NORBERT THE NORWEGIAN RIDGEBACK 251 here fer a good reason. lt was almost stOlen outta I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' Gringotts all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' FIuffy.' 'Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here,' said Hermione a warm, flat- tering voice. Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. 。、 ve only wondered who had do れ 6 the guarding, really,' Hermione went on. 'We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you. Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione. 'WeII, I don' s'pose it could hurtter tell yeh that . let's see ... he borrowed Fluffy from me ... then some 0 ' the teachers did enchantments ... Professor Sprout ー Professor Flitwick ー Professor McGonagall he ticked them off on his fingers, 'Professor Quirrell ー an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', 0 ' course. Hang on, l've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape. 、 Yeah ー yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it. Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on pro- tecting the stone, it must have been easy tO find out how the other teachers had guarded ⅱ . He except, it seemed, prob ably knew everything Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy 'You're the only one wh0 knows how t0 get past FIuffy, aren't you, Hagrid?' said Harry anxiously.

64 HARRY POTTER 。、 vell ー I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. NO one does. 、Ⅵ市 y not?' ℃ ulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. BIimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went ... bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. HiS name was . Hagrid gulped, but no words came out. ℃ 0 ⅲ d you write it down?' Harry suggested. 'Nah ー can't spell it. AII right 一旧 6m0 れ . ' Hagrid shuddered. 'Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. GOt 'em, t00 ー some were afraid, some Just wanted a bit 0 ' his power, cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches Terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him ー an' he killed 'em. HorribIy One 0 ' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You- Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. 'NOW, yer 1 Ⅱ ur れ an' dad were as good a witch an wizard as I ever knew. Head Boy an' Girl at Hog- warts ⅲ their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-YVho never tried tO get 'em on his side . probably knew they were t00 close ter before Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter d0 with the Dark Side. 'Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way AII any- one knows is, he turned up in the village where

118 HARRY POTTER 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 l'm in, I hope she's not in it,' said Ron. He threw his wand back ⅲ [ 0 his trunk. 'Stupid spell ー 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 t0 be set- tling on him again. 爪 4u1 れ and Dad were in it, t00. I don't know what they'll say if l'm not. I don't sup- pose Ravenclaw would be t00 bad, but imagine if they put me ⅲ Slytherin. 'That's the house VoI— I mean, You-Know-Who 'Yeah,' said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. 'You know, I think the ends of Scabbers's whiskers are a bit lighter,' said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. 'SO what d0 your oldest brothers do now they've left, anyway?' Harry was wondering 、 vhat a wizard did once he'd finished school. ℃ harlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts,' said Ron. 'Did you hear about Gringotts? lt's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don'tsuppose you get that with the Muggles ー someone tried t0 rob a high-security vault. ' Harry s tared. '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

THE MAN WITH TWO FACES 321 he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return tO PO ℃ r. Harry nodded, but stopped quickly, because it made his head hurt. Then he said, 、 Sir, there are some other things l'd like t0 know, if you can tell me ... things I want tO know the truth about . 'The truth. ' Dumbledore sighed. 'lt is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not tO, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie. 'Well ... Voldemort said that he only killed my mother because she tried to stop him killing me. But why would he wantto kill me ⅲ the first place?' Dumbledore sighed very deeply this time. 'Alas, the first thing you ask me, I cannot tell you. N0t today. N0t now. You will know, one day . put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you I know you hate t0 hear this ... when are Older you are ready, you will know. And Harry knew it would be no good to argue. 'But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?' 'Your mother died tO save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realise that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its 0 、Ⅵ 1 mark. NOt a scar, no visible sign ... t0 have been loved so deeply, even though the person WhO loved us iS gone, Will give us S01 れ e protection for ever. Ⅱ is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with VoIdemort, could not touch you for this rea- son. lt was agony t0 touch a person marked by

THE KEEPER OF THE KEYS 63 'Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and 0f course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, Just as ー as 訪れの明記 and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you ! ' Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, 'Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash ! ' ℃ AR CRASH ! ' roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily thatthe Dursleys scuttled back to their cor- ner. 'How could a car crash kill LiIy an' James POtter? lt's an outrage! A scandal ! Harry Potter not knowin' his own s [ 0 when every kid ⅲ our world knows hiS name! ' 'But why? What happened?' Harry asked urgently. The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. 'l never expected this,' he said, in a 10W , worried voice. 'I had Ⅱ 0 idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if l'm the right person ter tell yeh ー but someone's gotta ー yeh can't go Off ter Hogwarts not knowin'. He threw a dirty 100k at the Dursleys. 'Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh ー mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts 0f it . He sat dO 、Ⅵ 1 , stared intO the fire for a few seconds and then said, 'lt begins, I suppose, with ー with a person called ー but it's incredible yeh don't know hiS name, everyone in our 、 vorld kno 、 MS ー

58 HARRY POTTER said sharply, 'Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley.' The giant chuckled darkly. 'Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry He passed the sausages tO Harry, 、 MhO was SO hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain any- thing, he said, 'l'm sorry, but I still don't really know 、 MhO you are. The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ℃ all me Hagrid,' he said, 'everyone does. An' like I told yeh, l'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts ー yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, 0 ' course. 'Er ー no,' said Harry Hagrid looked shocked. 'Sorry,' Harry said quickly. 5 リ ~ barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. 'lt's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryln' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learnt it all?' 'AII what?' asked Harry. 'ALL WHAT?' Hagrid thundered. 'Now wait jus' one second! ' He had leapt to his feet. ln his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering againstthe wall. 、 DO you mean ter tell me,' he growled at the

NICOLAS FLAMEL 239 while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd d0 with a Philosopher's Stone if they had one. lt wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match. 'l'm going t0 play,' he told Ron and Hermione. 'lf I don't, all the Slytherins will think l'm just too scared to face Snape. l'll show them ... ⅳⅡ really 、 vipe the smiles Off their faces if we win. 'Just as long as we're not wiping you Off the pitch,' said Hermione. As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, 、 vhatever he tOld Ron and Hermione. The rest Of the team weren't t00 calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it for nearly seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee? Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed tO keep running intO Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying t0 catch him on hiS 0 、 vn. potions lessons were turning intO a sort Of weekly torture, Snape was SO horrible tO Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Philosopher's Stone? Harry didn't see how he could ー yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds. Harry knew, when they wished him good luck out- side the changing r00 Ⅱ•s next afternoon, that Ron

T H E K E E P E R 0 F T H E K E Y S 59 Dursleys, 'thatthis boy ー this boy! ー knows nothin' abou' ー about ANYTHING?' Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad. 'I know some things,' he said. 'I can, you know, do maths and stuff.' But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, 'About 0 r world, I mean. r world. My world. Yer p 尾れ屋 WO 日 d. ' 'What world?' Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. 'DURSLEY!' he boomed. UncIe Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like 'Mimblewimble'. Hagrid s tared wildly at Harry. But yeh must know about yer mum and dad,' he said. 'l mean, they're 工住 mo 課 S. YO 眈 ' 化 famous. 'What? My ー my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?' 'Yeh don' know ... yeh don' know … ' Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a b ewildered stare. 'Yeh don' know what yeh 住尾 ? ' he said finally. Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. 'Stop ! ' he commanded. 'Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything! ' A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious 100k Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trem- bled with rage. 'You never told him? Never tOld him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I

328 HARRY POTTER 、 s , yes, well done, Slytherin,' said Dumbledore. 'However, recent events must be taken intO account. The room went very still. The SIytherins' smiles faded a little. 'Ahem,' said Dumbledore. 'I have a few last- minute points tO dish out. Let 1 れ e see. Yes . 'First ー to Mr RonaId 、 Measley . Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with bad sunburn. . for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points. ' Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed tO quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other Prefects, 'My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set! ' At last there was silence again. 'Second ー tO Miss Hermione Granger for the use of C001 logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor house fifty points. ' Hermione buried her face ⅲ her arms; Harry strongly suspected she had burst intO tears. Gryffindors up and down the table were beside themselves ー they were a hundred points up. 'Third ー to Mr Harry Potter .. ' said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points. The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two

THE MIRROR OF ERISED 'Quick! ' 229 Ron threw the Cloak back over them as the luminous eyes Of Mrs NorriS came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing ー did the Cloak work on cats? After what seemed an age, she turned and left. 'This isn't safe ー she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. Come on. And Ron pulled Harry out of the room. The snow still hadn't melted next morning. 、Ⅵみ an い 0 play chess, Harry?' said Ron. ' No. ' 'Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?' 'No … you go ・ 'I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight. 。嶬市 y not?' 'I dunno, l've just got a bad feeling about it ー and anyway, you've had t00 many close shaves already FiIch, Snape and Mrs Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk intO you? What if you knock something over?' 'You sound like Hermione. 'l'm serious, Harry, don't go. But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was tO get back in front Of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going tO stop him. That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he 、 making 1 れ ore noise than was Wise, but he didn't meet anyone.