第1节

您下载的文件来自天下电子书txdzs.com正文第1章“IamRemusJohnLupin，werewolf，sometimesknownasMoony，oneofthefourcreatorsoftheMarauder’sMap，marriedtoNymphadora，usuallyknownasTonks，ａｎｄItaughtyouhowtoproduceaPatronus，Harry，whichtakestheformofastag.”“Oh，allright，”saidHarry，loweringhiswａｎｄ，“butIhadtocheck，didn’tI?”“Speakingasyourex-DefenseAgainsttheDarkArtsteacher，Iquiteagreethatyouhadtocheck.Ron，Hermione，youshouldn’tbesoquicktoloweryourdefenses.”

Theyrandownthestairstowardshim.Wrappedinathickblacktravelingcloak，helookedexhausted，butpleasedtoseethem.“NosignofSeverus，then?”heasked.“No，”saidHarry.“What’sgoingon?Iseveryoneokay?’“Yes，”saidLupin，“butwe’reallbeingwatched.ThereareacoupleofDeathEatersinthesquareoutside–”“Weknow–”

“IhadtoApparateverypreciselyontothetopstepoutsidethefrontdoortobesurethattheywouldnotseeme.Theycan’tknowyou’reinhereorI’msurethey’dhavemorepeopleoutthere;they’restakingouteverywherethat’sgotanyconnectionwithyou，Harry.Let’sgodownstairs，there’salottotellyou，ａｎｄIwanttoknowwhathappenedafteryoulefttheBurrow.”

Theydescendedintothekitchen，whereHermionepointedherwａｎｄatthegrate.Afiresprangupinstantly:Itgavetheillusionofcozinesstothestarkstonewallsａｎｄglistenedoffthelongwoodentable.Lupinpulledafewbutterbeersfrombeneathhistravelingcloakａｎｄtheysatdown.“I’dhavebeenherethreedaysagobutIneededtoshakeofftheDeathEatertailingme，”saidLupin.“So，youcamestraighthereafterthewedding?”“No，”saidHarry，“onlyafterweranintoacoupleofDeathEatersinacaféonTottenhamCourtRoad.”Lupinsloppedmostofhisbutterbeerdownhisfront.“What?”

Theyexplainedwhathadhappened;whentheyhadfinished，Lupinlookedaghast.“Buthowdidtheyfindyousoquickly?It’simpossibletotrackanyonewhoApparates，unlessyougrabholdofthemastheydisappear.”“Anditdoesn’tseemlikelytheywerejuststrollingdownTottenhamCourtRoadatthetime，doesit?”saidHarry.“Wewondered，”saidHermionetentatively，“whetherHarrycouldstillhavetheTraceonhim?”“Impossible，”

saidLupin.Ronlookedsmug，ａｎｄHarryfelthugelyrelieved.“Apartfromanythingelse，they’dknowforsureHarrywashereifhestillhadtheTraceonhim，wouldn’tthey?ButIcan’tseehowtheycouldhavetrackedyoutoTottenhamCourtRoad，that’sworrying，reallyworrying.”Helookeddisturbed，butasfarasHarrywasconcerned，thatquestioncouldwait.“Telluswhathappenedafterweleft，wehaven’theardathingsinceRon’sdadtoldusthefamilywassafe.”“Well，Kingsleysavedus，”

saidLupin.“ThankstohiswarningmostoftheweddingguestswereabletoDisapparatebeforetheyarrived.”“WeretheyDeathEatersorMinistrypeople?”interjectedHermione.“Amixture;buttoallintentsａｎｄpurposesthey’rethesamethingnow，”saidLupin.“Therewereaboutadozenofthem，buttheydidn’tknowyouwerethere，Harry.ArthurheardarumorthattheytriedtotortureyourwhereaboutsoutofScrimgeourbeforetheykilledhim;ifit’strue，hedidn’tgiveyouaway.”

HarrylookedatRonａｎｄHermione;theirexpressionsreflectedthemingledshockａｎｄgratitudehefelt.HehadneverlikedScrimgeourmuch，butifwhatLupinsaidwastrue，theman’sfinalacthadbeentotrytoprotectHarry.“TheDeathEaterssearchedtheBurrowfromtoptobottom，”

Lupinwenton.“Theyfoundtheghoul，butdidn’twanttogettooclose–ａｎｄthentheyinterrogatedthoseofuswhoremainedforhours.Theyweretryingtogetinformationonyou，Harry，butofcoursenobodyapartfromtheOrderknewthatyouhadbeenthere.“Atthesametimethattheyweresmashingupthewedding，moreDeathEaterswereforcingtheirwayintoeveryOrder-connectedhouseinthecountry.Nodeaths，”

headdedquickly，forestallingthequestion，“buttheywererough.TheyburneddownDedalusDiggle’shouse，butasyouknowhewasn’tthere，ａｎｄtheyusedtheCruciarusCurseonTonks’sfamily.Again，tryingtofindoutwhereyouwentafteryouvisitedthem.They’reallright–shaken，obviously，butotherwiseokay.”“TheDeathEatersgotthroughallthoseprotectivecharms?”

Harryasked，rememberinghoweffectivethesehadbeenonthenighthehadcrashedinTonks’sparents’garden.“Whatyou’vegottorealize，Harry，isthattheDeathEatershavegotthefullmightoftheMinistryontheirsidenow，”saidLupin.“They’vegotthepowertoperformbrutalspellswithoutfearofidentificationorarrest.Theymanagedtopenetrateeverydefensivespellwe’dcastagainstthem，ａｎｄonceinside，theywerecompletelyopenaboutwhythey’dcome.”“AndaretheybotheringtogiveanexcusefortorturingHarry’swhereaboutsoutofpeople?”

askedHermione，anedgetohervoice.“Well，”Lupinsaid.Hehesitated，thenpulledoutafoldedcopyoftheDailyProphet.“Here，”hesaid，pushingitacrossthetabletoHarry，“you’llknowsoonerorlateranyway.That’stheirpretextforgoingafteryou.”Harrysmoothedoutthepaper.Ahugephotographofhisownfacefilledthefrontpage.Hereadtheheadlineoverit:

THEDEATHOFALBUSDUMBLEDORERonａｎｄHermionegaveroarsofoutrage，butHarrysaidnothing.Hepushedthenewspaperaway;hedidnotwanttoreadanymore:Heknewwhatitwouldsay.NobodybutthosewhohadbeenontopofthetowerwhenDumbledorediedknewwhohadreallykilledhimａｎｄ，asRitaSkeeterhadalreadytoldtheWizardingworld，HarryhadbeenseenrunningfromtheplacemomentsafterDumbledorehadfallen.“I’msorry，Harry，”Lupinsaid.“SoDeathEatershavetakenovertheDailyProphettoo?”askedHermionefuriously.Lupinnodded.“Butsurelypeoplerealizewhat’sgoingon?”

“Thecouphasbeensmoothａｎｄvirtuallysilent，”saidLupin.“TheofficialversionofScrimgeour’smurderisthatheresigned;hehasbeenreplacedbyPiusThicknesse，whoisundertheImperiusCurse.”“Whydidn’tVoldemortdeclarehimselfMinisterofMagic?”

askedRon.Lupinlaughed.“Hedoesn’tneedto，Ron.Effectively，heistheMinister，butwhyshouldhesitbehindadeskattheMinistry?Hispuppet，Thicknesse，istakingcareofeverydaybusiness，leavingVoldemortfreetoextendhispowerbeyondtheMinistry.“Naturallymanypeoplehavededucedwhathashappened:TherehasbeensuchadramaticchangeinMinistrypolicyinthelastfewdays，ａｎｄmanyarewhisperingthatVoldemortmustbebehindit.However，thatisthepoint:Theywhisper.Theydaren’tconfideineachother，notknowingwhomtotrust;theyarescaredtospeakout，incasetheirsuspicionsaretrueａｎｄtheirfamiliesaretargeted.Yes，Voldemortisplayingaveryclevergame.Declaringhimselfmighthaveprovokedopenrebellion:Remainingmaskedhascreatedconfusion，uncertainty，ａｎｄfear.”

“AndthisdramaticchangeinMinistrypolicy，”saidHarry，“involveswarningtheWizardingworldagainstmeinsteadofVoldemort?”“That’scertainlyapartofit，”saidLupin，“ａｎｄitisamasterstroke.NowthatDumbledoreisdead，you–theBoyWhoLived–weresuretobethesymbolａｎｄrallyingpointforanyresistancetoVoldemort.Butbysuggestingthatyouhadahａｎｄintheoldhat’sdeath，Voldemorthasnotonlysetapriceuponyourhead，butsowndoubtａｎｄfearamongstmanywhowouldhavedefendedyou.“Meanwhile，theMinistryhasstartedmovingagainstMuggle-borns.”

LupinpointedattheDailyProphet.“Lookatpagetwo.”HermioneturnedthepageswithmuchthesameexpressionofdistasteshehadwhenhａｎｄlingSecretsoftheDarkestArt.“Muggle-bornRegister!”shereadaloud.“‘TheMinistryofMagicisundertakingasurveyofso-called“Muggle-borns”

thebettertounderstａｎｄhowtheycametopossessmagicalsecrets.“‘RecentresearchundertakenbytheDepartmentofMysteriesrevealsthatmagiccanonlybepassedfrompersontopersonwhenWizardsreproduce.WherenoprovenWizardingancestryexists，therefore，theso-calledMuggle-bornislikelytohaveobtainedmagicalpowerbytheftorforce.“‘TheMinistryisdeterminedtorootoutsuchusurpersofmagicalpower，ａｎｄtothisendhasissuedaninvitationtoeveryso-calledMuggle-borntopresentthemselvesforinterviewbythenewlyappointedMuggle-bornRegistrationCommission.’”

“Peoplewon’tletthishappen，”saidRon.“Itishappening，Ron，”saidLupin.“Muggle-bornsarebeingroundedupaswespeak.”“Buthowaretheysupposedtohave‘stolen’magic?”saidRon.“It’smental，ifyoucouldstealmagictherewouldn’tbeanySquibs，wouldthere?”“Iknow，”saidLupin.“Nevertheless，unlessyoucanprovethatyouhaveatleastonecloseWizardingrelative，youarenowdeemedtohaveobtainedyourmagicalpowerillegallyａｎｄmustsufferthepunishment.”

RonglancedatHermione，thensaid，“WhatifpurebloodsａｎｄhalfbloodsswearaMuggle-born’spartoftheirfamily?I’lltelleveryoneHermione’smycousin–”HermionecoveredRon’shａｎｄwithhersａｎｄsqueezedit.“Thankyou，Ron，butIcouldn’tletyou–”“Youwon’thaveachoice，”saidRonfiercely，grippingherhａｎｄback.“I’llteachyoumyfamilytreesoyoucananswerquestionsonit.”

Hermionegaveashakylaugh.“Ron，aswe’reontherunwithHarryPotter，themostwantedpersoninthecountry，Idon’tthinkitmatters.IfIwasgoingbacktoschoolitwouldbedifferent.What’sVoldemortplanningforHogwarts?”sheaskedLupin.“Attendanceisnowcompulsoryforeveryyoungwitchａｎｄwizard，”

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