哈利·波特与凤凰社 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 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 TWENTY-ONE - The Eye of the Snake

第二十一章　蛇眼

Hermione ploughed her way back to Hagrid's cabin through two feet of snow on Sunday morning. Harry and Ron wanted to go with her, but their mountain of homework had reached an alarming height again, so they remained grudgingly in the common room, Tying to ignore the gleeful shouts drifting up from the grounds outside, where students were enjoying themselves skating on the frozen lake, tobogganing and, worst of all, bewitching snowballs to zoom up to Gryffindor Tower and rap hard on the windows.

星期天早上，赫敏穿过两英尺深的积雪走向海格的小屋。哈利和罗恩想陪她去，但他们的“家庭作业山”又增到了骇人的高度，所以两人不情愿地留在了公共休息室里，努力不去理睬楼下传来的欢叫声。学生们在湖上溜冰，滑雪橇，更糟糕的是，他们还用魔法使雪球飞上格兰芬多塔楼，重重地砸在窗户上。

'Oi!' bellowed Ron, finally losing patience and sticking his head out of the window, 'I am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this window - OUCH!'

“喂！”罗恩终于失去了耐心，把头伸出窗外吼道，“我是级长，再有一个雪球砸到这扇窗户——哎哟！”

He withdrew his head sharply, his face covered in snow.

他猛地缩回头，脸上全是雪。

'It's Fred and George,' he said bitterly, slamming the window behind him. 'Gits . . .'

“是弗雷德和乔治，”他砰地关上窗户，恨恨地说，“臭小子们……”

Hermione returned from Hagrid's just before lunch, shivering slightly, her robes damp to the knees.

午饭前赫敏才从海格那儿回来，微微哆嗦着，袍子膝部以下都湿了。

'So?' said Ron, looking up when she entered. 'Got all his lessons planned for him?'

“怎么样？”她进来时罗恩抬起头来问，“帮他备好课了？”

'Well, I tried,' she said dully, sinking into a chair beside Harry. She pulled out her wand and gave it a complicated little wave so that hot air streamed out of the tip; she then pointed this at her robes, which began to steam as they dried out. 'He wasn't even there when I arrived, I was knocking for at least half an hour. And then he came stumping out of the Forest - '

“我努力了，”她没精打采地说着，坐进哈利旁边的椅子，抽出魔杖花样复杂地舞了一下，杖尖冒出热气。她用它指着自己的袍子，水汽从袍子上蒸发了出去。“我去的时候他都不在，我在门外敲门敲了至少半小时，他才从林子里走出来——”

Harry groaned. The Forbidden Forest was teeming with the kind of creatures most likely to get Hagrid the sack. 'What's he keeping in there? Did he say?' he asked.

哈利呻吟了一声，禁林里多的是容易让海格被解雇的生物。“他在那儿养了什么？他说了吗？”哈利问。

'No,' said Hermione miserably. 'He says he wants them to be a surprise. I tried to explain about Umbridge, but he just doesn't get it. He kept saying nobody in their right mind would rather study Knarls than Chimaeras - oh, I don't think he's got a Chimaera,' she added at the appalled look on Harry and Ron's faces, 'but that's not for lack of trying, from what he said about how hard it is to get eggs. I don't know how many times I told him he'd be better off following Grubbly-Plank's plan, I honestly don't think he listened to half of what I said. He's in a bit of a funny mood, you know. He still won't say how he got all those injuries.'

“没有，”赫敏苦恼地说道，“他说他要给我们一个惊喜。我想说明乌姆里奇的情况，可他就是听不进去。他一个劲儿说脑子正常的人都不会愿意研究刺佬儿而放弃客迈拉兽①——哦，我想他没有客迈拉兽。”看到哈利和罗恩惊恐的表情，她赶紧加了一句：“但他不是没试过，他说那是因为他不容易弄到客迈拉的蛋……我不知多少次对他讲，用格拉普兰的教法更有利。可我真觉得他连一半都没听进去。你们知道，他有些怪怪的，还是不肯说他是怎么受的伤……”

Hagrid's reappearance at the staff table at breakfast next day was not greeted by enthusiasm from all students. Some, like Fred, George and Lee, roared with delight and sprinted up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to wring Hagrid's enormous hand; others, like Parvati and Lavender, exchanged gloomy looks and shook their heads. Harry knew that many of them preferred Professor Grubbly-Planks lessons, and the worst of it was that a very small, unbiased part of him knew that they had good reason: Grubbly-Plank's idea of an interesting class was not one where there was a risk that somebody might have their head ripped off.

海格第二天早饭时重新出现在教工桌子旁，并不是所有学生都反应热情。弗雷德、乔治和李等人热烈欢呼，冲到格兰芬多与赫奇帕奇桌子之间的过道上，拉着海格巨大的手掌握了又握。另一些人，像帕瓦蒂和拉文德等则郁闷地交换着眼色，摇着头。哈利知道他们许多人更喜欢格拉普兰教授的课。最糟糕的是，他心里有一小块公正的地方知道他们有理由：格拉普兰概念中有趣的课不是可能有人被揪掉脑袋的那种。

It was with a certain amount of apprehension that Harry, Ron and Hermione headed down to Hagrid's on Tuesday, heavily muffled against the cold. Harry was worried, not only about what Hagrid might have decided to teach them, but also about how the rest of the class, particularly Malfoy and his cronies, would behave if Umbridge was watching them.

星期二，当哈利、罗恩和赫敏穿得严严实实地去上海格的课时，心里有些害怕。哈利不仅担心海格不知会教什么东西，还担心其他同学，尤其是马尔福及其心腹在乌姆里奇听课时的表现。

However, the High Inquisitor was nowhere to be seen as they struggled through the snow towards Hagrid, who stood waiting for them on the edge of the Forest. He did not present a reassuring sight; the bruises that had been purple on Saturday night were now tinged with green and yellow and some of his cuts still seemed to be bleeding. Harry could not understand this: had Hagrid perhaps been attacked by some creature whose venom prevented the wounds it inflicted from healing? As though to complete the ominous picture, Hagrid was carrying what looked like half a dead cow over his shoulder.

然而，当他们在雪地上深一脚浅一脚地朝着等在林子边上的海格走去时，却没有看到高级调查官的影子。海格的样子不让人宽心，星期六夜里紫色的伤痕现在显出黄绿色，有些伤口好像还在流血。哈利不明白：难道海格受了什么怪兽的袭击，它的毒液能阻止伤口愈合？仿佛是为了完成这幅不祥的画面，海格肩上似乎还扛着半头死牛。

'We're workin' in here today!' Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. 'Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark.'

“我们今天在这儿上课！”海格愉快地对学生们说，把头朝身后的黑林子一摆，“林子里密了点儿！不过，它们喜欢黑暗……”

'What prefers the dark?' Harry heard Malfoy say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. 'What did he say prefers the dark - did you hear?'

“什么东西喜欢黑暗？”哈利听到马尔福尖声问克拉布和高尔，声音中带着一丝恐惧，“他说什么喜欢黑暗——你们听见了吗？”

Harry remembered the only other occasion on which Malfoy had entered the Forest before now; he had not been very brave then, either. He smiled to himself; after the Quidditch match anything that caused Malfoy discomfort was all right with him.

哈利想起马尔福以前惟一一次进入这个林子的情形，那时他自己也不是很勇敢。哈利笑了，魁地奇比赛后凡是能让马尔福不自在的事情他都赞成。

'Ready?' said Hagrid cheerfully, looking around at the class. 'Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em.'

“准备好了吗？”海格快活地扫视着全班说，“好。我为你们五年级留了一堂林中考察课，想让你们看看这些生物在自然环境中的生活。我们今天要学习的生物非常稀有，我想我可能是全英国惟一一个驯服它们的人——”

'And you're sure they're trained, are you?' said Malfoy, the panic in his voice even more pronounced. 'Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?'

“你肯定它们驯服了吗？”马尔福问，声音中的恐惧更明显了，“反正这不会是你第一次把野兽带到课堂上，对吧？”

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few Gryffindors looked as though they thought Malfoy had a fair point, too.

斯莱特林的学生小声附和，有几个格兰芬多的学生好像也觉得马尔福说的不无道理。

'Course they're trained,' said Hagrid, scowling and hoisting the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.

“当然驯服了。”海格皱起眉头，把肩上的死牛朝上提了提。

'So what happened to your face, then?' demanded Malfoy.

“那你的脸是怎么回事？”马尔福问。

'Mind yer own business!' said Hagrid, angrily. 'Now, if yeh've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!'

“这不关你的事！”海格火了，“现在如果你们问完了愚蠢的问题，就跟我走！”

He turned and strode straight into the Forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow. Harry glanced at Ron and Hermione, who sighed but nodded, and the three of them set off after Hagrid, leading the rest of the class.

他转身大步走进森林。大家似乎都不大愿意跟进去。哈利望望罗恩与赫敏，他们叹了口气，点点头。于是三人带头跟在海格后面。

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow at all on the ground. With a grunt, Hagrid deposited his half a cow on the ground, stepped back and turned to face his class, most of whom were creeping from tree to tree towards him, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment.

走了大约十分钟，来到了一处林木茂密、暗如黄昏的地方，地上一片雪也没有。海格吭哧一声把那半头牛撂到地上，退后两步，转身面对着全班同学。许多人都用树干做掩护，紧张地东张西望，小心翼翼地向他靠近，似乎在防备随时受到袭击。

'Gather roun', gather roun',' Hagrid encouraged. 'Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o the meat but I'm going ter give em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me.'

“靠拢，靠拢。”海格鼓励地说，“现在，它们会被肉味引来，但我还是叫它们一声，因为它们喜欢听到是我……”

He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed: most of them looked too scared to make a sound.

他转过身，摇摇脑袋甩开挡在脸上的头发，发出一种古怪的、尖厉的叫声，在幽暗的林子里回响，像是巨鸟的鸣叫。没有人笑，大部分人似乎都吓得不敢出声了。

Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again. A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for a first glimpse of whatever it was that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for a third lime and expanded his enormous chest, Harry nudged Ron and pointed into the black space between two gnarled yew trees.

海格又叫了一声，一分钟过去了，学生们一直在紧张地窥视四周，不知道会出现什么。当海格第三次甩开头发、扩张他那宽大的胸脯时，哈利推推罗恩，指了指两棵粗虬紫杉之间的暗处。

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.

一对发亮的白眼珠在那边渐渐变大，随后是龙一样的脸、颈子、骨骼毕露的身体，一匹巨大的、带翼的黑马从黑暗中显现出来。它朝学生们看了几秒钟，甩了甩长长的黑尾巴，然后低下头开始用尖牙撕咬死牛。

A great wave of relief broke over Harry. Here at last was proof that he had not imagined these creatures, that they were real: Hagrid knew about them too. He looked eagerly at Ron, but Ron was still staring around into the trees and after a few seconds he whispered, 'Why doesn't Hagrid call again?'

哈利感到如释重负。现在终于证明这些神兽不是他的幻想，它们是真的。海格也知道，他急切地望着罗恩，但罗恩还在朝林间张望，过了片刻他小声问道：“海格为什么不叫了？”

Most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron's and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse standing feet from them. There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face; and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

大部分同学也带着像罗恩一样困惑而紧张的表情东张西望，但就是看不到站在几英尺外的黑马。只有另外两人好像看到了：高尔身后一个瘦瘦的斯莱特林男生正在看黑马吃肉，脸上露出非常厌恶的表情；纳威的目光在盯着那条不停甩动的长长黑尾。

'Oh, an' here comes another one!' said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery-wings closer to its body and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. 'Now . . . put yer hands up, who can see 'em?'

“哦，又来了一位！”海格自豪地说，第二匹黑马从林中出现了，收起皮革一样的翅膀，低头贪婪地吃起生肉，“现在……有谁看见了，举个手。”

Immensely pleased to feel that he was at last going to understand the mystery of these horses, Harry raised his hand. Hagrid nodded at him.

哈利举起手，非常高兴终于有机会了解这些怪马的秘密了。海格朝他点了点头。

'Yeah . . . yeah, I knew you'd be able ter, Harry,' he said seriously. 'An' you too, Neville, eh? An' - '

“嗯，我知道你会的，哈利。”他严肃地说，“还有你，纳威？还有——”

'Excuse me,' said Malfoy in a sneering voice, 'but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?'

“对不起，”马尔福用讥讽的口气说，“我们到底应该看到什么？”

For an answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Parvati squealed. Harry understood why: bits of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

海格指了指地上的死牛作为回答。全班盯着它看了几秒钟，有几人倒吸了一口冷气，帕瓦蒂尖叫起来。哈利知道为什么：一块块肉自动从骨头上剥离，消失在空气中，看上去一定非常诡异。

'What's doing it?' Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. 'What's eating it?'

“什么东西？”帕瓦蒂退到离她最近的一棵树后，恐惧地问，“什么东西在吃它？”

Thestrals,' said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft 'Oh!' of comprehension at Harry's shoulder. 'Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows - ?'

“夜骐，”海格自豪地说，赫敏在哈利旁边领悟地“哦！”了一声，“霍格沃茨这里有一大群呢。现在，有谁知道——？”

'But they're really, really unlucky!' interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed. They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once - '

“可它们非常、非常不吉利！”帕瓦蒂插嘴说，看上去很惊恐，“会给看到它们的人带来各种可怕的灾祸，特里劳妮教授有次跟我说过——”

'No, no, no,' said Hagrid, chuckling, 'tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate - an' here's another couple, look - '

“不不不，”海格笑道，“那只是迷信，没什么不吉利，它们很聪明也很有用。当然，这一群没多少事可干，主要也就拉拉学校的马车，除非邓布利多要出远门但不想用幻影移形——又来了一对，瞧——”

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, 'I think I felt something, I think it's near me!'

又有两匹马悄然显现了，其中一匹从帕瓦蒂身旁擦过。她浑身发抖，紧紧抱着树干说：“我觉得有东西，它好像在我旁边！”

'Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh,' said Hagrid patiently. 'Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?'

“别害怕，它不会伤害你。”海格耐心地说，“现在，谁能告诉我为什么有人看得见，有人看不见？”

Hermione raised her hand.

赫敏举起手。

'Go on then,' said Hagrid, beaming at her.

“你说。”海格对她一笑说。

The only people who can see Thestrals,' she said, 'are people who have seen death.'

“只有见过死亡的人才能看见夜骐。”她说。

Tha's exactly right,' said Hagrid solemnly, 'ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals - '

“对了，”海格严肃地说，“格兰芬多加十分。夜骐——”

'Hem, hem.'

“咳，咳。”

Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid. who had never heard Umbridge's fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest Thestral, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound.

乌姆里奇教授来了。她站在离哈利几英尺远的地方，仍是绿帽子，绿斗篷，手拿写字板。没听过乌姆里奇假咳的海格有点担心地望着旁边的一匹夜骐，显然以为是它发出的声音。

'Hem, hem.'

“咳，咳。”

'Oh, hello!' Hagrid said, smiling, having located the source of the noise.

“哦，你好！”海格微笑道，发现了怪声的来源。

'You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?' said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she were addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?'

“你有没有收到我早上送到你小屋的字条？”乌姆里奇还是像她前一次对海格说话时那样，说得又慢又响，似乎对方是个外国人还智力迟钝，“说我要来听你的课。”

'Oh, yeah,' said Hagrid brightly. 'Glad yeh found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see - or, I dunno - can you? We're doin' Thestrals today - '

“哦，收到了，”海格爽朗地说，“很高兴你找到了地方！你看——我不知道——你能看到吗？我们今天讲夜骐——”

'I'm sorry?' said Professor Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. 'What did you say?'

“对不起，”乌姆里奇教授把手放在耳朵边握成杯子形状，皱着眉头大声说道，“你说什么？”

Hagrid looked a little confused.

海格显得有点疑惑。

'Er - Thestrals!' he said loudly. 'Big - er - winged horses, yeh know!'

“呃——夜骐！”他响亮地说，“大马——呃——带翅膀的，你知道！”

He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully. Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard: 'Has . . . to . . . resort . . . to . . . crude . . . sign . . . language.'

他急切地把粗胳膊扑扇了两下。乌姆里奇教授朝他挑起眉毛，在写字板上边写边念，“要靠……笨拙的……手势……”

'Well . . . anyway . . .' said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered, 'erm . . . what was I sayin?'

“好……”海格说，转身面向学生，看上去有点慌乱，“呃……我说到哪儿了？”

'Appears . . . to . . . have . . . poor . . . short . . . term . . . memory,' muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. Draco Malfoy looked as though Christmas had come a month early; Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage.

“似乎……记性……很差……”乌姆里奇说，声音响得大家都能听见。德拉科·马尔福的样子好像圣诞节提前一个月到了，赫敏则气得涨红了脸。

'Oh, yeah,' said Hagrid, throwing an uneasy glance at Umbridge's clipboard, but ploughing on valiantly. 'Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one,' he patted the first horse to have appeared, 'name o' Tenebrus, he's my special favourite, firs' one born here in the Forest - '

“哦……”海格不安地瞟了瞟乌姆里奇的写字板，但还是勇敢地讲了下去。“对，我正要告诉你们这一群是怎么来的。这个——开始只有一匹公马和五匹母马。这个叫乌乌，”他拍拍最先出现的那匹，“是我最喜欢的，这个林子里出生的第一匹——”

'Are you aware,' Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, 'that the Ministry of Magic has classified Thestrals as "dangerous"?'

“你知不知道，”乌姆里奇高声打断了他，“魔法部已把夜骐列为‘危险动物’？”

Harry's heart sank like a stone, but Hagrid merely chuckled.

哈利的心陡地一沉，但海格只是笑笑。

Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ', they might take a bite outta yeh if yeh really annoy them - '

“夜骐不危险！当然，要真给惹急了，它们可能会咬你——”

'Shows . . . signs . . . of. . . pleasure . . . at . . . idea . . . of. . . violence,' muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again.

“对……残暴……表现出……快意……”乌姆里奇又在笔记本上写道。

'No - come on!' said Hagrid, looking a little anxious now. 'I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it - but Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing - people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?'

“不——不是！”海格说道，有点着急了，“我是说，狗还会咬人呢，对吧——夜骐只是因为死人的关系名声不好——人们过去以为它不吉利，对吧？只是无知，对吧？”

Umbridge did not answer; she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, 'Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk,' she mimed walking (Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were having silent fits of laughter) 'among the students' (she pointed around at individual members of the class) 'and ask them questions.' She pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.

乌姆里奇没有回答。她记完了最后一笔，抬头看着海格，依旧又慢又响地说道：“请像往常一样继续讲课，我要在学生中”——她指着一个个学生——“走一走。”——她做出走路的样子，马尔福和潘西·帕金森在偷偷地笑。“提点问题。”她又指指自己的嘴巴，表示说话。

Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as though he did not understand normal English. Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now.

海格瞪着她，显然完全不明白她为什么以为他不懂正常的英语。赫敏眼中含着愤怒的泪花。

'You hag, you evil hag!' she whispered, as Umbridge walked towards Pansy Parkinson. 'I know what you're doing, you awiul, twisted, vicious - '

“母夜叉，邪恶的母夜叉！”她小声说，看着乌姆里奇走向潘西·帕金森，“我知道你要干什么，你这丑陋的、变态的、恶毒的——”

'Erm . . . anyway,' said Hagrid, clearly struggling to regain the flow of his lesson, 'so - Thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's loads o' good stuff abou' them . . .'

“哦……总之，”海格试图继续讲下去，“这个——夜骐，对，它们有很多好东西……”

'Do you find,' said Professor Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, 'that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?'

“你觉得，”乌姆里奇教授清脆地问潘西·帕金森，“你能听懂海格教授讲话吗？”

Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles.

像赫敏一样，潘西也含着眼泪，但这些眼泪是笑出来的，她使劲忍着笑，回答得断断续续。

'No . . . because . . . well . . . it sounds . . . like grunting a lot of the time . . .'

“不能……因为……听起来……很多时候……像呜噜呜噜……”

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard. The few unbruised bits of Hagrid's face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy's answer.

乌姆里奇在写字板上刷刷地写着。海格脸上几小块没有青紫的皮肤一下子红了，但他努力装作没听到潘西的回答。

'Er . . . yeah . . . good stuff abou' Thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' sense o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go - '

“呃……这个……夜骐的好东西。对了，当它们被驯服之后，像这群一样，你就不会迷路了。方向感好得惊人，只要告诉它们你想去哪儿——”

'Assuming they can understand you, of course,' said Malfoy loudly, and Pansy Parkinson collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles. Professor Umbridge smiled indulgently at them and then turned to Neville.

“当然啦，得假定他们能听懂你的话。”马尔福大声说，潘西·帕金森又咯咯地笑了起来。乌姆里奇教授纵容地朝他们笑笑，然后转向纳威。

'You can see the Thestrals, Longbottom, can you?' she said.

“你能看到夜骐，是吗，隆巴顿？”她问。

Neville nodded.

纳威点点头。

'Who did you see die?' she asked, her tone indifferent.

“你看到谁死了？”她语气冷漠地问。

'My . . . my grandad,' said Neville.

“我……我爷爷。”纳威说。

'And what do you think of them?' she said, waving her stubby hand at the horses, who by now had stripped a great deal of the carcass down to bone.

“你觉得它们怎么样？”她说，粗短的手朝黑飞马挥了挥，它们已经把很大一部分尸体撕得只剩骨头了。

'Erm,' said Neville nervously, with a glance at Hagrid. 'Well, they're . . . er . . . OK . . .'

“嗯，”纳威瞟了一眼海格，紧张地说道，“嗯……它们……嗯……挺好的……”

'Students . . . are . . . too . . . intimidated . . . to . . . admit . . . they . . . are . . . frightened,' muttered Umbridge, making another note on her clipboard.

“学生……不敢……承认……害怕。”乌姆里奇念道，又在写字板上记了几笔。

'No!' said Neville, looking upset. 'No, I'm not scared of them!'

“不！”纳威不安地说，“我不害怕它们——！”

'It's quite all right,' said Umbridge, patting Neville on the shoulder with what she evidently intended to be an understanding smile, though it looked more like a leer to Harry. 'Well, Hagrid,' she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, slow voice, 'I think I've got enough to be getting along with. You will receive' (she mimed taking something from the air in front of her) 'the results of your inspection' (she pointed at the clipboard) 'in ten days' time.' She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more toadlike than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury and Neville looking confused and upset.

“没关系。”乌姆里奇拍拍纳威的肩膀，她显然想做出一副谅解的笑容，但在哈利看来却更像狞笑。“好了，海格，”她转身仰视着他，又一次用又慢又响的声音说，“我想我已经掌握了足够的情况……你会在十天之内”——她伸出短粗的十指，“收到”——她做出从空中取东西状，“你的调查结果。”——她指了指写字板。然后，她更加得意地微笑着，在绿帽子下比以前更像一只癞蛤蟆，从学生中匆匆走了出去。马尔福和潘西·帕金森笑个不停，赫敏气得浑身发抖，纳威看上去迷惑而懊恼。

That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!' stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. 'You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again - she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dimwitted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother - and. oh, it's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all - I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but Thestrals are fine - in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!'

“那个邪恶、虚伪、变态的丑八怪！”半小时后赫敏愤怒地说，他们沿着来时在雪地上踩出的小道走回城堡，“你们看出了她想干什么吗？又是她那套歧视半人半兽的把戏——她想把海格说成是智力低下的巨怪，就因为他妈妈是个巨人——哦，这不公平，其实课上得不坏——我是说，如果又是炸尾螺也就罢了，但夜骐挺好的——老实讲，对海格来说，它们真是很不错了！”

'Umbridge said they're dangerous,' said Ron.

“乌姆里奇说它们有危险。”罗恩说。

'Well, it's like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves,' said Hermione impatiently, 'and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly-Plank wouldn't usually show them to us before NEWT level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could.'

“咳，就像海格说的，它们能照看好自己。”赫敏不耐烦地说，“我想格拉普兰那样的老师一般不会在N．E．W．Ts考试之前教这个的，但是，它们确实很有趣，是不是？有人看见，有人看不见！我希望我能看见。”

'Do you?' Harry asked her quietly.

“是吗？”哈利平静地问。

She looked suddenly horrorstruck.

她一下子显得很惊恐。

'Oh, Harry - I'm sorry - no, of course I don't - that was a really stupid thing to say.'

“哦，哈利——对不起——我当然不希望——那真是句蠢话——”

'It's OK,' he said quickly, 'don't worry'

“没关系，”他赶忙说，“别担心。”

'I'm surprised so many people could see them,' said Ron. 'Three in a class - '

“我奇怪竟有这么多人看得见，”罗恩说，“班上有三个——”

'Yeah, Weasley, we were just wondering,' said a malicious voice. Unheard by any of them in the muffling snow, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were walking along right behind them. 'D'you reckon if you saw someone snuff it you'd be able to see the Quaffle better?'

“对啊，韦斯莱，我们也在纳闷呢。”一个阴阳怪气的声音说道。因为雪太深，他们都没听见马尔福、克拉布和高尔就走在身后。“你认为如果你见过人咽气，你就会把鬼飞球看得更清楚些吗？”

He, Crabbe and Goyle roared with laughter as they pushed past on their way to the castle, then broke into a chorus of 'Weasley is our King'. Ron's ears turned scarlet.

他和克拉布、高尔放声大笑，从旁边挤了过去，朝城堡走去，又高唱起“韦斯莱是我们的王”。罗恩耳朵通红。

'Ignore them, just ignore them,' intoned Hermione, pulling out her wand and performing the charm to produce hot air again, so that she could melt them an easier path through the untouched snow between them and the greenhouses.

“别理他们，千万别理他们。”赫敏急忙劝道。她抽出魔杖，又用咒语产生热气，在没人踏过的雪地上融化出一条通向温室的路。

*

十二月带来了更多的雪，也给五年级学生带来了雪崩般的家庭作业。随着圣诞节临近，罗恩、赫敏的级长工作越来越繁重。他们要负责监督装饰城堡（“你去挂彩带，皮皮鬼却抓着另一头要把你勒死。”罗恩说），要看着课间因为天冷而待在室内的一二年级学生（“他们脸皮可真厚，我们一年级时绝对没有那么放肆。”罗恩说），还要和阿格斯·费尔奇轮班在走廊里巡视，因为费尔奇怀疑节日中打架可能会增多（“那家伙他脑子里有大粪。”罗恩气愤地说）。赫敏忙得没工夫织小精灵帽，很着急，她只剩三顶了。

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the fifth-years. Ron and Hermione's prefect duties also became more and more onerous as Christmas approached. They were called upon to supervise the decoration of the castle ('You try putting up tinsel when Peeves has got the other end and is trying to strangle you with it,' said Ron), to watch over first- and second-years spending their break-times inside because of the bitter cold ('And they're cheeky little snot-rags, you know, we definitely weren't that rude when we were in first year, said Ron) and to patrol the corridors in shifts with Argus Filch, who suspected that the holiday spirit might show itself in an outbreak of wizard duels ('He's got dung for brains, that one,' said Ron furiously). They were so busy that Hermione had even stopped knitting elf hats and was fretting that she was down to her last three.

“那些我还没有解放的可怜的小精灵们，圣诞节只好待在这里，因为帽子不够！”

'All those poor elves I haven't set free yet, having to stay here over Christmas because there aren't enough hats!'

哈利不忍心讲多比把她织的帽子全拿走了，便埋下头写魔法史课的论文。反正他不愿去想圣诞节。上学以来，这是他第一次很想在假期离开霍格沃茨。不能打球，又担心海格会不会被留用察看，他现在恨透了这个地方。他惟一盼望的就是D．A．的活动，可是假期中只能暂停，因为几乎所有的成员都要和家人一起过节。赫敏要跟父母去滑雪，罗恩觉得非常有趣，他从没听说过麻瓜把木条绑在脚上从山上滑下去。罗恩自己要回陋居。哈利妒忌了好几天，直到他问罗恩打算怎么回家过圣诞节，罗恩说：“你也去呀！我没说过吗？妈妈几星期前就写信叫我邀请你了！”

Harry, who had not had the heart to tell her that Dobby was taking everything she made, bent lower over his History of Magic essay. In any case, he did not want to think about Christmas. For the first time in his school career, he very much wanted to spend the holidays away from Hogwarts. Between his Quidditch ban and worry about whether or not Hagrid was going to be put on probation, he felt highly resentful towards the place at the moment. The only thing he really looked forward to were the DA meetings, and they would have to stop over the holidays, as nearly everybody in the DA would be spending the time with their families. Hermione was going skiing with her parents, something that greatly amused Ron, who had never heard of Muggles strapping narrow strips of wood on to their feet to slide down mountains. Ron was going home to The Burrow. Harry endured several days of envy before Ron said, in response to Harry asking him how he was going to get home for Christmas: :But you're coming too! Didn't I say? Mum wrote and told me to invite you weeks ago!'

赫敏转转眼珠，但哈利的心飞了起来：在陋居过圣诞节真是太棒了，只是哈利有点内疚不能和小天狼星一起过节。他也想能不能说服韦斯莱夫人邀请他的教父，但他不仅怀疑邓布利多不会让小天狼星离开格里莫广场，而且深感韦斯莱夫人可能也不欢迎他去，她跟他总是不和。小天狼星自从上次在火中消失后还没跟哈利联系过，虽然哈利知道，在乌姆里奇的监视下试图联系是不明智的，但他不愿想到小天狼星独自待在他母亲的老房子里，也许他会寂寞地和克利切拉开一个彩包爆竹。

Hermione rolled her eyes, but Harry's spirits soared: the thought of Christmas at The Burrow was truly wonderful, though slightly marred by Harry's guilty feeling that he would not be able to spend the holiday with Sirius. He wondered whether he could possibly persuade Mrs Weasley to invite his godfather for the festivities. Even though he doubted whether Dumbledore would permit Sirius to leave Grimmauld Place anyway, he could not help but think Mrs Weasley might not want him; they were so often at loggerheads. Sirius had not contacted Harry at all since his last appearance in the fire, and although Harry knew that with Umbridge on constant watch it would be unwise to attempt to contact him, he did not like to think of Sirius alone in his mother's old house, perhaps pulling a lonely cracker with Kreacher.

哈利早早来到有求必应屋，参加节前最后一次D．A．活动。他很高兴自己来得早，因为所有的火把亮起时，他看出多比为了过圣诞节已经把这个地方装饰过了。一看就知道是小精灵干的，因为没有别人会在天花板上吊一百个金色小球，每个上面都有哈利的大头照，还刻着一行字：圣诞哈利路亚②！

Harry arrived early in the Room of Requirement for the last DA meeting before the holidays and was very glad he had, because when the torches burst into flame he saw that Dobby had taken it upon himself to decorate the place for Christmas. He could tell the elf had done it, because nobody else would have strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Harry's face and bearing the legend: 'HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!'

哈利刚把最后一个小金球摘下来，门吱呀一声开了，卢娜·洛夫古德像往常一样做梦似的走了进来。

Harry had only just managed to get the last of them down before the door creaked open and Luna Lovegood entered, looking as dreamy as usual.

“你好，”她含糊地说，打量着剩余的装饰，“很漂亮，是你搞的吗？”

'Hello,' she said vaguely, looking around at what remained of the decorations. These are nice, did you put them up?'

“不，”哈利说，“是家养小精灵多比。”

'No,' said Harry, 'it was Dobby the house-elf.'

“檞寄生，”卢娜做梦似的说，指着几乎罩在哈利头顶上的一大丛白浆果。他赶快从它下面跳了出来。“这就对了，”卢娜严肃地说，“它里面经常会长蝻钩。”

'Mistletoe,' said Luna dreamily, pointing at a large clump of white berries placed almost over Harry's head. He jumped out from under it. 'Good thinking,' said Luna very seriously. 'It's often infested with Nargles.'

正在这时，安吉利娜、凯蒂和艾丽娅进来了，哈利也就用不着追问蝻钩是什么了。三个女生都气喘吁吁，看上去冻得够呛。

Harry was saved the necessity of asking what Nargles are by the arrival of Angelina, Katie and Alicia. All three of them were breathless and looked very cold.

“咳，”安吉利娜没精打采地说着，扯下斗篷扔到角落里，“我们找到替补了。”

'Well,' said Angelina dully, pulling off her cloak and throwing it into a corner, 'we've finally replaced you.'

“替补我？”哈利傻乎乎地问。

'Replaced me?' said Harry blankly.

“你、弗雷德和乔治，”她不耐烦地说，“我们有新的找球手了！”

You and Fred and George,' she said impatiently. 'We've got another Seeker!'

“谁？”哈利忙问。

'Who?' said Harry quickly.

“金妮·韦斯莱。”凯蒂说。

'Ginny Weasley,' said Katie.

哈利愣愣地望着她。

Harry gaped at her.

“没错，我知道。”安吉利娜说着抽出魔杖，活动着胳膊。“可她很不错，真的。当然不如你，”她狠狠白了他一眼说，“可是既然你不能参加……”

'Yeah, I know,' said Angelina, pulling out her wand and flexing her arm, 'but she's pretty good, actually. Nothing on you, of course,' she said, throwing him a very dirty look, 'but as we can't have you . . .'

哈利咽回了已到嘴边的反驳：她难道没有想过，他被迫离队，不比她遗憾一百倍吗？

Harry bit back the retort he was longing to utter: did she imagine for a second that he did not regret his expulsion from the team a hundred times more than she did?

“击球手呢？”他问，努力使语气保持平静。

'And what about the Beaters? he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

“安德鲁·柯克，”艾丽娅不热情地说，“杰克·斯劳珀，都不是很灵，但跟别的木头比起来……”

'Andrew Kirke,' said Alicia without enthusiasm, 'and Jack Sloper. Neither of them are brilliant, but compared to the rest of the idiots who turned up . . .'

罗恩、赫敏和纳威的到来结束了这场压抑的谈话，五分钟后，屋子里已经满得看不到安吉利娜灼人的责备目光了。

The arrival of Ron, Hermione and Neville brought this depressing discussion to an end, and within five minutes the room was full enough to prevent Harry seeing Angelina's burning, reproachful looks.

“好，”他叫大家安静，“我想今晚我们就复习一下以前练过的东西，因为这是节前最后一次集会，在三个礼拜的假期之前学新的东西没有意义——”

'OK,' he said, calling them all to order. 'I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no poin: starting anything new right before a three-week break - '

“不学新东西？”扎卡赖斯·史密斯嘟哝道，声音传遍了全屋，“早知道就不来了……”

'We're not doing anything new?' said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. 'If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come.'

“那我们都很遗憾哈利没有早点告诉你。”弗雷德大声说。

'We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then,' said Fred loudly.

几个人偷偷地笑。哈利看到秋也在笑，心里又是一跳，好像下楼时一脚踩空了似的。

Several people sniggered. Harry saw Cho laughing and felt the familiar swooping sensation in his stomach, as though he had missed a step going downstairs.

“——我们两两练习，”哈利说，“从障碍咒开始，练十分钟，然后把垫子拿出来，再练昏迷咒。”

' - we can practise in pairs,' said Harry. 'We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again.'

众人自动分开，哈利照例和纳威一组。屋里很快便充斥了“障碍重重”的声音，被点中的人会僵住一分钟左右，对手无所事事地看着他人练习，然后他们活动起来，跟对手交换角色。

They all divided up obediently; Harry partnered Neville as usual. The room was soon full of intermittent cries of 'Impedimenta!' People froze for a minute or so, during which their partner would stare aimlessly around the room watching other pairs at work, then would unfreeze and take their turn at the jinx.

纳威进步得像换了个人。过了一会儿，当哈利连着僵住三次之后，他又让纳威去跟罗恩、赫敏练，自己在屋里转转，走过秋的身旁时，她朝他嫣然一笑。他努力抵制老想往那边走的诱惑。

Neville had improved beyond all recognition. After a while, when Harry had unfrozen three times in a row, he had Neville join Ron and Hermione again so that he could walk around the room and watch the others. When he passed Cho she beamed at him; he resisted the temptation to walk past her several more times.

练了十分钟障碍咒之后，他们摆开垫子，又练起昏迷咒。地方不够，一半人先在旁边看，然后交换。哈利看着大家，心里充满了自豪。诚然，纳威击昏了帕德玛·佩蒂尔，而不是他所瞄准的迪安，但比起以前来准头已经好多了，其他人也都有很大进步。

After ten minutes on the Impediment Jinx, they laid out cushions all over the floor and started practising Stunning again. Space was really too confined to allow them all to work this spell at once; half the group observed the others for a while, then swapped over.

一小时后，哈利叫大家停了下来。

Harry felt himself positively swelling with pride as he watched them all. True, Neville did Stun Padma Patil rather than Dean, at whom he had been aiming, but it was a much closer miss than usual, and everybody else had made enormous progress.

“练得很好了，”他笑望着大家说，“放完假回来后我们可以开始一些难度大的——甚至可以包括守护神咒。”

At the end of an hour, Harry called a halt.

一片兴奋的议论声，人们像往常一样三三两两地走出了房间，许多人祝哈利“圣诞快乐”。哈利心情很好，跟罗恩、赫敏一起收起垫子，堆放整齐。罗恩与赫敏先走了，他多待了一会儿，因为秋还在，他希望听到她说“圣诞快乐”。

'You're getting really good,' he said, beaming around at them. 'When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff - maybe even Patronuses.'

“你先走吧。”他听到她对玛丽埃塔说，他的心一下蹦到了嗓子眼儿。

There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry a 'Happy Christmas' as they went. Feeling cheerful, he collected up the cushions with Ron and Hermione and stacked them neatly away. Ron and Hermione left before he did; he hung back a little, because Cho was still there and he was hoping to receive a 'Merry Christmas' from her.

他假装把垫子摞齐，知道屋里没有别人了，他等着她开口，可是听到的却是一声抽泣。

'No, you go on,' he heard her say to her friend Marietta and his heart gave a jolt that seemed to take it into the region of his Adam's apple.

他转过身，看到秋站在屋子中间，脸上流着泪。

He pretended to be straightening the cushion pile. He was quite sure they were alone now and waited for her to speak. Instead, he heard a hearty sniff.

“怎么——？”

He turned and saw Cho standing in the middle of the room, tears pouring down her face.

他不知道怎么办，她只是站在那儿，默默哭泣。

'Wha-?'

“怎么啦？”他无力地问。

He didn't know what to do. She was simply standing there, crying silently.

她摇摇头，用衣袖拭了拭眼泪。

'What's up?' he said, feebly.

“对不起，”她含混地说道，“我想……只是因为……学这些东西……让我……我想起……要是他会这些……他现在就会还活着……”

She shook her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

哈利的心一下子掉过原来的位置，沉到了肚脐眼附近。他该知道的，她想谈塞德里克。

'I'm - sorry,' she said thickly. 'I suppose . . . it's just . . . learning all this stuff . . . it just makes me . . . wonder whether . . . if he'd known it all . . . he'd still be alive.'

“他会这些。”哈利沉重地说，“他使得很好，要不也走不到迷宫中央。可如果伏地魔真想杀你，你没有机会。”

Harry's heart sank right back past its usual spot and settled somewhere around his navel. He ought to have known. She wanted to talk about Cedric.

听到伏地魔的名字，她哽噎了一下，但无畏地望着哈利。

'He did know this stuff,' Harry said heavily. 'He was really good a': it, or he could never have got to the middle of that maze. But if Voldemort really wants to kill you, you don't stand a chance.'

“你当时还是婴儿却活了下来。”她轻声说。

She hiccoughed at the sound of Voldemort's name, but stared at Harry without flinching.

“哦，是，”哈利疲惫地说，一边朝门口走去，“我不知道为什么，谁也不知道，所以没什么可骄傲的。”

'You survived when you were just a baby,' she said quietly.

“别走！”秋又带着哭腔说，“真对不起，我这样子……我本来不想……”

'Yeah, well,' said Harry wearily, moving towards the door, 'I dunno why, nor does anyone else, so it's nothing to be proud of.'

她又哽噎了。即使眼眶红肿，她还是很好看。哈利难过极了，本来只要一句“圣诞快乐”，他就会非常高兴……

'Oh, don't go!' said Cho, sounding tearful again. 'I'm really sorry to get all upset like this . . . I didn't mean to . . .'

“提到塞德里克，”她又拭了拭眼泪，“我知道你一定很难过，你看到了他的死……我想你只是希望忘掉……”

She hiccoughed again. She was very pretty even when her eyes were red and puffy. Harry felt thoroughly miserable. He'd have been so pleased with just a 'Merry Christmas'.

哈利什么也没说。这是事实，但他觉得说出来太残忍了。

'I know it must be horrible for you,' she said, mopping her eyes on her sleeve again. 'Me mentioning Cedric, when you saw him die . . . I suppose you just want to forget about it?'

“你真——真是个好老师，”秋含泪微笑道，“我以前从来没有击昏过什么东西。”

Harry did not say anything to this; it was quite true, but he felt heartless saying it.

“谢谢。”哈利笨拙地说。

'You're a r-really good teacher, you know,' said Cho, with a watery smile. 'I've never been able to Stun anything before.'

他们对视了很久，哈利有从屋里逃出去的冲动，可脚却根本挪不动。

'Thanks,' said Harry awkwardly.

“檞寄生。”秋指指他头顶的天花板说。

They looked at each other for a long moment. Harry felt a burning desire to run from the room and, at the same time, a complete inability to move his feet.

“没错，”哈利说，感到唇干舌燥，“但里面可能长满了蝻钩。”

'Mistletoe,' said Cho quietly, pointing at the ceiling over his head.

“蝻钩是什么？”

'Yeah,' said Harry. His mouth was very dry. 'It's probably full of Nargles, though.'

“不知道。”哈利说。她靠近了些，他的脑子好像被击昏了。“你得问疯姑娘，我是说卢娜。”

'What are Nargles?'

秋发出一种半哭半笑的滑稽声音。她离他更近了，他几乎数得清她鼻子上的雀斑。

'No idea,' said Harry. She had moved closer. His brain seemed to have been Stunned. 'You'd have to ask Loony. Luna, I mean.'

“我真的喜欢你，哈利。”

Cho made a funny noise halfway between a sob and a laugh. She was even nearer to him now. He could have counted the freckles on her nose.

他无法思考。一种震颤的感觉传遍了他的全身，麻痹了他的手臂、双腿和大脑。

'I really like you, Harry.'

她太近了。他能看见她睫毛上的每颗泪珠……

He could not think. A tingling sensation was spreading through him, paralysing his arms, legs and brain.

半小时后他回到公共休息室，发现罗恩与赫敏坐在壁炉前最好的位置，几乎所有的人都回去睡觉了。赫敏在写一封很长很长的信，已经写满了半卷羊皮纸，从桌边垂下来。罗恩趴在炉前的地毯上，试图完成变形课作业。

She was much too close. He could see every tear clinging to her eyelashes . . .

“什么把你绊住了？”罗恩问。哈利倒在了赫敏旁边的扶手椅上。

*

哈利没有回答。他沉浸在震惊中，一半想告诉罗恩和赫敏刚才发生了什么，一半又想把这秘密带进坟墓。

He returned to the common room half an hour later to find Hermione and Ron in the best seats by the fire; nearly everybody else had gone to bed. Hermione was writing a very long letter; she had already filled half a roll of parchment, which was dangling from the edge of the table. Ron was lying on the hearthrug, trying to finish his Transfiguration homework.

“你还好吧，哈利？”赫敏问，从笔尖上抬起目光看着他。

'What kept you?' he asked, as Harry sank into the armchair next to Hermione's.

哈利心不在焉地耸了耸肩。其实他也不知道自己是好还是不好。

Harry didn't answer. He was in a state of shock. Half of him wanted to tell Ron and Hermione what had just happened, but the other half wanted to take the secret with him to the grave.

“怎么啦？”罗恩用胳膊肘支起身子，好看清哈利，“发生了什么事？”

'Are you all right, Harry?' Hermione asked, peering at him over the tip of her quill.

哈利不知道该怎么对他们说，而且也拿不准要不要说。就在他决定不说的时候，赫敏把事情接了过去。

Harry gave a half-hearted shrug. In truth, he didn't know whether he was all right or not. 'What's up?' said Ron, hoisting himself up on his elbow to get a clearer view of Harry. What's happened?'

“是秋吗？”她淡淡地问，“她在会后堵住了你吧？”

Harry didn't quite know how to set about telling them, and still wasn't sure whether he wanted to. Just as he had decided not to say anything, Hermione took matters out of his hands.

哈利微微有些吃惊，点了点头。罗恩哧哧地笑，看到赫敏的目光，赶忙止住了。

'Is it Cho?' she asked in a businesslike way. 'Did she corner you after the meeting?'

“那——她想干吗？”他装出随便的口气问。

Numbly surprised, Harry nodded. Ron sniggered, breaking off when Hermione caught his eye.

“她——”哈利声音有点儿哑，他清了清嗓子，又说，“她——”

'So - er - what did she want?' he asked in a mock casual voice.

“你们接吻了吗？”赫敏干脆地问。

'She - ' Harry began, rather hoarsely, he cleared his throat and tried again. 'She - er - '

罗恩腾地坐了起来，把墨水瓶碰得骨碌碌地滚在地毯上。他全然不管，只顾眼巴巴地盯着哈利。

'Did you kiss?' asked Hermione briskly.

“接了吗？”他问。

Ron sat up so fast he sent his ink bottle flying all over the rug. Disregarding this completely, he stared avidly at Harry.

哈利从罗恩好奇而兴奋的面孔望到赫敏微蹙的双眉，点了点头。

'Well?' he demanded.

“哈！”

Harry looked from Ron's expression of mingled curiosity and hilarity to Hermione's slight frown, and nodded.

罗恩得意地一挥拳头，嘎嘎大笑，把窗前几个怯怯的二年级学生惊得跳了起来。看到罗恩在地毯上打滚，哈利脸上勉强浮现出一丝笑容。赫敏厌恶地看了罗恩一眼，继续写她的信。

'HA!'

“哎，”罗恩最后抬头看着哈利说，“怎么样？”

Ron made a triumphant gesture with his fist and went into a raucous peal of laughter that made several timid-looking second-years over beside the window jump. A reluctant grin spread over Harry's face as he watched Ron rolling around on the hearthrug.

哈利想了一会儿。

Hermione gave Ron a look or deep disgust and returned to her letter.

“湿的。”他诚实地说。

'Well?' Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. 'How was it?'

罗恩发出一声怪叫，很难说是表示庆祝还是恶心。

Harry considered for a moment.

“因为她在哭。”哈利沉重地说。

'Wet,' he said truthfully.

“哦，”罗恩说，脸上的笑容减退了一些，“你接吻水平那么差吗？”

Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust, it was hard to tell.

“不知道，”哈利说，他没有想过这一点，顿时担心起来，“可能是。”

'Because she was crying,' Harry continued heavily.

“当然不是。”赫敏随口说道，还在忙着写她的信。

'Oh,' said Ron, his smile fading slightly. 'Are you that bad at kissing?'

“你怎么知道？”罗恩尖刻地问。

'Dunno,' said Harry, who hadn't considered this, and immediately felt rather worried. 'Maybe I am.'

“因为秋最近一半时间都在哭，”赫敏含糊地说，“吃饭时哭，上洗手间也哭，到哪儿都哭。”

'Of course you're not,' said Hermione absently, still scribbling away at her letter.

“你以为一点接吻能让她开心起来。”罗恩咧嘴笑道。

'How do you know?' said Ron very sharply.

“罗恩，”赫敏板着脸说，把羽毛笔伸到墨水瓶里，“你是我不幸遇到的最浑的浑球儿。”

'Because Cho spends half her time crying these days,' said Hermione vaguely. 'She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place.'

“这是什么意思？”罗恩不平地问道，“什么人会在别人亲她的时候哭鼻子呢？”

'You'd think a bit of kissing would cheer her up,' said Ron, grinning.

“是啊，”哈利有点绝望地说，“谁会呢？”

'Ron,' said Hermione in a dignified voice, dipping the point of her quill into her inkpot, 'you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet.'

赫敏带着几乎是怜悯的表情看着他们这一对。

'What's that supposed to mean?' said Ron indignantly. 'What sort of person cries while someone's kissing them?'

“你们不明白秋现在的心情吗？”她问。

'Yeah,' said Harry, slightly desperately, 'who does?'

“不明白。”哈利和罗恩一齐说。

Hermione looked at the pair of them with an almost pitying expression on her face.

赫敏叹了口气，搁下羽毛笔。

'Don't you understand how Cho's feeling at the moment?' she asked.

“显而易见，她心里很悲伤，因为塞德里克的死。同时我想她有些困惑，因为她以前喜欢过塞德里克，现在又喜欢哈利，她搞不清到底最喜欢谁。同时她还感到内疚，觉得和哈利接吻是对塞德里克的亵渎。她还担心，要是她跟哈利好的话，别人会怎么说。而且，她可能还搞不清对哈利的感情，因为塞德里克死时哈利在场。所以这一切非常矛盾和痛苦。哦，她还怕被踢出拉文克劳魁地奇球队，因为她近来飞得那么差。”

'No,' said Harry and Ron together.

她的话把两人说愣了。然后罗恩说：“一个人不能同时有那么多感情，会爆炸的。”

Hermione sighed and laid down her quill.

“你自己只有一茶匙的感情，并不代表人人都是这样。”赫敏挖苦道，又拿起了她的笔。

'Well, obviously, she's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feelings towards Harry are, anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly.'

“是她主动的，”哈利说，“我本来不想——她靠过来——然后就趴在我身上哭——我不知道怎么办——”

A slightly stunned silence greeted the end of this speech, then Ron said, 'One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode.'

“怨不得你，哥们儿。”罗恩说，似乎被吓着了。

'Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have,' said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again.

“你得对她温柔点儿。”赫敏担心地抬起眼睛说，“你有没有啊？”

'She was the one who started it,' said Harry. 'I wouldn't've - she just sort of came at me - and next thing she's crying all over me - I didn't know what to do - '

“嗯，”哈利脸上热得难受，“我好像——拍了拍她的背。”

'Don't blame you, mate,' said Ron, looking alarmed at the very thought.

赫敏似乎用了很大努力才忍住没有翻眼睛。

'You just had to be nice to her,' said Hermione, looking up anxiously. 'You were, weren't you?'

“我想这还不算最糟糕。”她说，“你打算还见她吗？”

'Well,' said Harry, an unpleasant heat creeping up his face, 'I sort of - patted her on the back a bit.'

“我非见不可，是不是？”哈利说，“有D．A．集会呀。”

Hermione looked as though she was restraining herself from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty.

“你知道我指的是什么。”赫敏不耐烦地说。

'Well, I suppose it could have been worse,' she said. 'Are you going to see her again?'

哈利沉默了。赫敏的话展现了一幕幕可怕的前景。他试着想象跟秋一起出去——或许去霍格莫德村，跟她单独相处几小时。在发生了刚才那件事之后，她当然会期望他约她出去的……这念头使得他的胃痛苦地紧缩起来。

'I'll have to, won't I?' said Harry. 'We've got DA meetings, haven't we?'

“反正，”赫敏漠然地说着，又埋在她的信里了，“你会有很多机会约她的……”

'You know what I mean,' said Hermione impatiently.

“要是他不想约她呢？”罗恩一直盯着哈利，脸上现出一种不常见的精明。

Harry said nothing. Hermione's words opened up a whole new vista of frightening possibilities. He tried to imagine going somewhere with Cho - Hogsmeade, perhaps - and being alone with her for hours at a time. Of course, she would have been expecting him to ask her out after what had just happened . . . the thought made his stomach clench painfully.

“别犯傻，”赫敏含糊地说，“哈利早就喜欢她了，是不是，哈利？”

'Oh well,' said Hermione distantly, buried in her letter once more, 'you'll have plenty of opportunities to ask her.'

他没有回答。不错，他是早就喜欢秋了，但他想象的两人相处的画面中，秋总是快乐的，而不是趴在他肩上哭得不可收拾。

'What if he doesn't want to ask her?' said Ron, who had been watching Harry with an unusually shrewd expression on his face.

“你在给谁写小说呢？”罗恩问赫敏，伸头去读已经垂到地上的羊皮纸。

'Don t be silly, said Hermione vaguely, Harry's liked her lor ages, haven't you, Harry?'

赫敏把它拖了上去。“威克多尔。”

He did not answer. Yes, he had liked Cho for ages, but whenever he had imagined a scene involving the two of them it had always featured a Cho who was enjoying herself, as opposed to a Cho who was sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

“克鲁姆？”

'Who're you writing the novel to, anyway?' Ron asked Hermione, trying to read the bit of parchment now trailing on the floor. Hermione hitched it up out of sight.

“我们还知道几个威克多尔呀？”

'Viktor.'

罗恩没说话，但看上去怏怏的。他们又沉默地坐了二十分钟，罗恩在不耐烦的哼哼和涂涂擦擦中完成了他的变形课论文；赫敏沉着地写到羊皮纸的最后，仔细地卷起封好；哈利盯着炉火，特别希望小天狼星的脑袋出现，给他一些关于女孩子的忠告。但炉火只是噼噼啪啪越烧越低，直到红热的余炭化成了灰烬。哈利环顾四周，发现屋里又只剩他们三个了。

'Krum?'

“好了，晚安。”赫敏说，打着大哈欠朝女生宿舍的楼梯走去。

'How many other Viktors do we know?'

“她看上克鲁姆什么啦？”罗恩和哈利一起上楼时问道。

Ron said nothing, but looked disgruntled. They sat in silence for another twenty minutes, Ron finishing his Transfiguration essay with many snorts of impatience and crossings-out, Hermione writing steadily to the very end of the parchment, rolling it up carefully and sealing it, and Harry staring into the fire, wishing more than anything that Sirius's head would appear there and give him some advice about girls. But the fire merely crackled lower and lower, until the red-hot embers crumbled into ash and, looking around, Harry saw that they were, yet again, the last ones in the common room.

“嗯……”哈利思考着说道，“我想他岁数大些，是不是……又是国际球星……”

'Well, night,' said Hermione, yawning widely as she set off up the girls' staircase.

“可是除了这个之外，”罗恩似乎很恼火，“我说，他不就是个暴躁的饭桶吗？”

'What does she see in Krum?' Ron demanded, as he and Harry climbed the boys' stairs.

“是有点暴躁。”哈利说，他还在想着秋。

'Well,' said Harry, considering the matter, 'I s'pose he's older, isn't he . . . and he's an international Quidditch player . . .'

他们默默地脱掉袍子，换上睡衣。迪安、西莫和纳威都已睡着了。哈利把眼镜放在床头桌上，钻进被里，但没有拉上幔帐，而是盯着纳威床边窗户外那一片星空。要是他昨晚这个时候知道，二十四小时之后他会吻秋·张……

'Yeah, but apart from that,' said Ron, sounding aggravated. 'I mean, he's a grouchy git, isn't he?'

“晚安。”罗恩在他右边说。

'Bit grouchy, yeah,' said Harry, whose thoughts were still on Cho.

“晚安。”哈利说。

They pulled off their robes and put on pyjamas in silence; Dean, Seamus and Neville were already asleep. Harry put his glasses on his bedside table and got into bed but did not pull the hangings closed around his four-poster; instead, he stared at the patch of starry sky visible through the window next to Neville's bed. If he had known, this time last night, that in twenty-four hours' time he would have kissed Cho Chang . . .

也许下次……如果有下次的话……她会快乐一些。他应该约她出去的，她当时可能在期待他开口，现在正生着他的气……或者她正躺在床上，为塞德里克而哭泣？他不知道该怎么想。赫敏的解释似乎使这一切更复杂，而不是更好懂了。

'Night,' grunted Ron, from somewhere to his right.

学校应该教这个，他翻了个身想道，女孩子的心思……这至少比占卜课有用得多。

'Night,' said Harry.

纳威在睡梦中抽了抽鼻子，远处传来一只猫头鹰的叫声。

Maybe next time . . . if there was a next time . . . she'd be a bit happier. He ought to have asked her out; she had probably been expecting it and was now really angry with him . . . or was she lying in bed, still crying about Cedric? He did not know what to think. Hermione's explanation had made it all seem more complicated rather than easier to understand.

哈利梦见他回到了D．A．集会的房间，秋埋怨他把她骗来了，说他答应只要她来了就给她一百五十张巧克力蛙画片。哈利辩白着……秋叫了起来：“塞德里克给了我好多好多的巧克力蛙画片，看！”她从袍子里掏出一把把的画片撒到空中，然后她又变成了赫敏。赫敏说：“你答应过她的，哈利……我想你最好给她点别的……你的火弩箭怎么样？”哈利争辩说他不能把火弩箭给秋，因为被乌姆里奇拿走了，而且这一切是荒唐的，他只是到D．A．房间里来挂一些多比脑袋形状的圣诞彩球……

That's what they should teach us here, he thought, turning over on to his side, how girls' brains work . . . it'd be more useful than Divination, anyway . . .

梦境幻化了……

Neville snuffled in his sleep. An owl hooted somewhere out in the night.

他的身体柔软、有力而又灵活，在闪亮的金属栅栏间，在阴暗、冰冷的石头上滑过……他身体贴着地面，用腹部滑行……光线很暗，但他能看到周围物体的光亮，一些奇异的、鲜明的色彩……他转动头部……一眼看去，走廊是空的……不对……有个人坐在地上，头垂在胸前，他的轮廓在昏暗中闪烁。

Harry dreamed he was back in the DA room. Cho was accusing him of luring her there under false pretences; she said he had promised her a hundred and fifty Chocolate Frog Cards if she showed up. Harry protested . . . Cho shouted, 'Cedric gave me loads of Chocolate Frog Cards, look!' And she pulled out fistfuls of Cards from inside her robes and threw them into the air. Then she turned into Hermione, who said, 'You did promise her, you know, Harry . . . I think you'd better give her something else instead . . . how about your Firebolt?' And Harry was protesting that he could not give Cho his Firebolt, because Umbridge had it, and anyway the whole thing w;3s ridiculous, he'd only come to the DA room to put up some Christmas baubles shaped like Dobby's head . . .

哈利伸出舌头……他尝了尝那人的气味……他活着，但在打瞌睡……坐在走廊尽头那扇门的前面……

The dream changed . . .

哈利渴望咬那个人……但他必须克制住这个冲动……有更重要的事要做……

His body felt smooth, powerful and flexible. He was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone . . . he was flat against the floor, sliding along on his belly . . . it was dark, yet he could see objects around him shimmering in strange, vibrant colours . . . he was turning his head . . . at first glance the corridor was empty . . . but no . . . a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping on to his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark . . .

可那人惊醒了……跳了起来，一件银斗篷从他腿上滑落下来，哈利看到他明亮、模糊的轮廓屹立在面前，一根魔杖从皮带上抽出……他别无选择……他竖起身子，袭击了一下，两下，三下，把他的尖牙深深插进那人的皮肤，感到肋骨在他的牙齿间碎裂了，热乎乎的鲜血……

Harry put out his tongue . . . he tasted the man's scent on the air . . . he was alive but drowsy . . . sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor ..

那人痛得大叫……然后没声了……瘫倒在墙脚……鲜血溅到地上……

Harry longed to bite the man . . . but he must master the impulse . . . he had more important work to do . . .

他的前额疼得要命……好像要炸开了……

But the man was stirring . . . a silver Cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and Harry saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt . . . he had no choice . . . he reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging his fangs deeply into the mans flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood . . .

“哈利！哈利！”

The man was yelling in pain . . . then he fell silent . . . he slumped backwards against the wall . . . blood was splattering on to the floor . . .

他睁开眼睛，浑身浸满冷汗，床单全裹在身上，像紧身衣。他觉得额头像插了把滚烫的火钳。

His forehead hurt terribly . . . it was aching fit to burst . . .

“哈利！”

'Harry! HARRY!'

罗恩站在床前，好像吓坏了，床脚还有几个人影。他抱紧脑袋，痛得眼前发黑……他滚到床边吐了起来。

He opened his eyes. Every inch of his body was covered in icy sweat; his bed covers were twisted all around him like a strait-jacket; he felt as though a white-hot poker were being applied to his forehead.

“他真的病了，”一个惊恐的声音说，“要喊人吗？”

'Harry!'

“哈利！哈利！”

Ron was standing over him looking extremely frightened. There were more figures at the foot of Harry's bed. He clutched his head in his hands; the pain was blinding him . . . he rolled right over and vomited over the edge of the mattress.

他要告诉罗恩，这至关重要……哈利大口吸着气，从床上撑起身子，命令自己不要呕吐，他痛得视线模糊。

'He's really ill,' said a scared voice. 'Should we call someone?'

“你爸爸，”他气喘吁吁地说，胸口起伏着，“你爸爸……出事了……”

'Harry! Harry!'

“什么？”罗恩没听懂。

He had to tell Ron, it was very important that he tell him . . . taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half-blinding him.

“你爸爸！他被咬了，很严重，到处都是血……”

'Your dad,' he panted, his chest heaving. 'Your dad's . . . been attacked . . .'

“我去叫人。”那个惊恐的声音说，哈利听到脚步声跑出了宿舍。

'What?' said Ron uncomprehendingly.

“哈利，哥们儿，”罗恩将信将疑，“你……你只是在做梦……”

'Your dad! He's been bitten, it's serious, there was blood everywhere . . .'

“不是！”哈利狂暴地说，一定要让罗恩明白，“不是梦……不是一般的梦……我在那儿，我看到了……我干的……”

'I'm going for help,' said the same scared voice, and Harry heard footsteps running out of the dormitory.

他听到西莫和迪安在嘀嘀咕咕，但他顾不了这么多了。额头的剧痛稍稍减轻了，但他还在出汗，发高烧一样浑身哆嗦着。他又呕吐起来，罗恩朝后一跳。

'Harry, mate,' said Ron uncertainly, 'you . . . you were just dreaming

“哈利，你病了，”他不安地说，“纳威去找人了……”

'No!' said Harry furiously; it was crucial that Ron understand.

“我没事！”哈利呛了一下，用睡衣擦擦嘴巴，控制不住地哆嗦着，“我没生病，该担心的是你爸爸——我们要找到他在哪儿——他流血不止——我是——那是条大蛇……”

'It wasn't a dream . . . not an ordinary dream . . . I was there, I saw it . . . I did it . . .'

他想下床，但罗恩把他按了回去。迪安和西莫还在旁边嘀嘀咕咕。过了一分钟还是十分钟，哈利不知道，他只是坐在那儿瑟瑟发抖，感到伤疤的剧痛在缓慢消退……楼梯上传来急促的脚步声，他又听到了纳威的声音。

He could hear Seamus and Dean muttering but did not care. The pain in his forehead was subsiding slightly, though he was still sweating and shivering feverishly. He retched again and Ron leapt backwards out of the way.

“这边，教授……”

'Harry, you're not well,' he said shakily. 'Neville's gone for help.'

麦格教授穿着格子呢的晨衣匆匆走进宿舍，眼镜歪架在瘦削的鼻梁上。

'I'm fine!' Harry choked, wiping his mouth on his pyjamas and shaking uncontrollably. There's nothing wrong with me, it's your dad you've got to worry about - we need to find out where he is - he's bleeding like mad - I was - it was a huge snake.'

“怎么了，波特？哪儿疼？”

He tried to get out of bed but Ron pushed him back into it; Dean and Seamus were still whispering somewhere nearby. Whether one minute passed or ten, Harry did not know; he simply sat there shaking, feeling the pain recede very slowly from his scar . . . then there were hurried footsteps coming up the stairs and he heard Neville's voice again.

他从没像现在这样高兴见到她，他现在正需要凤凰社的成员，而不是紧张兮兮给他开些没用的汤药的人。

'Over here, Professor.'

“是罗恩的爸爸，”他说着又坐了起来，“他被蛇咬了，非常严重，我看到的。”

Professor McGonagall came hurrying into the dormitory in her tartan dressing gown, her glasses perched lopsidedly on the bridge of her bony nose.

“什么，你看到的？”麦格教授的黑眉毛拧了起来。

'What is it, Potter? Where does it hurt?'

“我不知道……我在睡觉，后来就到了那儿……”

He had never been so pleased to see her; it was a member of the Order of the Phoenix he needed now, not someone fussing over him and prescribing useless potions.

“你是说你梦见的？”

'It's Ron's dad,' he said, sitting up again. 'He's been attacked by a snake and it's serious, I saw it happen.'

“不是！”哈利烦躁地说。没人听得懂吗？“我先做了一个完全不同的梦，一些傻事……后来这个插了进来，是真的，不是我的幻想，韦斯莱先生在地上睡觉，被一条大蛇咬了，好多的血，他倒了下去，必须找到他在哪里……”

'What do you mean, you saw it happen?' said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

麦格教授透过歪斜的眼镜看着他，好像看到了什么恐怖的东西。

'I don't know . . . I was asleep and then I was there . . .'

“我没说谎，也没有发疯！”哈利喊了起来，“跟你说，我亲眼看到的！”

'You mean you dreamed this?'

“我相信你，波特，”麦格教授干脆地说，“穿上你的晨衣——我们去见校长。”

'No!' said Harry angrily; would none of them understand? 'I was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid . . . and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn't imagine it. Mr Weasley was asleep on the floor and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he collapsed, someone's got to find out where he is . . .'

①关于客迈拉兽的详细描写，请见《神奇动物在哪里》一书，人民文学出版社，2001年10月版。

Professor McGonagall was gazing at him through her lopsided spectacles as though horrified at what she was seeing.

②“哈利路亚”为犹太教和基督教欢呼用语，意思为“赞美神”。多比在此把哈利的名字用在了“祝圣诞快乐！”的祝福语中。

'I'm not lying and I'm not mad!' Harry told her, his voice rising to a shout. 'I tell you, I saw it happen!'

'I believe you, Potter,' said Professor McGonagall curtly. 'Put on your dressing gown - we're going to see the Headmaster.'

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