Harry1 spent a lot of the last week of the holidays pondering the meaning of Malfoy's behavior in Knockturn Alley2. What disturbed him most was the satisfied look on
Malfoy's face as he had left the shop. Nothing that made Malfoy look that happy could be good news. To his slight annoyance3, however, neither Ron nor Hermione seemed
quite as curious about Malfoy's activities as he was; or at least, they seemed to get bored of discussing it after a few days.
“Yes, I've already agreed it was fishy4, Harry,” said Hermione a little impatiently. She was sitting on the windowsill in Fred and George's room with her feet up on
one of the cardboard boxes and had only grudgingly5 looked up from her new copy of Advanced Rune Translation. “But haven't we agreed there could be a lot of
explanations?”
“Maybe he's broken his Hand of Glory,” said Ron vaguely6, as he attempted to straighten his broomstick's bent7 tail twigs8. “Remember that shriveled-up arm Malfoy had?
”
“But what about when he said, ‘Don't forget to keep that one safe'?” asked Harry for the umpteenth9 time. “That sounded to me like Borgin's got another one of the
broken objects, and Malfoy wants both.”
“You reckon?” said Ron, now trying to scrape some dirt off his broom handle.
“Yeah, I do,” said Harry. When neither Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, “Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think Malfoy'd like revenge?”
Ron looked up, blinking.
“Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?”
“That's my point, I don't know!” said Harry, frustrated10. “But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and—”
Harry broke off, his eyes fixed11 on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him.
“Harry?” said Hermione in an anxious voice. “What's wrong?”
“Your scar's not hurting again, is it?” asked Ron nervously12.
“He's a Death Eater,” said Harry slowly. “He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!”
There was a silence; then Ron erupted in laughter. “Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?”
“It seems very unlikely, Harry,” said Hermione in a repressive sort of voice. “What makes you think—?”
“In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded
with the Dark Mark.”
Ron and Hermione looked at each other.
“Well...” said Ron, sounding thoroughly15 unconvinced.
“I think he just wanted to get out of there, Harry,” said Hermione.
“He showed Borgin something we couldn't see,” Harry pressed on stubbornly. “Something that seriously scared Borgin. It was the Mark, I know it—he was showing Borgin
who he was dealing16 with, you saw how seriously Borgin took him!”
Ron and Hermione exchanged another look.
“I'm not sure, Harry...”
“Yeah, I still don't reckon You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join...”
Annoyed, but absolutely convinced he was right, Harry snatched up a pile of filthy17 Quidditch robes and left the room; Mrs. Weasley had been urging them for days not to
leave their washing and packing until the last moment. On the landing he bumped into Ginny, who was returning to her room carrying a pile of freshly laundered18 clothes.
“I wouldn't go in the kitchen just now,” she warned him. “There's a lot of Phlegm around.”
“I'll be careful not to slip in it.” Harry smiled.
Sure enough, when he entered the kitchen it was to find Fleur sitting at the kitchen table, in full flow about plans for her wedding to Bill, while Mrs. Weasley kept
watch over a pile of self-peeling sprouts19, looking bad-tempered20.
“... Bill and I ‘ave almost decided21 on only two bridesmaids, Ginny and Gabrielle will look very sweet togezzer. I am theenking of dressing22 zem in pale gold—pink
would of course be ‘orrible with Ginny's ‘air—”
“Ah, Harry!” said Mrs. Weasley loudly, cutting across Fleur's monologue23. “Good, I wanted to explain about the security arrangements for the journey to Hogwarts
tomorrow. We've got Ministry24 cars again, and there will be Aurors waiting at the station—”
“Is Tonks going to be there?” asked Harry, handing over his Quidditch things.
“No, I don't think so, she's been stationed somewhere else from what Arthur said.”
“She has let ‘erself go, zat Tonks,” Fleur mused25, examining her own stunning26 reflection in the back of a teaspoon27. “A big mistake if you ask—”
“Yes, thank you,” said Mrs. Weasley tartly28, cutting across Fleur again. “You'd better get on, Harry, I want the trunks ready tonight, if possible, so we don't have
the usual last-minute scramble29.”
And in fact, their departure the following morning was smoother than usual. The Ministry cars glided30 up to the front of the Burrow31 to find them waiting, trunks packed;
Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, safely enclosed in his traveling basket; and Hedwig; Ron's owl13, Pigwidgeon; and Ginny's new purple Pygmy Puff32, Arnold, in cages.
“Au revoir, ‘Arry,” said Fleur throatily, kissing him goodbye. Ron hurried forward, looking hopeful, but Ginny stuck out her foot and Ron fell, sprawling33 in the dust
at Fleur's feet. Furious, red-faced, and dirt-spattered, he hurried into the car without saying goodbye.
There was no cheerful Hagrid waiting for them at King's Cross Station. Instead, two grim-faced, bearded Aurors in dark Muggle suits moved forward the moment the cars
stopped and, flanking the party, marched them into the station without speaking.
“Quick, quick, through the barrier,” said Mrs. Weasley, who seemed a little flustered34 by this austere35 efficiency. “Harry had better go first, with—”
She looked inquiringly at one of the Aurors, who nodded briefly36, seized Harry's upper arm, and attempted to steer37 him toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten.
“I can walk, thanks,” said Harry irritably38, jerking his arm out of the Auror's grip. He pushed his trolley39 directly at the solid barrier, ignoring his silent
companion, and found himself, a second later, standing40 on platform nine and three-quarters, where the scarlet41 Hogwarts Express stood belching42 steam over the crowd.
Hermione and the Weasleys joined him within seconds. Without waiting to consult his grim-faced Auror, Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione to follow him up the platform,
looking for an empty compartment43.
“We can't, Harry,” said Hermione, looking apologetic. “Ron and I've got to go to the prefects’ carriage first and then patrol the corridors for a bit.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” said Harry.
“You'd better get straight on the train, all of you, you've only got a few minutes to go,” said Mrs. Weasley, consulting her watch. “Well, have a lovely term, Ron...
”
“Mr. Weasley, can I have a quick word?” said Harry, making up his mind on the spur of the moment.
“Of course,” said Mr. Weasley, who looked slightly surprised, but followed Harry out of earshot of the others nevertheless.
Harry had thought it through carefully and come to the conclusion that, if he was to tell anyone, Mr. Weasley was the right person; firstly, because he worked at the
Ministry and was therefore in the best position to make further investigations45, and secondly46, because he thought that there was not too much risk of Mr. Weasley
exploding with anger.
He could see Mrs. Weasley and the grim-faced Auror casting the pair of them suspicious looks as they moved away.
“When we were in Diagon Alley,” Harry began, but Mr. Weasley forestalled47 him with a grimace48.
“Am I about to discover where you, Ron, and Hermione disappeared to while you were supposed to be in the back room of Fred and George's shop?”
“How did you—?”
“Harry, please. You're talking to the man who raised Fred and George.”
“Er... yeah, all right, we weren't in the back room.”
“Very well, then, let's hear the worst.”
“Well, we followed Draco Malfoy. We used my Invisibility Cloak.”
“Did you have any particular reason for doing so, or was it a mere49 whim50?”
“Because I thought Malfoy was up to something,” said Harry, disregarding Mr. Weasley's look of mingled51 exasperation52 and amusement. “He'd given his mother the slip
and I wanted to know why.”
“Of course you did,” said Mr. Weasley, sounding resigned. “Well? Did you find out why?”
“He went into Borgin and Burkes,” said Harry, “and started bullying53 the bloke in there, Borgin, to help him fix something. And he said he wanted Borgin to keep
something else for him. He made it sound like it was the same kind of thing that needed fixing. Like they were a pair. And...”
Harry took a deep breath.
“There's something else. We saw Malfoy jump about a mile when Madam Malkin tried to touch his left arm. I think he's been branded with the Dark Mark. I think he's
replaced his father as a Death Eater.”
Mr. Weasley looked taken aback. After a moment he said, “Harry, I doubt whether You-Know-Who would allow a sixteen-year-old—”
“Does anyone really know what You-Know-Who would or wouldn't do?” asked Harry angrily. “Mr. Weasley, I'm sorry, but isn't it worth investigating? If Malfoy wants
something fixing, and he needs to threaten Borgin to get it done, it's probably something Dark or dangerous, isn't it?”
“I doubt it, to be honest, Harry,” said Mr. Weasley slowly. “You see, when Lucius Malfoy was arrested, we raided his house. We took away everything that might have
been dangerous.”
“I think you missed something,” said Harry stubbornly.
“Well, maybe,” said Mr. Weasley, but Harry could tell that Mr. Weasley was humoring him.
There was a whistle behind them; nearly everyone had boarded the train and the doors were closing.
“You'd better hurry!” said Mr. Weasley, as Mrs. Weasley cried, “Harry, quickly!”
He hurried forward and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley helped him load his trunk onto the train.
“Now, dear, you're coming to us for Christmas, it's all fixed with Dumbledore, so we'll see you quite soon,” said Mrs. Weasley through the window, as Harry slammed
the door shut behind him and the train began to move. “You make sure you look after yourself and—”
The train was gathering54 speed.
“—be good and—” She was jogging to keep up now.
“—stay safe!”
Harry waved until the train had turned a corner and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were lost to view, then turned to see where the others had got to. He supposed Ron and Hermione
were cloistered55 in the prefects’ carriage, but Ginny was a little way along the corridor, chatting to some friends. He made his way toward her, dragging his trunk.
People stared shamelessly as he approached. They even pressed their faces against the windows of their compartments56 to get a look at him. He had expected an upswing in
the amount of gaping57 and gawping he would have to endure this term after all the “Chosen One” rumors58 in the Daily Prophet, but he did not enjoy the sensation of
standing in a very bright spotlight59. He tapped Ginny on the shoulder.
“Fancy trying to find a compartment?”
“I can't, Harry, I said I'd meet Dean,” said Ginny brightly. “See you later.”
“Right,” said Harry. He felt a strange twinge of annoyance as she walked away, her long red hair dancing behind her; he had become so used to her presence over the
summer that he had almost forgotten that Ginny did not hang around with him, Ron, and Hermione while at school. Then he blinked and looked around: he was surrounded by
mesmerized60 girls.
“Hi, Harry!” said a familiar voice from behind him.
“Neville!” said Harry in relief, turning to see a round-faced boy struggling toward him.
“Hello, Harry,” said a girl with long hair and large misty61 eyes, who was just behind Neville.
“Luna, hi, how are you?”
“Very well, thank you,” said Luna. She was clutching a magazine to her chest; large letters on the front announced that there was a pair of free Spectrespecs inside.
“The Quibbler still going strong, then?” asked Harry, who felt a certain fondness for the magazine, having given it an exclusive interview the previous year.
“Oh yes, circulation's well up,” said Luna happily.
“Let's find seats,” said Harry, and the three of them set off along the train through hordes62 of silently staring students. At last they found an empty compartment,
and Harry hurried inside gratefully.
“They're even staring at us,” said Neville, indicating himself and Luna. “Because we're with you!”
“They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry too,” said Harry, as he hoisted63 his trunk into the luggage rack. “Our little adventure there was all over
the Daily Prophet, you must've seen it.”
“Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity,” said Neville, “but she was really pleased. Says I'm starting to live up to my dad at long last. She
bought me a new wand, look!”
He pulled it out and showed it to Harry.
“Cherry and unicorn64 hair,” he said proudly. “We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day—oi, come back here, Trevor!”
And he dived under the seat to retrieve65 his toad66 as it made one of its frequent bids for freedom.
“Are we still doing D.A. meetings this year, Harry?” asked Luna, who was detaching a pair of psychedelic spectacles from the middle of The Quibbler.
“No point now we've got rid of Umbridge, is there?” said Harry, sitting down. Neville bumped his head against the seat as he emerged from under it. He looked most
disappointed.
“I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!”
“I enjoyed the meetings too,” said Luna serenely68. “It was like having friends.”
This was one of those uncomfortable things Luna often said and which made Harry feel a squirming mixture of pity and embarrassment69. Before he could respond, however,
there was a disturbance70 outside their compartment door; a group of fourth-year girls was whispering and giggling71 together on the other side of the glass.
“You ask him!”
No, you!
“I'll do it!”
And one of them, a bold-looking girl with large dark eyes, a prominent chin, and long black hair pushed her way through the door.
“Hi, Harry, I'm Romilda, Romilda Vane,” she said loudly and confidently. “Why don't you join us in our compartment? You don't have to sit with them,” she added in a
stage whisper, indicating Neville's bottom, which was sticking out from under the seat again as he groped around for Trevor, and Luna, who was now wearing her free
Spectrespecs, which gave her the look of a demented, multicolored owl.
“They're friends of mine,” said Harry coldly.
“Oh,” said the girl, looking very surprised. “Oh. Okay.”
And she withdrew, sliding the door closed behind her.
“People expect you to have cooler friends than us,” said Luna, once again displaying her knack72 for embarrassing honesty.
“You are cool,” said Harry shortly. “None of them was at the Ministry. They didn't fight with me.”
“That's a very nice thing to say,” beamed Luna. Then she pushed her Spectrespecs farther up her nose and settled down to read The Quibbler.
“We didn't face him, though,” said Neville, emerging from under the seat with fluff and dust in his hair and a resigned-looking Trevor in his hand. “You did. You
should hear my gran talk about you. ‘That Harry Potter's got more backbone73 than the whole Ministry of Magic put together!’ She'd give anything to have you as a
grandson...”
Harry laughed uncomfortably and changed the subject to O.W.L. results as soon as he could. While Neville recited his grades and wondered aloud whether he would be
allowed to take a Transfiguration N.E.W.T., with only an “Acceptable,” Harry watched him without really listening.
Neville's childhood had been blighted74 by Voldemort just as much as Harry's had, but Neville had no idea how close he had come to having Harry's destiny. The prophecy
could have referred to either of them, yet, for his own inscrutable reasons, Voldemort had chosen to believe that Harry was the one meant.
Had Voldemort chosen Neville, it would be Neville sitting opposite Harry bearing the lightning-shaped scar and the weight of the prophecy... or would it? Would
Neville's mother have died to save him, as Lily had died for Harry? Surely she would... but what if she had been unable to stand between her son and Voldemort? Would
there then have been no ‘Chosen One’ at all? An empty seat where Neville now sat and a scarless Harry who would have been kissed goodbye by his own mother, not Ron's?
“You all right, Harry? You look funny,” said Neville.
Harry started.
“Sorry—I—”
“Wrackspurt got you?” asked Luna sympathetically, peering at Harry through her enormous colored spectacles.
“I—what?”
“A Wrackspurt... They're invisible. They float in through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy,” she said. “I thought I felt one zooming75 around in here.”
She flapped her hands at thin air, as though beating off large invisible moths76. Harry and Neville caught each other's eyes and hastily began to talk of Quidditch.
The weather beyond the train windows was as patchy as it had been all summer; they passed through stretches of the chilling mist, then out into weak, clear sunlight. It
was during one of the clear spells, when the sun was visible almost directly overhead, that Ron and Hermione entered the compartment at last.
“Wish the lunch trolley would hurry up, I'm starving,” said Ron longingly77, slumping78 into the seat beside Harry and rubbing his stomach. “Hi, Neville. Hi, Luna. Guess
what?” he added, turning to Harry. “Malfoy's not doing prefect duty. He's just sitting in his compartment with the other Slytherins, we saw him when we passed.”
Harry sat up straight, interested. It was not like Malfoy to pass up the chance to demonstrate his power as prefect, which he had happily abused all the previous year.
“What did he do when he saw you?”
“The usual,” said Ron indifferently, demonstrating a rude hand gesture. “Not like him, though, is it? Well... that is"—he did the hand gesture again—"but why isn't
he out there bullying first years?”
“Dunno,” said Harry, but his mind was racing79. Didn't this look as though Malfoy had more important things on his mind than bullying younger students?
“Maybe he preferred the Inquisitorial Squad,” said Hermione. “Maybe being a prefect seems a bit tame after that.”
“I don't think so,” said Harry. “I think he's—”
But before he could expound80 on his theory, the compartment door slid open again and a breathless third-year girl stepped inside.
“I'm supposed to deliver these to Neville Longbottom and Harry P-Potter,” she faltered81, as her eyes met Harry's and she turned scarlet. She was holding out two
scrolls82 of parchment tied with violet ribbon. Perplexed84, Harry and Neville took the scroll83 addressed to each of them and the girl stumbled back out of the compartment.
“What is it?” Ron demanded, as Harry unrolled his.
“An invitation,” said Harry.
Harry,
I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C.
Sincerely, Professor H.E.F. Slughorn
“Who's Professor Slughorn?” asked Neville, looked perplexedly at his own invitation.
“New teacher,” said Harry. “Well, I suppose we'll have to go, won't we?”
“But what does he want me for?” asked Neville nervously, as though he was expecting detention85.
“No idea,” said Harry, which was not entirely86 true, though he had no proof yet that his hunch87 was correct. “Listen,” he added, seized by a sudden brain wave,
“let's go under the Invisibility Cloak, then we might get a good look at Malfoy on the way, see what he's up to.”
This idea, however, came to nothing: the corridors, which were packed with people on the lookout88 for the lunch trolley, were impossible to negotiate while wearing the
cloak. Harry stowed it regretfully back in his bag, reflecting that it would have been nice to wear it just to avoid all the staring, which seemed to have increased in
intensity89 even since he had last walked down the train. Every now and then, students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception
was Cho Chang, who darted90 into her compartment when she saw Harry coming. As Harry passed the window, he saw her deep in determined91 conversation with her friend
Marietta, who was wearing a very thick layer of makeup92 that did not entirely obscure the odd formation of pimples93 still etched across her face. Smirking95 slightly, Harry
pushed on.
When they reached compartment C, they saw at once that they were not Slughorn's only invitees, although judging by the enthusiasm of Slughorn's welcome, Harry was the
most warmly anticipated.
“Harry, m'boy!” said Slughorn, jumping up at the sight of him so that his great velvet-covered belly96 seemed to fill all the remaining space in the compartment. His
shiny bald head and great silvery mustache gleamed as brightly in the sunlight as the golden buttons on his waistcoat. “Good to see you, good to see you! And you must
be Mr. Longbottom!”
Neville nodded, looking scared. At a gesture from Slughorn, they sat down opposite each other in the only two empty seats, which were nearest the door. Harry glanced
around at their fellow guests. He recognized a Slytherin from their year, a tall black boy with high cheekbones and long, slanting97 eyes; there were also two seventh-
year boys Harry did not know and, squashed in the corner beside Slughorn and looking as though she was not entirely sure how she had got there, Ginny.
“Now, do you know everyone?” Slughorn asked Harry and Neville. “Blaise Zabini is in your year, of course—”
Zabini did not make any sign of recognition or greeting, nor did Harry or Neville: Gryffindor and Slytherin students loathed98 each other on principle.
“This is Cormac McLaggen, perhaps you've come across each other—? No?”
McLaggen, a large, wiry-haired youth, raised a hand, and Harry and Neville nodded back at him.
“—and this is Marcus Belby, I don't know whether—?”
Belby, who was thin and nervous-looking, gave a strained smile.
“—and this charming young lady tells me she knows you!” Slughorn finished.
Ginny grimaced99 at Harry and Neville from behind Slughorn's back.
“Well now, this is most pleasant,” said Slughorn cozily. “A chance to get to know you all a little better. Here, take a napkin. I've packed my own lunch; the
trolley, as I remember it, is heavy on Licorice Wands, and a poor old man's digestive system isn't quite up to such things... Pheasant, Belby?”
Belby started, and accepted what looked like half a cold pheasant.
“I was just telling young Marcus here that I had the pleasure of teaching his Uncle Damocles,” Slughorn told Harry and Neville, now passing around a basket of rolls.
“Outstanding wizard, outstanding, and his Order of Merlin most well-deserved. Do you see much of your uncle, Marcus?”
Unfortunately, Beiby had just taken a large mouthful of pheasant; in his haste to answer Slughorn he swallowed too fast, turned purple, and began to choke.
“Anapneo,” said Slughorn calmly, pointing his wand at Belby, whose airway100 seemed to clear at once.
“Not... not much of him, no,” gasped102 Belby, his eyes streaming.
“Well, of course, I daresay he's busy,” said Slughorn, looking questioningly at Belby. “I doubt he invented the Wolfsbane Potion without considerable hard work!”
“I suppose...” said Belby, who seemed afraid to take another bite of pheasant until he was sure that Slughorn had finished with him. “Er... he and my dad don't get
on very well, you see, so I don't really know much about...”
His voice tailed away as Slughorn gave him a cold smile and turned to McLaggen instead.
“Now, you, Cormac,” said Slughorn, “I happen to know you see a lot of your Uncle Tiberius, because he has a rather splendid picture of the two of you hunting
Nogtails in, I think, Norfolk?”
“Oh, yeah, that was fun, that was,” said McLaggen. “We went with Bertie Higgs and Rufus Scrimgeour—this was before he became Minister, obviously—”
“Ah, you know Bertie and Rufus too?” beamed Slughorn, now offering around a small tray of pies; somehow, Belby was missed out. “Now tell me...”
It was as Harry had suspected. Everyone here seemed to have been invited because they were connected to somebody well-known or influential103... everyone except Ginny.
Zabini, who was interrogated104 after McLaggen, turned out to have a famously beautiful witch for a mother (from what Harry could make out, she had been married seven
times, each of her husbands dying mysteriously and leaving her mounds105 of gold). It was Neville's turn next: this was a very uncomfortable ten minutes, for Neville's
parents, well-known Aurors, had been tortured into insanity106 by Bellatrix Lestrange and a couple of Death Eater cronies. At the end of Neville's interview, Harry had the
impression that Slughorn was reserving judgment107 on Neville, yet to see whether he had any of his parents’ flair108.
“And now,” said Slughorn, shifting massively in his seat with the air of a compere109 introducing his star act. “Harry Potter! Where to begin? I feel I barely scratched
the surface when we met over the summer!”
He contemplated110 Harry for a moment as though he was a particularly large and succulent piece of pheasant, then said, “'The Chosen One,’ they're calling you now!”
Harry said nothing. Belby, McLaggen, and Zabini were all staring at him.
“Of course,” said Slughorn, watching Harry closely, “there have been rumors for years... I remember when—well—after that terrible night—Lily—James—and you
survived—and the word was that you must have powers beyond the ordinary—”
Zabini gave a tiny little cough that was clearly supposed to indicate amused skepticism. An angry voice burst out from behind Slughorn.
“Yeah, Zabini, because you're so talented... at posing...”
“Oh dear!” chuckled111 Slughorn comfortably, looking around at Ginny, who was glaring at Zabini around Slughorn's great belly. “You want to be careful, Blaise! I saw
this young lady perform the most marvelous Bat-Bogey Hex as I was passing her carriage! I wouldn't cross her!”
Zabini merely looked contemptuous.
“Anyway,” said Slughorn, turning back to Harry. “Such rumors this summer. Of course, one doesn't know what to believe, the Prophet has been known to print
inaccuracies, make mistakes... but there seems little doubt, given the number of witnesses, that there was quite a disturbance at the Ministry and that you were there
in the thick of it all!”
Harry, who could not see any way out of this without flatly lying, nodded but still said nothing. Slughorn beamed at him.
“So modest, so modest, no wonder Dumbledore is so fond—you were there, then? But the rest of the stories—so sensational112, of course, one doesn't know quite what to
believe—this fabled113 prophecy, for instance—”
“We never heard a prophecy,” said Neville, turning geranium pink as he said it.
“That's right,” said Ginny staunchly. “Neville and I were both there too, and all this ‘Chosen One’ rubbish is just the Prophet making things up as usual.”
“You were both there too, were you?” said Slughorn with great interest, looking from Ginny to Neville, but both of them sat clam-like before his encouraging smile. “
Yes... well... it is true that the Prophet often exaggerates, of course...” Slughorn said, sounding a little disappointed. “I remember dear Gwenog telling me (Gwenog
Jones, I mean, of course, Captain of the Holyhead Harpies)—”
He meandered114 off into a long-winded reminiscence, but Harry had the distinct impression that Slughorn had not finished with him, and that he had not been convinced by
Neville and Ginny.
The afternoon wore on with more anecdotes115 about illustrious wizards Slughorn had taught, all of whom had been delighted to join what he called the “Slug Club” at
Hogwarts. Harry could not wait to leave, but couldn't see how to do so politely. Finally the train emerged from yet another long misty stretch into a red sunset, and
Slughorn looked around, blinking in the twilight116.
“Good gracious, it's getting dark already! I didn't notice that they'd lit the lamps! You'd better go and change into your robes, all of you. McLaggen, you must drop
by and borrow that book on Nogtails. Harry, Blaise... any time you're passing. Same goes for you, miss,” he twinkled at Ginny. “Well, off you go, off you go!”
As he pushed past Harry into the darkening corridor, Zabini shot him a filthy look that Harry returned with interest. He, Ginny, and Neville followed Zabini back along
the train.
“I'm glad that's over,” muttered Neville. “Strange man, isn't he?”
“Yeah, he is a bit,” said Harry, his eyes on Zabini. “How come you ended up in there, Ginny?”
“He saw me hex Zacharias Smith,” said Ginny. “You remember that idiot from Hufflepuff who was in the D.A.? He kept on and on asking about what happened at the
Ministry and in the end he annoyed me so much I hexed him—when Slughorn came in I thought I was going to got detention, but he just thought it was a really good hex
and invited me to lunch! Mad, eh?”
“Better reason for inviting117 someone than because their mother's famous,” said Harry, scowling118 at the back of Zabini's head, “or because their uncle... ”
But he broke off. An idea had just occurred to him, a reckless but potentially wonderful idea... In a minute's time, Zabini was going to re-enter the Slytherin sixth-
year compartment and Malfoy would be sitting there, thinking himself unheard by anybody except fellow Slytherins... If Harry could only enter, unseen, behind him, what
might he not see or hear? True, there was little of the journey left—Hogsmeade Station had to be less than half an hour away, judging by the wildness of the scenery
flashing by the windows—but nobody else seemed prepared to take Harry's suspicions seriously, so it was down to him to prove them.
“I'll see you two later,” said Harry under his breath, pulling out his Invisibility Cloak and flinging it over himself.
“But what're you—?” asked Neville.
“Later!” whispered Harry, darting119 after Zabini as quietly as possible, though the rattling120 of the train made such caution almost pointless.
The corridors were almost completely empty now. Nearly everyone had returned to their carriages to change into their school robes and pack up their possessions. Though
he was as close as he could get to Zabini without touching121 him, Harry was not quick enough to slip into the compartment when Zabini opened the door. Zabini was already
sliding it shut when Harry hastily stuck out his foot to prevent it closing.
“What's wrong with this thing?” said Zabini angrily as he smashed the sliding door repeatedly into Harry's foot.
Harry seized the door and pushed it open, hard; Zabini, still clinging on to the handle, toppled over sideways into Gregory Goyle's lap, and in the ensuing ruckus,
Harry darted into the compartment, leapt onto Zabini's temporarily empty seat, and hoisted himself up into the luggage rack. It was fortunate that Goyle and Zabini were
snarling122 at each other, drawing all eyes onto them, for Harry was quite sure his feet and ankles had been revealed as the cloak had flapped around them; indeed, for one
horrible moment he thought he saw Malfoy's eyes follow his trainer as it whipped upward out of sight. But then Goyle slammed the door shut and flung Zabini off him;
Zabini collapsed123 into his own seat looking ruffled124, Vincent Crabbe returned to his comic, and Malfoy, sniggering, lay back down across two seats with his head in Pansy
Parkinson's lap. Harry lay curled uncomfortably under the cloak to ensure that every inch of him remained hidden, and watched Pansy stroke the sleek125 blond hair off
Malfoy's forehead, smirking as she did so, as though anyone would have loved to have been in her place. The lanterns swinging from the carriage ceiling cast a bright
light over the scene: Harry could read every word of Crabbe's comic directly below him.
“So, Zabini,” said Malfoy, “what did Slughorn want?”
“Just trying to make up to well-connected people,” said Zabini, who was still glowering126 at Goyle. “Not that he managed to find many.”
This information did not seem to please Malfoy.
“Who else had he invited?” he demanded.
“McLaggen from Gryffindor,” said Zabini.
“Oh yeah, his uncle's big in the Ministry,” said Malfoy.
“—someone else called Belby, from Ravenclaw—”
“Not him, he's a prat!” said Pansy.
“—and Longbottom, Potter, and that Weasley girl,” finished Zabini.
Malfoy sat up very suddenly, knocking Pansy's hand aside.
“He invited Longbottom?”
“Well, I assume so, as Longbottom was there,” said Zabini indifferently.
“What's Longbottom got to interest Slughorn?”
“Potter, precious Potter, obviously he wanted a look at the Chosen One,” sneered128 Malfoy, “but that Weasley girl! What's so special about her?”
“A lot of boys like her,” said Pansy, watching Malfoy out of the corner of her eyes for his reaction. “Even you think she's good-looking, don't you, Blaise, and we
all know how hard you are to please!”
“I wouldn't touch a filthy little blood traitor129 like her whatever she looked like,” said Zabini coldly, and Pansy looked pleased. Malfoy sank back across her lap and
allowed her to resume the stroking of his hair.
“Well, I pity Slughorn's taste. Maybe he's going a bit senile. Shame, my father always said he was a good wizard in his day. My father used to be a bit of a favorite
of his. Slughorn probably hasn't heard I'm on the train, or—”
“I wouldn't bank on an invitation,” said Zabini. “He asked me about Nott's father when I first arrived. They used to be old friends, apparently130, but when he heard
he'd been caught at the Ministry he didn't look happy, and Nott didn't get an invitation, did he? I don't think Slughorn's interested in Death Eaters.”
Malfoy looked angry, but forced out a singularly humorless laugh.
“Well, who cares what he's interested in? What is he, when you come down to it? Just some stupid teacher.” Malfoy yawned ostentatiously. “I mean, I might not even be
at Hogwarts next year, what's it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?”
“What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?” said Pansy indignantly, ceasing grooming131 Malfoy at once.
“Well, you never know,” said Malfoy with the ghost of a smirk94. “I might have—er—moved on to bigger and better things.”
Crouched132 in the luggage rack under his cloak, Harry's heart began to race. What would Ron and Hermione say about this? Crabbe and Goyle were gawping at Malfoy;
apparently they had had no inkling of any plans to move on to bigger and better things. Even Zabini had allowed a look of curiosity to mar14 his haughty133 features. Pansy
resumed the slow stroking of Malfoy s hair, looking dumbfounded.
“Do you mean—Him”
Malfoy shrugged.
“Mother wants me to complete my education, but personally, I don't see it as that important these days. I mean, think about it... When the Dark Lord takes over, is he
going to care how many O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s anyone's got? Of course he isn't... it'll be all about the kind of service he received, the level of devotion he was shown.
”
“And you think you'll be able to do something for him?” asked Zabini scathingly. “Sixteen years old and not even fully44 qualified134 yet?”
“I've just said, haven't I? Maybe he doesn't care if I'm qualified. Maybe the job he wants me to do isn't something that you need to be qualified for,” said Malfoy
quietly.
Crabbe and Goyle were both sitting with their mouths open like gargoyles135. Pansy was gazing down at Malfoy as though she had never seen anything so awe-inspiring.
“I can see Hogwarts,” said Malfoy, clearly relishing136 the effect he had created as he pointed67 out of the blackened window. “We'd better get our robes on.”
Harry was so busy staring at Malfoy, he did not notice Goyle reaching up for his trunk; as he swung it down, it hit Harry hard on the side of the head. He let out an
involuntary gasp101 of pain, and Malfoy looked up at the luggage rack, frowning.
Harry was not afraid of Malfoy, but he still did not much like the idea of being discovered hiding under his Invisibility Cloak by a group of unfriendly Slytherins.
Eyes still watering and head still throbbing137, he drew his wand, careful not to disarrange the cloak, and waited, breath held. To his relief, Malfoy seemed to decide
that he had imagined the noise; he pulled on his robes like the others, locked his trunk, and as the train slowed to a jerky crawl, fastened a thick new traveling cloak
round his neck.
Harry could see the corridors filling up again and hoped that Hermione and Ron would take his things out onto the platform for him; he was stuck where he was until the
compartment had quite emptied. At last, with a final lurch138, the train came to a complete halt. Goyle threw the door open and muscled his way out into a crowd of second
years, punching them aside; Crabbe and Zabini followed.
“You go on,” Malfoy told Pansy, who was waiting for him with her hand held out as though hoping he would hold it. “I just want to check something.”
Pansy left. Now Harry and Malfoy were alone in the compartment. People were filing past, descending139 onto the dark platform. Malfoy moved over to the compartment door
and let down the blinds, so that people in the corridor beyond could not peer in. He then bent down over his trunk and opened it again.
Harry peered down over the edge of the luggage rack, his heart pumping a little faster. What had Malfoy wanted to hide from Pansy? Was he about to see the mysterious
broken object it was so important to mend?
“Petrificus Totalus!”
Without warning, Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry, who was instantly paralyzed. As though in slow motion, he toppled out of the luggage rack and fell, with an
agonizing140, floor-shaking crash, at Malfoy's feet, the Invisibility Cloak trapped beneath him, his whole body revealed with his legs still curled absurdly into the
cramped141 kneeling position. He couldn't move a muscle; he could only gaze up at Malfoy, who smiled broadly.
“I thought so,” he said jubilantly. “I heard Goyle's trunk hit you. And I thought I saw something white flash through the air after Zabini came back...” His eyes
lingered for a moment upon Harry's trainers. “That was you blocking the door when Zabini came back in, I suppose?”
He considered Harry a moment.
“You didn't hear anything I care about, Potter. But while I've got you here...”
And he stamped, hard, on Harry's face. Harry felt his nose break; blood spurted142 everywhere.
“That's from my father. Now, let's see...”
Malfoy dragged the cloak out from under Harry's immobilized body and threw it over him.
“I don't reckon they'll find you till the train's back in London,” he said quietly. “See you around, Potter... or not.”
And taking care to tread on Harry's fingers, Malfoy left the compartment.
哈利花了暑假里最后一周的大部分时间来思考马尔福在翻倒巷的举动。最困扰他的一点是马尔福离开商店时脸上那种满意的表情。能让马尔福那样开心的事情通常都不是什么好事。然而让他感
到稍稍有些气恼的是，对于马尔福的行为，罗恩和赫敏似乎都不像他那样好奇；或者至少，在连续讨论了几天之后，他们看上去已经厌烦了。
“是的，我已经同意这件事很可疑了，哈利，”赫敏有点儿不耐烦地说。她正坐在弗雷德和乔治房里的窗台上，两脚踩着一只纸箱，勉强地从她新买的《高级魔文翻译》中抬起头。“可是
我们也都同意这件事可以有很多种解释吧？”
“也许他把他的光荣之手给弄坏了，”罗恩含糊地说，他正在努力地拉直飞天扫帚尾巴上几根弯曲的小枝。“记得他的那只皱巴巴的手臂吗？”
“但是他说‘别忘了把那一个藏好’是怎么回事？”哈利第无数次问道。“听起来像是博金还有一件那个东西，而马尔福两个都要。”
“你觉得是这样？”罗恩说，他又在尝试把扫帚柄上面的泥刮掉。
“是的，”哈利说。看到罗恩和赫敏都没有回应，他又说，“马尔福的父亲进了阿兹卡班。你们不觉得马尔福会复仇吗？”
罗恩抬起头，眨了眨眼。
“马尔福，复仇？他能做什么呀？”
“这就是我的意思，我不知道他会做什么！”哈利有些失落地说。“但是他一定有什么打算，我认为我们应该严肃地对待这件事。他的父亲是个食死徒，而且……”
哈利停住了，眼睛盯着赫敏身后的窗户，嘴巴张着。他忽然产生了一个惊人的想法。
“哈利？”赫敏担忧地说。“你怎么了？”
“你的伤疤不会又开始疼了吧？”罗恩紧张地问。
“他去做了食死徒，”哈利慢慢地说。“他代替了他的父亲，成了一个食死徒！”
大家都没说话，然后罗恩爆发出一阵大笑。
“马尔福？他才十六岁，哈利！你认为神秘人会让马尔福加入？”
“这看起来不太可能，哈利，”赫敏忍着笑说，“是什么让你觉得——？”
“在摩金夫人的店里。摩金夫人根本没碰到他，可是当她要卷起他的袖子时，马尔福大吵大嚷地拼命把手臂挣脱出来。那正是他的左手臂。上面一定印上了黑魔标记。”
罗恩和赫敏互相看了看。
“这个……”罗恩听起来完全不相信。
“我想他只是想要离开那儿，哈利，”赫敏说。
“他给博金展示了一件我们都没看到的东西，”哈利倔强地坚持说。“一件让博金吓得不轻的东西。一定是黑魔标记，我知道——他想让博金知道他正在和什么人做交易，你们看见博金多
么严肃地对待他了！”
罗恩和赫敏又交换了一下眼神。
“我不能肯定，哈利……”
“是啊，我还是不认为神秘人会让马尔福加入……”
哈利很生气，但绝对确信自己是正确的，他抱起一大堆脏兮兮的魁地奇球袍离开了房间；韦斯莱这几天一直在督促他们别把要洗的衣服和要准备的包裹留到开学的那天。走到门口他和金妮
撞了个满怀，她正捧着一堆刚刚洗好的衣服回房。
“我刚才真不该去厨房，”她告诫他说，“那儿有一大堆‘浮脓’。”
“我会小心不去碰它。”哈利笑了。
不出所料，他走进厨房的时候看到芙蓉正坐在餐桌旁边，滔滔不绝地说着她和比尔的婚礼计划，而韦斯莱夫人则守着一堆正在自己剥皮的豆芽，看起来脾气不太好。
“……比尔和我差不多都决定了只要两个女傧相，金妮和加布丽两个站在一起一定会非常可爱。我正在考虑让她们穿浅金黄色的礼服——粉红色和金妮的头发搭配起来会很糟糕——”
“啊，哈利！”韦斯莱夫人大声打断了芙蓉的长篇大论。“太好了，我正想告诉你明天去霍格沃茨路上安全保护的安排。我们又借了魔法部的专车，傲罗们会等在火车站——”
“唐克斯也会去那儿吗？”哈利问，把他的魁地奇球袍递了过去。
“不，我想不会吧，亚瑟说她被安排到另一个地方去了。”
“她是自己要去的，那个唐克斯，”芙蓉若有所思地说，审视着茶勺背面上自己的美丽映像。“要我说，这真是个大错误……”
“是的，谢谢你，”韦斯莱夫人又一次尖刻地打断了芙蓉的话，“你最好接着干，哈利，如果可能的话我希望今晚你们就能装好所有的行李，这样我们不会再像以前那样出现最后一刻的混
乱了。”
事实上，他们第二天早晨的出发比以前顺利得多。魔法部的专车开到陋居院子里时，箱子已经收拾好了，赫敏的宠物猫克鲁克山正很安全地待在它的旅行篮里，海德薇、罗恩的猫头鹰小猪
和金妮的新买的紫色侏儒蒲绒绒，阿诺德，都在笼子里装好了。
“再见，阿利，”芙蓉用喉音低沉地说，她吻了吻哈利作为道别。罗恩满怀希望地冲上前去，但金妮伸脚拌了罗恩一下，让他在芙蓉脚边的泥地里摔了个四脚朝天。罗恩又窘又恼，满身是
泥地钻进了轿车，连再见都没说。
在国王十字车站接他们的不是乐呵呵的海格。代替他的是两个绷着脸、留着胡子的傲罗，他们的车刚停下来，那两个穿着深色麻瓜西服的人就迎上去，一边一个地夹着所有的人往车站走去
，路上一句话也不说。
“快些，快些，通过那扇墙，”韦斯莱夫人似乎被这种严谨的效率弄得有些慌乱。“哈利最好第一个走，后面跟着——”
她询问般地望着其中一位傲罗，他简单地点了点头，抓住哈利的胳膊，试图把他拉向九号和十号站台之间的那面挡墙。
“我会走路，谢谢，”哈利暴躁地说，把他的胳膊从那个傲罗手里挣脱出来。他把手推车推向那堵坚实的墙，不去理睬一语不发的同伴们，一秒钟之后，他就发现自己已经站在了9 3/4站
台，开往霍格沃茨的鲜红色列车正停在人群中喷着蒸汽。
紧接着赫敏和韦斯莱一家也过来了。顾不得征求他身后板着脸的傲罗的允许，哈利就向罗恩和赫敏打着手势示意跟着他一起去站台那儿，找一找有没有空的车厢。
“我们不行，哈利，”赫敏抱歉地说。“罗恩和我必须要先去级长车厢报到，然后还要在走廊上做一些巡视。”
“哦对，我忘了，”哈利说。
“你们最好直接上车，所有的人，只剩几分钟了，”韦斯莱夫人一边说一边看了看手表。“祝你过个愉快的学年，罗恩……”
“韦斯莱先生，我可以和您简单说几句话吗？”就在这时哈利突然下定了决心，对韦斯莱先生说道。
“当然，”韦斯莱先生说，他看起来有点儿意外，但还是跟着哈利来到了一个别人听不见的角落。
哈利仔细考虑过，最后他得出结论，如果他要把这件事告诉什么人的话，韦斯莱先生将会是最合适的人选；首先，因为他在魔法部工作，这样便能作进一步的调查，其次，他觉得韦斯莱先
生不太可能勃然大怒。
他们走开的时候，他看到韦斯莱夫人和那个板着脸的傲罗都怀疑地看着他们俩。
“我们在对角巷的那天——”哈利说，但韦斯莱先生扮了个鬼脸抢先一步说。
“我是不是将要被告知你、罗恩和赫敏本应该待在弗雷德和乔治的小店里屋的时候，你们三个失踪去了哪儿？”
“您是怎么——？”
“哈利，拜托。你是在和把弗雷德和乔治养大的人谈话呢。”
“呃……没错，好吧，我们当时不在里屋。”
“很好，那么，让我们听听最糟糕的吧。”
“嗯，我们一路跟踪德拉科·马尔福来着。用了我的隐形斗篷。”
“你们是因为有什么特殊理由这么做呢，还是只不过一时心血来潮？”
“因为我觉得马尔福有什么阴谋诡计，”哈利不顾韦斯莱先生既恼怒又感兴趣的表情，接着说。“他甩掉了他妈妈，我想知道他要干什么。”
“当然你会这么想，”韦斯莱先生顺着他说。“那么？你发现原因了吗？”
“他去了博金－博克店，”哈利说，“他威胁那个叫博金的家伙帮他修理一件东西。他还要博金帮他保管另一件什么东西。从他的话里判断好像那个东西和需要修理的东西是一样的。好像
是一对。还有……”
哈利深吸了一口气。
“还有一件事。我们发现摩金夫人试图碰他的左胳膊时，他跳起来老高。我想他的手臂已经印上了黑魔标记。我想他已经代替了他的父亲成为了一个食死徒。”
韦斯莱先生看上去吓了一跳。过了一会儿他说，“哈利，我怀疑神秘人是否会允许一个十六岁的——”
“难道有谁知道神秘人会做什么、不会做什么吗？”哈利气愤地问。“韦斯莱先生，很抱歉，但难道这个不值得调查一番吗？如果马尔福想要修好什么东西，还需要通过威胁博金来做，那
么一定是什么黑魔法物件或者是危险品，不是吗？”
“说实在的，我还是不相信，哈利，”韦斯莱先生慢慢地说。“你知道，卢修斯·马尔福被逮捕时我们曾搜查过他的房子。我们带走了一切可能的危险品。”
“我想您可能漏过了什么，”哈利固执地说。
“啊，也许吧，”韦斯莱先生说，但哈利听得出来韦斯莱先生只不过是在迁就他。
他们身后响起了汽笛声；几乎每个人都已经上了列车，车门也要关上了。
“你最好抓紧时间了，”韦斯莱先生说道，这时韦斯莱夫人冲他喊，“哈利，快点！”
他赶紧朝列车那边走过去，韦斯莱夫妇帮着他把行李搬了上去。
“好了，亲爱的，圣诞节的时候你就到我们这儿来，已经跟邓布利多确定好了，所以我们很快就会再见面，”韦斯莱夫人隔着窗子说，这时哈利把身后的门关好，列车已经开动了。“一定
要照顾好自己——”
列车开始加速了。
“——要好好表现，还要——”
她已经是在跟着列车慢跑了。
“——注意安全！”
哈利向他们挥手作别，直到列车转了个弯，看不见韦斯莱夫妇了，他才停下来转而去找其他人。他估计罗恩和赫敏一定还留在级长车厢里，而金妮则站在车厢走廊稍远的地方，正和她的几
个朋友在聊天。他拖起行李向她走了过去。
一路上所有的人都毫不害羞地盯着他看。他们甚至把脸贴在包厢的窗户上来看他一眼。他早就预料到自从《预言家日报》上登载了所有的那些“真命天子”的传言之后，他这个学期会要去
忍受更多的注目，但是他并不愿享受这种暴露在聚光灯下的感觉。他拍了拍金妮的肩膀。
“一起去找间车厢好吗？”
“不行，哈利，我说好了要和迪安碰面的，”金妮高兴地说，“待会儿见。”
“好吧，”哈利说。她走开的时候红色的头发在身后飘动，他的心里感到一种因气恼而产生的奇怪刺痛。整个暑假里他已经如此习惯于有她在场，以至于都忘记了她在学校时并不缠在他、
罗恩与赫敏身边。于是他眨了眨眼睛，朝四周望去：他已经被那些对他着迷的女孩子们包围了。
“嗨，哈利！”一个熟悉的声音在他身后说。
“纳威！”哈利松了一口气说道，转身看见一个长着圆脸的男孩往他这边挤过来。
“你好，哈利，”一个留着长发，长着一双朦胧的大眼睛的女孩在纳威身后对哈利说。
“卢娜，嗨，你还好吗？”
“很好，谢谢你，”卢娜说。她两手抓着一本杂志放在胸前；封面上的大字显示里面免费赠送一副幻影眼镜。
“那么，《唱唱反调》办得还不错吧？”哈利问，他对这本杂志很有好感，去年还接受过这家杂志的独家专访。
“哦当然了，发行量一直在上涨呢。”卢娜高兴地说。
“咱们去找个座儿吧，”哈利说，于是他们三个动身穿过一群默默注视他们的学生，沿着车厢走了过去。最后他们总算找到了一间空车厢，哈利一边赶紧地冲了进去，一边谢天谢地。
“他们甚至盯着我们看，”纳威指了指他自己和卢娜，“就因为我们和你在一起！”
“他们盯着你们看是因为那天晚上你们也去了魔法部，”哈利把行李举到行李架上。“我们的那次小历险被《预言家日报》写得铺天盖地，你们一定也看过。”
“是啊，我还以为奶奶看了那些新闻会生气呢，”纳威说，“但她却真的很高兴。说我总算开始向我爸爸看齐了。她给我买了一根新的魔杖，看！”
他抽出自己的魔杖展示给哈利。
“樱桃木制，独角兽毛的杖芯，”他得意地说。“我们想这可能是奥利凡德卖出的最后一批魔杖中的一根了，第二天他就消失了——噢，回来，莱福！”
他趴到座位下面去抓那只蟾蜍，它又在（就像它经常做的那样）努力地跳向自由。
“今年我们还有D.A.聚会吗，哈利？”卢娜问，她正从《唱唱反调》里撕下一副看起来很迷幻的眼镜。
“既然我们已经摆脱了乌姆里奇就没这个必要了，是吧？”哈利坐了下来。纳威从椅子下面钻出来，脑袋一下子撞了上去。他看上去非常的失望。
“我喜欢D.A.！我从你那儿学到了一大堆呢！”
“我也很喜欢这个聚会，”卢娜平静地说。“感觉就像拥有了很多朋友。”
卢娜常常说起这样的让人不自在的事儿，哈利感觉就像怜悯和尴尬混杂着在心里蠕动一样。然而在他做出回应之前，他们车厢门的外面就爆发出了一阵骚动；一群四年级的女生在窗玻璃的
另一面低声地说笑着。
“你去跟他说！”
“不，你去！”
“那我来吧！”
她们中的一个看起来很勇敢的女生推开门走了进来，她长着一双大大的黑眼睛、突出的下巴和一头长长的黑发。
“嗨，哈利，我叫罗蜜尔达，罗密尔达·文恩，”她充满自信地大声说。“来我们的车厢来坐坐吧？你不必和他们坐在一块儿。”她故意做出耳语的动作对哈利大声说着，指了指纳威的屁
股（他正再次地钻到座位下面去寻找莱福）和卢娜（她戴上了免费的幻影眼镜，看上去就像一只精神错乱、五颜六色的猫头鹰）。
“他们是我的朋友。”哈利冷冷地说。
“哦，”女孩看起来非常惊讶。“哦。好的。”
她退了出去，顺手关上了身后的门。
“人们都认为你应该有比我们更酷的朋友，”卢娜再次展示了她令人尴尬的坦诚。
“你很酷，”哈利立刻说，“那些人里没有一个和我一起去魔法部。他们没有和我一起并肩作战。”
“你这么说真是太好了，”卢娜微笑着说，然后把幻影眼镜往鼻梁上推了推，专注地看起了《唱唱反调》。
“可我们没有面对他，”纳威说着从座椅下面钻了出来，头发里满是绒毛和灰尘，手里攥着看起来似乎已经听天由命的莱福。“你做到了。你应该听听我奶奶是怎么谈论你的。‘那个哈利
·波特比整个魔法部的人加起来还要有骨气！’她甚至愿意付出任何代价让你做她的孙子……”
哈利不自然地笑了笑，尽可能快地把话题转移到了O.W.L.的成绩上。当纳威大声复述着自己的成绩并开始怀疑自己在只拿到“及格”的情况下能否学习N.E.W.T.的变形术课程时，哈利只是
看着他，却没有真正地听他说。
纳威的童年和哈利的一样都是被伏地魔一手毁掉的，可纳威却并不知道他距离拥有哈利的命运有多么近。预言本来是可能指向他们俩中的任何一个，但伏地魔出于某种令人费解的理由选择
了哈利作为预言所指的对象。
如果当初伏地魔选择了纳威，现在就应该是纳威带着闪电形状的伤疤坐在自己对面，背负着那沉重的预言了……真的会这样吗？纳威的母亲会像莉莉保护哈利那样牺牲生命去拯救他吗？她
肯定会的……但是如果她没有机会站到伏地魔和他的儿子之间呢？那么是不是就压根儿没有什么“真命天子”了呢？是不是纳威坐的椅子上就会空空如也，是不是哈利的前额也就不会有伤疤了
，是不是和他吻别的将变成自己的妈妈而不是罗恩的妈妈呢？
“你没事儿吧，哈利？你看上去有些古怪，”纳威说。
哈利一下子惊醒过来。
“抱歉——我——”
“你脑袋进了幻虫？”卢娜从她那巨大的彩色眼镜后面同情地凝视着哈利。
“我——什么？”
“幻虫……它们是看不见的，它们会从你的耳朵漂进去，让你的脑子变得混乱不清，”她说。“我想我刚才感觉到了一只在这儿飞。”
她双手在空中拍了一下，好像是在打一只看不见的大蛾子。哈利和纳威对望了一眼，赶紧开始讨论起魁地奇的事情来。
列车窗外的天气还是和整个夏天一样让人觉得不协调；他们穿过一段段寒冷的迷雾，然后驶入了微弱而清澈的阳光里。此刻他们正处于一个晴朗咒之中，头顶上的太阳清晰可见，与此同时
罗恩和赫敏终于进入了车厢。
“希望餐车快点儿来，我饿惨了，”罗恩充满渴望地说，他一屁股坐到哈利旁边的座位上，一边揉着肚子。“嗨，纳威。嗨，卢娜。猜猜怎么着？”他转向哈利说，“马尔福没有履行级长
的职责。他只是和其他斯莱特林的家伙们一起坐在车厢里，我们刚才经过的时候看见的。”
哈利很感兴趣地坐直了。马尔福从不会放过一个展示他级长权力的机会，整个去年他都在滥用这个权力来作威作福。
“他看到你们时都做了什么？”
“和平时一样，”罗恩漠不关心地说，同时做了个粗鲁的手势。“不过不像他，对不对？嗯——是那样做的——”他又做了一遍手势，“但是他为什么没有去欺负一年级的新生呢？”
“不知道，”哈利说，但他的脑袋却飞快地转着。难道这不是表明马尔福现在脑子里想的是比欺负低年级学生更为重要的事情吗？
“也许他更怀念调查行动组，”赫敏说。“自从做了那个之后，级长对他来说就显得很乏味了。”
“我不这么认为，”哈利说，“我认为他是在——”
但在详细解释他的看法之前，包厢的门又被人拉开了，一个气喘吁吁的三年级女生走了进来。
“我要把这些交给纳威·隆巴顿和哈利·波－波特，”她结结巴巴地说，当目光和哈利相遇时脸一下子涨得通红。她递过两卷用紫色缎带系着的羊皮纸。
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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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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4
fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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grudgingly
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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umpteenth
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| adj.第无数次（个）的 | |
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frustrated
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| adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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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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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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owl
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| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
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mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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15
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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18
laundered
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| v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的过去式和过去分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入） | |
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19
sprouts
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| n.新芽，嫩枝( sprout的名词复数 )v.发芽( sprout的第三人称单数 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
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20
bad-tempered
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| adj.脾气坏的 | |
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21
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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22
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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23
monologue
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| n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白 | |
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24
ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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25
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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26
stunning
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| adj.极好的；使人晕倒的 | |
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27
teaspoon
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| n.茶匙 | |
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28
tartly
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| adv.辛辣地，刻薄地 | |
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29
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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30
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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31
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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32
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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33
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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34
flustered
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| adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词) | |
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35
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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36
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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37
steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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38
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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39
trolley
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| n.手推车，台车；无轨电车；有轨电车 | |
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40
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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41
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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42
belching
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| n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式 | |
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43
compartment
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| n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间 | |
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44
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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45
investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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46
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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47
forestalled
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| v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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49
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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50
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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51
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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52
exasperation
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| n.愤慨 | |
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53
bullying
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| v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈 | |
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54
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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55
cloistered
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| adj.隐居的，躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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57
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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58
rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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59
spotlight
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| n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目 | |
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60
mesmerized
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| v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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61
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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62
hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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63
hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
unicorn
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| n.(传说中的)独角兽 | |
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65
retrieve
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| vt.重新得到，收回；挽回，补救；检索 | |
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66
toad
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆 | |
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67
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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68
serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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69
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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70
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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71
giggling
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的现在分词 ) | |
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72
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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73
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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74
blighted
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| adj.枯萎的，摧毁的 | |
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75
zooming
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| adj.快速上升的v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去分词 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨 | |
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76
moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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77
longingly
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| adv. 渴望地 热望地 | |
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78
slumping
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| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
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79
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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80
expound
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| v.详述；解释；阐述 | |
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81
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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82
scrolls
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| n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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83
scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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84
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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85
detention
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| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
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86
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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87
hunch
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| n.预感，直觉 | |
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88
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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90
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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92
makeup
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| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
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pimples
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| n.丘疹，粉刺，小脓疱( pimple的名词复数 ) | |
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94
smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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95
smirking
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| v.傻笑( smirk的现在分词 ) | |
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96
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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slanting
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| 倾斜的，歪斜的 | |
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loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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grimaced
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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airway
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| n.空中航线，通风口 | |
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101
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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102
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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103
influential
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| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
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104
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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105
mounds
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| 土堆，土丘( mound的名词复数 )； 一大堆 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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107
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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108
flair
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| n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力 | |
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109
compere
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| v.主持（节目） | |
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110
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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111
chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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112
sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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113
fabled
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| adj.寓言中的，虚构的 | |
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114
meandered
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| （指溪流、河流等）蜿蜒而流( meander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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115
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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116
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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117
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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118
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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119
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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120
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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121
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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122
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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123
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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124
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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125
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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126
glowering
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| v.怒视( glower的现在分词 ) | |
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127
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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128
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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129
traitor
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| n.叛徒，卖国贼 | |
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130
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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131
grooming
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| n. 修饰, 美容，（动物）梳理毛发 | |
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132
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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134
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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135
gargoyles
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| n.怪兽状滴水嘴( gargoyle的名词复数 ) | |
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136
relishing
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| v.欣赏( relish的现在分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望 | |
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137
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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138
lurch
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| n.突然向前或旁边倒；v.蹒跚而行 | |
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139
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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140
agonizing
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| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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141
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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142
spurted
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| （液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺 | |
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