Chapter Ten begins with just such a fantasy fullfilled. Who has not been the victim of a bully? And who has done dreamt of having the bully's most vicious little scheme result in a total turnaround? Not expelled, but lauded! Given special privileges! The look on Malfoy's face!
Especially in the wake of Professor McGonagall's gift of a brand new Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick!(Parenthetically--literally--one might want to make a point here about the Head of Gryffindore House. Professor McGonagall is a tough old bird, to be sure, but more than anything else that seems to be reaction to a tendency towards letting emotions carry her away. She is clearly breaking all sorts of rules here, and does so again on many occasions. Once you get past all that armor she really is an old softie--but that armor is sharp and dangerous. As violators of certain rules find out.)
All this of course is in the wake of the Adventure of the Three Headed Dog, which has had an interesting effect on four characters we will get to know well. Harry and Ron, let us face it, are being quite juvenile about a stunt that easily could have gotten themselves--and others--killed horribly. Neville, trying to get along, wants nothing to do with a monster (quite sensible, when you think about it). Hermione, holding fast to written rules, refuses to speak with Ron or Harry--which shows, incidentally, they both get under her skin rather easily.
This chapter also gives us our first real description of Quidditch, from the mouth of that sports fanatic Oliver Wood. Haven't we all met someone like him? People who treat football or baseball or some other ball-related activity as on par with winning a shooting war? Literally? I'll admit, upon learning the rules of Quidditch for the first time my own reaction was WTF? Seems like you could eliminate everyone except the Seekers and get the same result! But then it was eventually explained to me that Quidditch is a game about rankings--your total scores over the course of a season. Thus the actions of Chasers and Keepers with the Quaffle actually do have a direct impact upon the status of the team. Herein endeth that lesson.
Later, we get some more hints and nuances about the Trio which is at the heart of the series. Ron and Hermione are paired together in Charms Class (to their mutual--an interestingly intense--disgust). Of course Hermione outshines Ron, which is exactly the kind of wound Ron doesn't like having poked. She is thrilled, even smug, about being right and is deeply hurt at Ron's words. Interestingly, it is Ron at this point who can actually bring tears to Hermione's eyes.
Then, a Troll in the dungeon. Percy gets to tell people what to do (you can so imagine him puffing himself up at that point) but Harry immediately shows some traits we'll get to know more and more intimitely as the books go on. He sees something others have missed. The Sorting Hat was right--not a bad mind at all. And rather than foist the decision onto someone else, he instantly decides to act. He also seeks help from his best mate, Ron. At this point neither one of them really like Hermione, but both rush into danger to save her. It is fun to speculate what they'd've done if it were Draco Malfoy in danger. Myself, I like to imagine they'd look at each other for a moment, sigh, then go save him anyway...
And isn't that description of the Troll really vivid? I feel vaguely naseous every time I read it.
Given a chance to shine, of course, Ron seizes the opportunity with both hands. What he lacks in scholarship, athletics, style, glamour or leadership (at least in his eyes as compared to his elder brothers) he equals or excells in that quality we may as well call Heart. How many eleven year olds would instantly hurl insults at a twelve-foot-tall monster?
Then--it is really Ron who saves the day. What's more, he does it using magic perfectly, ever superlatively, saving the life of the girl who bested him with exactly the same spell EARLIER THAT DAY!
Is it any wonder he feels something deeply positive about Hermione from that moment on?
When the teachers arrive, they of course behold quite a sight. Possibly the most startling one from their pov (certainly from Harry's and Ron's) is perfect student Hermione Granger admitting/lying about being so irresponsible as to go looking for a Troll! But then, once you consider it, that is supremely in character. Hermione has a fondness for rules, for the security of knowledge and clear answers. But she obsesses in that direction to fill a void in her life. Quite simply, she is lonely the way very many super-bright children often are. Of course, flaunting your knowledge and smarts doesn't help, but then we're talking about a child here. Children cannot be expected to create very many sophisticated, mature decisions about life. They are children, after all! But here she is, feeling vulnerable enough to cry, and she's attacked by a monster in the very place where you should feel most safe--the girl's bathroom. And the very boys who said how much they disliked her showed up, risking their own lives to save hers! That must have been a shock down to the bone--and a pleasant one. She acted immediately in loyalty to her deepest unmet desire--friends. Methinks that was probably the first time she'd ever gotten the chance to do so much for someone else. Is it any wonder she feels something deeply positive about Ron and Harry from that moment on?
Which isn't to say the basic ingredients of this Trinity weren't already there. But you can't make an omelet by putting eggs, cheese, milk, cooking oil and chopped up bits of bacon in the same room together. You've got to heat the pan, crack open the eggs, whisk, pour, add, flip, etc. Then you get an omelette.
That is what this chapter does. It takes the ingredients of what potentially to be a great trio of friends, and starts the process. None of their lives will ever be the same again. And the whole world will be better off--not least because when the crunch came, each of these three young people instantly acted in a way that showed their souls.
Harry saw a danger and acted upon it. He could easily have tried to go tell Percy or a teacher.
Ron rose to the occasion brilliantly. He might easily have failed or not tried hard enough in the face of real danger.
Hermione allowed herself to respond in kind, with generosity and loyalty. She might easily have told the truth, won sympathy and praise from the teachers while getting a tiny bit of revenge on the boy who made her cry.
But they did. And they didn't. So the world was saved.
