Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince (Harry Potter và Hoàng tử lai tập 6)

Table of Contents: The Other Minister Spinner's End Will and Won't Horace Slughorn An Excess of Phlegm Draco's Detour The Slug Club Snape Victorious The Half-Blood Prince 10 The Hour of Gaunt 11 Hermioine's Helping Hand 12 Silver & Opals 13 The Secret Riddle 14 Felix Felicis 15 The Unbreakable Vow 16 A Very Frosty Christmas 17 A Sluggish Memory 18 Birthday Surprises 19 Elf Trails 20 Lord Coldemort's Request 21 The Unknowable Room 22 After Burial 23 Horcruxes 24 Sectumsempra 25 The Seer Overheard 26 The Cave 27 The Lightning-Struck Towel 28 Flight of the Prince 29 The Phoenix Lament 30 The White Tomb Chapter 1: The Other Minister It was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind He was waiting for a call from the President of a far distant country, and between wondering when the wretched man would telephone, and trying to suppress unpleasant memories of what had been a very long, tiring, and difficult week, there was not much space in his head for anything else The more he attempted to focus on the print on the page before him, the more clearly the Prime Minister could see the gloating face of one of his political opponents This particular opponent had appeared on the news that very day, not only to enumerate all the terrible things that had happened in the last week (as though anyone needed reminding) but also to explain why each and every one of them was the government's fault The Prime Minister's pulse quickened at the very thought of these accusations, for they were neither fair nor true How on earth was his government supposed to have stopped that bridge collapsing? It was outrageous for anybody to suggest that they were not spending enough on bridges The bridge was fewer than ten years old, and the best experts were at a loss to explain why it had snapped cleanly in two, sending a dozen cars into the watery depths of the river below And how dare anyone suggest that it was lack of policemen that had resulted in those two very nasty and wellpublicized murders? Or that the government should have somehow foreseen the freak hurricane in the West Country that had caused so much damage to both people and property? And was it his fault that one of his Junior Ministers, Herbert Chorley, had chosen this week to act so peculiarly that he was now going to be spending a lot more time with his family? "A grim mood has gripped the country," the opponent had concluded, barely concealing his own broad grin And unfortunately, this was perfectly true The Prime Minister felt it himself; people really did seem more miserable than usual Even the weather was dismal; all this chilly mist in the middle of July It wasn't right, it wasn't normal He turned over the second page of the memo, saw how much longer it went on, and gave it up as a bad job Stretching his arms above his head he looked around his office mournfully It was a handsome room, with a fine marble fireplace facing the long sash windows, firmly closed against the unseasonable chill With a slight shiver, the Prime Minister got up and moved over to the window, looking out at the thin mist that was pressing itself against the glass It was then, as he stood with his back to the room, that he heard a soft cough behind him He froze, nose to nose with his own scared-looking reflection in the dark glass He knew that cough He had heard it before He turned very slowly to face the empty room "Hello?" he said, trying to sound braver than he felt For a brief moment he allowed himself the impossible hope that nobody would answer him However, a voice responded at once, a crisp, decisive voice that sounded as though it were reading a prepared statement It was coming as the Prime Minister had known at the first cough from the froglike little man wearing a long silver wig who was depicted in a small, dirty oil painting in the far corner of the room "To the Prime Minister of Muggles Urgent we meet Kindly respond immediately Sincerely, Fudge." The man in the painting looked inquiringly at the Prime Minister "Er," said the Prime Minister, "listen It's not a very good time for me I'm waiting for a telephone call, you see from the President of " "That can be rearranged," said the portrait at once The Prime Minister's heart sank He had been afraid of that "But I really was rather hoping to speak " "We shall arrange for the President to forget to call He will telephone tomorrow night instead," said the little man "Kindly respond immediately to Mr Fudge." "I oh very well," said the Prime Minister weakly "Yes, I'll see Fudge." He hurried back to his desk, straightening his tie as he went He had barely resumed his seat, and arranged his face into what he hoped was a relaxed and unfazed expression, when bright green flames burst into life in the empty grate beneath his marble mantelpiece He watched, trying not to betray a flicker of surprise or alarm, as a portly man appeared within the flames, spinning as fast as a top Seconds later, he had climbed out onto a rather fine antique rug, brushing ash from the sleeves of his long pin-striped cloak, a lime-green bowler hat in his hand "Ah Prime Minister," said Cornelius Fudge, striding forward with his hand outstretched "Good to see you again." The Prime Minister could not honestly return this compliment, so said nothing at all He was not remotely pleased to see Fudge, whose occasional appearances, apart from being downright alarming in themselves, generally meant that he was about to hear some very bad news Furthermore, Fudge was looking distinctly careworn He was thinner, balder, and grayer, and his face had a crumpled look The Prime Minister had seen that kind of look in politicians before, and it never boded well "How can I help you?" he said, shaking Fudge's hand very briefly and gesturing toward the hardest of the chairs in front of the desk "Difficult to know where to begin," muttered Fudge, pulling up the chair, sitting down, and placing his green bowler upon his knees "What a week, what a week " "Had a bad one too, have you?" asked the Prime Minister stiffly, hoping to convey by this that he had quite enough on his plate already without any extra helpings from Fudge "Yes, of course," said Fudge, rubbing his eyes wearily and looking morosely at the Prime Minister "I've been having the same week you have, Prime Minister The Brockdale Bridge the Bones and Vance murders not to mention the ruckus in the West Country " "You er your I mean to say, some of your people were were involved in those those things, were they?" Fudge fixed the Prime Minister with a rather stern look "Of course they were," he said, "Surely you've realized what's going on?" "I " hesitated the Prime Minister It was precisely this sort of behavior that made him dislike Fudge's visits so much He was, after all, the Prime Minister and did not appreciate being made to feel like an ignorant schoolboy But of course, it had been like this from his very first meeting with Fudge on his very first evening as Prime Minister He remembered it as though it were yesterday and knew it would haunt him until his dying day He had been standing alone in this very office, savoring the triumph that was his after so many years of dreaming and scheming, when he had heard a cough behind him, just like tonight, and turned to find that ugly little portrait talking to him, announcing that the Minister of Magic was about to arrive and introduce himself Naturally, he had thought that the long campaign and the strain of the election had caused him to go mad He had been utterly terrified to find a portrait talking to him, though this had been nothing to how he felt when a self-proclaimed wizard had bounced out of the fireplace and shaken his hand He had remained speechless throughout Fudge's kindly explanation that there were witches and wizards still living in secret all over the world and his reassurances that he was not to bother his head about them as the Ministry of Magic took responsibility for the whole Wizarding community and prevented the non-magical population from getting wind of them It was, said Fudge, a difficult job that encompassed everything from regulations on responsible use of broomsticks to keeping the dragon population under control (the Prime Minister remembered clutching the desk for support at this point) Fudge had then patted the shoulder of the still-dumbstruck Prime Minister in a fatherly sort of way "Not to worry," he had said, "it's odds-on you'll never see me again I'll only bother you if there's something really serious going on our end, something that's likely to affect the Muggles the non-magical population, I should say Otherwise, it's live and let live And I must say, you're taking it a lot better than your predecessor He tried to throw me out the window, thought I was a hoax planned by the opposition." At this, the Prime Minister had found his voice at last "You're you're not a hoax, then?" It had been his last, desperate hope "No," said Fudge gently "No, I'm afraid I'm not Look." And he had turned the Prime Minister's teacup into a gerbil "But," said the Prime Minister breathlessly, watching his teacup chewing on the corner of his next speech, "but why why has nobody told me ?" "The Minister of Magic only reveals him or herself to the Muggle Prime Minister of the day," said Fudge, poking his wand back inside his jacket "We find it the best way to maintain secrecy." "But then," bleated the Prime Minister, "why hasn't a former Prime Minister warned me ?" At this, Fudge had actually laughed "My dear Prime Minister, are you ever going to tell anybody?" Still chortling, Fudge had thrown some powder into the fireplace, stepped into the emerald flames, and vanished with a whooshing sound The Prime Minister had stood there, quite motionless, and realized that he would never, as long as he lived, dare mention this encounter to a living soul, for who in the wide world would believe him? The shock had taken a little while to wear off For a time, he had tried to convince himself that Fudge had indeed been a hallucination brought on by lack of sleep during his grueling election campaign In a vain attempt to rid himself of all reminders of this uncomfortable encounter, he had given the gerbil to his delighted niece and instructed his private secretary to take down the portrait of the ugly little man who had announced Fudge's arrival To the Prime Minister's dismay, however, the portrait had proved impossible to remove When several carpenters, a builder or two, an art historian, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer had all tried unsuccessfully to pry it from the wall, the Prime Minister had abandoned the attempt and simply resolved to hope that the thing remained motionless and silent for the rest of his term in office Occasionally he could have sworn he saw out of the corner of his eye the occupant of the painting yawning, or else scratching his nose; even, once or twice, simply walking out of his frame and leaving nothing but a stretch of muddy-brown canvas behind However, he had trained himself not to look at the picture very much, and always to tell himself firmly that his eyes were playing tricks on him when anything like this happened Then, three years ago, on a night very like tonight, the Prime Minister had been alone in his office when the portrait had once again announced the imminent arrival of Fudge, who had burst out of the fireplace, sopping wet and in a state of considerable panic Before the Prime Minister could ask why he was dripping all over the Axminster, Fudge had started ranting about a prison the Prime Minister had never heard of, a man named "Serious" Black, something that sounded like "Hogwarts," and a boy called Harry Potter, none of which made the remotest sense to the Prime Minister standing like a sentinel near the water's edge, she gave a start and scurried hastily into a seat a good distance away The staff were seated at last Harry could see Scrimgeour looking grave and dignified in the front row with Professor McGonagall He wondered whether Scrimgeour or any of these important people were really sorry that Dumbledore wasand he forgot his dislike of the Ministry in looking around for the source of it He was not the only one: many heads were turning, searching, a little alarmed 'In there,' whispered Ginny in Harry's ear And he saw them in the clear green sunlit water, inches below the surface, reminding him horribly of the Inferi; a chorus of merpeople singing in a strange language he did not understand, their pallid faces rippling, their purplish hair flowing all around them The music made the hair on Harry's neck stand up and yet it was not unpleasant It spoke very clearly of loss and of despair As he looked down into the wild faces of the singers he had the feeling that they, at least, were sorry for Dumbledore's passing Then Ginny nudged him again and he looked round Hagrid was walking slowly up the aisle between the chairs He was crying quite silently, his face gleaming with tears, and in his arms, wrapped in purple velvet spangled with golden stars, was what Harry knew to be Dumbledore's body A sharp pain rose in Harry's throat at this sight: for a moment, the strange music and the knowledge that Dumbledore's body was so close seemed to take all warmth from the day Ron looked white and shocked Tears were falling thick and fast into both Ginny and Hermione's laps They could not see clearly what was happening at the front Hagrid seemed to have placed the body carefully upon the table Now he retreated down the aisle, blowing his nose with loud trumpeting noises that drew scandalised looks from some, including, Harry saw, Dolores Umbridge but Harry knew that Dumbledore would not have cared He tried to make a friendly gesture to Hagrid as he passed, but Hagrid's eyes were so swollen it was a wonder he could see where he was going Harry glanced at the back row to which Hagrid was heading and realised what was guiding him, for there, dressed in a jacket and trousers each the size of a small mar-quee, was the giant Grawp, his great ugly boulder-like head bowed, docile, almost human Hagrid sat down next to his half-brother and Grawp palled Hagrid hard on the head, so that his chair legs sank into the ground Harry had a wonder-ful momentary urge to laugh But then the music stopped and he turned to face the front again A little tufty-haired man in plain black robes had got to his feet and stood now in front of Dumbledore's body Harry could not hear what he was saying Odd words floated back to them over the hundreds of beads 'Nobility of spirit' 'intel-lectual contribution' 'greatness of heart' it did not mean very much It had little to with Dumbledore as Harry had known him He suddenly remembered Dumbledore's idea of a few words: 'nitwit', 'oddment', 'blubber' and 'tweak 1, and again, had to suppress a grin what was the matter with him? There was a soft splashing noise to his left and he saw that the merpeople had broken the surface to listen, too He remembered Dumbledore crouching at the water's edge two years ago, very close to where Harry now sat, and conversing in Mermish with the Merchieftainess Harry wondered where Dumbledore had learned Mermish There was so much he had never asked him, so much he should have said And then, without warning, it swept over him, the dreadful truth, more completely and undeniably than it had until now Dumbledore was dead, gone he clutched the cold locket in his hand so tightly that it hurt, but he could not prevent hot tears spilling from his eyes: he looked away from Ginny and the others and stared out over the lake, towards the Forest, as the little man in black droned on there was movement among the trees The centaurs had come to pay their respects, too They did not move into the open but Harry saw them standing quite still, half-hidden in shadow, watching the wiz-ards, their bows hanging at their sides And Harry remem-bered his first nightmarish trip into the Forest, the first time he had ever encountered the thing that was then Voldemort, and how he had faced him, and how he and Dumbledore had discussed fighting a losing battle not long thereafter It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated And Harry saw very clearly as be sal there under the hot sun bow people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort; he must abandon for ever the illusion he ought to have lost at the age of one: that the shelter of a parent's arms meant that nothing could hurt him There was no waking from his nightmare, no comforting whisper in the dark that he was safe really, that it was all in his imagination; the last and greatest of his proteclors had died and he was more alone than he had ever been before The little man in black had stopped speaking at last and resumed his seat Harry waited for somebody else to get to their feet; he expected speeches, probably from the Minister, but nobody moved Then several people screamed Bright, white flames had erupted around Dumbledore's body and the table upon which it lay: higher and higher they rose, obscuring the body White smoke spiralled into the air and made strange shapes: Harry thought, for one heart-stopping moment, that he saw a phoenix fly joyfully into the blue, but next second the fire had vanished In its place was a white marble tomb, encasing Dumbledore's body and the table on which he had rested There were a few more cries of shock as a shower of arrows soared through the air, but they fell far short of the crowd It was, Harry knew, the centaurs' tribute: he saw them turn tail and disappear back into the cool trees Likewise the mer-people sank slowly back into the green water and were lost from view Harry looked Ginny, Ron and Hermione: Ron's face was screwed up as though the sunlight was blinding him Hermione's face was glazed with tears, but Ginny was no longer crying She met Harry's gaze with the same hard, blazing look that he had seen when she had hugged him after winning the Quidditch Cup in his absence, and he knew that at that moment they understood each other perfectly, and that when he told her what he was going to now, she would not say 'Be careful', or 'Don't it', but accept his decision, because she would not have expected anything less of him And so he steeled himself to say what he had known he must say ever since Dumbledore had died 'Ginny, listen ' he said very quietly, as the buzz of con-versation grew louder around them and people began to get to their feet 'I can't be involved with you any more We've got to stop seeing each other We can't be together.' She said, with an oddly twisted smile, 'It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?' 'It's been like like something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with you,' said Harry 'But can't we can't I've got things to alone now.' She did not cry, she simply looked at him, 'Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to He's already used you as bait once, and that was just because you're my best friend's sister Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up He'll know, he'll find out He'll try and get to me through you.' 'What if I don't care?' said Ginny fiercely 'I care,' said Harry 'How you think I'd feel if this was your funeral and it was my fault ' She looked away from him, over the lake T never really gave up on you,' she said 'Not really I always hoped Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember? And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I was a bit more - myself.' 'Smart girl, that Hermione,' said Harry, trying to smile 'I just wish I'd asked you sooner We coukTve had ages months years maybe ' 'But you've been too busy saving the wizarding world,' said Ginny, halflaughing 'Well I can't say I'm surprised I knew this would happen in the end I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were hunting Voldemort Maybe that's why I like you so much.' Harry could not bear to hear these things, nor did he think his resolution would hold if he remained sitting beside her Ron, he saw, was now holding Hermione and stroking her hair while she sobbed into his shoulder, tears dripping from the end of his own long nose With a miserable gesture, Harry got up, turned his back on Ginny and on Dumbledore's tomb and walked away around the lake Moving felt much more bearable than sitting still: just as setting out as soon as possible to track down the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort would feel better than waiting to it 'Harry!' He turned Rufus Scrimgeour was limping rapidly towards him around the bank, leaning on his walking stick 'I've been hoping to have a word you mind if I walk a little way with you?' 'No,' said Harry indifferently, and set off again 'Harry, this was a dreadful tragedy,' said Scrimgeour quietly, 'I cannot tell you how appalled I was to hear of it Dumbledore was a very great wizard We had our disagree-ments, as you know, but no one knows better than -' •What you want?' asked Harry flatly Scrimgeour looked annoyed but, as before, hastily modified his expression to one of sorrowful understanding 'You are, of course, devastated,' he said 'I know that you were very close to Dumbledore I think you may have been his favourite ever pupil The bond between the two of you -' 'What you want?' Harry repeated, coming to a halt Scrimgeour stopped too, leaned on his stick and stared at Harry, his expression shrewd now 'The word is that you were with him when he left the school the night that he died.' 'Whose word?' said Harry 'Somebody Stupefied a Death Eater on top of the Tower after Dumbledore died There were also two broomsticks up there The Ministry can add two and two, Harry.' 'Glad to hear it,' said Harry 'Well, where I went with Dumbledore and what we did is my business He didn't want people to know.' 'Such loyalty is admirable, of course,' said Scrimgeour, who seemed to be restraining his irritation with difficulty, 'bul Dumbledore is gone, Harry He's gone.' 'He will only be gone from the school when none here are loyal to him,' said Harry, smiling in spite of himself 'My dear boy even Dumbledore cannot return from the-' 'I am not saying he can You wouldn't understand But I've got nothing to tell you.' Scrimgeour hesitated, then said, in what was evidently supposed to be a tone of delicacy, The Ministry can offer you all sorts of protection, you know, Harry I would be delighted to place a couple of my Aurors at your service -' Harry laughed 'Voldemort wants to kill me himself and Aurors won't stop him So thanks for the offer, but no thanks.' 'So,' said Scrimgeour, his voice cold now, 'the request made of you at Christmas -' 'What request? Oh yeah the one where I tell the world what a great job you're doing in exchange for —' '- for raising everyone's morale!' snapped Scrimgeour Harry considered him for a moment 'Released Stan Shunpike yet?' Scrimgeour turned a nasty purple colour highly remin-iscent of Uncle Vernon '1 see you are -' 'Dumbledore's man through and through,' said Harry 'That's right.' Scrimgeour glared at him for another moment, then turned and limped away without another word Harry could see Percy and the rest of the Ministry delegation waiting for him, casting nervous glances at the sobbing Hagrid and Grawp, who were still in their seats Ron and Hermione were hurry-ing towards Harry, passing Scrimgeour going in the opposite direction; Harry turned and walked slowly on, waiting for them to catch up, which they finally did in the shade of a beech tree under which they had sat in happier times "What did Scrimgeour want?' Hermione whispered 'Same as he wanted at Christmas,' shrugged Harry 'Wanted me to give him inside information on Dumbledore and be the Ministry's new poster boy.' Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, then he said loudly to Hermione, 'Look, let me go back and hit Percy!' 'No,' she said firmly, grabbing his arm 'It'll make me feel better!' Harry laughed Even Hermione grinned a little, though her smile faded as she looked up at the castle 'I can't bear the idea that we might never come back.' she said softly 'How can Hogwarts close?' 'Maybe it won't,' said Ron 'We're not in any more danger here than we are at home, are we? Everywhere's the same now I'd even say Hogwarts is safer, there are more wizards inside to defend the place What d'you reckon, Harry?' 'I'm not coming back even if it does reopen,' said Harry Ron gaped at him, but Hermione said sadly, 'I knew you were going to say that But then what will you do? 'I'm going back to the Dursleys' once more, because Dumbledore wanted me to,' said Harry 'But it'll be a short visit, and then I'll be gone for good.' 'But where will you go if you don't come back to school?' 'I thought I might go back to Godric's Hollow,' Harry mut-tered He had had the idea in his head ever since the night of Dumbledore's death 'For me, it started there, all of it I've just got a feeling I need to go there And I can visit my parents' graves, I'd like that.' 'And then what?' said Ron Then I've got to track down the rest of the Horcruxes, haven't I?' said Harry, his eyes upon Dumbledore's white tomb, reflected in the water on the other side of the lake That's what he wanted me to do, that's why he told me all about them If Dumbledore was right - and I'm sure he was -there are still four of them out there I've got to find them and destroy them and then I've got to go after the seventh bit of Voldemort's soul, the bit that's still in his body, and I'm the one who's going to kill him And if I meet Severus Snape along the way,' he added, 'so much trie better tor me, so mucn the worse for him.' There was a long silence The crowd had almost dispersed now, the stragglers giving the monumental figure of Grawp a wide berth as he cuddled Hagrid, whose howls of grief were still echoing across the water 'We'll be there, Harry,' said Ron 'What?' At your aunt and uncle's house,' said Ron 'And then we'll go with you, wherever you're going.' 'No -' said Harry quickly; he had not counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking this most dangerous journey alone 'You said to us once before,' said Hermione quietly, 'that there was time to turn back if we wanted to We've had time, haven't we?' 'We're with you whatever happens,' said Ron 'But, mate, you're going to have to come round my mum and dad's house before we anything else, even Godric's Hollow.' 'Why?' 'Bill and Fleur's wedding, remember?' Harry looked at him, startled; the idea that anything as normal as a wedding could still exist seemed incredible and yet wonderful 'Yeah, we shouldn't miss that,' he said finally His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meet-ing with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione The End [...]... moments, then set off with light, quick strides, its long cloak rustling over the grass With a second and louder pop, another hooded figure materialized "Wait!" The harsh cry startled the fox, now crouching almost flat in the undergrowth It leapt from its hiding place and up the bank There was a flash of green light, a yelp, and the fox fell back to the ground, dead The second figure turned over the animal... room, then pulled out a wand from under his robes "Fudge told you everything?" he asked, striding over to the door and tapping the keyhole with his wand The Prime Minister heard the lock click "Er yes," said the Prime Minister "And if you don't mind, I'd rather that door remained unlocked." "I'd rather not be interrupted," said Scrimgeour shortly, "or watched," he added, pointing his wand at the windows,... shadowy and ominous There was no sound apart from the whisper of the black water and no sign of life apart from a scrawny fox that had slunk down the bank to nose hopefully at some old fish -and- chip wrappings in the tall grass But then, with a very faint pop, a slim, hooded figure appeared out of thin air on the edge of the river The fox froze, wary eyes fixed upon this strange new phenomenon The figure... listened already I've made my decision Leave me alone!" The woman named Narcissa gained the top of the bank, where a line of old railings separated the river from a narrow, cobbled street The other woman, Bella, followed at once Side by side they stood looking across the road at the rows and rows of dilapidated brick houses, their windows dull and blind in the darkness "He lives here?" asked Bella in a voice... wasn't it? It's had rather a lot of publicity The police are baffled, you see." Fudge sighed "Well, of course they are," he said "Killed in a room that was locked from the inside, wasn't she? We, on the other hand, know exactly who did it, not that that gets us any further toward catching him And then there was Emmeline Vance, maybe you didn't hear about that one " "Oh yes I did!" said the Prime Minister... the cobbles as she passed boarded and broken windows, until she reached the very last house, where a dim light glimmered through the curtains in a downstairs room She had knocked on the door before Bella, cursing under her breath, had caught up Together they stood waiting, panting slightly, breathing in the smell of the dirty river that was carried to them on the night breeze After a few seconds, they... as he closed the door with a snap behind them They had stepped directly into a tiny sitting room, which had the feeling of a dark, padded cell The walls were completely covered in books, most of them bound in old black or brown leather; a threadbare sofa, an old armchair, and a rickety table stood grouped together in a pool of dim light cast by a candle-filled lamp hung from the ceiling The place had... tray He dropped these on the rickety table and scurried from their presence, slamming the book-covered door behind him Snape poured out three glasses of bloodred wine and handed two of them to the sisters Narcissa murmured a word of thanks, whilst Bellatrix said nothing, but continued to glower at Snape This did not seem to discompose him; on the contrary, he looked rather amused "The Dark Lord," he... his head, the Other Minister), the Prime Minister could not help but fear that the next time Fudge appeared it would be with graver news still The site, therefore, of Fudge stepping out of the fire once more, looking disheveled and fretful and sternly surprised that the Prime Minister did not know exactly why he was there, was about the worst thing that had happened in the course of this extremely gloomy... look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, "The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister." And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the other into the bright green fire and vanished Chapter 2: Spinner's End Many miles away the chilly mist that had pressed against the Prime Minister's windows drifted over a dirty river that wound between overgrown, ... in the blaze of a third unique flame, which shot from the wand, twisted with the others, and bound itself thickly around their clasped hands, like a fiery snake Chapter 3: Will And Won't Harry. .. flat in the undergrowth It leapt from its hiding place and up the bank There was a flash of green light, a yelp, and the fox fell back to the ground, dead The second figure turned over the animal... asked, striding over to the door and tapping the keyhole with his wand The Prime Minister heard the lock click "Er yes," said the Prime Minister "And if you don't mind, I'd rather that door remained