tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52983809180644418632024-02-19T23:24:09.794-08:00Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter e-books, Harry Potter, Harry Potter wallpapers, Happy Potter Pics, Harry Potter Images.stephenstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15767626741222018566noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298380918064441863.post-51952482749044218072007-05-13T05:02:00.000-07:002008-12-09T19:31:15.680-08:00Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneChapter 01: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2001%3A%20THE%20BOY%20WHO%20LIVED">THE BOY WHO LIVED</a></span><br />Chapter 02: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2002%3A%20THE%20VANISHING%20GLASS">THE VANISHING GLASS</a></span><br />Chapter 03: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2003%3A%20THE%20LETTERS%20FROM%20NO%20ONE">THE LETTERS FROM NO ONE</a></span><br />Chapter 04: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2004%3A%20THE%20KEEPER%20OF%20THE%20KEYS">THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS</a></span><br />Chapter 05: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2005%3A%20DIAGON%20ALLEY">DIAGON ALLEY</a></span><br />Chapter 06: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2006%3A%20THE%20JOURNEY%20FROM%20PLATFORM%20NINE%20AND%20THREE-QUARTERS">THE JOURNEY FROM PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-QUARTERS</a></span><br />Chapter 07: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2007%3A%20THE%20SORTING%20HAT">THE SORTING HAT</a></span><br />Chapter 08: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2008%3A%20THE%20POTIONS%20MASTER">THE POTIONS MASTER</a></span><br />Chapter 09: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2009%3A%20THE%20MIDNIGHT%20DUEL">THE MIDNIGHT DUEL</a></span><br />Chapter 10: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2010%3A%20HALLOWEEN">HALLOWEEN</a></span><br />Chapter 11: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2011%3A%20QUIDDITCH">QUIDDITCH</a></span><br />Chapter 12: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2012%3A%20THE%20MIRROR%20OF%20ERISED">THE MIRROR OF ERISED</a></span><br />Chapter 13: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2013%3A%20NICOLAS%20FLAMEL">NICOLAS FLAMEL</a></span><br />Chapter 14: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2014%3A%20NORBERT%20THE%20NORWEGIAN%20RIDGEBACK">NORBERT THE NORWEGIAN RIDGEBACK</a></span><br />Chapter 15: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2015%3A%20THE%20FORIBIDDEN%20FOREST">THE FORIBIDDEN FOREST</a></span><br />Chapter 16: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2016%3A%20THROUGH%20THE%20TRAPDOOR">THROUGH THE TRAPDOOR</a></span><br />Chapter 17: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://harrypotter-ebooks.blogspot.com/search/label/CHAPTER%2017%3A%20THE%20MAN%20WITH%20TWO%20FACES">THE MAN WITH TWO FACES</a></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tS8UHyUfap1OrrhRJt8O8r8OkRpLkYGZwtsHLVRIpby4vqmHZy2bbM-VmyW_jIV2bkMnw3Yz0Rku_KFnx5CzM1XMS6kFtqYaEKK60_9ZxML9lrp2aGvuSYJW3tgMSj3hqlDMNAdKUBFQ/s1600-h/n5584.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 457px; height: 637px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tS8UHyUfap1OrrhRJt8O8r8OkRpLkYGZwtsHLVRIpby4vqmHZy2bbM-VmyW_jIV2bkMnw3Yz0Rku_KFnx5CzM1XMS6kFtqYaEKK60_9ZxML9lrp2aGvuSYJW3tgMSj3hqlDMNAdKUBFQ/s400/n5584.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064015407775481170" border="0" /></a>stephenstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15767626741222018566noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298380918064441863.post-88798724108301905822007-05-13T03:52:00.000-07:002007-05-13T03:55:35.621-07:00CHAPTER 10: HALLOWEENCHAPTER TEN<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HALLOWEEN</span><br /><br />Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were<br />still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful.<br />Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the<br />three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite<br />keen to have another one. In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the<br />package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and<br />they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy<br />protection. "It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.<br />"Or both," said Harry.<br />But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it<br />was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what<br />it was without further clues.<br />Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay<br />underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Neville cared about was never<br />going near the dog again.<br />Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a<br />bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really<br />wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great<br />delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.<br />As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention<br />was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech<br />owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in<br />this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped<br />it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had<br />hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top<br />of the parcel.<br />Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:<br />DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.<br />It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody<br />knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood<br />will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your<br />first training session.<br />Professor McGonagall<br />Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to<br />read.<br />"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even touched<br />one."<br />They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private<br />before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they<br />found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the<br />package from Harry and felt it.<br />"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture<br />of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time,<br />Potter, first years aren't allowed them."<br />Ron couldn't resist it.<br />"It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand.<br />What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" Ron<br />grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same<br />league as the Nimbus."<br />"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the<br />handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to<br />save up twig by twig."<br />Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow.<br />"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.<br />"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.<br />"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry.<br />"Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances,<br />Potter. And what model is it?"<br />"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sit," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the<br />look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here<br />that I've got it," he added.<br />Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's<br />obvious rage and confusion. "Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they<br />reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's<br />Remembrall I wouln't be on the team...."<br />"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an<br />angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs,<br />looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.<br />"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry.<br />"Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."<br />Hermione marched away with her nose in the air.<br />Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It<br />kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying<br />under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be<br />learning to play that night. He bolted his dinner that evening without<br />noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap<br />the Nimbus Two Thousand at last.<br />"Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread.<br />Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it<br />looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long<br />tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold<br />near the top.<br />As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the<br />dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium<br />before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that<br />the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end<br />of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They<br />reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle<br />children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high.<br />Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick<br />and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling -- he swooped in and out<br />of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two<br />Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch.<br />"Hey, Potter, come down!'<br />Oliver Wood had arrived. fie was carrying a large wooden crate under his<br />arm. Harry landed next to him.<br />"Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall<br />meant... you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules<br />this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week."<br />He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls.<br />"Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even<br />if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side.<br />Three of them are called Chasers."<br />"Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball<br />about the size of a soccer ball.<br />"This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the<br />Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to<br />score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the<br />hoops. Follow me?"<br />"The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score,"<br />Harry recited. "So -- that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with<br />six hoops, isn't it?"<br />"What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. "Never mind," said Harry<br />quickly.<br />"Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper -I'm<br />Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other<br />team from scoring."<br />"Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember<br />it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are<br />they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box.<br />"I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this."<br />He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat.<br />"I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are<br />the Bludgers."<br />He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than<br />the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to<br />escape the straps holding them inside the box.<br />"Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the<br />Bludgers.<br />At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at<br />Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking<br />his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air -- it zoomed around<br />their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to<br />pin it to the ground.<br />"See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate<br />and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to<br />knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each<br />team -- the Weasley twins are ours -- it's their job to protect their<br />side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So<br />-- think you've got all that?"<br />"Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the<br />goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry<br />reeled off.<br />"Very good," said Wood.<br />"Er -- have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he<br />sounded offhand.<br />"Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse<br />than that. Now, the last member of the team is the<br />Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the<br />Bludgers unless they crack my head open."<br />"Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers -- I<br />mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."<br />Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball.<br />Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size<br />of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver<br />wings.<br />"This," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important<br />ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and<br />difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave<br />in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it<br />before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the<br />Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they<br />nearly always win. That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of<br />Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages<br />-- I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on<br />substitutes so the players could get some sleep. "Well, that's it -- any<br />questions?"<br />Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was<br />doing it that was going to be the problem.<br />"We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting<br />it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try<br />you out with a few of these."<br />He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few<br />minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf<br />balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch.<br />Harry didn't miss a single one, and Wood was delighted. After half an<br />hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on.<br />"That Quidditch cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily<br />as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you<br />turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for<br />England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."<br />Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice<br />three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly<br />believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two<br />months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. His<br />lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had<br />mastered the basics.<br />On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin<br />wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced<br />in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly,<br />something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make<br />Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. Professor Flitwick put the<br />class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which<br />was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye). Ron,<br />however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell<br />whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this. She hadn't spoken to<br />either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.<br />"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!"<br />squeaked Professor Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as<br />usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic<br />words properly is very important, too -- never forget Wizard Baruffio,<br />who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a<br />buffalo on his chest."<br />It was very difficult. Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the<br />feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the<br />desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and<br />set fire to it -- Harry had to put it out with his hat.<br />Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.<br />"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.<br />"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium<br />Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."<br />"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.<br />Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said,<br />"Wingardium Leviosa!"<br />Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their<br />heads.<br />"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here,<br />Miss Granger's done it!"<br />Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class. "It's no wonder no<br />one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the<br />crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly. "<br />Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione.<br />Harry caught a glimpse of her face -- and was startled to see that she<br />was in tears.<br />"I think she heard you."<br />"So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed<br />she's got no friends."<br />Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all<br />afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast,<br />Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that<br />Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone.<br />Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had<br />entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out<br />of their minds.<br />A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a<br />thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the<br />candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the<br />golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.<br />Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell<br />came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face.<br />Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped<br />against the table, and gasped, "Troll -- in the dungeons -- thought you<br />ought to know."<br />He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.<br />There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from<br />the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.<br />"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories<br />immediately!"<br />Percy was in his element.<br />"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if<br />you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years<br />coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"<br />"How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.<br />"Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe<br />Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."<br />They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions.<br />As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry<br />suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.<br />"I've just thought -- Hermione."<br />"What about her?"<br />"She doesn't know about the troll."<br />Ron bit his lip.<br />"Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."<br />Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped<br />down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls'<br />bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick<br />footsteps behind them.<br />"Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.<br />Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the<br />corridor and disappeared from view.<br />"What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons<br />with the rest of the teachers?"<br />"Search me."<br />Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's<br />fading footsteps.<br />"He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his<br />hand.<br />"Can you smell something?"<br />Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old<br />socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.<br />And then they heard it -- a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of<br />gigantic feet. Ron pointed -- at the end of a passage to the left,<br />something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and<br />watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.<br />It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite<br />gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head<br />perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks<br />with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was<br />holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its<br />arms were so long.<br />The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its<br />long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.<br />"The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."<br />"Good idea," said Ron nervously.<br />They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't<br />about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the<br />key, slam the door, and lock it.<br />'Yes!"<br />Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but<br />as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts<br />stop -- a high, petrified scream -- and it was coming from the chamber<br />they'd just chained up.<br />"Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.<br />"It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.<br />"Hermione!" they said together.<br />It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have?<br />Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key,<br />fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.<br />Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if<br />she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the<br />sinks off the walls as it went.<br />"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he<br />threw it as hard as he could against the wall.<br />The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking<br />stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw<br />Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it<br />went.<br />"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he<br />threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe<br />hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning<br />its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.<br />"Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward<br />the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall,<br />her mouth open with terror.<br />The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It<br />roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to<br />escape.<br />Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid: He<br />took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the<br />troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there,<br />but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its<br />nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped -- it<br />had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.<br />Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry<br />clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him<br />off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.<br />Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand --<br />not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell<br />that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"<br />The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into<br />the air, turned slowly over -- and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto<br />its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its<br />face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.<br />Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was<br />standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.<br />It was Hermione who spoke first.<br />"Is it -- dead?"<br />I don't think so," said Harry, I think it's just been knocked out."<br />He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered<br />in what looked like lumpy gray glue.<br />"Urgh -- troll boogers."<br />He wiped it on the troll's trousers.<br />A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up.<br />They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course,<br />someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A<br />moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room,<br />closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell<br />took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly<br />down on a toilet, clutching his heart.<br />Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and<br />Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white.<br />Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's<br />mind.<br />"What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with<br />cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with<br />his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in<br />your dormitory?"<br />Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He<br />wished Ron would put his wand down.<br />Then a small voice came out of the shadows.<br />"Please, Professor McGonagall -- they were looking for me."<br />"Miss Granger!"<br />Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.<br />I went looking for the troll because I -- I thought I could deal with it<br />on my own -- you know, because I've read all about them."<br />Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a<br />teacher? "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand<br />up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have<br />time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they<br />arrived."<br />Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.<br />"Well -- in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at the<br />three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of<br />tackling a mountain troll on your own?"<br />Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last<br />person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending<br />she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started<br />handing out sweets.<br />"Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said<br />Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt<br />at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing<br />the feast in their houses."<br />Hermione left.<br />Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.<br />"Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have<br />taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five<br />points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."<br />They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had<br />climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the<br />troll, quite apart from anything else.<br />"We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.<br />"Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."<br />"Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind<br />you, we did save her."<br />"She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with<br />her," Harry reminded him.<br />They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.<br />"Pig snout," they said and entered.<br />The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that<br />had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting<br />for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking<br />at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.<br />But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are<br />some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and<br />knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.stephenstinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15767626741222018566noreply@blogger.com1