text
stringlengths
2
72
wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell -- George gave it to me, bet he
knew it was a dud."
"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom
and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I
don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in
Slytherin."
"That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"
"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter,"
said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your
oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"
Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing
something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about
Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you
get that with the Muggles -- someone tried to rob a high security
vault."
Harry stared.
"Really? What happened to them?"
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My
dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts,
but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course,
everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case
You-Know-Who's behind it."
Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a
prickle of fear every time You- Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this
was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more
comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.
"Er -- I don't know any," Harry confessed.
"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the
world --" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the
positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to
with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the
money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game
when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the
toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.
Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was
the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with
a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry
Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were
thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale
boy, they looked like bodyguards.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly,
noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigget. Draco
Malfoy looked at him.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father
told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than
they can afford."
He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families
are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends
with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said
coolly.
Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale
cheeks.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a
bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know
what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the
Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."
Both Harry and Ron stood up.
"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.
"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because
Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.
"But we don't feet like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food
and you still seem to have some."
Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt
forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a
horrible yell.
Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk
deep into Goyle's knuckle - Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung
Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbets finally flew off
and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they
thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd
heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the
floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.
I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at
Scabbers. "No -- I don't believe it -- he's gone back to sleep-"
And so he had.
"You've met Malfoy before?"
Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the
first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said
they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's
father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to
Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the
front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't
been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would
you mind leaving while we change?"
"All right -- I only came in here because people outside are behaving
very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a