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+Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
+
+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 stomach in bed, the
+blankets drawn right over his head like a tent, a flashlight in one hand
+and a large leather-bound book (A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot)
+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 the bridge of his nose, moved his flashlight 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 recognizing 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
+burned so much that she allowed herself to be caught no less than
+fortyseven 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 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 toward 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. These days they 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 they could do, however, was to lock
+away Harry's spellbooks, wand, cauldron, and broomstick at the start of
+the summer break, and forbid him to talk to the neighbors.
+
+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 favorite 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. While
+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 particularly keen to avoid trouble with his aunt and uncle at
+the moment, as they were already in an especially bad mood with him, all
+because he'd received a telephone call from a fellow wizard one week
+into the school vacation.
+
+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 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 field. "I'M -- A -- FRIEND --
+OF -- HARRY'S -- FROM -- SCHOOL --"
+
+Uncle Vernon's small eyes swiveled 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 YOURE 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 fight that had followed had been one of the worst ever.
+
+"HOW DARE YOU GIVE THIS NUMBER TO PEOPLE LIKE -- PEOPLE LIKE YOU!" Uncle
+Vernon had roared, spraying Harry with spit.
+
+Ron obviously realized that he'd gotten 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 -- 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 thought. His 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 flashlight, 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 realizing 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 wizard for a hundred years,
+Lord Voldemort. Harry had escaped from the same attack with nothing more
+than a scar on his forehead, where 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 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
+realized what he was seeing.
+
+Silhouetted against the golden moon, and growing larger every moment,
+was a large, strangely lopsided 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 street lamps of Privet Drive, and Harry, realizing 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 gray, keeled right
+over and lay motionless. There was a large package tied to its legs.
+
+Harry recognized the unconscious owl at once -- his name was Errol, and
+he belonged to the Weasley family. Harry dashed to the bed, 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 recognize the third owl, a handsome tawny one, but he knew
+at once where it had come from, because in addition to a third package,
+it was carrying a letter bearing the Hogwarts crest. When Harry relieved
+this owl of its burden, it ruffled its feathers importantly, stretched
+its wings, and took off through the window into the night.
+
+Harry sat down on his bed and 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 clipping.
+
+The clipping 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 clipping, smoothed it out, and read:
+
+MINISTRY OF MAGIC EMPLOYEE SCOOPS GRAND PRIZE
+
+Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts 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 Wizarding 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; tail, 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' 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.
+
+It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around 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 trip, 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 on 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
+
+P.S. 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 realize Fred and George had put beetles
+in his soup.
+
+Bye --
+
+Ron
+
+Harry put the Pocket Sneakoscope on his bedside table, where it 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 wizards
+were fascinating.
+
+There's some interesting local history of witchcraft here, too. I've
+rewritten 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
+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 as he put Herrmone'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, reading Broomstick
+Servicing Kit.
+
+"Wow, Hermione!" Harry whispered, unzipping the case to look inside.
+
+There was a large jar of Fleetwood's High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair
+of gleaming silver Tall-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on
+your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook of Do-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
+recognized 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 toward it.
+
+"Ouch!"
+
+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 Hagrid's card up next to Ron's 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 ftom King's Cross station, platform nine
+and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock.
+
+Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on 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 at it, no
+longer grinning. It would be wonderful to visit Hogsmeade on 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 the 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 mustache. Far from wishing Harry a happy
+birthday, none of the Dursleys made 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 reporter on the
+television, who was halfway through a report on an escaped convict:
+
+"... The public is warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A
+special hot line 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 reporter had reappeared.
+
+"The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will announce today --"
+
+"Hang on!" barked Uncle Vernon, staring furiously at the reporter. "You
+didn't tell us where that maniac's escaped from! \What 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 hot line number. She was the nosiest
+woman in the world and spent most of her life spying on the boring,
+law-abiding neighbors.
+
+"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 at 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 Margo had whacked Harry around
+the shins with her walking stick to stop him from beating Dudley at
+musical statues. A few years later, she had turned up at Christmas with
+a computerized robot for Dudley and a box of dog biscuits for Harry. On
+her last visit, the year before Harry started at Hogwarts, Harry had
+accidentally trodden on the tail of her favorite 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'll be here for a week," Uncle Vernon snarled, 11 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. Watching Harry
+being bullied by Uncle Vernon was Dudley's favorite 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
+Center 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 Vernon,
+hardly able to believe it. Aunt Marge coming for a weeklong 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 television 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.
+
+"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 Center 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 behavior 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 a
+week. Go with Errol. Ron'll 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 criticizing him, so the untidier he looked, the happier she
+would be.
+
+All too soon, there was a crunch of gravel outside as Uncle Vernon'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 mustache, 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 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
+proceeded 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 mustache, 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.
+
+"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
+while 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 burn 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 --"
+
+At that moment, the wineglass Aunt Marge was holding exploded in her
+hand. Shards of glass flew in every direction and Aunt Marge sputtered
+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 dessert 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 gotten an official warning that 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 A 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 quite a lot of wine. Her huge face was very
+red.
+
+"Just a small one, then," she chuckled. "A bit more than that... and a
+bit more... that's the ticket."
+
+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. "It 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 shovellike 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, 5) 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 --"
+
+"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," hiccuped 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 had just 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 toward 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.
+
+"NOOOOOOO!"
+
+Uncle Vernon seized one of Marge's feet and tried to pull her down
+again, but was almost lifted from the floor himself. A second later,
+Ripper leapt forward and sank 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, wrenching up
+the loose floorboard, and grabbed the pillowcase full of his books and
+birthday presents. He wriggled 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 latch on the door.
+
+"I'm going," Harry said. "I've had enough."
+
+And in the next moment, he was out in the dark, quiet street, heaving
+his heavy trunk behind him, Hedwig's cage under his arm.
+
+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 Hedwig gone, he had no means of contacting them.
+
+He didn't have any Muggle money, either. There was a little wizard gold
+in the money bag 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 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 forever, 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 backward. 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 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 windshield 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 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 up, he saw that Stan Shunpike was only a
+few years older than he was, eighteen or nineteen at most, with large,
+protruding ears and quite a 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 a-round 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.
+
+"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 anywhere?"
+
+"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 fifteen you get 'or chocolate, and
+for fifteen you get an 'ot water bottle an' a toofbrush in the color of
+your choice."
+
+Harry rummaged once more in his trunk, extracted his money bag, and
+shoved some gold 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-paneled 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 bangs again and sat 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 the next moment Harry found
+himself flat on his bed, thrown backward 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 lampposts, mailboxes, and trash cans 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 traveling cloak.
+
+"'Ere you go, Madam Marsh," said Stan happily as Ern stamped on the
+brake and the beds slid a foot or so toward 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 traveling 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
+
+Sirius 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 of
+Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, "and we beg the magical community
+to remain calm."
+
+Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International
+Federation of Warlocks for 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 face it-who'd believe him if
+he did?"
+
+While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of
+metal wand that 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 Defense 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 people?" said Harry, handing the page back to
+Stan, "with one curse?"
+
+"Yep," said Stan, "in front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big
+trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?"
+
+"Ar," said Ern darkly.
+
+Stan swiveled in his armchair, his hands on the back, the better to look
+at Harry.
+
+"Black woz a big supporter of You-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 got
+the better of You-Know-'Oo --"
+
+Harry nervously flattened his bangs down again.
+
+"-- all You-Know-'Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern?
+Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came
+quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard 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 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, I '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 you ... 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' I 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
+wastebaskets, telephone booths and trees, and Harry lay, restless 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, where abouts 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.
+
+Ern 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 I"
+
+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 of 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 is,
+Ern! 'E's 'Arry 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 parlor, please, Tom," said Fudge pointedly.
+
+`Bye," Harry said miserably to Stan and Ern as Tom beckoned Fudge toward
+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 parlor. 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 goose bumps 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 of 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
+between Fudge and Harry and left the parlor, closing the door behind
+him.
+
+"Well, Harry," said Fudge, pouring out tea, "you've had us all in a
+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 toward 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 favorite 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 vacation. 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 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!" he told Fudge, 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 A the fuss about?" laughed Fudge. "Now, have a
+crumpet, Harry, while I go and see if Tom's got a room for you."
+
+Fudge strode out of the parlor 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 of
+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."
+
+"Okay," 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 finger slipped on the silver fastenings of his cloak.
+
+"What's that? Oh, you've heard -- well, no, not yet, but it's only a
+matter of time. The Azkaban guards have never yet failed... and they are
+angrier than I've ever seen them."
+
+Fudge shuddered slightly.
+
+"So, I'll say good-bye."
+
+He held out his hand and Harry, shaking it, had a sudden idea.
+
+"Er -- Minister? Can I ask you something?"
+
+"Certainly," said Fudge with a smile.
+
+"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 I re the Minister of Magic," said Harry eagerly. "If you gave
+me permission
+
+"No, I'm sorry, Harry, but rules are rules," said Fudge flatly.
+
+'Perhaps You'll be able to visit Hogsmeade next year. In fact, I think
+it's 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 polished oak
+furniture, a cheerfully crackling fire and, perched on top of the
+wardrobe -
+
+"Hedwig!" Harry gasped.
+
+The snowy owl clicked her beak 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, absentmindedly stroking Hedwig.
+The sky outside the window was changing rapidly from deep, velvety blue
+to cold, steely gray and then, slowly, to pink shot with gold. Harry
+could hardly believe that he'd left Privet Drive only a few hours ago,
+that he wasn't expelled, and that he was now facing two completely
+Dursley-free weeks.
+
+"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 pleased, 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 backyard, take out his wand,
+tap the third brick from the left above the trash bit,, 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 colored umbrellas outside cafes, where his fellow diners were
+showing one another their purchases ( " it , s a lunascope, old boy --
+no more messing around with moon charts, see?") or else discussing the
+case of Sirius Black ("personalty, I won't let any of the children out
+alone until he's back in Azkaban"). Harry didn't have to do his homework
+under the blankets by flashlight anymore; now he could sit in the bright
+sunshine outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, 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 an hour.
+
+Once Harry had refilled his money bag with gold Galleons, silver
+Sickles, and bronze Knuts from his vault at Gringotts, he had 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 go at Hogwarts,
+and how it would feel to ask the Dursleys for money for spellbooks, to
+stop himself from buying a handsome set of solid gold Gobstones (a
+wizarding game rather like marbles, in which the stones squirt a
+nasty-smelling liquid into the other player's face when they lose 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 favorite shop, Quality Quidditch
+Supplies, a week after he'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 among the excited witches 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
+favorites 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 PACING BROOM SPORTS A STREAM-LINED, 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 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
+Firebolt would cost. He had never wanted anything as much in his whole
+life -- but he had never lost a Quidditch match on his Nim bus 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 schoolbooks, 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 that 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 required 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 toward
+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 toward 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.
+
+"Stop it! Stop it!" cried the manager, poking the walking stick through
+the bars and knocking the books apart. "I'm never stocking 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 manager 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 manager 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 Transfiguration and
+The Standard Book 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 bumping into several people.
+
+He tramped up the stairs to his room, went inside, and tipped his books
+onto his bed. Somebody had been in to tidy; the windows were open and
+sun was pouring inside. Harry could hear the buses rolling by in the
+unseen Muggle street behind him and the sound of the invisible crowd
+below in Diagon Alley. He caught 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 flat
+
+"You're fighting a losing battle there, dear," said his mirror in a
+vvheezy voice.
+
+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 Firebolt, 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 Fortescue's Ice
+Cream Parlor -- Ron looking incredibly freckly, Her,,one 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 knew 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.
+
+"I didn't mean to," said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. "I just
+-- 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 Ministry'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 IF' 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 Muggles! 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've still got ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my
+birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself
+an early birthday present."
+
+"How about a nice book? said Ron innocently.
+
+"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly. "I really want an owl.
+I mean, Harry's got Hedwig and you've got Errol --"
+
+"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers."
+He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked
+over," he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. "I
+don't think Egypt agreed with him."
+
+Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop
+to his whiskers.
+
+"There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Harry, who knew
+Diagon Alley very well by now. "You could see if they've got anything
+for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl,"
+
+So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street to the Magical
+Menagerie.
+
+There wasn't much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages.
+It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants Of these cages were
+all squeaking, squawking, jabbering, or hissing. The witch behind the
+counter was already advising a wizard on the care of double-ended newts,
+so Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited, examining the cages.
+
+A pair of enormous purple toads sat gulping wetly and feasting on dead
+blowflies. A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was
+glittering near the window. Poisonous orange snails were oozing slowly
+up the side of their glass tank, and a fat white rabbit kept changing
+into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise. Then there
+were cats of every color, a noisy cage of ravens, a basket of funny
+custard-colored furballs that were humming loudly, and on the counter, a
+vast cage of sleek black rats that were playing some sort of skipping
+game using their long, bald tails.
+
+The double-ended newt wizard left, and Ron approached the counter.
+
+"It's my rat," he told the witch. "He been a bit off-color ever since I
+brought him back from Egypt."
+
+"Bang him on the counter," said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black
+spectacles out of her pocket.
+
+Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the
+cage of his fellow rats, who stopped their skipping tricks and scuffled
+to the wire for a better took.
+
+Like nearly everything Ron owned, Scabbers the rat was secondhand (he
+had once belonged to Ron's brother Percy) and a bit battered. Next to
+the glossy rats in the cage, he looked especially woebegone.
+
+"Hm," said the witch, picking up Scabbers. "How old is this rat?"
+
+"Dunno," said Ron. "Quite old. He used to belong to my brother."
+
+"What powers does he have?" said the witch, examining Scabbers closely.
+
+"Er --" The truth was that Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace
+of interesting powers. The witchs eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered
+left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly.
+
+"He's been through the mill, this one," she said.
+
+"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," said Ron defensively.
+
+"An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live
+longer than three years or so," said the witch. "Now, if you were
+looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of
+these --"
+
+She indicated the black rats, who promptly started skipping again. Ron
+muttered, "Show-offs."
+
+"Well, if you Don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic,"
+said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red
+bottle.
+
+"Okay," said Ron. "How much -- OUCH!"
+
+Ron buckled as something huge and orange came soaring from the top of
+the highest cage, landed on his head, and then propelled itself,
+spitting madly, at Scabbers.
+
+"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" cried the witch, but Scabbers, shot from between
+her hands like a bar of soap, landed splay-legged on the floor, and then
+scampered for the door.
+
+"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, racing out of the shop after him; Harry
+followed.
+
+It took them nearly ten minutes to catch Scabbers, who had taken refuge
+under a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ron stuffed
+the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging
+his head.
+
+"What was that?"
+
+"It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger," said Harry.
+
+"Where's Hermione?"
+
+"Probably getting her owl
+
+They made their way back up the crowded street to the Magical Menagerie.
+As they reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn't 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 bowlegged 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.
+
+"Herinione, 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."
+
+"Wonder why," said Ron sarcastically as they set off toward 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 A 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 bags
+and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about 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 previous year at Hogwarts. 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 --"
+
+"Marvelous," 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 seizing 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 to 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.
+
+"Yo u want to set a better example for 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."
+
+Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put
+three tables together in the parlor, 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
+dug 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 hoods, with HB on them"
+
+"-- for Humongous 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 anymore," said Mr. Weasley,
+
+"-- and as I work there, they're doing me a favor --"
+
+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 thing, too," said Mrs. Weasley briskly. "Do you realize 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 is gone," said Percy, rounding on Harry.
+
+"So's Scabbers's rat tonic," said Ron, throwing things out of his 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's 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 parlor. A
+second later, he recognized them as Mr. and Mrs.
+
+Weasleys'. He hesitated, not wanting them to know he'd heard them
+arguing, when the sound of his own name made him stop, then move closer
+to the parlor 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 banged his
+fist on the table.
+
+"Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in
+the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to
+Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Blacks 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 pow er. 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 1, if it comes to that... but when you're dealing with a wizard
+like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with 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 parlor 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 search of 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.
+
+So Sirius Black was after him. This explained everything. Fudge 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
+wholeheartedly 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.
+
+CHAPTER FIVE
+
+THE DEMENTOR
+
+Tom woke Harry the 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.
+
+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 toward
+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 with 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 in salute
+to Mr. Weasley, and drove away, somehow managing to jump to the head of
+an unmoving line at 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 toward 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.
+
+In a moment, they had fallen sideways through the solid metal onto
+platform nine and three- quarters and looked up to see the Hogwarts
+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 to hide their
+laughter as Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking
+with his chest thrown out so that she couldn't miss his shiny badge.
+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 had only 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 cart.
+
+The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes that
+had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though
+quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray.
+
+"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door
+shut, taking the seats farthest away from the window.
+
+"Professor R. J. Lupin," whispered Hermione at once.
+
+"How d'you know that?"
+
+"It's on his case," she replied, 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? Defense Against the Dark Arts."
+
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione had already had two Defense Against the Dark
+Arts teachers, both of whom had lasted only one year. There were rumors
+that the job was jinxed.
+
+"well, I hope he's up to it," said Ron doubtfully. "He looks like on,
+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. The, 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 spinning very fast in
+the palm of Ron's hand and glowing brilliantly.
+
+"Is that a Sneakoscope?" 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 not
+really up to long journeys... but how else was I supposed to 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 toward Professor Lupin. Ron stuffed the Sneakoscope into a
+particularly horrible pair of Uncle Vernon'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 Honey
+Dukes."
+
+"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 Shades
+supposed to be the most severely haunted building in Britain --"
+
+"-- and massive sherbert balls that make you levitate a few inches off
+the ground while you're sucking them," said Ron, who was 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 Hogsmeade?"
+
+"'Spect it will," said Harry heavily. "You'll have to tell me when
+You've found out."
+
+"What d'you mean?" said Ron.
+
+"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 -- " musclely; Crabbe was taller, with a
+pudding-bowl haircut and a very thick neck; Goyle had short, bristly
+hair and long, gorilla-ish 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's basket to the floor.
+Professor Lupin gave a snort.
+
+"Who's that?" said Malfoy, taking an automatic step backward as he
+spotted Lupin.
+
+"New teacher," said Harry, who got to his feet, too, in case he needed
+to hold Ron back. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"
+
+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 crap 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 midair.
+
+"Ron," hissed Hermione, pointing at Professor Lupin, "be careful..."
+
+But Professor Lupin was still fast asleep.
+
+The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north; the windows were
+now a solid, shimmering gray, which graduily darkened until lanterns
+flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks.
+The train rattled, the rain hammered, the ind 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.
+
+"Great," 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..."
+
+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, gray 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 Lupin's
+hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was
+completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward, and
+what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from
+the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed,
+like something dead that had decayed in water...
+
+But it was visible only for a split second. As though the creature
+beneath the cloak sensed Harry's gaze, the hand was suddenly withdrawn
+into the folds of its black cloak.
+
+And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow,
+rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something 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....
+
+Harry's 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 downward, 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 watching. 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 okay?" Ron asked nervously.
+
+"Yeah," said Harry, looking quickly toward the door. The hooded 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 and Neville looked
+back at him, both very pale.
+
+"But I heard screaming --"
+
+A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous
+slab of chocolate into pieces.
+
+"Here," he said to Harry, handing him a particularly large piece. "Eat
+it. It'll help."
+
+Harry took the chocolate but didn't eat it.
+
+"What was that thing?" he asked Lupin.
+
+"A dementor," said Lupin, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else.
+"One of the dementors of Azkaban."
+
+Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate
+wrapper and put it in his pocket.
+
+"Eat," he repeated. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse
+me...
+
+He strolled past Harry and disappeared into the corridor.
+
+"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, watching Harry
+anxiously.
+
+"I Don't get it.... What happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off
+his face.
+
+"Well -- that thing -- the dementor -- stood there and looked around (I
+mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face) -- and you -- you
+
+"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron, who still
+looked scared. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and
+started twitching -- 11
+
+"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the dementor,
+and pulled out his wand," said Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is
+hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the dementor didn't move,
+so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at
+it, and it turned around and sort of glided away.... "
+
+"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did YOU
+feel how cold it got when it came in?"
+
+I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd
+never be cheerful again...."
+
+Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Harry
+felt, gave a small sob; Hermione went over and put a comforting arm
+around her.
+
+"But didn't any of you -- fall off your seats?" said Harry awkwardly.
+
+"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. "Ginny was shaking
+like mad, though...."
+
+Harry didn't understand. He felt weak and shivery, as though he were
+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 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 outside; owls hooted, cats meowed, 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 right, 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 along the platform and
+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 and shut the door,
+the coach set off all by itself, bumping and swaying in procession.
+
+The coach smelled faintly of mold 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.
+
+As the carriage trundled toward a pair of magnificent wrought iron
+gates, flanked with stone columns topped with winged boars,
+
+Harry saw two more towering, hooded dementors, standing guard on either
+side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf him again; he leaned
+back into the lumpy seat and closed his eyes until they had passed the
+gates. The carriage picked up speed on the long, sloping drive up to the
+castle; Hermione was leaning 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 Longbottorn telling the truth? You actualy
+fainted?"
+
+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 gotten
+out of the next carriage.
+
+Malfoy gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches
+on his robes and the delapidated 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, into the cavernous entrance hall, which was lit with flaming
+torches, and housed a magnificent marble staircase that led to the upper
+floors.
+
+The door into the Great Hall stood open at the right; Harry followed the
+crowd toward 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 McGonagall,
+Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over
+the heads of the crowd. She was a sternlooking witch who wore her hair
+in a tight bun; her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. Harry
+fought his way over to her with a feeling of foreboding: Professor
+McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something
+wrong.
+
+"There's no need to look so worried -- I just want a word in MY office,"
+she told them. "Move along there, Weasley."
+
+Ron stared as Professor McGonagall ushered Harry and Hermione away from
+the chattering crowd; they accompanied her across the entrance hall, up
+the marble staircase, and along a corridor.
+
+Once they were in her office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire,
+Professor McGonagall motioned Harry and Hermione to sit down. She
+settled herself behind her desk and said abruptly, "Professor Lupin sent
+an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Potter."
+
+Before Harry could reply, there was a soft knock on the door and Madam
+Pomfrey, the nurse, came bustling in.
+
+Harry felt himself going red in the face. It was bad enough that he'd
+passed out, or whatever he had done, without everyone making all this
+fuss.
+
+"I'm fine," he said, "I don't need anything
+
+"Oh, it's you, is it?" said Madam Pomfrey, ignoring this and bending
+down to stare closely at him. "I suppose you've been doing something
+dangerous again?"
+
+"It was a dementor, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall.
+
+They exchanged a dark look, and Madam Pomfrey clucked disapprovingly.
+
+"Setting dementors around a school, she muttered, pushing back Harry's
+hair and feeling his forehead. "He won't be the last one who collapses.
+Yes, he's all clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they
+have on people who are already delicate
+
+"I'm not delicate!" said Harry crossly.
+
+"Of course you're not," said Madam Pomfrey absentmindedly, now taking
+his pulse.
+
+"What does he need?" said Professor McGonagall crisply. "Bed rest?
+Should he perhaps spend tonight in the hospital wing?"
+
+"I'm fine!" said Harry, jumping up. The thought of what Draco Malfoy
+would say if he had to go to the hospital wing was torture.
+
+"Well, he should have some chocolate, at the very least," said Madam
+Pomfrey, who was now trying to peer into Harry's eyes.
+
+"I've already had some," said Harry. "Professor Lupin gave me some. He
+gave it to all of us."
+
+"Did he, now?" said Madam Pomfrey approvingly. "So we've finally got a
+Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies?"
+
+"Are you sure you feel all right, Potter?" Professor McGonagall said
+sharply.
+
+"Yes, "said Harry.
+
+"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss
+Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast
+together."
+
+Harry went back into the corridor with Madam Pomfrey, who left for the
+hospital wing, muttering to herself He had to wait only a few minutes;
+then Hermione emerged looking very happy about something, followed by
+Professor McGonagall, and the three of them made their way back down the
+marble staircase to the Great Hall.
+
+It was a sea of pointed black hats; each of the long House tables was
+lined with students, their faces glimmering by the light of thousands of
+candles, which were floating over the tables in midair. Professor
+Flitwick, who was a tiny little wizard with a shock of white hair, was
+carrying an ancient hat and a three-legged stool out of the hall.
+
+"Oh," said Hermione softly, "we've missed the Sorting!"
+
+New students at Hogwarts were sorted into Houses by trying on the
+sorting Hat, which shouted out the House they were best suited to
+(Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin). Professor McGonagall
+strode off toward her empty seat at the staff table, and Harry and
+Hermione set off in the other direction, as quietly as possible, toward
+the Gryffindor table. People looked around at them as they passed along
+the back of the hall, and a few of them pointed at Harry. Had the story
+of his collapsing in front of the dementor traveled that fast?
+
+He and Hermione sat down on either side of Ron, who had saved them
+seats.
+
+"What was all that about?" he muttered to Harry.
+
+Harry started to explain in a whisper, but at that moment the headmaster
+stood up to speak, and he broke off.
+
+Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of
+great energy. He had several feet of long silver hair and beard,
+half-moon spectacles, and an extremely crooked nose. He was often
+described as the greatest wizard of the age, but that wasn't why Harry
+respected him. You couldn't help trusting Albus Dumbledore, and as Harry
+watched him beaming around at the students, he felt really calm for the
+first time since the dementor had entered the train compartment.
+
+"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on 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 afoul of the dementors," he said.
+
+Percy, who was sitting a few seats down 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.
+
+"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of
+Defense 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 staff table
+at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape ,anted the
+Defense 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 that expression 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 one another, 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 assigned us a biting book?"
+
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the last to stop clapping, and as
+Professor Dumbledore started speaking again, they saw that Hagrid was
+wiping his eyes on the tablecloth.
+
+"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "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. Hagrid wasn't a fully
+qualified wizard; he had been expelled from Hogwarts in his third year
+for a crime he had not committed. It had been Harry, Ron, and Hermione
+who had cleared Hagrid's name 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 time for them all
+to go to bed, and they got their chance.
+
+"Congratulations, Hagrid!" Hermione squealed as they reached the
+teachers' table.
+
+"All down ter you three," said Hagrid, wiping his shining face on his
+napkin as he looked up at them., "Can' believe it... great man,
+Dumbledore... came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn
+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 up the marble
+staircase and, very tired now, along more corridors, UP more and more
+stairs, to the hidden entrance to Gryffindor Tower's 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 toward their separate staircases. Harry climbed the spiral stair
+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 the
+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! Woooooooooo!"
+
+Harry dropped into a seat at the Gryffindor table, next to George
+Weasley.
+
+"New third-year course schedules," said George, passing then, 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 at our end of the train. Came runing into our
+compartment, didn't he, Fred?"
+
+"Nearly wet himself," said Fred, with a contemptuous glance at Malfoy.
+
+"I wasn't too happy myself," said George. "They're horrible things,
+those dementors...."
+
+"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" said Fred.
+
+"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" said Harry in a low voice.
+
+"Forget it, Harry," said George bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban
+one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever
+been, he came back all weak and shaking.... They suck the happiness out
+of a place, dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."
+
+"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch
+match," said Fred. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of 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 schedule.
+
+" Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," she said happily.
+villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands! Come I. scorn
+at my fall, perchance? Draw, you knaves, you dogs!"
+
+They watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his sword out
+of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down
+in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing
+made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass.
+
+"Are you all right?" said Harry, moving closer to the picture.
+
+"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!"
+
+The knight seized his sword again and used it to push himself back up,
+but the blade sank deeply into the grass and, though he pulled with all
+his might, he couldn't get it out again. Finally, he had to flop back
+down onto the grass and push up his visor to 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, do 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, gave up, and cried, "On foot then, good sirs and gentle lady!
+On! On!"
+
+And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame and out of
+sight.
+
+They hurried after him along the corridor, following the sound of his
+armor. 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 spiraling
+steps, getting dizzier and dizzier, until at last they heard the murmur
+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! If 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, but Ron nudged Harry and pointed at the ceiling, where there
+was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it.
+
+"'Sibyll Trelawney, Divination teacher,"' Harry read. "How're we
+supposed to get up there?"
+
+As though in answer to his question, the trapdoor suddenly opened, and a
+silvery ladder descended right at Harry's feet. Everyone got quiet.
+
+"After you," said Ron, grinning, so Harry climbed the ladder first.
+
+He emerged into the strangest-looking classroom he had ever seen. In
+fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all, more like a cross between
+someone's attic and an old-fashioned tea shop. At leasttwenty small,
+circular tables were crammed inside it, all surrounded by chintz
+armchairs and fat little poufs. 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
+that 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 was
+very thin; her large glasses magnified her eyes to several times 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 poufs. 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 is professor
+Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too
+often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner
+Eye."
+
+Nobody said anything to this extraordinary pronouncement. Professor
+Trelawney delicately rearranged her shawl and continued, "So you have
+chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I
+must warn you at the outset that if 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, at 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 pouf. "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 will be covering the basic
+methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to
+reading the tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the
+way, my dear," she shot suddenly at 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 second 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 forever."
+
+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 from the
+shelf, come to me, and I will fill it. Then sit down and drink, drink
+until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with
+the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the
+last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup 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 by 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 over.
+
+"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 crooked sort of cross... " He consulted Unfogging
+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 tested, if you ask me," said Ron, and they both
+had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed in their
+direction.
+
+"My turn..." Ron peered into Harry's teacup, his forehead wrinkled 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.
+
+"But this way it looks more like an acorn.... What's that?" He scanned
+his copy of Unfogging the Future. "'A windfall, unexpected gold.'
+Excellent, you can lend me some... and there's a thin, here," he turned
+the cup again, "that looks like an animal... yeah, if that was its
+head... it looks like a hippo... no, a sheep..."
+
+Professor Trelawney whirled around as Harry let out a snort of laughter.
+
+"Let me see that, my dear," she said reprovingly to Ron, sweeping over
+and snatching Harry's cup from him. Everyone went quiet to watch.
+
+Professor Trelawney was staring into the teacup, rotating it
+counterclockwise.
+
+"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 looked puzzled, but nearly
+everybody else clapped their hands to their mouths in horror.
+
+"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" cried Professor Trelawney, who looked
+shocked that Harry hadn't understood. "The giant, spectral dog that
+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 in
+Flourish and Blotts -the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent...
+Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth too. Everyone was looking
+at Harry, everyone except Hermione, who had gotten up and moved around
+to the back of Professor Trelawney's chair.
+
+"I 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.
+
+"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 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 late
+next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up."
+
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the
+winding stair in silence, then set off for Professor McGonagall's
+Transfiguration lesson. It took them so long to find her classroom that,
+early as they had left Divination, they were only just in time.
+
+Harry chose a seat right at the back of the room, feeling as though he
+were sitting in a very bright spotlight; the rest of the class kept
+shooting furtive glances at him, as though he were about to drop dead at
+any moment. He hardly heard what Professor McGonagall was telling them
+about Animagi (wizards who could transform at will into animals), and
+wasn't even watching when 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 McGonagall,
+turning back into herself with a faint pop, and staring 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 toward 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.
+
+"Me," said Harry, finally.
+
+"I see," said Professor McGonagall, fixing Harry with her beady eyes.
+"Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll 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 favorite 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, and Lavender whispered, "But what
+about Neville's cup?"
+
+When the Transfiguration class had finished, they joined the crowd
+thundering toward the Great Hall for lunch.
+
+"Ron, cheer up," said Hermione, pushing a dish of stew toward him. "You
+heard what Professor McGonagall said."
+
+Ron spooned stew onto his plate and picked up his fork but didn't start.
+
+"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 Dursleys'. "
+
+Ron let his fork fall with a clatter.
+
+"Probably a stray," said Hermione calmly.
+
+Ron looked at Hermione as though she had gone mad.
+
+"Hermione, 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 kick the bucket then!"
+
+Ron mouthed wordlessly at Hermione, who opened her bag, took out her new
+Arithmancy book, and propped it open against the juice jug.
+
+"I 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 Ron hotly.
+
+"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a
+sheep," said Hermione coolly.
+
+"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't
+like being bad at something for a change!"
+
+He had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the
+table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere.
+
+"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens
+in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer!
+That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!"
+
+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 to 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 gray, 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 realized 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 shut 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 binder clips.
+
+"Hasn' -- hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" said Hagrid,
+looking crestfallen.
+
+The class all shook their heads.
+
+"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," said Hagrid, as though this was the most
+obvious thing in the world. "Look --"
+
+He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The
+book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down 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 Magical Creatures.
+Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on... "
+
+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
+
+"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry repeated.
+
+"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you
+
+"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side
+of the paddock.
+
+Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Harry
+had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but
+the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with
+cruel, steel-colored 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 collar around its neck, which was
+attached to a long chain, and the ends 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 creatures
+toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as
+Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.
+
+"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them. "Beau'iful,
+aren' they?"
+
+Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first
+shock of seeing something that was, half horse, half bird, you started
+to appreciate the hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from
+feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze,
+pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.
+
+"So," said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "if
+yeh 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 toward 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 farther 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 gray hippogriff away from its
+fellows, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side
+of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Malfoy's eyes were
+narrowed maliciously.
+
+"Easy) now, Harry," said Hagrid quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, now
+try not ter blink.... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too
+much...."
+
+Harry's eyes immediately began to water, but he didn't shut thern.
+Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at 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 hippogriff was 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 its
+scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable 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, Harry moved
+slowly toward the hippogriff and reached out toward it. He patted the
+beak several times and the hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though
+enjoying it.
+
+The class broke into applause, all except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle,
+who were looking deeply disappointed.
+
+"Righ' then, Harry," said Hagrid. "I reckon he might' 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 same.
+
+"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 Buckbeaks wing and hoisted himself onto
+its back. Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure where to hold on;
+everything in front of him was covered with feathers.
+
+"Go on, then'" roared Hagrid, slapping the hippogriffs hindquarters.
+
+Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry,
+he just had time to seize the hippogriff around the neck before he was
+soaring upward. It was nothing like a broomstick, and Harry knew which
+one he preferred; the hippogriff's wings beat uncomfortably on either
+side of him, catching him under his legs and making him feel he was
+about to be thrown off; the glossy feathers slipped under his fingers
+and he didn't dare get a stronger grip; instead of the smooth action of
+his Nimbus Two Thousand, he now felt himself rocking backward and
+forward as the hindquarters of the hippogriff rose and fell with its
+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 felt a heavy thud as the four ill-assorted feet hit the ground. He
+just managed to hold on and push himself straight again.
+
+"Good work, Harry!" roared Hagrid as everyone except Malfoy, Crabbe, and
+Goyle cheered. "Okay, 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 paddock. Neville ran
+repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its
+knees. Ron and Hermione practiced 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
+great ugly brute?"
+
+It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a highpitched
+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 hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily. As
+they passed, Harry saw that there was a long, deep gash on Malfoy's arm;
+blood splattered the grass and Hagrid ran with him, up the slope toward
+the castle.
+
+Very shaken, the Care of Magical Creatures class followed at a walk. The
+Slytherins were all shouting about Hagrid.
+
+"They should fire him straight away!" said Pansy Parkinson, who was in
+tears.
+
+"It was Malfoy's fault!" snapped Dean Thomas. Crabbe and Goyle flexed
+their muscles threateningly.
+
+They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted entrance hall.
+
+"I'm going to see if he's okay!" 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.
+
+"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 nurse.
+
+"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 dinnertime, hoping
+to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there.
+
+"They wouldn't fire 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 was huddled together, deep in conversation. Harry was sure
+they were cooking up their own version of how Malfoy had been 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 dinner and
+tried to do the homework Professor McGonagall had given them, but all
+three of them kept breaking off and glancing Out of the tower window.
+
+"There's a light on in Hagrid's window," Harry said suddenly.
+
+Ron looked at his watch.
+
+"If we hurried, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early..."
+
+I don't know," Hermione said slowly, and Harry saw her glance at him.
+
+"I'm allowed to walk across the grounds, " he said Pointedly. "Sirius
+Black hasn't got past the dementors yet, has he?"
+
+So they put their things away and headed out of the portrait hole, glad
+to meet nobody on their way to the front doors, as 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 shirtsleeves 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 big
+as a bucket in front of him, and he seemed to be having difficulty
+getting them into focus.
+
+"'Spect it's a record," he said thickly, when he recognized them. "Don'
+reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before."
+
+"You haven't been fired, Hagrid!" gasped Hermione.
+
+"Not yet," said Hagrid miserably, taking a huge gulp of whatever was in
+the tankard. "But's only 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 miseribly. "They
+reckon I started too big. Shoulda left hippogriffs fer later... done
+flobberworms or summat.... Jus' thought itdmake a good firs' lessons all
+my fault...."
+
+"It's all Malfoy's fault, Hagrid!" said Hermione earnestly.
+
+"We're witnesses," said Harry. "You said hippogriffs attack if you
+insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell
+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-black 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 Hermione firmly. She
+took the tankard from the table and went outside to empty it.
+
+"At, maybe she's right," said Hagrid, letting go of Harry and Ron, who
+both staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Hagrid heaved himself 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.
+
+"That'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 realized
+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! LETTIN' 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 were 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 generality favored his
+own students above 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 toward him, and began to
+chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes.
+
+"Professor," drawled Malfoy, "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sit."
+
+Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots,
+then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black
+hair.
+
+"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."
+
+"But, sit --!"
+
+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 a, 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 began 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 tone 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 injury
+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 beheading
+a dead caterpillar because his hand was shaking in anger. "To try to get
+Hagrid fired."
+
+"Well," said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, "partly, Potter.
+But there are other benefits too. Weasley, slice my caterpillars for
+me."
+
+A few cauldrons away, Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly went to
+pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and his great fear
+of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His potion, which was
+supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned --
+
+"Orange, Longbottom," said Snape, ladling some up and allowing to splash
+back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see.
+
+"Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of
+yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one -tat spleen
+was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would
+suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?"
+
+Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge
+of tears.
+
+"Please, sir," said Hermione, "please, I could help Neville put it right
+--"
+
+"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger," said 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!" 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 of the table,
+Malfoy looked up, listening closely.
+
+"Not too far from here," said Seamus, who looked excited. "It was a
+Muggle who saw him. 'Course, she didn't really understand. The Muggles
+think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phoned the
+telephone hot line. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was
+gone."
+
+"Not too far from here... " Ron repeated, looking significantly at
+Harry. He turned around and saw Malfoy watching closely. "What, Malfoy?
+Need something else skinned?"
+
+But Malfoy's eyes were shining malevolently, and they were fixed Harry.
+He leaned across the table.
+
+Black single-handed, Potter?"
+
+"Thinking Of trying to catch
+
+"Yeah, that's right," said Harry offhandedly.
+
+Malfoys thin mouth was curving in a mean smile.
+
+"Of course, if it was me," he said quietly, "I'd have done something
+before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I'd be out
+there looking for him."
+
+"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" said Ron roughly.
+
+"Don't you know, Potter?" breathed Malfoy, his pate eyes narrowed.
+
+"Know what?"
+
+Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh.
+
+"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck," he said. "Want to leave it to
+the dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him
+down myself."
+
+"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 drunk, so clear away while it
+simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's... "
+
+Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly, watching Neville sweat as he stirred
+his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions to 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 the 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 do
+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, and
+watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a
+Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt,
+he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned."
+
+The Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked excited. Snape
+picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand and dipped a small spoon into
+Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down
+Trevor's throat.
+
+There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there
+was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm.
+
+The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small
+bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor,
+and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown.
+
+"Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, which wiped the smiles from
+every face. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."
+
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the steps to the entrance hall. Harry
+was still thinking about what Malfoy had said, while Ron was seething
+about Snape.
+
+"Five points from Gryffindor because the potion was all right!
+
+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.
+
+"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 clutched
+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, the 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 havent got any of these subjects today. It's only
+Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon."
+
+"Oh yes," said Hermione vaguely, but she packed all the books back into
+her bag just the same. I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm
+starving," she added, and she marched off toward the Great Hall.
+
+"D'you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?Ron asked
+Harry.
+
+Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense
+Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books,
+quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the
+room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the
+teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but 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 need only your
+wands."
+
+A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books.
+They had never had a practical Defense 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."
+
+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 midair and stuffing the
+nearest keyhole with chewing gum.
+
+Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; ,hen 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 usually showed
+some respect toward the teachers. Everyone looked quickly at Professor
+Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still
+smiling.
+
+"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he said
+pleasantly. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."
+
+Filch was the Hogwarts caretaker, a bad-tempered, failed wizard who
+waged a constant war against the students and, indeed, Peeves. However,
+Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a
+loud wet raspberry.
+
+Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand.
+
+"This is a useful little spell, he told the class over his shoulder.
+"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 upright and
+zoomed away, cursing.
+
+"Cool, sit!" 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 stopped, right
+outside the staffroom door.
+
+"Inside, please," said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing back.
+
+The staffroom, a long, paneled 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 curled, but
+he left, shutting the door with a snap.
+
+"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of
+the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers
+kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the
+wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.
+
+"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few
+people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there."
+
+Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about.
+Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus Finnigan
+eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.
+
+"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes,
+the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks -- I've even 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.
+
+"This means," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's 'mall
+sputter 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 it
+should be?"
+
+"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down,
+looking a little disappointed. "It's always best to have com pany when
+you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he
+become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart
+make that very mistake -- tried to frighten two people at once and
+turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening.
+
+"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of
+mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter.
+What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing.
+
+"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please ...
+Riddikulus!"
+
+"Riddikulus!" said the class together.
+
+"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part,
+I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you
+come in, Neville."
+
+The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked
+forward as though he were heading for the gallows.
+
+"Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: what 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 someone 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 with 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 hat. 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.
+
+"Right then," said Professor Lupin. "Can you picture those clothes very
+clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"
+
+"Yes," said Neville uncertainty, plainly wondering what was coming next.
+
+"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees You, it
+will assume the form of Professor Snape," said Lupin. "And You will
+raise your wand -- thus -- and cry 'Riddikulus' -- and concentrate hard
+on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape
+will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with
+that big red handbag."
+
+There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled more
+violently.
+
+"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention
+to each of us in turn," said Professor Lupin. "I would like all of you
+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 in the
+world?
+
+His first thought was Lord Voldemort -- a Voldemort returned to full
+strength. But before he had even started to plan a possible
+counterattack 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.
+
+"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 time;
+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, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone
+beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had 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 -- three
+-- now!"
+
+A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the
+doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor
+Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville.
+
+Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing
+down upon him, reaching inside his robes.
+
+"R -- r -- riddikulus! "squeaked Neville.
+
+There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a
+long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten
+vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag.
+
+There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and
+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
+toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising --
+
+"Riddikulus!" cried Parvati.
+
+A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face
+forward, and its head rolled off.
+
+"Seamus!" roared Professor Lupin.
+
+Seamus darted past Parvati.
+
+Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floorlength 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 that
+made the hair on Harry's head stand on end -- '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.
+
+'There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.
+
+"Excellent! Ron, you next!"
+
+Ron leapt forward.
+
+Crack!
+
+Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered
+in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a
+moment, Harry thought Ron had frozen. Then --
+
+"Riddikulus!" bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled
+over and over; Lavender Brown squealed and ran out of its way and it
+came to a halt at Harry's feet. He raised his wand, ready, but --
+
+"Here!" shouted Professor Lupin suddenly, hurrying forward. Crack!
+
+The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly
+around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in
+the air in front of Lupin, who said, "Riddikulus!" almosi lazily.
+
+Crack!
+
+"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" said Lupin as the boggart 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 laughter, and the
+boggart exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, 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 -- ten 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 of the
+class, Harry," Lupin said lightly. "Very well, everyone, an excellent
+lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it
+for me... to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."
+
+Talking excitedly, the class left the staffroom. Harry, however, wasn't
+feeling cheerful. Professor Lupin had deliberately stopped him from
+tackling the boggart. Why? Was it because he'd seen Harry collapse on
+the train, and thought he wasn't up to much? Had he thought Harry would
+pass out again?
+
+But no one else seemed to have noticed anything.
+
+"Did you see me take that banshee?" shouted Seamus. "And the hand!" said
+Dean, waving his own around.
+
+"And Snape in that hat!" "And my mummy!"
+
+I wonder why Professor Lupin's frightened of crystal balls?" said
+Lavender thoughtfully.
+
+"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had,
+wasn't it?" said Ron excitedly as they made their way back to the
+classroom to get their bags.
+
+"He seems like a very good teacher," said Hermione approvingly. "But 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
+
+FLIGHT OF THE FAT FADY
+
+In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most
+people's favorite 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 whisper as
+Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old houseelf "
+
+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 dungeons
+of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to
+bludgeon those who had gotten lost. From Red Caps they 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 story of the boggart assuming
+Snape's shape, and the way that Neville had dressed it in his
+grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire.
+Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the
+very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville
+worse than ever.
+
+Harry was also growing to dread the hours he spent in Professor
+Trelawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and
+symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enormous eyes
+filled with tears every time she looked at him. He couldn't like
+Professer Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering
+on reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had
+taken to haunting Professor Trelawney's tower room at lunch times, and
+always returned with annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though
+they knew things the others didn't. They had also started using hushed
+voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he were on his deathbed.
+
+Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the
+action-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to
+have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson 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, after yet
+another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' throats.
+
+At the start of October, however, Harry had something else to occupy
+him, something so enjoyable it more than made up for his unsatisfactory
+classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and O1iver 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 Chasers, whose job it
+was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a red, soccer-sized ball)
+through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops at each
+
+end of the field; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy bats to
+repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls that zoomed around trying to
+attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the goal
+
+posts, 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 a's
+he addressed his six fellow team members in the chilly locker rooms on
+the edge of the darkening Quidditch field.
+
+"This is our last chance -- my last chance -- to win the Quidditch Cup,"
+he told them, striding up and down in front of them. "I'll be leaving at
+the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it."
+
+"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst
+luck in the world -- injuries -- then the tournamentgetting called off
+last year Wood swallowed, as though the memory still brought a lump to
+his throat. "But we also know we've got the
+best-ruddy-team-in-the-school," he said, punching a fist into his other
+hand, the old manic glint back in his eye. "We've got three superb
+Chasers."
+
+Wood pointed at Alicia Spinner, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell.
+
+"We've got two unbeatable Beaters."
+
+"Stop 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.
+
+"Spanking good Keeper," said Fred.
+
+"The point is," Wood went on, resuming his pacing, "the Quidditch 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 get 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.
+
+Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three
+evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights
+darker, but no amount of mud, wind, or rain could tarnish Harry's
+wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quidditch Cup.
+
+Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening after training,
+cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the
+room buzzing excitedly.
+
+"What's happened?", he asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two
+of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for
+Astronomy.
+
+"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Ron, pointing at a notice that had
+appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October.
+Halloween."
+
+"Excellent," said Fred, who had followed Harry through the portrait
+hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."
+
+Harry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, his high spirits ebbing
+away. Hermione seemed to read his mind.
+
+"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," she said. "They're
+bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already."
+
+"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Ron. "Ask
+McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one 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. "Ask
+McGonagall, go on, Harry --"
+
+"Yeah, I think I will," said Harry, making up his mind.
+
+Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment 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. "1'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 toward him, took out
+parchment, ink, and quill, and started work.
+
+"You can copy mine, if you like," said Ron, labeling his last star with
+a flourish and shoving the chart toward Harry.
+
+Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips but didn't say
+anything. Crookshanks was still staring unblinkingly at Ron, flicking
+the end of his bushy tail. Then, without warning, he pounced.
+
+"OY!" Ron roared, seizing his bag as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws
+deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. "GET 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, Crookshanks still clinging to it,
+and Scabbers came flying out of the top -
+
+"CATCH THAT CAR' Ron yelled as Crookshanks freed himself from the
+remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the
+terrified Scabbers.
+
+George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed; Scabbers
+streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of
+drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs,
+and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw.
+
+Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crookshanks around the
+middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himself 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 marched 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.
+
+"How's Scabbers?" Hermione asked timidly as they stripped fat pink pods
+from the plants and emptied the shining beans into a wooden pail.
+
+"He's 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 burst
+into bloom before their very eyes.
+
+They had Transfiguration next. Harry, who had resolved to ask Professor
+McGonagall after the lesson whether he could go into Hogsmeade with the
+rest, joined the line outside the class trying to decide how he was
+going to argue his case. He was distracted, however, by a disturbance at
+the front of the line.
+
+Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and
+was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were
+looking very serious.
+
+"What's the matter, Lavender?" said Hermione anxiously as she, Harry,
+and Ron went to join the group.
+
+"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 l?"
+
+"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 can't 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 that moment, which was
+perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and
+when they got into class, they seated themselves on either side of Harry
+and didn't talk to each other for the whole class.
+
+Harry still hadn't decided what he was going to say to Professor
+McGonagall when the bell rang at the end of the lesson, but it was she
+who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first.
+
+"One moment, please !" she called as the class made to leave. "As you're
+all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before
+Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!"
+
+Neville put up his hand.
+
+"Please, Professor, I -- I 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.
+
+"So -- er d'you think it would be all right mean, will It be okay 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 Muggles, 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 the
+parent or guardian must give permission." She turned to look at him,
+with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? "I'm sorry, Potter, but
+that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be late for your
+next lesson."
+
+There was nothing to be done. Ron called Professor McGonagall a lot of
+names that greatly annoyed Hermione; Hermione assumed an
+"all-for-the-best" expression that made Ron even angrier, and Harry had
+to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and happily about what
+they were going to do first, once they got into Hogsmeade.
+
+"There's always the feast," said Ron, in an effort to cheer Harry UP.
+"You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."
+
+"Yeah," said Harry gloomily, "great."
+
+The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lot better if
+he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone else. Nothing
+anyone said made him feel any better about 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 it signed, that was no good. Ron halfheartedly
+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, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the
+Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit, but really, Harry, apart from
+that, you're not missing anything."
+
+On Halloween 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," said Hermione,
+looking desperately sorry for him.
+
+"Yeah, loads," said Ron. He and Hermione had finally forgotten their
+squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Harry's difficulties.
+
+"Don't worry about me," said Harry, in what he hoped was at, offhand
+voice, "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."
+
+He accompanied them to the entrance hall, where Filch, the caretaker,
+was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long
+list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one
+was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.
+
+"Staying here, Potter?" shouted Malfoy, who was standing in line with
+Crabbe and Goyle. "Scared of passing the dementors?"
+
+Harry ignored him and made his solitary way up the marble staircase,
+through the deserted corridors, and back to Gryffindor Tower.
+
+"Password?" said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze.
+
+"Fortuna Major," said Harry listlessly.
+
+The portrait swung open and he climbed through the hole into the common
+room. It was full of chattering first and second years, and a few older
+students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often the novelty had
+worn off
+
+"Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!"
+
+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 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.
+
+"What was the point waking me up?" the Fat Lady called grumpily after
+him as he walked away.
+
+Harry wandered dispiritedly toward 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 Worms like the rest of your
+nasty little friends?"
+
+Harry shrugged.
+
+"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" snapped Filch,
+and he stood glaring until Harry had passed out of sight.
+
+But Harry didn't go back to the common room; he climbed a staircase,
+thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and was walking
+along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said,
+"Harry?"
+
+Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin,
+looking around his office door.
+
+"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from
+Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"
+
+"Hogsmeade," said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.
+
+"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Harry for a moment. "Why don't you come
+in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson." "A
+what?" said Harry. I
+
+He followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a very large tank
+of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face
+pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly
+fingers.
+
+"Water demon," said Lupin, surveying the grindylow thoughtfully. "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."
+
+The grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a tangle
+of weeds 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.
+
+"Sit down," said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. "I've only got
+teabags, I'm afraid -- but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"
+
+Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling.
+
+"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?"
+
+"No," said Harry.
+
+He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog he'd seen in
+Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. He didn't want Lupin to think he
+was a coward, especially since Lupin alreadv seemed to think he couldn't
+cope with a boggart.
+
+Something of Harry's thoughts seemed to have shown on his face, because
+Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Harry?"
+
+"No," Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea and watched the grindylow
+brandishing a fist at him. "Yes," he said suddenly, putting his tea down
+on Lupin's desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart?"
+
+"Yes," said Lupin slowly.
+
+"Why didn't you let me fight it?" said Harry abruptly.
+
+Lupin raised his eyebrows.
+
+"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry," he said, sounding
+surprised.
+
+Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was
+taken aback.
+
+"Why?" he said again.
+
+"Well," said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart
+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 Dumbledore.
+
+"Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. "But I
+didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the
+staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."
+
+"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Harry honestly. "I -- I remembered
+those dementors."
+
+"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. "Well, well... I'm impressed." fie
+smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. "That suggests
+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 mot,, tea.
+
+"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting
+the boggart?" said Lupin shrewdly.
+
+"Well... yeah," said Harry. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier.
+"Professor 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, which was
+smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his black eyes
+narrowing.
+
+"Ah, Severus," said Lupin, smiling. "Thanks very much. Could you leave
+it here on the desk for me?"
+
+Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Harry and
+Lupin.
+
+"I was just showing Harry my grindylow," said Lupin pleasantly, pointing
+at the tank.
+
+"Fascinating," said Snape, without looking at it. "You should drink that
+directly, Lupin."
+
+"Yes, Yes, I will," said Lupin.
+
+"I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued. "If you need more.
+
+"I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus."
+
+"Not at all," said Snape, but there was a look in his eye Harry 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-color," 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 crazy urge to knock the
+goblet out of his hands.
+
+"Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts, he blurted 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 Defense 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. see
+you at the feast later."
+
+"Right," said Harry, putting down his empty teacup.
+
+The empty goblet was still smoking.
+
+"There you go," said Ron. "We got as much as we could carry."
+
+A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into Harry's lap. It was
+dusk, and Ron and Hermione had just turned up in the common room,
+pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'd had the time
+of their lives.
+
+"Thanks," said Harry, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps.
+"What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?"
+
+By the sound of it -- everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding
+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 shelves,
+all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get
+there!"
+
+"Honeydukes has 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...."
+
+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 fiveminutes
+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 hundreds of
+candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many
+flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy
+ceiling like brilliant watersnakes.
+
+The food was delicious; even Hermione and Ron, who were full to bursting
+with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings of everything. Harry
+kept glancing at the staff table. Professor Lupin
+
+looked cheerful and as well as he ever did; he was talking animatedly to
+tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. Harry moved his eyes
+along the table, to the place where Snape sat. Was he imagining it, or
+were Snape's eyes flickering toward Lupin more often than was natural?
+
+The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts
+ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation
+gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success
+with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.
+
+It had been such a pleasant evening that Harry's good mood couldn't even
+be spoiled by Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd as 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 that
+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 came bustling
+importantly through the crowd. "What's the holdup 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 Dumbledore. Quick."
+
+People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe.
+
+"What's going on?" said Ginny, who had just arrived.
+
+A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the
+portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was.
+
+"Oh, my --" Hermione 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; great chunks of it
+had been torn away completely.
+
+Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his
+eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying
+toward him.
+
+"We need to find her," said Dumbledore. "Professor McGonagall, please go
+to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle
+for the Fat Lady."
+
+"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice.
+
+It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and looking
+delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.
+
+"What do you mean, Peeves?" said Dumbledore calmly, and Peeves'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,
+sit. 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.
+
+"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 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 door 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 on, now, no
+more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"
+
+"C'mon," Ron said to Harry and Hermione; they seized three sleeping bags
+and dragged them into a corner.
+
+"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered
+anxiously.
+
+"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," said Ron.
+
+"It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know," said Hermione as they
+climbed fully dressed into their sleeping bags and propped themselves on
+their elbows to talk. "The one night we weren't in the tower...."
+
+I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run," said Ron. "Didn't
+realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."
+
+Hermione shuddered.
+
+All around them, people were asking one another the same question: "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. "He
+could've flown in," suggested Dean Thomas.
+
+"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read Hogwarts, 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
+Fitch 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 to the
+prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was
+scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering that still
+filled the hall, Harry felt as though he were sleeping outdoors in a
+light wind.
+
+Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the hall to check that
+everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when many students
+had finally fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore came in. Harry watched
+him looking around for Percy, who had been prowling between the sleeping
+bags, telling people off for talking. Percy was only a short way away
+from Harry, Ron, and Hermlone, who quickly pretended to be asleep as
+Dumbledore's 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 temporary
+guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them
+back in tomorrow."
+
+"And the Fat Lady, sir?"
+
+"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 not there. And Filch
+has done the dungeons; nothing there either."
+
+"What about the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The
+Owlery?"
+
+"All searched."
+
+"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger."
+
+"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."
+
+Harry opened his eyes a fraction and squinted up to where they stood;
+Dumbledore's back was to him, but he could see Percy's face, rapt with
+attention, and Snape's profile, which looked angry.
+
+"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before -- ah --
+the start of term?" said Snape, who was barely opening his lips, as
+though trying to block Percy out of the conversation.
+
+"I do, Severus," said Dumbledore, and there was something like warning
+in his voice.
+
+"It seems -- almost impossible -- that Black could have entered the
+school without inside help. I did express my concerns whet, you
+appointed --"
+
+"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped
+Black enter it," said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the
+subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. "I must go down to the
+dementors," said Dumbledore. I said I would inform them when our search
+was complete."
+
+"Didn't they want to help, sit?" said Percy.
+
+"Oh yes," said Dumbledore coldly. "But I'm afraid no dementor will cross
+the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster."
+
+Percy looked slightly abashed. Dumbledore left the hall, walking 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.
+
+"\What was all that about?" Ron mouthed.
+
+The 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 gray pony. Nobody
+was very happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging
+people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated
+passwords, which he changed at least twice a day.
+
+"He's a complete lunatic," 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."
+
+Sir Cadogan, however, was the least of Harry's worries. He was now being
+closely watched. Teachers found excuses to walk along corridors with
+him, and Percy Weasley (acting, Harry suspected, on his mother's orders)
+was tailing him everywhere like an extremely pompous guard dog. To cap
+it all, Professor McGonagall summoned Harry into her office, with such a
+somber expression on her face Harry thought someone must have died.
+
+"There's no point hiding it from you any longer, Potter," she said in a
+very serious voice. "I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius
+Black --"
+
+"I know he's after me," said Harry wearily. "I heard Ron's dad telling
+his mum. Mr. Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic."
+
+Professor McGonagall seemed very taken aback. She stared at Harry for a
+moment or two, then said, "I see! Well, in that case, Potter, you'll
+understand why I don't think it's a good idea for you to be practicing
+Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only Your team members,
+it's very exposed, Potter --"
+
+"We've got our first match on Saturday!" said Harry, outraged. "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 field, 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 was 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're 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 as 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, "And we've
+been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin, and
+instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got
+a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory --"
+
+Angelina, Alicia, and Katie suddenly giggled.
+
+"What?" said Wood, frowning at this lighthearted behavior.
+
+"He'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 together,"
+said Fred impatiently. "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver,
+Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Harry caught the
+Snitch in about five minutes, remember?"
+
+"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 is 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
+was 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
+tomorrow. 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 realized he was ten minutes late for Defense Against the
+Dark Arts, and set off at a run with Wood shouting after him, "Diggory's
+got a very fast swerve, Harry, so you might want to try looping him --"
+
+Harry skidded to a halt outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts
+classroom, pulled the door open, and dashed inside.
+
+"Sorry I'm late, Professor Lupin. I --"
+
+But it wasn't Professor Lupin who looked up at him from the teacher's
+desk; it was Snape.
+
+"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so I think we'll make it ten
+points from Gryffindor. Sit down."
+
+But Harry didn't move.
+
+"Where's Professor Lupin?" he said.
+
+"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," said Snape with a
+twisted smile. "I believe I told you to sit down?"
+
+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 wished it
+were. "Five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you 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 grindylows,"
+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 of organization."
+
+"He's the best Defense 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 overtaxing 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 am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you
+all to turn to page 394." He glanced around again. 'All of you! Now!"
+
+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 Hermione, whose
+hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.
+
+"Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back.
+"Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the
+basic distinction between --"
+
+"We told you," said Parvati suddenly, "we haven't got as far as
+werewolves yet, we're still on --"
+
+"Silence!" snarled Snape. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a
+third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw
+one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very
+behind you all are...."
+
+"Please, sir," said Hermione, whose hand was still in the air, "the
+werewolf 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 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 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 criticize 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 work they had been doing with Professor
+Lupin.
+
+"Very poorly explained... That is incorrect, the kappa is more commonly
+found in Mongolia.... Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I
+wouldn't have given it three...."
+
+When the bell rang at last, Snape held them back.
+
+"You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you
+recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment or, the
+subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took
+this class in hand. Weasley, stay behind, we need to arrange your
+detention."
+
+Harry and Hermione left the room with the rest of the class, who waited
+until they were well out of earshot, then burst into a furious tirade
+about Snape.
+
+"Snape's never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the
+Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job," Harry said to
+Hermione. "Why's he got it in for Lupin? D'you think this is all because
+of the boggart?"
+
+"I don't know," said Hermione pensively. "But I really hope Professor
+Lupin gets better soon...."
+
+Ron caught up with them five minutes later, in a towering rage.
+
+"D'you know what that --" (he called Snape something that made Hermione
+say "Ron!") "-- is making me do? I've got to scrub out the bedpans in
+the hospital wing. Without magic!" He was breathing 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 the next morning; so early that it was till
+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 to him, blowing hard in
+his ear.
+
+"What did you do that for?" said Harry furiously. Peeves puffed out his
+cheeks, blew hard, and zoomed backward 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 that 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 field, 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.
+
+"You know, I reckon Ron was right about you," Harry told Crookshanks
+suspiciously. "There are plenty of mice around this place -- go and
+chase them. Go on," he added, nudging Crookshanks down the spiral
+staircase with his foot. "Leave Scabbers alone."
+
+The noise of the storm was even louder in the common roorn. Harry knew
+better than to think the match would be canceled; Quidditch matches
+weren't called off for trifles like thunderstorms. Nevertheless, he was
+starting to feel very apprehensive. Wood had pointed out Cedric Diggory
+to him in the corridor; Diggory was a fifth year and a lot bigger than
+Harry. Seekers were usually light
+
+and speedy, but Diggory's weight would be an advantage in this weather
+because he was less likely to be blown off course.
+
+Harry whiled away the hours until dawn in front of the fire, getting up
+every now and then to stop Crookshanks from sneaking up
+
+the boys, staircase again. At long last Harry thought it must be time
+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 anything.
+
+"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 toward the Quidditch field, heads
+bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas being whipped out of their
+hands as they went. just before he entered the locker room, Harry saw
+Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, laughing and pointing at him from under an
+enormous umbrella on their way to the stadium.
+
+The team changed into their scarlet robes and waited for Wood's usual
+pre-match pep talk, but it didn't come. He tried to speak several times,
+made an odd gulping noise, then shook his head hopelessly and beckoned
+them to follow him.
+
+The wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they walked out
+onto the field. If the crowd was cheering, they couldn't hear it over
+the fresh rolls of thunder. Rain was splattering over Harry's glasses.
+How on earth was he going to see the Snitch in this?
+
+The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field,
+wearing canary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to eacb other and
+shook hands; Diggory smiled at Wood but Wood no, looked as though he had
+lockjaw and merely nodded. Harry saw Madam Hooch's mouth form the words,
+"Mount Your brooms.,, He pulled his right foot out of the mud with a
+squelch and swung it over his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch put her
+whistle 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 the 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 frozen, hardly able
+to see his teammates, let alone the tiny Snitch. He flew backward and
+forward across the field 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 teammate 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 field 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 Snitch soon,
+we'll be playing into the night."
+
+"I've got no chance with these on," Harry said exasperatedly, waving his
+glasses.
+
+At that very moment, Hermione appeared at his shoulder; she was holding
+her cloak over her head and was, inexplicably, beaming.
+
+"I've had an idea, Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!"
+
+He handed them to her, and as the team watched in amazement, 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. "Okay, team, let's go for it!"
+
+Hermione's spell had done the trick. Harry was still numb with cold,
+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 toward the middle of the field, 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.
+
+Harry's numb hands slipped on the broom handle and his Nimbus dropped a
+few feet. Shaking his sodden bangs out of his eyes, he squinted back
+into the stands. The dog had vanished.
+
+"Harry!" came Wood's anguished yell from the Gryffindor goal posts.
+"Harry, behind you!"
+
+Harry looked wildly around. Cedric Diggory was pelting up the field, and
+a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them
+-
+
+With a jolt of panic, Harry threw himself flat to the broornhandle and
+zoomed toward the Snitch.
+
+"Come on!" he growled at his Nimbus as the rain whipped his face.
+'Taster!"
+
+But something odd was happening. An eerie silence was falling across the
+stadium. The wind, though as strong as ever, was forgetting to roar. It
+was as though someone had turned off the sound, as though Harry had gone
+suddenly deaf -- what was going on?
+
+And then a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over him, inside him,
+just as he became aware of something moving on the field below...
+
+Before he'd had time to think, Harry had taken his eyes off the Snitch
+and looked down.
+
+At least a hundred dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him,
+were standing beneath him. It was as though freezing water were rising
+in his chest, cutting at his insides. And then he heard it again....
+Someone was screaming, screaming inside his head... a 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....
+
+He was falling, falling through the icy mist.
+
+"Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy....
+
+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."
+
+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 head to foot, was
+gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione were also there, looking as
+though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool.
+
+"Harry!" said Fred, who looked extremely white underneath, the mud.
+"How're you feeling?"
+
+It was as though Harry's memory was on fast forward. The lightning --
+the Grim -- the Snitch -- and the dementors...
+
+"What happened?" he said, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped.
+
+"You 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 doing a replay?"
+
+No one said anything. The horrible truth sank into Harry like a stone.
+
+"We didn't -- lose?"
+
+"Diggory got the Snitch," said George. "Just after you fell. He didn't
+realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the
+ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and
+square... even Wood admits it."
+
+"Where is Wood?" said Harry, suddenly realizing 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 loses 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..."
+
+"No Way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against
+Hufflepuff..."
+
+"It 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 time
+ever, he had lost a Quidditch match.
+
+After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to
+leave him in peace.
+
+"We'll come and see you later," Fred told him. "Don't beat yourself up,
+Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had."
+
+The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the
+door behind them, looking disapproving. Ron and Hermione moved nearer to
+Harry's bed.
+
+"Dumbledore was really angry," Hermione said in a quaking voice. "I've
+never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as You fell,
+waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground.
+Then he whirled his wand at the dementors. Shot silver stuff at them.
+They left the stadium right away... He was furious they'd come onto the
+grounds. We heard him --"
+
+"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher," said Ron. "And walked up to
+school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were --"
+
+His voice faded, but Harry hardly noticed. He was thinking about what
+the dementors had done to him... about the screaming voice. He looked up
+and saw Ron and Hermione lookin, at him so anxiously that he quickly
+cast around for something 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
+that stood alone in the middle of the grounds.
+
+"And?" he said, dreading the answer.
+
+"Well, you know the Whomping Willow," said Ron. "It -- it doesn't like
+being hit."
+
+"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around, 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 twig 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 for 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 Nimbus was beyond repair, but
+Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best
+friends.
+
+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 unless Harry kept it shut under his
+bowl of fruit. The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, this
+time accompanied by Wood, who told Harry (in a hollow, dead sort of
+voice) that he didn't blame
+
+
+
+him in the slightest. Ron and Hermione left Harry's bedside only at
+night- But nothing anyone said or did could make Harry feel any better,
+because they knew only half of what was troubling him.
+
+He hadn't told anyone about the Grim, not even Ron -and Hermione,
+because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione would scoff. The fact
+remained, however, that it had now appeared twice, and both appearances
+had been followed by near-fatal accidents; the first time, he had nearly
+been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his
+broomstick. Was the Grim 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?
+
+And then there were the dementors. Harry felt sick and humiliated every
+time he thought of them. Everyone said the dementors were horrible, but
+no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard
+echoes in their head of their dying parents.
+
+Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had
+heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours
+in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at the strips of
+moonlight on the ceiling. When the dementors approached him, he heard
+the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him,
+Harry, from Lord Voldemort, and Voldemort's laughter before he murdered
+her.... Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted
+hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake to dwell again on his
+mother's voice.
+
+It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on
+Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, eve', if he had
+to endure Draco Malfoys taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with
+glee at Gryffindor's defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and
+celebrated having the full use 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 and flung 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 teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving
+off," said Ron as they headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch.
+"Check who's in there, Hermione."
+
+Hermione peered around the classroom door.
+
+"It's okay!"
+
+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 behavior while Lupin had been ill.
+
+"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?"
+
+"We don't know anything about werewolves two rolls of parchment!"
+
+"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked,
+frowning slightly.
+
+The babble broke out again.
+
+"Yes, but he said we were really behind he wouldn't listen --"
+
+"-- two rolls of parchment!"
+
+Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face.
+
+"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the
+essay."
+
+"Oh no," said Hermione, looking very disappointed. "I've already
+finished it!"
+
+They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a
+glass box containing a hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who
+looked as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and
+harmless looking.
+
+"Lures travelers 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 among 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.
+
+"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at
+Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch
+the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye,
+and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance."
+
+"Did you hear about the dementors too?" said Harry with difficulty.
+
+Lupin looked at him quickly.
+
+"Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that
+angry. They have been growing restless for some time -- furious at his
+refusal to let them inside the grounds.... I suppose they were the
+reason you fell?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry. He hesitated, and then the question he had to ask
+burst from him before he could stop himself." Why? Why do they affect me
+like that? Am I just --?"
+
+"It has nothing to do with weakness," said Professor Lupin sharply, as
+though he had read Harry's mind. "The dementors affect you worse than
+the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't
+have."
+
+A ray of wintery sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating
+Lupin's gray hairs and the lines on his young face.
+
+"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They
+infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay 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, every happy memory will be sucked out
+of you. If it can, the dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce
+you to something like itself... soul-less and evil. You'll be left with
+nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that
+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 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 field. 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 single cheery thought.
+Most of them go mad within weeks."
+
+"But Sirius Black escaped from them," Harry said slowly. "He got
+away..."
+
+Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to
+catch it.
+
+"Yes," he said, straightening up, "Black must have found a way to fight
+them. I wouldn't have believed it possible.... Dementors are supposed to
+drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long...."
+
+"You made that dementor on the train back off," said Harry suddenly.
+
+"There are -- certain defenses one can use," said Lupin. "But there was
+only one dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult
+it becomes to resist."
+
+"What defenses?" 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 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.
+Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the
+entrances.
+
+Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened suddenly to a
+dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning
+covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of
+Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had
+already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out
+to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing
+their plans for the holidays. Both Ron and Hermione had decided to
+remain at Hogwarts, and though Ron said it was because he couldn't stand
+two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the
+library, Harry wasn't fooled; they were doing it to keep him company,
+and he was very grateful.
+
+To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade
+trip on the very last weekend of the term.
+
+"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!" said Hermione. "Mum and
+Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!"
+
+Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third year staying behind
+again, Harry borrowed a copy of Which Broomstick from Wood, and decided
+to spend the day reading up on the different makes. He had been riding
+one of the school brooms at 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 good-bye to Ron
+and Hermione, who were wrapped in cloaks and scarves, then turned up the
+marble staircase alone, and headed back toward 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 toward 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 at 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, suspecting 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, patting the
+parchment fondly.
+
+"It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we decided last
+night, your need's greater than ours."
+
+"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We
+don't really need it anymore."
+
+"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.
+
+"A bit of old parchment!" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as
+though Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain, George."
+
+"Well... when we were in our first year, Harry -- young, carefree, and
+innocent --"
+
+Harry snorted. He doubted whether Fred and George had ever 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 disembowelment and we couldn't help noticing a
+drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly
+Dangerous.
+
+"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 suspected what it was,
+though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."
+
+"And you know how to work it?"
+
+"Oh yes," said Fred, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than
+all the teachers in this school."
+
+"You're winding me up," said Harry, looking at the ragged old bit of
+parchment.
+
+"Oh, are we?" said George.
+
+He took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, and said, "I
+solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
+
+And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the
+point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they
+crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words
+began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that
+proclaimed:
+
+Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
+
+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 and grounds.
+But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it,
+each labeled with a name in minuscule writing. Astounded, Harry bent
+over it. A labeled dot in the top left 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 traveled 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 might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room,
+through that one-eyed old crone's hump."
+
+"Moony, Wormtaill Padfoot, and Prongs," sighed George, patting the
+heading of the map. "We owe them so much."
+
+"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers,"
+said Fred solemnly.
+
+"Right," said George briskly. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used
+it or anyone can read it," Fred said warningly.
+
+"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank."
+
+"So, young Harry," said Fred, in an uncanny impersonation of Percy,
+"mind you behave yourself."
+
+"See you in Honeydukes," said George, winking.
+
+They left the room, both smirking in a satisfied sort of way.
+
+Harry stood there, gazing at the miraculous map. He watched the tiny ink
+Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor. If
+Filch really didn't know... he wouldn't have to pass the dementors at
+all....
+
+But even as he stood there, flooded with excitement, something Harry had
+once heard Mr. Weasley say came floating out of his memory.
+
+Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
+it 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 get into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as
+though he wanted to steal anything or attack anyone... and Fred and
+George had been using it for 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 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, labeled 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 back at the map. The
+tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his 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 fairly thin
+person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, then tucked the
+map away again, hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed
+himself forward.
+
+He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide, then
+landed on cold, damp earth. He stood up, looking around. It was
+
+pitch dark. He held up his wand, muttered, "Lumos! " and saw that he was
+in a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. He raised the map, tapped it
+with the tip of his wand, and muttered, "Mischief managed!" The map went
+blank at once. He folded it carefully, tucked it inside his robes, then,
+heart beating fast, both excited and apprehensive, he set off.
+
+The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit
+than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling now and then on
+the uneven floor, holding his wand out in front 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 toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs. Now he could
+definitely hear voices, not to mention the 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 leapt behind an
+enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass. He heard the man
+shifting boxes against the opposite wall. He might not get another
+chance --
+
+Quickly and silently, Harry dodged out from his hiding place and climbed
+the stairs; looking back, he saw an enormous backside and shiny bald
+head, buried in a box. Harry reached the door at the top of the stairs,
+slipped through it, and found himself behind the counter of Honeydukes
+-- he ducked, crept sideways, and then straightened up.
+
+Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students that no one looked
+twice at Harry. He edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a
+laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face
+if he could see where Harry was now.
+
+There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets
+imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut
+ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of
+chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans,
+and another of Fizzing Whizbees, 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-colored
+bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery
+Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ("breathe fire for
+your friends!"), Ice Mice ("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 farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). Ron and
+Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored
+lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them.
+
+"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I
+expect," Hermione was saying.
+
+"How about these?" said Ron, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under
+Hermione's nose.
+
+"Definitely not," said Harry.
+
+Ron nearly dropped the jar.
+
+"Harry!" squealed Hermione. "What are you doing here? How -- how did you
+--?"
+
+"Wow!" said Ron, looking very impressed, "you've learned to Apparate!"
+
+"'Course I haven't," said Harry. He dropped his voice so that none of
+the sixth years could hear him and told them all about the Marauder's
+Map.
+
+"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" said Ron, outraged. "I'm
+their brother!"
+
+"But Harry isn't going to keep it!" said Hermione, as though the idea
+were ludicrous. "He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall,
+aren't you, Harry?"
+
+"No, I'm not!" said Harry.
+
+"Are you mad?" said Ron, goggling at Hermione. "Hand in something that
+good?"
+
+"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred
+and George had nicked it!"
+
+"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed. "He could be using one
+of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The 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 of 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 hesistated. 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 MINISTRY OF MAGIC
+
+Customers are reminded that until further notice, dementors 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. Anyway,
+Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they?
+They live over the shop!"
+
+"Yes, but but --" Hermoine seemed to be struggling to find another
+problem. "Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He
+hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much
+trouble! And it's not nightfall yet -- what if Sirius Black turns up
+today? Now?"
+
+"He'd have a job spotting Harry in this," said Ron, nodding through the
+mullioned windows at the thick, swirling snow. "Come on, Hermione, it's
+Christmas. Harry deserves a break."
+
+Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried.
+
+"Are you going to report me?" Harry asked her, grinning.
+
+"Oh -- of course not -- but honestly, Harry --"
+
+"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?" said Ron, grabbing him and leading
+him over to their barrel. "And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred
+gave me one of those when I was seven -- it burnt a hole right through
+my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick." Ron stared
+broodingly into the Acid Pop box. "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 three of them
+left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside.
+
+Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and
+shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly
+wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging 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 and 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
+butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"
+
+Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were
+freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering
+the tiny inn.
+
+It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman
+with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlock' up at the bar.
+
+"That's Madam Rosmerta," said Ron. "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" he
+added, going slightly red.
+
+Harry and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, ,,her, there
+was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas
+tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Ron came back five minutes
+later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer.
+
+"Merry Christmas!" he said happily, raising his tankard.
+
+Harry drank deeply. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and
+seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.
+
+A sudden breeze ruffled his hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had
+opened again. Harry looked over the rim of his tankard and choked.
+
+Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had just entered the pub with a
+flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in
+conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a
+pinstriped cloak -- Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.
+
+In an instant, Ron and Hermione had both placed hands on the top of
+Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table. Dripping
+with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry clutched his empty
+tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar,
+pause, then turn and walk right toward him.
+
+Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, Mobiliarbus!"
+
+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 the dense lower branches,
+Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside
+theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs If the teachers and minister as
+they sat down.
+
+Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise 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 red currant rum, Minister."
+
+"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear," said Fudge's voice. "Lovely to see you
+again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us...."
+
+"Well, thank you very much, Minister."
+
+Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart
+was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. Why hadn't it occurred to him
+that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers to& And how long
+were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into
+Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight.... Hermione's leg
+gave a nervous twitch next to him.
+
+"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam
+Rosmerta's voice.
+
+Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as
+though he were checking for eavesdroppers. Then he said in a quiet
+voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what
+happened up at the school at Halloween?"
+
+I did hear a rumor," admitted Madam Rosmerta.
+
+"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" said Professor McGonagall
+exasperatedly.
+
+"Do you think Blacks still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam
+Rosmerta.
+
+"I'm sure of it," said Fudge shortly.
+
+"You know that the dementors have searched the whole village twjce?"
+said Madam Rosmerta, a slight edge to her voice. "Scared all my
+customers away... It's very bad for business, Minister."
+
+"Rosmerta, dear, I don't like them any more than you do," said Fudge
+uncomfortably. "Necessary precaution... unfortunate, but there YOU
+are.... I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore
+-- he won't let them inside the castle grounds."
+
+"I should think not," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "How are we
+supposed to teach with those horrors floating around?"
+
+"Hear, hear!" squeaked tiny Professor Flitwick, whose feet were dangling
+a foot from the ground.
+
+"All the same," demurred Fudge, "they are here to protect you all from
+something much worse.... We all know what Black's capable of..."
+
+"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it," said Madam Rosmerta
+thoughtfully. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius
+Black was the last I'd have thought... I mean, I remember him when he
+was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to
+become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."
+
+"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta," said Fudge gruffly. "The
+worst he did isn't widely known."
+
+"The worst?" said Madam Rosmerta, her voice alive with curiosity, "Worse
+than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"
+
+"I certainly do," said Fudge.
+
+"I ca'A believe that. What could possibly be worse?" "You say you
+remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," mur- mured Professor McGonagall.
+"Do you remember who his-best friend was?"
+
+"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta, with a small laugh. "Never saw one
+without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here --
+ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and
+James Potter!"
+
+Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk. Ron kicked him.
+
+"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "Black and Potter. Ringleaders
+of their little gang. Both very bright, of course -- exceptionally
+bright, in fact -- but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of
+troublemakers --"
+
+"I dunno," chuckled Hagrid. "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a
+run fer their money."
+
+"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor
+Flitwick. "Inseparable!"
+
+"Of course they were," said Fudge. "Potter trusted Black beyond 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."
+
+"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" whispered
+Madam Rosmerta.
+
+"Worse even than that, rn'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. Dumbledore, 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 into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an
+easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance
+was the Fidelius Charm."
+
+"How does that work?" said Madam Rosmerta, breathless with interest.
+Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.
+
+"An immensely complex spell," he said squeakily, "involving the magical
+concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is
+hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth
+impossible to find -- unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to
+divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who
+could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and
+never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their
+sitting room window!"
+
+"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Madam Rosmerta.
+
+"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall. "James Potter told Dumbledore
+that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was
+planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained
+worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper
+himself."
+
+"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta.
+
+"He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping
+You-Know-Who informed of their movements," said Professor McGonagall
+darkly. "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side
+had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to
+You-Know-Who."
+
+"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"
+
+"He did," said Fudge heavily. "And then, barely a week after the
+Fidelius Charm had been performed --" "Black betrayed them?" breathed
+Madam Rosmerta.
+
+"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready
+to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have
+planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know,
+You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone,
+horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position
+indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had
+shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it
+--"
+
+"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar
+went quiet.
+
+"Shh!" said Professor McGonagall.
+
+"I met him!" growled Hagrid. "I musta bin the last ter see him before he
+killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an'
+James's house after they was killed! jus' got him outta the ruins, poor
+little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents
+dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter
+ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd
+bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o'
+You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an'
+shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN'
+TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared.
+
+"Hagrid, please!" said Professor McGonagall. "Keep your voice down!"
+
+"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was
+You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me,
+Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him --' Ha! But I'd had me
+orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was
+ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave
+in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it
+anymore,' he says.
+
+"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that
+motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it
+anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. 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 matter o' hours before the Ministry was
+after him.
+
+"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd 've pitched him off
+the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard
+goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to
+em anymore...."
+
+A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta 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 who found
+him. It was little Peter Pettigrew -- another of the Potters' 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 around after
+them at Hogwarts?" said Madam Rosmerta.
+
+"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter," said Professor McGonagall. "Never
+quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather ,harp with him.
+You can imagine how I -how I regret that now..." She sounded as though
+she had a sudden head cold.
+
+"There, now, Minerva," said Fudge kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's
+death. Eyewitnesses -- Muggles, of course, we wiped their, memories
+later -- told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing,
+'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand.
+Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens...."
+
+Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy ...
+foolish boy... he was always hopeless at dueling... should have left it
+to the Ministry...."
+
+"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I
+wouldn't 've messed around with wands -- I'd 've ripped him limb -- from
+-- limb," Hagrid growled.
+
+"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," said Fudge sharply.
+"Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad
+would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was
+Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time,
+and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those
+people. I -- I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A
+crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer
+below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there
+laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him... a heap of
+bloodstained robes 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 was
+taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement 'Squad and
+Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was
+some comfort to his poor mother. Blades been 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
+believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of
+Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and
+desperate man -- cruel... pointless. Yet I met Black on my last
+inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit
+muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them... but I
+was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me.
+It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored -- asked if I'd
+finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the
+crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the dementors
+seemed to be having on him -- and he was one of the most heavily guarded
+in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."
+
+"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" said Madam Rosmerta.
+"Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is
+he?"
+
+I daresay that is his -- er -- eventual plan," said Fudge evasively.
+"But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who
+alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted
+servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again...."
+
+There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their
+glass.
+
+"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, he'd better
+head back up to the castle," said Professor McGonagall.
+
+One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their
+owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosemerta's
+glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three
+Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the
+teachers had disappeared.
+
+"Harry?"
+
+Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both
+staring at him, lost for words.
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN
+
+THE FIREBOLT
+
+Harry didn't have a very clear idea of how he had managed to get back
+into the Honeydukes cellar, through the tunnel, and into the castle once
+more. All he knew was that the return trip seemed to take no time at
+all, and that he hardly noticed what he was doing, because his head was
+still pounding with the conversation he had 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?
+
+Ron and Herinione watched Harry nervously all through dintier, not
+daring to talk about what they'd overheard, because Percy was sitting
+close by them. When they went upstairs to the crowded common room, it
+was to find Fred and George had set off half a dozen Dungbombs in a fit
+of end- of-term high spirits. Harry, who didn't want Fred and George
+asking him whether he'd reached Hogsmeade or not, sneaked quietly up to
+the empty dormitory and headed straight for his bedside cabinet. He
+pushed his books aside and quickly found what he was looking for -- the
+leather-bound photo album Hagrid had given him two years ago, which was
+full of wizard pictures of his mother and father. He sat down on his
+bed, drew the hangings around him, and started turning the pages,
+searching, until...
+
+He stopped on a picture of his parents' wedding day. There was his
+father waving up at him, beaming, the untidy black hair Harry had
+inherited standing up in all directions. There was his mother, alight
+with happiness, arm in arm with his dad. And there ... that must be him.
+Their best man... Harry had never given him a thought before.
+
+If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed
+it was Black in this old photograph. His face wasn't sunken and waxy,
+but handsome, full of laughter. Had he already been working for
+Voldemort when this picture had been taken? Was he already planning the
+deaths of the two people next to him? Did he realize he was facing
+twelve years in Azkaban, twelve years that would make him
+unrecognizable?
+
+But the dementors don't affect him, Harry thought, staring into the
+handsome, laughing face. He doesn't have to hear my Min screaming if
+they get too close -
+
+Harry slammed the album shut, reached over and stuffed it back into his
+cabinet, took off his robe and glasses and got into bed, making sure the
+hangings were hiding him from view.
+
+The dormitory door opened.
+
+"Harry?" said Ron's voice uncertainly.
+
+But Harry 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 Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a
+thousand pieces. He could hear (though having 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 Harry heard inside his head
+whenever the dementors drew near....
+
+"Harry, you -- you look terrible."
+
+Harry hadn't gotten to sleep until daybreak. He had awoken to find the
+dormitory deserted, dressed, and gone down the spiral staircase to a
+common room that was completely empty except for Ron, who was eating a
+Peppermint Toad and massaging his stomach, and Hermione, who had spread
+her homework over three tables.
+
+"Where is everyone?" said Harry.
+
+"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" said Ron, watching
+Harry closely. "It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to come and wake you
+up in a minute."
+
+Harry slumped into a chair next to the fire. Snow was still falling
+outside the windows. Crookshanks was spread out in front of the fire
+like a large, ginger rug.
+
+"You really don' look well, you know," Hermione said, peering anxiously
+into his face.
+
+"I'm fine," said Harry.
+
+"Harry, listen," said Hermione, exchanging a look with Ron, you must be
+really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the thing is, 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 too 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 others."
+
+"So what are you saying?" said Ron, looking very tense. "You want to --
+to kill Black or something?"
+
+"Don't be silly," said Herinione in a panicky voice. "Harry doesn't want
+to kill anyone, do you, Harry?"
+
+Again, Harry didn't answer. He didn't know what he wanted to do. All he
+knew was that the idea of doing nothing, while Black was at liberty, was
+almost more than he could stand.
+
+Malfoy knows," he said abruptly. "Remember what he said to me in
+Potions? 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself... I'd want revenge.
+
+"You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?" said Ron
+furiously. "Listen... you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after
+Black had finished with him? Dad told me -- the Order of Merlin, First
+Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the biggest bit of him
+they could find. Black's a madman, Harry, and he's dangerous --"
+
+"Malfoy's dad must have told him," said Harry, ignoring Ron. "He 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 Voldemort --"
+
+"-- and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like
+Pettigrew! Get a grip. Malfoy's just hoping you'll get 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't Put
+Yourself in danger, it's what Black wants.... Oh, Harry, you'd be
+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 my parents!"
+
+Further discussion of Sirius Black plainly wasn't what Ron had had in
+mind.
+
+"Or we could have a game of chess, he said hastily, "or Gobstones. Percy
+left a set --"
+
+"No, let's visit Hagrid," said Harry firmly.
+
+So they got their cloaks from their dormitories and set off through the
+portrait hole ("Stand and fight, you yellow-bellied mongrels!"), down
+through the empty castle and out through the oak front doors.
+
+They made their way slowly down the lawn, making a shallow trench in the
+glittering, powdery snow, their socks and the hems of their cloaks
+soaked and freezing. The Forbidden Forest looked as though it had been
+enchanted, each tree smattered with silver, and Hagrid'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 there.
+
+There was a sound of heavy footsteps, then the door creaked open. Hagrid
+stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the
+front of his leather vest.
+
+"YWve heard?" he bellowed, and he flung himself onto Harry's neck.
+
+Hagrid being at least twice the size of a normal man, this was 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 back into the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered
+into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his
+face glazed with tears that dripped down into his tangled beard.
+
+"Hagrid, what is it?" said Hermione, aghast.
+
+Harry spotted an official-looking letter lying open on the table.
+
+"What's this, Hagrid?"
+
+Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter toward Harry, who
+Picked it up and read aloud:
+
+Dear Mr. Hagrid,
+
+Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in
+your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that
+you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.
+
+"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" said Ron, clapping Hagrid oil the
+shoulder. But Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one of his gigantic
+hands, inviting Harry to read on.
+
+However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question.
+We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy,
+and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the
+Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing 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 kept 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 hippogriff, Hagrid. I
+bet he'll get off
+
+"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 Harry, 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 one another. They had never seen eye
+to eye with Hagrid about what he called "interesting creatures" and
+other people called "terrifying monsters." Or' the other hand, there
+didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. In fact, by Hagrid's
+usual standards, he was positively cute.
+
+"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid," said Hermione,
+sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's massive forearm. "I'm sure
+you can prove Buckbeak is safe."
+
+"Won't make no diff'rence!" sobbed Hagrid. "Them Disposal devils,
+they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! Ad if I lose the
+case, Buckbeak --"
+
+Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail
+and lurched forward, his face in his arms.
+
+"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" said Harry.
+
+"He's done more'n enough fer me already," groaned Hagrid. "Got enough on
+his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius
+Black lurkin' around --"
+
+Ron and Hermione looked quickly at Harry, as though expecting him to
+start berating Hagrid for not telling him the truth about Black. But
+Harry couldn't bring himself to do it, not now that he saw Hagrid so
+miserable and scared.
+
+"Listen, Hagrid," he said, "you can't give up. Hermione's right, You
+just need a good defense. 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 for you,
+Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."
+
+Hagrid 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 muttered,
+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 ter pieces. Gotta
+pull meself together.....
+
+Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his
+head on Hagrid's knee.
+
+"I've not bin meself lately," said Hagrid, stroking Fang with one hand
+and mopping his face with the other. "Worried abou' Buckbeak, 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 table.
+"Er -- how are the flobberworms?"
+
+"Dead," said Hagrid gloomily. "Too much lettuce."
+
+"Oh no!" said Ron, his lip twitching.
+
+"An' them dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all," said Hagrid,
+with a sudden shudder. "Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in
+the Three Broomsticks. 'S like bein' back in Azkaban --"
+
+He fell silent, gulping his tea. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched him
+breathlessly. They had never heard Hagrid talk about his brief spell in
+Azkaban before. After a pause, Hermione said timidly, "Is it awful in
+there, Hagrid?"
+
+"Yeh've no idea," said Hagrid quietly. "Never bin anywhere like it.
+Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind...
+the day I got expelled from Hogwarts... day me dad died... day I had ter
+let Norbert go...."
+
+His eyes filled with tears. Norbert was the baby dragon Hagrid had once
+won in a game of cards.
+
+"Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' really
+see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me
+sleep. When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' I
+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 he 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. "I don' ever want ter 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 on 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 the next day and returned to the empty common room laden with
+books that might help prepare a defense for Buckbeak. The three of them
+sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty
+volumes about famous cases If marauding beasts, speaking occasionally
+when they ran across something relevant.
+
+"Here's something... there was a case in 1722... but the hippogriff was
+convicted -- ugh, look what they did to it, that's disgusting --"
+
+"This might help, look -- a manticore savaged someone in 1296, and they
+let the manticore off -- oh -- no, that was only because everyone was
+too scared to go near it."
+
+Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas
+decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the
+students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe
+were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside
+every suit of armor, and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve
+Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. A powerful and delicious
+smell of cooking pervaded the corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had
+grown so strong that even 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 off his own presents.
+
+'Another sweater from Mum... maroon again... see if you've got one.
+
+Harry had. Mrs. Weasley had sent him a scarlet sweater with the
+Gryffindor 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 of
+maroon socks in his hand.
+
+"Dunno..."
+
+Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming
+broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. Ron dropped his socks and
+jumped off his bed for a closer look.
+
+"I don't believe it," he said hoarsely.
+
+It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see
+every day in Diagon Alley. Its handle glittered as he picked it up. He
+could feel it vibrating and let go; it hung in midair, unsupported, at
+exactly the right height for him to mount it. His eyes moved from the
+golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the
+perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.
+
+"Who sent it to you?" said Ron in a hushed voice.
+
+"Look and see if there's a card," said Harry.
+
+Ron ripped apart the Firebolt's wrappings.
+
+"Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you?"
+
+"Well," said Harry, feeling stunned, "I'm betting it wasn't the
+Dursleys."
+
+I bet it was Dumbledore," said Ron, now walking around and around the
+Firebolt, taking in every glorious inch. "He sent you the Invisibility
+Cloak anonymously...."
+
+"That was my dad's, though," said Harry. "Dumbledore was just 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 case some
+git like Malfoy said it was favoritism. Hey, Harry" -- Ron gave a great
+whoop of laughter -- "Malfoy! Wait till 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 the
+Firebolt, while Ron sank onto Harry's bed, laughing his head off at the
+thought of Malfoy. "Who -?"
+
+"I know," said Ron, controlling himself, "I know who it could've 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 I 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 Snape, remember?"
+
+Harry frowned at Ron.
+
+"I can't see Lupin affording something like this."
+
+"What're you two laughing about?"
+
+Hermione had just come in, wearing her dressing gown and carrying
+Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy, with a string of tinsel tied
+around his neck.
+
+"Don't bring him in here!" said Ron, hurriedly snatching Scabbers from
+the depths of his bed and stowing him in his pajama pocket.
+
+But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks onto Seamus's
+empty bed and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebolt.
+
+"Oh, Harry! Who sent you that?"
+
+"No idea," said Harry. "There wasn't a card or anything with it."
+
+To his great surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or
+intrigued by the news. On the contrary, her face fell, and she bit her
+lip.
+
+"What's the matter with you?" said Ron.
+
+"I don't know," said Hermione slowly, "but it's a bit odd, isn't it? I
+mean, 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 together," 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 go on
+it? Can I?"
+
+"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" said Hermione
+shrilly.
+
+Harry and Ron looked at her.
+
+"What d'you think Harry's going to do with it -- sweep the floor?" said
+Ron.
+
+But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from Seamus's bed,
+right at Ron's chest.
+
+"GET -- HIM -- OUT -- OF -- HERE!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks's claws
+ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his
+shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at
+Crookshanks that hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it
+over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling with pain.
+
+Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tint,, whistling was
+filling the room. The Pocket Sneakoscope had become dislodged from Uncle
+Vernon's old socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor.
+
+I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down and picking up the
+Sneakoscope. I never wear those socks if I can help it....
+
+The Sneakoscope whirled and whistled in his palm. Crookshanks was
+hissing and spitting at it.
+
+"You'd better take that cat out of here, Hermione," said Ron furiously,
+sitting on Harry's bed nursing his toe. "Can't you shut that thing up?"
+he added to Harry as Hermione strode out of the room, Crookshanks's
+yellow eyes still fixed maliciously on Ron.
+
+Harry stuffed the Sneakoscope back inside the socks and threw it back
+into his trunk. All that could be heard now were Ron's stifled moans of
+pain and rage. Scabbers was huddled in Ron's hands. It had been a while
+since Harry had seen him out of Ron's pocket, and he was unpleasantly
+surprised to see that Scabbers, 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 big stupid furball left
+him alone!"
+
+But Harry, remembering what the woman at the Magical Menagerie had said
+about rats living only 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 conplaints that Scabbers was both
+boring and useless, he 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
+examining 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 criticizing 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 that a single table,
+set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Dumbledore,
+McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch,
+the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a
+very old and rather moldy- looking tailcoat. There were only three other
+students, two extremely nervous-looking first years and a sullen-faced
+Slytherin fifth year.
+
+"Merry Christmas!" said Dumbledore as Harry, Ron, and Hermione
+approached the table. "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to
+use the House tables.... Sit down, sit down!"
+
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down side by side at the end of the table.
+
+"Crackers!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a
+large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged.
+With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large,
+pointed witchs 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 toward Dumbledore, who
+swapped it for his wizard's hat at once.
+
+"Dig in!" he advised the table, beaming around.
+
+As Harry was helping himself to roast potatoes, the doors of the Great
+Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding toward them as
+though on wheels. She had put on a green sequined dress in honor of the
+occasion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized
+dragonfly.
+
+"Sibyll, this is a pleasant surprise!" said Dumbledore, standing up.
+
+"I 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 coming to join you. Who am I to
+refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I
+do beg you to forgive my lateness...."
+
+"Certainly, certainly," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling. "Let me
+draw you up a chair --"
+
+And he did indeed draw a chair in midair with his wand, which revolved
+for a few seconds before falling with a thud between Professors Snape
+and McGonagall. Professor Trelawney, however, did not sit down; her
+enormous eyes had been roving around the table, and she suddenly uttered
+a kind of soft scream.
+
+I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen!
+Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine
+together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"
+
+"We'll risk it, Sibyll," said Professor McGonagall inpatiendy. "Do sit
+down, the turkey's getting stone cold."
+
+Professor Trelawney hesitated, then lowered herself into the empty
+chair, eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a
+thunderbolt to hit the table. Professor McGonagall poked a large spoon
+into the nearest tureen.
+
+"Tripe, Sibyll?"
+
+Professor Trelawney ignored her. Eyes open again, she looked around once
+more and said, "But where is dear Professor Lupin?"
+
+"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again," said Dumbledore, indicating
+that everybody should start serving themselves. "Most unfortunate that
+it should happen on Christmas Day."
+
+"But surely you already knew that, Sibyll?" said Professor McGonagall,
+her eyebrows raised.
+
+Professor Trelawney gave Professor McGonagall a very cold look.
+
+"Certainly I knew, Minerva, 11 she said quietly. "But one does not
+parade the fact that one is All- Knowing. I frequently act as though I
+am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous.
+
+"That explains a great deal," said Professor McGonagall tartly.
+
+Professor Trelawney's voice suddenly became a good deal less misty.
+
+"If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will
+not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is
+short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him --"
+
+"Imagine that," said Professor McGonagall dryly.
+
+I doubt," said Dumbledore, in a cheerful but slightly raised voice,
+which put an end to Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney's
+conversation, "that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger. Severus,
+you've made the potion for him again?"
+
+"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape. "W -- what?" said Harry, scrambling to
+his feet. "Why?"
+
+"It will need to be checked for jinxes," said Professor McGonagall. "Of
+course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick
+will strip it down --"
+
+"Strip it down?" repeated Ron, as though Professor McGonagall was mad.
+
+"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks," said Professor McGonagall.
+"You will have it back if we are sure it is jinx-free."
+
+"There's nothing wrong with it!" said Harry, his voice shaking slightly.
+"Honestly, Professor --"
+
+"You can't know that, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, quite kindly,
+"not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of
+the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I
+shall keep you informed."
+
+Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and carried the Firebolt out of
+the portrait hole, which closed behind her. Harry stood staring after
+her, the tin of High-Finish Polish still clutched in his 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 face, but stood
+up and faced Ron defiantly.
+
+"Because I thought -- and Professor McGonagall agrees with me -- that
+that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!"
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE
+
+THE PATRONUS
+
+Harry knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop him from
+being angry with her. He had been the owner of the best broom 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. He was positive that
+there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt now, but what sort of state
+would it be in once it had been subjected to all sorts of anti-jinx
+tests?
+
+Ron was furious with Hermione too. As far as he was concerned, the
+stripping-down of a brand- new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal
+damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the
+best, started avoiding the common room. Harry and Ron supposed she had
+taken refuge in the library and didn't try to persuade her to come back.
+All in all, they were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly
+after New Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy again.
+Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started.
+
+"Had a good Christmas?" he said, and then, without waiting for an
+answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been, doing some
+thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the
+dementors come to the next one... I mean... we can't afford you to --
+well --"
+
+Wood broke off, looking awkward.
+
+"I'm working on it," said Harry quickly. "Professor Lupin said he'd
+train me to ward off the dementors. We should be starting this week. He
+said he'd have time after Christmas."
+
+"Ah," said Wood, his expression clearing. "Well, in that case -- I
+really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a
+new broom yet?"
+
+"No," said Harry.
+
+"What! You'd better get a move on, you know -- you can't ride that
+Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!"
+
+"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 got it
+anymore. It was confiscated." And he explained all about how the
+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."
+
+Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his
+Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on
+the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just
+walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"
+
+"I know," said Harry, "but McGonagall still wants to strip it down --"
+
+Wood went pale.
+
+"I'll go and talk to her, Harry," he promised. "I'll make her see
+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. A
+Firebolt..."
+
+Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like
+doing was spending two hours on 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 the 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 palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry
+that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen.
+
+It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen to get to;
+after his conversation with Wood, he wanted to get started on his
+anti-dementor lessons as soon as possible.
+
+"Ah yes," said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end
+of class. "Let me see... how about eight o'clock on Thursday evening?
+The History of Magic classroom should be large enough.... I'll have to
+think carefully about how we're going to do this.... We can't bring a
+real dementor into the castle to practice on...."
+
+"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" said Ron as they walked down the
+corridor, heading to dinner. "What d'you reckon's the matter with him?"
+
+There was a loud and impatient "tuh" from behind them. It was Hermione,
+who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armor, repacking 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 over 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.
+
+"If you don't want to tell us, don't," snapped Ron.
+
+"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."
+
+At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower for
+the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when he arrived,
+but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited only five minutes when
+Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large 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
+combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this
+one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll
+get to a real dementor. The boggart will turn into a dementor when he
+sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my
+office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll
+like."
+
+"Okay," said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehensive at
+all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a
+real dementor.
+
+"So..." Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that
+Harry should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is
+highly advanced magic, Harry -- well beyond ordinary Wizarding Level. It
+is called the Patronus Charm."
+
+"How does it work?" said Harry nervously.
+
+"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus," said Lupin,
+"which is a kind of anti- dementor -- a guardian that acts as a shield
+between you and the dementor."
+
+Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind a Hagridsized
+figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, "The Patronus is
+a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the
+dementor feeds upon -- hope, happiness, the desire to survive -- but it
+cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it.
+But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for
+you. Many qualified 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 concentrating,
+with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."
+
+Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that
+had happened to him at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, he
+settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick.
+
+"Right," he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful,
+soaring sensation of his stomach.
+
+"The incantation is this --" Lupin cleared his throat. "Expecto
+patronum!"
+
+"Expecto patronum, " Harry repeated under his breath, "expecto
+patronum."
+
+"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?"
+
+"Oh -- yeah --" said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that
+first broom ride. "Expecto patrono -- no, patronum -- sorry -- expecto
+patronum, expecto patronum"
+
+Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it 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 it on a
+dementor?"
+
+"Yes," Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the
+middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying,
+but something else kept intruding.... Any second now, he might hear his
+mother again... but he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again,
+and he didn't want to... or did he?
+
+Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.
+
+A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward
+Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around
+the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the box
+and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling
+breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him --
+
+"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto --"
+
+But the classroom and the dementor were dissolving.... Harry was failing
+again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice was louder than
+ever, echoing inside his head -- "Not Harry! Not Harry! please -- I'll
+do anything!"
+
+"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 ask 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 your first time; in fact, I would
+have been astounded if you had."
+
+"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I
+could 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 understand --"
+
+"I do!" said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog
+into his mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our match
+against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this
+game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!"
+
+"All right then... " said Lupin. "You might want to select 'other
+memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on.... That one doesn't
+seem to have been strong enough...."
+
+Harry thought hard and decided his feelings when Gryffindor had won the
+House Championship last year had definitely qualified as very happy. He
+gripped his wand tightly again and took up 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 happy thoughts
+about Gryffindor winning, and not dark thoughts about what was going to
+happen when the box opened.
+
+"Go!" said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark
+once more. The dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting
+hand was extending toward Harry -
+
+"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto Pat --"
+
+White fog obscured his senses... big, blurred shapes were moving around
+him... then came a new voice, a man's voice, shouting, panicking --
+
+"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off --"
+
+The sounds of someone stumbling ftom 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 a 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 ever heard
+him -- he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run
+for it...."
+
+Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with
+the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his
+robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see.
+
+"You heard James?" said Lupin in a strange voice.
+
+"Yeah..." Face dry, Harry looked up. "Why -- you didn't know my dad, did
+you?"
+
+"I -- I did, as a matter of fact," said Lupin. "We were friends at
+Hogwarts. Listen, Harry -- perhaps we should leave it here for tonight.
+This charm is ridiculously advanced.... I shouln't have suggested
+putting you through this...."
+
+"No!" said Harry. He got up again. "I'll have one more go! I'm not
+thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is.... Hang on...."
+
+He racked his brains. A really, really happy memory... one that he could
+turn into a good, strong Patronus...
+
+The moment when he'd first found out he was a wizard, and would be
+leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn't a happy memory, he
+didn't know what was.... Concentrating very hard on how he had felt when
+he'd realized he'd be leaving Privet Drive, Harry got to his feet and
+faced the packing case once more.
+
+"Ready?" said Lupin, who looked as though he were doing this against his
+better judgment. "Concentrating hard? All right -- go!"
+
+He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the dementor
+rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark
+
+'EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!
+"
+
+The screaming inside Harry's head had started again -- except this time,
+it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio -- softer
+and louder and softer again -- and he could still see the dementor -- it
+had halted -- and then a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the
+end of Harry's wand, to hover between him and the dementor, and though
+Harry's legs felt like water, he was still on his feet -- though for how
+much longer, he wasn't sure --
+
+"Riddikulus!" roared Lupin, springing forward.
+
+There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with
+the dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just
+run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he
+saw Professor Lupin forcing the boggart back into the packing case with
+his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again.
+
+"Excellent!" Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. "Excellent,
+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. Here --"
+
+He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate.
+
+"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next
+week?"
+
+"Okay," said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin
+extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the
+dementor. A thought had just occurred to him.
+
+"Professor Lupin?" he said. "If you knew my dad, you must've known
+Sirius Black as well."
+
+Lupin turned very quickly.
+
+"What gives you that idea?" he said sharply.
+
+"Nothing -- I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too...."
+
+Lupin's face relaxed.
+
+"Yes, I knew him," he said shortly. "Or I thought I did. You'd better be
+off, Harry, it's getting late."
+
+Harry left the classroom, walking along the corridor and around a
+corner, then took a detour behind a suit of armor and sank down on its
+plinth to finish his chocolate, wishing he hadn't mentioned Black, as
+Lupin was obviously not keen on the subject. 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' last moments
+replayed inside his head, these were the only times Harry had heard
+their voices since he was a very small child. But he'd never be able to
+produce a proper Patronus if he half wanted 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. Slytherin
+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 leek. 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 was showing the strain nearly
+as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting
+to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner
+of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts,
+rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file
+upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped
+when she was interrupted.
+
+"How's she doing it?" Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat
+finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked
+up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books.
+
+"Doing what?"
+
+"Getting to all her classes!" Ron said. "I heard her talking to
+Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going
+on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't 've been there, because
+she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me
+she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the
+same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!"
+
+Harry didn't have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione's impossible
+schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape's essay.
+Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood.
+
+"Bad news, Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the
+Firebolt. She -- er -- got a bit shirty with me. Told m' I'd got my
+priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup
+than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care
+if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch 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 it. He screwed up his face and imitated Professor
+McGonagall's severe 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 Thousand and One, like
+Malfoy's got."
+
+"I'm not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good," said Harry flatly.
+
+January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the
+bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer
+and nearer, but Harry still hadn't ordered a new broom. He was now
+asking Professor McGonagall for news of the Firebolt after every
+Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione
+rushing past with her face averted.
+
+"No, Potter, you can't have it back yet," Professor McGonagall told him
+the twelfth time this happened, before he'd even opened his mouth.
+"We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick
+believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you
+once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me."
+
+To make matters even worse, Harry's anti-dementor lessons were not going
+nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to
+produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the boggart-dementor
+approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the dementor
+away. All it did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Harry
+of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself,
+guilty about his secret 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
+anymore, 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 dementors 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 that 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! Not that I'm
+supposed to take sides, as a teacher... " he added hastily
+
+They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something 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 are in no condition to
+tell us. You see, the dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and
+worst weapon."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," said Lupin, with a slightly twisted
+smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I
+suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp
+their jaws upon the mouth of the victim 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 without your
+soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But
+you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no. .. anything.
+There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just exist. As an empty
+shell. And your soul is gone forever... lost."
+
+Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that
+awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The
+Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find
+him."
+
+Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul
+sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black.
+
+"He deserves it," he said suddenly.
+
+"You think so?" said Lupin lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves
+that?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry defiantly. "For... for some things..."
+
+He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he'd
+overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black betraying
+his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he'd
+gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn't be very
+impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and
+left the History of Magic classroom.
+
+Harry half wished that he hadn't asked what was under a dementor's hood,
+the answer had been so horrible, and he was so lost in unpleasant
+thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you
+that he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs.
+
+"Do watch where you're going, Potter!"
+
+"Sorry, Professor --"
+
+"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room, Well,
+here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't
+seem to be anything wrong with it at all. You've got a very good friend
+somewhere, Potter...."
+
+Harry's jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as
+magnificent as ever.
+
+"I can have it back?" Harry said weakly. "Seriously?"
+
+"Seriously," said Professor McGonagall, and she was actually smiling. "I
+daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't
+you? And Potter -- do try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the
+running for the eighth year. in a row, as Professor Snape was kind
+enough to remind me only last night...."
+
+Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor
+Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing toward him, grinning
+from ear to ear.
+
+"She gave it to You? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it?
+Tomorrow?"
+
+"Yeah... anything," said Harry, his heart lighter than it had been in a
+month. "You know what -- we should make up with Hermione.... She was
+only trying to help...."
+
+"Yeah, all right," said Ron. "She's in the common room how working, for
+a change --"
+
+They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville
+Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him
+entrance.
+
+"I wrote them down!" Neville was saying tearfully. "But I must've
+dropped them somewhere!"
+
+"A likely tale!" roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and Ron: "Good
+even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying
+to force entry to the chambers within!"
+
+"Oh, shut up," said Ron as he and Harry drew level with Neville.
+
+"I've lost the passwords!" Neville told them miserably. "I made him tell
+me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps
+changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!"
+
+"Oddsbodikins," said Harry to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely
+disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common
+room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the
+next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his
+Firebolt.
+
+"Where'd you get it, Harry?"
+
+"Will you let me have a go?" "Have you ridden it yet, Harry?"
+
+"Ravenclaw'll have no chance, they're all on Cleansweep Sevens!"
+
+"Can I just hold it, Harry?"
+
+After ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was Passed around and
+admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and Harry and Ron had a
+clear view of Hermione, the only person who hadn't rushed over to them,
+bent over her work and carefully avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron
+approached her table and at last, she looked up.
+
+"I got it back," said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the
+Firebolt.
+
+"See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!" said Ron.
+
+"Well -- there might have been!" said Hermione. "I mean, at least you
+know now that it's safe!"
+
+"Yeah, I suppose so," said Harry. "Id better put it upstairs."
+
+"I'll take it!" said Ron eagerly. "I've got to give Scabbers his rat
+tonic."
+
+He took the Firebolt and, holding it as if it were made of glass,
+carried it away up the boys' staircase.
+
+"Can I sit down, then?" Harry asked Hermione.
+
+"I suppose so," said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a
+chair.
+
+Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arithmancy essay
+on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies
+essay ("Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity" and at the rune
+translation Hermione was now poring over.
+
+"How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry asked her.
+
+"Oh, well -- you know -- working hard," said Hermione. Close-up, Harry
+saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin.
+
+"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" Harry asked, watching
+her lifting books as she searched for her rune dictionary.
+
+"I couldn't do that!" said Hermione, looking scandalized.
+
+"Arithmancy looks terrible," said Harry, picking up a very
+complicated-looking number chart.
+
+"Oh no, it's wonderful!" said Hermione earnestly. "It's my favorite
+subject! It's --"
+
+But exactly what was wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry never found out.
+At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down the boys'
+staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the
+entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder -- and
+then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet.
+
+"LOOK!" he bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table.
+
+"LOOK!" he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.
+
+"Ron, what --?"
+
+"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"
+
+Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry
+looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There 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 translation. Hermione and
+Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were
+several long, ginger cat hairs.
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN
+
+GRYFFINDOR VERSUS RAVENCLAW
+
+It looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship. Each was so
+angry with the other that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make up.
+
+Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks's attempts to
+eat Scabbers seriously, hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on
+him, and was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by
+suggesting that Ron look for Scabbers under all 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 had been prejudiced against her cat
+ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical
+Menagerie.
+
+Personally, Harry was sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, and when
+he tried to point out to Hermione that the evidence all pointed that
+way, she lost her temper with Harry too.
+
+"Okay, side with Ron, I knew you would!" she said shrilly. "First the
+Firebolt, now Scabbers, everything's my fault, isn't it! just leave me
+alone, Harry, I've got a lot of work to do!"
+
+Ron had taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed.
+
+"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," said
+Fred bracingly. "And he's been off-color for ages, he was wasting away.
+It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly -- one swallow -- he
+probably didn't feel a thing."
+
+"Fred!" said Ginny indignantly.
+
+"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," said George.
+
+"He bit Goyle for us once!" Ron said miserably. "Remember, Harry?"
+
+"Yeah, that's true," said Harry.
+
+"His finest hour," said Fred, unable to keep a straight face. "Let the
+scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh,
+come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's
+the point of moaning?"
+
+In a last-ditch attempt to cheer Ron up, Harry persuaded him to come
+along to the Gryffindor team's final practice before the Ravenclaw
+match, so that he could have a ride on the Firebolt after they'd
+finished. This did seem to take Ron's mind off Scabbers for a moment
+("Great! Can I try and shoot a few goals on it?") so they set off for
+the Quidditch field together.
+
+Madam Hooch, who was still overseeing Gryffindor practices to keep an
+eye on Harry, was just as impressed with the Firebolt as everyone else
+had been. She took it in her hands before takeoff and gave them the
+benefit of her professional opinion.
+
+"Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a
+slight list to the tail end -- you often find they develop a drag after
+a few years. They've updated the handle too, a bit slimmer than the
+Cleansweeps, reminds me of the old Silver Arrows -- a Pity they've
+stopped making them. I learned to fly on one, and a very fine old broom
+it was too...."
+
+She continued in this vein for some time, until Wood said, "Er -- Madam
+Hooch? Is it okay if Harry has the Firebolt back? We need to
+practice...."
+
+"Oh -- right -- here you are, then, Potter," said Madam Hooch. "I'll sit
+over here with Weasley...."
+
+She and Ron left the field to sit in the stadium, and the Gryffindor
+team gathered around Wood for his final instructions for tomorrow's
+match.
+
+"Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho
+Chang. She's a fourth year, and she's pretty good.... I really hoped she
+wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries...." Wood scowled
+his displeasure that Cho Chang had made a full recovery, then said, "On
+the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like
+a joke next to the Firebolt." He gave Harry's broom a look of fervent
+admiration, then said, "Okay, everyone, let's go -- "
+
+And at long last, Harry mounted his Firebolt, and kicked off from the
+ground.
+
+It was better than he'd ever dreamed. The Firebolt turned with the
+lightest touch; it seemed to obey his thoughts rather than his grip; it
+sped across the field at such speed that the stadium turned into a
+green-and-gray blur; Harry turned it so sharply that Alicia Spinnet
+screamed, then he went into a perfectly controlled dive, brushing the
+grassy field with his toes before rising thirty, forty, fifty feet into
+the air again.
+
+"Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!" Wood called.
+
+Harry turned and raced a Bludger toward the goal posts; he outstripped
+it easily, saw the Snitch dart out from behind Wood, and 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
+others; he spotted it lurking near Katie Bell's knee, looped her easily,
+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.
+
+"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" said Wood. "Not unless
+-- Harry, you've sorted out your dementor problem, haven't you?"
+
+"Yeah," said Harry, thinking of his feeble Patronus and wishing it were
+stronger.
+
+"The dementors won't turn up again, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic,"
+said Fred confidently.
+
+"Well, let's hope not," said Wood. "Anyway -- good work, everyone. Let's
+get back to the tower... turn in early --"
+
+"I'm staying out for a bit; Ron wants a go on the Firebolt," Harry told
+Wood, and while the rest of the team headed off to the locker rooms,
+Harry strode over to Ron, who vaulted the barrier to the stands and came
+to meet him. Madam Hooch had fallen asleep in her seat.
+
+"Here you go," said Harry, handing Ron the Firebolt.
+
+Ron, an expression of ecstasy on his face, mounted the broom and zoomed
+off into the gathering darkness while Harry walked around the edge of
+the field, watching him. Night had fallen before Madam Hooch awoke with
+a start, told Harry and Ron off for not waking her, and insisted that
+they go back to the castle.
+
+Harry shouldered the Firebolt and he and Ron walked out of the shadowy
+stadium, discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, its
+phenomenal acceleration, and its pinpoint turning. They were halfway
+toward the castle when Harry, glancing to his left, saw something that
+made his heart turn over -- a pair of eyes, 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, "Lumos!"
+
+A beam of light fell across the grass, hit the bottom of a tree, and
+illuminated its branches; there, crouching among the budding leaves, was
+Crookshanks.
+
+"Get out of here!" Ron roared, and he stooped down and seized a stone
+lying on the grass, but before he could do anything else, Crookshanks
+had vanished with one swish of his long ginger tail.
+
+"See?" Ron said furiously, chucking the stone down again. "She's still
+letting him wander about wherever he wants -- probably washing down
+Scabbers with a couple of birds now...."
+
+Harry didn't say anything. He took a deep breath as relief seeped
+through him; he had been sure for a moment that those 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 the next morning with the rest of the boys
+in his dormitory, all of whom seemed to think the Firebolt deserved a
+sort of guard of honor. As Harry entered the Great Hall, heads turned in
+the direction of the Firebolt, and there was a 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 Malfay. "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 middle of the
+table and carefully turning it so that its name faced upward. People
+from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon coming over to look.
+Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Harry on having acquired such a
+superb replacement for his Nimbus, and Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend,
+Penelope Clearwater, asked if she could actually hold the Firebolt.
+
+"Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!" said Percy heartily as she examined the
+Firebolt closely. "Penelope and I have got a bet on," he told the team.
+"Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!"
+
+Penelope put the Firebolt down again, thanked Harry, and went back to
+her table.
+
+"Harry -- make sure you win," said Percy, in an urgent whisper. "I
+haven't got ten Galleons. Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" And-he bustled off to
+join her in a piece of toast.
+
+"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice.
+
+Draco Malfoy had arrived for a closer look, Crabbe and Coyle right
+behind him.
+
+"Yeah, reckon so," said Harry casually.
+
+"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" said Malfoy, eyes
+glittering maliciously. "Shame it doesn't come with a parachute -- in
+case you get too near a dementor."
+
+Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
+
+"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy," said Harry. "Then
+it could catch the Snitch for you."
+
+The Gryffindor team laughed loudly. Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed, and he
+stalked away. They watched him rejoin the rest of the Slytherin team,
+who put their heads together, no doubt asking Malfoy whether Harry's
+broom really was a Firebolt.
+
+At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker
+rooms. The weather couldn't have been more different from their match
+against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze;
+there would be no visibility problems this time, and Harry, though
+nervous, was starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match
+could bring. They could hear the rest of the school moving into the
+stadium beyond. Harry took off his black school robes, removed his wand
+from his pocket, and stuck it inside the T-shirt he was going to wear
+under his Quidditch robes. He only hoped he wouldn't need it. He
+wondered suddenly whether Professor Lupin was in the crowd, watching.
+
+"You know what we've got to do," said Wood as they prepared to leave the
+locker rooms. "If we lose this match, we're out of the running. just --
+just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"
+
+They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw
+team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field.
+Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team. She was
+shorter than Harry by about a head, and Harry couldn't help noticing,
+nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty. She smiled at Harry as
+the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt a slight
+lurch in the region of his stomach that he didn't think had anything to
+do with nerves.
+
+"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch said briskly, and 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 higher 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 Weasley twins' friend Lee Jordan.
+
+"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that
+Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick,
+the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at
+this year's World Championship --"
+
+"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?"
+interrupted Professor McGonagall's voice.
+
+"Right you are, Professor -- just giving a bit of background information
+-- the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and --"
+
+"Jordan!"
+
+"Okay, okay, 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 he whooshed past in
+pursuit of a Bludger that was aiming for Alicia.
+
+Harry urged the Firebolt forward as they rounded the Ravenclaw goal
+posts and Cho fell behind. Just as Katie succeeded in scoring the first
+goal of the match, and the Gryffindor end of the field went wild, he saw
+it -- the Snitch was close to the ground, flitting near one of the
+barriers.
+
+Harry dived; Cho saw what he was doing and tore after him -- Harry was
+speeding up, excitement flooding him; dives were his speciality, he was
+ten feet away --
+
+Then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, came pelting out of
+nowhere; Harry veered off course, avoiding it by an inch, and in those
+few, crucial seconds, the Snitch had vanished.
+
+There was a great "Ooooooh" of disappointment from the Gryffindor
+supporters, but much applause for their Beater from the Ravenclaw end.
+George Weasley vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger
+directly at the offending Beater, who was forced to roll right over in
+midair to avoid it.
+
+"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt
+go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn --
+Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision- balance
+is really noticeable in these long --"
+
+"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE
+COMMENTARY!"
+
+Ravenclaw was pulling back; they had now scored three goals, which put
+Gryffindor only fifty points ahead -- if Cho got the Snitch before him,
+Ravenclaw would win. Harry dropped lower, narrowly avoiding a Ravenclaw
+Chaser, scanning the field frantically -- a glint of gold, a flutter of
+tiny wings -- the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post --
+
+Harry accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead -- but just
+then, Cho appeared out of thin air, blocking him --
+
+"HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!" Wood roared as Harry swerved
+to avoid a collision. "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!"
+
+Harry turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning. The Snitch had
+vanished again. Harry turned his Firebolt upward and was soon twenty
+feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cho following
+him.... She'd decided to mark him rather than search for the Snitch
+herself... All right, then... if she wanted to tail him, she'd have to
+take the consequences....
+
+He dived again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to follow;
+Harry pulled out of the dive very sharply; she hurtled downward; he rose
+fast as a bullet once more, and then saw it, for the third time -- the
+Snitch was glittering way above the field at the Ravenclaw end.
+
+He accelerated; so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning, gaining on
+the Snitch with every second -- then --
+
+"Oh!" screamed Cho, pointing.
+
+Distracted, Harry looked down.
+
+Three dementors, three tall, black, hooded dementors, were looking up at
+him.
+
+He didn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck of his robes, he
+whipped out his wand and roared, "Expecto patronum!"
+
+Something silver-white, something enormous, erupted from the end of his
+wand. He knew it had shot directly at the dementors but didn't pause to
+watch; his mind still miraculously clear, he looked ahead -- he was
+nearly there. He stretched out the hand still grasping his wand and just
+managed to close his fingers over the small, struggling Snitch.
+
+Madam Hooch's whistle sounded. Harry turned around in midair and saw six
+scarlet blurs bearing down on him; next moment, the whole team was
+hugging him so hard he was nearly pulled off his broom. Down below he
+could hear the roars of the Gryffindors in the crowd.
+
+"That's my boy!" Wood kept yelling. Alicia, Angelina, and Katie had all
+kissed Harry; Fred had him in a grip so tight Harry felt 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 supporters sprinting onto the field, 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 for you, Harry!" roared Seamus Finnigan.
+
+"Ruddy brilliant!" boomed Hagrid over the heads of the milling
+Gryffindors.
+
+"That was quite some Patronus," said a voice in Harry's ear.
+
+Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and
+pleased.
+
+"The dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly. "I didn't
+feel a thing!"
+
+"That would be because they -- er -- weren't dementors," said Professor
+Lupin. "Come and see -- "
+
+He led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of
+the field.
+
+"You gave Mr. Malfoy quite a fright," said Lupin.
+
+Harry stared. Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Malfoy,
+Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team Captain, all
+struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It
+looked as though Malfoy had been standing on Goyle's shoulders. Standing
+over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, was
+Professor McGonagall.
+
+"An unworthy trick!" she was shouting. "A low and cowardly attempt to
+sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty
+points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about
+this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"
+
+If anything could have set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was
+this. Ron, who had fought his way through to Harry's side, doubled up
+with laughter as they watched Malfoy fighting to extricate himself from
+the robe, Goyle's head still stuck inside it.
+
+"Come on, Harry!" said George, fighting his way over. "Party! Gryffindor
+common room, now!"
+
+"Right," said Harry, and feeling happier than he had in ages, 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.
+
+It 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 armfuls of bottles of
+butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets.
+
+"How did you do that?" squealed Angelina Johnson as George started
+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, incredibly,
+was sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous book entitled
+Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles. Harry broke away from
+the table where Fred and George had started juggling butterbeer bottles
+and went over to her.
+
+"Did you even come to the match?" he asked her.
+
+"Of course I did," said Hermione in a strangely high-pitched voice, not
+looking up. "And I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well,
+but I need to read this by Monday."
+
+"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food," Harry said, looking over
+at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the
+hatchet.
+
+"I can't, Harry. I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to
+read!" said Hermione, now sounding slightly hysterical. "Anyway..." She
+glanced over at Ron too. "He doesn't want me to join in."
+
+There was no arguing with this, as Ron chose that moment to say loudly,
+"If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those
+Fudge Flies. He used to really like them --"
+
+Hermione burst into tears. Before Harry could say or do anything, she
+tucked the enormous book under her arm, and, still sobbing, ran toward
+the staircase to the girls' dormitories 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 -- but
+she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like
+Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."
+
+The Gryffindor party ended only when Professor McGonagall turned up in
+her tartan dressing gown and hair net at one in the morning, to insist
+that they all go 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-white. It was
+winding its way through the trees ahead, and he could only catch
+glimpses of it between the leaves. Anxious to catch up with it, he sped
+up, but as he moved faster, so did his quarry. Harry 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 -
+
+"AAARRGGHH! NOOO!"
+
+Harry woke as suddenly as though he'd been hit in the face. Disoriented
+in the total darkness, he fumbled with his hangings, he could hear
+movements around him, and Seamus Finnigan's voice from the other side of
+the room: "What's going on?"
+
+Harry thought he heard the dormitory door slam. At last finding the
+divide in his curtains, he ripped them back, and at the same moment,
+Dean Thomas lit his lamp.
+
+Ron was sitting up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of
+utmost terror on his face.
+
+"Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!"
+
+"What?"
+
+"Here! 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 door first,
+and they sprinted back down the staircase. Doors opened behind them, and
+sleepy voices called after them.
+
+"Who shouted?"
+
+"What're you doing?"
+
+The common room was lit with the glow of the dying fire, still littered
+with the 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!"
+
+A few of the girls had come down their staircase, pulling or, dressing
+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 pajamas as he spoke.
+
+"Perce -- Sirius Black!" said Ron faintly. "In our dormitory! With a
+knife! Woke me up!"
+
+The common room went very still.
+
+"Nonsense!" said Percy, looking startled. "You had too much to eat, Ron
+-- had a nightmare --"
+
+"I'm telling you --"
+
+"Now, really, enough's enough!"
+
+Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her as
+she entered the common room and stared furiously around.
+
+"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting
+ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"
+
+"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" said Percy, puffing
+himself up indignantly. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed!
+My brother Ron here had a nightmare --"
+
+"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS
+BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"
+
+Professor McGonagall stared at him.
+
+"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through
+the portrait hole?"
+
+"Ask him!" said Ron, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir
+Cadogan's picture. "Ask him if he saw --"
+
+Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the Portrait
+back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with bated
+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!"
+
+Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait 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
+
+No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle
+was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common
+room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. Professor
+McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped.
+
+Throughout the day, everywhere they went they saw signs of tighter
+security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to
+recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly bustling
+up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in
+the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired. His portrait had
+been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat
+Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely
+nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she
+was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been
+hired to guard 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 witch on
+the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. It seemed that Fred
+and George had been right in thinking that they -- and now Harry, Ron,
+and Hermione -- were the only ones who knew about the hidden passageway
+within it.
+
+"D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Harry asked Ron.
+
+"We know he's not coming in through Honeyduke's," said Ron dismissively.
+"We'd've heard if the shop had been broken into."
+
+Harry was glad Ron took this view. If the one-eyed witch was boarded up
+too, he would never be able to go into Hogsmeade again.
+
+Ron had become an instant celebrity. For the first time in his life,
+people were paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it was clear
+that Ron was rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely
+shaken by the night's events, he was happy to tell anyone who asked what
+had happened, with a wealth of detail.
+
+"... I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was
+in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft... I woke up and
+one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down.... I rolled
+over... and I saw him standing over me... like a skeleton, with loads of
+filthy hair ... holding this great long knife, must've been twelve
+inches... and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled,
+and he scampered.
+
+"Why, though?" Ron added to Harry as the group of secondyear girls who
+had been listening to his chilling tale departed. "Why did he run?"
+
+Harry had been wondering the same thing. Why had Black, having got the
+wrong bed, not silenced Ron and proceeded to Harry? Black had proved
+twelve years ago that he didn't mind murdering innocent people, and this
+time he had been facing five 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 thoughtfully. "He'd've had
+to kill the whole House to get back through the 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 the password into the tower.
+Poor Neville was forced to wait. outside the common room every night for
+somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at
+him. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one
+his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in,
+she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive
+over breakfast -- a Howler.
+
+The school owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying the mail as usual,
+and Neville choked as a huge barn owl landed in front of him, a scarlet
+envelope clutched in its beak. Harry and Ron, who were sitting opposite
+him, recognized the letter as a Howler at 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 envelope, and holding
+it before him like a bomb, sprinted out of the hall, while the Slytherin
+table exploded with laughter at the sight of him. They heard the Howler
+go off in the entrance hall -- Neville's grandmother's voice, magically
+magnified to a hundred times its Usual volume, shrieking about how he
+had brought shame on the whole family.
+
+Harry was too busy feeling sorry for Neville to notice immediately 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 some of
+Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said:
+
+Dear Harry and Ron, How Abut having tea with me this afternoon 'round
+six? I'll come collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE
+HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN. Cheers, Hagrid
+
+"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.
+
+"All right, Hagrid!" said Ron. "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday
+night, do you?"
+
+"I've already heard all abou' it," said Hagrid, opening the front doors
+and leading them outside.
+
+"Oh," said Ron, looking slightly put out.
+
+The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, who
+was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings
+folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets.
+Averting his eyes from this unpleasant sight, Harry saw a gigantic,
+hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from
+the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.
+
+"What are they for, Hagrid?" said Harry.
+
+"Buckbeaks case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous
+Creatures," said Hagrid. "This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter
+London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus...."
+
+Harry felt a nasty pang of guilt. He had completely forgotten that
+Buckbeak's trial was so near, and judging by the uneasy look on Ron's
+face, he had too. They had also forgotten their promise about helping
+him prepare Buckbeak's defense; the arrival of the Firebolt had driven
+it clean out of their minds.
+
+Hagrid poured them tea and offered them a plate of Bath buns but they
+knew better than to accept; they had had too much experience with
+Hagrid's cooking.
+
+I got somethin' ter discuss with you two," said Hagrid, sitting 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 visit me
+a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to
+her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat
+--"
+
+"-- ate Scabbers!" Ron interjected angrily.
+
+"Because her cat acted like all cats do," Hagrid continued doggedly.
+"She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at
+the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work
+she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case,
+mind.... She's found some really good stuff fer me... reckon he'll stand
+a good chance now..."
+
+"Hagrid, we should've helped as well -- sorry --" Harry began awkwardly.
+
+"I'm not blamin' yeh!" said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside. "Gawd
+knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with. I've seen yeh practicin'
+Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night -- but I gotta tell yeh, I
+thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's
+all."
+
+Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks.
+
+"Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got
+her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to
+her --"
+
+"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!" Ron said
+angrily. "But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she
+won't hear a word against it!"
+
+"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets," said Hagrid
+wisely. Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's
+pillow.
+
+They spent the rest of their visit discussing Gryffindor's improved
+chances for the Quidditch Cup. At nine o'clock, Hagrid walked them back
+up to the castle.
+
+A large group of people was bunched around the bulletin board when they
+returned to the common room.
+
+"Hogsmeade, next weekend!" said Ron, craning over the heads to read the
+new notice. "What d'you reckon?" he added quietly to Harry as they went
+to sit down.
+
+"Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes...."
+Harry said, even more quietly.
+
+"Harry!" said a voice in his right ear. Harry started and looked around
+at Hermione, who was sitting at the table right behind them and clearing
+a space in the wall of books that had been hiding her.
+
+"Harry, if you go into Hogsmeade again... I'll tell Professor McGonagall
+about that map!" said Hermione.
+
+"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?" growled Ron, not looking at
+Hermione.
+
+"Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly
+did to you! I mean it, I'll tell --"
+
+"So now you're trying to get Harry expelled!" said Ron furiously.
+"Haven't you done enough damage this year?"
+
+Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks
+leapt onto her lap. Hermione took one frightened look at the expression
+on Ron's face, gathered up Crookshanks, and hurried away toward the
+girls' dormitories.
+
+"So how about it?" Ron said to Harry as though there had been no
+interruption. "Come on, last time we went you didn't see anything. You
+haven't even been inside Zonko's yet!"
+
+Harry looked around to check that Hermione was well out of earshot.
+
+"Okay," he said. "But I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak this time."
+
+On Saturday morning, Harry packed his Invisibility Cloak in his bag,
+slipped the Marauder's Map into his pocket, and went down to breakfast
+with everyone else. Hermione kept shooting suspicious looks down the
+table at him, but he avoided her eye and was careful to let her see him
+walking back up the marble staircase in the entrance hall as everybody
+else proceeded to the front doors.
+
+"'Bye!" Harry called to Ron. "See you when you get back!"
+
+Ron grinned and winked.
+
+Harry hurried up to the third floor, slipping the Marauder's Map out of
+his pocket as he went. Crouching behind the one-eyed witch, he smoothed
+it out. A tiny dot was moving in his direction. Harry squinted at it.
+The minuscule writing next to it read Neville Longbottom.
+
+Harry quickly pulled out his wand, muttered, "Dissendium!" and shoved
+his bag into the statue, but before he could climb in himself, Neville
+came around the corner.
+
+"Harry! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!"
+
+"Hi, Neville," said Harry, moving swiftly away from the statue 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 that vampire
+essay for Lupin --"
+
+"I'll come with you!" said Neville brightly. I haven't done it either!"
+
+"Er -- hang on -- yeah, I forgot, I finished it last night!"
+
+"Great, you can help me!" said Neville, his round face anxious. "I don't
+understand that thing about the garlic at all -- do they have to eat it,
+or --"
+
+He broke off with a small gasp, looking over Harry's shoulder.
+
+It was Snape. Neville took a quick step behind Harry.
+
+"And what are you two doing here?" said Snape, coming to a halt and
+looking from one to the other. "An odd place to meet --"
+
+To Harry's immense disquiet, Snape's black eyes flicked to the doorways
+on either side of them, and then to the one-eyed witch.
+
+"We're not -- meeting here," said Harry. "We just -- met here."
+
+"Indeed?" said Snape. "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected
+places, Potter, and you are very rarely there for no good reason.... I
+suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong."
+
+Harry and Neville set off without another word. As they turned the
+corner, Harry looked back. Snape was running one of his hands over the
+one-eyed witch's head, examining it closely.
+
+Harry managed to shake Neville off at the Fat Lady by telling him the
+password, then pretending he'd left his vampire essay in the library and
+doubling back. Once out of sight of the security trolls, he pulled out
+the map again and held it close to his nose.
+
+The third floor corridor seemed to be deserted. Harry scanned the map
+carefully and saw, with a leap of relief, that the tiny dot labeled
+Severus Snape was now back in its office.
+
+He sprinted back to the one-eyed witch, opened her hump, heaved himself
+inside, and slid down to meet his bag at the bottom of the stone chute.
+He wiped the Marauder's Map blank again, then set off at a run.
+
+Harry, completely hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, emerged into
+the sunlight outside Honeydukes and prodded Ron in the back.
+
+It'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 price 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 Grays right down to tiny little Scops owls ("Local Deliveries
+Only"), which were so small they could have sat in the palm of Harry's
+hand.
+
+Then they visited Zonko's, which was so packed with students Harry had
+to exercise great care not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There
+were jokes and tricks to fulfill even Fred's and George's wildest
+dreams; Harry gave Ron whispered orders and passed him some gold from
+under the cloak. They left Zonko's with their money bags considerably
+lighter than they had been on entering, but their pockets bulging with
+Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and a Nose-Biting Teacup
+apiece.
+
+The day was fine and breezy, and neither of them felt like staying
+indoors, so they walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slope
+to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain. It
+stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight
+was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden.
+
+"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it," said Ron as they leaned on the
+fence, looking up at it. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick... he says he's
+heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George
+tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut...."
+
+Harry, feeling hot from their climb, was just considering taking off the
+cloak for a few minutes when they heard voices nearby. Someone was
+climbing toward the house from the other side of the hill; moments
+later, Malfoy had appeared, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy
+was speaking.
+
+"... should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the
+hearing to tell them about my arm... about how I couldn't use it for
+three months...."
+
+Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.
+
+"I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend
+himself... 'There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest that hippogriff'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 from 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 to Ron. "Just
+trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of
+Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off his
+hippogriff's
+
+SPLAT.
+
+Malfoy's head jerked forward as the mud hit him; his silverblond hair
+was suddenly dripping in muck.
+
+"What the --?"
+
+Ron had to hold onto the fence to keep himself standing, he was laughing
+so hard. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle spun stupidly on the spot, staring
+wildly around, Malfoy trying to wipe his hair clean.
+
+"What was that? 'Who did that?"
+
+"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron, with the air of one
+commenting on the weather.
+
+Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared. Their bulging muscles were no use
+against ghosts. Malfoy was staring madly around at the deserted
+landscape.
+
+Harry sneaked along the path, where a particularly sloppy puddle yielded
+some foul-smelling, green sludge.
+
+SPLATTER.
+
+Crabbe and Goyle caught some this time. Goyle hopped furiously on the
+spot, trying to rub it out of his small, dull eyes.
+
+"It came from over there!" said Malfoy, wiping his face, and staring at
+a spot some six feet to the left of Harry.
+
+Crabbe blundered forward, his long arms outstretched like a zombie.
+Harry dodged around him, picked up a stick, and lobbed it at Crabbe's
+back. Harry doubled up with silent laughter as Crabbe did a kind of
+pirouette in midair, trying to see who had thrown it. As Ron was the
+only person Crabbe could see, it was Ron he started toward, 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 tail and
+ran, at breakneck speed, back down the hill, Crabbe and Goyle behind
+him.
+
+Harry tugged the cloak up again, but the damage was done.
+
+"Harry!" Ron said, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at the point
+where Harry had disappeared, "you'd better run for it! If Malfoy tells
+anyone -- you'd better get back to the castle, quick --" "See you
+later," said Harry, and without another word, he tore back down the path
+toward Hogsmeade.
+
+Would Malfoy believe what he had seen? Would anyone believe
+
+Malfoy? Nobody knew about the Invisibility Cloak -- nobody except
+Dumbledore. Harry's stomach turned over -- Dumbledore would know exactly
+what had happened, if Malfoy said any- thing --
+
+Back into Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the stone
+floor, through the trapdoor -- Harry pulled off the cloak, tucked it
+under his arm, and ran, flat out, along the passage.... Malfoy would get
+back first... how long would it take him to find a teacher? Panting, a
+sharp pain in his side, Harry didn't slow down until he reached the
+stone slide. He would have to leave the cloak where it was, it was too
+much of a giveaway in case Malfoy had tipped off a teacher -- he hid it
+in a shadowy corner, then started to climb, fast as he could, his sweaty
+hands slipping on the sides of the chute. He reached the inside of the
+witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and
+hoisted himself out; the hump closed, and just as Harry jumped out from
+behind the statue, he heard quick footsteps approaching.
+
+It was Snape. He approached Harry at a swift walk, his black robes
+swishing, then stopped in front of him.
+
+"So," he said.
+
+There was a look of surpressed triumph about him. Harry tried to look
+innocent, all too aware of his sweaty face and his muddy hands, which he
+quickly hid in his pockets.
+
+"Come with me, Potter," said Snape.
+
+Harry followed him downstairs, trying to wipe his hands clean on the
+inside of his robes without Snape noticing. They walked down the stairs
+to the dungeons and then into Snape's office.
+
+Harry had been in here only once before, and he had been in very serious
+trouble then too. Snape had aquired a few more slimy horrible things in
+jars since last time, all standing on shelves behind his desk, glinting
+in the firelight and adding to the threatening atmosphere.
+
+"Sit," said Snape.
+
+Harry sat. Snape, however, remained, standing.
+
+"Mr. Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter," said
+Snape.
+
+Harry didn't say anything.
+
+"He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he ran into
+Weasley -- apparently alone."
+
+Still, Harry didn't speak.
+
+"Mr. Malfoy states that he was standing talking to Weasley, when a large
+amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do 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 like trying to
+stare down a hippogriff. Harry tried hard not to blink.
+
+"Mr. Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what
+it might have been, Potter?"
+
+"No," said Harry, now trying to sound innocently curious.
+
+"It was your head, Potter. Floating in midair."
+
+There was a long silence.
+
+"Maybe he'd better go to Madam Pomfrey," said Harry. "If he's seeing
+things like --"
+
+"What would your head have been doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?" said Snape
+softly. "Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body has
+permission to be in Hogsmeade."
+
+"I know that," said Harry, striving to keep his face free of guilt or
+fear. "It sounds like Malfoy's having hallucin --"
+
+"Malfoy is not having hallucinations," snarled Snape, and he bent down,
+a hand on each arm of Harry's chair, so that their faces were a foot
+apart. "If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of 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 horrible
+smile.
+
+"So," he said, straightening up again. "Everyone from the Minister of
+Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from
+Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself Let the
+ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where
+he wants to, with no thought for the consequences.
+
+Harry stayed silent. Snape was trying to provoke him into telling the
+truth. He wasn't going to do it. Snape had no proof -- yet.
+
+"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter," Snape said
+suddenly, his eyes glinting. "He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small
+amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut
+above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends
+and admirers... The resemblance between you is uncanny."
+
+"My dad didn't strut," said Harry, before he could stop himself. "And
+neither do I."
+
+"Your father didn't set much store by rules either," Snape went on,
+pressing his advantage, his thin face full of malice. "Rules were for
+lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so swollen --"
+
+"SHUT UP!"
+
+Harry was suddenly on his feet. Rage such as he had not felt since his
+last night in Privet Drive was coursing through him. He didn't care that
+Snape's face had gone rigid, the black eyes flashing dangerously.
+
+"What did you say to me, Potter?"
+
+"I told you to shut up about my dad!" Harry yelled. I know the truth,
+all right? He saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be
+here if it wasn't for my dad!"
+
+Snape's sallow skin had gone the color of sour milk.
+
+"And did the headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father
+saved my life?" he whispered. "Or did he consider the 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 for 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't got cold feet at
+the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was
+saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would
+have been expelled from Hogwarts."
+
+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 Zonko's tricks and
+the Marauder's Map.
+
+Snap picked up the Zonko's bag.
+
+"Ron gave them to me," said Harry, praying he'd get a chance to tip Ron
+off before Snape saw him. "He -brought them back from Hogsmeade last
+time --"
+
+"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very
+touching... and what is this?"
+
+Snape had picked up the map. Harry tried with all his might to keep his
+face impassive.
+
+"Spare bit of parchment," he said with a shrug.
+
+Snape turned it over, his eyes on Harry.
+
+"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?" he said.
+"Why don't I just -- throw this away?"
+
+His hand moved toward the fire.
+
+"No!" Harry said quickly.
+
+"So!" said Snape, his long nostrils quivering. "Is this another
+treasured gift from Mr. Weasley? Or is it -- something else? A letter,
+perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or -- instructions to get into
+Hogsmeade 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 from shaking.
+
+"Show yourself!" Snape said, tapping the map sharply.
+
+It 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 with his wand.
+
+As though an invisible hand were writing upon it, words appeared on the
+smooth surface of the map.
+
+Mooney presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep
+his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."
+
+Snape froze. Harry stared, dumbstruck, at the message. But the map
+didn't stop there. More writing was appearing beneath the first.
+
+"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would like to add that Professor
+Snape is an ugle git."
+
+It would have been very funny if the situation hadn't been so serious.
+And there was more....
+
+"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like
+that ever became a professor."
+
+Harry closed his eyes in horror. When he'd opened them, the map had had
+its last word.
+
+"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his
+hair , the slimeball."
+
+Harry waited for the blow to fall.
+
+"So..." said Snape softly. "We'll see about this...."
+
+He strode across to his fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder 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 shape had appeared
+in it, revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor Lupin was
+clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off his shabby robes.
+
+"You called, Severus?" said Lupin mildly.
+
+"I certainly did," said Snape, his face contorted with fury as he 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 Messrs. 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 Harry'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 reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I
+imagine Harry got it from a joke shop --"
+
+"Indeed?" said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. "You think a
+joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more
+likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers?"
+
+Harry didn't understand what Snape was talking about. Nor, apparently,
+did Lupin.
+
+"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?" he said. "Harry, do
+you know any of these men?"
+
+"No," said Harry quickly.
+
+"You see, Severus?" said Lupin, turning back to Snape. "It looks like a
+Zonko product to me --"
+
+Right on cue, Ron came bursting into the office. He was completely out
+of breath, and stopped just short of Snape's desk, clutching the stitch
+in his chest and trying to speak.
+
+"I -- gave -- Harry -- that -- stuff," he choked. "Bought -- it... in
+Zonko's... ages -- ago..."
+
+"Well!" said Lupin, clapping his hands together and looking around
+cheerfully. "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back,
+shall I?" He folded the map and tucked it inside his robes. "Harry, Ron,
+come with me, I need a word about my vampire essay -- excuse us, Severus
+--"
+
+Harry didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office. He. Ron, and
+Lupin walked all the way back into the entrance hall before speaking.
+Then Harry turned to Lupin.
+
+"Professor, I --"
+
+"I don't want to hear explanations," said Lupin shortly. He glanced
+around the empty entrance hall and lowered his voice. "I happen to know
+that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know
+it' s a map," he said as Harry and Ron looked amazed. "I don't want to
+know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you
+didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a
+student left information about 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
+entertaining."
+
+"Do you know them?" said Harry, impressed.
+
+"We've met," he said shortly. He was looking at Harry more seriously
+than ever before.
+
+"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you
+take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have
+heard when the dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect
+on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor
+way to repay them -- gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic
+tricks."
+
+He walked away, leaving Harry feeling worse by far than he had at any
+point in Snape's office. Slowly, he and Ron mounted the marble
+staircase. As Harry passed the one-eyed witch, he remembered the
+Invisibility Cloak -- it was still down there, but he didn't dare go and
+get it.
+
+"It's my fault," said Ron abruptly. "I persuaded you to go. Lupin's
+right, it was stupid, we shouldn't've done it --"
+
+He broke off; they reached the corridor where the security trolls were
+pacing, and Hermione was walking toward them. One look at her face
+convinced Harry that she had heard what had happened. His heart
+plummeted -- had she told Professor McGonagall?
+
+"Come to have a good gloat?" said Ron savagely as she stopped 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... Hagrid 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 teardrops 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.
+Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all
+the help you gave us.
+
+Hagrid
+
+"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 bunch of doddery old
+fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always
+is. Only I can't see any hope.... Nothing will have changed."
+
+"Yeah, it will," said Ron fiercely. "You won't have to do all the work
+alone this time, Hermione. I'll help."
+
+"Oh, Ron!"
+
+Hermione flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely.
+Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkwardly on the top of
+the head. Finally, Hermione drew away.
+
+"Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers..." she sobbed.
+
+"Oh -- well -- he was old," said Ron, looking thoroughly relieved that
+she had let go of him. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum
+and Dad might get me an owl now."
+
+The safety measures imposed on the students since Black's second
+break-in made it impossible for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to go and visit
+Hagrid in the evenings. Their only chance of talking to him was during
+Care of Magical Creatures lessons.
+
+He seemed numb with shock at the verdict.
+
+"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in
+black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates
+yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said
+his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em...."
+
+"There's still the appeal!" said Ron fiercely. "Don't give up Yet, 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 Crabbe 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' gonna make sure
+the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him
+that...."
+
+Hagrid turned around and hurried back toward 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 Malfoy. "And he's
+supposed to be our teacher!"
+
+Harry and Ron both made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Hermione got
+there first -- SMACK!
+
+She had slapped Malfoy across the face with all the strength she could
+muster. Malfoy staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and 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 hand as she swung
+it back.
+
+"Get off, Ron!"
+
+Hermione pulled out her wand. Malfoy stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle
+looked at him for instructions, thoroughly bewildered.
+
+"C'mon," Malfoy muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had
+disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons.
+
+"Hermione!" Ron said again, sounding both stunned and irnpressed.
+
+"Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Hermione said
+shrilly. "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin
+wins!"
+
+"We're due in Charms," said Ron, still goggling at Hermione. "We'd
+better go."
+
+They hurried up the marble staircase toward Professor Flitwick'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 their
+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 anxiously as
+they hurried upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower.
+
+They passed the security trolls, gave the Fat Lady the password
+("Flibbertigibbet"), and scrambled through the portrait hole into the
+common room.
+
+Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an
+open Arithmancy book. They went to sit down on either side of her. Harry
+prodded her awake.
+
+"Wh -- what?" said Hermione, waking with a start and staring wildly
+around. "Is it time to go? W -- which lesson have we got now?"
+
+"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes," said Harry.
+"Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?"
+
+"What? Oh no!" Hermione squeaked. "I forgot to go to Charms!"
+
+"But how could you forget?" said Harry. "You were with us till we were
+right outside the classroom!"
+
+"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed. "Was Professor Flitwick angry?
+Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!"
+
+"You know what, Hermione?" said Ron, looking down at the 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 eyes 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!"
+
+Hermione joined them at the foot of the ladder to Professor Trelawneys
+classroom twenty minutes later, looking extremely harrassed.
+
+"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, stifling 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," Harry muttered
+back. "I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my
+hands."
+
+"Good day to you!" said the familiar, misty voice, and Professor
+Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows. Parvati
+and Lavender quivered with excitement, their faces lit by the milky glow
+of their crystal ball.
+
+"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I
+had planned," said Professor Trelawney, sitting with her back to the
+fire and gazing around. "The fates have informed me that your
+examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you
+sufficient practice."
+
+Hermione snorted.
+
+"Well, honestly... 'the fates have informed her' who sets the exam? She
+does! What an amazing prediction!" she said, not troubling to keep her
+voice low. Harry and Ron choked back laughs.
+
+It was hard to tell whether Professor Trelawney had heard them as her
+face was hidden in shadow. She continued, however, as though she had
+not.
+
+"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art," she said dreamily. "I do
+not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite
+depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and
+external eyes" -- Ron began to snigger uncontrollably and had to stuff
+his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise -- "so as to clear the Inner
+Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will
+see before the end of the class."
+
+And so they began. Harry, at least, felt extremely foolish, staring
+blankly at the crystal ball, trying to keep his mind empty when thoughts
+such as "this is stupid" kept drifting across it. It didn'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 practicing
+something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms --"
+
+Professor Trelawney rustled past.
+
+"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within
+their Orb?" she murmured over the clinking of her bangles.
+
+I don't need help," Ron whispered. "It's obvious what this means.
+There's going to be loads of fog tonight."
+
+Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.
+
+"Now, really!" said Professor Trelawney as everyone's heads turned in
+their direction. Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized. "You are
+disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" She approached their table and
+peered into their crystal ball. Harry felt his heart sinking. He was
+sure he knew what was coming --
+
+"There is something here!" Professor Trelawney whispered, lowerng her
+face to the ball, so that it was reflected twice in her huge glasses.
+"Something moving... but what is it?"
+
+Harry was prepared to bet everything he owned, Including his Firebolt,
+that it wasn't good news, whatever it was. And sure enough --
+
+"My dear Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Harry. "It is here,
+plainer than ever before... my dear, stalking toward you, growing ever
+closer... the Gr --"
+
+"Oh, for goodness' sake!" said Hermione loudly. "Not that ridiculous
+Grim again!"
+
+Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. Parvati
+whispered something to Lavender, and they both glared at Hermione too.
+Professor Trelawney stood up, surveying Hermione with unmistakable
+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 what 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 repeated, swinging the bag over
+her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off 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 out of sight.
+
+It took a few minutes for the class to settle down again. Professor
+Trelawney seemed to have forgotten all about the Grim. She 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 start. "Ooooo,
+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 forever!' You said it ages ago, Professor!"
+
+Professor Trelawney gave her a dewy smile.
+
+"Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Miss Granger would be leaving us.
+One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken the Signs.... The Inner
+Eye can be a burden, you know..."
+
+Lavender and Parvati looked deeply impressed, and moved over so that
+Professor Trelawney could join their table instead.
+
+"Some day Hermione's having, eh?" Ron muttered to Harry, looking awed.
+
+"Yeah..."
+
+Harry glanced into the crystal ball but saw nothing but swirling white
+mist. Had Professor Trelawney really seen the Grim again? Would he? The
+last thing he needed was another near-fatal accident, with the Quidditch
+final drawing ever nearer.
+
+The Easter holidays were not exactly relaxing. The third years had never
+had so much homework. Neville Longbottom seemed close to a nervous
+collapse, and he wasn't the only one.
+
+"Call this a holiday!" Seamus Finnigan roared at the common room one
+afternoon. "The exams are ages away, what're they playing 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 the library the next
+morning; she had shadows like Lupin's under her eyes, and seemed
+constantly close to tears.
+
+Ron had taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal. When he wasn't
+doing his own work, he was poring over enormously thick volumes with
+names like The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology and Fowl or Foul? A
+Study of Hippogriff Brutality. He was so absorbed, he even forgot to be
+horrible to Crookshanks.
+
+Harry, meanwhile, had to fit in his homework around Quidditch practice
+every day, not to mention endless discussions of tactics with Wood. The
+Gryffindor-Slytherin match would take place on the first Saturday after
+the Easter holidays. Slytherin was leading the tournament by exactly two
+hundred points. This meant (as Wood constantly reminded his team) that
+they needed to win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It
+also meant that the burden of winning fell largely on Harry, because
+capturing the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty points.
+
+"So you must catch it only if we're more than fifty points up," Wood
+told Harry constantly. "Only if we're more than fifty points up, Harry,
+or we win the match but lose the Cup. You've got that, Haven't you? You
+must catch the Snitch only if we're --"
+
+"I KNOW, OLIVER!" Harry yelled.
+
+The whole of Gryffindor House was obsessed with the coming match.
+Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup since the legendary Charlie
+Weasley (Ron's second oldest brother) had been seeker. But Harry doubted
+whether any of them, even Wood, wanted to win as much as he did. The
+enmity between Harry and Malfoy was at its highest point ever. Malfoy
+was still smarting ,bout the mud-throwing incident in Hogsmeade and was
+even more furious that Harry had somehow wormed his way out of
+punishment. Harry hadn't forgotten Malfoy's attempt to sabotage him in
+the match against Ravenclaw, but it was the matter of Buckbeak that made
+him most determined to beat Malfoy in front of the entire school.
+
+Never, in anyone's memory, had a match approached in such a highly
+charged atmosphere. By the time the holidays were over, tension between
+the two teams and their Houses was at the 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 he went, and slouching
+away looking disappointed when they saw him surrounded by people. Wood
+had given instructions that Harry should be accompanied everywhere he
+went, in case the Slytherins tried to put him out of action. The whole
+of Gryffindor House 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
+Firebolt's safety than his own. When he wasn't flying it, he locked it
+securely in his trunk and frequently dashed back up to Gryffindor 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 Weasley were dealing
+with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever. Oliver
+Wood was crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner,
+prodding little figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself
+Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at Fred's and George's jokes.
+Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione, removed from the center of
+things, trying not to think about the next day, because every time he
+did, he had the horrible sensation that something very large was
+fighting to get out of his stomach.
+
+"You're going to be fine," Hermione told him, though she looked
+positively terrified.
+
+"You've got a Firebolt!" said Ron.
+
+"Yeah..." said Harry, his stomach writhing.
+
+It came as a relief when Wood suddenly stood up and yelled, "Team! Bed!"
+
+Harry 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 Slytherin team arrived for the
+match riding dragons. He was flying at breakneck speed, trying to avoid
+a spurt of flames from Malfoy's steed's mouth, when he realized 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 Slytherin team
+definitely wouldn't be allowed to play on dragons. He was feeling very
+thirsty. Quietly as he could, he got out of his four-poster and went to
+pour himself some water from the silver jug beneath the window.
+
+The 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 the conditions for the match would
+be perfect.
+
+Harry set down his goblet and was about to turn back to his bed when
+something caught his eye. An animal of some kind was prowling across the
+silvery lawn.
+
+Harry dashed to his bedside table, snatched up his glasses, and put them
+on, then hurried back to the window. It couldn't be the Grim -- not now
+-- not right before the match -
+
+He peered out at the grounds again and, after a minute's frantic
+searching, spotted it. It was skirting the edge of the forest now... It
+wasn't the Grim at all ... it was a cat.... Harry clutched the window
+ledge in relief as he recognized the bottlebrush tail. It was only
+Crookshanks....
+
+Or was it only Crookshanks? Harry squinted, pressing his nose flat
+against the glass. Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt. Harry was
+sure he could see something else moving in the shadow of the trees too.
+
+And just then, it emerged -- a gigantic, shaggy black dog, moving
+stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting at its side. Harry
+stared. What did this mean? If Crookshanks could see the dog as well,
+how could it be an omen of Harry's death?
+
+"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 you or, about?"
+
+"Down here --"
+
+Harry looked quickly back out of the window.
+
+Crookshanks and the dog had vanished. Harry climbed onto the windowsill
+to look right down into the shadows of the castle, 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 the
+next day to enormous applause. Harry couldn't help grinning broadly as
+he saw that both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were applauding
+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 field 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. Harry felt himself blushing.
+
+"Okay -- 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 kickoff --"
+
+Wood paced the field, 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 spilling onto the lawn.
+
+"Locker rooms," said Wood tersely.
+
+None of them spoke as they changed into their scarlet robes. Harry
+wondered if they were feeling like he was: as though he'd eaten
+something extremely wriggly for breakfast. In what seemed like no time
+at all, Wood was saying, "Okay, it's time, let's go --"
+
+They walked out onto the field to a tidal wave of noise. Threequarters
+of the crowd was wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the
+Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO
+GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUK' Behind the Slytherin goal posts,
+however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of
+Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very
+front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.
+
+"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as
+commentator as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley,
+and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a
+good few years --"
+
+Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of "boos" from the Slytherin end.
+
+"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's Made some
+changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill
+--"
+
+More boos from the Slytherin crowd. Harry, however, thought Lee had a
+point. Malfoy was easily the smallest person On the Slytherin team; the
+rest of them were enormous.
+
+"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.
+
+Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very
+tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break 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 fourteen
+brooms rose into the air. Harry felt his hair fly back off his forehead;
+his nerves left him in the thrill of the flight; he glanced around, saw
+Malfoy on his tail, and sped off in search of the Snitch.
+
+"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinner of Gryffindor with
+the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking
+good, Alicia! Argh, no -- Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington
+of Slytherin tearing UP the field -- WHAM! -- nice Bludger work there by
+George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by -- Johnson,
+Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina -- nice swerve around
+Montague -- duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger!- SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO
+GRYFFINDOR!"
+
+Angelina punched the air as she soared around the end of the field; the
+sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight
+
+"OUCH!"
+
+Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing
+into her.
+
+"Sorry!" said Flint as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!"
+
+A moment later, Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of
+Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and
+began to bleed.
+
+"That will do!" shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between then. "Penalty
+shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty
+shot 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 forward to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering in front of
+the Gryffindor goal posts, 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, but 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 for
+Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field -- THAT WAS
+DELIBERATE!"
+
+Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead
+of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head. Katie cart wheeled in the
+air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.
+
+Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again as she soared over to Montague and
+began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty
+past the Slytherin Seeker.
+
+"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING --"
+
+"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way --"
+
+"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"
+
+Harry felt a huge jolt of excitement. He had seen the Snitch it was
+shimmering at the foot of one of the Gryffindor goal posts -- but he
+mustn't catch it yet -- and if Malfoy saw it -
+
+Faking a look of sudden concentration, Harry pulled his Firebolt around
+and sped off toward the Slytherin end -- it worked. Malfoy went haring
+after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the Snitch there....
+
+WHOOSH.
+
+One of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry's right ear, hit by the
+gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick. Then again
+
+WHOOSH.
+
+The second Bludger grazed Harry's elbow. The other Beater, Bole, was
+closing in.
+
+Harry had a fleeting glimpse of Bole and Derrick zooming toward him,
+clubs raised --
+
+He turned the Firebolt upward 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 Firebold And it's Gryffindor in possession
+again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle -- Flint alongside her -- poke him
+in the eye, Angelina! -- it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke -- oh
+no -- Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal
+posts, come on now, Wood, save --!"
+
+But Flint had scored; there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin
+end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the
+magical megaphone away from him.
+
+"Sorry, Professor, sorry! WoiA happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead,
+thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession --"
+
+it was turning into the dirtiest game Harry had ever played in. Enraged
+that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were
+rapidly resorting to any means to take the Quaffle. Bole hit Alicia with
+his club and tried to say he'd thought she was a Bludger. George Weasley
+elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams
+penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the
+score forty-ten to Gryffindor.
+
+The Snitch had disappeared again. Malfoy was still keeping close to
+Harry as he soared over the match, looking around for it once Gryffindor
+was fifty points ahead -
+
+Katie scored. Fifty-ten. Fred and George Weasley were swooping around
+her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of
+revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of Fred's and George's absence
+to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after
+the other, and he rolled over in the air, 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 Weasley 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 was screaming itself hoarse -- Gryffindor was
+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 field, 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 was 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 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 to do -- the
+Snitch had disappeared again.
+
+"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics." Madam
+Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his
+Nimbus Two Thousand and One.
+
+"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing
+out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B --"
+
+Pprofessor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off She was
+actually shaking her finger in Malfoys direction, her hat had fallen
+off, and she too was shouting furiously.
+
+Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she missed by
+several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentration and the
+Slytherins, delighted by Malfoy's foul on Harry, were being spurred on
+to greater heights.
+
+"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal -- Montague scores
+--" Lee groaned. "Seventy- twenty to Gryffindor..."
+
+Harry was now marking Malfoy so closely their knees kept hitting 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
+turn and found Harry blocking him.
+
+"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina,
+COME ON!"
+
+Harry looked around. Every single Slytherin player apart from Malfoy was
+streaking up the pitch toward Angelina, including the Slytherin Keeper
+-- they were all going to block her --
+
+Harry wheeled the Firebolt around, bent so low he was lying flat along
+the handle, and kicked it forward. Like a bullet, he shot toward the
+Slytherins.
+
+"AAAAAAARRRGH!"
+
+They scattered as the Firebolt zoomed toward them; Angelina's Way was
+clear.
+
+"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty Points to twenty!"
+
+Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt
+in midair, reversed, and zoomed back into the middle of the field.
+
+And then he saw something to make his heart stand still. Malfoy was
+diving, a look of triumph on his face -- there, a few feet above the
+grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer -
+
+Harry urged the Firebolt downward, but Malfoy was miles ahead -
+
+"Go! Go! Go!" Harry urged his broom. He was gaining on Malfay -- Harry
+flattened himself to the broom handle as Bole sent a Bludger at him --
+he was at Malfoy's ankles -- he was level --
+
+Harry threw himself forward, took both hands off his broom. He knocked
+Malfoy's arm out of the way and --
+
+"YES!"
+
+He pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air, and the stadium
+exploded. Harry soared above the crowd, an odd ringing in his ears. The
+tiny golden ball was held tight in his fist, beating its wings
+hopelessly against his fingers.
+
+Then Wood was speeding toward him, half-blinded by tears; he seized
+Harry around the neck and sobbed unrestrainedly into his shoulder. Harry
+felt two large thumps as Fred and George hit them; then Angelina's,
+Alicia's, and Katie's voices, "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!"
+Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the Gryffindor team sank, yelling
+hoarsely, back to earth.
+
+Wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto
+the field. 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 toward Harry, were Ron and Hermione. Words
+failed them. They simply beamed as Harry was borne toward the stands,
+where Dumbledore 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 felt he could have
+produced the world's best Patronus.
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN
+
+PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY'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 onto 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. 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 concentrating 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 O.W.L.s
+(Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his
+N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest
+qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of
+Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave
+very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common
+room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious
+than Percy was Hermione.
+
+Harry and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend
+several classes at once, but they couldn't restrain themselves when they
+saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself. The first column
+read:
+
+Monday
+
+9 o'clock, Arithmancy
+
+9 o'clock, Transfiguration
+
+Lunch
+
+1 o'clock, Charms
+
+1 o'clock, Ancient Runes
+
+"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to explode when
+interrupted these days. "Er -- are you sure you've copied down these
+times right?"
+
+"What?" snapped Hermione, picking up the exam schedule and examining it.
+"Yes, of course I have."
+
+"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at
+once?" said Harry.
+
+"No," said Hermione shortly. "Have either of you seen my copy of
+Numerology and Gramatica?"
+
+"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," said Ron, but
+very quietly. Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment Harry, Ron,
+and Hermione plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.
+
+"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them, bending low on the
+pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive. "Bin
+cooped up too long. But still... we'll know day after tomorrow -- one
+way or the other --"
+
+They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster. Try
+as Harry might, he couldn't get his Confusing Concoction to thicken, and
+Snape, standing watch with an air of vindictive pleasure, scribbled
+something that looked suspiciously like a zero onto his notes before
+moving away.
+
+Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower; History of
+Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Harry scribbled everything Florean
+Fortescue had ever told him about medieval witch-hunts, while wishing he
+could have had one of 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 sunburnt necks, thinking longingly of this time next day,
+when it would all be over.
+
+Their second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense 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 while ignoring 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 it, she burst out again, screaming.
+
+"Hermione!" said Lupin, startled. "What's the matter?"
+
+"P -- P -- Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped, pointing into the
+trunk. "Sh -- she said I'd failed everything!"
+
+It took a little while to calm Hermione down. When at last she had
+regained a grip on herself, she, Harry, and Ron went back to the castle.
+Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's boggart, but an
+argument was averted by the sight that met them on the top of the steps.
+
+Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing
+there staring out at the grounds. He started at the sight of Harry.
+
+"Hello there, Harry!" he said. "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly
+finished?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry. Hermione and Ron, not being on speaking terms with
+the Minister of Magic, hovered awkwardly in the background.
+
+"Lovely day," said Fudge, casting an eye over the lake.
+
+"Pity... pity..."
+
+He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.
+
+"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the
+Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a
+mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black
+situation, I was asked to step in."
+
+"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron interrupted,
+stepping forward.
+
+"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," said Fudge, looking
+curiously at Ron.
+
+"Then you might not have to witness an execution at A!" said Eon
+stoutly. "The hippogriff might get off!"
+
+Before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the castle 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 back mustache.
+Harry gathered that they were representatives of the Committee for the
+Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because tie very old wizard squinted
+toward Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm
+getting too old for this.... Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?"
+
+The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; Harry
+looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb along the blade of a
+shining axe. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged
+him hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the entrance hall.
+
+"Why'd you stop me?" said Ron angrily as they entered the Great Hall for
+lunch. "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't
+justice!"
+
+"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like
+that to his boss!" said Hermione, but she too looked very upset. "As
+long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argue, hi case properly,
+they can't possibly execute Buckbeak...."
+
+But Harry could tell Hermione didn't really believe what she was saying.
+All around them, people were talking excitedly as they ate their lunch,
+happily anticipating the end of the exams that afternoon, but Harry,
+Ron, and Hermione, lost in worry about Hagrid and Buckbeak, didn't join
+in.
+
+Harry's and Ron's last exam was Divination; Hermione's, Muggle Studies.
+They walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left them on the
+first floor and Harry and Ron proceeded all the way up to the seventh,
+where many of their class were sitting on the spiral staircase to
+Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute
+studying.
+
+"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed them as they went to
+sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on
+his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. "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.
+
+The line 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 okay?"
+
+But they all refused to say.
+
+"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a
+horrible accident!" squeaked Neville as he clambered back down the
+ladder toward Harry and Ron, who had now reached the landing.
+
+"That's convenient," snorted Ron. "You know, I'm starting to think
+Hermione was right about her" -- he jabbed his thumb toward 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 toward Lavender.
+
+"Ronald Weasley," said the familiar, misty voice from over their heads.
+Ron grimaced at Harry and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Harry
+was now the only person left to be tested. He settled himself on the
+floor with his back against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the
+sunny window, his mind across the grounds with Hagrid.
+
+Finally, after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the
+ladder.
+
+"How'd it go?" Harry asked him, standing up.
+
+"Rubbish," said Ron. "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up.
+Don't think she was convinced, though...."
+
+"Meet you in the common room," Harry muttered as Professor Trelawney's
+voice called, "Harry Potter!"
+
+The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed,
+the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry cough as he
+stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where Professor
+Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.
+
+"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 fog, 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. "Think, now..."
+
+Harry cast his mind around and it landed on Buckbeak.
+
+"A hippogriff," he said firmly.
+
+"Indeed!" whispered Professor Trelawney, scribbling keenly on the
+parchment perched upon her knees. "My boy, you may well be seeing the
+outcome of poor Hagrid's trouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look
+closer... Does the hippogriff appear to... have its head?"
+
+"Yes," said Harry firmly.
+
+"Are you sure?" Professor Trelawney urged him. "Are you quite sure,
+dear? You don't see it writhing on the ground, perhaps, and a shadowy
+figure raising an axe behind it?"
+
+"No!" said Harry, starting to feel slightly sick.
+
+"No blood? No weeping Hagrid?"
+
+"No!" said Harry again, wanting more than ever to leave the room and the
+heat. "It looks fine, it's - - flying away..."
+
+Professor Trelawney sighed.
+
+"Well, dear, I think we'll leave it there.... A little disappointing...
+but I'm sure you did your best."
+
+Relieved, Harry got up, picked up his bag and turned to go, but then a
+loud, harsh voice spoke behind him.
+
+"IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT."
+
+Harry wheeled around. Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her
+armchair; her eyes were unfocused and her mouth sagging.
+
+"S -- sorry?" said Harry.
+
+But Professor Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to
+roll. Harry sat there in a panic. She looked as though she was about to
+have some sort of seizure. He hesitated, thinking of running to the
+hospital wing -- and then Professor Trelawney 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 SERVANTS AID, GREATER AND
+MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS. TONIGHT... BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE
+SERVANT... WILL SET OU... TO REJOIN... HIS MASTER....
+
+Professor Trelawney's head fell forward onto her chest. She made a
+grunting sort of noise. Harry sat there, staring at her. Then, quite
+suddenly, Professor Trelawney's head 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 sat there, staring at her.
+
+"Is there anything wrong, my dear?"
+
+"You -- you just told me that the -- the Dark Lord's going to rise
+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 Professor Trelawney.
+"I would certainly not presume to predict anything quite as far-fetched
+as that!"
+
+Harry climbed back down the ladder and the spiral staircase,
+wondering... had he just heard Professor Trelawney make a real
+prediction? Or had that been her idea of an impressive end to the test?
+
+Five minutes later he was dashing past the security trolls outside the
+entrance to Gryffindor Tower, Professor Trelawney's words still
+resounding in his head. People were striding past him in the opposite
+direction, laughing and joking, heading for the grounds and a bit of
+long-awaited freedom; by the time he had reached the portrait hole and
+entered the common room, it was almost deserted. Over in the corner,
+however, sat Ron and Hermione.
+
+"Professor Trelawney," Harry panted, "just told me --"
+
+But 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
+own, waiting for the executioner!"
+
+"Sunset, though," said Ron, who was staring out the window ill 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
+trouble," he finished.
+
+"That's true," said Hermione, getting to her feet. "If he sees you....
+How 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 across the
+room, pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and vanished from sight.
+
+"She hasn't gone to get it?" Ron said, staring after her.
+
+She had. Hermione returned a quarter of an hour later with the silvery
+cloak folded carefully under her robes.
+
+"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten, into you lately!" said Ron,
+astounded. "First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor
+Trelawney --"
+
+Hermione looked rather flattered.
+
+They went down to dinner with everybody else, but did not return to
+Gryffindor Tower afterward. Harry had the cloak hidden down tie front of
+his robes; he had to keep his arms folded to hide the lump. They skulked
+in an empty chamber off the 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.
+
+"Okay," 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 already sinking behind the Forbidden
+Forest, gilding the top branches of 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 visitor, pale-faced and
+trembling.
+
+"It's us," Harry hissed. "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let 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 Harry 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
+
+Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his
+grasp and shattered all over the floor.
+
+"I'll do it, Hagrid," said Hermione quickly, hurrying over and starting
+to clean up the mess.
+
+"There's another one in the cupboard," Hagrid said, sitting down and
+wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry glanced at Ron, who looked back
+hopelessly.
+
+"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely,
+sitting down next to him. "Dumbledore --"
+
+"He's tried," said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the
+Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared.... Yeh
+know what Lucius Malfoy's like... threatened 'em, I expect... an' the
+executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's... but it'll be quick
+an' clean... an' I'll be beside him.... "
+
+Hagrid swallowed. His eyes were darting all over the cabin as though
+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.
+
+"Yeh'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.
+
+"Ron, I 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 upside
+down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside,
+Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.
+
+"Scabbers!" said Ron blankly. "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"
+
+He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers
+looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had
+fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as
+though desperate to free himself
+
+"It's okay, Scabbers!" said Ron. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt
+you!"
+
+Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window. His normally
+ruddy face had gone the color of parchment.
+
+"They're comin'...."
+
+Harry, Ron, and Hermione whipped around. A group of men was walking down
+the distant castle steps. In front was Albus Dumbledore, his silver
+beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next to 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 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 felt 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 okay, Beaky," said Hagrid softly. "It's okay..." He turned to
+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. Hagrid 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 the front door.
+
+Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off
+silently around Hagrid's house. As they reached the other side, the
+front door closed with a sharp snap.
+
+"Please, let's hurry," Hermione whispered. "I can't stand it, I can't
+bear it...."
+
+They started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking
+fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged grey, but to the
+west there was a ruby-red glow.
+
+Ron stopped dead.
+
+"Oh, please, Ron," Hermione began.
+
+"It's Scabbers -- he won't -- stay put --"
+
+Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat
+was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to
+sink his teeth into Ron's hand.
+
+"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron," Ron hissed.
+
+They heard a door open behind them and men's voices.
+
+"Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed.
+
+"Okay -- Scabbers, stay put --"
+
+They walked forward; 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 unmistakable
+swish and thud of an axe.
+
+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 worse 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 toward the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves
+hidden under the cloak. The light was fading fast now.
+
+By the time they reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell
+around them.
+
+"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest.
+The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force
+Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, You stupid
+rat? Stay still -- OUCH! He bit me!"
+
+"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Fudge'll be out here in a
+minute --"
+
+"He won't -- stay -- put --"
+
+Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might,
+trying to break free of Ron's grip.
+
+"What's the matter with him?"
+
+But Harry had just seen -- stinking toward them, his body low to the
+ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness -- Crookshanks.
+Whether he could see them or was following the sound of Scabbers's
+squeaks, Harry couldn't tell.
+
+"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"
+
+But the cat was getting nearer --
+
+"Scabbers -- NO!"
+
+Too late -- the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the
+ground, and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him,
+and before Harry or Hermione could stop him, Ron had thrown the
+Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.
+
+"Ron!" Hermione moaned.
+
+She and Harry looked at each other, then followed at a sprint; it ""as
+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 stop 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 --"
+
+But before they could cover themselves again, before they could even
+catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws....
+Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow -- an enormous,
+pale-eyed, jet-black dog.
+
+Harry reached for his wand, but too late -- the dog had made an enormous
+leap and the front paws hit him on the chest; he keeled over backward in
+a whirl of hair; he felt its hot breath, saw inch- long teeth -
+
+But the force of its leap had carried it too far; it rolled off him.
+Dazed, feeling as though his ribs were broken, Harry tried to stand up;
+he could hear it growling as it skidded around for a new attack.
+
+Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back toward them he pushed Harry
+aside; the dog's jaws fastened instead around Ron's outstretched arm.
+Harry lunged forward, he seized a handful of the brute's hair, but it
+was dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll --
+
+Then, out of nowhere, something hit Harry so hard across the face he was
+knocked off his feet again. He heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall
+too.
+
+Harry groped for his wand, blinking blood out of his eyes
+
+"Lumos!"he whispered.
+
+The wandlight 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 backward and forward to stop
+them going nearer.
+
+And there, at the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward
+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 backward 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 from pulling him farther underground
+-- but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had
+broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.
+
+"Harry -- we've got to go for help --" Hermione gasped; 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 --"
+
+"Harry -- 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 being in range of
+the tree's blows.
+
+"Oh, help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing U._ certainly
+on the spot, "Please..."
+
+Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches
+like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.
+
+Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped
+moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.
+
+"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped Harry's
+arm painfully hard. "How did he know --?"
+
+"He's friends with that dog," said Harry grimly. "I've seen them
+together. Come on -- and keep your wand out --"
+
+They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had
+reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick
+of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst,
+and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a 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 from
+behind him.
+
+"I don't know... It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George
+said no one's ever gotten into it.... It goes off the edge of the map,
+but it looked like it was heading for 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 gasps, running at a
+crouch....
+
+And 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 forward. Both raised
+their wands to see what lay beyond.
+
+It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the
+walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture
+was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all
+boarded up.
+
+Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened but nodded.
+
+Harry pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. The room was
+deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy
+hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm again. Her wide eyes were
+traveling around the boarded windows.
+
+"Harry," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."
+
+Harry looked around. His eyes fell on a wooden chair near them. Large
+chunks had been torn out of it; one of the legs had 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. Hermione's grip on
+Harry's arm was so tight he was losing feeling in-his fingers. He raised
+his eyebrows at her; she nodded again and let go.
+
+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 a deep, loud purring. They
+exchanged a last look, a last nod.
+
+Wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open.
+
+On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks,
+purring loudly at the sight of them. On the floor beside him, clutching
+his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.
+
+Harry and Hermione dashed across to him.
+
+"Ron -- are you okay?"
+
+"Where's the dog?"
+
+"Not a dog," Ron moaned. His teeth were gritted with pain. "Harry, it's
+a trap --"
+
+"What --"
+
+"He's the dog... he's an Animagus."
+
+Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder. Harry wheeled around. 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 hadn't been
+shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The
+waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked
+like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius
+Black.
+
+"Expelliarmus!"he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.
+
+Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air,
+and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed
+on Harry.
+
+"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely.
+
+His voice sounded as though he had long since lost the habit of using
+it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you) not to
+run for a teacher. I'm grateful... it will make everything much
+easier...."
+
+The taunt about his father rang in Harry's ears as though Black had
+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 forward, but there was a sudden movement
+on either side of him and two pairs of 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 upright was draining him of
+still more color, 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 even
+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 be only one murder here tonight," said Brack, and his grin
+widened.
+
+"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of Ron, and
+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 huge effort he
+broke free of Hermione's and Ron's restraint and lunged forward -
+
+He had forgotten about magic -- he had forgotten that he was short and
+skinny and thirteen, whereas Black was a tall, full-grown man -- all
+Harry knew was that he wanted to hurt Black as badly as he could and
+that he didn't care how much he got hurt in return --
+
+Perhaps it was the shock of Harry doing something so stupid, but Black
+didn't raise the wands in time -- one of Harry's hands fastened over his
+wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Harry's other
+hand collided with the side of Black's head and they fell, backward,
+into the wall -
+
+Hermione was screaming; Ron was yelling; there was a blinding flash as
+the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that 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 let 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 toward 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 toward 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's 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.
+
+Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest 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 at Black's chest,
+looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye
+and his nose was bleeding.
+
+"You killed my parents," said Harry, his voice shaking slightly, 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 knew the whole
+story."
+
+"The whole story?" Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his ears. "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
+urgency 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 ginger 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 for Harry's parents....
+
+Harry raised the wand. Now was the moment to do it. Now was the 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, wand poised,
+Black staring up at him, Crookshanks on his chest. Ron's ragged
+breathing came from near the bed; Hermione was quite silent.
+
+And then came a new sound -
+
+Muffled footsteps were echoing up through the floor -- someone was
+moving downstairs.
+
+"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE -- SIRIUS
+BLACK - QUICK!"
+
+Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry
+gripped his wand convulsively -- Do it now! said a voice in his head --
+but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and Harry still hadn't
+done it.
+
+The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry
+wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face
+bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying
+on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry,
+standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself,
+crumpled and bleeding at 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 a very tense voice.
+
+"Where is he, Sirius?"
+
+Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understannd what 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 Ron, who looked bewildered.
+
+"But then..." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it 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, Black nodded.
+
+"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly, "what's going on --?"
+
+But he never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice
+die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixed at Black.
+The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his
+feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced Black like a
+brother.
+
+Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.
+
+"DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.
+
+Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off 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 Sirius's friend, 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 werewolf!"
+
+There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who
+looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.
+
+"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 toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get
+away ftom me, werewolf!"
+
+Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione
+and said, "How long have you known?"
+
+"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did Professor Snape's essay..."
+
+"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping
+someone would realize what my symptoms meant.... Did you check the lunar
+chart and realize that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you
+realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"
+
+"Both," Hermione said quietly.
+
+Lupin forced a laugh.
+
+"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."
+
+"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd 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 werewolf. Ron gasped. "Is
+he mad?"
+
+"Some of the staff thought so," said Lupin. "He had to work very hard to
+convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy --"
+
+"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOUVE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!"
+He was pointing at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed
+and sank 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 --"
+
+He separated Harry's, Ron's 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 belt "You're
+armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"
+
+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 this evening,
+because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak
+out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed.
+And I was right, wasn't I"
+
+He had started to pace up and down, looking at them. Little 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?"
+
+"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it...," said Lupin,
+waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an
+Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched
+you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you
+left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now
+accompanied by somebody else."
+
+"What?" said Harry. "No, we weren't!"
+
+I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring
+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 toward you, labeled Sirius
+Black.... I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you
+into the Whomping Willow --"
+
+"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 leg and made a soft hissing
+noise.
+
+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, PADDFOOT, 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 was still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, 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 pet! There
+are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry -- you owe Harry the
+truth, Sirius!"
+
+Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on
+Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, ad
+bleeding hands.
+
+"All right, then," Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat.
+
+"Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit
+the murder I was imprisoned for..."
+
+"You're nutters, both of you," said Ron shakily, looking round at Harry
+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 tight
+hold on Peter while you listen."
+
+"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to fore the rat back
+into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting to hard; Ron swayed and
+overbalanced, and Harry caught him am 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, Harry."
+
+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 voice, 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 class,
+and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with
+grindylows.
+
+"Because... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an
+Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I
+looked them up when I did my homework -- the Ministry of Magic keeps
+tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register
+showing what animal they become, and their markings and things... and I
+went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have
+been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the
+list."
+
+Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put
+into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh.
+
+"Light again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that here
+used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."
+
+"I you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus," said
+Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate 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 toward 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 graying 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 bitter... and if I
+hadn't been so foolhardy..."
+
+He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione, said,
+"Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently.
+
+"I as 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'm able to curl up in my
+office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.
+
+"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully
+fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible 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 sympathetic. He said
+that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I
+shouldn't come to school...." Lupin sighed, and looked directly at
+Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the
+year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came
+to Hogwarts. This house" -- Lupin looked miserably around the room, --
+"the tunnel that leads to it -- they were built for my use. Once a
+month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform.
+The tree was 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 listening
+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 to bite, so
+I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and
+the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent
+spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor.... 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 I 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 truth...."
+
+"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me
+that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times
+of my life. They became Animagi."
+
+"My dad too?" said Harry, astounded.
+
+"Yes, indeed," said Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to
+work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest
+students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus
+transformation can go horribly wrong -- one reason the Ministry keeps a
+close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he
+could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they
+managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."
+
+"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled.
+
+"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as
+animals," said Lupin. "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They
+sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak.
+They transformed... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the
+Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They
+would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I
+became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to
+become less so while I was with them."
+
+"Hurry up, Remus," snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a
+horrible sort of hunger on his face.
+
+"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there... well, highly exciting
+possibilities were open to us now that 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 it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James
+was Prongs."
+
+"What sort of animal --?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off.
+
+"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 afterwards. We were
+young, thoughtless -- carried away with our own cleverness."
+
+I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course...
+he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster 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 never knew I had led three fellow students
+into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my
+guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's
+adventure. And I haven't changed..."
+
+Lupin's face had hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All
+this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should
+tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why?
+Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd
+betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others
+along with me... and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He
+let me into Hogwarts as a boy, 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 Hermione.
+
+"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my
+appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been
+telling Dumbledore A 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." Lupin 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 field... anyway
+Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as
+she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it
+would be -- er -- amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the
+knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in
+after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it -- if he'd got as far as this
+house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf -- but your father, who'd
+heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at
+great risk to his life... Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the
+tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that
+time on he knew what I was...."
+
+"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he
+thought you were in on the joke?"
+
+"That's right," sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin.
+
+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 felt 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 this 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 I 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're helping 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 gleaming
+fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this....
+He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin... a tame
+werewolf --"
+
+"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an
+innocent man back inside Azkaban?"
+
+BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and
+twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he
+overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage,
+Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed 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 say which face
+showed more hatred.
+
+Harry stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do or whom to believe.
+He glanced around at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked just as confused as he
+did, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Hermione,
+however, took an uncertain step toward 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."
+
+"But if -- if there was a mistake --"
+
+"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 pointed at Black's
+face. Hermione fell silent.
+
+"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape breathed at Black. "How I hoped I would
+be the one to catch you...."
+
+"The joke's on you again, Severus," Black snarled. "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... I --"
+
+What little color there was in Blacks face left it.
+
+"You -you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat -- look at the
+rat --"
+
+But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that Harry had never seen
+before. He seemed beyond reason.
+
+"Come on, all of you," he said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of
+the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf.
+Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too --"
+
+Before he knew what he was doing, Harry had crossed the room in 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 this year,"
+Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense
+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."
+
+"YOURE 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! I 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 take even
+one step toward 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, then slid down
+it to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He had
+been knocked out.
+
+Harry looked around. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at
+exactly the same moment. Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on
+the bed next to Crookshanks.
+
+"You shouldn't have done that," said Black, looking at Harry.
+
+"You should have left him to me...."
+
+Harry avoided Black's eyes. He wasn't sure, even now, that he'd done the
+right thing.
+
+"We attacked a teacher... We attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered,
+staring at the lifeless Snape with frightened eyes. "Oh, we're going to
+be in so much trouble --"
+
+Lupin was struggling against his bonds. Black bent down quickly and
+untied him. Lupin straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had
+cut into them.
+
+"Thank you, Harry," he said.
+
+"I'm still not saying I believe you," he told Lupin.
+
+"Then it's time we offered you some proof," said Lupin. "You, boy --
+give me Peter, please. Now."
+
+Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest.
+
+"Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say he broke out of
+Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." He looked up at
+Harry and Hermione for support, "Okay, 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 clawlike 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 picture 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 it off
+himself?"
+
+"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he
+yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James.
+Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand
+behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself -- and
+sped down into the sewer with the other rats...."
+
+"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" said Lupin. "The biggest bit of Peter they
+found was his finger."
+
+"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! 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?"
+
+"We -- 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 toward
+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 recognized Peter for what he was right 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." croaked Black.
+"This cat -- Crookshanks, did you call him? -- told me Peter had left
+blood on the sheets.... I supposed he bit himself... Well, faking his
+own death had worked once."
+
+These words jolted Harry to his senses.
+
+"And why did he fake his death?" he said furiously. "Because he knew you
+were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"
+
+"No," said Lupin, "Harry-"
+
+"And now you've come to finish him off!"
+
+"Yes, I have," said Black, with an evil look at Scabbers.
+
+"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.
+
+"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've
+thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down -- but
+it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother
+and father -- Sirius tracked Peter down --"
+
+"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO
+BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"
+
+He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the 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. Yet there was no sign
+of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your
+parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and
+their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done...."
+
+His voice broke. He turned away.
+
+"Enough of this," said Lupin, and there was a steely note in his 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, it
+won't hurt him."
+
+Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he 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; for a moment,
+Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly -- Ron
+yelled -- the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding
+flash of light and then --
+
+It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was
+shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a
+man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his
+hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his
+back was standing up.
+
+He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His
+thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on
+top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of
+weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's
+fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and 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 school friends around him. "Long time, no see.
+
+"S -- Sirius... R -- Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky.
+Again, his eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old
+friends..."
+
+Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a
+warning took, 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'll be so --"
+
+"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly,
+pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because
+his index was missing. "He killed Lily and James and now he's 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 Pettigrew
+with his fathomless eyes.
+
+"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things
+out," said Lupin.
+
+"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once
+more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again' the only door. "I
+knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting
+for this for twelve years!"
+
+"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his
+brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"
+
+"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew
+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. I 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," said Lupin evenly.
+
+"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters
+were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban --
+the spy, Sirius Black!"
+
+Black's face contorted.
+
+"How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bearsized dog he
+had been. I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people
+who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter -- I'll
+never understand why I didn't see you were 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.
+
+"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 backward. "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 attention
+to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to
+dart toward 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 Ron with his maimed hand.
+"Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head!
+Why should I?"
+
+"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for
+anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in
+hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to
+commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a
+wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite
+sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to
+him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in?
+Keeping an ear out for news, weren't YOU, Peter? Just in case your old
+protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him...."
+
+Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to
+have lost the ability to talk.
+
+"Er -- Mr. Black -- Sirius?" said Hermione.
+
+Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as
+though he had never seen anything quite like her.
+
+"If you don't mind me asking, how -- how did you get out of 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 slightly at
+Hermione, but not as though he were 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
+toward people by feeding off 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 I 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 realized he was at Hogwarts
+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 hypnotized.
+
+"... ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies... and 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 honors....
+
+"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. Wealsey. "The guards say
+he's been talking in his sleep... always the same words... 'He's at
+Hogwarts.'"
+
+"It was as if someone had lit a fire In my head, and the dementors
+couldn't destroy it.... It wasn't a happy feeling... it was an
+obsession... but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night
+when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog....
+It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions 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 grounds as a dog. I've been living in the
+forest ever since, except when I came 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, Harry. 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, groveling, 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 I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's
+why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrews 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 believing 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
+together?"
+
+"Yes, I think so," said Lupin grimly.
+
+"You wouldn't... you won't...," gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled
+around to Ron.
+
+"Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet? You won't let them
+kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you.
+
+But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.
+
+"I let you sleep in my bed!" he said.
+
+"Kind boy... kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron "You won't let
+them do it.... I was your rat.... I was a good pet...."
+
+"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast 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 forward, 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
+toward 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 toward 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 forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders, and
+threw him backward 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, like an oversized,
+balding baby, cowering on the floor.
+
+"Sirius, Sirius, 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. I never meant it to happen....
+He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me --"
+
+"DON'T LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR
+A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES 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 wizard who has
+ever existed?" 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 realized," said Lupin quietly, "if Voldemort didn't
+kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."
+
+Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.
+
+"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front 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... but 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 them to become killers -- just for you."
+
+No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming
+in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at
+each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.
+
+"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black.
+"But think... think what he did...."
+
+"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place,
+he does...."
+
+Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.
+
+"Very well," said Lupin. "Stand aside, Harry."
+
+Harry hesitated.
+
+"I'm going to tie him up," said Lupin. "That's all, I swear."
+
+Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this
+time, and next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the 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 businesslike. "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 wing."
+
+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 --
+overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er -- perhaps it will be best if we
+don't revive him until we're safety back in the castle. We can take him
+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 forward.
+
+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 Scabbers's true identity as a
+personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way
+out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high.
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY
+
+THE DEMENTOR'S 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
+entrants 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
+Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept
+bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression
+Black was making no effort to prevent this.
+
+"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made
+their slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"
+
+"You' re free," said Harry.
+
+"Yes...," said Black. "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 Black stiffly.
+"If anything happened to them..."
+
+Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?
+
+"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and
+uncle," said Black. "But... well... think about it. Once my name's
+cleared... if you wanted a... a different home..."
+
+Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
+
+"What -- live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a
+bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
+
+"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Black quickly. "I
+understand, I just thought I'd --"
+
+"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's.
+
+"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can
+I move in?"
+
+Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the
+ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.
+
+"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"
+
+"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.
+
+Black's 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 were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was
+recognizable 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 upward
+without any sound of savaging branches.
+
+Black 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. Pettigrew 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 of Black, 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 had stopped abruptly.
+Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stop.
+
+Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs
+began to shake.
+
+"Oh, my --" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's
+not safe!"
+
+"Run," Black whispered. "Run. Now."
+
+But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leapt
+forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.
+
+"Leave it to me -- RUN!"
+
+There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So
+was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on
+his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's
+hair 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, bearlike dog bounded
+forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it,
+the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, 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.
+
+"Expelliarmus." Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew;
+Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you
+are!" Harry shouted, running forward.
+
+Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail whip
+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 --
+
+"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.
+
+Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at
+Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his
+paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.
+
+Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.
+
+"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only
+half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could
+hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.
+
+"I don't know...."
+
+Harry looked desperately around. Black and Lupin both gone... they had
+no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in midair.
+
+"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone," said Harry,
+pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight. "Come --"
+
+But then, from beyond the range of their vision, 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 the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward
+it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it
+must mean -
+
+The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw
+why -- Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours,
+his hands over his head.
+
+'Nooo," he moaned. 'Nooo... please...."
+
+And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding
+in a black mass around the lake toward 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....
+
+"Herrnione, 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 Black, and only Black, 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 --"
+
+But she couldn't do it. The dementors were closing in, barely ten feet
+from them. 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 okay -- I' mgoing to live with him --
+
+"Ex ecto patronum!" 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 feet 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, gray 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 paralyzing 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 patronum ... 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 attached themselves around
+Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward.... He could feel its
+breath.... It was going to get rid of him first.... He could feel its
+putrid breath.... His mother was screaming in his ears.... She was going
+to be the last thing he ever heard --
+
+And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought he saw a
+silvery light growing brighter and brighter... He felt himself fall
+forward onto the grass.... Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking,
+Harry opened his eyes. The dementor must have released him. 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 circling around him
+and Black and Hermione.... 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 amid the light, galloping away across the
+lake.... Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what it
+was.... It was as 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 anymore. 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...."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to
+judge by their behavior. 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 license by the headmaster --"
+
+"Ah, well, Snape... Harry Potter, you know... we've all got a bit of a
+blind spot where he's concerned."
+
+"And yet -- is it good for him to be given so much special treatment?
+Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other
+student would be suspended -- at the very least -- for leading his
+friends into such danger. Consider, Minister -- against all school rules
+-- after all the precautions put in place for his protection --
+out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer --
+and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally
+too --"
+
+"Well, well... we shall see, Snape, we shall see.... The boy has
+undoubtedly been foolish...."
+
+Harry lay listening with his eyes tight shut. He felt very groggy. The
+words he was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly 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, forever....
+
+"What amazes me most is the behavior 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 visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.
+
+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 took 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 small 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 do 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 got
+Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing 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
+Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the
+dementors do that thing to Sirius, 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. "YOUVE 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 chocolate into
+Harry's mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity 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 his mouthful
+of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again.
+
+"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black --"
+
+"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a
+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
+on 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!" sputtered 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 toward Dumbledore.
+
+"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he
+breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten
+that he once tried to kill me?"
+
+"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.
+
+Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still
+holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to 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
+eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. 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 for 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 Pettigrew, alive or
+dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."
+
+"But you believe us."
+
+"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other
+men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic...."
+
+Harry stared up into the grave face and felt as though the ground
+beneath him were falling sharply away. He had grown used to the idea
+that Dumbledore could solve anything. He had expected 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."
+
+"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 toward 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, backward. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears
+were pounding, he tried to yell but couldn't hear his own voice --
+
+And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything 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 floor from the
+open front doors. He looked wildly around at Hermione, the chain of the
+hourglass cutting into his neck.
+
+"Hermione, what --?"
+
+"In here!" Hermione seized Harry's arm and dragged him across the hall
+to the door of a broom closet; she opened it, pushed him inside among
+the buckets and mops, 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,
+but 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 it all year
+to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I 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 that I was a model
+student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my
+studies.... I've been turning it back so I could do 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 Sirius?"
+
+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 were 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 Sirius?"
+
+"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 Sirius! 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 ear against the door. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there....
+Come on, let's go."
+
+Harry pushed open the closet door. The entrance hall was deserted. As
+quietly and quickly as they could, they darted out of the closet 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 --"
+
+"Okay, but we'll go around 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!"
+
+Still working out what she meant, Harry set off at a sprint, Hermione
+behind him. They tore across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses,
+paused for a moment behind them, then set off again, fast as they could,
+skirting around the Whomping Willow, tearing toward 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 hippogriff,
+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 inside 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 there and
+grab Pettigrew --"
+
+"No!" said Hermione in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're
+breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to
+change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, 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 bursting 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!"
+
+"Okay!" said Harry. "It was just an idea, I just thought
+
+But Hermione nudged him and pointed toward 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 Okay, Beaky, it's okay..." 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 him 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 feet retreating. He, Ron, and
+Hermione had gone... but the Harry and Hermione hidden in the trees
+could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back
+door.
+
+"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.
+
+"Out -- 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 he executed on the sixth of June at sundown --"
+
+Careful not to blink, Harry stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eyes
+once more and bowed. Buckbeak sank to his scaly knees and then stood up
+again. Harry began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the
+fence.
+
+"... sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the
+Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnai..."
+
+"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 Committee
+member from inside Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if
+you stay inside --"
+
+"No, I -- I 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 still ten feet
+away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door. "One moment,
+please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too." The
+footsteps stopped. Harry heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped his beak
+and walked a little faster.
+
+Hermione's white face was sticking out from behind a tree.
+
+"Harry, hurry!" she mouthed.
+
+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, I could do with a cup
+of tea. Or a large brandy."
+
+"O' -- 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 then silence once
+more.
+
+"Now what?" whispered Harry, looking around.
+
+"We'll have to hide 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's 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 got to
+be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."
+
+"Okay," 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 materialize 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, Macnair, Fudge,
+and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.
+
+"Right after we'd gone down into the passage!" said Hermione. "If only
+Dumbledore had come with us..."
+
+"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 disappear 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 hating toward 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.
+
+"If he'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, Buckbeak!"
+
+The hippogriff was making frantic attempts to get to Hagrid 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 came charging out of them, running toward 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!"
+
+Snape seized the branch Lupin had used to freeze the tree, prodded 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.... I
+wasn't thinking straight.... I passed out right afterward...."
+
+"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 fully 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?"
+
+"I don't know... no... he looked solid...."
+
+"But then --"
+
+"Maybe I was seeing things," said Harry. "But... from what I 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 crazy," said Harry flatly. He turned to took 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 father's three oldest
+friends... Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.... Had all four of them
+been out on 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 take? 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 toward 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 upward. Next came Harry and Black. They all began to walk toward
+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 Sirius; we're not
+supposed to be doing anything else!"
+
+"All right!"
+
+The moon slid out from behind its cloud. They saw the tiny 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! 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 wilt be coming
+any moment --"
+
+"Back to Hagrid's!" Harry said. "It's empty now -- come on!"
+
+They ran as 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... okay, 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 were closing in on
+Sirius.... He and Hermione would be running to him any moment....
+
+Harry stared out toward the lake, his heart doing a kind of drumroll in
+his chest.... Whoever had sent that Patronus would be 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 toward Harry across the still
+surface of the water. It wasn't a horse. It wasn't a unicorn, either. It
+was a stag. It was shining brightly as the moon 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 realized... "Prongs, "he whispered.
+
+But as his trembling fingertips stretched toward 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 toward him, dragging Buckbeak 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 okay!"
+
+"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 toward 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 Sirius and get back into the ward
+before anybody realizes we're missing.... 11
+
+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 windows 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, toward 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. "YotM 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 tight 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 forward. They were gliding quietly toward 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 backward 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 the
+hippogriff 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 Buckbeak 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 Buckbeak's back and pull
+himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione.
+
+"Okay, 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
+upward 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.
+
+"Sirius, you'd better go, quick," Harry panted. "They'll reach
+Flitwick's office any moment, they'll find out you're gone."
+
+Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head.
+
+"What happened to the other boy? Ron?" croaked Sirius.
+
+"He's going to be okay. 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 --"
+
+"Okay," said Harry, wrenching his gaze from the sky, "let's go...."
+
+They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly
+spiraling 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 boisterous good spirits,
+laughing his head off.
+
+"Oh, he's horrible," whispered Hermione, her ear to the door. "I bet
+he's all excited because the dementors are going to finish off
+Sirius...." 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. "Okay -- 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 forward.
+Dumbledore looked up, and a wide smile appeared under the long silver
+mustache. "Well?" he said quietly.
+
+"We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak...."
+
+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. A moment
+later, Madam Pomfrey came 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 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 --"
+
+BAM.
+
+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 would have heard
+them!"
+
+"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."
+
+Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly
+shocked at his behavior, 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. "I'd
+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 laughingstock! 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
+
+distractedly 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, smiling 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 the 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 onto 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 lazily above the water, Harry lost the thread
+of the conversation as he looked across to the opposite bank. The stag
+had galloped toward him from there just last night....
+
+A shadow fell across them and they looked 'tip 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 on 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 mornin'.... Thought everyone'd know by
+now... Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on 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 mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin
+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 looked up only 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.
+
+"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
+Sirius, 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 Defense 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 I've done this year, 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 back this as well. It's no use to me,
+and I daresay you, Ron, and Hermione will find uses for it."
+
+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," 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 -- good-bye, Harry," he said, smiling. "It has been a real
+pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime.
+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.
+
+"Good-bye, 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?"
+
+"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 raise...."
+
+"But --" Harry looked at him, aghast. How could Dumbledore take this so
+calmly?
+
+"But -- I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin from 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
+
+"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 connection 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...
+
+"I thought it was my dad who'd conjured my Patronus. I mean, when I saw
+myself across the lake ... I thought I was seeing him." "An easy mistake
+to make," said Dumbledore softly. "I expect you'll tire of hearing it,
+but you do look extraordinarily like James. Except for the 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 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 realize what Dumblefore had said.
+
+Last night Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi," 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. You know, Harry, in a way, you did see your father
+last night.... You found him inside yourself."
+
+And Dumbledore left the office, leaving Harry to his very confused
+thoughts.
+
+Nobody at Hogwarts now 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 Lupin
+go. The whole of Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was
+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.
+
+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 might have
+stepped in to stop Snape failing him on purpose. Snape's behavior toward
+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. 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 N.E.W.T.s; Fred and George had scraped a
+handful of O.W.L.s 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 the
+next day as he ate, drank, talked, and laughed with the rest.
+
+As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station the next mornIng,
+Hermione gave Harry and Ron some surprising news.
+
+"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 percent!" 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 schedule
+again."
+
+I still can't believe you didn't tell us about it," said Ron grumpily.
+"We're supposed to be your friends."
+
+"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 okay," 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 fellytone 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 cart
+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 gray was bobbing
+in and out of sight beyond the glass. He stood up for a better look and
+saw that it was a tiny owl, carrying a letter that was much too big for
+it. The owl was so small, in fact, that 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 owl
+falls into the wrong hands. I have some doubt about his 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 of finding 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 around 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.
+
+Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name
+but told them to take the gold from my own Gringotts vault. Please
+consider it as thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your
+godfather.
+
+I would also like to apologize for the fright I think I gave you that
+night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had 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 will 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
+gulp.
+
+I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to
+visit Hogsmeade on weekends.
+
+"That'll be good enough for Dumbledore!" said Harry happily. He looked
+back at Sirius's letter. "Hang on, there's a RS...."
+
+I thought your ftiend 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's and Hermione's great surprise, he held him out for
+Crookshanks to sniff.
+
+"What do 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 reread 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 an('
+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 good-bye, then wheeled the trolley bearing his trunk and
+Hedwig's cage toward Uncle Vernon, who greeted him in his 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?" sputtered 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 if I'm happy..."
+
+And, grinning broadly at the look of horror on Uncle Vernon's face,
+Harry set off toward the station exit, Hedwig rattling along in front of
+him, for what looked like a much better summer than the last.
+
+THE END