Harry had never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks led the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as they descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Sirius. Harry and Hermione brought up the rear.
Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Harry had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.
“You know what this means?” Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. “Turning Pettigrew in?”
“You're free,” said Harry.
“Yes…” said Black. “But I'm also — I don't know if anyone ever told you — I'm your godfather.”
“Yeah, I knew that,” said Harry.
“Well… your parents appointed me your guardian,” said Black stiffly. “If anything happened to them…”
Harry waited. Did Black mean what he thought he meant?
“I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle,” said Black. “But… well… think about it. Once my name's cleared… if you wanted a… a different home…”
Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry's stomach.
“What — live with you?” he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. “Leave the Dursleys?”
“Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to,” said Black quickly. “I understand, I just thought I'd —”
“Are you insane?” said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Black's. “Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?”
Black turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care.
“You want to?” he said. “You mean it?”
“Yeah, I mean it!” said Harry.
Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents’ wedding.
They did not speak again until they had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.
Black saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry and Hermione to pass. At last, all of them were out.
The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off. Pettigrew was still wheezing and occasionally whimpering. Harry's mind was buzzing. He was going to leave the Dursleys. He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents’ best friend…. He felt dazed…. What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television…!
“One wrong move, Peter,” said Lupin threateningly ahead. His wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest.
Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Black, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -
A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party was bathed in moonlight.
Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Black froze. He flung out one arm to make Harry and Hermione stop.
Harry could see Lupin's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.
“Oh, my —” Hermione gasped. “He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!”
“Run,” Black whispered. “Run. Now.”
But Harry couldn't run. Ron was chained to Pettigrew and Lupin. He leapt forward but Black caught him around the chest and threw him back.
“Leave it to me — RUN!”
There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away —
As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's side. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.
Harry stood, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted him —
Pettigrew had dived for Lupin's dropped wand. Ron, unsteady on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light — and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang — Crookshanks flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.
“Expelliarmus.” Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight. “Stay where you are!” Harry shouted, running forward.
Too late. Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.
There was a howl and a rumbling growl; Harry turned to see the werewolf taking flight; it was galloping into the forest —
“Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!” Harry yelled.
Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but at Harry's words he scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.
Harry and Hermione dashed over to Ron.
“What did he do to him?” Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.
“I don't know….”
Harry looked desperately around. Black and Lupin both gone… they had no one but Snape for company, still hanging, unconscious, in midair.
“We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone,” said Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight. “Come —”
But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain….
“Sirius,” Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.
He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black was in trouble —
Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without realizing what it must mean -
The yelping stopped abruptly. As they reached the lakeshore, they saw why — Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.
“Nooo,” he moaned. “Nooo… please….”
And then Harry saw them. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them….
“Hermione, think of something happy!” Harry yelled, raising his wand, blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, shaking his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside it —
I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys.
He forced himself to think of Black, and only Black, and began to chant: “Expecto patronum! Expecto patronum!”
Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.
He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him.
“Expecto patronum! Hermione, help me! Expecto patronum!”
“Expecto —” Hermione whispered, “expecto — expecto —”
But she couldn't do it. The Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. They formed a solid wall around Harry and Hermione, and were getting closer….
“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”
A thin wisp of silver escaped his wand and hovered like mist before him. At the same moment, Harry felt Hermione collapse next to him. He was alone… completely alone….
“Expecto — expecto patronum —”
Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog was clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember — Sirius was innocent — innocent — We'll be okay — I'm going to live with him —
“Expecto patronum!” he gasped.
By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, he saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.
“No — no —” Harry gasped. “He's innocent… expecto expecto patronum —”
He could feet them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands — and lowered its hood.
Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth… a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.
A paralyzing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. His Patronus flickered and died.
White fog was blinding him. He had to fight… expecto patronum… he couldn't see… and in the distance, he heard the familiar screaming… expecto patronum… he groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm… they weren't going to take him….
But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attached themselves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward… He could feel its breath… It was going to get rid of him first… He could feel its putrid breath… His mother was screaming in his ears… She was going to be the last thing he ever heard —
And then, through the fog that was drowning him, he thought he saw a silvery light growing brighter and brighter… He felt himself fall forward onto the grass…. Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes. The Dementor must have released him. The blinding light was illuminating the grass around him…The screaming had stopped, the cold was ebbing away…
Something was driving the Dementors back… It was circling around him and Black and Hermione…. They were leaving….
The air was warm again….
With every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches and saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake… Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what it was… It was as bright as a unicorn… Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched it can'ter to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, somebody welcoming it back… raising his hand to pat it… someone who looked strangely familiar… but it couldn't be…
Harry didn't understand. He couldn't think anymore. He felt the last of his strength leave him, and his head hit the ground as he fainted.
哈利从来都不是这个奇怪的小组的一员。克路殊克带着他们沿楼梯走下去，露平、彼德吉雷还有罗恩紧跟其后，看起来就像是六只胳膊在玩接力赛一样。紧跟其后的是史纳皮教授，令人毛骨悚然的飘着走，下楼时，他是脚趾碰着一个又一个的台阶，被自己的魔杖支配着——西里斯正将魔杖对准着他，哈利和荷米恩在最后面。
重新回到地道是相当困难的，露平、彼德吉雷还有罗恩不得不侧着身走，露平仍然使彼德吉雷处于他的魔杖之下，哈利可以看见他们排成一队笨拙沿着地道的边缘走着。克路殊克仍走在前面，哈利就跟在西里斯后面。西里斯仍然使史纳皮在他们前面飘浮着，他那耷拉着的脑袋不时碰在低矮的天花板上，哈利看到西里斯并没想法去阻止这些。
“你知道这意味着什么吗？”西里斯突然问哈利，当他们在地道里缓慢行进的时候，“使彼德吉雷进入这里？”
“随便。”哈利说。
“好吧……”西里斯说，“但是我也——我也不知道是否有人告诉过你，——我是你的教父。”
“是的，我知道这些。”哈利说。
“好吧……你的父亲想让我做你的监护人，”西里斯局促地说，“如果你们出现什么意外……”
哈利等待着，西里斯要讲的与他所想的是否一样呢？
“当然，我明白，如果你想和你的姨丈、姨妈在一起的话，”西里斯说，“但是……嗯，想一想，一旦我的身份搞清楚了……如果你想有一个、一个不同的家。”
哈利的胃好像要炸开了似的。
“什么——与你住在一起？”他说，不小心将自己的脑袋碰在了地道顶上一个突出的岩石处，“离开杜斯利！”
“当然，我知道你并不想这么做，”西里斯赶快说，“我明白，我只是想……”
“你疯了吗？”哈利说，他的声音几乎与西里斯的一样嘶哑。“当然，我想离开杜斯利！但是你有自己的房子吗？我什么时候可以搬过去？”
西里斯又转向右边望着他，史纳皮的头又开始在地道顶上磕磕碰碰的，但是西里斯似乎并不关心。
“你想去吗？”他说，“我是指你想去吗？”
“是的，我确有此意！”哈利说。
西里斯那骨瘦如柴的脸上第一次出现了哈利所见过的真正的微笑。所展现出来的变化是惊人的，好像是一个年轻了十岁的人正在戴着一个枯瘦的面具欢笑一样。
一刹那之间，他又被看成是那个曾经在哈利的父母的婚礼上嘲笑他们的人了。
在到达地道口之前，他们没有再讲过话。克路殊克第一个冲了出去，很明显它用爪子按了柳树上的那个树结，因为露平，彼德吉雷和罗恩向上攀登的时候，都没有听到树枝的声响。西里斯看着史纳皮从洞口爬了上去，然后，站在一边等哈利和荷米恩先过去。最后，所有的人都出了地洞。
这个时候，地面上相当的黑，只有一束从远处城堡的窗户中射出的光。没有一句话，他们开始前进了。彼德吉雷仍然在大声地喘着气，偶发出一两声呜咽声。哈利的脑袋里乱成一团精，他将要离开杜斯利了，他将要与西里斯。巴拉克在一起，他父亲最好的朋友……他感到有些头晕……当他告诉若干杜斯利夫妇他将与他们在电视上看见过的罪犯一起生活时，会发生些什么呢！
“一着错棋，彼得。”露平在前面威胁着说。他的魔杖仍然指向一旁的彼德吉雷，对准他的胸部。
他们静静地穿过了空地，城堡透出的灯光慢慢地变亮了。史纳皮仍然在西里斯之前飘浮而行，他的下巴垂在胸前。然后——黑云飘了过去，地上有一些阴暗的影子，这一伙人沐浴在月光之下。史纳皮与露平、彼德吉雷还有罗恩撞成了一团，当露平突然停住的时候。西里斯僵住了，他挥了挥手臂让哈利和荷米恩停了下来。
哈利可以看到露平那黑色的轮廓，他顿时僵住了。然后，他的四肢开始发抖。
“哦，我的天呀……”荷米恩剧烈的喘息着，“今晚他忘记了带上药水，他并不安全。”
“快跑，”西里斯低声说，“马上！快跑！”
但是哈利不能跑。罗恩与彼德吉雷还有露平绑在了一起。他向前跑去，但是西里斯抓住了他的手腕，把他扔了回去。
“交给我来处理——快跑。”
这时有一阵恐怖咆哮声发出。露平的头正在逐渐地伸长，他的肩膀抱成一团，可以看得见他的脸上和手上开始长毛，他的双手变成了错缩着的爪子。克路殊克背上的毛又一次竖了起来，它开始向后退。
人狼抬起了头，它舔着自己的长嘴巴。西里斯从哈利的身边消失了，他开始变形了。一只巨大的，形如熊般的狗向前走去。当人狼挣脱了铐着他的手铐时，西里斯咬住了它的脖子并开始向后拉它，离开了罗恩和彼德吉雷。它们绞在了一起，嘴咬着嘴，爪子撕扯着对方——哈利站了起来，被这副景象给吸引住了，他过于专注而忘记了去注意其它的一切，荷米恩的尖叫声惊醒了他。彼德吉雷向露平扔下的魔杖冲去。罗恩无法借助绑了绷带的腿站稳，跌倒在地，“嘣”的一声一束光闪过——罗恩躺在地上失去了知觉。又是一声，克路殊克飞向天空，又落回地面。
“伊斯彼特华朗！”哈利喊到，将自己的魔杖对准了彼德吉雷，露平的手杖飞入空中消失于视线之外。“站在那里，不许动！”哈利嚷道，向前跑去。
太晚了，彼德吉雷已经开始变形了。哈利看见他那光秃秃的尾巴从系在罗恩手臂上的手铐中滑出。接着，草地里传出一阵悉悉索索的声音。
一阵曝叫与低声的咆哮传了出来，哈利看到露平飞了起来，然后飞奔着跑进森林里。
“西里斯，彼德吉雷变形逃走了！”哈利叫道。
西里斯正在流着血，他的嘴上和背上都布满伤痕。但是一听到哈利的话，他就又重新振作起来，只一会儿，他的爪子弄出的声音就随他的远去而消失了。
哈利和荷米恩向罗恩冲去。
“他对他做了什么？”荷米恩喃喃自语道。罗恩的眼睛只是半闭着，他的嘴微张着。他肯定还活着，他们可以听到他的呼吸声，但是他却不认得他们了。
“我不知道。”
哈利殷切的望了望四周。巴拉克和露平都离开了……只剩下史纳皮与他们在一起，仍然无知觉地悬在半空中。
“我们最好将他们带回城堡，并将这件事告诉别人。”哈利说，地拨了拨掉在眼前的头发，正要继续说下去“过来——”
但是这时，他听到一只狗在黑暗中痛苦的哭叫着……
“是西里斯。”哈利喃喃道，并望向了黑暗之中。
他一时拿不定主意，但是目前他们面对罗恩束手无策，而且听这声音，巴拉克肯定是遇上了麻烦——哈利开始狂奔起来，荷米恩紧紧地跟在他身后。这叫声似乎是从湖边传来的，他们一起向那里冲去。哈利跑得快要飞起来了，他感觉到冷意，但不知为什么。
叫喊声突然停了下来。当他们到达湖边时，他们终于找到了原因——西里斯已经变回人形，趴在地上，双手盖在头上。
“不要……”他呻吟着，“不要……”
然后哈利看到了他们，得蒙特，至少有一百多个。黑黑的一群在湖面上滑翔。
他吃惊地看向四周，那股熟悉的、冰凉的寒流侵入到他的体内，雾使他的视力开始变得模糊，越来越多的得蒙特从黑暗中涌出，出现在他们四周，他们被包围了……
“荷米恩，想一些愉快的事！”哈利喊道，他举起了魔杖，气愤地眨着眼试图恢复视力，摇着头以图摆脱起先进入他心中的微弱的尖叫声。
“我要与我的教父在一起，我要离开杜斯利夫妇。”他迫使自己去想西里斯，并且只想他，他开始唱圣歌：“伊斯彼特华朗！伊斯彼特华朗！”
“伊斯——”荷米恩喃喃道，“伊斯——伊斯——”
但是她做不到。得蒙特越来越近，离他们只有十英尺了。他们在哈利和荷米恩的周围形成了一道坚固的墙，而且离得越来越近“伊斯彼特华朗，”哈利叫喊着，试图将那些尖叫声从耳边赶走，“伊斯彼特华朗。”
一缕细细的银光从哈利的手杖射出，并像薄雾一样在他面前盘旋。与此同时，哈利听到荷米恩倒在了他身旁。现在他是孤身一人，地地道道的孤身一人了。
“伊斯——伊斯彼特华朗！”
哈利跪在了冰冷的草地上，雾像云似的迷糊了他的双眼。用尽全力，他努力记起——西里斯是无辜的——无辜的——我们都会没事的——我要与他住在一起。
“伊斯彼特华朗！”他喘着粗气说。
借助无形的吧卓泥斯发出的光，他看到一只得蒙特停了下来，离他相当的近。
它无法穿过哈利施魔法产生的银白色的薄雾。一只死气沉沉，薄如蝉翼的手从斗篷下面伸出。它做了一个手势好像是要将吧卓泥斯驱走似的。
“不要——不要——”哈利喘着气说，“他是无辜的——伊斯彼特华朗——”
他可以感觉到他们在盯着他，可以听到他们那尖利的呼吸声如同一股邪风一样包围着他。最近的得蒙特好像正在啄磨他，然后他举起了那双腐烂的手——拉下了他的头罩。
在应该长着眼睛的地方，只有一层灰色的，结了痴的薄薄的皮，糊住了空空的眼窝。不过，这里有一张嘴，一个长满牙齿，毫无形状的洞，伴随着充满死亡的尖叫声，抽吸着空气。
哈利被一种令人瘫痪的恐惧包围着，以至于他无法动弹，也无法讲话。他的吧卓泥斯逐渐地削弱并消失了。白雾使他看不见东西，他不得不挣扎着，伊斯彼特华朗，他看不见远处的东西。他可以听见那种熟悉的尖叫声……伊斯彼特华朗……他在薄雾中摸索着寻找西里斯并且抓住了他的手臂……他们不会带走他的……
但是，突然之间，一双有力的，笨拙的手绕在了哈利的脖了上面，迫使他的脸向上……他可以感到那阵呼吸，他会先要了他的命，那是一种充满腐烂气味的呼吸……他的母亲在他的耳边尖叫……这是他听到的最后的声音。
然后，他被浓雾淹没了，他似乎看到了银色的光变得越来越亮……他觉得自己向前摔到了草地上——脸向下，过于虚弱而无法动弹，恶心并颤抖着，哈利睁开了他的双眼，刺眼的光芒照亮了他身边的草地。尖叫声已经停止了，冷意也已经消散了。
不知是什么将得蒙特召了回去……它们曾经包围了他、荷米恩和西里斯。得蒙特所发出的那些刺耳的、吮吸的声音消失了，他们已经离开了，空气又变得温暖了。
用尽所有他可以聚集的力量，哈利将头抬起了几英寸，看见了一只动物在薄雾之中。穿过湖的上空飞驰而去。哈利想看清那是什么，但是汗水模糊了他的双眼…
…它如同独角兽一样，明亮，努力保
持着清醒，哈利看到它小跑着到达对岸停了下来。这一刻，借着光亮，哈利看到有人正在欢迎它的回归……举起他的手抚摸着它……
那个人看起来令人奇怪但又很熟悉……但是那不可能是……
哈利无法明白这一切，他再也想不下去了。他感觉到失去了最后一丝力气，他的头垂了下来，再次晕了过去。
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