“No.”
“Yeh can’ stay here, Harry... come on, now...”
“No.”
He did not want to leave Dumbledore's side, he did not want to move anywhere. Hagrid's hand on his shoulder was trembling. Then another voice said, “Harry, come on.”
A much smaller and warmer hand had enclosed his and was pulling him upward. He obeyed its pressure without really thinking about it. Only as he walked blindly back
through the crowd did he realize, from a trace of flowery scent4 on the air, that it was Ginny who was leading him back into the castle. Incomprehensible voices battered5
him, sobs6 and shouts and wails9 stabbed the night, but Harry and Ginny walked on, back up the steps into the entrance hall. Faces swam on the edges of Harry's vision,
people were peering at him, whispering, wondering, and Gryffindor rubies10 glistened11 on the floor like drops of blood as they made their way toward the marble staircase.
“We're going to the hospital wing,” said Ginny.
“I'm not hurt,” said Harry.
“It's McGonagall's orders,” said Ginny. “Everyone's up there, Ron and Hermione and Lupin and everyone —”
Fear stirred in Harry's chest again: he had forgotten the inert12 figures he had left behind.
“Ginny, who else is dead?”
“Don't worry, none of us.”
“But the Dark Mark—Malfoy said he stepped over a body—”
“He stepped over Bill, but it's all right, he's alive.”
There was something in her voice, however, that Harry knew boded13 ill.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I'm sure... he's a—a bit of a mess, that's all. Greyback attacked him. Madam Pomfrey says he won't—won't look the same anymore...”
Ginny's voice trembled a little.
“We don't really know what the after-effects will be. I mean, Greyback being a werewolf, but not transformed at the time.”
“But the other... there were other bodies on the ground...”
“Neville and Professor Flitwick are both hurt, but Madam Pomfrey says they'll be all right. And a Death Eater's dead, he got hit by a Killing14 Curse that huge blond one
was firing off everywhere—Harry, if we hadn't had your Felix potion, I think we'd all have been killed, but everything seemed to just miss us—”
They had reached the hospital wing. Pushing open the doors, Harry saw Neville lying, apparently15 asleep, in a bed near the door. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Tonks, and Lupin
were gathered around another bed near the far end of the ward3. At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved
forward too, looking anxious.
“Are you all right, Harry?”
“I'm fine.... how's Bill?”
Nobody answered. Harry looked over Hermione's shoulder and saw an unrecognizable face lying on Bill's pillow, so badly slashed16 and ripped that he looked grotesque17.
Madam Pomfrey was dabbing18 at his wounds with some harsh-smelling green ointment20. Harry remembered how Snape had mended Malfoy's Sectumsempra wounds so easily with his
wand.
“Can't you fix them with a charm or something?” he asked the matron.
“No charm will work on these,” said Madam Pomfrey. “I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites.”
“But he wasn't bitten at the full moon,” said Ron, who was gazing down into his brother's face as though he could somehow force him to mend just by staring.
“Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a—a real—?”
He looked uncertainly at Lupin.
“No, I don't think that Bill will be a true werewolf,” said Lupin, “but that does not mean that there won't be some contamination. Those are cursed wounds. They are
unlikely ever to heal fully21, and—and Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on.”
“Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though,” Ron said. “Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs22 on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave
him in this state—”
“Ron—Dumbledore's dead,” said Ginny.
“No!” Lupin looked wildly from Ginny to Harry, as though hoping the latter might contradict her, but when Harry did nor, Lupin collapsed23 into a chair beside Bill's
bed, his hands over his face. Harry had never seen Lupin lose control before; he felt as though he was intruding25 upon something private, indecent. He turned away and
caught Ron's eye instead, exchanging in silence a look that confirmed what Ginny had said.
“How did he die?” whispered Tonks. “How did it happen?”
“Snape killed him,” said Harry. “I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was... Dumbledore was ill, he was weak,
but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak—and
then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed26 him—”
Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned27. Luna's mouth trembled.
“—more Death Eaters arrived—and then Snape—and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra.” Harry couldn't go on.
Madam Pomfrey burst into tears. Nobody paid her any attention except Ginny, who whispered, “Shh! Listen!”
Gulping28, Madam Pomfrey pressed her fingers to her mouth, her eyes wide. Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix29 was singing in a way Harry had never heard before: a
stricken lament30 of terrible beauty. And Harry felt, as he had felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside him, not without: it was his own grief turned
magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows.
How long they all stood there, listening, he did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen to the sound of their mourning, but it felt like a
long time later that the hospital door opened again and Professor McGonagall entered the ward. Like all the rest, she bore marks of the recent battle: there were grazes
on her face and her robes were ripped.
“Molly and Arthur are on their way,” she said, and the spell of the music was broken: everyone roused themselves as though coming out of trances, turning again to
look at Bill, or else to rub their own eyes, shake their heads. “Harry, what happened? According to Hagrid you were with Professor Dumbledore when he—when it
happened. He says Professor Snape was involved in some—”
“Snape killed Dumbledore,” said Harry.
She stared at him for a moment, then swayed alarmingly; Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to have pulled herself together, ran forward, conjuring31 a chair from thin air, which
she pushed under McGonagall.
“Snape,” repeated McGonagall faintly, falling into the chair. “We all wondered... but he trusted... always... Snape... I can't believe it...”
“Snape was a highly accomplished32 Occlumens,” said Lupin, his voice uncharacteristically harsh. “We always knew that.”
“But Dumbledore swore he was on our side!” whispered Tonks. “I always thought Dumbledore must know something about Snape that we didn't...” .
“He always hinted that he had an ironclad reason for trusting Snape,” muttered Professor McGonagall, now dabbing at the corners of her leaking eyes with a tartan-
edged handkerchief. “I mean... with Snape's history ... of course people were bound to wonder... but Dumbledore told me explicitly33 that Snape's repentance34 was
absolutely genuine... wouldn't hear a word against him!”
“I'd love to know what Snape told him to convince him,” said Tonks.
“I know,” said Harry, and they all turned to look at him. “Snape passed Voldemort the information that made Voldemort hunt down my mum and dad. Then Snape told
Dumbledore he hadn't realized what he was doing, he was really sorry he'd done it, sorry that they were dead.”
They all stared at him.
“And Dumbledore believed that?” said Lupin incredulously. “Dumbledore believed Snape was sorry James was dead? Snape hated James...”
“And he didn't think my mother was worth a damn either,” said Harry, “because she was Muggle-born... ‘Mudblood,’ he called her...”
Nobody asked how Harry knew this. All of them seemed to be lost in horrified35 shock, trying to digest the monstrous36 truth of what had happened.
“This is all my fault,” said Professor McGonagall suddenly. She looked disoriented, twisting her wet handkerchief in her hands. “My fault. I sent Filius to fetch
Snape tonight, I actually sent for him to come and help us! If I hadn't alerted Snape to what was going on, he might never have joined forces with the Death Eaters. I
don't think he knew they were there before Filius told him, I don't think he knew they were coming.”
“It isn't your fault, Minerva,” said Lupin firmly. “We all wanted more help, we were glad to think Snape was on his way....”
“So when he arrived at the fight, he joined in on the Death Eaters’ side?” asked Harry, who wanted every detail of Snape's duplicity and infamy37, feverishly38
collecting more reasons to hate him, to swear vengeance39.
“I don't know exactly how it happened,” said Professor McGonagall distractedly. “It's all so confusing... Dumbledore had told us that he would be leaving the school
for a few hours and that we were to patrol the corridors just in case... Remus, Bill, and Nymphadora were to join us ... and so we patrolled. All seemed quiet. Every
secret passageway out of the school was covered. We knew nobody could fly in. There were powerful enchantments40 on every entrance into the castle. I still don't know how
the Death Eaters can possibly have entered...”
“I do,” said Harry, and he explained, briefly41, about the pair of Vanishing Cabinets and the magical pathway they formed. “So they got in through the Room of
Requirement.”
Almost against his will he glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated42.
“I messed up, Harry,” said Ron bleakly43. “We did like you told us: we checked the Marauder's Map and we couldn't see Malfoy on it, so we thought he must be in the
Room of Requirement, so me, Ginny, and Neville went to keep watch on it... but Malfoy got past us.”
“He came out of the Room about an hour after we started keeping watch,” said Ginny. “He was on his own, clutching that awful shriveled arm—”
“His Hand of Glory,” said Ron. “Gives light only to the holder44, remember?”
“Anyway,” Ginny went on, “he must have been checking whether the coast was clear to let the Death Eaters out, because the moment he saw us he threw something into
the air and it all went pitch-black—”
“—Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder,” said Ron bitterly. “Fred and George's. I'm going to be having a word with them about who they let buy their products.”
“We tried everything, Lumos, Incendio,” said Ginny. “Nothing would penetrate45 the darkness; all we could do was grope our way out of the corridor again, and meanwhile
we could hear people rushing past us. Obviously Malfoy could see because of that hand thing and was guiding them, but we didn't dare use any curses or anything in case
we hit each other, and by the time we'd reached a corridor that was light, they'd gone.”
“Luckily,” said Lupin hoarsely46, “Ron, Ginny, and Neville ran into us almost immediately and told us what had happened. We found the Death Eaters minutes later,
heading in the direction of the Astronomy Tower. Malfoy obviously hadn't expected more people to be on the watch; he seemed to have exhausted47 his supply of Darkness
Powder, at any rate. A fight broke out, they scattered48 and we gave chase. One of them, Gibbon, broke away and headed up the tower stairs—”
“To set off the Mark?” asked Harry.
“He must have done, yes, they must have arranged that before they left the Room of Requirement,” said Lupin. “But I don't think Gibbon liked the idea of waiting up
there alone for Dumbledore, because he came running back downstairs to rejoin the fight and was hit by a Killing Curse that just missed me.”
“So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville,” said Harry, turning to Hermione, “were you—?”
“Outside Snape's office, yes,” whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, “with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened... we didn't
know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the map ... it was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting49 down into the dungeons50. He was shouting about
Death Eaters in the castle, I don't think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape's office and we heard him saying that
Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump51 and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and—and—”
“What?” Harry urged her.
“I was so stupid, Harry!” said Hermione in a high-pitched whisper. “He said Professor Flitwick had collapsed and that we should go and take care of him while he—
while he went to help fight the Death Eaters—”
She covered her face in shame and continued to talk into her fingers, so that her voice was muffled52. “We went into his office to see if we could help Professor
Flitwick and found him unconscious on the floor... and oh, it's so obvious now, Snape must have Stupefied Flitwick, but we didn't realize, Harry, we didn't realize, we
just let Snape go!”
“It's not your fault,” said Lupin firmly. “Hermione, had you not obeyed Snape and got out of the way, he probably would have killed you and Luna.”
“So then he came upstairs,” said Harry, who was watching Snape running up the marble staircase in his mind's eye, his black robes billowing behind him as ever,
pulling his wand from under his cloak as he ascended53, “and he found the place where you were all fighting...”
“We were in trouble, we were losing,” said Tonks in a low voice. “Gibbon was down, but the rest of the Death Eaters seemed ready to fight to the death. Neville had
been hurt, Bill had been savaged54 by Greyback... it was all dark... curses flying everywhere... the Malfoy boy had vanished, he must have slipped past, up the stairs...
then more of them ran after him, but one of them blocked the stairs behind them with some kind of curse... Neville ran at it and got thrown up into the air—”
“None of us could break through,” said Ron, “and that massive Death Eater was still firing off jinxes all over the place, they were bouncing off the walls and barely
missing us...”
“And then Snape was there,” said Tonks, “and then he wasn't—”
“I saw him running toward us, but that huge Death Eater's jinx just missed me right afterward55 and I ducked and lost track of things,” said Ginny.
“I saw him run straight through the cursed barrier as though it wasn't there,” said Lupin. “I tried to follow him, but was thrown back just like Neville...”
“He must have known a spell we didn't,” whispered McGonagall. “After all—he was the Defense56 Against the Dark Arts teacher... I just assumed that he was in a hurry
to chase after the Death Eaters who'd escaped up to the tower...”
“He was,” said Harry savagely57, “but to help them, not to stop the... and I'll bet you had to have a Dark Mark to get through that barrier—so what happened when he
came back down?”
“Well, the big Death Eater had just fired off a hex that caused half the ceiling to fall in, and also broke the curse blocking the stairs,” said Lupin. “We all ran
forward—those of us who were still standing58 anyway—and then Snape and the boy emerged out of the dust—obviously, none of us attacked them—”
“We just let them pass,” said Tonks in a hollow voice. “We thought they were being chased by the Death Eaters—and next thing, the other Death Eaters and Greyback
were back and we were fighting again—I thought I heard Snape shout something, but I don't know what—”
“He shouted, ‘It's over,'” said Harry. “He'd done what he'd meant to do.”
They all fell silent. Fawkes's lament was still echoing over the dark grounds outside. As the music reverberated59 upon the air, unbidden, unwelcome thoughts slunk into
Harry's mind... had they taken Dumbledore's body from the foot of the tower yet? What would happen to it next? Where would it rest? He clenched60 his fists tighdy in his
pockets. He could feel the small cold lump of the fake Horcrux against the knuckles61 of his right hand.
The doors of the hospital wing burst open, making them all jump: Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were striding up the ward, Fleur just behind them, her beautiful face terrified.
“Molly—Arthur—” said Professor McGonagall, jumping up and hurrying to greet them. “I am so sorry—”
“Bill,” whispered Mrs. Weasley, darting62 past Professor McGonagall as she caught sight of Bill's mangled63 face. “Oh, Bill!”
Lupin and Tonks had got up hastily and retreated so that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could get nearer to the bed. Mrs. Weasley bent64 over her son and pressed her lips to his
“You said Greyback attacked him?” Mr. Weasley asked Professor McGonagall distractedly. “But he hadn't transformed? So what does that mean? What will happen to Bill?
”
“We don't yet know,” said Professor McGonagall, looking helplessly at Lupin.
“There will probably be some contamination, Arthur,” said Lupin. “It is an odd case, possibly unique... we don't know what his behavior might be like when he
Mrs. Weasley took the nasty-smelling ointment from Madam Pomfrey and began dabbing at Bill's wounds.
“And Dumbledore ...” said Mr. Weasley. “Minerva, is it true ... is he really...?”
As Professor McGonagall nodded, Harry felt Ginny move beside him and looked at her. Her slightly narrowed eyes were fixed67 upon Fleur, who was gazing down at Bill with a
frozen expression on her face.
“Dumbledore gone,” whispered Mr. Weasley, but Mrs. Weasley had eyes only for her eldest68 son; she began to sob7, tears falling onto Bill's mutilated face.
“Of course, it doesn't matter how he looks... it's not r-really important... but he was a very handsome little b-bo... always very handsome... and he was g-going to be
married!”
“And what do you mean by zat?” said Fleur suddenly and loudly. “What do you mean, ‘he was going to be married?'”
Mrs. Weasley raised her tear-stained face, looking startled. “Well—only that—”
“You theenk Bill will not wish to marry me anymore?” demanded Fleur. “You theenk, because of these bites, he will not love me?”
“No, that's not what I—”
“Because ‘e will!” said Fleur, drawing herself up to her full height and throwing back her long mane of silver hair. “It would take more zan a werewolf to stop Bill
loving me!”
“Well, yes, I'm sure,” said Mrs. Weasley, “but I thought perhaps—given how—how he—”
“You thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or per'aps, you hoped?” said Fleur, her nostrils69 flaring70. “What do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for
both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!” she added fiercely, pushing Mrs. Weasley aside and snatching the ointment
from her.
Mrs. Weasley fell back against her husband and watched Fleur mopping up Bill's wounds with a most curious expression upon her face. Nobody said anything; Harry did not
dare move. Like everybody else, he was waiting for the explosion.
“Our Great-Auntie Muriel,” said Mrs. Weasley after a long pause, “has a very beautiful tiara—goblin-made—which I am sure I could persuade her to lend you for the
wedding. She is very fond of Bill, you know, and it would look lovely with your hair.”
“Thank you,” said Fleur stiffly. “I am sure zat will be lovely.”
And then, Harry did not quite see how it happened, both women were crying and hugging each other. Completely bewildered, wondering whether the world had gone mad, he
turned around: Ron looked as stunned71 as he felt and Ginny and Hermione were exchanging startled looks.
“You see!” said a strained voice. Tonks was glaring at Lupin. “She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten! She doesn't care!”
“It's different,” said Lupin, barely moving his lips and looking suddenly tense. “Bill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely—”
“But I don't care either, I don't care!” said Tonks, seizing the front of Lupin's robes and shaking them. “I've told you a million times...”
And the meaning of Tonks's Patronus and her mouse-colored hair, and the reason she had come running to find Dumbledore when she had heard a rumor72 someone had been
attacked by Greyback, all suddenly became clear to Harry; it had not been Sirius that Tonks had fallen in love with after all.
“And I've told you a million times,” said Lupin, refusing to meet her eyes, staring at the floor, “that I am too old for you, too poor... too dangerous...”
“I've said all along you're taking a ridiculous line on this, Remus,” said Mrs. Weasley over Fleur's shoulder as she patted her on the back.
“I am not being ridiculous,” said Lupin steadily73. “Tonks deserves somebody young and whole.”
“But she wants you,” said Mr. Weasley, with a small smile. “And after all, Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily remain so.”
He gestured sadly at his son, lying between them.
“This is... not the moment to discuss it,” said Lupin, avoiding everybody's eyes as he looked around distractedly. “Dumbledore is dead. ...”
“Dumbledore would have been happier than anybody to think that there was a little more love in the world,” said Professor McGonagall curtly74, just as the hospital
doors opened again and Hagrid walked in.
The little of his face that was not obscured by hair or beard was soaking and swollen75; he was shaking with tears, a vast, spotted76 handkerchief in his hand.
“I've... I've done it, Professor,” he choked. “M-moved him. Professor Sprout77's got the kids back in bed. Professor Flitwick's lyin down, but he says he'll be all
righ’ in a jiffy, an’ Professor Slughorn says the Ministry78's bin19 informed.”
“Thank you, Hagrid,” said Professor McGonagall, standing up at once and turning to look at the group around Bill's bed. “I shall have to see the Ministry when they
get here. Hagrid, please tell the Heads of Houses—Slughorn can represent Slytherin— that I want to see them in my office forthwith. I would like you to join us too.”
As Hagrid nodded, turned, and shuffled79 out of the room again, she looked down at Harry. “Before I meet them I would like a quick word with you, Harry. If you'll come
with me...”
Harry stood up, murmured “See you in a bit” to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, and followed Professor McGonagall back down the ward. The corridors outside were deserted80 and
the only sound was the distant phoenix song. It was several minutes before Harry became aware that they were not heading for Professor McGonagall's office, but for
Dumbledore's, and another few seconds before he realized that of course, she had been Deputy Headmistress... apparently she was now Headmistress ... so the room behind
In silence they ascended the moving spiral staircase and entered the circular office. He did not know what he had expected: that the room would be draped in black,
perhaps, or even that Dumbledore's body might be lying there. In fact, it looked almost exactly as it had done when he and Dumbledore had left it mere hours previously82:
the silver instruments whirring and puffing83 on their spindle legged tables, Gryffindor's sword in its glass case gleaming in the moonlight, the Sorting Hat on a shelf
behind the desk, the Fawkes's perch84 stood empty, he was still crying his lament to the grounds. And a new portrait had joined the ranks of the dead headmasters and
headmistresses of Hogwarts: Dumbledore was slumbering85 in a golden frame over the desk, his half-moon spectacle perched upon his crooked86 nose, looking peaceful and
untroubled.
After glancing once at this portrait, Professor McGonagall made an odd movement as though steeling herself, then rounded the desk to look at Harry, her face taut87 and
lined.
“Harry,” she said, “I would like to know what you and Professor Dumbledore were doing this evening when you left the school.”
“I can't tell you that, Professor,” said Harry. He had expected the question and had his answer ready. It had been here, in this very room, that Dumbledore had told
him that he was to confide88 the contents of their lessons to nobody but Ron and Hermione.
“Harry, it might be important,” said Professor McGonagall.
“It is,” said Harry, “very, but he didn't want me to tell anyone.”
Professor McGonagall glared at him.
“Potter"—Harry registered the renewed use of his surname—"in the light of Professor Dumbledore's death, I think you must see that the situation has changed somewhat
—”
“I don't think so,” said Harry, shrugging. “Professor Dumbledore never told me to stop following his orders if he died.”
“But—”
“There's one thing you should know before the Ministry gets here, though. Madam Rosmerta's under the Imperius Curse, she was helping89 Malfoy and the Death Eaters,
that's how the necklace and the poisoned mead—”
“Rosmerta?” said Professor McGonagall incredulously, but before she could go on, there was a knock on the door behind them and Professors Sprout, Flitwick, and
Slughorn traipsed into the room, followed by Hagrid, who was still weeping copiously90, his huge frame trembling with grief.
“Snape!” ejaculated Slughorn, who looked the most shaken, pale and sweating. “Snape! I taught him! I thought I knew him!”
But before any of them could respond to this, a sharp voice spoke91 from high on the wall: a sallow-faced wizard with a short black fringe had just walked back into his
empty canvas. “Minerva, the Minister will be here within seconds, he has just Disapparated from the Ministry.”
“Thank you, Everard,” said Professor McGonagall, and she turned quickly to her teachers.
“I want to talk about what happens to Hogwarts before he gets here,” she said quickly. “Personally, I am not convinced that the school should reopen next year. The
death of the Headmaster at the hands of one of our colleagues is a terrible stain upon Hogwarts’ history. It is horrible.”
“I am sure Dumbledore would have wanted the school to remain open,” said Professor Sprout. “I feel that if a single pupil wants to come, then the school ought to
remain open for that pupil.”
“But will we have a single pupil after this?” said Slughorn, now dabbing his sweating brow with a silken handkerchief. “Parents will want to keep their children at
home and I can't say I blame them. Personally, I don't think we're in more danger at Hogwarts than we are anywhere else, but you can't expect mothers to think like
that. They'll want to keep their families together, it's only natural.”
“I agree,” said Professor McGonagall. “And in any case, it is not true to say that Dumbledore never envisaged92 a situation in which Hogwarts might close. When the
Chamber93 of Secrets reopened he considered the closure of the school—and I must say that Professor Dumbledore's murder is more disturbing to me than the idea of
Slytherin's monster living undetected in the bowels94 of the castle...”
“We must consult the governors,” said Professor Flitwick in his squeaky little voice; he had a large bruise95 on his forehead but seemed otherwise unscathed by his
collapse24 in Snape's office. “We must follow the established procedures. A decision should not be made hastily.”
“Hagrid, you haven't said anything,” said Professor McGonagall. “What are your views, ought Hogwarts to remain open?”
Hagrid, who had been weeping silently into his large, spotted handkerchief throughout this conversation, now raised puffy red eyes and croaked96, “I dunno, Professor...
that's fer the Heads of House an’ the Headmistress ter decide ...”
“Professor Dumbledore always valued your views,” said Professor McGonagall kindly97, “and so do I.”
“Well, I'm stayin,” said Hagrid, fat tears still leaking out of the corners of his eyes and trickling98 down into his tangled99 beard. “It's me home, it's bin me home
since I was thirteen. An’ if there's kids who wan’ me ter teach ‘em, I'll do it. But... I dunno ... Hogwarts without Dumbledore ...” He gulped100 and disappeared
behind his handkerchief once more, and there was silence.
“Very well,” said Professor McGonagall, glancing out of the window at the grounds, checking to see whether the Minister was yet approaching, “then I must agree with
Filius that the right thing to do is to consult the governors, who will make the final decision.
“Now, as to getting students home... there is an argument for doing it sooner rather than later. We could arrange for the Hogwarts Express to come tomorrow if
necessary—”
“What about Dumbledore's funeral?” said Harry, speaking at last.
“Well...” said Professor McGonagall, losing a little of her briskness101 as her voice shook. “I—I know that it was Dumbledore's wish to be laid to rest here, at
Hogwarts—”
“Then that's what'll happen, isn't it?” said Harry fiercely.
“If the Ministry thinks it appropriate,” said Professor McGonagall. “No other headmaster or headmistress has ever been—”
“No other headmaster or headmistress ever gave more to this school,” growled102 Hagrid.
“Hogwarts should be Dumbledore's final resting place,” said Professor Flitwick.
“Absolutely,” said Professor Sprout.
“And in that case,” said Harry, “you shouldn't send the students home until the funeral's over. They'll want to say—”
The last word caught in his throat, but Professor Sprout completed the sentence for him.
“Goodbye.”
“Well said,” squeaked103 Professor Flitwick. “Well said indeed! Our students should pay tribute, it is fitting. We can arrange transport home afterward.”
“Seconded,” barked Professor Sprout.
“I suppose ... yes ...” said Slughorn in a rather agitated104 voice, while Hagrid let out a strangled sob of assent105.
“He's coming,” said Professor McGonagall suddenly, gazing down into the grounds. “The Minister ... and by the looks of it. He's brought a delegation106...”
“Can I leave, Professor?” said Harry at once.
He had no desire at all to see, or be interrogated107 by, Rufus Scrimgeour tonight.
“You may,” said Professor McGonagall. “And quickly.”
She strode toward the door and held it open for him. He sped down the spiral staircase and off along the deserted corridor; he had left his Invisibility Cloak at the
top of the Astronomy Tower, but it did not matter; there was nobody in the corridors to see him pass, not even Filch108, Mrs. Norris, or Peeves109. He did not meet another
soul until he turned into the passage leading to the Gryffindor common room.
“Is it true?” whispered the Fat Lady as he approached her. “It is really true? Dumbledore—dead?”
“Yes,” said Harry.
She let out a wail8 and, without waiting for the password, swung forward to admit him.
As Harry had suspected it would be, the common room was jam-packed. The room fell silent as he climbed through the portrait hole. He saw Dean and Seamus sitting in a
group nearby: this meant that the dormitory must be empty, or nearly so. Without speaking to anybody, without making eye contact at all, Harry walked straight across
the room and through the door to the boys’ dormitories.
As he had hoped, Ron was waiting for him, still fully dressed, sitting on his bed. Harry sat down on his own four-poster and for a moment, they simply stared at each
other.
“They're talking about closing the school,” said Harry.
“Lupin said they would,” said Ron.
There was a pause.
“So?” said Ron in a very low voice, as though he thought the furniture might be listening in. “Did you find one? Did you get it? A—a Horcrux?”
Harry shook his head. All that had taken place around that black lake seemed like an old nightmare now; had it really happened, and only hours ago?
“You didn't get it?” said Ron, looking crestfallen110. “It wasn't there?”
“No,” said Harry. “Someone had already taken it and left a fake in its place.”
“Already taken—?”
Wordlessly, Harry pulled the fake locket from his pocket, opened it, and passed it to Ron. The full story could wait... it did not matter tonight... nothing mattered
except the end, the end of their pointless adventure, the end of Dumbledore's life...
“R.A.B.,” whispered Ron, “but who was that?”
“Dunno,” said Harry, lying back on his bed fully clothed and staring blankly upwards111. He felt no curiosity at all about R.A.B.: he doubted that he would ever feel
curious again. As he lay there, he became aware suddenly that the grounds were silent. Fawkes had stopped singing.
And he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good, just as Dumbledore had left the school, had left the world... had
left Harry.
过来，哈利……”
“不。”
“哈利，你不能待在这……走吧……”
“不。”
他不想离开邓布利多的身边，他不想去任何地方。海格搭在他肩膀上的手颤抖着，这时另一个声音说，“哈利，走吧。”
一只小得多也温暖的多的手抓住了哈利的手，把他拉了起来。他没有想就顺从了。直到他盲目地从人群中走出来，从空气闻到一股花香，才意识到是金妮在带着他走回城堡。莫名其妙的声
音击打着他，哭泣、喊叫和哀号声穿破夜空，但是哈利和金妮继续向前走，踏过台阶进入了门厅：人们的脸在哈利眼角滑过，他们看着他，小声地议论着，疑惑着，他们走上大理石楼梯时，地
上的格兰芬多红宝石就像血滴一样闪闪发亮。
“我们现在要去校医院，”金妮说。
“我没有受伤，”哈利说。
“这是麦格的命令，”金妮说。“每个人都在那儿，罗恩、赫敏、卢平和每一个人——”
恐惧再一次在他的胸膛里搅动：他忘记了刚才抛下的那个奄奄一息的人。
“金妮，还有谁死了？”
“不要担心，我们当中没有谁死了。”
“但是黑魔标记——马尔福说他跨过了一具尸体——”
“他跨过了比尔，但没事，他还活着。”
她的声音里带了点什么，哈利知道那不是好兆头。
“你确定吗？”
“我当然确定……他只是弄得有点——有点脏乱，仅此而已。格雷巴克攻击了他。庞弗雷夫人说他不会——不会再是原来的样子了……”金妮的声音有点儿颤抖。“我们不知道副作用如何
——我的意思是，格雷巴克是个狼人，但当时没有变形。”
“但是其他人……还有一些其他人倒在了地上……”
“纳威在校医院，但庞弗雷夫人说他会完全康复的，还有弗立维教授被击昏了，但他已经好了，就是还有些虚弱。他坚持要去照顾拉文克劳的学生。还死了一个食死徒，他被一个高大的金
发食死徒射出的死咒击中了——哈利，如果我们没有喝你的飞力飞思，我想我们都已经死了，所有的咒语都似乎没有打中我们——”
他们到了校医院：哈利推开门，看见纳威正躺在靠门的一张床上，显然已经睡着了。病房的另一端，罗恩、赫敏、卢娜、唐克斯和卢平围在另一张床边。他们听到开门的声音之后都抬起了
头。赫敏跑过去拥抱了哈利；卢平也过来了，看上去很担忧。
“你还好吗，哈利？”
“我很好……比尔怎么样了？”
没有人回答。哈利从赫敏的肩膀上看过去，比尔的枕头上卧着一个无法辨认的面孔，非常严重的砍伤和撕裂使他看上去奇形怪状。庞弗雷夫人正在往他的伤口上涂一种刺鼻的绿色膏药。哈
利想起，斯内普用魔杖轻易地就修复好了那些他用刀光剑影咒给马尔福划下的伤痕。
“你能用魔咒或什么别的东西修复它吗，”他问护士长。
“没有魔咒能对此起作用，”庞弗雷夫人说。“我已经试过我知道所有办法了，但狼人咬伤是无法治愈的。”
“但他不是在满月的时候被咬伤的，”罗恩说，他凝视着哥哥的脸，仿佛这样就能治好它。“格雷巴克并没有变形。所以比尔不会变成一个——一个真正的——？”
他不确定地看着卢平。
“是的，我想比尔不会变成真正的狼人，”卢平说，“但这并不意味不会有任何损伤。这种伤是不可能完全治愈的，而且——而且比尔从现在起也许会带上某些狼的特征。”
“可是邓布利多也许会知道一些有效的方法，”罗恩说。“他在哪儿？比尔遵照了邓布利多的命令和那些疯子们搏斗，邓布利多欠他的，他不能让比尔这样下去——”
“罗恩——邓布利多死了，”金妮说。
“不！”卢平冲动地看了看金妮，又看了看哈利，似乎是希望后者能反驳她，但是哈利没有，卢平一下子摊在了比尔旁边的椅子上，用手把脸蒙住。哈利以前从没有看见过卢平如此的失控
；他觉得似乎这样是不像话地侵犯了别人的隐私；于是哈利转过脸去盯着罗恩，他们默默地交换了一个眼神以证实金妮的话。
“他是怎么死的？”唐克斯低声说。“发生了什么？”
“斯内普杀了他，”哈利说。“我在那儿，我看见了。因为黑魔标记被放到了天文塔上，于是我们赶到了那儿……邓布利多当时很不舒服，他很虚弱，但当我们听见从楼梯传上来的脚步声
时，我想他意识到了那是一个陷阱。他把我固定住了，我什么也做不了，我在隐形斗篷里——然后马尔福从门里走了出来，解除了他的武器——”
赫敏捂住了嘴，罗恩呻吟了一声。卢娜的嘴在瑟瑟发抖。
“——又来了更多的食死徒——然后是斯内普——然后斯内普杀了他。阿瓦达索命咒。”哈利再也说不下去了。
庞弗雷夫人哭了起来。除了金妮没有人去注意他她，金妮小声说，“嘘！听！”
庞弗雷夫人抽了一口气，用手指捂住了嘴，眼睛睁得大大的。窗外的夜幕之中，一只凤凰正在用哈利从未听到过的一种方式歌唱：一首极度凄美幽怨的挽歌。和以前听到凤凰唱歌时一样，
哈利觉得这音乐是来自他的内心，而不是外面：是他自己的悲痛魔法般地化为了歌曲，回荡在操场上，穿过了城堡的窗户。
他不知道他们站在那儿听了多久，也不知道为什么听到这悲伤的声音让他们的痛苦减轻了一点，但是当校医院的门再次被打开了，麦格教授走进来的时候，仿佛已经过了很长时间。和所有
的人一样，她也带着刚才的战斗所留下的痕迹：脸上擦破了皮，袍子也撕裂了。
“莫丽和亚瑟正在来的途中，”她说，音乐的催眠被打破了，每个人都似乎从恍惚中清醒过来，他们转过脸去看比尔，另一些人则揉着眼睛，摇了摇头。“哈利，发生了什么？据海格说当
邓布利多教授——当那件事发生的时候你和他在一起。他说斯内普教授也卷入其中了——”
“斯内普杀了邓布利多，”哈利说。
她盯着他看了一会儿，然后令人担心地晃了晃；庞弗雷夫人似乎振作了起来，她从稀薄的空气中变出了一把椅子，放到麦格的身下。
“斯内普，”麦格教授跌坐到椅子上，虚弱地说。“我们都怀疑……可是他却信任……总是……斯内普……我不敢相信……”
“斯内普是个造诣很高的大脑封闭术师，”卢平说，他的声音异常刺耳。“我们一直都知道的。”
“但邓布利多发誓说他是站在我们这边的！”唐克斯低声说。“我一直以为邓布利多知道一些我们所不知道的关于斯内普的事……”
“他一直暗示有一个固若金汤的理由来信任斯内普，”麦格教授喃喃地说，她用一只格子呢花边的手帕擦拭着流泪的眼睛。“我的意思是……关于斯内普的历史……当然人们必然会猜疑…
…但是邓布利多明确无误地告诉我斯内普的悔改绝对是真诚的……他不会听信任何反对他的话！”
“我想知道斯内普告诉邓布利多了什么，使邓布利多那么相信他，”唐克斯说。
“我知道，”哈利说，所有的人都转过来盯着他。“斯内普给伏地魔传递了消息，使得伏地魔追杀到了我的妈妈和爸爸。然后斯内普告诉邓布利多他没有认识到自己在做什么事，并对他们
的死感到抱歉。”
“然后邓布利多就相信了？”卢平难以置信地说。“邓布利多相信斯内普对詹姆的死感到抱歉？斯内普恨詹姆……”
“他还认为我母亲也一钱不值，”哈利说，“因为她是麻瓜家庭出身……‘泥巴种’，他这么称呼她……”
没有人问哈利是怎么知道这个的。所有人似乎都陷入了恐惧的震惊之中，试图去消化刚才发生的事背后令人难以置信的真相。
“这都是我的错，”麦格教授忽然说。她看上去六神无主，拧着手里湿润的手帕。“我的错。今晚是我让菲利乌斯（译注：弗立维教授的名字）去叫斯内普的，我居然会让他来帮助我们！
如果我没有提醒斯内普发生了什么，他也许就不能与食死徒们会合了。我觉得在菲利乌斯告诉他之前他不知道他们在那儿，我觉得他不知道他们要来。”
“这不是你的错，米勒娃，”卢平坚定地说。“我们都希望得到更多的协助，我们都很高兴地看到斯内普过来……”
“这么说他到达之后就加入了食死徒那边？”哈利问，他希望得知斯内普的奸诈与恶心的每一个细节，狂热地搜集更多的理由去憎恨他，去发誓报仇。
“我还是不明白这到底是怎么发生的，”麦格教授心烦意乱地说。“一切都这么混乱……邓布利多告诉我们他要离开学校几个小时，让我们去巡逻走廊，只是以防万一……莱姆斯、比尔和
尼法朵拉会加入我们……于是我们去巡逻。每一个通往校外的秘密通道都被保护了起来。所有进入城堡的入口都被施了强大的魔法。我还是不知道食死徒们是怎样进来的……”
“我知道，”哈利简要地解释了那对消失柜和他们之间形成的那条魔法路径。“于是他们就从有求必应屋里进来了。”
他差不多是违心地看了一眼罗恩和赫敏，他们俩都惊呆了。
“我把事情弄糟了，哈利，”罗恩沮丧地说。“我们按你说做了：我们查看了活点地图，没有在上面找到马尔福，所以我们认为他一定就在有求必应屋，于是我、金妮和纳威就去监视那儿
……但是马尔福通过了我们。”
“我们监视了一个小时之后他从屋子里出来了，”金妮说。“他是一个人，抓着那只恐怖的皱手臂——”
“他的光荣之手，”罗恩说。“只有拿着他的人才看得见它的光，记得吗？”
“总之，”金妮继续说，“他一定是在检查这条放食死徒们进来的路线是否空旷无人，因为他一看到我们就向空中扔了什么东西，然后就变得漆黑一片了。
“从秘鲁进口的速效黑暗粉，”罗恩苦涩地说。“弗雷德和乔治卖的。我要去和他们谈谈，看看他们把产品都卖给了什么人。”
“我们尝试了所有方法——荧光闪烁，火焰熊熊，”金妮说。“没有什么能穿透黑暗；我们能做的就是在走廊里摸黑，与此同时我们听到有人从旁边很快地经过。显然马尔福能看见路，因
为那只手能指引他们，我们不敢施任何咒语，因为害怕伤害到自己人，等我们到达一条有光的走廊之时，他们已经不见了。”
“幸运的是，”卢平嘶哑地说，“罗恩、金妮和纳威撞上了我们，他们立刻通知了我们所发生的事。我们几分钟后就发现了食死徒在往天文塔的方向去。马尔福显然没有料到有更多的人在
监视；至少他似乎已经把黑暗粉用光了。于是我们爆发了激战，他们散开了，于是我们就去追。他们中的一个——吉本——逃脱了，他朝塔楼上跑去。”
“去施放黑魔标记？”哈利问。
“一定是这样，是的，他们在离开有求必应屋之前一定已经计划好了，”卢平说。“但是我想吉本并不希望单独留下来等邓布利多来，因为他又回到了楼下重新加入战斗，然后被擦着我飞
过的一条死咒击中了。”
“那么说如果罗恩和金妮、纳威在监视有求必应屋，”哈利转向了赫敏，“你是不是……？”
“在斯内普的办公室外面，是的，”赫敏低声说，她眼里泪光闪闪，“和卢娜一起。我们在附近待了很久，可什么都没有发生……我们不知道楼上发生了什么，活点地图被罗恩拿着……当
弗立维教授慌慌张张地跑到地窖时已经快到午夜了。他大声喊着食死徒进入了城堡，我觉得他根本没有发现我和金妮在那儿。他直接冲进了斯内普的办公室，我们听到他说斯内普得和他一起回
去帮忙，然后我们听见一声重击，然后斯内普飞奔出了他的房间，他看到了我们，然后——然后——”
“什么？”哈利催促她。
“我太愚蠢了，哈利！”赫敏用尖细的声音说。“他说弗立维教授虚脱了，还让我们在他——在他去和食死徒战斗时照顾弗立维教授——”
她羞愧地用手捂住了脸，从指缝里接着说，声音含糊不清。
“我们进了他的办公室去看是不是能帮助弗立维教授，然后我们发现他躺在地板上不省人事……哦，现在看来那是多么明显啊，一定是斯内普对他施了昏迷咒，但我们当时竟没有意识到，
我们竟让斯内普走了！”
“这不是你们的错，”卢平坚定地说。“赫敏，如果你不服从斯内普闪到一边，他很可能会杀了你和卢娜。”
“所以他上了楼，”哈利说，他的脑海里浮现出了那幅景象，斯内普跑上大理石楼梯，黑色的长袍和从前一样在身后翻腾，一边攀上楼梯一边从斗篷下面拔出了魔杖，“然后他找到了你们
打斗的地方……”
“我们陷入了困境，我们快输掉了，”唐克斯低声地说。“吉本死了，但是剩下的食死徒似乎要以死相搏。纳威受了伤，比尔被格雷巴克攻击了……周围一片黑暗……咒语满天飞……马尔
福不见了，他一定是已经溜了，往塔楼上去了……然后他们有更多的人跟着跑去了，但他们中的一个人对身后的楼梯施了某种咒语……纳威冲它跑过去，却被抛到了空中——”
“我们没有一个人能过去，”罗恩说，“那个大块头的食死徒还在到处发射恶咒，它们在墙壁上反弹，差一点就打到了我们……”
“后来斯内普到了那儿，”唐克斯说，“然后他没有——”
“我看见他朝我们跑了过来，但是紧接着那个高大的食死徒发出了一条恶咒，它擦着我飞了过去，我迅速地低下身子，没有看到接下来发生的事，”金妮说。
“我看见他径直地穿过了咒语屏障，就像那儿什么都没有似的，”卢平说。“我试图跟在他后面，但却和纳威一样被抛了出来……”
“他一定知道一个我们所不知道的咒语，”麦格低声说。“毕竟——他是黑魔法防御术老师……我只是以为他是追那些逃亡天文塔的食死徒去了……”
“他是去了，”哈利残酷粗暴地说，“却是去帮助他们，而不是阻止他们……我敢打赌必须有黑魔标记才能通过那个屏障——那么他回来之后发生了什么事？”
“嗯，那个高大的食死徒刚刚发射了一条魔咒，导致一半的天花板塌了下来，同时也破坏了封闭楼梯的咒语，”卢平说。“我们都往前跑——我们中还能站起来的人——然后斯内普和那个
男孩出现在了漫天灰尘之中——显然，我们没有一个攻击了他们俩——”
“我们只是让他们过去了，”唐克斯用一种空洞的声音说，“我们以为他们正被食死徒追赶——记下来食死徒们和格雷巴克回来了，我们接着开打——我想我听到了斯内普在喊，但我不知
道他在喊什么——”
“他喊的是，‘结束了，’”哈利说。“他做了他打算做的事。”
他们陷入了沉默之中。福克斯的挽歌依然回荡在外面黑暗的操场上。歌声再次响起时，一个讨厌的想法突然闯进了哈利的脑中……他们从天文塔下面抬走邓布利多的遗体了吗？它接下来会
怎么样？在哪里安葬？他攥紧了口袋里的拳头。他能感觉到右手关节处顶着那一小块冰冷的假灵魂碎片。
医院的门忽然被打开了，把他们都吓了一跳：韦斯莱夫妇正大步地走进病房，芙蓉就跟在他们后面，她美丽的脸庞露出了惊恐的神色。
“莫丽——亚瑟——”麦格教授跳起来连忙问候他们。“我真的很抱歉……”
“比尔，”韦斯莱夫人低呼了一声，一看到比尔被毁坏的脸，她飞快地跑过了麦格教授。“哦，比尔！”
卢平和唐克斯赶紧站起来退到一边，好让韦斯莱夫妇更靠近病床。韦斯莱夫人俯身亲吻了一下他儿子血肉模糊的前额。
“你刚才说格雷巴克攻击了他？”韦斯莱夫人心乱如麻地问麦格教授。“但是他不是没有变身吗？那意味着什么？比尔会怎么样？”
“我们还不知道，”麦格教授无助地看着卢平。
“很可能会有一些损伤，亚瑟，”卢平说。“这是个古怪的情况，可能是独一无二的……我们不知道他醒来时举止会成为什么样子……”
韦斯莱夫人从庞弗雷夫人那儿接过气味恶心的膏药，并开始往比尔的伤口上抹。
“还有邓布利多……”韦斯莱夫人说。“米勒娃，那是真的吗……他真的……？”
麦格教授点了点头，哈利感觉到身旁的金妮动了动，他转过头看她。金妮微微眯起眼睛盯着芙蓉，后者正用冷酷的表情俯视着比尔。
“邓布利多去了，”韦斯莱先生低声说，但韦斯莱夫人仍旧盯着她的长子；她开始哭泣，眼泪落到了比尔毁伤的脸上。
“当然，他长得怎么样并不重要……并不真——真的很重要……但是他是个非常英俊的小男——男孩……一直都非常英俊……而且他本——本来都要结婚了！”
“你这是什么意思？”芙蓉突然大声说。“什么是他本来都要结婚了？”
韦斯莱夫人抬起她满是泪痕的脸，看上去很震惊。
“嗯——要不是——”
“你认为比尔将不再愿意娶我？”芙蓉问。“你认为，因为这些咬伤，他就不爱我了？”
“不，我不是那个——”
“因为他会继续爱我！”芙蓉说，她站直了身子，把她那长长的银发甩到脑后。“比尔不会仅仅因为变成了狼人就不再爱我了！”
“嗯，是的，我敢肯定。”韦斯莱夫人说，“但我想也许——如果那样——他那样——”
“你认为我不想再和他结婚？或许，你希望这样？”芙蓉说，她的鼻孔一张一翕。“我在意他的长相吗？我想对我们俩来说，我一个人就已经足够漂亮了！这些所有的伤疤都证明了我丈夫
有多么勇敢！我会和他结婚的！”她激动地加了一句，把韦斯莱夫人推到一边，抢过了她手中的药。
韦斯莱夫人靠到她的丈夫身上，看着芙蓉带着一种古怪的表情为比尔涂抹伤口。
韦斯莱夫人在一阵长时间的沉默之后说，“我们的穆丽尔婶婶有一个非常漂亮的头饰——妖精制造的——我敢肯定我能说服她借给你在婚礼上用。她非常喜欢比尔，你知道吗，它看起来就
像你的头发那样可爱。”
“谢谢你，”芙蓉生硬地说。“我相信那会很可爱。”
就在这时——哈利没有看清楚的是怎么回事——两个女人哭喊着抱在了一起。哈利十分迷惑不解，怀疑这个世界是不是疯了，他转过头来看罗恩：罗恩和他一样震撼，金妮和赫敏也交换了
一个惊讶的眼神。
“你看！”一个不自然的声音说。唐克斯正愤怒地看着卢平。“她仍然愿意嫁给他，即使他已经被咬了！她不在乎！”
“这不同，”卢平的嘴唇几乎没有动，突然看上去有些紧张。“比尔不会成为一个完全的狼人。情况完全——”
“但是我也不在乎，我不在乎！”唐克斯抓住卢平袍子的前襟摇来摇去。“我已经告诉过你一百万次了……”
唐克斯的守护神和她灰褐色的头发代表的含义，她听说有人被格雷巴克咬了之后来找邓布利多的原因，哈利一下子全明白了；原来唐克斯爱的不是小天狼星……
“而我也告诉过你几百万次了，”卢平不去看她的眼睛，只是盯着地面，“我对你来说太老了，太穷了……太危险了……”
“我一直都在说，你对此的原则非常可笑，莱姆斯，”韦斯莱夫人拍着芙蓉的后背，在她的肩头说。
“这不可笑，”卢平坚定地说。“唐克斯应该和一个更年轻、更健康的人在一起。”
“但是她想要你，”韦斯莱先生微微地笑了笑。“毕竟，莱姆斯，年轻和健康不一定是永恒的。”他悲哀地指了指躺在他们中间的儿子。
“现在……现在不是讨论这个的时候，”卢平说，他避开了所有人的目光，心烦意乱地向四周望着。“邓布利多死了……”
“如果邓布利多知道这个世界上又多了一点爱，他会比任何人都开心的，”麦格教授简略地说，就在此时医院的门再次被打开了，海格走了进来。
他脸上那一小块没有被头发和胡子遮住的地方显得湿润而臃肿；他泪汪汪地发着抖，手里拿着一块污迹斑斑的大手帕。
“我……我已经做好了，教授，”他哽咽着说。“抬——抬走了他。斯普劳特教授已经把孩子们哄上床了。弗立维教授在躺卧，不过他说他一瞬间就会没事。斯拉霍恩教授说已经通知了魔
法部。”
“谢谢你，海格，”麦格教授马上站了起来，转过头看着那群围在比尔床边的人。“魔法部的人到了之后我得去会见他们。海格，请通知每个学院的院长——斯拉霍恩可以代表斯莱特林—
—我要他们立刻来我的办公室。我希望你也能来。”
海格点了点头，转过身拖着脚步走出了屋子，她低头看了看哈利。
“在和他们会面之前我想和你简单说几句，哈利。请跟我来……”
哈利站起来，向罗恩、赫敏和金妮嘟囔了一句“待会见，”，然后就跟着麦格教授走出了病房。外面的走廊里空无一人。唯一能听到的声音就是远处凤凰的歌声。走了几分钟后哈利察觉到
他们并没有走向麦格教授的办公室，而是走向了邓布利多的。又过了几秒钟他才意识到，她曾经当过代理校长……显然她现在是校长了……所以石兽后面的那间办公室现在是她的了……
他们沉默地走上了移动的旋转楼梯，进入了圆形的办公室。他没有看到自己预计的东西：屋子被罩上黑布，也许甚至邓布利多的遗体就躺在里面。而事实上，它看上去与几小时前哈利和邓
布利多离开时一模一样：长脚桌上的银器旋转着喷着烟，格兰芬多的剑在玻璃盒子里被月光照得闪闪发亮，分院帽被搁在桌子后面的架子上。但是福克斯的栖木空了；它还在操场上悲泣着它的
挽歌。一个新的肖像画已经加入了霍格沃茨已故校长的行列……邓布利多在桌子上方的金色画框中酣睡，他的半月形眼镜架在高耸的鼻梁上，看上去安详宁静、无忧无虑。
瞥了一眼这幅肖像画之后，麦格教授奇怪地动了动，仿佛是给自己鼓了鼓劲，然后她绕到桌子后面看着哈利，脸绷得很紧，上面布满了皱纹。
“哈利，”她说，“我想知道今晚你和邓布利多教授离开学校后去做了什么。”
“我不能告诉您，教授，”哈利说。他已经预料到会被问及这个问题，也已经准备好了他的回答。当时就是在这间屋子里，邓布利多告诉他不要把课程的内容透露给赫敏和罗恩以外的人。
“哈利，也许它很重要，”麦格教授说。
“确实是，”哈利说，“非常重要，但他不想让我告诉任何人。”
麦格教授瞪着他。
“波特”（哈利注意到他的姓被重新启用了）“鉴于邓布利多教授的死，我想你应该看得出形势已经有所改变——”
“我不这么觉得，”哈利耸了耸肩。“邓布利多教授从没说过如果他死了我就可以停止遵守他的命令。”
“但是——”
“有一件您应该在魔法部的人来之前了解的事。罗斯默塔女士被夺魂咒控制了，她在帮助马尔福和食死徒，这就是那串项链和毒酒是怎样——”
“罗斯默塔？”麦格教授难以置信地说，但在她继续说下去之前，他们身后的门上传来了一阵敲门声。斯普劳特教授、弗立维教授和斯拉霍恩教授疲惫地走进了房间，海格跟在后面，他还
在不停地哭，巨大的骨架因为悲恸颤抖不已。
“斯内普！”斯拉霍恩突然说，他看上去是最受打击、最苍白、也是最大汉淋漓的一个。“斯内普！我教过他！我以为我了解他！”
但其他人能还没来得及作出回应，一个尖锐的声音从高高的墙上传来：一个脸色枯黄、留着短短的黑色刘海的巫师走回他的空画布。
“米勒娃，部长马上就到，他已经从魔法部幻影移形了。”
“谢谢你，埃弗拉德，”麦格教授很快又转向了老师们。
“我想在他来之前和你们谈谈霍格沃茨发生的事，”她快速地说，“就我个人来说，我不太确信学校明年还能开学。校长死于我们的一个同事
收听单词发音 |
1
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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wails
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| 痛哭，哭声( wail的名词复数 ) | |
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rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inert
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| adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的 | |
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boded
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| v.预示，预告，预言( bode的过去式和过去分词 )；等待，停留( bide的过去分词 )；居住；（过去式用bided）等待 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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slashed
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| v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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dabbing
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| 石面凿毛，灰泥抛毛 | |
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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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ointment
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| n.药膏，油膏，软膏 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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maniacs
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| n.疯子（maniac的复数形式） | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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disarmed
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| v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 )；使息怒 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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gulping
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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phoenix
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| n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生 | |
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lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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conjuring
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| n.魔术 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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explicitly
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| ad.明确地，显然地 | |
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repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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enchantments
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| n.魅力( enchantment的名词复数 )；迷人之处；施魔法；着魔 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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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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bleakly
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| 无望地，阴郁地，苍凉地 | |
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holder
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| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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sprinting
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| v.短距离疾跑( sprint的现在分词 ) | |
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dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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thump
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| v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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savaged
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| （动物）凶狠地攻击（或伤害）( savage的过去式和过去分词 )； 残害； 猛烈批评； 激烈抨击 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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reverberated
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| 回响，回荡( reverberate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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awakens
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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70
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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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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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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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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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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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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shuffled
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| 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 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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gargoyle
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| n.笕嘴 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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puffing
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| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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84
perch
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| n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于 | |
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slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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copiously
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| adv.丰富地，充裕地 | |
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spoke
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| 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 | |
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envisaged
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| 想像，设想( envisage的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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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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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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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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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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100
gulped
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| v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的过去式和过去分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住 | |
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briskness
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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102
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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103
squeaked
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| v.短促地尖叫( squeak的过去式和过去分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者 | |
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104
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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105
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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106
delegation
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| n.代表团；派遣 | |
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107
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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108
filch
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| v.偷窃 | |
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109
peeves
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| n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 ) | |
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110
crestfallen
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| adj. 挫败的，失望的，沮丧的 | |
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111
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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