Category : Scripts

Sub Category : Movies

FADE IN:
1 EXT. PRIVET DRIVE - DAY 1
WIDE HELICOPTER SHOT. Privet Drive. CAMERA CRANES DOWN,
DOWN, OVER the rooftops, FINDS the SECOND FLOOR WINDOW of
NUMBER 4. HARRY POTTER sits in the window.
2 OMITTED 2
3 INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - DAY 3
Harry pages through a SCRAPBOOK, stops on a MOVING PHOTO of Ron and Hermione. SQUAWK! Harry jumps. HEDWIG pecks at the LOCK slung through her cage door, then glowers at Harry.
HARRY
I can't, Hedwig. I'm not allowed to use magic outside of school. Besides, if Uncle Vernon --
At the sound of the name, HEDWIG SQUAWKS again, LOUDER.
UNCLE VERNON (O.S.)
Har-ry Pot-ter!
HARRY
Now you've done it.
4 INT. KITCHEN - DAY 4
While AUNT PETUNIA puts the finishing touches to a PUDDING of WHIPPED CREAM and SUGARED VIOLETS, UNCLE VERNON struggles with DUDLEY'S BOW TIE, all the while glowering at Harry.
UNCLE VERNON
I warned you. If you can't control that bloody bird, it'll have to go.
HARRY
She's bored. If I could just let her out for an hour or two --
UNCLE VERNON
And have you sending secret messages to your freaky little friends? No, sir.
HARRY
But I haven't gotten any messages. From any of my friends. Not one. All summer.
DUDLEY
Who'd want to be friends with you?
UNCLE VERNON
I should think you'd be more grateful. We raise you since you were a baby, give you food off our table, even let you have Dudley's second bedroom... purely out of the goodness of our hearts.
DUDLEY
I thought he got the second bedroom because Mum was afraid he'd turn us into dung beetles if you put him back in the cupboard under the stairs.
AUNT PETUNIA stops cold, exchanges a dark look with Uncle Vernon, then sees Dudley extending a finger for the pudding.
AUNT PETUNIA
Not yet, popkin. That's for when the Masons arrive.
UNCLE VERNON
Which should be any moment. Now. Let's run through our schedule one more time. Petunia, when the Masons get here, you will be --
AUNT PETUNIA
In the lounge, waiting to welcome them graciously to our home.
UNCLE VERNON
Good. And Dudley?
DUDLEY
I'll be waiting to open the door.
UNCLE VERNON
Excellent. (turning on Harry) And you?
HARRY
I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise and pretending I don't exist.
UNCLE VERNON
Too right you will. With any luck, this could well be the day I make the biggest deal of my career.
DOORBELL RINGS. Instantly, Uncle Vernon shoves Harry out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
UNCLE VERNON
Upstairs! Hurry!
5 OMITTED 5
6 INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - DAY 6
Harry enters, turns, and stops dead: a tiny CREATURE with bat-like ears and bulging green eyes is jumping on his bed as if it were a trampoline. This is DOBBY.
DOBBY
Harry Potter! Such an honor it is!
HARRY
What... Who are you?
DOBBY
Dobby, sir. Dobby the house elf.
HARRY
I see. Not to be rude or anything, but this isn't a great time for me to have a house-elf in
my bedroom.
DOBBY
Oh, yes, sir, Dobby understands. It's just that, Dobby has come to tell you... it is difficult, sir... Dobby wonders where to begin.
HARRY
Why don't you sit down?
DOBBY
S-s-sit down?
Suddenly Dobby BURSTS INTO TEARS. LOUD TEARS. Harry panics.
HARRY
Shhhh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything --
DOBBY
Offend Dobby! Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but never has he been asked to sit down by a wizard, like an equal...
HARRY
You can't have met many decent wizards then.
Dobby shakes his head, then without warning, LEAPS off the bed and starts to BANG HIS HEAD FURIOUSLY ON THE FLOOR.
DOBBY
Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!
7 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 7
Uncle Vernon pours champagne for MR. and MRS. MASON. As Dobby's HEAD BANGING sounds from above, all eyes shift to the ceiling. Uncle Vernon chuckles nervously.
UNCLE VERNON
Don't mind that. It's just the... cat.
DUDLEY
Cat? What cat?
UNCLE VERNON
Our cat, tiger.
8 INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - DAY 8
Dobby gets back to his feet, wobbling, eyes spinning dizzily. Harry regards him with a mixture of concern... and wariness.
HARRY
Are you... all right?
DOBBY
Dobby had to punish himself, sir. Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir.
HARRY
Your... family?
DOBBY
The wizard family Dobby serves, sir. Dobby is bound to serve one family forever. If they ever knew Dobby was here... Dobby shudders in fear, then looks up, WHISPERS urgently.
DOBBY
But Dobby had to come. Dobby has to protect Harry Potter. To warn him. (in a fierce whisper) Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year.
HARRY
Not go back? But... I have to.
DOBBY
This is a plot. A plot to make most terrible things happen. If Harry Potter goes back to school he will be in great danger.
HARRY
What terrible things? Who's plotting them? Dobby makes a funny CHOKING and GAGGING noise.
HARRY
Okay! I understand. You can't say -- Too late. Dobby grabs the bedside lamp and starts beating himself about the head and YELPING LOUDLY.
9 INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY 9
Uncle Vernon is in the midst of telling a joke.
UNCLE VERNON
They arrive at the ninth hole and!--
DOBBY'S YELPS INTERRUPT, ringing out from above.
MR. MASON
Sounds as if that cat of yours has dragged something in with it, Dursley.
UNCLE VERNON
Not to worry. I'll sort it out.
10 INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - DAY 10
Harry wrestles the lamp away from Dobby. 
HARRY
Stop! Stop! 
FOOTSTEPS THUNDER on the landing. Quickly, Harry grabs Dobby by the pillowcase and pitches him into the wardrobe... just as the door FLINGS OPEN.
UNCLE VERNON
What the devil are you doing up here! You've just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke. One more sound and you'll wish you'd never been born, boy!
He stomps flat-footed from the room and SLAMS THE DOOR. Harry lets Dobby out of the wardrobe.
HARRY
See why I've got to go back? I don't belong here. I belong in your world -- at Hogwarts. It's the only place I've got... friends.
DOBBY
Friends who don't even write to Harry Potter?
HARRY
Well, I expect they've been -- hang on, how do you know my friends haven't been writing me? 
Guiltily, Dobby takes out a STACK of LETTERS.
DOBBY
Harry Potter mustn't be angry with Dobby -- Dobby hoped if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him... Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir...
HARRY
Give me those. Now.
Dobby frowns sadly, then DASHES out the door. Panicking...
11 INT. HALLWAY/STAIRS/KITCHEN - DAY 11
... Harry flies desperately after, Dobby bouncing like a ping-pong ball down the stairs and into the kitchen. As Harry races in, he finds Dobby on the counter, waving his arms. Aunt Petunia's masterpiece of a pudding RISES, then floats into the living room, HOVERING over the Mason's heads. The Masons don't see, but the Dursleys -- goggle-eyed--do.
HARRY
Dobby... Please... No...
DOBBY
Harry Potter must say he's not going back to school.
HARRY
I can't. Hogwarts is my home.
DOBBY
(a tragic expression) Then Dobby must do it, sir. For Harry Potter's own good.
Dobby SNAPS HIS FINGERS. The pudding PLUMMETS... straight onto the Masons. They stand blinking, covered head to foot with whipped cream and sugared violets. The
Masons exit. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia race after them.
UNCLE VERNON
I'm sorry. It's our nephew. Very disturbed. Meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs...
11A EXT. DURSLEY HOUSE - DAY 11A
The Masons RACE out of the house, the Dursleys FOLLOWING.
AUNT PETUNIA
We have ice cream... The Masons get into their car and drive off, just as a SHRIEKING SOUND splits the sky. An OWL SWOOPS down, and DROPS a LETTER at Uncle Vernon's feet. He picks up the letter, opens it. As he reads it, a mad gleam dances in
Uncle Vernon's eye. He turns and races back inside the house. Aunt Petunia follows.
11B INT. DURSLEY HOUSE - NIGHT 11B
Uncle Vernon runs back into the living room, extends the letter to Harry.
UNCLE VERNON
Go on. Read it.
HARRY
'Dear Mr. Potter. We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence at twelve minutes past seven this evening. As you know, underage wizards...'
UNCLE VERNON
'... are not permitted to perform spells outside school.'
UNCLE VERNON (CONT'D)
(snatching the letter) You didn't tell us you weren't Allowed to use magic at home.
Slipped your mind, didn't it?
UNCLE VERNON (CONT'D)
Well, I've got news for you, boy. I'm locking you up! And if you try to magic yourself out, they'll expel you! You're never going back to that school! Never!
12 EXT./INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - NEXT DAY 12
A SHORT MONTAGE BEGINS:
Uncle Vernon fits IRON BARS to the inside of Harry's window. Drills a METAL FLAP to the base of the bedroom door. Fits a FAT, GREY LOCK to the door itself. Soaking with sweat, he casts Harry a nasty grin and pulls shut the DOOR. It closes with the DULL CLANK of a cell.
13 INT. HARRY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT 13
Harry stares gloomily out the window. The METAL FLAP RATTLES and Dudley's pudgy hand slides a BOWL of TINNED SOUP onto the floor. He grins cruelly through the opening.
DUDLEY
I know what day it is.
HARRY
Well done, Dudley. Finally learned the days of the week, have you.
DUDLEY
Today's your birthday. And nobody cares.
Dudley SNAPS SHUT the flap. Harry sighs, takes the soup and a bit of stale bread, and crosses to Hedwig.
HARRY
It's no good turning your beak up. It's all we've got. Harry feeds a piece of bread to Hedwig... as we...
DISSOLVE TO:
SAME SCENE - LATER
Harry leans against the wall. Asleep. There is a gentle TAPPING SOUND. Harry opens his eyes and is stunned to see... RON WEASLEY staring through the bedroom window.
HARRY
Ron?
RON
Hiya, Harry.
13A EXT. DURSLEY HOUSE - NIGHT 13A
An OLD, TURQUOISE-COLORED FORD ANGLIA floats in midair. Ron leans out the back window. His brother FRED sits in the driver's seat. Fred's twin George is in the
passenger seat.
HARRY
Fred? George? What're you doing here?
RON
Rescuing you, of course. Where's your trunk?
13B CLOSEUP - HARRY'S TRUNK 13B
Stuffed with clothes, spellbooks. The trunk CLOSES, SNAPS SHUT. Harry drags the trunk to the windowsill, watches Ron tie off a fierce knot on the bars of Harry's window.
RON
Stand back. 
Harry steps back. Ron turns, nods to Fred.
13C INSERT - FRED'S FOOT 13C
Fred STEPS ON the accelerator.
13D EXT. DURSLEY HOUSE - NIGHT 13D
The Ford Anglia FLIES UP into the air, the rope SNAPS TIGHT, and -- CRUNCH! -- the bars are TORN from the window. Bricks and bars RAIN DOWN onto the lawn below, a mangled mess.
13E INT. UNCLE VERNON'S BEDROOM - NIGHT 13E
Uncle Vernon WAKES...
17 INT./EXT. HARRY'S BEDROOM/THE CAR - MOMENTS LATER 17
Harry pushes the trunk over the sill into the Anglia's boot, then scrambles through the window himself, when...
SQUAWK!
HARRY
Hedwig! Harry clambers back, grabs Hedwig's cage, swings it onto the ledge, when... BAM! The bedroom door CRASHES OPEN.
UNCLE VERNON
Petunia! He's getting away! As Harry leaps for the windowsill, Uncle Vernon CHARGES
FORWARD and SNATCHES his ankle. Harry tumbles into the darkness, one hand gripping Hedwig's cage, the other reaching out and... CATCHING Ron's at the last possible second. Uncle Vernon puts both hands to Harry's ankle, pulls harder. Ron braces himself, pulls back. Harry hangs, stretched high over the lawn, directly above the mangled steel bars.
CLOSEUP: Harry's hand begins to slip from Ron's fingers.
INSIDE OF CAGE: Hedwig PECKS feverishly at the LOCK.
CLOSE-UP: Ron. PANICKED.
RON
Hold on, Harry!
UNCLE VERNON
Oh no, boy! You and that bloody pigeon aren't going anywhere!
CLOSE-UP: Harry's hand begins to slip away from Ron's.
INSIDE OF CAGE: Hedwig PECKS HARDER and... the CAGE OPENS.
Hedwig SWOOPS into the sky, WHEELS BACK and hammers her beak into Uncle Vernon's hand. He ROARS, stumbles back and... Ron and George pull Harry into the air.
RON
Put your foot down, Fred! Like a rocket, the Anglia sails into the stars. Harry glances back, sees Aunt Petunia and Dudley join Uncle Vernon at the window. As Hedwig races up, soaring just beyond the car window, Ron turns to Harry.
RON
By the way, Harry. Happy Birthday.
DISSOLVE TO:
18 EXT. THE BURROW - EARLY MORNING 18
As the Anglia drops through a pink sky, a haphazard mess of a HOUSE, built around a towering central chimney, appears below. By the road, a lopsided SIGN reads: THE
BURROW. FLUMPH! The car touches down in a WHIRLING CONE of dust, scatters a group of chickens, and fishtails to a halt. The boys spill quickly out of the car. FRED
WHISPERS urgently.
FRED
Hurry! Let's nip inside before Mum wakes up!
19 INT. FRONT ROOM - THE BURROW - MOMENTS LATER 19
The boys sneak inside, gently close the door. Harry stops. Magical objects surround him: A CLOCK displays different chores for each family member. A pair of NEEDLES knit a sweater by themselves. And a stack of PLAYING CARDS that. A stack of PLAYING CARDS SHUFFLE themselves, providing a cooling breeze for Ron's aging rat, SCABBERS. Ron shrugs, averts his eyes selfconsciously.
RON
It's not much.
HARRY
I think it's... brilliant! 
Ron looks up. Sees Harry's mesmerized face. Slowly... GRINS.
MRS. WEASLEY (O.S.)
WHERE... HAVE... YOU... BEEN?! 
The boys nearly jump out of their skin. MRS. WEASLEY stands in the doorway. Furious. She smiles sweetly at
Harry.
MRS. WEASLEY
Harry! How wonderful to see you. (back to the boys) Beds empty! No note! You could've died! You could've been seen! (again, to Harry) I don't blame you, of course, dear.
RON
They were starving him, Mum! There were bars on his window!
MRS. WEASLEY
You best hope I don't put bars on your window, Ronald Weasley! (softening instantly) Care for a spot of tea, Harry?
GINNY
Mummy. Have you seen my jumper -- A small, RED-HEADED GIRL appears. Sees Harry. And...
SQUEALS. Dashes back up the stairs. Ron frowns.
RON
Ginny. Been talking about you all summer. Dead annoying, really.
GEORGE
Dad's home! The front door OPENS and ARTHUR WEASLEY enters. A tall man with red hair, his robes look dusty and travel-worn.
MR. WEASLEY
What a night! Nine raids! Nine!
HARRY
(to Ron) Raids?
RON
Dad works at the Ministry of Magic. In the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office.
HARRY
The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts...?
RON
That's when wizards bewitch something to drive Muggles mad. Shrinking door keys, that kind of thing. Dad loves Muggles. Thinks they're fascinating. Mr. Weasley hangs up his cloak, turns. Blinks.
MR. WEASLEY
Well now. Who are you?
HARRY
Harry, sir. Harry Potter.
MR. WEASLEY
Good Lord, are you really? Ron's told us all about you, of course. When did you get here?
MRS. WEASLEY
(darkly) This morning. Your sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey house and back last night.
MR. WEASLEY
Did you now! How'd it go?! (catching his wife's eye) I... I mean... That was very wrong, boys. Very wrong indeed. So, Harry. You must know all about Muggles. Tell me, what exactly is the function of a parking meter?
Harry is about to answer, when he notices an OWL (ERROL) soaring toward the kitchen window. To Harry's horror, the owl doesn't pull up. It just flies... SMACK!... into the glass.
MRS. WEASLEY
That must be Errol with the post. Fetch him, will you, George? George takes the unconscious Errol, absently lays him on a draining board, and takes the LETTERS clutched in his claws.
GEORGE
It's our Hogwarts letters! And look. They've sent Harry's as well.
MR. WEASLEY
Dumbledore must know you're here, Harry. Doesn't miss a trick, that man.
FRED
(reading his) This lot won't come cheap, Mum. The spellbooks alone...
MRS. WEASLEY
We'll manage. Right then. There's only one place to get all of this.
HARRY/RON/FRED/GEORGE
Diagon Alley!
24 INT. LIVING ROOM - THE BURROW - DAY (LATER) 24
Everyone has gathered in front of the large fireplace.
MRS. WEASLEY
You first, Harry dear. Mrs. Weasley offers Harry a FLOWERPOT. At the bottom is
a layer of VERY SOFT DUST. Harry frowns in confusion.
RON
Harry's never traveled by Floo Powder before, Mum.
HARRY
Floo Powder? Just then, Ron's older brother PERCY enters.
MRS. WEASLEY
Percy. Would you mind going first, so Harry can see how it's done?
PERCY
Certainly, Mother. Don't worry, Harry. It's simple enough.
Percy takes a pinch from the pot, pitches it into the fireplace and BRIGHT GREEN FLAMES ROAR HIGH. To Harry's amazement, he calmly walks... straight into them.
PERCY
Diagon Alley. 
Percy VANISHES. Tentatively, Harry reaches into the pot.
MRS. WEASLEY
Remember to speak clearly, dear!
RON
And mind you get out at the right grate!
HARRY
(nodding, unsure) D-Dia-gon Alley!
25 INT. SPIRALING TUNNEL 25
The SOUND is DEAFENING as Harry hurtles forward, squinting against the sting of WHIRLING SOOT and the mad, flickering lights of passing fireplaces. He falls face
forward...
26 INT. BORGIN AND BURKES - STONE FIREPLACE - DAY 26
... onto a stone hearth. Dizzy and dirty, Harry reclaims his shattered glasses. He's tumbled into a wizard's shop, but a decidedly creepy one. He starts to exit, when a WITHERED HAND in a GLASS CASE catches his eye: The Hand of Glory. Nearby, an OPAL NECKLACE gleams: Caution: Do not touch. Cursed--Has Claimed the Lives of
Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date. Oddly transfixed by it all, Harry drifts toward the exit, when...
DRACO MALFOY and his father, LUCIUS MALFOY, appear beyond the front window, approaching the shop. Harry glances about, spies a LARGE BLACK CABINET and slips inside. As he pulls the doors closed, a TINY CARD swings INTO VIEW: Crushing Cabinet. Malfoy and his father enter. A stooped man (MR. BORGIN) emerges from the back room. IN THE CABINET, Harry watches, unaware that the walls around him are... SLOWLY
CLOSING IN.
MR. BORGIN
Mr. Malfoy! What a pleasure to see you again. If I may, just in today --
LUCIUS MALFOY
I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin. But selling.
MR. BORGIN
Selling?
LUCIUS MALFOY
You have heard, of course, that the Ministry of Magic is conducting more raids. There are
even rumors of a new Muggle Protection Act... Lucius unravels a roll of parchment, hands it to Borgin.
LUCIUS MALFOY
I have a few... ah... items at home that might prove embarrassing if the Ministry were to call. Certain poisons and the like...
MR. BORGIN
Hmmm... yes. I see...
INSIDE THE CABINET, Harry realizes the walls are CLOSING IN. His eyes shift upward. The ceiling is DROPPING. Draco drifts to the Hand of Glory, reaches out, when... the HAND GRABS HIM. Draco shrieks, manages to slip free, then calms. He eyes the hand with malicious glee.
DRACO
Can I have this?
MR. BORGIN
Ah, the Hand of Glory. Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder. Best friend of thieves and plunderers. Your son has fine taste, sir.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Hopefully my son will amount to more than a thief, Mr. Borgin. Though if his marks don't pick up --
DRACO
It's not my fault the teachers have favorites. That Hermione Granger --
LUCIUS MALFOY
I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizarding family beat you in every exam.
MR. BORGIN
It's the same all over. Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere.
LUCIUS MALFOY
(deadly) Not with me.
INSIDE THE CABINET, Harry's knees are up under his chin... Borgin checks off one last time, then returns the parchment to Lucius. Satisfied, Malfoy nods.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Very good. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow. Come, Draco.
They exit. As Borgin slips into the back room, the Crushing Cabinet's doors FLY OPEN and Harry leaps free. Inside, the walls, floor, and ceiling SNAP SHUT! Borgin reappears, blinks curiously at Harry, then watches him RACE out the door.
27 EXT. KNOCKTURN ALLEY - DAY (MOMENTS LATER) 27
Once outside, Harry fits his broken glasses to his face, eyes a STREET SIGN: "KNOCKTURN ALLEY."
The vendors here clearly cater to the Dark Arts:
SHRUNKEN HEADS, POISONOUS CANDLES. One window teems with
SPIDERS.
AGED WITCH (O.S.)
Not lost are you, my dear? Harry wheels, looking into the mossy teeth of a decrepit
WITCH. She holds a tray of HUMAN FINGERNAILS.
HARRY
I'm fine, thanks. I'm just --
HAGRID
HARRY! What d'yer think yer doin' down 'ere?
HARRY
Hagrid! 
Hagrid knocks the tray from the cursing Witch's hands, then seizes Harry by the scruff of the neck and steers him away.
28 EXT. DIAGON ALLEY - CONTINUOUS ACTION - DAY 28
Hagrid swats at Harry's sooty clothes.
HAGRID
Yer a mess! Skulkin' 'round Knockturn Alley. Dodgy place, Harry. Don't want no one ter see yeh down there. People'll be thinkin' yer up ter no good.
HARRY
I was lost, I -- Hang on. What were you doing down there?
HAGRID
I was lookin' fer a Flesh Eatin' Slug Repellent. They're ruinin' the school cabbages.
HERMIONE (O.S.)
Harry! 
Harry looks up, sees HERMIONE GRANGER standing at the top of Gringotts' white steps. She runs down to meet them.
HERMIONE
Hello, Hagrid. Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again. She stops then, cocks her head curiously at Harry, then takes out her wand and points it directly between his eyes. 
HERMIONE
Oculus Reparo.
Instantly, Harry's glasses are mended.
HARRY
I need to remember that one.
HERMIONE
C'mon. Everyone's been so worried. Hermione leads them to Gringotts, where Hermione's rather nervous-looking Muggle parents stand with the Weasleys.
MR. WEASLEY
So you're dentists! Fascinating! I understand other Muggles quite fear you? Why is that?
MRS. WEASLEY
Oh, Harry. Thank goodness. We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far. Come now. We're off to Flourish and Blotts.
HERMIONE
Isn't it thrilling! Gilderoy Lockhart's going to be there! We can actually meet him! I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!
As Mrs. Weasley and Hermione dash off, Harry frowns.
HARRY
Who?
29A EXT. FLOURISH AND BLOTTS - DAY 29A
CLOSE-UP: GILDEROY LOCKHART. A handsome, golden-haired wizard with stunning pearl-white teeth. He smiles, winks at the camera. DOLLY BACK to reveal that the image of Lockhart is actually a MOVING PHOTOGRAPH propped in the window. A
PLACARD declares: HERE TODAY! SIGNING COPIES OF HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MAGICAL ME... GILDEROY LOCKHART!
30 INT. FLOURISH AND BLOTTS - DAY 30
Harry and the others thread their way through a
CHATTERING THRONG of MIDDLE-AGED LADIES, all craning their necks for a view of Lockhart, who sits signing books at the rear of the shop. At the sight of him, Mrs.
Weasley pats her hair.
MRS. WEASLEY
There he is!
RON
Mum fancies him.
For this, Mrs. Weasley gives Ron a jab in the shoulder.
A SHORT MAN WITH A CAMERA bumps past.
SHORT MAN
Out of the way! This is for The Daily Prophet! Instantly, Lockhart looks up, flashes a smile, when...
GILDEROY LOCKHART
It can't be Harry Potter? The crowd WHISPERS excitedly as Lockhart dives forward,
seizes Harry's hand and turns him toward the photographer.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
(under his breath) Nice big smile, Harry. Together, you and I rate the front page.
(as the CAMERA FLASHES)
Ladies and gentlemen! What an extraordinary moment this is! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography,
Magical Me -- which, incidentally is celebrating its twenty-seventh week atop The Daily Prophet's Bestseller List -- he had no idea that he would, in fact, be leaving with my entire collected works! Free of charge!
As the crowd CLAPS, Lockhart catches the eye of a FLUNKY and, before Harry knows it, a towering stack of books is shoved into his arms. Mortified, Harry mumbles quietly.
HARRY
Thank you.
Slipping free, Harry drifts back into the crowd and, red with embarrassment, drops the books into Ginny's cauldron.
HARRY
You have these. I'll buy my own!--
DRACO
(appearing, sneers) Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter? Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page.
GINNY
Leave him alone! He didn't want all that!
DRACO
Look, Potter. You've got yourself a girlfriend!
LUCIUS MALFOY
Silence, Draco! Ah... Mr. Potter. I don't believe we've met. 
Lucius Malfoy extends his hand, as if offering to shake Harry's, but instead gently plays his fingers over the fringe of Harry's scalp, revealing Harry's LIGHTNING BOLT SCAR. At his touch, Harry withdraws, ever so slightly.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Forgive me, Mr. Potter. But your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you.
HARRY
He was a murderer.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Yes, a pity about your parents. Curious that you yourself should escape with a mere flesh wound. Curious, too, that you speak of him in the past. Surely, you don't think He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is gone forever.
HARRY
His name is Voldemort. Those within earshot gasp as Harry utters the word.
LUCIUS MALFOY
You must be very brave, Mr. Potter, to dare speak his name. Or foolish.
HERMIONE
Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. Lucius Malfoy's eyes slide, find Hermione staring defiantly.
LUCIUS MALFOY
You must be Miss Granger. Draco's told me all about you... and yourp arents. Muggles, aren't you? Mr. and Mrs. Granger nod nervously. Lucius Malfoy can barely disguise his distaste for them. Arthur Weasley hurries over.
MR. WEASLEY
Ron! Harry! It's mad in here. Let's go outside.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley.
MR. WEASLEY
(stiffly) Lucius.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Busy time at the Ministry. All those raids. I hope they're paying you overtime. Malfoy reaches into Ginny's cauldron, removes a very old, battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Obviously not. Dear me. What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it.
MR. WEASLEY
We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of wizard, Lucius.
LUCIUS MALFOY
(glancing at the Grangers) Clearly. The company you keep, Weasley. And I thought your
family could sink no lower. Mr. Weasley moves to hit Lucius Malfoy. Hagrid steps
forward, puts a firm hand on Mr. Weasley's shoulder.
HAGRID
Ignore 'im, Arthur. 
Mr. Weasley backs away. Lucius Malfoy tosses Ginny's
BATTERED TEXTBOOK back into her cauldron.
LUCIUS MALFOY
Here, girl. Take your book. It's the best your father can give you. Lucius and Draco exit. Hagrid looks at the Weasleys.
HAGRID
No Malfoy's worth listenin' ter. Rotten ter the core, the whole family...
As Harry watches Draco and his father go, we --
DISSOLVE TO:
30B EXT. KING'S CROSS - MORNING 30B
Amid a neat line of cars, the Anglia sits at a decidedly odd angle, as if its driver were not the most skilled motorist.
32 INT. KING'S CROSS - DAY 32
The Weasleys and Harry -- pushing large TROLLEYS – dash under the LARGE CLOCK which reads two minutes to eleven.
MRS. WEASLEY
Oh dear! The train'll be leaving any moment! All together now! 
Hurrying, they race to PLATFORMS NINE AND TEN. Quickly, Percy, Fred and George stride briskly toward the stone barrier that divides the platforms -- and simply
DISAPPEAR.
MRS. WEASLEY
Go on, Ginny. You know what to do.
Ginny, looking a bit nervous, rushes toward the barrier, closes her eyes, and sleds...
32A INT. PLATFORM NINE AND THREE QUARTERS - DAY 32A
... out onto the other side. As she gazes at the HOGWARTS EXPRESS, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley materialize at her side.
MRS. WEASLEY (O.S.)
Come, Ginny. We'll get you a seat.
32B INT. KING'S CROSS 32B
Ron glances at the clock.
RON
We better hurry. Harry nods, leans into his trolley and -- CRASH! – hits the barrier and bounces back into Ron. A GUARD glowers.
GUARD
What in blazes d'you two think you're doing?
HARRY
Sorry. Lost control of the trolley. (to Ron) Why can't we get through?
RON
I dunno. The gateway's sealed itself for some reason. 
As Ron presses his ear to the barrier, the CLOCK CHIMES.
HARRY
The train leaves at exactly eleven o'clock. We've missed it.
RON
Can't hear a thing. (a sudden thought) Harry. If we can't get through, maybe Mum and Dad can't get back.
HARRY
Maybe we should go wait by the car.
RON
The car!
33 EXT. PARKING LOT (KING'S CROSS) - MOMENTS LATER 33
Pushing their trolleys madly before them, Harry and Ron dash to the car, load their belongings into the Anglia's boot.
HARRY
This is mad. We can't drive to Hogwarts.
RON
Who says we're driving?
HARRY
You don't mean -- Ron, no.
RON
Look, who knows when Mum and Dad will get back. And we've got to get to school, haven't we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's an absolute
emergency. Least that's what Fred and George always say...
HARRY
Something tells me we're going to regret this.
33A INT. ANGLIA - DAY 33A
Ron TAPS his WAND on the dash and the Anglia burbles to life.
HARRY
No offense, Ron, but are you sure you know how to fly this.
RON
No problem. 
Ron SHIFTS. With a GREAT JOLT, the car lifts from the ground.
RON
There. See. Now I reckon all we have to do is find the Hogwarts Express and follow it. Simple. 
Harry nods, not entirely convinced. He peers out the window. Down below, TWO PEDESTRIANS stare in disbelief.
HARRY
Uh, Ron. I should tell you. Most Muggles aren't accustomed to seeing a flying car.
RON
Right.
Ron presses a TINY SILVER BUTTON on the dashboard and they... DISAPPEAR. Down below, the baffled pedestrians blink.
34 EXT. FLYING CAR (SCOTLAND) - DAY (LATER) 34
CAMERA STARTS IN the clouds, passes through, finds Scotland's stunning green. The Anglia's ENGINE PUTTERS softly, when -- POP! - the car reappears. Ron jabs at the silver button.
RON
Uh oh. The Invisibility Booster must be faulty.
CAMERA ZOOMS ALONG the ridge of a cliff. The car reappears from above, gliding away FROM CAMERA.
RON
Any sign of the train?
HARRY
There! Up ahead! Look...
Along a STEEP BRIDGE, a single line of TRAIN TRACKS appear.
RON
Brilliant.
Ron SHIFTS, GLIDES DOWN, until the Anglia is only a few feet above the tracks. The boys peer ahead, looking for the train.
RON
It must be around here someplace.
Behind them, through the Anglia's rear window, the Hogwarts Express APPEARS, closing fast. Harry and Ron perk up. Smile.
HARRY
Do you hear that? 
Then, at precisely the same moment, Harry and Ron register the DIRECTION of the sound. They glance at each other, turn as one and see the train GROWING HUGE in the rear window.
HARRY/RON
Aaaahhhhh!
Ron SPINS THE WHEEL, puts his foot to the gas and – at the last possible second -- whips the Anglia out of the train's path. The car WAFFLES, TOPPLES upside down briefly, before...... TILTING onto its side. As it jets under the bridge, Harry goes SLIDING DOWN ACROSS HIS SEAT, into the door, and... OUT. Dangling upside-down from the open door, he watches the Hogwarts Express ZIP PAST and, in one window, glimpses NEVILLE and SEAMUS, mouths open in astonishment.
RON
Take my hand! Harry's grips Ron's hand, eyes the train steaming far below. It's quite a drop. 
Harry's fingers begin to LOSE THEIR GRIP.
RON
Hold on!
HARRY
I'm trying! Your hand's all sweaty! Straining, Ron yanks him inside, levels off the car. As
Harry falls heavily into his seat, he BUCKLES his safety belt.
HARRY
I think we found the train.
35 EXT. HOGWARTS CASTLE - FLYING CAR - NIGHT 35
As HOGWARTS CASTLE comes INTO VIEW, the Anglia ENTERS FRAME.
RON
Welcome home, Harry.
Harry smiles at the sight of it, when... the Anglia GROANS.
HARRY
Just out of interest, Ron. Have you ever landed a car before?
RON
Well... no. but, until a few hours ago, I'd never taken off in one either.
With that, the car LURCHES, the nose DROPS, and...
RON
Uh oh.
... Harry, Ron and car go pitching through the night. As Ron rakes the GEARS, they hurtle madly toward the CASTLE WALL.
RON
IT'S NOT WORKING!
HARRY
UP! UP!
Ron SHIFTS desperately. The Anglia LURCHES up, barely clears the castle wall. Harry and Ron exchange a look of relief, when... the car GROANS again, LURCHES... downward.
HARRY
MIND THAT TREE!
Down below a GIANT WILLOW TREE looms. Ron SHIFTS. Nothing.
HARRY
TURN! TURN!
Harry reaches over and, together, he and Ron SPIN THE WHEEL. It's useless. The car is heading straight for the tree. Desperately, Ron WHIPS OUT his wand and WHACKS THE DASHBOARD.
RON
STOP! STOP! STOP! The wand SNAPS IN TWO and -- CRUNCH! -- car meets tree.
Harry blinks. They hang dreamily, BALANCED on the HIGHEST LIMB.
RON
My wand! Look at my wand!
HARRY
Be thankful it's not your neck.
THWUNMP! Something HEAVY HITS Harry's door, sends a SHUDDER through the car.
RON
What's happening?
Slowly, they look up and, in disbelief, watch one of the tree's branches PULL BACK, CURL INTO ITSELF, and come LASHING FORWARD like a MASSIVE FIST. THWUMP!
HARRY/RON
Aaaaahhhhh! The Anglia tilts crazily, slides backwards and FREE-FALLS through the air and... LANDS on lower grid of branches.
RON
What kind of tree is this?
Before Harry can respond, the tree begins to PUMMEL THE CAR from all sides, tossing Harry and Ron about like popcorn. WINDOWS SHATTER. Heavy DENTS appear on the roof above Ron and Harry's heads. Then the car FALLS again... SLAMMING HEAVILY TO THE GROUND. Instantly, the tree's lower branches shoot through the front and rear windscreens and, gaining purchase, begin to SHAKE THE CAR BACK AND FORTH.
HARRY/RON
Aaaaahhhhh!
The tree PITCHES the car into the air. As the Anglia SLAMS DOWN again, bobbing on its SQUEALING SHOCKS, the ENGINE BURBLES BACK TO LIFE. Harry LOOKS UP, peering through the shattered windscreen. The willow's branches, as one, rear back, ready for one last punishing blow. Harry CRIES OUT.
HARRY
Reverse! Reverse! 
Ron SHIFTS, the CAR SHOOTS BACKWARDS, and the willow PUMMELS THE TREAD-MARKED GROUND they just vacated. Safely clear, the doors fly open, the seats tip sideways, and Ron and Harry are ejected. As they hit the ground, their trunks fly from the boot, Hedwig's cage rockets out the back window, and Hedwig herself flaps into the night. Taillights blazing angrily, the BATTERED car speeds off, fishtailing into the Dark Forest.
RON
Dad's going to kill me.
They hear a TREMENDOUS GROAN, turn back, and see the Whomping Willow assume its natural form, waiting for its next victim.
36 EXT. STONE STEPS/ENTRANCE HALL - NIGHT 36
Filthy and bruised, Harry and Ron drag themselves up the steps. Behind them we see the mountain of student trunks and caged pets already brought up from the train.
HARRY
A house elf shows up in my bedroom, we can't get through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, we almost get killed by a tree... clearly someone doesn't want me here this year.
FILCH
Well, take a good look, lads...
They stop. ARGUS FILCH stands at the top of the landing, his cat -- MRS. NORRIS -- twitching her tail at his feet.
FILCH
This night might well be the last you spend in this castle.
37 INT. SNAPE'S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER 37
CLOSEUP: The Evening Prophet ENTERS FRAME. The HEADLINE reads: FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES. Below the fold a PHOTO shows Harry and Lockhart at Flourish and Blotts. CAMERA PULLS BACK, PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE 
stands at his desk, newspaper in hand as Harry and Ron stare with dread. Filch lurks in the doorway, eying them with pleasure.
SNAPE
You were seen! By no less then seven Muggles. Do you have any idea how serious this is? You have risked the exposure of our world. Not to mention the damage you inflicted on a Whomping Willow that has been on these grounds for hundreds of years.
RON
Honestly, Professor Snape, I think it did more damage to us.
SNAPE
Silence! I assure you, were you in Slytherin and your fate rested with me, the both of you would be on the train home tonight. As it is --
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
They are not.
Harry and Ron turn. ALBUS DUMBLEDORE stands in the doorway. Alongside him is a distinctly annoyed PROFESSOR McGONAGALL.
HARRY
Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall...
SNAPE
Headmaster, these boys have flouted the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry. As such...
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
I'm well aware of our bylaws, Severus, having written more than a few myself. However, as Head of Gryffindor House, it is for Professor McGonagall to determine the appropriate action.
RON
(rising gloomily) We'll go and get our stuff.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
What are you talking about, Mr. Weasley?
RON
Well, you're going to expel us, aren't you?
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Not today, Mr. Weasley. But I must impress upon both of you the seriousness of what you have done. I will be sending owls to both of your families tonight. And you
will each get a detention. Snape casts a look of pure venom at Harry and Ron.
DUMBLEDORE
Splendid. Now, I suggest we return to the feast. There's a delicious-looking custard tart I
want to sample.
Rising, Harry spies an ENVELOPE on the floor. Taking it, he reads the back: "KWIKSPELL. A CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IN BEGINNER'S MAGIC." It's addressed to "MR. ARGUS FILCH."
HARRY
Mr. Filch. You dropped this...
Filch turns, eyes the envelope with embarrassment, then snatches it from Harry's hand and stuffs it into his pocket.
39 EXT. HOGWARTS CASTLE - MORNING 39
The Whomping Willow sulks in the courtyard, SLINGS strung about its injured branches. CAMERA CRANES OVER the castle walls, REVEALING the exterior of GREENHOUSE THREE, where students hurry inside for the beginning of class.
40 INT. GREENHOUSE THREE - MORNING 40
As Harry and Ron enter, SEAMUS, NEVILLE and some of the other Gryffindors hover nearby.
NEVILLE
Detention. On the first day?
SEAMUS
That must be some kind of record.
HERMIONE
I should think you'd count yourself lucky that's all you got.
RON
I should think you'd mind your own business.
They glare at each other. PROFESSOR SPROUT, a squat little witch, TAPS her wand on a stack of POTS.
PROFESSOR SPROUT
Welcome to Greenhouse Three, Second Years. Today, we will be re-potting Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake? Yes, Miss Granger.
HERMIONE
Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been transfigured to their original state. It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it.
PROFESSOR SPROUT
Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor. As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet. However, they will knock you out for several hours. That is why I have provided each of you with a pair of earmuffs. If you would then...
Ron frowns. He's gotten a BRIGHT PINK FLUFFY pair. When the class is ready, Professor Sprout leads them to the GARDEN AREA. She grasps one of the TUFTY PLANTS before her... and pulls. Harry gasps. Instead of roots, a small, muddy, extremely ugly BABY pops out of the earth, leaves growing right out of its head. Neville's eyes
ROLL BACK. He FAINTS. Professor Sprout plunges the BAWLING CREATURE deep into a POT, removes her earmuffs, and the others follow suit. Everyone save Neville, who lies stretched on the ground.
PROFESSOR SPROUT
Hm. Looks as though Mr. Longbottom neglected his muffs.
SEAMUS
No, ma'am. He's just fainted.
PROFESSOR SPROUT
Very well. We'll just leave him then. Come now. Four to a tray, plenty of pots to go round...
41 INT. GREAT HALL - LUNCH - DAY 41
Percy enters in the company of PENELOPE CLEARWATER, just as NEARLY HEADLESS NICK glides by. PENELOPE CLEARWATER There's Nearly Headless Nick.
PERCY
Hello, Sir Nicolas.
NEARLY HEADLESS NICK
Hello, Percy. Miss Clearwater. At the Gryffindor table, Hermione has her nose buried in
Gilderoy Lockhart's Travels with Trolls. Ron runs gobs of Spellotape over his BROKEN WAND, shakes his head grimly.
RON
Say it. I'm doomed.
HARRY
You're doomed.
FLASH! -- a LIGHT BLINDS Harry. He blinks, finds a small boy (COLIN CREEVEY) standing before him with a CAMERA.
COLIN
Hiya, Harry. I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too.
HARRY
Hello, Colin. Nice to meet --
COLIN
They're for my dad – the pictures. He's a milkman, you know, a Muggle, like all our family's been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental.
RON
Imagine that.
COLIN
Say, Harry. D'you think your friend could take a photo of me and you standing together? Ya' know, to prove I've met you? Harry glances at Ron. He looks positively homicidal.
Mercifully, just then, OWLS STREAM into the Hall.
DEAN THOMAS
Post is here! 
One after another, the birds swoop gracefully down, clutching letters from home. All except one, who plops beak-first into Ron's soup. Errol.
RON
Bloody bird's a menace -- Oh... no.
SEAMUS
Heads up, everyone. Weasley's gotten himself a Howler.
NEVILLE
Go on, Ron. I ignored one from my Gran once... and it was horrible.
Ron looks pale. Clutched in Errol's beak is a DAMP RED ENVELOPE. Hands shaking, he takes it, opens it, and... MRS. WEASLEY'S VOICE THUNDERS, sending plates and spoons rattling.
MRS. WEASLEY (V.O.)
RONALD WEASLEY! HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!
(softening suddenly) Oh, and Ginny dear. Congratulations on making
Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud.
Ginny, sitting a bit apart from the others, looks up shyly, then returns to the SMALL BLACK BOOK she's scribbling in. Ron watches the envelope RIP ITSELF TO PIECES, then endures HOWLS of LAUGHTER from the other House tables. Colin Creevey snaps a few photos. Harry looks sympathetically at Ron.
HARRY
Look at it this way. How much worse can things get?
42 INT. GILDEROY LOCKHART'S CLASSROOM - DAY 42
Gilderoy Lockhart paces before the class. Hermione and the girls hang on his every word, while Harry and Ron eye the LARGE, COVERED CAGE RATTLING mysteriously on his desk.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher. Me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most- Charming-Smile Award -- But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!
Lockhart awaits laughter. A few students smile weakly.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
I see you've all bought a complete set of my books. Well done. I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about. Just to check how well you've read them, how much you've taken in...
Lockhart begins to circulate papers. Harry and Ron examine the questions. Ron WHISPERS to Harry.
RON
Look at these questions. They're all about him.
HARRY
'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?'
RON
'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?'
HARRY
'When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday and what would his ideal gift be?'
GILDEROY LOCKHART
You have thirty minutes. Start -- now!
As quills begin to dart across pages, we --
DISSOLVE TO:
38.
SAME SCENE - LATER
Lockhart rifles through the completed exams.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Tut, tut. Hardly any of you remembered my favorite color is lilac. But Miss Hermione Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair care potions. Good girl.
Hermione beams. Lockhart's expression suddenly darkens.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Now... be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourself facing your own worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here...
With a showman's flair, Lockhart turns slowly to the cage.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them.
A pale Neville draws back. Harry and Ron lean forward. Lockhart lets the tension build, then WHIPS off the cover. Inside the cage are several electric blue CREATURES. Eight inches tall, with pointed faces and wings, they rattle the bars and pull bizarre faces at the students.
SEAMUS
Cornish pixies?
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Freshly caught Cornish pixies.
Unable to control himself, Seamus SNORTS with laughter.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them now!
Lockhart flings open the cage. Instantly, the pixies rocket about, spraying the students with ink bottles, BREAKING BEAKERS and shredding books. Two SEIZE Neville by the ears, lift him into the air, and begin to circle the ceiling.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Come on now, round them up, round them up. They're only pixies. (brandishing his wand) Peskipiski Pesternomi!
The spell has absolutely no effect. A particularly obnoxious pixie makes a face, seizes Lockhart's wand and tosses it out the window. Lockhart joins the stampede to the door.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
I'll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage.
SLAMMING the door, he's gone. Harry, Ron and Hermione stand blinking. Ron swats a pixie gnawing his ear.
RON
What do we do now?
HERMIONE
(raising her wand) Immobilus!
The pixies FREEZE IN MIDAIR. Neville falls, PLOPS onto Lockhart's desk, shaken but unhurt. He looks at Hermione.
NEVILLE
Why is it always me?
42B INT. SEVENTH FLOOR - CORRIDOR - LATER 42B
Fresh from the pixies, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Neville walk. Hair askew. Robes shredded.
RON
Can you believe him?
HERMIONE
I'm sure Professor Lockhart just wanted to give us some hands-on experience.
HARRY
Hands on? Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing.
HERMIONE
Rubbish. Read his books. You'll see all the amazing things he's done.
RON
He says he's done.
45 EXT. HOGWARTS - COURTYARD - DAY 45
The Gryffindor Quidditch team -- Harry, Fred, George, ALICIA SPINNET, KATIE BELL, and ANGELINA JOHNSON – trail Oliver Wood through the courtyard, toward the distant Quidditch pitch. Several students are outside, studying.
WOOD
I spent the summer devising a whole new Quidditch program. We're going to train earlier, harder, and longer! (squinting) What the... I don't believe it! Crossing the courtyard from the other side are SEVEN BOYS in GREEN ROBES, also carrying broomsticks. At their lead is MARCUS FLINT, trollish Slytherin Captain. Ron, sitting at a table with Hermione, looks up.
RON
Uh-oh. I smell trouble.
WOOD
Clear out, Flint! I booked the pitch for Gryffindor today.
FLINT
Easy, Wood. I've got a note.
As Wood snatches the PARCHMENT from Flint's hand, Ron and Hermione come up to join the others.
WOOD
'I, Professor Severus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new Seeker.' (looking up) You've got a new Seeker? Who? A pasty-faced boy pushes to the front. It's... Malfoy.
HARRY
Draco?
DRACO
That's right. And that's not all that's new this year...
As one, the seven Slytherins hold out seven brand-new GLEAMING BROOMSTICKS. The Gryffindors look stunned.
RON
Those are Nimbus Two Thousand Ones.
FLINT
A generous gift from Draco's father.
DRACO
That's right, Weasley. You see, unlike some, my father can afford to buy the best.
HERMIONE
At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent. 
DRACO
No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood. Everyone reacts as if Malfoy has said something horrific -- everyone save Harry, who looks puzzled. Instantly, Fred and George fly for Draco's throat. Oliver Wood holds them back.
WOOD
Save it for the match.
RON
You'll pay for that one, Malfoy! (whips out his wand) Eat slugs! Ron points his cracked wand at Malfoy. PFFT! -- a BOLT of GREEN LIGHT scissors out the wrong end, hitting Ron himself in the stomach. As he drops to the grass, Hermione runs to him
HERMIONE
Ron! Say something!
Ron opens his mouth and... BELCHES. Hermione draws back, and watches a TRIO of SLUGS dribble out his mouth. The Slytherins CROW with LAUGHTER. Angrily, Ron rises, only to BELCH again. Fascinated, Colin Creevey runs up with his camera.
COLIN
Wow! Can you hold him still, Harry?!
HARRY
Get out of the way, Colin! (to Hermione) Let's take him to Hagrid. He'll know what to do.
46 INT. HAGRID'S HUT - DAY 46
Hagrid rummages about, looking for something.
HAGRID
Got jus' the thing. Set 'im down on that chair o'er there.
As Ron sits, Hagrid pitches a BUCKET between his knees. Harry and Hermione glance up questioningly. Hagrid shrugs.
HAGRID
Better out than in. Who was he tryin' ter curse anyway?
HARRY
Malfoy. He called Hermione, well, I don't know exactly what it means...
HERMIONE
(quietly) He called me a Mudblood.
HAGRID
He didn'! Harry looks confused. Hermione glances at him, then away, obviously pained by this.
HERMIONE
It means dirty blood. Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who was Muggle-born. Someone with non-magic parents. Someone... like me. It's not a term one usually hears in civilized conversation.
HAGRID
Yeh see, Harry. There are some wizards -- like Malfoy's family -- who think they're better than everyone else 'cause they're what people call pureblood.
HARRY
That's horrible.
RON
(BELCHES forth a slug) It's disgusting!
HAGRID
An' it's codswallop ter boot. Dirty blood. There's 'ardly a wizard today that's not half-blood or less. If we 'adn't married Muggles we'd've died out long ago. Besides, they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can't do... (taking her shoulder) Don' you think on it, Hermione. Don' you think on it fer a minute.
49 INT. GILDEROY LOCKHART'S OFFICE - EVENING (HOURS LATER) 49
CAMERA PANS the walls of Lockhart's office, lined with FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHS of... Gilderoy Lockhart. Harry and Lockhart work by candlelight at an ornate desk. Blearyeyed, Harry addresses envelopes, while a cheery Lockhart puts his signature to the stack of GLOSSY PHOTOS bearing his image.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Harry, Harry, Harry... Can you possibly imagine a better way to serve detention than by helping me answer my fan mail?
Harry forces a smile.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Fame's a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does. Remember that.
Harry nods, glancing gloomily at the towering stack of envelopes that remain. Dipping his quill, he starts to write, when... a CHILLY VOICE fills the room.
VOICE
Come... come to me...
HARRY
What?
GILDEROY LOCKHART
I was saying, six solid months at the top of the bestseller list! Broke all records!
HARRY
No... not you, that... voice.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Voice?
HARRY
That... voice. Didn't you hear it?
GILDEROY LOCKHART
What are you talking about, Harry? I think we're getting a bit drowsy. Great Scott -- and no wonder -- look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours! Dinner's nearly done! If you hurry you might make pudding. Spooky how the time flies when one's having fun!
HARRY
Spooky.
49A INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT (MOMENTS LATER) 49A
Harry passes quickly through the lengthening shadows of the empty corridor, when...
VOICE
Blood... I smell blood...
Harry stops cold, looking around for the source of the voice.
VOICE
Let me rip you... let me kill you...
Harry steps to the wall, playing his fingers along the stone, then begins walk, slowly at first, then more quickly, as if following something, moving faster and faster, rounding the corner and coming face to face with... Hermione and Ron.
HERMIONE
Harry!
HARRY
Did you hear it?
RON
Hear what?
HARRY
That... voice.
HERMIONE
Voice? What voice?
HARRY
(eyes darting around) I heard it first in Lockhart's office and then again, just --
VOICE
Kill... Time to kill... As Harry stiffens, Hermione and Ron study him curiously.
HARRY
It's moving. I think it's going to... kill. Harry runs off. Hermione and Ron exchange a glance, follow.
58 INT. MARBLE STAIRCASE - MOMENTS LATER 58
Harry dashes madly, taking the steps three at a time. He makes the landing, rushes through the archway, and...
59 INT. SECOND FLOOR CORRIDOR - SECOND FLOOR - NIGHT 59
... sleds to a stop, listening: Nothing. Slowly, he peers down. WATER is oozing over the stone floor, surrounding his shoes. His own REFLECTION appears and, behind it, undulating like a dream... WORDS. Ron and Hermione come huffing up.
RON
Harry, what are you doing?
He points. SHIMMERING on the wall are the words he saw reflected in water.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED ENEMIES OF THE HEIR... BEWARE.
HERMIONE
'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened...?'
RON
What's that? Hanging underneath?
HARRY
That's Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris. The cat hangs stiffly by her tail from a torch bracket, eyes open and blank. Harry's eyes shift to the adjacent WINDOW: near the topmost pane, SPIDERS scuttle up a silvery thread, fight to get through a crack in the glass. 
HERMIONE
Look at that. Have you ever seen spiders act like that? Ron...?
RON
(backing away) I... don't... like... spiders.
Suddenly, the stairwell is alive with VOICES and, seconds later, dozens of students stream forth, CHATTERING... when they stop, seeing the wall and, standing before it,
Harry, Ron and Hermione. A thudding SILENCE falls. Then Draco pushes forward, eyes the wall, and grins nastily.
DRACO
Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!
Draco's eyes find Hermione, just as Filch appears.
FILCH
What's going on here? Go on now! Make way... (stopping dead) Mrs. Norris! (rounding on Harry) You! You've murdered my cat! I'll kill you! I'll --
DUMBLEDORE
Argus!
Dumbledore marches forward, trailed by a phalanx of teachers. Seeing the wall, Dumbledore's face darkens.
DUMBLEDORE
Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately. (to Harry, Ron, Hermione) Everyone except you three. As the corridor empties, Dumbledore steps to the wall and, with extreme gentleness, removes Mrs. Norris.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
It was definitely a curse that killed her -- probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story's in my autobiography...
DUMBLEDORE
She's not dead, Argus. She's been Petrified.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Precisely! So unlucky I wasn't there. I know the very countercurse that could have spared her...
DUMBLEDORE
But how she's been Petrified... I cannot say.
FILCH
(pointing at Harry) Ask him! It's him that's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall!
Besides, he knows I'm -- I'm a Squib.
HARRY
It's not true, sir! I swear! I never touched Mrs. Norris -- And I don't even know what a Squib is.
FILCH
Rubbish! He saw my Kwikspell letter!
SNAPE
If I might, Headmaster... The others turn, watch Snape separate from the shadows.
SNAPE
Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time...
Harry and the others blink. Could Snape be defending them?
SNAPE
However, the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus. You see, Harry was helping me answer my fan mail...
As Snape's lip curls in disgust, Hermione leaps in.
HERMIONE
That's why Ron and I went looking for him, Professor. We'd just found him when Harry said...
SNAPE
(raising an eyebrow) Yes, Miss Granger?
HARRY
When I said I wasn't hungry. We were heading back to the Common Room and... found Mrs. Norris. Snape eyes Harry coldly, knowing he's lying. Harry looks away... and finds Dumbledore studying him as well.
DUMBLEDORE
Innocent until proven guilty.
FILCH
My cat has been Petrified! I want to see some punishment!
DUMBLEDORE
We will be able to cure her, Argus. As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When they have matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I advise caution. To all.
60A INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT (A BIT LATER) 60A
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk down the corridor.
RON
A Squib's someone who's born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any powers of their own. It's why Filch is trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course. It's also why he hates students so much. He's bitter.
Hermione, who's only been half-listening -- as if trying to unravel something in her mind -- speaks then.
HERMIONE
Harry. This voice. You said you heard it first in Lockhart's office?
HARRY
Yes.
HERMIONE
And did he hear it?
HARRY
He said he didn't.
RON
Maybe he was lying.
HERMIONE
I hardly think someone with Gilderoy Lockhart's credentials would lie to one of his students, Ronald. Besides, if you recall, we didn't hear anything either.
HARRY
You do believe me, don't you?
HERMIONE
'Course we do. It's just... it's a bit weird, isn't it? You hear this voice and then... Mrs. Norris turns up Petrified.
HARRY
I can't explain it -- it was... scary. (frowning) D'you think I should've told them! -- Dumbledore and the others, I mean.
RON
Are you mad!
HERMIONE
No, Harry. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign.
62 INT. PROFESSOR McGONAGALL'S CLASSROOM - MORNING
McGonagall stands before the class. Resting on the desk in front of each student, is a different animal.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Today, we will be turning animals into water goblets. 
She taps the bird in front of her, three times, with the tip of her wand. It transfigures into a beautiful crystal water goblet.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Now, who would like to go first... Mr. Weasley?
Ron nods. He TAPS his rat, Scabbers, who turns into a goblet with a tail.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
You must replace that wand, Mr. Weasley.
Ron nods sheepishly, looks at his broken wand. McGonagall sees Hermione's raised hand. Her untouched animal.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Yes, Miss Granger?
HERMIONE
Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?
A HUSH falls over the class.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
My subject is Transfiguration, Miss Granger.
HERMIONE
Yes, Professor. But there seems to be very little written about the Chamber of Secrets. For those of us with a personal interest in the subject, that is... disturbing.
Malfoy regards Hermione with chilly amusement. McGonagall considers Hermione's question for a long moment, then nods.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Very well. You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously. One did not.
RON
Three glasses who?
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. (a beat)
According to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic.
HERMIONE
Muggle-borns.
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
Yes. Naturally, the school has been searched many times for such a chamber. It has never been found.
HERMIONE
Professor, what exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?
PROFESSOR McGONAGALL
The Chamber is said to be home to something which the heir of Slytherin alone can control. It is said to be home... to a monster. Ron's eyes shift. Malfoy sits calmly, smiling to himself.
63 INT. CORRIDOR - DAY 63
Harry, Hermione, and Ron thread their way through the teeming corridor. Up ahead, Malfoy walks with Crabbe and Goyle.
RON
D'you think it's true? D'you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?
HERMIONE
Yes. Couldn't you tell: McGonagall's worried. All the teachers are.
HARRY
But if there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and it's really been opened, that means...
HERMIONE
The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts. The question is, who is it?
RON
(in mock puzzlement) Let's think. Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum.
HERMIONE
(eyeing Malfoy ahead) If you're talking about him --
RON
Of course! You heard him: 'You'll be next, Mudbloods'!
HERMIONE
I heard him. But Malfoy? The Heir of Slytherin?
HARRY
Maybe Ron's right, Hermione. I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries.
RON
Crabbe and Goyle must know. Maybe we could trick them into telling...
HERMIONE
No. Even they aren't that thick. Bt there might be another way. Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention we'd be breaking bout fifty school rules. And it would be dangerous. Very dangerous.
RON
When do we start?
64 INT. LIBRARY - NIGHT 64
In a dark nook, Harry, Ron and Hermione huddle round a book entitled Moste Potente Potions. The spotted pages are littered with DISTURBING ILLUSTRATIONS.
HERMIONE
Here it is: 'The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the
drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another...'
RON
You mean, Harry and I drink some of this stuff and we turn into Crabbe and Goyle?
HERMIONE
Yes