Page 21

Harry's safety is your paramount concern, because you, unlike Voldemort, have heard the whole of Trelawney's prophecy. You know that Voldemort's attack on Harry has given Harry the potential power to defeat Voldemort; so it is essential that Harry be protected until he is old enough for that potential to be realized. Accordingly, you leave Harry with the Dursleys, together with a note explaining to them the importance of his presence in their home.

As you suspect, the Dursleys are not nice to Harry, but under their grudging care he survives until the age of eleven, at which time you send him an invitation to begin studying at Hogwarts. The Dursleys try their best to prevent him from getting your invitation, but you persist until, with Hagrid's help, you succeed.

Harry arrives at Hogwarts and makes friends with Ron Weasley and later with Hermione Granger, two other first-year students. The three of them get sorted into Gryffindor House, although the Sorting Hat would have liked to put Harry into Slytherin House instead. He also makes enemies with everyone in Slytherin, especially Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy's son Draco, another first-year student. He shows such talent for flying that he is chosen to become the Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

For the first time in his young life he is happy, and you are reluctant to spoil his happiness by revealing to him another part of Trelawney's prophecy: he must either kill Voldemort or die trying. At the end of his first year, he shows that he has the right stuff for the job: with the help of his two best friends he succeeds in preventing Voldemort, who has possessed the current Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirinus Quirrell, from getting the Philosopher's Stone, which would have given him the immortality he so desperately craves. You debate with yourself: should you now tell him about the prophecy or should you wait until he is older to avoid upsetting him at such a tender age?

If you choose to tell Harry about the prophecy, turn to page 23.

If you choose to wait until he is older, turn to page 24.