scent.... It was 
probably just a stray dog...." 

He raised his hand automatically and tried to make his hair lie flat 

"You're fighting a losing battle there, dear," said his mirror in a 
vvheezy voice. 

As the days slipped by, Harry started looking wherever he went for a 
sign of Ron or Hermione. Plenty of Hogwarts students were arriving in 
Diagon Alley now, with the start of term so near. Harry met Seamus 
Finnigan and Dean Thomas, his fellow Gryffindors, in Quality Quidditch 
Supplies, where they too were ogling the Firebolt; he also ran into the 
real Neville Longbottom, a round-faced, forgetful boy, outside Flourish 
and Blotts. Harry didn't stop to chat; Neville appeared to have mislaid 
his booklist and was being told off by his very formidable-looking 
grandmother. Harry hoped she never found out that he'd pretended to be 
Neville while on the run from the Ministry of Magic. 

Harry woke on the last day of the holidays, thinking that he would at 
least meet Ron and Hermione tomorrow, on the Hogwarts Express. He got 
up, dressed, went for a last look at the Firebolt, and was just 
wondering where he'd have lunch, when someone yelled his name and he 
turned. 

"Harry! HARRY!" 

They were there, both of them, sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice 
Cream Parlor -- Ron looking incredibly freckly, Her,,one very brown, 
both waving frantically at him. 

"Finally!" said Ron, grinning at Harry as he sat down. "We went to the 
Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and 
Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and --" 

45 



"I got all my school stuff last week," Harry explained. "And how come 
You knew I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?" "Dad," said Ron simply. 


Mr. Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, would of course have 
heard the whole story of what had happened to Aunt Marge. 


"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" said Hermione in a very 
serious voice. 


"I didn't mean to," said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. "I just 
-- lost control." 


"It's not funny, Ron," said Hermione sharply. "Honestly, I'm amazed 
Harry wasn't expelled." 


"So am I," admitted Harry. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be 
arrested." He looked at Ron. "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me 
off, does he?" 


"Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?" shrugged Ron, still chuckling. 
"Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd 
do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, 
because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this 
evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can 
come to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione's there as well!" 


Hermione nodded, beaming. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with 
all my Hogwarts things." 


"Excellent!" said Harry happily. "So, have you got all your new books 
and stuff?" 


"Look at this," said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and 
opening it. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one 
unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books --" He pointed at a large 
bag under his chair. "What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant 
nearly cried when we said we wanted two." 


"What's all that, Hermione?" Harry asked, pointing at not one but three 


46 



bulging bags in the chair next to her. 

,,Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't IF' said Hermione. 
"Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, 
Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies --" 

"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes at 
Harry. "You're Muggle- born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already 
know all about Muggles!" 

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of 
view," said Hermione earnestly. 

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" asked 
Harry, while Ron sniggered. Hermione ignored them. 

"I've still got ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my 
birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself 
an early birthday present." 

"How about a nice book? said Ron innocently. 

"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly. "I really want an owl. 
I mean, Harry's got Hedwig and you've got Errol --" 

"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers." 
He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked 
over," he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. "I 
don't think Egypt agreed with him." 

Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop 
to his whiskers. 

"There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Harry, who knew 
Diagon Alley very well by now. "You could see if they've got anything 
for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl," 

So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street to the Magical 
Menagerie. 

47 



There wasn't much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. 
It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants Of these cages were 
all squeaking, squawking, jabbering, or hissing. The witch behind the 
counter was already advising a wizard on the care of double-ended newts, 
so Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited, examining the cages. 

A pair of enormous purple toads sat gulping wetly and feasting on dead 
blowflies. A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was 
glittering near the window. Poisonous orange snails were oozing slowly 
up the side of their glass tank, and a fat white rabbit kept changing 
into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise. Then there 
were cats of every color, a noisy cage of ravens, a basket of funny 
custard-colored furballs that were humming loudly, and on the counter, a 
vast cage of sleek black rats that were playing some sort of skipping 
game using their long, bald tails. 

The double-ended newt wizard left, and Ron approached the counter. 

"It's my rat," he told the witch. "He been a bit off-color ever since I 
brought him back from Egypt." 

"Bang him on the counter," said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black 
spectacles out of her pocket. 

Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the 
cage of his fellow rats, who stopped their skipping tricks and scuffled 
to the wire for a better took. 

Like nearly everything Ron owned, Scabbers the rat was secondhand (he 
had once belonged to Ron's brother Percy) and a bit battered. Next to 
the glossy rats in the cage, he looked especially woebegone. 

"Hm," said the witch, picking up Scabbers. "How old is this rat?" 

"Dunno," said Ron. "Quite old. He used to belong to my brother." 

"What powers does he have?" said the witch, examining Scabbers closely. 

"Er --" The truth was that Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace 
of interesting powers. The witchs eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered 

48 



left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly. 

"He's been through the mill, this one," she said. 

"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," said Ron defensively. 

"An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live 
longer than three years or so," said the witch. "Now, if you were 
looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of 
these --" 


She indicated the black rats, who promptly started skipping again. Ron 
muttered, "Show-offs." 


"Well, if you Don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic," 
said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red 
bottle. 


"Okay," said Ron. "How much -- OUCH!" 


Ron buckled as something huge and orange came soaring from the top of 
the highest cage, landed on his head, and then propelled itself, 
spitting madly, at Scabbers. 


"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" cried the witch, but Scabbers, shot from between 
her hands like a bar of soap, landed splay-legged on the floor, and then 
scampered for the door. 


"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, racing out of the shop after him; Harry 
followed. 


It took them nearly ten minutes to catch Scabbers, who had taken refuge 
under a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ron stuffed 
the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging 
his head. 


"What was that?" 


"It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger," said Harry. 


49 



"Where's Hermione?" 

"Probably getting her owl 

They made their way back up the crowded street to the Magical Menagerie. 
As they reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn't carrying an owl. 
Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous ginger cat. 

"You bought that monster?" said Ron, his mouth hanging open. 

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing. 

That was a matter of opinion, thought Harry. The cat's ginger fur was 
thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and its face 
looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a 
brick wall. Now that Scabbers was out of sight, however, the cat was 
purring contentedly in Hermione's arms. 

"Herinione, that thing nearly scalped me!" said Ron. 

"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione. 

"And what about Scabbers?" said Ron, pointing at the lump in his chest 
pocket. "He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with 
that thing around?" 

"That reminds me, you forgot your rat tonic," said Hermione, slapping 
the small red bottle into Ron's hand. "And stop worrying, Crookshanks 
will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the 
problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; 
no one wanted him." 

"Wonder why," said Ron sarcastically as they set off toward the Leaky 
Cauldron.