THE POTIONS MASTER
There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn’t have
much of a head start.
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.
“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.”
“Wish McGonagall favored us,” said Harry. Professor McGona-
gall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn’t stopped her from
giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.
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 own-
ers, 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. This morning, how-
ever, 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?
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