
'You -'
Harry was angry enough to hit Malfoy, but he couldn't reach.
Malfoy was panting with the effort of holding onto the Firebolt.
but his eyes were sparkling maliciously. He had achieved what
he'd wanted - the Snitch had disappeared again. ^
'Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics
Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was s i
ing back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.
'YOU CHEATING SCUM!' Lee Jordan was howling into l,
megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reac
FILTHY, CHEATING B -'  ^
Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him of ^
was actually shaking her fist in Malfoy's direction; her ha
fallen off, and she, too, was shouting furiously.
the quidditch final 229

... took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she
A by several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentra- "" nd the Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy's foul on Harry, were
nil'

Sg spu"^ on to ^^ ""g^s-
Sivtherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal - Montague
res- Lee groaned. 'Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor ...'
Harry was now marking Malfoy so closely their knees kept hit-
une each other. Harry wasn't going to let Malfoy anywhere near
the Snitch...
Get out of it. Potter!' Malfoy yelled in frustration, as he tried to
i.um and found Harry blocking him.
Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on,
Angelina, COME ON!'
BHarry looked round. Every single Slytherin player apart from
Malfoy, even the Slytherin Keeper, was streaking up the pitch
towards Angelina - they were all going to block her -
Harry wheeled the Firebolt about, bent so low he was lying flat
along the handle and kicked it forwards. Like a bullet, he shot
towards the Slytherins.
AAAAAAARRRGH!'
] They scattered as the Firebolt zoomed towards them; Angelina's
ay was clear.
'SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor lead by eighty points
J) twenty!'
Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded
l" a halt in mid-air, reversed and zoomed back into the middle of
Ae pitch!
And tnen he saw something to make his heart stand still. Mal-
p was diving, a look of triumph on his face - there, a few feet
frove the grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer.
Harry urged the Firebolt downwards but Malfoy was miles
'head.
_ -01 Go! Go!' Harry urged his broom. They were gaining on
I ^loy ... Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as Bole
j^a Bludger at him ... he was at Malfoy's ankles ... he was level -
 wr^ threw himself forwards, taking both hands off his broom.
e knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and -

I ex l T^ out ^ ms ^lve' nls hand in the air, and the stadium v,
Pded. Harry soared above the crowd, an odd ringing in his :ts

1
230 harry potter J

ears. The tiny golden ball was held tight in his fist beat B
wings hopelessly against his fingers. "^
Then Wood was speeding towards him, half-blinded by
he seized Harry around the neck and sobbed unrestrainedly n
his shoulder. Harry felt two large thumps as Fred and Georep 1
them; then Angelina, Alicia and Katie's voices, 'We've won the r
We've won the Cup!' Tangled together in a many-armed hug i^
Gryffindor team sank, yelling hoarsely, back to earth.
Wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over ih?
barriers onto the pitch. Hands were raining down on their backs
Harry had a confused impression of noise and bodies pressing in
on him. Then he, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the
shoulders of the crowd. Thrust into the light, he saw Hagrid, plastered
with crimson rosettes - 'Yeh beat 'em, Harry, yeh beat 'em'
Wait till I tell Buckbeak!' There was Percy, jumping up and down
like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. Professor McGonagall was
sobbing harder even than Wood, wiping her eyes with an enormous
Gryffindor flag; and there, fighting their way towards Ham-,
were Ron and Hermione. Words failed them. They simply
beamed, as Harry was borne towards the stands, where Dumble-
dore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup.
If only there had been a Dementor around ... As a sobbing
Wood passed Harry the Cup, as he lifted it into the air, Harry fell
he could have produced the world's best Patronus.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Professor Trelav^ney's
Prediction

Harry's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at
least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as June
approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling into the grounds and flopping
down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps
playing a casual game of Gobstones or watching the giant
' squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.
But they couldn't. The exams were nearly upon them, and
instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to
remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concenrating
while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the
windows. Even Fred and George Weasley had been spotted working;
they were about to take their OWLs (Ordinary Wizarding
1-tvels). Percy was getting ready to sit his NEWTs (Nastily
Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts
offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed
'"P grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very
^'ere punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the
common room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who
^med more anxious than Percy was Hermione.
Harry and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing
j3 attend several classes at once, but they couldn't restrain them- ^s when they saw the exam timetable she had drawn up for
^"self. The first column read:

MONDAY
9 o'clock, Arithmancy
'"clock. Transfiguration
232 harry potter

Lunch
1 o'clock, Charms
1 o'clock. Ancient Runes

'Hermione?' Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to exniivl.
when interrupted these days. 'Er - are you sure you've conifd
down these times right?'
'What?' snapped Hermione, picking up the exam timetable and
examining it. 'Yes, of course I have.'
'Is there any point asking how you're going to sit two exams ai
once?' said Harry.
'No,' said Hermione shortly. 'Has either of you seen my copff
Numerology and Grammatica?'
'Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading,' said Ron,
but very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment
around on her table, looking for the book. Just then, there was a
rustle at the window and Hedwig fluttered through it, a noi(
clutched tightly in her beak.
'It's from Hagrid,' said Harry, ripping the note open. 'Buckbeaks
appeal - it's set for the sixth.'
'That's the day we finish our exams,' said Hermione, still looking
everywhere for her Arithmancy book.
'And they're coming up here to do it,' said Harry still reading
from the letter. 'Someone from the Ministry of Magic and - and an
executioner.'
Hermione looked up, startled. _
'They're bringing the executioner to the appeal! But thai |
sounds as though they've already decided!'
'Yeah, it does,' said Harry slowly. I
'They can't!' Ron howled. 'I've spent ages reading up stuff w I
him, they can't just ignore it all!'
But Harry had a horrible feeling that the Committee for w
Disposal of Dangerous Creatures had had its mind made up 1^'
by Mr Malfoy Draco, who had been noticeably subdued si^
Gryffindor's triumph in the Quidditch final, seemed to reg^i
some of his old swagger over the next few days. From snee
comments Harry overheard, Malfoy was certain ^'^''.^.if
going to be killed, and seemed thoroughly pleased with hi
for bringing it about. It was all Harry could do to stop
imitating Hermione and hitting Malfoy in the face on
ns<-"
ns<K|
.he^l
PROFESSOR trelawney's prediction Z_)_)

nns And the worst thing of all was that they had no time or
lt rtunity to go and see Hagrid, because the strict new security
' ures had not been lifted, and Harry didn't dare retrieve his
.'isibility Cloak from below the one-eyed witch.

, ^ ^,eek began and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. The
h rd-vears emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Mon- } )i^n and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the
difficulty of the tasks they had been set, which had included turn-
ne a teapot into a tortoise. Hermione irritated the rest by fussing
ibout how her tortoise had looked more like a turtle, which was

he least of everyone else's worries.
Mine still had a spout for a tail, what a nightmare ...'
Were the tortoises supposed to breathe steam?'
It still had a willow-patterned shell, d'you think that'll count

against me?'
Then, after a hasty lunch, it was straight back upstairs for the
Charms exam. Hermione had been right; Professor Flitwick did
indeed test them on Cheering Charms. Harry slightly overdid his
out of nerves and Ron, who was partnering him, ended up in fits
of hysterical laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for
in hour before he was ready to perform the Charm himself. After
dinner, the students hurried back to their common rooms, not to
relax, but to start revising for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions

and Astronomy.
Hagrid presided over the Care of Magical Creatures exam the
lollowing morning with a very preoccupied air indeed; his heart
^dn't seem to be in it at all. He had provided a large tub of fresh
nobberworms for the class, and told them that, to pass the test,
'"eir Flobberworm had to still be alive at the end of one hour. As
"obberworms flourished best if left to their own devices, it was
e easiest exam any of them had ever sat, and also gave Harry,
" and Hermione plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.
"eaky's gettin' a bit depressed,' Hagrid told them, bending low
on the pretence of checking that Harry's Flobberworm was still
lve Bin cooped up too long. But still ... we'll know day after
-.morrow - one way or the other.'
tet e^ Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified dis-
lio as ^""Y """ght, he couldn't get his Confusing Concoc- 0 thicken, and Snape, standing watching with an air of vin-
234 harry potter

dictive pleasure, scribbled something that looked suspicious]
a zero onto his notes before moving away.
Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest
History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Harrv </ i
bled everything Florean Fortescue had ever told him ahn
medieval witch hunts, while wishing he could have had one (
Fortescue's choco-nut sundaes with him in the stifling classroom
Wednesday afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under
a baking hot sun; then back to the common room once more
with the backs of their necks sunburnt, thinking longingly of this
time next day, when it would all be over.
Their second from last exam, on Thursday morning, was
Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the
most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle
course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep
paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes
full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh, ignoring
the misleading directions from a Hinkypunk, then climb into
an old trunk and battle with a new Boggart.
'Excellent, Harry,' Lupin muttered, as Harry climbed out of the
trunk, grinning. 'Full marks.' .'
Flushed with his success. Harry hung around to watch Ron and
Hermione. Ron did very well until he reached the Hinkypunk.
which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the
quagmire. Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached
the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside 11.
she burst out again, screaming.
'Hermione!' said Lupin, startled. 'What's the matter?'
'P-P-Professor McGonagall!' Hermione gasped, pointing inio
the trunk. 'Sh-she said I'd failed everything!'
It took a little while to calm Hermione down. When at last s
had regained a grip on herself, she. Harry and Ron went back 10
the castle. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermiones
Boggart, but an argument was averted by the sight that me1
on the top of the steps. ^
Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloa ,
standing there staring out at the grounds. He started at t

of Harry. ,? Ne^'
'Hello there. Harry!' he said. 'Just had an exam, I expect.
Jear-H
ly finished?'
professor trelawney's prediction 235

' said Harry. Hermione and Ron, not being on speaking
c with the Minister for Magic, hovered awkwardly in the
background.
lovely day,' said Fudge, casting an eye over the lake. 'Pity ...

He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.
I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for
i Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the
<ecution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to
.heck on the Black situation, I was asked to step in.'
Does that mean the appeal's already happened?' Ron interrupted, stepping forwards.
'No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon,' said Fudge, looking
iriously at Ron.
iThen you might not have to witness an execution at all!' said
Ron stoutly 'The Hippogriff might get off!'
Before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the cas-
ile doors behind him. One was so ancient he appeared to be withering
before their very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with
a thin black moustache. Harry gathered that they were representaives
of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures,
because the very old wizard squinted towards Hagrid's cabin and
yid in a feeble voice, 'Dear, dear, I'm getting too old tor this ...
two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?'
The black-moustached man was fingering something in his
wit; Harry looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb
along the blade of a shining axe. Ron opened his mouth to say
^mething, but Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked
h" head towards the Entrance Hall.
why'd you stop me?' said Ron angrily, as they entered the
at ^^1 tor lunch. 'Did you see them? They've even got the axe
_>dy! This isn't justice!'
| Kon, your dad works for the Ministry. You can't go saying
'"gs like that to his boss!' said Hermione, but she, too, looked
' "P^t. 'As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues
is case Properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak ...'
"t Harry could tell Hermione didn't really believe what she
^ying. All around them, people were talking excitedly as
attp a e lr mncn' happily anticipating the end of exams that
oon' but Harry, Ron and Hermione, lost in worry about
236 harry potter

Hagrid and Buckbeak, didn't join in.
Harry and Ron's last exam was Divination; Hermione's M
Studies. They walked up the marble staircase together. Henn
left them on the first floor and Harry and Ron proceeded all i*
way up to the seventh, where many of their class were sittino
the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trvin? i"
cram in a bit of last-minute revision.
'She's seeing us all separately,' Neville informed them, as they
went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfoseinv iht
Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal-eazin?
'Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?' he asked
them unhappily.
'Nope,' said Ron, in an offhand voice. He kept checking his
watch; Harry knew that he was counting down the time until
Buckbeak's appeal started. H
The queue of people outside the classroom shortened very
slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the
rest of the class hissed, 'What did she ask? Was it OK?'
But they all refused to say.
'She says the crystal ball's told her that, if I tell you, I'll have i
horrible accident!' squeaked Neville, as he clambered back down
the ladder towards Harry and Ron, who had now reached the
landing.
'That's convenient,' snorted Ron. 'You know, I'm starting 10
think Hermione was right about her' (he jabbed his thumb
towards the trapdoor overhead), 'she's a right old fraud.'
'Yeah,' said Harry looking at his own watch. It was now two
o'clock. 'Wish she'd hurry up ...'
Parvati came back down the ladder glowing with pride.
She says I've got all the makings of a true Seer,' she informed
Harry and Ron. 'I saw loads of stuff ... well, good luck!'
She hurried off down the spiral staircase towards Lavender.
'Ronald Weasley' said the familiar, misty voice from over thei^
heads. Ron grimaced at Harry and climbed the silver ladder oui^
sight. Harry was now the only person left to be tested. He s
himself on the floor with his back against the wall, listening ^
fly buzzing in the sunny window, his mind across the gro

with Hagrid. rwared
Finally after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappe-
on the ladder. __
professor trelawney's prediction 237

How'd it go7' Harry asked him, standing up.
,^.g^' said Ron. 'Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff
Don't think she was convinced, though ...'
^pet you in the common room,' Harry muttered, as Professor

rrelawney's voice called, 'Harry Potter'.'
The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were
hsed the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry
iueh as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and tables to
where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crys-

ulball.
Good day, my dear,' she said softly. 'If you would kindly gaze
into the Orb ... take your time, now ... then tell me what you see

within it...'
Harry bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as he
could, willing it to show him something other than swirling white

!og, but nothing happened.
'Well?' Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. 'What do you

see?'
The heat was overpowering and his nostrils were stinging with
the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside them. He
thought of what Ron had just said, and decided to pretend.
'Er-,' said Harry, 'a dark shape ... um ...'
'What does it resemble?' whispered Professor Trelawney.

hink, now...'
II Harry cast his mind around and it landed on Buckbeak.
I
'A Hippogriff; he said firmly
Indeed!' whispered Professor Trelawney, scribbling keenly on
w parchment perched upon her knees. 'My boy, you may well be
Wng the outcome of poor Hagrid's trouble with the Ministry of
^gic! Look closer ... does the Hippogriff appear to ... have its
head?'
^s: said Harry firmly
Are you sure?' Professor Trelawney urged him. 'Are you quite
re. dear? You don't see it writhing on the ground, perhaps, and a
"adowy figure raising an axe behind it?'
!' said Harry, starting to feel slightly sick.
No ^od? No weeping Hagrid?'
- said Harry again, wanting more than ever to leave the
m and the heat. 'It looks fine, it's - flying away ...'
Lessor Trelawney sighed.
238 harry potter

'Well, dear, I think we'll leave it there ... a little disappoint!
but I'm sure you did your best.' ^
Relieved, Harry got up, picked up his bag and turned to go b
then a loud, harsh voice spoke behind him.
'ft will happen tonight.'
Harry wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rieici
her armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sageine
'S-sorry?' said Harry.
But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eves
started to roll. Harry stood there in a panic. She looked as though
she was about to have some sort of seizure. He hesitated, thinkine
of running to the hospital wing - and then Professor Trelawnev
spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own:
'The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers.
His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before
midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master^
The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and mon
terrible than ever before. Tonight... before midnight... the servant..
will set out ...to rejoin... his master ...'
Professor Trelawney's head fell forwards onto her chest. Shi
made a grunting sort of noise. Then, quite suddenly, her heal
snapped up again.
'I'm so sorry, dear boy,' she said dreamily 'The heat of the day.
you know ... I drifted off for a moment...'
Harry stood there, still staring.
'Is there anything wrong, my dear?'
'You - you just told me that the - the Dark Lord's going to ns(
again ... that his servant's going to go back to him ...'
Professor Trelawney looked thoroughly startled.
The Dark Lord? He Who Must Not Be Named? My dear boy,
that's hardly something to joke about... rise again, indeed ...
'But you just said it! You said the Dark Lord -'
'I think you must have dozed off too, dear!' said Professo
Trelawney 'I would certainly not presume to predict anyt '"8
quite as far-fetched as that!' .
Harry climbed back down the ladder and the spiral stalrc^
wondering ... had he just heard Professor Trelawney ^lak.a ^
prediction? Or had that been her idea of an impressive end

test? . , .rolls
Five minutes later he was dashing past the securi) ^^U
^^^ professor trelawney's prediction 239

.j ^g entrance to Gryffindor Tower, Professor Trelawney's
0 ds still resounding in his head. People were striding past him
""the opposite direction, laughing and joking, heading for the
inds and a bit of long-awaited freedom; by the time he had
ched the portrait hole and entered the common room, it was
Imost deserted. Over in a corner, however, sat Ron and

Hermione.
professor Trelawney,' Harry panted, 'just told me -'
IBut he stopped abruptly at the sight of their faces.
Buckbeak lost,' said Ron weakly. 'Hagrid's just sent this.'
Hagrid's note was dry this time, no tears had splattered it, yet
his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was

hardly legible.

Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you
can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.
Hagrid

We've got to go,' said Harry at once. 'He can't just sit there on his
Bwn, waiting for the executioner!'
I 'Sunset, though,' said Ron, who was staring out of the window
in a glazed sort of way. 'We'd never be allowed ... specially you,

Harry...'
Harry sank his head into his hands, thinking.
'If we only had the Invisibility Cloak ...'
'Where is it?' said Hermione.
Harry told her about leaving it in the passageway under the
one-eyed witch.
if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious
"""hie; he finished.
That's true,' said Hermione, getting to her feet. 'If he sees you ...
"ow do you open the witch's hump again?'
You - you tap it and say, "Dissendium",' said Harry. 'But -'
Hermione didn't wait for the rest of his sentence; she strode
ross the room, pushed the Fat Lady's portrait open and vanished
from sight.
he hasn't gone to get it?' Ron said, staring after her.
e had. Hermione returned a quarter of an hour later with the
very ^Gak folded carefully under her robes.
"niione, I don't know what's got into you lately!' said Ron,
240 harry potter

astounded. 'First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Prof
Trelawney -' r
Hermione looked rather flattered.
*
They went down to dinner with everybody else, but did
return to Gryffindor Tower afterwards. Harry had the Cloak h A
den down the front of his robes; he had to keep his arms folded
hide the lump. They skulked in an empty chamber off ih
Entrance Hall, listening, until they were sure it was deserted
They heard a last pair of people hurrying across the hall, and a
door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door.
'OK,' she whispered, 'no one there - Cloak on -
Walking very close together so that nobody would see them
they crossed the Hall on tiptoe beneath the Cloak, then walked
down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was alreaav
sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gilding the top branches o(
the trees.
They reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He was a minute in
answering, and when he did, he looked all around for his visitgr
pale-faced and trembling. ^|
'It's us,' Harry hissed. 'We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Lei
us in and we can take it off.'
'Yeh shouldn've come!' Hagrid whispered, but he stood back,
and they stepped inside. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Ham'
pulled off the Cloak.
Hagrid was not crying, nor did he throw himself upon their
necks. He looked like a man who did not know where he was or
what to do. This helplessness was worse to watch than tears.
'Wan' some tea?' he said. His great hands were shaking as he
reached for the kettle.
'Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?' said Hermione hesitantly
'I - I took him outside,' said Hagrid, spilling milk all over
the table as he filled up the jug. 'He's tethered in me pumpkin
patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an' - an' smell fresh air
before- j
Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug siipP1"
from his grasp and shattered all over the floor. ^
'I'll do it, Hagrid,' said Hermione quickly, hurrying over
starting to clean up the mess. . . ^
'There's another one in the cupboard,' Hagrid said, sitting
professor trelawney's prediction 241

^ping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry glanced at Ron, who
^oked back hopelessly.
l n't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?' Harry asked
celv sitting down next to him. 'Dumbledore -'
He's tried,' said Hagrid. 'He's got no power ter overrule the
minittee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared ...
. ^qw what Lucius Malfoy's like ... threatened 'em, I expect ...
^e executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's ... but it'll
be quick an clean ... an' I'll be beside him ...'
Haerid swallowed. His eyes were darting all over the cabin, as
ihough looking for some shred of hope or comfort.
Dumbledore's gonna come down while it - while it happens.
Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great
man, Dumbledore ...'
Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for
another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. She straightened
up with the new jug in her hands, fighting back tears.
'We'll stay with you, too, Hagrid,' she began, but Hagrid shook
his shaggy head.
BYeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh
watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway ... if Fudge an'
Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in
big trouble.'
Silent tears were now streaming down Hermione's face, but she
hid them from Hagrid, bustling around making tea. Then, as she
picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a
shriek.
I 'Ron! 1 -1 don't believe it - it's Scabbers!'
Ron gaped at her.
What are you talking about?'
Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it
^'de-down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get
ck inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.
Jabbers!' said Ron blankly 'Scabbers, what are you doing here?'
He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light.
a oers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of
"ad fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in
lons hands as though desperate to free himself.
s OK, Scabbers!' said Ron. 'No cats! There's nothing here to
lun you!'
242 harry potter

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window ti
normally ruddy face had gone the colour of parchment. B
'They're comin'...'
Harry, Ron and Hermione whipped around. A group of m
was walking down the distant castle steps. In front was Alh
Dumbledore, his silver beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next
him trotted Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old
Committee member and the executioner, Macnair.
'Yeh gotta go,' said Hagrid. Every inch of him was trembling
They mustn' find yeh here ... go on, now ...'
Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hermione picked up
the Cloak.
'I'll let yeh out the back way,' said Hagrid.
They followed him to the door into his back garden. Harry fell
strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few
yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch.
Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned
his sharp head from side to side, and pawed the ground nervously.
'It's OK, Beaky,' said Hagrid softly 'It's OK ...' He turned 10
Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'Go on,' he said. 'Get goin'.'
But they didn't move.
'Hagrid, we can't -'
'We'll tell them what really happened -'
'They can't kill him -'
'Go!' said Hagrid fiercely 'It's bad enough without you lot in|
trouble an' all!'
They had no choice. As Hermione threw the Cloak over Harry
and Ron, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagnd
looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight.
'Go quick,' he said hoarsely. 'Don' listen ...'
And he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at iht
front door. . ^^^
Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance. Harry, Ron and Hermione
set off silently around Hagrid's house. As they reached the of c
side, the front door closed with a sharp snap. ^
'Please, let's hurry' Hermione whispered. 'I can't stand it,
bear it...' , yn
They started up the sloping lawn towards the castle.
was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purp e
grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow
H professor trelawney's prediction 243

Ron stopped dead.
Oh, please, Ron,' Hermione began.
It's Scabbers - he won't - stay put -
oon was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but
, ^ was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing,
living to sink his teeth into Ron's hand.
Bscabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron,' Ron hissed.
Blhey heard a door open behind them and men's voices.
Oh Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!' Hermione

breathed.
OK - Scabbers, stay put -'
They walked forwards; Harry, like Hermione, was trying not to
listen to the rumble of voices behind them. Ron stopped again.
"I can't hold him - Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us -'
The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover
up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble
of indistinct male voices, a silence and then, without warning, the
unmistakeable swish and thud of an axe.
B Hermione swayed on the spot.
They did it!' she whispered to Harry. 'I d-don't believe it - they

did it!'

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN --

Cat, Rat and Dog

Harry's mind had gone blank with shock. The three of them stood
transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last
rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-
shadowed grounds. Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling.
'Hagrid,' Harry muttered. Without thinking about what he was
doing, he made to turn back, but both Ron and Hermione seized
his arms.
'We can't,' said Ron, who was paper white. 'He'll be in worst
trouble if they know we've been to see him ...'
Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven.
'How - could - they?' she choked. 'How could they?'
'Come on,' said Ron, whose teeth seemed to be chattering.
They set off back towards the castle, walking slowly to keep
themselves hidden under the Cloak. Light was fading fast now. By
the time they reached open ground, darkness was settling like
spell around them.
'Scabbers, keep still,' Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his
chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden hall,
trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. 'What's the malt"
with you, you stupid rat? Stay still - OUCH! He bit me!'
'Ron, be quiet!' Hermione whispered urgently 'Fudge'11 be out
here in a minute -'
'He won't - stay - put -' ,y
Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all
might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.
'What's the matter with him?' , i ^
But Harry had just seen - slinking towards them, his go y
to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the dar ^
Crookshanks. Whether he could see them, or was following
sound of Scabbers's squeaks, Harry couldn't tell.
H cat, rat AND dog 245

rrookshanks!' Hermione moaned. 'No, go away, Crookshanks!

,,o away!'
But the cat was getting nearer -
Scabbers-NO'.'
Too late - the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers,
the eround and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks
rane after him, and before Harry or Hermione could stop him,
Bin had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away

mio the darkness.
Ron!'Hermione moaned.
She and Harry looked at each other, then followed at a sprint; it
was impossible to run full out under the Cloak; they pulled it off
and it streamed behind them like a banner as they hurtled after
Ron; they could hear his feet thundering along ahead, and his

shouts at Crookshanks.
Get away from him - get away - Scabbers, come here -'

There was a loud thud.
'Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat -'
Harry and Hermione almost fell over Ron; they skidded to a
slop right in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground, but
Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had both hands held tight

over the quivering lump.
'Ron - come on - back under the Cloak -' Hermione panted.
Dumbledore - the Minister - they'll be coming back out in a

minute -'
jBut before they could cover themselves again, before they could
"en catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic
Paws. Something was bounding towards them out of the dark - an
1'ormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog.
Harry reached for his wand, but too late - the dog had made an
_iormous leap and its front paws hit him on the chest. He keeled
ker backwards in a whirl of hair; he felt its hot breath, saw inching
teeth -
ut the force of its leap had carried it too far; it rolled off him;
edl 'cehng as though his ribs were broken, Harry tried to stand
in ^ cou^ hear ll growling as it skidded around for a new

nwas on his feet. As the dog sprang back towards them, he
mi e ^"^ ^ide; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's
Etched arm. Harry lunged at it and seized a handful of the

246 harry potter

brute's hair, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as if he w
rag-doll- ea
Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across I,
face he was knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione sh [
with pain and fall, too. Harry groped for his wand, blinking blond
out of his eyes -
'Lumosf he whispered.
The wand-light showed him the trunk of a thick tree; they had
chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its
branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backwards
and forwards to stop them going nearer.
And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron
backwards into a large gap in the roots - Ron was fighting furiously,
but his head and torso were slipping out of sight -
'Ron!' Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch
whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backwards
again.
All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had
hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog pulling him further
underground. Then a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot;
Ron's leg had broken, and next second, his foot had vanished
from sight.
'Harry - we've got to go for help -' Hermione cried; she was
bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.
'No! That thing's big enough to eat him, we haven't got time -'
'We're never going to get through without help -'
Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like
knuckles.
'If that dog can get in, we can,' Harry panted, darting here and
there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches.
but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree-roots without beinf
in range of the tree's blows. . II
'Oh, help, help,' Hermione whispered frantically, dancing-
uncertainly on the spot,'please ...' B
Crookshanks darted forwards. He slithered between the W
ing branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a

on the trunk. hl^
Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to mar . ^
stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook. ^,
'Crookshanks!' Hermione whispered uncertainly
cat, rat AND dog 247

j carry's arm painfully hard. 'How did he know -?'
' .' fnends with that dog,' said Harry grimly. 'I've seen them
ether. Come on - and keep your wand out -'
They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before
, ^gd reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into
urith a flick of his bottle-brush tail. Harry went next; he crawled
firwards, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom
r, very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes
flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione
slithered down beside him.
Where's Ron?' she whispered in a terrified voice.
'This way,' said Harry, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.
Where does this tunnel come out?' Hermione asked breathlessly

Tom behind him.
"I don't know ... it's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred
and George said no one's ever got into it. It goes off the edge of
the map, but it looked like it ends up in Hogsmeade ...'
| They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of
them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on
went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes.
All Harry could think of was Ron, and what the enormous dog
might be doing to him ... he was drawing breath in sharp, painful
GPS, running at a crouch ...
^nd then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted,
and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, Harry could see a patch of
dim light through a small opening.
He and Hermione paused, gasping for breath, edging forwards.
^th raised their wands to see what lay beyond.
" was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeig From the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece
"'""'ture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The
endows were all boarded-up.
Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened, but
lodded.
^ pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. The room
eserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a
wy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm again.
de eyes were travelling around the boarded windows.
arry,' she whispered. 'I think we're in the Shrieking Shack.'
248 harry potter

Harry looked around. His eyes fell on a wooden chair
them. Large chunks had been torn out of it; one of the lees h^
been ripped off entirely.
'Ghosts didn't do that,' he said slowly.
At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had
moved upstairs. Both of them looked up at the ceiling. Hermionp'
grip on Harry's arm was so tight he was losing feeling in his fin.
gers. He raised his eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let eo
Quietly as they could, they crept out into the hall and up the
crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of
dust except the floor, where a wide, shiny stripe had been made
by something being dragged upstairs.
They reached the dark landing.
'Nox,' they whispered together, and the lights at the end of their
wands went out. Only one door was open. As they crept toward
it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then
deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.
Wand held tightly before him. Harry kicked the door
open.
On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings
Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them. On the flooij
beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange anglej
was Ron.
Harry and Hermione dashed across to him.
'Ron - are you OK?'
'Where's the dog?'
'Not a dog,' Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with paiir
'Harry, it's a trap -'
'What -'
'He's the dog... he's an Animagus ...' ,
Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. Harry wheeled aroun",
With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind
them. ,^
A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes"a ^
been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been^
corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bone ^
his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared i
grin. It was Sirius Black.
'Expelliarmus!' he croaked, pointing Ron's wand atthem,^ _
Harry and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, 8 te
cat, rat AND dog 249

ir and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His
'^s were fixed on Harry
! thought you'd come and help your friend,' he said hoarsely.
His voice sounded as though he had long ago lost the habit of
ine it. 'Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of
not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful ... it will make everyhing
much easier ...'
IThe taunt about his father rang in Harry's ears as though Black
id bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in Harry's chest, leaving
no place for fear. For the first time in his life, he wanted his wand
back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack ... to kill.
Without knowing what he was doing, he started forwards, but
[here was a sudden movement on either side of him and two pairs
o( hands grabbed him and held him back. 'No, Harry!' Hermione
gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Black.
'If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us, too!' he said
fiercely, though the effort of standing up had drained him of still
more colour, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.
(Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.
lie down,' he said quietly to Ron. 'You will damage that leg
ven more.'
'Did you hear me?' Ron said weakly, though he was clinging
painfully to Harry to stay upright. 'You'll have to kill all three of us!'
'There'll only be one murder here tonight,' said Black, and his
;rin widened.
'Why's that?' Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Ron
'nd Hermione. 'Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind
slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew ... What's the
matter, gone soft in Azkaban?'
Harry!' Hermione whimpered. 'Be quiet!'
'HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!' Harry roared, and with a
'"ge effort he broke free of Hermione and Ron's restraint and
'""ged forwards -
"e had forgotten about magic - he had forgotten that he was
s n and skinny and thirteen, whereas Black was a tall, full- srown "^n. All Harry knew was that he wanted to hurt Black as
y as he could and that he didn't care how much he got hurt in
Mum...

b ^ s u was the ^"^ ^ Harry doing something so stupid,
^k didn't raise the wands in time. One of Harry's hands fas-

250 harry potter

tened over Black's wasted wrist, forcing the wandtips awav
knuckles of Harry's other hand collided with the side of Bl l^
head and they fell, backwards, into the wall - s
Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blind
flash as the wands in Black's hand sent into the air a jet of soark
which missed Harry's face by inches; Harry felt the shrunken arm
under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand
punching every part of Black it could find.
But Black's free hand had found Harry's throat -
'No,' he hissed. 'I've waited too long -
The fingers tightened. Harry choked, his glasses askew.
Then he saw Hermione's foot swing out of nowhere. Black lei
go of Harry with a grunt of pain. Ron had thrown himself on
Black's wand hand and Harry heard a faint clatter -
He fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw his own wand
rolling across the floor; he threw himself towards it but -
'Argh!'
Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had
sunk themselves deep into Harry's arm; Harry threw him off, but
Crookshanks now darted towards Harry's wand -
'NO YOU DON'T!' roared Harry, and he aimed a kick at Crookshanks
that made the cat leap aside, spitting; Harry snatched up
his wand and turned -
'Get out of the way!' he shouted at Ron and Hermione.
They didn't need telling twice. Hermione, gasping for breath
her lip bleeding, scrambled aside, snatching up her and Ron;
wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting,
his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching
his broken leg. ^H
Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chesM
rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer^
his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.
'Going to kill me, Harry?' he whispered.
Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing a
Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising
around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding. hil^B
'You killed my parents,' said Harry, his voice shaking slig )_
but his wand hand quite steady.
Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes. ^
'I don't deny it,' he said, very quietly 'But if you kne
cat, rat AND dog 251

hole story -'
~h"he whole story?' Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his
I
, ^ l - t r.l 1 ...- _-^ 1- -^l- .11 t .- - - -1 ^ 1 . ____!>
rs 'You sold them to Voldemort, that's all I need to know!'
'You've got to listen to me,' Black said, and there was a note of
reency in his voice now. 'You'll regret it if you don't ... you don't
understand ...'
I understand a lot better than you think,' said Harry, and his
voice shook more than ever. 'You never heard her, did you? My
mum trying to stop Voldemort killing me ... and you did that...
you did it...'
Before either of them could say another word, something gin-
eer streaked past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest, and
settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and
looked down at the cat.
'Get off,' he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him.
But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't
shift. He turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry, and looked up at
him with those great yellow eyes. To his right, Hermione gave a
dry sob.
| Harry stared down at Black and Crookshanks, his grip tightening
on the wand. So what if he had to kill the cat, too? It was in
league with Black ... if it was prepared to die, trying to protect
Black, that wasn't Harry's business ... if Black wanted to save it,
that only proved he cared more for Crookshanks than Harry's
parents...
Harry raised the wand. Now was the moment to do it. Now was
'he moment to avenge his mother and father. He was going to kill
Black. He had to kill Black. This was his chance ...
The seconds lengthened, and still Harry stood frozen there,
^'and poised. Black staring up at him, Crookshanks on his chest.
Kons ragged breathing came from near the bed; Hermione was
quite silent. |?
^d then came a new sound -
Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor - someone
was "loving downstairs.
_WE'RE UP HERE!' Hermione screamed suddenly 'WE'RE UP
'^E - S1RIUS BLACK - QUICK!'
, ac^ "tade a startled movement that almost dislodged Crook-
"ks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively - Do it now.' said a
ce in his head - but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs
252 harry potter

and Harry still hadn't done it.
The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks
Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into it,
room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes fli J
ered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering nexi
to the door, to Harry, standing there with his wand coverin
Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleedine ai
Harry's feet.
'Expelliarmus!' Lupin shouted.
Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand; so did the two
Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved
into the room, staring at Black, who still had Crookshanks lying
protectively across his chest.
Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn't done it.
His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to
the Dementors.
Then Lupin spoke, in an odd voice, a voice that shook with
some suppressed emotion. 'Where is he, Sirius?'
Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand whai
Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at
Black again.
Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't
move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand, and
pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at ^^
who looked bewildered. ^1
'But then ...' Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently n
seemed he was trying to read his mind, '.., why hasn't he shown
himself before now? Unless -' Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as
though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none
of the rest could see, '- unless he was the one ... unless you
switched ... without telling me?' .
Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, B ac
nodded.
'Professor Lupin,' Harry interrupted loudly, 'what's going -
But he never finished the question, because what he saw ma <m
his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand. e
moment, he had walked to Black's side, seized his hand, p" ^
him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embra
Black like a brother, -k
Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his sto
^* cat, rat AND dog 253

l DON'T BELIEVE IT!' Hermione screamed.
l unin let g ^ Black and turned to her. She had raised herself
ff the floor, and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed. 'You - you -'
Hermione -'
you and him!'
Hermione, calm down -'
"I didn't tell anyone!' Hermione shrieked. 'I've been covering up
for you-'
'Hermione, listen to me, please!' Lupin shouted. 'I can explain -'
Harry could feel himself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh
wave of fury.
"I trusted you,' he shouted at Lupin, his voice wavering out of
control, 'and all the time you've been his friend!'
'You're wrong,' said Lupin. 'I haven't been Sinus's friend for
twelve years, but I am now ... let me explain ...'
'NO!' Hermione screamed, 'Harry, don't trust him, he's been
helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too - he's a
werewolj!'
There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on
Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.
I 'Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione,' he said. 'Only
one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into
the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead ...'An odd shiver
passed over his face. 'But I won't deny that I am a werewolf.'
Ron made a valiant effort to get up again, but fell back with a
whimper of pain. Lupin made towards him, looking concerned,
"ui Ron gasped, 'Get away from me, werewolf!'
I Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to
rermione and said, 'How long have you known?'
Ages,' Hermione whispered. 'Since I did Professor Snape's
'^ay..;
He 11 be delighted,' said Lupin coolly. 'He set that essay hoping
l^meone would realise what my symptoms meant. Did you check
the lunar chart and realise that I was always ill at the full moon?
r did you realise that the Boggart changed into the moon when
i saw me?'

Both; Hermione said quietly
^Pin forced a laugh.
u re the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione.'
m not,' Hermione whispered. 'If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd
254 harry potter

have told everyone what you are!'
'But they already know,' said Lupin. 'At least, the staff do'
'Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolO
Ron gasped. 'Is he mad?'
'Some of the staff thought so,' said Lupin. 'He had to work we
hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy -'
'AND HE WAS WRONG!' Harry yelled. 'YOU'VE BEEN HELP.
ING HIM ALL THE TIME!' He was pointing at Black, who had
crossed to the four-poster bed and sunk onto it, his face hidden in
one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped
onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging
his leg.
'I have not been helping Sirius,' said Lupin. 'If you'll give me a
chance, I'll explain. Look -' ^1
He separated Harry, Ron and Hermione's wands and threw each
back to its owner; Harry caught his, stunned.
'There,' said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his bell. H
'You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?' B
Harry didn't know what to think. Was it a trick?
'If you haven't been helping him,' he said, with a furious glance
at Black, 'how did you know he was here?'
'The map,' said Lupin. 'The Marauder's Map. I was in my office
examining it --'
'You know how to work it?' Harry said suspiciously
'Of course I know how to work it,' said Lupin, waving his hand
impatiently 'I helped write it. I'm Moony - that was my friends
nickname for me at school.'
'You wrote -?'
'The important thing is, I was watching it carefully th^
evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron and Hermione might
try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his HippogntI
was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?' ,
He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Lilt e
patches of dust rose at his feet.
'You might have been wearing your father's old Cloak, Harry -
'How d'you know about the Cloak?' , .j
'The number of times I saw James disappearing under it...
Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. 'The point is, j.^
you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak you show up on the
er's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagn
255
cat, RAT AND DOG

(y minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back towards the
jg gut you were now accompanied by somebody else.'

1 'What?' said Harry. 'No, we weren't!'
'I couldn't believe my eyes,' said Lupin, still pacing, and ignor-
Harry's interruption. 'I thought the map must be malfunctioning.
How could he be with you?'
No one was with us!' said Harry.
'And then I saw another dot, moving fast towards you, labelled
Sinus Black ... I saw him collide with you, I watched as he pulled
two of you into the Whomping Willow -
I 'One of us!' Ron said angrily.
| 'No, Ron,' said Lupin. 'Two of you.'
| He had stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron.
| 'Do you think I could have a look at the rat?' he said evenly.
'What?' said Ron. 'What's Scabbers got to do with it?'
'Everything,' said Lupin. 'Could I see him, please?'
Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers
emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail
to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's lap and

made a soft hissing noise.
I Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath
as he gazed intently at Scabbers.
'What?' Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking
scared. 'What's my rat got to do with anything?'
That's not a rat,' croaked Sirius Black suddenly.
'What d'you mean - of course he's a rat -'
'No, he's not,' said Lupin quietly. 'He's a wizard.'
'An Animagus,' said Black, 'by the name of Peter Pettigrew.'
-- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN --

Moony, Wormtail,
Padfoot and Prongs

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in.
Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking.
'You're both mental.'
'Ridiculous!' said Hermione faintly.
'Peter Pettigrew's dead!' said Harry. 'He killed him twelve years
ago!'
He pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively
'I meant to,' he growled, his yellow teeth bared, 'but little Peter
got the better of me ... not this time, though!'
And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at
Scabbers; Ron yelled with pain as Black's weight fell on his broken
leg.
'Sirius, NO!' Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and
dragging Black away from Ron again, 'WAIT! You can't do it just
like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain -'
'We can explain afterwards!' snarled Black, trying to throw
Lupin off, one hand still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scw- hers , who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and
neck as he tried to escape.
'They've - got - a - right - to - know - everything!' Lupin
panted, still trying to restrain Black. 'Ron's kept him as a pel
There are parts of it even I don't understand! And Harry -)
owe Harry the truth, Sirius!' .11
Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were sii^
fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Rons bitte ,
scratched and bleeding hands. . ,
'All right, then,' Black said, without taking his eyes off the ^ ^
'Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I wan
MOONY, wormtail, padfoot AND prongs 257

minit the murder I was imprisoned for ...'
'You're nutters, both of you,' said Ron shakily, looking round at
Harrv and Hermione for support. 'I've had enough of this. I'm off.'
He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised
his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.
'You're going to hear me out, Ron,' he said quietly. 'Just keep a
light hold on Peter while you listen.'
HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS'.' Ron yelled, trying to
force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting
100 hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced, and Harry caught him
and pushed him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Black,

Harry turned to Lupin.
'There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die,' he said. 'A whole
street full of them ...'
'They didn't see what they thought they saw!' said Black savagely,
still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.
'Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter,' said Lupin, nodding. 'I
believed it myself - until I saw the map tonight. Because the
Marauder's Map never lies ... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him,

_arry.'
| Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met they agreed,
silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their
story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter
Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all - but why
was Lupin playing along with him?
Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of
roice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly.
'But Professor Lupin ... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew ... it just
can't be true, you know it can't...'
Why can't it be true?' Lupin said calmly, as though they were in
"ass, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experi-
"'ent with Grindylows.
Because ... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had
" an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGo-
" J ^n(^ ^ looked them up when I did my homework - the
'nistry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become ani-
, ' there's a register showing what animal they become, and
elr markings and things ... and 1 went and looked Professor
, nagall up on the register, and there have only been seven
"'^g1 this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list -
258 harry potter

Harry barely had time to marvel inwardly at the pff
Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laush
'Right again, Hermione!' he said. 'But the Ministry never kn
that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running arou i Hogwarts.'
'If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus'
snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperaif
move. 'I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer'
'All right ... but you'll need to help me, Sirius,' said Lupin "I
only know how it began ...'
Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The
bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All five of them
stared at it. Then Lupin strode towards it and looked out into the
landing.
'No one there ...'
This place is haunted!'said Ron.
'It's not,' said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way.
'The Shrieking Shack was never haunted ... the screams and howls
the villagers used to hear were made by me.'
He pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, thought for a
moment, then said, 'That's where all of this starts - with my
becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't
been bitten ... and if I hadn't been so foolhardy ...'
He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, butB
Hermione said, 'Shh!' She was watching Lupin very intently
'I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents
tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The Potion
that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery.
It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week
preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform -
I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wail tor t
moon to wane again.
'Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however,
became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impos
sible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents
weren't likely to want their children exposed to me.
'But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sywp
thetic. He said that, as long as we took certain P"'0111"0"'',1,^
was no reason I shouldn't come to school ...' Lupin sighe ,
looked directly at Harry 'I told you, months ago, that
^^ MOONY, wormtail, padfoot AND prongs 259

i innine Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The
ih is that it was planted because I had come to Hogwarts. This
eg -' Lupin looked miserably around the room, '-- the tunnel
, ^ds to it - they were built for my use. Once a month, I was
npled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree
as placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me
while I was dangerous.'
Harry couldn't see where this story was going, but he was lis-
icnine raptly all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's
voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.
My transformations in those days were - were terrible. It is
very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans
10 bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard
the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing paricularly
violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour ...
even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers
don't dare approach it...
'But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had
ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three
great friends. Sirius Black ... Peter Pettigrew ... and, of course,
your father, Harry - James Potter.
'Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared
once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them
my mother was ill, and that 1 had to go home to see her ... I was
terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I
was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the
inith...
'And they didn't desert me at all. Instead they did something for
ne thai would make my transformations not only bearable, but ,;
l i . -' ' *
ne best times of my life. They became Animagi.'
My dad, too?' said Harry, astounded.
^es, indeed,' said Lupin. Tt took them the best part of three
^ars to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were
e cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because
e Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong - one reason
,e ^""stry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it.
eter "eeded all the help he could get from James and Sirius.
y'ln our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn
mo a ^tferent animal at will.' ^
ut now did that help you?' said Hermione, sounding puzzled. ^
260 harry potter

They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kem
company as animals,' said Lupin. 'A werewolf is only a danep
people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under lam
Invisibility Cloak. They transformed ... Peter, as the smalle
could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch th
knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and
join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My bodv
was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while 1
was with them.'
'Hurry up, Remus,' snarled Black, who was still watching Scab- hers with a horrible sort of hunger in his face.
'I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there ... well, highly exciting
possibilities were open to us now we could all transform.
Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school
grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed
into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in
check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out
more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did ...
And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign il
with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James
was Prongs.'
'What sort of animal -?' Harry began, but Hermione cut across
him.
'That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark
with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten
somebody?'
'A thought that still haunts me,' said Lupin heavily 'And there
were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afier-
wards. We were young, thoughtless - carried away with our own
cleverness.' .
'I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, o
course ... he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other hca -
master would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking
the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety He neve
knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi i^
gaily But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every
we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And
changed...' his
Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-digust m^
voice. 'All this year, I have been battling with myself, wond f
MOONY, wormtail, padfoot AND prongs 261

hrther I should tell Dumbledore that Sinus was an Animagus.
1 didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have
ant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school,
dniitting 'hat I'd led others along with me ... and Dumbledore's
mst has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a
how and he gave me a job, when I have been shunned all my adult
life unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced
myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark
arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had
nothing to do with it ... so, in a way, Snape's been right about me

all along.'
'Snape?' said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the
first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. 'What's Snape got

to do with it?'
'He's here, Sirius,' said Lupin heavily. 'He's teaching here as
well.' He looked up at Harry, Ron and Hennione.
'Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard
igainst my appointment to the Defence Against the Dark Arts job.
He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted.
He has his reasons ... you see, Sirius here played a trick on
him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me -'
| Black made a derisive noise.
'It served him right,' he sneered. 'Sneaking around, trying to
find out what we were up to ... hoping he could get us expelled ...'
'Severus was very interested in where I went every month,'
-upin told Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'We were in the same year,
you know, and we - er - didn't like each other very much. He
especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the
Quidditch pitch ... anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the
founds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me towards
he Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would
) ~ er - amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod
he knot on the tree-trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able
10 get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it - if he'd got as
ar as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf - but
our 'siher, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape
Pylled him back, at great risk to his life ... Snape glimpsed
me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden to tell
ybody by Dumbledore, but from that time on he knew what
^as,..' '
262 harry potter

'So that's why Snape doesn't like you,' said Harry slowl.
'because he thought you were in on the joke?'
'That's right,' sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lunin
Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand
pointing directly at Lupin.
-- CHAPTER NINETEEN --

The Servant of
Lord Voldemort

Hermione screamed. Black leapt to his feet. Harry jumped as
though he'd received a huge electric shock.
'I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow,' said Snape,
throwing the Cloak aside, careful to keep his wand pointing
directly at Lupin's chest. 'Very useful. Potter, I thank you ...'
Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed
triumph. 'You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you
were here?' he said, his eyes glittering. 'I've just been to your
office. Lupin. You forgot to take your Potion tonight, so I took a
gobletful along. And very lucky I did ... lucky for me, I mean.
Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all
1 needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and

out of sight.'
'Severus -' Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.
'I've told the Headmaster again and again that you've been help- '"g your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the
proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this
old place as your hideout -'
Severus, you're making a mistake,' said Lupin urgently. 'You
haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill
Harry -'
Two more for Azkaban tonight,' said Snape, his eyes now
8 earning fanatically. 'I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore
^ this ... he was quite convinced you were harmless, you
^ow, Lupin ... a tame werewolf ...'
"ou fool,' said Lupin softly. 'Is a schoolboy grudge worth
Putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?'
__ ANG! Thin, snake-like cords burst from the end of Snape's
264 harry potter

wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists
ankles; he over-balanced and fell to the floor, unable to run 
With a roar of rage. Black started towards Snape, but Snape point rf
his wand straight between Black's eyes.
'Give me a reason,' he whispered. 'Give me a reason to do it
and I swear I will.' ^_
Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to HP
which face showed more hatred.
Harry stood there, paralysed, not knowing what to do or who
to believe. He glanced around at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked
just as confused as he did, still fighting to keep hold of the struggling
Scabbers. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step
towards Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, 'Professor
Snape - it - it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say,
w-would it?'
'Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this
school,' Snape spat. 'You, Potter and Weasley are out of bounds, in
the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in
your life, hold your tongue.' H
'But if - if there was a mistake -' m
'KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!' Snape shouted, looking
suddenly quite deranged. 'DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU
DON'T UNDERSTAND!' A few sparks shot out of the end of his
wand, which was still pointing at Black's face. Hermione fell
silent.
'Vengeance is very sweet,' Snape breathed at Black. 'How 1
hoped I would be the one to catch you ...'
'The joke's on you again, Severus,' snarled Black. 'As long as
this boy brings his rat up to the castle - he jerked his head at
Ron,'-- I'll come quietly ...'
'Up to the castle?' said Snape silkily 'I don't think we need to go
that far. All I have to do is call the Dementors once we get out of
the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black ... pleased
enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay ...'
What little colour there was in Black's face left it.
'You - you've got to hear me out,' he croaked. 'The rat - oo
the rat -' , .
But there was a mad glint in Snape's eye that Harry ha
seen before. He seemed beyond reason, j ^g
'Come on, all of you,' he said. He clicked his fingers, ana
^^ the servant OF lord voldemort 265

i pf ^e cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. 'I'll drag the
ewolf. Perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him, too -'
Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had crossed the room
three strides, and blocked the door.
Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already,'
snarled Snape. 'If I hadn't been here to save your skin -'
professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times
ihis year,' Harry said. 'I've been alone with him loads of times,
having defence lessons against the Dementors. If he was helping
Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?'
Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works,'
hissed Snape. 'Get out of the way, Potter.'
YOU'RE PATHETIC'.' Harry yelled. 'JUST BECAUSE THEY
MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN
LISTEN -
'SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!' Snape
shrieked, looking madder than ever. 'Like father, like son. Potter!
1 have just saved your neck, you should be thanking me on bended
knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you!
You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might
be mistaken in Black -- now get out of the way, or I will make you,
GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER'.'
Harry made up his mind in a split second. Before Snape could
lake even one step towards him, he had raised his wand.
'Expelliarmus!' he yelled - except that his wasn't the only voice
that shouted. There was a blast that made the door rattle on its
hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall,
"en slid down it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under
his hair. He had been knocked out.
Uarry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to dis- >nn Snape at exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a
h'gh arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.
^u shouldn't have done that,' said Black, looking at Harry.
ou should have left him to me ...'
Harry avoided Black's eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd
"one the right thing.
"e attacked a teacher ... we attacked a teacher ...' Hermione
'"ipered, staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. 'Oh,
we re S011^ to be in so much trouble -'
_?v^ was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down
266 harry potter

quickly and untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his a
where the ropes had cut into them.
Thank you, Harry,' he said.
'I'm still not saying I believe you,' Harry retorted.
Then it's time we offered you some proof,' said Black. 'You go
- give me Peter. Now.'
Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.
'Come off it,' he said weakly. 'Are you trying to say you broke
out of Azkaban just to get your hands on Scabbersi I mean ...' he
looked up at Harry and Hermione for support. 'OK, say Pettigrew
could turn into a rat - there are millions of rats - how's he
supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in
Azkaban?'
'You know, Sirius, that's a fair question,' said Lupin, turning to
Black and frowning slightly. 'How did you find out where he was?'
Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took
out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat, and held|
out to show the others.
It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared
in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's
shoulder, was Scabbers.
'How did you get this?' Lupin asked Black, thunderstruck.
'Fudge,' said Black. 'When he came to inspect Azkaban last
year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page
... on this boy's shoulder ... I knew him at once ... how many times
had I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be
going back to Hogwarts ... to where Harry was ...'
'My God,' said Lupin softly staring from Scabbers to the picturej
in the paper and back again. 'His front paw ...'
'What about it?' said Ron defiantly.
'He's got a toe missing,' said Black.
'Of course,' Lupin breathed, 'so simple ...so brilliant... He cut ill
off himself?'
'Just before he transformed,' said Black. 'When I cornered hirn^
he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily an
James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart t
street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone wit^
twenty feet of himself - and sped down into the sewer wit
other rats ...' .p^
'Didn't you ever hear, Ron?' said Lupin. 'The biggest bit 01
^^ the servant OF lord voldemort 267

,hey found was his finger.'
i nok Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or some- ;liing! He's been in my family for ages, right -'
Twelve years, in fact,' said Lupin. 'Didn't you ever wonder why
he was living so long?'
.^g - we've been taking good care of him!' said Ron.
Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?' said
Lupin. 'I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius
was on the loose again...'
He's been scared of that mad cat!' said Ron, nodding towards
Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed.
But that wasn't right. Harry thought suddenly ... Scabbers had
been looking ill before he met Crookshanks ... ever since Ron's
return from Egypt... since the time when Black had escaped ...
'This cat isn't mad,' said Black hoarsely. He reached out a
bony hand and stroked Crookshanks's fluffy head. 'He's the most
intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognised Peter for what
he was straight away. And when he met me, he knew I was no
dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally, I managed
to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping
me...'
'What do you mean?' breathed Hermione.
'He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't ... so he stole the
passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me ... As I understand it, he
took them from a boy's bedside table ...'
Harry's brain seemed to be sagging under the weight of what he
was hearing. It was absurd ... and yet ...
'But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it ... this
"t - Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me Peter had left
Mood on the sheets ... I suppose he bit himself ... well, faking his
wn death had worked once ...'
These words jolted Harry to his senses.
And why did he fake his death?' he said furiously. 'Because he
new you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!'
'No,' said Lupin. 'Harry -'
And now you've come to finish him off!'
^s, I have,' said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.
"len I should've let Snape take you!' Harry shouted.
Harry,' said Lupin hurriedly, 'don't you see? All this time we've
"ght Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down
268 harry potter

- but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betr
your mother and father - Sinus tracked Peter down -
THAT'S NOT TRUE!' Harry yelled. 'HE WAS THEIR SECRET
KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP, HE SAID HF
KILLED THEM!'
He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly [tip
sunken eyes were suddenly over-bright.
'Harry ... I as good as killed them,' he croaked. 'I persuaded Lily
and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them
to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me ... I'm to blame, I know
it... the night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure
he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone.i
Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I waa
scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when J
saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies - I realised whal|
Peter must have done. What I'd done.'
His voice broke. He turned away.
'Enough of this,' said Lupin, and there was a steely note in
voice Harry had never heard before. There's one certain way to
prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat.'
'What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?' Ron
asked Lupin tensely.
'Force him to show himself,' said Lupin. 'If he really is a rat, il
won't hurt him.'
Ron hesitated, then at long last held out Scabbers and Lupin
took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting
and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head.
'Ready, Sirius?' said Lupin.
Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from the bed. He
approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his wet eyes suddenly
seemed to be burning in his face.
Together?' he said quietly. ,
'I think so,' said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand
and his wand in the other. 'On the count of three. One - two -
THREE!' ^
A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands, ?
moment, Scabbers was frozen in mid-air, his small blac k o
twisting madly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. 1"
was another blinding flash of light and then - . p A
It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tre
 the servant OF lord voldemort 269

j ^,as shooting upwards from the ground; limbs were sprout- ^gxt moment, a man was standing where Scabbers had been,
rineing anc^ ^"iging nls bands. Crookshanks was spitting and
nariing on the bed, the hair on his back standing up.
He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and
Hennione. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a
large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a
plump ^nm wno ^a(^ ^ost a ^ot ^ welgllt m a short time. His skin
looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat
lingered around his pointed nose, his very small, watery eyes. He
looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry
saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.
'Well, hello, Peter,' said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently
erupted into old schoolfriends around him. 'Long time,
no see.'
'S-Sirius ... R-Remus ...' Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky.
Again, his eyes darted towards the door. 'My friends ... my old
friends...'
Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist,
gave him a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice
light and casual.
'We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the
night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points
while you were squeaking around down there on the bed -'
'Remus,' gasped Pettigrew, and Harry could see beads of sweat
breaking out over his pasty face, 'you don't believe him, do you ...
He tried to kill me, Remus ...'
'So we've heard,' said Lupin, more coldly. 'I'd like to clear up
one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so -
He's come to try and kill me again!' Pettigrew shrieked sudden-
y' Pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger,
"ecause his index was missing. 'He killed Lily and James and now
hes going to kill me, too ... you've got to help me, Remus ...'
Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pet-
"g'-ew with his fathomless eyes.
'Kl
0 ne's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few
^gs out; said Lupin.
sorted things out?' squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about
m ""^ more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again,
tor^y door. 'I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for
270 harry potter

me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!'
'You knew Sirius was going to break out of AzkabaiF' s d
Lupin, his brow furrowed. 'When nobody has ever done it befor ?
'He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!' Pen
grew shouted shrilly. 'How else did he get out of there? I suppose
He Who Must Not Be Named taught him a few tricks!'
Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the
whole room.
'Voldemort, teach me tricks?' he said.
Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at
him.
'What, scared to hear your old master's name?' said Black. 'I|
don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are|
they?' |
'Don't know - what you mean, Sirius -' muttered Pettigrew, his
breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat
now.
'You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years,' said Black.
'You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. 1 heard
things in Azkaban, Peter ... they all think you're dead, or you'd
have to answer to them ... I've heard them screaming all sorts of
things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser
double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your
information ... and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all
Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are
still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the
error of their ways ... If they ever got wind that you were still
alive, Peter -'
'Don't know ... what you're talking about ...' said Pettigrew
again, more shrilly than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve
and looked up at Lupin. 'You don't believe this - this madness,
Remus -'
'I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an
innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat, sai Lupin evenly.
'Innocent, but scared!' squealed Pettigrew. 'If Voldemort's suc^
porters were after me, it was because I put one of their bes
in Azkaban - the spy, Sirius Black!'
Black's face contorted. , ..
'How dare you,' he growled, sounding suddenly like the
the servant OF lord voldemort Tl}

zed dog he had been. 'I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever
' eak around people who were stronger and more powerful than
vself? But you, Peter -- I'll never understand why I didn't see you
ere the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd
look after you, didn't you? It used to be us ... me and Remus ...

and James...'
pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath.
I'Me, a spy ... must be out of your mind ... never ... don't know

how you can say such a -'
'Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested
it,' Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step
backwards. 'I thought it was the perfect plan ... a bluff ... Voldemort
would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd
use a weak, talentless thing like you ... it must have been the
finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could

hand him the Potters.'
Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry caught words like
far-fetched' and 'lunacy', but he couldn't help paying more attenion
to the ashen colour of Pettigrew's face, and the way his eyes
continued to dart towards the windows and door.
'Professor Lupin?' said Hermione timidly. 'Can - can I say

something?'
'Certainly, Hermione,' said Lupin courteously.
'Well - Scabbers - I mean, this - this man - he's been sleeping
in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You Know
Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?'
'There!' said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Hermione with his
maimed hand. 'Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a
"air of Harry's head! Why should I?'
'I'll tell you why,' said Black. 'Because you never did anything
or anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Volde- mort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half-dead. You
weren'*- about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's
^se, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all his power, were you?
ou d want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the play- pound before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did
yu find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for
^s, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained
^ngth, and it was safe to rejoin him ...'
'ettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He
272 harry potter

seemed to have lost the ability to talk.
'Er - Mr Black - Sinus?' said Hermione timidly.
Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared
Hermione as though being spoken to politely was something he'd
long forgotten.
'If you don't mind me asking, how -- how did you get out nf
Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?'
Thank you!' gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her
'Exactly! Precisely what I -'
But Lupin silenced him with a look. Black was frowning slight-1
ly at Hermione, but not as though he was annoyed with her. He
seemed to be pondering his answer.
'I don't know how I did it,' he said slowly. 'I think the only reason
I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a
happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me ... but it
kept me sane and knowing who I am ... helped me keep my powers
... so when it all became ... too much ... I could transform in my cell
... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know ...'He swallowed.
They feel their way towards people by sensing their
emotions ... they could tell that my feelings were less - less human,
less complex when I was a dog ... but they thought, of course, that 1
was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble
them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them
away from me without a wand ...
'But then I saw Peter in that picture ... I realised he was at Hog- warts with Harry ... perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached
his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again ...'
Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring
all the while at Black as though hypnotised.
'... ready to strike the moment he could be sure of allies ... to
deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry who'd dare
say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with
honours ...
'So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who
knew Peter was still alive ...'
Harry remembered what Mr Weasley had told Mrs Weasley.
The guards say he's been talking in his sleep ... always the sam
words ..."He's at Hogwarts".'
'It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Derne
tors couldn't destroy it ... it wasn't a happy feeling n was
^* the servant OF lord voldemort 273

hsession ... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one
i?ht when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past
hem as a dog ... it's so much harder for them to sense animal
pmotions that they were confused ... I was thin, very thin ... thin
enough to slip through the bars ... I swam as a dog back to the
mainland ... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts
wounds as a dog ... I've been living in the Forest ever since ...
except when I come to watch the Quidditch, of course ... you fly
as well as your father did, Harry ...'
He looked at Harry, who did not look away.
'Believe me,' croaked Black. 'Believe me. I never betrayed James
and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them.'
And at long last. Harry believed him. Throat too tight to speak,
he nodded.
'No'.'
Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had
been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees,
grovelling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying.
'Sirius - it's me ... it's Peter ... your friend ... you wouldn't...'
Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.
'There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them,'
said Black.
'Remus'.' Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead,
writhing imploringly in front of him. 'You don't believe this ...
Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?'
'Not if he thought 1 was the spy, Peter,' said Lupin. "I assume
that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?' he said casually over Petti-
grew's head.
'Forgive me, Remus,' said Black.
'Not at all, Padfoot, old friend,' said Lupin, who was now
rolling up his sleeves. 'And will you, in turn, forgive me for believ- '"g you were the spy?'
'Of course,' said Black, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his
gaunt face. He, too, began rolling up his sleeves. 'Shall we kill him
^gether?'
ifes, 1 think so,' said Lupin grimly.
You wouldn't ... you won't ...' gasped Pettigrew. And he scram- "'ed around to Ron.
Ron ... haven't I been a good friend ... a good pet? You won't let
en! kill me, Ron, will you ... you're on my side, aren't you?'
274 harry potter

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion I
'I let you sleep in my bed!'he said. |
'Kind boy ... kind master ...' Pettigrew crawled towards Ron

'you won't let them do it... I was your rat... I was a good pet '
'If you made a better rat than human, it's not much to boasi
about, Peter,' said Black harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain
wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned
on his knees, staggered forwards and seized the hem of
Hermione's robes.
'Sweet girl ... clever girl ... you - you won't let them ... help
me ...'
Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands
and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.
Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head
slowly towards Harry.
'Harry ... Harry ... you look just like your father ... just like
him ...'
'HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?' roared Black. 'HOW
DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES
IN FRONT OF HIM?'
'Harry,' whispered Pettigrew, shuffling towards him, hands
outstretched, 'Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed ... James
would have understood. Harry ... he would have shown me mercy...'
Both Black and Lupin strode forwards, seized Pettigrew's shoulders
and threw him backwards onto the floor. He sat there,
twitching with terror, staring up at them.
'You sold Lily and James to Voldemort,' said Black, who was
shaking too. 'Do you deny it?'
Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch: he looked
like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.
'Sinus, Sinus, what could I have done? The Dark Lord ... you
have no idea ... he has weapons you can't imagine ... I was scared,
Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. 1 neveij
meant it to happen ... He Who Must Not Be Named forced me -
'DON'T LIE!' bellowed Black. 'YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFOR_
MATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMtb
DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!'
'He - he was taking over everywhere!' gasped Pettigrew.
'Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?' ,
'What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wiza
the servant OF lord voldemort - 275

, ^as ever existed7' said Black, with a terrible fury in his face.
Only innocent lives, Peter!'
'You don't understand!' whined Pettigrew. 'He would have
killed me, Sirius!'
-THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!' roared Black. 'DIED
rather THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD
HAVE DONE FOR YOU!'
Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.
'You should have realised,' said Lupin quietly. 'If Voldemort
didn't kill you, we would. Goodbye, Peter.'
Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.
'NO!' Harry yelled. He ran forwards, placing himself in front of
Pettigrew, facing the wands. 'You can't kill him,' he said breathlessly.
'You can't.'
Black and Lupin both looked staggered.
'Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents,'
Black snarled. 'This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die,
too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin
meant more to him than your whole family.'
'I know,' Harry panted. 'We'll take him up to the castle. We'll
hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban ... just
don't kill him.'
'Harry!' gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's
knees. 'You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -
'Get off me,' Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in
disgust. 'I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't
reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers
-just for you.'
No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath
^s coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin
"'ere looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowred
their wands.
'You're the only person who has the right to decide. Harry,' said
Mack. 'But think ... think what he did ...'
He can go to Azkaban,' Harry repeated. 'If anyone deserves that
P^ce.hedoes...'
Fettigrew was still wheezing behind him.
Very well,' said Lupin. 'Stand aside, Harry.'
Harry hesitated.
^ going to tie him up,' said Lupin. 'That's all, I swear.'
276 harry potter

Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lun '
wand this time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on th
floor, bound and gagged.
'But if you transform, Peter,' growled Black, his own wand
pointing at Pettigrew, too, 'we will kill you. You agree. Harry?'
Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and
nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.
'Right,' said Lupin, suddenly business-like. 'Ron, I can't mend
bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we
just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wine.'
He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his
wand and muttered, 'Ferula.' Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping
it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put
his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.
'That's better,' he said. 'Thanks.'
'What about Professor Snape?' said Hermione in a small voice,
looking down at Snape's prone figure.
'There's nothing seriously wrong with him,' said Lupin, bending
over Snape and checking his pulse. 'You were just a little - over-
enthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't^B
revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take himll
like this ...'
He muttered, 'Mobilicorpus.'As though invisible strings were tied
to Snape's wrists, neck and knees, he was pulled into a standing
position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He
hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin
picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.
'And two of us should be chained to this,' said Black, nudging
Pettigrew with his toe. 'Just to make sure.'
'I'll do it,' said Lupin.
'And me,' said Ron savagely, limping forwards.
Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew
was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to
Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabberss
true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the
bed and led the way out of the room, his bottle-brush tail held
jauntily high.
CHAPTER TWENTY

The Dementors9 Kiss



Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led
the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron went next,
looking like contestants in a six-legged race. Next came
Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair
as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being
pointed at him by Sirius. Harry and Hermione brought up the
rear.
Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew and
Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew
covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly
along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead.
Harry went right after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift
along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low
ceiling. Harry had the impression Sirius was making no effort to
S;vent this.
(:

;
You know what this means?' Sirius said abruptly to Harry, as
?j made their slow progress along the tunnel. 'Turning Petti-
grew in?'
'You're free,' said Harry.
'Yes ...' said Sirius. 'But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever
told you - I'm your godfather.'
'Yeah, I knew that,' said Harry.
Well ... your parents appointed me your guardian,' said Sirius
stiffly 'if anything happened to them ...'
Harry waited. Did Sirius mean what he thought he meant?
111 understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt
and uncle,' said Sirius. 'But ... well ... think about it. Once my
nalnels cleared ... if you wanted a ... a different home ...'
"ome sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
| What - live with you?' he said, accidentally cracking his head
278 harry potter

on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. 'Leave the Durslev ?'
'Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to,' said Sirius quick!
'I understand. I just thought I'd -'
'Are you mad?' said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Sirius'
'Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house?
When can I move in?'
Sirius turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was
scraping the ceiling but Sirius didn't seem to care.
'You want to?' he said. 'You mean it?' |
'Yeah, I mean it!'said Harry. *
Sirius' gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen
upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person
ten years younger was shining through the starved mask; for a
moment, he was recognisable as the man who had laughed at
Harry's parents' wedding.
They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his
paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron
clambered upwards without any sound of savaging branches.
Sirius saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for
Harry and Hermione to pass. At last, all of them were out.
The grounds were very dark now, the only light came from the
distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Petti-
grew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's
mind was buzzing. He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was
going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend ... he felt
dazed ... What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was
going to live with the convict they'd seen on television!
'One wrong move, Peter,' said Lupin threateningly, ahead. His
wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.
Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights
growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead oil
Sirius, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -
A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the
ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight. ,
Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew and Ron, who ha
stopped abruptly Sirius froze. He flung out an arm to make Harry
and Hermione stop. ,._
Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then i-j
limbs began to shake.
the dementors' Kiss 279

'Oh my """' Hermione gasped. 'He didn't take his Potion tonight'.
He's not safe'.'
'Run,' Sinus whispered. 'Run'. Now!'
But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and
Lupin. He leapt forwards but Sirius caught him around the chest
and threw him back.
'Leave it to me - RUN!'
There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthen- ie. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was
sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into
riawed paws. Crookshanks's fur was on end again, he was backing
away-
As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared
from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous,
bear-like dog bounded forwards. As the werewolf wrenched itself
free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck
and pulled it backwards, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were
locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other -
Harry stood, transfixed by the sight; too intent upon the battle
to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted
him-
Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady
on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light - and
Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang - Crookshanks
flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.
'Expelliannus!' Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Petti-
grew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. 'Stay
where you are'.' Harry shouted, running forwards.
Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail
^ip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm, and heard a
scurrying through the grass.
There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see
the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest -
Sinus, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!' Harry yelled.
Sinus was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and
^k, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an
'"slant, the sound of his paws was fading to silence as he pounded
^ay across the grounds.
Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.
I What did he do to him?' Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were
280 harry potter

only half-closed; his mouth hung open. He was definitely all
they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recoeni
them. .
'I don't know.' B
Harry looked desperately around. Black and Lupin both gone
they had no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious,
in mid-air. ^
'We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone,' said
Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straightB
'Come --' ~
But then, out of the darkness, they heard a yelping, a whining- a dog in pain ...
'Sirius,' Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.
He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they
could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black
was in trouble -
Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him. The yelping
seemed to be coming from near the lake. They pelted towards it,
and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realising what it
must mean -
The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lake's shore
they saw why - Sirius had turned back into a man. He was
crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.
'Nooo,' he moaned. 'Noooo .... please ...'
And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of
them, gliding in a black mass around the lake towards them. He
spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog
starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the
darkness on every side; they were encircling them ...
'Hermione, think of something happy!' Harry yelled, raising his
wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his
head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it -
I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.
He forced himself to think of Sirius, and only Sirius, and began
to chant: 'Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!'
Black gave a shudder, rolled over and lay motionless on the
ground, pale as death.
He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him.
'Expecto patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto patronum.
'Expecto -' Hermione whispered, 'expecto - expecto -
the dementors' Kiss 281

But she couldn't do it. The Dementors were closing in, barely
ien feel ^TOm tnem- They formed a solid wall around Harry and
Hermione, and were getting closer ...
'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' Harry yelled, trying to blot the
screaming from his ears. 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!'
A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist
before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Hermione collapse
next to him. He was alone ... completely alone ...
'Expecto - expecto patronum -'
Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his
eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember - Sirius was
innocent - innocent - we'll be OK - I'm going to live with him -
'Expecto patronumi' he gasped.
By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a Dementor
halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver
mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from
under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the
Patronus aside.
'No - no -' Harry gasped. 'He's innocent ... expecto - expecto
patronum -'
He could feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like
an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be
considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands - and lowered
its hood.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, grey,
scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was
a mouth ... a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the
sound of a death-rattle.
A paralysing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or
speak. His Patronus flickered and died.
White fog was blinding him. He had to fight ... expecto patro- "um ... he couldn't see ... and in the distance, he heard the familiar
screaming ... expecto patronum ... he groped in the mist for Sirius,
and found his arm ... they weren't going to take him ...
But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly wrapped them- selves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upwards ...
e ^uld feel its breath ... it was going to get rid of him first ... he
tould feel its putrid breath ... his mother was screaming in his
^s ... she was going to be the last thing he ever heard -
"nd then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought
282 harry potter

he saw a silvery light, growing brighter and brighter ... he fpl
himself fall forwards onto the grass -
Face down, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened
his eyes. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around
him ... The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away
Something was driving the Dementors back ... it was circline^l
around him and Sirius and Hermione ... the rattling, sucking
sounds of the Dementors were fading. They were leaving ... the air
was warm again ...
With every ounce of strength he could muster. Harry raised his
head a few inches and saw an animal amidst the light, galloping
away across the lake. Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to
make out what it was ... it was bright as a unicorn. Fighting to
stay conscious. Harry watched it canter to a halt as it reached the
opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, somebody
welcoming it back ... raising his hand to pat it ... someone
who looked strangely familiar ... but it couldn't be ...
Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think any more. He felt
the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as
he fainted.
-- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE --

Hermione's Secret



'Shocking business ... shocking ... miracle none of them died ...
never heard the like ... by thunder, it was lucky you were there,

Snape...'
'Thank you. Minister.'
'Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can

wangle it!'
Thank you very much indeed. Minister.'
'Nasty cut you've got there ... Black's work, I suppose?'
'As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley and Granger, Minister...'
|1
No!''
'Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus
Charm, to judge by their behaviour. They seemed to think there
was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for
their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have
permitted Black to escape ... they obviously thought they were
going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great
deal before now ... I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion
of themselves ... and of course Potter has always been allowed an
extraordinary amount of licence by the Headmaster -
'Ah, well, Snape ... Harry Potter, you know ... we've all got a bit

i a blind spot where he's concerned.'
"And yet - is it good for him to be given so much special treatent?
Personally I try to treat him like any other student. And
sny other student would be suspended - at the very least - for
'eading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister: against
a" school rules - after all the precautions put in place for his pro- action - out of bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and
^murderer - and I have reason to believe he has been visiting
;

""gsmeade illegally, too -'

284 harry potter

'Well, well ... we shall see, Snape, we shall see ... the boy h J
undoubtedly been foolish ...'
Harry lay listening with his eyes tight shut. He felt very erogev
The words he was hearing seemed to be travelling very slowlv
from his ears to his brain, so that it was difficult to understand
His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift ... he wanted
to lie here, on this comfortable bed, for ever ...
'What amazes me most is the behaviour of the Dementors
you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?'
'No, Minister. By the time I had come round they were heading
back to their positions at the entrances ...'
'Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the girl -'
'All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and
gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers and brought them all
straight back to the castle.'
There was a pause. Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little
faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his
stomach ...
He opened his eyes.
Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his
glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of
the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to
him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted. Ron's red hair was visi^
ble beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm. B
Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his
right lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed. Her
eyes were open, too. She looked petrified, and when she saw that
Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the
hospital-wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge
and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.
Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to
Harry's bed. He turned to look at her. She was carrying the largest
block of chocolate he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a
small boulder.
'Ah, you're awake!' she said briskly She placed the chocolate on
Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a sroa
hammer.
'How's Ron?' said Harry and Hermione together.
'He'll live,' said Madam Pomfrey grimly 'As for you two^.
you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're - Potter, what
hermione's secret 285

you think you're doing?'
Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses back on and picking
up his wand.
"I need to see the Headmaster,' he said.
'Potter,' said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, 'it's all right. They've
-Qt Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be perorming
the Kiss any moment now -'
'WHAT?'
Harry jumped up out of bed; Hermione had done the same. But
his shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second,
Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.
'Harry, Harry, what's this?' said Fudge, looking agitated. 'You
should be in bed - has he had any chocolate?' he asked Madam
Pomfrey anxiously.
'Minister, listen!' Harry said. 'Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pet-
tigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the
Dementors do that thing to Sinus, he's --'
But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.
'Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a
dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under
control...'
'YOU HAVEN'T!' Harry yelled. 'YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG
MAN!'
'Minister, listen, please,' Hermione said; she had hurried to
Harry's side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. 'I saw
him, too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and -'
'You see. Minister?' said Snape. 'Confunded, both of them ...
Black's done a very good job on them ...'
'WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!' Harry roared,
'Minister! Professor!' said Madam Pomfrey angrily. 'I must
insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be
distressed!'
'I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!'
Harry said furiously. 'If they'd just listen -'
But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of choco- we into Harry's mouth. He choked, and she seized the opportun- 'ty to force him back onto the bed.
Now, please. Minister, these children need care. Please leave -'
The door opened again. It was Dumbledore. Harry swallowed
s "wuthful of chocolate with great difficulty, and got up again.
286 harry potter

'Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black -
'For heaven's sake!' said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. 'Is this
hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist -'
'My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr Potter and
Miss Granger,' said Dumbledore calmly. 'I have just been talking
to Sirius Black -'
'I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's
mind?' spat Snape. 'Something about a rat, and Pettigrew
being alive -'
'That, indeed, is Black's story,' said Dumbledore, surveying
Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.
'And does my evidence count for nothing?' snarled Snape.
'Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any
sign of him in the grounds.'
'That was because you were knocked out, Professor!' said
Hermione earnestly. 'You didn't arrive in time to hear -'
'Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!'
'Now, Snape,' said Fudge, startled, 'the young lady is disturbed
in her mind, we must make allowances -'
'I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone,' said Dumbledore
abruptly. 'Cornelius, Severus, Poppy - please leave us.'
'Headmaster!' spluttered Madam Pomfrey. 'They need treatment,
they need rest -'
'This cannot wait,' said Dumbledore. 'I must insist.'
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office
at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted
the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.
'The Dementors should have arrived by now,' he said. 'I'll go
and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs.'
He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape
hadn't moved.
'You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?' Snape whispered,
his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.
'I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone,' Dumbledore
repeated.
Snape took a step towards Dumbledore. .
'Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen,'
he breathed. 'You haven't forgotten that. Headmaster? o"
haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?' .
'My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus,' said uu
hermione's secret 287

dore quietly.
Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge
was still holding. It closed behind them and Dumbledore turned
. Harry and Hermione. They both burst into speech at the same

time.
'Professor, Black's telling the truth - we saw Pettigrew -'
'- he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf -'
- he's a rat -'
'- Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off -'
'- Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius -
But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of
explanations.
'It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me,
because there is very little time,' he said quietly. 'There is not a
shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word - and the
word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody.
A street full of eye-witnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Petti-
grew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been
the Potters' Secret-Keeper.'
'Professor Lupin can tell you -' Harry said, unable to stop
himself.
'Professor Lupin is currently deep in the Forest, unable to tell
anyone anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too
late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves
are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count
(or very little - and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends -'
'But -'
'Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must
see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing
than yours.'
'He hates Sirius,' Hermione said desperately. 'All because of
some stupid trick Sirius played on him -'
'Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the
Fat Lady - entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife - without Petti-
rew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius' senence,'


'But you believe us.'
Yes, I do,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'But I have no power to
"lake other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister for
Magic ...
288 harry potter

Harry stared up into the grave face and felt as though ihp^l
ground beneath him was falling sharply away. He had grown uspd
to the idea that Dumbledore could solve anything. He had expect
ed Dumbledore to pull some amazing solution out of the air. But
no ... their last hope was gone.
'What we need,' said Dumbledore slowly, and his light-blue
eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, 'is more time.' ^B
'But -' Hermione began. And then her eyes became very round
'OH!'
'Now, pay attention,' said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and
very clearly. 'Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the
seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West
Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one
innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you. You must
not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what is
at stake ... you - must - not -be- seen.'
Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. Dumbledore had
turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.
'I am going to lock you in. It is -' he consulted his watch, 'five
minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it.
Good luck.'
'Good luck?' Harry repeated, as the door closed behind Dumbledore.
'Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed
to do?'
But Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling
from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain.
'Harry, come here,' she said urgently. 'Quick!'
Harry moved towards her, completely bewildered. She was
holding the chain out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging
from it.
'Here -'
She had thrown the chain around his neck, too.
'Ready?' she said breathlessly.
'What are we doing?' Harry said, completely lost.
Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.
The dark ward dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was
flying, very fast, backwards. A blur of colours and shapes rushe
past him; his ears were pounding. He tried to yell but couldnt
hear his own voice -
And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything
hermione's secret 289

came into focus again -
He was standing next to Hermione in the deserted Entrance
Hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved
door from the open front doors. He looked wildly around at
Hermione, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck.
'Hennione, what -?'
'In here!' Hermione seized Harry's arm and dragged him across
the hall to the door of a broom cupboard; she opened it, pushed
him inside amongst the buckets and mops, followed him in, then
slammed the door behind them.
'What - how - Hermione, what happened?'
'We've gone back in time,' Hermione whispered, lifting the
chain off Harry's neck in the darkness. Three hours back ...'
Harry found his own leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a
lot, which seemed to rule out the possibility that he was having a
very bizarre dream.
'But -'
'Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think - I think it might be
us!'
Hermione had her ear pressed against the cupboard door.
'Footsteps across the hall ... yes, I think it's us going down to
Hagrid's!'
'Are you telling me,' Harry whispered, 'that we're here in this
cupboard and we're out there, too?'
'Yes,' said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door.
'I'm sure it's us ... it doesn't sound like more than three people ...
and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility
Cloak-
She broke off, still listening intently
'We've gone down the front steps ...'
Hermione sat down on an upturned bucket; looking desperately
anxious, Harry wanted a few questions answered.
'Where did you get that hourglass thing?'
'It's called a Time-Turner,' Hermione whispered, 'and I got it
from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using
n a^ year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me
swear 1 wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to
the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them
tnat! was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for any- '^g except my studies ... I've been turning it back so I could do
290 harry potter

hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at
once, see? But...
'Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do. Why
did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sir- his ?'
Harry stared at her shadowy face.
There must be something that happened around now he wants
us to change,' he said slowly. 'What happened? We were walking
down to Hagrid's three hours ago ...'
This is three hours ago, and we are walking down to Hagrid's,'
said Hermione. 'We just heard ourselves leaving ...'
Harry frowned; he felt as though he was screwing up his whole
brain in concentration.
'Dumbledore just said - just said we could save more than one
innocent life ...' And then it hit him. 'Hermione, we're going to
save Buckbeak!'
'But - how will that help Sinus?'
'Dumbledore said - he just told us where the window is - the
window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up!
We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sinus!
Sirius can escape on Buckbeak - they can escape together!'
From what Harry could see of Hermione's face, she looked
terrified.
'If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!'
'Well, we've got to try, haven't we?' said Harry. He stood up and
pressed his own ear against the door.
'Doesn't sound like anyone's there ... come on, let's go ...'
Harry pushed the cupboard door open. The Entrance Hall was
deserted. As quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of
the cupboard and down the stone steps. The shadows were
already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest
gilded once more with gold.
'If anyone's looking out of the window -' Hermione squeaked,
looking up at the castle behind them.
'We'll run for it,' said Harry determinedly 'Straight into the forest,
all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and
keep a lookout -'
'OK, but we'll go round by the greenhouses!' said Hermione
breathlessly 'We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door,
or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!'
hermione's secret 291

Still working out what she meant. Harry set off at a sprint,
ugnnione behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to
the greenhouses, paused for a moment behind them, then set off
again, t851- as ^Y could, skirting around the Whomping Willow,
tearing towards the shelter of the Forest...
Safe in the shadows of the trees. Harry turned around; seconds
later, Hermione arrived beside him, panting.
'Right,' she gasped, 'we need to sneak over to Hagrid's. Keep out
of sight, Harry ...'
They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the
very edge of the Forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of
Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved
quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side.
Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking
around to see who had knocked. And Harry heard his own voice.
'It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we
can take it off.'
'Yeh shouldn've come!' Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then
shut the door quickly.
This is the weirdest thing we've ever done,' Harry said fervently.
'Let's move along a bit,' Hermione whispered. 'We need to get
nearer to Buckbeak!'
They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous Hip-
pogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.
'Now?' Harry whispered.
'No!' said Hermione. 'If we steal him now, those Committee
people will think Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until
they've seen he's tied outside!'
That's going to give us about sixty seconds,' said Harry. This
was starting to seem impossible.
At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from
'"side Hagrid's cabin.
That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug,' Hermione whispered. 'I'm
going to find Scabbers in a moment -'
Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Hermione's shriek
of surprise.
'Hermione,' said Harry suddenly, 'what if we - we just run in
Aere, and grab Pettigrew -'
No!' said Hermione in a terrified whisper. 'Don't you under- ^nd? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws!
292 harry potter

Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumble
dore, if we're seen -'
'We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!'
'Harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself burstin?
into Hagrid's house?' said Hermione.
'I'd - I'd think I'd gone mad,' said Harry, 'or I'd think there was
some Dark Magic going on -'
'Exactly! You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourself!
Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me what awful
things have happened when wizards have meddled with time
loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by
mistake!'
'OK!' said Harry. 'It was just an idea, I just thought -'
But Hermione nudged him, and pointed towards the castle.
Harry moved his head a few inches to get a clear view of the distant
front doors. Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member,
and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.
'We're about to come out!' Hermione breathed.
And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened,
and Harry saw himself, Ron and Hermione walking out of it with
Hagrid. It was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of his life,
standing behind the tree, and watching himself in the pumpkin
patch.
'It's OK, Beaky, it's OK ...' Hagrid said to Buckbeak. Then he
turned to Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'Go on. Get goin'.'
'Hagrid, we can't -'
'We'll tell them what really happened -'
'They can't kill him -'
'Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!'
Harry watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the
Invisibility Cloak over himself and Ron.
'Go quick. Don' listen ...'
There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party
had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his
cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten
in patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of teet
retreating. He, Ron and Hermione had gone ... but the Harry an
Hermione hidden in the trees could now hear what was happe""
ing inside the cabin through the back door.
'Where is the beast?' came the cold voice of Macnair.
hermione's secret 293

'Qyt _ outside,' Hagrid croaked.
Harry pulled his head out of sight as Macnair's face appeared at
Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then they heard Fudge.
'We - er - have to read you the official notice of execution,
Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign
it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure -'
Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.
'Wait here,' Harry whispered to Hermione. 'I'll do it.'
As Fudge's voice started again, Harry darted out from behind
his tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch and
approached Buckbeak.
'It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous
Creatures that the Hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned,
shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown -'
Careful not to blink, Harry stared up into Buckbeak's fierce
orange eye once more, and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly
knees and then stood up again. Harry began to fumble with the
rope tying Buckbeak to the fence.
"... sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the
Committee's appointed executionei; Walden Macnair ...'
'Come on, Buckbeak,' Harry murmured, 'come on, we're going
to help you. Quietly ... quietly ...'
'... as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here ...'
Harry threw all his weight onto the rope, but Buckbeak had
dug in his front feet.
'Well, let's get this over with,' said the reedy voice of the Comittee
member from inside Hagrid's cabin. 'Hagrid, perhaps it
would be better if you stayed inside --'
'No, I -1 wan' ter be with him ... I don' wan' him ter be alone -
Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.
'Buckbeak, move!' Harry hissed.
Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck. The
Hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They were
51111 ten feet away from the Forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back
door.
'One moment, please, Macnair,' came Dumbledore's voice. 'You
"sed to sign, too.' The footsteps stopped. Harry heaved on the
^pe. Buckbeak snapped his beak and walked a little faster.
Hermione's white face was sticking out from behind a tree.
'Harry, hurry!' she mouthed.
294 harry potter

Harry could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within
the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak broke into
a grudging trot. They had reached the trees ...
'Quick! Quick!' Hermione moaned, darting out from behind
her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make
Buckbeak move faster. Harry looked over his shoulder; they were
now blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.
'Stop!' he whispered to Hermione. 'They might hear us -'
Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione
and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the Hippogriff seemed to be
listening intently.
Silence ... then-
'Where is it?' said the reedy voice of the Committee member.
'Where is the beast?'
'It was tied here!' said the executioner furiously. 'I saw it! Just
here!'
'How extraordinary,' said Dumbledore. There was a note of
amusement in his voice.
'Beaky!' said Hagrid huskily.
There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner
seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. And then
came the howling, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words
through his sobs.
'Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone! Musta pulled himself
free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!'
Buckbeak started to strain against the rope, trying to get back
to Hagrid. Harry and Hermione tightened their grip and dug their
heels into the Forest floor to stop him.
'Someone untied him!' the executioner was snarling. 'We
should search the grounds, the Forest -'
'Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really
think the thief will have led him away on foot?' said Dumbledore,
still sounding amused. 'Search the skies, if you will ... Hagrid,
could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy.'
'0' - o' course, Professor,' said Hagrid, who sounded weak with
happiness. 'Come in, come in ...'
Harry and Hermione listened closely They heard footsteps, the
soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and t
silence once more.
'Now what?' whispered Harry, looking around.
hermione's secret 295

'We'll have to t^de in here,' said Hermione, who looked very
shaken. 'We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle.
Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius' window.
He won't be there for another couple of hours ...oh, this is going
to be difficult...'
She looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the
Forest. The sun was setting now.
'We're going to have to move,' said Harry, thinking hard. 'We've
rot to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know
what's going on.'
'OK,' said Hermione, getting a firmer grip on Buckbeak's rope.
'But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry, remember ...'
They moved around the edge of the Forest, darkness falling
thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of
trees through which they could make out the Willow.
There's Ron!' said Harry suddenly.
A dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout
echoed through the still night air.
'Get away from him - get away - Scabbers, come here -
And then they saw two more figures materialise out of
nowhere. Harry watched himself and Hermione chasing after Ron.
Then he saw Ron dive.
'Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat -'
'There's Sirius!' said Harry. The great shape of the dog had
bounded out from the roots of the Willow. They saw him bowl
Harry over, then seize Ron ...
'Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?' said Harry, watching
the dog pulling Ron into the roots. 'Ouch - look, I just got walloped
by the tree - and so did you - this is weird -
The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its
lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there,
trying to reach the trunk. And then the tree froze.
'That was Crookshanks pressing the knot,' said Hermione.
'And there we go ...' Harry muttered. 'We're in.'
The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again.
Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. Dumbledore,
"lacnair, Fudge and the old Committee member were making
_heir way up to the castle.
I 'Right after we'd gone down into the passage!' said Hermione.
11 only Dumbledore had come with us ...'
296 harry potter

'Macnair and Fudge would've come too,' said Harry bitterly 'I
bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius
on the spot...'
They watched the four men climb the castle steps and disan-
pear from view. For a few minutes the scene was deserted. Then -
'Here comes Lupin!' said Harry, as they saw another figure
sprinting down the stone steps and haring towards the Willow
Harry looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon
completely.
They watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground
and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and
Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.
Tfhe'd only grabbed the Cloak,' said Harry. 'It's just lying there ...'
He turned to Hermione.
If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able
to get it and -'
'Harry, we mustn't be seen!'
'How can you stand this?' he asked Hermione fiercely. 'Just
standing here and watching it happen?' He hesitated. 'I'm going to
grab the Cloak!'
'Harry, no!'
Hermione seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too
soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making
his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving
slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his
hands.
'See?' Hermione whispered. 'See what would have happened?
We've got to keep out of sight! No, BuckbeakF
The Hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagnd
again; Harry seized his rope, too, straining to hold Buckbeak
back. They watched Hagrid meander tipsily up to the castle. He
was gone. Buckbeak stopped fighting to get away. His head
drooped sadly.
Barely two minutes later, the castle doors flew open yet again,
and Snape had come charging out of them, running towards the
Willow.
Harry's fists clenched as they watched Snape skid to a halt next
to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the Cloak and held it up.
'Get your filthy hands off it,' Harry snarled under his breath.
'Shh!'
hermione's secret 297

Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree,
nrodded the knot, and vanished from view as he put on the Cloak.
'So that's it,' said Hermione quietly. 'We're all down there ... and
now we've just got to wait until we come back up again .,.'
She took the end of Buckbeak's rope and tied it securely around
the nearest tree, then sat down on the dry ground, arms around
her knees.
'Harry, there's something I don't understand ... why didn't the
Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think
I passed out... there were so many of them ...'
Harry sat down, too. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the
nearest Dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the
Dementors to retreat.
Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished.

'But what was it?'
'There's only one thing it could have been, to make the Dementors
go,' said Harry. 'A real Patronus. A powerful one.'
'But who conjured it?'
Harry didn't say anything. He was thinking back to the person
he'd seen on the other bank of the lake. He knew who he thought
it had been ... but how could it have been?
'Didn't you see what they looked like?' said Hermione eagerly.
'Was it one of the teachers?'
'No,' said Harry. 'He wasn't a teacher.'
'But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all
those Dementors away ... If the Patronus was shining so brightly,
didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see -?'
'Yeah, I saw him,' said Harry slowly. 'But ... maybe I imagined it
u- I wasn't thinking straight... I passed out right afterwards ...'
'Who did you think it was?'
"I think - Harry swallowed, knowing how strange this was
going to sound. 'I think it was my dad.'
Harry glanced up at Hermione and saw that her mouth was
tully open now. She was gazing at him with a mixture of alarm
and pity
'Harry, your dad's - well - dead,' she said quietly.
'I know that,' said Harry quickly
You think you saw his ghost?'
298 harry potter

'I don't know ... no ... he looked solid ...'
'But then -'
'Maybe I was seeing things,' said Harry. 'But ... from what 1
could see ... it looked like him ... I've got photos of him ...'
Hermione was still looking at him as though worried about his
sanity.
'I know it sounds mad,' said Harry flatly. He turned to look at
Buckbeak, who was digging his beak into the ground, apparently
searching for worms. But he wasn't really watching Buckbeak.
He was thinking about his father, and about his three oldest
friends ... Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs ... Had all four of
them been out in the grounds tonight? Wormtail had reappeared
this evening when everyone had thought he was dead - was it so
impossible his father had done the same? Had he been seeing
things across the lake? The figure had been too far away to see
distinctly ... yet he had felt sure, for a moment, before he'd lost
consciousness ...
The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze. The moon
drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione
sat with her face turned towards the Willow, waiting.
And then, at last, after over an hour ...
'Here we come!' Hermione whispered.
She and Harry got to their feet. Buckbeak raised his head. They
saw Lupin, Ron and Pettigrew clambering awkwardly out of the
hole in the roots. Then came Hermione ... then the unconscious
Snape, drifting weirdly upwards. Next came Harry and Black.
They all began to walk towards the castle.
Harry's heart was starting to beat very fast. He glanced up at the
sky. Any moment now, that cloud was going to move aside and
show the moon ...
'Harry,' Hermione muttered, as though she knew exactly what
he was thinking, 'we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen.
There's nothing we can do ...'
'So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again ...' said
Harry quietly.
'How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?' snapped
Hermione. 'There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sir- his . We're not supposed to be doing anything else!'
'All right!'
The moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny
hermione's secret 299

figures across the grounds stop. Then they saw movement -
'There goes Lupin,' Hermione whispered. 'He's transforming -'
'Hermione!' said Harry suddenly. 'We've got to move!'
'We mustn't, I keep telling you -
'Not to interfere! But Lupin's going to run into the Forest, right
at us!'
Hermione gasped.
'Quick!' she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. 'Quick!
Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The
Dementors will be coming any moment -'
'Back to Hagrid's!' Harry said. 'It's empty now - come on!'
They ran, fast as they could, Buckbeak cantering along behind
them. They could hear the werewolf howling behind them ...
The cabin was in sight. Harry skidded to the door, wrenched it
open and Hermione and Buckbeak flashed past him; Harry threw
himself in after them and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound
barked loudly.
'Shh, Fang, it's us!' said Hermione, hurrying over and scratching
his ears to quieten him. 'That was really close!' she said to
Harry.
'Yeah...'
Harry was looking out of the window. It was much harder to
see what was going on from here. Buckbeak seemed very happy to
find himself back inside Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of
the fire, folded his wings contentedly and seemed ready for a good
nap.
"I think I'd better go outside again, you know,' said Harry slowly
'I can't see what's going on - we won't know when it's time -'
Hermione looked up. Her expression was suspicious.
'I'm not going to try and interfere,' said Harry quickly. 'But if we
don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time
to rescue Sirius?'
'Well ... OK, then ... I'll wait here with Buckbeak ... but Harry,
be careful - there's a werewolf out there - and the Dementors -'
Harry stepped outside again and edged around the cabin. He
could hear yelping in the distance. That meant the Dementors
^re closing in on Sirius ... he and Hermione would be running to
him any moment...
Harry stared out towards the lake, his heart doing a kind of
drum-roll in his chest. Whoever had sent that Patronus would be
300 harry potter

appearing at any moment.
For a fraction of a second he stood, irresolute, in front of
Hagrid's door. You must not be seen. But he didn't want to be seen
He wanted to do the seeing ... he had to know ...
And there were the Dementors. They were emerging out of the
darkness from every direction, gliding around the edges of the
lake ... they were moving away from where Harry stood, to the
opposite bank ... he wouldn't have to get near them ...
Harry began to run. He had no thought in his head except his
father ... If it was him ... if it really was him ... he had to know,
had to find out...
The lake was coming nearer and nearer, but there was no sign
of anybody. On the opposite bank, he could see tiny glimmers of
silver - his own attempts at a Patronus -
There was a bush at the very edge of the water. Harry threw
himself behind it, peering desperately through the leaves. On the
opposite bank, the glimmers of silver were suddenly extinguished.
A terrified excitement shot through him - any moment now -
'Come on!' he muttered, staring about. 'Where are you? Dad,
come on -
But no one came. Harry raised his head to look at the circle of
Dementors across the lake. One of them was lowering its hood. It
was time for the rescuer to appear - but no one was coming to
help this time -
And then it hit him - he understood. He hadn't seen his father - he had seen himself -
Harry flung himself out from behind the bush and pulled out
his wand.
'EXPECTO PATRONUM!' he yelled.
And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of
mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal. He screwed up his
eyes, trying to see what it was. It looked like a horse. It was galloping
silently away from him, across the black surface of the
lake. He saw it lower its head and charge at the swarming Dementors ...
now it was galloping around and around the black shapes
on the ground, and the Dementors were falling back, scattering,
retreating into the darkness ... they were gone.
The Patronus turned. It was cantering back towards Harry
across the still surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasnt a
unicorn, either. It was a stag. It was shining brightly as the moon
hermione's secret 301

above ... it was coming back to him ...
It stopped on the bank. Its hooves made no mark on the soft
ground as it stared at Harry with its large, silver eyes. Slowly, it
bowed its antlered head. And Harry realised ...
'Prongs,' he whispered.
But as his trembling fingertips stretched towards the creature, it
vanished.
Harry stood there, hand still outstretched. Then, with a great
leap of his heart, he heard hooves behind him - he whirled
around and saw Hermione dashing towards him, dragging Buck-
beak behind her.
'What did you do?' she said fiercely. 'You said you were only
going to keep a lookout!'
'I just saved all our lives ...' said Harry. 'Get behind here -
behind this bush - I'll explain.'
Hermione listened to what had just happened with her mouth
open yet again.
'Did anyone see you?'
'Yes, haven't you been listening? I saw me but I thought I was
my dad! It's OK!'
'Harry, I can't believe it - you conjured up a Patronus that drove
away all those Dementors! That's very, very advanced magic ...'
'I knew I could do it this time,' said Harry, 'because I'd already
done it... Does that make sense?'
'I don't know - Harry, look at Snape!'
-- Together they peered around the bush at the other bank. Snape
had regained consciousness. He was conjuring stretchers and lifting
the limp forms of Harry, Hermione and Black onto them. A
fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his
side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away
towards the castle.
'Right, it's nearly time,' said Hermione tensely, looking at her
watch. 'We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore
locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sinus and
get back into the ward before anybody realises we're missing ...'
They waited, watching the moving clouds reflected in the lake,
while the bush next to them whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak,
bored, was ferreting for worms again.
'D'you reckon he's up there yet?' said Harry, checking his
watch. He looked up at the castle, and began counting the win-
302 harry potter

dows to the right of the West Tower.
'Look!' Hermione whispered. 'Who's that? Someone's coming
back out of the castle!'
Harry stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying
across the grounds, towards one of the entrances. Something
shiny glinted in his belt.
'Macnair!' said Harry. 'The executioner! He's gone to get the
Dementors! This is it, Hermione -'
Hermione put her hands on Buckbeak's back and Harry gave
her a leg up. Then he placed his foot on one of the lower branches
of the bush and climbed up in front of her. He pulled Buckbeak's
rope back over his neck and tied it to the other side of his collar
like reins.
'Ready?' he whispered to Hermione. 'You'd better hold on to me -'
He nudged Buckbeak's sides with his heels.
Buckbeak soared straight into the dark air. Harry gripped his
flanks with his knees, feeling the great wings rising powerfully
beneath them. Hermione was holding Harry very tightly around
the waist; he could hear her muttering, 'Oh, no - I don't like this -
oh, I really don't like this -'
Harry urged Buckbeak forwards. They were gliding quietly
towards the upper floors of the castle ... Harry pulled hard on the
left-hand side of the rope, and Buckbeak turned. Harry was trying
to count the windows flashing past -
'Whoa!' he said, pulling backwards as hard as he could.
Buckbeak slowed down and they found themselves at a stop,
unless you counted the fact that they kept rising up and down
several feet as he beat his wings to remain airborne.
'He's there!' Harry said, spotting Sirius as they rose up beside
the window. He reached out, and as Buckbeak's wings fell, was
able to tap sharply on the glass.
Black looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his
chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was
locked.
'Stand back!' Hermione called to him, and she took out her
wand, still gripping the back of Harry's robes with her left hand.
'Alohomora!'
The window sprang open.
'How - how -?' said Black weakly, staring at the Hippogriff.
'Get on - there's not much time,' said Harry gripping Buckbea
hermione's secret 303

firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. 'You've
got to get out of here - the Dementors are coming. Macnair's gone
to get them.'
Black placed a hand on either side of the window-frame and
heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was
so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buck-
beak's back, and pull himself onto the Hippogriff behind
Hermione.
'OK, Buckbeak, up!' said Harry, shaking the rope. 'Up to the
tower-come on!'
The Hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they
were soaring upwards again, high as the top of the West Tower.
Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements and Harry and
Hermione slid off him at once.
'Sinus, you'd better go, quick,' Harry panted. 'They'll reach
Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you've gone.'
Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.
'What happened to the other boy? Ron?' said Sirius urgently.
'He's going to be OK - he's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey
says she'll be able to make him better. Quick - go!'
But Black was still staring down at Harry.
'How can I ever thank -'
'GO!' Harry and Hermione shouted together.
Black wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.
'We'll see each other again,' he said. 'You are - truly your father's
son, Harry...'
He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and
Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more ...
the Hippogriff took off into the air ... he and his rider became
smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them ... then a cloud
drifted across the moon ... they were gone.
-- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO --

Owl Post Again

'Harry!'
Hermione was tugging at his sleeve, staring at her watch.
'We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital
wing without anybody seeing us - before Dumbledore locks the
door -'
'OK,' said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, 'let's go ...'
They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a
tightly spiralling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it,
they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and
listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking
quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.
' ... only hope Dumbledore's not going to make difficulties,'
Snape was saying. 'The Kiss will be performed immediately?'
'As soon as Macnair returns with the Dementors. This whole
Black affair has been highly embarrassing. I can't tell you how
much I'm looking forward to informing the Daily Prophet that
we've got him at last ... I daresay they'll want to interview you,
Snape ... and once young Harry's back in his right mind, I expect
he'll want to tell the Prophet exactly how you saved him ...'
Harry clenched his teeth. He caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk
as he and Fudge passed Harry and Hermione's hiding place. Their
footsteps died away. Harry and Hermione waited a few moments
to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite
direction. Down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor -
then they heard a cackling ahead.
'Peeves?' Harry muttered, grabbing Hermione's wrist. 'In here!
They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time.
Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in tearing spirits,
laughing his head off.
'Oh, he's horrible,' whispered Hermione, her ear to the door.
B owl post again 305

bet he's all excited because the Dementors are going to finish Sir- his ...' She checked her watch. 'Three minutes. Harry!'
They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance,
then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.
'Hermione - what'll happen - if we don't get back inside -
before Dumbledore locks the door?' Harry panted.
"I don't want to think about it!' Hermione moaned, checking
her watch again. 'One minute!'
They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital-
wing entrance. 'OK - I can hear Dumbledore,' said Hermione
tensely. 'Come on. Harry!'
They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's
back appeared.
'I am going to lock you in,' they heard him saying. 'It is five
minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it.
Good luck.'
Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door and took
out his wand to magically lock it. Panicking, Harry and Hermione
ran forwards. Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared
under the long silver moustache. 'Well?' he said quietly.
'We did it!' said Harry breathlessly. 'Sirius has gone, on Buck-
beak ...'
Dumbledore beamed at them.
'Well done. I think -' he listened intently for any sound within
the hospital wing. 'Yes, I think you've gone, too. Get inside - I'll
lock you in --
Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was
empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end
bed. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry and Hermione crept
back to their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back
under her robes. Next moment, Madam Pomfrey had come striding
back out of her office.
'Did I hear the Headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after
my patients now?'
She was in a very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it
best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over
them, making sure they ate it. But Harry could hardly swallow. He
and Hermione were waiting, listening, their nerves jangling ...
And then, as they both took a fourth piece of chocolate from
Madam Pomfrey, they heard a distant roar of fury echoing from
306 harry potter

somewhere above them ...
'What was that?' said Madam Pomfrey in alarm.
Now they could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder.
Madam Pomfrey was staring at the door.
'Really - they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're
doing?'
Harry was trying to hear what the voices were saying. They
were drawing nearer -
'He must have Disapparated, Severus, we should have left
somebody in the room with him. When this gets out --'
'HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!' Snape roared, now very close at
hand. 'YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS
CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH -
POTTER!'
'Severus - be reasonable - Harry has been locked up -'
BARN.
The door of the hospital wing burst open.
Fudge, Snape and Dumbledore came striding into the ward.
Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he
was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was
beside himself.
'OUT WITH IT, POTTER!' he bellowed. 'WHAT DID YOU DO?'
'Professor Snape!' shrieked Madam Pomfrey. 'Control yourself!'
'See here, Snape, be reasonable,' said Fudge. 'This door's been
locked, we just saw -'
'THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!' Snape howled,
pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted, spit was
flying from his mouth.
'Calm down, man!' Fudge barked. 'You're talking nonsense!'
'YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!' shrieked Snape. 'HE DID IT, I
KNOW HE DID IT -'
That will do, Severus,' said Dumbledore quietly 'Think about what
you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten
minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?
'Of course not!' said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. 'I've been with
them ever since you left!'
'Well, there you have it, Severus,' said Dumbledore calmly
'Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be
in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling
them further.'
owl post again 307

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, whose eyes
were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes
swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.
'Fellow seems quite unbalanced,' said Fudge, staring after him.
Td watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore.'
'Oh, he's not unbalanced,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'He's just
suffered a severe disappointment.'
'He's not the only one!' puffed Fudge. 'The Daily Prophet's going
to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped
through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of
that Hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughing stock!
Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry ...
'And the Dementors?' said Dumbledore. 'They'll be removed
from the school, I trust?'
'Oh, yes, they'll have to go,' said Fudge, running his fingers disractedly
through his hair. 'Never dreamed they'd attempt to
administer the Kiss on an innocent boy ... completely out of control ...
No, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight. Perhaps
we should think about dragons at the school entrance ...'
'Hagrid would like that,' said Dumbledore, with a swift smile at
Harry and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory. Madam
Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily
to herself, she headed back to her office.
There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had
woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking
around.
'What - what happened?' he groaned. 'Harry? Why are we in
here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?'
Harry and Hermione looked at each other.
'You explain,' said Harry, helping himself to some more chocolate.
*
When Harry, Ron and Hermione left the hospital wing at noon
next day, it was to find an almost deserted castle. The sweltering
heat and the end of the exams meant that everyone was taking full
advantage of another Hogsmeade visit. Neither Ron nor Hermione
felt like going, however, so they and Harry wandered into the
grounds, still talking about the extraordinary events of the previous
night and wondering where Sirius and Buckbeak were now.
Sitting near the lake, watching the giant squid waving its tentacles
308 harry potter

lazily above the water. Harry lost the thread of the conversation as
he looked across to the opposite bank. The stag had galloped
towards him from there just last night...
A shadow fell across them and they looked up to see a very
bleary-eyed Hagrid, mopping his sweaty face with one of his
tablecloth-sized handkerchiefs and beaming down at them.
'Know I shouldn' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night,' he
said. 'I mean. Black escapin' again, an' everythin' - but guess
what?'
'What?' they said, pretending to look curious.
'Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebratin' all night!'
'That's wonderful!' said Hermione, giving Ron a reproving look
because he looked as though he was close to laughing.
'Yeah ... can't've tied him up properly,' said Hagrid, gazing happily
out over the grounds. 'I was worried this mornin', mind ...
thought he mighta met Professor Lupin in the grounds, but Lupin
says he never ate anythin' las' night...'
'What?' said Harry quickly.
'Blimey, haven' yeh heard?' said Hagrid, his smile fading a little.
He lowered his voice, even though there was nobody in sight. 'Er
- Snape told all the Slytherins this momin' ... thought everyone'd
know by now ... Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was
loose in the grounds las' night. He's packin' now, o' course.'
'He's packing?' said Harry, alarmed. 'Why?'
'Leavin', isn' he?' said Hagrid, looking surprised that Harry had
to ask. 'Resigned firs' thing this momin'. Says he can' risk it hap-
penin' again.'
Harry scrambled to his feet.
'I'm going to see him,' he said to Ron and Hermione.
'But if he's resigned -'
'- doesn't sound like there's anything we can do -'
'I don't care. I still want to see him. I'll meet you back here.'
*
Lupin's office door was open. He had already packed most of his
things. The Grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old
suitcase, which was open and nearly full. Lupin was bending over
something on his desk, and only looked up when Harry knocked
on the door.
'I saw you coming,' said Lupin, smiling. He pointed to the
parchment he had been poring over. It was the Marauder's Map.
owl post again 309

'I just saw Hagrid,' said Harry. 'And he said you'd resigned. It's
not true, is it?'
'I'm afraid it is,' said Lupin. He started opening his desk drawers
and taking out the contents.
'Why?' said Harry. 'The Ministry of Magic don't think you were
helping Sinus, do they?'
Lupin crossed to the door and closed it behind Harry.
'No. Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I
was trying to save your lives.' He sighed. 'That was the final straw
for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard.
So he - er - accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning
at breakfast.'
'You're not leaving just because of that!' said Harry.
| Lupin smiled wryly
'This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents -
they will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And
after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you ...
that must never happen again.'
'You're the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've
ever had!' said Harry. 'Don't go!'
Lupin shook his head and didn't speak. He carried on emptying
his drawers. Then, while Harry was trying to think of a good
argument to make him stay, Lupin said, 'From what the Headmaster
told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night. Harry.
If I'm proud of anything, it's how much you've learned. Tell me
about your Patronus.'
'How d'you know about that?' said Harry, distracted.
'What else could have driven the Dementors back?'
Harry told Lupin what had happened. When he'd finished,
Lupin was smiling again.
'Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed,' he
said. 'You guessed right... that's why we called him Prongs.'
Lupin threw his last few books into his case, closed the desk
drawers and turned to look at Harry.
'Here - I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night,' he
said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. 'And ...' he hesitated,
then held out the Marauder's Map, too. 'I am no longer your
teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you this back as well.
It's no use to me, and I daresay you, Ron and Hermione will find
uses for it.'

-life..

310 harry potter

Harry took the map and grinned.
'You told me Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs would've
wanted to lure me out of school... you said they'd have thought it
was funny.'
'And so we would have done,' said Lupin, now reaching down
to close his case. 'I have no hesitation in saying that James would
have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of
the secret passages out of the castle.'
There was a knock on the door. Harry hastily stuffed the
Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket.
It was Professor Dumbledore. He didn't look surprised to see
Harry there.
'Your carriage is at the gates, Remus,' he said.
'Thank you. Headmaster.'
Lupin picked up his old suitcase and the empty Grindylow
tank.
'Well - goodbye. Harry,' he said, smiling. 'It has been a real
pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again some time.
Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage ...'
Harry had the impression that Lupin wanted to leave as quickly
as possible.
'Goodbye, then, Remus,' said Dumbledore soberly. Lupin shifted
the Grindylow tank slightly so that he and Dumbledore could
shake hands. Then, with a final nod to Harry, and a swift smile,
Lupin left the office.
Harry sat down in his vacated chair, staring glumly at the floor.
He heard the door close and looked up. Dumbledore was still there.
'Why so miserable. Harry?' he said quietly. 'You should be very
proud of yourself after last night.'
'It didn't make any difference,' said Harry bitterly 'Pettigrew got
away.'
'Didn't make any difference?' said Dumbledore quietly. 'It made
all the difference in the world. Harry. You helped uncover the
truth. You saved an innocent man from a terrible fate.'
Terrible. Something stirred in Harry's memory. Greater and more
terrible than ever before ... Professor Trelawney's prediction!
'Professor Dumbledore - yesterday, when I was having my Divination
exam. Professor Trelawney went very - very strange.'
'Indeed?' said Dumbledore. 'Er - stranger than usual, you
mean?'
owl post again 311

'Yes ... her voice went all deep and her eyes rolled and she said
... she said Voldemort's servant was going to set out to return to
him before midnight... she said the servant would help him come
back to power.' Harry stared up at Dumbledore. 'And then she sort
of became normal again, and she couldn't remember anything
she'd said. Was it - was she making a real prediction?'
Dumbledore looked mildly impressed.
'Do you know, Harry, I think she might have been,' he said
thoughtfully. 'Who'd have thought it? That brings her total of real
predictions up to two. I should offer her a pay rise ...'
'But - Harry looked at him, aghast. How could Dumbledore
take this so calmly?
'But - I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin killing Pettigrew!
That makes it my fault, if Voldemort comes back!'
'It does not,' said Dumbledore quietly. 'Hasn't your experience
with the Time-Turner taught you anything, Harry? The consequences
of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that
predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed ... Professor
Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that. You did a very
noble thing, in saving Pettigrew's life.'
'But if he helps Voldemort back to power -I'
'Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a
deputy who is in your debt. When one wizard saves another wizard's
life, it creates a certain bond between them ... and I'm much
mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.'

'I don't want a bond with Pettigrew!' said Harry. 'He betrayed
my parents!'
'This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable. Harry. But
trust me ... the time may come when you will be very glad you
saved Pettigrew's life.'
Harry couldn't imagine when that would be. Dumbledore
looked as though he knew what Harry was thinking.
'I knew your father very well, both at Hogwarts and later,
Harry,' he said gently. 'He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am
sure of it.'
Harry looked up at him. Dumbledore wouldn't laugh - he
could tell Dumbledore ...
'Last night ... I thought it was my dad who'd conjured my
Patronus. I mean, when I saw myself across the lake ... I thought I
312 harry potter

was seeing him.'
'An easy mistake to make,' said Dumbledore softly. 'I expect
you're tired of hearing it, but you do look extraordinarily like
James. Except for your eyes ... you have your mother's eyes.'
Harry shook his head.
'It was stupid, thinking it was him,' he muttered. 'I mean, I
knew he was dead.'
'You think the dead we have loved ever truly leave us? You
think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of
great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself
most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you
produce that particular Patronus? Prongs rode again last night.'
It took a moment for Harry to realise what Dumbledore had said.
'Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi last night,'
said Dumbledore, smiling. 'An extraordinary achievement - not
least, keeping it quiet from me. And then I remembered the most
unusual form your Patronus took, when it charged Mr Malfoy
down at your Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. So you did see
your father last night. Harry ... you found him inside yourself.'
And Dumbledore left the office, leaving Harry to his very confused
thoughts.
*
Nobody at Hogwarts knew the truth of what had happened the
night that Sirius, Buckbeak and Pettigrew had vanished except
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Professor Dumbledore. As the end of
term approached, Harry heard many different theories about what
had really happened, but none of them came close to the truth.
Malfoy was furious about Buckbeak. He was convinced that
Hagrid had found a way of smuggling the Hippogriff to safety, and
seemed outraged that he and his father had been outwitted by a
gamekeeper. Percy Weasley, meanwhile, had much to say on the
subject of Sirius's escape.
'If I manage to get into the Ministry, I'll have a lot of proposals
to make about Magical Law Enforcement!' he told the only person
who would listen - his girlfriend, Penelope.
Though the weather was perfect, though the atmosphere was so
cheerful, though he knew they had achieved the near impossible
in helping Sirius to freedom. Harry had never approached the end
of a school year in worse spirits.
He certainly wasn't the only one who was sorry to see Professor
owl post again 313

Lupin go. The whole of Harry's Defence Against the Dark Arts
class were miserable about his resignation.
'Wonder what they'll give us next year?' said Seamus Finnigan
gloomily.
'Maybe a vampire,' suggested Dean Thomas hopefully.
It wasn't only Professor Lupin's departure that was weighing on
Harry's mind. He couldn't help thinking a lot about Professor
Trelawney's prediction. He kept wondering where Pettigrew was
now, whether he had sought sanctuary with Voldemort yet. But
the thing that was lowering Harry's spirits most of all was the
prospect of returning to the Dursleys. For maybe half an hour, a
glorious half-hour, he had believed he would be living with Sirius
from now on ... his parents' best friend ... it would have been the
next best thing to having his own father back. And while no news
of Sirius was definitely good news, because it meant he had successfully
gone into hiding. Harry couldn't help feeling miserable
when he thought of the home he might have had, and the fact
,,that it was now impossible.
I The exam results came out on the last day of term. Harry, Ron
and Hermione had passed every subject. Harry was amazed that
he had got through Potions. He had a shrewd suspicion that
Dumbledore had stepped in to stop Snape failing him on purpose.
Snape's behaviour towards Harry over the past week had been
quite alarming. Harry wouldn't have thought it possible that
Snape's dislike for him could increase, but it certainly had done. A
muscle twitched unpleasantly at the corner of Snape's thin mouth
every time he looked at Harry, and he was constantly flexing his
fingers, as though itching to place them around Harry's throat.
Percy had got his top-grade NEWTs; Fred and George had
scraped a handful of OWLs each. Gryffindor house, meanwhile,
largely thanks to their spectacular performance in the Quidditch
Cup, had won the House Championship for the third year running.
This meant that the end-of-term feast took place amid decorations
of scarlet and gold, and that the Gryffindor table was the noisiest
of the lot, as everybody celebrated. Even Harry managed to forget
about the journey back to the Dursleys next day as he ate, drank,
talked and laughed with the rest.
*
As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station next morning,
Hermione gave Harry and Ron some surprising news.
314 harry potter

'I went to see Professor McGonagall this morning, just before
breakfast. I've decided to drop Muggle Studies.'
'But you passed your exam with three hundred and twenty per
cent!' said Ron.
'I know,' sighed Hermione, 'but I can't stand another year like
this one. That Time-Turner, it was driving me mad. I've handed it
in. Without Muggle Studies and Divination, I'll be able to have a
normal timetable again.'
'I still can't believe you didn't tell us about it,' said Ron grumpily.
'We're supposed to be yourjriends.'
'I promised I wouldn't tell anyone,' said Hermione severely. She
looked around at Harry, who was watching Hogwarts disappear
from view behind a mountain. Two whole months before he'd see
it again ...
'Oh, cheer up. Harry!' said Hermione sadly.
'I'm OK,' said Harry quickly. 'Just thinking about the holidays.'
'Yeah, I've been thinking about them, too,' said Ron. 'Harry,
you've got to come and stay with us. I'll fix it up with Mum and
Dad, then I'll call you. I know how to use a felly tone now -'
'A telephone, Ron,' said Hermione. 'Honestly, you should take
Muggle Studies next year ...'
Ron ignored her.
'It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer! How about it,
Harry? Come and stay, and we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get
tickets from work.'
This proposal had the effect of cheering Harry up a great deal.
'Yeah ... I bet the Dursleys'd be pleased to let me come ... especially
after what I did to Aunt Marge ...'
Feeling considerably more cheerful, Harry joined Ron and
Hermione in several games of Exploding Snap, and when the
witch with the tea trolley arrived, he bought himself a very large
lunch, though nothing with chocolate in it.
But it was late in the afternoon before the thing that made him
truly happy turned up ...
'Harry,' said Hermione suddenly, peering over his shoulder.
'What's that thing outside your window?'
Harry turned to look outside. Something very small and grey
was bobbing in and out of sight beyond the glass. He stood up tor
a better look and saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a letter
which was much too big for it. The owl was so small, in fact, that
owl post again 315

it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the
train's slipstream. Harry quickly pulled down the window,
stretched out his arm and caught it. It felt like a very fluffy Snitch.
He brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped its letter onto
Harry's seat and began zooming around their compartment, apparently
very pleased with itself for accomplishing its task. Hedwig
clicked her beak with a sort of dignified disapproval. Crookshanks
sat up in his seat, following the owl with his great yellow eyes.
Ron, noticing this, snatched the owl safely out of harm's way.
Harry picked up the letter. It was addressed to him. He ripped
open the letter and shouted, 'It's from Sirius!'
'What?' said Ron and Hermione excitedly. 'Read it aloud!'

| Dear Harry,
I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I
don't know whether they're used to owl post.
Buckbeak and I are in hiding. I won't tell you where, in case
this falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about the
owl's reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem
eager for the job.
I believe the Dementors are still searching for me, but they
haven't a hope qfjinding me here. I am planning to allow some
Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that
the security on the castle will be lifted.
There is something I never got round to telling you during
our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt -

'Ha!' said Hermione triumphantly. 'See! I told you it was from
him!'
'Yes, but he hadn't jinxed it, had he?' said Ron. 'Ouch!'
The tiny owl, now hooting happily in his hand, had nibbled
one of his fingers in what it seemed to think was an affectionate
way.

Croofeshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used
your name but told them to take the gold from Gringotts vault
number seven hundred and eleven -- my own. Please consider it
as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather.
I would also like to apologise for the fright I think I gave
you, that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had
316 harry potter

only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey
north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you.
I am enclosing something else for you, which I think wiil
make your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable.
If ever you need me, send word. Your owl will find me.
I'll write again soon.
Sirius

Harry looked eagerly inside the envelope. There was another
piece of parchment in there. He read it through quickly and felt
suddenly as warm and contented as though he'd swallowed a
bottle of hot Butterbeer in one go.

I, 5irius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission
to visit Hogsmeade at weekends.

That'll be good enough for Dumbledore!' said Harry happily. He
looked back at Sinus's letter.
'Hang on, there's a PS ... , '

I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my
fault he no longer has a rat.

Ron's eyes widened. The minute owl was still hooting excitedly.
'Keep him?' he said uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl
for a moment, then, to Harry and Hermione's great surprise, he
held him out for Crookshanks to sniff.
'What d'you reckon?' Ron asked the cat. 'Definitely an owl?'
Crookshanks purred.
'That's good enough for me,' said Ron happily. 'He's mine.'
Harry read and re-read the letter from Sirius all the way back
into King's Cross Station. It was still clutched tightly in his hand
as he, Ron and Hermione stepped back through the barrier of
platform nine and three-quarters. Harry spotted Uncle Vernon at
once. He was standing a good distance from Mr and Mrs Weasley,
eyeing them suspiciously, and when Mrs Weasley hugged Harry in
greeting, his worst suspicions about them seemed confirmed.
'I'll call about the World Cup!' Ron yelled after Harry, as Harry
bid him and Hermione goodbye, then wheeled the trolley bearing
his trunk and Hedwig's cage towards Uncle Vernon, who greeted
owl post again . 317

him in usual fashion.
'What's that?' he snarled, staring at the envelope Harry was still
clutching in his hand. 'If it's another form for me to sign, you've

got another -'
'It's not,' said Harry cheerfully. 'It's a letter from my godfather.'
'Godfather?' spluttered Uncle Vernon. 'You haven't got a

godfather'.'
'Yes, I have,' said Harry brightly. 'He was my mum and dad's
best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of
wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with
me, though ... keep up with my news ... check I'm happy ...'
And grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's
face, Harry set off towards the station exit, Hedwig rattling along
in front of him, for what looked like a much better summer than

the last.

I

I I"

F

