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Ron. "And have you really got -- you know..." |
He pointed at Harry's forehead. |
Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. |
"So that's where You-Know-Who |
"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." |
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. |
"Well -- I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." |
"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as |
though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out |
of the window again. |
"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as |
interesting as Ron found him. |
"Er -- Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin |
who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." |
"So you must know loads of magic already." |
The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale |
boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. |
"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" |
"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, |
though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." |
"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth |
in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up |
to. Bill and Charlie have already left -- Bill was head boy and Charlie |
was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess |
around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks |
they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, |
but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get |
anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, |
Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." |
Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was |
asleep. |
"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy |
got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff |
-- I mean, I got Scabbers instead." |
Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he |
went back to staring out of the window. |
Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to |
afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a |
month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old |
clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer |
Ron up. |
"... and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about be ing a |
wizard or about my parents or Voldemort" |
Ron gasped. |
"What?" said Harry. |
"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and |
impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people --" |
"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, I |
just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to |
learn.... I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that |
had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." |
"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and |
they learn quick enough." |
While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. |
Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were |
quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. |
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the |
corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, |
"Anything off the cart, dears?" |
Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears |
went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went |
out into the corridor. |
He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he |
had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many |
Mars Bars as he could carry -- but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What |
she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best |
Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice |
Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his |
life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid |
the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. |
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped |
it onto an empty seat. |
"Hungry, are you?" |
"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. |
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four |
sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always |
forgets I don't like corned beef." |
"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on --" |
"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much |
time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." |
"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share |
before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, |
sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, |
cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). |
"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. |
"They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that |
nothing would surprise him. |
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." |
"What?" |
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know -- Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside |
them, you know, to collect -- famous witches and wizards. I've got about |
five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." |
Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a |
man's face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and |
flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the |
name Albus Dumbledore. |
"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. |
"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a |
frog? I might get Agrippa -- thanks |
Harry turned over his card and read: |
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