"噢，是的，确实是每个人都在庆祝。"她不耐烦地说。

”你以为他们会更小心一点，但是，并没有——甚至麻瓜都注意到发生了一些事，就登在他们的新闻上。“她扭回脖子朝向德思丽一家的漆黑的卧室窗户。”我都听到了，成群的猫头鹰，，，流星雨，，好吧，他们并不是完全地愚蠢，他们很有可能察觉到了一些事情。流星雨坠落在肯特——我打赌一定是达拉斯迪哥所为。他做事总是没脑子。“

”你不能责怪他们，“邓布利多轻声地说，”我们在过去11年里，仅有可怜的宝贵的庆祝活动。“

”这些我知道“麦格教授怒气地说。”但他们并没有理由抛头露面啊？，彻底地粗心大意，在光天化日之下，连麻瓜的衣服也不穿，交换着流言蛮语。“

”他往侧面锐利地瞥了一眼邓布利多，好像希望他能告诉她些什么，但是邓布利多没有开口，所以她继续说。“好消息是，神秘人消失的那天，麻瓜就发现了我们所有的事情。他真的消失了吗，邓布利多？”

“我确定是消失了。”邓布利多说“我们真应该心怀感激，来吃一个柠檬冰棍儿吧”。

“一个什么？”

“一个柠檬冰棍儿，它们是一种麻瓜世界的甜品，我想当喜欢吃。“

”不了，谢谢。“麦格教授严肃地说道，显然她不认为现在是吃柠檬冰棍儿的时候。“依我说，即使神秘人消失了——”

“我亲爱的教授，想必像您这么明智的人应该叫他本来的名字吧？类似神秘人，这算什么名字—11年来我一直努力劝告人们叫他的正名：伏地魔。”

麦格教授颤抖地，但是邓布利多打开第二支柠檬冰棍儿，好像并没有发觉。“这会带来困扰的，如果我们称他们神秘人。我想应该没有理由去害怕一个叫伏地魔的名字。”

“我知道你不会害怕。”麦格教授说道，一半是恼怒，一半是钦佩。

“但是你与众不同，所有人都知道你是唯一一个令神秘人，噢，好吧，是令伏地魔害怕的人。”

“你在讨好我，”邓布利多平静地说。“伏地魔拥有的力量我可没有。”

“那只是因为您太高尚了，而不去使用它们罢了。”

“好在，现在天黑。自从庞母菲夫人说她喜欢我的新耳包，我就再也没有像现在这样脸红过了。”

麦格教授尖锐地瞥了邓布利多一眼，然后说道：“漫天的猫头鹰和流言没有关系。你知道每个人说什么吗？还有为何他消失了吗？是什么最后阻止了他吗？”

看来，麦格教授已经谈到了最关键的点上了。这就是她整天站在冰冷，生硬的墙上等待的原因。从一只猫到一个女人，他从未像现在这样用这样尖锐的目光盯着邓布利多。其实就是每个人都那么说，但非要从邓布利多口中听到才会相信。可是，邓布利多又拿出另外一支柠檬冰棍儿，没有回答。

“他们说”她接着说，“在上周伏地魔出现在戈德里克山谷，他去找波特夫妇。流言是莉莉和吉姆，他们，他们死了。”

邓布利多低丧着头，麦格教授说到哽咽。

”莉莉和吉姆，，我简直不敢，我无法相信这个，噢，邓布,,“

邓布利多，轻抚她的肩膀“我知道，我知道，”他沉重地说。

"Oh yes, I've celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."

"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."

"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."

She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"

"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"A what?"

"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."

"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone—"

"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."

"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasprated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."

"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."

"Only because you're too — well — noble to use them."

"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."

Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"

It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.

"What they're saying,” she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — dead."

Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.

"Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"

Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily.