Snow was swirling1 against the icy windows once more; Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid had already singlehandedly delivered the usual twelve Christmas trees to the
Great Hall; garlands of holly2 and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs; everlasting3 candles glowed from inside the helmets of suits of armor and
great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals4 along the corridors. Large groups of girls tended to converge5 underneath7 the mistletoe bunches every time Harry8
went past, which caused blockages9 in the corridors; fortunately, however, Harry's frequent nighttime wanderings had given him an unusually good knowledge of the
castle's secret passageways, so that he was often, without too much difficulty, to navigate11 mistletoe-free routes between classes.
Ron, who might once have found the necessity of these detours12 excuse for jealousy13 rather than hilarity14, simply roared with laughter about it all. Although Harry much
preferred this new laughing, joking Ron to the moody15, aggressive model he had been enduring for the last few weeks, the improved Ron came at a heavy price. Firstly,
Harry had to put up with the frequent presence of Lavender Brown, who seemed to regard any moment that she was not kissing Ron as a moment wasted; and secondly16, Harry
found himself once more the best friend of two people who seemed unlikely ever to speak to each other again.
Ron, whose hands and forearms still bore scratches and cuts from Hermione's bird attack, was taking a defensive17 and resentful tone.
“She can't complain,” he told Harry. “She snogged Krum. So she's found out someone wants to snog me too. Well, it's a free country. I haven't done anything wrong.”
Harry did not answer, but pretended to be absorbed in the book they were supposed to have read before Charms next morning (Quintessence: A Quest). Determined18 as he was
to remain friends with both Ron and Hermione, he was spending a lot of time with his mouth shut tight.
“I never promised Hermione anything,” Ron mumbled19. “I mean, all right, I was going to go to Slughorn's Christmas party with her, but she never said... just as
friends... I'm a free agent...”
Harry turned a page of Quintessence, aware that Ron was watching him. Ron's voice trailed away in mutters, barely audible over the loud crackling of the fire, though
Harry thought he caught the words “Krum” and “Can't complain” again.
Hermione's schedule was so full that Harry could only talk to her properly in the evenings, when Ron was, in any case, so tightly wrapped around Lavender that he did
not notice what Harry was doing. Hermione refused to sit in the common room while Ron was there, so Harry generally joined her in the library, which meant that their
conversations were held in whispers.
“He's at perfect liberty to kiss whomever he likes,” said Hermione, while the librarian, Madam Pince, prowled the shelves behind them. “I really couldn't care less.
”
She raised her quill20 and dotted an ‘i’ so ferociously21 that she punctured22 a hole in her parchment. Harry said nothing. He thought his voice might soon vanish from the
lack of use. He bent23 a little lower over Advanced Potion-Making and continued to make notes on Everlasting Elixirs24, occasionally pausing to decipher the Prince's useful
additions to Libatius Borage's text.
“And incidentally,” said Hermione, after a few moments, “you need to be careful.”
“For the last time,” said Harry, speaking in a slightly hoarse25 tone after three-quarters of an hour's silence, “I am not giving back this book. I've learned more
from the Half-Blood Prince than Snape or Slughorn have taught me in—”
“I'm not talking about your stupid so-called Prince,” said Hermione, giving his book a nasty look as though it had been rude to her. “I'm talking about earlier. I
went into the girls’ bathroom just before I came in here and there were about a dozen girls in there, including that Romilda Vane, trying to decide how to slip you a
love potion. They're all hoping they're going to get you to take them to Slughorn's party, and thay all seem to have bought Fred and George's love potions, which I'm
afraid to say probably work—”
“Why didn't you confiscate26 them then?” demanded Harry, it seemed extraordinary that Hermione's mania27 for upholding the rules could have abandoned her at this crucial
“They didn't have the potions with them in the bathroom,” said Hermione scornfully, “They were just discussing tactics. As I doubt the Half-Blood Prince,” she gave
the book another scornful look, “could dream up an antidote29 for a dozen different love potions at once, I'd just invite someone to go with you, that'll stop all the
others thinking they've still got a chance. It's tomorrow night, they're getting desperate.”
“There isn't anyone I want to invite,” mumbled Harry, who was still not trying to think about Ginny any more than he could help, despite the fact the fact that she
kept cropping up in his dreams in ways that made him devoutly30 thankful that Ron could not perform Legilimency.
“Well, just be careful what you drink, because Romilda Vane looked like she meant business.” said Hermione grimly.
She hitched31 up the long roll of parchment on which she was writing her Arithmancy essay and continued to scratch away with her quill. Harry watched her with his mind a
long way away.
“Hang on a moment,” he said slowly. “I thought Filch32 had banned anything bought at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes33?”
“And when has anyone ever paid attention to what Filch has banned?” asked Hermione, still concentrating on her essay.
“But I thought all the owls34 were being searched. So how come these girls are able to bring love potions into the school?”
“Fred and George send them disguised as perfumes and cough potions,” said Hermione. “It's part of their Owl10 Order Service.”
“You know a lot about it.”
Hermione gave him the kind of nasty look she had just given his copy of Advanced Potion-Making.
“It was all on the back of the bottles they showed Ginny and me in the summer,” she said coldly, “I don't go around putting potions in people's drinks... or
pretending too either, which is just as bad...”
“Yeah, well, never mind that,” said Harry quickly. “The point is, Filch is being fooled isn't he? These girls are getting stuff into the school disguised as
something else! So why couldn't Malfoy have brought the necklace into the school—?”
“Oh, Harry... not that again...”
“Come on, why not?” demanded Harry.
“Look,” sighed Hermione, “Secrecy Sensors35 detect jinxes, curses, and concealment36 charms, don't they? They're used to find dark magic and dark objects. They'd have
picked up a powerful curse, like the one in the necklace, within seconds. But something that's just been put in the wrong bottle wouldn't register—and anyway love
potions aren't dark or dangerous—”
“Easy for you to say,” muttered Harry, thinking of Romilda Vane.
“—so it would be down to Filch to realise it wasn't a cough potion, and he's not a very good wizard, I doubt he can tell one potion from—”
Hermione stopped dead; Harry had heard it too. Somebody had moved close behind them among the dark bookshelves. They waited, and a moment later the vulture-like
countenance38 of Madam Pince appeared around the corner, her sunken cheeks, her skin like parchment, and her long hooked nose illuminated39 unflatteringly by the lamp she
was carrying.
“The library is now closed,” she said, “Mind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct—what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy?”
“It isn't the library's, it's mine!” said Harry hastily, snatching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making off the table as she lunged at it with a clawlike hand.
“Despoiled!” she hissed40. “Desecrated, befouled!”
“It's just a book that's been written on!” said Harry, tugging41 it out of her grip.
She looked as though she might have a seizure42; Hermione, who had hastily packed her things, grabbed Harry by the arm and frogmarched him away.
“She'll ban you from the library if you're not careful. Why did you have to bring that stupid book?”
“It's not my fault she's barking mad, Hermione. Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something between them...”
“Oh, ha ha..”
Enjoying the fact that they could speak normally again, they made their way along the deserted43 lamp-lit corridors back to the common room, arguing whether or not Filch
and Madam Pince were secretly in love with each other.
“Baubles,” said Harry to the Fat Lady, this being the new, festive44 password.
“Same to you,” said the fat lady with a roguish grin, and she swung forward to admit them.
“Hi, Harry!” said Romilda Vane, the moment he had climbed through the portrait hole. “Fancy a Gillywater?”
Hermione gave him a “What-did-I-tell-you?” look over her shoulder.
“No thanks,” said Harry quickly. “I don't like it much.”
“Well, take these anyway,” said Romilda, thrusting a box into his hands. “Chocolate Cauldrons, they've got firewhiskey in them. My gran sent them to me, but I don't
like them.”
“Oh—right—thanks a lot.” said Harry, who could not think what else to say. “Er—I'm just going over here with ...”
He hurried off behind Hermione, his voice tailing away feebly.
“Told you,” said Hermione succinctly45, “Sooner you ask someone, sooner they'll all leave you alone and you can—”
But her face suddnly turned blank; she had just spotted46 Ron and Lavender, who were intertwined in the same armchair.
“Well, goodnight, Harry,” said Hermione, though it was only seven o'clock in the evening, and she left for the girls’ dormitory without another word.
Harry went to bed comforting himself that there was only one more day of lessons to struggle through, plus Slughorn's party, after which he and Ron would depart
together for the Burrow47. It now seemed impossible that Ron and Hermione would make up with each other before the holidays began, but perhaps, somehow, the break would
give them time to calm down, think better of their behavior...
But his hopes were not high, and they sank still lower after enduring a Transfiguration lesson with them both next day. They had just embarked48 upon the immensely
difficult topic of human transfiguration; working in front of mirrors, they were supposed to be changing the color of their own eyebrows49. Hermione laughed unkindly at
Ron's disastrous51 first attempt, during which he somehow managed to give himself a spectacular handlebar mustache; Ron retaliated52 by doing a cruel but accurate
impression of Hermione jumping up and down in her seat every time Professor McGonagall asked a question, which Lavender and Parvati found deeply amusing and which
reduced Hermione to the verge6 of tears again. She raced out of the classroom on the bell, leaving half her things behind; Harry, deciding that her need was greater than
Ron's just now, scooped53 up her remaining possessions and followed her.
He finally tracked her down as she emerged from a girl's bathroom on the floor below. She was accompanied by Luna Lovegood, who was patting her vaguely55 on the back.
“Oh, hello, Harry,” said Luna. “Did you know one of your eyebrows is bright yellow?”
“Hi, Luna. Hermione, you left your stuff...”
He held out her books.
“Oh, yes,” said Hermione in a choked voice, taking her things and turning away quickly to hide the fact she was wiping her eyes with her pencil case. “Thank you,
Harry. Well, I'd better get going...”
And she hurried off, without ever giving Harry any time to offer words of comfort, though admittedly he could not think of any.
“She's a bit upset,” said Luna. “I thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She said something about Ron Weasley...”
“Yeah, they've had a row,” said Harry.
“He says funny things sometimes, doesn't he?” said Luna as they set off down the corridor together. “But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year.”
“I s'pose,” said Harry. Luna was demonstrating her usual knack56 of speaking uncomfortable truths; he had never met anyone quite like her. “So have you had a good
term?”
“Oh, it's been all right,” said Luna. “A bit lonely without the D.A. Ginny's been nice, though. She stopped two boys in our Transfiguration class calling me ‘Loony
’ the other day —”
“How would you like to come to Slughorn's party with me tonight?”
The words were out of Harry's mouth before he could stop them; he heard himself say them as though it were a stranger speaking.
Luna turned her protuberant57 eyes to him in surprise.
“Slughorn's party? With you?”
“Yeah,” said Harry, “We're supposed to bring guests, so I thought you might like.. I mean...” He was keen to make his intentions perfectly58 clear. “I mean, just as
friends, you know. But if you don't want to...”
He was already half-hoping that she didn't want to.
“Oh no, I'd love to go with you as friends!” said Luna, beaming as he had never seen her beam before. “Nobody's ever asked me to a party before, as a friend! Is that
why you dyed your eyebrow50, for the party? Should I do mine too?”
“No,” said Harry firmly, “That was a mistake. I'll get Hermione to put it right for me. So I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall at eight o'clock then.”
“AHA!” screamed a voice from overhead and both of them jumped; unnoticed by either of them, they had just passed underneath Peeves59, who was hanging upside down from a
chandelier and grinning maliciously60 at them.
“Potty asked Loony to go to the party. Potty lurves Loony! Potty luuuuuurves Looooony!”
And he zoomed61 away cackling and shrieking62, “Potty loves Loony!”
“Nice to keep these things private,” said Harry. And sure enough, in no time at all the whole school seemed to know that Harry Potter was taking Luna Lovegood to
Slughorn's party.
“You could've taken anyone!” said Ron in disbelief over dinner. “Anyone! And you chose Loony Lovegood?”
“Don't call her that, Ron!” snapped Ginny, pausing behind Harry on her way to join friends. “I'm really glad you're taking her Harry, she's so excited.”
And she moved on down the table to sit with Dean. Harry tried to feel pleased that Ginny was glad he was taking Luna to the party but could not quite manage it. A long
way along the table Hermione was sitting alone, playing with her stew63. Harry noticed Ron looking at her furtively64.
“You could say sorry,” suggested Harry bluntly.
“What, and get attacked by another flock of canaries?” muttered Ron.
“What did you have to imitate her for?”
“She laughed at my mustache!”
“So did I, it was the stupidest thing I've ever seen.”
But Ron did not seem to have heard; Lavender had just arrived with Parvati. Squeezing herself in between Harry and Ron, Lavender flung her arms around Ron's neck.
“Hi, Harry,” said Parvati who, like Harry, looked faintly embarrassed and bored by the behavior of their two friends.
“Hi,” said Harry, “How're you? You're staying at Hogwarts, then? I heard your parents wanted you to leave.”
“I managed to talk them out of it for the time being,” said Parvati. “That Katie thing really freaked them out, but as there hasn't been anything since... Oh, hi,
Hermione!”
Parvati positively65 beamed. Harry could tell that she was feeling guilty for having laughed at Hermione in Transfiguration. He looked around and saw that Hermione was
beaming back, if possible even more brightly. Girls were very strange sometimes.
“Hi, Parvati!” said Hermione, ignoring Ron and Lavender completely. “Are you going to Slughorn's party tonight?”
“No invite,” said Parvati gloomily. “I'd love to go, though, it sounds like it's going to be really good... you're going, aren't you?”
“Yes, I'm meeting Cormac at eight, and we're—”
There was a noise like a plunger being withdrawn66 from a blocked sink and Ron surfaced. Hermione acted as though she had not seen or heard anything.
“—we're going up to the party together.”
“Cormac?” said Parvati. “Cormac McLaggen, you mean?”
“That's right,” said Hermione sweetly. “The one who almost,” she put a great deal of emphasis on the word, “became Gryffindor Keeper.”
“Are you going out with him, then?” asked Parvati, wide-eyed.
“Oh—yes—didn't you know?” said Harmione, with a most un-Hermione-ish giggle67.
“No!” said Parvati, looking positively agog68 at this piece of gossip. “Wow, you like your Quidditch players, don't you? First Krum, then McLaggen.”
“I like really good Quidditch players,” Hermione corrected her, still smiling. “Well, see you... got to go and get ready for the party...”
She left. At once Lavender and Parvati put their heads together to discuss this new development, with everything they had ever heard about McLaggen, and all they had
ever guessed about Hermione. Ron looked strangely blank and said nothing. Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.
When he arrived in the Entrance Hall at eight o'clock that night, he found an unusually large number of girls lurking69 there, all of whom seemed to be staring at him
resentfully as he approached Luna. She was wearing a set of spangled silver robes that were attracting a certain amount of giggles70 from the onlookers71, but otherwise she
looked quite nice. Harry was glad, in any case, that she had left off her radish earrings72, her Butterbeer-cork necklace, and her Spectrespecs.
“Hi,” he said. “Shall we get going then?”
“Oh yes,” she said happily. “Where is the party?”
“Slughorn's office,” said Harry, leading her up the marble staircase away from all the staring and muttering. “Did you hear, there's supposed to be a vampire73 coming?
”
“Rufus Scrimgeour?” asked Luna.
“I—what?” said Harry, disconcerted. “You mean the Minister of Magic?”
“Yes, he's a vampire,” said Luna matter-of-factly. “Father wrote a very long article about it when Scrimgeour first took over from Cornelius Fudge, but he was forced
not to publish by somebody from the Ministry74. Obviously, they didn't want the truth to get out!”
Harry, who thought it most unlikely that Rufus Scrimgeour was a vampire, but who was used to Luna repeating her father's bizarre views as though they were fact, did not
reply; they were already approaching Slughorn's office and the sounds of laughter, music, and loud conversation were growing louder with every step they took.
Whether it had been built that way, or because he had used magical trickery to make it so, Slughorn's office was much larger than the usual teacher's study. The ceiling
and walls had been draped with emerald, crimson75 and gold hangings, so that it looked as though they were all inside a vast tent. The room was crowded and stuffy76 and
bathed in the red light cast by an ornate golden lamp dangling77 from the center of the ceiling in which real fairies were fluttering, each a brilliant speck78 of light.
Loud singing accompanied by what sounded like mandolins issued from a distant corner; a haze79 of pipe smoke hung over several elderly warlocks deep in conversation, and
a number of house-elves were negotiating their way squeakily through the forest of knees, obscured by the heavy silver platters of food they were bearing, so that they
looked like little roving tables.
“Harry, m'boy!” boomed Slughorn, almost as soon as Harry and Luna had squeezed in through the door. “Come in, come in, so many people I'd like you to meet!”
Slughorn was wearing a tasseled80 velvet81 hat to match his smoking jacket. Gripping Harry's arm so tightly he might have been hoping to Disapparate with him, Slughorn led
him purposefully into the party; Harry seized Luna's hand and dragged her along with him.
“Harry, I'd like you to meet Eldred Worple, an old student of mine, author of Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires—and, of course, his friend Sanguini.”
Worple, who was a small, stout82, bespectacled man, grabbed Harry's hand and shook it enthusiastically; the vampire Sanguini, who was tall and emaciated83 with dark shadows
under his eyes, merely nodded. He looked rather bored. A gaggle of girls was standing84 close to him, looking curious and excited.
“Harry Potter, I am simply delighted!” said Worple, peering short-sightedly up into Harry's face. “I was saying to Professor Slughorn only the other day, Where is
the biography of Harry Potter for which we have all been waiting?”
“Er,” said Harry, “were you?”
“Just as modest as Horace described!” said Worple. “But seriously—” his manner changed; it became suddenly business-like, “I would be delighted to write it myself
— people are craving85 to know more about you, dear boy, craving! If you were prepared to grant me a few interviews, say in four- or five-hour sessions, why, we could
have the book finished within months. And all with very little effort on your part, I assure you—ask Sanguini here if it isn't quite — Sanguini, stay here!” added
Worple, suddenly stern, for the vampire had been edging toward the nearby group of girls, a rather hungry look in his eye. “Here, have a pasty,” said Worple, seizing
one from a passing elf and stuffing it into Sanguini's hand before turning his attention back to Harry.
“My dear boy, the gold you could make, you have no idea —”
“I'm definitely not interested,” said Harry firmly, “and I've just seen a friend of mine, sorry.”
He pulled Luna after him into the crowd; he had indeed just seen a long mane of brown hair disappear between what looked like two members of the Weird86 Sisters.
“Hermione! Hermione!”
“Harry! There you are, thank goodness! Hi, Luna !”
“What's happened to you?” asked Harry, for Hermione looked distinctly disheveled, rather as though she had just fought her way out of a thicket87 of Devil's Snare88.
“Oh, I've just escaped—I mean, I've just left Cormac,” she said. “Under the mistletoe,” she added in explanation, as Harry continued to look questioningly at her.
“Serves you right for coming with him,” he told her severely89.
“I thought he'd annoy Ron most,” said Hermione dispassionately. “I debated for a while about Zacharias Smith, but I thought, on the whole —”
“You considered Smith?” said Harry, revolted.
“Yes, I did, and I'm starting to wish I'd chosen him, McLaggen makes Grawp look a gentleman. Let's go this way, we'll be able to see him coming, he's so tall...”
The three of them made their way over to the other side of the room, scooping90 up goblets92 of mead93 on the way, realizing too late that Professor Trelawney was standing
there alone.
“Hello,” said Luna politely to Professor Trelawney.
“Good evening, my dear,” said Professor Trelawney, focusing upon Luna with some difficulty. Harry could smell cooking sherry again. “I haven't seen you in my classes
lately...”
“No, I've got Firenze this year,” said Luna.
“Oh, of course,” said Professor Trelawney with an angry, drunken titter. “Or Dobbin, as I prefer to think of him. You would have thought, would you not, that now I
am returned to the school Professor Dumbledore might have got rid of the horse? But no... we share classes... It's an insult, frankly94, an insult. Do you know...”
Professor Trelawney seemed too tipsy to have recognized Harry. Under cover of her furious criticisms of Firenze, Harry drew closer to Hermione and said, “Let me get
something straight. Are you planning to tell Ron that you interfered95 at Keeper tryouts?”
Hermione raised her eyebrows.
“Do you really think I'd stoop that low?”
Harry looked at her shrewdly.
“Hermione, if you can ask out McLaggen—”
“There's a difference,” said Hermione with dignity. “I've got no plans to tell Ron anything about what might, or might not, have happened at Keeper tryouts.”
“Good,” said Harry fervently96. “Because he'll just fall apart again, and we'll lose the next match —”
“Quidditch!” said Hermione angrily. “Is that all boys care about? Cormac hasn't asked me one single question about myself, no, I've just been treated to A Hundred
Great Saves Made by Cormac McLaggen non-stop ever since—oh no, here he comes!”
She moved so fast it was as though she had Disapparated; one moment she was there, the next, she had squeezed between two guffawing97 witches and vanished.
“Seen Hermione?” asked McLaggen, forcing his way through the throng98 a minute later.
“No, sorry,” said Harry, and he turned quickly to join in Luna's conversation, forgetting for a split second to whom she was talking.
“Harry Potter!” said Professor Trelawney in deep, vibrant99 tones, noticing him for the first time.
“Oh, hello,” said Harry unenthusiastically.
“My dear boy!” she said in a very carrying whisper. “The rumors100! The stories! The Chosen One! Of course, I have known for a very long time... the omens101 were never
good, Harry... but why have you not returned to Divination102? For you, of all people, the subject is of the utmost importance!”
“Ah, Sybill, we all think our subject's most important!” said a loud voice, and Slughorn appeared at Professor Trelawney's other side, his face very red, his velvet
hat a little askew103, a glass of mead in one hand and an enormous mince104 pie in the other. “But I don't think I've ever known such a natural at Potions!” said Slughorn,
regarding Harry with a fond, if bloodshot, eye. “Instinctive, you know—like his mother! I've only ever taught a few with this kind of ability, I can tell you that,
Sybill—why even Severus —”
And to Harry's horror, Slughorn threw out an arm and seemed to scoop54 Snape out of thin air toward them.
“Stop skulking105 and come and join us, Severus!” hiccuped106 Slughorn happily. “I was just talking about Harry's exceptional potion-making! Some credit must go to you, of
course, you taught him for five years!”
Trapped, with Slughorn's arm around his shoulders, Snape looked down his hooked nose at Harry, his black eyes narrowed.
“Funny, I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything at all.”
“Well, then, it's natural ability!” shouted Slughorn. “You should have seen what he gave me, first lesson, Draught107 of Living Death—never had a student produce finer
on a first attempt, I don't think even you, Severus —”
“Really?” said Snape quietly, his eyes still boring into Harry, who felt a certain disquiet108. The last thing he wanted was for Snape to start investigating the source
of his newfound brilliance109 at Potions.
“Remind me what other subjects you're taking, Harry?” asked Slughorn .
“Defense110 Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology...”
“All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror ,” said Snape with the faintest sneer111.
“Yeah, well, that's what I'd like to do,” said Harry defiantly112.
“And a great one you'll make too!” boomed Slughorn.
“I don't think you should be an Auror, Harry,” said Luna unexpectedly. Everybody looked at her. “The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy113, I thought everyone
knew that. They're planning to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease.”
Harry inhaled114 half his mead up his nose as he started to laugh. Really, it had been worth bringing Luna just for this. Emerging, from his goblet91, coughing, sopping115 wet
but still grinning, he saw something calculated to raise his spirits even higher: Draco Malfoy... being dragged by the ear toward them by Argus Filch.
“Professor Slughorn,” wheezed116 Filch, his jowls aquiver and the maniacal117 light of mischief-detection in his bulging118 eyes, “I discovered this boy lurking in an
upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?”
Malfoy pulled himself free of Filch's grip, looking furious.
“All right, I wasn't invited!” he said angrily. “I was trying to gatecrash, happy?”
“No, I'm not!” said Filch, a statement at complete odds119 with the glee on his face. “You're in trouble, you are! Didn't the Headmaster say that night-time prowling is
out, unless you've got permission, didn't he, eh?”
“That's all right, Argus, that's all right,” said Slughorn, waving a hand. “It's Christmas, and it's not a crime to want to come to a party. Just this once, we'll
forget any punishment; you may stay, Draco.”
Filich's expression of outraged120 disappointment was perfectly predictable; but why, Harry wondered, watching him, did Malfoy look almost equally unhappy? And why was
Snape looking at Malfoy as though both angry and... was it possible? ... a little afraid?
But almost before Harry had registered what he had seen, Filch had turned and shuffled121 away, muttering under his breath; Malfoy had composed his face into a smile and
was thanking Slughorn for his generosity122, and Snape's face was smoothly123 inscrutable again.
“It's nothing, nothing,” said Slughorn, waving away Malfoy's thanks. “I did know your grandfather, after all....”
“He always spoke124 very highly of you, sir,” said Malfoy quickly. “Said you were the best potion-maker he'd ever known...”
Harry stared at Malfoy. It was not the sucking-up that intrigued125 him; he had watched Malfoy do that to Snape for a long time. It was the fact that Malfoy did, after
all, look a little ill. This was the first time he had seen Malfoy close up for ages; he now saw that Malfoy had dark shadows under his eyes and a distinctly grayish
“I'd like a word with you, Draco,” said Snape suddenly.
“Now, Severus,” said Slughorn, hiccuping127 again, “it's Christmas, don't be too hard—”
“I'm his Head of House, and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise, to be,” said Snape curtly128. “Follow me, Draco.”
They left, Snape leading the way, Malfoy looking resentful. Harry stood there for a moment, irresolute129, then said, “I'll be back in a bit, Luna—er—bathroom.”
“All right,” she said cheerfully, and he thought he heard her, as he hurried off into the crowd, resume the subject of the Rotfang Conspiracy with Professor
Trelawney, who seemed sincerely interested.
It was easy, once out of the party, to pull his Invisibility Cloak out of his pocket and throw it over himself, for the corridor was quite deserted. What was more
difficult was finding Snape and Malfoy. Harry ran down the corridor, the noise of his feet masked by the music and loud talk still issuing from Slughorn's office behind
him. Perhaps Snape had taken Malfoy to his office in the dungeons130 ... or perhaps he was escorting him back to the Slytherin common room... Harry pressed his ear against
door after door as he dashed down the corridor until, with a great jolt131 of excitement, he crouched132 down to the keyhole of the last classroom in the corridor and heard
voices.
“... cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled —”
“I didn't have anything to do with it, all right?”
“I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy and foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it.”
“Who suspects me?” said Malfoy angrily. “For the last time, I didn't do it, okay? That Bell girl must've had an enemy no one knows about—don't look at me like that!
I know what you're doing, I'm not stupid, but it won't work—I can stop you!”
There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, “Ah... Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal37 from your master,
Draco?”
“I'm not trying to conceal anything from him, I just don't want you butting133 in!”
Harry pressed his ear still more closely against the keyhole... what had happened to make Malfoy speak to Snape like this—Snape, toward whom he had always shown
“So that is why you have been avoiding me this term? You have feared my interference? You realize that, had anybody else failed to come to my office when I had told
them repeatedly to be there, Draco—”
“So put me in detention135! Report me to Dumbledore!” jeered136 Malfoy.
There was another pause. Then Snape said, “You know perfectly well that I do not wish to do either of those things.”
“You'd better stop telling me to come to your office then!”
“Listen to me,” said Snape, his voice so low now that Harry had to push his ear very hard against the keyhole to hear. “I am trying to help you. I swore to your
mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow137, Draco—”
“Looks like you'll have to break it, then, because I don't need your protection! It's my job, he gave it to me and I'm doing it, I've got a plan and it's going to
work, it's just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!”
“What is your plan ?”
“It's none of your business!”
“If you tell me what you are trying to do, I can assist you ...”
“I have all the assistance I need, thanks, I'm not alone!”
“You were certainly alone tonight, which was foolish in the extreme, wandering the corridors without lookouts138 or backup, these are elementary mistakes—”
“I would've had Crabbe and Goyle with me if you hadn't put them in detention!”
“Keep your voice down!” spat139 Snape, for Malfoy's voice had risen excitedly. “If your friends Crabbe and Goyle intend to pass their Defense Against the Dark Arts
O.W.L. this time around, they will need to work a little harder than they are doing at pres—”
“What does it matter?” said Malfoy. “Defense Against the Dark Arts—it's all just a joke, isn't it, an act? Like any of us need protecting against the Dark Arts—”
“It is an act that is crucial to success, Draco!” said Snape. “Where do you think I would have been all these years, if I had not known how to act? Now listen to me!
You are being incautious, wandering around at night, getting yourself caught, and if you are placing your reliance in assistants like Crabbe and Goyle—”
“They're not the only ones, I've got other people on my side, better people!”
“Then why not confide140 in me, and I can—”
“I know what you're up to! You want to steal my glory!”
There was another pause, then Snape said coldly, “You are speaking like a child. I quite understand that your father's capture and imprisonment141 has upset you, but—”
Harry had barely a second's warning; he heard Malfoy's footsteps on the other side of the door and flung himself out of the way just as it burst open. Malfoy was
striding away down the corridor, past the open door of Slughorn's office, around the distant corner, and out of sight.
Hardly daring to breathe, Harry remained crouched down as Snape emerged slowly from the classroom. His expression unfathomable, he returned to the party. Harry remained
on the floor, hidden beneath the Cloak, his mind racing142.
雪花又一次打着转飞到了结冰的窗户上；圣诞节很快又要到了。海格已经照常一个人把12棵圣诞树运到了礼堂里；楼梯的栏杆已经用冬青和金线编成的花环缠绕好了；铠甲的头盔里点着不灭的
蜡烛，走廊里则间隔地挂着大束的?寄生。每次哈利经过的时候，大群大群的女生就聚集在?寄生下，这常常导致走廊的拥堵；然而幸运的是，哈利在城堡里频繁的夜间漫步使得他对秘密通道了
如指掌，所以在两堂课之间他不用太费劲就能找到没有?寄生的路线。
罗恩要是在从前，也许会对这种必要的绕道感到嫉妒而不是有趣，可现在他对此只是捧腹大笑。虽然比起从前那个闷闷不乐、好斗的罗恩，哈利更喜欢现在这个笑容满面、爱打趣的罗恩，
可是他的这个进步却也让哈利感到了代价昂贵。首先，哈利不得不忍受拉文德·布朗的频繁出现，她似乎认为任何没有同罗恩接吻的时间都是一种浪费；其次，哈利发现他最好的两个朋友似乎
不准备再和对方说话了。
罗恩的手和前臂上还带着赫敏的那些小鸟啄出和抓出的伤痕，说话的语气也带着自我辩解和愤慨。
“她没什么可抱怨的，”他告诉哈利。“她吻了克鲁姆。然后发现有人吻了我。嗯，这是个自由的国家，我又没做错什么。”
哈利没有回答，只是假装专心地看着明天魔咒课前需要预习的书（《第五元素：一些探索》）（译注：第五元素是古代和中世纪哲学家认为除了土、空气、火和水四大基本元素以外的第五
种元素，也是最高的精髓，被认为是天体的组成物质并潜伏于所有事物之中）。他决心两边都不得罪，所以许多时间里都默不做声。
“我从没有对赫敏承诺过什么，”罗恩喃喃自语。“我是说，好吧，我跟她一起去参加斯拉霍恩的圣诞聚会，但她从来没说过……我们只是朋友……我是个自由人。”
哈利翻过一页《第五元素》，他意识到罗恩正看着他。罗恩的声音渐渐变成了嘟囔，在噼啪作响的炉火声中几乎听不见了，不过哈利还是觉得又听到了“克鲁姆”和“没理由埋怨”那几个
字。
赫敏的课程表排得太满，以至于哈利到了晚上才能和她说上话，而此时罗恩往往是和拉文德紧紧抱在一起，注意不到哈利在做什么。罗恩在公共休息室时赫敏坚决不肯坐在那儿，所以哈利
通常和她一起去图书馆，这就意味着他们的谈话只能是窃窃私语。
“他有完全的自由去吻他喜欢的任何人，”赫敏说，图书管理员平斯夫人正在巡视他们身后的书架。“我真的不关心。”
她提起羽毛笔在‘i’上狠狠地加了一点，羊皮纸上被戳出了个洞。哈利什么也没有说。他觉得自己的声音很快就会因疏于使用而消失。他把身子朝《高级魔药制备》凑得更近了一些，继
续在长生药那一章做着笔记，偶尔停下来辨认王子对莱贝修斯·波里奇有用的补充。
“顺便说一句，”过了一会儿赫敏说，“你要当心。”
“说最后一次，”在沉默了四十五分钟之后，哈利用一种略带沙哑的声音说，“我不会归还这本书的，混血王子教给我的东西比斯内普和斯拉霍恩多得多——”
“我不是在说你那个愚蠢的所谓‘王子’，”赫敏厌恶地瞥了一眼他的书，就好像它刚刚冒犯了她似的，“我说的是刚才的事情。我来这儿之前去了一趟洗手间，有十来个女生在那里，其
中就有罗蜜尔达·文恩，她们正在计划怎么骗你喝下爱情药。她们都希望你能带她们去斯拉霍恩的聚会，似乎她们都买了弗雷德和乔治的爱情药，恐怕那些东西是有效的——”
“那你为什么不没收它们呢？”哈利问。赫敏在关键时刻竟然没有表现出她对贯彻校规的狂热，这看上去倒很反常。
“她们在洗手间里时并没有带着那些东西。”赫敏轻蔑地说。“她们只是在讨论策略。由于我很怀疑那个混血王子，”她又厌恶地看了那本书一眼，“能发明出解药来同时对付一打不同的
爱情药，所以我想替你邀请一个人——这样就能扼杀她们所有的侥幸想法。就在明天晚上，她们已经有些不顾一切了。”
“我不想邀请任何人，”哈利喃喃自语，他仍在竭尽全力让自己不再去想金妮，尽管事实上她依然会突然闯入他的梦，他只能虔诚地祈祷罗恩不会摄神取念。
“好吧，但千万要小心你的饮料，因为罗蜜尔达看上去不像是在说笑。”赫敏冷酷地说。
“等一下，”他慢慢地说。“我记得费尔奇已经禁掉了韦斯莱魔法把戏店里的任何东西。”
“谁又注意过费尔奇禁了什么东西呢？”赫敏问，她正在专注地写论文。
“但是我记得不是所有的猫头鹰都被检查过了吗？那么这些女生又是怎么把爱情药带进学校的呢？”
“弗雷德和乔治把它们伪装成香水和咳嗽药送进来，”赫敏说。“这是他们猫头鹰定购服务的一部分。”
“你知道得很多嘛。”
赫敏白了一眼他，那眼神就像看他那本《高级魔药制备》一样。
“这些都写在暑假里他们给我和金妮看的那些瓶子的背面，”她冷冷地说。“我可不会到处溜达去在别人的饮料里下药……或者是假装这样做，这同样很糟糕……”
“是啊，好了，别想那个了，”哈利快速地说，“问题是，费尔奇被骗过了，对吧？这些女生把物品伪装成别的东西带入了学校！那马尔福为什么不能把项链带进来——？”
“哦，哈利……又来了……”
“说啊，为什么不能？”哈利问。
“你瞧，”赫敏叹了口气，“探密器能探测到恶咒和伪装起来的咒语，是不是？它们是用来探测黑魔法和黑魔法物品的。它们能识别出强大的诅咒，就像那串项链上的，只要几秒钟而已。
可它没法显示那些只不过是装错了瓶子的东西——不管怎么说，爱情药并不是黑魔法，也不危险——”
“你说的倒容易！”哈利嘀咕了一句，想到了罗蜜尔达·文恩。
“——那么就只能够由费尔奇来发现它不是咳嗽药，他不是个很好的巫师，我怀疑他是否能够区分这些魔药——”
赫敏突然停了下来；哈利也听到了。有人从黑暗的书架之中向他们身后走过来。片刻之后，长的像秃鹫一样的平斯夫人出现在了拐角的地方，她凹陷的脸颊、羊皮纸一般的皮肤和长长的鹰
钩鼻子被手中的提灯照得一清二楚。
“图书馆要关门了，”她说。“请把你们借来的东西放回原处——你对那本书做了什么，你这个坏小子？”
“这不是图书馆的书，是我的！”哈利赶紧说，他抓起桌上的那本《高级魔药制备》，而平斯夫人正准备用爪子一样的手去抓它。
“这是抢夺！”她嘶叫地说，“亵渎！玷污！”
“这只不过是一本被写过的书！”哈利把书从她的手中拽了出来。
她看上去似乎准备要把书没收；赫敏已经迅速地收好了东西，一手抓住哈利的胳臂将他拖出了图书馆。
“如果你不小心一点，她会禁止你进入图书馆的！为什么你一定要带着那本愚蠢的书呢？”
“她像疯狗一样的叫唤不是我的错，赫敏。或者她是不是无意间听到了你中伤费尔奇？我一直觉得他们之间有点儿什么……”
“哦，哈哈……”
他们一边沿点着灯的空旷走廊往公共休息室走，享受着能够重新正常说话的乐趣，一边还为费尔奇和平斯夫人是否有一段地下情争论个不停。
“小丑手杖，”哈利对胖夫人说，这是最新的节日口令。
“你也一样（译注：小丑手杖bauble在英语里还有一层意思是华而不实、愚蠢可笑的东西或人），”胖夫人调皮地露齿一笑，打开了门让他们通过。
“嗨，哈利！”哈利刚从肖像洞爬进来罗蜜尔达就说，“想要一杯峡谷水吗？”
赫敏回头看了他一眼，意思是说“我告诉过你什么？”。
“不了，谢谢。”哈利迅速回答道。“我不太喜欢。”
“那么，无论如何拿上这些。”她硬塞给哈利一只盒子，“酒心巧克力，里面有热火威士忌。我奶奶寄给我的，可我不喜欢吃。”
“哦——好吧——多谢，”哈利想不出还能说什么。“呃——刚才我是和……”
他没有把话说完，赶紧去追赫敏了。
“告诉你，”赫敏简洁地说。“你越早邀请一个人，她们就越不会来骚扰你了，你就可以——”
但突然间她变得面无表情了；因为她刚刚看见了罗恩和拉文德正纠缠在一起，坐在同一张扶手椅上。
“那么，晚安，哈利，”虽然只是晚上七点钟，她还是回女生宿舍去了，也没再说什么。
哈利上床睡觉的时候安慰自己，算上斯拉霍恩的聚会也只剩下明天一天的课需要熬了，然后他和罗恩就能一起去陋居。现在看来罗恩和赫敏要想在放假前和解是不可能的了，不过或许，假
期的分开能让他们有充分的时间冷静下来，好好想想自己的所作所为……
但他并没有抱太大的希望，第二天一起上完变形课之后希望就更加渺茫了。他们刚开始着手学习极为困难的人类变形术；要对着镜子练习，试图改变自己眉毛的颜色。赫敏不怀好意地嘲笑
了罗恩灾难性的第一次尝试，他不知怎么搞的给自己安了一对儿八字胡；罗恩则狠下心惟妙惟肖地模仿起赫敏每次麦格教授提问时坐立不安的样子来报复，拉文德和帕瓦蒂觉得非常有趣，而赫
敏则差点儿掉了眼泪。下课铃一响她就冲出了教室，留下了一半的东西没有收拾。哈利认定此时赫敏比罗恩更需要他去安慰，于是他收拾好她的东西跟了过去。
最后他跟到楼下的一个女生洗手间，她从里面走了出来。卢娜·洛夫古德陪着她，正面无表情地拍着她的背。
“哦，你好，哈利，”卢娜说。“你知道现在你一边的眉毛是浅黄色的吗？”
“嗨，卢娜。赫敏，你把自己的东西落下了——”
他拿出了她的书。
“哦，是的，”赫敏的鼻子似乎塞住了，拿了她的东西快速地背过身去，以掩饰她正在用铅笔盒擦眼泪的事实。“谢谢你，哈利。嗯，我想我要走了……”
她马上跑开了，没有给哈利时间来安慰她，但不可否认他也没有想到要说什么。
“她有点儿乱。”卢娜说。“我开始还以为是哭泣的桃金娘在那儿，结果却是赫敏。她说了那个罗恩·韦斯莱的一些事……”
“是的，他们吵了一架，”哈利说。
“他有时候会说非常滑稽有趣的话，是吗？”他们一起离开那条走廊时卢娜说。“但是他也有点儿刻薄。我去年注意到的。”
“我想是的，”哈利说。卢娜又在展示她直言不讳的才能。哈利觉得她真是有点儿与众不同。“你这个学期过的好吗？”
“哦，还不错，”卢娜说。“没了D.A.感觉有点儿孤单。不过金妮很好。她前几天在变形课上制止了两个男孩叫我‘疯姑娘’——”
“今晚你愿意和我一起去参加斯拉霍恩的聚会吗？”
这些话在哈利阻止它们之前就从他嘴里冒了出来。他感觉就像是一个陌生人在说话。
卢娜凸出的眼睛惊异地望着哈利。
“斯拉霍恩的聚会？和你一起？”
“是的，”哈利说。“我们可以带上客人，所以我想你可能愿意……我是说……”他急切地想把自己的意图表达得一清二楚。“我是说，只是作为朋友，你知道。但如果你不想……”
他心里已经一半希望她不愿意去了。
“哦，不，我很愿意作为朋友和你一起去！”卢娜微笑着说，哈利以前从没有见她笑过。“从没有人邀请过我去参加聚会，作为朋友！你是为了聚会才染的眉毛吧？我是不是也应该这样做
？”
“不是，”哈利坚定地说，“那只是个事故，我会让赫敏帮我弄回来的。那么八点在门厅见。”
“啊哈！”头顶上一个声音尖叫道，他们都吓了一跳；他们俩没有注意到刚刚经过了皮皮鬼，他正倒挂在枝形吊灯上，心怀不轨地冲他们咧嘴笑着。
“傻宝宝波特邀请了疯姑娘！傻宝宝爱上了疯姑娘！傻宝宝爱上了疯姑娘——！”
他飞速地消失了，一边咯咯地笑一边大声尖叫，“傻宝宝波特爱上了疯姑娘！”
“要是能保密就好了，”哈利说。可是他的担心成为了现实，整个学校似乎一瞬间就都知道了他要带卢娜·洛夫古德去参加斯拉霍恩聚会的事。
“你可能选择任何人！”罗恩在晚饭时不相信地说，“任何人！而你选择了疯姑娘洛夫古德？”
“别那样叫她，罗恩，”金妮呵斥道，她在加入朋友们的路上停在了哈利身后。“我真的很高兴你能带她去，哈利。她激动死了。”
她走到桌子那头和迪安坐在了一起。哈利试图为金妮赞赏他带卢娜去参加聚会而感到高兴，可是他做不到。桌子的另一头，赫敏远远地独自一人坐着，拨弄着她的炖菜。哈利注意到罗恩正
偷偷摸摸地看她。
“你可以去道歉，”哈利坦率地建议。
“什么，让我再去被另一群小鸟攻击吗？”罗恩喃喃地着。
“你干嘛要模仿她呢？”
“她嘲笑我的胡子！”
“我也笑了，那是我见过的最蠢的东西。”
但罗恩看上去并没有听到；拉文德和帕瓦蒂刚好走了过来。拉文德挤到罗恩和哈利中间，恣意地搂住了罗恩的脖子。
“嗨，哈利。”帕瓦蒂说，她和哈利一样被他们的两个朋友的行为弄得既尴尬又厌烦。
“嗨，”哈利说。“你还好吗？你准备留在霍格沃茨吧？我听说你父母想让你回去。”
“我暂时劝住了他们，”帕瓦蒂说。“凯蒂的那件事儿真的让他们快疯掉了，不过既然从那以后就没发生什么事情了……哦，嗨，赫敏！”
帕瓦蒂主动笑了笑。哈利知道她是在为变形课上嘲笑赫敏而感到内疚。他转过头看了看，见赫敏也冲她笑了笑。女孩们有时候很奇怪。
“嗨，帕瓦蒂！”赫敏说，完全无视罗恩和拉文德的存在。“今晚你去参加斯拉霍恩的聚会吗？”
“没人邀请，”帕瓦蒂沮丧地说。“尽管我很想去，听起来真的不错——你会去的，是不是？”
“是啊，我和科马克约了八点见面，然后我们——”
突然传来了一个仿佛是橡皮揣子从堵住的水池子里拔出来的声音，罗恩的脸露了出来。赫敏装作没有看见和听见任何东西。
“——然后我们一起去参加派对。”
“科马克？“帕瓦蒂说。“你是指科马克·麦克拉根？”
“没错，”赫敏甜甜地说，“那个差一点就成为了格兰芬多队守门员的人。”她重重地强调了一下那个词。
“那你在和他约会吗？”帕瓦蒂问，眼睛睁得大大的。
“哦——是啊——你不知道吗？”赫敏吃吃地笑了，一点儿也不像是她。
“不知道！”帕瓦蒂看上去对此极为兴奋，“哇，你喜欢魁地奇球员，是不是？先是克鲁姆，然后是麦克拉根……”
“我喜欢真正优秀的球员，”赫敏微笑着纠正了她。“那么，再会……我得走了，为聚会做准备……”
她走了。拉文德和帕瓦蒂立即把头凑在一起讨论这件新鲜事儿，讨论着她们听到过的关于麦克拉根的一切事情和她们曾经对赫敏所有的猜测。罗恩看上去有些黯然失色，他一句话也没说。
哈利则被撂在了一旁，他静静地思索着女孩们的报复心有多么深。
那晚八点他到达门厅的时候，发现一大帮的女生正潜伏在那儿。当他走近卢娜时，所有的女生都愤恨地瞪着他。她穿着一件用亮晶晶的金属片装饰起来的银色长袍，引来周围一阵窃笑，但
从另一方面来说她还是挺好看的。不管怎样，哈利很高兴她没有戴上胡萝卜耳坠、用黄油啤酒的软木塞串成的项链和她的幻影眼镜。
“嗨，”他说。“我们可以走了吗？”
“哦，好吧，”她高兴地说。“聚会在哪儿举行？”
“斯拉霍恩的办公室，”哈利说着，在众目睽睽之下带着她走上了大理石楼梯。“你听说过吗，好像会来一个吸血鬼。”
“鲁弗斯·斯克林杰？”卢娜问。
“我——什么？”哈利惊慌地说，“你是说魔法部部长？”
“是的，他是个吸血鬼，”卢娜用一种阐明事实的口气说。“斯克林杰刚从福吉那里接管魔法部的时候我爸爸就写过一篇很长的文章来说这个，但是魔法部的人不准许他刊登。很显然，他
们不想让真相被揭露出来！”
哈利认为斯克林杰绝对不可能是吸血鬼，不过他已经习惯了卢娜把她父亲的异想天开当真并不断地重复，所以他并没有回答。他们俩已经接近了斯拉霍恩的办公室，笑声、音乐声和吵闹的
谈话声随着他们的步伐越来越大了。
不知道本来就是这样，还是他施过魔法，斯拉霍恩的那间屋子要比普通老师的办公室大得多。天花板和墙壁都被翠绿色、深红色和金色的帷幔遮了起来，看上去就像置身于一个巨大的帐篷
。屋子里面显得很拥挤，沐浴在一片由天花板中央的一盏金质吊灯投射出的红色灯光中，灯里面飞舞着一群真正的仙子，每一只都是一个明亮的光斑。远处的一个角落里传来了响亮的歌声，听
起来像是由曼陀林琴伴奏的；几个上了年纪的巫师正抽着烟斗专心地交谈，笼罩在一团模糊的烟雾之中，许多家养小精灵正在森林一样的腿与腿之间吱吱呀呀地穿行，装满食物的银盘把他们完
全遮在了下面，看上去就像是走来走去的小桌子。
“哈利，我的孩子！”哈利和卢娜刚挤进屋子，斯拉霍恩就叫道，“进来，进来，我有那么多人要介绍给你认识。”
斯拉霍恩戴着一顶流苏天鹅绒帽以搭配身上的吸烟夹克（译注：男子晚间穿的便服，通常由上等布料制成，装饰鲜艳，通常只在家里穿），他紧紧地抓着哈利的胳臂，看上去像是希望和他
做幻影移形，斯拉霍恩径直把他领进了聚会的人群中；哈利抓住卢娜的手，拽着她跟上自己。
“哈利，我想让你见见埃德里·沃普尔，我很早之前的一个学生，《结拜兄弟：我和吸血鬼的生活》的作者——当然，这是他的朋友丧鬼尼。”
沃普尔是一个戴着眼镜的矮小男人，他抓过哈利的手热情地握了又握；那个吸血鬼丧鬼尼只是点了点头，他又高又瘦，眼睛下面带着深深的阴影。看起来非常无聊。一群女孩既好奇又兴奋
地站在他旁边。
“哈利·波特，我简直太高兴了！”沃普尔用近视的眼睛凝视着哈利的脸。“我前不久还在和斯拉霍恩教授说，我们翘首以盼的哈利·波特的传记在哪儿呢？”
“呃，”哈利说，“是吗？”
“简直和贺瑞斯描述的一样谦虚！”沃普尔说。“但是说正经的——”他说话的方式变了；突然像是在谈生意，“我很乐意帮你写这本书——人们渴望知道更多关于你的事，亲爱的孩子，
渴望！如果你同意接受我的几次采访，就四五个小时，这样我们就能在几个月内完成这本书了。而对你来说根本不用费什么劲，我向你保证——你可以问丧鬼尼我说得对不对——丧鬼尼，过来
！”沃普尔突然变得很严厉，那个吸血鬼正向附近的那群女孩慢慢地移过去，一脸饥饿的表情。“过来，吃块馅饼，”沃普尔从小精灵那儿抓起一块馅饼塞到丧鬼尼手中，然后把注意力又转向
了哈利。
“我亲爱的孩子，你能赚到的金子，你不知道——”
“我确实没有兴趣，”哈利坚定地说，“我刚才看到了一个朋友，对不起。”
他拉着卢娜走进了人群里；刚才他确实看到一团的棕色长发消失在两个古怪姐妹的成员中间。
“赫敏！赫敏！”
“哈利！你在这儿啊，谢天谢地！嗨，卢娜！”
“发生了什么事？”哈利问，因为赫敏明显看上去凌乱不堪，就像刚刚从一团魔鬼网里奋力挤出来一样。
“哦，我刚刚逃脱——我是说，我刚刚离开科马克，”她说。“在?寄生下面，”哈利看上去仍然充满疑问，于是她补充地解释道。
“这是你和他一起来的报应，”哈利严厉地说。
“我认为这个会让罗恩暴跳如雷，”赫敏不动声色地说，“我还考虑过扎卡赖斯·史密斯，但是我想，从总体上看——”
“你考虑过史密斯？”哈利厌恶地说。
“是的，我考虑过，而且我现在开始希望我当初选的是史密斯。格洛普和麦克拉根比起来就像个绅士了。我们走这边吧，这样就能看到他过来，他那么高……”
他们三个走到房间的另外一边，沿路拿起几杯蜂蜜酒，当他们意识到特里劳妮教授正一个人站在那边时已经太晚了。
“你好，”卢娜礼貌地对特里劳妮教授说。
“晚上好，亲爱的，”特里劳妮教授说，吃力地盯着卢娜。哈利又闻到了烹调雪利酒的味道。“我最近没有在班上见到你……”
“不是，我今年上费伦泽的课，”卢娜说。
“哦，当然，”特里劳妮教授有些生气，她醉醺醺地笑着。“或者叫道宾（译注：道宾马是一种农用挽马），我平时就这么叫他。你们一定觉得，我回来上课之后邓布利多教授就会赶走那
匹马，是不是？但是没有……我们共同上课……这是一种侮辱，坦白的说，一种侮辱。你们知不知道……”
特里劳妮教授看上去已经醉得认不出哈利了。在她狂风骤雨般地批评费伦泽的同时，哈利走到赫敏身边说，“让我们把事情谈清楚。你是不是准备告诉罗恩你干扰了守门员选拔？”
赫敏扬起了眉毛。
“你真的认为我会那样贬低自己吗？”
哈利精明地看着她。
“赫敏，如果你会去邀请麦克拉根——”
“这不同，”赫敏维护着自己的尊严。“我没有打算去告诉罗恩守门员选拔里可能会发生什么，或者可能不会发生什么。”
“那好，”哈利激烈地说，“因为如果你说了他就会再度崩溃，我们就会输掉下一场比赛——”
“魁地奇！”赫敏生气的说。“是不是男生都只关心这个？科马克从没有问过一个关于我自己的问题，没有，我只是不停地被他灌输科马克·麦克拉根的一百个伟大扑救——哦，不，他来
了！”
她动作快得就像是幻影移形了；刚才还在这儿，一瞬间就挤到两个正在大笑的女巫中
收听单词发音 |
1
swirling
|
|
| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
holly
|
|
| n.[植]冬青属灌木 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
everlasting
|
|
| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
intervals
|
|
| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
converge
|
|
| vi.会合；聚集，集中；(思想、观点等)趋近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
verge
|
|
| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
underneath
|
|
| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
harry
|
|
| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
blockages
|
|
| n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
owl
|
|
| n.猫头鹰，枭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
navigate
|
|
| v.航行，飞行；导航，领航 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
detours
|
|
| 绕行的路( detour的名词复数 )； 绕道，兜圈子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
hilarity
|
|
| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
moody
|
|
| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
secondly
|
|
| adv.第二，其次 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
defensive
|
|
| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
mumbled
|
|
| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
quill
|
|
| n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
ferociously
|
|
| 野蛮地，残忍地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
punctured
|
|
| v.在（某物）上穿孔( puncture的过去式和过去分词 )；刺穿（某物）；削弱（某人的傲气、信心等）；泄某人的气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
elixirs
|
|
| n.炼金药，长生不老药( elixir的名词复数 )；酏剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
hoarse
|
|
| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
confiscate
|
|
| v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
mania
|
|
| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
antidote
|
|
| n.解毒药，解毒剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
devoutly
|
|
| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
hitched
|
|
| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
filch
|
|
| v.偷窃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
wheezes
|
|
| n.喘息声( wheeze的名词复数 )v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
owls
|
|
| n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
sensors
|
|
| n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
concealment
|
|
| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
illuminated
|
|
| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
tugging
|
|
| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
seizure
|
|
| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
festive
|
|
| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
succinctly
|
|
| adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
burrow
|
|
| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
embarked
|
|
| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
eyebrow
|
|
| n.眉毛，眉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
disastrous
|
|
| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
retaliated
|
|
| v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
scooped
|
|
| v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
scoop
|
|
| n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
knack
|
|
| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
protuberant
|
|
| adj.突出的，隆起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
peeves
|
|
| n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
maliciously
|
|
| adv.有敌意地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
zoomed
|
|
| v.（飞机、汽车等）急速移动( zoom的过去式 )；（价格、费用等）急升，猛涨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
shrieking
|
|
| v.尖叫( shriek的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
stew
|
|
| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
furtively
|
|
| adv. 偷偷地, 暗中地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
positively
|
|
| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
withdrawn
|
|
| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
giggle
|
|
| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
agog
|
|
| adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
lurking
|
|
| 潜在 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
giggles
|
|
| n.咯咯的笑( giggle的名词复数 )；傻笑；玩笑；the giggles 止不住的格格笑v.咯咯地笑( giggle的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
onlookers
|
|
| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
earrings
|
|
| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
vampire
|
|
| n.吸血鬼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
ministry
|
|
| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
crimson
|
|
| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
stuffy
|
|
| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
dangling
|
|
| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
haze
|
|
| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
tasseled
|
|
| v.抽穗， （玉米）长穗须( tassel的过去式和过去分词 )；使抽穗， （为了使作物茁壮生长）摘去穗状雄花；用流苏装饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
81
velvet
|
|
| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
emaciated
|
|
| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
craving
|
|
| n.渴望,热望 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
weird
|
|
| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
thicket
|
|
| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
snare
|
|
| n.陷阱，诱惑，圈套；（去除息肉或者肿瘤的）勒除器；响弦，小军鼓；vt.以陷阱捕获，诱惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
severely
|
|
| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
scooping
|
|
| n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
goblet
|
|
| n.高脚酒杯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
goblets
|
|
| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
mead
|
|
| n.蜂蜜酒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
frankly
|
|
| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
interfered
|
|
| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
fervently
|
|
| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
guffawing
|
|
| v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
throng
|
|
| n.人群，群众；v.拥挤，群集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
vibrant
|
|
| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
rumors
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
omens
|
|
| n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
divination
|
|
| n.占卜，预测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
askew
|
|
| adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
mince
|
|
| n.切碎物；v.切碎，矫揉做作地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
skulking
|
|
| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
hiccuped
|
|
| v.嗝( hiccup的过去式和过去分词 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
draught
|
|
| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
disquiet
|
|
| n.担心，焦虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
brilliance
|
|
| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
sneer
|
|
| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
defiantly
|
|
| adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
conspiracy
|
|
| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
inhaled
|
|
| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
sopping
|
|
| adj. 浑身湿透的 动词sop的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
wheezed
|
|
| v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
maniacal
|
|
| adj.发疯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
bulging
|
|
| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
outraged
|
|
| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
shuffled
|
|
| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
generosity
|
|
| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
smoothly
|
|
| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
spoke
|
|
| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
intrigued
|
|
| adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
tinge
|
|
| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
hiccuping
|
|
| v.嗝( hiccup的现在分词 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
curtly
|
|
| adv.简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
irresolute
|
|
| adj.无决断的，优柔寡断的，踌躇不定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
dungeons
|
|
| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
jolt
|
|
| v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
crouched
|
|
| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
butting
|
|
| 用头撞人（犯规动作） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
liking
|
|
| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
detention
|
|
| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
jeered
|
|
| v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
vow
|
|
| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
lookouts
|
|
| n.寻找（ 某人/某物）( lookout的名词复数 )；是某人（自己）的问题；警戒；瞭望台 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
spat
|
|
| n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
confide
|
|
| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
imprisonment
|
|
| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
racing
|
|
| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |