Harry1 ran back upstairs to his bedroom, arriving at the window just in time to see the Dursleys’ car swinging out of the drive and off up the road. Dedalus’s top hat was visible between Aunt Petunia2 and Dudley in the backseat. The car turned right at the end of Privet Drive, its windows burned scarlet3 for a moment in the now setting sun, and then it was gone.
Harry picked up Hedwig’s cage, his Firebolt, and his rucksack, gave his unnaturally4 tidy bedroom one last sweeping5 look, and then made his ungainly way back downstairs to the hall, where he deposited cage, broomstick, and bag near the foot of the stairs. The light was fading rapidly, the hall full of shadows in the evening light. It felt most strange to stand here in the silence and know that he was about to leave the house for the last time. Long ago, when he had been left alone while the Dursleys went out to enjoy themselves, the hours of solitude6 had been a rare treat. Pausing only to sneak7 something tasty from the fridge, he had rushed upstairs to play on Dudley’s computer, or put on the television and flicked8 through the channels to his heart’s content. It gave him an odd, empty feeling remembering those times; it was like remembering a younger brother whom he had lost.
“Don’t you want to take a last look at the place?” he asked Hedwig, who was still sulking with her head under her wing. “We’ll never be here again. Don’t you want to remember all the good times? I mean, look at this doormat. What memories … Dudley sobbed9 on it after I saved him from the dementors … Turns out he was grateful after all, can you believe it? … And last summer, Dumbledore walked through that front door …”
Harry lost the thread of his thoughts for a moment and Hedwig did nothing to help him retrieve10 it, but continued to sit with her head under her wing. Harry turned his back on the front door.
“And under here, Hedwig” – Harry pulled open a door under the stairs – “is where I used to sleep! You never knew me then – Blimey, it’s small, I’d forgotten …”
Harry looked around at the stacked shoes and umbrellas remembering how he used to wake every morning looking up at the underside of the staircase, which was more often than not adorned11 with a spider or two. Those had been the days before he had known anything about his true identity; before he had found out how his parents had died or why such strange things often happened around him. But Harry could still remember the dreams that had dogged him, even in those days: confused dreams involving flashes of green light and once – Uncle Vernon had nearly crashed the car when Harry had recounted it – a flying motorbike …
There was a sudden, deafening12 roar from somewhere nearby. Harry straightened up with a jerk and smacked13 the top of his head on the low door frame. Pausing only to employ a few of Uncle Vernon’s choicest swear words, he staggered back into the kitchen, clutching his head and staring out of the window into the back garden.
The darkness seemed to be rippling14, the air itself quivering. Then, one by one, figures began to pop into sight as their Disillusionment Charms lifted. Dominating the scene was Hagrid, wearing a helmet and goggles15 and sitting astride an enormous motorbike with a black sidecar attached. All around him other people were dismounting from brooms and, in two cases, skeletal, black winged horses.
Wrenching16 open the back door, Harry hurtled into their midst. There was a general cry of greeting as Hermione flung her arms around him, Ron clapped him on the back, and Hagrid said, “All righ’, Harry? Ready fer the off?”
“Definitely,” said Harry, beaming around at them all. “But I wasn’t expecting this many of you!”
“Change of plan,” growled17 Mad-Eye, who was holding two enormous bulging19 sacks, and whose magical eye was spinning from darkening sky to house to garden with dizzying rapidity. “Let’s get undercover before we talk you through it.”
Harry led them all back into the kitchen where, laughing and chattering20, they settled on chairs, sat themselves upon Aunt Petunia’s gleaming work surfaces, or leaned up against her spotless appliances; Ron, long and lanky21; Hermione, her bushy hair tied back in a long plait; Fred and George, grinning identically; Bill, badly scarred and longhaired; Mr. Weasley, kind-faced, balding, his spectacles a little awry22; Mad-Eye, battle-worn, one-legged, his bright blue magical eye whizzing in its socket23; Tonks, whose short hair was her favorite shade of bright pink; Lupin, grayer, more lined; Fleur, slender and beautiful, with her long silvery blonde hair; Kingsley, bald and broad-shouldered; Hagrid, with his wild hair and beard, standing24 hunchbacked to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling; and Mundungus Fletcher, small, dirty, and hangdog, with his droopy beady hound’s eyes and matted hair. Harry’s heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: He felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom he had tried to strangle the last time they had met.
“Kingsley, I thought you were looking after the Muggle Prime Minister?” he called across the room.
“He can get along without me for one night,” said Kingsley, “You’re more important.”
“Harry, guess what?” said Tonks from her perch26 on top of the washing machine, and she wiggled her left hand at him; a ring glistened27 there.
“You got married?” Harry yelped28, looking from her to Lupin.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t be there, Harry, it was very quiet.”
“That’s brilliant, congrat – ”
“All right, all right, we’ll have time for a cozy29 catch-up later,” roared Moody30 over the hubbub31, and silence fell in the kitchen. Moody dropped his sacks at his feet and turned to Harry. “As Dedalus probably told you, we had to abandon Plan A. Pius Thicknesse has gone over, which gives us a big problem. He’s made it an imprisonable offense32 to connect this house to the Floo Network, place a Portkey here, or Apparate in or out. All done in the name of your protection, to prevent You-Know-Who getting in at you. Absolutely pointless, seeing as your mother’s charm does that already. What he’s really done is to stop you getting out of here safely.”
“Second problem: You’re underage, which means you’ve still got the Trace on you.”
“I don’t – ”
“The Trace, the Trace!” said Mad-Eye impatiently. “The charm that detects magical activity around under-seventeens, the way the Ministry33 finds out about underage magic! If you, or anyone around you, casts a spell to get you out of here, Thicknesse is going to know about it, and so will the Death Eaters.”
“We can’t wait for the Trace to break, because the moment you turn seventeen you’ll lose all the protection your mother gave you. In short, Pius Thicknesse thinks he’s got you cornered good and proper.”
Harry could not help but agree with the unknown Thicknesse.
“So what are we going to do?”
“We’re going to use the only means of transport left to us, the only ones the Trace can’t detect, because we don’t need to cast spells to use them: brooms, thestrals, and Hagrid’s motorbike.”
Harry could see flaws in this plan; however, he held his tongue to give Mad-Eye the chance to address them.
“Now, your mother’s charm will only break under two conditions: when you come of age, or” – Moody gestured around the pristine34 kitchen – “you no longer call this place home. You and your aunt and uncle are going your separate ways tonight, in the full understanding that you’re never going to live together again, correct?”
Harry nodded.
“So this time, when you leave, there’ll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. We’re choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-Know-Who to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen.”
“The one thing we’ve got on our side is that You-Know-Who doesn’t know we’re moving you tonight. We’ve leaked a fake trail to the Ministry: They think you’re not leaving until the thirtieth. However, this is You-Know-Who we’re dealing35 with, so we can’t rely on him getting the date wrong; he’s bound to have a couple of Death Eaters patrolling the skies in this general area, just in case. So, we’ve given a dozen different houses every protection we can throw at them. They all look like they could be the place we’re going to hide you, they’ve all got some connection with the Order: my house, Kingsley’s place, Molly’s Auntie Muriel’s – you get the idea.”
“Yeah,” said Harry, not entirely36 truthfully, because he could still spot a gaping37 hole in the plan.
“You’ll be going to Tonks’s parents. Once you’re within the boundaries of the protective enchantments38 we’ve put on their house you’ll be able to use a Portkey to the Burrow39. Any questions?”
“Er – yes,” said Harry. “Maybe they won’t know which of the twelve secure houses I’m heading for at first, but won’t it be sort of obvious once” – he performed a quick headcount – “fourteen of us fly off toward Tonks’s parents?”
“Ah,” said Moody, “I forgot to mention the key point. Fourteen of us won’t be flying to Tonks’s parents. There will be seven Harry Potters moving through the skies tonight, each of them with a companion, each pair heading for a different safe house.”
From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a flask40 of what looked like mud. There was no need for him to say another word; Harry understood the rest of the plan immediately.
“No!” he said loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen. “No way!”
“I told them you’d take it like this,” said Hermione with a hint of complacency.
“If you think I’m going to let six people risk their lives –!”
“ – because it’s the first time for all of us,” said Ron.
“This is different, pretending to be me – ”
“Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry,” said Fred earnestly. “Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever.”
Harry did not smile.
“You can’t do it if I don’t cooperate, you need me to give you some hair.”
“Well, that’s the plan scuppered,” said George. “Obviously there’s no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate.”
“Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who’s not allowed to use magic; we’ve got no chance,” said Fred.
“Funny,” said Harry, “really amusing.”
“If it has to come to force, then it will,” growled Moody, his magical eye now quivering a little in its socket as he glared at Harry. “Everyone here’s overage, Potter, and they’re all prepared to take the risk.”
Mundungus shrugged41 and grimaced42; the magical eye swerved43 sideways to glance at him out of the side of Moody’s head.
“Let’s have no more arguments. Time’s wearing on. I want a few of your hairs, boy, now.”
“But this is mad, there’s no need – ”
“No need!” snarled45 Moody. “With You-Know-Who out there and half the Ministry on his side? Potter, if we’re lucky he’ll have swallowed the fake bait and he’ll be planning to ambush46 you on the thirtieth, but he’d be mad not to have a Death Eater or two keeping an eye out, it’s what I’d do. They might not be able to get at you or this house while your mother’s charm holds, but it’s about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who can’t split himself into seven.”
Harry caught Hermione’s eye and looked away at once.
“So, Potter – some of your hair, if you please.”
Harry glanced at Ron, who grimaced at him in a just-do-it sort of way.
“Now!” barked Moody.
With all of their eyes upon him, Harry reached up to the top of his head, grabbed a hank of hair, and pulled.
“Good,” said Moody, limping forward as he pulled the stopper out of the flask of potion. “Straight in here, if you please.”
Harry dropped the hair into the mudlike liquid. The moment it made contact with its surface, the potion began to froth and smoke, then, all at once, it turned a clear, bright gold.
“Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle, Harry,” said Hermione, before catching47 sight of Ron’s raised eyebrows48, blushing slightly, and saying, “Oh, you know what I mean – Goyle’s potion tasted like bogies.”
“Right then, fake Potters line up over here, please,” said Moody.
Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Fleur lined up in front of Aunt Petunia’s gleaming sink.
“We’re one short,” said Lupin.
“Here,” said Hagrid gruffly, and he lifted Mundungus by the scruff of the neck and dropped him down beside Fleur, who wrinkled her nose pointedly50 and moved along to stand between Fred and George instead.
“I’m a soldier, I’d sooner be a protector,” said Mundungus.
“Shut it,” growled Moody. “As I’ve already told you, you spineless worm, any Death Eaters we run into will be aiming to capture Potter, not kill him. Dumbledore always said You-Know-Who would want to finish Potter in person. It’ll be the protectors who have got the most to worry about, the Death Eaters’ll want to kill them.”
Mundungus did not look particularly reassured51, but Moody was already pulling half a dozen eggcup-sized glasses from inside his cloak, which he handed out, before pouring a little Polyjuice Potion into each one.
“Altogether, then …”
Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus drank. All of them gasped52 and grimaced as the potion hit their throats; At once, their features began to bubble and distort like hot wax. Hermione and Mundungus were shooting upward; Ron, Fred, and George were shrinking; their hair was darkening, Hermione’s and Fleur’s appearing to shoot backward into their skulls53.
Moody, quite unconcerned, was now loosening the ties of the large sacks he had brought with him. When he straightened up again, there were six Harry Potters gasping54 and panting in front of him.
Fred and George turned to each other and said together, “Wow – we’re identical!”
“I dunno, though, I think I’m still better-looking,” said Fred, examining his reflection in the kettle.
“Bah,” said Fleur, checking herself in the microwave door, “Bill, don’t look at me – I’m ‘ideous.”
“Those whose clothes are a bit roomy, I’ve got smaller here,” said Moody, indicating the first sack, “and vice55 versa. Don’t forget the glasses, there’s six pairs in the side pocket. And when you’re dressed, there’s luggage in the other sack.”
The real Harry thought that this might just be the most bizarre thing he had ever seen, and he had seen some extremely odd things. He watched as his six doppelgangers rummaged56 in the sacks, pulling out sets of clothes, putting on glasses, stuffing their own things away. He felt like asking them to show a little more respect for privacy as they all began stripping off with impunity57, clearly more at ease with displaying his body than they would have been with their own.
“I knew Ginny was lying about that tattoo,” said Ron, looking down at his bare chest.
“Harry, your eyesight really is awful,” said Hermione, as she put on glasses.
Once dressed, the fake Harrys took rucksacks and owl18 cages, each containing a stuffed snowy owl, from the second sack.
“Good,” said Moody, as at last seven dressed, bespectacled, and luggage-laden Harrys faced him. “The pairs will be as follows: Mundungus will be traveling with me, by broom – ”
“Why’m I with you?” grunted58 the Harry nearest the back door.
“Because you’re the one that needs watching,” growled Moody, and sure enough, his magical eye did not waver from Mundungus as he continued, “Arthur and Fred – ”
“I’m George,” said the twin at whom Moody was pointing. “Can’t you even tell us apart when we’re Harry?”
“Sorry, George – ”
“I’m only yanking your wand, I’m Fred really – ”
“Enough messing around!” snarled Moody. “The other one – George or Fred or whoever you are – you’re with Remus. Miss Delacour – ”
“I’m taking Fleur on a thestral,” said Bill. “She’s not that fond of brooms.”
Fleur walked over to stand beside him, giving him a soppy, slavish look that Harry hoped with all his heart would never appear on his face again.
“Miss Granger with Kingsley, again by thestral – ”
Hermione looked reassured as she answered Kingsley’s smile; Harry knew that Hermione too lacked confidence on a broomstick.
“Which leaves you and me, Ron!” said Tonks brightly, knocking over a mug tree as she waved at him.
Ron did not look quite as pleased as Hermione.
“An’ you’re with me, Harry. That all righ’?” said Hagrid, looking a little anxious. “We’ll be on the bike, brooms an’ thestrals can’t take me weight, see. Not a lot o’ room on the seat with me on it, though, so you’ll be in the sidecar.”
“That’s great,” said Harry, not altogether truthfully.
“We think the Death Eaters will expect you to be on a broom,” said Moody, who seemed to guess how Harry was feeling. “Snape’s had plenty of time to tell them everything about you he’s never mentioned before, so if we do run into any Death Eaters, we’re betting they’ll choose one of the Potters who looks at home on a broomstick. All right then,” he went on, tying up the sack with the fake Potters’ clothes in it and leading the way back to the door, “I make it three minutes until we’re supposed to leave. No point locking the back door, it won’t keep the Death Eaters out when they come looking. Come on …”
Harry hurried to gather his rucksack, Firebolt, and Hedwig’s cage and followed the group to the dark back garden.
On every side broomsticks were leaping into hands; Hermione had already been helped up onto a great black thestral by Kingsley, Fleur onto the other by Bill. Hagrid was standing ready beside the motorbike, goggles on.
“Is this it? Is this Sirius’s bike?”
“The very same,” said Hagrid, beaming down at Harry. “An’ the last time yeh was on it, Harry, I could fit yeh in one hand!”
Harry could not help but feel a little humiliated59 as he got into the sidecar. It placed him several feet below everybody else: Ron smirked60 at the sight of him sitting there like a child in a bumper61 car. Harry stuffed his rucksack and broomstick down by his feet and rammed62 Hedwig’s cage between his knees. He was extremely uncomfortable.
“Arthur’s done a bit o’ tinkerin’,” said Hagrid, quite oblivious63 to Harry’s discomfort64. He settled himself astride the motorcycle, which creaked slightly and sank inches into the ground. “It’s got a few tricks up its sleeves now. Tha’ one was my idea.” He pointed49 a thick finger at a purple button near the speedometer.
“Please be careful, Hagrid.” said Mr. Weasley, who was standing beside them, holding his broomstick. “I’m still not sure that was advisable and it’s certainly only to be used in emergencies.”
“All right, then.” said Moody. “Everyone ready, please. I want us all to leave at exactly the same time or the whole point of the diversion’s lost.”
Everybody motioned their heads. “Hold tight now, Ron,” said Tonks, and Harry saw Ron throw a forcing, guilty look at Lupin before placing his hands on each side of her waist. Hagrid kicked the motorbike into life: It roared like a dragon, and the sidecar began to vibrate.
“Good luck, everyone,” shouted Moody. “See you all in about an hour at the Burrow. On the count of three. One … two . THREE.”
There was a great roar from the motorbike, and Harry felt the sidecar give a nasty lurch65. He was rising through the air fast, his eyes watering slightly, hair whipped back off his face. Around him brooms were soaring upward too; the long black tail of a thestral flicked past. His legs, jammed into the sidecar by Hedwig’s cage and his rucksack, were already sore and starting to go numb66. So great was his discomfort that he almost forgot to take a last glimpse of number four Privet Drive. By the time he looked over the edge of the sidecar he could no longer tell which one it was.
And then, out of nowhere, out of nothing, they were surrounded. At least thirty hooded67 figures, suspended in midair, formed a vast circle in the middle of which the Order members had risen, oblivious – Screams, a blaze of green light on every side: Hagrid gave a yell and the motorbike rolled over. Harry lost any sense of where they were. Streetlights above him, yells around him, he was clinging to the sidecar for dear life. Hedwig’s cage, the Firebolt, and his rucksack slipped from beneath his knees –
“No – HELP!”
The broomstick spun69 too, but he just managed to seize the strap70 of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A second’s relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched71 and fell to the floor of the cage.
“No – NO!”
The motorbike zoomed72 forward; Harry glimpsed hooded Death Eaters scattering73 as Hagrid blasted through their circle.
“Hedwig – Hedwig – ”
But the owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy on the floor of her cage. He could not take it in, and his terror for the others was paramount74. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a mass of people moving, flares75 of green light, two pairs of people on brooms soaring off into the distance, but he could not tell who they were –“Hagrid, we’ve got to go back, we’ve got to go back!” he yelled over the thunderous roar of the engine, pulling out his wand, ramming76 Hedwig’s cage into the floor, refusing to believe that she was dead. “Hagrid, TURN AROUND!”
“My job’s ter get you there safe, Harry!” bellow77 Hagrid, and he opened the throttle78. “Stop – STOP!” Harry shouted, but as he looked back again two jets of green light flew past his left ear: Four Death Eaters had broken away from the circle and were pursuing them, aiming for Hagrid’s broad back. Hagrid swerved, but the Death Eaters were keeping up with the bike; more curses shot after them, and Harry had to sink low into the sidecar to avoid them. Wriggling79 around he cried, “Stupefy!” and a red bolt of light shot from his own wand, cleaving80 a gap between the four pursuing Death Eaters as they scattered81 to avoid it.
“Hold on, Harry, this’ll do for ‘em!” roared Hagrid, and Harry looked up just in time to see Hagrid slamming a thick finger into a green button near the fuel gauge82.
A wall, a solid black wall, erupted out of the exhaust pipe. Craning his neck, Harry saw it expand into being in midair. Three of the Death Eaters swerved and avoided it, but the fourth was not so lucky; He vanished from view and then dropped like a boulder83 from behind it, his broomstick broken into pieces. One of his fellows slowed up to save him, but they and the airborne wall were swallowed by darkness as Hagrid leaned low over the handlebars and sped up.
More Killing84 Curses flew past Harry’s head from the two remaining Death Eaters’ wands; they were aiming for Hagrid. Harry responded with further Stunning85 Spells: Red and green collided in midair in a shower of multicolored sparks, and Harry thought wildly of fireworks, and the Muggles below who would have no idea what was happening –
“Here we go again, Harry, hold on!” yelled Hagrid, and he jabbed at a second button. This time a great net burst from the bike’s exhaust, but the Death Eaters were ready for it. Not only did they swerve44 to avoid it, but the companion who had slowed to save their unconscious friend had caught up. He bloomed suddenly out of the darkness and now three of them were pursuing the motorbike, all shooting curses after it.
“This’ll do it, Harry, hold on tight!” yelled Hagrid, and Harry saw him slam his whole hand onto the purple button beside the speedometer.
With an unmistakable bellowing86 roar, dragon fire burst from the exhaust, white-hot and blue, and the motorbike shot forward like a bullet with a sound of wrenching metal. Harry saw the Death Eaters swerve out of sight to avoid the deadly trail of flame, and at the same time felt the sidecar sway ominously87: Its metal connections to the bike had splintered with the force of acceleration88.
“It’s all righ’, Harry!” bellowed89 Hagrid, now thrown flat onto the back by the surge of speed; nobody was steering90 now, and the sidecar was starting to twist violently in the bike’s slipstream.
“I’m on it, Harry, don’ worry!” Hagrid yelled, and from inside his jacket pocket he pulled his flowery pink umbrella.
“Hagrid! No! Let me!”
“REPARO!”
There was a deafening bang and the sidecar broke away from the bike completely. Harry sped forward, propelled by the impetus91 of the bike’s flight, then the sidecar began to lose height –
In desperation Harry pointed his wand at the sidecar and shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa!”
The sidecar rose like a cork92, unsteerable but at least still airborne. He had but a split second’s relief, however, as more curses streaked93 past him: The three Death Eaters were closing in.
“I’m comin’, Harry!“ Hagrid yelled from out of the darkness, but Harry could feel the sidecar beginning to sink again: Crouching94 as low as he could, he pointed at the middle of the oncoming figures and yelled, ”Impedimenta!“
The jinx hit the middle Death Eater in the chest; For a moment the man was absurdly spread-eagled in midair as though he had hit an invisible barrier: One of his fellows almost collided with him – Then the sidecar began to fall in earnest, and the remaining Death Eater shot a curse so close to Harry that he had to duck below the rim25 of the car, knocking out a tooth on the edge of his seat –
“I’m comin’, Harry, I’m comin’!”
A huge hand seized the back of Harry’s robes and hoisted95 him out of the plummeting96 sidecar; Harry pulled his rucksack with him as he dragged himself onto the motorbike’s seat and found himself back-to-back with Hagrid. As they soared upward, away from the two remaining Death Eaters, Harry spat97 blood out of his mouth, pointed his wand at the falling sidecar, and yelled, “Confringo!”
He knew a dreadful, gut-wrenching pang98 for Hedwig as it exploded; the Death Eater nearest it was blasted off his broom and fell from sight; his companion fell back and vanished.
“Harry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” moaned Hagrid, “I shouldn’ta tried ter repair it meself – yeh’ve got no room – ”
“It’s not a problem, just keep flying!” Harry shouted back, as two more Death Eaters emerged out of the darkness, drawing closer.
As the curses came shooting across the intervening space again, Hagrid swerved and zigzagged99: Harry knew that Hagrid did not dare use the dragon-fire button again, with Harry seated so insecurely. Harry sent Stunning Spell after Stunning Spell back at their pursuers, barely holding them off. He shot another blocking jinx at them: The closest Death Eater swerved to avoid it and his hood68 slipped, and by the red light of his next Stunning Spell, Harry saw the strangely blank face of Stanley Shunpike – Stan –
“Expelliarmus!“ Harry yelled.
“That’s him, it’s him, it’s the real one!”
The hooded Death Eater’s shout reached Harry even above the thunder of the motorbike’s engine: Next moment, both pursuers had fallen back and disappeared from view.
“Harry, what’s happened?” bellowed Hagrid. “Where’ve they gone?”
“I don’t know!”
But Harry was afraid: The hooded Death Eater had shouted, “It’s the real one!”; how had he known? He gazed around at the apparently100 empty darkness and felt its menace. Where were they?
He clambered around on the seat to face forward and seized hold of the back of Hagrid’s jacket.
“Hagrid, do the dragon-fire thing again, let’s get out of here!”
“Hold on tight, then, Harry!”
There was a deafening, screeching101 roar again and the white-blue fire shot from the exhaust: Harry felt himself slipping backwards102 off what little of the seat he had.
Hagrid flung backward upon him, barely maintaining his grip on the handlebars – “I think we’ve lost ‘em Harry, I think we’ve done it!” yelled Hagrid.
But Harry was not convinced; Fear lapped at him as he looked left and right for pursuers he was sure would come…. Why had they fallen back? One of them had still had a wand…. It’s him… it’s the real one…. They had said it right after he had tried to Disarm103 Stan….
“We’re nearly there, Harry, we’ve nearly made it!” shouted Hagrid.
Harry felt the bike drop a little, though the lights down on the ground still seemed remote as stars.
Then the scar on his forehead burned like fire: as a Death Eater appeared on either side of the bike, two Killing Curses missed Harry by millimeters, cast from behind – And then Harry saw him. Voldemort was flying like smoke on the wind, without broomstick or thestral to hold him, his snake-like face gleaming out of the blackness, his white fingers raising his wand again –
Hagrid let out a bellow of fear and steered104 the motorbike into a vertical105 dive. Clinging on for dear life, Harry sent Stunning Spells flying at random106 into the whirling night. He saw a body fly past him and knew he had hit one of them, but then he heard a bang and saw sparks from the engine; the motorbike spiraled through the air, completely out of control –
Green jets of light shot past them again. Harry had no idea which way was up, which down: His scar was still burning; he expected to die at any second. A hooded figure on a broomstick was feet from him, he saw it raise its arm –
“NO!”
With a shout of fury Hagrid launched himself off the bike at the Death Eater; to his horror, Harry saw both Hagrid and the Death Eater, falling out of sight, their combined weight too much for the broomstick –
Barely gripping the plummeting bike with his knees, Harry heard Voldemort scream, “Mine!”
It was over: He could not see or hear where Voldemort was; he glimpsed another Death Eater swooping107 out of the way and heard, “Avada – ”
As the pain from Harry’s scar forced his eyes shut, his wand acted of its own accord. He felt it drag his hand around like some great magnet, saw a spurt108 of golden fire through his half-closed eyelids109, heard a crack and a scream of fury. The remaining Death Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, “NO!” Somehow, Harry found his nose an inch from the dragon-fire button. He punched it with his wand-free hand and the bike shot more flames into the air, hurtling straight toward the ground.
“Hagrid!“ Harry called, holding on to the bike for dear life. “Hagrid – Accio Hagrid!”
The motorbike sped up, sucked towards the earth. Face level with the handlebars, Harry could see nothing but distant lights growing nearer and nearer: He was going to crash and there was nothing he could do about it. Behind him came another scream, “Your wand, Selwyn, give me your wand!”
He felt Voldemort before he saw him. Looking sideways, he stared into the red eyes and was sure they would be the last thing he ever saw: Voldemort preparing to curse him once more –
And then Voldemort vanished. Harry looked down and saw Hagrid spread-eagled on the ground below him. He pulled hard at the handlebars to avoid hitting him, groped for the brake, but with an earsplitting, ground trembling crash, he smashed into a muddy pond.
哈利跑上楼，回到了他的房间，刚好透过窗户看到德思礼一家的车子慢慢从车库驶上公路。在佩尼姨妈和达力的头中间可以看见在后座的德达洛的顶帽。车在女贞路的尽头向右驶去，一刹那，车窗在落日的映照下反射出猩红色的光芒，很快便随着车消失在了哈利的视线中。
哈利拿上海德薇的笼子和火弩箭，背上他的背包，最后扫了一眼他那从来没这么整洁过的卧室，晃晃悠悠地下楼把他的东西都堆到楼梯角里。光一下子就暗了下来，夕阳的光线使得客厅里满是光影。现在他站在这里准备最后一次离开这间房子，这感觉很奇怪。还记得很久以前当德思礼一家出去找乐子把他独自抛在屋里时，那份孤独却是一种难得的享受。每当这时，他总会放下偷偷地在冰箱里翻出的好吃的东西，冲进达力的房间玩电脑游戏，或是打开电视看他朝思暮想的节目。回忆过去的那些时光让他觉得奇怪而空虚，就像是思念一个他死去多年的兄弟。
“你就不想再最后看一眼吗？”他问还把头埋在翅膀里的海德薇，“我们再也不会回来了。你就不想再回忆下过去的好时光吗？我的意思是，看见这擦鞋垫了吗？多么美好的回忆啊……当我从摄魂怪嘴下把达力救回来后，他在这上面一把鼻涕一把泪……毕竟他还是很感激我的……你会信吗？……去年夏天，邓布利多从那扇门走了进来”哈利沉醉在回忆中，海德薇也没想把他唤醒，还是把头埋在翅膀里。哈利转身背对着前门，说：“这儿，海德薇，”哈利拉开了楼梯下的一间小门，“这就是我以前睡觉的地方！那时你还没见过我呢，哎，真小，我都忘了……”哈利看了看那些各式各样的鞋和伞，想起了原来每天早上他是怎么样醒来，盯着那时不时都悬着一两只蜘蛛的“房顶”的。那都是在他知道自己真实身份，知道自己的父母被谋杀，知道为什么有那么多奇怪的事发生在自己身边之前了。但哈利还记得那些紧紧缠着他的梦，即使是在那段时间，梦里尽是闪烁的绿光，有一次弗农姨父听到哈利说他梦见了飞在天上的摩托车，差点把车撞得稀烂……
突然，不知从那里传来了一阵震耳欲聋的咆哮，哈利一惊，直起了身子，头磕到了那低矮的门框，这又让哈利想起了弗农姨父曾经骂他的话，他摇晃地走回厨房，把头探出窗外朝后院望去。黑暗中似乎起了涟漪，空气似乎在微微颤抖。然后，一个接一个的人幻影移形急匆匆的走进他的视线了。最显眼的是海格，他戴着头盔，配了一副护目镜，还骑着一架硕大无比的摩托车，还带着一个黑色的边车。其他人则从飞天扫帚上——有两个人是从黑翅膀的夜骐上——慢慢爬了下来。哈利迫不及待地推开门冲向他们，赫敏热情地拥抱了他，罗恩则拍了拍哈利的背。海格说：
“好了，哈利。你都准备好了吗？”
“当然，”哈利欢快地说道，“但我没想到你们都来了！”
“计划有变，”疯眼汉不耐烦地说，他手里提着两个鼓鼓的麻袋，那只带魔法的眼睛还飞快地从昏暗的天空扫到房子再到花园，“等到了安全的地方再慢慢给你说。”
哈利领他们进了厨房，他们有的坐在椅子上，有的坐在佩尼姨妈闪闪发亮的案板上，还有的则靠在她那些一尘不染的器具上，有说有笑。罗恩还是又高又瘦；赫敏把她乱糟糟的头发扎成了辫子；弗雷德和乔治露出一模一样的笑容；比尔脸上满是疤痕，头发也长了；韦斯莱先生还是和以前一样的和蔼，秃着头，眼镜也戴歪了；疯眼汉穿着战斗装，瘸着腿，那只魔法眼在眼窟窿里不停地转；唐克斯的短发已经成了她最爱的亮粉色；卢平的头发更白了，有了更多的皱纹；芙蓉一头柔顺的银发，比以前更窈窕美丽了；金斯莱还是秃顶宽肩膀；海格的乱发和胡须还是老样子，为了不撞到天花板他不得不微微地弯下腰；蒙格顿斯，还那么瘦小、委琐，长着一对猎犬般的珠泡眼。看见他们大伙让哈利的心里暖洋洋的。他发现自己从来没这么喜欢过他们，就连蒙格顿斯这个他上次还差点掐死的人也是一样。
“金斯莱，你不是在照料那个麻瓜首相吗？”哈利嚷到。
“现在他可一刻也离不开我，”金斯莱说道，“但是你比他重要多了。”
“哈利，你猜怎么着？”唐克斯坐在洗衣机上快活地说，左手得意地向哈利摇晃着，一枚戒指在她的无名指上闪闪发亮。
“你们结婚了？”哈利大声问，看看她又看看卢平。
“你没能来真是太遗憾了，哈利，但我们的婚礼也没太张扬。”
“那可真是太好了，真是恭……”
“好了，好了，现在没有时间闲聊了，”穆迪大叫，厨房里马上就安静了下来。他把袋子放到脚边，对哈利说，“就像德达洛告诉你的那样，我们得放弃计划A。毕尤斯 底克尼斯变卦了，这就给了我们一个很大的问题。现在这所房子与飞路网相连的行动都不允许了，无论是用门钥匙，还是幻影移形进出。美名曰是为了防止那个连名字都不能提的人接近你。在我看来那全是在胡来，你妈妈的魔法已经做得够好了。他做的那些事反而让你不能安全离开这儿。”
“第二个问题是：你还没成年，那就意味着你必须还得遵守那条法规。”
“我没……”
“法规！法规！”疯眼汉不耐烦地说，“侦测未成年人身边的魔法活动的咒语，那是部长发现未成年人非法施法的方式！如果你，或是你周围的什么人，施魔法想带你离开这里，底克尼斯就会在第一时间知道，当然食死徒也会。”
“我们等不到这印记失效的时候了，因为你一成年，你妈妈给你施的保护咒就会失效。用不了多久，底克尼斯的人就会把你捉住。”
哈利也忍不住暗地里佩服起了这个不认识的“底克尼斯”。
“那我们怎么办呢？”
“我们只有一种方法了，那也是印记追踪不到的唯一方法，因为我们不用施魔法：扫帚，夜骐，还有海格的摩托车。”
哈利觉得这计划有点问题，但他还是没有打断疯眼汉的话：
“你妈妈的咒语在两种情况下会失效：你成年时或是——”穆迪冲着厨房随便挥了挥手臂，“你不再把这里叫做你的‘家’。你和你的姨妈姨夫今晚就分别了，那就是说你们不会再生活在一起了，没错吧？”
哈利点点头。
“所以，这一次你离开的时候，就不会再回来了，那么魔法也会在你踏出房门的那一刹那失效。我们打算提前让它失效，因为不这样的话，神秘人就会在你成年那一刻来抓住你。”
“对我们来说，唯一的优势就是神秘人不知道我们今晚会来把你带走。我们给魔法部漏了一点小小的假消息：他们会认为你三十日前是不会离开的。但我们要面对的是神秘人，所以我们不能指望他也相信那假消息；他肯定会让一帮食死徒在这片区域的上空巡逻以防万一。因此，我们给一打房子都施上了尽可能多的保护咒，这样他们就不能确定我们到底把你藏在那间房子里，他们都和凤凰社有一定联系：我的房子，金斯莱的住处，莫丽的穆里儿姨妈家……·你明白了？”
“太好了，”哈利说道，但并不那么真心地觉得这主意太好了，因为他还是发现了一个漏洞。
“你要去唐克斯父母那里。你一进入我们给那里设的保护咒里，就可以用门钥匙去陋居了，还有什么问题吗？”
“呃……有一个，”哈利说，“可能他们一开始是不知道我在这十二间房子里的哪一个，但我们会不会太显眼了？”他飞快地点了点人数，“我们十四个人一起朝唐克斯父母家飞去？”
“啊，”穆迪说，“我忘了说最重要的一点了。我们十四个不会全去的。今晚将有七个哈利波特飞过天空。”说完，穆迪从斗篷里取出一瓶看上去像泥巴的东西。
不用再说什么，哈利立刻就明白了这计划的全部内容。
“不行！”他大声抗议，他的声音整个厨房都听得到“绝对不行！”
“我跟他们说了你肯定会有这种反应的。”赫敏得意地说。
“你认为我会让六个人冒着生命危险——”
“——因为这是我们第一次为了你而冒险，”罗恩说。
“那不一样，假扮成我——”
“好了，哈利，我们没人想假扮成你，”弗雷德真诚地说，“要是出了点什么问题让我们永远都是那瘦猴的样子的话，那怎么办？”
哈利没有笑。
“如果我不配合的话，你们就不能那么做，你们得用我的头发。”
“不错，那就是这个计划失败的地方，”乔治说，“很明显如果你不配合的话我们根本就不可能拿到你的头发。”
“是啊，我们十三个人要拿一个不能使用魔法的傻小子的几根头发，我们没有任何机会的。”弗雷德说。
“有趣”哈利说，“这很好笑。”
“如果不得不使用暴力的话，哈利，我们会的。”穆迪咆哮着瞪着哈利，他的魔法眼在眼窝里也有一点颤抖，“这里的人都是成年人了，他们都准备好了为你而冒险。”
蒙格顿斯耸耸肩，做出一个很难看的鬼脸。魔法眼突然从穆迪的头转向他那一侧看了他一眼。
“不要争了，时间不等人，给我点你的头发，孩子，马上。”
“这太疯狂了，没有必要——”
“没有必要！”穆迪开始咆哮了，“神秘人就在我们身边，而且已经控制了半个魔法部，你认为这没有必要？波特，如果我们运气好的话他就会相信那个假消息然后计划在你成年时再抓你，但他不可能不派一两个食死徒来盯梢——换我也会这么做。在你妈妈的保护咒还有用时他们也许暂时还找不到你或是这所房子，但保护咒马上就要消失了，他们也知道了你的大概位置。我们唯一的机会就是假扮成你然后掩护你离开这儿。就算是神秘人也不能把他自己分身成七个人吧！”
哈利看到了赫敏的眼睛，马上又朝别处看去了。
“所以说，波特——请给我一点你的头发。”
哈利又看看罗恩，他正朝他故意做着鬼脸。
“快点！”穆迪喊到。
就这样，在大家的注视下，哈利把手伸到了头顶，抓起一小撮头发扯了下来
“太好了，”穆迪一边拖着瘸腿朝哈利走来，一边拔出了瓶口的软木塞，“请放进去吧。”
哈利把头发扔进了那泥状的液体里面。液体一碰到他的头发就开始冒出大量的气泡和烟雾，然后立刻变成了清澄的亮金色。
“噢，你的看上去比克拉布和高尔的好喝多了，哈利。”赫敏说。看到罗恩扬起他的眉毛，她的脸有点红，又说，“噢，你知道我的意思——高尔的尝起来太恐怖了。”
“现在，假波特们请到这里来排队。”穆迪说。
罗恩，赫敏，弗雷德，乔治，芙蓉在佩尼姨妈闪着微光的洗手槽前排成一排。
“还差一个人。”卢平说。
“让他去吧。”海格抓住蒙格顿斯的颈子把他摔到芙蓉旁边，粗声粗气地说。芙蓉皱了皱鼻子，站到了弗雷德和乔治的中间
“我是一名战士，我更想成为保护者”蒙格顿斯说
“闭嘴！”穆迪朝他喊到，“我已经告诉过你了，没骨气的东西，每个食死徒都想抓住波特而不是杀死他。邓布利多总是说神秘人想亲手杀死波特。需要担心的是保护波特的人，食死徒想杀死的是他们。”
穆迪的话看上去并没有让蒙格顿斯安心，但穆迪已经从斗篷里拿出了六个蛋杯大小的杯子倒满了汤剂。
“那么，现在……”
罗恩，赫敏，弗雷得，乔治，芙蓉，还有蒙格顿斯都喝下了汤剂。他们刚咽下汤剂就不停地粗气，脸也痛苦地扭曲着。他们的身体就像一堆滚烫的蜡一样开始冒泡变形；赫敏和蒙格顿斯在快速地长高，罗恩，弗雷德和乔治的身体则不住地收缩，头发也在变黑；赫敏和芙蓉的头发好像在往头皮回缩；穆迪看上去一副事不关己的模样，只是弯下腰松了松麻袋的口子。当他再站起来时，面前已经站了六个气喘虚虚的哈利波特了。
弗雷德和乔治对望了一会儿，一起说到：“哇！我们真是长得一模一样！”
“但我觉得，我还是更帅一点。”弗雷德在茶壶得倒影看倒自己的样子说。
“呸，”芙蓉在微波炉门上看到了自己的新造型，“比尔，千万别看我，我太难看了。”
“如果觉得衣服大了，我这里有小点的。”穆迪指着第一个口袋，“大的也有，袋子里还有六副眼镜，别忘了戴上。穿好衣服后，到那个口袋里去拿皮箱。”
真正的哈利认为这真是他见过的最古怪的事情了,即使他以前见过很多古怪的事情:他看着六个他自己在麻袋里翻找，拿出一套一套的衣服，换上一副一副的眼镜，把他们自己的东西丢开。
看见他们毫无顾虑地宽衣解带——很明显比起让他们自己裸体来，他们更乐意让哈利这样——他真想让他们稍微尊重点他的隐私。
“我就知道金妮说的那个纹身是假的！”罗恩看着自己前胸说。
“哈利，你的视力真是糟透了。”赫敏边戴眼镜边说。
穿好衣服后，假哈利们都提上了帆布背包和猫头鹰笼子，每个笼子里都装着一只刚从第二个袋子里拿出的喂饱了的猫头鹰。
“很好，”看见他们七个都穿好衣服戴好眼镜提着行李，穆迪满意地说，“我是这样分组的，蒙顿格斯和我一组，乘扫帚——”
“为什么我要和你一组？”最靠近门的那个哈利抱怨道。
“因为你是最需要监视的人！”穆迪毫不留情的说，当他继续宣布分组时，他的魔法眼也一直盯着蒙顿格斯，
“亚瑟和弗雷德——”
“我是乔治，”穆迪指着的那个哈利说话了，“难道我们变成哈利了你也还是分不清吗？”
“对不起，乔治——”
“开玩笑的，其实我是弗雷德——”
“够了！”穆迪嚎叫着打断了他的话，“另外一个——管你是乔治还是弗雷德——你和卢平一组。德拉库尔小姐——”
“我要和芙蓉一组骑夜骐”比尔说，“她不喜欢骑扫帚。”
芙蓉走到比尔身边，用一种幽怨、顺从的眼神看了他一眼。哈利衷心希望那种眼神再也不要在他的脸上出现。
“格兰杰小姐和金斯莱先生一组，也是骑夜骐。”
赫敏看上去稍稍有点安心，她也向金斯莱笑了笑——哈利知道赫敏从来都对扫帚比较畏惧。
“那么你就和我一组了，罗恩~”唐克斯开心地朝他挥手，不小心弄翻了一个盆栽。
罗恩看上去可不像赫敏那么高兴。
“啊，哈利，我们一组，对吗？”海格有点兴奋。“我们骑摩托，哈利，扫帚和夜骐载不动我。但是我坐在车上，吨位太大，只好委屈你坐在车斗里了。”
“太棒了。”哈利并不是发自内心的应了一句。
“我们猜想食死徒认为你会骑扫帚，”穆迪好象看出了哈利在想什么，“斯内普有足够的时间告诉他们关于你的一切，所以如果我们真的撞上了食死徒，我敢打赌他们会选那个骑在扫帚上的波特。那么，”他把大家脱下来的衣服装进了麻袋，朝后门走去，“我们三分钟后出发。不用锁后门，他们如果真想进来那锁根本没用。出发吧！”哈利赶快背起他的背包，拿起火弩箭和海德薇的笼子，跟着大家到了黑漆漆的后院里。
扫帚已经跃跃欲试准备一冲云霄，赫敏和芙蓉也在金斯莱和比尔的帮助下骑上了夜骐。海格戴好了护目镜，正站在摩托旁边。
“这是小天狼星的摩托车吗？是吗？”
“不是，但它们很像，”海格欢快地说，“上次你乘坐它的时候，我能一手把你握住呢，哈利！”
坐在车斗里，哈利不免觉得有些丢脸——因为这让他比每个人都矮了那么几英尺。罗恩看到哈利像个孩子一样坐在车斗里，不禁对着他傻笑起来。哈利把背包和火弩箭堆在脚边，用双膝夹着海德薇的笼子，难受极了。
“亚瑟把它改造了一下，”看到哈利显然十分不舒服，海格说。然后他骑上了摩托——弄得它吱吱作响，还往下陷了几英尺，“现在它有一些新功能了，那个是我的主意。”
他用他那肥大的手指指着速度计旁边的一个紫色按钮。
“注意安全，海格，”韦斯莱先生拿着扫帚站在他们旁边说，“那工作起来还不稳定，不到万不得已别用它。”
“好了，”穆迪说，“大家都准备好。我们必须在同一个时刻一起离开否则整个转移计划就泡汤了·
每个人都点点头。
“抱紧了，罗恩。”唐克斯说。哈利注意到罗恩把手抱在唐克斯腰上前，对卢平投去了一种无奈而负罪的眼神。海格把摩托点上了火。它像龙一样地在咆哮着，车斗也开始震动起来。
“大家好运！”穆迪喊到，“一小时后陋居见，我数三下就出发，一，二，三！”
摩托车发出一阵震耳欲聋的吼叫，哈利感到车斗一下子就倾斜得厉害。他正在飞快地升空，眼睛被迎面而来的风吹出了泪水，头发则向后吹去。他身边的扫帚也迅速升空，夜骐的尾巴轻轻扫了过去。他的双脚被海德薇的笼子和他的背包挤在车斗里动弹不得，已经有点酸痛麻木了。他难受得都忘记了看女贞路四号最后一眼。当他再从车斗边上往下看时，他已经认不出哪一栋才是了。
就在这时，他们突然被包围了。至少三十个不知从何而来的人悬停在半空，他们组成了一个半圆的阵型，把凤凰社的人围在了里面。
尖叫声，然后是无数的绿光。海格大喊一声，把摩托车翻了个转。哈利已经搞不清楚自己的方位了。他头顶上是街灯，四周都是喊叫，他紧紧抓住车斗以免被摔下去。但海德薇的笼子，火弩箭和背包都从他膝盖边滑出去了。
“不！救命！”
尽管摩托车和火弩箭都在不停地旋转，哈利还是想方设法抓住了背包带子和笼子的挂钩。只有一瞬间的喘息，又是一道绿光射了过来。海德薇尖叫了一声，倒在了笼底。
“不—不！”
摩托车陡然拔高，海格试图冲出包围圈，哈利却注意到，这时，戴着头巾的食死徒有意识地分散了。
“海德薇—海德薇！”
但海德薇却像只玩具一样可怜地倒在笼底，一动不动。他已经出奇地愤怒，想到其他人更感到害怕。他转头，看见一群人飞来飞去，不停地有绿光射出，有两对凤凰社的人骑着扫帚向高飞去，但哈利认不出来他们是谁。
“海格，我们得回去，我们得回去！”他把海德薇的笼子往车底一摔，拔出魔杖在摩托车那雷鸣般的机器声中冲着海格大喊，他不相信海德薇真的死了，“海格，掉头！”
“我得保证你安全到达陋居，哈利！”海格又加大了油门。
“停—车！”哈利喊，但他再回头看时，两道绿光擦着他的左耳飞了过去——四个食死徒冲着海格宽厚的背从包围圈里冲了出来追赶他们。海格一个急转弯，但食死徒跟得很紧。黑魔法一个接一个得向他们射来，哈利不得不把头埋下去。然后扭过身子大叫：“昏昏倒地！”一道红光从他魔杖射出，追赶他们的食死徒不得不分散开来躲避,这样就闪出了一个空隙。
“坚持住，哈利，看我的！”哈利抬起头，刚好看见海格那厚厚的手指砸向油表旁的一个绿色按钮。
一道结实的黑色防护墙从排气口喷了出来。哈利伸长脖子看见那墙在半空中膨胀。三个食死徒及时转向避开了它，但剩下那个就没那么走运，他的扫帚被撞得粉碎，人也重重得摔了下去，无影无踪了。一个食死徒放慢速度去救他，海格则乘机加速。很快，他们就连着那股强大的气流一起消失在了黑夜里。
剩下的两个食死徒挥着魔仗疯狂地发射出的死咒擦着哈利得头皮飞过，他们瞄准的是海格。哈利则用更高级的击晕魔法予以还击。红光和绿光在半空激烈的碰撞，激发出耀眼的火花，这让哈利不禁想到了焰火和地面上困惑的麻瓜。
“再来一次，哈利，抓紧！”海格按下了第二个按钮，喊到。这一次从排气口放出的是一张巨大的网，但食死徒早有准备，轻易地躲开了。更糟的是，那个去救同伴的食死徒也追了上来，突然从黑暗里冒了出来。现在他们三个在全力追赶摩托车，还不停地发射咒语。
“这个会有用的，哈利，抓紧！”海格喊着，哈利看见他用整个手掌按下了速度计旁的那个紫色按钮。
这次排气口直接喷出了炽热无比的龙息般泛着蓝白的光的火焰，摩托车带着金属抨击的声音像从枪膛里射出的子弹一样向前冲去。哈利只看见食死徒匆忙躲开了那致命的火焰，但同时他也感觉到车斗在令人不安地摇晃——车斗与摩托车连接处的金属块由于加速的力量有点裂口了。
“没事的，哈利！”海格叫到，他被刚才的加速甩到了车尾，也就是说现在已经没人驾驶了，车斗已经因为气流而开始猛烈摇晃起来。
“哈利，我办事，你放心！”说着，海格就从上衣口袋里抽出他那把带花的粉红色雨伞。
“不！海格！让我来！”
“恢复如初！”
一阵震耳欲聋的响声过后，车斗已经完全从摩托车上分离了。哈利先是因为摩托车飞行动力的推进向前飞了一会儿，然后车斗就开始直直往下掉。哈利把魔杖指着车斗绝望地叫道：“羽加迪姆 勒维奥萨！”
车斗像一只软木塞飘浮了起来，虽然操纵不了，但至少没往下掉了。他刚松了口气，就发现了更多的咒语向他袭来——那三个食死徒接近了。
“我来了，哈利！”海格在黑暗中对他大声喊到。但哈利感觉得到车斗又在开始往下掉，他蜷在车斗里尽可能地低下身子，然后冲着那团朝他飞来的人影的中间大喊：
“障碍重重！”
咒语击中了中间那个食死徒的胸部。有那么一会儿那个食死徒在半空中摆出一个“大”字型，就好象撞上了一堵透明的墙。他身后的一个同伙差点就撞上了他。
然后车斗又开始了自由落体，剩下的食死徒则追着哈利放咒语。要不是哈利躲得快，有一个咒语也许就不会只是打掉车斗边上的一个齿轮了。
“哈利，我来了，我来了！”
一只大手抓住了哈利长袍的背部，把他拉出了那只坠落的车斗。哈利努力在位子上坐稳，抓紧他的背包，才发现他和海格正背靠背地坐着。当他们再次爬升，甩开了那两个食死徒后，哈利吐出一口血，把魔杖指着那只车斗喊到：“粉身裂骨！”
当车斗爆炸时，他感受到了海德薇那可怕痛苦的剧痛；离车斗最近的一个食死徒从扫帚上被炸下去不见了，他的同伙及时逃开不见了。
“真对不起，哈利，真对不起”海格低声地说，“我不该自己去修的，你坐不下了……”
“没事儿，继续飞吧！”哈利又看见两个食死徒从黑暗里靠近了。
当哈利与食死徒互射魔法时，海格把车弯来转去，走了一个“Z”字型，哈利知道因为它的座位不安全，海格不敢再用火焰喷射了。哈利不停地朝后面的食死徒施放昏迷咒，差点就把他们打下了扫帚。一个食死徒的头巾在躲避哈利魔法时掉了，借着昏迷魔法发出的红光，哈利看见了斯坦桑帕克那张苍白异常的脸
“除你武器！”哈利叫道
“就是他，他是那个真的！”
那个带着头巾的食死徒发出的喊声甚至压过了摩托车引擎的轰鸣，不一会儿，两个食死徒都撤退得无影无踪了。
“怎么回事，哈利？”海格问，“他们去哪儿了？”
“我不知道！”
但哈利很害怕，因为那个蒙着头巾的食死徒说“就是他！”他怎么会知道呢？他看了看四周那无尽的黑暗，感到了一丝危险，他们在哪儿？
他转了个身面朝前方，紧紧抓住了海格的衣服。
“海格，再来一次那个火焰喷射吧，我们得赶快离开这儿！”
“那么，抓紧了，哈利！”
伴着又一阵震耳欲聋的轰鸣，喷气口喷出一鼓发白的蓝色火焰。哈利觉得自己好象在往座位后面不住滑动。海格一手从后面把他牢牢抓住，一手尽可能地控制着车把手。
“我想我们甩掉他们了，哈利，我们成功了！”海格兴奋地叫道。
但哈利并不放心，他不停地左右张望，内心依然在担心那不知在何方的追杀者。他们为什么撤退？他们中有一个人还有魔杖的……是他……他是那个真的……在他除掉斯坦的武器后，他们说对了。
“我们就要到了，哈利，我们就要成功了！”海格大声说。
哈利感到摩托下降了一点点，尽管地上的灯火依然像天上的星光一样遥远。
他的伤疤突然像火烧一样地疼痛起来，就在这时摩托车的两边各出现了一个食死徒。两条从后面飞来的死咒几乎击中了哈利。哈利转过头，看见伏地魔正像风里的烟雾一般向他飞来——没有骑扫帚也没有骑夜骐。他那蛇一样的面容闪着阴险的光。他那惨白的手指又端起了魔杖——
海格发出了惊恐的惨叫，驾着摩托车几乎是垂直着往下冲。哈利紧紧抓住海格的衣服，随意地向身后的无边黑暗里放着昏迷咒。看到一个身影从他身边掠过，他知道他射中了一个，但一声巨响之后，摩托车的引擎就冒起火花，车也随之完全失控，旋转着从空中一头载了下来。
绿光呼啸着从他们身边掠过，哈利完全失去了方向感。伤疤还在火燎一般的痛，让他觉得自己随时都可能死掉。一个蒙着头巾的身影骑着扫帚出现在他身边几英尺的地方，他看到那身影扬起了他的手——
“不！”
海格咆哮着从摩托上跳向了那食死徒，把他吓了一跳，然后哈利眼睁睁看着海格和食死徒消失在了他的视野里——那扫帚载不动海格和食死徒。
全完了，他完全不知道伏地魔在那里，他只看见另一个食死徒突然掉了下来，接着便是“阿瓦达——”
伤疤剧烈的疼痛使哈利睁不开眼睛，他的魔杖开始自己运动起来。他感到那魔杖像被磁铁吸引住了一样拖着他的手，然后他半睁的眼睛看到一股喷薄而出的金光，同时还有破碎声和愤怒的喊叫声。剩下的食死徒闹成一团，伏地魔大声叫着“不！”不知怎么的，哈利发现他离那个喷火装置的按钮如此接近。他用那只没有拿魔杖的手按下了它，摩托车顿时射出了大量的火焰，飞一般摔向地面。
“海格！”哈利拼命地抓住摩托车喊到，“海格飞来！海格！”
摩托车的速度越来越快了，直直地朝地面奔去。哈利的视线被车把手挡住了，现在除了越来越近的灯光他什么也看不见。他就要摔得粉身碎骨而他就无能为力。这时从他身后传来另一声叫喊，
“塞尔温，把你的魔杖给我，快！”
在伏地魔发现他之前，哈利已经感觉到了。他朝声音望去，直直地盯着那双红色的眼睛，确定那是他一生中看见的最后一样东西了。伏地魔正在准备给他下一个死咒——
就在这时，伏地魔消失了。哈利向下看去，发现海格正在他身下的地上像一个“大”字躺着。哈利努力地想把车转向以免撞着他，可正当他摸索着寻找刹车时，随着一阵巨响，摩托车还是坠毁了，哈利则掉进了一个泥潭。
收听单词发音 |
1
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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petunia
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| n.矮牵牛花 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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unnaturally
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| adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地 | |
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sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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sneak
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| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
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flicked
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| （尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等） | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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retrieve
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| vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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smacked
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| 拍，打，掴( smack的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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goggles
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| n.护目镜 | |
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wrenching
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| n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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awry
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| adj.扭曲的，错的 | |
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socket
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| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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yelped
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cozy
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| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
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moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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38
enchantments
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| n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔 | |
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39
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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40
flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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41
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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42
grimaced
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
swerve
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| v.突然转向，背离；n．转向，弯曲，背离 | |
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45
snarled
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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46
ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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47
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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48
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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49
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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50
pointedly
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| adv.尖地，明显地 | |
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51
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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52
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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53
skulls
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| 颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜 | |
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54
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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55
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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56
rummaged
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的过去式和过去分词 )； 已经海关检查 | |
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57
impunity
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| n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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58
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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59
humiliated
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| 感到羞愧的 | |
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60
smirked
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| v.傻笑( smirk的过去分词 ) | |
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61
bumper
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| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
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62
rammed
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| v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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63
oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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65
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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66
numb
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| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
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hooded
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| adj.戴头巾的；有罩盖的；颈部因肋骨运动而膨胀的 | |
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68
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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69
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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70
strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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71
screeched
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的过去式和过去分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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72
zoomed
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| v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨 | |
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73
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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74
paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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75
flares
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| n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开 | |
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76
ramming
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| n.打结炉底v.夯实（土等）( ram的现在分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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77
bellow
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| v.吼叫，怒吼；大声发出，大声喝道 | |
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78
throttle
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| n.节流阀，节气阀，喉咙；v.扼喉咙，使窒息，压 | |
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79
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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80
cleaving
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| v.劈开，剁开，割开( cleave的现在分词 ) | |
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81
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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82
gauge
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| v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器 | |
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83
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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84
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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85
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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86
bellowing
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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87
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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88
acceleration
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| n.加速，加速度 | |
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89
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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90
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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91
impetus
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| n.推动，促进，刺激；推动力 | |
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92
cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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93
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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94
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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95
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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96
plummeting
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| v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 ) | |
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97
spat
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| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
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98
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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99
zigzagged
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| adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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101
screeching
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| v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫 | |
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102
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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103
disarm
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| v.解除武装，回复平常的编制，缓和 | |
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104
steered
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| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
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105
vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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106
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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107
swooping
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 ) | |
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108
spurt
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| v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆 | |
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109
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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