by J. K. Rowling(this is BOOK 2 in the Harry Potter series)Original Scanned/OCR: Friday, April 07, 2000v1.0(edit where needed, change version number by 0.1)Checked and Edited by Zhenia: Monday, October 22, 2001V1.1

with a letter, but it wasn't worth the risk. Underage wizards weren'tallowed to use magic outside of school. Harry hadn't told theDursleys this; he knew it was only their terror that he might turn themall into dung beetles that stopped them from locking him in thecupboard under the stairs with his wand and broomstick. For the firstcouple of weeks back, Harry had enjoyed muttering nonsense wordsunder his breath and watching Dudley tearing out of the room as fastas his fat legs would carry him. But the long silence from Ron andHermione had made Harry feel so cut off from the magical world thateven taunting Dudley had lost its appeal - and now Ron and Hermionehad forgotten his birthday.What wouldn't he give now for a message from Hogwarts? From anywitch or wizard? He'd almost be glad of a sight of his archenemy,Draco Malfoy, just to be sure it hadn't all been a dream ...Not that his whole year at Hogwarts had been fun. At the very end oflast term, Harry had come face-to-face with none other than LordVoldemort himself. Voldemort might be a ruin of his former self, buthe was still terrifying, still cunning, still determined to regain power.Harry had slipped through Voldemort's clutches for a second time, butit had been a narrow escape, and even now, weeks later, Harry keptwaking in the night, drenched in cold sweat, wondering whereVoldemort was now, remembering his livid face, his wide, mad eyes ...Harry suddenly sat bolt upright on the garden bench. He had beenstaring absent-mindedly into the hedge - and the hedge was staring back.Two enormous green eyes had appeared among the leaves.Harry jumped to his feet just as a jeering voice floated across thelawn."I know what day it is," sang Dudley, waddling toward him.The huge eyes blinked and vanished."What?" said Harry, not taking his eyes off the spot where they hadbeen."I know what day it is," Dudley repeated, coming right up to him."Well done," said Harry. "So you've finally learned the days of theweek.""Today's your birthday," sneered Dudley. "How come you haven't gotany cards? Haven't you even got friends at that freak place?""Better not let your mum hear you talking about my school," saidHarry coolly.Dudley hitched up his trousers, which were slipping down his fatbottom."Why're you staring at the hedge?" he said suspiciously." I'm trying to decide what would be the best spell to set it onfire," said Harry.Dudley stumbled backward at once, a look of panic on his fat face.

CHAPTER TWODOBBY'S WARNINGHarry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The littlecreature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes thesize of tennis balls. Harry knew instantly that this was what had beenwatching him out of the garden hedge that morning.As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley's voice from the hall."May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?"The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of itslong, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearingwhat looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes."Er - hello," said Harry nervously."Harry Potter!" said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry wassure would carry down the stairs. "So long has Dobby wanted to meetyou, sir ... Such an honor it is ...""Th-thank you," said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into hisdesk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. Hewanted to ask, "What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude,so instead he said, "Who are you?""Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf," said the creature."Oh - really?" said Harry. "Er - I don't want to be rude or anything,but - this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in mybedroom."Aunt Petunias high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elfhung his head."Not that I'm not pleased to meet you," said Harry quickly, "but, er,is there any particular reason you're here?""Oh, yes, sir," said Dobby earnestly. "Dobby has come to tell you,sir ... it is difficult, sir ... Dobby wonders where to begin ...""Sit down," said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.To his horror, the elf burst into tears - very noisy tears."S-sit down!" he wailed. "Never ... never ever ... "Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter."I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything.""Offend Dobby!" choked the elf. "Dobby has never been asked to sitdown by a wizard - like an equal-"Harry, trying to say "Shh!" and look comforting at the same time,ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, lookinglike a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself,and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of wateryadoration."You can't have met many decent wizards," said Harry, trying tocheer him up.Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up andstarted banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, "BadDobby! Bad Dobby!""Don't - what are you doing?" Harry hissed, springing up and pullingDobby back onto the bed - Hedwig had woken up with aparticularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against thebars of her cage."Dobby had to punish himself, sir," said the elf, who had gone slightlycross-eyed. "Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir ...""Your family?""The wizard family Dobby serves, sir ... DOBBY'S is a house-elf -bound to serve one house and one family for ever ..."

CHAPTER THREETHE BURROW"Ron!" breathed Harry, creeping to the window and pushing it up sothey could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you - What the -?"Harry's mouth fell open as the full impact of what he was seeing hithim. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car,which was parked in midair Grinning at Harry from the front seatswere Fred and George, Ron's elder twin brothers."All right, Harry?" asked George."What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answeringmy letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then Dadcame home and said you'd got an official warning for using magic infront of Muggles -""It wasn't me - and how did he know?""He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You know we're not supposedto do spells outside school -""You should talk," said Harry, staring at the floating car."Oh, this doesn't count," said Ron. "We're only borrowing this. It'sDad's, we didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those Mugglesyou live with -""I told you, I didn't - but it'll take too long to explain now look, can youtell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have locked me up and won'tlet me come back, and obviously I can't magic myself out, because theMinistry'Il think that's the second spell I've done in three days, so -""Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us.""But you can't magic me out either -""We don't need to," said Ron, jerking his head toward the front seatand grinning. "You forget who I've got with me.""Tie that around the bars," said Fred, throwing the end of a rope toHarry."If the Dursleys wake up, I'm dead," said Harry as he tied the ropetightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car."Don't worry," said Fred, "and stand back."Harry moved back into the shadows next to Hedwig, who seemed tohave realized how important this was and kept still and silent. The carrevved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, thebars were pulled clean out of the window as Fred drove straight up inthe air. Harry ran back to the window to see the bars dangling a fewfeet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car.Harry listened anxiously, but there was no sound from the Dursleys'bedroom.When the bars were safely in the back seat with Ron, Fred reversedas close as possible to Harry's window."Get in," Ron said."But all my Hogwarts stuff - my wand - my broomstick -""Where is it?""Locked in the cupboard under the stairs, and I can't get out of thisroom -""No problem," said George from the front passenger seat. "Out ofthe way, Harry."Fred and George climbed catlike through the window into Harry'sroom. You had to hand it to them, thought Harry, as George took anordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock."A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort ofMuggle trick," said Fred, "but we feel they're skills worth learning,even if they are a bit slow."

There was a small click and the door swung open."So - we'll get your trunk - you grab anything you need from yourroom and hand it out to Ron," whispered George."Watch out for the bottom stair - it creaks," Harry whispered backas the twins disappeared onto the dark landing.Harry dashed around his room, collecting his things and passing themout of the window to Ron. Then he went to help Fred and Georgeheave his trunk up the stairs. Harry heard Uncle Vernon cough.At last, panting, they reached the landing, then carried the trunkthrough Harry's room to the open window. Fred climbed back intothe car to pull with Ron, and Harry and George pushed from thebedroom side. Inch by inch, the trunk slid through the window.Uncle Vernon coughed again."A bit more," panted Fred, who was pulling from inside the car."One good push -"Harry and George threw their shoulders against the trunk and it slidout of the window into the back seat of the car."Okay, let's go," George whispered.But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there came a sudden loudscreech from behind him, followed immediately by the thunder ofUncle Vernon's voice."THAT RUDDY OWL!""I've forgotten Hedwig!"Harry tore back across the room as the landing light clicked on - hesnatched up Hedwig's cage, dashed to the window, and passed itout to Ron. He was scrambling back onto the chest of drawers whenUncle Vernon hammered on the unlocked door and it crashed open.For a split second, Uncle Vernon stood framed in the doorway; thenhe let out a bellow like an angry bull and dived at Harry, grabbinghim by the ankle.Ron, Fred, and George seized Harry's arms and pulled as hard asthey could."Petunia!" roared Uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE'SGETTING AWAY!"But the Weasleys gave a gigantic tug and Harry's leg slid out ofUncle Vernon's grasp. As soon as Harry was in the car and had slammed thedoor shut, Ron yelled, "Put your foot down, Fred!" and the car shotsuddenlytowards the moon.Harry couldn't believe it - he was free. He rolled down thewindow, the night air whipping his hair, and looked back at theshrinking rooftops of Privet Drive. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, andDudley were all hanging, dumbstruck, out of Harry's window."See you next summer!" Harry yelled.The Weasleys roared with laughter and Harry settled back in his seat,grinning from ear to ear."Let Hedwig out," he told Ron. "She can fly behind us. She hasn't hada chance to stretch her wings for ages."George handed the hairpin to Ron and, a moment later, Hedwig soaredjoyfully out of the window to glide alongside them like a ghost."So - what's the story, Harry?" said Ron impatiently. "What's beenhappening?"Harry told them all about Dobby, the warning he'd given Harry andthe fiasco of the violet pudding. There was a long, shocked silencewhen he had finished."Very fishy," said Fred finally."Definitely dodgy" agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who'ssupposed to be plotting all this stuff?"

"I don't think he could," said Harry. "I told you, every time he got closeto letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."He saw Fred and George look at each other."What, you think he was lying to me?" said Harry."Well," said Fred, "put it this way - house-elves have got powerfulmagic of their own, but they can't usually use it without their master'spermission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back toHogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school witha grudge against you?""Yes," said Harry and Ron together, instantly."Draco Malfoy," Harry explained. "He hates me.""Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?""Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" said Harry. "Why?""I've heard Dad talking about him," said George. "He was a bigsupporter of You-Know-Who.""And when You-Know-Who disappeared," said Fred, craningaround to look at Harry, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd nevermeant any of it. Load of dung - Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."Harry had heard these rumors about Malfoy's family before, and theydidn't surprise him at all. Draco Malfoy made Dudley Dursley look like akind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy."I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf ..." said Harry."Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'llbe rich," said Fred."Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing,"said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic andgnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manorsand castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house ..."Harry was silent. Judging by the fact that Draco Malfoy usually hadthe best of everything, his family was rolling in wizard gold; hecould just see Malfoy strutting around a large manor house. Sendingthe family servant to stop Harry from going back to Hogwarts alsosounded exactly like the sort of thing Malfoy would do. Had Harrybeen stupid to take Dobby seriously?"I'm glad we came to get you, anyway," said Ron. "I was gettingreally worried when you didn't answer any of my letters. I thought itwas Errol's fault at first-""Who's Errol?""Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he'd collapsedon a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes -""Who?""The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect,"said Fred from the front."But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he neededhim.""Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George,frowning. "And he has been sending a lot of letters and spending aload of time shut up in his room ... I mean, there's only so manytimes you can polish a prefect badge ... You're driving too far west,Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fredtwiddled the steering wheel."So, does your dad know you've got the car?" said Harry, guessingthe answer."Er, no," said Ron, "he had to work tonight. Hopefully we'll be able

"And you two," she said, glaring at Ron and Fred. "You can go up tobed, dear," she added to Harry. "You didn't ask them to fly thatwretched car -"But Harry, who felt wide awake, said quickly, "I'll help Ron. I'venever seen a de-gnoming -""That's very sweet of you, dear, but it's dull work," said Mrs. Weasley."Now, let's see what Lockhart's got to say on the subject -"And she pulled a heavy book from the stack on the mantelpiece.George groaned."Mum, we know how to de-gnome a garden -"Harry looked at the cover of Mrs. Weasley's book. Written across itin fancy gold letters were the words Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide toHousehold Pests. There was a big photograph on the front of a very good-looking wizard with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. As alwaysin the wizarding world, the photograph was moving; the wizard, whoHarry supposed was Gilderoy Lockhart, kept winking cheekily up atthem all. Mrs. Weasley beamed down at him."Oh, he is marvelous," she said. "He knows his household pests, allright, it's a wonderful book ...""Mum fancies him," said Fred, in a very audible whisper."Don't be so ridiculous, Fred," said Mrs. Weasley, her cheeks ratherpink. "All right, if you think you know better than Lockhart, you can goand get on with it, and woe betide you if there's a single gnome in thatgarden when I come out to inspect it."Yawning and grumbling, the Weasleys slouched outside with Harrybehind them. The garden was large, and in Harry's eyes, exactlywhat a garden should be. The Dursleys wouldn't have liked it - therewere plenty of weeds, and the grass needed cutting but there weregnarled trees all around the walls, plants Harry had never seen spillingfrom every flower bed, and a big green pond full of frogs."Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know," Harry told Ron asthey crossed the lawn."Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes," said Ron, bentdouble with his head in a peony bush, "like fat little Santa Clauses withfishing rods ..."There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, andRon straightened up. "This is a gnome," he said grimly."Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" squealed the gnome.It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leatherylooking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. Ron heldit at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet; hegrasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down."This is what you have to do," he said. He raised the gnome above hishead ("Gerroff me!") and started to swing it in great circles like alasso. Seeing the shocked look on Harry's face, Ron added, "It doesn'thurt them - you've just got to make them really dizzy so they can't findtheir way back to the gnomeholes."He let go of the gnome's ankles: It flew twenty feet into the air andlanded with a thud in the field over the hedge."Pitiful," said Fred. "I bet I can get mine beyond that stump."Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes. He decided

wouldn't -""Arthur Weasley, you made sure there was a loophole when youwrote that law!" shouted Mrs. Weasley. "Just so you could carry ontinkering with all that Muggle rubbish in your shed! And for yourinformation, Harry arrived this morning in the car you weren'tintending to fly!""Harry?" said Mr. Weasley blankly. "Harry who?"He looked around, saw Harry, and jumped."Good lord, is it Harry Potter? Very pleased to meet you, Ron's told usso much about -""Your sons flew that car to Harry's house and back last night."shouted Mrs. Weasley. "What have you got to say about that, eh?""Did you really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Did it go all right? I - Imean," he faltered as sparks flew from Mrs. Weasley's eyes, "that -that was very wrong, boys - very wrong indeed ...""Let's leave them to it," Ron muttered to Harry as Mrs. Weasleyswelled like a bullfrog. "Come on, I'll show you my bedroom."They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to anuneven staircase, which wound its way, zigzagging up through the house.On the third landing, a door stood ajar. Harry just caught sight of a pair ofbright brown eyes staring at him before it closed with a snap."Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be thisshy. She never shuts up normally -"They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peelingpaint and a small plaque on it, saying RONALD'S ROOM.Harry stepped in, his head almost touching the sloping ceiling, andblinked. It was like walking into a furnace: Nearly everything in Ron'sroom seemed to be a violent shade of orange: the bedspread, thewalls, even the ceiling. Then Harry realized that Ron had coverednearly every inch of the shabby wallpaper with posters of the sameseven witches and wizards, all wearing bright orange robes, carryingbroomsticks, and waving energetically."Your Quidditch team?" said Harry."The Chudley Cannons," said Ron, pointing at the orange bedspread,which was emblazoned with two giant black C's and a speedingcannonball. "Ninth in the league."Ron's school spellbooks were stacked untidily in a corner, next to apile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of MartinMiggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was lying on top of a fishtank full of frog spawn on the windowsill, next to his fat gray rat,Scabbers, who was snoozing in a patch of sun.Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floorand looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could seea gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the Weasleys'hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almostnervously, as though waiting for his opinion."It's a bit small," said Ron quickly. "Not like that room you hadwith the Muggles. And I'm right underneath the ghoul in the attic;he's always banging on the pipes and groaning ..."But Harry, grinning widely, said, "This is the best house I've everbeen in."Ron's ears went pink.

parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive ...""Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "Iexpect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand.""Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put herelbow in the butter dish. Fortunately no one saw this except Harry,because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He wasalready dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweatervest."Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almostimmediately, pulling from underneath him a moulting, gray featherduster - at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw thatit was breathing."Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting aletter from under its wing. "Finally - he's got Hermione's answer. Iwrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from theDursleys."He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried tostand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron lay him onthe draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he rippedopen Hermione's letter and read it out loud:"Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and thatyou didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that wouldget Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is allright, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better ifyou used a different owl because I think another delivery mightfinish your one off.I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course'- How can she be?" said Ronin horror. "We're on vacation! - 'and we're going to London nextWednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. Love from Hermione.""Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too,"said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up totoday?"Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to asmall paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees thatblocked it from view of the village below, meaning that they couldpractice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high.They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard toexplain if they had escaped and flown away over the village; insteadthey threw apples for one another to catch. They took turns ridingHarry's Nimbus Two Thousand, which was easily the best broom;Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies.Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks overtheir shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, buthe had said he was busy. Harry had only seen Percy at mealtimes sofar; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time."Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not

himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelveO.W.Ls and he hardly gloated at all.""Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Harry'spuzzled look. "Bill got twelve, too. If we're not careful, we'll haveanother Head Boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame."Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie,had already left Hogwarts. Harry had never met either of them, butknew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill in Egyptworking for the wizard's bank, Gringotts."Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff thisyear," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! AndGinny needs robes and a wand and everything ..."Harry said nothing. He felt a bit awkward. Stored in an undergroundvault at Gringotts in London was a small fortune that his parents hadleft him. Of course, it was only in the wizarding world that he hadmoney; you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle shops. Hehad never mentioned his Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; he didn'tthink their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a largepile of gold.Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After aquick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coatsand Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece andpeered inside."We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy somemore today ... ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"And she offered him the flowerpot.Harry stared at them all watching him."W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered."He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry,Harry, I forgot.""Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley tobuy your school things last year?""I went on the Underground -""Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? Howexactly -""Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker,dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -""He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped upto the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred,who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished."You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry as Georgedipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the rightgrate ...""The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whippedGeorge out of sight, too."Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know,but as long as you've spoken clearly -""He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself toFloo powder, too."But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt anduncle?""They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think itwas a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that -"

"Well ... all right ... you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now,when you get into the fire, say where you're going -""And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised."And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot -""Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrongfireplace -""But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred andGeorge."Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powderand walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scatteredthe powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like awarm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lotof hot ash."D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain. He seemedto be spinning very fast - the roaring in his ears was deafening -hetried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made himfeel sick - something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it intightly, still spinning and spinning - now it felt as though cold handswere slapping his face - squinting through his glasses he saw a blurredstream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond - hisbacon sandwiches were churning inside him - he closed his eyes againwishing it would stop, and then - he fell, face forward, onto cold stone andfelt the bridge of his glasses snap.Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holdinghis broken glasses up to his eyes. He was quite alone, but where hewas, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in thestone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop - butnothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstainedpack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared downfrom the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter,and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Even worse, thedark, narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop windowwas definitely not Diagon Alley.The sooner he got out of here, the better. Nose still stinging where ithad hit the hearth, Harry made his way swiftly and silently toward thedoor, but before he'd got halfway toward it, two people appeared onthe other side of the glass - and one of them was the very last person Harrywanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing brokenglasses: Draco Malfoy.Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to hisleft; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crackto peer through. Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped intothe shop.The man who followed could only be Draco's father. He had the samepale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes. Mr. Malfoy crossedthe shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on thecounter before turning to his son and saying, "Touch nothing, Draco."Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you weregoing to buy me a present."

"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming hisfingers on the counter."What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy,looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry Potter got a Nimbus TwoThousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he couldplay for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he'sfamous ... famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead ..."Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls."... everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar andhis broomstick -""You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr.Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that itis not - prudent - to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not whenmost of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lorddisappear - ah, Mr. Borgin."A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing hisgreasy hair back from his face."Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in avoice as oily as his hair. "Delighted - and young Master Malfoy, too -charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today,and very reasonably priced -""I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling," said Mr. Malfoy."Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face."You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting moreraids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from his insidepocket and unraveling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few - ah -items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call ..."Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down thelist."The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"Mr. Malfoy's lip curled."I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands acertain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. Thereare rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act - no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it -"Harry felt a hot surge of anger."- and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear -""I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. Borgin. "Let me see ...""Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand onits cushion."Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy'slist and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light onlyto the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fi
neta
ste, sir.""I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer,Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "Nooffense, sir, no offense meant -""Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still,"that may indeed be all he is fit for -""It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favorites,that Hermione Granger -""I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard familybeat you in every exam," snapped Mr. Malfoy.

Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father.""Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharplybehind them."No, he was selling.'"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh,I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something ...""You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they werebowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't gobiting off more than you can chew.""So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr.Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by thesight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at thecounter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting forHermione to introduce them."But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have adrink!What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly,look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand."Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys and Harrywere led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that spedalong miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels.Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys' vault, but feltdreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened.There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one goldGalleon.Mrs. Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot intoher bag. Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried toblock the contents from view as he hastily shoved handfuls of coins into aleather bag.Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy mutteredvaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted theirfriend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going toa secondhand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangersoff to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink."We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your school books,"said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step downKnockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins' retreating backs.Harry, Ron, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street.The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfullyin Harry's pocket was clamoring to be spent, so he bought threelarge strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams, which they slurpedhappily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinatingshop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannonrobes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies untilHermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door.In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George,and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's FabulousWet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands,lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potionstains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply

boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.`A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers, " Ron readaloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating ...""Go away," Percy snapped."Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all plannedout ... he wants to be Minister of Magic ..." Ron told Harryand Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They were byno means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As theyapproached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimedby a large banner stretched across the upper windows:GILDEROY LOCKHARTwill be signing copies of his autobiographyMAGICAL MEtoday 12.30 - 4.30"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he'swritten almost the whole booklist!"The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs.Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying,"Calmly, please, ladies ... Don't push, there ... mind the books, now ... "Harry, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line woundright to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signinghis books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells,Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleyswere standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger."Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathlessand kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute ..."Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surroundedby large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlinglywhite teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes offorget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard'shat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographswith a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke withevery blinding flash."Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a bettershot. "This is for the Daily Prophet -""Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer hadstepped on it.Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ronand then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positivelyshouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seizedHarry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause.Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, whowas clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys."Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth."Together, you and I are worth the front page."When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers.He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an armaround his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side."Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an

extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a littleannouncement I've been sitting on for some time!"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he onlywanted to buy my autobiography -which I shall be happy to present himnow, free of charge-" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea,"Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip tothe end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much morethan my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be gettingthe real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure andpride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post ofDefense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraftand Wizardry!"The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself beingpresented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggeringslightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of thelimelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next toher new cauldron."You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into thecauldron. "I'll buy my own -""Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had notrouble recognizing. He straightened up and found himself face-to-facewith Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer."Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshopwithout making the front page.""Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the firsttime she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy."Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny wentscarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutchingstacks of Lockhart's books."Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were somethingunpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harryhere, eh?""Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retortedMalfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay forall those."Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into the cauldron,too, and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed theback of his jacket."Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George."What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside.""Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder,sneering in just the same way."Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly."Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All thoseraids ... I hope they're paying you overtime?"He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossyLockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guideto Transfiguration."Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being adisgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny."We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard,Malfoy," he said."Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs.Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company youkeep, Weasley ... and I thought your family could sink no lower -"There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr.Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backwardinto a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering downon all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred orGeorge; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowdstampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen,please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all,"Break it up, there, gents, break it up -"

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant hehadpulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip andMr.Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He wasstillholding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyesglittering with malice."Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -" Pullinghimself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop."Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr.Weasleyoff his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the wholefamily, everyone knows that - no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter - bad blood,that's what it is - come on now - let's get outta here."The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but hebarelycame up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried upthestreet, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herselfwithfury."A fine example to set for your children ... brawling in public ... whatGilderoy Lockhart must've thought ...""He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? Hewasasking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fightintohis report - said it was all publicity -"But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the LeakyCauldron, where Harry, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would betraveling back to the Burrow using Floo powder. They said good-bye to theGrangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side;Mr. Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quicklyat the look on Mrs. Weasley's face.Harry took off his glasses and put them safely in his pocket beforehelping himself to Floo powder. It definitely wasn't his favorite way totravel.

them vanished - and so did they. Harry could feel the seat vibratingbeneath him, hear the engine, feel his hands on his knees and hisglasses on his nose, but for all he could see, he had become a pair ofeyeballs, floating a few feet above the ground in a dingy street full ofparked cars."Let's go," said Ron's voice from his right.And the ground and the dirty buildings on either side fell away,dropping out of sight as the car rose; in seconds, the whole of Londonlay, smoky and glittering, below them.Then there was a popping noise and the car, Harry, and Ronreappeared."Uh-oh," said Ron, jabbing at the Invisibility Booster. "It's faulty -"Both of them pummeled it. The car vanished. Then it flickered backagain."Hold on!" Ron yelled, and he slammed his foot on the accelerator; theyshot straight into the low, woolly clouds and everything turned dull andfoggy."Now what?" said Harry, blinking at the solid mass of cloud pressingin on them from all sides."We need to see the train to know what direction to go in," said Ron."Dip back down again - quickly -"They dropped back beneath the clouds and twisted around in theirseats, squinting at the ground."I can see it!" Harry yelled. "Right ahead - there!"The Hogwarts Express was streaking along below them like a scarletsnake."Due north," said Ron, checking the compass on the dashboard."Okay, we'll just have to check on it every half hour or so. Hold on ..."And they shot up through the clouds. A minute later, they burst outinto a blaze of sunlight.It was a different world. The wheels of the car skimmed the sea offluffy cloud, the sky a bright, endless blue under the blinding white sun."All we've got to worry about now are airplanes," said Ron.They looked at each other and started to laugh; for a long time, theycouldn't stop.It was as though they had been plunged into a fabulous dream. This,thought Harry, was surely the only way to travel - past swirls andturrets of snowy cloud, in a car full of hot, bright sunlight, with a fatpack of toffees in the glove compartment, and the prospect of seeingFred's and George's jealous faces when they landed smoothly andspectacularly on the sweeping lawn in front of Hogwarts castle.They made regular checks on the train as they flew farther andfarther north, each dip beneath the clouds showing them a differentview. London was soon far behind them, replaced by neat greenfields that gave way in turn to wide, purplish moors, a great city alivewith cars like multicolored ants, villages with tiny toy churches.Several uneventful hours later, however, Harry had to admit thatsome of the fun was wearing off. The toffees had made themextremely thirsty and they had nothing to drink. He and Ron hadpulled off their sweaters, but Harry's T-shirt was sticking to the backof his seat and his glasses kept sliding down to the end of his sweatynose. He had stopped noticing the fantastic cloud shapes now andwas thinking longingly of the train miles below, where you could buy

"Are you okay?" Harry said urgently."My wand," said Ron, in a shaky voice. "Look at my wand."It had snapped, almost in two; the tip was dangling limply, held on by afew splinters.Harry opened his mouth to say he was sure they'd be able to mend itup at the school, but he never even got started. At that very moment,something hit his side of the car with the force of a charging bull, sendinghim lurching sideways into Ron, just as an equally heavy blow hit the roof."What's happen -?"Ron gasped, staring through the windshield, and Harry looked aroundjust in time to see a branch as thick as a python smash into it. The treethey had hit was attacking them. Its trunk was bent almost double, andits gnarled boughs were pummeling every inch of the car it couldreach."Aaargh!" said Ron as another twisted limb punched a large dent intohis door; the windshield was now trembling under a hail of blows fromknuckle-like twigs and a branch as thick as a battering ram waspounding furiously on the roof, which seemed to be caving in -"Run for it!" Ron shouted, throwing his full weight against his door, butnext second he had been knocked backward into Harry's lap by avicious uppercut from another branch."We're done for!" he moaned as the ceiling sagged, but suddenly thefloor of the car was vibrating - the engine had restarted."Reverse!" Harry yelled, and the car shot backward; the tree was stilltrying to hit them; they could hear its roots creaking as it almost rippeditself up, lashing out at them as they sped out of reach."That," panted Ron, "was close. Well done, car -"The car, however, had reached the end of its tether. With two sharpclunks, the doors flew open and Harry felt his seat tip sideways: Nextthing he knew he was sprawled on the damp ground. Loud thuds toldhim that the car was ejecting their luggage from the trunk; Hedwig'scage flew through the air and burst open; she rose out of it with anangry screech and sped off toward the castle without a backward look. Then,dented, scratched, and steaming, the car rumbled off into the darkness, itsrear lights blazing angrily."Come back!" Ron yelled after it, brandishing his broken wand."Dad'll kill me!"But the car disappeared from view with one last snort from itsexhaust."Can you believe our luck?" said Ron miserably, bending down topick up Scabbers. "Of all the trees we could've hit, we had to getone that hits back."He glanced over his shoulder at the ancient tree, which was stillflailing its branches threateningly."Come on," said Harry wearily, "we'd better get up to the school ..."It wasn't at all the triumphant arrival they had pictured. Stiff, cold,and bruised, they seized the ends of their trunks and began draggingthem up the grassy slope, toward the great oak front doors."I think the feast's already started," said Ron, dropping his trunk atthe foot of the front steps and crossing quietly to look through abrightly lit window. "Hey - Harry - come and look - it's the Sorting!"

refusing to let them through."... so we had no choice, Professor, we couldn't get on the train.""Why didn't you send us a letter by owl? I believe you have an owl?"Professor McGonagall said coldly to Harry.Harry gaped at her. Now she said it, that seemed the obvious thing tohave done."I - I didn't think -""That," said Professor McGonagall, "is obvious."There was a knock on the office door and Snape, now looking happierthan ever, opened it. There stood the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore.Harry's whole body went numb. Dumbledore was looking unusuallygrave. He stared down his very crooked nose at them, andHarry suddenly found himself wishing he and Ron were still beingbeaten up by the Whomping Willow.There was a long silence. Then Dumbledore said, "Please explain whyyou did this."It would have been better if he had shouted. Harry hated thedisappointment in his voice. For some reason, he was unable to lookDumbledore in the eyes, and spoke instead to his knees. He toldDumbledore everything except that Mr. Weasley owned thebewitched car, making it sound as though he and Ron had happened tofind a flying car parked outside the station. He knew Dumbledorewould see through this at once, but Dumbledore asked no questionsabout the car. When Harry had finished, he merely continued to peerat them through his spectacles."We'll go and get our stuff," said Ron in a hopeless sort of voice."What are you talking about, Weasley?" barked ProfessorMcGonagall."Well, you're expelling us, aren't you?" said Ron.Harry looked quickly at Dumbledore."Not today, Mr. Weasley," said Dumbledore. "But I must impress uponboth of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be writing toboth your families tonight. I must also warn you that if you do anythinglike this again, I will have no choice but to expel you."Snape looked as though Christmas had been canceled. He cleared histhroat and said, "Professor Dumbledore, these boys have flouted theDecree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry, caused seriousdamage to an old and valuable tree - surely acts of this nature -""It will be for Professor McGonagall to decide on these boys'punishments, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "They are in herHouse and are therefore her responsibility." He turned to ProfessorMcGonagall. "I must go back to the feast, Minerva, I've got to giveout a few notices. Come, Severus, there's a delicious-looking custard tart Iwant to sample."Snape shot a look of pure venom at Harry and Ron as he allowedhimself to be swept out of his office, leaving them alone with ProfessorMcGonagall, who was still eyeing them like a wrathful eagle."You'd better get along to the hospital wing, Weasley, you'rebleeding.""Not much," said Ron, hastily wiping the cut over his eye withhis sleeve. "Professor, I wanted to watch my sister being Sorted -""The Sorting Ceremony is over," said Professor McGonagall."Your sister is also in Gryffindor.""Oh, good," said Ron.