Finally, the truth. Lying with his face pressed into the dusty carpet of the office where he had once thought he was learning the secrets of victory, Harry1 understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Death’s welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemort’s remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemort’s path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godric’s Hollow would be finished. Neither would live, neither could survive.
He felt his heart pounding fiercely in his chest. How strange that in his dread2 of death, it pumped all the harder, valiantly3 keeping him alive. But it would have to stop, and soon. Its beats were numbered. How many would there be time for, as he rose and walked through the castle for the last time, out into the grounds and into the forest?
Terror washed over him as he lay on the floor, with that funeral drum pounding inside him. Would it hurt to die? All those times he had thought that it was about to happen and escaped, he had never really thought of the thing itself: His will to live had always been so much stronger than his fear of death. Yet it did not occur to him now to try to escape, to outrun Voldemort. It was over, he knew it, and all that was left was the thing itself: dying.
If he could only have died on that summer’s night when he had left number four, Privet Drive, for the last time, when the noble phoenix5 feather wand had saved him! If he could only have died like Hedwig, so quickly he would not have known it had happened! Or if he could have launched himself in front of a wand to save someone he loved… He envied even his parents’ deaths now. This cold-blooded walk to his own destruction would require a different kind of bravery. He felt his fingers trembling slightly and made an effort to control them, although no one could see him; the portraits on the walls were all empty.
Slowly, very slowly, he sat up, and as he did so he felt more alive and more aware of his own living body than ever before. Why had he never appreciated what a miracle he was, brain and nerve and bounding heart? It would all be gone… or at least, he would be gone from it. His breath came slow and deep, and his mouth and throat were completely dry, but so were his eyes.
Dumbledore’s betrayal was almost nothing. Of course there had been a bigger plan: Harry had simply been too foolish to see it, he realized that now. He had never questioned his own assumption that Dumbledore wanted him alive. Now he saw that his life span had always been determined6 by how long it took to eliminate all the Horcruxes. Dumbledore had passed the job of destroying them to him, and obediently he had continued to chip away at the bonds tying not only Voldemort, but himself, to life! How neat, how elegant, not to waste any more lives, but to give the dangerous task to the boy who had already been marked for slaughter7, and whose death would not be a calamity8, but another blow against Voldemort.
And Dumbledore had known that Harry would not duck out, that he would keep going to the end, even though it was his end, because he had taken trouble to get to know him, hadn’t he? Dumbledore knew, as Voldemort knew, that Harry would not let anyone else die for him now that he had discovered it was in his power to stop it. The images of Fred, Lupin, and Tonks lying dead in the Great Hall forced their way back into his mind’s eye, and for a moment he could hardly breathe. Death was impatient…
But Dumbledore had overestimated9 him. He had failed: The snake survived. One Horcrux remained to bind10 Voldemort to the earth, even after Harry had been killed. True, that would mean an easier job for somebody. He wondered who would do it… Ron and Hermione would know what needed to be done, of course… That would have been why Dumbledore wanted him to confide11 in two others… so that if he fulfilled his true destiny a little early, they could carry on…
Like rain on a cold window, these thoughts pattered against the hard surface of the incontrovertible truth, which was that he must die. I must die. It must end.
Ron and Hermione seemed a long way away, in a far-off country; he felt as though he had parted from them long ago. There would be no good-byes and no explanations, he was determined of that. This was a journey they could not take together, and the attempts they would make to stop him would waste valuable time. He looked down at the battered13 gold watch he had received on his seventeenth birthday. Nearly half of the hour allotted14 by Voldemort for his surrender had elapsed.
He stood up. His heart was leaping against his ribs15 like a frantic16 bird. Perhaps it knew it had little time left, perhaps it was determined to fulfill12 a lifetime’s beats before the end. He did not look back as he closed the office door.
The castle was empty. He felt ghostly striding through it alone, as if he had already died. The portrait people were still missing from their frames; the whole place was eerily17 still, as if all its remaining lifeblood were concentrated in the Great Hall where the dead and the mourners were crammed18.
Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and descended19 through the floors, at last walking down the marble staircase into the entrance hall. Perhaps some tiny part of him hoped to be sensed, to be seen, to be stopped, but the Cloak was, as ever, impenetrable, perfect, and he reached the front doors easily.
Then Neville nearly walked into him. He was one half of a pair that was carrying a body in from the grounds. Harry glanced down and felt another dull blow to his stomach: Colon20 Creevey, though underage, must have sneaked21 back just as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death.
“You know what? I can manage him alone, Neville,” said Oliver Wood, and he heaved Colin over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift and carried him into the Great Hall.
Neville leaned against the door frame for a moment and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He looked like an old man. Then he set off on the steps again into the darkness to recover more bodies.
Harry took one glance back at the entrance of the Great Hall. People were moving around, trying to comfort each other, drinking, kneeling beside the dead, but he could not see any of the people he loved, no hint of Hermione, Ron, Ginny, or any of the other Weasleys, no Luna. He felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he ever have the strength to stop looking? It was better like this.
He moved down the steps and out into the darkness. It was nearly four in the morning, and the deathly stillness of the grounds felt as though they were holding their breath, waiting to see whether he could do what he must.
Harry moved toward Neville, who was bending over another body.
“Neville.”
“Blimey, Harry, you nearly gave me heart failure!”
Harry had pulled off the Cloak: The idea had come to him out of nowhere, born out of a desire to make absolutely sure.
“Where are you going, alone?” Neville asked suspiciously.
“It’s all part of the plan,” said Harry. “There’s something I’ve got to do. Listen –Neville –”
“Harry!” Neville looked suddenly scared. “Harry, you’re not thinking of handing yourself over?”
“No,” Harry lied easily. “‘Course not… this is something else. But I might be out of sight for a while. You know Voldemort’s snake. Neville? He’s got a huge snake… Calls it Nagini…”
“I’ve heard, yeah… What about it?”
“It’s got to be killed. Ron and Hermione know that, but just in case they –”
The awfulness of that possibility smothered22 him for a moment, made it impossible to keep talking. But he pulled himself together again: This was crucial, he must be like Dumbledore, keep a cool head, make sure there were backups, others to carry on. Dumbledore had died knowing that three people still knew about the Horcruxes; now Neville would take Harry’s place: There would still be three in the secret.
“Just in case they’re – busy – and you get the chance –”
“Kill the snake?”
“Kill the snake,” Harry repeated.
“All right, Harry. You’re okay, are you?”
“I’m fine. Thanks, Neville.”
But Neville seized his wrist as Harry made to move on.
“We’re all going to keep fighting, Harry. You know that?”
“Yeah, I –”
The suffocating23 feeling extinguished the end of the sentence; he could not go on. Neville did not seem to find it strange. He patted Harry on the shoulder, released him, and walked away to look for more bodies.
Harry swung the Cloak back over himself and walked on. Someone else was moving not far away, stooping over another prone24 figure on the ground. He was feet away from her when he realized it was Ginny.
He stopped in his tracks. She was crouching25 over a girl who was whispering for her mother.
“It’s all right,” Ginny was saying. “It’s ok. We’re going to get you inside.”
“But I want to go home,“ whispered the girl. ”I don’t want to fight anymore!“
“I know,” said Ginny, and her voice broke. “It’s going to be all right.”
Ripples26 of cold undulated over Harry’s skin. He wanted to shout out to the night, he wanted Ginny to know that he was there, he wanted her to know where he was going. He wanted to be stopped, to be dragged back, to be sent back home….
But he was home. Hogwards was the first and best home he had known. He and Voldemort and Snape, the abandoned boys, had all found home here….
Ginny was kneeling beside the injured girl now, holding her hand. With a huge effort Harry forced himself on. He thought he saw Ginny look around as he passed, and wondered whether she had sensed someone walking nearby, but he did not speak, and he did not look back.
Hagrid’s hut loomed27 out of the darkness. There were no lights, no sound of Fang28 scrabbling at the door, his bark booming in welcome. All those visits to Hagrid, and the gleam of the copper29 kettle on the fire, and rock cakes and giant grubs, and his great bearded face, and Ron vomiting30 slugs, and Hermione helping31 him save Norbert…
He moved on, and now he reached the edge of the forest, and he stopped.
A swarm32 of dementors was gliding33 amongst the trees; he could feel their chill, and he was not sure he would be able to pass safely through it. He had not strength left for a Patronus. He could no longer control his own trembling. It was not, after all, so easy to die. Every second he breathed, the smell of the grass, the cool air on his face, was so precious: To think that people had years and years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging to each second. At the same time he thought that he would not be able to go on, and knew that he must. The long game was ended, the Snitch had been caught, it was time to leave the air….
The Snitch. His nerveless fingers fumbled34 for a moment with the pouch35 at his neck and he pulled it out.
I open at the close.
Breathing fast and hard, he stared down at it. Now that he wanted time to move as slowly as possible, he seemed to have sped up, and understanding was coming so fast it seemed to have bypassed though. This was the close. This was the moment.
He pressed the golden metal to his lips and whispered, “I am about to die.”
The metal shell broke open. He lowered his shaking hand, raised Draco’s wand beneath the Cloak, and murmured, “Lumos.”
The black stone with is jagged crack running down the center sat in the two halves of the Snitch. The Resurrection Stone had cracked down the vertical37 line representing the Elder Wand. The triangle and circle representing the Cloak and the stone were still discernible.
And again Harry understood without having to think. It did not matter about bringing them back, for he was about to join them. He was not really fetching them: They were fetching him.
He closed his eyes and turned the stone over in his hand three times.
He knew it had happened, because he heard slight movements around him that suggested frail38 bodies shifting their footing on the earthy, twig-strewn ground that marked the outer edge of the forest. He opened his eyes and looked around.
They were neither ghost nor truly flesh, he could see that. They resembled most closely the Riddle39 that had escaped from the diary so long ago, and he had been memory made nearly solid. Less substantial than living bodies, but much more than ghosts, they moved toward him. And on each face, there was the same loving smile.
James was exactly the same height as Harry. He was wearing the clothes in which he had died, and his hair was untidy and ruffled40, and his glasses were a little lopsided, like Mr. Weasley’s.
Sirius was tall and handsome, and younger by far than Harry had seen him in life. He loped with an easy grace, his hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.
Lupin was younger too, and much less shabby, and his hair was thicker and darker. He looked happy to be back in this familiar place, scene of so many adolescent wanderings.
Lily’s smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair back as she drew closer to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough.
“You’ve been so brave.”
He could not speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would be enough.
“You are nearly there,” said James. “Very close. We are… so proud of you.”
“Does it hurt?”
The childish question had fallen from Harry’s lips before he could stop it.
“Dying? Not at all,” said Sirius. “Quicker and easier than falling asleep.”
“And he will want it to be quick. He wants it over,” said Lupin.
“I didn’t want you to die,” Harry said. These words came without his volition41. “Any of you. I’m sorry –”
He addressed Lupin more than any of them, beseeching42 him.
“– right after you’d had your son… Remus, I’m sorry –”
“I am sorry too,” said Lupin. “Sorry I will never know him… but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life.”
A chilly43 breeze that seemed to emanate44 from the heart of the forest lifted the hair at Harry’s brow. He knew that they would not tell him to go, that it would have to be his decision.
“You’ll stay with me?”
“Until the very end,” said James.
“They won’t be able to see you?” asked Harry.
“We are part of you,” said Sirius. “Invisible to anyone else.”
Harry looked at his mother.
“Stay close to me,” he said quietly.
And he set of. The dementors’ chill did not overcome him; he passed through it with his companions, and they acted like Patronuses to him, and together they marched through the old trees that grew closely together, their branches tangled45, their roots gnarled and twisted underfoot. Harry clutched the Cloak tightly around him in the darkness, traveling deeper and deeper into the forest, with no idea where exactly Voldemort was, but sure that he would find him. Beside him, making scarcely a sound, walked James, Sirius, Lupin, and Lily, and their presence was his courage, and the reason he was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
His body and mind felt oddly disconnected now, his limbs working without conscious instruction, as if he were passenger, not driver, in the body he was about to leave. The dead who walked beside him through the forest were much more real to him now than the living back at the castle: Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and all the others were the ones who felt like ghosts as he stumbled and slipped toward the end of his life, toward Voldemort…
A thud and a whisper: Some other living creature had stirred close by. Harry stopped under the Cloak, peering around, listening, and his mother and father, Lupin and Sirius stopped too.
“Someone there,” came a rough whisper close at hand. “He’s got an Invisibility Cloak. Could it be –?”
Two figures emerged from behind a nearby tree: Their wands flared46, and Harry saw Yaxley and Dolohov peering into the darkness, directly at the place Harry, his mother and father and Sirius and Lupin stood. Apparently47 they could not see anything.
“Definitely heard something,“ said Yaxley. ”Animal, d’you reckon?“
“That head case Hagrid kept a whole bunch of stuff in here,” said Dolohov, glancing over his shoulder.
Yaxley looked down at his watch.
“Time’s nearly up. Porter’s had his hour. He’s not coming.”
“Better go back,” said Yaxley. “Find out what the plan is now.”
He and Dolohov turned and walked deeper into the forest. Harry followed them, knowing that they would lead him exactly where he wanted to go. He glanced sideways, and his mother smiled at him, and his father nodded encouragement.
They had traveled on mere48 minutes when Harry saw light ahead, and Yaxley and Dolohov stepped out into a clearing that Harry knew had been the place where the monstrous49 Aragog had once lived. The remnants of his vast web were there still, but the swarms50 of descendants he had spawned51 had been driven out by the Death Eaters, to fight for their cause.
A fire burned in the middle of the clearing, and its flickering53 light fell over a crowd of completely silent, watchful54 Death Eaters. Some of them were still masked and hooded55; others showed their faces. Two giants sat on the outskirts56 of the group, casting massive shadows over the scene, their faces cruel, rough-hewn like rock. Harry saw Fenrir, skulking57, chewing his long nails; the great blond Rowle was dabbing58 at his bleeding lip. He saw Lucius Malfoy, who looked defeated and terrified, and Narcissa, whose eyes were sunken and full of apprehension59.
Every eye was fixed60 upon Voldemort, who stood with his head bowed, and his white hands folded over the Elder Wand in front of him. He might have been praying, or else counting silently in his mind, and Harry, standing36 still on the edge of the scene, though absurdly of a child counting in a game of hide-and-seek. Behind his head, still swirling61 and coiling, the great snake Nagini floated in her glittering, charmed cage, like a monstrous halo.
When Dolohov and Yaxley rejoined the circle, Voldemort looked up.
“No sign of him, my Lord,” said Dolohov.
Voldemort’s expression did not change. The red eyes seemed to burn in the firelight. Slowly he drew the Elder Wand between his long fingers.
“My Lord –”
Bellatrix had spoken: She sat closest to Voldemort, disheveled, her face a little bloody63 but otherwise unharmed.
Voldemort raised his hand to silence her, and she did not speak another word, but eyed him in worshipful fascination64.
“I thought he would come,” said Voldemort in his high, clear voice, his eyes on the leaping flames. “I expected him to come.”
Nobody spoke62. They seemed as scared as Harry, whose heart was now throwing itself against his ribs as though determined to escape the body he was about to cast aside. His hands were sweating as he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it beneath his robes, with his wand. He did not want to be tempted65 to fight.
“I was, it seems… mistaken,” said Voldemort.
“You weren’t.”
Harry said it as loudly as he could, with all the force he could muster66: He did not want to sound afraid. The Resurrection Stone slipped from between his numb4 fingers, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw his parents, Sirius, and Lupin vanish as he stepped forward into the firelight. At that moment he felt that nobody mattered but Voldemort. It was just the two of them.
The illusion was gone as soon as it had come. The giants roared as the Death Eaters rose together, and there were many cries, gasps67, even laughter. Voldemort had frozen where he stood, but his red eyes had found Harry, and he stared as Harry moved toward him, with nothing but the fire between them.
Then a voice yelled: “HARRY! NO!”
He turned: Hagrid was bound and trussed, tied to a tree nearby. His massive body shook the branches overhead as he struggled, desperate.
“NO! NO! HARRY, WHAT’RE YEH –?”
“QUIET!” shouted Rowle, and with a flick52 of his wand, Hagrid was silenced.
Bellatrix, who had leapt to her feet, was looking eagerly from Voldemort to Harry, her breast heaving. The only things that moved were the flames and the snake, coiling and uncoiling in the glittering cage behind Voldemort’s head.
Harry could feel his wand against his chest, but he made no attempt to draw it. He knew that the snake was too well protected, knew that if he managed to point the wand at Nagini, fifty curses would hit him first. And still, Voldemort and Harry looked at each other, and now Voldemort tilted68 his head a little to the side, considering the boy standing before him, and a singularly mirthless smile curled the lipless mouth.
“Harry Potter,” he said very softly. His voice might have been part of the spitting fire. “The Boy Who Lived.”
None of the Death Eaters moved. They were waiting: Everything was waiting. Hagrid was struggling, and Bellatrix was panting, and Harry thought inexplicably69 of Ginny, and her blazing look, and the feel of her lips on his – Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. Harry looked back into the red eyes, and wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear –
He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone.
原来，这才是真相。哈利躺在那个他曾经以为自己洞悉了胜利秘密的办公室里，把脸埋进一条脏兮兮的毯子，终于明白了自己注定无法幸存。他所要做的，只是平静地走进死神欢迎的怀抱当中。在赴死之前，他还要切断伏地魔与人间残留的那一点儿联系。这样，当最后他没有任何防备的来到伏地魔面前时，一切就可以彻彻底底地结束了。
他在高锥克山谷就应该完成的工作到那时也就结束了。两个人都将死去，无一生还。他感到心脏在胸腔中怦怦地跳动着。真是奇怪，此刻他心中充满了对死亡的恐惧，然而他的心脏却跳动得如此有力，支撑着他活下去。但是，它就要停止工作了，而且很快就要。时日无多了。假如他站起来，最后一次走过城堡，穿过场地，进入禁林：还剩下多少时间让他来做这一切呢?
死亡的鼓声在他躺在地上的身体里沉重地回响，恐惧传遍了哈利全身。他会因恐惧而死吗?从前，每次在他以为死神即将降临时，都得以逃脱。可他却从未思考过这个问题：他求生的欲望总是远远超过他对死亡的恐惧。然而，现在他却并不想逃跑，不想逃离伏地魔。他知道一切已经结束了，现在惟一剩下的只有一条路：死亡。
如果他能在最后一次离开女贞路4号的那个夏夜就死去该有多好——可那支含有高贵的凤凰羽毛的魔杖救了他！如果他能像海德薇那样死去该有多好——快得他都不明白这是怎么发生的！或者如果他能将自己的身体挡在魔杖前——为了保护一个他所爱的人该有多好……他现在甚至有些妒忌他的父母能够那样死去。然而，这样无情地走向自己的末日需要另一种勇气。他感到自己的手指在轻轻颤抖，尽管没有人看得见——墙上的肖像已经全部空了——他还是努力去控制它们。
他非常缓慢地坐起身来。这么做的同时，他比从前更加强烈地感觉到自己的存在，并且更加清醒地意识到自己鲜活的生命。为什么以前他都没有认识到自己——大脑、神经和跳动的心脏——也是一个奇迹呢？它们都将消失，或者说，至少他是要离开它们的。他的呼吸渐渐变得缓慢而深沉，他感到嘴巴和喉咙很干，连眼睛也是。
邓布利多的出卖几乎不算什么。如今哈利终于意识到，他们显然一直有一个更大的计划。
只是他以前太傻才没有发现。他甚至从未怀疑过，就理所当然地认为邓布利多是希望他活下去的。现在他才明白，他生命的长短仅仅取决于消灭所有的魂器所需的时间。邓布利多把销毁魂器的工作交给了自己，而自己也遵从他的指示，继续破坏着那不仅把伏地魔，也把他同这个世界联系起来的纽带！多么简洁，多么优雅，不用再浪费其他任何一条生命，而是把这危险的任务留给那个已经被标记了‘杀戮’的男孩。他的死不会是一件不幸的事，而是给伏地魔的又一个致命一击。
而且邓布利多知道哈利是不会逃避的，就算是死他也会坚持到底，因为他已经不怕麻烦地接近并了解了哈利，不是吗？邓布利多知道，伏地魔也知道，既然哈利已经发现只有凭借自己的力量才能阻止这一切，那他就不会让其他的任何人为他而死。死去的弗雷德、卢平和唐克斯躺在礼堂中的身影浮现在他脑中无法挥去，有那么一会儿他简直都无法呼吸了。死神竟如此急不可耐……
但是邓布利多高估了哈利。他失败了：那条蛇活了下来。即使在哈利死后，仍会有一个魂器载着伏地魔的灵魂碎片留在这世上。不过，是的，如果他死了其他人会更容易地完成这个任务。会是谁呢？哈利猜想着。当然，罗恩和赫敏肯定会知道该做什么……这也许就是邓布利多希望哈利信任他们的原因吧……这样的话，假如他提前完成了自己的使命，他们还可以将计划继续实施下去……
就像雨点敲打在冰冷的窗户上，他的想法也敲打在那无可争议的事实之上。那事实就是，他必须得死。我必须死。这一切必须结束。
罗恩和赫敏仿佛离他很远，就像在一个遥远的国度，他感觉他们已经分开好长时间了。他决定不向他们告别或者做任何解释——这是一段注定无法共同经历的旅途，他们为阻止他所做的努力只会浪费宝贵的时间。他低头看了看他17岁生日时收到的金表——现在已经被压扁了——伏地魔留给他投降的时间已经过去了将近一半。
他站起来，心脏像一只受惊的小鸟一样狂乱地跳动并撞击着肋骨。也许它知道时间不多了，也许它打算在一切结束之前再跳最后一下。哈利关上办公室的门，没有再回头看。
城堡里空荡荡的，独自一人大步地穿过城堡时，哈利感到很可怕，就像自己已经死了似的。相框里的肖像们仍然不知踪影；所有的地方都异常寂静，仿佛这里仅剩的生气都集中在那个挤满了死伤者和哀悼者的礼堂里。
哈利穿上隐形衣，下了楼梯，最后走下大理石台阶进入门厅。也许他心里还是有那么一点希望自己能被别人感觉到，看到，把他阻拦下来。但是，隐形衣还是像以前那么完美而且不可感知，他很容易就到达了前门。
这时，纳威差点儿撞到他的身上。他正和另外一个人一起把伤员从场地上抬进来。哈利下意识地向下看了一眼，顿时觉得胃猛地一沉：是科林?克里维。尽管还没到年龄，但他一定是像马尔福、克拉布和高尔那样偷偷地溜过来的。在死神的面前，他显得是那样的渺小。
“知道吗，我一个人就能把他照顾好，纳威。”奥利弗?伍德像消防员扛梯子那样一把将科林扛在肩上，走进了礼堂。
纳威扶着门框站了一会，用手背擦了擦额头。他看来像个老人。然后他再次出发，抬脚步入黑暗当中去拯救更多的伤者。
哈利回头看了一眼门厅：人们在里面忙碌着，试图互相安慰，喝酒安抚情绪，或者跪在死者身旁祈祷。但没有看到一个他关心的人——没有赫敏，没有罗恩，没有金妮或者韦斯莱家中的任何一员，也没有卢娜。如果可以的话，他愿意用他生命中剩下的全部时间来交换，只要能让他再看他们最后一眼。但是如果那样，他又是否有足够的勇气回过头，接着上路呢？也许现在这样才更好吧。
他走下台阶，迈入黑暗当中。已经将近凌晨4点了，场地上死一般的寂静让人觉得好像所有人都在屏着呼吸，等着看哈利到底敢不敢去完成的使命。
哈利走向纳威，他正弯腰查看着另一位伤员。
“纳威。”
“哎呀，哈利，你差点吓死我了。”
哈利已经把隐形衣拽了下来：这时一个主意忽然在他的脑海中闪现——毕竟他希望一切都万无一失。
“你要去哪？一个人？”纳威有些怀疑地问。
“这都是计划的一部分，”哈利说，“有些事我必须去做。听着，纳威——”
“哈利！”纳威突然满脸恐惧地说，“哈利，你没有打算一个人去找伏地魔，对吗？”
“当然，”哈利骗他，一副轻松的样子，“当然没这个打算——是一些别的事情。不过我可能会暂时离开。你知道伏地魔的那条蛇吗，纳威？他有一条巨大的蛇，叫纳吉尼——”
“是的，我听说过，它怎么了？”
“它应该被杀死。罗恩和赫敏知道，但是万一他们——”
想起那可怕的情景，一种令人窒息的感觉让他无法继续说下去，他被迫停了一会。但是他很快让自己继续下去：现实很残酷，他得像邓布利多那样，保持头脑冷静，确保无论怎样都有后援人员接着干下去。邓布利多死的时候知道还有三个人了解魂器的秘密；现在纳威要代替哈利的位置：这样依然还是有三个人知道这个秘密。
“要是万一他们——对付不过来——那么你就抓住机会——”
“杀了那条蛇？”
“杀了那条蛇。”哈利重复道。
“好的，哈利。你还好着呢，是不是？”
“我很好，谢谢，纳威。”
可是就在哈利准备离开的时候，纳威抓住了他的手腕。
“我们都会继续战斗的，哈利，知道吗？”
“是的，我——”
那种令人喘不过气来的感觉又袭来了，让他没办法说下去。不过看起来纳威并没有发现什么异常。他拍了拍哈利的肩膀，松开手，走开去寻找更多的伤员。
哈利重新把隐形衣盖在身上向前走去。不远处有人在走动，接着停在了另一个俯卧在地面上的人跟前。他走到离那个人几英尺远的地方时，才意识那是金妮。
他停下脚步。她正蹲在一个轻声叫着妈妈的小女孩旁边。
“没什么 ，”金妮说，“没事的。我们要把你抬到里面去。”
“可是我想回家，”小女孩用微弱的声音说，“我再也不想战斗了！”
“我懂，”金妮说，声音有些沙哑，“很快就好了。”
哈利顿时感觉像坠入冰窖一般全身发抖。他真想对着夜空大叫一声，他想让金妮知道他在这儿，他想让她知道他要去哪。他想要被人阻止，被人拽回去，想被送回家……
但是他现在已经在家了。霍格沃茨是他所知道的第一个也是最好的一个家。他、伏地魔和斯内普，三个孤儿，都在这儿找到了家的感觉……
金妮现在正跪在那个受伤的女孩身边，握着她的手。哈利费了很大的劲才让自己继续向前走去。他想他看到金妮在他走过的时候四处张望了一下，不知道她是否感觉到了附近有人走过，不过哈利没有讲话，也没有再回头。
海格的小屋在黑暗中若隐若现。里面没有灯光，没有牙牙扒着门，发出欢迎他的吠声。哈利不禁回忆起从前他们去拜访海格时的情景：火上的那口闪烁着微光的大铜锅，岩皮饼和巨蛴螬，他那张满是胡子的脸，罗恩在吐鼻涕虫，赫敏帮忙他救走诺伯……
他继续向前走。到达禁林的边缘时，他停了下来。
一群摄魂怪正在丛林间滑行；他可以感受到它们腐臭的气息，他不敢保证自己能安全地穿越禁林。他已经没有力气来召唤守护神了。而且他在不能自已地发抖。毕竟，死也不是那么容易的事情。在他还能呼吸的每一秒钟里，草地的清香，掠过脸庞的冷空气，都变得这么珍贵：想想那些有着大把光阴的人们，对时间毫不爱惜，肆意挥霍着，可他却拼命地想抓住每一分每一秒。那一瞬间他觉得自己快要坚持不下去了，可他知道自己必须坚持。这个漫长的游戏已经结束了，告密者也被抓住了，现在是离开的时候了……
金色飞贼。
他用手指在脖子上紧张地摸索了一会，然后把一个小袋子拽了出来。
最后关头再打开。
哈利冷静地低头注视着它。既然他现在希望时间尽可能地慢下来，他的一切似乎都变得更快了，思维则更是如此。
现在就是最后关头。现在就是打开的时候。
他把飞贼贴在嘴唇上，轻声说道：“我就要死了。”
飞贼的盖子打开了。他放下手，在隐形衣下举起德拉科的魔杖，低声说：“荧光闪烁。”一块黑色的石头缓慢地从分成两半的飞贼中间漂浮了下来，带着‘噼啪’的轻响。回魂石沿着那条代表着元老魔杖的直线‘啪’的一声裂开了。不过代表着回魂石和隐形衣的圆形和三角形仍然依稀可见。
哈利又一次不假思索就明白了：他们根本不用复活，因为哈利即将随他们而去。事实上不是他在召唤他们，而是他们在召唤他。
他闭上双眼，把石头在手中转动了三次。
他知道他成功了，因为他可以听到他四周有轻微的移动声，有虚弱的身影在禁林边缘那铺满了树枝的土地上轻轻地走动着。他睁开眼睛环顾四周。
他知道，他们既不是鬼魂也不是真正的人。他们就像很久以前里德尔从日记中逃出来的时候那样，那是一段已经凝固在脑海中的记忆。他们向他走过来——看起来比活人来得虚幻，却比鬼魂来得真实。每个人的脸上都带着同样的充满爱意的笑容。
詹姆和哈利一样高。他穿着他死的时候的那身衣服，头发脏兮兮的凌乱的翘着，眼镜有点斜了，像韦斯莱先生那样子。
小天狼星高大英俊，比哈利认识的生活中的他显得年轻。他的手插在口袋里，一边优雅地慢慢跑着，一边咧开嘴笑着。
卢平也很年轻，而且看起来不那么寒酸，头发又黑又厚。回到这个他熟悉的地方，这个少年时曾无数次游荡过的地方，他看起来很高兴。
莉莉是所有人中最高兴的。她走近哈利，把长发甩到身后。她绿色的眼睛，简直就跟哈利的一样。她如此渴望地看着他的脸，就像从来都看不够似的。
“你真勇敢。”
哈利说不出话来。他一直看着她，他真想站在这，就这样看着她，直到永远。不，永远也不够长。
“你就要到了，”詹姆说，“非常近，我们……我们是这样地以你为荣。”
“那会疼吗？”
他还来不及阻止，这个幼稚的问题就从他嘴里冒了出来。
“死吗？一点也不，”小天狼星说，“很快的，比睡着还简单。”
“而且伏地魔也希望快点结束。他想让这一切结束。”卢平说。
“我不想你们死，”哈利说，这些话未经考虑就说了出来，“不想你们中的任何一个死去。对不起——”他充满歉意对他们说，不过对卢平的歉意更多——他几乎是在恳求卢平了。
“——你才刚刚有了孩子……莱姆斯，我很抱歉——”
“我也很遗憾，”卢平说，“因为我永远都见不了他……但是他会知道我为何死去，而且我希望他能理解——为了能让他生活在一个更美好的世界里”
一阵阴冷的微风吹来，似乎来自禁林的中心，哈利感到他浑身的汗毛都立起来了。他知道他们是不会劝他离开的，他必须自己做决定。
“你们会和我在一起的，对吗？”
“直到最后。”詹姆说。
“他们看不见你们？”哈利问。
“我们是你的一部分，”小天狼星说，“谁都看不见我们。”
哈利看着他的妈妈。
“离我近点儿。”他轻声说。
然后他出发了。摄魂怪的寒意没有伤害到他；他和他的同伴们一起穿过禁林——他们像守护神那样保护着他——穿过紧挨着生长在一起的古木，它们的树枝在头顶缠绕，根部在脚下纠结。哈利在黑暗中拉紧隐形衣，向森林的深处走去。他不知道伏地魔到底在哪，但他知道自己会找到他的。詹姆，小天狼星，卢平和莉莉在他身边悄无声息地走着，他们的出现给了他勇气，让他一步一步向前走去。
他的身体和意识好象奇怪地分离了，他的手脚不受控制地向前移动着，就好像他已经不是这具自己即将离开的躯体的主人了。他感觉到现在在他身边行走的这些死去的人们比那些在城堡中的活人更加真切：罗恩、赫敏、金妮。其他的所有人——在他跌跌撞撞地走向生命的尽头，走向伏地魔时——更像是鬼魂一样虚无缥缈，遥不可及……
忽然，附近传来一声重响和一阵耳语：另外的什么生物正在朝这靠近。哈利在隐形衣下停了下来，仔细地四处看了看，听着周围的动静，他的爸爸妈妈，小天狼星和卢平也停了下来。
“有人在那，”附近一个压低了的粗声粗气的声音说道，“他有一件隐形衣，难道是——？”
两个人影出现在近旁的一棵树后。借着他们的魔杖闪着微光，哈利看见了亚克斯利和多洛霍夫正盯着黑暗中哈利和他的同伴们所在的位置。不过显然，他们什么也看不到。
“确实听到了什么声音。”亚克斯利说，“你觉得会是动物吗？”
“那个大块头海格在这养了一群乱七八糟的东西，” 多洛霍夫说着回头看了看。
亚克斯利低头看了看他的表。
“时间快到了，波特还在磨蹭，他不会来了。”
“最好回去吧，”亚克斯利说，“看看现在的计划是什么。”
他和多洛霍夫转身走向禁林深处。哈利尾随他们。他知道他们会把自己准确地带到他想去的地方。他朝旁边看了看，发现妈妈正微笑着看着自己，爸爸对他鼓励地点了点头。
他们仅仅走了几分钟，哈利就看到了前面的光，然后亚克斯利和多洛霍夫走进了一片林间的空地。哈利知道，这曾经是巨型蜘蛛阿拉戈克住的地方。它那张巨大的蜘蛛网的残留的碎片还留在那里，可它的后代们已经被食死徒赶了出去，这里成了他们的大本营。
空地中间燃着一堆火，摇曳的火光照在一群沉默而警惕的食死徒的脸上。他们中有些人还带着面具蒙着头巾，有些人则面无遮掩。两个巨人坐在圈子的外围，在火光的照耀下投下一片巨大的阴影，他们的脸像岩石一样粗糙，脸上带着残忍的表情。哈利看见芬里厄躲避在一旁玩弄着它的长尾巴，那个金发的大个子莱尔正在轻抚他流血的嘴唇。他看见了卢修斯?马尔福——一副受挫的，惊恐的样子，还有纳西莎，她的凹陷的眼睛里充满了忧惧。
每一双眼睛都紧紧看着伏地魔，他正低头站着，惨白的双手在元老魔杖上方交叉着。他也许正在祈祷，或者在脑海中静静地数数，而哈利，则一动不动地站在这场景的边缘——想起了小孩子玩躲猫猫时数数的样子，多么荒谬！他的身后，纳吉尼盘旋蜷缩的身体漂浮在施过咒语的闪闪发光的笼子里，像一个巨大的光环。
当亚克斯利和多洛霍夫重新回到圈子时，伏地魔抬起头。
“没有他的消息，我的主人。” 多洛霍夫说。
伏地魔的不动声色。他红色的眼睛在火光中仿佛就要燃烧起来了。慢慢地，他用修长的手指举起元老魔杖。
“我的主人——”
贝拉特里克斯说：她坐在离伏地魔最近的位置上，浑身凌乱，脸上有一点血迹，但并没有受伤。伏地魔起手指阻止了她，她就再也没有开口，但却用崇敬的眼光看着伏地魔。
“我想他会来的，”伏地魔盯着跳动的火焰，用他清晰而傲慢的声音说，“我期待他的到来。”
没有人说话。他们看起来像哈利一样害怕，他的心脏狂跳着，似乎下定决心要冲破他的胸腔从这具他准备丢弃的躯壳中逃出去。他拉下隐形衣，把它和魔杖一起塞到长袍下面——他不想和伏地魔决斗。
“哦，看起来……我可能错了，”伏地魔说。
“你没有。”
哈利聚起他身上所有的力气，用最大的声音说出了这句话：他不想让听见的人觉得他很害怕。回魂石从他麻木的手指中间滑落，借助眼角的余光，他看到在他向火光走去时，他的父母，小天狼星还有卢平都一起消失了。那一刻他觉得除了伏地魔，其他任何人都是无关紧要的。这只是他们两个人的事。
不过幻想马上就消失了。巨人开始咆哮，食死徒们一起站了起来，他听见人群中有叫喊声，喘息声，甚至是笑声。伏地魔一动不动地站在那儿，他红色的眼睛看见了哈利，然后他就那么看着哈利向前走，直到他们中间只剩下一堆篝火。
这时有一个声音叫了起来：“哈利，不要！”
他转过身：海格被绑在旁边的一棵树上。他不顾一切地拼命扭动着庞大的身躯，头顶的树枝都摇晃了起来。
“不！不要！哈利，你在——？“
“无声无息！”莱尔的魔杖轻轻一挥，海格就不作声了。
贝拉特里克斯跳了起来，充满渴望地看着伏地魔和哈利，胸脯剧烈的起伏着。现在惟一在动的东西就是火光，还有纳吉尼——它在伏地魔身后闪着微光的笼子里一会卷曲一会舒展。
哈利可以感到魔杖挨着他的胸膛，但他没有去拿。他知道那条蛇被保护得很好，他还知道如果他试图把魔杖指向纳吉尼，无数条咒语会先射向他。哈利和伏地魔仍然注视着对方，这时伏地魔微微把头偏向一旁，打量着站在他眼前的这个男孩，无唇的嘴角微微上扬，露出了一个罕见的笑容。
“哈利?波特，”他轻轻地叫着，声音柔软的就像是摇曳的火苗的一部分。“大难不死的男孩。”
食死徒们都没有动。他们在等待：所有的人都在等待着。
海格在挣扎，贝拉特克斯在大口喘气，而哈利居然毫无理由地想起了金妮：她炽热的眼神，她吻他时的感觉——
伏地魔已经举起魔杖了，他的头仍然偏向一边，就像一个好奇的孩子，想看看如果他继续下去的话会怎样。哈利注视着那双红色的眼睛，希望他现在就动手，快点吧，在他还能站着的时候，在他还没有失去控制，泄露出他的恐惧的时候——
他看见伏地魔的嘴巴张开，一道绿光闪过，一切都结束了。
收听单词发音 |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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valiantly
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| adv.勇敢地，英勇地；雄赳赳 | |
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numb
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| adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木 | |
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phoenix
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| n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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overestimated
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| 对（数量）估计过高，对…作过高的评价( overestimate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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fulfill
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| vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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eerily
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| adv.引起神秘感或害怕地 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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colon
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| n.冒号，结肠，直肠 | |
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sneaked
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| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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smothered
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| （使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制 | |
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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fang
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| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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vomiting
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| 吐 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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pouch
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| n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件 | |
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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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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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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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beseeching
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| adj.恳求似的v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的现在分词 ) | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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emanate
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| v.发自，来自，出自 | |
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tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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spawned
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| （鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产 | |
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flick
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| n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动 | |
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flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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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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outskirts
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| n.郊外，郊区 | |
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skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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dabbing
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| 石面凿毛，灰泥抛毛 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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fascination
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| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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inexplicably
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| adv.无法说明地，难以理解地，令人难以理解的是 | |
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