There, look.'
'Where?'
'Next to the tall kid with the red hair.'
'Wearing the glasses?'
'Did you see his face?'
'Did you see his scar?'
Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left hisdormitory next day.People queuing outside classrooms stoodon tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him inthe corridors again,staring. Harry wished they wouldn't,because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way toclasses.
There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:wide,sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that ledsomewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing stephalfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then therewere doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren'treally doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was alsovery hard to remember where anything was, because it allseemed to move around a lot. The people in the portraits keptgoing to visit each other and Harry was sure the coats ofarmour could walk.
The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shockwhen one of them glided suddenly through a door you weretrying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy topoint new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves thepoltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase ifyou met him when you were late for class. He would dropwaste-paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under yourfeet, pelt you with bits of chalk or sneak up behind you,invisible, grab your nose and screech, 'GOT YOUR CONK!'
Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was thecaretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on thewrong side of him on their very first morning. Filch foundthem trying to force their way through a door which unluckilyturned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridoron the third floor.He wouldn't believe they were lost, wassure they were trying to break into it on purpose and wasthreatening to lock them in the dungeons when they wererescued by Professor Quirrell,who was passing.
Filch owned a cat called Mrs Norris, a scrawny, dust-coloured creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's.She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her,put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear,wheezing,two seconds later. Filch knew thesecret passageways of the school better than anyone (exceptperhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly asany of the ghosts. The students all hated him and it was thedearest ambition of many to give Mrs Norris a good kick.
And then,once you had managed to find them,there werethe lessons themselves. There was a lot more to magic, asHarry quickly found out, than waving your wand and sayinga few funny words.
They had to study the night skies through their telescopesevery Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of differentstars and the movements of the planets. Three times a weekthey went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to studyHerbology,with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout,where they learnt how to take care of all the strange plantsand fungi and found out what they were used for.
Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic,whichwas the only class taught by a ghost.Professor Binns had beenvery old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up next morning to teach,leaving his bodybehind him.Binns droned on and on while they scribbleddown names and dates and got Emeric the Evil and Uric theOddball mixed up.
Professor Flitwick,the Charms teacher,wastiny littleawizard who had to stand on a pile of books toover hisseedesk.At the start of their first lesson he took the register,andwhen he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak andtoppled out of sight.
Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had beenquite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict andclever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they had satdown in her first class.
'Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerousmagic you will learn at Hogwarts,' she said. 'Anyone messingaround in my class will leave and not come back. You havebeen warned.'
Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again.They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started,but soon realised they weren't going to be changing thefurniture into animals for a long time. After making a lot ofcomplicated notes, they were each given a match and startedtrying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, onlyHermione Granger had made any difference to her match;Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone allsilver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.
The class everyone had really been looking forward to wasDefence Against the Dark Arts,but Quirrell's lessons turnedout to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly ofgarlic,which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd metin Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get himone of these days.His turban,he told them,had been given tohim by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of atroublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed thisstory.For one thing,when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly tohear how Quirrel had fought off the zombie, Quirrell wentpink and started talking about the weather;for another,they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban,andthe Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic aswell,so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.
Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't milesbehind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Mugglefamilies and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they werewitches and wizards. There was so much to learn that evenpeople like Ron didn't have much of a head start.
Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. Theyfinally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall forbreakfast without getting lost once.
'What have we got today?' Harry asked Ron as he pouredsugar on his porridge.
'Double Potions with the Slytherins,' said Ron. 'Snape'sHead of Slytherin house. They say he always favours them-we'll be able to see if it's true.'
Wish McGonagall favoured us,' said Harry.ProfessorMcGonagall was Head of Gryffindor house, but it hadn'tstopped her giving them a huge pile of homework the daybefore.
Just then,the post arrived. Harry had got used to this bynow,but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning,when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into theGreat Hall during breakfast,circling the tables until they sawtheir owners and dropping letters and packages on to their laps.
Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anythingso far. Shesometimes flew in to nibble his ear and havebitof toastebefore going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.This morning,however,she fluttered down between themarmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note on toHarry's plate. Harry tore it open at once.
DEAR HARRY,(it said, in a very untidy scrawl)
I KNOW YOU GET FRIDAY AFTERNOONS OFF,SO WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME AND HAVEA CUP OF TEA WITH ME AROUND THREEZI WANT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT YOURFIRST WEEK.SEND US AN ANSWER BACKWITH HEDWIG.
HAGRID
Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes,please,see you later' onthe back of the note and sent Hedwig off again.
It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forwardto,because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thingthat had happened to him so far.
At the start-of-term banquet,Harry had got the idea thatProfessor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potionslesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry-he bated him.
Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. Itwas colder here than up in the main castle and would havebeen quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floatingin glass jars all around the walls.
Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register,and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name. 'Ah,yes,' he said softly,'Harry Potter. Our new-celebrity!"
Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggeredbehind their hands. Snape finished calling the names andlooked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, butthey had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and emptyand made you think of dark tunnels.
'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art ofpotion-making,' he began. He spoke in barely more than awhisper, but they caught every word- like ProfessorMcGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silentwithout effort. 'As there is little foolish wand-waving here,many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expectyou will really understand the beauty of the softly simmeringcauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power ofliquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind,ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame,brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunchof dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'
More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ronexchanged looks with raised eyebrows.Hermione Grangerwas on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to startproving that she wasn't a dunderhead.
'Potter!' said Snape suddenly. 'What would Igetif I addedpowdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'
Porodered root of wwhat to an infusion of wbat? Harry glanced atRon,who looked as stumped as he was;Hermione's hand hadshot into the air.
'I don't know, sir,' said Harry.
Snape's lips curled into a sneer.
'Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything.'
He ignored Hermione's hand.
'Let's try again. Potter,where would you look if I told youto find me a bezoar?'
Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as itwould go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn'thave the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to lookat Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, who were shaking withlaughter.
'I don't know,sir.'
'Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh,Potter?'
Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into thosecold eyes. He bad looked through his books at the Dursleys',but did Snape expect him to remember everything in OneTbousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?
Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.
What is the difference, Potter,between monkshood andwolfsbane?'
At this,Hermione stood up, her hand stretching towardsthe dungeon ceiling.
'I don't know,' said Harry quietly. 'I think Hermione does,though,why don't you try her?'
A few people laughed;Harry caught Seamus's eye andSeamus winked.Snape,however,was not pleased.
'Sit down,'he snapped at Hermione.For your information,Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death.A bezoaris a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save youfrom most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane,theyare the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite.Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?'
There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment.Over the noise, Snape said, 'And a point will be taken fromGryffindor house for your cheek,Potter.'
Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potionslesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set themto mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept aroundin his long black cloak,watching them weigh dried nettlesand crush snake fangs, criticising almost everyone exceptMalfoy,whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyoneto look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugswhen clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled thedungeon.Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus'scauldron into a twisted blob and their potion was seepingacross the stone floor,burning holes in people's shoes.Withinseconds,the whole class were standingon their stools whileNeville,who had been drenched in thepotionwhen thecauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprangup all over his arms and legs.
'Idiot boy!' snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion awaywith one wave of his wand.'I suppose you added the porcupinequills before taking the cauldron off the fire?'
Neville whimpered as boils started to popupall over his nose。
'Take him up to the hospital wing,' Snape spat at Seamus.Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been workingnext to Neville.
'You-Potter-why didn't you tell him not to add thequills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong,did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor.'
This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue,but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.
'Don't push it,' he muttered. 'T've heard Snape can turn verynasty.'
As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later,Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd losttwo points for Gryffindor in his very first week -wby didSnape hate him so much?
'Cheer up,' said Ron. 'Snape's always taking points off Fredand George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?'
At five to three they left the castle and made their wayacross the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house onthe edge of the Forbidden Forest.A crossbow and a pair ofgaloshes were outside the front door.
When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling frominside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rangout, saying, 'Back, Fang - back!'
Hagrid's big hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulledthe door open.
'Hang on,' he said. 'Back, Fang'
He let them in,struggling to keep a hold on the collar ofan enormous black boarhound.
There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasantswere hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling onthe open fire and in a corner stood a massive bed with apatchwork quilt over it.
'Make yerselves at home,' said Hagrid, letting go of Fang,who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. LikeHagrid,Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.
'This is Ron,' Harry told Hagrid, who was pouringboiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes on toa plate.
'Another Weasley, eh?' said Hagrid, glancing at Ron'sfreckles. 'I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers awayfrom the Forest.'
The rock cakes almost broke their teeth, but Harry andRon pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid allabout their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's kneeand drooled all over his robes.
Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch'that old git'.
'An' as fer that cat, Mrs Norris, I'd like ter introduce her toFang some time. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter theschool, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her-Filch puts her up to it.'
Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron,told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly anyof the students.
'But he seemed to really bate me.'
'Rubbishi' said Hagrid. 'Why should he?'
Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quitemeet his eyes when he said that.
'How's yer brother Charlie?'Hagrid asked Ron. 'I liked hima lot - great with animals.'
Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject onpurpose.While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work withdragons,Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying onthe table under the tea cosy. It was a cutting from the DailyPropbet:
GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST
Investigations continue into the break-in atGringotts on 31 July,widely believed to be thework of Dark wizards or witches unknown.
Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothinghad been taken. The vault that was searched hadin fact been emptied the same day.
'But we're not telling you what was in there, sokeep your noses out if you know what's good foryou,' said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.
Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someonehad tried to rob Gringotts,but Ron hadn't mentioned thedate.
'Hagridi' said Harry. 'That Gringotts break-in happened onmy birthdayIt might've been happening while we were there!'
There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meetHarry's eyes this time.He grunted and offered him another rock cake.Harry read the story again. The vault that was searcbedbad in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptiedvault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying,taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what thethieves were looking for?
As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner,their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been toopolite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'dhad so far had given him as much to think about as tea withHagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time?Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something aboutSnape that he didn't want to tell Harry?