第22节

“IthoughtIdid，”hemuttered.

“ButyouknowhowmuchtruththerewasineverythingRitawroteaboutyou!Dogeisright，howcanyouletthesepeopletarnishyourmemoriesofDumbledore?”

Helookedaway，tryingnottobetraytheresentmenthefelt.Thereitwasagain:Choosewhattobelieve.Hewantedthetruth.Whywaseverybodysodeterminedthatheshouldnotgetit?

“Shallwegodowntothekitchen?”Hermionesuggestedafteralittlepause.“Findsomethingforbreakfast?”

Heagreed，butgrudgingly，ａｎｄfollowedheroutontothelａｎｄingａｎｄpasttheseconddoorthatledoffit.Thereweredeepscratchmarksinthepaintworkbelowasmallsignthathehadnotnoticedinthedark.Hepassedatthetopofthestairstoreadit.Itwasapompouslittlesign，neatlyletteredbyhａｎｄthesortofthingthatPercyWeasleymighthavestuckonhisbedroomdoor.DoNotEnterWithouttheExpressPermissionofRegulusArcturusBlackExcitementtrickledthroughHarry，buthewasnotimmediatelysurewhy.Hereadthesignagain.Hermionewasalreadyaflightofstairsbelowhim.

第11章“Hermione，”hesaid，ａｎｄhewassurprisedthathisvoicewassocalm.“Comebackuphere.”

“What’sthematter?”

“R.A.B.IthinkI’vefoundhim.”

Therewasagasp，ａｎｄthenHermioneranbackupthestairs.

“Inyourmum’sletter?ButIdidn’tsee–“

Harryshookhishead，pointingatRegulus’ssign.Shereadit，thenclutchedHarry’sarmsotightlythathewinced.

“Sirius’sbrother?”shewhispered.

“HewasaDeathEater，”saidHarry.“Siriustoldmeabouthim，hejoinedupwhenhewasreallyyoungａｎｄthengotcoldfeetａｎｄtriedtoleave–sotheykilledhim.”

“Thatfits!”gaspedHermione.“IfhewasaDeathEaterhehadaccesstoVoldemort，ａｎｄifhebecamedisenchanted，thenhewouldhavewantedtobringVoldemortdown!”

ShereleasedHarry，leanedoverthebanister，ａｎｄscreamed，“Ron!RON!Getuphere，quick!”

Ronappeared，panting，aminutelater，hiswａｎｄreadyinhishａｎｄ.

“What’sup?Ifit’smassivespidersagainIwantbreakfastbeforeI–“

HefrownedatthesignonRegulus’sdoor，inwhichHermionewassilentlypointing.

“What?ThatwasSirius’sbrother，wasn’tit?RegulusArcturus…Regulus…R.A.B.!Thelocket–youdon’treckon——?”

“Let’sfindout，”saidHarry.Hepushedthedoor:Itwaslocked.Hermionepointedherwａｎｄatthehａｎｄleａｎｄsaid，“Alohamora.”Therewasaclick，ａｎｄthedoorswungopen.

Theymovedoverthethresholdtogether，gazingaround.Regulus’sbedroomwasslightlysmallerthanSirius’s，thoughithadthesamesenseofformergrａｎｄeur.WhereasSiriushadsoughttoadvertisehisdiffidencefromtherestofthefamily，Regulushadstriventoemphasizetheopposite.TheSlytherincolorsofemeraldａｎｄsilverwereeverywhere，drapingthebed，thewalls，ａｎｄthewindows.TheBlackfamilycrestwaspainstakinglypaintedoverthebed，alongwithitsmotto，TOUJOURSPUR.Beneaththiswasacollectionofyellownewspapercuttings，allstucktogethertomakearaggedcollage.Hermionecrossedtheroomtoexaminethem.

“They’reallaboutVoldemort，”shesaid.“RegulusseemstohavebeenafanforafewyearsbeforehejoinedtheDeathEaters…”

Alittlepuffofdustrosefromthebedcoversasshesatdowntoreadtheclippings.Harry，meanwhile，hadnoticedanotherphotograph:aHogwartsQuidditchteamwassmilingａｎｄwavingoutoftheframe.Hemovedcloserａｎｄsawthesnakesemblazonedontheirchests:Slytherins.Reguluswasinstantlyrecognizableastheboysittinginthemiddleofthefrontrow:Hehadthesamedarkhairａｎｄslightlyhaughtylookofhisbrother，thoughhewassmaller，slighter，ａｎｄratherlesshａｎｄsomethanSiriushadbeen.

“HeplayedSeeker，”saidHarry.“What?”saidHermionevaguely;shewasstillimmersedinVoldemort’spressclippings.

“He’ssittinginthemiddleofthefrontrow，that’swheretheSeeker…Nevermind，”saidHarry，realizingthatnobodywaslistening.Ronwasonhishａｎｄsａｎｄknees，searchingunderthewardrobe.Harrylookedaroundtheroomforlikelyhidingplacesａｎｄapproachedthedesk.Yetagain，somebodyhadsearchedbeforethem.Thedrawers’contentshadbeenturnedoverrecently，thedustdisturbed，buttherewasnothingofvaluethere:oldquills，out-of-datetextbooksthatboreevidenceofbeingroughlyhａｎｄled，arecentlysmashedinkbottle，itsstickyresiduecoveringthecontentsofthedrawer.

“There’saneasierway，”saidHermione，asHarrywipedhisinkyfingersonhisjeans.Sheraisedherwａｎｄａｎｄsaid，“AccioLocket!”

Nothinghappened.Ron，whohadbeensearchingthefoldsofthefadedcurtains，lookeddisappointed.

“Isthatit，then?It’snothere?”

“Oh，itcouldstillbehere，butundercounter-enchantments，”saidHermione.“Charmstopreventitfrombeingsummonedmagically，youknow.”