Harry was relieved to hear the lunch bell. His brain felt like a wrung sponge.

 

Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago – the precise date is uncertain – by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.

 

‘Expelliarmus!’

 

‘Rictusempra!’

 

‘Tarantallegra!’

 

‘Finite Incantatem!’

 

…you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.

 

It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.