Friendship

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, ‘The Mirror of Erised’ Copyright © 1997 J.K. Rowling

Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good
a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to
themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual,
so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They
sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting
fork – bread, crumpets, marshmallows – and plotting ways of
getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if
they wouldn’t work.

Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly
like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which
made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron’s set was very
old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his
family – in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren’t a drawback at all. Ron
knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him and they didn’t trust him at all.
He wasn’t a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which
was confusing: ‘Don’t send me there, can’t you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to
lose him.’

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to next day for the food and the fun,
but not expecting any presents at all. When he woke early next morning, however,
the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.

‘Happy Christmas,’ said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and
pulled on his dressing-gown.

‘You too,’ said Harry. ‘Will you look at this? I’ve got some presents!’

‘What did you expect, turnips?’ said Ron, turning to his own pile,
which was a lot bigger than Harry’s.

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Friendship
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was
To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled
it himself. Harry blew it – it sounded a bit like an owl.

A second, very small parcel contained a note.

We received your message and enclose your Christmas

present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Sellotaped to
the note was a fifty-pence piece.

‘That’s friendly,’ said Harry.

Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.

‘Weird!’ he said. ‘What a shape! This is money?’

‘You can keep it,’ said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron
was. ‘Hagrid and my aunt and uncle – so who sent these?’

‘I think I know who that one’s from,’ said Ron, going a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy
parcel. ‘My mum. I told her you didn’t expect any presents and – oh, no,’ he groaned, ‘she’s
made you a Weasley jumper.’

Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a
large box of home-made fudge.

‘Every year she makes us a jumper,’ said Ron, unwrapping his own, ‘and mine’s always maroon.’

‘That’s really nice of her,’ said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

His next present also contained sweets – a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.

This left only one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.

Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds.
Ron gasped.

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Illustration by Jim Kay © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2015.
Friendship
Questions
1. Who did Harry borrow the chessmen from? Tick one.
Ron
Hagrid
Seamus
Uncle Vernon
2. Underline one word in the quotation below which suggests that something was
shining brightly.
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in
gleaming folds.
3. Fill in the missing words.
It was in thick brown paper and
across it was To Harry, from Hagrid.

4. Name two types of food that Harry ate in the extract.

• 

• 

5. Find and copy one word which suggests that something was delicious.


6. Harry scrambled out of bed…

What does the author show us about how Harry is feeling from the choice of the
word ‘scrambled’?




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Friendship
Questions
7. Compare how the chessmen treat Ron and Harry differently.




8. How do you think Ron feels about his mum’s present to Harry? Use evidence from the text
to support your answer.




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Friendship
Answers
1. Who did Harry borrow the chessmen from? Tick one.
Ron
Hagrid
Seamus
Uncle Vernon
2. Underline one word in the quotation below which suggests that something was
shining brightly.
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in
gleaming folds.
3. Fill in the missing words.
It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid.

4. Name two types of food that Harry ate in the extract.

Accept any two of the following: bread; crumpets; marshmallows; fudge.

5. Find and copy one word which suggests that something was delicious.
tasty

6. Harry scrambled out of bed…

What does the author show us about how Harry is feeling from the choice of the
word ‘scrambled’?
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think that the author shows us that Harry is feeling
excited about Christmas Day because the word ‘scrambled’ shows us that he got out of
bed very quickly.

7. Compare how the chessmen treat Ron and Harry differently.

Pupils’ own responses, such as: The chessmen follow Ron’s orders because he knows
them so well. However, Harry borrowed Seamus’s chessmen and they kept shouting
advice at him because they didn’t trust him.

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Friendship
Answers
8. How do you think Ron feels about his mum’s present to Harry? Use evidence from the text
to support your answer.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think Ron feels embarrassed about his mum’s present
to Harry because the text says that he groaned. It also says that he started to turn ‘a bit
pink’ which shows that he was blushing.

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Friendship
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, ‘The Mirror of Erised’ Copyright © 1997 J.K. Rowling

Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good
a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to
themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual,
so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They
sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting
fork – bread, crumpets, marshmallows – and plotting ways of
getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if
they wouldn’t work.

Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly
like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which
made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron’s set was very
old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his
family – in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren’t a drawback at all. Ron
knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him and they didn’t trust him at all.
He wasn’t a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which
was confusing: ‘Don’t send me there, can’t you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to
lose him.’

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to next day for the food and
the fun, but not expecting any presents at all. When he woke early next morning,
however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.

‘Happy Christmas,’ said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and
pulled on his dressing-gown.

‘You too,’ said Harry. ‘Will you look at this? I’ve got some presents!’

‘What did you expect, turnips?’ said Ron, turning to his own pile,
which was a lot bigger than Harry’s.

Page 1 of 2

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© & TM WBEI. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s21)
Illustration by Jonny Duddle © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2014.
Friendship
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was
To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled
it himself. Harry blew it – it sounded a bit like an owl.

A second, very small parcel contained a note.

We received your message and enclose your Christmas

present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Sellotaped to
the note was a fifty-pence piece.

‘That’s friendly,’ said Harry.

Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.

‘Weird!’ he said. ‘What a shape! This is money?’

‘You can keep it,’ said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron
was. ‘Hagrid and my aunt and uncle – so who sent these?’

‘I think I know who that one’s from,’ said Ron, going a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy
parcel. ‘My mum. I told her you didn’t expect any presents and – oh, no,’ he groaned, ‘she’s
made you a Weasley jumper.’

Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a
large box of home-made fudge.

‘Every year she makes us a jumper,’ said Ron, unwrapping his own, ‘and mine’s always maroon.’

‘That’s really nice of her,’ said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

His next present also contained sweets – a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.

This left only one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.

Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds.
Ron gasped.

Page 2 of 2

Twinkl Quality Standard Approved.

Illustration by Jim Kay © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2015.
Friendship
Questions
1. Which of the following characters did not give Harry a present?
Tick one. 

Hagrid
Ron’s mum
Flamel
Hermione
2. Underline one word in the quotation below which suggests that
someone is in charge and giving commands.
This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were
alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. 
3. Fill in the missing words.
Something and silvery grey went  to the floor, where it
lay in gleaming folds.

4. Who did Harry borrow the chessmen from?



5. Find and copy one word which suggests that something was written in an untidy way.


6. ‘What a shape! This is money?’

Why do you think the author uses italics for ‘money’?




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Friendship
Questions
7. Summarise what the text is about in 25 words or fewer.




8. Compare the difference in how Ron and Harry react when they wake up on
Christmas morning.




9. What do you think the language in Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia’s message shows about
their relationship with Harry?




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Friendship
Answers
1. Which of the following characters did not give Harry a present? Tick one. 
Hagrid
Ron’s mum
Flamel
Hermione
2. Underline one word in the quotation below which suggests that someone is in charge and
giving commands.
This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made
it a lot like directing troops in battle. 
3. Fill in the missing words.
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in
gleaming folds.

4. Who did Harry borrow the chessmen from?

Harry borrowed the chessmen from Seamus Finnigan.

5. Find and copy one word which suggests that something was written in an untidy way.
scrawled

6. ‘What a shape! This is money?’

Why do you think the author uses italics for ‘money’?
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think the author uses italics for ‘money’ because it
shows that Ron is amazed by the fifty pence piece and that he finds it hard to believe
that it is money.

7. Summarise what the text is about in 25 words or fewer.

Pupils’ own responses, such as: Harry and Ron are celebrating Christmas Day together
in their dormitory and are opening their presents.

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Friendship
Answers
8. Compare the difference in how Ron and Harry react when they wake up on
Christmas morning.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think that Harry is a lot more excited than Ron on
Christmas morning because he ‘scrambled out of bed’ while Ron was sleepy and didn’t
seem as enthusiastic as Harry.

9. What do you think the language in Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia’s message shows about
their relationship with Harry?
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think the language in Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia’s
message shows that Harry isn’t very close to them because the choice of words is
very formal.

Page 2 of 2

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Friendship
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, ‘The Mirror of Erised’ Copyright © 1997 J.K. Rowling

Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good
a time to think much about Flamel. They had the dormitory to
themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual,
so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They
sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting
fork – bread, crumpets, marshmallows – and plotting ways of
getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if
they wouldn’t work.

Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly
like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which
made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron’s set was very
old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his
family – in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren’t a drawback at all. Ron
knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him and they didn’t trust him at all.
He wasn’t a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which
was confusing: ‘Don’t send me there, can’t you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to
lose him.’

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to next day for the food and the fun,
but not expecting any presents at all. When he woke early next morning, however,
the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.

‘Happy Christmas,’ said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and
pulled on his dressing-gown.

‘You too,’ said Harry. ‘Will you look at this? I’ve got some presents!’

‘What did you expect, turnips?’ said Ron, turning to his own pile,
which was a lot bigger than Harry’s.

Page 1 of 2

Twinkl Quality Standard Approved.

© & TM WBEI. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s21)
Illustration by Jonny Duddle © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2014.
Friendship
Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was
To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled
it himself. Harry blew it – it sounded a bit like an owl.

A second, very small parcel contained a note.

We received your message and enclose your Christmas

present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. Sellotaped to
the note was a fifty-pence piece.

‘That’s friendly,’ said Harry.

Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.

‘Weird!’ he said. ‘What a shape! This is money?’

‘You can keep it,’ said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron
was. ‘Hagrid and my aunt and uncle – so who sent these?’

‘I think I know who that one’s from,’ said Ron, going a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy
parcel. ‘My mum. I told her you didn’t expect any presents and – oh, no,’ he groaned, ‘she’s
made you a Weasley jumper.’

Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a
large box of home-made fudge.

‘Every year she makes us a jumper,’ said Ron, unwrapping his own, ‘and mine’s always maroon.’

‘That’s really nice of her,’ said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.

His next present also contained sweets – a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.

This left only one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.

Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds.
Ron gasped.

Page 2 of 2

Twinkl Quality Standard Approved.

Illustration by Jim Kay © Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 2015.
Friendship
Questions
1. Underline one word in the quotation below which suggests
that something is moving smoothly to the ground.
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the
floor, where it lay in gleaming folds.
2. Draw four lines to match the word with the correct definition.

spear a disadvantage or problem

to force someone to
whittled leave somewhere, such as a
school or a country

to push a pointed
drawback
object through something

to cut small pieces

expelled of wood to form
something new

3. Fill in the missing words.

We your message and your Christmas present.
4. Find and copy one simile which is used to describe the experience of playing wizard chess.


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Friendship
Questions
5. Name two characters who bought Harry a present.
• 

• 

6. Compare Ron and Harry’s reaction to the fifty pence.





7. ‘What did you expect, turnips?’ said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger
than Harry’s.
What impression does the author give of Ron here?




8. Ron’s mum gives hand-knitted jumpers and home-made fudge as a gift to Harry. What do
you think this shows about her?




9. Look at the final two sentences. Predict what Ron thinks about Harry’s present. Use
evidence from the text to support your answer.




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Friendship
Questions
10. Complete the table below with one piece of evidence from the text to
support each statement.

Statement Evidence


Harry is excited about Christmas Day. 


Ron is embarrassed. 

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Friendship
Answers
1. Underline one word in the quotation below which suggests that something is moving
smoothly to the ground.
Something fluid and silvery grey went slithering to the floor, where it lay in
gleaming folds.
2. Draw four lines to match the word with the correct definition.

spear a disadvantage or problem

to force someone to
whittled leave somewhere, such as a
school or a country

to push a pointed
drawback
object through something

to cut small pieces

expelled of wood to form
something new

3. Fill in the missing words.

We received your message and enclose your Christmas present.
4. Find and copy one simile which is used to describe the experience of playing wizard chess.
like directing troops in battle

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Friendship
Answers
5. Name two characters who bought Harry a present.
Accept any two of the following: Hagrid; Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia; Ron’s
mum; Hermione.

6. Compare Ron and Harry’s reaction to the fifty pence.

Pupils’ own responses, such as: Ron was ‘fascinated’ by the fifty pence piece and was
curious about its shape. I think that Harry was grateful for the gift but had seen fifty
pence pieces before so was happy to give it to Ron.

7. ‘What did you expect, turnips?’ said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger
than Harry’s.
What impression does the author give of Ron here?
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think the author gives the impression that Ron is quite
sarcastic and funny by the use of this quote.

8. Ron’s mum gives hand-knitted jumpers and home-made fudge as a gift to Harry. What do
you think this shows about her?
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think that this shows that Ron’s mum is thoughtful
and cares a lot about other people as she takes the time to make presents instead of
buying them.

9. Look at the final two sentences. Predict what Ron thinks about Harry’s present. Use
evidence from the text to support your answer.
Pupils’ own responses, such as: I think Ron is in awe of Harry’s present because he
gasped. I think this shows that the present is rare and he is shocked.

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Friendship
Answers
10. Complete the table below with one piece of evidence from the text to support
each statement.
Accept one piece of evidence for each statement.

Statement Evidence
1. He ‘went to bed looking forward to
next day for the food and the fun’.

Harry is excited about Christmas Day. 2. He ‘scrambled out of bed’.

3. He exclaimed when he saw the

presents as he wasn’t expecting any.

1. He started to turn pink.

Ron is embarrassed. 2. He groaned when he realised

his mum had made Harry a
Weasley jumper.

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