It took Harry1 several days to get used to his strange new freedom. Never before had he been able to get up whenever he wanted or eat whatever he fancied. He could even go wherever he pleased, as long as it was in Diagon Alley2, and as this long cobbled street was packed with the most fascinating wizarding shops in the world, Harry felt no desire to break his word to Fudge and stray back into the Muggle world.
Harry ate breakfast each morning in the Leaky Cauldron, where he liked watching the other guests: funny little witches from the country, up for a day's shopping; venerable-looking wizards arguing over the latest article in Transfiguration Today; wild-looking warlocks; raucous3 dwarfs4; and once, what looked suspiciously like a hag, who ordered a plate of raw liver from behind a thick woolen5 balaclava.
After breakfast Harry would go out into the backyard, take out his wand, tap the third brick from the left above the trash bin6, and stand back as the archway into Diagon Alley opened in the wall.
Harry spent the long sunny days exploring the shops and eating under the brightly colored umbrellas outside cafes, where his fellow diners were showing one another their purchases (“It's a lunascope, old boy — no more messing around with moon charts, see?”) or else discussing the case of Sirius Black (“Personally, I won't let any of the children out alone until he's back in Azkaban”). Harry didn't have to do his homework under the blankets by flashlight anymore; now he could sit in the bright sunshine outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor7, finishing all his essays with occasional help from Florean Fortescue himself, who, apart from knowing a great deal about medieval witch burnings, gave Harry free sundaes every half an hour.
Once Harry had refilled his money bag with gold Galleons8, silver Sickles9, and bronze Knuts from his vault10 at Gringotts, he had to exercise a lot of self-control not to spend the whole lot at once. He had to keep reminding himself that he had five years to go at Hogwarts, and how it would feel to ask the Dursleys for money for spellbooks, to stop himself from buying a handsome set of solid gold Gobstones (a wizarding game rather like marbles, in which the stones squirt a nasty-smelling liquid into the other player's face when they lose a point). He was sorely tempted11, too, by the perfect, moving model of the galaxy12 in a large glass ball, which would have meant he never had to take another Astronomy lesson. But the thing that tested Harry's resolution most appeared in his favorite shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies, a week after he'd arrived at the Leaky Cauldron.
Curious to know what the crowd in the shop was staring at, Harry edged his way inside and squeezed in among the excited witches and wizards until he glimpsed a newly erected13 podium, on which was mounted the most magnificent broom he had ever seen in his life.
“Just come out — prototype —” a square-jawed wizard was telling his companion.
“It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it, Dad?” squeaked14 a boy younger than Harry, who was swinging off his father's arm.
“Irish International Side's just put in an order for seven of these beauties!” the proprietor15 of the shop told the crowd. “And they're favorites for the World Cup!”
A large witch in front of Harry moved, and he was able to read the sign next to the broom:
** THE FIREBOLT **
THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART RACING16 BROOM SPORTS A STREAM-LINED, SUPERFINE HANDLE OF ASH, TREATED WITH A DIAMOND-HARD POLISH AND HAND-NUMBERED WITH ITS OWN REGISTRATION17 NUMBER. EACH INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED BIRCH TWIG18 IN THE BROOMTAIL HAS BEEN HONED TO AERODYNAMIC PERFECTION, GIVING THE FIREBOLT UNSURPASSABLE BALANCE AND PINPOINT19 PRECISION. THE FIREBOLT HAS AN ACCELERATION20 OF 150 MILES AN HOUR IN TEN SECONDS AND INCORPORATES AN UNBREAKABLE BRAKING CHARM. PRICE ON REQUEST.
Price on request…Harry didn't like to think how much gold the Firebolt would cost. He had never wanted anything as much in his whole life — but he had never lost a Quidditch match on his Nimbus Two Thousand, and what was the point in emptying his Gringotts vault for the Firebolt, when he had a very good broom already? Harry didn't ask for the price, but he returned, almost every day after that, just to look at the Firebolt.
There were, however, things that Harry needed to buy. He went to the Apothecary21 to replenish22 his store of potions ingredients, and as his school robes were now several inches too short in the arm and leg, he visited Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and bought new ones. Most important of all, he had to buy his new schoolbooks, which would include those for his two new subjects, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination23.
Harry got a surprise as he looked in at the bookshop window. Instead of the usual display of gold-embossed spellbooks the size of paving slabs24, there was a large iron cage behind the glass that held about a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters. Torn pages were flying everywhere as the books grappled with each other, locked together in furious wrestling matches and snapping aggressively.
Harry pulled his booklist out of his pocket and consulted it for the first time. The Monster Book of Monsters was listed as the required book for Care of Magical Creatures. Now Harry understood why Hagrid had said it would come in useful. He felt relieved; he had been wondering whether Hagrid wanted help with some terrifying new pet.
As Harry entered Flourish and Blotts, the manager came hurrying toward him.
“Hogwarts?” he said abruptly25. “Come to get your new books?”
“Yes,” said Harry, “I need —”
“Get out of the way,” said the manager impatiently, brushing Harry aside. He drew on a pair of very thick gloves, picked up a large, knobbly walking stick, and proceeded toward the door of the Monster Books’ cage.
“Hang on,” said Harry quickly, “I've already got one of those.”
“Have you?” A look of enormous relief spread over the manager's face. “Thank heavens for that. I've been bitten five times already this morning —”
A loud ripping noise rent the air; two of the Monster Books had seized a third and were pulling it apart.
“Stop it! Stop it!” cried the manager, poking26 the walking stick through the bars and knocking the books apart. “I'm never stocking them again, never! It's been bedlam27! I thought we'd seen the worst when we bought two hundred copies of the Invisible Book of Invisibility — cost a fortune, and we never found them…Well…is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Yes,” said Harry, looking down his booklist, “I need Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky.”
“Ah, starting Divination, are you?” said the manager, stripping off his gloves and leading Harry into the back of the shop, where there was a corner devoted28 to fortune-telling. A small table was stacked with volumes such as Predicting the Unpredictable: Insulate Yourself Against Shocks and Broken Balls: When Fortunes Turn Foul29.
“Here you are,” said the manager, who had climbed a set of steps to take down a thick, black-bound book. “Unfogging the Future. Very good guide to all your basic fortune-telling methods — palmistry, crystal balls, bird entrails.”
But Harry wasn't listening. His eyes had fallen on another book, which was among a display on a small table: Death Omens30 — What to Do When You Know the Worst Is Coming.
“Oh, I wouldn't read that if I were you,” said the manager lightly, looking to see what Harry was staring at. “You'll start seeing death omens everywhere. It's enough to frighten anyone to death.”
But Harry continued to stare at the front cover of the book; it showed a black dog large as a bear, with gleaming eyes. It looked oddly familiar…
The manager pressed Unfogging the Future into Harry's hands.
“Anything else?” he said.
“Yes,” said Harry, tearing his eyes away from the dog's and dazedly31 consulting his booklist. “Er — I need Intermediate Transfiguration and The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three.”
Harry emerged from Flourish and Blotts ten minutes later with his new books under his arms and made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron, hardly noticing where he was going and bumping into several people.
He tramped up the stairs to his room, went inside, and tipped his books onto his bed. Somebody had been in to tidy; the windows were open and sun was pouring inside. Harry could hear the buses rolling by in the unseen Muggle street behind him and the sound of the invisible crowd below in Diagon Alley. He caught sight of himself in the mirror over the basin.
“It can't have been a death omen,” he told his reflection defiantly32. “I was panicking when I saw that thing in Magnolia Crescent…It was probably just a stray dog….”
He raised his hand automatically and tried to make his hair lie flat
“You're fighting a losing battle there, dear,” said his mirror in a wheezy voice.
As the days slipped by, Harry started looking wherever he went for a sign of Ron or Hermione. Plenty of Hogwarts students were arriving in Diagon Alley now, with the start of term so near. Harry met Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, his fellow Gryffindors, in Quality Quidditch Supplies, where they too were ogling33 the Firebolt; he also ran into the real Neville Longbottom, a round-faced, forgetful boy, outside Flourish and Blotts. Harry didn't stop to chat; Neville appeared to have mislaid his booklist and was being told off by his very formidable-looking grandmother. Harry hoped she never found out that he'd pretended to be Neville while on the run from the Ministry34 of Magic.
Harry woke on the last day of the holidays, thinking that he would at least meet Ron and Hermione tomorrow, on the Hogwarts Express. He got up, dressed, went for a last look at the Firebolt, and was just wondering where he'd have lunch, when someone yelled his name and he turned.
“Harry! HARRY!”
They were there, both of them, sitting outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor — Ron looking incredibly freckly35, Hermione very brown, both waving frantically36 at him.
“Finally!” said Ron, grinning at Harry as he sat down. “We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and —”
“I got all my school stuff last week,” Harry explained. “And how come you knew I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?”
“Dad,” said Ron simply.
Mr. Weasley, who worked at the Ministry of Magic, would of course have heard the whole story of what had happened to Aunt Marge.
“Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?” said Hermione in a very serious voice.
“I didn't mean to,” said Harry, while Ron roared with laughter. “I just — lost control.”
“It's not funny, Ron,” said Hermione sharply. “Honestly, I'm amazed Harry wasn't expelled.”
“So am I,” admitted Harry. “Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested.” He looked at Ron. “Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?”
“Probably ‘cause it's you, isn't it?” shrugged37 Ron, still chuckling38. “Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione's there as well!”
Hermione nodded, beaming. “Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things.”
“Excellent!” said Harry happily. “So, have you got all your new books and stuff?”
“Look at this,” said Ron, pulling a long thin box out of a bag and opening it. “Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow39, containing one unicorn40 tail-hair. And we've got all our books —” He pointed41 at a large bag under his chair. “What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two.”
“What's all that, Hermione?” Harry asked, pointing at not one but three bulging42 bags in the chair next to her.
“Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I,” said Hermione. “Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies —”
“What are you doing Muggle Studies for?” said Ron, rolling his eyes at Harry. “You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!”
“But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view,” said Hermione earnestly.
“Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?” asked Harry, while Ron sniggered. Hermione ignored them.
“I've still got ten Galleons,” she said, checking her purse. “It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present.”
“How about a nice book? said Ron innocently.
“No, I don't think so,” said Hermione composedly. “I really want an owl43. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig and you've got Errol —”
“I haven't,” said Ron. “Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers.” He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. “And I want to get him checked over,” he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. “I don't think Egypt agreed with him.”
Scabbers was looking thinner than usual, and there was a definite droop44 to his whiskers.
“There's a magical creature shop just over there,” said Harry, who knew Diagon Alley very well by now. “You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl.”
So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street to the Magical Menagerie.
There wasn't much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants of these cages were all squeaking45, squawking, jabbering46, or hissing47. The witch behind the counter was already advising a wizard on the care of double-ended newts, so Harry, Ron, and Hermione waited, examining the cages.
A pair of enormous purple toads48 sat gulping49 wetly and feasting on dead blowflies. A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was glittering near the window. Poisonous orange snails50 were oozing51 slowly up the side of their glass tank, and a fat white rabbit kept changing into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise. Then there were cats of every color, a noisy cage of ravens52, a basket of funny custard-colored furballs that were humming loudly, and on the counter, a vast cage of sleek53 black rats that were playing some sort of skipping game using their long, bald tails.
The double-ended newt wizard left, and Ron approached the counter.
“It's my rat,” he told the witch. “He's been a bit off-color ever since I brought him back from Egypt.”
“Bang him on the counter,” said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black spectacles out of her pocket.
Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him next to the cage of his fellow rats, who stopped their skipping tricks and scuffled to the wire for a better took.
Like nearly everything Ron owned, Scabbers the rat was secondhand (he had once belonged to Ron's brother Percy) and a bit battered54. Next to the glossy55 rats in the cage, he looked especially woebegone.
“Hm,” said the witch, picking up Scabbers. “How old is this rat?”
“Dunno,” said Ron. “Quite old. He used to belong to my brother.”
“What powers does he have?” said the witch, examining Scabbers closely.
“Er —” The truth was that Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace of interesting powers. The witch's eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered56 left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly.
“He's been through the mill, this one,” she said.
“He was like that when Percy gave him to me,” said Ron defensively.
“An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live longer than three years or so,” said the witch. “Now, if you were looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of these —”
She indicated the black rats, who promptly57 started skipping again. Ron muttered, “Show-offs.”
“Well, if you don't want a replacement58, you can try this rat tonic59,” said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red bottle.
“Okay,” said Ron. “How much — OUCH!”
Ron buckled60 as something huge and orange came soaring from the top of the highest cage, landed on his head, and then propelled itself, spitting madly, at Scabbers.
“NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!” cried the witch, but Scabbers shot from between her hands like a bar of soap, landed splay-legged on the floor, and then scampered61 for the door.
“Scabbers!” Ron shouted, racing out of the shop after him; Harry followed.
It took them nearly ten minutes to catch Scabbers, who had taken refuge under a wastepaper bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ron stuffed the trembling rat back into his pocket and straightened up, massaging62 his head.
“What was that?”
“It was either a very big cat or quite a small tiger,” said Harry.
“Where's Hermione?”
“Probably getting her owl.”
They made their way back up the crowded street to the Magical Menagerie. As they reached it, Hermione came out, but she wasn't carrying an owl. Her arms were clamped tightly around the enormous ginger63 cat.
“You bought that monster?” said Ron, his mouth hanging open.
“He's gorgeous, isn't he?” said Hermione, glowing.
That was a matter of opinion, thought Harry. The cat's ginger fur was thick and fluffy64, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall. Now that Scabbers was out of sight, however, the cat was purring contentedly65 in Hermione's arms.
“Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!” said Ron.
“He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?” said Hermione.
“And what about Scabbers?” said Ron, pointing at the lump in his chest pocket. “He needs rest and relaxation66! How's he going to get it with that thing around?”
“That reminds me, you forgot your rat tonic,” said Hermione, slapping the small red bottle into Ron's hand. “And stop worrying, Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him.”
“Wonder why,” said Ron sarcastically67 as they set off toward the Leaky Cauldron.
They found Mr. Weasley sitting in the bar, reading the Daily Prophet.
“Harry!” he said, smiling as he looked up. “How are you?”
“Fine, thanks,” said Harry as he, Ron, and Hermione joined Mr. Weasley with their shopping.
Mr. Weasley put down his paper, and Harry saw the now familiar picture of Sirius Black staring up at him.
“They still haven't caught him, then?” he asked.
“No,” said Mr. Weasley, looking extremely grave. “They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far.”
“Would we get a reward if we caught him?” asked Ron. “It'd be good to get some more money —”
“Don't be ridiculous, Ron,” said Mr. Weasley, who on closer inspection68 looked very strained. “Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, You mark my words.”
At that moment Mrs. Weasley entered the bar, laden69 with shopping bags and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about to start their fifth year at Hogwarts; the newly elected Head Boy, Percy; and the Weasleys” youngest child and only girl, Ginny.
Ginny, who had always been very taken with Harry, seemed even more heartily70 embarrassed than usual when she saw him, perhaps because he had saved her life during their previous year at Hogwarts. She went very red and muttered “hello” without looking at him. Percy, however, held out his hand solemnly as though he and Harry had never met and said, “Harry. How nice to see you.”
“Hello, Percy,” said Harry, trying not to laugh.
“I hope you're well?” said Percy pompously71, shaking hands. It was rather like being introduced to the mayor.
“Very well, thanks —”
“Harry!” said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. “Simply splendid to see you, old boy —”
“Marvelous,” said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. “Absolutely spiffing.”
“That's enough, now,” said Mrs. Weasley.
“Mum!” said Fred, as though he'd only just spotted73 her and seizing her hand, too. “How really corking74 to see you —”
“I said, that's enough,” said Mrs. Weasley, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. “Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?” She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. “Second Head Boy in the family!” she said, swelling75 with pride.
“And last,” Fred muttered under his breath.
I don't doubt that,” said Mrs. Weasley, frowning suddenly. “I notice they haven't made you two prefects.”
“What do we want to be prefects for?” said George, looking revolted at the very idea. “It'd take all the fun out of life.”
“You want to set a better example for your sister!” snapped Mrs. Weasley.
“Gunny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother,” said Percy loftily. “I'm going up to change for dinner…”
He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.
“We tried to shut him in a pyramid,” he told Harry. “But Mum spotted us.”
* * * * * *
Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlor, and the seven Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.
“How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?” asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous77 chocolate pudding.
“The Ministry's providing a couple of cars,” said Mr. Weasley.
Everyone looked up at him.
“Why?” said Percy curiously78.
“It's because of you, Perce,” said George seriously. “And there'll be little flags on the hoods79, with HB on them—”
“— for Humongous Bighead,” said Fred.
Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.
“Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?” Percy asked again, in a dignified80 voice.
“Well, as we haven't got one anymore,” said Mr. Weasley, “and as I work there, they're doing me a favor…”
His voice was casual, but Harry couldn't help noticing that Mr. Wesley's ears had gone red, just like Ron's did when he was under pressure.
“Good thing, too,” said Mrs. Weasley briskly. “Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground…You are all packed, aren't you?”
“Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet,” said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. “He's dumped them on my bed.”
“You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning,” Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy.
After dinner everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Ron and Percy were next door to Harry. He had just closed and locked his own trunk when he heard angry voices through the wall, and went to see what was going on.
The door of number twelve was ajar and Percy was shouting.
“It was here, on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing —”
“I haven't touched it, all right?” Ron roared back.
“What's up?” said Harry.
“My Head Boy badge is gone,” said Percy, rounding on Harry.
“So's Scabbers's Rat Tonic,” said Ron, throwing things out of his trunk to look. “I think I might've left it in the bar —”
“You're not going anywhere till you've found my badge!” yelled Percy.
“I'll get Scabbers's stuff, I'm packed,” Harry said to Ron, and he went downstairs.
Harry was halfway81 along the passage to the bar, which was now very dark, when he heard another pair of angry voices coming from the parlor. A second later, he recognized them as Mr. and Mrs. Weasleys”. He hesitated, not wanting them to know he'd heard them arguing, when the sound of his own name made him stop, then move closer to the parlor door.
“…makes no sense not to tell him,” Mr. Weasley was saying heatedly. “Harry's got a right to know. I've tried to tell Fudge, but he insists on treating Harry like a child. He's thirteen years old and —”
“Arthur, the truth would terrify him!” said Mrs. Weasley shrilly82. “Do you really want to send Harry back to school with that hanging over him? For heaven's sake, he's happy not knowing!”
“I don't want to make him miserable83, I want to put him on his guard!” retorted Mr. Weasley. “You know what Harry and Ron are like, wandering off by themselves — they've ended up in the Forbidden Forest twice! But Harry mustn't do that this year! When I think what could have happened to him that night he ran away from home! If the Knight84 Bus hadn't picked him up, I'm prepared to bet he would have been dead before the Ministry found him.”
“But he's not dead, he's fine, so what's the point —”
“Molly, they say Sirius Black's mad, and maybe he is, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban, and that's supposed to be impossible. It's been three weeks, and no one's seen hide nor hair of him, and I don't care what Fudge keeps telling the Daily Prophet, we're no nearer catching85 Black than inventing self-spelling wands. The only thing we know for sure is what Black's after —”
“But Harry will be perfectly86 safe at Hogwarts.”
“We thought Azkaban was perfectly safe. If Black can break out of Azkaban, he can break into Hogwarts.”
“But no one's really sure that Black's after Harry —”
There was a thud on wood, and Harry was sure Mr. Weasley had banged his fist on the table.
“Molly, how many times do I have to tell you? They didn't report it in the press because Fudge wanted it kept quiet, but Fudge went out to Azkaban the night Black escaped. The guards told Fudge that Blacks been talking in his sleep for a while now. Always the same words: “He's at Hogwarts…he's at Hogwarts.” Black is deranged87, Molly, and he wants Harry dead. If you ask me, he thinks murdering Harry will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Harry stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years alone in Azkaban to brood on that…”
There was a silence. Harry leaned still closer to the door, desperate to hear more.
“Well, Arthur, you must do what you think is right. But you're forgetting Albus Dumbledore. I don't think anything could hurt Harry at Hogwarts while Dumbledore's Headmaster. I suppose he knows about all this?”
“Of course he knows. We had to ask him if he minds the Azkaban guards stationing themselves around the entrances to the school grounds. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed.”
“Not happy? Why shouldn't he be happy, if they're there to catch Black?”
“Dumbledore isn't fond of the Azkaban guards,” said Mr. Weasley heavily. “Nor am I, if it comes to that…but when you're dealing88 with a wizard like Black, you sometimes have to join forces with those you'd rather avoid.”
“If they save Harry —”
“– then I will never say another word against them, said Mr. Weasley wearily. “It's late, Molly, we'd better go up…”
Harry heard chairs move. As quietly as he could, he hurried down the passage to the bar and out of sight. The parlor door opened, and a few seconds later footsteps told him that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were climbing the stairs.
The bottle of rat tonic was lying under the table they had sat at earlier. Harry waited until he heard Mr. and Mrs. Wesley's bedroom door close, then headed back upstairs with the bottle.
Fred and George were crouching89 in the shadows on the landing, heaving with laughter as they listened to Percy dismantling90 his and Ron's room in search of his badge.
“We've got it,” Fred whispered to Harry. “We've been improving it.”
The badge now read Bighead Boy.
Harry forced a laugh, went to give Ron the rat tonic, then shut himself in his room and lay down on his bed.
So Sirius Black was after him. This explained everything. Fudge had been lenient91 with him because he was so relieved to find him alive. He'd made Harry promise to stay in Diagon Alley where there were plenty of wizards to keep an eye on him. And he was sending two Ministry cars to take them all to the station tomorrow, so that the Weasleys could look after Harry until he was on the train.
Harry lay listening to the muffled92 shouting next door and wondered why he didn't feel more scared. Sirius Black had murdered thirteen people with one curse; Mr. and Mrs., Weasley obviously thought Harry would be panic-stricken if he knew the truth. But Harry happened to agree wholeheartedly with Mrs. Weasley that the safest place on earth was wherever Albus Dumbledore happened to be. Didn't people always say that Dumbledore was the only person Lord Voldemort had ever been afraid of? Surely Black, as Voldemort's right-hand man, would be just as frightened of him?
And then there were these Azkaban guards everyone kept talking about. They seemed to scare most people senseless, and if they were stationed all around the school, Black's chances of getting inside seemed very remote.
No, all in all, the thing that bothered Harry most was the fact that his chances of visiting Hogsmeade now looked like zero. Nobody would want Harry to leave the safety of the castle until Black was caught; in fact, Harry suspected his every move would be carefully watched until the danger had passed.
He scowled at the dark ceiling. Did they think he couldn't look after himself? He'd escaped Lord Voldemort three times; he wasn't completely useless….
Unbidden, the image of the beast in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent crossed his mind. What to do when you know the worst is coming…
“I'm not going to be murdered,” Harry said out loud.
“That's the spirit, dear,” said his mirror sleepily.
哈利用了几天的时间才适应这种自由，他从未试过像现在一样随他什么时候起床，爱吃什么就能吃什么，只要在戴阿宫道内，他可以去任何地方。而且在这像平底渔船的街道，有很多迷人的魔法商店。
哈利每天早上在例格歌注吃早餐，在那儿他喜欢看其他客人。
那些有趣的的老妇人来自乡村，赶到这儿整天的买东西。看上去很尊贵的巫师在为最新的文章《今天面客》争辩。还有一次，一个看起来像魔女的人戴着羊毛的拉法帽点了一盘生的肝脏。
吃过早餐后，哈利会走进后院，拿出他的魔杖在左边的垃圾箱旁敲了三下，然后就站回进戴阿宫道在墙上开的横路口前。
哈利在明朗的天气里花很多时间逛商店。在餐厅前各种颜色的伞下的商店吃东西。一个吃饭的人则在展示他们所买的东西：“这是个月球望远镜，小伙子，看到了吗？不要再把月亮图表混淆。”还有人在讨论西里斯。巴拉克的案件：“我个人认为不应该让孩子单独出来，直到他被关回阿兹克班……”哈利不用再拿着手电筒在毛毯下面做功课了。现在他可以在费莱里。弗特克的冰淇淋商店旁边，太阳底下做他的功课。有时候费莱里。弗特克亲自帮他写论文。费莱里居然知道很多中世纪焚烧巫婆的事，而且仍然每半个钟头免费给哈利一些圣代。
一旦哈利又把他的钱包装满了帆船币、镰刀币和克拉币，这些都是从格林的金库里提的。他必须自我控制不要一次完全花完。他不得不一直提醒自己他还要在霍格瓦彻读五年，他不能想象向杜斯利一家要钱买魔咒书的感受，他制止自己买那套漂亮的坚固的金石（像大理石，是用来玩一种魔法游戏的，游戏中这石喷出难闻的液体到每一个参加游戏的人的脸上，当然是当他输了一分的时候。）他觉得很诱人，可以在一个很大的玻璃球里看着一大堆人，他认为这样基本上不用再上关于天体运行的课了。在哈利到达例格歌注的一个星期后，哈利发现最吸引他的莫过于他最喜欢的商店——快迪斯高质量货品。
哈利看到很多人在商店里看着什么，他很好奇，于是在兴奋的巫婆和巫师群中挤进去，看到了在一个新建的指挥台上放着他一生从没见过的最堂皇美丽的扫帚。
“看呀，这才是最标准的。”一个方脸的巫师对他的同伴说。
“爸爸，这是世界上飞得最快的扫帚，是吗？”一个幼稚的小孩在问，他边说边挣脱他爸爸的手臂。
“国际快迪斯赛那方刚刚下了订单要七个这样漂亮的商品。”商店的经营者对着人群嚷，“它们在世界杯中是最受欢迎的。”
一个身型很大的巫婆在哈利身边离开，他现在可以看到扫帚上的说明书了。
霹雳国家艺术部展开流线型的扫帚竞赛。这扫帚如钻石般发亮，每把扫帚都有国家注册的特定号码，能轻而易举地控制飞行。每把扫帚尾都是精选独特的择树嫩枝经过摩擦达到空气力运动的理想效果，使得这霹雳具有超越的平衡和标准性。这霹雳在十秒钟可以加速到一百五十英里，还有神效的无形的煞车按钮，价钱合理。
“价钱合理……哈利不敢想这霹雳要多少钱，他从来没有这么强烈渴望过拥有一件东西，但是在学校中他从没有输过一场快迪斯比赛，因为他已经有一把很好的扫帚了，如果再买这把，他在格林高斯银行的金库就会很快用光的。哈利没有问价钱，但是之后他每天都去那商店看霹雳。
但是有些东西哈利的确要买。他去药房填充一份必要的药物成份。他的校服的袖子和裤脚都太短了。他到了玛什女士的服装店里买了新的衣服。现在最重要的是他还要买新的教科书，包括两个科目，关于魔法动物的，和还有占卜术的。
哈利往书店的橱窗看时吓了一跳，里面并不是陈列着金色封面的像铺地砖般厚的咒语书，而是在玻璃旁放着一个很大的铁架，里面有一百多本《妖怪的魔书》。
里面的书互相掀开，愤怒地摔跤，狠狠地打斗，撕的书页到处飞。
哈利拿出那书名列表首次认真地参看，《妖怪的魔书》是关于魔法动物科中的一本，现在哈利终于明白了为什么哈格力说它将会有用。他觉得有点安慰了。他在想哈格力会不会想要一些吓人的新宠物。
当哈利进入这费里什。布克特书店时，经理立即向他走过来。
“在霍格瓦彻读书？”他粗暴地问，“过来买需要的新书吧。”
“好的，”哈利说，“我要……”
“让开！”经理把哈利推到一边很不耐烦地说，他带上很厚的手套，拿起一支大而有节的棍子向《妖怪的魔书》那书厢走去。
“等等”哈利匆忙地说，“我已经有一本了。”
“你有了？”经理脸上露出了大大的安慰，“太好了，谢天谢地，我今天早上被书打了好几次了。”
一阵响亮的打斗声传入耳朵，两本妖怪书正抓着第三本要把它撕开。
“停手，停手。”经理大声喊，他用手杖在栏杆外把书分开。“我再也不买这种书了，再也不会！简直发疯的！是坏的，我们买了两百本《妖怪的魔书》简直让我们破产，我们再也不买了……对了，你还要些什么书吗？”
“是的。”哈利看看书单说，“我还想要卡新特。华莱史卡写的《明亮的将来》。”
“哦，是占卜学的入门，是吗？”经理说着把手套脱下来，领着哈利到商店后面。那儿有一角放满了占卜用的书。一张小桌子上放着好几册书有《对不能预算的预测》、《震惊法》还有《破碎的球》、《当前途被毁时》。
“拿着。”经理说，他刚从楼梯上下来，手里拿着一本黑色的厚厚的书——《明亮的将来》。“这是一本很好的基本占卜指导书，里面说到手相术、晶莹球、鸟内脏结构……”
但是哈利没有听。他的眼看着另一本在小桌子上陈列的书。
《死亡预兆：当你知道最坏的时刻将要到来时该怎么做》。
“哦，我要是你就不会读这本了。”一个售书员看到哈利盯著书时轻轻地说，“无论在哪里你都可以看到死亡的预兆，这都已经够吓人的了。”
但是哈利继续看著书的封面，上面有一只大如熊的黑狗，眼睛闪闪发亮。它看上去很面熟……
售货员把《明亮的将来》放到哈利的手上。
“还要其它的书吗？”他说。
“是的。”哈利说着把视线从那封面上的狗移开，再看了一下书单，“嗯，我想要《中级的变形术》还有《标准咒语书，三年级》。
十分钟后，哈利用手臂夹着新书走出费里什。布克特书店。走回例格歌注。他几乎不知道他要去哪里，因此撞了好几个人。
他踏上楼梯走向自己的房间，走进去把书松开放在床上。有人进来打扫过，前是开着的，阳光照射进来，哈利听到外面的公共汽车在马格的大街上隆隆开过，又听到戴阿宫道上那些隐形的人喧哗的声音。
“这不可能是死亡的预兆的。”他不能相信自己的预感，“当我在马克来里新月街上看到那东西的时候我觉得突然很惊恐，那可能是一条迷失的狗……”
他机械般抬起手试试压乎他的头发。
“亲爱的，你在打一场必输的仗。”他对着镜子喘着气说。
日子就这样过去，哈利开始每去一个地方都在寻找罗恩或者荷米恩留下的信号。
现在很多霍格瓦彻的学生来到戴阿宫道了；新学期快开始了。原来他们也是去看霹雳。在费里什。布克特外面，哈利遇到了尼维尔，他是一个圆脸的、健忘的人。哈利没有停下来跟他聊天。尼维尔好像丢了他的书单，正在被严肃的祖母教训着。哈利希望她永远不会知道他在逃出杜斯利家后自称尼维尔。
哈利在暑假的最后一天醒过来时，想着最迟明天就可以见到罗恩和荷米思了，可能在霍格瓦彻列车上。他起来穿好了衣服，准备好一切。正当他在想去哪里吃午餐时听到有人喊他的名字，他转过身。
“哈利！哈利！”
他们都在那里，坐在费莱里。弗特克的冰淇淋店外面，满脸雀斑的罗恩，黄褐头发的荷米恩正疯狂地向他招手。
“终于见到你了。”罗恩看着哈利坐下的时候说，“我们去了例格歌注，但他们说你已经走了，我们就走去了费里什。布克特还有玛什女士那里，还有——”
“上星期我已经把上学的东西弄好了。”哈利解释说，“你们怎么知道我留在例格歌往往的？”
“爸爸说的。”罗思简单地回答。
“你真与你姨妈闹翻了吗？”荷米恩认真地说。
“我也不想这样的。”哈利看着罗恩大起来时说，“我失去控制了。”
“罗恩，这可不是玩的。”荷米恩尖锐地说，“说实话，听到哈利不会被开除我很高兴。”
“我也是。”哈利承认说，“别说要开除，我还怕被抓起来。”他看着罗恩问：“你爸爸知道法治放我走的，对吗？”
“很可能是因为你吧。”罗恩耸耸肩说，仍在吃吃地笑。“说什么哈利·波特出名了什么的，如果我跟我姨妈闹翻了，我也会讨厌看到那部长那样对我。无论如何，你今天晚上可以问我爸，我们今天也会在例格歌注过夜的。因而你明天可以去国王大道十字路口等我们，荷米恩也会去的。”
荷米恩点点头，笑了笑说：“爸爸妈妈明天早上帮我拿东西到霍格瓦彻。”
“太好了。”哈利高兴地说，“那你已经把书和其它的都准备好了吧？”
“看这个。”罗恩说着拉出一个细长的盒子并打开它，“名牌新魔杖，十四寸，用柳枝做的，有一条麒麟毛，我们都买好书了。”他指着桌子下的一个大袋说，“那些妖怪书呢，怎样？那售货员听到我们要两本简直要哭了。”
“荷米恩，那是什么？”哈利指着她凳子下的三个中一个最突出的袋子问。
“嗯，我将要上的科目比你多，对吗？”荷米恩说，“那些是关于数字占卜法，关于魔法动物保护、物品占卜法、古代神秘符号、马格学说等书。”
“你为什么学马格学说呢？”罗恩的眼转向哈利说，“你在马格里长大，你爸妈都是马格人，你已经知道够多的马格的事了。”
“但是从魔法的角度来学习他们是很奇妙的。”荷术恩真诚地说。
“你有为今年吃和往等考虑过吗？”哈利看着罗恩低声问。荷米恩不管他们俩。
“我们有十个帆船市，”她看着钱包说，“我在九日生日，爸妈事先给我钱买生日礼物／‘”好漂亮的书呀。“罗恩天真地说。
“不，我不这么认为。”荷米恩沉着地道，“我真想有一只猫头鹰，我的意思是，哈利有海线而你又有厄罗尔了——”
“我没有。”罗恩说，“厄罗尔是我们家的，我只有斯卡伯斯，”他从衣袋里掏出他的宠物鼠，“而且我想把他检查一下。”他把斯卡伯斯放在他们面前的桌子时加了一句，“我认为埃及不适合他。”
斯卡伯斯看上去瘦了很多，胡须也垂了下来。
“那边有一间魔法动物店。”哈利说，他现在对戴河宫道很熟悉了。“你可以去看看他们怎样检查斯卡伯斯，荷米恩也可以在那儿买一只猎头鹰。”
于是他们付了冰淇淋的钱，穿过马路去那神奇的马纳格娜。
那里的地方不大。几乎每寸墙都挂着一个笼子。这里不但有点具而且又吵，因为笼子里的居住者都在吱吱喳喳地叫，嘎嘎地叫，还有含糊的嘶嘶声。柜台后面的巫婆在给一位巫师介绍怎样养一个两头蛛螺。因此，哈利、罗思和荷米恩只好等着，看着笼子。
一对很大的紫色的蛤蟆在大口大口地喝水，随后又吃死了的绿头大苍蝇，一只巨型的乌龟镶着珠宝的壳在窗边闪闪发亮；一只橙红色的毒蛇慢慢从玻璃槽里探出头来；还有一只肥白的兔子蹦跃不断地跳进那丝绸帽里，发出砰砰的响声。那儿还有各种颜色的猫，一宠很吵的乌鸦。还有一笼蓝颜色的毛茸茸的东西在嗡嗡地响。
在柜台上，一个大的宠子里满是光滑的黑鼠，它们在用尾巴跳跃着玩游戏。
那买两头蝾螈的人走了。罗恩走近柜台。
“这是我的老鼠，”他告诉巫婆，“我把它带到埃及，回来后它的毛颜色变淡了。”
“放它在柜台上。”那巫婆从口袋拿出一幅又重又黑的眼镜。
罗恩从衣袋中掏出斯卡伯斯，并把它放在其它老鼠笼子旁边。
它们停止玩那跳跃游戏，混乱地走在那电线上。
就像罗恩其他几乎所有的东西一样，斯卡伯斯也是二手的，（它以前是罗恩的哥哥伯希的）有点老了，对比起旁边在笼子内的有光泽的老鼠，它看起来特别衰老。
“嗯，”那妇人拿起斯卡伯斯说，“它几岁了？”
“我不知道。”罗恩说，“我想相当大了，它以前是我哥哥的。”
“它有什么能力？”那妇人仔细看着老鼠时间。
“嗯——”罗恩说，实际上斯卡伯斯从来没有显示过它哪方面的能力。那巫婆的眼珠从斯卡伯斯的破了的左耳移到它的前爪，有一只脚趾缺了，在嘘嘘地响。
“这只曾被碾过。”她说。
“伯希给我的时候它就这样了。”罗恩辩护说。
“一只普通的或者是像这只花园内的老鼠一般不能活过三年的。”巫婆说，“现在，你在这找一只健壮的吧，你可能会喜欢它们中的一只……”
她指着那些黑色的老鼠，它们立即又开始跳跃，罗恩咕噜道：“在炫耀她的老鼠。”
“好了，如果你不想买一只代替，你可以让它吃这个老鼠滋补药。”那巫婆边说边伸手到柜台下拿出一瓶红色的药。
“好的。”罗恩说，“要多少钱？”
罗恩看到一只大的红色的东西从最高的袋子飞出，落在他头上然后又跃起来向着斯卡伯斯疯狂地冲过去。
“天啊，不要。”巫婆大喊。但斯卡伯斯像一块肥皂一样从她手中滑落，四肢张开地跌在地板上，然后向门外逃。
“斯卡伯斯！”罗恩大声喊，跟着它冲出商店，哈利紧跟上。
他们花了近十分钟才找到斯卡伯斯，它在快迪斯高质量货品商店的废纸堆里避难，罗恩把颤抖着的老鼠放回衣袋里，站起来，按摩一下它的头。
“那是什么？”
“它是一只非常大的猫，就是一只非常小的老虎。”哈利说。
“荷米恩去哪儿了？”
他们在拥挤的街上向马纳格娜走去，荷米恩出来了，但她并不是买了一只猎头鹰。她怀里紧紧抱着一只很大的姜黄色的猫。
“他很威武，不是吗？”荷米恩高兴地说。
哈利想各人有各人的想法的。那猫姜黄色的毛又厚又松软，但很明显它的眼是弓状的，它的脸奇怪的扁，十分暴躁的样子，好像刚刚头撞到墙上一样，现在斯卡伯斯不见了，那猫在荷米恩的怀里轻轻地噜噜地响。
“荷米恩，那东西刚刚真吓死我了。”罗恩说。
“他不是故意的，是吗？克路殊克？”荷米恩说。
“那斯卡伯斯怎么办？”罗恩指着胸前鼓起来的口袋说，“它需要休息和放松，它怎么跟那东西相处呀？”
“你提醒我了，罗恩，你忘了拿你的老鼠滋补药。”荷米思把那红色的小药瓶放到罗恩手上。
“你不用担心，克路殊克会在我宿舍睡，斯卡伯斯在你那睡，还会有问题吗？
可怜的克路殊克，那巫婆说他已经在那店里很久了，没有人喜欢它。“
“我明白为什么。”罗恩讽刺地说，然后他们向例格歌注走去。
他们发现威斯里先生坐在酒吧里读《先知日报》。
“哈利，”他抬起头微笑说，“你好吗？”
“好，谢谢！”哈利说。他和罗恩、荷米恩纷纷告诉威斯里买东西的事。
威斯里先生放下他的报纸，哈利又看到熟识的西里斯。巴拉克的照片又在盯着他。
“他们还没有捉到他？”他问。
“还没有。”威斯里先生叹气地说，“他们已经要我们停止正常工作去找他，目前为止还是没消息。”
“如果我们抓住他会有奖赏吗？”罗恩问，“最好能够拿到点钱——”
“别瞎说了，罗恩。”威斯里先生说着，面容显得很严厉。“巴拉克不是你们十三岁的小巫师能抓的，阿兹克班的卫士会把他抓回来的。”
这时候，威斯里太太回到酒吧里，手里拿着许多东西。孪生兄弟弗朱德和乔治跟着她，他们就要在霍格瓦彻上五年级了。后面还有刚被选为优秀青年的伯希，还有威斯里最小的、唯一的女儿金妮。
金妮曾跟哈利相处得很开心的。这时见到他显得更难为情了。
可能是因为上个学期在霍格瓦彻他救过她，她脸很红。小声地说声，“你好。”
没有抬头看他。伯希正经地伸出手，好像他们从未见过面般地说：“哈利，很高兴见到你。”
“伯希，你好。”哈利忍着笑说。
“你好吧，我想？”伯希握手时自负地说，好像被当选市长了。
“很好，谢谢。”
“哈利，”弗来德用肘部推开伯希向哈利深深地鞠躬，“小子，见到你太好了。”
“太好了。”乔治推开弗来德到一旁握着哈利的手说，“实在太好了。”
伯希皱皱眉。
“够了吧！”威斯里太太说。
“妈妈！”弗来德好像刚碰见她一样，捉着她的手说，“真的很高兴见到你。”
“我说够了，”威斯里夫人把东西放在一张空凳子上，“亲爱的哈利，你好，你知道我们的好消息了吧？”她指着伯希胸前的优秀青年徽章说，“我们家的第二个优秀青年。”她高兴地嚷道。
“最后一个了。”弗来德咕噜着说。
“我也不怀疑这个。”威斯里突然皱起眉头说，“我想他们俩不可能成为优秀青年的。”
“我们想要的是什么？”乔治对这看法很反感，“我们要活得充实点。”
金妮咯咯地笑。
“你想给你妹妹树下一个好榜样！”威斯里太太大声说。
“妈妈，金妮还有其他哥哥作榜样的。”伯希傲慢地说，“我先换件衣服再来吃饭。”
他出去了，乔治叹了一口气。
“我们想把他关在金字塔里面的。”他告诉哈利，“但被妈妈看到了。”
那晚餐很丰盛，店主汤姆把三张桌子并在一起，让威斯里一家七口，还有哈利和荷米恩可以围坐起来。
“爸爸，我们明天怎么去国王大道十字路口？”弗来德问，一边把可口的巧克力布丁塞到口里。
“部里准备提供五辆车。”威斯里说。
每个人都抬头看着他。
“是吗？”伯希好奇地说。
“那是因为你呀，伯希。”乔治严肃地说，“汽车上还有小旗，小旗上写着‘HB’。”
“是滑稽的大头仔的意思。”弗来德说。
除了伯希和威斯里太太每个人都在津津有味地吃着布丁。
“那为什么部里会为我们准备车呢，爸爸？”伯希又问，用着高贵的语调。
“嗯，因为我们还没有车。”威斯里先生说，“而且我在那工作，他们帮我一个忙。”
他很随便地说，但是哈利注意到威斯里的脸红了，就像罗恩觉得有压力的时候的样子。
“的确好，”威斯里太太伶俐地说，“你知道你们俩要拿多少行李吗？你将会在非魔法界的隧道中显得很搞笑的……那东西都包好了吧？”
“罗恩还没有把他新买的东西放到车厢上，”伯希显得很委屈地说，“他把它们放在我床上。”
“罗恩，你最好去把东西收拾好，因为我们明天也没多少时间了。”威斯里太太离开餐桌。罗恩向伯希皱眉头。
吃过晚餐后，大家都觉得饱了而且很困。一个接一个上楼到自己的房间检查好第二天要拿走的东西。罗恩和伯希在哈利的隔壁房。哈利刚合上皮箱锁就听到墙外传来生气的声音。哈利走去看看是怎么回事。
第十二号房半开着，伯希正在大声喊。
“我刚才在这里，床前桌子旁，我把它拿出来擦擦——”
“听着，我没有碰过它。”罗恩大声顶回去。
“怎么回事？”哈利问。
“是斯卡伯斯的老鼠滋补药。”罗恩说着把皮箱的东西都翻出来找，“我想可能留在酒吧里。”
“你没找到我的徽章的话，不要离开。”伯希嚷着。
“我帮你拿那药，我的东西都收拾好了。”哈利对罗恩说，然后跑下楼。
哈利在去酒吧的路上觉得很累，他听到客厅里传来的另外两个生气的声音，过了一会，他认出是威斯里夫妇的。他犹豫了一会，他不想让他们知道他听到了他们的吵架。他突然听到有人喊他的名字，于是停下来走近客房。
“不应该不告诉他。”威斯里先生气愤地说，“哈利有权利知道，我已经尝试过告诉弗来德，但他坚持说把哈利当孩子看待。他十三岁了，而且——”
“天啊，他会被真相吓倒的。”威斯里太太尖叫说。“难道你真想哈刮回学校时让那事困扰着他？他不知道会快乐一点。”
“我不想让他难过，我想让他警惕起来。”威斯里先生反驳，“你知道罗恩和哈利他们出去玩，两次去了禁林里面，但是哈利今年不能去了，知道那天他从家里出来会有什么危险吗？要不是爵士巴土及时接走他，他在部长找到他之前肯定已经死了。”
“但是他没有死，他还很好，那还为什么——”
“摩莉，他们说西里斯。巴拉克疯了，可能他是。但他还是够聪明从阿兹克班中逃出来，他们都认为是不可能的事，已经三个星期了，人们还不能找到他一条头发，我不在乎弗来德跟《先知日报》怎么说。
我们像不能发明魔杖一样不能找到巴拉克，我们只知道巴拉克要找的是谁——“”但是哈利在霍格瓦彻会很安全的。“
“我们也认为阿兹克班很安全。如果巴拉克能逃出阿兹克班，他也能进入霍格瓦彻。”
“但没有人敢肯定巴拉克正在找哈利。”
那里传来砰的一声，哈利敢肯定威斯里先生的拳头重重打在桌子上。
“摩莉，我告诉你，他们不报导出来是因为法治不想让大家知道。
但是法治在巴拉克逃出来那个晚上去过阿兹克班，那里的卫士告诉法治说巴拉克在睡觉的时候说了好一阵话，总是那句：“他在霍格瓦彻，他在霍格瓦彻……‘巴拉克发狂了。摩莉，他想哈利死，如果你要问我的看法。巴拉克认为杀死哈利，’那个人‘就会复苏的。哈利十二年前击跨了’那个人‘，让他几乎失去了所有的力量，在阿兹克班的十二年中，巴拉克一直在仇恨……”
然后是一阵沉默，哈利更加贴近门，非常渴望多听一些。
“亚瑟，你快忘了艾伯斯。丹伯多了。我认为在霍格瓦彻里没有人可以伤害哈利的，只要丹伯多还是校长的话，他都知道这些吧？”
“他当然知道，我们已请示他是否介意调动阿兹克班的士兵进入学校场地。他不大高兴，但还是同意了。”
“不高兴？他怎么可能还高兴，他们要去那里抓巴拉克呀。”
“丹伯多不大喜欢阿兹克班的士兵。‘城斯里沉沉地说，”我也不喜欢，但在这场合……但你要对付像巴拉克这样的巫师，有时只能跟一些你宁愿不要的部队合作。“”如果他们救了哈利——“
“那我就不再说他们什么了。”威斯里先生疲惫地说，“已经很晚了，摩莉，我们上去吧。”
哈利听到凳子移动的声音。他尽量轻轻地迅速跑向酒巴，在那门前消失。客厅的门开了，几秒后，脚步声告诉他威斯里夫妇上楼去了。
那瓶滋补药就在他们先前坐过的凳子下面。哈利拿着瓶等到威斯里夫妇房间的门关上了，才轻轻上楼。
弗来德和乔治蹲在楼梯平台边听着伯希和罗恩在房间里移动家具找那徽章，他们在偷偷地笑。
“我们拿到手了。”弗来德低声告诉哈利，“我们还改了它。”
现在那徽章上刻着“大头仔”。
哈利勉强笑了笑，走向罗恩递给他那瓶药。然后回到自己房间关上门，躺在床上。
看来西里斯。巴拉克在找他。那可以解释其它的事了，法治对他那么宽容是因为他看到他还活着已经很安慰了。他让哈利承诺他会留在戴阿宫道，那儿有许多魔法师可以照看他。他明天还派两辆车接他们去车站，那样威斯里可以一路上照顾他直到他上了火车。
哈利躺着，听到外面的吵闹声，他自己也奇怪他为什么不觉得怕，西里斯。巴拉克用一条咒语可以杀十三个人，威斯里很明显是担心哈利知道真相后会害怕，但哈利恰好也同意威斯里所说的世界上最安全的地方就是艾伯斯。丹伯多那里，人们不也是总在说丹伯多是福尔得摩特最怕的吗？巴拉克作为福尔得摩特的手下，当然也怕他了。
这时，人们都在谈论这些阿兹克班卫兵。他们似乎毫无意义地恐吓着人们。而且如果他们都驻扎在学校，巴拉克就更不可能到那儿去。
总的来说，最困扰哈利的事就是他去参观霍格马得的机会接近零了。除非巴拉克被抓起来，要不没有人会让哈利离开安全的城堡的。事实上，他的一举一动都被监视着直到危险期过去。
他对着天花板叹了口气。他们都认为他不能照顾好自己吗？他三次从福尔得摩特手中逃生，他并不是没用的。
但在马克来军新月街动物的阴影和那本书封面上的狗掠过他的脑海，“当你知道他要来的时候。你会怎样做……”
“亲爱的。那只是幻觉。”他对着镜子疲惫地说。
收听单词发音 |
1
harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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raucous
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| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
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dwarfs
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| n.侏儒，矮子（dwarf的复数形式）vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的第三人称单数形式） | |
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woolen
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| adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的 | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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parlor
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| n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅 | |
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galleons
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| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
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sickles
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| n.镰刀( sickle的名词复数 ) | |
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vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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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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galaxy
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| n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物) | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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squeaked
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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registration
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| n.登记，注册，挂号 | |
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twig
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| n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解 | |
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pinpoint
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| vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置 | |
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acceleration
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| n.加速，加速度 | |
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apothecary
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| n.药剂师 | |
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replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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divination
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| n.占卜，预测 | |
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slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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poking
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| n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢 | |
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bedlam
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| n.混乱，骚乱；疯人院 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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omens
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| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
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dazedly
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| 头昏眼花地，眼花缭乱地，茫然地 | |
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defiantly
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| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
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ogling
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| v.（向…）抛媚眼，送秋波( ogle的现在分词 ) | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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freckly
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| adj.多雀斑的 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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willow
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| n.柳树 | |
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unicorn
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| n.(传说中的)独角兽 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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droop
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| v.低垂，下垂；凋萎，萎靡 | |
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45
squeaking
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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46
jabbering
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| v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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toads
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 ) | |
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49
gulping
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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snails
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| n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 ) | |
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51
oozing
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的现在分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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52
ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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53
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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54
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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55
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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56
tattered
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| adj.破旧的，衣衫破的 | |
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57
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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58
replacement
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| n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品 | |
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tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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scampered
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| v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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massaging
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| 按摩，推拿( massage的现在分词 ) | |
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ginger
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| n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气 | |
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fluffy
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| adj.有绒毛的，空洞的 | |
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contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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pompously
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| adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样 | |
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scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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corking
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| adj.很好的adv.非常地v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的现在分词 ) | |
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swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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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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hoods
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| n.兜帽( hood的名词复数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩v.兜帽( hood的第三人称单数 )；头巾；（汽车、童车等的）折合式车篷；汽车发动机罩 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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halfway
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| adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途 | |
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shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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knight
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| n.骑士，武士；爵士 | |
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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deranged
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| adj.疯狂的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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dismantling
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| （枪支）分解 | |
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lenient
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| adj.宽大的，仁慈的 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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