"J. K. Rowling - 6 - Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince(1)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Rowling J. K)

Just then, Harry’s attention turned to a single ring. It was in the very bottom, right hand corner, and it had a single cobweb over it, as if the spider were trying to hide it from view more than it was already. From the looks of it, this one didn’t appear too expensive, with its rather dull ring and not very shiny Stone.
“How much for that one?” asked Harry, pointing to the ring and trying to sound casual. The tattered man looked at where Harry’s finger was indicating, and reached a bandaged hand over to it. He brushed away the cobweb, and blew the dust off of it as he brought it forth. He stuck out his bottom lip, rocked his head from side to side, trying to get a good estimate.
“How much ya got?” he asked. Harry took out his galleon and three sickles, and the man quickly snatched them away. “Well what do you know? That’s exactly how much it costs!” He gave a toothless grin, and popped the ring into Harry’s hand.
Then, just as the ring touched Harry’s palm, he suddenly felt a power rush through him. He felt a surge of energy and excitement flow through his bloodstream, and all the way up to his brain, electrifying his body all the way. Harry quickly slipped the ring onto his finger. He brushed it off a bit more, and realized that the dull Stone was actually carved into the shape of a skull with one crystal eye and one ruby eye. Now, in fact, the skull was no longer a dull gray, but a brilliant black that shone like the darkest Stone. The powerful feeling that Harry was experiencing only increased while the ring was on his finger…. Maybe he wouldn’t give the ring to Cho after all, he smiled to himself.
“Will that be all?” grinned the man.
“Well, seeing as you did take all of my money…” said Harry.
“Ah yes, I forgot about that,” he said. “You can leave now… you won’t explode.”
“Alright,” said Harry, walking towards the door. “Oh, and thanks for the ring.”
“No problem,” coughed the man, heaving something large and disgusting out of his mouth just when Harry opened the door and left the store. When Harry stepped outside of the place, and saw that he was still in one piece, he took a look around. Though he had been to Knockturn Alley before, he had never been in this part of it. None of the other stores in the area looked any better than the one he had just been in; all of them appeared as though just one good wind could make them fall over. Even the sky looked decrepit in this area: it was dark and gray, and the air felt heavier and rusty. It was nothing like Diagon Alley.
Now Harry had to find a way out of this place. He didn’t want to go back into The Itchy Man’s Burrow, nor did he desire to go into any of the other stores. He had to find a fireplace to Floo from that would allow him to return to the Weasley’s. All Harry had to do was turn his head slightly to the side, and his prayers were answered.
It was like a Muggle phone booth, only much larger, and with a fireplace inside; a Floo Station. Harry ran over to it, and entered into it. It felt extremely calm and serene inside, the crackle of the fire and the silence from the horrible outside made for a very nice environment. There was even, attached to the side of one of the walls, a Floo Powder dispenser.
“I guess a lot of people must accidentally come here,” said Harry to himself, wondering why there would be a Floo station in the middle of Knockturn Alley.
“Maybe the store owners purposely name their business closely to other popular landmarks,” shrugged Harry, throwing some powder into the flames. “The Burrow!” Harry jumped into the flames and once again the world turned black and spun around quickly. A second later, Harry appeared right in the Weasley’s house, before a distressed looking Mrs. Weasley, and a worried Ron.
“Where have you been?” demanded Mrs. Weasley, jumping at Harry, and putting her hands on his shoulders.
“Yeah, I was beginning to think you were another one of my missing sisters or something,” grinned Ron. Mrs. Weasley, not turning away from Harry, whacked Ron on the head.
“Where have you been?” she asked again.
“I accidentally Flooed to Knockturn Alley,” groaned Harry.
“Again?” said Mrs. Weasley and Ron together
“Yeah,” grimaced Harry… he really had to stop doing that. It was the second time in… well, four years. His track record wasn’t that bad.
“Are you alright, Harry?” asked Mrs. Weasley, trying to sound comforting, but not overly caring. She didn’t want Harry to think as though she were treating him like a baby.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he smiled, then, rubbing his ring, “Yeah, I feel better than ever in fact.”
“Well good,” said Ron. “I guess you didn’t have to go in the really bad stores.”
“It appears as though you haven’t been traumatized too badly,” said Mrs. Weasley, eyeing Harry, just to be sure. “So, I don’t think you’ll object to me telling you that you will still have to go to school tomorrow. With that in mind, I think you two should think about heading to bed. It is almost midnight anyway!”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right mom,” yawned Ron. He and Harry walked over to the stairs that were more tiring to climb than an entire mountain. Harry had not realized how exhausted he actually was. He and Ron quickly changed into their night clothes while Harry told Ron of his interesting time at Knockturn Alley.
“He really wouldn’t let you leave until you bought something?” asked Ron in surprise, just before he climbed into his bed.
“Yeah, so I finally decided on this ring,” said Harry, showing it to Ron.
“Nice,” said Ron, nodding his head. “But, aren’t you going to take it off before you go to bed?”
Harry looked at his ring… it was so beautiful…. He rubbed it with the tip of his finger, and watched the skull and diamonds shine. A small surge of excitement and energy flowed through him. Harry took a deep breath, feeling full of life.
“No,” he said finally, climbing under the covers. “No, I don’t think I’ll take it off.”
“Get up you two! Get up!” came the voice of Mrs. Weasley what felt like only a few seconds after Harry had placed his head down on the pillow. “Come on! The train is leaving in an hour, and you want to have time to get ready! Oh, and Harry, a letter came for you.”
This comment made Harry jump out of bed and immediately get dressed. He ran downstairs, and asked Mrs. Weasley where his letter was. She gave it to him, and Harry was surprised that it had a Hogwarts seal on it. What was the school doing sending him letters an hour before the new year started? Harry ripped it open, and read:
Dear Harry,
After the Sorting Ceremony, I need you to come up to my office. I have something for you. The password is ‘monkey cakes’.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster
“What could it be?” wondered Harry, biting on a piece of toast that Mrs. Weasley had prepared for the two of them… but wait!
“Mrs. Weasley,” asked Harry, suddenly realizing something, “how is Ginny coming to Hogwarts? I mean, she’s spent most of the summer at Fred and George’s shop.”
“And they’re bringing her to the Platform,” responded Mrs. Weasley. “Both of them have very nice brooms to fly over with. I guess they’ll be coming over about the same time we are. Which, by the way, would be much improved if you (she pointed to Ron who had just come down the stairs) hurried up in waking.”
“Yeah, yeah…” yawned Ron, grabbing some breakfast and quickly eating it. “Let’s just get this year started already. Are we leaving soon?”
“Just as soon as his majesty is done with his breakfast,” said Mrs. Weasley sarcastically, bowing to Ron. He just rolled his eyes and continued eating. It wasn’t long, though, before they were out the door and at Platform 9 ѕ.
“Hey there Harry!” came a voice from not to far away. Harry looked over and saw Fred and George waving to him. He and Ron ran over to them.
“Hey there!” yelled Ron. “Did you bring Ginny?”
“Yup, she’s already gone through,” said George. Fred sighed.
“Kind of sad… this is the first year we haven’t gone through this barrier,” he said. “I almost wish I was going back…” He put a smile on. “Almost….”
“Yeah, whatever,” said Ron, running through the supposedly solid brick wall that led to the train.
“See you Fred! George!” yelled Harry, running after Ron head first into the not very brick wall. Just like traveling with Floo Powder, the entire world turned black, but only for a second, and the next thing Harry knew, he was standing amidst hundreds of other students, anxious to get on the train. He quickly found Ron among them and they walked on board together, into their usual compartment. It was very nice and relaxing… this was one of the first times they weren’t late or rushing to get on the train.
A few minutes later, after sitting there and chatting for a while, Harry felt his ring get a little warm, as if he were holding it close to a fire. Harry looked over at it, and saw that it was glowing a little yellow too….
Suddenly, Harry’s thinking was broken by the compartment door opening, and his other best friend, Hermione Granger, stepping in. She walked right on in and sat down next to Ron.
“Why hello, Ron,” she smiled, giving him a small kiss. “It’s been nice talking to you.” Harry raised an eyebrow.