CHAPTER FIVE
They didn’t know the new year’s password, not having met a
Gryffindor prefect yet, but help came almost immediately; they
heard hurrying feet behind them and turned to see Hermione
dashing toward them.
“There you are! Where have you been? The most ridiculous ru-
mors — someone said you’d been expelled for crashing a flying
car —”
“Well, we haven’t been expelled,” Harry assured her.
“You’re not telling me you did fly here?” said Hermione, sound-
ing almost as severe as Professor McGonagall.
“Skip the lecture,” said Ron impatiently, “and tell us the new
password.”
“It’s ‘wattlebird,’ ” said Hermione impatiently, “but that’s not
the point —”
Her words were cut short, however, as the portrait of the fat lady
swung open and there was a sudden storm of clapping. It looked
as though the whole of Gryffindor House was still awake, packed
into the circular common room, standing on the lopsided tables
and squashy armchairs, waiting for them to arrive. Arms reached
through the portrait hole to pull Harry and Ron inside, leaving
Hermione to scramble in after them.
“Brilliant!” yelled Lee Jordan. “Inspired! What an entrance! Fly-
ing a car right into the Whomping Willow, people’ll be talking
about that one for years —”
“Good for you,” said a fifth year Harry had never spoken to;
someone was patting him on the back as though he’d just won a
marathon; Fred and George pushed their way to the front of the
crowd and said together, “Why couldn’t we’ve come in the car, eh?”
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