Patches of bright blue sky were beginning to appear over the castle turrets1, but these signs of approaching summer did not lift Harry2's mood. He had been thwarted3, both
in his attempts to find out what Malfoy was doing, and in his efforts to start a conversation with Slughorn that might lead, somehow, to Slughorn handing over the
memory he had apparently4 suppressed for decades.
“For the last time, just forget about Malfoy,” Hermione told Harry firmly.
They were sitting with Ron in a sunny corner of the courtyard after lunch. Hermione and Ron were both clutching a Ministry5 of Magic leaflet: Common Apparition6 Mistakes
and How to Avoid Them, for they were taking their tests that very afternoon, but by and large the leaflets had not proved soothing7 to the nerves. Ron gave a start and
tried to hide behind Hermione as a girl came around the corner.
“It isn't Lavender,” said Hermione wearily.
“Oh, good,” said Ron, relaxing.
“Harry Potter?” said the girl. “I was asked to give you this.”
“Thanks...”
Harry's heart sank as he took the small scroll9 of parchment. Once the girl was out of earshot he said, “Dumbledore said we wouldn't be having any more lessons until I
got the memory!”
“Maybe he wants to check on how you're doing?” suggested Hermione, as Harry unrolled the parchment; but rather than finding Dumbledore's long, narrow, slanted10 writing
he saw an untidy sprawl11, very difficult to read due to the presence of large blotches12 on the parchment where the ink had run.
Dear Harry, Ron and Hermione,
Aragog died last night. Harry and Ron, you met him and you know how special he was. Hermione, I know you'd have liked him. It would mean a lot to me if you'd nip down
for the burial later this evening. I'm planning on doing it round dusk, that was his favorite time of day. I know you're not supposed to be out that late, but you can
use the cloak. Wouldn't ask, but I can't face it alone.
Hagrid
“Look at this,” said Harry, handing the note to Hermione.
“Oh, for heaven's sake,” she said, scanning it quickly and passing it to Ron, who read it through looking increasingly incredulous.
“He's mental” he said furiously. “That thing told its mates to eat Harry and me! Told them to help themselves! And now Hagrid expects us to go down there and cry
over its horrible hairy body!”
“It's not just that,” said Hermione. “He's asking us to leave the castle at night and he knows security's a million times tighter and how much trouble we'd be in if
we were caught.”
“We've been down to see him by night before,” said Harry.
“Yes, but for something like this?” said Hermione. “We've risked a lot to help Hagrid out, but after all—Aragog's dead. If it were a question of saving him —”
“— I'd want to go even less,” said Ron firmly. “You didn't meet him, Hermione. Believe me, being dead will have improved him a lot.”
Harry took the note back and stared down at all the inky blotches all over it. Tears had clearly fallen thick and fast upon the parchment...
“Harry, you can't be thinking of going,” said Hermione. “It's such a pointless thing to get detention13 for.”
Harry sighed.
“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I s'pose Hagrid'll have to bury Aragog without us.”
“Yes, he will,” said Hermione, looking relieved. “Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests... try and soften14 Slughorn up a
bit then!”
“Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?” said Harry bitterly.
“Lucky,” said Ron suddenly. “Harry, that's it—get lucky!”
“What d'you mean?”
“Use your lucky potion!”
“Ron, that's—that's it!” said Hermione, sounding stunned15. “Of course! Why didn't I think of it?”
Harry stared at them both. “Felix Felicis?” he said. “I dunno... I was sort of saving it...”
“What for?” demanded Ron incredulously.
“What on earth is more important than this memory, Harry?” asked Hermione.
Harry did not answer. The thought of that little golden bottle had hovered16 on the edges of his imagination for some time; vague and unformulated plans that involved
Ginny splitting up with Dean, and Ron somehow being happy to see her with a new boyfriend, had been fermenting17 in the depths of his brain, unacknowledged except during
dreams or the twilight18 time between sleeping and waking...
“Harry? Are you still with us?” asked Hermione.
“Wha—?... Yeah, of course,” he said, pulling himself together. “Well... okay. If I can't get Slughorn to talk this afternoon, I'll take some Felix and have another
go this evening.”
“That's decided19, then,” said Hermione briskly, getting to her feet and performing a graceful20 pirouette. “Destination... determination... deliberation...” she
murmured.
“Oh, stop that,” Ron begged her, “I feel sick enough as it is—quick, hide me!”
“It isn't Lavender!” said Hermione impatiently, as another couple of girls appeared in the courtyard and Ron dived behind her.
“Cool,” said Ron, peering over Hermione's shoulder to check. “Blimey, they don't look happy, do they?”
“They're the Montgomery sisters and of course they don't look happy, didn't you hear what happened to their little brother?” said Hermione.
“I'm losing track of what's happening to everyone's relatives, to be honest,” said Ron.
“Well, their brother was attacked by a werewolf. The rumor21 is that their mother refused to help the Death Eaters. Anyway, the boy was only five and he died in St.
Mungo's, they couldn't save him.”
“He died?” repeated Harry, shocked. “But surely werewolves don't kill, they just turn you into one of them?”
“They sometimes kill,” said Ron, who looked unusually grave now. “I've heard of it happening when the werewolf gets carried away.”
“What was the werewolf's name?” said Harry quickly.
“Well, the rumor is that it was that Fenrir Greyback,” said Hermione.
“I knew it—the maniac22 who likes attacking kids, the one Lupin told me about!” said Harry angrily.
Hermione looked at him bleakly23.
“Harry, you've got to get that memory,” she said. “It's all about stopping Voldemort, isn't it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him...”
The bell rang overhead in the castle and both Hermione and Ron jumped to their feet, looking terrified.
“You'll do fine,” Harry told them both, as they headed toward the entrance hall to meet the rest of the people taking their Apparition Test. “Good luck.”
“And you too!” said Hermione with a significant look, as Harry headed off to the dungeons24.
There were only three of them in Potions that afternoon: Harry, Ernie, and Draco Malfoy.
“All too young to Apparate just yet?” said Slughorh genially26, “Not turned seventeen yet?”
They shook their heads.
“Ah well,” said Slughorn cheerily, “as we're so few, we'll do something fun. I want you all to brew27 me up something amusing!”
“That sounds good, sir,” said Ernie sycophantically28, rubbing his hands together. Malfoy, on the other hand, did not crack a smile.
“What do you mean, ‘something amusing'?” he said irritably30.
“Oh, surprise me,” said Slughorn airily.
Malfoy opened his copy of Advanced Potion-Making with a sulky expression. It could not have been plainer that he thought this lesson was a waste of time. Undoubtedly31,
Harry thought, watching him over the top of his own book, Malfoy was begrudging32 the time he could otherwise be spending in the Room of Requirement.
Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner? Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that grayish tinge33, probably because he so rarely saw
daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted
openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort... there could be only one conclusion, in Harry's opinion: the mission, whatever it was, was going badly.
Cheered by this thought, Harry skimmed through his copy of Advanced Potion-Making and found a heavily corrected Half-Blood Prince's version of An Elixir34 to Induce
Euphoria, which seemed not only to meet Slughorn's instructions, but which might (Harry's heart leapt as the thought struck him) put Slughorn into such a good mood that
he would be prepared to hand over that memory if Harry could persuade him to taste some...
“Well, now, this looks absolutely wonderful,” said Slughorn an hour and a half later, clapping his hands together as he stared down into the sunshine yellow contents
of Harry's cauldron. “Euphoria, I take it? And what's that I smell? Mmmm... you've added just a sprig of peppermint35, haven't you? Unorthodox, but what a stroke of
inspiration, Harry, of course, that would tend to counterbalance the occasional side effects of excessive singing and nose-tweaking... I really don't know where you get
these brain waves, my boy... unless —”
Harry pushed the Half-Blood Prince's book deeper into his bag with his foot.
“— it's just your mother's genes36 coming out in you!”
“Oh... yeah, maybe,” said Harry, relieved.
Ernie was looking rather grumpy; determined37 to outshine Harry for once, he had most rashly invented his own potion, which had curdled38 and formed a kind of purple
dumpling at the bottom of his cauldron. Malfoy was already packing up, sour-faced; Slughorn had pronounced his Hiccuping40 Solution merely “passable.”
The bell rang and both Ernie and Malfoy left at once. “Sir,” Harry began, but Slughorn immediately glanced over his shoulder; when he saw that the room was empty but
for himself and Harry, he hurried away as fast as he could.
“Professor—Professor, don't you want to taste my po—?” called Harry desperately42.
But Slughorn had gone. Disappointed, Harry emptied the cauldron, packed up his things, left the dungeon25, and walked slowly back upstairs to the common room.
Ron and Hermione returned in the late afternoon.
“Harry!” cried Hermione as she climbed through the portrait hole. “Harry, I passed!”
“Well done!” he said. “And Ron?”
“He—he just failed,” whispered Hermione, as Ron came slouching into the room looking most morose44. “It was really unlucky, a tiny thing, the examiner just spotted45
that he'd left half an eyebrow46 behind... how did it go with Slughorn?”
“No joy,” said Harry, as Ron joined them. “Bad luck, mate, but you'll pass next time—we can take it together.”
“Yeah, I s'pose,” said Ron grumpily. “But half an eyebrow! Like that matters!”
“I know,” said Hermione soothingly47, “it does seem really harsh...”
They spent most of their dinner roundly abusing the Apparition examiner, and Ron looked fractionally more cheerful by the time they set off back to the common room, now
discussing the continuing problem of Slughorn and the memory.
“So, Harry—you going to use the Felix Felicis or what?” Ron demanded.
“Yeah, I s'pose I'd better,” said Harry. “I don't reckon I'll need all of it, not twenty-four hours’ worth, it can't take all night... I'll just take a mouthful.
Two or three hours should do it.”
“It's a great feeling when you take it,” said Ron reminiscently. “Like you can't do anything wrong.”
“What are you talking about?” said Hermione, laughing. “You've never taken any!”
“Yeah, but I thought I had, didn't I?” said Ron, as though explaining the obvious. “Same difference really ...”
As they had only just seen Slughorn enter the Great Hall and knew that he liked to take time over meals, they lingered for a while in the common room, the plan being
that Harry should go to Slughorn s office once the teacher had had time to get back there. When the sun had sunk to the level of the treetops in the Forbidden Forest,
they decided the moment had come, and after checking carefully that Neville, Dean, and Seamus were all in the common room, sneaked48 up to the boys’ dormitory.
Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle.
“Well, here goes,” said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and look a carefully measured gulp49.
“What does it feel like?” whispered Hermione.
Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done
anything, anything at all... and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively50 easy...
He got to his feet, smiling, brimming with confidence.
“Excellent,” he said. “Really excellent. Right... I'm going down to Hagrid's.”
“What?” said Ron and Hermione together, looking aghast.
“No, Harry—you've got to go and see Slughorn, remember?” said Hermione.
“No,” said Harry confidently. “I'm going to Hagrid's, I've got a good feeling about going to Hagrid's.”
“You've got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?” asked Ron, looking stunned.
“Yeah,” said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. “I feel like it's the place to be tonight, you know what I mean?”
“No,” said Ron and Hermione together, both looking positively alarmed now.
“This is Felix Felicis, I suppose?” said Hermione anxiously, holding up the bottle to the light. “You haven't got another little bottle full of— I don't know —”
“Essence of Insanity52?” suggested Ron, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders.
Harry laughed, and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed.
“Trust me,” he said. “I know what I'm doing ... or at least...” he strolled confidently to the door, “Felix does.”
He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over his head and set off down the stairs, Ron and Hermione hurrying along behind him. At the foot of the stairs, Harry slid through
the open door.
“What were you doing up there with her!” shrieked53 Lavender Brown, staring right through Harry at Ron and Hermione emerging together from the boys’ dormitories. Harry
heard Ron spluttering behind him as he darted54 across the room away from them.
Getting through the portrait hole was simple; as he approached it, Ginny and Dean came through it, and Harry was able to slip between them. As he did so, he brushed
accidentally against Ginny.
“Don't push me, please, Dean,” she said, sounding annoyed. “You're always doing that, I can get through perfectly55 well on my own...”
The portrait swung closed behind Harry, but not before he had heard Dean make an angry retort... his feeling of elation56 increasing, Harry strode off through the castle.
He did not have to creep along, for he met nobody on his way, but this did not surprise him in the slightest. This evening, he was the luckiest person at Hogwarts.
Why he knew that going to Hagrid's was the right thing to do, he had no idea. It was as though the potion was illuminating57 a few steps of the path at a time. He could
not see the final destination, he could not see where Slughorn came in, but he knew that he was going the right way to get that memory. When he reached the entrance
hall he saw that Filch58 had forgotten to lock the front door. Beaming, Harry threw it open and breathed in the smell of clean air and grass for a moment before walking
down the steps into the dusk.
It was when he reached the bottom step that it occurred to him how very pleasant it would be to pass the vegetable patch on his walk to Hagrid's. It was not strictly59 on
the way, but it seemed clear to Harry that this was a whim60 on which he should act, so he directed his feet immediately toward the vegetable patch, where he was pleased,
but not altogether surprised, to find Professor Slughorn in conversation with Professor Sprout61. Harry lurked62 behind a low stone wall, feeling at peace with the world
and listening to their conversation.
“... I do thank you for taking the time, Pomona,” Slughorn was saying courteously63. “Most authorities agree that they are at their most efficacious if picked at
twilight.”
“Oh, I quite agree,” said Professor Sprout warmly. “That enough for you?”
“Plenty, plenty,” said Slughorn, who, Harry saw, was carrying an armful of leafy plants. “This should allow for a few leaves for each of my third-years, and some to
spare if anybody over-stews them... well, good evening to you, and many thanks again!”
Professor Sprout headed off into the gathering64 darkness in the direction of her greenhouses, and Slughorn directed his steps to the spot where Harry stood, invisible.
Seized with an immediate41 desire to reveal himself, Harry pulled off the cloak with a flourish.
“Good evening, Professor.”
“Merlin's beard, Harry, you made me jump,” said Slughorn, stopping dead in his tracks and looking wary65. “How did you get out of the castle?”
“I think Filch must've forgotten to lock the doors,” said Harry cheerfully, and was delighted to see Slughorn scowl66.
“I'll be reporting that man, he's more concerned about litter than proper security if you ask me... but why are you out then, Harry?”
“Well, sir, it's Hagrid,” said Harry, who knew that the right thing to do just now was to tell the truth. “He's pretty upset... but you won't tell anyone, Professor?
I don't want trouble for him...”
Slughorn's curiosity was evidently aroused.
“Well, I can't promise that,” he said gruffly. “But I know that Dumbledore trusts Hagrid to the hilt, so I'm sure he can't be up to anything very dreadful...”
“Well, it's this giant spider, he's had it for years... it lived in the forest... it could talk and everything—”
“I heard rumors67 there were Acromantula in the forest,” said Slughorn softly, looking over at the mass of black trees. “It's true, then?”
“Yes,” said Harry. “But this one, Aragog, the first one Hagrid ever got, it died last night. He's devastated68. He wants company while he buries it and I said I'd go.
”
“Touching, touching,” said Slughorn absentmindedly, his large droopy eyes fixed69 upon the distant lights of Hagrid's cabin. “But Acromantula venom70 is very valuable...
if the beast only just died it might not yet have dried out... of course, I wouldn't want to do anything insensitive if Hagrid is upset... but if there was any way to
procure71 some ... I mean, it's almost impossible to get venom from an Acromantula while it's alive...”
Slughorn seemed to be talking more to himself than Harry now.
“... seems an awful waste not to collect it... might get a hundred Galleons72 a pint73... to be frank, my salary is not large...”
And now Harry saw clearly what was to be done.
“Well,” he said, with a most convincing hesitancy, “well, if you wanted to come, Professor, Hagrid would probably be really pleased... give Aragog a better send-off,
you know ...”
“Yes, of course,” said Slughorn, his eyes now gleaming with enthusiasm. “I tell you what, Harry, I'll meet you down there with a bottle or two... we'll drink the
poor beast's—well — not health—but we'll send it off in style, anyway, once it's buried. And I'll change my tie, this one is a little exuberant74 for the occasion...”
He bustled75 back into the castle, and Harry sped off to Hagrid's, delighted with himself.
“Yeh came,” croaked76 Hagrid, when he opened the door and saw Harry emerging from the Invisibility Cloak in front of him.
“Yeah—Ron and Hermione couldn't, though,” said Harry. “They're really sorry.”
“Don'—don’ matter... He'd've bin29 touched yeh're here, though, Harry...”
Hagrid gave a great sob77. He had made himself a black armband out of what looked like a rag dipped in boot polish, and his eyes were puffy, red, and swollen78. Harry
patted him consolingly on the elbow, which was the highest point of Hagrid he could easily reach.
“Where are we burying him?” he asked. “The forest?”
“Blimey, no,” said Hagrid, wiping his streaming eyes on the bottom of his shirt. “The other spiders won’ let me anywhere near their webs now Aragog's gone. Turns
out it was only on his orders they didn’ eat me! Can yeh believe that, Harry?”
The honest answer was “yes"; Harry recalled with painful ease the scene when he and Ron had come face-to-face with the aeromantulas. They had been quite clear that
Aragog was the only thing that stopped them from eating Hagrid.
“Never bin an area o’ the forest I couldn’ go before!” said Hagrid, shaking his head. “It wasn’ easy, gettin’ Aragog's body out o’ there, I can tell yeh—they
usually eat their dead, see... but I wanted ter give ‘im a nice burial... a proper send-off...”
He broke into sobs79 again and Harry resumed the patting of his elbow, saying as he did so (for the potion seemed to indicate that it was the right thing to do),
“Professor Slughorn met me coming down here, Hagrid.”
“Not in trouble, are yeh?” said Hagrid, looking up, alarmed. “Yeh shouldn’ be outta the castle in the evenin', I know it, it's my fault —”
“No, no, when he heard what I was doing he said he'd like to come and pay his last respects to Aragog too,” said Harry. “He's gone to change into something more
suitable, I think... and he said he'd bring some bottles so we can drink to Aragog's memory...”
“Did he?” said Hagrid, looking both astonished and touched. “Tha's—tha's righ’ nice of him, that is, an’ not turnin’ yeh in either. I've never really had a lot
ter do with Horace Slughorn before... comin’ ter see old Aragog off, though, eh? Well... he'd've liked that, Aragog would...”
Harry thought privately80 that what Aragog would have liked most about Slughorn was the ample amount of edible81 flesh he provided, but he merely moved to the rear window
of Hagrid's hut, where he saw the rather horrible sight of the enormous dead spider lying on its back outside, its legs curled and tangled82.
“Are we going to bury him here, Hagrid, in your garden?”
“Jus’ beyond the pumpkin83 patch, I thought,” said Hagrid in a choked voice. “I've already dug the — yeh know—grave. Jus’ thought we'd say a few nice things over
him—happy memories, yeh know —”
His voice quivered and broke. There was a knock on the door, and he turned to answer it, blowing his nose on his great spotted handkerchief as he did so. Slughorn
hurried over the threshold, several bottles in his arms, and wearing a somber84 black cravat85.
“Hagrid,” he said, in a deep, grave voice. “So very sorry to hear of your loss.”
“Tha's very nice of yeh,” said Hagrid. “Thanks a lot. An’ thanks fer not givin Harry detention neither...”
“Wouldn't have dreamed of it,” said Slughorn. “Sad night, sad night... where is the poor creature?”
“Out here,” said Hagrid in a shaking voice. “Shall we—shall we do it, then?”
The three of them stepped out into the back garden. The moon was glistening86 palely through the trees now, and its rays mingled87 with the light spilling from Hagrid's
window to illuminate88 Aragog's body lying on the edge of a massive pit beside a ten-foot-high mound89 of freshly dug earth.
“Magnificent,” said Slughorn, approaching the spider's head, where eight milky90 eyes stared blankly at the sky and two huge, curved pincers shone, motionless, in the
moonlight. Harry thought he heard the tinkle91 of bottles as Slughorn bent92 over the pincers, apparently examining the enormous hairy head.
“It's not ev'ryone appreciates how beau'iful they are,” said Hagrid to Slughorn's back, tears leaking from the corners of his crinkled eyes. “I didn’ know yeh were
interested in creatures like Aragog, Horace.”
“Interested? My dear Hagrid, I revere93 them,” said Slughorn, stepping back from the body. Harry saw the glint of a bottle disappear beneath his cloak, though Hagrid,
mopping his eyes once more, noticed nothing. “Now... shall we proceed to the burial?”
Hagrid nodded and moved forward. He heaved the gigantic spider into his arms and, with an enormous grunt94, rolled it into the dark pit. It hit the bottom with a rather
horrible, crunchy thud. Hagrid started to cry again.
“Of course, it's difficult for you, who knew him best,” said Slughorn, who like Harry could reach no higher than Hagrid's elbow, but patted it all the same. “Why
don't I say a few words?”
He must have got a lot of good quality venom from Aragog, Harry thought, for Slughorn wore a satisfied smirk95 as he stepped up to the rim51 of the pit and said, in a slow,
impressive voice, “Farewell, Aragog, king of arachnids, whose long and faithful friendship those who knew you won't forget! Though your body will decay, your spirit
lingers on in the quiet, web-spun places of your forest home. May your many-eyed descendants ever flourish and your human friends find solace96 for the loss they have
sustained.”
“Tha wa... tha wa... beau'iful!” howled Hagrid, and he collapsed97 onto the compost heap, crying harder than ever.
“There, there,” said Slughorn, waving his wand so that the huge pile of earth rose up and then fell, with a muffled98 sort of crash, onto the dead spider, forming a
smooth mound. “Lets get inside and have a drink. Get on his other side, Harry... that's it... up you come, Hagrid... well done...”
They deposited Hagrid in a chair at the table. Fang99, who had been skulking100 in his basket during the burial, now came padding softly across to them and put his heavy
head into Harry's lap as usual. Slughorn uncorked one of the bottles of wine he had brought.
“I have had it all tested for poison,” he assured Harry, pouring most of the first bottle into one of Hagrid's bucket-sized mugs and handing it to Hagrid. “Had a
house-elf taste every bottle after what happened to your poor friend Rupert.”
Harry saw, in his mind's eye, the expression on Hermione's face if she ever heard about this abuse of house-elves, and decided never to mention it to her.
“One for Harry...” said Slughorn, dividing a second bottle between two mugs, “... and one for me. Well,— he raised his mug high, “to Aragog.”
“Aragog,” said Harry and Hagrid together.
Both Slughorn and Hagrid drank deeply. Harry, however, with the way ahead illuminated102 for him by Felix Felicis, knew that he must not drink, so he merely pretended to
take a gulp and then set the mug back on the table before him.
“I had him from an egg, yeh know,” said Hagrid morosely103. “'Tiny little thing he was when he hatched. ‘Bout the size of a Pekingese”
“Sweet,” said Slughorn.
“Used ter keep him in a cupboard up at the school until... well...”
Hagrid's face darkened and Harry knew why: Tom Riddle104 had contrived105 to have Hagrid thrown out of school, blamed for opening the Chamber106 of Secrets. Slughorn, however,
did not seem to be listening; he was looking up at the ceiling, from which a number of brass107 pots hung, and also a long, silky skein of bright white hair.
“That's not unicorn108 hair, Hagrid?”
“Oh, yeah,” said Hagrid indifferently. “Gets pulled out of their tails, they catch it on branches an’ stuff in the forest, yeh know ...”
“But my dear chap, do you know how much that's worth?”
“I use it fer bindin’ on bandages an’ stuff if a creature gets in jured,” said Hagrid, shrugging. “It's dead useful... very strong.”
Slughorn took another deep draught109 from his mug, his eyes moving carefully around the cabin now, looking, Harry knew, for more treasures that he might be able to
convert into a plentiful110 supply of oak-matured mead111, crystalized pineapple, and velvet112 smoking jackets. He refilled Hagrid's mug and his own, and questioned him about
the creatures that lived in the forest these days and how Hagrid was able to look after them all. Hagrid, becoming expansive under the influence of the drink and
Slughorn's flattering interest, stopped mopping his eyes and entered happily into a long explanation of Bowtruckle husbandry.
The Felix Felicis gave Harry a little nudge at this point, and he noticed that the supply of drink that Slughorn had brought was running out fast. Harry had not yet
managed to bring off the Refilling Charm without saying the incantation aloud, but the idea that he might not be able to do it tonight was laughable: indeed, Harry
grinned to himself as, unnoticed by either Hagrid or Slughorn (now swapping113 tales of the illegal trade in dragon eggs) he pointed43 his wand under the table at the
emptying bottles and they immediately began to refill.
After an hour or so, Hagrid and Slughorn began making extravagant114 toasts: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine, and to—
“Harry Potter!” bellowed115 Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it.
“Yes, indeed,” cried Slughorn a little thickly, “Parry Otter8, the Chosen Boy Who—well — something of that sort,” he mumbled116, and drained his mug too.
Not long after this, Hagrid became tearful again and pressed the whole unicorn tail upon Slughorn, who pocketed it with cries of, “To friendship! To generosity117! To ten
Galleons a hair!”
And for a while after that, Hagrid and Slughorn were sitting side by side, arms around each other, singing a slow sad song about a dying wizard called Odo.
“Aaargh, the good die young,” muttered Hagrid, slumping118 low onto the table, a little cross-eyed, while Slughorn continued to warble the refrain. “Me dad was no age
ter go ... nor were yer mum’ an’ dad, Harry...”
Great fat tears oozed119 out of the corners of Hagrid's crinkled eyes again; he grasped Harry's arm and shook it
“Bes’ wiz and witchard o’ their age I never knew... terrible thing... terrible thing...”
Slughorn sang plaintively120.
“And Odo the hero, they bore him back home
To the place that he'd known as a lad,
They laid him to rest with his hat inside out.
And his wand snapped in two, which was sad.”
“... terrible,” Hagrid grunted121, and his great shaggy head rolled sideways onto his arms and he fell asleep, snoring deeply.
“Sorry,” said Slughorn with a hiccup39. “Can't carry a tune122 to save my life.”
“Hagrid wasn't talking about your singing,” said Harry quietly. “He was talking about my mum and dad dying.”
“Oh,” said Slughorn, repressing a large belch123. “Oh dear. Yes, that was—was terrible indeed. Terrible... terrible...”
He looked quite at a loss for what to say, and resorted to refilling their mugs.
“I don't—don't suppose you remember it, Harry?” he asked awkwardly.
“No—well, I was only one when they died,” said Harry, his eyes on the flame of the candle flickering124 in Hagrid's heavy snores. “But I've found out pretty much what
happened since. My dad died first. Did you know that?”
“I—I didn't,” said Slughorn in a hushed voice.
“Yeah... Voldemort murdered him and then stepped over his body toward my mum,” said Harry.
Slughorn gave a great shudder125, but he did not seem able to tear his horrified126 gaze away from Harry's face.
“He told her to get out of the way,” said Harry remorselessly. “He told me she needn't have died. He only wanted me. She could have run.”
“Oh dear,” breathed Slughorn. “She could have... she needn't... that's awful...”
“It is, isn't it?” said Harry, in a voice barely more than a whisper. “But she didn't move. Dad was already dead, but she didn't want me to go too. She tried to
plead with Voldemort... but he just laughed....”
“That's enough!” said Slughorn suddenly, raising a shaking hand. “Really, my dear boy, enough... I'm an old man... I don't need to hear... I don't want to hear...”
“I forgot,” lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. “You liked her, didn't you?”
“Liked her?” said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more. “I don't imagine anyone who met her wouldn't have liked her... very brave... very funny... it was
the most horrible thing...”
“But you won't help her son,” said Harry. “She gave me her life, but you won't give me a memory.”
Hagrid's rumbling127 snores filled the cabin. Harry looked steadily128 into Slughorn's tear-filled eyes. The Potions master seemed unable to look away.
“Don't say that,” he whispered. “It isn't a question... if it were to help you, of course... but no purpose can be serve...”
“It can,” said Harry clearly. “Dumbledore needs information. I need information.”
He knew he was safe: Felix was telling him that Slughorn would remember nothing of this in the morning. Looking Slughorn straight in the eye, Harry leaned forward a
little.
“I am the Chosen One. I have to kill him. I need that memory.”
Slughorn turned paler than ever; his shiny forehead gleamed with sweat.
“You are the Chosen One?”
“Of course I am,” said Harry calmly.
“But the... my dear boy... you're asking a great deal... you're asking me, in fact, to aid you in your attempt to destroy—”
“You don't want to get rid of the wizard who killed Lily Evans?”
“Harry, Harry, of course I do, but —”
“You're scared he'll find out you helped me?”
Slughorn said nothing; he looked terrified.
“Be brave like my mother, Professor...”
Slughorn raised a pudgy hand and pressed his shaking fingers to his mouth; he looked for a moment like an enormously overgrown baby.
“I am not proud...” he whispered through his fingers. “I am ashamed of what—of what that memory shows... I think I may have done great damage that day...”
“You'd cancel out anything you did by giving me the memory,” said Harry. “It would be a very brave and noble thing to do.”
Hagrid twitched129 in his sleep and snored on. Slughorn and Harry stared at each other over the guttering130 candle. There was a long, long silence, but Felix Felicis told
Harry not to break it, to wait.
Then, very slowly, Slughorn put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wand. He put his other hand inside his cloak and took out a small, empty bottle. Still looking
into Harry's eyes, Slughorn touched the tip of his wand to his temple and withdrew it, so that a long, silver thread of memory came away too, clinging to the wand tip.
Longer and longer the memory stretched until it broke and swung, silvery bright, from the wand. Slughorn lowered it into the bottle where it coiled, then spread,
swirling131 like gas. He corked101 the bottle with a trembling hand and then passed it across the table to Harry.
“Thank you very much, Professor.”
“You're a good boy,” said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling132 down his fat cheeks into his walrus133 mustache. “And you've got her eyes... just don't think too badly of
me once you've seen it...”
And he too put his head on his arms, gave a deep sigh, and fell asleep.
一片片湛蓝的天空开始出现在了城堡塔楼的上空，但这些夏天临近的征兆并没有使哈利振奋起来。无论是试图查出马尔福在干什么，还是试图去和斯拉霍恩教授进行一场促使他交出那个被隐藏
了几十年的记忆的谈话，他毫无进展可言。
“我最后一次告诉你，忘了马尔福的事，”赫敏坚定地告诉哈利。
午饭之后，他们正和罗恩一起坐在晴朗的院子里。赫敏和罗恩都抓着一本魔法部的小册子：《幻影显形常见错误及避免办法》，因为他们要在当天下午去参加测试，不过那本册子基本上没
有安抚他们的焦虑。这时有个女孩走了过来，罗恩愣了一下，赶紧躲在了赫敏的背后。
“那不是拉文德，”赫敏疲倦地说。
“哦，好，”罗恩松了口气。
“哈利·波特？”那个女孩说。“有人让我给你这个。”
“谢谢……”
哈利打开这卷羊皮纸时心沉了下去。等到那个女孩听不见他们的谈话之后，他说，“邓布利多说在我拿到那份记忆之前不会再开课了！”
“或许他只想核实一下你做得怎么样？”哈利摊开羊皮纸时，赫敏说；可是哈利没有看到邓布利多的细长而倾斜的书法，取而代之的是凌乱不堪的潦草字迹，羊皮纸上写字的地方污迹斑斑
，使得这张字条的内容非常难以辨认。
亲爱的哈利、罗恩和赫敏，
阿拉戈克昨天夜里死了。哈利、罗恩，你们见过他，知道他是多么的特别！赫敏，我知道你也很喜欢他。如果你们能过来出席他的今晚的葬礼，那将对我意义深重。我计划在黄昏时分举行
葬礼，那是他一天中最喜欢的时候。我知道你们在那么晚的时候不该出城堡，但你们可以用上隐形斗篷。我本不想让你们来，可是我没法一个人面对。
海格
“看看这个，”哈利说，把便条给赫敏。
“哦，我的天哪！”她匆匆地扫视了一遍就递给了罗恩，罗恩一边读着，脸上一边浮现出难以置信的表情。
“他疯了！”他狂暴地说。“那个东西曾让它的伙伴吃了哈利和我！还告诉它们要尽情享用！而现在海格却想让我们去那儿扑在它那可怕的毛茸茸的身体上哭？”
“不仅如此，”赫敏说。“他还让我们在夜里离开城堡。他知道安全级别已经被提升了几百万倍，如果我们被逮到了，会惹出多大的麻烦啊。”
“但我们以前曾在夜里见过他，”哈利说。
“是的，但不是在这种情况下！”赫敏说。“我们冒过很大的风险去救海格，但毕竟——阿拉戈克死了。如果是为了救它的话——”
“——我就更不想去了，”罗恩坚决地说。“你以前可从没有见过它，赫敏。相信我，死亡已经让它看上去好得多了。”
哈利拿回了那张字条，低头看到上面遍布着墨水浸渍的痕迹。显然羊皮纸上滴过粗大的泪珠……
“哈利，你不可能想去，”赫敏说。“为此而被关禁闭毫无意义！”
哈利叹了口气。
“是的，我知道。”他说。“我想海格可能不得不独自埋葬阿拉戈克了。”
“是的，他会的，”赫敏看上去松了口气。“听我说，今天下午上魔药课的人寥寥无几，因为我们都会去参加测试……到时候试着再去软化软化斯拉霍恩吧！”
“你以为第五十七次尝试会幸运点儿吗？”哈利苦涩地说。
“幸运，”罗恩突然说。“哈利，我知道了——幸运！”
“你是什么意思？”
“用你的幸运药水！”
“罗恩，对——对了！”赫敏震惊地说。“当然！我怎么就没想到呢！”
哈利盯着他们俩。“飞力飞思？”他说。“我不知道……我有点儿想留着它……”
“干什么？”罗恩难以置信地问。
“到底有什么比这份记忆更重要的，哈利？”赫敏问。
哈利没有回答。那个金色的瓶子在他的脑海边盘旋了一会儿；还有拆散金妮和迪安以及罗恩高兴地看到他妹妹有了新男友的那些不成形的计划，都已经在他的大脑深处酝酿着。除了在梦境
和那些半梦半醒的恍惚瞬间之外，他从来没有承认过这些……
“哈利？你在听我们说吗？”赫敏问。
“什么——？是的，当然，”他重新振作了起来。“那么……好吧。如果我今天下午还是不能和斯拉霍恩搭上话，那今晚就喝下一些飞力飞思再试一次。”
“那就这么定了，”赫敏轻快地说，她站了起来，踮起脚尖做了个优雅的旋转。“目的地……决心……从容不迫……”
“哦，别说了，”罗恩哀求道，“我已经够厌烦了——快，把我藏起来！”
“不是拉文德！”赫敏不耐烦地说，刚才正好又有两个女生出现在院子里，罗恩马上躲了起来。
“酷啊，”罗恩把眼睛移到赫敏的肩头检查了一下。“啊呀，她们看上去不太高兴，是吧？”
“她们是蒙哥马利姐妹，当然不会高兴，你难道没听说她们的弟弟出了什么事吗？”赫敏说。
“老实说，我已经记不住每个人的亲戚都出了什么事了，”罗恩说。
“好吧，她们的弟弟被一个狼人攻击了！有传闻说是因为她们的妈妈不肯为食死徒效力。不管怎么说，那个男孩才五岁，却已经死在了圣芒戈，他们救不了他。”
“他死了？”哈利震惊地重复道。“但狼人肯定不杀人啊，他们不是只会把你变成他们的同类吗？”
“他们有时候也杀人，”罗恩的表情严肃得有些不正常。“我曾经听说过狼人在失去自制力时干过这样的事情。”
“那个狼人叫什么？”哈利迅速说。
“嗯，好像传闻里说叫芬利·格雷巴克，”赫敏说。
“我就知道——那个喜欢袭击小孩的疯子，卢平告诉我的那个人！”哈利愤怒地说。
赫敏冷冷地看着他。
“哈利，你必须去拿那份记忆，”她说。“这和阻止伏地魔关系密切，对吗？这些可怕的事情都应该归咎于他……”
他们头顶上响起了城堡的钟声，赫敏和罗恩都跳了起来，看上去惊恐万分。
“你们会做得很好的，”当他们和其他参加幻影显形测试的学生在门厅汇合的时候，哈利对他们说。“祝你们好运。”
“你也一样！”赫敏意味深长地看了他一眼，与此同时哈利回头走向了地下教室。
只有三个人去上课：哈利、厄尼和德拉科·马尔福。
“你们都不能去参加测试吗？”斯拉霍恩和蔼地说。“还没到十七岁？”
他们都摇了摇头表示的确如此。
“好吧，”斯拉霍恩愉快地说，“既然我们人太少了，那就做点有趣的事情吧。我希望你们几个能为我制造出一些有趣的东西！”
“听起来很棒，教授，”厄尼奉承地说，两只手搓在一起。而马尔福却没有笑。
“你说的是什么意思，‘有趣’的东西？”他急躁地说。
“哦，让我感到惊讶的东西，”斯拉霍恩轻描淡写地回答。
马尔福板着脸打开了他的《高级魔药制备》。再明显不过了，他觉得这堂课是在浪费时间。哈利越过自己的书盯着马尔福，一边想，毫无疑问马尔福不愿意把时间花在有求必应屋里以外的
地方。
是他的想象，还是马尔福的确像唐克斯一样变瘦了？他的脸色的确是更苍白了；皮肤仍然带着灰色的色调，很有可能是因为他最近很少接触阳光。他看上去不再装模作样、兴奋和高傲了；
也不再像他在霍格沃茨特快列车上公开夸耀伏地魔交给自己的使命时那样狂妄自大……哈利认为只有一种解释：那个使命——无论它是什么——进行得并不顺利。
受到这种想法的鼓舞，哈利开始浏览起他的那本《高级魔药制备》，他发现混血王子对安乐魔药进行了重大的改进，那看起来不仅符合斯拉霍恩的要求，而且哈利突然想到（他想到这个点
子时心猛地一跳）如果他说服斯拉霍恩服用一些，说不定会让他变得心情愉快，说不定他就会交出那份记忆了……
“嗯，看上去绝对令人惊叹，”一个半小时后教授拍着手说，他正看着哈利坩埚里金黄的液体。“我猜这是安乐魔药吧？我闻到什么了？嗯……你加了一枝薄荷，是不是？这不是正统的方
法，但这是多好的灵感啊，哈利。那当然会消除它偶尔的副反应——不断地唱歌和拧鼻子……我真的不知道你是从哪儿得到的这些灵感，我的孩子……除非——”
哈利用脚把混血王子的书往书包深处踩了踩。
“——或许是你母亲的基因传给了你吧！”
“哦……是啊，也许吧，”哈利松了口气。
厄尼看上去心情很遭；为了胜过哈利一次，他轻率地自己发明了一种魔药，但那东西在他的坩埚里凝固成了一个紫色的团子。马尔福早就在板着脸收拾东西了；斯拉霍恩刚刚宣布他的打嗝
溶液仅仅‘说得过去’。
铃声响了，厄尼和马尔福马上离开了教室。
“教授，”哈利开口说，可是斯拉霍恩迅速回头瞥了一眼；当他看到整间教室只有他和哈利时，马上飞也似地跑了。
“教授——教授，难道你不想尝一下我的药——？”哈利绝望地叫道。
但他已经走了。哈利失望地清空了坩埚，整理好自己的东西，离开了地下教室向楼上的公共休息室慢慢走去。
赫敏和罗恩在将近傍晚的时候回来了。
“哈利！”赫敏一钻出肖像洞就叫道。“哈利，我通过了！”
“干得好！”他说。“罗恩呢？”
“他——他没通过，”赫敏低声说，这时罗恩无精打采地进来了，看上去郁郁寡欢。“真是不走运，小事一桩，主考官吹毛求疵地说他落下了半片眉毛……斯拉霍恩那儿怎么样？”
“没什么值得高兴的，”哈利说，这时罗恩加入了他们。“不走运，哥们，不过下次你一定会过的——我们可以一起参加。”
“是啊，我想也是，”罗恩暴躁地说。“只是半片眉毛！好像那很重要似的！”
“我知道，”赫敏安慰地说，“的确太苛刻了……”
他们整个晚餐期间都在全面批驳幻影显形的主考官，回到公共休息室的时候罗恩看起来稍微开心了一些，于是他们开始讨论起接下来的问题，那就是斯拉霍恩和他的那份记忆。
“那么，哈利——你是要用飞力飞思还是怎么样？”罗恩问。
“是啊，我想最好还是那样吧，”哈利说。“我想不用把它都喝了，用不着二十四个小时，这不可能花掉整个晚上的时间——就喝一口。两三个小时就成了。”
“服用它的感觉真棒，”罗恩怀念地说。“好像你怎么做都不会错一样。”
“你在说什么呀？”赫敏笑着说。“你从来都没有服用过！”
“是的，不过我以为我喝过，对吗？”罗恩仿佛是在解释显而易见的道理。“真的都一样……”
由于他们刚才看到斯拉霍恩进了礼堂，知道他吃饭挺慢的，所以他们就在休息室里逗留了一阵子，计划是哈利要等这位魔药课老师回去之后再出发。当太阳已经挂到了禁林的树梢上时，他
们确信出发的时刻到了。在仔细地核实了纳威、迪安和西莫都在休息室之后，他们三个偷偷溜进了男生宿舍。
哈利从箱底拿出了卷起来的袜子，取出了一只闪闪发光的小瓶子。
“好了，就是它，”哈利举起小瓶，小心翼翼地喝了一口。
“什么感觉？”赫敏小声说。
哈利刚开始没有回答。接着，一种神清气爽的感觉缓慢而又清晰地传遍了全身；他感觉自己可以做到任何事，所有的事……获取斯拉霍恩的记忆这件事突然间不仅变得可能，而且还显得轻
而易举了……
他微笑着站了起来，充满了自信。
“太棒了，”他说。“真的太棒了。好的……我要到海格那儿去。”
“什么？”罗恩和赫敏同时惊骇地说。
“不，哈利——你得去见斯拉霍恩，记得吗？”赫敏说。
“不，”哈利自信地说。“我要去海格那儿，我感觉去海格那儿会很棒！”
“埋葬一只巨型的蜘蛛会让你感觉很棒？”罗恩震惊地问。
“是的，”哈利把他的隐形斗篷从书包里拽了出来。“我觉得就应该去那儿，你知道我是什么意思吧？”
“不知道，”罗恩和赫敏同时说，现在看上去有些惊慌失措了。
“我想这到底是飞力飞思吗？”赫敏担忧地说，她把那个小瓶举到光线下。“你是不是还有另外一满瓶——我不知道——”
“疯脑精？”罗恩猜测道，这时哈利把斗篷披到了肩上。
哈利笑了，但罗恩和赫敏看上去更慌张了。
“相信我，”他说。“我知道我在做什么……或者至少……”他自信地走到门口，“飞力飞思知道。”
他把斗篷拉到脑袋上，开始下楼，罗恩和赫敏则急匆匆地跟在身后。下完楼梯哈利溜出了敞开的门。
“你在和她在那儿干什么？”拉文德·布朗惊叫道，她的目光穿过哈利直勾勾地盯着正从男生宿舍里走出来的罗恩和赫敏。哈利迅速穿过大厅的时候听见罗恩结结巴巴地在后面说话。
穿过肖像洞很容易；他刚一走近，金妮和迪安正好爬了过来，于是哈利从他们溜了过去。他经过的时候无意间擦了金妮一下。
“请别推我，迪安，”她恼怒地说。“你总是这样子，我靠自己能爬得好。”
画像在哈利身后关上了，但在此之前他听到了迪安愤怒的反驳……他得意的情绪高涨了起来，哈利大步在城堡里穿行。他不必蹑手蹑脚，因为一路上根本没有人，不过这个一点儿也没有令
他感到惊讶：今天晚上他是霍格沃茨最幸运的人。
他不知道为什么去海格那儿是正确的选择。好像魔药每次都只提示他接下来几步该怎么做：他看不到最终的目的地，他看不到斯拉霍恩何时出现，但他知道自己正走在获取记忆的正确道路
上。他来到门厅时发现费尔奇忘了锁门。哈利满心欢喜地推开门，闻了一会儿新鲜空气和草地的气息，然后走下台阶踏进了黄昏之中。
他刚走下最后一级台阶，突然想到去海格那儿之前先去菜地走走是多么令人愉快。严格地说，它不在去小屋的路上，但哈利清楚地感觉到他应该把这个念头付诸实践，于是他立刻调整了方
向往那片菜地走去，到了那儿之后，他高兴地（却不是很惊讶地）发现斯拉霍恩教授正在和斯普劳特教授谈话。哈利躲到了一扇矮石墙的后面，气定神闲地听着他们的谈话。
“……非常感谢你抽空帮我，波莫娜，”斯拉霍恩彬彬有礼地说。“大多数权威都承认在白天和黑夜交际的时候采摘它们是最灵验的。”
“哦，我也很赞同，”斯普劳特教授热情地说。“那些够了吗？”
“足够了，足够了，”斯拉霍恩说，哈利看到他正抱着一堆枝叶茂盛的植物。“这足够我给每一名三年级学生都发几片叶子了，还要足够留些备用，以免有人把它煮过头了……好了，晚安
，再次多谢！”
斯普劳特教授走向了黑暗笼罩下温室的那个方位，而斯拉霍恩教授则向哈利隐藏的地方走了过来。
哈利突然被一股显露自己的强烈愿望抓住了，于是他把斗篷取下来挥了挥。
“晚上好，教授。”
“天哪，哈利，你吓了我一跳，”斯拉霍恩说，他停下了脚步，看上去很警觉。“你是怎么出城堡的？”
“我想是费尔奇忘记锁门了，”哈利愉快地说，同时很高兴地看到斯拉霍恩皱起了眉头。
“我会向校长告他一状的，如果你问我的话，他对垃圾的关心要胜过适当的安全措施……但是你为什么要出来，哈利？”
“嗯，先生，是因为海格，”哈利知道此刻要做的是说实话。“他相当心烦意乱……但请你别告诉任何人，教授？我不想替他惹麻烦……”
斯拉霍恩的好奇心明显地被勾起来了。
“不过，我不能那样承诺，”他粗声粗气地说。“但我知道邓布利多完全信任海格，所以我相信他不会想去做任何可怕的事情……”
“嗯，是一只巨型蜘蛛，他养了很多年了……它住在禁林里……它可以说话和做任何事情——”
“我听传言说过禁林里有八眼巨蛛，”斯拉霍恩温柔地说，看着大片的树林。“那么，这是真的吗？”
“是的，”哈利说。“不过这一只——阿拉戈克，海格拥有的第一只——昨天夜里死了。他悲痛欲绝。他说埋葬它的时候想要找个人陪陪，然后我说我来吧。”
“令人同情，令人同情，”斯拉霍恩心不在焉地说，他无精打采的眼睛正盯着远处海格小屋里射出的光线。“但八眼巨蛛的毒液非常值钱……如果它刚死掉，毒液应该还没有干……当然如
果海格很烦乱，我绝不会做这种麻木不仁的事情……但如果有可能弄到一些……我是说，它活着的时候几乎没有可能弄到毒液……”
斯拉霍恩更像是在自言自语，而不是在和哈利说话。
“……似乎不去收集的话会是一种极大的浪费……一品托可能就值一百加隆……老实说，我的薪水可不高啊……”
现在哈利很清楚要做什么了。
“那么，”他假装踌躇了一会儿，然后说，“那么，如果你想来，教授，海格一定会非常高兴的……会给阿拉戈克一个更好的送行……”
“是的，当然了，”斯拉霍恩说，他的眼睛热情地闪着光。“我告诉你，哈利，我会带一两瓶酒在那儿和你碰面……我们要举杯痛饮，祝福那头可怜的野兽的——嗯——不是健康——但是
不管怎么样，把它埋葬了之后，我们要为它郑重地送行。现在我要去换换我的领带，这条有点儿太华丽了，不适合那个场合……”
他飞速地奔回了城堡，于是哈利洋洋得意地快步向海格的小屋走去。
“你来了，”海格嘶哑地说，他打开门看到哈利从隐形斗篷下出现，站在了他的面前。
“是的——不过罗恩和赫敏来不了，”哈利说。“他们真的很抱歉。”
“不——不要紧……你能来他已经会很感动了，哈利……”
海格发出了一声很响的抽泣。他戴着一只黑色的袖章，看起来像一块浸了鞋油的破布，他两眼通红、肿大。哈利安慰地拍了拍他的肘，那是他可以够得到的最高点。
“我们在哪儿埋它？”他问。“禁林吗？”
“啊，不，”海格用他衬衣的下摆擦了擦泪汪汪的眼睛。“阿拉戈克走了之后，其他的蜘蛛都不让我接近它们的网了。原来从前是他命令他们不吃掉我的。你相信吗，哈利？”
诚实回答是‘能’；哈利痛苦地回想起了他和罗恩面对着那只八眼巨蛛的情景：他们很清楚就是阿拉戈克阻止那些蜘蛛吃海格的。
“以前禁林里从来没有我去不了的地方！”海格摇着头说。“不容易啊，把阿拉戈克的遗体带出来，我告诉你——他们经常吃同伴的遗体……但我想把他好好埋了……一点适当的送行……
”
他又开始抽泣了起来，哈利也接着拍起了他的肘，同时说（因为魔药似乎向他指明了那是唯一正确的事），“我来的时候碰见斯拉霍恩教授了，海格。”
“你没惹上麻烦吧？”海格惊慌地抬起头说。“你不该在晚间走出城堡的，我知道，是我的错——”
“没有，没有，在听我说了过来的原因之后，他说他愿意和我一起来，并对阿拉戈克致以最后的敬意，”哈利说。“我想他是换更合适的衣服去了……他说他会带几瓶酒过来，这样我们就
能为阿拉戈克的回忆干杯了——”
“是吗？”海格看上去既惊讶又感动。“那——那他真是太好了，而且还没有告发你。我之前和贺瑞斯·斯拉霍恩还真的没什么接触……可他却要来为老阿拉戈克送行，嗯？好吧……他会
喜欢的，阿拉戈克会……”
哈利私底下想，阿拉戈克最喜欢斯拉霍恩的地方肯定是他能提供那么多肉给他吃，但他只是走到海格屋子的后窗边，看到了那只的巨大的死蜘蛛躺在外面的恐怖景象，它的腿蜷曲和缠结在
了一起。
“我们要把它埋在这儿吗，海格，你的园子里？”
“我想就在南瓜地的那一头，”海格哽咽着说。“我已经挖了一个——坟墓。只是想我们会在上面为他祷告——幸福的回忆，你知道——”
他的声音颤抖着停止了。有人敲门，他转过身去应答，同时用他污迹斑斑的手帕擤了一下鼻子。斯拉霍恩迅速迈进了门，他系着一条暗黑色的领带，手里拿着几个瓶子。
“海格，”他用一种低沉、庄重的声音说。“听说你失去了朋友，我感到很遗憾。”
“你真是太好了，”海格说。“多谢。也谢谢你没有让哈利关禁闭……”
“做梦也没有想过，”斯拉霍恩说。“悲伤的夜晚，悲伤的夜晚……那只可怜的动物在哪儿？”
他们三个出门走进了后面的园子，月光黯淡地穿过树林，和海格窗子里的光线混到一起照在了阿拉戈克的尸体上，它正躺在一个大坑边缘，旁边是新挖的十英尺高的土。
“真漂亮啊，”斯拉霍恩前走近了蜘蛛的脑袋，它八只乳白色的眼睛黯淡无光地看着天空，在月光下，它的两只大钳子一动也不动。斯拉霍恩扳动钳子的时候哈利听到了瓶子碰撞的声音，
显然他正在检查它毛茸茸的大脑袋。
“不是每个人都会他们的美丽，”海格对着斯拉霍恩的背影说，眼泪从他布满皱纹的眼角流了下来。“我不知道你也对阿拉戈克这样的动物感兴趣，贺瑞斯。”
“感兴趣？亲爱的海格，我敬畏他们，”斯拉霍恩从尸体旁边走了回来。哈利看见一道瓶子的光在他的斗篷下闪过，不过海格又揉了揉眼睛，没有注意到。“现在……我们该进行葬礼了吧
？”
海格点了点头，向前走去。他举起了那只巨大的蜘蛛，大喊一声，把尸体投进了阴暗的大坑。它碰到坑底之后发出了一声嘎吱的巨响。海格又哭了起来。
“当然，对你来说很难，你是他最好的朋友，”斯拉霍恩和哈利一样，也只够得到海格的肘，可他还是拍了拍，“不如让我来说几句吧。”
哈利想他一定从阿拉戈克身上得到许多高质量的毒药，因为斯拉霍恩往坑边走去时，脸上带着满意的假笑，他用一种令人印象深刻的缓慢语气说，“永别了，阿拉戈克，蜘蛛之王，认识你
的人将不会忘记你长久、忠诚的友谊！虽然你的身躯将会腐烂，但是你的精神将会留存在宁静祥和、蛛网密布的禁林家园，愿你多眼的子孙永远繁盛，愿你那遭受丧友之
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turrets
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| （六角）转台( turret的名词复数 )； （战舰和坦克等上的）转动炮塔； （摄影机等上的）镜头转台； （旧时攻城用的）塔车 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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sprawl
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| vi.躺卧，扩张，蔓延；vt.使蔓延；n.躺卧，蔓延 | |
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blotches
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| n.（皮肤上的）红斑，疹块( blotch的名词复数 )；大滴 [大片]（墨水或颜色的）污渍 | |
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detention
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| n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下 | |
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soften
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| v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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fermenting
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| v.（使）发酵( ferment的现在分词 )；（使）激动；骚动；骚扰 | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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bleakly
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| 无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地 | |
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dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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dungeon
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| n.地牢，土牢 | |
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genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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sycophantically
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| adv.sycophantic（阿谀的，拍马的）的变形 | |
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bin
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| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
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irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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begrudging
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| 嫉妒( begrudge的现在分词 )； 勉强做； 不乐意地付出； 吝惜 | |
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tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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elixir
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| n.长生不老药，万能药 | |
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peppermint
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| n.薄荷，薄荷油，薄荷糖 | |
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genes
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| n.基因( gene的名词复数 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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curdled
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| v.（使）凝结( curdle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hiccup
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| n.打嗝 | |
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hiccuping
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| 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 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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sneaked
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| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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49
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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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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shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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filch
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| v.偷窃 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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60
whim
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| n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想 | |
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61
sprout
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| n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条 | |
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62
lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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63
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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64
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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65
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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66
scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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67
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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68
devastated
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| v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的 | |
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69
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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70
venom
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| n.毒液，恶毒，痛恨 | |
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71
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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72
galleons
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| n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 ) | |
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73
pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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74
exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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75
bustled
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| 闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促 | |
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76
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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77
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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78
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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79
sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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80
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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81
edible
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| n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的 | |
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82
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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83
pumpkin
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| n.南瓜 | |
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84
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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85
cravat
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| n.领巾，领结；v.使穿有领结的服装，使结领结 | |
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86
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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87
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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88
illuminate
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| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
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89
mound
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| n.土墩，堤，小山；v.筑堤，用土堆防卫 | |
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90
milky
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| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
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91
tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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92
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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93
revere
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| vt.尊崇，崇敬，敬畏 | |
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94
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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95
smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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96
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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97
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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98
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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99
fang
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| n.尖牙，犬牙 | |
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100
skulking
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的现在分词 ) | |
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101
corked
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| adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 ) | |
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102
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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103
morosely
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| adv.愁眉苦脸地，忧郁地 | |
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104
riddle
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| n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜 | |
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105
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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106
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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107
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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108
unicorn
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| n.(传说中的)独角兽 | |
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109
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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110
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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111
mead
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| n.蜂蜜酒 | |
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112
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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113
swapping
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| 交换，交换技术 | |
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114
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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115
bellowed
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| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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116
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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118
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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119
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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120
plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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121
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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122
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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123
belch
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| v.打嗝，喷出 | |
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124
flickering
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| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
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125
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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126
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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127
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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128
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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129
twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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130
guttering
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| n.用于建排水系统的材料；沟状切除术；开沟 | |
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131
swirling
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| v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 ) | |
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132
trickling
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| n.油画底色含油太多而成泡沫状突起v.滴( trickle的现在分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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133
walrus
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| n.海象 | |
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