上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。 ❤️
剛剛重讀完最後一本，想在這兒記下一些令我感受深刻的句子及重讀的新體會。 （劇透注意！）
書名（英）： 《Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows》
書名（中）： 《哈利波特：死神的聖物》
作者： J. K. Rowling
來到最後一本書了！ 原來這本書在 2007 年已經出版，即是已過了 14 年！ 時間過得好快、好快！ 還記得出版當日我在舊公司和同事閒談時提過這書的出版。 當年的同事，不知現在都過得好嗎？
故事一開始講述 Voldemort 在 Malfoy Manor 與一眾 Death Eaters 開會，他叫 Snape 坐在他右邊的座位上，證明了 Snape（在 Dumbledore 的指示下）成功得到他的信任。 當 Snape 把打探得來的消息（護送 Harry Potter 的計劃細節）告之 Voldemort 後，Voldemort 做了一件事，我在第一次閱這書時是沒有為意的，現在重讀就知是用讀心術試探 Snape 的真偽。
His red eyes fastened upon Snape’s black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemort’s face and, after a moment or two, Voldemort’s lipless mouth curved into something like a smile. (P.3)
提到 Wormtail “scurried from the room, leaving nothing behind him but a curious gleam of silver” (P.6)。 我搞不清那一絲銀色是甚麼，原來是 Voldemort 為他重建的手，是銀色的。
Voldemort 對 Bellatrix 說她的外甥女是 family tree 中的 disease，要她 “prune yours… to keep it healthy”、“Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest” (P.9)，就種下了故事後段 Bellatrix 殺死 Tonks 及 Lupin 的種子。
Ch.4 講 Harry 要離開住了多年的 Dursley 之家，他望著空無一人的屋，回想起小時候喜歡在無人在家時自由一下。 這句令我感同身受：
It gave him an odd, empty feeling to remember those times; it was like remembering a younger brother whom he had lost. (P.33)
Dumbledore 對 Kingsley 及 Lupin 最後說的話是 “Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him.” (P.56)。 作者用另一個方式帶出魔法世界對 Harry 的寄望。
Ch.7 The Will of Albus Dumbledore 入面魔法部長和 Harry，Hermione，及 Ron 的對答都借得參考，特別是這兩個對答：
‘… Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It’s time you learned some respect!’
‘It’s time you earned it,’ said Harry. (P.104)
…
‘…We ought to be working together.’
‘I don’t like your methods, Minister,’ said Harry. ‘Remember?’ (P.104)
Fred 見 Bill 和 Fleur 的婚禮有眾多禮俗及細節，說自己結婚時一定不會這樣(P.110)。 作者選擇這句出自 Fred 而不是 George 的口，是要讀者在後來見證著 Fred 的離去時加倍感嘆他活不到這一天。 同一手法在第四本書也出現過。 Cedric 的父親期望 Cedric 會對 grandchildren 講他的威水史，但 Cedric 不久後就死了。
Ch.9 A Place to Hide，Golden Trio 三人一回到 Grimmauld Place 就遇上 Mad-Eye Moody 設的 Tongue-Tying Curse (P.136) 。奇怪的是 Mad-Eye 已經死了，為何他的魔法仍然生效？ 上一本書 Dumbledore 一死他使 Harry 不能動的咒語就自動破解了。
Lupin 向他們三人解釋他們離開婚禮後發生的事，對我來說就像眼前見到的一樣，特別是以下這些句子：
- …the Death Eaters have got the full might of the Ministry on their side now… They’ve got the power to perform brutal spells without fear of identification or arrest. (P.166)
- ‘So Deather Eaters have taken the Daily Prophet too?’ asked Hermione furiously. Lupin nodded. (P.166)
- Naturally many people have deduced what has happened: there has been such a dramatic change in Ministry policy in the last few days, and many are whispering that Voldemort must be behind it. However, that is the point: they whisper. They daren’t confide in each other, not knowing whom to trust; they are scared to speak out, in case their suspicions are true and their families are targeted. Yes, Voldemort is playing a very clever game. Decaring himself might have provoked open rebellion: remaining masked has created confusion, uncertainty and fear. (P.168)
- ‘And this dramatic change in Ministry policy… involves warning the Wizarding world against me instead of Voldemort?’ ‘That’s certainly part of it… and it is a masterstroke. Now that Dumbledore is dead, you – the Boy who Lived – were sure to be the symbol and rallying point for any resistence to Voldemort. But by suggesting that you had a hand in the old hero’s death, Voldemort has not only set a price upon your head, but sown doubt and fear amongst many who would have defended you. (P.168)
這段對答又是很值得學，免得將來吃死貓：
‘Don’t lie!’ Ron hurled at her. ‘You said it too, you said you were disappointed, you said you’d thought he had a bit more to go on than –‘
‘I didn’t say it like that – Harry, I didn’t!’ she cried. (P.251)
學英文之用：
- [Ch.3] Oh, I’m sure we shall end up the best of chums (P.31) – Chums 為朋友的意思，是一個舊式、informal 的說法。 就是我有位住英國的朋友會用的字！
- [Ch.4] The real Harry thought that this might just be the most bizarre thing he had ever seen, and he had seen some extremely odd things. (P.40)
- [Ch.7] Outside in the garden, over the dinner tables, the three objects Scrimgeour had given them were passed from hand to hand. (P.105)
- [Ch.11] ‘Were they Death Eaters or Ministry people?’ interjected Hermione. ‘A mixture; but to all intents and purposes they’re the same thing now,’ said Lupin. (P.166)
- [Ch.14] Curiously, it had not taken heat from his body, but lay so cold against his skin it might just have emerged from icy water. (P.226)
- [Ch.15] a towerblock of offices (P.236)
- [Ch.16] … he did let drop certain snippets. (P.255)
- [Ch.18] She hesitated, but recognised the dismissal. (P.295)
讀到這句，自己的心也和 Harry 一樣酸起來：
‘I don’t know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isn’t love, the mess he’s left me in. He shared a damn sight more of what he was really thinking with Gellert Grindelwald than he ever shared with me.’ (P.295)
在 Ch.19 The Silver Doe，Harry 知道要破壞 Hocrux 的人非 Ron 不可，因為 Dumbledore had at least taught Harry something about certain kinds of magic, of the incalculable power of certain acts (P.305)。 其實 Dumbledore 早已訓練好 Harry，讓他有齊所需的資源去對付 Voldemort。
Ron 說他明白 Dumbledore 好清楚自己要做甚麼，並用 Deluminator 做證，說 ‘he must’ve known I’d run out on you.’ Harry 卻從正面看 ‘No,’ Harry corrected him, ‘He must’ve known you’d always want to come back.’ (P.318)
‘Harry, you’re trying to fit everything into the Hallows story –‘
‘Fit everything in?’ he repeated. ‘Hermione, it fits of its own accord!…’ (P.349)
整個 Ch.23 Malfoy Manor 的情節都非常緊湊，我無法把書放下來。 Chapter 最尾幾句 Dobby 臨死前的說話，和他第一次出場時的說話一樣，就好像劃上一個句號，證明他的死已經 finalized。 作者寫 Dobby 的眼反映了他看不見的星星，就是 “could not see” 這三個字令我流淚！
‘Harry… Potter…’
And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great, glassy orbs sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see. (P.387)
Ch.24 The Wandmaker 入面見證了 Harry 的一大突破。 因 Dobby 的死，Harry 內心的哀痛，讓他練成一直學不到的防讀心術，作者這樣寫：
His scar burned, but he was master of the pain; he felt it, yet was apart from it. He had learned control at last, learned to shut his mind to Voldemort, the very thing Dumbledore had wanted him to learn from Snape. (P.389)
有點像 mindfulness 的目的一樣，要為意身心所感受的，但不要被它控制！ 作者繼續：
Just as Voldemort had not been able to possess Harry while Harry was consumed with grief for Sirius, so his thoughts could not penetrate Harry now, while he mourned Dobby. Grief, it seemed drove Voldemort out… though Dumbledore, of course, would have said that it was love… (P.389)
最尾寫 Dumbledore 的一句是神來之筆，把一種新的情緒加入讀者已有的情緒當中，混合起來。
上面寫 Harry 在 Sirius 死後阻擋了 Voldemort 的入侵，說的應該是在 Department of Mysteries 一仗後 Voldemort 嘗試上 Harry 身但失敗已退一事。
在書的前半部，Harry 一直埋怨 Dumbledore 沒有好好交代過他要做甚麼。 來到這兒，他逐漸明白 Dumbledore 已掌握好大局，好像這兒說：
And he thought of Wormtail, dead because of one, small, unconscious impulse of mercy… Dumbledore had foreseen that… how much more had he known? (P.390)
這兒有兩個 references，第一是第四本書 Voldemort 給 Wormtail 製作新的手時說過 ‘May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail,’ (P.546, The Goblet of Fire)。 第二個是第三本書的結尾，Dumbledore 曾告訴 Harry：
‘Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt. When one wizard saves another wizard’s life it creates a certain bond between them, and I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.’
‘I don’t want a bond with Pettigrew!’ said Harry. ‘He betrayed my parents!’
‘This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me… the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew’s life.’ (P.453, The Prisoner of Azkaban)
Ch.25 Shell Cottage 開幕形容小屋的環境，看到這句我立刻就聽到海濤的聲音：
‘… he could hear the constant ebb and flow of the sea, like the breathing of some great, slumbering creature.’ (P.409)
被人質問有何分別時，可以答分別在於自己的感受，因為感受是個人 values 的反映，是非常重要的。
‘Maybe he’s lying,’ Harry said, opening his eyes again. ‘Griphook. Maybe Gryffindor didn’t take the sword. How do we know the goblin version of history’s right?’
‘Does it make a difference?’ asked Hermione.
‘Changes how I feel about it,’ said Harry. (P.414)
Ch.28 The Missing Mirror 入面 Harry 告訴 Aberforth 他哥哥一直對當年妹妹死去一事感到內疚，速使 Aberforth 答應跟他們合作對抗 Voldemort。 這段對話也讓讀者對 Dumbledore 有更深的了解。
‘… And Albus was free, wasn’t he? Free of the burden of his sister, free to become the greatest wizard of the -’
‘He was never free,’ said Harry.
‘I beg your pardon?’ said Aberforth.
‘Never,’ said Harry. ‘The night that your brother died he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. He started screaming, pleading with someone who wasn’t there. “Don’t hurt them, please… hurt me instead.”’
…
‘He thought he was back there with you and Grindelwald, I know he did,’ said Harry, remembering Dumbledore whimpering, pleading. ‘He thought he was watching Grindelwald hurting you and Ariana… it was torture to him, if you’d seen him then, you wouldn’t say he was free.’ (P.463)
Ch.30 Snape 的炒魷魚 🤣，McGonagall 對 Death Eater Amycus 這樣說：
‘… Couple of kids more or less, what’s the difference?’
‘Only the difference between truth and lies, courage and cowardice,’ said Professor McGonagall, who had turned pale, ‘a difference, in short, which you and your sister seem unable to appreciate…’ (P.483)
她又這樣對 Slughorn 說：
‘The time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its loyalties,’ (P.490)
Fred 還未來得及把笑話講完就喪生了，他生於愚人節，死時帶有笑容，就是他的一生的寫照吧。 寫他眼睛看不見的手法，也用過在 Dobby 身上。
… and Fred’s eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face. (P.520)
Snape 死前叫 Harry 望著他，所以他是望著 Lily 的眼睛死去的，這段很感人！
‘Look… at… me…’ he whispered.
The green eyes found the black, but after a second something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more. (P.537)
下一個 chapter 透露了 Snape 的 true allegiance，他想 Dumbledore 保密，Dumbledore 這樣說：
‘My word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?’ Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snape’s ferocious, anguished face. ‘If you insist…’ (P.554)
Snape 的記憶中記載了 Dumbledore 一句小小的至理名言：
‘You see what you expect to see, Severus,’ said Dumbledore, without raising his eyes from a copy of Transfiguration Today. ‘Other teachers report that the boy is modest, likeable, and reasonably talented. Personally, I find him an engaging child.’ (P.555)
Dumbledore 因戴上 Marvolo Gaunt 的戒指而中了詛咒，Snape 問他為甚麼要這樣做，Dumbledore 說 ‘I… was a fool. Sorely tempted…’ (P.536)。 Snape 問他 ‘Tempted by what?’ (P.536) 而 Dumbledore 沒有回答。 我上網看 fan forum，原來 Dumbledore 一早知道戒指的石是 The Resurrection Stone，想用它來見妹妹一面。 Dumbledore 是個長情的人，小時候的後悔到他臨死前還在影響他，確認了 Harry 說 Dumbledore ‘was never free’ (P.463)。
想不到來到 HP 系列最黑暗的一本書最黑暗的情節，還會遇到令人捧腹大笑的部分！
‘Certainly not. You must kill me.’
There was a long silence, broken only by an odd clicking noise. Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone.
‘Would you like me to do it now?’ asked Snape, his voice heavy with irony. ‘Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?’ (P.557)
難以想象 Snape 這時感到的背叛有多深…
‘I have spied for you, and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter’s son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter –’ (P.561)
以下這段太感人了吧，一個小小的動作，郤訴說著無限的愛：
Snape took the page bearing Lily’s signature, and her love, and tucked it inside his robes. (P.562-563) 同一頁 Snape 禁止 Phineas Nigellus 用 Mudblood 一字，是反映他為當年稱 Lily 為 Mudblood 一事而懊悔一生，就像 Dumbledore 為害死妹妹一事從來未 free 過。
Harry 走入深林受死一幕令很多回憶湧出來！ 作者神奇的筆觸令我感受到主角當時經歷的想法！
Hagrid’s hut loomed out of the darkness. There were no lights, no sound of Fang scrabbling at the door, his bark booming in welcome. All those visits to Hagrid, and the gleam of the copper kettle on the fire, and rock cakes and giant grubs, and his great, bearded face, and Ron vomiting slugs, and Hermione helping him save Norbert… (P.569)
Dumbledore 在 King’s Cross 把過去告訴 Harry，有幾點我想記下：
- Dumbledore gave a little gasp, and began to cry in earnest. (P.586) – 他放下了 guard，痛哭了出來。 聽說人死前會變善良的，那人死後是否也會真情流露？
- I had learned that I was not to be trusted with power. (P.586) – 解釋了為何他不接受 Minister for Magic 的原因。
- It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well. (P.586-587) – 這句算是 Dumbledore 在全套書最後的智理名言了。
- ‘Of course it’s happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?’ (P.591) – 是完結這個章節最好的一句。
Ch.36 The Flaw in the Plan 是全書最緊張的章節。 Narcissa 知道 Harry 未死，問他 Draco 是否生還，假如 Harry 沒有在 Room of Requirement 救 Draco 出來，他便不能答 “Yes”。 Narcissa 背叛了 Voldemort，說 Harry 已死。 Harry 能成功抵抗 Voldemort 的 Cruciatus Curse 而不感到痛楚，又是甚麼原因？ 是因為 Elder Wand 不會傷害主人？ 還是他因為自我犧牲而得到保護？ (P.594)
Harry 和 Voldemort 對質之時，作者形容 ‘as they circled, and stared into each other’s eyes, green into red.’ (P.604) 綠色和紅色就是他們最後一戰使用的魔法的顏色（in the movies），不過就調轉了，Avada Kedavra 是綠色，Expelliarmis 是紅色。
Harry 這樣解釋我才明白他們都受到保護。 Harry 像 Dumbledore 一樣也懂得愛的魔法的竅門了。
‘…I’ve done what my mother did. They’re protected from you. Haven’t you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can’t torture them. You can’t touch them.’ (P.604)
Harry 在眾人面前公開 Snape 的 allegiance 是好事，但公開他的 Patronus 及一生對 Lily 的愛 (P.605)，不是太好吧… 這是私穩，Voldemort 及其他人不需要知的…
