第2节

“Don’tyouthinkthere’sapossibilitythatVoldemort’skeepingawatchonGodric’sHollow?”Hermioneasked.“Hemightexpectyoutogobackａｎｄvisityourparents’gravesonceyou’refreetogowhereveryoulike?”ThishadnotoccurredtoHarry.Whilehestruggledtofindacounterargument，Ronspokeup，evidentlyfollowinghisowntrainofthought.“ThisR.A.B.person，”hesaid.“Youknow，theonewhostolethereallocket?”Hermionenodded.“Hesaidinhisnotehewasgoingtodestroyit，didn’the?”HarrydraggedhisrucksacktowardhimａｎｄpulledoutthefakeHorcruxinwhichR.A.B.’snotewasstillfolded.“’IhavestolentherealHorcruxａｎｄintendtodestroyitassoonasIcan.’”Harryreadout.“Well，whatifhedidfinishitoff?”saidRon.“Orshe.”InterposedHermione.“Whichever，”saidRon.“it’dbeonelessforustodo!”“Yes，butwe’restillgoingtohavetotryａｎｄtracethereallocket，aren’twe?”saidHermione，“tofindoutwhetherornotit’sdestroyed.”“Andoncewegetholdofit，howdoyoudestroyaHorcrux?”askedRon.“Well，”saidHermione，“I’vebeenresearchingthat.”“How?”askedHarry.“Ididn’tthinktherewereanybooksonHorcruxesinthelibrary?”“Thereweren’t，”saidHermione，whohadturnedpink.“Dumbledoreremovedthemall，buthe–hedidn’tdestroythem.”Ronsatupstraight，wide-eyed.“HowinthenameofMerlin’spantshaveyoumanagedtogetyourhａｎｄsonthoseHorcruxbooks?”“It–itwasn’tstealing!”saidHermione，lookingfromHarrytoRonwithakindofdesperation.“Theywerestilllibrarybooks，evenifDumbledorehadtakenthemofftheshelves.Anyway，ifhereallydidn’twantanyonetogetatthem，I’msurehewouldhavemadeitmuchharderto–““Gettothepoint!”saidRon.“Wellitwaseasy，”saidHermioneinasmallvoice.“IjustdidaSummoningCharm.Youknow–Accio.And–theyzoomedoutofDumbledore’sstudywindowrightintothegirls’dormitory.”“Butwhendidyoudothis?”Harryasked，regardingHermionewithamixtureofadmirationａｎｄincredulity.

“Justafterhis–Dumbledore’s–funeral，”saidHermioneinanevensmallervoice.“Rightafterweagreedwe’dleaveschoolａｎｄgoａｎｄlookfortheHorcruxes.WhenIwentbackupstairstogetmythingsit–itjustoccurredtomethatthemoreweknewaboutthem，thebetteritwouldbeａｎｄIwasaloneintheresoItriedａｎｄitworked.TheyflewstraightinthroughtheopenwindowａｎｄI–Ipackedthem.”Sheswallowedａｎｄthensaidimploringly，“Ican’tbelieveDumbledorewouldhavebeenangry，it’snotasthoughwe’regoingtousetheinformationtomakeaHorcrux，isit?”“Canyouhearuscomplaining?”saidRon.“Wherearethesebooksanyway?”Hermionerummagedforamomentａｎｄthenextractedfromthepilealargevolume，boundinfadedblackleather.Shelookedalittlenauseatedａｎｄhelditasgingerlyasifitweresomethingrecentlydead.

第2章“ThisistheonethatgivesexplicitinstructionsonhowtomakeaHorcrux.SecretsoftheDarkestArt–it’sahorriblebook，reallyawful，fullofevilmagic.IwonderwhenDumbledoreremoveditfromthelibraryifhedidn’tdoituntilhewasheadmaster，IbetVoldemortgotalltheinstructionheneededfromhere.”“WhydidhehavetoaskSlughornhowtomakeaHorcrux，then，ifhe’dalreadyreadthat?”askedRon.“HeonlyapproachedSlughorntofindoutwhatwouldhappenifyousplityoursoulintoseven，”saidHarry.“DumbledorewassureRiddlealreadyknewhowtomakeaHorcruxbythetimeheaskedSlughornaboutthem.Ithinkyou’reright，Hermione，thatcouldeasilyhavebeenwherehegottheinformation.”“AndthemoreI’vereadaboutthem，”saidHermione，“themorehorribletheyseem，ａｎｄthelessIcanbelievethatheactuallymadesix.Itwarnsinthisbookhowunstableyoumaketherestofyoursoulbyrippingit，ａｎｄthat’sjustbymakingoneHorcrux!”HarryrememberedwhatDumbledorehadsaidaboutVoldemortmovingbeyond“usualevil.”

“Isn’tthereanywayofputtingyourselfbacktogether?”Ronasked.“Yes，”saidHermionewithahollowsmile，“butitwouldbeexcruciatinglypainful.”“Why?Howdoyoudoit?”askedHarry.“Remorse，”saidHermione.“You’vegottoreallyfeelwhatyou’vedone.There’safootnote.Apparentlythepainofitcandestroyyou.Ican’tseeVoldemortattemptingitsomehow，canyou?”“No，”saidRon，beforeHarrycouldanswer.“SodoesitsayhowtodestroyHorcruxesinthatbook?”“Yes，”saidHermione，nowturningthefragilepagesasifexaminingrottingentrails，“becauseitwarnsDarkwizardshowstrongtheyhavetomaketheenchantmentsonthem.FromallthatI’veread，whatHarrydidtoRiddle’sdiarywasoneofthefewreallyfoolproofwaysofdestroyingaHorcrux.”“What，stabbingitwithabasiliskfang?”askedHarry.“Ohwell，luckywe’vegotsuchalargesupplyofbasiliskfangs，then，”saidRon.“Iwaswonderingwhatweweregoingtodowiththem.”“Itdoesn’thavetobeabasiliskfang，”saidHermionepatiently.“IthastobesomethingsodestructivethattheHorcruxcan’trepairitself.Basiliskvenomonlyhasoneantidote，ａｎｄit’sincrediblyrare–““–phoenixtears，”saidHarry，nodding.“Exactly，”saidHermione.“Ourproblemisthatthereareveryfewsubstancesasdestructiveasbasiliskvenom，ａｎｄthey’realldangeroustocarryaroundwithyou.That’saproblemwe’regoingtohavetosolve，though，becauseripping，smashing，orcrushingaHorcruxwon’tdothetrick.You’vegottoputitbeyondmagicalrepair.”“Butevenifwewreckthethingitlivesin，”saidRon，“whycan’tthebitofsoulinitjustgoａｎｄliveinsomethingelse?”“BecauseaHorcruxisthecompleteoppositeofahumanbeing.”SeeingthatHarryａｎｄRonlookedthoroughlyconfused，Hermionehurriedon.“Look，ifIpickedupaswordrightnow，Ron，ａｎｄranyouthroughwithit，Iwouldn’tdamageyoursoulatall.””Whichwouldbearealcomforttome，I’msure，”saidRon.Harrylaughed.“Itshouldbe，actually!Butmypointisthatwhateverhappenstoyourbody，yoursoulwillsurvive，untouched，”saidHermione.“Butit’stheotherwayroundwithaHorcrux.Thefragmentofsoulinsideitdependsonitscontainer，itsenchantedbody，forsurvival.Itcan’texistwithoutit.”“ThatdiarysortofdiedwhenIstabbedit，”saidHarry，rememberinginkpouringlikebloodfromthepuncturedpages，ａｎｄthescreamsofthepieceofVoldemort’ssoulasitvanished.“Andoncethediarywasproperlydestroyed，thebitofsoultrappedinitcouldnolongerexist.Ginnytriedtogetridofthediarybeforeyoudid，flushingitaway，butobviouslyitcamebackgoodasnew.”“Hangon，”saidRon，frowning.“ThebitofsoulinthatdiarywaspossessingGinny，wasn’tit?Howdoesthatwork，then?”“Whilethemagicalcontainerisstillintact，thebitofsoulinsideitcanflitinａｎｄoutofsomeoneiftheygettooclosetotheobject.Idon’tmeanholdingitfortoolong，it’snothingtodowithtouchingit，”sheaddedbeforeRoncouldspeak.“Imeancloseemotionally.Ginnypouredherheartoutintothatdiary，shemadeherselfincrediblyvulnerable.You’reintroubleifyougettoofondofordependentontheHorcrux.”“IwonderhowDumbledoredestroyedthering?”saidHarry.“Whydidn’tIaskhim?Ineverreally”Hisvoicetrailedaway:HewasthinkingofallthethingsheshouldhaveaskedDumbledore，ａｎｄofhow，sincetheheadmasterhaddied，itseemedtoHarrythathehadwastedsomanyopportunitieswhenDumbledorehadbeenalive，tofindoutmoretofindouteverythingThesilencewasshatteredasthebedroomdoorflewopenwithawall-shakingcrash.HermioneshriekedａｎｄdroppedSecretsoftheDarkestArt;Crookshanksstreakedunderthebed，hissingindignantly;Ronjumpedoffthebed，skiddedonadiscardedChocolateFrogwrapper，ａｎｄsmackedhisheadontheoppositewall;ａｎｄHarryinstinctivelydivedforhiswａｎｄbeforerealizingthathewaslookingupatMrs.Weasley，whosehairwasdisheveledａｎｄwhosefacewascontortedwithrage.“I’msosorrytobreakupthiscozylittlegathering，”shesaid，hervoicetrembling.“I’msureyouallneedyourrestbutthereareweddingpresentsstackedinmyroomthatneedsortingoutａｎｄIwasundertheimpressionthatyouhadagreedtohelp.”“Ohyes，”saidHermione，lookingterrifiedassheleapttoherfeet，sendingbooksflyingineverydirection.“wewillwe’resorry”WithananguishedlookatHarryａｎｄRon，HermionehurriedoutoftheroomafterMrs.Weasley.“it’slikebeingahouse-elf，”complainedRoninanundertone，stillmassaginghisheadasheａｎｄHarryfollowed.“Exceptwithoutthejobsatisfaction.Thesoonerthiswedding’sover，thehappier，I’llbe.”“Yeah，”saidHarry，“thenwe’llhavenothingtodoexceptfindHorcruxesIt’llbelikeaholiday，won’tit?”Ronstartedtolaugh，butatthesightoftheenormouspileofweddingpresentswaitingfortheminMrs.Weasley’sroom，stoppedquiteabruptly.TheDelacoursarrivedthefollowingmorningateleveno’clock.Harry，Ron，HermioneａｎｄGinnywerefeelingquiteresentfultowardFleur’sfamilybythistime;ａｎｄitwaswithillgracethatRonstumpedbackupstairstoputonmatchingsocks，ａｎｄHarryattemptedtoflattenhishair.Oncetheyhadallbeendeemedsmartenough，theytroopedoutintothesunnybackyardtoawaitthevisitors.Harryhadneverseentheplacelookingsotidy.TherustycauldronsａｎｄoldWellingtonbootsthatusuallylitteredthestepsbythebackdoorweregone，replacedbytwonewFlutterbybushesstａｎｄingeithersideofthedoorinlargepots;thoughtherewasnobreeze，theleaveswavedlazily，givinganattractiveripplingeffect.Thechickenshadbeenshutaway，theyardhadbeenswept，ａｎｄthenearbygardenhadbeenpruned，plucked，ａｎｄgenerallysprucedup，althoughHarry，wholikeditinitsovergrownstate，thoughtthatitlookedratherforlornwithoutitsusualcontingentofcaperinggnomes.HehadlosttrackofhowmanysecurityenchantmentshadbeenplacedupontheBurrowbyboththeOrderａｎｄtheMinistry;allheknewwasthatitwasnolongerpossibleforanybodytotravelbymagicdirectlyintotheplace.Mr.WeasleyhadthereforegonetomeettheDelacoursontopofanearbyhill，wheretheyweretoarrivebyPortkey.Thefirstsoundoftheirapproachwasanunusuallyhigh-pitchedlaugh，whichturnedouttobecomingfromMr.Weasley，whoappearedatthegatemomentslater，ladenwithluggageａｎｄleadingabeautifulblondewomaninlong，leafgreenrobes，whocouldbeFleur’smother.“Maman!”criedFleur，rushingforwardtoembraceher.“Papa!”MonsieurDelacourwasnowherenearasattractiveashiswife;hewasaheadshorterａｎｄextremelyplumb，withalittle，pointedblackbeard.However，helookedgood-natured.BouncingtowardsMrs.Weasleyonhigh-heeledboots，hekissedhertwiceoneachcheek，leavingherflustered.“You‘avebeensomuchtrouble，”hesaidinadeepvoice.“Fleurtellsusyou‘avebeenworkingvery‘ard.”“Oh，it’sbeennothing，nothing!”trilledMrs.Weasley.“Notroubleatall!”RonrelievedhisfeelingsbyaimingakickatagnomewhowaspeeringoutfrombehindoneofthenewFlutterbybushes.“Dearlady!”saidMonsieurDelacour，stillholdingMrs.Weasley’shａｎｄbetweenhisowntwoplumponesａｎｄbeaming.“Wearemosthonoredattheapproachingunionofourtwofamilies!Letmepresentmywife，Apolline.”MadameDelacourglidedforwardａｎｄstoopedtokissMrs.Weasleytoo.“Enchantée，”shesaid.“Your‘usbａｎｄ‘asbeentellingussuchamusingstories!”Mr.Weasleygaveamaniacallaugh;Mrs.Weasleythrewhimalook，uponwhichhebecameimmediatelysilentａｎｄassumedanexpressionappropriatetothesickbedofaclosefriend.“And，ofcourse，you‘avemetmyleetledaughter，Gabrielle!”saidMonsieurDelacour.GabriellewasFleurinminiature;elevenyearsold，withwaist-lengthhairofpure，silveryblonde，shegaveMrs.Weasleyadazzlingsmileａｎｄhuggedher，thenthrewHarryaglowinglook，battinghereyelashes.Ginnyclearedherthroatloudly.“Well，comein，do!”saidMrs.Weasleybrightly，ａｎｄsheusheredtheDelacoursintothehouse，withmany“No，please!”sａｎｄ“Afteryou!”sａｎｄ“Notatall!”s.TheDelacours，itsoontranspired，werehelpful，pleasantguests.Theywerepleasedwitheverythingａｎｄkeentoassistwiththepreparationsforthewedding.MonsieurDelacourpronouncedeverythingfromtheseatingplantothebridesmaids’shoes“Charmant!”MadameDelacourwasmostaccomplishedathouseholdspellsａｎｄhadtheovenproperlycleanedinatrice;Gabriellefollowedhereldersisteraround，tryingtoassistinanywayshecouldａｎｄjabberingawayinrapidFrench.Onthedownside，theBurrowwasnotbuilttoaccommodatesomanypeople.Mr.ａｎｄMrs.Weasleywerenowsleepinginthesittingroom，havingshouteddownMonsieurａｎｄMadameDelacour’sprotestsａｎｄinsistedtheytaketheirbedroom.GabriellewassleepingwithFleurinPercy’soldroom，ａｎｄBillwouldbesharingwithCharlie，hisbestman，onceCharliearrivedfromRomania.Opportunitiestomakeplanstogetherbecamevirtuallynonexistent，ａｎｄitwasindesperationthatHarry，RonａｎｄHermionetooktovolunteeringtofeedthechickensjusttoescapetheovercrowdedhouse.“Butshestillwon’tleaveusalone!”snarledRon，ａｎｄtheirsecondattemptatameetingintheyardwasfoiledbytheappearanceofMrs.Weasleycarryingalargebasketoflaundryinherarms.“Oh，good，you’vefedthechickens，”shecalledassheapproachedthem.“We’dbettershutthemawayagainbeforethemenarrivetomorrowtoputupthetentforthewedding，”sheexplained，pausingtoleanagainstthehenhouse.Shelookedexhausted.“Millamant’sMagicMarqueesthey’reverygood.Bill’sescortingthemYou’dbetterstayinsidewhilethey’rehere，Harry.Imustsayitdoescomplicateorganizingawedding，havingallthesesecurityspellsaroundtheplace.”“I’msorry，”saidHarryhumbly.“Oh，don’tbesilly，dear!”saidMrs.Weasleyatonce.“Ididn’tmean–well，yoursafety’smuchmoreimportant!Actually，I’vebeenwantingtoaskyouhowyouwanttocelebrateyourbirthday，Harry.Seventeen，afterall，it’sanimportantday”“Idon’twantafuss，”saidHarryquickly，envisagingtheadditionalstrainthiswouldputonthemall.“Really，Mrs.Weasley，justanormaldinnerwouldbefineIt’sthedaybeforethewedding”“Oh，well，ifyou’resure，dear.I’llinviteRemusａｎｄTonks，shallI?AndhowaboutHagrid?”“That’dbegreat，”saidHarry.“Butplease，don’tgotoloadsoftrouble.”“Notatall，notatallIt’snotrouble”