Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The next day, it comes as a shock to Malfoy that neither Harry nor Ron have been punished for wandering the corridors at night. Harry confides in Ron about the item that Hagrid picked up from Gringotts. Hermione gives the boys the cold shoulder, clearly upset at being so close to getting in trouble. Harry receives a large box and a letter from Professor McGonagall ordering him to open it in private. She has given him a new broomstick. While Harry tries to open the package, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle find them. Malfoy wants to snitch on him, insisting that Harry will get in trouble for having one. The broomstick is a top-of-the-line Nimbus 2000, and Ron brags that it’s even better than Malfoy’s broom. Flitwick breaks up the argument. Harry and Ron do not get in trouble, and Hermione doesn’t understand why the two boys have been repeatedly awarded for breaking the rules.

That evening, Harry meets Wood on the Quidditch pitch for his first lesson. Wood explains the details of the game to Harry. There are two teams in Quidditch and three different balls that are kept in the air. Chasers must use the Quaffle ball to score through the other team’s hoop, while Beaters keep Bludgers from hitting the other players. Harry will be a Seeker. There is only one Seeker on each team, and they are responsible for catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny golden ball that flies very fast. Because a snitch is worth over 200 points in the game, it can turn the tide in a tournament. Harry continues to practice with Wood.

As the weeks pass and Halloween nears, Harry gets more comfortable at Hogwarts. During Charms, the students are tasked with making feathers fly. Ron gets annoyed with Hermione, who easily succeeds with the spell. Seamus, on the other hand, lights his feather on fire. After class, Ron complains to the others about Hermione, saying, “It’s no wonder no one can stand her…she’s a nightmare, honestly” (137). She overhears them. They do not see her for the rest of the day and hear from their classmates that Hermione has been crying in the bathroom. During dinner, Professor Quirrell rushes into the Great Hall, screaming about a troll in the dungeon, and then he faints.

The students are led to their common rooms by the prefects. Harry and Ron want to warn Hermione and rush off searching for her. On the way to the girl’s bathroom, they see that Snape has split off from the other professors. As they follow him through the corridors, they smell something foul. They stumble across the troll and quickly lock it in a room. They’re relieved to have dealt with a troll. They hear Hermione scream and realize they have locked it in the girl’s bathroom with their friend. Harry and Ron run in to distract the creature. Harry jumps on the troll’s back while Ron throws a pipe at it. Harry accidentally jabs his wand up the troll’s nose. Ron uses the levitation spell they learned to drop the troll’s club on its head. The troll is unconscious when the professors finally arrive. Professor McGonagall is furious at them, but Hermione lies and insists that she was the one searching for the troll. She tells the professors, “I went looking for the troll because I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I’ve read all about them” (142). Hermione claims that Harry and Ron saved her. The boys are astounded that Hermione lies to keep them out of trouble. Professor McGonagall takes away five points for Hermione’s recklessness before rewarding five points each to Ron and Harry. The three have now become friends. 

This chapter focuses on Harry’s first game as Gryffindor’s Quidditch seeker. Harry’s role on the team is supposed to be a secret, but rumors are already spreading about it. Harry is terrified. With Hermione’s help, Harry learns about the history of Quidditch to prepare. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are flipping through a book on Quidditch in the courtyard when Snape sees them and lectures them about having a library book outside. After scolding them and confiscating the book, Snape limps away. They think that Snape is suspicious.

Later that night, Hermione helps Ron and Harry with their homework. However, Harry is adamant about getting the book back and searches for Snape. Harry knocks on the door to the teacher’s lounge and sees Filch bandaging Snape’s leg. Harry overhears Snape talking about the dog with three heads. Snape sees Harry snooping and shouts at him to leave. Harry returns to his dorm convinced that Snape is trying to steal the package that the dog is protecting. While Ron agrees, Hermione doesn’t believe that Snape would betray Dumbledore. She insists, “I know he’s not very nice, but he wouldn’t try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe” (146). The next morning, Harry is too nervous about the Quidditch match to eat. Hermione encourages him to have breakfast, while Seamus claims that Seekers are usually the ones who get the most beat up.

All of Harry’s friends, including Hagrid, support him at the game. Lee Jordan commentates on the game. Gryffindor is the first to score. When Harry tries to chase after the Snitch, his broom begins going out of control, “carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went” (151). It eventually bucks Harry off, but he holds on with just one hand. Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron believe that someone has cursed Harry’s broom. Hermione notices how intensely Snape is watching Harry. She runs to the other side of the field to distract Snape, knocking Professor Quirrell down in the process. Hermione lights Snape’s cape on fire and escapes without being noticed. Harry regains control of his broom and catches the Snitch in his mouth, winning the game for Gryffindor. Harry, Ron, and Hermione talk to Hagrid after the game. Hagrid does not think Snape cursed Harry or tried to sneak past the three-headed dog. The children learn that the dog’s name is Fluffy. Hagrid tells them to leave the issue alone but accidentally drops Nicolas Flamel’s name. The children are delighted to have an additional clue to hunt down.

It is almost the end of the semester, and the winter holidays have arrived. Both Harry and Ron are staying at Hogwarts for Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are on vacation. While Harry and Ron chat with Hagrid, Malfoy arrives and mocks the Weasleys for being poor. Ron attacks Malfoy, but Snape breaks up the fight, immediately siding with his student. Hagrid stands up for Ron and then shows them the decorations in the Great Hall. Hermione reminds the boys to go to the library before the holidays officially begin. Hagrid is curious as to why they’re so eager to study, and they explain that they have been trying to find more information on Nicolas Flamel. Harry even tried to sneak into the library’s restricted section but had been driven out by the librarian.

After classes end, Ron teaches Harry wizard chess, where the pieces are sentient and can talk and attack each other. On Christmas day, Harry is surprised to receive presents—a knitted sweater and fudge from Mrs. Weasley, a flute from Hagrid, Chocolate Frogs from Hermione, and a fifty-pence piece from the Dursleys. Harry also receives an anonymous gift with an invisibility cloak and a letter claiming the cloak once belonged to Harry’s dad. At breakfast, Harry gets more presents from the Weasleys.

They have a snowball fight and an overall delightful Christmas. That night, Harry uses the invisibility cloak to sneak into the restricted section of the library. He evades Filch and Snape and hides in an empty room. Inside, Harry finds a large golden mirror with the words, “Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi” carved at the top (165). The words are backward and claim, “I show not your face but your heart’s desire.” In the mirror, Harry sees his parents for the first time and stays there for a long time staring at the reflection. The next night, he brings Ron to see the mirror. Harry thinks the mirror shows people their family, but Ron sees himself as Head Boy and Quidditch captain. They wonder if the mirror shows the future, but Harry quickly dismisses that idea because his parents are dead. They begin arguing over who gets to look in the mirror. A noise outside the room frightens them, and they hurry back to their dorms.

The next morning, Ron warns Harry not to look for the mirror again because he has a bad feeling. Harry ignores Ron and finds the mirror again. This time, Dumbledore interrupts him. He tells Harry that the mirror is called the Mirror of Erised and explains that it shows people what they want most in the world. Dumbledore tells Harry that the Mirror will be moved the next day and that he should not look for it, saying, “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that” (171). When asked what he sees, Dumbledore claims he sees himself holding a pair of wool socks. With that, Dumbledore sends Harry back to the dorm with the invisibility cloak. Harry wonders if Dumbledore was telling the truth about what he sees in the mirror.