by Scott King
Chapter Eight
The Potions Master
Chapter Summary:
Harry is a celebrity and no matter where he goes, the other students seem to talk, point, and stare at him. Harry and Ron have a run in with Filch when they get lost and accidentally try to enter the forbidden corridor.
Harry attends the first of all his classes and meets the professors. Professor Sprout teaches Herbology. Professor Binns teaches the History of Magic. Professor Flitwick teaches Charms. Professor McGonagall teaches Transfiguration. Quirrell teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts and Snape teaches Potions.
Potions is by far Harry’s worst class. Right from the start, Snape appears to have it out for Harry. During roll call, Snape refers to Harry as, “Our new — celebrity.” He also embarrasses Harry by targeting him for questions that Harry doesn’t know the answer to. Even after that is clear, Snape keeps at it, finally saying, “Tut, tut — fame clearly isn’t everything.”
After their disastrous Potions class, Harry and Ron visit Hagrid at Hagrid’s cottage. While having tea, Harry spots a newspaper article referring to the break-in at Gringotts. The article makes it clear that the break-in happened on his birthday, the same day he and Hagrid were there. It was also the same vault where Hagrid retrieved the small package. Harry confronts Hagrid about it, but no answers are shared and the chapter ends with Harry wondering about what was in the small package.
Balancing the World-building:
“The Potions Master” rounds out the final introduction the reader and Harry get to the supporting cast. Each of the teachers is introduced and their classes are explained. This is important because when we get to Act III Harry, Ron, and Hermione will have to use the knowledge they have gained in each class to defeat an obstacle created by each professor.
What’s interesting about the classes and how the teachers are introduced is that they feel like fun world-building moments more than plot-important. In some cases, the descriptions are brief and it will be later where the reader learns more about the classes.
If each class had a two-page scene, it would bog the chapter down and screw with the overall pacing of the book. With so many teachers and classes being introduced, Rowling has to cherry pick what she wants the readers to focus on. So the moments she highlights, even the small ones, need to be meaningful.
For example, Transfiguration is something that will become important not just in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but in many of the Harry Potter books. The reference to the class is only a single paragraph and it isn’t really about the class itself. It’s more of a character moment for Harry and Hermione. Harry doesn’t feel bad for not being able to make the spell work, because not even Hermione was able to do it right.
In terms of plot, both Quirrell and Snape are more important in this book than Sprout or McGonagall and as a result, it’s those classes and those teachers that get more attention. When creating such a rich world, an author has to find a balance in how much world-building is needed for a reader to understand and enjoy the story and what is too much that it drags things and gets in the way of the story itself.
There will come a time where, as the author, there are details or things that excite you, but those same things may not excite your readers. This usually rears its head when it comes to world-building. The key is to understand how much to include. You only need enough so the reader can understand what is happening.
Look at the classes that Harry has to attend as a first year:
•Herbology
•History of Magic
•Charms
•Transfiguration
•Defense Against the Dark Arts
•Potions
That’s it. Of those classes, the reader hardly gets to see anything of Herbology or History of Magic. Had Rowling wanted, she could have set bunches of scenes in either class, to flesh out the wizarding world. For this story, though, those kinds of details don’t matter and even the teachers don’t matter. What does matter are the bits of magic we see in a few of the other classes and getting to know Quirrell and Snape better.
Quirrell:
Defense Against the Dark Arts class scenes hammer home the idea that Quirrell is an idiot who really doesn’t know much about magic. Harry’s POV refers to the class as “a bit of a joke” and even the language Rowling uses to describe the class undermines Quirrell’s competency.
It’s interesting to re-read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone knowing how it ends. Throughout the whole book there are references to Quirrell’s turban, but in “The Potions Master” Quirrell says that the turban was, “…given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie.” It sounds like a humblebrag and even the students question the legitimacy of the story.
This is Rowling showing how sneaky she is. Quirrell is flat out lying about the turban, but the way Rowling does it, is she makes it seem like he is lying to make himself sound cooler and more badass. It won’t be till the end of the book before the real reason of why he is lying comes into the open.
This is misdirection in its finest form. The lie seems to inform how Quirrell is an idiot and possibly a fraud who knows nothing about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Yet if a reader knows the truth, it’s obvious why Quirrell is lying.
If you are writing a novel with many mysteries, you’ll have to manipulate the reader to get them to look somewhere else. Think of it like on-stage magicians. A magician may do a flashy movement with their right hand, while holding a deck of cards. The flashy movement draws the eye and while a viewer is distracted the magician pulls a card out of a secret pocket using their left hand. That’s what Rowling is doing here. She’s making it so that the reader will suspect Quirrell is lying, but distracts them so that the reader doesn’t understand the real reason why.
Snape:
Snape is the surrogate big bad of the novel. It’s clear that he hates Harry and every one of the actions he takes throughout the book seems shady. In many ways, he’s like the Dursleys. In later novels, he redeems himself and develops a fan-following, but in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, he’s the kind of character that readers love to hate and Rowling really hams that up.
Rowling wants the reader to dislike Snape. She has numerous ways that she makes it happen, the biggest of which is that, especially in Potions class, Snape is a jerk to Harry. He singles out Harry multiple times and is not only mean, but clearly is trying to embarrass Harry. As someone who is supposed to be an educator and helping students, it’s a horrible thing to do, and yet most readers will be able to think back to a teacher who at some point was out-to-get-them. It’s believable and relatable.
Although Snape is extra harsh to Harry, he doesn’t hold back with the other students. He criticizes everyone, except Malfoy. Rowling clearly positions Snape as just an overall jerk. He’s grumpy, seems to treat all the students like they are idiots, and is cruel.
To make matters worse, at this point in the story one of the things that Harry has started to care about is the House Cup. The reader has also become invested in seeing Slytherin lose it, but Snape has no problem deducting points from Gryffindor to hurt them in the standings. Since Snape is head of the Slytherin House, this favoritism and harming of Slytherin’s competition is a slimy, unethical thing to do.
With all that being said, Snape isn’t a one-note character. Although not all of his motives, like why he hates Harry, may be revealed in this book, a lot of his motives do become clear by the end and even in this chapter Rowling shows that he has depth.
When Snape talks about potions he says, “I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses…”
There is clear pride in Snape’s voice. He loves the art and craft of potion-making. It shows that he is a capable professor and not a bumbling fool like Quirrell. It also shows that
he does actually care about something. It’s such a tiny thing, but it hints that there is more to his character than the reader is seeing.
That is something to keep in mind when creating an antagonist for your POV characters and it helps to think of your big bad as an antagonist and not a villain. A villain is a cheese-ball flat character who does bad things for no real reason. An antagonist is someone who gets in your POV character’s way and stops the POV character from getting what they want. An antagonist has their own wants and desires and does what they do not just for the sake of being evil, but for meaningful reasons.
Chapter Eight Takeaways:
•Too much world-building will slow down a story, so find the right balance that will meet your need and not leave the reader either confused or bored.
•When writing a novel with mystery, you will need to use misdirection in smart and different ways to keep your readers from figuring out the mysteries until you want them to.
•The easiest way to make a reader dislike a character is to have that character be mean to your POV character.
•An antagonist is not just a “bad guy.” It is someone who prevents your POV character from getting what they want.
Chapter Nine
The Midnight Duel
Chapter Summary:
Harry finds out that the Gryffindors and Slytherins will be given flying lessons in a joint class taught by Madam Hooch. At breakfast, before class, Neville gets a package from his Gran. It’s a Remembrall, a magical device that illuminates if you are holding it and have forgotten something. Draco steals the Remembrall from Neville, and only gives it back when McGonagall questions him about it.
Flying is rough going for most of the students, and in almost no time Neville crashes and breaks his wrist. Madam Hooch leaves to take him to the infirmary, leaving the rest of the students unsupervised. Hooch warns the students not fly when she isn’t there.
After Hooch and Neville leave, Draco finds the Remembrall. Harry demands that Draco returns it, but instead of doing so, Draco hops onto a broom and flies away. Harry grabs a broom for himself and chases Draco. The other students watch in horror, and are shocked when Draco drops the Remembrall, but through sheer flying skill, Harry is able to catch it.
McGonagall witnesses Harry’s flying and yells at him. Harry thinks he is in deep trouble, but instead of punishing him, she introduces him to Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. McGonagall tells Wood about the nose-dive she saw Harry do, and Oliver agrees to make Harry the Gryffindor’s new Seeker.
At dinner, Harry tells Ron about joining the team. As they are celebrating, Draco mocks Harry for getting in trouble with McGonagall and threatens Harry to a duel. Ron accepts on Harry’s behalf and they all decide to meet at midnight in the trophy room.
When sneaking out to go to the duel, Harry and Ron are stopped by Hermione. She pleads with them not to go so that they don’t cost Gryffindor any House points. The door to the Gryffindor dorms locks behind them, and Hermione has no choice but to go with them to the duel. Along the way they find Neville, and the four of them make their way to the trophy room. Draco never shows, but Mrs. Norris and Filch do. They all realize the whole thing was a set-up by Draco to get them into trouble.
They flee the trophy room, and Hermione uses a spell to get them past a locked door. They think they are hiding in a room, but realize it’s actually the forbidden corridor on the third floor. Merely feet away from them is a huge three-headed-dog sleeping on top of a trap door. Quietly, they slip away, and sneak back to their dorm without any more run-ins.
Conflict:
We have brought up the term “conflict” a few times, but now let’s really dive into what it is, why it is important, and look at how Rowling has planted conflict all throughout Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
No matter the genre you are writing your novel in, your characters will want things. In Star Wars: A New Hope, Luke wanted to save Princess Leia and when he found out about the Death Star he wanted to destroy it. In Moana, Moana wanted to find Maui and get him to return the heart of Te Fiti. In Groundhog Day, Phil Connors wanted to escape a time loop. In Titanic, Rose wanted to not be in an arranged marriage and wanted to marry for love.
Over the course of the whole Harry Potter series, Harry wants to be a part of a loving family. However in each individual book, at different moments he has varying wants and needs. When Dudley was going to the zoo for his birthday, Harry wanted to go. When the letters from no one started arriving, Harry wanted to read them to find out what they said. Now that he is at Hogwarts he wants multiple things. He wants to learn magic. He wants Gryffindor to win the House Cup. He wants to unravel the mystery of what was stolen from vault 713. Later on, he will want to win his Quidditch matches, pass his exams, and to protect the Sorcerer’s Stone.
It’s very normal for a character to have multiple wants and for those wants to shift or change. Conflict occurs when something gets in the way of that character achieving one of their wants. In “The Midnight Duel,” after Neville ends up hurt, Harry wants to retrieve Neville’s Remembrall. Instead of handing it over, Draco jumps onto a broom and flies away. This creates conflict. Harry wants the Remembrall and Draco prevents that from happening.
When faced with the conflict, instead of backing down, Harry decides his want is big enough that further action is needed and he hops onto a broom to chase Draco. They flitter about on their brooms until finally Draco purposely drops the Remembrall while flying high above the ground. The conflict shifts; now the thing preventing Harry from getting the Remembrall is gravity. Breaking into a dive, Harry goes after the Remembrall. He discovers his natural talent for flying and is able to catch it. The day seems won. Harry has achieved what he wanted, but then McGonagall arrives and yells at him. In that moment Harry develops a new want. He wants to not be in trouble.
Without conflict, there is no story. There is only characters existing. Reimagine the opening of the novel. Instead of the Dursleys being all-Dursley-ish they are loving and caring. Harry is treated with respect, all his wants are met, and he is perfectly happy. An opening like that would be utterly boring. That’s the first thing that conflict does and why you want it in your novel. Conflict drives story. It keeps things from being stagnant and boring.
The other main thing conflict does is that it forces characters to be active. After growing up with Dudley, Harry can’t stand bullies. He won’t put up with it. He sympathizes with those who get bullied and, as we saw on the train with Ron, he doesn’t hesitate to stand up for what he feels is right. When Harry sees Neville’s Remembrall taken by Draco his instinct to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves kicks in. His want to and need to protect drives him into action. Without that want, Harry would never have stood up to Draco.
Think back to the letters. Mr. Dursley did not want Harry to read the letters. Harry wanted to read them. This caused conflict. Mr. Dursley’s desire to keep the letters out of Harry’s hand spurred him into action. He slept on the floor of the hallway to make sure Harry wouldn’t sneak out to check the mail. He boarded up the cracks around the doors and floors. When that didn’t work he forced his family into the car and took them to a random hotel. When that didn’t work he rented a boat and took them to a literal island. Mr. Dursley’s want to keep the letters away from Harry drove all of his action.
Now that we are deep into Act II of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, conflict crops up all over the place and there are layers to it. Halfway through “The Midnight Duel,” Harry and Ron sneak out to go duel Draco. In that moment Harry wants to win the duel to put Draco in his place. The reader assumes Draco wants to win the duel to put Harry in his place. While that conflict is layered above the scene, kind of like a backdrop, Hermione shows up. Hermione does not want Harry to duel because she feels Harry will get in trouble and that will cause Gryffindor to lose House points. It’s conflict inside of conflict like a Russian nesting doll. It doesn’t end there, though!
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br /> Conflict arises between Ron and Hermione. Then they find Neville and there is concern that bringing him will get them caught. Then they have to sneak to the duel location. Once there, they realize they were framed and have to escape Mrs. Norris and Filch. They get away but then Peeves, the ghost, causes a scene putting them at risk again. They break into a locked door, thinking they are safe, but realize they are in the forbidden corridor and come face to face with a monstrous three-headed dog.
From the start of “The Midnight Duel” to the final page, there is nonstop conflict. The result is that the chapter reads fast, never feeling boring and the characters, especially Harry, are active. If your own story is slacking and seems to be meandering, one of the first things you should check is your POV character’s wants. Do they have wants and are those wants clearly defined? If they are defined then what antagonistic force is standing in the character’s way preventing them from getting their want?
Chapter Nine Takeaways:
•Characters have wants and when those wants are denied it causes conflict.
•Conflict keeps a story moving and forces characters to be more active.
•Characters have multiple wants, and as a result there can be multiple kinds of conflict happening at the same time.
•The antagonistic force preventing a character from getting their want doesn’t have to be a villain or a big bad.
Chapter Ten
Halloween
Chapter Summary:
At breakfast, Hermione is no longer speaking to Ron or Harry, though neither is bothered by it. A package arrives for Harry from McGonagall. It is a Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick! Draco tries to get Harry in trouble for having a broomstick but Flitwick informs him that Harry is a special circumstance and is allowed to have it.
