今年年頭在網上買了哈利波特系列的書，給自己放 career break 時閱讀。 開箱的時候，開心到哭了！ 二十年前第一次看這書，是問同學借的，看完就還，從來沒有擁有過。 喜愛了多年，現在手上拿著屬於自己的書，感覺很滿足。 經得起時間考驗的，定必珍而重之。 ❤️
剛剛重讀完第二本，想在這兒記下一些令我感受深刻的句子及重讀的新體會。 （注意劇透！）
書名（英）： 《Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets》
書名（中）： 《哈利波特：消失的密室》
作者： J. K. Rowling
“Harry Potter!” (P.12)
這是 Dobby 出場的第一句說話，也將會是他臨死前的一句話（好像是最後一本書）。 😢
“Ron ran to pick up Hedwig, who was causing such a scene that there was a lot of muttering about cruelty to animals from the surrounding crowd.” (P.71)
讀到這句笑了出聲，描寫得太生動好笑了！ 如果這種程度是 cruelty to animals，那有很多情節也是 cruelty to animals 啊。
“The tree was still trying to hit them; they could hear its roots creaking as it almost ripped itself up, lashing out at them as they sped out of reach.” (P.78)
學英文生字：原來植物根部發出的聲音是用 creak 來形容。
“Snape looked as though Christmas had been cancelled.” (P.85)
又大笑了出來，Snape 也不在乎聖誕吧！ 作者把他塑造成反派老師，在這一刻尚未透露他的背景，究竟這時他的想法是甚麼？ 是保護愛人兒子還是想趕他出校？
“’Harry Potter risks his own life for his friends!’ moaned Dobby, in a kind of miserable ecstasy. ‘So noble! So valiant! But he must save himself, he must, Harry Potter must not –‘ (P.189)
我只是很感觸，一位喜歡 HP 的朋友，竟然不明白犧牲的概念！ 因為自己不會做，便以為現實世界的人都不會，思想何其狹窄。
“’So Dobby stopped us getting on the train and broke your arm…’ He shook his head. ‘You know what, Harry? If he doesn’t stop trying to save your life he’s going to kill you.’ (P.195)
‘Least I could do, Dobby,’ said Harry, grinning. ‘Just promise never to try and save my life again.’ (P.357)
寫這段時，作者已打算讓 Dobby 在故事尾段（忘了是否最尾一本書）死嗎？ HP 叫 Dobby 不要再嘗試救他，Dobby 不聽，最終犧牲了自己的性命救了 HP，也救了全世界。 😢
“He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action and dropped it.” (P.204)
讀 J.K. Rowling 也會有讀 Dickens 那種會被人誤以為瘋子的情況。 讀到這句我「哈哈」大笑了出來！ 如果在外，一定會被人投以奇怪的目光！
“’I must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything you’d like to tell me,’ he said gently. ‘Anything at all.’”
Dumbledore 的用字是 “must”，究竟他期望 HP 答甚麼？ HP 最後答了 ‘No, there isn’t anything, Professor.’ 段落就完結了。 J.K. Rowling 為甚麼要這樣寫？ HP 不說 Polyjuice Potion，也可以說 sorting hat，parselmouth，或蜘蛛等事呀。
‘He must’ve been Muggle-born,’ said Harry thoughtfully, ‘to have bought a diary from Vauxhall Road…’ (P.245)
這是首個 Voldemort 的身世透露（這兒尚未揭曉 Riddle 就是 Voldemort），對整個故事很重要。
“While Harry was sure he had never heard the name T.M. Riddle before, it still seemed to mean something to him, almost as though Riddle was a friend he’d had when he was very small, and half-forgotten.” (P.247)
重讀作品，會發現這句說話有多重意義。 最表面的（即是讀者讀到這一句的時候），是尋找真兇的引線，牽引讀者追下去。 入一層的（讀到故事後段），會發現日記有黑魔法吸引著 HP。 再深一點的（讀者要讀完這本書才知道），Riddle 就是 Voldemort，他和 HP 之間有種離奇的、尚未揭露的關係！ 最深的一層（讀者完成一套 7 本書才會發現），就是 HP 是一個意外的 Horcrux！ 短短一句就代表了這麼多，超超超佩服 J.K. Rowling 神級的寫作！
“Perhaps the monster, whatever it was, was even now setting itself down to hibernate for another fifty years…” (P.248)
重大線索！！！ Hibernate 一字暗示怪物是蛇！ 蛇在冬眠，校園襲擊才停止了幾個月。 第一次閱讀時，只把 hibernate 當作靜止的意思，一字多意，重讀才知道作者的用心。
“’Half-blood, sir,’ said Riddle. ‘Muggle father, witch mother.’” (P.258)
“’My mother died just after I was born, sir. They told me at the orphanage she lived just long enough to name me: Tom after my father, Marvolo after my grandfather.’” (P.258)
除了透露 Riddle / Voldemort 的身世，也給讀者知道前任校長 Dippet 沒有太關心學生（那時的 Riddle 已是位出色得受人關注的學生）。 作者這樣寫達到雙重效果。
‘However,’ said Dumbledore, speaking very slowly and clearly, so that none of them could miss a word, ‘you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.’ (P.279)
到 Dumbledore 死了，整套書完了，他都仍然 truly 留在 Hogwarts，因為對他忠誠的人還有很多。
“With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows.” (P.280)
讀了幾次才理解這句想描述的意境，特此記下。
‘I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules,’…’Which goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words,’ (P.349)
這一招先嚇後賞，實在太好笑了。 肯認錯，懂自嘲，是 Dumbledore 受人愛戴的原因之一，這特徵在今天社會領袖中很少有。
‘It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’ (P.352)
我記得這一句，在多年前首次讀 HP 時已覺得很難忘。
‘Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the Hat, Harry,’ said Dumbledore simply. (P.352)
現實在有很多 Gryffindors 也在為正義而戰，做別人沒有勇氣去做的事。 批評這些真誠的人，一是 Slytherins，一是蠢到連黑白都分不清。
