Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.
"It was a dream, he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I\'ll be at home in my cupboard."
There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.
And there\'s Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Harry thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn\'t open his eyes. It had been such a good
dream. Tap. Tap. Tap. "All right," Harry mumbled, "I\'m getting up." He sat up and Hagrid\'s heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of
sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.
Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn\'t wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid\'s coat.
"Don\'t do that."
Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat. "Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There\'s an owl "Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa. "What?" "He wants payin\' fer deliverin\' the paper. Look in the pockets."
Hagrid\'s coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets -- bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.
"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. "Knuts?" "The little bronze ones." Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg
so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.
Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.
"Best be Off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an\' buy all yer stuff fer school." Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just
thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture. "Um -- Hagrid?"
"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. "I haven\'t got any money -- and you heard Uncle Vernon last night ... he won\'t pay for me to go and learn magic."
"Don\'t worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D\'yeh think yer parents didn\'t leave yeh anything?"
"But if their house was destroyed --" "They didn\' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards\' bank. Have a sausage, they\'re not bad cold -- an\' I wouldn\' say no teh a bit o\' yer birthday cake, neither."
"Wizards have banks?" "Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. "Goblins?" "Yeah -- so yeh\'d be mad ter try an\' rob it, I\'ll tell yeh that. Never
mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe -- \'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o\' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin\' you gettin\' things from Gringotts -knows he can trust me, see.
"Got everythin\'? Come on, then."
Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. "Flew," said Hagrid.
"Flew?"
"Yeah -- but we\'ll go back in this. Not s\'pposed ter use magic now I\'ve got yeh."
They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.
"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter -- er -- speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin\' it at Hogwarts?"
"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.
"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.
"Spells -- enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there\'s dragons guardin\' the highsecurity vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way -- Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh\'d die of hunger tryin\' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."
Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he\'d never had so many questions in his life.
"Ministry o\' Magic messin\' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.
"There\'s a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.
"\'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, 0 \' course, but he\'d never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin\' fer advice."
"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"
"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there\'s still witches an\' wizards up an\' down the country."
"Why?"
"Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone\'d be wantin\' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we\'re best left alone."
At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.
Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn\'t blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"
"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"
"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I\'d like a dragon."
"You\'d like one?"
"Wanted one ever since I was a kid -- here we go."
They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes\' time. Hagrid, who didn\'t understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.
"Good," said Hagrid. "There\'s a list there of everything yeh need."
Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn\'t noticed the night before, and read: HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY UNIFORM First-year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) Please note that all pupils\' clothes should carry name tags COURSE BOOKS All students should have a copy of each of the following: The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling A Beginners\' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.
"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.
Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.
"I don\'t know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? If Harry hadn\'t known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn\'t help trusting him.
"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It\'s a famous place."
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn\'t pointed it out, Harry wouldn\'t have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn\'t glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn\'t see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it. Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside.
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"
"Can\'t, Tom, I\'m on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his GREat hand on Harry\'s shoulder and making Harry\'s knees buckle.
"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this -- can this be --?"
The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.
"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter... what an honor."
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."
Harry didn\'t know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.
Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can\'t believe I\'m meeting you at last."
"So proud, Mr. Potter, I\'m just so proud."
"Always wanted to shake your hand -- I\'m all of a flutter."
"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can\'t tell you, Diggle\'s the name, Dedalus Diggle."
"I\'ve seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle\'s top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."
"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" Harry shook hands again and again -Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.
A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.
"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."
"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry\'s hand, "c-can\'t t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he\'d rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You\'ll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I\'ve g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.
But the others wouldn\'t let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.
"Must get on -- lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."
Doris Crockford shook Harry\'s hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.
Hagrid grinned at Harry.
"Told yeh, didn\'t I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin\' ter meet yeh -- mind you, he\'s usually tremblin\'."
"Is he always that nervous?"
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was
studyin\' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience.... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o\' trouble with a hag -- never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where\'s me umbrella?"
Vampires? Hags? Harry\'s head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.
"Three up... two across he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry."
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.
The brick he had touched quivered -- it wriggled -- in the middle, a small hole appeared -- it grew wider and wider -- a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."
He grinned at Harry\'s amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons -- All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver -- Self-Stirring -- Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
"Yeah, you\'ll be needin\' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they\'re mad...."
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium -- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry\'s age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand -- fastest ever --" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels\' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon....
"Gringotts," said Hagrid.
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -
"Yeah, that\'s a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
"Like I said, Yeh\'d be mad ter try an\' rob it," said Hagrid.
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.
"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We\'ve come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter\'s safe."
"You have his key, Sir?"
"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin\'s book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.
"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.
The goblin looked at it closely.
"That seems to be in order."
"An\' I\'ve also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It\'s about the YouKnow-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."
The goblin read the letter carefully.
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have Someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.
"What\'s the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.
"Can\'t tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore\'s trusted me. More\'n my job\'s worth ter tell yeh that."
Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in -- Hagrid with some difficulty -- and were off.
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn\'t steering.
Harry\'s eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what\'s the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"
"Stalagmite\'s got an \'m\' in it," said Hagrid. "An\' don\' ask me questions just now, I think I\'m gonna be sick."
He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.
"All yours," smiled Hagrid.
All Harry\'s -- it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn\'t have known about this or they\'d have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.
Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.
"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it\'s easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o\' terms, we\'ll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"
"One speed only," said Griphook.
They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.
Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.
"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they\'d be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.
"How often do you check to see if anyone\'s inside?" Harry asked.
"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.
Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least -- but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.
"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don\'t talk to me on the way back, it\'s best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.
One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn\'t know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn\'t have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he\'d had in his whole life -- more money than even Dudley had ever had.
"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin\'s Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin\'s shop alone, feeling nervous.
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.
"Hogwarts, clear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here -- another young man being fitted up just now, in fact. "
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him) slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"My father\'s next door buying my books and mother\'s up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I\'m going to drag them off to took at racing brooms. I don\'t see why first years can\'t have their own. I think I\'ll bully father into getting me one and I\'ll smuggle it in somehow."
Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No," said Harry.
"Play Quidditch at all?"
"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.
"I do -- Father says it\'s a crime if I\'m not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you\'ll be in yet?"
"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I\'ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been -- imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I\'d leave, wouldn\'t you?" "Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.
"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn\'t come in.
"That\'s Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn\'t. "He works at Hogwarts."
"Oh," said the boy, "I\'ve heard of him. He\'s a sort of servant, isn\'t he?"
"He\'s the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.
"Yes, exactly. I heard he\'s a sort of savage -- lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."
"I think he\'s brilliant," said Harry coldly.
"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"
"They\'re dead," said Harry shortly. He didn\'t feel much like going into the matter with this boy.
"Oh, sorry," said the other,. not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren\'t they?"
"They were a witch and wizard, if that\'s what you mean."
"I really don\'t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They\'re just not the same, they\'ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What\'s your surname, anyway?"
But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That\'s you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.
"Well, I\'ll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.
Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).
"What\'s up?" said Hagrid.
"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what\'s Quidditch?"
"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin\' how little yeh know -- not knowin\' about Quidditch!"
"Don\'t make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pate boy in Madam Malkin\'s.
"--and he said people from Muggle families shouldn\'t even be allowed in."
"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he\'d known who yeh were -- he\'s grown up knowin\' yer name if his parents are wizardin\' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o\' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in \'em in a long line 0\' Muggles -- look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"
"So what is Quidditch?"
"It\'s our sport. Wizard sport. It\'s like -- like soccer in the Muggle world -- everyone follows Quidditch -- played up in the air on broomsticks and there\'s four balls -- sorta hard ter explain the rules." "And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"
"School houses. There\'s four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o\' duffers, but --"
"I bet I\'m in Hufflepuff" said Harry gloomily.
"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There\'s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn\'t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."
"Vol-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"
"Years an\' years ago," said Hagrid.
They bought Harry\'s school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.
"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."
"I\'m not sayin\' that\'s not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An\' anyway, yeh couldn\' work any of them curses yet, yeh\'ll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."
Hagrid wouldn\'t let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).
Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry\'s list again.
"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an\' I still haven\'t got yeh a birthday present."
Harry felt himself go red.
"You don\'t have to --"
"I know I don\'t have to. Tell yeh what, I\'ll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh\'d be laughed at - an\' I don\' like cats, they make me sneeze. I\'ll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they\'re dead useful, carry yer mail an\' everythin\'."
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn\'t stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.
"Don\' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don\' expect you\'ve had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."
A magic wand... this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.
The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I\'d be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn\'t a question. "You have your mother\'s eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.
"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it -- it\'s really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.
"And that\'s where..."
Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry\'s forehead with a long, white finger.
"I\'m sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I\'d known what that wand was going out into the world to do...."
He shook his head and then, to Harry\'s relief, spotted Hagrid.
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again.... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn\'t it?"
"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.
"Er -- yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I\'ve still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.
"But you don\'t use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.
"Oh, no, sit," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.
"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now -- Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Er -- well, I\'m right-handed," said Harry.
"Hold out your arm. That\'s it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard\'s wand."
Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."
Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try --"
Harry tried -- but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.
"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."
Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.
"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we\'ll find the perfect match here somewhere -- I wonder, now - - yes, why not -- unusual combination -holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "
He put Harry\'s wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..
"Sorry," said Harry, "but what\'s curious?"
Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.
"I remember every wand I\'ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that scar."
Harry swallowed.
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember.... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things -- terrible, yes, but great."
Harry shivered. He wasn\'t sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn\'t speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn\'t even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry\'s lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.
"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.
He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.
"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.
Harry wasn\'t sure he could explain. He\'d just had the best birthday of his life -- and yet -- he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.
"Everyone thinks I\'m special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don\'t know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I\'m famous and I can\'t even remember what I\'m famous for. I don\'t know what happened when Vol-, sorry -- I mean, the night my parents died."
Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.
"Don\' you worry, Harry. You\'ll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you\'ll be just fine. just be yerself. I know it\'s hard. Yeh\'ve been singled out, an\' that\'s always hard. But yeh\'ll have a great time at Hogwarts -- I did -- still do, \'smatter of fact."
Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.
"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o\' September -- King\'s Cross -- it\'s all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she\'ll know where to find me.... See yeh soon, Harry."
The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.
第五章戴阿宫道
哈刮第二天早上很早就醒来了，虽然他能感觉到已是天亮了，却仍然把眼睛闭
得紧紧的。
“那是个梦，”他非常确定地对自己说，“我梦见了一个名叫哈格力的巨人，
他告诉我我将进入一所学校学习魔法，当我睁开眼的时候，我便会呆在家中的橱柜
里了。”
突然，有一阵很响的敲击声。
“那是帕尤妮亚姨妈在敲门了。”哈利想。他的心在下沉，但是他仍然紧闭双
眼，因为那实在是个太美妙的梦了。
啪、啪、啪。
“好了，”哈利咕哝着，“我就起来了。”
他坐起来，哈格力的大外套从他身上滑落下来。小屋子里立刻充满了阳光，暴
风雨已经过去，哈格力自己在一张折叠式的沙发上睡着了，一只猫头鹰用爪子拍打
着窗户，嘴里还叨着一份报纸。
哈利慢慢爬起来。他感到非常开心，就好像有一只大气球在他体内膨胀似的。
他径直走到窗户前面，猛地推开它，窗外那只猫头鹰便扑了进来，把报纸放在
了熟睡的哈格力的头上，然后它振动着翅膀，停在地板上，开始啄哈格力的外衣。
“不许这样。”
哈利尽全力想把猫头鹰赶走，但是猫头鹰粗暴疯狂的用它的尖嘴啄哈利，并且
不断地啄着那件外套。
“哈格力，”哈利大声叫喊，“这儿有只猫头鹰……”
“付钱给他。”哈格力在沙发里咕嗜着。
“什么？”
“他为我们送了报纸所以要拿报酬，看看口袋里。”
哈格力外套上几乎全是口袋，但是口袋里——成串的钥匙、金属球、一团团丝
线、薄荷糖、荣袋……最后哈利掏出一枚形状怪异的硬币。
“给他五克拉。”哈格力睡眠惺松地说。
“克拉？”
“那种青铜色的小硬币。”
哈利数出五个小青铜硬币，猫头鹰伸出爪子接住并把硬币放到绑在它身上的羽
毛做的小钱袋里，然后就从打开的窗户飞走了。
哈格力打了个阿欠，坐起来伸了伸懒腰。
“快点准备好，哈利。今天有很多事要做，我们得去伦敦，为你上学买点东西。”
哈利摆弄着那些魔术硬币，仔细研究着，他刚刚想到一些事使他觉得体内的那
些快乐的气球突然被扎破了。
“呃……哈格力？”
“嗯？”哈格力应道，他正忙着穿他那只巨大的鞋子。
“我一分钱也没有——昨晚你是听到了——维能姨丈他不愿拿钱供我去学法术。”
“不用担心，”哈格力说，他站起来，抓抓脑袋，“你真的以为你爸妈一点东
西都没留给你吗？”
“但是如果他们的房子都被毁了的话——”
“孩子，他们没有把金子放在房子里！现在，我们的第一站就是——魔法师的
银行。”
“魔法师们也有银行？”
“只有一家，由恶魔们来经营。”
“恶魔？”
“是的——我得告诉你如果你试着去抢劫它那你一定是疯了。
千万别干预那些恶魔，哈利。无论你想保存什么东西，魔法师银行无疑是世界
上最安全的地方——也许除了霍格瓦彻。事实上，我们马上就要去，为了丹伯多和
霍格瓦彻的任务。“哈格力非常骄傲地站起身。
“东西都带齐了吗？跟我来。”
哈利跟着哈格力出去，来到海边的岩石上，天空十分晴朗，万里无云，海水在
阳光下闪着鳞鳞的波光。维能姨丈雇用的小船仍旧停在那里，在船舱的底部还有许
多暴雨过后留下的积水。
“你是怎么到这儿来的。”哈利一边问道，一边四处张望寻找另一只船。
“飞来的。”哈格力答道。
“飞？”
“是的——不过我们现在得坐船回去，别指望我带着你一起飞。”
他们走到船上坐下来准备启航。哈利一直盯着哈格力，琢磨着他飞翔的模样。
“不过，划船划得这么慢，还真是让人觉得羞耻。”哈格力说，并向哈利展示
了他的另一面，“如果我让这只船的速度稍稍加快一点，你到了霍格瓦彻不会提起
吧？”
“当然不会。”哈利立马答道，他渴望能看见更多的法术。哈格力再一次拿出
那把粉红色的雨伞，在船的一侧轻轻敲了两下，船立刻像箭一样飞速驰离陆地。
“你为什么会说疯子去打劫恶魔银行？”哈利不解地问。
“因为……”哈格力一边说，一边摊开了他的报纸，“他们说有许多龙在看守
着那些保险金库，而且你得找出逃跑路线——恶魔银行在格林高斯城下几英里的地
方，很深很深的地底下，即使你得手了，在你想方设法出来的时候也会被饿死的。”
哈利坐在一边思考这个问题，而哈格力在读他的报纸《先知日报》，哈利从他
姨丈那儿知道当人们遇到问题时就会一个人呆在一边，但这的确太困难了，从他出
生到现在还从没遇到过这么多的问题。
“魔法大臣还是像往常一样将事情搞得一团糟。”哈格力抱怨着，翻开报纸的
另一页。
“还有魔法大臣？”哈格力脱口而出。
“当然了。”哈格力说：“他们曾想让丹伯多做魔法大臣，当然，丹伯多从不
愿意离开霍格瓦彻，所以没接这项工作，那是个笨手笨脚的家伙，他每天早上都会
带着猫头鹰来向丹伯多请教。”
“但是魔法大臣是做什么的？”
“他们的主要职责就是让魔法远离马格人。”
“为什么？”
“为什么？啊呀，哈利，每个人都想拥有魔法去解决问题呀。”
正在这时，小船轻轻地撞上了港口的岸墙，哈格力折起报纸，两人一起登上石
阶走进了街道。
当他们经过小镇去车站的时候，许多的路人都盯着哈格力看，哈利不怪他们，
是因为哈格力是常人的两倍高，而且他总是不停地指着那些极平常的东西——比方
说停车计时表，然后大声的说，“看那，哈利，马格人真是异想天开。”
“哈格力，”哈利气喘吁吁地跑着跟上哈格力，问道：“你曾说在恶魔银行有
龙，是吗？”
“他们是这样说的。唉，我都想要一条龙。”哈格力说。
“你想要一条龙？”
“当我还是小孩子的时候就非常想了——这边走。”
他们到达了火车站，五分钟之后就有一班去伦敦的火车。还不懂什么是所谓的
马格人钱的哈格力把钱给了哈利，让他去买火车票。
火车上更多的人看着哈格力。他一个人就占了两个位子，正坐着编织一种看上
去像马戏团帐篷的浅黄色东西。
“信还在吗，哈利？”哈格力一边问一边数着他所缝的针数。
哈利从口袋里掏出羊皮纸信封。
“太好了！”哈格力说，“里面有一张单已经列出了你所需要的东西。”
哈利打开前一天晚上他没注意到的第二页纸，读了起来：霍格瓦彻麾法师学校
：校服：第一年的新生需要：1.三套简单素色的法衣（黑色）；2.一项朴素的尖项
帽（黑色），白天戴；3.一双安全防御手套；4.一件冬天的斗篷（黑色并带有银色
的系带）。
请注意：所有学生的衣服必须就带有姓名的标签。
书本：所有的学生都要有下面所列的每一本书。
《咒语标准》（第一册）米拉达。郭沙克著《魔法历史》巴西尔达。白沙特著
《魔法原理》阿达伯特。沃夫林著《初学者变形术入门指导》埃默里克。斯维奇著
《一千种魔法植物和菌类》菲里达。斯波尔著《魔法图和魔法药方》阿森尼斯。吉
格著《神奇野兽及如何找到它们》纽特。斯卡门德著《黑暗的力量——自我保护指
引》昆汀。钱伯尔著其他器具：一根魔法棒，一口大锅（白蜡制品，2 号大小）
一套玻璃瓶或水晶瓶一副望远镜一架黄铜制的天平学生们也可带一只猫头鹰，
一只猫或者一只癞蛤蟆。
父母们必须注意第一年的新生是不允许拥有自己的扫帚的。
“我们能在伦敦买到所有的这些东西吗？”哈利有点担心。
“只要你知道哪儿有这些东西就行了。”哈格力说。
哈利以前从未去过伦敦，而哈格力虽然看上去好像知道要去哪，但很明显他很
不习惯通过这种极普通的方式去那里。他在地铁的检票处被卡住了，还大声地抱怨
座位太小、火车太慢。
“我真不明白没有魔法这些马格人如何生活。”他说，此刻他们正在很吃力的
爬一座坏了的升降梯，这座升降梯一直通向拥有许多店铺的十分喧闹繁华的街。
哈格力的身材如此巨大以致于很容易挤开拥挤的人群，而哈利所要做的就是跟
在哈格力的身后，他们路过书店、音乐店、汉堡包店和电影院，但似乎没有一个地
方看上去可以卖一根魔法手杖给哈利，这仅仅是一条挤满了普通人的十分平常的街
而已。那成堆的魔法金币真的可能会理在这地底下吗？真的有店卖咒语书和魔法扫
帚吗？这不会是杜斯利所想出的一个大笑话吧？如果不是哈利知道杜斯利缺乏幽默
感的话，他也许真的会这么想，但是，尽管哈格力告诉他的一切是如此的令人难以
置信，哈利还是不由自主的相信他。
“这就是了。”哈格力说着，直向一个小站走过去，‘易漏的大锅’。一个非
常有名的地方。
其实它是个很小而又肮脏的酒吧。如果不是哈格力指出来，哈利压根儿没注意
到它，行色匆匆的人们一眼也没瞧这家小店，他们的目光从街一边的大书店滑到另
一边的唱片店，都好像根本看不见“易漏的大锅”似的，事实上，哈利很奇怪地感
觉到只有他和哈格力能看见它，但在他提起这之前，哈格力已经拉着他进去了。
作为一个很有名的地方，里面实在很昏暗又破旧。九个老年妇女坐在角落里，
喝着小杯的雪莉酒。其中的一个正在吸长管烟，一个带着高高帽子的年青男子正在
同老酒保聊天。老酒保的头顶光秃秃的，好像一颗肿胀的核桃。当他们俩走进去的
时候，闲谈的嗡嗡声立刻停止了，好像每个人都认出哈格力。他们冲着他挥手微笑，
那老酒保伸手拿出个玻璃杯，说道：“跟以往一样吗，哈格力？”
“不行，汤姆，我有正事要做。”哈格力说着就用他的大手拍了拍哈利的肩，
使他的膝盖都弯曲了。
“上帝啊！”酒保盯着哈利，“这是——，难道说是——？”
整个“易漏的大锅”突然一下子静了下来。
“上帝保佑，”老酒保小声地说，“哈利。波特！真是太高兴了！”
他匆匆地从吧台后走出来，冲向哈利，紧紧抓住他的手，眼里满含着泪水。
“欢迎回来，哈利。波特，欢迎回来！”
哈利不知道说什么才好，每个人都在看着他，那个拿着烟斗的老妇人还在不断
地吸烟却没有意识到火已经灭了。哈格力一直站在一旁微笑着。
一阵椅子划过地板的声音之后，哈利发现自己正在和“易漏的大锅”里的每一
个人握手。
“波特先生，我叫罗里斯。克劳福特，不敢相信最终会在这儿遇见您。”
“太荣幸了，波特先生，见到你我真是感到无比自豪。”
“一直想和您握手——我都有点手足无措了。”
“波特先生，见到您我真是有说不出的高兴，我的名字叫迪达拉斯。迪格尔。”
“我以前见过你！”当迪达拉斯。迪格尔的高帽子由于激动兴奋而掉下来的时
候，哈利说道，“你曾经在一家店里向我鞠过躬。”
“他还记得。”迪达拉斯。迪格尔冲着每个人大叫：“你们听见了吗？他还记
得我！”
哈利不断地和这些人握手——多里斯。克劳福特老是跑回来想多握几次手。
一个虚弱的青年男子艰难地向这边走过来，他看上去十分紧张。他的一只眼睛
在抽搐着。
“这是屈拉教授，哈利，”哈格力说，“屈拉教授将是你在霍格瓦彻学习时的
老师。”
“波——波——波特，”屈拉教授有点口吃，他抓住哈利的手，“无——无法
告——告诉你见到你我是多——多么地高——高兴。”
“您在学校里教哪种魔法呢，屈拉教授？”
“防黑巫术课，”屈拉教授说得十分小声，好像他宁愿没提起这回事，“找不
到你想要的东西吗？波——波特。”他很紧张地笑了起来。“我猜你将准备好所有
需要的工具了。我自己已经买到一本有关吸血鬼的新书。”他说到这点的时候看上
去很可怕。
但是其他人是不会让屈拉教授占有哈利很长时间的。哈利花了差不多十分钟的
时间才摆脱这些人。最后，哈格力设法使自己的声音能很清楚地被大家听到。
“我们得继续赶路了——还有许多东西要买，哈利，快点过来。”
多里斯。克劳福特最后的一秒钟又和哈利握了握手，哈格力带路走出了酒吧，
进到了一个围墙围起来的小院子，在这里面除了一堆垃圾和几丛野草之外什么也没
有。
哈格力冲着哈利露齿一笑。
“我没告诉你吗？你很有名气的，就连屈拉教授见到你都会发抖，尽管他是经
常发抖。”
“他总是那么紧张吗？”
“哦，是的，可怜的家伙，他很聪明，当他在学校里学习魔法的时候是非常优
秀的，然后他花了一年时间出去积累亲身经验，他们说他在黑森林里遇见了吸血鬼
们和一个非常危险难缠的老巫婆——从此以后一切就变样了——他开始害怕学生们，
对自己的课题也感到惊恐——我的伞在哪？”
“吸血鬼？老巫婆？”哈利的脑海中浮现出这些情景，而哈格力却坐在垃圾堆
上数着墙上的结块。
“向上三块……横移三块……”他小声咕哝着，“对了，向后站，哈利。”他
用伞尖对着墙壁敲了三次。
他触到的那块砖开始振动——中间部分在剧烈的蠕动着，一个小洞出现了——
越变越大——一秒钟之后一个大到足以让哈格力穿过的拱门就摆在了他们面前。这
座拱门通向一条由鹅卵石铺成的街道，这条街道弯弯曲曲地向前延伸直到看不见为
止。
“欢迎来到戴阿宫道。”哈格力说。
哈利见此情景已经惊讶到说不出话，哈格力冲他露齿一笑，两人便一起跨入拱
门，哈利迅速扭过头，看见身后的那座拱门已经又变成一面坚实的墙。
阳光明亮地照在最近的一家店外的成堆的大锅上。上面挂着一幅招牌，写道：
大锅——各种尺寸的——铜的、黄铜的、白蜡的。
银的——自动——折叠式。
“啊哈，你得买一个大锅，但我们首先得拿到你的钱。”
哈利真希望自己多长八只眼睛。当他们走在街道上时，他的头不停的向四处转
动，想把所有的东西一下于尽收眼底，店铺、铺子外面的东西，以及那些在购物的
人们，一个非常丰满的妇女站在药房外，使劲晃动地的脑袋，大声叫卖：“蜥蜴肝
脏，每盎司十七镰刀币……”
一个低沉，柔和的袅叫声从一间昏暗的店铺里传来，那店铺的招牌上写着：猫
头鹰出租中心——黄褐色的、红褐色的、全棕色的、棕褐毛的、雪白的，许多年纪
与哈利相仿的男孩子把他们的鼻子紧紧压在橱窗上，窗户里面是他们梦寐以求的魔
法扫帚。“看哪！”哈利听到其中一个在说：“新的‘灵光2000’——是最快的。”
还有许多店铺卖法衣、望远镜以及哈利以前从未见过的奇怪的银具，橱窗里还
堆积着一桶桶的蝙蝠脾脏和鳗鱼眼睛，摇摇欲坠的成堆的咒语书，一卷卷的羊皮纸、
药瓶、以及各种各样的球状物。
“这就是格林高斯！”哈格力说。
他们到了一座雪白色的建筑物前面，这座房子比周围的小店要高出许多。站在
泛着光泽的青铜色大门的旁边穿着深红色和金黄色制服的就是——“啊，那就是恶
魔了。”哈格力轻声的说，同时跨上白色的石阶向恶魔走过去。那个恶魔大约比哈
利矮一个头，他有一张黑黝黝的机灵的面庞，尖尖的胡须，而且哈利注意到他的手
指和脚十分长。
当他们走进去的时候，恶魔向他们鞠了一躬。现在他们面对着第二扇门了，银
色的，上面还刻了一些字：请进，陌生人，但请留心贪婪的后果。
对于那些只知索取，不懂付出的人，一定会得到最严厉的报应。
所以如果你是来寻找藏在地底下的而不属于你的财富。
窃贼，那么你得当心找到比财宝更多的东西。
“就像我所说的，如果你试着去抢劫它，那真是发疯了。”哈格力说。
当他们穿过银门时又有两位恶魔向他们鞠躬。接下来他们就到了一座全部由大
理石铺成的大厅，里面大约有一百多个恶魔坐在柜台后面的高脚凳上，潦草地登记
帐本、用黄铜天平称硬币重量，通过放大镜仔细研究那些珍贵的石头。通往这一大
厅的门多得数不过来，但有更多的恶魔带领人们出入这些门，哈格力和哈利直向柜
台走过去。
“早上好。”哈格力对一个没事做的恶魔说：“我们来从哈利。波特的保险箱
里取点钱。”
“你有钥匙吗？先生？”
“就在这的什么地方，”哈格力说着开始把口袋里的东西掏到柜台上，一把把
发霉的狗饼干散在恶魔的帐本上，恶魔们连忙捂起鼻子。哈利看到在他们右手边的
恶魔们正在称量一堆有炽热的煤炭那么大的红宝石。
“这就是了。”哈格力终于找到了那把金色的小钥匙。
恶魔仔细地看了看钥匙。
“好像符合要求。”
“我还带来了一封丹伯多教授的信来，”哈格力神气十足地随口说道：“是有
关于在713 号金库里的那个东西。”
恶魔仔细地把信看了一遍。
“很好。”说着他把信还给了哈格力，“我会派人带你去这两个仓库的。格里
霍克！”
格里霍克是另一个恶魔，哈格力一次性地把所有的狗饼干又塞回到他的口袋里，
然后与哈利一起跟着格里霍克从门口走出。
“713 号金库里的那个东西到底是什么呀？”哈利问道。
‘不能告诉你，“哈格力神秘地说：”这事得十分保密才行。丹伯多信任我，
告诉你就超出了我的职权范围。“格里霍克他们开了门。哈利十分惊讶，他原以为
可以看到更多的大理石，但现在他们却身处一条由燃烧着的火把照明的狭窄的石头
通道里。这里的通道十分陡峭地向下延伸，地上有些很小的铁路轨道。格里霍克吹
了一声口哨，一辆小车便沿着轨道向他们驶来。
他们爬上去——哈利显得有些吃力——然后车便开动了。
一开始，他们只是穿过一些弯弯曲曲的迷宫似的通道，哈利想尽力记住，转左、
转右、转右、转左、交叉，再转右、再转右，但这几乎是不可能的，飞速行驶的小
车似乎知道他自己的路似的，因为格里霍克根本没有驾驶它。
冷空气呼呼地吹过，刺痛了哈利的眼睛，但他还是尽力睁开眼。有一次，他认
为他看见了一团火在小路的尽头就转过去看看是否是一条龙，但是太迟了。他们向
更深处驶来，超过了一座地下湖，那里巨大的钟乳石和石笋从天花板上地底下冒出
来。
“我从不知道钟乳石和石笋有什么不同？”哈利大声地说道，声音盖过了小车
发出的噪声。
“钟乳石这个单词有个‘m ’在里面。”哈格力说，“不要问我问题了，我想
我是病了。”
看上去确实脸色发青。当小车在一扇小门边停下来的时候，哈格力走出来，不
得不靠住墙使自己的膝盖停止颤抖。
格里霍克打开锁，一阵绿色的烟雾翻滚出来，当它散开之后，哈利已经有点喘
不过气来了。房子里面是成堆的金币，一片银币以及大量的青铜币。
“全部都是你的了。”哈格力笑着说道。
全部都是哈利的——简直无法相信，杜斯利不可能知道这些，否则他们在一眨
间的功夫里就把这些从他那里拿走了，他们是不是经常抱怨哈利让他们花了大笔的
钱来保存这些财金呢？总之，一直以来就有这么一大笔埋藏在伦敦城下的财富是属
于他的。
哈格力帮哈利装一些钱到袋子里。
“金色的称为帆船币，”他解释道，“17个镰刀币等于一个帆船币，而29个克
拉币等于一个镰刀币，简单极了。好了，这些钱来支付两个学期的费用足够了。我
们会帮你保存剩下那部分钱的。”
他转向格里霍克，“现在请带我们去713 号金库，我们能走得再慢点吗？”
“只有一种速度。”格里霍克说。
他们继续乘小车往下走，而且速度更快了，当他们呼啸而过一个接一个的拐角
时，空气变得越来越冷。他们的小车嘎嘎地越过一座地下山谷，哈利靠向车的一边
想看看漆黑的谷底到底有什么东西，但是哈格力拉着他的脖子把他拽了回来。
713 号金库找不到锁眼。
“往后站，”格里霍克很严肃地说，他用一根细长的手指轻轻地敲了一下门就
打开了。
“除了格里霍克的恶魔之外的任何人如果试着这样做了，他就会被门击中，跌
入陷井里。”格里霍克说。
“你们多长时间检查一次是否有人在里面。”哈利问道。
“大概十年一次吧。”格里霍克说着，露出一副很狡诈的笑容。
哈利确信，一定有什么与众不同的东西隐藏在这间高级密室里，他急切地把身
子往前探，盼望着最起码见到一些极好的宝石——虽然在开始他以为这间房是空的。
但后来他注意到一个用棕色皮纸包着的肮脏的小包裹躺在地板上，哈格力把它
捡了起来收到衣服里去，哈利很想知道包裹里是什么东西，但他也知道还是不问为
好。
“来吧，回到这可怕的小车上来，在回去的路上不要跟我说话，能把嘴闭上，
我会感到好点的。”哈格力说。
又一阵狂暴的小车旅程之后，一眨眼功夫他们就站在了格林高斯门外一片阳光
灿烂的景象中，一开始哈利都不知道向哪边走，倒并不是说因为他现在拥有～大包
的钱，他根本没必要知道多少帆船币等于多少英镑以确定他拥有的比他曾经所拥有
的还要多的钱，这些钱也比达德里所有的还要多。
“现在也可以买你的衣服了。”哈格力冲着标有“适合各种场合的法衣”字样
的服装点了点头，“听着，哈利，如果我离开一会儿去‘漏锅’酒吧喝酒，你介不
介意？我实在很讨厌那些格林高斯的小车。”他的确看上去脸色很差，好像生病了，
所以哈利一个人进了马金夫人的店，有一点点紧张。
马金夫人其实是矮胖、和善的女魔法师，一身淡紫色。
“亲爱的，是霍格瓦彻学校的吗？”哈利刚要开口说话，马金夫人便说：“你
会在这里买到很多你需要的东西。事实上，刚刚就有一个青年人在这儿购买学校制
服。”
在店铺的后面，一个面色苍白的尖脸男孩子站在板凳上，而另一个女魔法师正
在缝制他的黑色的长法饱，马金夫人让哈利站到那男孩旁边的板凳上，把一件长法
施从他头上套下去，开始把它裁剪到恰当的长度。
“嗨！”男孩说道：“你也是去霍格瓦彻上学的吗？”
“是的。”哈利答道。
“我爸爸正在隔壁帮我买书而妈妈正在帮我找魔法杖。”男孩说，他的声音显
得无精打采，“待会我还要拽着他们去买高速扫帚，找不明白为什么第一年的新生
不能拥有他们自己的扫帚，我想，我得设法让爸爸给我买一把扫帚，然后偷偷带去
学校。”
哈利记起了达德里对他的提醒。
“你有自己的扫帚了吗？”男孩继续问道。
“没有。”哈利答。
“玩过快迪斯没有？”
“没有。”哈利很想知道快迪斯是什么东西。
“我玩过——爸爸说如果我没被选入飞行队的话，那将是一种耻辱。找得说，
我非常同意这种说法，你知道将会住在哪幢房子里吗！”
“不知道。”哈利此刻感到非常愚蠢。
“没关系，每个人都是到了那儿才知道的，不是吗？但我知道我将会待在史林
德林，我们全家都曾想着让我住海夫巴夫，我看我得走了，你呢？”
“哦？”哈利犹豫着，希望他能再说多一点有趣的事情。
“我说，看那个人！”男孩突然冲着前窗叫了起来，哈格力站着那里对着哈利
露齿而笑，他指指手中两个大冰淇淋表示他没法进去。
“那是哈格力。”哈格力说道，他非常高兴因为他终于知道一些那男孩不知道
的事了，“他在霍格瓦彻工作。”
“是吗？”男孩说，“我听说过他，他是一个奴仆，是吗？”
“他是看守人。”哈利说，他越来越不喜欢这个男孩。
“没错了，我听说他是一个野人，住在学校操场的一间小房子里，他总是喝醉
酒，想使用魔法却往往烧了自己的床。”
“我认为他很聪明。”哈利冷冷地说。
“是吗？”男孩带着一丝鄙夷的神态说，“他怎么会和你在一起，你的爸妈呢？”
“他们死了。”哈利简洁回答。他实在不喜欢和这男孩呆在一起。
“哦，对不起！”但从声音听上去一点也不难过，“他们和我们是同类的吗？”
“他们是魔法师，如果你指的是这个的话？”
“我从不认为他们会让其他的种类进入学校学习，你呢？他们就是与我们不一
样，成长的环境不一样，所以他们不会知道我们生活的方式的，可能他们其中的一
些从没听说霍格瓦彻，直到有一天他们收到了一封信，我想他们应该把这信保存在
古老的魔法师家族才对。对了，你姓什么。”
哈利刚要回答，马金夫人就说：“亲爱的，你的衣服做好了。”
哈利十分庆幸找到了一个停止和男孩的对话的机会，飞快地从高脚凳上跳了下
来。
“好吧，我想，我将会在霍格瓦彻再见到你。”男孩依旧是一副无精打采的腔
调。
当哈利吃着哈格力买给他的冰淇淋时，显得非常安静。
“你怎么了？”哈格力问。
“没什么，”哈利撒了一个谎，他们停下来去买羊皮纸和鹅毛笔。哈利高兴了
起来，因为他找到了一瓶神奇的墨水，墨水的颜色随着你写的字而不断变换着颜色。
当他们离开这家店的时候，他问道，“哈格力，什么是快迪斯？”
“啊呀，哈利，我一直都忘了你对快迪斯了解得多么少——或者根本不知道。”
“别让我觉得更不好受。”哈利说着，便把他在马金夫人店里遇到那男孩的事
说了一遍。
“他还说来自马格家族的人甚至不允许进入——”
“你不是来自马格家族的，如果他知道你是谁的话——如果他父母是魔法师的
话，他应该早就听说过你的大名了——你在‘漏锅’酒吧都见到他们是如何待你的
了，他懂什么呀，我所见到的最好的巫师往往都是拥有魔法但深藏不露的，马格人
——看看你妈妈多厉害！再看看你那帕尤妮亚姨妈多差劲。”
“那什么是快迪斯？”
“我们的一种运动，魔法运动，它就像——就像马格世界的足球运动一样——
每个人都喜欢快迪斯——骑着扫帚在空气里玩耍，一共有四个球——很难去解释那
些规则。”
“那史林德林和海夫巴夫又是什么？”
“都是学校里的房子，一共有四座，每个人都说住在海夫巴夫里的都是一群笨
蛋，但是——”
“我打赌我会住在海夫巴夫。”哈利十分沮丧地说。
“其实海夫巴夫比史林德林要好。”哈格力有点难过，“不只一个的住在史林
德林的魔法师变坏了，‘那个人’就是其中一个。”
“哗！‘那个人’也在霍格瓦彻学习过。”
“那是很多年以前的事了。”哈格力说道。
他们在一家叫做“弗拉立与布洛斯”的书店里买到了哈利需要的课本，店里的
书架都是从天花板悬挂下来的，有用羽毛装饰的像铺路石一般大小的书，也有丝绒
封面的像邮票一般大小的书，还有一些全是奇怪符号的书，以及一些里面什么也没
有的书，即使从未读过书的达德里也会禁不住伸出手来摸摸这些书的。哈格力几乎
不得不把哈利从万迪塔斯。维里迪安教授所写的《咒语与反咒语》这本书中拎出来。
“我只是想找到诅咒达德里的方法。”
“我不是说那样不好，但是除了在非常特殊的情况之下，你不能在马格世界使
用魔法。”哈格力说，“无论如何你现在都不可以使用任何咒语，在你达到这个水
平之前还需要更多的学习。”
哈格力也不允许哈利买一口坚固的金色大锅（条上所提的是白蜡的），但他们
买到了一套称量药方的配料非常好的天平，和一架折叠式的黄铜望远镜。接下来他
们去了一家药房。这间药房看来对用臭蛋和腐烂的卷心菜的混合物来制可怕的气味
十分着迷，一桶桶的黏状物放在地板上，一坛坛药草、干树根、闪亮的粉状物挨着
墙排列着，一捆捆的羽毛，一串串的牙齿和爪子悬挂在天花板上。当哈格力向店员
买一些哈利所需的药方配料时，哈利自己正在研究大约21个帆船币一根的银麒麟角
以及微小、闪亮的黑色甲虫眼睛（每勺五克拉）。
走出药房，哈格力又把哈利的单子检查了一遍。
“只剩下手杖没有买了——对了，我还没给你买生日礼物呢。”
哈利的脸有点红了。
“你不必……”
“我知道我不必，告诉你，我将给你买一只小动物，并不是癞蛤蟆。蛤蟆好多
年前就已经不流行了，你会被笑话的。我又不喜欢猫，它们会让我打喷嚏，所以我
将给你买一只猫头鹰，所有的小孩子都喜欢猫头鹰。它们非常有用，可以帮你送任
何东西。”
二十分钟之后，他们离开了猫头鹰出租中心。
哈利拎着一只大鸟笼，宠子里关着一只十分漂亮的雪白的猫头鹰，它的头深深
地埋在翅膀里，正在呼呼大睡。哈利不停地向哈格力道谢，都有点口吃，好像屈拉
教授那样。
“不要再提了。”哈格力扳着脸孔说。现在只剩下奥利万德斯——卖手杖的地
方了。奥利万德斯的手杖是最好的。
一根魔法手杖……该才是哈利真正想要的东西。
这最后一间店十分窄小破旧。门上剥落的金色字母写道：“奥利万德斯。”公
元前382 年开始就是上好的手杖制造者。在布满灰尘的橱窗里只有一根手杖放在已
经褪了色的紫色垫子上。
当他们跨入店里的时候，店里不知什么地方响起了一声清脆的铃声。这是个很
小的地方，除了一张椅子什么也没有。哈利就坐在这张椅子上等着，哈利觉得很奇
怪，就好像他们走进了一座十分森严的图书馆一样。他脑袋里冒出了许多问题但都
忍住了没问，因为他看到了上百上千的窄小的盒子差不多快堆到要触及天花板了，
不知什么原因，他的脖子后面有种刺痛的感觉。这里的尘封和沉寂似乎和某种神秘
的魔法有某种必然的关系。
“下午好。”一个柔和的声音说。哈利一下子跳了起来。哈格力一定也跳了起
来，因为发出了一种东西被压碎的巨响令他迅速的跳离了那张椅子。
一个老人站在他们面前，他的大而发青的眼睛透过小店的昏暗闪着光。
“你好。”哈利笨拙地说。
“哦，是的。”老人说道，“是的，我一直想我很快就会见到你的，哈利。波
特。你的眼睛和你妈妈的一模一样，她来这里买魔杖的事好像昨天一样历历在目。
她买的那根魔杖十又四分之一英寸长，用十分漂亮柏木做的，那是一根极好的
魔法手杖。“
奥利万德斯先生向哈利走近了一点，哈利希望他能眨眨眼，这双泛着青银光的
眼睛让人觉得有点毛骨惊然。
“你爸爸则喜欢一根桃木做的魔杖，十一英寸长，很容易弯曲，但在变形这一
法术上会显得很有威力，我说你爸爸喜欢那根手杖，其实也是手杖在挑选魔法师。”
奥利万德斯靠得如此近，他和哈利两人就要鼻子靠鼻子了。哈利能从那双迷漾
的眼睛里看到自己的影子。
“哦，那就是……”
奥利万德斯先生用他又长又白的手指触摸着哈利前额上那块闪电形的创伤。
“我很难过，我卖出的手杖伤了你。”他轻轻地说，“十三英寸半，一根很有
威力的手杖，非常有威力，但是我给错了主人……如果我知道那根手杖将会做出这
样的事……”
他很难过地摇了摇头，然后见到了哈格力，这让哈利大大松了一口气。
“鲁贝斯！鲁贝斯。哈格力！再次见到你真是太高兴了，好的，十六英寸，很
弯曲，是不是？”
“没错，先生。”哈格力说。
“那可是一根很好的手杖，但是我猜当你被驱逐出去的时候那根手杖已经被折
成两半了。”
“嗯，是的，他们这样做了。”哈格力说。慢吞吞地移动着他的脚，“但是，
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