哈利·波特与火焰杯
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


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    CHAPTER NINETEEN - THE HUNGARIAN HORNTAIL
    第十九章 匈牙利树峰
    
    
    The prospect of talking face-to-face with Sirius was all that sustained Harry over the next fortnight, the only bright spot on a horizon that had never looked darker. The shock of finding himself school champion had worn off slightly now, and the fear of what was facing him had started to sink in. The first task was drawing steadily nearer; he felt as though it were crouching ahead of him hike some horrific monster, barring his path. He had never suffered nerves like these; they were way beyond anything he had experienced before a Quidditch match, not even his last one against Slytherin, which had decided who would win the Quidditch Cup. Harry was finding it hard to think about the future at all; he felt as though his whole life had been heading up to, and would finish with, the first task.
    在接下来的两个星期里,哈利只有想到快要跟小天狼星面对面交谈了,才感到有点儿精神支柱,这是黑暗无比的地平线上的惟一亮点。随着时间的推移,发现自己成为学校勇士时的那份震惊已经稍微淡化了,而另一种恐惧开始渗透他的内心:他将要面对的会是什么呢?第一个项目一天天地逼近了,他觉得它就像一可怕的庞然大物,盘踞在他前方,阻挡着他的道路。他的内心从未像现在这样紧张、焦虑过;以前,即使是在魁地奇比赛前,即使是在最后那场对斯莱特林队的学院杯魁地奇决赛前,他也没有这样忧心忡忡。哈利觉得简直无法设想未来。他感到他的整个生命都在朝第一个项目逼近,并将在第一个项目中结束……
    Admittedly, he didn't see how Sirius was going to make him feel any better about having to perform an unknown piece of difficult and dangerous magic in front of hundreds of people, but the mere sight of a friendly face would be something at the moment. Harry wrote back to Sirius saying that he would be beside the common room fire at the time Sirius had suggested; and he and Hermione spent a long time going over plans for forcing any stragglers out of the common room on the night in question. If the worst came to the worst, they were going to drop a bag of Dungbombs, but they hoped they wouldn't have to resort to that - Filch would skin them alive.
    他也承认,小天狼星不可能使他情绪好转多少,因为他必须当着几百个人的面完成一项未知的、危险的、难度极大的魔法活动,可是在目前这种情况下,能见到一张友好的面孔也是莫大的安慰啊。哈利给小天狼星写了回信,说他将在小天狼星提议的时间守在公共休息室的炉火边。他和赫敏花了很长时间,反复研究那天夜里怎样把逗留在公共休息室里的人都赶出去,设想了好多计划。如果到时候实在没有办法,他们就准备扔出一包粪蛋,但他们希望用不着使出这一招——费尔奇会活剥了他们的皮!
    In the meantime, life became even worse for Harry within the confines of the castle, for Rita Skeeter had published her piece about the Triwizard Tournament, and it had turned out to be not so much a report on the tournament as a highly colored life story of Harry.
    与此同时,哈利在城堡内的生活变得更加糟糕,因为丽塔·斯基特那篇关于三强争霸赛的文章发表了。这篇文章与其说是对争霸赛情况的报道,倒不如说是对哈利个人生活的添油加醋的描绘。报纸第一版的大量版面都被哈利的一张照片占据了,整篇文章(待续至第二、第六和第七版)讲的都是哈利,布斯巴顿和德姆斯特朗勇士的名字被挤在文章的最后一行,而且还拼错了,对塞德里克则只字未提。
    Much of the front page had been given over to a picture of Harry; the article (continuing on pages two, six, and seven) had been all about Harry, the names of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang champions (misspelled) had been squashed into the last line of the article, and Cedric hadn't been mentioned at all.
    文章是十天前发表的,现在哈利每次想起来,还觉得内心有一种火辣辣的、很不舒服的耻辱感。丽塔·斯基特写到他说了许多非常可怕的话,那些话他记得自己从来都没有说过,更别提在那个扫帚间里了。
    The article had appeared ten days ago, and Harry still got a sick, burning feeling of shame in his stomach every time he thought about it. Rita Skeeter had reported him saying an awful lot of things that he couldn't remember ever saying in his life, let alone in that broom cupboard.
    我认为是我的父母给了我力量。我知道,如果他们现在能够看见我,一定会为我感到非常骄傲。……是的,夜里有的时候,我仍然会为他们哭泣,我觉得承认这一点并不丢脸。……我知道比赛中没有什么能伤害到我,因为他们在冥冥中守护着我……
    I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now. . . . Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it. . . . I know nothing will hurt me during the tournament, because they're watching over me. . .
    这还不算,丽塔·斯基特不光把他的支支吾吾变成了许多令人恶心的长篇大论,而且还询问了其他人对他的看法。
    But Rita Skeeter had gone even further than transforming his "er's" into long, sickly sentences: She had interviewed other people about him too.
    哈利终于在霍格沃茨找到了他的初恋。他的亲密好友科林·克里维说,哈利与一位名叫赫敏·格兰杰的女生形影不离,格兰杰小姐美貌惊人,出生于麻瓜家庭,她像哈利一样,也是学校的尖子生之一。
    Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.
    自从这篇文章一出现,哈利就不得不忍受人们——主要是斯莱特林的学生们——在他经过时引用文章中的话,对你进行冷嘲热讽。
    From the moment the article had appeared, Harry had had to endure people --Slytherins, mainly -- quoting it at him as he passed and making sneering comments.
    “要一条手绢吗,波特,免得你在变形课上痛哭流涕?”
    "Want a hanky, Potter, in case you start crying in Transfiguration?"
    “你什么时候成为学校的尖子生的,波特?没准这个学校是你和隆巴顿一起办起来的吧?”
    "Since when have you been one of the top students in the school, Potter? Or is this a school you and Longbottom have set up together?"
    “喂——哈利!”
    "Hey - Harry!"
    “是啊,没错!”哈利忍无可忍,大喊一声,猛地在走廊里转过身子,“我刚才为我死去的妈妈哭红了眼睛,现在我还要再哭一场……”
    "Yeah, that's right!" Harry found himself shouting as he wheeled around in the corridor, having had just about enough. "I've just been crying my eyes out over my dead mum, and I'm just off to do a bit more. . .
    “不是——我只是说——你的羽毛笔掉了。”
    "No - it was just - you dropped your quill."
    原来是秋·张。哈利觉得自己的脸腾地红了。
    It was Cho. Harry felt the color rising in his face.
    “噢——好的——对不起。”他低声嘟囔着,接过了羽毛笔。
    "Oh - right - sorry," he muttered, taking the quill back.
    “嗯……祝你星期二好运,”她说,“我真心希望你发挥出色。”
    "Er. . . good luck on Tuesday," she said. "I really hope you do well."
    这使哈利觉得恍恍惚惚,脑子里一片空白。
    Which left Harry feeling extremely stupid.
    赫敏自然也分摊到了一些不愉快,但她没有朝无辜的过路人大喊大叫。说实在的,哈利十分钦佩她处理这种局面的方式。
    Hermione had come in for her fair share of unpleasantness too, but she hadn't yet started yelling at innocent bystanders; in fact, Harry was full of admiration for the way she was handling the situation.
    “美貌惊人?她?”丽塔的文章发表后,潘西·帕金森第一次遇见赫敏时就怪声怪气地说,“她是根据什么评判的——金花鼠吗?”
    "Stunningly pretty? Her?" Pansy Parkinson had shrieked the first time she had come face-to-face with Hermione after Rita's article had appeared. "What was she judging against - a chipmunk?"
    “别理它,”赫敏用不失尊严的口吻说,一边把脑袋昂得高高的,从咯咯窃笑的斯莱特林女生身边大步走过,就好像她什么也没听见,“别理它就行了,哈利。”
    "Ignore it," Hermione said in a dignified voice, holding her head in the air and stalking past the sniggering Slytherin girls as though she couldn't hear them. "Just ignore it, Harry."
    可是哈利没法不理它。罗恩自从上次告诉他斯内普罚他们留校的事之后,一直没有跟他说话。哈利曾经抱有一线希望,心想,在斯内普地下教室里腌制老鼠脑袋的那两个小时里,他们或许可以消除误会,和好如初。没想到就在那一天,塔丽·斯基特的文章发表了,这似乎使罗恩更加坚信哈利是一个喜欢出头露面、炫耀自己的人。
    But Harry couldn't ignore it. Ron hadn't spoken to him at all since he had told him about Snape's detentions. Harry had half hoped they would make things up during the two hours they were forced to pickle rats' brains in Snape's dungeon, but that had been the day Rita's article had appeared, which seemed to have confirmed Ron's belief that Harry was really enjoying all the attention.
    赫敏很生他们俩的气,她在两人之间来回奔走,试图强迫他们互相说话。可是哈利不肯让步:他坚持说,除非罗恩承认哈利没有把名字投进火焰杯,并为指责哈利撒谎而向他道歉,他才会跟罗恩说话。
    Hermione was furious with the pair of them; she went from one to the other, trying to force them to talk to each other, but Harry was adamant: He would talk to Ron again only if Ron admitted that Harry hadn't put his name in the Goblet of Fire and apologized for calling him a liar.
    “这一切又不是我造成的,”哈利固执地说,“是他的问题。”
    "I didn't start this," Harry said stubbornly. "It's his problem."
    “你很惦记他!”赫敏不耐烦地说,“我知道他也惦记你——”
    "You miss him!" Hermione said impatiently. "And I know he misses you -"
    “惦记他?”哈利说,“我才不惦记他呢……”
    "Miss him?" said Harry. "I don't miss him. . .
    然而这是一个彻头彻尾的谎言。哈利非常喜欢赫敏,但赫敏和罗恩是不一样的。如果你选择了赫敏作最好的朋友,就会少掉许多欢笑,而在图书馆逗留的是在温习功课,还是在寻找能够帮他顺利完成第一个项目的办法?赫敏常常抱怨克鲁姆在那儿——他倒从来不找他们的麻烦——但是经常有女生成群结队地躲在书架后面窥探他,赫敏觉得那些声音干扰了她的注意力。
    But this was a downright lie. Harry liked Hermione very much, but she just wasn't the same as Ron. There was much hess laughter and a lot more hanging around in the library when Hermione was your best friend. Harry still hadn't mastered Summoning Charms, he seemed to have developed something of a block about them, and Hermione insisted that learning the theory would help. They consequently spent a lot of time poring over books during their lunchtimes.
    “他长得一点也不好看!”她瞪着克鲁姆轮廓分明的侧影,气愤地嘟囔道,“她们喜欢他,只是因为他有名!如果他没有搞那一套偷鸡的假玩艺儿——”
    Viktor Krum was in the library an awful lot too, and Harry wondered what he was up to.
    “是朗斯基假动作。”哈利咬着牙说道。他一方面不愿意别人乱说魁地奇运动的术语,另一方面,他想象着如果罗恩听见赫敏谈论“偷鸡的假玩艺儿”时,脸上会是一副什么表情,心里又是一阵难受。
    Was he studying, or was he looking for things to help him through the first task?
    当你满心害怕一件事情、希望时间能够放慢脚步时,时间总是不会满足你的愿望,反而会加快它的前进速度。这真是一件奇怪的事。第一个项目之前的那些日子一眨眼就过去了,就好像有人把时钟拨快了一倍。哈利不管走到哪里,内心都充满了无法控制的恐慌,这种情绪就像人们对《预言家日报》那篇文章的恶意评论一样,不管到哪儿都跟着他。
    Hermione often complained about Krum being there - not that he ever bothered them - but because groups of giggling girls often turned up to spy on him from behind bookshelves, and Hermione found the noise distracting.
    在第一个项目开始前的那个星期六,学校批准三年级以上的学生到霍格莫德村游玩。赫敏对哈利说,到城堡外面散散心会使他好受一些,其实哈利也巴不得出去轻松一下,根本用不着她劝说。
    "He's not even good-looking!" she muttered angrily, glaring at Krum's sharp profile.
    “可是,罗恩呢?”他问,“你不想跟他一起去吗?”
    "They only like him because he's famous! They wouldn't look twice at him if he couldn't do that WonkyFaint thing -"
    “喔……是这样……”赫敏微微涨红了脸,“我想我们可以在三把扫帚小酒馆里跟他碰面……”
    "Wronski Feint," said Harry, through gritted teeth. Quite apart from liking to get Quidditch terms correct, it caused him another pang to imagine Ron's expression if he could have heard Hermione talking about Wonky-Faints.
    “没门!”哈利干脆地说。
    It is a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up. The days until the first task seemed to slip by as though someone had fixed the clocks to work at double speed.
    “哦,哈利,这样太愚蠢了——”
    Harry's feeling of barely controlled panic was with him wherever he went, as everpresent as the snide comments about the Daily Prophet article.
    “我会去的,但我不想跟罗恩见面,我要穿上我的隐形衣。”
    On the Saturday before the first task, all students in the third year and above were permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade. Hermione told Harry that it would do him good to get away from the castle for a bit, and Harry didn't need much persuasion.
    “噢,那么好吧……”赫敏气呼呼地说,“但如果你穿着那件衣服,我可不愿意跟你说话,因为我弄不清我的眼睛是不是在看着你。”
    "What about Ron, though?" he said. "Don't you want to go with him?"
    就这样,哈利在宿舍里穿上他的隐形衣,来到楼下,和赫敏一起出发到霍格莫德去。
    "Oh. . . well.. ." Hermione went slightly pink. "I thought we might meet up with him in the Three Broomsticks. . . ."
    哈利在隐形衣下面觉得特别轻松自在。他们走进村子时,他望着其他同学从他们身边走过,大多数人胸前都戴着支持塞德里克·迪戈里的徽章,但是没有难听的议论扑面而来,也没有人引用那篇愚蠢的文章里的话。
    "No," said Harry flatly.
    “现在人们不停地看我,”赫敏不满意地说道,“他们还以为我在自言自语呢。”这时他们刚从蜂蜜公爵糖果店里出来,吃着大块奶油夹心巧克力。
    "Oh Harry, this is so stupid -"
    “你的嘴唇不要动得太厉害。”
    "I'll come, but I'm not meeting Ron, and I'm wearing my Invisibility Cloak."
    “好了,请你把隐形衣脱掉一会儿吧,这里没有人会找你的麻烦。”
    "Oh all right then. . ." Hermione snapped, "but I hate talking to you in that cloak, I never know if I'm looking at you or not."
    “哦,真的吗?”哈利说,“看看你后面吧。”
    So Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak in the dormitory, went back downstairs, and together he and Hermione set off for Hogsmeade.
    丽塔·斯基特和她的摄影师朋友刚从三把扫帚小酒馆里出来。他们低声地谈论着什么,径直从赫敏身边走过,看也没看她一眼。哈利生怕丽塔·斯基特的鳄鱼皮物袋碰到自己,赶紧闪身躲到蜂蜜公爵糖果店的墙根下。那两人走后,哈利说:“她还待在村子里呢。我敢说她一定会来观看第一个比赛项目。”
    Harry felt wonderfully free under the cloak; he watched other students walking past them as they entered the village, most of them sporting Support Cedric Diggory! badges, but no horrible remarks came his way for a change, and nobody was quoting that stupid article.
    话一说出口,他就觉得自己的内心掠过一阵火辣辣的恐慌感。但他没有说出来,他和赫敏很少谈论第一个比赛项目会是什么。他总觉得她不太愿意考虑这件事。
    "People keep looking at me now," said Hermione grumpily as they came out of Honeydukes Sweetshop later, eating large cream-filled chocolates. "They think I'm talking to myself."
    “她走了。”赫敏说,目光穿透哈利,注视着街道尽头。“我们到三把扫帚小酒馆去喝一杯黄油啤酒,怎么样?天气有点儿冷了,是不是?你用不着跟罗恩说话!”她猜中了他不搭腔的原因,烦躁地说。
    "Don't move your lips so much then."
    三把扫帚小酒馆里挤满了人,主要是霍格沃茨的学生,都在尽情享受这一个下午的自由,不过也有许多哈利在别处很少见到的形形色色的魔法界人士。哈利猜想,霍格莫德是英国绝无仅有的一个纯巫师村庄,对于女妖一类的家伙来说是一个安全的避风港,因为她们在伪装自己方面不如巫师那样得心应手。
    "Come on, please just take off your cloak for a bit, no one's going to bother you here."
    穿着隐形衣在人群里穿行非常困难,说不定会无意间踩到什么人的脚,引起一引起令人尴尬的麻烦。赫敏去买饮料了,哈利侧着身子,慢慢地朝角落里的一张空桌子挪动。哈利在小酒馆里穿行时看见了罗恩,他和弗雷德、乔治、李·乔丹坐在一起。他真想对罗恩的后脑勺狠狠戳一下,但他克制住这种冲动,终于来到桌子边,坐了下来。
    "Oh yeah?" said Harry. "Look behind you."
    片刻之后,赫敏也过来了,偷偷地把一杯黄油啤酒从隐形衣下面塞给了他。
    Rita Skeeter and her photographer friend had just emerged from the Three Broomsticks pub.
    “我真像个大傻瓜,独自一个人坐在这里。”她低声抱怨道。“幸亏我带了点活儿来干。”
    Talking in low voices, they passed right by Hermione without hooking at her. Harry backed into the wall of Honeydukes to stop Rita Skeeter from hitting him with her crocodile-skin handbag. When they were gone, Harry said, "She's staying in the village.
    她掏出一个笔记本,上面记着S.P.E.W.的成员名单。哈利看见短得可怜的名单最上面是他和罗恩的名字。他想起那天晚上,他和罗恩坐在一起编造那些预言时,赫敏突然出现,任命他们为秘书和财务主管。唉,这一切似乎是很久以前的事了。
    I bet she's coming to watch the first task."
    “对了,我也许应该吸收一些村民加入S.P.E.W.。”赫敏若有所思地说,一边环顾着小酒馆。
    As he said it, his stomach flooded with a wave of molten panic. He didn't mention this; he and Hermione hadn't discussed what was coming in the first task much; he had the feeling she didn't want to think about it.
    “是啊,没错。”哈利说。他在隐形衣下喝了一大口黄油啤酒,“赫敏,你什么时候才能放弃这套S.P.E.W.的玩艺儿呢?”
    "She's gone," said Hermione, looking right through Harry toward the end of the street.
    “等到家养小精灵获得体面的工钱和像样的工作环境的那一天!”她压低声音说着,“我觉得应该采取一些更加直接的行动了。不知道怎样才能进入学校厨房。”
    "Why don't we go and have a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, it's a bit cold, isn't it? You don't have to talk to Ron!" she added irritably, correctly interpreting his silence.
    “不知道,问弗雷行和乔治吧。”哈利说。
    The Three Broomsticks was packed, mainly with Hogwarts students enjoying their free afternoon, but also with a variety of magical people Harry rarely saw anywhere else.
    赫敏又陷入了沉思,哈利则一边喝着他的黄油啤酒,一边打量着小酒馆里的人。他们都显得轻松愉快,兴高采烈。厄尼·麦克米兰和汉娜·艾博正与邻桌的人交换巧克力蛙里的卡片,他俩的长袍上都戴着支持塞德里克·迪戈里的徽章。就在门边,他看见了秋·张和她那一大帮拉文克劳的朋友。她倒是没有戴支持塞德里克的徽章……这使哈利的心情稍微愉快了一点点……
    Harry supposed that as Hogsmeade was the only all-wizard village in Britain, it was a bit of a haven for creatures like hags, who were not as adept as wizards at disguising themselves.
    他真愿意放弃一切,只要能够成为这些人当中的一员,坐在那里说说笑笑,除了功课以外,用不着操心任何事情。他幻想着,如果他的名字没有从火焰杯里喷出来,他在这里将是什么感觉。首先,他肯定不会穿着隐形衣,罗恩也一定会跟他坐在一起。他们三个大概会开开心心地设想学校的勇士星期二将要面临什么样的危险项目。他会迫不及待地盼望着那一天的到来,盼望着观看勇士们完成那个项目……他将会平平安安地坐在看台后排,和其他人一起为塞德里克加油喝彩……
    It was very hard to move through crowds in the Invisibility Cloak, in case you accidentally trod on someone, which tended to lead to awkward questions. Harry edged slowly toward a spare table in the corner while Hermione went to buy drinks. On his way through the pub, Harry spotted Ron, who was sitting with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
    他暗自想道,不知另外几位勇士是什么感觉。最近他每次见到塞德里克,他身边都围满了崇拜者,他显得有些紧张,但是很兴奋。哈利偶尔也在走廊上瞥见芙蓉·德拉库尔,她看上去跟平常没什么两样,还是那么旁若无人,镇定自若。克鲁姆呢,只是整天坐在图书馆里钻研那些书本。
    Resisting the urge to give Ron a good hard poke in the back of the head, he finally reached the table and sat down at it.
    哈利想到了小天狼星,他内心那种紧绷绷的感觉才似乎松驰了一些。再过十二个小时,他就可以和小天狼星说话了,就在今天夜里,他们将会在公共休息室的炉火边见面——但愿别出什么漏子,最近其他事情都乱了套……
    Hermione joined him a moment later and slipped him a butterbeer under his cloak.
    “看,海格!”赫敏说。
    "I look like such an idiot, sitting here on my own," she muttered. "Lucky I brought something to do."
    人群中赫然出现了海格那硕大的、头发蓬乱的后脑勺——谢天谢地,他总算不再把头发扎成马尾巴了。哈利心里纳闷,海格这么大的块头,自己刚才怎么就没有一眼看见呢。待他小心翼翼地站起身来,才发现海格正压低身子,跟穆迪教授交谈呢。海格面前放着他惯常喝的大杯啤酒,穆迪则喝着他随身携带的弧形酒瓶里的东西。漂亮的老板娘罗斯默塔夫人似乎对此很不满意,她一边收拾着旁边桌子上的玻璃杯,一边斜眼瞟着穆迪。她大概以为这是对她热乎乎的蜂蜜酒的一种侮辱,但哈利知道不是这样。在他们最近一次黑魔法防御术课上,穆迪告诉过大家,他不管什么时候都宁愿自己准备食物和饮料,因为黑巫师要往一只无人看管的杯子里下毒真是太容易了。
    And she pulled out a notebook in which she had been keeping a record of S.P.E.W. members.
    就在哈利望着他们的时候,海格和穆迪站起来准备离开了。哈利挥了挥手,然后才想起海格根本不可能看见他。可是穆迪却停下脚步,那只带魔法眼睛盯着哈利所在的那个角落。他拍了拍海格的腰背部(因为够不着海格的肩膀),低声对他嘀咕了几句什么,然后两一起回过身,朝哈利和赫敏的桌子走来。
    Harry saw his and Ron's names at the top of the very short list. It seemed a long time ago that they had sat making up those predictions together, and Hermione had turned up
    “怎么样,赫敏?”海格大声问道。
    and appointed them secretary and treasurer.
    “你好。”赫敏也微笑着说。
    "You know, maybe I should try and get some of the villagers involved in S.P.E.W.,"
    穆迪一瘸一拐地从桌子旁绕过来,俯下身子。哈利以为他在看S.P.E.W.笔记本,没想到他低声说了一句:“隐形衣真棒,波特。”
    Hermione said thoughtfully, looking around the pub.
    哈利顿时目瞪口呆。现在隔着几英寸的距离,穆迪鼻子上残缺的一大块看上去特别明显。穆迪咧嘴笑了。
    "Yeah, right," said Harry. He took a swig of butterbeer under his cloak. "Hermione, when are you going to give up on this spew stuff?"
    “难道你的眼睛——我的意思是,难道你能——”
    "When house-elves have decent wages and working conditions!" she hissed back. "You know, I'm starting to think it's time for more direct action. I wonder how you get into the school kitchens?"
    “是的,它能看透隐形衣,”穆迪小声地说,“有时候很管用呢,我可以告诉你。”
    "No idea, ask Fred and George," said Harry.
    海格也低头朝哈利微笑着。哈利知道海格看不见他,但显然穆迪告诉了海格他在这儿。海格俯下身子,假装在看S.P.E.W.笔记本,一边用很低很低、只有哈利一个人能听见的声音说:“哈利,今天半夜十二点到我的小屋来找我。穿着隐形衣。”
    Hermione lapsed into thoughtful silence, while Harry drank his butterbeer, watching the people in the pub. All of them looked cheerful and relaxed. Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbot were swapping Chocolate Frog cards at a nearby table; both of them sporting Support Cedric Diggory! badges on their cloaks. Right over by the door he saw Cho and a large group of her Ravenclaw friends. She wasn't wearing a Cedric badge though. . . . This cheered up Harry very slightly.
    海格直起身子,大声说道:“很高兴见到你,赫敏。”他眨了眨眼睛,离去了。穆迪也跟着他走了。
    What wouldn't he have given to be one of these peophe, sitting around laughing and talking, with nothing to worry about but homework? He imagined how it would have felt to be here if his name hadn't come out of the Goblet of Fire. He wouldn't be wearing the Invisibility Cloak, for one thing. Ron would be sitting with him. The three of them would probably be happily imagining what deadly dangerous task the school champions would be facing on Tuesday. He'd have been really hooking forward to it, watching them do whatever it was...cheering on Cedric with everyone else, safe in a seat at the back of the stands...
    “海格为什么叫我半夜去找他?”哈利非常惊讶地说。
    He wondered how the other champions were feeling. Every time he had seen Cedric lately, he had been surrounded by admirers and looking nervous but excited. Harry glimpsed Fleur Delacour from time to time in the corridors; she looked exactly as she always did, haughty and unruffled. And Krum just sat in the library, poring over books.
    “是吗?”赫敏说,也显得吃了一惊,“真搞不懂他想做什么。我不知道你是不是应该去,哈利……”她不安地环顾了一下周围,压低声音说道:“弄得不好,你去见小天狼星就要迟到了。”
    Harry thought of Sirius, and the tight, tense knot in his chest seemed to ease slightly.
    确实,半夜十二点下去找海格,这就意味着必须把时间卡得很紧,才不会耽误与小天狼星的会面。赫敏建议派海德薇给海格送一封信,告诉他哈利不能去了——当然啦,还得假设海德薇同意送信才行——可是哈利觉得更好的办法是抓紧时间,不管海格找他做什么,都速战速决。他很好奇,想知道究竟是怎么回事。
    He would be speaking to him in just over twelve hours, for tonight was the night they were meeting at the common room fire - assuming nothing went wrong, as everything else had done lately...
    海格还从未这么晚叫哈利到他那里去过呢。
    "Look, it's Hagrid!" said Hermione.
    那天夜里十一点半,早早就假装上床睡觉的哈利披上隐形衣,悄悄穿过公共休息室来到楼下。公共休息室还有几个人。克里维兄弟俩不知从哪弄来一摞支持塞德里克·迪戈里的徽章,正在试图用魔法把上面的字变成支持哈利·波特。然而,他们费了好大工夫,所能做到的却是使徽章固定在波特臭大粪上。哈利蹑手蹑脚地从他们身边溜过,来到肖像画洞口,眼睛看着手表,等了一分钟左右。然后,赫敏按原计划从外面替他打开胖夫人的肖像画。哈利悄声说了句“谢谢”,便从她身边闪过,出发穿过城堡。
    The back of Hagrid's enormous shaggy head - he had mercifully abandoned his bunches -emerged over the crowd. Harry wondered why he hadn't spotted him at once, as Hagrid was so large, but standing up carefully, he saw that Hagrid had been leaning low, talking to Professor Moody. Hagrid had his usual enormous tankard in front of him, but Moody was drinking from his hip flask. Madam Rosmerta, the pretty landlady, didn't seem to think much of this; she was looking askance at Moody as she collected glasses from tables around them. Perhaps she thought it was an insult to her mulled mead, but Harry knew better. Moody had told them all during their last Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson that he preferred to prepare his own food and drink at all times, as it was so easy for Dark wizards to poison an unattended cup.
    场地上一片漆黑。哈利顺着草坪朝海格小屋透出的灯光走去。布斯巴顿的那辆巨大马车里也是灯火通明,哈利敲响海格的屋门时,可以听见马克西姆夫人在马车里说话。
    As Harry watched, he saw Hagrid and Moody get up to leave. He waved, then remembered that Hagrid couldn't see him. Moody, however, paused, his magical eye on the corner where Harry was standing. He tapped Hagrid in the small of the back (being unable to reach his shoulder), muttered something to him, and then the pair of them made their way back across the pub toward Harry and Hermione's table.
    “你来了,哈利?”海格低声说,打开门,看了看四周。
    "All right, Hermione?" said Hagrid loudly.
    “是啊,”哈利说,一边闪进小屋,把隐形衣从头上脱下来,“什么事?”
    "Hello," said Hermione, smiling back.
    “给你看一件东西。”海格说。
    Moody limped around the table and bent down; Harry thought he was reading the S.P.E.W.
    海格的神情非常激动。他衣服的扣眼里插着一枝鲜花,活像一朵特别大的洋蓟。看样子他不再往头上抹机器润滑油了,但他肯定花了不少工夫梳理头发——哈利可以看见他的头发上有梳子的断齿。
    notebook, until he muttered, "Nice cloak, Potter."
    “你要给我看什么?”哈利警惕地问,心想是不是炸尾螺下蛋了,或者海格又想办法从小酒馆的一位陌生人手里买到了一条三个头的大狗。
    Harry stared at him in amazement. The large chunk missing from Moody's nose was particularly obvious at a few inches' distance. Moody grinned.
    “跟我来,别出声,用隐形衣把你的身子罩住。”海格说,“我们不带牙牙去,它不会喜欢的……”
    "Can your eye - I mean, can you - ?"
    “海格,你听我说,我不能待很长时间……我一点钟必须赶回城堡——”
    "Yeah, it can see through Invisibility Cloaks," Moody said quietly. "And it's come in useful at times, I can tell you."
    可是海格没有听,他打开小屋的门,迈着大步走进黑暗中。哈利匆匆跟了上去,他大为吃惊地发现,海格正领着他朝布斯巴顿的马车走去。
    Hagrid was beaming down at Harry too. Harry knew Hagrid couldn't see him, but Moody had obviously told Hagrid he was there. Hagrid now bent down on the pretext of reading the S.P.E.W. notebook as well, and said in a whisper so low that only Harry could hear it, "Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that cloak."
    “海格,你怎么——”
    Straightening up, Hagrid said loudly, "Nice ter see yeh, Hermione," winked, and departed.
    “嘘!”海格说,然后在印着两根交叉的金魔杖的门上敲了三下。
    Moody followed him.
    马克西姆夫人把门打开了。她宽阔无比的肩膀上围着一条丝绸披巾。她一看见海格就微微地笑了。
    "Why does Hagrid want me to meet him at midnight?" Harry said, very surprised.
    “啊,海格……时间到了吗?”
    "Does he?" said Hermione, looking startled. "I wonder what he's up to? I don't know whether you should go, Harry. . . ." She looked nervously around and hissed, "It might make you late for Sirius."
    “晚上好。”海格说,笑眯眯地望着她,同时伸出一只手扶她走下金色的台阶。
    It was true that going down to Hagrid's at midnight would mean cutting his meeting with Sirius very fine indeed; Hermione suggested sending Hedwig down to Hagrid's to tell him he couldn't go - always assuming she would consent to take the note, of course - Harry, however, thought it better just to be quick at whatever Hagrid wanted him for. He was very curious to know what this might be; Hagrid had never asked Harry to visit him so late at night.
    马克西姆夫人回身关上马车门,海格把胳膊递给她,两人一起绕着临时围场的边缘走去,那里面关着马克西姆夫人的那几匹带翅膀的巨马。哈利一头雾水,茫然地小跑着跟上他们的步伐。难道海格要给他看的就是马克西姆夫人?他随时都能看见她啊……她那么大的块头,是很难被忽略的……
    At half past eleven that evening, Harry, who had pretended to go up to bed early, pulled the Invisibility Cloak back over himself and crept back downstairs through the common room. Quite a few people were still in there. The Creevey brothers had managed to get hold of a stack of Support Cedric Diggory! badges and were trying to bewitch them to make them say Support Harry Potter! instead. So far, however, all they had managed to do was get the badges stuck on POTTER STINKS. Harry crept past them to the portrait hole and waited for a minute or so, keeping an eye on his watch. Then Hermione opened the Fat Lady for him from outside as they had planned. He slipped past her with a whispered "Thanks!" and set off through the castle.
    不对,马克西姆夫人似乎也受到和哈利同样的待遇,因为过了片刻,她用玩笑般的口吻问道:“你把我带到哪儿去,海格?”
    The grounds were very dark. Harry walked down the lawn toward the lights shining in Hagrid's cabin. The inside of the enormous Beauxbatons carriage was also lit up; Harry could hear Madame Maxime talking inside it as he knocked on Hagrid's front door.
    “你会喜欢的,”海格声音粗哑地说,“值得一看,相信我吧。不过——不要对任何人说我带你来看了,好吗?你是不应该知道的。”
    "You there, Harry?" Hagrid whispered, opening the door and looking around.
    “当然不说。”马克西姆夫人说,她又黑又长的眼睫毛呼扇呼扇的。
    "Yeah," said Harry, slipping inside the cabin and pulling the cloak down off his head.
    他们还在走个不停,哈利小跑着跟在后面,不时地看看手表,心里越来越焦躁。海格脑子里有一个草率的计划,可能会使他错过跟小天狼星的会面。如果他们还不能很快到达目的地,他就准备转过头直接返回城堡了,让海格独自享受与马克西姆夫人的月下散步吧……
    "What's up?"
    可是就在这时——他们已经绕着禁林边缘走了很远,城堡和湖泊都看不见了——哈利听见了什么动静。有几个男人在前面大声喊叫……然后是一声震耳欲聋的尖厉的咆哮……
    "Got summat ter show yeh," said Hagrid.
    海格领着马克西姆夫人绕过一片树丛,停下了脚步。哈利赶紧跟过去,和他们站在一起——在那短短的一瞬间,他还以为看见了几堆篝火,男人们围着火跳来跳去——接着,他吃惊地张大了嘴巴。
    There was an air of enormous excitement about Hagrid. He was wearing a flower that resembled an oversized artichoke in his buttonhole. It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair - Harry could see the comb's broken teeth tangled in it.
    火龙。
    "What're you showing me?" Harry said warily, wondering if the skrewts had laid eggs, or Hagrid had managed to buy another giant three-headed dog off a stranger in a pub.
    四条模样十分凶狠的成年火龙被关在厚木板围成的场地里,用后腿支撑身子站立着,发出阵阵吼叫,呼哧呼哧地喷着鼻息——一团团火焰从它们张开的、长着獠牙的嘴里喷出,射向黑暗的夜空,它们的脖子高高昂起,嘴离地面的高度达五十英尺。一条银蓝色的、有一对长长的尖角的火龙,正在对着场地上的巫师发怒、咆哮;一条鳞片光滑的绿色火龙,正在拼命地扭动、跺脚;还有一条红色的火龙,脸的周围长着一圈怪模怪样的细细尖角,正在朝空中喷射一朵朵蘑菇状的火云;最后是一条黑色的巨龙,比另外几条更像恐龙,这条龙离他们最近。
    "Come with me, keep quiet, an' keep yerself covered with that cloak," said Hagrid. "We won' take Fang, he won' like it. . .
    场地上至少有三十个巫师,每七八个负责对付一条火龙。他们拽着链条,拼命想制服四条巨龙,那些链条连接着拴龙腿和龙脖子的大粗皮带。哈利完全惊呆了。他抬起头,在上面很高的地方,他看见了那条黑龙的眼睛,瞳孔像猫眼一样是垂直的,不知是因为恐惧还是愤怒,那双眼睛暴突着……黑龙发出一种可怕的声音,是凄厉而刺耳的哀号……
    "Listen, Hagrid, I can't stay long. . . . I've got to be back up at the castle by one o'clock -"
    “待在那里别动,海格!”靠近栅栏的一位巫师喊道,一边紧紧地拽住手里的链条,“它们喷火能喷出二十英尺远,你知道的!我看见这条树蜂喷过四十英尺!”
    But Hagrid wasn't listening; he was opening the cabin door and striding off into the night. Harry hurried to follow and found, to his great surprise, that Hagrid was leading him to the Beauxbatons carriage.
    “真漂亮啊!”海格柔声细气地说。
    "Hagrid, what - ?"
    “没有用!”另一位巫师大声嚷道,“念昏迷咒,数到三,一起念!”
    "Shhh!" said Hagrid, and he knocked three times on the door bearing the crossed golden wands.
    哈利看见每位驯龙者都抽出了自己的魔杖。
    Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid.
    “昏昏倒地!”他们异口同声喊道,昏迷咒如火箭一般射向漆黑的夜空,迸出的火星像阵雨一样落在四条龙长着鳞片的厚皮上——
    "Ah, 'Agrid . . . it is time?"
    哈利注视着离他们最近的那条龙用后腿摇摇晃晃地站立着,它的嘴巴张得大大的,发出无声的咆哮,鼻孔里的火焰突然熄灭了,但仍然冒着青烟——然后,它很慢很慢地倒下了。这条好几吨重的强壮的、鳞片乌黑的巨龙轰然倒地,哈利可以发誓,这声巨响震得他身后的树木都颤动起来了。
    "Bong-sewer," said Hagrid, beaming at her, and holding out a hand to help her down the golden steps.
    驯龙者放下魔杖,走向倒在地上的巨龙,每条龙都像一座小山。驯龙者匆匆地拴紧链条,把它们牢牢地系在铁柱上,又用魔杖把铁柱深深地钉在地里。
    Madame Maxime closed the door behind her, Hagrid offered her his arm, and they set off around the edge of the paddock containing Madame Maxime's giant winged horses, with Harry, totally bewildered, running to keep up with them. Had Hagrid wanted to show him Madame Maxime? He could see her any old time he wanted.. . she wasn't exactly hard to miss....
    “想靠近点看看吗?”海格激动地问马克西姆夫人。他们俩一起走向栅栏,哈利也跟了过去。刚才警告海格不要靠近的那位巫师转过身来,哈利认出来了,是查理·韦斯莱。
    But it seemed that Madame Maxime was in for the same treat as Harry, because after a while she said playfully, "Wair is it you are taking me, 'Agrid?"
    “怎么样,海格?”他喘着粗气,过来跟他们说话,“它们现在应该没事了——我们给它们服了安眠剂,它们来的时候一路昏睡,本来以为让它们在宁静的黑夜里醒来,它们会觉得好受一些——可是,你也看见了,它们并不开心,一点儿也不开心——”
    "Yeh'll enjoy this," said Hagrid gruffly, "worth seein', trust me. On'y - don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh, right? Yeh're not s'posed ter know."
    “你们这里都有哪些种类,查理?”海格问,一边凝视着离他最近的那条黑龙,目光里带着近乎崇拜的神情。黑龙的眼睛仍然微微睁着,哈利可以看见它皱巴巴的黑眼皮下闪着一道细细的黄光。
    "Of course not," said Madame Maxime, fluttering her long black eyelashes.
    “这是匈牙利树蜂,”查理说道,“那边那条较小的是普通威尔士绿龙——那条银蓝色的是瑞典短鼻龙——那条红的是中国火球。”
    And still they walked, Harry getting more and more irritated as he jogged along in their wake, checking his watch every now and then. Hagrid had some harebrained scheme in hand, which might make him miss Sirius. If they didn't get there soon, he was going to turn
    查理看了看四周,马克西姆夫人正沿着场地溜达,凝望着那向条被击昏的火龙。
    around, go straight back to the castle, and leave Hagrid to enjoy his moonlit stroll with Madame Maxime.
    “我没想到你把她也带来了,海格,”查理说着,皱起了眉头,“勇士是不应该知道自己要面对什么的——她肯定会告诉她的学生的,是不是?”
    But then - when they had walked so far around the perimeter of the forest that the castle and the lake were out of sight - Harry heard something. Men were shouting up ahead. . .
    “我只觉得她很愿意过来见识见识。”海格耸了耸肩膀,目光仍然如痴如醉地盯着巨龙。
    then came a deafening, earsplitting roar. . .
    “真是一个浪漫的约会,海格。”查理说,无奈地摇了摇头。
    Hagrid led Madame Maxime around a clump of trees and came to a halt. Harry hurried up alongside them - for a split second, he thought he was seeing bonfires, and men darting around them - and then his mouth fell open.
    “一共四条……”海格说,“这么说,每位勇士需要对付一条,对吗?他们需要做什么——与火龙搏斗?”
    Dragons.
    “我想,大概只是从火龙身边通过吧。”查理说,“如果情况不妙,我们随时上前援救,给火龙念熄灭咒。他们要的都是抱窝孵蛋的母龙,我不明白为什么……不过我可以告诉你,摊到匈牙利树蜂的人可没有好果子吃。它的后面和前面一样危险,你看。”
    Four fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto their hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting - torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground on their outstretched necks. There was a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground; a smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might; a red one with an odd fringe of fine gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air; and a gigantic black one, more lizard-hike than the others, which was nearest to them.
    查理指了指树蜂的尾巴,哈利看见那尾巴上每隔几英寸就冒出长长的、青铜色的利刺。
    At least thirty wizards, seven or eight to each dragon, were attempting to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy leather straps around their necks and legs.
    这时,查理的五位驯龙同伴高一脚低一脚地走向树蜂,他们兜着一条毯子,里面放着一窝巨大的、花岗石灰色的龙蛋。他们小心翼翼地把龙蛋放在树蜂的身边。海格按捺不住内心的渴望,呻吟了一声。
    Mesmerized, Harry looked up, high above him, and saw the eyes of the black dragon, with vertical pupils like a cat's, bulging with either fear or rage, he couldn't tell which. .
    “我可是数过的,海格。”查理严厉地说。接着他又说:“哈利怎么样?”
    . . It was making a horrible noise, a yowling, screeching scream.
    “还好。”海格说,仍然目不转睛地盯着龙蛋。
    "Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled a wizard near the fence, straining on the chain he was holding. "They can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet, you know! I've seen this Horntail do forty!"
    “真希望他在面对这场危险之后仍然平平安安。”查理望着那边关着巨龙的场地,心事重重地说,“我不敢告诉妈妈哈利在第一个项目里要做什么。妈妈已经为他心慌意乱了……”查理模仿着他母亲焦虑的声音:“‘他们怎么能让他参加那场争霸赛呢,他年纪太小了!我原以为他们都不会有事,我原以为会有一道年龄界限!’《预言家日报》那篇关于哈利的文章发表后,妈妈泪流满面。‘他还在为他的父母哭泣!哦,上帝保佑,我一点儿都不知道啊!’”
    "Is'n' it beautiful?" said Hagrid softly.
    哈利觉得自己不能再待下去了。他相信,海格的心已经被迷人的四条巨龙和马克西姆夫人填得满满的,不会惦记自己了,于是他悄悄地转过身,开始返回城堡。
    "It's no good!" yelled another wizard. "Stunning Spells, on the count of three!"
    他看见了即将面对的东西,他说不清自己是不是感到高兴。也许这样感觉会好一些。最初的恐惧已经过去了。如果他到了星期二才第一次看见巨龙,没准他会在全校同学面前当场昏倒……他的武器是他的魔杖——这魔杖现在看来简直跟一根细细的小木棍差不多——他要对付的却是一条五十英尺高、全身覆盖着鳞片和尖刺、鼻子里往外喷火的巨龙!他必须从它面前通过。大伙儿的眼睛都望着他呢。怎么通过呢?
    Harry saw each of the dragon keepers pull out his wand.
    哈利加快速度,在禁林边缘疾走。他必须在十五分钟内赶回公共休息室的炉火边,与小天狼星交谈,他不记得自己曾经有过什么时候像此刻这样渴望与人交谈——就在这时,他猝不及防地撞上了一个硬梆梆的东西。
    "Stupefy!" they shouted in unison, and the Stunning Spells shot into the darkness like fiery rockets, bursting in showers of stars on the dragons' scaly hides -Harry watched the dragon nearest to them teeter dangerously on its back legs; its jaws stretched wide in a silent howl; its nostrils were suddenly devoid of flame, though still smoking - then, very slowly, it fell. Several tons of sinewy, scaly-black dragon hit the ground with a thud that Harry could have sworn made the trees behind him quake.
    哈利向后摔倒了,眼镜也歪向一边,他赶紧用隐形衣裹住自己。近旁有一个声音说道:“哎哟!谁在那儿?”
    The dragon keepers lowered their wands and walked forward to their fallen charges, each of which was the size of a small hill. They hurried to tighten the chains and fasten them securely to iron pegs, which they forced deep into the ground with their wands.
    哈利匆匆检查了一下,看隐形衣是不是把自己完全遮住了,然后一动不动地躺在那里,抬眼望着他刚才撞上的那个巫师的黑乎乎的轮廓。他认出了那撇山羊胡子……是卡卡洛夫。
    "Wan' a closer look?" Hagrid asked Madame Maxime excitedly. The pair of them moved right up to the fence, and Harry followed. The wizard who had warned Hagrid not to come any closer turned, and Harry realized who it was: Charlie Weasley.
    “谁在那儿?”卡卡洛夫又问了一声,疑神疑鬼地在黑暗中东张西望。哈利还是一动不动,大气也不敢出。过了一分钟左右,卡卡洛夫似乎断定刚才是某种动物撞了他。他在齐腰高的地方四处张望着,大概以为会看见一条狗吧。然后,他在树木的掩护下退了回去,开始侧着身子朝巨龙所在的地方移动。
    "All right, Hagrid?" he panted, coming over to talk. "They should be okay now - we put them out with a Sleeping Draft on the way here, thought it might be better for them to wake up in the dark and the quiet - but, like you saw, they weren't happy, not happy at all -"
    哈利非常缓慢非常小心地站了起来,在尽可能不发出响声的同时迅速地在黑暗中穿行,返回城堡。
    "What breeds you got here, Charlie?" said Hagrid, gazing at the closest dragon, the black one, with something chose to reverence. Its eyes were still just open. Harry could see a strip of gleaming yellow beneath its wrinkled black eyelid.
    他非常清楚卡卡洛夫要做什么。卡卡洛夫从他的大船上溜下来,想弄清第一个项目是什么。甚至,他大概已经看见海格和马克西姆夫人一起绕着禁林往那边走——他们俩在远处就很容易被人看见……现在,卡卡洛夫只要寻着发出声音的地方而去,便也会像马克西姆夫人一样,知道等待着勇士的将是什么。
    "This is a Hungarian Horntail," said Charlie. "There's a Common Welsh Green over there, the smaller one -- a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue-gray -- and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red."
    照这样的情形看,星期二面对未知之物的只有塞德里克一个人了。
    Charlie looked around; Madame Maxime was strolling away around the edge of the enclosure, gazing at the stunned dragons.
    哈利赶到城堡,悄悄从前门溜了进去,沿着大理石楼梯往上爬。他已经累得喘不过气来了,但丝毫不敢放慢速度……只有不到五分钟的时间了,他必须赶到炉火边……
    "I didn't know you were bringing her, Hagrid," Charlie said, frowning. "The champions aren't supposed to know what's coming - she's bound to tell her student, isn't she?"
    “胡言乱语!”他喘着粗气对胖夫人说,胖夫人正在肖像画洞口的镜框里打呼噜呢。
    "Jus' thought she'd like ter see 'em," shrugged Hagrid, still gazing, enraptured, at the dragons.
    “既然你这么说。”胖夫人半梦半醒地嘟囔着,连眼睛也没有睁开,就把画像打开让他通过了。哈利爬了进去,公共休息室里空无一人,空气中也闻不到什么异味,看来赫敏不需要投掷粪蛋来确保他和小天狼星的密谈了。
    "Really romantic date, Hagrid," said Charlie, shaking his head.
    哈利脱掉隐形衣,一屁股坐在炉火前的一张扶手椅上。房间里光线昏暗,惟一的光源就是壁炉里的火苗。在近旁的一张桌子上,克里维兄弟俩试图改良的那些支持塞德里克·迪戈里的徽章在火光的映照下闪闪发亮。徽章上的文字现在变成了波特臭不可闻。哈利将目光又转回到炉火中,猛地惊跳起来。
    "Four. . ." said Hagrid, "so it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do - fight 'em?"
    小天狼星的脑袋端端正正地立在火焰中。如果哈利没有在韦斯莱家的厨房里看见迪戈里先生有过同样的举动,他肯定会被吓得魂飞魄散。此刻,他不仅没有害怕,脸上反而绽开了笑容,这是许多日子以来的第一次。他爬下椅子,跪坐在壁炉边,说道:“小天狼星——你怎么样啊?”
    "Just get past them, I think," said Charlie. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't know why. . .
    小天狼星的模样跟哈利记忆中的有所不同。他们上次告别时,小天狼星的面容瘦削、憔悴,周围都是蓬乱、又黑又长的毛发——可现在呢,小天狼星的头发短短的,又干净又整齐,脸颊也丰满起来,这使他显得年轻了,更加接近哈利收藏的那片照片上的形象,那是在波特夫妇的婚礼上照的。
    but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail. Vicious thing. Its back end's as dangerous as its front, look."
    “别管我了,你好吗?”小天狼星严肃地说。
    Charlie pointed toward the Horntail's tail, and Harry saw long, bronze-colored spikes protruding along it every few inches.
    “我——”哈利刚想说“很好”——但他说不出口。还没来得及阻拦自己,他已经滔滔不绝地说开了。他已经好些日子没有这样痛快淋漓地说话了——他说到人们怎样都不相信他不是自己报名参加争霸赛的,还说到丽塔·斯基特在《预言家日报》上胡编乱造,说到他每次在走廊里经过都受到别人嘲笑——还说到罗恩,罗恩不相信他,罗恩嫉妒他……
    Five of Charlie's fellow keepers staggered up to the Horntail at that moment, carrying a clutch of huge granite-gray eggs between them in a blanket. They placed them carefully at the Horntail's side. Hagrid let out a moan of longing.
    “……还有刚才,海格带我去看了第一个项目里会出现的东西,是火龙,小天狼星,我肯定完蛋了。”他绝望地结束了自己的话。
    "I've got them counted, Hagrid," said Charlie sternly. Then he said, "How's Harry?"
    小天狼星望着他,眼睛里满含着关切,这双眼睛还没有完全摆脱阿兹卡班留给它们的神情——那种呆滞的忧郁的神情。他一直耐心地听着,没有插话,直到哈利自己把话说完,沉默下来。然后他说道:“不用担心火龙,我们能够对付,哈利,不过我们待会儿再谈这个问题——我在这里不能久留……我是闯进一个巫师家庭,用了他们的火炉,他们随时都会回来。有几件事我要提醒你注意。”
    "Fine," said Hagrid. He was still gazing at the eggs.
    “是什么?”哈利问,他觉得自己的情绪更加低落了……不可能还有比火龙更可怕的事情吧?
    "Just hope he's still fine after he's faced this lot," said Charlie grimly, looking out over the dragons' enclosure. "I didn't dare tell Mum what he's got to do for the first task; she's already having kittens about him. . . ." Charlie imitated his mother's anxious voice. "How could they let him enter that tournament, he's much too young! I thought they were all safe, I thought there was going to be an age limit!' She was in floods after that Daily Prophet article about him. 'He still cries about his parents!
    “是卡卡洛夫,”小天狼星说,“哈利,他是一个食死徒。你知道什么是食死徒吧?”
    Oh bless him, I never knew!"
    “知道——他——怎么?”
    Harry had had enough. Trusting to the fact that Hagrid wouldn't miss him, with the attractions of four dragons and Madame Maxime to occupy him, he turned silently and began to walk away, back to the castle.
    “他原先被捕过,和我一起关押在阿兹卡班,可是他被释放了。我敢说正是因为这个,邓布利多今年才要在霍格沃茨安插一个傲罗——就是为了提防他。当年,就是穆迪抓住卡卡洛夫,把他关进阿兹卡班的。”
    He didn't know whether he was glad he'd seen what was coming or not. Perhaps this way was better. The first shock was over now. Maybe if he'd seen the dragons for the first time on Tuesday, he would have passed out cold in front of the whole school. . . but maybe he would anyway. .. . He was going to be armed with his wand - which, just now, felt like nothing more than a narrow strip of wood -- against a fifty-foot-high, scaly, spike-ridden, fire-breathing dragon. And he had to get past it. With everyone watching.
    “卡卡洛夫被释放了?”哈利慢慢地问——他的大脑艰难地吸收着又一条耸人听闻的消息,“他们为什么要释放他?”
    How?
    “他配合魔法部做了不少工作,”小天狼星怨恨地说,“他说他认识到了自己的错误,然后他说出了许多人的名字……他把一大批人投进了阿兹卡班,顶替他的位置……我可以告诉你,他在那里人缘坏透了。据我所知,他出去以后一直在给他那个学校的学生教授黑魔法。因此,你同时也要提防那位德姆斯特朗的勇士。”
    Harry sped up, skirting the edge of the forest; he had just under fifteen minutes to get back to the fireside and talk to Sirius, and he couldn't remember, ever, wanting to talk to someone more than he did right now -- when, without warning, he ran into something very solid.
    “好吧,”哈利慢悠悠地说道,“可是……难道你说是卡卡洛夫把我的名字投进火焰杯的?如果是他干的,那他真是太会演戏了。他似乎为这件事气得要命呢。他还想阻止我参加竞争。”
    Harry fell backward, his glasses askew, clutching the cloak around him. A voice nearby said, "Ouch! Who's there?"
    “我们知道他擅长演戏,”小天狼星说道,“他当年居然说服魔法部释放了他,是不是?还有,我一直在留意《预言家日报》,哈利——”
    Harry hastily checked that the cloak was covering him and hay very still, staring up at the dark outline of the wizard he had hit. He recognized the goatee. . . it was Karkaroff.
    “——不光是你,还有世界上的每个人。”哈利苦恼地说。
    "Who's there?" said Karkaroff again, very suspiciously, looking around in the darkness.
    “——我仔细研究了那个叫斯基特的女人上个月的那篇文章,穆迪就在他到霍格沃茨就任的前一天夜里受到了攻击。是的,我知道她说这是虚惊一场,”小天狼星看到哈利想插话,赶紧补充道,“但我认为不是这样。我认为是有人试图阻止穆迪到霍格沃茨来。有人知道如果他在旁边,他们要下手就会困难得多。还有,没有人会非常认真地调查这件事,疯眼汉三天两头听见有人侵犯他。但这并不意味着真有异常情况时他不能识破。穆迪是魔法部有史以来最优秀的傲罗。”
    Harry remained still and silent. After a minute or so, Karkaroff seemed to decide that he had hit some sort of animal; he was looking around at waist height, as though expecting to see a dog. Then he crept back under the cover of the trees and started to edge forward toward the place where the dragons were.
    “那么……你的意思是什么?”哈利慢慢地问,“卡卡洛夫想要杀死我?可是——为什么呢?”
    Very slowly and very carefully, Harry got to his feet and set off again as fast as he could without making too much noise, hurrying through the darkness back toward Hogwarts.
    小天狼星迟疑着。
    He had no doubt whatsoever what Karkaroff was up to. He had sneaked off his ship to try and find out what the first task was going to be. He might even have spotted Hagrid and Madame Maxime heading off around the forest together - they were hardly difficult to spot at a distance. . . and now all Karkaroff had to do was follow the sound of voices, and he, like Madame Maxime, would know what was in store for the champions.
    “我听到一些非常奇怪的事,”他语速很慢地说,“最近食死徒似乎比往常更活跃了。他们在魁地奇世界杯赛上亮相了,是不是?有人变出了黑魔标记……然后——你有没有听说过魔法部失踪的那个女巫师?”
    By the looks of it, the only champion who would be facing the unknown on Tuesday was Cedric.
    “伯莎·乔金斯?”哈利说。
    Harry reached the castle, slipped in through the front doors, and began to climb the marble stairs; he was very out of breath, but he didn't dare slow down. . . . He had less than five minutes to get up to the fire.
    “一点儿不错……她在阿尔尼亚失踪了,那正是人们传说伏地魔苟延残喘的地方……而乔金斯是知道我们即将举办三强争霸赛的,是不是?”
    "Balderdash!" he gasped at the Fat Lady, who was snoozing in her frame in front of the portrait hole.
    “是啊,可是……她不大可能真的撞上伏地魔吧?”哈利问。
    "If you say so," she muttered sleepily, without opening her eyes, and the picture swung forward to admit him. Harry climbed inside. The common room was deserted, and, judging by the fact that it smelled quite normal, Hermione had not needed to set off any Dungbombs to ensure that he and Sirius got privacy.
    “你听我说,我认识伯莎·乔金斯。”小天狼星语气沉重地说,“当年我在霍格沃茨时,她也在这里,比你爸爸和我高几个年级。她是个傻乎乎的家伙。特别爱管闲事,可是没有头脑,完全没有头脑。这两样结合在一起可就糟糕透了,哈利。我认为她这个人经不起诱惑,很容易就中了别人的圈套。”
    Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and threw himself into an armchair in front of the fire. The room was in semidarkness; the flames were the only source of light.
    “这么说……伏地魔可能知道了争霸赛的事?”哈利问,“你是不是这个意思?你认为卡卡洛夫可能是听从他的命令才到这里来的?”
    Nearby, on a table, the Support Cedric Diggory! badges the Creeveys had been trying to
    “我也说不准,”小天狼星慢慢地说,“我真的说不准……凭着我对卡卡洛夫的印象,除非他知道伏地魔已经强大得足以保护他,否则他是不会贸然回去找他的。不过,不管是谁把你的名字投进了火焰杯,他这么做都是有意图的。我总觉得,如果有谁想对你下毒手,又想使一切看上去像是一场意外事故,那么这次争霸赛真是一个绝好的机会。”
    improve were glinting in the firelight. They now read POTTER REALLY STINKS. Harry looked back into the flames, and jumped.
    “从我的角度看,这真是一个天衣无缝的计划。”哈利咧开嘴惨笑了一下,说道,“他们只要站在一旁,把事情交给火龙去干就行了。”
    Sirius's head was sitting in the fire. If Harry hadn't seen Mr. Diggory do exactly this back in the Weasleys' kitchen, it would have scared him out of his wits. Instead, his face breaking into the first smile he had worn for days, he scrambled out of his chair, crouched down by the hearth, and said, "Sirius - how're you doing?"
    “对了——那些火龙,”小天狼星说,这时他说话的速度变得很快了,“有一个绝招,哈利。不要经不起诱惑去念什么昏迷咒——火龙力大无穷,而且具有十分强大的魔力,不可能被一个昏迷咒打倒,需要六七个巫师同时念咒才能制服一条龙……”
    Sirius looked different from Harry's memory of him. When they had said good-bye, Sirius's face had been gaunt and sunken, surrounded by a quantity of long, black, matted hair - but the hair was short and clean now, Sirius's face was fuller, and he looked younger, much more like the only photograph Harry had of him, which had been taken at the Potters' wedding.
    “是啊,我知道,我刚才看见了。”哈利说。
    "Never mind me, how are you?" said Sirius seriously.
    “不过你一个人也能对付,”小天狼星说,“有一个绝招,你只要施一个简单的魔法。你只要——”
    "I'm -" For a second, Harry tried to say "fine" - but he couldn't do it. Before he could stop himself, he was talking more than he'd talked in days - about how no one believed he hadn't entered the tournament of his own free will, how Rita Skeeter had lied about him in the Daily Prophet, how he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at - and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron's jealousy...
    可是哈利举起一只手阻止了他。哈利的心突然狂跳起来,简直就像要爆炸一般。他听见身后的旋转楼梯上传来了脚步声。
    ". . . and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming in the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, and I'm a goner," he finished desperately.
    “快走!”他哑着声音对小天狼星说,“快走!有人来了!”
    Sirius looked at him, eyes full of concern, eyes that had not yet lost the look that Azkaban had given them - that deadened, haunted look He had let Harry talk himself into silence without interruption, but now he said, "Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but we'll get to that in a minute - I haven't got long here. . . I've broken into a wizarding house to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn you about."
    哈利急忙爬起来,挡住炉火——如果有人看见小天狼星的脸出现在霍格沃茨的围墙内,肯定会掀起轩然大波——魔法部也会被卷进来——人们将会向他追问小天狼星的下落——
    "What?" said Harry, feeling his spirits slip a further few notches.. . . Surely there could be nothing worse than dragons coming?
    哈利听见身后的炉火里发出啪的一声轻响,他知道小天狼星走了。他注视着旋转楼梯的底部。究竟是谁在凌晨一点钟想出来散步,因而阻碍了小天狼星向他传授通过火龙的秘诀呢?
    "Karkaroff," said Sirius. "Harry, he was a Death Eater. You know what Death Eaters are, don't you?"
    是罗恩。他穿着褐紫色的漩涡纹睡衣,走进了公共休息室,在哈利面前猛地停住脚步,朝四下张望着。
    "Yes - he - what?"
    “你刚才在跟谁说话?”他说。
    "He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet everything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year - to keep an eye on him.
    “这跟你有什么关系?”哈利吼道,“深更半夜的,你到这里来做什么?”
    Moody caught Karkaroff. Put him into Azkaban in the first place."
    “我只是担心,不知道你——”罗恩打住话头,耸了耸肩膀,“没什么。我回去睡觉了。”
    "Karkaroff got released?" Harry said slowly - his brain seemed to be struggling to absorb yet another piece of shocking information. "Why did they release him?"
    “你想鬼鬼祟祟地到处打探,是吗?”哈利嚷道。其实他也明白,罗恩根本不知道自己不小心搅乱了什么,他明白罗恩不是故意的,但他什么也不管了——此时此刻,他觉得罗恩的一切都那么讨厌,从头到脚,包括他睡裤下裸露的那几寸脚脖子。
    "He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic," said Sirius bitterly. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names. . . he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place. . . . He's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well."
    “对不起,”罗恩说,他的脸气得通红,“我应该明白你不愿意被人打扰。好,我让开,你继续安安静静地排练你的下一次采访吧。”
    "Okay," said Harry slowly. "But. . . are you saying Karkaroff put my name in the goblet?
    哈利从桌上一把抓起一个波特臭不可闻的徽章,朝房间那头狠狠扔了过去。徽章打中了罗恩的额头,弹开了。
    Because if he did, he's a really good actor. He seemed furious about it. He wanted to stop me from competing."
    “给你,”哈利说,“给你星期二别在胸前!如果你运气好,你也可以有一个伤疤了……这就是你想要的,是不是?”
    "We know he's a good actor," said Sirius, "because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to set him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet, Harry.."
    他大步穿过房间,朝楼梯走去。他隐约希望罗恩上前拦住他,甚至巴不得罗恩狠狠地打他一拳,然而罗恩只是穿着那套瘦小的睡衣,呆呆地站在那里。哈利怒气冲冲地跑上楼,在床上睁着眼睛,气呼呼地躺了很长时间,也没有听见罗恩上来睡觉。
    "- you and the rest of the world," said Harry bitterly.
    
    "- and reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman's article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was another false alarm," Sirius said hastily, seeing Harry about to speak, "but I don't think so, somehow. I think someone tried to stop him from getting to Hogwarts. I think someone knew their job would be a lot more difficult with him around. And no one's going to look into it too closely; Mad-Eye's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean he can't still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had."
    
    "So. . . what are you saying?" said Harry slowly. "Karkaroff's trying to kill me? But - why?"
    
    Sirius hesitated.
    
    "I've been nearing some very strange things," he said slowly. "The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the Quidditch World Cup, didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark.. . and then - did you hear about that Ministry of Magic witch who's gone missing?"
    
    "Bertha Jorkins?" said Harry.
    
    "Exactly. . . she disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was rumored to be last. . . and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?"
    
    "Yeah, but. . . it's not very likely she'd have walked straight into Voldemort, is it?"
    
    said Harry.
    
    "Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins," said Sirius grimly. "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosy, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination, Harry. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap."
    
    "So. . . so Voldemort could have found out about the tournament?" said Harry. "Is that what you mean? You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?"
    
    "I don't know," said Sirius slowly, "I just don't know...Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever put your name in that goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it hook like an accident."
    
    "Looks hike a really good plan from where I'm standing," said Harry grinning bleaky.
    
    "They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their stuff."
    
    "Right - these dragons," said Sirius, speaking very quickly now. "There's a way, Harry.
    
    Don't be tempted to try a Stunning Spell - dragons are strong and too powerfully magical to be knocked out by a single Stunner, you need about half a dozen wizards at a time to overcome a dragon -"
    
    "Yeah, I know, I just saw," said Harry.
    
    "But you can do it alone," said Sirius. "There is away, and a simple spell's all you need. Just -"
    
    But Harry held up a hand to silence him, his heart suddenly pounding as though it would burst. He could hear footsteps coming down the spiral staircase behind him.
    
    "Go!" he hissed at Sirius. " Go! There's someone coming!"
    
    Harry scrambled to his feet, hiding the fire - if someone saw Sirius's face within the walls of Hogwarts, they would raise an almighty uproar - the Ministry would get dragged in - he, Harry, would be questioned about Sirius's whereabouts - Harry heard a tiny pop! in the fire behind him and knew Sirius had gone. He watched the bottom of the spiral staircase. Who had decided to go for a stroll at one o'clock in the morning, and stopped Sirius from telling him how to get past a dragon?
    
    It was Ron. Dressed in his maroon paisley pajamas, Ron stopped dead facing Harry across the room, and looked around.
    
    "Who were you talking to?" he said.
    
    "What's that got to do with you?" Harry snarled. "What are you doing down here at this time of night?"
    
    "I just wondered where you -" Ron broke off, shrugging. "Nothing. I'm going back to bed."
    
    "Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry shouted. He knew that Ron had no idea what he'd walked in on, knew he hadn't done it on purpose, but he didn't care -at this moment he hated everything about Ron, right down to the several inches of bare ankle showing beneath his pajama trousers.
    
    "Sorry about that," said Ron, his face reddening with anger. "Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get on with practicing for your next interview in peace."
    
    Harry seized one of the POTTER REALLY STINKS badges off the table and chucked it, as hard as he could, across the room. It hit Ron on the forehead and bounced off.
    
    "There you go," Harry said. "Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if yon're lucky.. . . That's what you want, isn't it?"
    
    He strode across the room toward the stairs; he half expected Ron to stop him, he would even have liked Ron to throw a punch at him, but Ron just stood there in his too-small pajamas, and Harry, having stormed upstairs, lay awake in bed fuming for a long time afterward and didn't hear him come up to bed.
    
    
    

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