Harry\'s last month with the Dursleys wasn\'t fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn\'t stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn\'t shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him -- in fact, they didn\'t speak to him at all. Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty. Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.
Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic. His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn\'t come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.
On the last day of August he thought he\'d better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King\'s Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.
"Er -- Uncle Vernon?"
Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.
"Er -- I need to be at King\'s Cross tomorrow to -- to go to Hogwarts."
Uncle Vernon grunted again.
"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"
Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.
"Thank you."
He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.
"Funny way to get to a wizards\' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"
Harry didn\'t say anything.
"Where is this school, anyway?"
"I don\'t know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.
"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o\'clock," he read.
His aunt and uncle stared.
"Platform what?"
"Nine and three-quarters."
"Don\'t talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."
"It\'s on my ticket."
"Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You\'ll see. You just wait. All right, we\'ll take you to King\'s Cross. We\'re going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn\'t bother."
"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.
"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."
Harry woke at five o\'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn\'t want to walk into the station in his wizard\'s robes -- he\'d change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. Two hours later, Harry\'s huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys\' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.
They reached King\'s Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry\'s trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.
"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine -- platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don\'t seem to have built it yet, do they?"
He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.
"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry\'s mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He\'d have to ask someone.
He stopped a passing guard, but didn\'t dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn\'t even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o\'clock, but the guard said there wasn\'t one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.
Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector\'s stand between platforms nine and ten.
At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.
"-- packed with Muggles, of course --"
Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry\'s in front of him -- and they had an owl.
Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.
"Now, what\'s the platform number?" said the boys\' mother.
"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can\'t I go... "
"You\'re not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go
first." What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it -- but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. "Fred, you next," the plump woman said. "I\'m not Fred, I\'m George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? CarA you tell I\'m George?" "Sorry, George, dear." "Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone -- but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there -- and then, quite suddenly, he wasn\'t anywhere.
There was nothing else for it. "Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. "Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron\'s new, too." She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.
"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is -- the thing is, I don\'t know how to --" "How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. "Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don\'t stop and don\'t be scared you\'ll crash into it, that\'s very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you\'re nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."
"Er -- okay," said Harry.
He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.
He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he\'d be in trouble -- leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run -- the barrier was coming nearer and nearer -- he wouldn\'t be able to stop -- the cart was out of control -- he was a foot away -- he closed his eyes ready for the crash -
It didn\'t come... he kept on running... he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven O\'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it, He had done it.
Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.
The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I\'ve lost my toad again."
"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.
A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.
"Give us a look, Lee, go on."
The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.
Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.
"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he\'d followed through
the barrier. "Yes, please," Harry panted. "Oy, Fred! C\'mere and help!" With the twins\' help, Harry\'s trunk was at last tucked away in a corner
of the compartment. "Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. "What\'s that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry\'s
lightning scar. "Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you "He is," said the first twin. "Aren\'t you?" he added to Harry. "What?" said Harry. "Harry Potter, "chorused the twins. "Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am." The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train\'s open door. "Fred? George? Are you there?" "Coming, Mom." With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.
"Ron, you\'ve got something on your nose." The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.
"Mom -- geroff" He wriggled free.
"Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. "Shut up," said Ron. "Where\'s Percy?" said their mother.
"He\'s coming now." The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.
"Can\'t stay long, Mother," he said. "I\'m up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves --" "Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of GREat surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once --" "Or twice --" "A minute --" "All summer --" "Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.
"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. "Because he\'s a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term -- send me an owl when you get there."
She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.
"Now, you two -- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you\'ve -- you\'ve blown up a toilet or --" "Blown up a toilet? We\'ve never blown up a toilet."
"Great idea though, thanks, Mom." "It\'s not funny. And look after Ron." "Don\'t worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." "Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. "Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn\'t see him looking. "You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" "Who?" "Harry Potter!" Harry heard the little girl\'s voice. "Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please...." "You\'ve already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn\'t something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" "Asked him. Saw his scar. It\'s really there - like lightning." "Poor dear - no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."
"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" Their mother suddenly became very stern. "I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don\'t you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." "All right, keep your hair on." A whistle sounded. Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.
"Don\'t, Ginny, we\'ll send you loads of owls." "We\'ll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat." "George!" "Only joking, Mom." The train began to move. Harry saw the boys\' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses FLASHed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn\'t know what he was going to but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.
The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. "Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."
Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn\'t looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.
"Hey, Ron." The twins were back. "Listen, we\'re going down the middle of the train -- Lee Jordan\'s got a giant tarantula down there." "Right," mumbled Ron. "Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then.
"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. "Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.
Harry nodded. "Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George\'s jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got -- you know..."
He pointed at Harry\'s forehead. Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. "So that\'s where You-Know-Who "Yes," said Harry, "but I can\'t remember it." "Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. "Well -- I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." "Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out
of the window again. "Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.
"Er -- Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom\'s got a second cousin who\'s an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already." The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.
"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" "Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I\'d had three wizard brothers."
"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I\'m the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I\'ve got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left -- Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy\'s a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they\'re really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it\'s no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I\'ve got Bill\'s old robes, Charlie\'s old wand, and Percy\'s old rat."
Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.
"His name\'s Scabbers and he\'s useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn\'t aff -- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."
Ron\'s ears went pink. He seemed to think he\'d said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.
Harry didn\'t think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he\'d never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley\'s old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.
"... and until Hagrid told me, I didn\'t know anything about be ing a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort"
Ron gasped.
"What?" said Harry.
"You said You-Know-Who\'s name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I\'d have thought you, of all people --"
"I\'m not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, I just never knew you shouldn\'t. See what I mean? I\'ve got loads to learn.... I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I\'m the worst in the class."
"You won\'t be. There\'s loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."
While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
Harry, who hadn\'t had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron\'s ears went pink again and he muttered that he\'d brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.
He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry -- but the woman didn\'t have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott\'s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble\'s Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don\'t like corned beef."
"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on --"
"You don\'t want this, it\'s all dry," said Ron. "She hasn\'t got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."
"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry\'s pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).
"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They\'re not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.
"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I\'m missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Oh, of course, you wouldn\'t know -- Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect -- famous witches and wizards. I\'ve got about five hundred, but I haven\'t got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man\'s face. He wore half- moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.
"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.
"Don\'t tell me you\'d never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa -- thanks
Harry turned over his card and read:
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon\'s blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore\'s face had disappeared.
"He\'s gone!"
"Well, you can\'t expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He\'ll be back. No, I\'ve got Morgana again and I\'ve got about six of her... do you want it? You can start collecting."
Ron\'s eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.
"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"Do they? What, they don\'t move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "weird!"
Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn\'t keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott\'s Every Flavor Beans.
"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor -- you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and mar- malade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."
Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.
"Bleaaargh -- see? Sprouts."
They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn\'t touch, which turned out to be pepper.
The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and threequarters came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I\'ve lost him! He keeps gettingaway from me!" "He\'ll turn up," said Harry. "Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..." He left. "Don\'t know why he\'s so bothered," said Ron. "If I\'d brought a toad I\'d lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can\'t talk."
The rat was still snoozing on Ron\'s lap. "He might have died and you wouldn\'t know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn\'t work. I\'ll show you, look..."
He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.
"Unicorn hair\'s nearly poking out. Anyway He had just raised his \'wand when the compartment door slid open again.
The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville\'s lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.
"We\'ve already told him we haven\'t seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn\'t listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. "Oh,are you doing magic? Let\'s see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. "Er -- all right." He cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.
"Are you sure that\'s a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it\'s not very good, is it? I\'ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it\'s all worked for me. Nobody in my family\'s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it\'s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I\'ve heard --I\'ve learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough -- I\'m Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you.
She said all this very fast.
Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn\'t learned all the course books by heart either.
"I\'m Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course -- I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you\'re in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.
"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn\'t you know, I\'d have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you\'ll be in? I\'ve been asking around, and I hope I\'m in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn\'t be too bad.... Anyway, we\'d better go and look for Neville\'s toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we\'ll be there soon."
And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.
"Whatever house I\'m in, I hope she\'s not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell -- George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."
"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don\'t know what they\'ll say if I\'m not. I don\'t suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"That\'s the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"
"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers\' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron\'s mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they\'ve left, anyway?"
Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he\'d finished school.
"Charlie\'s in Romania studying dragons, and Bill\'s in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about
Gringotts? It\'s been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don\'t suppose you get that with the Muggles -- someone tried to rob a high security vault."
Harry stared.
"Really? What happened to them?"
"Nothing, that\'s why it\'s such big news. They haven\'t been caught. My dad says it must\'ve been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don\'t think they took anything, that\'s what\'s odd. \'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who\'s behind it."
Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You- Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.
"What\'s your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.
"Er -- I don\'t know any," Harry confessed.
"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it\'s the best game in the
world --" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he\'d been to with his brothers and the broomstick he\'d like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn\'t Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.
Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin\'s robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he\'d shown back in Diagon Alley.
"Is it true?" he said. "They\'re saying all down the train that Harry Potter\'s in this compartment. So it\'s you, is it?"
"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name\'s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."
Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigget. Draco Malfoy looked at him.
"Think my name\'s funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
He turned back to Harry. "You\'ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don\'t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry\'s, but Harry didn\'t take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.
Draco Malfoy didn\'t go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.
"I\'d be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you\'re a bit politer you\'ll go the same way as your parents. They didn\'t know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the
Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it\'ll rub off on you."
Both Harry and Ron stood up.
"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.
"Oh, you\'re going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.
"Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.
"But we don\'t feet like leaving, do we, boys? We\'ve eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."
Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron - Ron leapt forward, but before he\'d so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.
Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle\'s knuckle - Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbets finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they\'d heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.
I think he\'s been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No -- I don\'t believe it -- he\'s gone back to sleep-"
And so he had.
"You\'ve met Malfoy before?"
Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
"I\'ve heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they\'d been bewitched. My dad doesn\'t believe it. He says Malfoy\'s father didn\'t need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You\'d better hurry up and put your robes on, I\'ve just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we\'re nearly there. You haven\'t been fighting, have you? You\'ll be in trouble before we even get there!"
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
"All right -- I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you\'ve got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.
He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron\'s were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes\' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Harry\'s stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs\' years! Firs\' years over here! All right there, Harry?"
Hagrid\'s big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.
"C\'mon, follow me -- any more firs\' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs\' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"Ye\' all get yer firs\' sight o\' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus\' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more\'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid\'s lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, Oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
第六章自九又四分这三月台开始的旅程
哈利在杜斯利家的最后一个月并不有趣。的确，达德里因害怕哈利，现在甚至
不敢与他同处一室了，而帕尤尼亚姨妈和维能姨丈也不再把哈利锁在壁橱里了，他
们也没有强迫哈利干活或者对他呼呼喝喝的。——其实，他们压根儿就没再跟他说
过话。他们对哈利是既愤慨又恐惧，因而不得不对他视而不见。尽管这种待遇与之
前相比已是大有改善，但过不多久就已经显得十分沉闷了。
哈利寸步不离房间，终日与他的猫头鹰朋友的为伴。他给它取名叫海维，这名
字是从一本叫《魔法探究》的书里来的。哈利总爱躺在床上，捧着他那些引人入胜
的教科书津津有味地看到深夜，而海维则喜欢在打开的窗户上飞进飞出。幸好帕尤
尼亚姨妈再没进来打扫，不然她要是发现海维经常将死老鼠叨进屋就麻烦了。每晚
临睡前，哈利总要在亲手钉在墙上的那张纸上钩去过去的一天，心中期盼着九月一
日早日来临。
八月三十一日，哈利觉得最好还是将第二天要去国王大道车站一事告知姨妈、
姨丈，便来到客厅里。此时，姨妈一家人正在看电视上的问答游戏。哈利只咳嗽了
一声以引起他们的注意，达德里便吓得尖叫着跑开了。
“呢……维能姨丈……”
维能哼了一声作为回应。
“呃……我明天得去国王大道车站——坐车到霍格瓦彻。”
维能又哼了一声。
“你能开车送我去吗？”
又一声哼哼，哈利以为姨丈答应了，“谢谢。”哈利正要上楼回房时，维能这
才开腔：“坐火车去魔法学院真有意思，难道飞毯都穿洞了吗？”哈利无言以对。
“那么，这学校在哪儿呢？”“我不知道。”哈利脱口而出，这才意识到自己
也不知道学校的地址。他从口袋里拿出哈格力给他的车票，读道：“我要在十一点
整从九又四分之三站台上车。”姨妈、姨丈面面相觑：“什么站台？”
“九又四分之三。”
“别胡扯！根本就没有什么叫做九又四分之三的站台。”维能大声道。
“它明明印在我的车票上嘛。”
“真是瞎说，”维能不以为然，“你真是疯得够可以的了。明天你就知道了，
走着瞧吧。行，我们带你去国王大道。要不是我们明天也要去伦敦，我才不会傻到
自找麻烦呢。”
“你们为什么要去伦敦呢？”哈利想尽量保持气氛的融洽。
“送达德里去医院！”维能姨丈咆哮道，“就是为了在送他去斯麦尔丁之前除
去那该死的尾巴！”
哈利第二天一早五点钟就醒了，又兴奋又紧张再难成眠。他起床穿上牛仔裤—
—他可不想穿着巫师袍走进车站——那袍子是在车上才换的。他再次核对了清单以
确认万事俱备，检查了锁着海维的小笼子以确保它的安全，然后便在房间里踱起了
方步，就等着杜斯利这一家人睡醒了。两小时后，哈利那又太又沉的皮箱被装上了
杜斯利家的车，帕尤尼亚姨妈也说服了达德里，让他坐在哈利旁边。
于是，他们出发了。
十点半，到了国王大道。维能将哈利的皮箱放在一个小推车上并帮他送进车站。
哈利一直觉得姨妈这家人好心得出奇，直到维能姨丈脸带令人作呕的奸笑朝着
站台一动不动地站在那里为止。
“好了，傻小子，你到了。第九站——第十站台。你的站台应该在中间吧，不
过好像还没有动工喔，你说是不是。”
当然，他说得一点没错。一个站台上方赫然有一个大大的塑料制的数字“9 ”
旁边站台上方则是“10”，而他们中间，什么都没有。
“玩得开心一点喔。”维能说着，脸上露出更为委琐的笑容。接着，他一声不
吭地走了，哈利回过头，看着杜斯利一家三口驾车离开，一路上还前仰后合地嘲笑
着他，哈利感到非常口干。究竟该做什么呢？他和海维开始引来旁人好奇的目光。
他拦住了一名路过的警卫，却不敢提及“九又四分之三站台”。
那个警卫从没听说霍格瓦彻这地方，所以当哈利甚至说不出这地方大致是在哪
个方位时，他开始不耐烦了，认为哈利一定是在装疯卖傻捉弄他。哈利开始感到绝
望了。他向警卫询问十一点开出的列车，却被告知根本没有这趟车。最后，那警卫
口中骂骂咧咧地走开了，哈利尽力不让自己惊慌失措。列车进出站时间表上方的大
钟告诉他，他只剩十分钟去搭上开往霍格瓦彻的列车，但他仍全然不知该如何才能
办到。他现在所能做的，就只有手里拎着那几乎重得提不起的皮箱，兜里揣着大把
的魔幻钞票，和他那只大猫头鹰朋友一起傻站在站台中央。
哈格力一定是忘了告诉他一些一定要做的事，比如说，要敲敲左边第三块砖才
能进人戴阿富道。他纳闷是否应该拿出魔杖在第九、十两个站台间的车票箱上敲一
敲。
正巧，一群人从他身后走过，他听见了些只言片语：“——当然，和马格人捆
在一起——”
哈利转过身，发现刚才说话的是一个肥胖的女人。她正和四个长着火焰般红发
的小男孩讲着什么。男孩们每个人都在推着他们前面一个和哈利的皮箱一模一样的
箱子，而且他们都有一只猫头鹰。
哈利推着小轮车紧跟着他们，心里七上八下。每当他们停下，哈利也跟着停在
近得刚好可以听清他们间对话内容的地方。
“现在，站台的号码是多少了？”孩子们的母亲问。
“九又四分之三！”一个牵着她的手的同样是红头发的女孩尖声说道，“妈，
我能不能去……”
“你还不够年纪。金妮，听话，安静点啊。来，伯希，你先上。”
较年长的一个孩于朝着第九、十站台大步走去。哈利瞪大眼睛看着，生怕一眨
眼便错过了好戏。就在那男孩刚好走到两个站台的分界线时，一大群游客突然蜂拥
地出现在他面前，就在最后一个旅行背包被运走之前，男孩已经消失了。
“弗来德，你跟上。”胖女人说。
“我不是弗来德，我是乔治。”其中一个男孩说道，“夫人，老实说吧，还说
自己是我们的妈妈呢，难道你连我乔治都认不出来？”
“哦，乔治——对不起！我的心肝宝贝。”
“我开玩笑罢了，我确实是弗来德。”男孩说着上路了，他的孪生兄弟在身后
催促他快点，而他确实很快，一瞬间便消失了，可究竟他是怎么做到的呢？
轮到第三个孩子了。他轻快地朝检票栏走去，快到了，突然间，不见了。
“对不起！我想问个问题。”哈利对胖女人说。
“哦，你好，可爱的孩子，”她笑着说，“第一次来霍格瓦彻吧？
罗恩也是新来的。“她指指她那剩下的也是最小的儿子。那孩子又高又瘦又弱，
长长的鼻子两旁的面颊长满雀斑，手掌和脚掌都很粗大。
“没错，我第一次来这儿。这……我……我不知道怎样……”
“怎样到站台上去？”她和蔼地问道。哈利点点头。
“别担心，你只要径朝第九、十站台的中间的检票栏走过去就行了，别停下来
也别怕会撞上它。这点很重要。如果你感到紧张的话，最好小跑过去。好，你先去
吧，罗恩会跟着你去的。”
“嗯，——好吧。”
哈利将他的手推车掉转头来，眼睛瞪着检票栏，它看上去是那样牢不可破。
他开始向它走去。走向第九站台和第十站台的人群推挤着他。
他走得更快了。他把车票箱撞得粉碎，接着才是最棘手的一关——他将身体前
倾，几乎倚在了手推车上，飞快地跑了起来——检票栏越来越近了，他已经不能停
住脚步了，小车也已失控，只有咫尺之遥了，他闭上了眼睛就要撞上了……
他什么也没碰到……他仍在飞跑着……他慢慢睁开眼睛……
一辆鲜红的蒸汽机车正在一个人山人海的站台静待启程。车头正中一块标志鲜
明地写着“霍格瓦彻号特快列车，十一点正发车”
几个大字。哈利回过头去，发现原本放置车票箱的位置，现在是一个铁栏门，
上面标着“九又四分之三站台”，他成功了！
蒸汽机车喷出的汽雾在谈天说地的人群的头上聚集起来，而各色的猫儿在人们
的脚旁鞋边转来转去。猫头鹰们则以一种令人不快的方式相互叫嚣着。它们的叫声
压过了人们拖、拉、拍、敲沉重的皮箱时发出的噪音。
头几节车箱里早已挤满学生。车里的学生有的从窗子里探出头来和亲人们攀谈，
有的还在为抢座位而打作一团。哈利推着小车走下站台，目光搜索着空位子。他经
过一个圆脸小男孩时，正巧听到他在说：“奶奶，我的癞蛤蟆又不见了。”
“噢，尼维尔。”一个老妇人在叹息。
一个扎着发给的男孩被一小堆人围着。
“李，给我们看看嘛。”
那男孩掀起手中一个盒子的盖子，从里面伸出一条毛茸茸的长脚。旁观者见状，
不禁尖叫起来。
哈利继续在拥挤的人群中艰难前行，他在列车尾部终于找到了一个没人的包厢。
他先将海维放了进去，然后拖着他那沉重的大皮箱朝车门走去。他使尽全力想
将皮箱提上车门梯，但他甚至连箱子的一端都抬不起，他的脚还被皮箱重重地砸了
两次。
“要帮忙吗？”说话的是带领哈利穿越车票箱的红发孪生兄弟中的一个。
“噢，是的。”哈利此时已经气喘吁吁了。
“哎，弗来德，快来帮忙啊片在这兄弟俩的帮助下，哈利的大皮箱终于被拽上
了车，安置在包厢的一角。
“真太谢谢了。”哈利边说边用手拂开挡在眼睛前湿透了的头发。
“那是什么？”两兄弟中的一个突然指着哈利一块发亮的伤痕问道。
“啊呀，”另一个叫道，“难道你是……？”
“没错，”第一个抢着说，“不是吗？”
“什么呀？”哈利十分纳闷。
“哈利。波特呀。”两兄弟异口同声道。
“噢，他呀，”哈利说，“我意思是我就是。”
两个孩子呆呆地盯着他看，哈利觉得自己的脸正在变红。然而，令他稍感宽慰
的是，一个声音这时从打开着的车门外传进来。
“弗来德，乔治，你们都在这儿吗？”
“来了，妈妈。”
再最后打量了哈利一眼，兄弟俩跳下了火车。
哈利坐在紧靠车窗的位置上，看着站台上的红发家族，听着他们的话语，他们
的母亲掏出手帕来。
“罗恩，你的鼻子脏了。”
小男孩想跑开，却被他妈妈一把抓住，妈妈用心地为他拭去鼻梢的尘土。
“妈，放开我，”他努力挣脱了。
“啊哈，整洁的罗恩鼻子上有点脏东西喔。”孪生兄弟中的一个说道。
“住嘴！”罗恩气极了。
“伯希呢？”妈妈关切地问。
“正走过来呢。”
兄弟中最大的一个正大跨步地走来。他已经换上了膨起的黑色霍格瓦彻长袍。
哈利还注意到他胸前那个有字母“P ”的闪亮的银徽章。
“妈，此地不能久留。”他说，“那些学生的班长已经为他们自己预留了两个
包厢了……”
“噢，你不也是个班长吗，伯希？”孪生兄弟中的一个问道，脸上一副非常惊
讶的表情，“你本应说些什么的。”
“等会，我记得他曾经说过什么的。”另一个孪生兄弟说，“说过一次——”
“或是两次——”
“仅一分钟——”
“整个夏季——”
“噢，闭嘴！”班长伯希大声叫道。
“伯希这身新袍是怎么来的？”
“因为他是个班长啊，”母亲高兴地说，“好了，旅途愉快！到那儿以后记得
派只猫头鹰给我。”
她在伯希的脸颊上吻了一下，伯希便离开了。她转向她的双胞胎儿子。
“你们两个——今年可得好好管住自己哟。如果我再收到一只猫头鹰来告诉我
你们炸毁了厕所或者——”
“炸毁厕所？我们可从没干过这等无聊事。”
“不过，这主意不错嘛，谢谢妈。”
“这一点都不好笑。你们还得好好照顾罗恩。”
“别担心，小脏猫和我们一起很安全。”
“住嘴！”罗恩再一次被激怒了，他鼻头上被掠过的地方现在仍是红红的。
“妈，猜猜我们刚刚在车上遇见谁了？”
哈利连忙往后靠，以免被他们母子几个人看见。
“你认识和我们一起在车站的那个黑发少年吗？你知道他是谁吗？”
“谁呀？”
“哈利。波特？”
哈利听到的是那个小女孩的声音。
“妈，我能上车去看看他吗？妈，求求你让我去吗……”
“你不是已经见过他了吗，金妮。那可怜的孩子可不是你在动物园里看到的动
物呀。哎，弗来德，你怎么知道他就是哈里。波特的？”
“我亲口问过他，亲眼见过他的伤痕像闪电一样，他真的就在那儿。”
“可怜的宝贝。我猜他一定是一个人上路的。当他询问如何才能找到站台时是
多么的彬彬有礼啊。”
“别光注意那些。你觉得他还记得‘那个人’是怎样的吗？”
母亲一下子变得严肃起来。
“我不准你问他这个，弗来德，就算他上学第一天需要提醒，你也不问他。”
“好，我不问就是了，可别发火了，妈。”
此时传来一声哨响。
“快上车！”母亲说。三个孩子赶忙从窗口爬上了车。他们从窗户探出头来让
母亲好吻别他们，他们的妹妹已经伤心落泪了。
“金妮，别哭，我们会送你好多好多的猫头鹰的。”
“没错，我们还会寄个霍格瓦彻便盆给你！”
“乔治，你怎么说这些乱七八糟的东西？”
“妈，我不过是开开玩笑罢了，可别当真。”
列车缓缓启动了，哈利看到那几个孩子的母亲在向他们挥手告别，而他们的妹
妹，眼泪涟涟的脸上带着欢笑，飞跑着想跟上正在加速的列车，直到跟不上了，但
她仍一个劲地挥手告别。
当列车转弯时，哈利清晰地看到那位母亲和妹妹脸上失望的表情。铁道两旁的
一排排房子从车窗外飞快地闪过，这令哈利感到无比兴奋。他并不知道接下来会遇
到些什么，但他明白未来一定会比过去更美好。
最年幼的那个红发男孩推开哈利的包厢门，走了进来。
“这儿有人吗？”他指着哈利对面的座位说，“其他地方都坐满了人。”
哈利摇了摇头。那孩子于是便坐了下来。他瞥了哈利一眼，然后又迅速将目光
移至车窗外，装出一副若无其事的样子。哈利看到了他鼻子上仍有一块黑斑。
“嘿，罗恩。”
那对孪生兄弟回来了。
“告诉你，我们现在就到火车中部去——那儿的李。乔丹有一只大毒蜘蛛。”
“嗯，是的。”罗恩嘟哝道。
“哈利，我们做个自我介绍好吗？我是弗来德。威斯里，他是乔治。威斯里，
这是罗思，我们的弟弟。我们待会儿见。”
哈利与罗恩和他们道别之后，孪生兄弟俩关上车厢门回去了。
“你真的是哈利。波特吗？”罗恩不加思索地问道。
哈利点点头。
“噢，真是这样。我开始还以为是弗来德和乔治跟我开玩笑呢。”罗恩说，
“你真的有那个……”说着，用手指住哈利的前额。
哈利拨开遮住前额的发梢，露出额头中央那闪电状的疤痕。罗恩目不转睛地看
着。
“这就是‘那个人’留给你的标志了吧？”
“没错，但我已经忘记了害怕的……？”
“什么都忘记了吗？”罗恩急切地问。
“嗯……我只记得见到几缕绿光，其他的就都忘了。”
“哗！”罗恩惊叹道。他坐着打量哈利好一会儿，忽然间，他似乎意识到了自
己刚才在做什么，便又急忙转身望着窗外。
“你们全家都是魔法师吗？”哈利充满好奇地问，因为他发现罗恩也同样有趣。
“嗯，我想是吧。”罗恩说，“妈好像有个当会计的表哥，但他从来就不是我
们谈论的话题。”
“那你们一定很了解魔法吧。”
威斯里家族明显是戴阿官道那个颜色苍白的孩子所说的那些魔法世家之一。
“我听说你曾和马格人一起住过，”罗恩说，“他们长什么样？”
“难看极了。但也不是全都难看喽。我姨妈、姨文还有表弟却挺难看的。真希
望我也有三个懂魔法的兄弟啊。”
“我有五个，”不知为什么，罗恩看起来有些悲伤，“我是家里第六个到霍格
瓦彻去的。你也许会说我有许多榜样和奋斗的目标，生活也有保障，比尔和查理都
已经毕业了——比尔是班长，查理则是飞行队的队长。如今伯希也是个班长了，弗
来德和乔治虽然喜欢胡闹，但他们成绩都很好，而且人人都觉得他们确实很有喜剧
天分。每个人都期盼着我能做得和哥哥们一样好，即使我能做到，人们也觉得这是
理所当然，因为我的哥哥们已经做到了。假如你有五个哥哥，你就不会得到新的玩
意儿。比尔的旧袍子，查理的破魔棒和伯希的臭老鼠现在都变成我的了。”
罗恩从夹克衣里掏出一只胖乎乎的，睡着了的灰鼠。
“它叫斯卡伯斯，一天到晚就是睡，真是个没用的废物。伯希因为当上了班长
而从爸爸那儿得到一只猫头鹰作为奖励，我买不起……我是说我只有斯卡伯斯。”
罗恩耳尖发红，也许是因为觉得自己说多了，他又呆望着窗外。
哈利觉得养不起猫头鹰也算不上是一种罪过。毕竟，一个月之前他仍是不名一
文。他把过去那些诸如被迫要穿达德里的破衣服及从未收过一件像样的生日礼物这
样的伤心往事都告诉了罗恩。这似乎让罗恩的心情好转了一些。
“直到哈格力告诉我有关成为魔法师的事、我父母的情况以及福尔得摩特，我
才知道这些。”
罗恩屏住了呼吸。
“怎么了？”哈利问。
“你说出了‘那个人’的名字！”罗恩又惊又喜，“我觉得你是所有人中最—
—”
“说出他的名字并不是为了显示我很勇敢或者别的什么，”哈利说，“明白我
的意思吗？我觉得自己还有很多东西要学。”话中略带忧虑，“我猜我可能会是班
里成绩最差的。”
“不会的，那儿有很多马格人，他们都很棒哟。”
列车此时已驶出了伦敦，正在牛羊成群的农田间的铁路上穿行着。他俩安静了
下来，细看着窗外的田野。
大约十二点半时，佣外走廊传来一阵脚步声，只见一位微笑时嘴角会泛起酒窝
的售货员推开了包厢，对他们说道：“孩子们，想买些什么好吃的？”
还没吃早餐的哈利高兴得跳了起来，但罗恩的双耳又红了起来，支支吾吾地说
他带了三明治。
在杜斯利家的时候，哈利没钱买糖果，可现在不同了，他口袋里的金银财宝足
可以买到塞满整个包厢。他最喜欢吃的火星牌棒棒糖——可偏偏没得卖。售货小车
里全是些多味豆、泡泡糖、巧克力青蛙糖、南瓜馅饼、大煎饼，棒冰之类的，还有
些他从没见过的奇形怪状的食品。他付给售货员姨妈十一个镰刀银币和七个铜币，
把各种食品都买了一点。
罗恩见哈利买了这一大堆的食物，惊讶不已，“你一定很饿吧？”
“饿极了！”哈利说着，在一个南瓜馅饼上咬下了一大块。
罗恩拿出一个鼓鼓的小包打开来，原来里面有四块三明治。他用手撕开其中一
块，说道：“她总忘记我不喜欢吃粗牛肉。”
哈利拿起一块馅饼，说：“来吧，不如咱们换换。”
“你不会喜欢吃的，你知道，要照顾五个孩子可不容易呀。”
“别说了，吃个饼吧。”过去，哈利从来没有什么可以与人分享，或者说没人
与他分享，对于他而言，与罗恩一同分享馅饼、蛋糕真是一件难得的赏心乐事啊。
“这些是什么？”哈利拿起一包巧克力小青蛙问罗恩，“这些不是真的青蛙吧？”
他觉得世上再没别的什么更能令他惊讶。
“不是的。哎，快看看卡片上印的是什么，我想要阿里巴。”
“什么？”
“你还不知道吧，每个巧克力青蛙糖里面都有一张卡片，上面印有著名的魔法
师的名字供孩子们收集。我已经集了五百多张，就差印有阿里巴和托来米的了。”
哈利打开一个巧克力青蛙糖，从中取出一张卡片，卡上有一个人的画像。那人
戴着一副半月形的眼镜，长着长长的鹰钩鼻子，银白的头发像流水一般，满脸大胡
子，画像下还印着他的名字：艾伯斯。丹伯多。
“那么，这人一定是丹伯多喽。”哈利说。
“别告诉我你没听说过丹伯多这个人幄！”罗恩说，“嘿，能给我一只吗？说
不定我会找到阿里巴。啊，谢谢——”
哈利将手中的卡片翻转过来，发现上面印着：“艾伯斯。丹伯多，现任霍格瓦
彻校长。当今许多伟大的魔法师都认为，于1945年击败神秘魔法师福尔得摩特、发
现龙血的十二种妙用以及他的搭档尼古拉斯。费兰马尔对魔法研究的贡献等都是令
他名声大噪的主因。丹怕多教授喜欢欣赏殿堂音乐和玩保龄球。”
哈利又将卡片反过来，惊奇地发现丹伯多的头像竟然不见了。
“他不见了！”
“你总不能让他老呆在这儿吧，”罗恩说，“他得回去。噢，不是吧，又是摩
根娜，我已经有六张了。嘿，你想要吗？你也可以收集嘛。”
罗恩的双眼盯着那堆巧克力青蛙糖，期待着哈利早点打开它们。
“喜欢的话，你自己拿。”哈利说，“可是在，呃，在马格的世界里，照片里
的人全都是一直呆着不动的。”
“是吗？你是说，他们完全不会动吗？”罗恩感到十分惊讶：“真奇怪！”
当丹伯多头像重现在卡片上，并对哈利微笑时，哈利惊呆了。
罗恩似乎已经沉浸于吃巧克力青蛙糖的快乐中而忘记了去看青蛙里的卡片，但
哈利却被它们深深吸引住了。没过多久，他便拥有了丹伯多、摩根娜、亨吉斯。沃
考夫特、阿贝里克。格鲁尼思、舍思、帕拉塞撒斯和穆林了。最终，他还是把兴趣
从搔鼻子的克里奥娜的头像转移到吃多味豆上来了。
“小心吃喔，”罗恩告诫哈利，“这可是名符其实的多味豆哟。
知道吗，你可能会吃到像巧克力味、胡椒薄荷味、柠檬味等这些普遍口味，也
有可能吃到像菠菜味、猪肝味、内脏味这样的怪味。乔治说他就曾吃过一种非常难
吃的味道。“罗恩拿起一颗绿色的豆子，仔细地看看清楚，然后只咬了一小口。
“哎呀——你瞧瞧，麦牙味的。”
他俩吃多味豆吃得很开心，哈利吃到了烤面包味、椰子昧、烤豆味、草莓味、
咖喱味、绿草味、咖啡味和抄丁鱼味的豆子，已经有足够的勇气去咀嚼多味豆了。
他吃下一颗有趣的灰色胡椒味豆子，罗思之前甚至不敢碰那颗灰豆。
窗外迅速飞逝的乡野风光，渐渐变得越来越荒凉。平整的田野看不见了，取而
代之的是茂密的树林，境蜒的河流和深绿的山丘。
这时，有人在敲门，那个哈利曾在九又四分之三车站见过的圆脸小男孩哭着走
了进来。
“对不起！”他抽泣着，“你们有没有见到一只癞蛤蟆？”
看到哈利他们摇摇头，男孩哭嚎起来：“找不到了！它不喜欢我，不愿和我在
一起！”
“它会回去的。”哈利安慰他说。
“也许吧，”男孩伤心地说，“如果你们看到它的话，请告诉我。”说完便走
了。
“真不明白他为什么那么难过，”罗恩说，“如果是我的话，也许早就丢了呢。
噢，对了，我带着斯卡伯斯呢，还是少说为妙吧。“
那只懒老鼠还在罗恩的脚上呼呼大睡呢。
“如果你不了解它的话，还会以为它已经死了呢。”罗恩不屑地说，“我昨天
想把它变成黄色，使它看起来更有趣，但魔法没有成功。我试给你看看……”
他在皮箱里翻了半天，然后拔出一根蝴蝶状的魔杖，它的末端还闪烁着白光。
“独角兽已经长出了毛——”
罗恩念着咒语，举起魔杖，正要施魔法，这时厢门打开了，丢了癞蛤模的男孩
这次带着个穿着崭新的霍格瓦彻魔法袍的女孩子回来了。
“有谁见到一只癞蛤蟆吗？尼维尔的那只不见了。”她说起话来像是在发号施
令，她那一头毛茸茸的棕发和宽大的门牙很不讨人喜欢。
“我们说过没见到。”罗恩说。但那女孩似乎并没有听见，因为她正盯着罗恩
手上的魔杖看。
“哦，你在变魔术吗？那就让我们开开眼界吧。”
她一屁股坐了下来，罗恩看起来像被吓了一跳。
“呃……好吧！”罗恩清了清嗓门。
“天灵灵，地灵灵，将这又笨又胖的大耗子变一变，黄色就行。”
他摇摇魔杖，但没有任何变化。斯卡伯斯仍是灰色的，依然熟睡着。
“你肯定是这条咒语吗？”女孩说，“好像不大灵验哟。我也试过几条咒语，
全都很有效幄。我家人没有一个是魔法师，所以当我接到录取通知的时候非常惊讶，
当然，我也很开心，因为那儿是学习魔法的最好的学校。我已经将所有的教材内容
都牢记于心，希望够用吧。对了，我叫荷米恩。格林佐，你们呢？”
她说话就像连珠炮一样快。
哈利看看罗恩，从他那惊讶的神情看出他和自己一样还没有熟记教材内容。
“我是罗恩。威斯里。”罗恩嘟哝着。
“我是哈利。波特。”
“真的吗？”荷米思惊奇地说，“我知道很多有关你的事。我有一本介绍你的
背景资料的课外书。而且你可是《现代魔法师》和《二十世纪神秘艺术兴衰及魔法
大事记》里的名人呀。”“是吗？”哈利感到莫明其妙。
“天哪，你自己还不知道，如果我是你的话，我一定会把事情弄得清清楚楚。”
荷米恩说，“知道你们会被分到哪一个学院吗？我到处打听，希望能被分到格
林芬顿，人人都说那里最好，而且我听说丹伯多本人也是从那里出身的。不过，卫
文卡罗也不错……好了，我们得去找尼维尔的癫蛤蟆。你们两个也快换衣服，我想
我们就快到了。”
说完，她带着小男孩走了。
“无论我分到哪儿都好，千万别让我和她分到一起。”罗恩边说边把魔杖扔回
皮箱里，“该死的魔法，一定是乔治故意捉弄我。”
“你兄弟们会分到哪里？”
“格林芬顿。”罗恩说，似乎又笼罩在忧郁中，“爸妈也是念这个学院的，我
不知道他们是否在乎我分到哪里。我觉得卫文卡罗也不错，但恐怕他们会让我到史
林德林。”
“那不正是‘那个人’念的学院吗？”
“是啊。”罗恩瘫痪在座位上，十分沮丧。
“你看，我觉得斯卡伯斯胡须尖的颜色好像变谈了些，”哈利想把罗恩的注意
力从学院问题上转移开，“你那两个已经毕业的大哥现在在干什么呢？”
他很想知道魔法师从学校毕业后能做些什么。
“查理在罗马尼亚研究龙，比尔在非洲为格林高斯办事。”罗恩说，“你听说
过格林高斯吗？《先知日报》上有详细介绍。不过，你和马格人住在一起是看不到
的——有人想打劫一家高度设防的保险库。”
“是真的吗？后来呢？”
“什么都没发现，因此这事成为头条新闻，这伙人至今仍遥逍法外。我爸说一
定有一个法力高强的邪恶魔法师在为格林高斯效力。但他们认为他们什么都没有取
走，这便是问题所在。因为发生类似事件的时候，人们会十分害怕，担心是‘那个
人’在幕后操纵。”
哈利心中琢磨着整件事，每当提及‘那个人’，他都感到一种恐惧。他想这也
许是进入魔法世界的必经阶段，但过去那种提及“福尔得摩特”这个名字时无需害
怕的感觉还是舒服多了。
“你的快迪斯队是什么？”罗恩问。
“呃，我不知道。”
“什么？！”罗恩目瞪口呆，“这可是最好玩的游戏呀。”于是，他便开始讲
解游戏的四个用球和七个参与游戏者所站的位置，讲述他和哥哥们一起观看过的著
名的比赛和他如果有钱一定会买的飞行扫帚的型号。当他正准备向哈利解释一下游
戏的细则的时候，包厢房门又开了，这回不是尼维尔和荷米思了。
三个男孩走了进来。哈利一眼就认出了当中的一个：他是马金夫人长袍店里那
个脸色苍白的男孩。他比在戴阿官道那时更饶有兴趣地打量着哈利。
“整个列车的人都说哈利。波特在这个包厢里，是真的吗？那么，你就是哈利
吧？”
“是的。”哈利打量着另外两个孩子，他俩长得又矮又壮，看上去十分粗鲁。
他俩一左一右站着，很像是灰脸孩子的两名保镖。
“噢，他是克来伯，他是高尔。”灰男孩心不在焉地介绍，“我叫马尔夫，杰
高。马尔夫。”
罗恩轻轻咳了一声，也许是在暗地里偷笑吧。杰高。马尔夫看着他。
“你觉得我的名字很好笑，对吧？不用问，我也知道你是谁。
我爸告诉过我，威斯里家族的人都是红头发、满脸雀班，而且还有多得养不起
的孩子。“他又转向哈利。
“波特，你很快就会发现魔法世家里也有好坏之分，相信你也不想误交损友吧，
我在这方面可以帮你。”
他伸出手来想与哈利握手，但被拒绝了。
“我自己能分辨是非，谢谢你的好意。”哈利冷冷地说。
杰高。马尔夫那苍白的脸并没有刷地一下红起来，而只是在两颊上显出一层淡
淡的粉红色。
“如果我是你的话我就会多加小心，波特。”他一字一顿地说道，“你要是不
对我礼貌点的话，你一定会重蹈你父母的覆辙。他们和你一样不知好歹。你老是跟
威斯里家族和哈格力这样不三不四的人混在一起，是想感化他们吧。”
哈利和罗恩都站了起来，罗恩的脸就像他的头发一样红。
“有种的你就再说一遍。”罗恩愤怒极了。
“哦，你还想和我们打架？”马尔夫一阵冷笑。
“你们现在不出去的话，我们就不客气了。”哈利似乎比刚才更勇敢了，虽然
克来伯和高尔要比他和罗恩都强壮得多。
“兄弟们，我们还不想走，对吧？我们虽有自己的食物，但看来他们还剩不少
嘛。”
高尔伸手去拿罗恩身边的巧克力青蛙糖——罗恩一跃向前，但还没打到高尔，
高尔已经发出一声惨叫。
胖老鼠斯卡伯斯咬住了他的手指，尖利的鼠牙深深地插进了他的指关节里。看
着高尔尽力想把斯卡伯斯甩掉，听着他因痛苦而发出的尖叫，克来伯和马尔夫被吓
退了好几步。当斯卡伯斯最后还是被甩出来，撞到窗户上的时候，他们三人拔腿就
跑了。也许因为他们以为糖果里还藏着不少老鼠，也许因为他们听见了脚步声，总
之，他们是落荒而逃。不一会儿，荷米恩。格林位便走了进来。
“这究竟发生了什么事7 ‘她看到罗恩正从地上拉起斯卡伯斯，糖果撒了一地，
不禁地问。
“我看它可能是晕过去了，”罗恩对哈利说，不过当他仔细检查了斯卡伯斯之
后，却说：“真不敢相信，它居然又睡着了。”
一点都没错，它确实又进入了梦乡。
“你之前见过马尔夫呀？”
哈利讲述了他俩在戴阿宫道的遭遇。
“我听说过有关他一家人的事，”罗恩说，“‘那个人’失踪后，他们是第一
批回归正义阵营的家族。他们自称曾被人催眠过。我爸不相信他们的话，认为马尔
夫的父母无需任何理由就可以重返黑暗势力。”他转而对荷米恩说：“你找我们有
什么事吗？”
“你们得快点收拾一下，换上长袍。我刚去车头问了一下，司机说我们很快就
到了。你们刚刚和别人打架了，是吗？我们还没到站你们俩就闯了祸。”
“斯卡伯斯和别人打架罢了，又不是我们，”罗恩皱着眉对她说，“我们换衣
服的时候，你能否回避一下？”
“好。我到这儿来只不过是因为我觉得外面那些在走廊上追来打去的太幼稚了
而已。”荷米恩不屑地说，“嘿，你鼻子上有灰尘，很难看，你自己难道不知道吗？”
她离开时，罗恩一直瞪着她。哈利往窗外一瞥，才发觉夜幕已经开始降临了。
在深紫色的天空下，仍旧依稀可见绵延的群山和茂密的树林，而火车似乎也开
始减速了。
哈利和罗恩脱去夹克衫，换上他们的黑长袍，罗恩的长袍似乎不太合身，短了
一点，因为它已经遮不住罗思所穿的运动鞋了。
一个声音在车厢里回荡，“我们五分钟后即可抵达霍格瓦彻。
各位请将行李留在车厢内，会有专人将各位的行李分批送往学校的。
哈利的肚子紧张得直晃荡，而他看见罗恩那长满雀斑的脸变得苍白。他们连忙
将剩下的糖果全都塞进鼓鼓的口袋里，然后一起挤进了车厢走廊上的人群中。
列车缓缓地停了下来。人们拥挤向前，好不容易才挤出车门，来到一个又黑又
小的站台上。寒风凛冽，哈利不禁浑身打颤。这时，只见一盏昏暗的灯在学生们的
头顶上上下下跳动，左右摇摆。
哈利听到一个熟悉的声音在叫喊：“一年级新生都到这边来！嘿！
哈利，你还好吧？“
哈格力那毛茸茸的大脸在人海中闪现出来。
“来呀，跟我来——还有一年级新生吗？走路小心啊，新生跟我走！”
新生们跌跌撞撞地跟着哈格力沿着一条又窄又陡的小路往下走。哈利见道路两
边都很黑，心里推测两旁一定都是浓密的树林。
几乎没人出声，只有那个不见了癞蛤蟆的尼维尔一路上气喘吁吁。
“马上你们就可以生平以来第一次见到霍格瓦彻了。”哈格力大声地说，“转
过这个弯就到了！”
人群中传来一阵响亮的“哗”的赞叹。
狭长的小路豁然开朗，进入眼帘的是一个黑色的大湖。一个建有许多角楼和高
塔的巨大的城堡座落在两座峻岭之间，窗户的玻璃在满天的星空下耀耀生辉。
“一只船只能坐四个人。”哈格力指着泊在岸边的一列小船说道。哈利、罗恩、
尼维尔和荷米恩坐上了同一只船。
“是不是全都上了船？”一人独坐一只船的哈格力喊道：“那好，咱们出发！”
一字排开的船队同时启程，仿佛是一起在水平如镜的湖面滑行。所有的孩子都
默不作声，抬头仰望着那宏伟的古堡。当船队越来越接近古堡所在的峭壁时，孩子
们感觉古堡仿佛就屹立在自己的头顶上一样。
“低下头！”当船来到峭壁边缘的时候，哈格力大声喊道。孩子们都非常听话
地照着命令做。小船载着他们穿越了峭壁表面上面遮住人口的一层长青藤幕帘，沿
着一条穿行于古堡正下方的黑色水道前进。良久，他们才抵达一个地下港。在那里，
他们下了船，便沿着满是岩石和鹅卵石的山路向上攀爬。
“嘿，那个孩子！这是你的癞蛤蟆吗？”正在检查船只的哈格力发现了失踪多
时的癞蛤蟆。“谢天谢地！”尼维尔高兴得高举双手，活蹦乱跳。孩子们在哈格力
的灯光引导下，继续沿着岸石间的一条通道向上攀登，最后终于来到了古堡阴影下
一块潮湿而平整的草地。
他们走上一段石梯，聚集在古堡巨大的橡木正门前。
“人都到齐了吗？嘿，小伙子，你们癞蛤蟆还在吗？”
哈格力举起他那巨大的拳头用力在大门上敲了三下。
