章节_29

”i bet im in hufflepuff” said harry gloomily.

”better hufflepuff than slytherin,” said hagrid darkly. ”theres

not a sich or ent bad who wasnt in

slytherin. you-knoas one.”

”vol-, sorry - you-knoas at hogwarts?”

”years an years ago,” said hagrid.

they bought harrys school books in a shop called flourish

and blotts where the shelves were stacked to the g with

boe as paving stones bouher; books the

size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar

symbols and a few books with nothi all. even dudley,

who hing, would have been wild to get his hands on

some of these. hagrid almost had t harry away from d

tercurses (bewitch your friends and befuddle your eh

the latest revenges: hair loss, jelly-legs, toying and much,

much more) by professor vindictus viridian.

”i was trying to find out how to curse dudley.”

”im not sayin thats not a good idea, but yer not ter use

magi the muggle world ex very special ces,”

said hagrid. ”an anyway, yeh work any of them curses yet,

yehll more study befet ter that level.”

hagrid would harry buy a solid gold , either

(”it says pewter o”), but they got a of

scales f potios and a collapsible brass

teles they visited the apothecary, which was fasg

enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs

and rotted cabbages. barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor;

jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lihe walls;

buhers, strings of fangs, and snarled g from

the g. while hagrid asked the mahe ter for a

supply of some basi is for harry, harry himself

examined silver unis at twenty-one galleons ead

miery-black beetle eyes (five knuts a scoop).

outside the aprid checked harrys list again.

”just yer wa - a yeah, an i still havent got yeh a

birthday present.”

harry felt himself go red.

”you dont have to --”

”i know i dont have to. tell yeh what, ill get yer animal. not

a toad, toads went outta fashio, yehd be laughed at - an

i don like cats, they make me sneeze. ill get yer an owl. all the

kids want owls, theyre dead useful, carry yer mail ahin.”

tweer, they left eeylops owl emporium, which

had been dark and full and flig, jewel-bright

eyes. harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy

o with her head under her wing. he t stop

stammering his thanks, sounding just like professor quirrell.

”do,” said hagrid gruffly. ”do youve had

a lotta presents from them dursleys. just olliva now -

only plads, ollivanders, aa have the best wand.”

a magid... this was what harry had been really looking

forward to.

the last shop was narroeeliers over

the door read ollivanders: makers of fine wands since 382 b.c. a

single wand lay on a faded purple the dusty window.

a tinkling bell rahe depths of the shop as they

stepped i lace, empty except fle,

spindly chair that hagrid sat on to wait. harry felt strangely as

though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot

of hat had just o aead

at the thousands of narrow boxes piled ly right up to the

g. for some reason, the back of his neck prickled. the very

dust and silen here seemed to tih sic.

”good afternoon,” said a soft voice. harry jumped. hagrid must

have jumped, too, because there was a l noise and he

got quickly off the spindly chair.

an old man was stahem, his wide, pale eyes shining

like mh the gloom of the shop.

”hello,” said harry awkwardly.

”ah yes,” said the man. ”yes, yes. i thought id be seeing