Harry Styles and the Sorcerer's Stone

Chapter 10: Hallowe'en

Hemmings couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Shawn were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Shawn thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. In the meantime, Harry liked Shawn in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. "It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Shawn. "Or both," said Harry.

But as if they were for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues.

Neither Liam or Ariana showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. All Liam cared about was never going near the dog again.

Ariana was now refusing to speak to Harry and Shawn, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Hemmings, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later.

As the owl flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. They had fluttered out of the way another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel.

Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said:

DO NOT OPEN PARCEL AT TABLE.

It contains your Nimbus Two Thousand, but don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Thomas Doherty will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session.

Professor Gomez

Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Shawn to read.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Shawn moaned enviously. "I've never even touched one."

They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Clifford and Irwin. Hemmings seized the package from Harry and felt it.

"That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Styles, first years aren't allowed them."

Shawn couldn't resist it.

"It's not any old broomstick," he said. "It's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Hemmings, a Comet Two Sixty?" Shawn grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus."

"What would you know about it, Pattison, you wouldn't afford half the handle." Hemmings snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig."

Before Shawn could answer, Professor Tomlinson appeared by Tomlinson's elbow.

"Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked.

"Styles' been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Hemmings quickly.

"Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Tomlinson, beaming at Harry. "Professor Gomez told me all about the special circumstances, Styles. And what model is it?"

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Hemmings's face. "And it's really thanks to Hemmings here that I've got it," he added.