哈利·波特与密室
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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    CHAPTER TWO DOBBY’S WARNING
    第二章　多比的警告
    
    
    Harry managed not to shout out, but it was a close thing. The little creature on the bed had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Harry knew instantly that this was what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning.
    哈利差点儿没叫出声来。床上的那个小怪物长着两只蝙蝠似的大耳朵，一对突出的绿眼睛有网球那么大。哈利马上想到，这就是早上在花园树篱外看他的那双眼睛。
    As they stared at each other, Harry heard Dudley’s voice from the hall.
    他们对视着，哈利听到达力的声音从门厅传来。
    “May I take your coats, Mr. and Mrs. Mason?”
    “我替你们拿着衣服好吗，梅森先生和夫人？”
    The creature slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the end of its long, thin nose touched the carpet. Harry noticed that it was wearing what looked like an old pillowcase, with rips for arm- and leg-holes.
    那怪物从床上滑下来，深深鞠了一躬，细长的鼻子都碰到了地毯上。哈利注意到他身上穿的像一只旧枕套，在胳膊和腿的地方开了几个洞。
    “Er — hello,” said Harry nervously.
    “哦——你好。”哈利不自然地说。
    “Harry Potter!” said the creature in a high-pitched voice Harry was sure would carry down the stairs. “So long has Dobby wanted to meet you, sir . . . Such an honor it is. . . .”
    “哈利波特！”那怪物尖声叫道，哈利想楼下肯定能听到。“多比一直想见您，先生……不胜荣幸……”
    “Th-thank you,” said Harry, edging along the wall and sinking into his desk chair, next to Hedwig, who was asleep in her large cage. He wanted to ask, “What are you?” but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, “Who are you?”
    “谢——谢谢。”哈利贴着墙壁挪动，坐到他桌前的椅子上，挨着在大笼子里睡觉的海德薇。他想问“你是什么”？但觉得这听起来太不礼貌，就问“你是谁”？
    “Dobby, sir. Just Dobby. Dobby the house-elf,” said the creature.
    “多比，先生。就叫多比，家养小精灵多比。”那怪物说。
    “Oh — really?” said Harry. “Er — I don’t want to be rude or anything, but — this isn’t a great time for me to have a house-elf in my bedroom.”
    “哦——是吗？”哈利说，“哦——我不想失礼，可是——此刻在我的卧室里接待一位家养小精灵有些不太合适。”
    Aunt Petunia’s high, false laugh sounded from the living room. The elf hung his head.
    客厅传来了佩妮姨妈虚伪的高声大笑。小精灵垂下了头。
    “Not that I’m not pleased to meet you,” said Harry quickly, “but, er, is there any particular reason you’re here?”
    “我不是不高兴见你，”哈利赶忙说，“可是，哦，你来这儿有什么特别的原因吗？”
    “Oh, yes, sir,” said Dobby earnestly. “Dobby has come to tell you, sir . . . it is difficult, sir . . . Dobby wonders where to begin. . . .”
    “哦，有的，先生，”多比热切地说，“多比来告诉您，先生……不好说，先生……多比不知道从哪里说起……”
    “Sit down,” said Harry politely, pointing at the bed.
    “坐下吧。”哈利指了指床，礼貌地说。
    To his horror, the elf burst into tears — very noisy tears.
    没想到小精灵突然痛哭流涕，把哈利吓了一跳，他哭的声音很大。
    “S-sit down!” he wailed. “Never . . . never ever . . .”
    “坐——坐下！”多比呜咽道，“从来……从来没有……”
    Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter.
    哈利仿佛听到楼下的声音变得有些结巴。
    “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I didn’t mean to offend you or anything —”
    “对不起，”他小声说，“我没想冒犯你。”
    “Offend Dobby!” choked the elf. “Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a wizard — like an equal —”
    “冒犯多比！”小精灵哽咽地说，“从来没有一位巫师让多比坐下——像对待平等的人那样——”
    Harry, trying to say “Shh!” and look comforting at the same time, ushered Dobby back onto the bed where he sat hiccoughing, looking like a large and very ugly doll. At last he managed to control himself, and sat with his great eyes fixed on Harry in an expression of watery adoration.
    哈利竭力在说“嘘”的同时作出抚慰的表情，领多比回到床上坐下。多比坐在那儿打嗝儿，看上去像个丑陋的大娃娃。最后他终于控制住自己，用他那双泪汪汪的大眼睛充满敬爱地凝视着哈利。
    “You can’t have met many decent wizards,” said Harry, trying to cheer him up.
    “你大概没遇到多少正派的巫师吧。”哈利想让他高兴一些。
    Dobby shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window, shouting, “Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!”
    多比摇了摇头，然后冷不防跳了起来，用脑袋疯狂地撞着窗户，嘴里喊着：“坏多比！坏多比！”
    “Don’t — what are you doing?” Harry hissed, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed — Hedwig had woken up with a particularly loud screech and was beating her wings wildly against the bars of her cage.
    “别这样，你这是干什么？”哈利着急地小声说，跳起来把多比拉回床上。海德薇被吵醒了，发出一声格外响亮的尖叫，在笼子里疯狂地乱扑乱撞。
    “Dobby had to punish himself, sir,” said the elf, who had gone slightly cross-eyed. “Dobby almost spoke ill of his family, sir. . . .”
    “多比要惩罚自己，先生。”小精灵说，他的眼睛已经有点儿对在一起了。“多比几乎说了主人家的坏话，先生……”
    “Your family?”
    “主人家？”
    “The wizard family Dobby serves, sir. . . . Dobby is a houseelf — bound to serve one house and one family forever. . . .”
    “多比服侍的那个巫师家，先生……多比是家养小精灵——必须永远服侍一户人家……”
    “Do they know you’re here?” asked Harry curiously.
    “他们知道你在这儿吗？”哈利好奇地问。
    Dobby shuddered.
    多比哆嗦了一下。
    “Oh, no, sir, no . . . Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you, sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this. If they ever knew, sir —”
    “哦，不，先生，他们不知道……多比因为来见您，要对自己进行最严厉的惩罚。多比将把自己的耳朵关在烤箱门里。万一给他们知道，先生——”
    “But won’t they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?”
    “可如果你把耳朵关在烤箱门里，他们不会发现吗？”
    “Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They lets Dobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they reminds me to do extra punishments. . . .”
    “多比猜想不会，先生。多比总是为一些事惩罚自己，先生。他们让多比这样做，先生。有时候他们提醒我更厉害地惩罚自己呢……”
    “But why don’t you leave? Escape?”
    “你为什么不逃走呢？”
    “A house-elf must be set free, sir. And the family will never set Dobby free . . . Dobby will serve the family until he dies, sir. . . .”
    “家养小精灵必须由主人放走。可主人永远不会放走多比……多比将在主人家做到死，先生……”
    Harry stared.
    哈利目瞪口呆，他说：“要我在这儿多待四个星期，我都觉得受不了。这样比起来，德思礼一家还算是有些人情味的。没有人能帮你吗？我能帮你吗？”
    “And I thought I had it bad staying here for another four weeks,” he said. “This makes the Dursleys sound almost human. Can’t anyone help you? Can’t I?”
    哈利几乎立刻就后悔他说了这句话。多比再次感动得呜呜大哭。
    Almost at once, Harry wished he hadn’t spoken. Dobby dissolved again into wails of gratitude.
    “拜托你，”哈利紧张地说，“小点儿声。要是给德思礼一家听到，要是他们知道你在这儿……”
    “Please,” Harry whispered frantically, “please be quiet. If the Dursleys hear anything, if they know you’re here —”
    “哈利波特问他能不能帮助多比……多比早就听说了您的伟大，先生，可您的仁慈，多比以前还不了解……”
    “Harry Potter asks if he can help Dobby . . . Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew. . . .”
    哈利感到脸上发烧，忙说：“你听到的那些都是胡说，我在霍格沃茨连年级第一名都排不上，第一名是赫敏，她——”
    Harry, who was feeling distinctly hot in the face, said, “Whatever you’ve heard about my greatness is a load of rubbish. I’m not even top of my year at Hogwarts; that’s Hermione, she —”
    但他很快住了口，一想起赫敏他就感到痛苦。
    But he stopped quickly, because thinking about Hermione was painful.
    “哈利波特这样谦虚，”多比崇敬地说，两只大圆眼睛闪着光，“哈利波特不说他战胜那个连名字都不能提的魔头的事迹。”
    “Harry Potter is humble and modest,” said Dobby reverently, his orb-like eyes aglow. “Harry Potter speaks not of his triumph over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named —”
    “伏地魔？”哈利说。
    “Voldemort?” said Harry.
    多比捂住耳朵，呻吟道：“啊，别说那个名字，先生！别说那个名字！”
    Dobby clapped his hands over his bat ears and moaned, “Ah, speak not the name, sir! Speak not the name!”
    “对不起，”哈利马上说道，“我知道许多人都不喜欢他——我的朋友罗恩……”
    “Sorry,” said Harry quickly. “I know lots of people don’t like it. My friend Ron —”
    他又停住了。想到罗恩也让人痛苦。
    He stopped again. Thinking about Ron was painful, too.
    多比凑近哈利，他的眼睛大得像车灯。
    Dobby leaned toward Harry, his eyes wide as headlights.
    “多比听说，”他嘶哑地说，“哈利波特几星期前又遇见了那个魔头……哈利波特再次逃脱了。”
    “Dobby heard tell,” he said hoarsely, “that Harry Potter met the Dark Lord for a second time, just weeks ago . . . that Harry Potter escaped yet again.”
    哈利点了点头。多比顿时热泪盈眶。
    Harry nodded and Dobby’s eyes suddenly shone with tears.
    “啊，先生，”他抽抽搭搭，用肮脏破烂的枕套角抹了抹脸，“哈利波特英勇无畏！他已经闯过了这么多的险关！可是多比想来保护哈利波特，来给他送个信，即使多比过后必须把自己的耳朵关在烤箱门里……多比想说，哈利波特不能回霍格沃茨了。”
    “Ah, sir,” he gasped, dabbing his face with a corner of the grubby pillowcase he was wearing. “Harry Potter is valiant and bold! He has braved so many dangers already! But Dobby has come to protect Harry Potter, to warn him, even if he does have to shut his ears in the oven door later. . . . Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts.”
    屋里一片安静，只听见楼下刀叉叮当之声，还有弗农姨父的咕噜声。
    There was a silence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant rumble of Uncle Vernon’s voice.
    “什——什么？”哈利大吃一惊，“可我必须回去——九月一号开学，这是我生活的希望。你不知道我在这里过的是什么日子。我不属于这儿。我属于你们的世界——属于霍格沃茨。”
    “W-what?” Harry stammered. “But I’ve got to go back — term starts on September first. It’s all that’s keeping me going. You don’t know what it’s like here. I don’t belong here. I belong in your world — at Hogwarts.”
    “不，不，”多比尖声说，用力摇着头，把耳朵甩得啪哒啪哒直响，“哈利波特必须待在安全的地方。他这么伟大，这么仁慈，我们不能失去他。如果哈利波特回到霍格沃茨，他将会有生命危险。”
    “No, no, no,” squeaked Dobby, shaking his head so hard his ears flapped. “Harry Potter must stay where he is safe. He is too great, too good, to lose. If Harry Potter goes back to Hogwarts, he will be in mortal danger.”
    “为什么？”哈利惊讶地问。
    “Why?” said Harry in surprise.
    “有一个阴谋，哈利波特。今年霍格沃茨魔法学校会有恐怖的事情发生。”多比压低声音说，突然浑身发抖，“多比知道这件事已经有几个月了，先生。哈利波特不能去冒险。他太重要了，先生！”
    “There is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year,” whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. “Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir!”
    “什么恐怖的事情？”哈利马上问，“是谁在策划？”
    “What terrible things?” said Harry at once. “Who’s plotting them?”
    多比滑稽地发出一声哽咽，然后疯狂地把脑袋往墙上撞。
    Dobby made a funny choking noise and then banged his head frantically against the wall.
    “好了！”哈利叫起来，抓住小精灵的胳膊，不让他去撞墙。“我知道你不能说。可你为什么要来警告我？”突然一个不愉快的念头在他脑海中一闪。“等等——这不会和伏——对不起——和你知道的那个神秘人有关吧？你只要摇头或点头。”他赶忙加上一句，因为多比的脑袋又令人担心地靠向了墙壁。
    “All right!” cried Harry, grabbing the elf ’s arm to stop him. “You can’t tell me. I understand. But why are you warning me?” A sudden, unpleasant thought struck him. “Hang on — this hasn’t got anything to do with Vol — sorry — with You-Know-Who, has it? You could just shake or nod,” he added hastily as Dobby’s head tilted worryingly close to the wall again.
    多比缓缓地摇了摇头。
    Slowly, Dobby shook his head.
    “不是——不是那个连名字都不能提的魔头，先生。”
    “Not — not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir —”
    可是多比的眼睛瞪大了，似乎想给哈利一个暗示，但哈利一片茫然。
    But Dobby’s eyes were wide and he seemed to be trying to give Harry a hint. Harry, however, was completely lost.
    “他没有兄弟吧？”多比摇摇头，眼睛瞪得更大。
    “He hasn’t got a brother, has he?”
    “那我就想不出还有谁能在霍格沃茨制造恐怖事件了。”哈利说道，“我是说，第一，有邓布利多——你知道邓布利多吧？”
    Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.
    多比低下头。“多比知道，阿不思邓布利多是霍格沃茨建校以来最伟大的校长。多比听说邓布利多的法力能与那个连名字都不能提的魔头最强大的时候相匹敌。可是先生，”多比急促地小声说，“有些法术邓布利多也不……没有一个正派的巫师会……”
    “Well then, I can’t think who else would have a chance of making horrible things happen at Hogwarts,” said Harry. “I mean, there’s Dumbledore, for one thing — you know who Dumbledore is, don’t you?”
    哈利制止不及，多比跳下床，抓起哈利的台灯往自己的脑袋上乱敲，伴着一声声凄厉的惨叫。
    Dobby bowed his head.
    楼下突然一阵沉寂，两秒钟后，心脏怦怦乱跳的哈利听到弗农姨父走到门厅里，喊道：“达力准是又忘记关电视机了，这个小淘气！”
    “Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. Dobby knows it, sir. Dobby has heard Dumbledore’s powers rival those of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the height of his strength. But, sir” — Dobby’s voice dropped to an urgent whisper — “there are powers Dumbledore doesn’t . . . powers no decent wizard . . .”
    “快！衣橱里！”哈利小声说。他把多比塞进衣橱，关上橱门，刚扑倒在床上，门把手就转动了。
    And before Harry could stop him, Dobby bounded off the bed, seized Harry’s desk lamp, and started beating himself around the head with earsplitting yelps.
    “你——到底——在——搞——什——么——鬼？”弗农姨父咬牙切齿地说着，把脸凑到哈利面前，近得可怕。“我正讲到日本高尔夫球手的笑话中最关键的地方，都被你给搅了……再发出一点儿声音，我让你后悔生下来，小子！”
    A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Harry, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle Vernon coming into the hall, calling, “Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!”
    他重重地跺着地板走了出去。哈利哆嗦着把多比从衣橱里拉出来。
    “Quick! In the closet!” hissed Harry, stuffing Dobby in, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned.
    “看到这里的情况了吧？知道我为什么必须回霍格沃茨了吧？我只有那个地方可去——我想我在那儿有些朋友。”
    “What — the — devil — are — you — doing?” said Uncle Vernon through gritted teeth, his face horribly close to Harry’s. “You’ve just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke. . . . One more sound and you’ll wish you’d never been born, boy!”
    “什么朋友，连信都不给哈利波特写一封？”多比狡黠地说。
    He stomped flat-footed from the room.
    “我想他们只是——慢着，”哈利皱起眉头，“你怎么知道我的朋友没给我写信？”
    Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet.
    多比把脚在地上蹭来蹭去。
    “See what it’s like here?” he said. “See why I’ve got to go back to Hogwarts? It’s the only place I’ve got — well, I think I’ve got friends.”
    “哈利波特不要生多比的气——多比都是为了……”
    “Friends who don’t even write to Harry Potter?” said Dobby slyly.
    “你截了我的信？”
    “I expect they’ve just been — wait a minute,” said Harry, frowning. “How do you know my friends haven’t been writing to me?”
    “信在多比这儿，先生。”小精灵说。他敏捷地跳到哈利抓不到的地方，从身上穿的枕套里面抽出厚厚一沓信封。哈利认出了赫敏工整的字体、罗恩龙飞凤舞的笔迹，甚至还有一种潦草的字儿，好像是霍格沃茨的狩猎场看守海格写的。
    Dobby shuffled his feet.
    多比焦急地眨巴着眼睛仰视着哈利。“哈利波特不要生气……多比原本希望……如果哈利波特以为他的朋友把他忘了……哈利波特也许就不想回学校了，先生……”
    “Harry Potter mustn’t be angry with Dobby. Dobby did it for the best —”
    哈利没有心思听，伸手去抢信，可多比一跳，闪开了。“哈利波特先要向多比保证不回霍格沃茨。哎呀，先生，您千万不能去冒这种险！说您不会回去，先生！”
    “Have you been stopping my letters?”
    “不，”哈利生气地说，“把我朋友的信给我！”
    “Dobby has them here, sir,” said the elf. Stepping nimbly out of Harry’s reach, he pulled a thick wad of envelopes from the inside of the pillowcase he was wearing. Harry could make out Hermione’s neat writing, Ron’s untidy scrawl, and even a scribble that looked as though it was from the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Hagrid.
    “那么多比就没有别的选择了。”小精灵悲哀地说。
    Dobby blinked anxiously up at Harry.
    哈利还没反应过来，多比已经冲到门边，拉开门，飞快地奔下楼去。
    “Harry Potter mustn’t be angry. . . . Dobby hoped . . . if Harry Potter thought his friends had forgotten him . . . Harry Potter might not want to go back to school, sir. . . .”
    哈利嘴里发干，五脏六腑都搅在了一起。他急忙跳起来追赶，尽量不弄出声响。他一下子蹦过最后六级台阶，猫一样地落在门厅地毯上，东张西望地寻找多比。他听到餐室里弗农姨父在说：“……梅森夫人，给佩妮讲讲那些美国管子工的笑话吧，她一直想听……”
    Harry wasn’t listening. He made a grab for the letters, but Dobby jumped out of reach.
    哈利穿过门跑进厨房，觉得肚子里一阵发空。佩妮姨妈的杰作布丁、堆得高高的奶油和撒了糖霜的堇菜，正飘浮在天花板下面。多比蹲在角落的碗橱顶上。
    “Harry Potter will have them, sir, if he gives Dobby his word that he will not return to Hogwarts. Ah, sir, this is a danger you must not face! Say you won’t go back, sir!”
    “不要，”哈利压低嗓门说，“求求你……他们会杀了我的……”
    “No,” said Harry angrily. “Give me my friends’ letters!”
    “哈利波特必须保证不回学校——”
    “Then Harry Potter leaves Dobby no choice,” said the elf sadly.
    “多比……求求你……”
    Before Harry could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted down the stairs.
    “保证吧，先生……”
    Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Harry sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. He jumped the last six steps, landing catlike on the hall carpet, looking around for Dobby. From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying, “. . . tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers, Mr. Mason. She’s been dying to hear . . .”
    “我不能！”
    Harry ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt his stomach disappear.
    多比悲哀地看了他一眼。
    Aunt Petunia’s masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby.
    “那多比只能这么做了，先生，这是为哈利波特好。”
    “No,” croaked Harry. “Please . . . they’ll kill me. . . .”
    布丁盘子当啷一声摔到地上，哈利觉得他的心跳停止了。盘子摔得粉碎，奶油溅得墙上、窗户上都是。随着一声抽鞭子似的噼啪巨响，多比不见了。餐室里发出尖叫声，弗农姨父冲进厨房，发现哈利呆若木鸡地站在那里，从头到脚溅满了佩妮姨妈的布丁。开始，弗农姨父似乎还可以把这件事掩饰过去（“我家外甥——脑子有点儿毛病——见到生人就紧张，所以我们让他待在楼上……”）。他把受惊的海森夫妇哄回餐室，对哈利说等客人走后非把他揍个半死，又丢给他一个拖把。佩妮姨妈从冰箱里挖出一些冰淇淋。哈利开始擦洗厨房，身上还在打着哆嗦。要不是那只猫头鹰，弗农姨父也许还能做成他的生意。
    “Harry Potter must say he’s not going back to school —”
    佩妮姨妈正在分发一盒餐后薄荷糖，突然一只猫头鹰旋风般从餐室窗口飞了进来，把一封信丢在梅森夫人的头上，又旋风般飞走了。梅森夫人尖声怪叫，马上逃出了这所住宅，口里喊着疯子、疯子。梅森先生多站了片刻，告诉德思礼家人，他太太对各种各样、大大小小的鸟都怕得要命，并问这是不是他们故意安排的玩笑。
    “Dobby . . . please . . .”
    哈利站在厨房里，攥紧拖把支撑着自己的身体。弗农姨父朝他逼过来，小眼睛里闪着恶魔般的亮光。
    “Say it, sir —”
    “你读读这个！”他挥舞着猫头鹰送来的那封信，恶毒地说，“拿去——读啊！”
    “I can’t —”
    哈利接过信，那里面没有生日祝词。
    Dobby gave him a tragic look.
    波特先生：我们接到报告，得知今晚九点十二分你在你的住处用了一个悬停魔咒。你知道，未成年巫师不许在校外使用魔法，你如再有此类行为，将有可能被本校开除（对未成年巫师加以合理约束的法令，一八七五年，第三款）。另外请记住，根据国际巫师联合会保密法第十三款，任何可能引起非魔法界成员（麻瓜）注意的魔法活动，均属严重违法行为。祝暑期愉快！马法尔达霍普柯克魔法部禁止滥用魔法司。
    “Then Dobby must do it, sir, for Harry Potter’s own good.”
    哈利抬起头，喉咙噎住了。
    The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.
    “你没告诉我们你不能在校外使用魔法，”弗农姨父说，眼里闪着疯狂的光芒，“忘说了……丢到脑后了吧，我猜……”
    There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Harry, rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunia’s pudding.
    他像一条大斗牛狗那样向哈利压下来，牙齿全露在外面。“啊，我有消息要告诉你，小子……我要把你关起来……你永远别想回那个学校……永远……如果你用魔法逃出去——他们会开除你的！”
    At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. (“Just our nephew — very disturbed — meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs. . . .”) He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to within an inch of his life when the Masons had left, and handed him a mop. Aunt Petunia dug some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean.
    弗农姨父说到做到，第二天就找了个人给哈利的窗户上安了铁条。他亲自在卧室门上装了一个活板门，一天三次送一点儿食物进去。他们每天早晚让哈利出来上厕所，其他时间都把他锁在屋里。
    Uncle Vernon might still have been able to make his deal — if it hadn’t been for the owl.
    三天后，德思礼一家还丝毫没有发慈悲的迹象，哈利想不出脱身的办法。他躺在床上看太阳在窗栅后面落下，悲哀地想着自己今后的命运。
    Aunt Petunia was just passing around a box of after-dinner mints when a huge barn owl swooped through the dining room window, dropped a letter on Mrs. Mason’s head, and swooped out again. Mrs. Mason screamed like a banshee and ran from the house shouting about lunatics. Mr. Mason stayed just long enough to tell the Dursleys that his wife was mortally afraid of birds of all shapes and sizes, and to ask whether this was their idea of a joke.
    如果会被霍格沃茨开除，那用魔法逃出去又有什么意义呢？可是女贞路的生活实在是过不下去了。现在，德思礼一家知道他们不会一觉醒来变成蝙蝠了，哈利失去了惟一的武器。多比也许使哈利躲过了霍格沃茨的可怕劫难，可是照现在这样下去，他可能会饿死。
    Harry stood in the kitchen, clutching the mop for support, as Uncle Vernon advanced on him, a demonic glint in his tiny eyes.
    活板门一响，佩妮姨妈的手从洞口推进来一碗罐头汤。哈利早就饿得肚子疼了，赶紧跳下床捧起那只碗。汤是冰凉的，可他一口气喝了半碗。然后他走到海德薇的笼子旁，把碗底那几根泡了水的蔬菜倒进它空空的食盘里。它竖起羽毛，充满厌恶地看了他一眼。
    “Read it!” he hissed evilly, brandishing the letter the owl had delivered. “Go on — read it!”
    “别把你的鸟嘴翘得老高，我们只有这些。”哈利板着脸说。他把空碗放回活板门旁，重新躺到床上，感觉比喝汤前更饿了。假设他四星期后还活着，却没去霍格沃茨报到，那会怎么样呢？他们会不会派人来调查他为什么没回去？他们能使德思礼一家放他走吗？屋里黑下来了，哈利精疲力竭，饥肠辘辘，脑子里翻来覆去地转着那些没有答案的问题。他不知不觉睡着了，睡得很不安稳。
    Harry took it. It did not contain birthday greetings.
    他梦见自己被放在动物园展览，笼子上的卡片写着“小巫师”。人们隔着铁栅栏看他，他躺在稻草上，饿得奄奄一息。他在人群中看到了多比的面孔，忙喊他来救他，可多比叫道：“哈利波特在那儿是安全的，先生！”说完就消失了。接着他又看到德思礼一家，达力摇着铁笼栏杆嘲笑他。
    Dear Mr. Potter,
    “住手，”哈利含糊不清地说道，那嘎啦嘎啦的声音震动着他疼痛的神经，“别吵我……停下……我想睡觉……”
    We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence this evening at twelve minutes past nine.
    他睁开眼，月光从窗栅间照进来，有人隔着铁栅栏瞪视着他：一个雀斑脸、红头发、长鼻子的人。罗恩韦斯莱正在哈利的窗户外面。
    As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spellwork on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C).
    
    We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks’ Statute of Secrecy.
    
    Enjoy your holidays!
    
    Yours sincerely,
    
    Mafalda Hopkirk
    
    improper use of magic office
    
    Ministry of Magic
    
    Harry looked up from the letter and gulped.
    
    “You didn’t tell us you weren’t allowed to use magic outside school,” said Uncle Vernon, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes. “Forgot to mention it. . . . Slipped your mind, I daresay. . . .”
    
    He was bearing down on Harry like a great bulldog, all his teeth bared. “Well, I’ve got news for you, boy. . . . I’m locking you up. . . . You’re never going back to that school . . . never . . . and if you try and magic yourself out — they’ll expel you!”
    
    And laughing like a maniac, he dragged Harry back upstairs.
    
    Uncle Vernon was as bad as his word. The following morning, he paid a man to fit bars on Harry’s window. He himself fitted a cat-flap in the bedroom door, so that small amounts of food could be pushed inside three times a day. They let Harry out to use the bathroom morning and evening. Otherwise, he was locked in his room around the clock. Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn’t see any way out of his situation. He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to him.
    
    What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren’t going to wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he’d probably starve to death anyway.
    
    The cat-flap rattled and Aunt Petunia’s hand appeared, pushing a bowl of canned soup into the room. Harry, whose insides were aching with hunger, jumped off his bed and seized it. The soup was stone-cold, but he drank half of it in one gulp. Then he crossed the room to Hedwig’s cage and tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowl into her empty food tray. She ruffled her feathers and gave him a look of deep disgust.
    
    “It’s no good turning your beak up at it — that’s all we’ve got,” said Harry grimly.
    
    He put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat-flap and lay back down on the bed, somehow even hungrier than he had been before the soup.
    
    Supposing he was still alive in another four weeks, what would happen if he didn’t turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why he hadn’t come back? Would they be able to make the Dursleys let him go?
    
    The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, Harry fell into an uneasy sleep.
    
    He dreamed that he was on show in a zoo, with a card reading underage wizard attached to his cage. People goggled through the bars at him as he lay, starving and weak, on a bed of straw. He saw Dobby’s face in the crowd and shouted out, asking for help, but Dobby called, “Harry Potter is safe there, sir!” and vanished. Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at him.
    
    “Stop it,” Harry muttered as the rattling pounded in his sore head. “Leave me alone . . . cut it out . . . I’m trying to sleep. . . .”
    
    He opened his eyes. Moonlight was shining through the bars on the window. And someone was goggling through the bars at him: a freckle-faced, red-haired, long-nosed someone.
    
    Ron Weasley was outside Harry’s window.
    
    
    

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