Halloween
In which Harry learns how to play Quidditch and encounters a troll in the girls' bathrooms.
Whatever's in the package, "'It's either really valuable or really dangerous,' said Ron. 'Or both,' said Harry." (163) Both, Harry, both. On the subject of immortality and infinite wealth, I think the two are natural desires of human beings, but neither is a very wise thing to possess.
In Elementary school I was a lot like Hermione. Straight A's, criss-cross-applesauce-hands-in-my-lap sittery, never broke the rules, would probably cry if I forgot to bring my homework to school. Oh how the times have changed. For this reason though, Hermione is probably my favorite female character . . . ever. I mean she grows out of her initial Ms. Bossy-Crossy Know-It-All I'm-The-Best-At-Magic-Y'all self pretty quickly. And it starts with this chapter. More on that later.
Before Halloween, Oliver Wood, Sammie's second grade crush, teaches Harry how to play Quidditch on his new Nimbus 2000. I feel like every teacher at Hogwarts is on Harry's side, save Quirrell and Snape (is on Harry's side but certainly doesn't act like it). Getting his own brand new broomstick was 100% special treatment.
"You're saying it wrong . . . It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long." Honestly, Ronald, how could you be so stupid? And don't make fun of Hermione either, later on you may or may not get married.
It's Halloween night, and everything is just peachy until a troll comes raging through the castle. I always wondered how it actually got inside without anyone noticing, because apparently trolls are really huge, loud, and stupid. Maybe there are trolls meandering in the forest? No, it was a mountain troll. I don't know. How did they fit Fluffy inside, either? Hogwarts greatest mysteries.
Knowing that Quirrell is behind these schemes, we realize that Snape's running in the opposite direction when the troll comes is only him trying to stop Quirrell from entering the trapdoor and getting the stone, not Snape letting the troll in the castle. That means Snape had to be keen to Quirrell's plans very on. Any guesses as to why Dumbledore wasn't in the loop? One of his foibles is that he tends to give people the benefit of the doubt. In Chamber of Secrets he does mention that people are innocent until they are proven guilty.
When the troll strikes, Harry and Ron realize that Hermione doesn't know about it, so they go on a rescue mission to get her from the girls' lavatories, where they happen to meet the troll. "Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid." (176) If I had a dollar for every time that happened. But most courage requires a little stupidity, a pinch of insanity. And they do, they rescue Hermione from the mountain troll. Five points for Gryffindor first years.
"From that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." (179) Gorgeous line. It's one of the few parts in the series in which everything is unequivocally right. Harry belongs at Hogwarts; he is home. It is safe here.
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