哈利·波特与密室 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 英文  中文  双语对照  双语交替 首页  目录  上一章   下一章

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CHAPTER TWELVE THE POLYJUICE POTION

第十二章　复方汤剂

They stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped on the door. It opened silently and they entered. Professor McGonagall told Harry to wait and left him there, alone.

到了顶上，他们迈出石梯，麦格教授在一扇门上敲了敲。门悄没声儿地打开了，他们走了进去。麦格教授叫哈利等着，便离开了，把哈利一个人留在那里。

Harry looked around. One thing was certain: of all the teachers’ offices Harry had visited so far this year, Dumbledore’s was by far the most interesting. If he hadn’t been scared out of his wits that he was about to be thrown out of school, he would have been very pleased to have a chance to look around it.

哈利环顾四周。有一点是可以确定的——在哈利这一年拜访过的所有老师办公室中，邓布利多的办公室绝对是最最有趣的。如果哈利不是因为担心自己会被赶出学校而吓得六神无主，他会觉得非常高兴有机会到这里来看看。这是一个宽敞、美丽的圆形房间，充满了各种滑稽的小声音。细长腿的桌子上，放着许多稀奇古怪的银器，旋转着，喷出一小股一小股的烟雾。墙上挂满了昔日的男女老校长们的肖像，他们都在各自的像框里轻轻地打着呼噜。房间里还有一张巨大的桌子，桌脚是爪子形的。在桌子后面的一块搁板上，放着一顶破破烂烂的、皱皱巴巴的巫师帽——分院帽。

It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindlelegged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tattered wizard’s hat — the Sorting Hat.

哈利在犹豫。他警惕地看了看周围墙上那些熟睡的男女巫师。如果他把帽子拿下来，再戴在头上试试，肯定不会有什么妨碍吧？他只想看看……只想确定一下它把自己放在了合适的学院里。他悄悄绕过桌子，拿起搁板上的帽子，慢慢把它扣在头上。帽子太大了，滑下来盖住了他的眼睛，就像他第一次戴它时那样。哈利盯着帽子黑色的衬里，等待着。这时，一个小声音在他耳边说：“有事情想不明白，哈利·波特？”

Harry hesitated. He cast a wary eye around the sleeping witches and wizards on the walls. Surely it couldn’t hurt if he took the hat down and tried it on again? Just to see . . . just to make sure it had put him in the right House —

“哦，是的。”哈利含糊不清地小声说，“哦——对不起，打扰你了——我想问一下——”

He walked quietly around the desk, lifted the hat from its shelf, and lowered it slowly onto his head. It was much too large and slipped down over his eyes, just as it had done the last time he’d put it on. Harry stared at the black inside of the hat, waiting. Then a small voice said in his ear, “Bee in your bonnet, Harry Potter?”

“你一直想知道我有没有把你放在合适的学院。”帽子机灵地说道，“是的……你的位置特别不容易放准，不过我还是坚持我原来的说法——”哈利的心狂跳起来——“你在斯莱特林会很合适的。”

“Er, yes,” Harry muttered. “Er — sorry to bother you — I wanted to ask —”

哈利的心猛地往下一沉。他抓住帽顶，把它摘了下来。帽子软塌塌地悬在他手里，脏兮兮的，已经褪了色。哈利把它放回原来的搁板上，感到一阵恶心。

“You’ve been wondering whether I put you in the right House,” said the hat smartly. “Yes . . . you were particularly difficult to place. But I stand by what I said before” — Harry’s heart leapt — “you would have done well in Slytherin —”

“你错了。”他大声对静静地待着、一言不发的帽子说。帽子没有动弹。哈利凝视着它，向后退去。突然后面传来一个奇怪的窒息般的声音，他猛地转过身来。

Harry’s stomach plummeted. He grabbed the point of the hat and pulled it off. It hung limply in his hand, grubby and faded. Harry pushed it back onto its shelf, feeling sick.

房间里根本不止他一个人。在门后一根高高的镀金栖枝上，站着一只老态龙钟的鸟，活像是一只被拔光了一半羽毛的火鸡。哈利盯着它，那鸟也用愁苦的目光望着他，同时又发出郡种窒息般的声音。哈利觉得它看上去病得很重。它的眼睛毫无神采，而且就在哈利望着它的这会儿工夫，又有几片羽毛从它尾巴上掉了下来。

“You’re wrong,” he said aloud to the still and silent hat. It didn’t move. Harry backed away, watching it. Then a strange, gagging noise behind him made him wheel around.

哈利心想，如果邓布利多的鸟死了，而办公室里只有他和鸟单独待着，单是这一件事就够他受的了。就在他这么想的时候，鸟全身突然着起火来。

He wasn’t alone after all. Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. Harry stared at it and the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail.

哈利惊恐地叫喊，后退着撞到桌上。他焦急地环顾四周，指望能有一杯水什么的，可是没有看见。与此同时，那只鸟已经变成了一只火球，它惨叫一声，接着便消失了，只剩下地板上一堆还没有完全熄灭的灰烬。

Harry was just thinking that all he needed was for Dumbledore’s pet bird to die while he was alone in the office with it, when the bird burst into flames.

办公室的门开了，邓布利多走了进来，神情十分凝重。

Harry yelled in shock and backed away into the desk. He looked feverishly around in case there was a glass of water somewhere but couldn’t see one; the bird, meanwhile, had become a fireball; it gave one loud shriek and next second there was nothing but a smoldering pile of ash on the floor.

“教授，”哈利喘着气说，“你的鸟——我没办法——它突然着了火——”

The office door opened. Dumbledore came in, looking very somber.

令哈利感到大为吃惊的是，邓布利多居然露出了微笑。

“Professor,” Harry gasped. “Your bird — I couldn’t do anything — he just caught fire —”

“差不多是时候了，”他说，“它模样可怕已经有好多天了，我一直叫它快点行动。”

To Harry’s astonishment, Dumbledore smiled.

他看到哈利脸上惊愕的表情，不禁轻轻地笑了。

“About time, too,” he said. “He’s been looking dreadful for days; I’ve been telling him to get a move on.”

“福克斯是一只凤凰，哈利。凤凰到了将死的时候，就会自焚，然后从灰烬里再生。你看着它……”

He chuckled at the stunned look on Harry’s face.

哈利一低头，正好看见一只小小的、全身皱巴巴的雏鸟从灰烬中探出脑袋。它的相貌和老鸟一般丑陋。

“Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes. Watch him . . .”

“真遗憾，你不得不在涅槃日见到他，”邓布利多说着，在桌子后面坐了下来，“它大部分时间是非常漂亮的：全身都是令人称奇的红色和金色羽毛。凤凰真是十分奇特迷人的生命。它们能携带极为沉重的东西，它们的眼泪具有疗伤的作用，而且它们还是特别忠诚的宠物。”

Harry looked down in time to see a tiny, wrinkled, newborn bird poke its head out of the ashes. It was quite as ugly as the old one.

哈利在福克斯自焚引起的惊恐中，暂时忘记了他来这里的原因。可是此刻，当邓布利多在桌后的高背椅上坐下，用他浅蓝色的、具有穿透力的目光盯住他的时候，他一切都想起来了。

“It’s a shame you had to see him on a Burning Day,” said Dumbledore, seating himself behind his desk. “He’s really very handsome most of the time, wonderful red and gold plumage. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets.”

然而，还没等邓布利多再开口说话，办公室的门砰的一声巨响，被人猛地推开。海格一头冲了进来，眼睛里喷着怒火，盔式帽戴在他黑乎乎、乱蓬蓬的头顶上，那只死公鸡还在他手里晃来晃去。

In the shock of Fawkes catching fire, Harry had forgotten what he was there for, but it all came back to him as Dumbledore settled himself in the high chair behind the desk and fixed Harry with his penetrating, light-blue stare.

“不是哈利，邓布利多教授！”海格急切地说，“就在那孩子被发现的几秒钟前，我还跟他说话来着。他决没有时间，先生……”

Before Dumbledore could speak another word, however, the door of the office flew open with an almighty bang and Hagrid burst in, a wild look in his eyes, his balaclava perched on top of his shaggy black head and the dead rooster still swinging from his hand.

邓布利多想说什么，但海格只顾大吼大叫，并且焦躁地挥舞着手里的公鸡，把鸡毛撒得哪儿都是。

“It wasn’ Harry, Professor Dumbledore!” said Hagrid urgently. “I was talkin’ ter him seconds before that kid was found, he never had time, sir —”

“……不可能是他，如果需要，我可以当着魔法部的面起誓……”

Dumbledore tried to say something, but Hagrid went ranting on, waving the rooster around in his agitation, sending feathers everywhere.

“海格，我——”

“— it can’t’ve bin him, I’ll swear it in front o’ the Ministry o’ Magic if I have to —”

“……你抓错人了，先生，我知道哈利绝没有——”

“Hagrid, I —”

“海格！”邓布利多提高嗓门说，“我并不认为是哈利袭击了那些人。”

“— yeh’ve got the wrong boy, sir, I know Harry never —”

“噢，”海格说，公鸡软绵绵地垂落在他的身侧，“好吧，我在外面等候吩咐，校长。”他重重地跺脚走了出去，神情显得很尴尬。

“Hagrid !” said Dumbledore loudly. “I do not think that Harry attacked those people.”

“你认为不是我吗，教授？”哈利满怀希望地问，看着邓布利多拂去桌上的鸡毛。

“Oh,” said Hagrid, the rooster falling limply at his side. “Right. I’ll wait outside then, Headmaster.”

“对，哈利，我认为不是。”邓布利多说，不过他脸上的神色又凝重起来。“但是我仍然想跟你谈谈。”

And he stomped out looking embarrassed.

哈利紧张地等待着，这时邓布利多端详着他，十个修长的手指的指尖碰在一起。“我必须问问你，哈利，你有没有事情愿意告诉我，”他温和地说，“任何事情。”

“You don’t think it was me, Professor?” Harry repeated hopefully as Dumbledore brushed rooster feathers off his desk.

哈利不知道该怎么说。他想起了马尔福的叫喊：“下一个就轮到你们了，泥巴种！”想起了复方汤剂还在哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室里慢慢熬着。接着，他又想起了他曾两次听见的那个幽灵的声音，想起罗恩说的话：“听见别人听不见的声音，这不是一个好兆头，即使在魔法世界里也是这样。”他还想起了大家议论他的话，以及他越来越强烈的担心，生怕自己与萨拉查斯莱特林存在什么关系……

“No, Harry, I don’t,” said Dumbledore, though his face was somber again. “But I still want to talk to you.”

“没有，”哈利说，“什么也没有，先生。”

Harry waited nervously while Dumbledore considered him, the tips of his long fingers together.

贾斯廷和差点没头的尼克双双遭到袭击，这使原本已经紧张不安的气氛变得真正恐慌起来。说来奇怪，最使人们感到恐慌的倒是差点没头的尼克的遭遇。

“I must ask you, Harry, whether there is anything you’d like to tell me,” he said gently. “Anything at all.”

什么东西能对一个幽灵下此毒手呢，人们互相询问：什么可怕的力量能够伤害一个已经死去的人呢？学生们差不多是争先恐后地去预订霍格沃茨特快列车的座位，盼着可以回家过圣诞节。

Harry didn’t know what to say. He thought of Malfoy shouting, “You’ll be next, Mudbloods!” and of the Polyjuice Potion simmering away in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. Then he thought of the disembodied voice he had heard twice and remembered what Ron had said: “Hearing voices no one else can hear isn’t a good sign, even in the wizarding world.” He thought, too, about what everyone was saying about him, and his growing dread that he was somehow connected with Salazar Slytherin. . . .

“这样的话，学校里就剩下我们了。”罗恩对哈利和赫敏说，“我们三人，还有马尔福、克拉布和高尔。这将是一个多么有趣的节日啊。”

“No,” said Harry. “There isn’t anything, Professor. . . .” The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Nearly Headless Nick’s fate that seemed to worry people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost? people asked each other; what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas.

克拉布和高尔一向是马尔福做什么，他们就做什么，所以也在留校过节的名单上签了名。不过，哈利倒很高兴大部分学生都离校。他已经厌倦了人们在走廊上躲着他走，好像他随时都会长出潦牙，喷出毒汁；也厌倦了每当他走过时，人们都要指指点点、嘀嘀咕咕地议论他。

“At this rate, we’ll be the only ones left,” Ron told Harry and Hermione. “Us, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. What a jolly holiday it’s going to be.”

然而，弗雷德和乔治倒觉得这一切都很好玩。他们在走廊上特地跑到哈利前面，昂首阔步地走着，嘴里喊道：“给斯莱特林的继承人让路，最邪恶的巫师驾到……”

Crabbe and Goyle, who always did whatever Malfoy did, had signed up to stay over the holidays, too. But Harry was glad that most people were leaving. He was tired of people skirting around him in the corridors, as though he were about to sprout fangs or spit poison; tired of all the muttering, pointing, and hissing as he passed.

珀西对这种行为十分不满。“这不是一件拿来取笑的事。”他冷冷地说。

Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead of Harry down the corridors, shouting, “Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through. . . .”

“喂，闪开，珀西，”弗雷德说，“哈利时间紧张。”

Percy was deeply disapproving of this behavior.

“是啊，他要赶到密室，和他长着獠牙的仆人一起喝茶呢。”乔治哈哈大笑着说。

“It is not a laughing matter,” he said coldly.

金妮也觉得这事一点儿也不可笑。“哦，别这样。”每次弗雷德大声问哈利接下来打算对谁下手，或者乔治见到哈利，假装用一个大蒜头挡住他的进攻时，金妮总是悲哀地喊道。

“Oh, get out of the way, Percy,” said Fred. “Harry’s in a hurry.”

哈利倒并不在意，弗雷德和乔治至少认为他是斯莱特林继承人的想法是荒唐可笑的，这使他感到欣慰。但是他们的滑稽行为似乎更加激怒了德拉科马尔福，他看到他们这么做时，脸色一次比一次难看。

“Yeah, he’s off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant,” said George, chortling.

“这是因为他巴不得声明这实际上是他干的。”罗恩很有见识地说，“你知道他多么讨厌别人在任何方面超过他。他干了卑鄙的勾当，现在你却得到了所有的荣誉。”

Ginny didn’t find it amusing either.

“不会太久了。”赫敏用满意的口吻说，“复方汤剂很快就熬好了，我们随时可以从他嘴里套出话来。”

“Oh, don’t,” she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large clove of garlic when they met.

终于，学期结束了，像地上的积雪一般厚重的寂静，笼罩了整个城堡。哈利不觉得沉闷，反而觉得很宁静，一想到他、赫敏和韦斯莱兄妹可以在格兰芬多城堡里随意进出，他就感到很开心。这意味着他们可以大声玩噼啪爆炸而不妨碍任何人，还可以秘密地演习决斗。弗雷德、乔治和金妮决定留在学校，而不和韦斯莱夫妇一起去埃及看比尔。珀西对他们的这些孩子气行为不以为然，便很少待在格兰芬多的公共休息室里。珀西曾经很自负地告诉他们，他之所以留下来过圣诞节，只是因为他作为全优生，有责任在这段动荡的时期支持老师的工作。

Harry didn’t mind; it made him feel better that Fred and George, at least, thought the idea of his being Slytherin’s heir was quite ludicrous. But their antics seemed to be aggravating Draco Malfoy, who looked increasingly sour each time he saw them at it.

圣诞节的黎明到来了，天气寒冷，四下里白皑皑的。宿舍里只剩下哈利和罗恩两个人，一大早，他们就被赫敏吵醒了。她穿戴整齐，怀里抱着给他们两个人的礼物。

“It’s because he’s bursting to say it’s really him,” said Ron knowingly. “You know how he hates anyone beating him at anything, and you’re getting all the credit for his dirty work.”

“醒醒吧。”她大声说，一边把窗帘拉了上去。

“Not for long,” said Hermione in a satisfied tone. “The Polyjuice Potion’s nearly ready. We’ll be getting the truth out of him any day now.” At last the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. Harry found it peaceful, rather than gloomy, and enjoyed the fact that he, Hermione, and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant they could play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone, and practice dueling in private. Fred, George, and Ginny had chosen to stay at school rather than visit Bill in Egypt with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Percy, who disapproved of what he termed their childish behavior, didn’t spend much time in the Gryffindor common room. He had already told them pompously that he was only staying over Christmas because it was his duty as a prefect to support the teachers during this troubled time.

“赫敏——你不应该来这里的。”罗恩说，用手遮着眼睛，挡住光线。

Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Harry and Ron, the only ones left in their dormitory, were woken very early by Hermione, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for them both.

“祝你圣诞快乐。”赫敏说着，把他的礼物扔给他。“我已经起床快一个小时了，给汤剂里又加了一些草蛉虫。它已经熬好了。”

“Wake up,” she said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window.

哈利坐起身来，一下子完全清醒了。

“Hermione — you’re not supposed to be in here —” said Ron, shielding his eyes against the light.

“你能肯定？”

“Merry Christmas to you, too,” said Hermione, throwing him his present. “I’ve been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It’s ready.”

“绝对肯定。”赫敏说，她把老鼠斑斑挪到一边，自己在哈利的四柱床边坐下。“如果我们要行动的话，我认为应该就在今晚。”

Harry sat up, suddenly wide awake.

就在这时，海德薇猛地飞进屋子，嘴里衔着一个很小的包裹。

“Are you sure?”

“你好，”它落在哈利的床上后，哈利高兴地说，“你又要对我说话吗？”

“Positive,” said Hermione, shirting Scabbers the rat so that she could sit down on the end of Ron’s four-poster. “If we’re going to do it, I say it should be tonight.”

它以十分亲热的方式轻轻咬了咬他的耳朵，这份问候比它带给他的那份礼物要珍贵得多。原来，那个小包裹是德思礼夫妇捎来的。他们送给哈利一根牙签，还附有一封短信，叫他打听一下，他能不能暑假也留在霍格沃茨度过。

At that moment, Hedwig swooped into the room, carrying a very small package in her beak.

哈利收到的其他圣诞礼物就令人满意多了。海格送给他一大包乳脂软糖，哈利决定放在火边烤软了再吃；罗恩送给他一本名叫《和火炮队一起飞翔》的书，里面讲的是他最喜欢的魁地奇队的一些事情；赫敏给他买了一支华贵的羽毛笔。哈利拆开最后一件礼物，原来是书斯莱夫人送给他的一件崭新的手编毛衣，以及一块大大的葡萄干蛋糕。

“Hello,” said Harry happily as she landed on his bed. “Are you speaking to me again?”

他竖起韦斯莱夫人的贺卡，心头又涌起一股负疚感。他想到了韦斯莱先生的汽车，它自从与打人柳相撞之后，一直无影无踪，他还想到他和罗恩接下来又打算违反校规了。

She nibbled his ear in an affectionate sort of way, which was a far better present than the one that she had brought him, which turned out to be from the Dursleys. They had sent Harry a toothpick and a note telling him to find out whether he’d be able to stay at Hogwarts for the summer vacation, too.

在霍格沃茨的圣诞晚宴上，所有的人都吃得津津有味，甚至包括那些暗自担心待会儿要服用复方汤剂的人。

The rest of Harry’s Christmas presents were far more satisfactory. Hagrid had sent him a large tin of treacle toffee, which Harry decided to soften by the fire before eating; Ron had given him a book called Flying with the Cannons, a book of interesting facts about his favorite Quidditch team, and Hermione had bought him a luxury eagle-feather quill. Harry opened the last present to find a new, hand-knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley and a large plum cake. He read her card with a fresh surge of guilt, thinking about Mr. Weasley’s car (which hadn’t been seen since its crash with the Whomping Willow), and the bout of rule-breaking he and Ron were planning next. No one, not even someone dreading taking Polyjuice Potion later, could fail to enjoy Christmas dinner at Hogwarts.

礼堂显得宏伟气派。不仅有十几棵布满银霜的圣诞树，和天花板上十字交叉的由槲寄生和冬青组成的粗粗的饰带，而且还有施了魔法的雪，温暖而干燥，从天花板上轻轻飘落。邓布利多领着他们唱了几支他最喜欢的圣诞颂歌，海格灌下了一杯又一杯的蛋奶酒后，嗓门也随之越来越响亮。珀西没有注意到弗雷德已经施了魔法，使他的级长徽章上的字变成了“笨瓜”，还傻乎乎地一个劲儿问大家在笑什么。坐在斯莱特林餐桌上的德拉科马尔福，粗声大气地对哈利的新毛衣大加嘲讽，哈利对此毫不介意。如果运气好，不出几个小时，马尔福就会得到应有的惩罚了。

The Great Hall looked magnificent. Not only were there a dozen frost-covered Christmas trees and thick streamers of holly and mistletoe crisscrossing the ceiling, but enchanted snow was falling, warm and dry, from the ceiling. Dumbledore led them in a few of his favorite carols, Hagrid booming more and more loudly with every goblet of eggnog he consumed. Percy, who hadn’t noticed that Fred had bewitched his prefect badge so that it now read “Pinhead,” kept asking them all what they were sniggering at. Harry didn’t even care that Draco Malfoy was making loud, snide remarks about his new sweater from the Slytherin table. With a bit of luck, Malfoy would be getting his comeuppance in a few hours’ time.

哈利和罗恩刚刚吃完第三份圣诞布丁，赫敏就领着他们走出礼堂，去实施他们当晚的计划。

Harry and Ron had barely finished their third helpings of Christmas pudding when Hermione ushered them out of the hall to finalize their plans for the evening.

“我们还需要一些我们要变的人的东西。”赫敏轻描淡写地说，就好像她在打发他们到超级市场去买洗衣粉，“不用说，如果你们能弄到克拉布和高尔的什么东西，那是最好不过了；他们是马尔福最好的朋友，他会把什么话都告诉他们的。我们还需要确保，在我们审问马尔福时，千万不能让真正的克拉布和高尔闯进来。

“We still need a bit of the people you’re changing into,” said Hermione matter-of-factly, as though she were sending them to the supermarket for laundry detergent. “And obviously, it’ll be best if you can get something of Crabbe’s and Goyle’s; they’re Malfoy’s best friends, he’ll tell them anything. And we also need to make sure the real Crabbe and Goyle can’t burst in on us while we’re interrogating him.

“我已经把一切都计划好了。”她一口气说下去，不理睬哈利和罗恩脸上惊呆的表情。她举起两块巧克力蛋糕，“我在这里面放了普通的催眠药。你们只需要保证让克拉布和高尔发现它们。你们知道他们的嘴有多馋，肯定会把它们吃掉的。等他们俩一睡着，就拔下他们俩的几根头发，然后把他俩藏在扫帚柜里。”

“I’ve got it all worked out,” she went on smoothly, ignoring Harry’s and Ron’s stupefied faces. She held up two plump chocolate cakes. “I’ve filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. All you have to do is make sure Crabbe and Goyle find them. You know how greedy they are, they’re bound to eat them. Once they’re asleep, pull out a few of their hairs and hide them in a broom closet.”

哈利和罗恩不敢相信地看着对方。

Harry and Ron looked incredulously at each other.

“赫敏，我不认为——”

“Hermione, I don’t think —”

“那样可能会酿成大错——”

“That could go seriously wrong —”

可是赫敏眼里闪着铁一般强硬的光，与麦格教授有时候的目光颇为相似。

But Hermione had a steely glint in her eye not unlike the one Professor McGonagall sometimes had.

“没有克拉布和高尔的头发，汤剂就不会有用。”她毫不动摇地说，“你们是想审查马尔福的，是吗？”

“The potion will be useless without Crabbe’s and Goyle’s hair,” she said sternly. “You do want to investigate Malfoy, don’t you?”

“噢，好吧，好吧。”哈利说，“可是你怎么办呢？你去拔谁的头发？”

“Oh, all right, all right,” said Harry. “But what about you? Whose hair are you ripping out?”

“我的已经有了！”赫敏开心地说，从口袋里掏出一只小瓶子，给他们看里面的一根头发。“还记得在决斗俱乐部里，米里森跟我摔跤的情景吗？她拼命卡住我脖子的时候，把这个留在我的衣服上了！她回家过圣诞节了——我只要对斯莱特林们说我又决定回来了。”

“I’ve already got mine!” said Hermione brightly, pulling a tiny bottle out of her pocket and showing them the single hair inside it. “Remember Millicent Bulstrode wrestling with me at the Dueling Club? She left this on my robes when she was trying to strangle me! And she’s gone home for Christmas — so I’ll just have to tell the Slytherins I’ve decided to come back.”

赫敏又匆匆地赶去查看复方汤剂了，罗恩带着一脸大祸临头的表情，转向哈利。

When Hermione had bustled off to check on the Polyjuice Potion again, Ron turned to Harry with a doom-laden expression.

“你听说过哪个计划有这么多环节都可能出毛病吗？”

“Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?” But to Harry’s and Ron’s utter amazement, stage one of the operation went just as smoothly as Hermione had said. They lurked in the deserted entrance hall after Christmas tea, waiting for Crabbe and Goyle who had remained alone at the Slytherin table, shoveling down fourth helpings of trifle. Harry had perched the chocolate cakes on the end of the banisters. When they spotted Crabbe and Goyle coming out of the Great Hall, Harry and Ron hid quickly behind a suit of armor next to the front door.

然而，令哈利和罗恩大为吃惊的是，第一阶段的行动，正如赫敏说的，进行得十分顺利。他们吃过圣诞节茶点后，偷偷溜进空无一人的门厅，等着独自留在斯莱特林餐桌上、狼吞虎咽地吞食第四份松糕的克拉布和高尔。哈利已经把巧克力蛋糕放在了栏杆边上。当看见克拉布和高尔走出礼堂时，哈利和罗恩赶紧藏在正门旁边的一套盔甲后面。

“How thick can you get?” Ron whispered ecstatically as Crabbe gleefully pointed out the cakes to Goyle and grabbed them. Grinning stupidly, they stuffed the cakes whole into their large mouths. For a moment, both of them chewed greedily, looks of triumph on their faces. Then, without the smallest change of expression, they both keeled over backward onto the floor.

“你们真是要多蠢有多蠢！”罗恩欣喜若狂地说。他看见克拉布开心地指着蛋糕给高尔看，然后一把抓在手里。他们咧嘴傻笑着，把蛋糕整个儿塞进了大嘴里。一时间，两个人贪婪地咀嚼着，脸上显得得意洋洋。接着，并不见他们的表情有丝毫变化，他们就向后一翻身，倒在了地板上。

By far the hardest part was hiding them in the closet across the hall. Once they were safely stowed among the buckets and mops, Harry yanked out a couple of the bristles that covered Goyle’s forehead and Ron pulled out several of Crabbe’s hairs. They also stole their shoes, because their own were far too small for Crabbe- and Goyle-size feet. Then, still stunned at what they had just done, they sprinted up to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

最难做到的就是把他们藏在门厅那头的柜子里。不过，片刻之后，他们总算安安稳稳地待在拖把和水桶中间了。哈利赶忙揪下高尔脑门上两根粗硬的短毛，与此同时罗恩也拔了克拉布的几根头发。他们还把克拉布和高尔的鞋子也偷了出来，因为他们自己的鞋子是装不下克拉布和高尔的大脚的。然后，他们飞快地奔向哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室，一边仍然为刚才所做的事情而惊魂未定。

They could hardly see for the thick black smoke issuing from the stall in which Hermione was stirring the cauldron. Pulling their robes up over their faces, Harry and Ron knocked softly on the door.

赫敏还在搅拌小单间里的坩埚，锅中冒出一股股浓密的黑烟，使他们几乎什么也看不见。哈利和罗恩把长袍拉上来遮住脸，轻轻地敲了敲门。

“Hermione?”

“赫敏？”

They heard the scrape of the lock and Hermione emerged, shiny-faced and looking anxious. Behind her they heard the gloop gloop of the bubbling, glutinous potion. Three glass tumblers stood ready on the toilet seat.

他们听见门锁刺耳地一响，赫敏出现了，脸上闪闪发亮，显得很焦急。在她身后，他们听见冒着气泡的、糖浆一般浓稠的汤剂在咕嘟咕嘟地响着。三只平底玻璃酒杯已经放在了马桶座位上。

“Did you get them?” Hermione asked breathlessly.

“弄到了吗？”赫敏屏住呼吸问。

Harry showed her Goyle’s hair.

哈利给她看了高尔的头发。

“Good. And I sneaked these spare robes out of the laundry,” Hermione said, holding up a small sack. “You’ll need bigger sizes once you’re Crabbe and Goyle.”

“很好。我从洗衣房偷了这些换洗的衣服，”赫敏说着，举起一个小布袋，“你们变成克拉布和高尔后，需要穿大号的衣服。”

The three of them stared into the cauldron. Close up, the potion looked like thick, dark mud, bubbling sluggishly.

三个人盯着锅里。离得近了，汤剂看上去像是黑乎乎的黏稠的泥浆，懒洋洋地泛着泡泡。

“I’m sure I’ve done everything right,” said Hermione, nervously rereading the splotched page of Moste Potente Potions. “It looks like the book says it should . . . once we’ve drunk it, we’ll have exactly an hour before we change back into ourselves.”

“我相信我安排的每一个环节都没问题，”赫敏说，紧张地又去阅读《强力药剂》上污迹斑斑的那一页。“它看上去正像书上所说的那样……我们喝下去以后，可以有整整一个小时才变回我们自己。”

“Now what?” Ron whispered.

“现在怎么办？”罗恩低声问道。

“We separate it into three glasses and add the hairs.”

“我们把它分到三个杯子里，再把头发加进去。”

Hermione ladled large dollops of the potion into each of the glasses. Then, her hand trembling, she shook Millicent Bulstrode’s hair out of its bottle into the first glass.

赫敏用长柄勺子舀起汤剂，倒进每只玻璃杯。然后，她的手颤抖着，把米里森的头发从瓶子里倒进第一只玻璃杯。

The potion hissed loudly like a boiling kettle and frothed madly. A second later, it had turned a sick sort of yellow.

汤剂响声大作，像一锅滚开的水，并且起劲地泛着泡沫。一秒钟后，它就变成了一种难看的黄颜色。

“Urgh — essence of Millicent Bulstrode,” said Ron, eyeing it with loathing. “Bet it tastes disgusting.”

“哦——米里森的精华，”罗恩说着，一边厌恶地瞅着它，“我猜它肯定很难吃。”

“Add yours, then,” said Hermione.

“行了，加进你的。”赫敏说。

Harry dropped Goyle’s hair into the middle glass and Ron put Crabbe’s into the last one. Both glasses hissed and frothed: Goyle’s turned the khaki color of a booger, Crabbe’s a dark, murky brown.

哈利把高尔的头发扔进中间的那只杯子，罗恩把克拉布的头发放进最后一只杯子。两只杯子都嘶嘶作响，冒着气泡：高尔的变成了坦克一般的土黄色，克拉布的变成了一种黑乎乎的深褐色。

“Hang on,” said Harry as Ron and Hermione reached for their glasses. “We’d better not all drink them in here. . . . Once we turn into Crabbe and Goyle we won’t fit. And Millicent Bulstrode’s no pixie.”

罗恩和赫敏伸手去端自己的杯子。

“Good thinking,” said Ron, unlocking the door. “We’ll take separate stalls.”

“慢着，”哈利说，“我们最好不要都在这里喝，一旦我们变成了克拉布和高尔，这里就装不下了。米里森也不是一个小巧玲珑的人。”

Careful not to spill a drop of his Polyjuice Potion, Harry slipped into the middle stall.

“想得有道理。”罗恩说着，把门打开，“我们每人占用一个单间吧。”

“Ready?” he called.

哈利小心翼翼地不让复方汤剂洒出一滴，闪身溜进了中间的小单间。

“Ready,” came Ron’s and Hermione’s voices.

“准备好了吗？”他喊。

“One — two — three —”

“准备好了。”传来罗恩和赫敏的声音。

Pinching his nose, Harry drank the potion down in two large gulps. It tasted like overcooked cabbage.

“一……二……三……”

Immediately, his insides started writhing as though he’d just swallowed live snakes — doubled up, he wondered whether he was going to be sick — then a burning sensation spread rapidly from his stomach to the very ends of his fingers and toes — next, bringing him gasping to all fours, came a horrible melting feeling, as the skin all over his body bubbled like hot wax — and before his eyes, his hands began to grow, the fingers thickened, the nails broadened, the knuckles were bulging like bolts — his shoulders stretched painfully and a prickling on his forehead told him that hair was creeping down toward his eyebrows — his robes ripped as his chest expanded like a barrel bursting its hoops — his feet were agony in shoes four sizes too small —

哈利捏着鼻子，两大口把汤剂吞进肚里。它的味道就像煮得过熟的卷心菜。立刻，他的五脏六腑开始翻腾起来，仿佛他刚才吞下的是几条活蛇——他弯下身子，心想自己会不会病倒——突然，一种烧灼的感觉从他的胃迅速传遍全身，直达手指和脚尖。接着，便是一种可怕的正在熔化的感觉，仿佛他浑身的皮肤都像滚热的蜡一样泛起气泡，这使得他匍匐在地上喘息着；他眼睁睁地看着自己的手开始变大，手指变粗，指甲变宽，指关节像螺栓一样鼓突出来。他的肩膀开始伸展，使他感到疼痛难忍；他额头上针刺般的痛感告诉他，头发正在朝着他的眉毛蔓延；随着他胸膛的膨胀，他的长袍被撑破了，就像水桶挣断了铁箍；他的脚挤在小了四号的鞋里，痛苦不堪……

As suddenly as it had started, everything stopped. Harry lay facedown on the stone-cold floor, listening to Myrtle gurgling morosely in the end toilet. With difficulty, he kicked off his shoes and stood up. So this was what it felt like, being Goyle. His large hand trembling, he pulled off his old robes, which were hanging a foot above his ankles, pulled on the spare ones, and laced up Goyle’s boatlike shoes. He reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes and met only the short growth of wiry bristles, low on his forehead. Then he realized that his glasses were clouding his eyes because Goyle obviously didn’t need them — he took them off and called, “Are you two okay?” Goyle’s low rasp of a voice issued from his mouth.

事情来得突然，去得也快。一下子，一切都停止了。哈利脸朝下躺在冰冷的砖地上，听着桃金娘在尽头的马桶间里郁闷地汩汩作响。他费劲地脱掉鞋子，站了起来。这么说，成为高尔就是这样的感觉。他的大手颤抖着，脱去他原先的长袍——它现在悬在他脚脖子上面一英尺的地方——穿上了那套换洗衣服，又穿上高尔的那双小船似的鞋子。他伸手拂去挡住眼睛的头发，触摸到的是钢丝一般粗硬的短毛，低低的发际一直延伸到他前额。这时，他意识到，是他的眼镜使得他的视线模糊不清，因为高尔显然是不需要眼镜的。于是，他把眼镜摘下，然后喊道：“你们俩没事儿吧？”高尔低沉粗哑的声音从他嘴里发出。

“Yeah,” came the deep grunt of Crabbe from his right.

“没事儿。”他右边传来克拉布声音浑厚的咕哝。

Harry unlocked his door and stepped in front of the cracked mirror. Goyle stared back at him out of dull, deepset eyes. Harry scratched his ear. So did Goyle.

哈利打开门锁，站到裂了缝的镜子前面。高尔用呆滞的、深陷的眼睛回望着他。哈利搔了搔耳朵，高尔也做得分毫不差。

Ron’s door opened. They stared at each other. Except that he looked pale and shocked, Ron was indistinguishable from Crabbe, from the pudding-bowl haircut to the long, gorilla arms.

罗恩的门开了，他们互相瞪着对方。罗恩活脱脱就是克拉布的翻版，从那短短的锅底发型到长长的大猩猩般的手臂，只是脸色显得苍白而惶恐。

“This is unbelievable,” said Ron, approaching the mirror and prodding Crabbe’s flat nose. “Unbelievable.”

“真令人难以置信，”罗恩说着，走到镜子面前，戳了戳克拉布的塌鼻子，“难以置信。”

“We’d better get going,” said Harry, loosening the watch that was cutting into Goyle’s thick wrist. “We’ve still got to find out where the Slytherin common room is. I only hope we can find someone to follow . . .”

“我们赶紧走吧，”哈利说，一边松开勒住高尔粗手腕的手表，“我们还得弄清斯莱特林的公共休息室在哪里，真希望我们能找一个人可以跟着……”

Ron, who had been gazing at Harry, said, “You don’t know how bizarre it is to see Goyle thinking.” He banged on Hermione’s door. “C’mon, we need to go —”

罗恩一直注视着哈利，这时说道：“看到高尔居然在思考，你不知道这有多么古怪。”他砰砰地敲着赫敏的门。“快点，我们得走了……”

A high-pitched voice answered him.

一个尖尖的声音回答他道：“我——我实在不想出来了。你们自己去吧。”

“I — I don’t think I’m going to come after all. You go on without me.”

“赫敏，我们知道米里森长得很丑，谁也不会知道是你。”

“Hermione, we know Millicent Bulstrode’s ugly, no one’s going to know it’s you —”

“不行——真的不行——我想我不能来了。你们俩赶紧行动，你们在浪费时间。”

“No — really — I don’t think I’ll come. You two hurry up, you’re wasting time —”

哈利望着罗恩，一脸的困惑。

Harry looked at Ron, bewildered.

“这样就更像高尔了，”罗恩说道，“每当老师向他提问时，他总是这副表情。”

“That looks more like Goyle,” said Ron. “That’s how he looks every time a teacher asks him a question.”

“赫敏，你没事儿吧？”哈利隔着门问道。

“Hermione, are you okay?” said Harry through the door.

“没事儿——我很好……走吧——”

“Fine — I’m fine — go on —”

哈利看了看手表。他们宝贵的六十分钟已经过去了五分钟。“我们还回这里和你见面，好吗？”他说。

Harry looked at his watch. Five of their precious sixty minutes had already passed.

哈利和罗恩小心地打开盥洗室的门，看清了四下里没有人，便出发了。

“We’ll meet you back here, all right?” he said.

“别那么晃悠你的胳膊。”哈利小声对罗恩说。

Harry and Ron opened the door of the bathroom carefully, checked that the coast was clear, and set off.

“怎么啦？”

“Don’t swing your arms like that,” Harry muttered to Ron.

“克拉布的胳膊有些僵硬……”

“Eh?”

“这样怎么样？”

“Crabbe holds them sort of stiff. . . .”

“啊，好多了。”

“How’s this?”

他们走下大理石阶梯。现在，他们只需要看见一个斯莱特林学生，可以跟着他走到斯莱特林的公共休息室就行了，然而周围空无一人。

“Yeah, that’s better. . . .”

“有什么主意吗？”哈利低声问道。

They went down the marble staircase. All they needed now was a Slytherin that they could follow to the Slytherin common room, but there was nobody around.

“斯莱持林学生总是从那里出来吃早饭的。”罗恩说着，朝通向地下教室的入口处点了点头。他语音未落，就见一个留着长长卷发的姑娘从入口处出来了。

“Any ideas?” muttered Harry.

“对不起，”罗恩快步向她走去，说道，“我们忘记到咱们的公共休息室怎么走了。”

“The Slytherins always come up to breakfast from over there,” said Ron, nodding at the entrance to the dungeons. The words had barely left his mouth when a girl with long, curly hair emerged from the entrance.

“对不起，我不明白。”那姑娘傲慢地说，“咱们的公共休息室？我是拉文克劳学院的。”她走开了，一边还狐疑地回头看着他们。

“Excuse me,” said Ron, hurrying up to her. “We’ve forgotten the way to our common room.”

哈利和罗恩飞快地走下石阶，隐入黑暗中，克拉布和高尔的大脚敲着地面，脚步的回声特别响亮。他们感觉这件事不会像他们希望的那样容易。

“I beg your pardon?” said the girl stiffly. “Our common room? I’m a Ravenclaw.”

迷宫似的走道里空空荡荡的。他们在学校的地面下越走越深，一边不停地看表，计算他们还剩下多少时间。过了一刻钟，就在他们开始感到绝望的时候，听到前面突然有了动静。

She walked away, looking suspiciously back at them.

“哈！”罗恩兴奋地说，“总算碰到他们的一个人了！”

Harry and Ron hurried down the stone steps into the darkness, their footsteps echoing particularly loudly as Crabbe’s and Goyle’s huge feet hit the floor, feeling that this wasn’t going to be as easy as they had hoped.

那个人影从旁边的一个房间里闪了出来。可是，当他们匆匆走近时，却感到心往下一沉。这不是什么斯莱特林的学生，而是珀西。

The labyrinthine passages were deserted. They walked deeper and deeper under the school, constantly checking their watches to see how much time they had left. After a quarter of an hour, just when they were getting desperate, they heard a sudden movement ahead.

“你在这下面做什么？”罗恩吃惊地问。

“Ha!” said Ron excitedly. “There’s one of them now!”

珀西仿佛受到了冒犯。“这个，”他高傲地说，“用不着你们来管。你是克拉布吧？”

The figure was emerging from a side room. As they hurried nearer, however, their hearts sank. It wasn’t a Slytherin, it was Percy.

“谁——哦，是啊。”罗恩说。

“What’re you doing down here?” said Ron in surprise.

“那好，回你自己的宿舍去吧。”珀西严厉地说，“最近在漆黑的走廊里乱逛很不安全。”

Percy looked affronted.

“你就在乱逛。”罗恩指出。

“That,” he said stiffly, “is none of your business. It’s Crabbe, isn’t it?”

“我，”珀西挺直身子，说道，“我是一个级长。没有东西会来袭击我。”

“Wh — oh, yeah,” said Ron.

一个声音突然在哈利和罗恩身后回荡。德拉科马尔福正悠闲地朝他们走来，哈利平生第一次很高兴看见他。

“Well, get off to your dormitories,” said Percy sternly. “It’s not safe to go wandering around dark corridors these days.”

“你们在这儿呢，”他看着他们，拉长声调说，“你们俩是不是一直在礼堂里大吃大喝啊？我一直在找你们，我要给你们看一样特别好玩的东西。”

“You are,” Ron pointed out.

马尔福咄咄逼人地扫了珀西一眼。“你在这下面做什么，韦斯莱？”他讥讽地问道。

“I,” said Percy, drawing himself up, “am a prefect. Nothing’s about to attack me.”

珀西显得极为愤慨。“你需要对级长表现得尊敬一点儿！”他说，“我不喜欢你的态度！”

A voice suddenly echoed behind Harry and Ron. Draco Malfoy was strolling toward them, and for the first time in his life, Harry was pleased to see him.

马尔福冷笑一声，示意罗恩和哈利跟他走。哈利要对珀西说几句道歉的话，但及时制止了自己。他和罗恩匆匆跟在马尔福身后，在转向下一条通道时，马尔福说：“那个彼得韦斯莱——”

“There you are,” he drawled, looking at them. “Have you two been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? I’ve been looking for you; I want to show you something really funny.”

“是珀西。”罗恩不假思索地纠正他。

Malfoy glanced witheringly at Percy.

“管他是什么呢。”马尔福说，“最近我注意到他老偷偷地在附近转悠。我敢说我知道他想干什么。他想一个人抓住斯莱特林的继承人。”

“And what’re you doing down here, Weasley?” he sneered.

他发出一声短促的嘲笑。哈利和罗恩交换了一个兴奋的目光。

Percy looked outraged.

马尔福在一道空荡荡、湿乎乎的石墙旁边停住脚步。

“You want to show a bit more respect to a school prefect!” he said. “I don’t like your attitude!”

“新口令是什么来着？”他对哈利说。

Malfoy sneered and motioned for Harry and Ron to follow him. Harry almost said something apologetic to Percy but caught himself just in time. He and Ron hurried after Malfoy, who said as they turned into the next passage, “That Peter Weasley —”

“嗯——”哈利支吾着。

“Percy,” Ron corrected him automatically.

“哦，对了——纯种！”马尔福并没有听他的，兀自说道。只见隐藏在石墙里的一道石门徐徐敞开。马尔福大步走了进去，哈利和罗恩紧随其后。

“Whatever,” said Malfoy. “I’ve noticed him sneaking around a lot lately. And I bet I know what he’s up to. He thinks he’s going to catch Slytherin’s heir single-handed.”

斯莱特林的公共休息室是一间狭长、低矮的地下室，墙壁和天花板都由粗糙的石头砌成，圆圆的，泛着绿光的灯被链子拴着，从天花板上挂下来。在他们前面的一座雕刻精美的壁炉台下，噼噼啪啪地燃着一堆火，映出坐在周围的雕花椅上的几个斯莱特林学生的身影。

He gave a short, derisive laugh. Harry and Ron exchanged excited looks.

“在这里等着。”马尔福对哈利和罗恩说，示意他们坐到远离炉火的两张空椅子上。“我去把它拿来——我父亲刚给我捎来的——”

Malfoy paused by a stretch of bare, damp stone wall.

哈利和罗恩暗自猜测着马尔福会给他们看什么，一边尽量显出轻松自在的样子。片刻之后，马尔福回来了，手里拿着一张像是剪报一样的东西。他把它塞到罗恩鼻子底下。

“What’s the new password again?” he said to Harry.

“你看了准会哈哈大笑。”他说。

“Er —” said Harry.

哈利看到罗恩惊愕地睁大眼睛。罗恩迅速把剪报读了一遍，十分勉强地笑了一声，又把它递给哈利。是从《预言家日报》上剪下来的，上面写着——

“Oh, yeah — pure-blood !” said Malfoy, not listening, and a stone door concealed in the wall slid open. Malfoy marched through it, and Harry and Ron followed him.

魔法部的调查滥用麻瓜物品司主任亚瑟韦斯莱，今日因其对一辆麻瓜汽车施以魔法而被罚款五十加隆。

The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs.

这辆被施过魔法的汽车于今年早些时候在霍格沃获魔法学校撞毁，该校的一位董事卢修斯马尔福先生近日打电话要求韦斯莱先生辞职。“书斯莱破坏了魔法部的名誉，”马尔福对我报记者说，“他显然不适合为我们制定法律，他的那个荒唐可笑的麻瓜保护法应该立刻废弃。”

“Wait here,” said Malfoy to Harry and Ron, motioning them to a pair of empty chairs set back from the fire. “I’ll go and get it — my father’s just sent it to me —”

韦斯莱先生对此不置评论，不过他的妻子叫记者离开，不然她就把她家的食尸鬼放出来咬他们。

Wondering what Malfoy was going to show them, Harry and Ron sat down, doing their best to look at home.

“怎么样？”当哈利把剪报递还给他时，马尔福不耐烦地问道，“你不觉得很有趣吗？”

Malfoy came back a minute later, holding what looked like a newspaper clipping. He thrust it under Ron’s nose.

“哈哈哈。”哈利干巴巴地笑了几声，“亚瑟韦斯莱太喜欢麻瓜了，应该把他的魔杖折成两段，加入麻瓜的行列。”

“That’ll give you a laugh,” he said.

马尔福轻蔑地说，“瞧韦斯莱一家人的行为，真看不出他们是纯种巫师。”

Harry saw Ron's eyes widen in shock. He read the clipping quickly, gave a very forced laugh, and handed it to Harry.

罗恩的脸——准确地说，是克拉布的脸——愤怒地扭曲起来。

It had been clipped out of the Daily Prophet, and it said:

“你怎么了，克拉布？”马尔福凶狠地问道。

INQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC

“肚子疼。”罗恩呻吟着说。

Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was today fined fifty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car.

“好吧，那你就上医院，替我把那些泥巴种都踢一顿。”马尔福窃笑着说，“你知道，《预言家日报》居然还没有报道所有这些攻击事件，真让我吃惊。”他若有所思地继续说道：“我猜是邓布利多想把一切都掩盖起来。如果不立即阻止事态发展，他就会被解雇了。老爸总是说，让邓布利多当校长是这个学校碰到的最倒霉的事。他喜欢麻瓜。一个体面的校长决不会让克里维那样的笨蛋进入学校。”

Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car crashed earlier this year, called today for Mr. Weasley’s resignation.

马尔福假装用一只照相机开始拍照，恶毒然而逼真地模仿科林：“波特，我能给你照一张相片吗？波特，我可以得到你的亲笔签名吗？我可以舔舔你的鞋子吗？求求你了，波特。”

“Weasley has brought the Ministry into disrepute,” Mr. Malfoy told our reporter. “He is clearly unfit to draw up our laws and his ridiculous Muggle Protection Act should be scrapped immediately.”

他垂下双手，望着哈利和罗恩。“你们两个怎么回事？”

Mr. Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told reporters to clear off or she’d set the family ghoul on them.

哈利和罗恩这才强迫自己笑了几声，但马尔福看上去还挺满意；也许克拉布和高尔一向就是反应迟钝。

“Well?” said Malfoy impatiently as Harry handed the clipping back to him. “Don’t you think it’s funny?”

“圣人波特是泥巴种的朋友，”马尔福慢吞吞地说，“也属于没有纯粹巫师感觉的人，不然他就不会整天和那个自高自大的泥巴种格兰杰混在一起。人们认为他是斯莱特林的继承人。”

“Ha, ha,” said Harry bleakly.

哈利和罗恩屏住呼吸等待着：马尔福肯定马上就要对他们说，他才是那个继承人。然而——

“Arthur Weasley loves Muggles so much he should snap his wand in half and go and join them,” said Malfoy scornfully. “You’d never know the Weasleys were purebloods, the way they behave.”

“我真希望知道那个人是谁，”马尔福蛮横地说，“我可以帮助他们啊。”

Ron’s — or rather, Crabbe’s — face was contorted with fury.

罗恩张大了嘴，使克拉布的脸比平日更加蠢笨。幸好，马尔福没有注意到。

“What’s up with you, Crabbe?” snapped Malfoy.

哈利飞快地转着念头，说道：“你肯定多少有些知道，是谁在操纵了这一切……”

“Stomachache,” Ron grunted.

“你明知道我不知道，高尔，还要我对你说多少遍？”马尔福厉声说，“老爸不肯告诉我密室上次被打开的具体情况。当然啦，那是五十年前的事了，他还没有出生，但是他什么都知道。他说这一切都是保密的，如果我知道得太多，就会显得很可疑。但有一件事我是知道的：密室上次被打开时，一个泥巴种死了。所以——我敢说这次也得死一个泥巴种，只是时间早晚的问题……我希望是格兰杰。”他津津乐道地说。

“Well, go up to the hospital wing and give all those Mudbloods a kick from me,” said Malfoy, snickering. “You know, I’m surprised the Daily Prophet hasn’t reported all these attacks yet,” he went on thoughtfully. “I suppose Dumbledore’s trying to hush it all up. He’ll be sacked if it doesn’t stop soon. Father’s always said old Dumbledore’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to this place. He loves Muggle-borns. A decent headmaster would never’ve let slime like that Creevey in.”

罗恩攥紧了克拉布的大拳头。哈利觉得，如果罗恩朝马尔福狠揍一拳，事情就败露了。他赶紧用警告的目光瞪了罗恩一眼，然后说：“你知道吗，上次打开密室的那个人有没有被抓住？”

Malfoy started taking pictures with an imaginary camera and did a cruel but accurate impression of Colin: “ ‘Potter, can I have your picture, Potter? Can I have your autograph? Can I lick your shoes, please, Potter?’ ”

“哦，是啦……不管是谁，反正被开除了。”马尔福说，“他们现在大概还在阿兹卡班。”

He dropped his hands and looked at Harry and Ron.

“阿兹卡班？”哈利不解地问。

“What’s the matter with you two?”

“阿兹卡班——就是巫师监狱，高尔。”马尔福说，一边怀疑地看着哈利，“说句实话，如果你再这样迟钝下去，就要走回头路了。”他不安分地在椅子里动来动去，说道：“老爸叫我不要抛头露面，让斯莱特林的继承人继续行动。他说学校必须淘出所有泥巴种的污秽，不要跟这件事搅在一起。当然啦，他现在要办的事情太多了。你们知道吗，上星期魔法部突然查抄了我们的庄园。”

Far too late, Harry and Ron forced themselves to laugh, but Malfoy seemed satisfied; perhaps Crabbe and Goyle were always slow on the uptake.

哈利拼命想让高尔的脸上露出关切的神情。

“Saint Potter, the Mudbloods’ friend,” said Malfoy slowly. “He’s another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn’t go around with that jumped-up Granger Mudblood. And people think he’s Slytherin’s heir!”

“是啊……”马尔福说，“好在他们没有找到什么。老爸有一些非常有价值的秘密法宝。幸亏我们把自己的密室设在客厅的地板下面——”

Harry and Ron waited with bated breath: Malfoy was surely seconds away from telling them it was him — but then —

“嗬！”罗恩说。

“I wish I knew who it is,” said Malfoy petulantly. “I could help them.”

马尔福看着他，哈利也看着他。只见他的头发正在变红，鼻子也在慢慢地变长——他们的时间到了。罗恩正在变回他自己，哈利从他突然向自己投来的惊恐的目光中，知道自己一定也在恢复原状。他们俩同时一跃而起。

Ron’s jaw dropped so that Crabbe looked even more clueless than usual. Fortunately, Malfoy didn’t notice, and Harry, thinking fast, said, “You must have some idea who’s behind it all. . . .”

“去拿药治肚子疼。”罗恩含混地咕哝一声。

“You know I haven’t, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you?” snapped Malfoy. “And Father won’t tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it’ll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing — last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it’s a matter of time before one of them’s killed this time. . . . I hope it’s Granger,” he said with relish.

他们不再啰嗦，一下子蹿过斯莱特林的公共休息室，冲向石墙，然后在走廊里撒腿狂奔。他们希望马尔福什么也没有觉察到。哈利可以感觉到他的脚在高尔的大鞋子里打滑，他的身体在缩小，他不得不把衣服拎起。他们横冲直撞地冲上台阶，进入黑暗的门厅，只听见他们关押克拉布和高尔的柜子里传来沉闷的撞击声。他们把鞋子扔在柜子门口，穿着袜子奔上大理石楼梯，向哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室冲去。

Ron was clenching Crabbe’s gigantic fists. Feeling that it would be a bit of a giveaway if Ron punched Malfoy, Harry shot him a warning look and said, “D’you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was caught?”

“还好，不是完全浪费时间，”罗恩喘着气说，回身关上盥洗室的门，“我知道我们还是没有弄清是谁发动了这些攻击，但是我明天要写信给我爸，叫他去搜查一下马尔福家的客厅下面。”

“Oh, yeah . . . whoever it was was expelled,” said Malfoy. “They’re probably still in Azkaban.”

哈利在裂了缝的镜子前查看自己的脸。他又恢复了正常。他戴上眼镜，罗恩重重地敲着赫敏单间的门。

“Azkaban?” said Harry, puzzled.

“赫敏，快出来，我们有很多话要告诉你——”

“Azkaban — the wizard prison, Goyle,” said Malfoy, looking at him in disbelief. “Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.”

“走开！”赫敏尖着嗓子说。

He shifted restlessly in his chair and said, “Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of all the Mudblood filth, but not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he’s got a lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week?”

哈利和罗恩吃惊地望着对方。

Harry tried to force Goyle’s dull face into a look of concern.

“怎么回事？”罗恩说，“你现在一定已经恢复正常了，我们……”

“Yeah . . .” said Malfoy. “Luckily, they didn’t find much. Father’s got some very valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we’ve got our own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor —”

只见哭泣的桃金娘突然从单间的门缝里闪了出来。哈利从未见她显得这样高兴。

“Ho!” said Ron.

“哎哟，等着瞧吧，”她说，“太可怕了！”

Malfoy looked at him. So did Harry. Ron blushed. Even his hair was turning red. His nose was also slowly lengthening — their hour was up, Ron was turning back into himself, and from the look of horror he was suddenly giving Harry, he must be, too.

他们听见门锁滑开，赫敏出现了，哭哭啼啼的，长袍拉上来遮住了脑袋。

They both jumped to their feet.

“怎么啦？”罗恩不敢确定地说，“难道你还长着米里森的鼻子什么的？”

“Medicine for my stomach,” Ron grunted, and without further ado they sprinted the length of the Slytherin common room, hurled themselves at the stone wall, and dashed up the passage, hoping against hope that Malfoy hadn’t noticed anything. Harry could feel his feet slipping around in Goyle’s huge shoes and had to hoist up his robes as he shrank; they crashed up the steps into the dark entrance hall, which was full of a muffled pounding coming from the closet where they’d locked Crabbe and Goyle. Leaving their shoes outside the closet door, they sprinted in their socks up the marble staircase toward Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.

赫敏让长袍落下，罗恩后退一步，撞在水池上。

“Well, it wasn’t a complete waste of time,” Ron panted, closing the bathroom door behind them. “I know we still haven’t found out who’s doing the attacks, but I’m going to write to Dad tomorrow and tell him to check under the Malfoys’ drawing room.”

她满脸都是黑毛，眼睛变成了黄色，两只尖尖的长耳朵从她的头发里支棱出来。

Harry checked his face in the cracked mirror. He was back to normal. He put his glasses on as Ron hammered on the door of Hermione’s stall.

“那是一根猫毛！”她凄厉地哭喊着。“米——米里森一定养了一只猫！可这服汤——汤剂不是用来搞动物变形的啊！”

“Hermione, come out, we’ve got loads to tell you —”

“真倒霉。”罗恩说。

“Go away!” Hermione squeaked.

“你会被取笑个没完的。”桃金娘开心地说。

Harry and Ron looked at each other.

“没关系，赫敏，”哈利赶紧说道，“我们送你去医院。庞弗雷夫人从来不多问……”

“What’s the matter?” said Ron. “You must be back to normal by now, we are —”

他们花了好长时间，才劝说赫敏离开了盥洗室。哭泣的桃金娘兴高采烈地粗声大笑，使得他们更加快了脚步。

But Moaning Myrtle glided suddenly through the stall door. Harry had never seen her looking so happy.

“等着吧，大家都会发现你长了一条尾巴！”

“Ooooooh, wait till you see,” she said. “It’s awful —”

They heard the lock slide back and Hermione emerged, sobbing, her robes pulled up over her head.

“What’s up?” said Ron uncertainly. “Have you still got Millicent’s nose or something?”

Hermione let her robes fall and Ron backed into the sink.

Her face was covered in black fur. Her eyes had turned yellow and there were long, pointed ears poking through her hair.

“It was a c-cat hair!” she howled. “M-Millicent Bulstrode m-must have a cat! And the p-potion isn’t supposed to be used for animal transformations!”

“Uh-oh,” said Ron.

“You’ll be teased something dreadful,” said Myrtle happily.

“It’s okay, Hermione,” said Harry quickly. “We’ll take you up to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions. . . .”

It took a long time to persuade Hermione to leave the bathroom. Moaning Myrtle sped them on their way with a hearty guffaw. “Wait till everyone finds out you’ve got a tail !”

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