HARRY POTTER Book 4: Chapter 11
Chapter 11
ABOARD THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS
Harry wakes the next morning. It is raining very hard. He can hear the rain hitting the window. The holidays are finished. He feels tired but he is ready to return to Hogwarts. He dresses in jeans and a sweatshirt, because he will change into school robes later on the train.
He goes downstairs with Ron, Fred, and George. On the stairs they hear Mrs. Weasley shouting urgently for Mr. Weasley. Mr. Weasley runs past them so quickly that Harry almost falls down the stairs. In the kitchen, Harry sees Mr. Weasley kneeling in front of the fireplace. He is talking to someone! It is Amos Diggory - well, at least Amos’s head. He is talking very fast.
Amos says that the wizard MadEye Moody thinks someone tried to enter his house last night. He lives near Muggles and he is making a lot of noise about it. “You need to get over there as soon as possible, Arthur,” says Amos. “The Muggle police showed up. You might need to call an Obliviator to deal with them.”
“If Rita Skeeter hears about this confusion,” Amos continues, “She will write another negative story in the Daily Prophet. You need to protect MadEye. Especially since he is supposed to start his new job tomorrow.” Mr. Weasley stands up quickly and runs back upstairs.
Mrs. Weasley offers Mr. Diggory a piece of toast. She gives it to him through the fire, and Amos vanishes with a pop. Mr. Weasley returns five minutes later. He says goodbye and leaves to help MadEye Moody. Bill and Charlie come into the kitchen and speak quietly about Moody.
"Who is MadEye?" Harry asks. “He’s a crazy wizard,” Charlie explains. “He was an Auror, a Dark wizard catcher. He was one of the best. Many cells in Azkaban are full because of him. He made many enemies from his work, especially the families of the people he caught. He’s retired now. He’s very good friends with Dumbledore. He’s very suspicious. He doesn’t trust anyone anymore. He sees Dark wizards everywhere.”
It’s time to leave for the Hogwarts Express. Mrs. Weasley calls three Muggle taxis. The taxi drivers look unhappy loading six heavy Hogwarts trunks into their cars. Pigwidgeon the owl squeals loudly. Fred’s trunk bursts open and fireworks explode, and Crookshanks the cat scratches a driver’s leg.
The car ride is crowded and uncomfortable. By the time they reach London, Harry, Ron, and Hermione have small cuts from Crookshanks’ claws. The rain gets heavier as they enter King’s Cross station, and they run through puddles carrying their trunks.
Harry knows how to pass through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters now. He, Ron, and Hermione walk casually between platforms nine and ten and disappear through the wall. The red Hogwarts Express waits with steam rising around it.
The three put their luggage away in a train compartment. Then they return to the platform to say goodbye. Charlie hugs Ginny. "I might be seeing you sooner than you think," he says. “Why?” asks Fred, curious. "You’ll see,” answers Charlie. “Just don’t tell Percy I mentioned it. It’s classified information."
Bill looks at the train with a small smile. "I wish I were back at Hogwarts this year,” he says. “You’re going to have an interesting year. I might be able to leave work to see a bit of it." "A bit of what?" Ron asks. But at that moment the whistle blows. Mrs. Weasley sends them onto the train.
Hermione and Harry lean out the window to thank her. “I would invite you to come to the house for Christmas,” says Mrs. Weasley, “But you will probably want to stay at Hogwarts because of… well, have a good trip!” "Mum! What do you three know that we don’t?" Ron asks. Mrs. Weasley says they will find out when they get to Hogwarts. The train pulls away, and before it turns the corner, Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie Disapparate.
Rain hits the train windows very hard. Ron sits with Harry and Hermione. Ron throws his ugly dress robes on top of Pigwidgeon’s cage. The little owl is making a lot of noise. "Bagman wanted to tell us what was going to happen at Hogwarts,” says Ron. “Remember, at the World Cup? But my own mother won’t say. I wonder what…" Hermione suddenly whispers "Shh" and points toward the compartment next to theirs. They hear Draco Malfoy speaking loudly.
“...my father wanted me to go to Durmstrang wizard school instead of Hogwarts,” says Malfoy. “Father says they love Mudbloods too much at Hogwarts. Especially Dumbledore. Father says Durmstrang accepts the Dark Arts more than Hogwarts. Durmstrang students learn to use the Dark Arts, not just the Defense of the Dark Arts that we learn at Hogwarts…” Hermione closes the door to their compartment. Malfoy’s voice disappears.
“I wish he had gone to Durmstrang,” Hermione says angrily. “So we wouldn’t have to see him.” “Where is Durmstrang?” asks Harry. “Well, nobody knows, really,” says Hermione. “Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to hide where they are.” Hermione explains that some wizard schools hide themselves so other schools cannot steal their secrets. She thinks Durmstrang must be far north because the students wear fur capes. Ron jokes about pushing Malfoy off an ice glacier.
The sky outside the train is very dark because of the rain. They light the lanterns inside the train early because the sky is so dark. The lunch trolley comes down the corridor and Harry buys Cauldron Cakes to share. Friends visit them. Seamus still wears his green Ireland Quidditch World Cup badge.
Neville Longbottom, a very forgetful boy, says that his grandmother did not buy tickets to the World Cup. He looks jealous as Ron shows him a small model of Viktor Krum.
“We saw Krum very close to us!” says Ron with pride. “We were in the top box at the stadium…” “For the first time in your life, Weasley,” a voice says. Malfoy is there, with Crabbe and Goyle behind him. Crabbe and Goyle look like they have grown thirty centimeters during the summer. “I don’t think anyone invited you in here,” says Harry, angrily.
“Look at this!” says Malfoy with a cruel face. He is holding up Ron’s dress robes. “Give those back!” yells Ron. “You weren’t going to wear these, were you, Weasley?” says Malfoy “These were popular two hundred years ago!” Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle all laugh hysterically at the mean joke. “Eat dung, Malfoy!” yells Ron. His face is bright red with anger.
