第2节

d.“Thatwasannouncedyesterday.It’sachange，becauseitwasneverobligatorybefore.Ofcourse，nearlyeverywitchａｎｄwizardinBritainhasbeeneducatedatHogwarts，buttheirparentshadtherighttoteachthemathomeorsendthemabroadiftheypreferred.Thisway，VoldemortwillhavethewholeWizardingpopulationunderhiseyefromayoungage.Andit’salsoanotherwayofweedingoutMuggle-borns，becausestudentsmustbegivenBloodStatus–meaningthattheyhaveproventotheMinistrythattheyareofWizarddescent–beforetheyareallowedtoattend.”

Harryfeltsickenedａｎｄangry:Atthismoment，excitedeleven-year-oldswouldbeporingoverstacksofnewlypurchasedspell-books，unawarethattheywouldneverseeHogwarts，perhapsneverseetheirfamiliesagaineither.“It’sit’s”hemuttered，strugglingtofindwordsthatdidjusticetothehorrorofhisthoughts，butLupinsaidquietly，“Iknow.”Lupinhesitated.I’llunderstａｎｄifyoucan’tconfirmthis，Harry，buttheOrderisundertheimpressionthatDumbledoreleftyouamission.”“Hedid，”Harryreplied，“ａｎｄRonａｎｄHermioneareinonitａｎｄthey’recomingwithme.”

“Canyouconfideinmewhatthemissionis?”Harrylookedintotheprematurelylinedface，framedinthickbutgrayinghair，ａｎｄwishedthathecouldreturnadifferentanswer.“Ican’t，Remus，I’msorry.IfDumbledoredidn’ttellyouIdon’tthinkIcan.”“Ithoughtyou’dsaythat，”saidLupin，lookingdisappointed.“ButImightstillbeofsomeusetoyou.YouknowwhatIamａｎｄwhatIcando.Icouldcomewithyoutoprovideprotection.Therewouldbenoneedtotellmeexactlywhatyouwereupto.”

Harryhesitated.Itwasaverytemptingoffer，thoughhowtheywouldbeabletokeeptheirmissionsecretfromLupinifhewerewiththemallthetimehecouldnotimagine.Hermione，however，lookedpuzzled.“ButwhataboutTonks?”sheasked.“Whatabouther?”saidLupin.“Well，”saidHermione，frowning，“you’remarried!Howdoesshefeelaboutyougoingawaywithus?”“Tonkswillbeperfectlysafe，”saidLupin，“She’llbeatherparents’house.”

TherewassomethingstrangeinLupin’stone，itwasalmostcold.TherewasalsosomethingoddintheideaofTonksremaininghiddenatherparents’house;shewas，afterall，amemberoftheOrderａｎｄ，asfarasHarryknew，waslikelytowanttobeinthethickoftheaction.“Remus，”saidHermionetentatively，“iseverythingallrightyouknowbetweenyouａｎｄ–”“Everythingisfine，thankyou，”

saidLupinpointedly.Hermioneturnedpink.Therewasanotherpause，anawkwardａｎｄembarrassedone，ａｎｄthenLupinsaid，withanairofforcinghimselftoadmitsomethingunpleasant，“Tonksisgoingtohaveababy.”

第2章“Oh，howwonderful!”squealedHermione.“Excellent!”saidRonenthusiastically.“Congratulations，”saidHarry.Lupingaveanartificialsmilethatwasmorelikeagrimace，thensaid，“Sodoyouacceptmyoffer?Willthreebecomefour?IcannotbelievethatDumbledorewouldhavedisapproved，heappointedmeyourDefenseAgainsttheDarkArtsteacher，afterall.AndImusttellyouthatIbelievewearefacingmagicmanyofushaveneverencounteredorimagined.”RonａｎｄHermionebothlookedatHarry.“Just–justtobeclear，”

hesaid.“YouwanttoleaveTonksatherparents’houseａｎｄcomeawaywithus?”“She’llbeperfectlysafethere，they’lllookafterher，”saidLupin.Hespokewithafinalityborderingonindifference:“Harry，I’msureJameswouldhavewantedmetostickwithyou.”“Well，”saidHarryslowly，“I’mnot.I’mprettysuremyfatherwouldhavewantedtoknowwhyyouaren’tstickingwithyourownkid，actually.”

Lupin’sfacedrainedofcolor.Thetemperatureinthekitchenmighthavedroppedtendegrees.Ronstaredaroundtheroomasthoughhehadbeenbiddentomemorizeit，whileHermione’seyesswiveledbackwardａｎｄforwardfromHarrytoLupin.“Youdon’tunderstａｎｄ，”saidLupinatlast.“Explain，then，”saidHarry.Lupinswallowed.“I–ImadeagravemistakeinmarryingTonks.Ididitagainstmybetterjudgmentａｎｄhaveregretteditverymucheverysince.”“Isee，”saidHarry，“soyou’rejustgoingtodumpherａｎｄthekidａｎｄrunoffwithus?”

Lupinsprangtohisfeet:Hischairtoppledoverbackward，ａｎｄheglaredatthemsofiercelythatHarrysaw，forthefirsttimeever，sheshadowofthewolfuponhishumanface.“Don’tyouunderstａｎｄwhatI’vedonetomywifeａｎｄmyunbornchild?Ishouldneverhavemarriedher，I’vemadeheranoutcast!”

Lupinkickedasidethechairhehadoverturned.“YouhaveonlyeverseenmeamongsttheOrder，orunderDumbledore’sprotectionatHogwarts!Youdon’tknowhowmostoftheWizardingworldseescreatureslikeme!Whentheyknowofmyaffliction，theycanbarelytalktome!Don’tyouseewhatI’vedone?Evenherownfamilyisdisgustedbyourmarriage，whatparentswanttheironlydaughtertomarryawerewolf?Andthechild–thechild–”

Lupinactuallyseizedhａｎｄfulsofhisownhair;helookedquitederanged.“Mykinddon’tusuallybreed!Itwillbelikeme，Iamconvincedofit–howcanIforgivemyself，whenIknowinglyriskedpassingonmyownconditiontoaninnocentchild?Andif，bysomemiracle，itisnotlikeme，thenitwillbebetteroff，ahundredtimesso，withoutafatherofwhomitmustalwaysbeashamed!”“Remus!”whisperedHermione，tearsinhereyes.“Don’tsaythat–howcouldanychildbeashamedofyou?”“Oh，Idon’tknow，Hermione，”saidHarry.“I’dbeprettyashamedofhim.”

Harrydidnotknowwherehisragewascomingfrom，butithadpropelledhimtohisfeettoo.LupinlookedasthoughHarryhadhithim.“IfthenewregimethinksMuggle-bornsarebad，”Harrysaid，“whatwilltheydotoahalf-werewolfwhosefather’sintheOrder?Myfatherdiedtryingtoprotectmymotherａｎｄme，ａｎｄyoureckonhe’dtellyoutoabａｎｄonyourkidtogoonanadventurewithus?”DUMBLEDORE“How–howdareyou?”saidLupin.“Thisisnotaboutadesirefor–fordangerorpersonalglory–howdareyousuggestsucha–”“Ithinkyou’refeelingabitofadaredevil，”

Harrysaid，“YoufancysteppingintoSirius’sshoes–”“Harry，no!”Hermionebeggedhim，buthecontinuedtoglareintoLupin’slividface.“I’dneverhavebelievedthis，”Harrysaid.“Themanwhotaughtmetofightdementors–acoward.”LupindrewhiswａｎｄsofastthatHarryhadbarelyreachedforhisown;therewasaloudbangａｎｄhefelthimselfflyingbackwardasifpunched;asheslammedintothekitchenwallａｎｄslidtothefloor，heglimpsedthetailofLupin’scloakdisappearingaroundthedoor.“Remus，Remus，comeback!”

Hermionecried，butLupindidnotrespond.Amomentlatertheyheardthefrontdoorslam.“Harry!”wailedHermione.“Howcouldyou?”“Itwaseasy，”saidHarry.Hestoodup，hecouldfeelalumpswellingwherehisheadhadhitthewall.Hewasstillsofullofangerhewasshaking.“Don’tlookatmelikethat!”hesnappedatHermione.“Don’tyoustartonher!”snarledRon.“No–no–wemustn’tfight!”saidHermione，launchingherselfbetweenthem.“Youshouldn’thavesaidthatstufftoLupin，”RontoldHarry.“Hehaditcomingtohim，”

saidHarry.Brokenimageswereracingeachotherthroughhismind:Siriusfallingthroughtheveil;Dumbledoresuspended，broken，inmidair;aflashofgreenlightａｎｄhismother’svoice，beggingformercy“Parents，”saidHarry，“shouldn’tleavetheirkidsunless–unlessthey’vegotto.”

“Harry–“saidHermione，stretchingoutaconsolinghａｎｄ，butheshruggeditoffａｎｄwalkedaway，hiseyesonthefireHermionehadconjured.HehadoncespokentoLupinoutofthatfireplace，seekingreassuranceaboutJames，ａｎｄLupinhadconsoledhim.NowLupin’storturedwhitefaceseemedtoswimintheairbeforehim.Hefeltasickeningsurgeofremorse.NeitherRonnorHermionespoke，butHarryfeltsurethattheywerelookingateachotherbehindhisback，communicatingsilently.Heturnedaroundａｎｄcaughtthemturninghurriedlyawayformeachother.“IknowIshouldn’thavecalledhimacoward.”

“No，youshouldn’t，”saidRonatonce.“Buthe’sactinglikeone.”“Allthesame”saidHermione.“Iknow，”saidHarry.“ButifitmakeshimgobacktoTonks，it’llbeworthit，won’tit?”

Hecouldnotkeepthepleaoutofhisvoice.Hermionelookedsympathetic，Ronuncertain.Harrylookeddownathisfeet，thinkingofhisfather.WouldJameshavebackedHarryinwhathehadsaidtoLupin，orwouldhehavebeenangryathowhissonhadtreatedhisoldfriend?ThesilentkitchenseemedtohumwiththeshockoftherecentsceneａｎｄwithRonａｎｄHermione’sunspokenreproaches.TheDailyProphetLupinhadbroughtwasstilllyingonthetable，Harry’sownfacestaringupattheceilingfromthefrontpage.Hewalkedovertoitａｎｄsatdown，openedthepaperatrａｎｄom，ａｎｄpretendedtoread.Hecouldnottakeinthewords;hismindwasstilltoofulloftheencounterwithLupin.HewassurethatRonａｎｄHermionehadresumedtheirsilentcommunicationsontheothersideoftheProphet.Heturnedapageloudly，ａｎｄDumbledore’snameleaptoutathim.Itwasamomentortwobeforehetookinthemeaningofthephotograph，whichshowedafamilygroup.Beneaththephotographwerethewords:TheDumbledorefamily，lefttoright:Albus;Percival，holdingnewbornAriana;Kendra，ａｎｄAberforth.Hisattentioncaught，Harryexaminedthepicturemorecarefully.Dumbledore’sfather，Percival，wasagood-lookingmanwitheyesthatseemedtotwinkleeveninthisfadedoldphotograph.Thebaby，Ariana，wasalittlelongerthanaloafofbreadａｎｄnomoredistinctive-looking.Themother，Kendra，h