第9节

Xenophilius，whowasdeepinconversationwithanacquaintance，hadmissedtheexchangebetweenLunaａｎｄHarry.Bidingthewizardfarewell，heturnedtohisdaughter，whoheldupherfingerａｎｄsaid，“Daddy，look–oneofthegnomesactuallybitme.”

“Howwonderful!Gnomesalivaisenormouslybeneficial.”SaidMr.Lovegood，seizingLuna’soutstretchedfingersａｎｄexaminingthebleedingpuncturemarks.“Luna，mylove，ifyoushouldfeelanyburgeoningtalenttoday–perhapsanunexpectedurgetosingoperaortodeclaimsinMermish–donotrepressit!YoumayhavebeengiftedbytheGernumblies!”

Ron，passingthemintheoppositedirectionletoutaloudsnort.

“Roncanlaugh，”saidLunaserenelyasHarryledherａｎｄXenophiliustowardtheirseats，“butmyfatherhasdonealotofresearchonGernumblimagic.”

“Really?”saidHarry，whohadlongsincedecidednottochallengeLunaorherfather’speculiarviews.“Areyousureyoudon’twanttoputanythingonthatbite，though?”

“Oh，it’sfine，”saidLuna，suckingherfingerinadreamyfashionａｎｄlookingHarryupａｎｄdown.“Youlooksmart.ItoldDaddymostpeoplewouldprobablyweardressrobes，buthebelievesyououghttowearsuncolorstoawedding，forluck，youknow.”

Asshedriftedoffafterherfather，Ronreappearedwithanelderlywitchclutchinghisarm.Herbeakynose，red-rimmedeyes，ａｎｄleatherypinkhatgaveherthelookofabad-temperedflamingo.

“…ａｎｄyourhair’smuchtoolong，Ronald，foramomentIthoughtyouwereGinevra.Merlin’sbeard，whatisXenophiliusLovegoodwearing?Helookslikeanomelet.Andwhoareyou?”shebarkedatHarry.

“Ohyeah，AuntieMuriel，thisisourcousinBarny.”

“AnotherWeasley?Youbreedlikegnomes.Isn’tHarryPotterhere?Iwashopingtomeethim.Ithoughthewasafriendofyours，Ronald，orhaveyoumerelybeenboasting?”

“No–hecouldn’tcome–“

“Hmm.Madeanexcuse，didhe?Notasgormlessashelooksinpressphotographs，then.I’vejustbeeninstructingthebrideonhowbesttowearmytiara，”sheshoutedatHarry.“Goblin-made，youknow，ａｎｄbeeninmyfamilyforcenturies.She’sagood-lookinggirl，butstill–French.Well，well，findmeagoodseat，Ronald，IamahundredａｎｄsevenａｎｄIoughtnottobeonmyfeettoolong.”

RongaveHarryameaningfullookashepassedａｎｄdidnotreappearforsometime.Whennexttheymetattheentrance，Harryhadshownadozenmorepeopletotheirplaces.TheMarqueewasnearlyfullnowａｎｄforthefirsttimetherewasnoqueueoutside.

“Nightmare，Murielis，”saidRon，moppinghisforeheadonhissleeve.“SheusedtocomeforChristmaseveryyear，then，thankGod，shetookoffensebecauseFredａｎｄGeorgesetoffaDungbombunderherchairatdiner.Dadalwayssaysshe’llhavewrittenthemoutofherwill–liketheycare，they’regoingtoendupricherthananyoneinthefamily，ratethey’regoing…Wow，”headded，blinkingratherrapidlyasHermionecamehurryingtowardthem.“Youlookgreat!”

“Alwaysthetoneofsurprise，”saidHermione，thoughshesmiled.Shewaswearingafloaty，lilac-coloreddresswithmatchinghighheels;herhairwassleekａｎｄshiny.“YourGreat-AuntMurieldoesn’tagree，IjustmetherupstairswhileshewasgivingFleurthetiara.Shesaid，‘Ohdear，isthistheMuggle-born?’ａｎｄthen，‘Badpostureａｎｄskinnyankles.’”

“Don’ttakeitpersonally，she’srudetoeveryone，”saidRon.

“TalkingaboutMuriel?”inquiredGeorge，reemergingfromthemarqueewithFred.“Yeah，she’sjusttoldmemyearsarelopsided.Oldbat.IwisholdUncleBiliuswasstillwithus，though;hewasarightlaughatweddings.”

“Wasn’thetheonewhosawaGrimａｎｄdiedtwenty-fourhourslater?”askedHermione.

“Well，yeah，hewentabitoddtowardtheend，”concededGeorge.http://hi.baidu.com/云深无迹

“Butbeforehewentloopyhewasthelifeａｎｄsouloftheparty，”saidFred.“Heusedtodownanentirebottleoffirewhisky，thenrunontothedancefloor，hoistuphisrobes，ａｎｄstartpullingbunchesofflowersoutofhis–“

“Yes，hesoundsarealcharmer，”saidHermione，whileHarryroaredwithlaughter.

“Nevermarried，forsomereason，”saidRon.

“Youamazeme，”saidHermione.

Theywerealllaughingsomuchthatnoneofthemnoticedthelatecomer，adark-hairedyoungmanwithalarge，curvednoseａｎｄthickblackeyebrows，untilheheldouthisinvitationtoRonａｎｄsaid，withhiseyesonHermione，“Youlookvunderful.”

“Viktor!”sheshrieked，ａｎｄdroppedhersmallbeadedbag，whichmadealoudthumpquitedisproportionatetoitssize.Asshescrambled，blushing，topickitup，shesaid“Ididn’tknowyouwere–goodness–it’slovelytosee–howareyou?”

Ron’searshadturnedbrightredagain.AfterglancingatKrum’sinvitationasifhedidnotbelieveawordofit，hesaid，muchtooloudly，“howcomeyou’rehere?”