Summer was creeping over the grounds around the castle; sky and lake alike turned periwinkle blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses. But with no Hagrid visible from the castle windows, striding the grounds with Fang1 at his heels, the scene didn't look right to Harry2; no better, in fact, than the inside of the castle, where things were so horribly wrong.
Harry and Ron had tried to visit Hermione, but visitors were now barred from the hospital wing.
“We're taking no more chances,” Madam Pomfrey told them severely3 through a crack in the infirmary door. “No, I'm sorry, there's every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off…”
With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows. There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn't look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill4 and unnatural5 and was quickly stifled6.
Harry constantly repeated Dumbledore's final words to himself “I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me… Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.” But what good were these words? Who exactly were they supposed to ask for help, when everyone was just as confused and scared as they were?
Hagrid's hint about the spiders was far easier to understand. The trouble was, there didn't seem to be a single spider left in the castle to follow. Harry looked everywhere he went, helped (rather reluctantly) by Ron. They were hampered7, of course, by the fact that they weren't allowed to wander off on their own but had to move around the castle in a pack with the other Gryffindors. Most of their fellow students seemed glad that they were being shepherded from class to class by teachers, but Harry found it very irksome.
One person, however, seemed to be thoroughly8 enjoying the atmosphere of terror and suspicion. Draco Malfoy was strutting9 around the school as though he had just been appointed Head Boy. Harry didn't realize what he was so pleased about until the Potions lesson about two weeks after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left, when, sitting right behind Malfoy, Harry overheard him gloating to Crabbe and Goyle.
“I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore,” he said, not troubling to keep his voice down. “I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school's ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now. Someone who won't want the Chamber11 of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in…”
Snape swept past Harry, making no comment about Hermione's empty seat and cauldron.
“Sir,” said Malfoy loudly. “Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?”
“Now, now, Malfoy,” said Snape, though he couldn't suppress a thin-lipped smile. “Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough.”
“Yeah, right,” said Malfoy, smirking12. “I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job - I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir—”
Snape smirked13 as he swept off around the dungeon14, fortunately not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit15 into his cauldron.
“I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods haven't all packed their bags by now,” Malfoy went on. “Bet you five Galleons16 the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger—”
The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble17 to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.
“Let me at him,” Ron growled18 as Harry and Dean hung onto his arms. “I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands—”
“Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology,” barked Snape over the class's heads, and off they marched, with Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.
The Herbology class was very subdued19; there were now two missing from their number, Justin and Hermione.
Professor Sprout20 set them all to work pruning21 the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Harry went to tip an armful of withered22 stalks onto the compost heap and found himself face-to-face with Ernie Macmillan. Ernie took a deep breath and said, very formally, “I just want to say, Harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you. I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well—”
He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry shook it.
Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as Harry and Ron.
“That Draco Malfoy character,” said Ernie, breaking off dead twigs23, “he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir.”
“That's clever of you,” said Ron, who didn't seem to have forgiven Ernie as readily as Harry.
“Do you think it's Malfoy, Harry?” Ernie asked.
“No,” said Harry, so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared.
A second later, Harry spotted24 something.
Several large spiders were scuttling25 over the ground on the other side of the glass, moving in an unnaturally26 straight line as though taking the shortest route to a prearranged meeting. Harry hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears27.
“Ouch! What're you—”
Harry pointed10 out the spiders, following their progress with his eyes screwed up against the sun.
“Oh, yeah,” said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased. “But we can't follow them now—”
Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously28.
Harry's eyes narrowed as he focused on the spiders. If they pursued their fixed29 course, there could be no doubt about where they would end up.
“Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest…”
And Ron looked even unhappier about that.
At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout escorted the class to their Defense30 Against the Dark Arts lesson. Harry and Ron lagged behind the others so they could talk out of earshot.
“We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again,” Harry told Ron. “We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help.”
“Right,” said Ron, who was twirling his wand nervously31 in his fingers. “Er - aren't there - aren't there supposed to be werewolves in the forest?” he added as they took their usual places at the back of Lockhart's classroom.
Preferring not to answer that question, Harry said, “There are good things in there, too. The centaurs32 are all right, and the unicorns…”
Ron had never been into the Forbidden Forest before. Harry had entered it only once and had hoped never to do so again.
Lockhart bounded into the room and the class stared at him. Every other teacher in the place was looking grimmer than usual, but Lockhart appeared nothing short of buoyant.
“Come now,” he cried, beaming around him. “Why all these long faces?”
People swapped33 exasperated34 looks, but nobody answered.
“Don't you people realize,” said Lockhart, speaking slowly, as though they were all a bit dim, “the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away—”
“Says who?” said Dean Thomas loudly.
“My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty,” said Lockhart, in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two.
“Oh, yes he would,” said Ron, even more loudly than Dean.
“I flatter myself I know a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr. Weasley,” said Lockhart in a self-satisfied tone.
Ron started to say that he didn't think so, somehow, but stopped in midsentence when Harry kicked him hard under the desk.
“We weren't there, remember?” Harry muttered.
But Lockhart's disgusting cheeriness, his hints that he had always thought Hagrid was no good, his confidence that the whole business was now at an end, irritated Harry so much that he yearned35 to throw Gadding36 with Ghouls right in Lockhart's stupid face. Instead he contented37 himself with scrawling38 a note to Ron: Let's do it tonight.
Ron read the message, swallowed hard, and looked sideways at the empty seat usually filled by Hermione. The sight seemed to stiffen39 his resolve, and he nodded.
The Gryffindor common room was always very crowded these days, because from six o'clock onward40 the Gryffindors had nowhere else to go. They also had plenty to talk about, with the result that the common room often didn't empty until past midnight.
Harry went to get the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk right after dinner, and spent the evening sitting on it, waiting for the room to clear. Fred and George challenged Harry and Ron to a few games of Exploding Snap, and Ginny sat watching them, very subdued in Hermione's usual chair. Harry and Ron kept losing on purpose, trying to finish the games quickly, but even so, it was well past midnight when Fred, George, and Ginny finally went to bed.
Harry and Ron waited for the distant sounds of two dormitory doors closing before seizing the cloak, throwing it over themselves, and climbing through the portrait hole.
It was another difficult journey through the castle, dodging41 all the teachers. At last they reached the entrance hall, slid back the lock on the oak front doors, squeezed between them, trying to stop any creaking, and stepped out into the moonlit grounds.
“Course,” said Ron abruptly42 as they strode across the black grass, “we might get to the forest and find there's nothing to follow. Those spiders might not've been going there at all. I know it looked like they were moving in that sort of general direction, but…”
His voice trailed away hopefully.
They reached Hagrid's house, sad and sorry-looking with its blank windows. When Harry pushed the door open, Fang went mad with joy at the sight of them. Worried he might wake everyone at the castle with his deep, booming barks, they hastily fed him treacle43 fudge from a tin on the mantelpiece, which glued his teeth together.
Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table. There would be no need for it in the pitch-dark forest.
“C'mon, Fang, we're going for a walk,” said Harry, patting his leg, and Fang bounded happily out of the house behind them, dashed to the edge of the forest, and lifted his leg against a large sycamore tree.
Harry took out his wand, murmured, “Lumos!” and a tiny light appeared at the end of it, just enough to let them watch the path for signs of spiders.
“Good thinking,” said Ron. “I'd light mine, too, but you know - it'd probably blow up or something…”
Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two solitary44 spiders were hurrying away from the wandlight into the shade of the trees.
“Okay,” Ron sighed as though resigned to the worst, “I'm ready. Let's go.”
So, with Fang scampering45 around them, sniffing46 tree roots and leaves, they entered the forest. By the glow of Harry's wand, they followed the steady trickle47 of spiders moving along the path. They walked behind them for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and rustling48 leaves. Then, when the trees had become thicker than ever, so that the stars overhead were no longer visible, and Harry's wand shone alone in the sea of dark, they saw their spider guides leaving the path.
Harry paused, trying to see where the spiders were going, but everything outside his little sphere of light was pitch-black. He had never been this deep into the forest before. He could vividly49 remember Hagrid advising him not to leave the forest path last time he'd been in here. But Hagrid was miles away now, probably sitting in a cell in Azkaban, and he had also said to follow the spiders.
Something wet touched Harry's hand and he jumped backward, crushing Ron's foot, but it was only Fang's nose.
“What d'you reckon?” Harry said to Ron, whose eyes he could just make out, reflecting the light from his wand.
“We've come this far,” said Ron.
So they followed the darting50 shadows of the spiders into the trees. They couldn't move very quickly now; there were tree roots and stumps51 in their way, barely visible in the near blackness. Harry could feel Fang's hot breath on his hand. More than once, they had to stop, so that Harry could crouch52 down and find the spiders in the wandlight.
They walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, their robes snagging on low-slung branches and brambles. After a while, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever.
Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making both Harry and Ron jump out of their skins.
“What?” said Ron loudly, looking around into the pitch-dark, and gripping Harry's elbow very hard.
“There's something moving over there,” Harry breathed. “Listen… sounds like something big…”
They listened. Some distance to their right, the something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees.
“Oh, no,” said Ron. “Oh, no, oh, no, oh—”
“Shut up,” said Harry frantically53. “It'll hear you.”
“Hear me?” said Ron in an unnaturally high voice. “It's already heard Fang!”
The darkness seemed to be pressing on their eyeballs as they stood, terrified, waiting. There was a strange rumbling54 noise and then silence.
“What d'you think it's doing?” said Harry.
“Probably getting ready to pounce,” said Ron.
They waited, shivering, hardly daring to move.
“D'you think it's gone?” Harry whispered.
“Dunno—”
Then, to their right, came a sudden blaze of light, so bright in the darkness that both of them flung up their hands to shield their eyes. Fang yelped55 and tried to run, but got lodged57 in a tangle58 of thorns and yelped even louder.
“Harry!” Ron shouted, his voice breaking with relief “Harry, it's our car!”
“What?”
“Come on!”
Harry blundered after Ron toward the light, stumbling and tripping, and a moment later they had emerged into a clearing.
Mr. Weasley's car was standing59, empty, in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of dense60 branches, its headlights ablaze61. As Ron walked, open-mouthed, toward it, it moved slowly toward him, exactly like a large, turquoise62 dog greeting its owner.
“It's been here all the time!” said Ron delightedly, walking around the car. “Look at it. The forest's turned it wild…”
The sides of the car were scratched and smeared63 with mud. Apparently64 it had taken to trundling around the forest on its own. Fang didn't seem at all keen on it; he kept close to Harry, who could feel him quivering. His breathing slowing down again, Harry stuffed his wand back into his robes.
“And we thought it was going to attack us!” said Ron, leaning against the car and patting it. “I wondered where it had gone!”
Harry squinted65 around on the floodlit ground for signs of more spiders, but they had all scuttled66 away from the glare of the headlights.
“We've lost the trail,” he said. “C'mon, let's go and find them.”
Ron didn't speak. He didn't move. His eyes were fixed on a point some ten feet above the forest floor, right behind Harry. His face was livid with terror.
Harry didn't even have time to turn around. There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly he felt something long and hairy seize him around the middle and lift him off the ground, so that he was hanging facedown. Struggling, terrified, he heard more clicking, and saw Ron's legs leave the ground, too, heard Fang whimpering and howling - next moment, he was being swept away into the dark trees.
Head hanging, Harry saw that what had hold of him was marching on six immensely long, hairy legs, the front two clutching him tightly below a pair of shining black pincers. Behind him, he could hear another of the creatures, no doubt carrying Ron. They were moving into the very heart of the forest. Harry could hear Fang fighting to free himself from a third monster, whining67 loudly, but Harry couldn't have yelled even if he had wanted to; he seemed to have left his voice back with the car in the clearing.
He never knew how long he was in the creature's clutches; he only knew that the darkness suddenly lifted enough for him to see that the leaf-strewn ground was now swarming68 with spiders. Craning his neck sideways, he realized that they had reached the ridge69 of a vast hollow, a hollow that had been cleared of trees, so that the stars shone brightly onto the worst scene he had ever laid eyes on.
Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic. The massive specimen70 that was carrying Harry made its way down the steep slope toward a misty71, domed72 web in the very center of the hollow, while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load.
Harry fell to the ground on all fours as the spider released him. Ron and Fang thudded down next to him. Fang wasn't howling anymore, but cowering73 silently on the spot. Ron looked exactly like Harry felt. His mouth was stretched wide in a kind of silent scream and his eyes were popping.
Harry suddenly realized that the spider that had dropped him was saying something. It had been hard to tell, because he clicked his pincers with every word he spoke74.
“Aragog!” it called. “Aragog!”
And from the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly. There was gray in the black of his body and legs, and each of the eyes on his ugly, pincered head was milky75 white. He was blind.
“What is it?” he said, clicking his pincers rapidly.
“Men,” clicked the spider who had caught Harry.
“Is it Hagrid?” said Aragog, moving closer, his eight milky eyes wandering vaguely76.
“Strangers,” clicked the spider who had brought Ron.
“Kill them,” clicked Aragog fretfully. “I was sleeping…”
“We're friends of Hagrid's,” Harry shouted. His heart seemed to have left his chest to pound in his throat.
Click, click, click went the pincers of the spiders all around the hollow.
Aragog paused.
“Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before,” he said slowly.
“Hagrid's in trouble,” said Harry, breathing very fast. “That's why we've come.”
“In trouble?” said the aged77 spider, and Harry thought he heard concern beneath the clicking pincers. “But why has he sent you?”
Harry thought of getting to his feet but decided78 against it; he didn't think his legs would support him. So he spoke from the ground, as calmly as he could.
“They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a - a - something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban.”
Aragog clicked his pincers furiously, and all around the hollow the sound was echoed by the crowd of spiders; it was like applause, except applause didn't usually make Harry feel sick with fear.
“But that was years ago,” said Aragog fretfully. “Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free.”
“And you… you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?” said Harry, who could feel cold sweat on his forehead.
“I!” said Aragog, clicking angrily. “I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps79 from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness…”
Harry summoned what remained of his courage.
“So you never - never attacked anyone?”
“Never,” croaked80 the old spider. “It would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never harmed a human. The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet…”
“But then… Do you know what did kill that girl?” said Harry. “Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again—”
His words were drowned by a loud outbreak of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily; large black shapes shifted all around him.
“The thing that lives in the castle,” said Aragog, “is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school.”
“What is it?” said Harry urgently.
More loud clicking, more rustling; the spiders seemed to be closing in.
“We do not speak of it!” said Aragog fiercely. “We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread81 creature, though he asked me, many times.”
Harry didn't want to press the subject, not with the spiders pressing closer on all sides. Aragog seemed to be tired of talking. He was backing slowly into his domed web, but his fellow spiders continued to inch slowly toward Harry and Ron.
“We'll just go, then,” Harry called desperately82 to Aragog, hearing leaves rustling behind him.
“Go?” said Aragog slowly. “I think not…”
“But - but—”
“My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good-bye, friend of Hagrid.”
Harry spun83 around. Feet away, towering above him, was a solid wall of spiders, clicking, their many eyes gleaming in their ugly black heads.
Even as he reached for his wand, Harry knew it was no good, there were too many of them, but as he tried to stand, ready to die fighting, a loud, long note sounded, and a blaze of light flamed through the hollow.
Mr. Weasley's car was thundering down the slope, headlights glaring, its horn screeching84, knocking spiders aside; several were thrown onto their backs, their endless legs waving in the air. The car screeched85 to a halt in front of Harry and Ron and the doors flew open.
“Get Fang!” Harry yelled, diving into the front seat; Ron seized the boarhound around the middle and threw him, yelping86, into the back of the car - the doors slammed shut - Ron didn't touch the accelerator but the car didn't need him; the engine roared and they were off, hitting more spiders. They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car wound its way cleverly through the widest gaps, following a path it obviously knew.
Harry looked sideways at Ron. His mouth was still open in the silent scream, but his eyes weren't popping anymore.
“Are you okay?”
Ron stared straight ahead, unable to speak.
They smashed their way through the undergrowth, Fang howling loudly in the back seat, and Harry saw the side mirror snap off as they squeezed past a large oak. After ten noisy, rocky minutes, the trees thinned, and Harry could again see patches of sky.
The car stopped so suddenly that they were nearly thrown into the windshield. They had reached the edge of the forest. Fang flung himself at the window in his anxiety to get out, and when Harry opened the door, he shot off through the trees to Hagrid's house, tail between his legs. Harry got out too, and after a minute or so, Ron seemed to regain87 the feeling in his limbs and followed, still stiff-necked and staring. Harry gave the car a grateful pat as it reversed back into the forest and disappeared from view.
Harry went back into Hagrid's cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. Fang was trembling under a blanket in his basket. When Harry got outside again, he found Ron being violent sick in the pumpkin88 patch.
“Follow the spiders,” said Ron weakly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive.”
“I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his,” said Harry.
“That's exactly Hagrid's problem!” said Ron, thumping89 the wall of the cabin. “He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they're made out, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban!” He was shivering uncontrollably now. “What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I'd like to know?”
“That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets,” said Harry, throwing the cloak over Ron and prodding90 him in the arm to make him walk. “He was innocent.”
Ron gave a loud snort. Evidently, hatching Aragog in a cupboard wasn't his idea of being innocent.
As the castle loomed91 nearer Harry twitched92 the cloak to make sure their feet were hidden, then pushed the creaking front doors ajar. They walked carefully back across the entrance hall and up the marble staircase, holding their breath as they passed corridors where watchful93 sentries94 were walking. At last they reached the safety of the Gryffindor common room, where the fire had burned itself into glowing ash. They took off the cloak and climbed the winding95 stair to their dormitory.
Ron fell onto his bed without bothering to get undressed. Harry, however, didn't feel very sleepy. He sat on the edge of his fourposter, thinking hard about everything Aragog had said.
The creature that was lurking96 somewhere in the castle, he thought, sounded like a sort of monster Voldemort -even other monsters didn't want to name it. But he and Ron were no closer to finding out what it was, or how it petrified97 its victims. Even Hagrid had never known what was in the Chamber of Secrets.
Harry swung his legs up onto his bed and leaned back against his pillows, watching the moon glinting at him through the tower window.
He couldn't see what else they could do. They had hit dead ends everywhere. Riddle98 had caught the wrong person, the Heir of Slytherin had got off, and no one could tell whether it was the same person, or a different one, who had opened the Chamber this time. There was nobody else to ask. Harry lay down, still thinking about what Aragog had said.
He was becoming drowsy99 when what seemed like their very last hope occurred to him, and he suddenly sat bolt upright.
“Ron,” he hissed100 through the dark, “Ron—”
Ron woke with a yelp56 like Fang's, stared wildly around, and saw Harry.
“Ron - that girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom,” said Harry, ignoring Neville's snuffling snores from the corner. “What if she never left the bathroom? What if she's still there?”
Ron rubbed his eyes, frowning through the moonlight. And then he understood, too.
“You don't think - not Moaning Myrtle?”
夏天正慢慢地爬上城堡周围的土地，天和湖都变为更长春花的蓝色，花儿也在暖房里绽开了洋白菜大小的花朵。但是如果从城堡的窗户看不到哈格力带着紧跟着他的弗兰大步走过，即便是这样的美景也不合哈利的口昧。事实上，这并不比城堡内好，虽然这里的一切都错得离谱。
哈利和罗恩试过去探望荷米恩，但是现在探访者都被与医院侧楼隔开了。
“我们不做任何冒险，”波姆弗雷夫人透过医院大门的一条门缝严厉的告诉他们。“不，我很抱歉，凶手回来把所有人都解决掉的可能性很大……”
丹伯多走了以后，恐惧前所未有地蔓延着，以致于温暖着城堡墙壁的阳光停滞在窗户外面。校园里很难见到一张既不忧虑也不紧张的脸。回荡在走廊里的笑声也是那么尖锐和作做，而且很快就消失掉了。
哈利经常地对自己重复丹伯多的最后几句话，“只有当这里没有人忠诚于我了，我才算真正离开这所学校……”
“在霍格瓦彻，谁需要，谁就能得到帮助。”但是这些话有什么用呢？他们究竟应该求助于谁呢，在这样一个每个人都困惑和恐惧的时刻？
哈格力关于蜘蛛的暗示理解起来简单多了——问题是，留在城堡里可以追踪的，似乎不仅仅是一只蜘蛛。在罗恩的协助下（相当勉强），哈利对所到之处处留意。
当然，由于他们不能独自在城堡里游逛而必须和其余的格林芬顿集体行动，他们的活动受到了束缚，多数学生似乎都很喜欢被老师带领着从一间教室到另一间教室，但哈利却觉得很不痛快。
然而，有一个人似乎从这种恐怖和猜疑的气氛中获得了极大的乐趣。杰高。马尔夫趾高气扬地走在学校里，就好像刚刚被指派为首领一样，哈利一直没能明白他在高兴什么。直到丹伯多走了两周后的一节药剂课上，当哈利坐在马尔夫正后方时，无意中听到了马尔夫对着克来伯和乔治吹嘘。
“我一直认为老爸就是那个除掉丹伯多的人。”他一点都不想放低声音。“我告诉过你，他认为丹伯多是这所学校有始以来最差的校长。或许现在我们会有一个体已的校长了。一个不想秘室之谜关闭的人。麦康娜教授待不了多久，她仅仅是替代……”
史纳皮飞快地走过哈利身边，对荷米恩空着的座位和大锅不做评论。
“先生，”马尔夫大声说，“先生，你为什么不申请校长的工作？”
“现在，现在，马尔夫，”虽然抑制不住唇边绽开的一抹微笑，他还是说，“丹伯多教授只是被上级停职。我敢说很快他就会回来与我们在一起的。”
“嗯，是吧。”马尔夫傻笑着，“我预计老爸会投你一票，先生，如果你想申请这份工作的话。我会告诉爸爸，你是这里最棒的老师的，先生……”
史纳皮傻笑着扫过地牢，很幸运地没有发现正假装朝锅里呕吐的谢默斯。
“我非常奇怪此刻具有马格血统的人还没有收起他们的书包。”
马尔夫继续说。“跟你赌5个帆船币下一个谁死。可惜不是格兰佐——”
幸运的是，就在这时，铃响了，就在马尔夫说最后几个字时，罗恩从他的凳子上突然跳了起来，在收拾书包和书的一片混乱中，没人注意到他的企图。
“让我揍他。”罗恩低吼。哈利和达恩拉住他的胳膊，“我不在乎。
我不用魔杖，我要空手杀死他——”“快点，我得把你们送到草药库。“史纳皮在所有同学的头上方吼着。然后他们排成鳄鱼队形出发，哈利、罗恩和达恩排在最后，罗恩还在试图挣脱哈利和达恩。
只有让史纳皮看到他们出了城堡，才能放开罗恩。他们越过莱地朝温室走去。
草药库班上大家的情绪很消沉；他们少了两个人，贾斯丁和荷米思。
史鲍特教授让他们都去修剪枯无花果树，当哈利爬到一堆肥料上去倒那些有害的枯萎花枝时，他正好跟尔尼打了照面儿，尔尼深吸了一口气，非常正式的说，“我只是想说，哈利，我很抱歉我怀疑你。
我知道你不会攻击荷米恩，我为我所说的话表示抱歉。我们现在是在同一条船上了，并且合好吧——“他伸出一只胖乎乎的手，哈利握了握它。
尔尼和他的朋友荷南伯来和哈利，罗恩一起修剪同一棵枯无花果树。
“你认为会是马尔夫吗，哈利？”尔尼问。
“不，”哈利回答的那样肯定，以至于尔尼和荷南伯呆了一下。
过了一会儿，哈利看到了什么，就用他剪枝的剪子打在罗恩的手上。
“哦！你在做……”
哈利正指着几英寸远的那个地方。几只大蜘蛛正迅速穿过。
“噢，是啊。”罗恩看起来高兴一点。“但是我们现在不能追踪它们……”
尔尼和荷南伯好奇地听着。
哈利注视着蜘蛛跑远。
“看起来，它们是往森林……”
罗恩对这一点更不高兴了。
课程结束时，史鲍特教授送他们去上黑巫术防卫课，哈利和罗恩远远落在其他人后面，这样才可在其他人听力范围外谈话。
“我们不得不再用隐身斗篷了。”哈利告诉罗恩，我们可以带着弗兰，它以前总和哈格力一起到森林，对我们会有所帮助。”“对。“罗恩说。他正在不安在指间转着他的魔杖。
“嗯——哪儿——森林里不是据说有人狼吗？”当他们在罗克哈特教室里落坐到他们的位置时，他又加了一句。
哈利宁愿不回答这个问题，他说，“那儿也有很多好东西，半人半马怪很好，独角兽也是。”
罗恩以前从未进禁林，哈利只进过一次，但本希望永远不要再进了。
罗克哈特蹦跳着进了教室，全班同学都盯着他。这儿的其他老师都比平静严肃，但是罗克哈特一点也不缺乐观精神。
“现在开始吧，”他喊到，朝四周微笑着，“为什么都拉长着脸？”
人们彼此交换着恼怒的眼神，但没人作声。
“你们难道没有意识到，”罗克哈特说得很慢，好像他们都有点笨似的，“危险过去了！凶手已被带走了。”
“谁？”达恩。托马斯大声说。
“我亲爱的小伙子，魔法部长如果不是百分之百确定哈格力有罪，他就不会带走哈格力的。”罗克哈特用一种好像对人解释一加一等于二的声调说。
“哦，是的，他会。”罗恩用比达恩大得多的声音说。
“我认为就哈格力被捕一事我比你知道的会多一点，威斯里先生。”罗克哈特洋洋得意地说。
罗恩想说他并不这样认为，但当哈利在桌下狠狠的踢了他一脚后，他把话吞回去了。
“我们不在那儿，记得吗？”哈利低声说。
但是罗克哈特令人厌恶的热情，他一贯认为哈格力不好的观点，他对整件事结束了的信心，大大惹恼了哈利，甚至使他巴不得把《与尸食鬼漫步同游》砸在他那张愚蠢的脸上。结果他只是草草地写了张条给罗恩，来安慰自己：“今天晚上干吧。”
罗恩读了条子，吞了一下口水，朝旁边本该坐着荷术恩的空座位看了一眼，这一眼坚定了他的决心。他点了点头。
格林芬顿的宿舍大厅最近总是人满为患。因为从六点开始。格林芬顿的人就无处可去了。他们总是有充足的谈论话题。结果是不过午夜，宿舍大厅从未空过。
刚吃过晚饭，哈利就去把隐身斗篷从他的衣箱里拿了出来，然后整晚都坐在上面，等着宿舍大厅空下来。弗来德和乔治挑战哈利和罗恩玩了几局扮史纳皮，金妮则有些消沉的坐在荷米恩常坐的椅子里观战。哈利和罗恩有意地输个不停，希望可以尽快结束游戏，但即使是这样，弗来德，乔治和金妮最终上床睡觉时，也已经过了午夜了。
哈利和罗恩一听到两个宿舍的关门声，就一把抓起斗篷，遮住他们自己，从胖大婶肖像小洞处爬了出去。
穿过城堡的行程像以前一样，他们躲开所有的老师，最后，他们到了入场大厅，悄悄移开橡木门的锁，从门缝间闪了出去，尽量不让门发生一点声音，然后踏上了月光照耀的大地。
“路线，”当他们大步跨过黑色的草地时，罗恩突然地说，“我们或许到了禁林后可能会发现根本无迹可寻，那些蜘蛛可能压根儿不是往那儿走，虽然他们看起来似乎是往那一个大方向走，但是……”
他的声音突然弱了下来。
他们到了哈格力的房子，望着黑洞洞的窗户，又沮丧又难过，哈利推开门，弗兰一看到他们就高兴得发狂了。害怕它低沉的叫声吵醒城堡中的每一个人，他们匆忙地从壁炉台上的一个铁罐里拿了些蜂蜜糖喂它吃。它们把它的上下牙都给粘到了一起。
哈利把隐身斗篷留在了哈格力的桌子上。在黑暗无光的森林里，它派不上用场。
“来，弗兰，我们出去散步。”哈利说着轻轻拍了拍它的腿，弗兰就跟在他们后面快乐的穿出房子，冲到森林边，朝一棵美国梧桐抬起了脸。
哈利拿出他的魔杖，念到，“声姆斯！”魔杖尾端出现了一个极小的灯，正好为他们照亮找蜘蛛的通道。
“好主意。”罗恩说，“我也有光，但是你知道——它很可能会引起爆炸或什么的……”
哈利拍拍罗恩的肩膀，指向草地。两只孤零零的蜘蛛已匆忙避开魔杖光芒，隐入树影。
“好吧。”罗恩叹了一口气，似乎准备承受最糟的事，“我准备好了，走吧。”
就这样，带着围着他们蹦跳不停的弗兰，他们进入了森林。借着哈利的魔杖的暗淡的光，他们紧跟在沿着小径缓缓挪动的蜘蛛后面。
他们屏声静气地走了大约20分钟，竖着耳朵仔细听着断裂的树枝和????的树叶声之外的声响。然后树越来越密，头上的星星看不见了，只剩哈利魔杖的微光孤独的亮在黑暗的海洋中，这时，他们看到他们的蜘蛛向导离开了小径。
哈利停了一下，想要看出蜘蛛要往哪里去，但是在他那一点亮光之外只是漆黑一片。他以前从未进入森林这么深过。他还清晰的记和是上次他来这儿时，哈格力叮嘱过他千万不能离开小径。但是哈格力现在不在这里，大概正坐在阿兹卡班的一间牢房里，而且他还说过要跟着那些蜘蛛。
有个潮湿的东西碰到了哈利的手，把他吓得往后倒退了一步，踩到了罗恩脚上。
但是那只是弗兰的鼻子。
“你认为怎么样？”哈利对罗恩说，他只能勉强辨识出罗恩的眼睛，它们正反射着从他的魔杖发出的光。
“我们都走这么远了。”罗恩说。
这样他们就跟着逐渐增多的蜘蛛进入了林子。他们现在不能走得很快了，路上不断有很难在黑暗中看清的树根，根桩之类，哈利都可以感觉到弗兰呼出的热气喷在他的手上，他们不止一次的停下来，哈利蹲下来，用魔杖的亮光寻找蜘蛛。
走了至少半个小时，他们的长袍被低垂的枝枝和荆棘划得一道一道的，过了一会儿，他们注意到地面似乎开始向下倾斜，尽管树木仍很稠密。
突然，弗兰发生了一声大而回响不断的叫声，把哈利和罗思都吓了一跳。
“怎么了？”罗恩大声说。他扫视着无边的黑暗，紧紧抓住哈利的胳膊。
“那边似乎有什么在动。”哈利吸了一口气，“听……听起来似乎是什么庞大的东西。”
他们听着。他们右边的不远处，那东西正折断很多树枝从要树林中踩出一条小径来。
“哦，不。”罗恩叫起来，“哦，不，哦不，哦——”
“闭嘴。”哈利慌乱地说，“它会听到你的声音的。”
“听到我？”罗恩不自然的高声说，“早就听到了。弗兰！”
他们惊恐地站着等着时，黑暗似乎朝他们的眼球压迫过来，有一种隆隆的声音响起，然后是寂静。
“你觉得它在干嘛？”哈利问。
“可能在准备猛扑过来。”罗恩说。
他们等着，浑身颤抖，一步也不敢挪动。
“你看它走了吗？”哈利小声说。
“不知——”
就在这时，他们的右边突然亮起了道光。在黑暗中它是那么明亮，以至于他们俩不得不用手遮挡眼睛，弗兰发出一声惨叫，试图转身逃跑，却因为被卡在刺丛中而叫得更凶了。
“哈利！”罗恩叫声来，声音因解脱而颤抖。“哈利，是我们的飞车！”
“什么？”
“快过来！”
哈利跌跌撞撞地跟着罗恩朝亮光跑去，一会儿他们就跑到了一片空地。
威斯先生的车子是空的，停在一圈浓缩的树中间，上面是屋顶似的稠密的树枝。
车头灯亮着。罗恩张大嘴朝它走近的同时，它也慢慢移向他，就像一只青绿色的大狗欢迎它的主人似的。
“它一直都呆在这儿。”罗恩围着小车转来转去，高兴地说，“看看它。森林把它变野了……”
汽车的双翼粘满泥桨，很明显，它自己游遍了森林，弗兰一点也不喜欢它，他尽量靠近哈利，哈利可以感觉到他在颤抖。哈利的呼吸逐渐平缓下来，他把魔杖塞回了长袍。
“我们竟然认为它会攻击我们。”罗恩斜靠在汽车上，轻拍着它，“我很奇怪，它都去了哪儿！”
哈利眯着眼睛在被照得雪亮的地面上，四处寻找蜘蛛的踪迹，但他们都被车头灯发出的强光吓跑散开了。
“我们失去了线索。”他说，“来吧，我们去找它们。”
罗恩既没吱声也没动，他的眼睛直盯着在哈利背后离森林地面大概十英尺高的一点。他的脸由恐惧转为青灰色。
哈利甚至来不及转身，一声响亮的咋塔声传来，就突然感到一个长长的毛茸茸的东西把他从中间抓住，举离了地面，脸朝下地悬挂着。惊恐挣扎的同时他听到了一声“咋略”声，看到罗恩的双腿也离开了地面，并且听到弗兰呜咽着、哀号着——他也被扣进了漆黑的树林中。倒吊着脑袋，哈利看到抓着他的东西正以六条极长的毛腿向前走。前面两只眼上一对黑亮亮的大钳子紧紧地夹着他，在他背后，他可以听到另一只巨兽，很明显正抓着罗恩。它们正朝森林腹地走去。哈利听到弗兰汪汪地叫着，想挣脱抓他的第三只巨兽。但使哈利想叫也叫不出来，他好像把他的声音留给空地上的汽车了。
他压根儿不知道他被巨兽夹了多久，他只知道黑暗突然消散，他可以看到原本被层层落叶覆盖的地面现在挤满着蜘蛛。伸长脖子朝旁边一看，他才意识到他们到了一个大山谷的边缘。这个山谷的树都被清空了，在明亮的月光下他看到一个极为恶心的场面。
蜘蛛。不是那种下面的树叶上一涌而过的小蜘蛛，而是像拉马车的马那么大的蜘蛛，八只眼，八只腿，黑黑的，毛茸茸的，巨大的，夹着哈利的那只爬下陡峭的斜坡，朝山谷正中心的一张湿呼呼的大网走去。
那黑蜘蛛放开哈利后，他连滚带爬的撞到了地上，罗恩和弗兰也砰的落在他旁边，弗兰不再吼叫，只是无声的退缩了。罗恩看起来和哈利的感觉一模一样。他的嘴发出无声的尖叫。他的眼睛则瞪得大大的。
哈利突然意识到扔下他的那只蜘蛛正在讲些什么。这很难讲，因为他每说一个词都要钳动一下钳子。
“阿拉哥！”它叫道，“阿拉哥！”
从那张湿呼呼的围网中间，一只小象大小的蜘蛛慢慢的出现了。
黑色的身躯腿上掺杂着灰色，丑陋的钳子状的头上的每一只眼都是白色的——他是瞎的。
“这是什么？”他迅速的举着他的钳子说。
“人。”抓哈利的那只说。
“是哈格力吗？”阿拉哥慢慢靠近。他八双乳白色的眼睛游移不定。
“陌生人。”抓罗恩的那只蜘蛛说。
“杀了他们，”阿拉哥烦躁地说，“我在睡觉……”
“我们是哈格力的朋友。”哈利大叫。他的心似乎离开了胸膛，跳到了嗓子眼。
山谷周围的蜘蛛钳子响了起来。
阿拉哥停了一下。
“哈格力从来没有派人来过我们的山谷，”他缓慢地说。
“哈格力惹了麻烦。”哈利呼吸急促起来。“这就是我们来的原因。”
“惹了麻烦？”一只年长的蜘蛛说道。哈利觉得从它钳子嗒嗒的声音中听出了关怀的意味。“但是他为什么派你来？”
哈利考虑站起来，但还是放弃了这念头。他觉得腿无法支撑他，所以他尽可能冷静地坐在地面上说。
“他们认为，哈格力在学校对学生设置了一个——什么东西。他们把他送到了阿兹克班。”阿拉哥愤怒地挥了挥钳子，整个山谷都回荡着蜘蛛群的钳子声。
就像他们在鼓掌喝采，只不过，喝采通常不会让他觉得这么惊恐难受。
“但那是很早以前的事了。”阿拉哥烦躁地说，“很久很久以前，我记得很清楚。那正是他们赶他出校门的原因，他们认为我是那只盘踞在神秘秘室的怪兽，他们以为是哈格力打开了秘室，放了我。”
“那么你……你不是从秘室出来的？”哈利可以感觉到他头上的冷汗。
“我！”阿拉哥愤怒地挥舞夹子。“我，不是在城堡出生的，我来自很远的地方，当我还是一个卵时，一个旅行者把我送给了哈格力，哈格力只是一个男孩，但他照料看我，他把我放在城堡的橱柜里，用餐桌上的碎面包喂我。”
“哈格力是我的好朋友，他是一个好人。当我被发现并被指责杀死了一个女孩儿时，是他保护了我，我从那以后就住在森林里，哈格力仍看望我，他甚至帮我找到了妻子，玛莎，现在你可以看到我的家族如何庞大，这都多亏了哈格力。”
哈利鼓起他残留的勇气。
“那么，你——你从未攻击过任何人？”
“从未。”老蜘蛛嘶哑着声音，“那或许是我的本能，但由于对哈格力的尊敬，我从未伤害过人。那个被杀的女孩的尸体是在浴室发现的，而我除了我长大的柜橱以外，根本就没去过城堡中的其它任何地方，我们喜欢黑暗和安静……”
“但是那么……你知道谁杀了那个女孩吗？”哈利问。“因为无论它究竟是什么东西，它又回来攻击人们了——”
他的话被一阵突然爆发的钳子声和许多长腿急愤的挪动的????声淹没了，大片的黑色在他周围晃动。
“那个住在城堡的东西。”阿拉哥说，“是一种很古老的动物，我们蜘蛛最害怕的。我还记得很清楚，当我感到它在学校周围活动时，我是怎样恳求哈格力让我走的。”
“是什么？”哈利急切地问。
更多大声钳子响和??声传来，蜘蛛群似乎正在靠近。
“我们不能说起它！”阿拉哥生气地说，“我们不能叫它的名字。
我甚至都没有告诉过哈格力，虽然，他问过我很多遍了。“哈利不想再谈这个话题，特别是当蜘蛛正在从四面八方逐渐逼近时，阿拉哥似乎说的很累了，他往圆形网中间缓缓靠过去，但是其他蜘蛛正一寸一寸的向哈利和罗恩逼近。
“那我们要走了。”哈利对阿拉哥绝望地说，他听到身后树叶的沙沙声。
“走？‘阿拉哥慢慢地说，”我不这样认为……”“但是——但是——”
“在我的命令下，我的儿女不会伤害哈格力，但是我不阻止他们吃肉，尤其是送到我们嘴边来的，再见了，哈格力的朋友。”
哈利四顾张望，发现在他上面几英尺远。是一堵结实的蜘蛛墙，他们的钳子咋咋作响，眼睛在丑陋的脸上闪烁不定……
即使是在他去拿魔杖时，他也知道这不起作用，因为蜘蛛太多了。但是当试着站起来准备战斗到死的时候，伴随着响亮的长鸣，一道亮光穿过山谷。
威斯里先生的汽车轰隆隆的开下斜坡。它的前灯闪烁着，喇叭响着一路把蜘蛛挤向两边，有些甚至被撞个底朝天，无数条腿不停的在空中晃动。开到哈利和罗恩面前时车停了一下，门打开了。
“去抱弗兰！”哈利冲进前座喊到，罗恩抓住弗兰的腿扔到车后座，门砰地关上。罗恩没有踩加速器，汽车也不需要，在发动机轰鸣声中他们离开了，又撞到了更多蜘蛛。他们冲上斜坡，冲出山谷，很快穿过森林。汽车沿着一条它显然熟知的小径，灵巧的跃过最宽的沟壑，境蜒前进。树枝不断扫过窗户。
哈利从侧面看着罗恩，他的嘴还保持刚才无声的尖叫的形状，可是眼珠却开始转动了。
“你还好吗？”
罗恩直视前方，无法回答。
他们从没长大的树上压过去时，弗兰在后座大声叫着，当他们从一棵大橡树上压过时，哈利看到侧镜折断了。经过十来分钟嘈杂、颠簸的行驶后，树变稀了，哈利可以看到一片片天空了。
汽车突然停住，差点把他们甩到挡风玻璃上，他们已经到了森林边缘。弗兰贴在玻璃上，急着下车。哈利把门一开，它就夹着尾巴穿过森林，直奔哈格力的房子。
哈利先下来，又过了一会儿，罗恩的四肢似乎恢复了知觉也退了出来，可是仍然梗着脖子，瞪着眼睛。哈利充满感激的拍了拍汽车后，它又开回森林，驶出了视线。
哈利回到哈格力的秘室取回隐身斗篷，弗兰躲在他篮子里的毛毯下打着哆嗦，他再出来时，看到罗恩倒在南瓜地上，很不舒服的样子。
“跟着蜘蛛，”罗恩用袖子擦了擦嘴，虚弱地说，“我不会原谅哈格力，我们活下来可是万幸。”
“他一定认为阿拉哥不会伤害他的朋友。”哈利说。
“这正是哈格力的问题！”罗恩重重地击着秘室，“他总认为怪兽不像他们被认定的那么坏，看它把他害到了什么地步！阿兹克班的监狱！”他现在还不由自主地发着科，“把我们指引到那儿干嘛？我倒想知道我们究竟发现了什么？”
“哈格力从未打开神秘秘室。”哈利说着用斗篷遮住罗恩，搀着他让他走起来，“他是无辜的。”
罗恩重重冷哼了一声。
很明显，他不认为把阿拉哥在衣橱中孵化喂大是无辜的。
当城堡隐约在望时，哈利拉了拉斗篷确保他们的脚也被遮住。
然后推开了吱吱作响的大门。他们小心翼翼地走过进口厅，上了花岗石楼梯。
屏着呼吸穿过巡查的老师。最后他们安全地回到了格林芬顿的宿舍大厅，炉火已经烧剩灰烬了。他们脱下斗蓬，爬上了旋转楼梯回到了自己的宿舍。
罗恩没换衣服就瘫上了床。哈利却一点都不觉得困。他坐在床边，回忆着阿拉哥的每一句话。
在城堡四处活动的怪兽，他觉得听起来就向类似福尔得摩特的怪物——即使那些蜘蛛怪不愿说出它的名字。但是他和罗恩还是无法查出它是什么东西，是如何攻击受害人的。连哈格力也不知道神秘秘室里究竟藏了什么。哈利把双腿搭上床铺，头靠着枕头，看着塔楼外明亮的月亮发呆。他不知道该如何查下去。每次找到的线索都把他们引进了死胡同。瑞德抓错了人。
史林德林的后代已经逃走了。没人知道这次开启秘室的，究竟是同一个人，或是另有他人：这也让人无从问起。哈利躺下了，依然想着阿拉哥说的话。
哈利昏昏欲睡。这时，他忽然想到了什么，立即坐了起来。
“罗恩，”黑暗中，他低低喊着，“罗恩！”
罗恩打着呵欠，恼怒地四周张望，这才看见哈利。
“罗恩——那个死去的女孩，阿拉哥说她是在厕所被发现的。”哈利说着，没去管尼维尔的鼻鼾声，“要是她从未离开过厕所？要是她还在哪里？”
罗恩擦了擦眼，月光下的他皱着眉……不一会，他开始了头绪。
“你不认为——是呻吟的麦托勒吧？”
收听单词发音 |
1
fang
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| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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5
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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6
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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strutting
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| 加固，支撑物 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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smirking
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| v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 ) | |
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smirked
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| v.傻笑( smirk的过去分词 ) | |
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14
dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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15
vomit
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| v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物 | |
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galleons
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| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
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scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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18
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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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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sprout
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| n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条 | |
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21
pruning
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| n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分 | |
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22
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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23
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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24
spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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25
scuttling
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| n.船底穿孔，打开通海阀（沉船用）v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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26
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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27
shears
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| n.大剪刀 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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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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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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centaurs
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| n.（希腊神话中）半人半马怪物( centaur的名词复数 ) | |
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33
swapped
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| 交换（工作）( swap的过去式和过去分词 )； 用…替换，把…换成，掉换（过来） | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gadding
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| n.叮搔症adj.蔓生的v.闲逛( gad的现在分词 )；游荡；找乐子；用铁棒刺 | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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38
scrawling
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的现在分词 ) | |
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stiffen
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| v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬 | |
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onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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41
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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43
treacle
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| n.糖蜜 | |
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44
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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45
scampering
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的现在分词 ) | |
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46
sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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47
trickle
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| vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散 | |
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48
rustling
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| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
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49
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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50
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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51
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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52
crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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53
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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54
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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55
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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56
yelp
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| vi.狗吠 | |
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57
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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58
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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59
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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60
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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61
ablaze
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| adj.着火的，燃烧的；闪耀的，灯火辉煌的 | |
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62
turquoise
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| n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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63
smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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64
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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65
squinted
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| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
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66
scuttled
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| v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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67
whining
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| n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚 | |
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68
swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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69
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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70
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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71
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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72
domed
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| adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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73
cowering
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| v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的现在分词 ) | |
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74
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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75
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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76
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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77
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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78
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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79
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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80
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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81
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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82
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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83
spun
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| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
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84
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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85
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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86
yelping
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的现在分词 ) | |
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87
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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88
pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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89
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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90
prodding
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| v.刺，戳( prod的现在分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳 | |
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91
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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92
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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93
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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94
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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95
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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96
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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97
petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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98
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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99
drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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100
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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