Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry stays with the Dursleys for one more month before leaving for Hogwarts. The Dursleys drop him off at King’s Cross station, not bothering to help him find platform nine and three-quarters. Harry wanders around the station for a while before overhearing a family of redheads using the word Muggle. The family is Mrs. Weasley with her daughter and four sons. Following them, Harry watches as Percy and twins Fred and George run into and through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Harry approaches them, and Mrs. Weasley introduces him to Ron, another first year. Harry runs through the barrier, and the twins, who recognize him as Harry Potter from his scar, help him with his bag. Mrs. Weasley orders the twins not to hassle Harry but treat him like any other student. Inside the train, Harry and Ron find a compartment. They become fast friends, talking about their respective backgrounds and childhoods.

Ron admits that it is difficult being the youngest of five brothers and that he only ever gets his siblings’ hand-me-downs. Harry notices that the Weasleys do not have a lot of money. When the witch selling snacks comes by their compartment, Harry buys one of everything for Ron and him. This is the first time Harry tries magical candy. He samples Chocolate Frogs, which come with collectible cards of famous witches and wizards, and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. Neville Longbottom enters the compartment searching for his toad, followed by Hermione Granger, who’s helping in the search. Hermione sees Ron attempt a spell that doesn’t work. She asks, “Are you sure that’s a real spell? Well, it’s not very good, is it? I’ve tried a few simple spells just for practice and it’s all worked for me” (84). Hermione tells them that she’s a Muggle-born, but she seems far more knowledgeable about magic than the other children. They all want to be in Gryffindor house.

When Hermione leaves, Ron says that he comes from a long line of Gryffindors and mentions that Gringotts recently had a break-in. Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle enter the compartment. Malfoy makes fun of Ron and his family for being poor. He tries to convince Harry to be his friend instead, but Harry rebuffs him. The boys almost devolve into a fight, but Ron’s rat bites Goyle. The bullies flee. When Hermione returns, they talk about how Malfoy and his family were on the Dark side, supporting Voldemort. When the children get off the train, Hagrid leads them in boats across the lake to the castle, where Hagrid knocks three times on the door.

Professor McGonagall welcomes the first years to Hogwarts and explains the House sorting process: “The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts” (90). She says that all the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, have a long and noble lineage. Professor McGonagall also explains that Hogwarts holds a house cup every year, in which the house with the most points wins. Students’ good behavior gets awarded with house points, while rule-breaking results in losing points. Harry is nervous about the sorting ceremony.

As they enter the great hall, the students are surprised to see a series of ghosts chatting amongst themselves and a ceiling that is “bewitched to look like the sky outside” (92). At the front of the room, the Sorting Hat begins to sing about how Gryffindors are brave, Hufflepuffs are loyal, Ravenclaws are wise, and Slytherins are cunning. Their corresponding house colors are red, yellow, blue, and green. Harry watches as the students are sorted. Hermione, Neville, and Ron are sorted into Gryffindor. Malfoy and his friends are sorted into Slytherin. Harry worries that he will not be sorted and will be forced to return to the Dursleys. When the Sorting Hat is placed on his head, Harry repeatedly begs it not to put him in Slytherin. Complying with his wishes, the Sorting Hat places him in Gryffindor. Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry looks up at the High Table for the first time and sees Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore briefly speaks, and then a feast magically appears on the table. Harry can eat his fill for the first time in his life without fear of the Dursleys scolding him.

Harry makes eye contact with Professor Severus Snape and feels a sharp pain in his scar. Harry learns that Snape teaches Potions but wants Quirrell’s job. At the end of dinner, Dumbledore warns the students that the forest is forbidden, magic is not allowed in the corridors, and that the right-hand side of the third floor is off-limits. At the entrance to the Gryffindor dormitory, Percy states the password to the portrait of a large woman in a pink dress, and the door to the common room opens. Later, while sleeping in this four-poster bed, Harry has a nightmare about Professor Quirrell telling him he must be sorted into Slytherin.

When classes begin, students stare at Harry and whisper things like, “Did you see his face? Did you see his scar?” (105). This bothers Harry, but he is far more focused on trying not to get lost in the castle. The staircases constantly move, and he and Ron struggle to make it to their classes on time. They get lost on the third floor, and Filch refuses to believe they are not breaking into the forbidden wing. Professor Quirrell gets them out of being punished. None of the students like Filch or his cat, Mrs. Norris.

Harry enjoys most of his classes but finds them challenging. His classes include Transfiguration with McGonagall, Charms with Flitwick, and History of Magic with Binns, a ghost. At breakfast, Hedwig, Harry’s snow-white owl, delivers a letter from Hagrid inviting him to tea. Harry doesn’t usually get mail, but Hedwig “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” (108). 

In Potions class, taught by Snape, Harry experiences how much the professor dislikes him and all Gryffindors. Snape openly mocks Harry for his fame and repeatedly asks him questions that he has no way of answering. Hermione raises her hand to answer every question, but Snape ignores her. Harry responds, finally, saying, “I don’t know […]. I think Hermione does, though, why don’t you try her?” (110). Harry’s comment earns a few laughs from the class, but Snape is furious at the backtalk. Snape scolds everyone in the class apart from the Slytherins, whom he clearly favors. After class, Ron and Harry go to Hagrid’s hut on the edge of the forbidden forest. The three chat about classes, and Hagrid comforts Harry about Snape’s apparent dislike for him. While looking at the newspaper, Harry notices that the break-in at Gringotts occurred when he and Hagrid were there. When asked about this, Hagrid refuses to confirm or deny his speculation. As the boys return to the castle, Harry wonders what secrets Hagrid is keeping from him.