"The Potions Master." Snape read out.

Everyone turned to look at Snape.

"This should be good," Dean said with a smirk.

"There, look."

"Where?"

"Next to the tall kid with the red hair."

Fred and George snorted.

"Wearing the glasses?"

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his scar?"

"That was so annoying." Harry said. "Especially when I was trying to get to class."

Everyone who gawked at him when they first met him looked sheepish.

"Really now." Minerva said shaking her head. "People should leave him alone, he isn't a side show."

Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring.

Snape inwardly sneered thinking about how much the older Potter would have loved the attention.

Ron felt a surge of jealousy, but knowing Harry hates it, he pushed the feeling down.

Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes.

"Honestly," Pomona muttered.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts:

"You actually count them?" Tonks asked amused.

Harry blushed a bright red and avoided looking anyone in the eye. "No," he mumbled.

"Well then did the book put the fact in as filler?" Tonks persisted.

"But its supposed to be in his thoughts." Remus countered confused. "Why would they put in filler?"

"It might have been mentioned in Hogwarts, A History." Harry mumbled so quietly Hermione almost didn't hear him.

Ron stared at him in shock. The twins looked repulsed.

"I was bored! I had nothing else to do!" Harry tried to defend himself.

"Traitor," Fred hissed.

Hermione squealed. "You did read it! Yes! Now I just need to get Ron to read it."

Ron made a face of disgust. "I don't think so."

wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place,

"Like the kitchens," Harry said.

"Students aren't permitted to enter the kitchens Mr. Potter," Umbridge simpered.

Harry just rolled her eyes, and pretending he couldn't hear her.

and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot.

"It gets confusing," Colin said. Several of his year mates nodded in agreement.

The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open.

Anyone who has had that happen shivered.

Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class.

"Bloody Peeves," Ron mumbled.

"I love Peeves!" Fred shouted.

"You would," mumbled Ginny.

He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

"He does that to me all the time," Dennis said.

"It's OK he does it to me too Dennis," Colin told him.

"Your father taught him that," Remus told Harry.

"Really?" Harry asked as everyone else groaned.

"Yeah." Remus smiled looking as if he were lost in old memories.

Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning.

Filch glared at Ron, Harry and the twins. 'Demon spawn.'

"We're so proud!" The twins chorused. Ron beamed at the praise, Harry just chuckled.

Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor.

"We weren't trying to get through it!" Harry exclaimed seeing the disapproving looks they were getting from the teachers and Weasley parents.

"Not that time at least," Ron muttered.

"I still want to know what's so important about this corridor," Neville said.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon," Hermione said.

He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.

'Just passing right.' Harry thought bitterly.

Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone.

Filch glared at the book.

"It was awesome when she was out of commission a couple years ago." Fred remembered with a large smile plastered on his face. George nodded in agreement.

Filch switched his glare to the Weasley twins.

"And why was she out of commission?" Molly asked in a low dangerous voice. "What did you two do to her?"

"Wasn't us!" they chimed together, turning to Harry.

"I didn't do it! I just found her!" He exclaimed raising his hands in surrender when Molly turned her glare on him.

"It had to do with the chamber mum." Ginny informed her in a quiet voice. Molly nodded her head slowly.

Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.

Filch smirked while switching his glare between the book and the students.

Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins)

The teachers all turned as one to look at the Weasley twins.

"We have no idea-" George began.

"What this book is talking about." Fred finished.

The teachers continued to look at the twins suspiciously.

"I guess we'll see then, won't we?" Asked Minerva.

The twins exchanged looks then glared at Harry.

"Hey! It isn't my fault the toad decided to get books on my life!" Harry hissed quietly to them.

and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

Filch held on tight to Mrs. Norris and glowered at the hall.

And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

"Of course!" Squeaked Flitwick.

They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout,

Sprout gave a snort of laughter at her description. "Dumpy Mr. Potter?"

"Sorry," he muttered.

where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.

Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

"Why can't we get a real teacher?" Hermione huffed. "A ghost that doesn't even realize that he's dead is hardly suitable."

Bill was nodding his head in agreement. "History is actually a really good subject, but the way Binns teaches its more like nap time."

"He doesn't even realize if you're there or not," Padma added.

"I will see what I can do," Dumbledore said.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk.

Several snickers were heard and Flitwick blushed.

At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.

"Must we hear about more people celebrating Potter's very existence?" Snape grumbled mutinously, refusing to acknowledge the small part of him that keeps insisting he had been wrong.

"It's not like he stood up and asked for the recognition." Ron retorted. He was glaring at his least favorite professor. "He can't help it if certain people decide things about him before they even get to know him." He added pointedly.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a teacher," Snape snapped.

"We can't take points during the reading Severus," Dumbledore told him calmly.

Snape just glared at the headmaster then returned to the book.

Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

"And how many warnings did you end up giving us?" Remus asked grinning at his favorite ex professor.

"More than you deserved that was for sure." Minerva told him. "If you hadn't been brilliant in my class I would indeed have kicked you out the first week."

Snuffles barked and gave a smug look. Or as smug of a look as a dog can make.

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.

After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match;

Minerva smiled at Hermione.

"Of course," Harry and Ron said in unison. Hermione blushed.

Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile.

Draco rolled his eyes. 'Bloody mudblood.'

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke.

Everyone who had him for a professor either groaned or rolled their eyes.

His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story.

"Course the true story is unbelievable too," Ron muttered.

"What's the true story?" The twins demanded.

"Trust me you don't want to know," Ron answered with a shudder. Just thinking about it gave him the creeps.

"You'll find out at the end of the book." Hermione interjected when they opened their mouth's to protest.

For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.

Many people snorted.

"Ridiculous," muttered Pomfrey.

Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start.

"That's just cause Ron's a lazy git." Charlie teased.

Bill nudged him. "Lay off of him." He warned quietly as he watched his youngest brother turn a bright red.

Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"It took you a whole week?" Jimmy Peakes asked incredulous.

Ron and Harry just shrugged in response.

"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them, we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Of course its true." Dean grumbled. "He'd throw a fit if his little snakes didn't win the cup."

Snape glared at Dean before continuing with the book.

Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry.

"That wouldn't be fair Mr. Potter," Minerva told him.

"Like you don't favor your house Minerva," Snape said to her.

"Excuse me Severus? You are the only one who shows blatant favoritism. I have no problem taking points from my own house or handing out detentions." Minerva told him sharply.

"You've always had your favorites." Snape snapped. "First it was the marauders and now it's Potter, Weasley and Granger."

Before Minerva could respond Dumbledore spoke. "Severus, Minerva please continue this conversation later."

Minerva looked embarrassed as though she forgot they had the entire great hall for an audience.

Umbridge tisked then wrote something on a clipboard she has sitting in front of her.

Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

"Of course it wouldn't," McGonagall told him.

Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.

Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls.

"What a sweet owl," Molly cooed.

This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:

Dear Harry,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

"That was sweet of him." Molly cooed happy that someone would be there to watch over him.

"Hagrid's great like that." Charlie smiled.

"Yeah he is," Harry said smiling up at Hagrid. Hagrid gave him a huge smile back.

Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again.

It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far.

Glares were sent to the potions master.

"Severus," Minerva said in a warning tone.

At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him.

"However could I have thought that?" Harry asked sarcastically.

Snape glared at Harry then looked back to the book so he could read.

By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong.

Snape didn't dislike Harry

"What?" Most people yelled.

he hated him.

More glares were sent to Snape. Snuffles growled.

Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new —celebrity."

"That's uncalled for." Kingsley frowned at the verbal attack.

"Was it an untrue statement?" Snape shot at the auror.

Bill frowned. "But it's not fair to Harry to single him out."

'Life isn't fair Weasley." Snape sneered before continuing on.

Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands.

"Ugh of course!" Ginny said.

Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.

"Don't compare that git to McGonagall," Ron muttered.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper deathif you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

"That was a very thoughtful and eloquent way of introducing potions." Tonks sad. "Until you insulted the lot of them." she continued causing him to sneer at her.

"Now Severus, really? That was uncalled for!" Minerva scolded her colleague.

"Calling your students names is not appropriate," Pomona told him.

"No it is not," Umbridge simpered. Once again writing on her clipboard.

"You know Severus I really don't know why you're a teacher. You would have done really well in research and been much happier for it." Remus said staring at Snape thoughtfully.

Snape sneered at him. "Like I care what you think."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Hermione you're the furthest thing from a dunderhead that I've ever seen." Neville laughed. Hermione blushed at the praise.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"That's not something he would know as a first year." Moody grunted, narrowing both eyes on Snape.

"Not even as a fifth year. It's NEWT material." Arthur Weasley added with a glare at Snape.

"I am perfectly within my liberties to question my students on the first day of class as to ascertain their level of knowledge." Snape said, getting tired of everyone complaining about the way he teaches.

Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air.

"You knew the answer?" Tonks asked shocked.

Hermione nodded, embarrassed, as everyone shot her awed looks.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything."

Snuffles growled.

"Now that wasn't necessary," Flitwick said.

"No it was not," Minerva said through pursed lips.

He ignored Hermione's hand.

"He always does," she muttered.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.

"Like any of you knew," Ron snapped at the Slytherins.

"I don't know, sir."

"At least you are still being polite," Molly said smiling.

Snape inwardly sneered. 'Of course praise the boy for every little thing.'

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

"Would it have really mattered if he had? None of those questions are in the first year's book." Kingsley pointed out.

"And we read in the beginning that he had indeed opened his books," Amelia Bones said. She already did not like Snape, seeing as she knew he was a death eater. Reading how he treats his students she was beginning to like him even less. Amelia prides herself on being fair to everyone, and he is far from fair.

Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?

"Apparently," Ginny muttered.

Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"Now really Severus," Minerva said.

Dumbledore shot Snape a disappointed look.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"Oh come on can't you pick on someone else?" Angelina yelled out in frustration.

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

McGonagall sighed. "Mr. Potter, I hope you don't talk to teachers like that all the time, regardless how much they deserve it."

"No Professor." Harry told her, them mumbled under his breath so only Ron could hear. "Only toads." Ron started to snicker.

A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

"Because you didn't tell them to," Tonks mumbled.

Remus shot her an amused glance.

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

"Only one point?" Charlie asked. "For Snape that's actually not bad.

Many people nodded in agreement.

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.

"Of course." Many students said.

Draco smiled smugly, ignoring the glares he was receiving.

He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs

"Kiss ass," Ron muttered.

when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes.

"Ouch." Several people winced.

Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!"

"Severus!" All of the teachers yelled. Snuffles was growling loudly.

"You can't call students names!" Molly and Tonks shouted.

"Severus really? That's low even for you," Minerva hissed.

Pomona and Poppy shot Severus glares.

"Severus, you can not talk to students that way." Dumbledore told him, his eyes holding no sign of a twinkle. "We will be having a talk soon."

Snape just gave a stiff nod inwardly glaring.

'No wonder Neville's boggart was Snape.' Remus thought.

Umbridge smirked and wrote quickly. 'He'll be out of here soon, oh yes he will. Him and Dumbledore will be gone.'

"You aren't an idiot Neville," Hermione said smiling at him.

"I know," he told her blushing.

snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Were you OK dear?" Molly asked gently.

"Yes," Neville answered quietly.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus.

Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. "You Potter, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

"How the hell was that his fault? He was working on his own potion! It wasn't his responsibility to monitor the other students, it was yours!" Charlie yelled.

"Charlie!" Molly yelled at the same time as Minerva yelled. "Mr. Weasley!"

Charlie just continued to glare at Snape.

This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron. "Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty."

"That wasn't him being nasty?" Fleur asked Bill. He shook his head. "Horrible, teachers were not like that at Beauxbatons."

As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week. Why did Snape hate him so much?

'That would be mine and James' fault.' Sirius thought sadly.

"Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"

At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang —back."

Harry, Ron and Hermione smiled at the mention of Fang.

Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. "Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boar hound.

There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

Draco sneered.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

Hagrid chuckled.

"With Hagrid it's the ones with the nice names you have to watch out for," Hermione said.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.

"Don't eat them," Charlie said to his brother and Harry.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

Avoiding their mother's and teachers stern gaze the twins stood up and bowed. Next to them Bill and Charlie exchanged looks thinking about how much that statement would have effected their brother.

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.

"Ick!" Parvarti said her nose wrinkled in disgust.

Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."

Many people snickered.

Filch turned his glare on Hagrid.

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it."

Filch smirked while petting his beloved cat.

Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.

The teachers once again shot Snape looks, which he ignored.

"But he seemed to really hate me."

"You think after the Dursley's I would be used to that emotion." Harry said. Snape frowned at being compared to the brat's abusive family.

Many people glared at the mention of the Dursley's.

"Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?"

Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that.

Hagrid looked sheepish.

'It's because he knew us back then.' Remus and Sirius thought.

How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals."

Charlie beamed at Hagrid.

Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST

Amelia, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley shook their heads, they never did find out who broke in.

Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.

"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokes goblin this afternoon.

Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.

"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

All of the adults groaned at this. Even those who didn't know Harry such as Kingsley knew where this was headed.

"And so it begins," Ron muttered shaking his head.

There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for?

"The Sorcerer's Stone, that's what the thief was after!" Someone shouted.

Murmurs of agreement were heard.

As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse,

Hagrid looked disappointed.

"Sorry Hagrid," Ron and Harry both said.

"It's OK," he told them.

Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?

"You are so nosy," Ginny said.

"The chapter is over," Snape said in a monotone voice.

Dumbledore stood up to address the students. "Let us take a fifteen minute break before we continue to the next chapter."

The students slowly started exiting the Great Hall to either use the facilities or to just stretch their legs. Others such as Parvarti and Lavender got up to gossip about what they're read with friends from other houses.

Harry stayed seated with Ron and Hermione, while the Weasley parents, Bill and Charlie walked up to the head table.

"What do you reckon we're going to read next?" Ron asked.

"I don't know but whatever it is probably will make you mom mad at us again," Harry said matter of fact.

Ron groaned. "Yeah, you're probably right. She is going to kill me when she hears about Fluffy or the troll."

"Oh Merlin." Hermione suddenly gasped.

"What is it?" Harry and Ron asked.

"Snape, I set him on fire remember?" Hermione asked frantically. "Oh Merlin, he's going to kill me!"

"Hermione calm down." Harry grabbed her arm to stop her from freaking out. "You''ll be fine, they can't give us detention or take away house points."

"Harry's right." Ron said. "It's my parents, Remus and Sirius we have to worry about. I mean my mom can ground me. I reckon Sirius will want to yell at you by the end of this book. Not to mention once everyone reads about the chamber."

They all sat for a moment, remembering everything they've done against school ruled. They all groaned.

"We are so dead," they all moaned.

Fifteen minutes later everyone was back in the hall, ready to read again.

"Septima would you do us the honors?" Dumbledore asked the Arithmancy professor.

"Of course," she said levitating the book over.