哈利·波特与火焰杯 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 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-FIVE - THE EGG AND THE EYE

第二十五章　金蛋和魔眼

Harry had no idea how long a bath he would need to work out the secret of the golden egg, he decided to do it at night, when he would be able to take as much time as he wanted.

哈利不知道这个澡要洗多长时间，才能解开金蛋的奥秘，因此他决定夜里行动，这样他就能想洗多长时间就洗多长时间了。尽管他很不愿意接受塞德里克更多的恩惠，但他还是决定使用级长的洗澡间。很少有人能够进入级长的洗澡间，所以他受到打扰的可能性也就小得多。

Reluctant though he was to accept more favors from Cedric, he also decided to use the prefects' bathroom; far fewer people were allowed in there, so it was much less likely that he would be disturbed.

哈利仔细筹划着他的这次行动，以前他因为半夜起床到处乱逛被看门人费尔奇抓住过一回，他不希望这种经历重演。隐形衣自然是不可缺少的，但为了保险起见，哈利还想带上活点地图。活点地图重要性仅次于隐形衣，是哈利违反校规时最有用的铺助工具。地图上显示出霍格沃茨的全景，包括许多错综复杂的捷径和秘密通道。最重要的一点，它还用标着名字的小点显示城堡里的人在走廊里走动的情况，这样，如果有人走近洗澡间，哈利就会预先得到警告。

Harry planned his excursion carefully, because he had been caught out of bed and out-of-bounds by Filch the caretaker in the middle of the night once before, and had no desire to repeat the experience. The Invisibility Cloak would, of course, be essential, and as an added precaution, Harry thought he would take the Marauders Map, which, next to the cloak, was the most useful aid to rule-breaking Harry owned. The map showed the whole of Hogwarts, including its many shortcuts and secret passageways and, most important of all, it revealed the people inside the castle as minuscule, labeled dots, moving around the corridors, so that Harry would be forewarned if somebody was approaching the bathroom.

星期四夜里，哈利偷偷从床上起来，穿上隐形衣，蹑手蹑脚地溜下楼梯，然后就像海格带他去看火龙的那天夜里一样，等着肖像画洞口打开。这次等在外面的是罗恩，他对胖夫人说了口令（“香蕉炸面团”）。“祝你好运。”罗恩低声说，一边钻进了公共休息室，哈利与他擦身而过。

On Thursday night, Harry sneaked up to bed, put on the cloak, crept back downstairs, and, just as he had done on the night when Hagrid had shown him the dragons, waited for the portrait hole to open. This time it was Ron who waited outside to give the Fat Lady the password ("banana fritters"), "Good luck," Ron muttered, climbing into the room as Harry crept out past him.

今天夜里，哈利穿着隐形衣行动非常别扭，因为他的一只胳膊下面夹着沉重的金蛋，另一只胳膊还要举着地图凑到鼻子底下。还好，月光映照在走廊里空荡荡的，非常安静，哈利在几个关键的地方都查看了地图，确保自己不会撞见任何人。他来到糊涂波里斯的雕像前——这是一个表情茫然的巫师，两只手上的手套戴反了。哈利像塞德里克告诉他的那样，找到雕像旁边的那扇门，靠上去低声说出了那个口令：“新鲜凤梨。”

It was awkward moving under the cloak tonight, because Harry had the heavy egg under one arm and the map held in front of his nose with the other. However, the moonlit corridors were empty and silent, and by checking the map at strategic intervals, Harry was able to ensure that he wouldn't run into anyone he wanted to avoid. When he reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, he located the right door, leaned close to it, and muttered the password, "Pine fresh," just as Cedric had told him.

门吱呀一声开了。哈利闪了进去，回身把门插好，脱掉隐形衣，四下张望。

The door creaked open. Harry slipped inside, bolted the door behind him, and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking around.

他的第一反应是，当一个级长真不赖，单是能够使用这个洗澡间就值了。一个点着蜡烛的豪华枝形吊灯给房间里投下温馨的柔光，每件东西都是用雪白的大理石做成的，包括中间的那个陷入地面的浴池，它就像一个长方形的游泳池。浴池边大约有一百个金色的龙头，每个龙头的把手上都镶着一块不同颜色的宝石。此外还有一个跳水板。窗户上挂着雪白的亚麻窗帘；一大堆松软的白毛巾放在一个墙角，墙上只挂着一幅画，镶在镀金的镜框里。画上是一个金发的美人鱼，躺在岩石上睡得正香，长长的秀发拂在脸上，随着她的每一次呼吸微微颤抖着。

His immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pools edges, each with a differently colored Jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored.

哈利走上前去，左右张望着，他的脚步声在四壁间回响。这个洗澡间确实豪华漂亮——他也确实渴望试一试其中的几个龙头——但他此刻站在这里，却忍不住感到塞德里克是在捉弄他。这个洗澡间对他解开金蛋的奥秘会有什么帮助呢？他尽管这么想着，还是把一条松软的毛巾、隐形衣、活点地图和金蛋放在游泳池一般大的浴池边，然后跪下去，拧开了几个龙头。

Harry moved forward, looking around, his footsteps echoing off the walls. Magnificent

他立刻发现，这些龙头喷出的是各种各样混着热水的泡泡浴液，但它们又和哈利以前接触过的泡泡浴完全不同。其中一个龙头喷出足球那么大的粉红色和蓝色的泡泡；另一个喷出晶莹剔透的、又密又厚的泡沫——哈利觉得如果他愿意试一下，这些泡沫准会把他托在水面，沉不下去；第三个龙头喷出香味浓郁的紫色雾气，在水面上弥漫着。哈利玩弄着这些龙头，一会儿开，一会儿关，他特别欣赏一个龙头喷出弧形水柱、从水面划过的奇妙景象。一转眼间，深深的浴池就放满了热水、泡沫和泡泡，这么大的浴池这么快就满了，真是神速。哈利关掉所有的龙头，脱去睡衣、拖鞋和晨衣，钻进了水里。

though the bathroom was - and quite keen though he was to try out a few of those taps -now he was here he couldn't quite suppress the feeling that Cedric might have been having him on. How on earth was this supposed to help solve the mystery of the egg?

水真深啊，他的脚勉强够到池底，他在水里游了两个来回，才回到池边，一边踩着水，一边仔细端着金蛋。在热腾腾的、浮着泡沫的水里游泳，周围漂浮着一团团五颜六色的雾气，这滋味真是妙不可言，但是他并没有因此而产生灵感，脑子里也没有灵光一现，豁然开窍。

Nevertheless, he put one of the Huffy towels, the cloak, the map, and the egg at the side of the swimming-pool-sized bath, then knelt down and turned on a few of the taps.

哈利伸出手臂，用湿漉漉的双手托起金蛋，把它打开。顿时，刺耳的惨叫声充斥了洗澡间，在大理石的墙壁之间回响，振荡，但这声音还是那样莫名其妙，而且和所有的回音混在一起，更加令人费解。他啪地一下把它合上，担心这声音会把费尔奇招引过来。他甚至怀疑这就是塞德里克的阴谋——就在这时，突然有人说起话来，吓得他灵魂出窍，金蛋从手里掉落，在洗澡间的地上当啷啷地滚远了。

He could tell at once that they carried different sorts of bubble bath mixed with the water, though it wasn't bubble bath as Harry had ever experienced it. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; another poured ice-white foam so thick that Harry thought it would have supported his weight if he'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. Harry amused himself for awhile turning the taps on and off, particularly enjoying the effect of one whose jet bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs. Then, when the deep pool was full of hot water, foam, and bubbles, which took a very short time considering its size, Harry turned off all the taps, pulled off his pajamas, slippers, and dressing gown, and slid into the water.

“如果我是你，就把它放在水里试试。”

It was so deep that his feet barely touched the bottom, and he actually did a couple of lengths before swimming back to the side and treading water, staring at the egg. Highly enjoyable though it was to swim in hot and foamy water with clouds of different-colored steam wafting all around him, no stroke of brilliance came to him, no sudden burst of understanding.

哈利一惊之下，吞下了几大口泡泡。他站起来呸呸地吐着，这时才看见一个愁眉苦脸的女鬼跷着二郎腿，坐在一个龙头上面。是哭泣的桃金娘，人们常常听见她在二楼的一个盥洗室的下水管道里伤心哭泣。

Harry stretched out his arms, lifted the egg in his wet hands, and opened it. The wailing, screeching sound filled the bathroom, echoing and reverberating off the marble walls, but it sounded just as incomprehensible as ever, if not more so with all the echoes. He snapped it shut again, worried that the sound would attract Filch, wondering whether that hadn't been Cedric's plan - and then, making him jump so badly that he dropped the egg, which clattered away across the bathroom floor, someone spoke.

“桃金娘！”哈利恼火地说，“我——我什么都没穿！”

"I'd try putting it in the water, if I were you."

其实这没有关系，因为水里的泡沫很厚，但他有一种很不舒服的感觉。他怀疑自从他进门，桃金娘就躲在一个龙头里窥视他。

Harry had swallowed a considerable amount of bubbles in shock. He stood up, sputtering, and saw the ghost of a very glum-looking girl sitting cross-legged on top of one of the taps. It was Moaning Myrtle, who was usually to be heard sobbing in the S-bend of a toilet three floors below.

“你进去时，我闭上眼睛来着，”她说道，从厚厚的镜片后面朝他眨了眨眼睛，“你好长时间没来看我了。”

"Myrtle!" Harry said in outrage, "I'm - I'm not wearing anything!"

“是啊……嗯……”哈利说，一边微微弯曲膝盖，确保桃金银娘除了他的脑袋以外，什么也看不见，“我不应该进你那个盥洗室的，是不是？那是女生盥洗室。”

The foam was so dense that this hardly mattered, but he had a nasty feeling that Myrtle had been spying on him from out of one of the taps ever since he had arrived.

“你原先并不在乎呀，”桃金娘悲哀地说，“你以前整天待在那里。”

"I closed my eyes when you got in," she said, blinking at him through her thick spectacles. "You haven't been to see me for ages."

这倒是事实，不过那是因为哈利、罗恩和赫敏发现桃金娘那个失修的厕所非常安全，他们可以在里面偷偷熬制复方汤剂——那是一种禁止使用的魔药，曾把他和罗恩变成了克拉布和高尔的活生生的复制品，持续了一个小时，使他们能够混进斯莱特林的公共休息室。

"Yeah . . . well. . ." said Harry, bending his knees slightly, just to make absolutely sure Myrtle couldn't see anything but his head, "I'm not supposed to come into your bathroom, am I? It's a girls' one."

“我就是因为到那儿去才挨批评的，”哈利说，这话有一半是事实，珀西有一次碰巧看见他从桃金娘的盥洗室里出来，“后来，我想我最好还是别去了。”

"You didn't used to care," said Myrtle miserably. "You used to be in there all the time."

“噢……明白了……”桃金娘说，一边忧郁地揪着自己下巴上的一个疙瘩。“好吧……不说了……我会把金蛋放在水里试试。塞德里克·迪戈里就是这么做的。”

This was true, though only because Harry, Ron, and Hermione had found Myrtle's out-of-order toilets a convenient place to brew Polyjuice Potion in secret - a forbidden potion that had turned him and Ron into living replicas of Crabbe and Goyle for an hour, so that they could sneak into the Slytherin common room.

“你也偷看他来着？”哈利气愤地问，“你这是干什么？夜里溜到这里，偷看级长们洗澡？”

"I got told off for going in there." said Harry, which was half-true; Percy had once caught him coming out of Myrtles bathroom. "I thought I'd better not come back after that."

“有时候吧，”桃金娘十分诡秘地说，“但我以前从没有出来跟人说话。”

"Oh ... I see ..." said Myrtle, picking at a spot on her chin in a morose sort of way.

“我很荣幸，”哈利闷闷不乐地说，“你把眼睛闭上！”

"Well... anyway... I'd try the egg in the water. That's what Cedric Diggory did."

他看到桃金娘确实把镜片捂得严严的了，才从浴池里站起来，用毛巾紧紧裹住腰部，过去把金蛋捡了起来。他刚钻进水里，桃金娘就从指缝里看着他，说：“行了，快点儿吧……在水下把它打开！”

"Have you been spying on him too?" said Harry indignantly. "What d'you do, sneak up here in the evenings to watch the prefects take baths?"

哈利把金蛋放在布满泡沫的水面下，打开……这次它没有惨叫。金蛋里发出汩汩的歌声，这歌声从水底下传来，他听不清唱的是什么。

"Sometimes," said Myrtle, rather slyly, "but I've never come out to speak to anyone before."

“你需要把你的脑袋也钻进水里，”桃金娘说道，似乎很高兴能对他指手画脚，“去吧。”

"I'm honored," said Harry darkly. "You keep your eyes shut!"

哈利深深吸了口气，钻到水下——现在，他坐在泡泡浴水底的大理石上，听见手上被打开的金蛋里有一些古怪的声音在齐声合唱：

He made sure Myrtle had her glasses well covered before hoisting himself out of the bath, wrapping the towel firmly around his waist, and going to retrieve the egg. Once he was back in the water, Myrtle peered through her fingers and said, "Go on, then . .. open it under the water!"

寻找我们吧，在我们声音响起的地方，　　我们在地面上无法歌唱。

Harry lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface and opened it... and this time, it did not wail. A gurgling song was coming out of it, a song whose words he couldnt distinguish through the water.

当你搜寻时，请仔细思量：

"You need to put your head under too," said Myrtle, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying bossing him around. "Go on!"

我们抢走了你最心爱的宝贝。

Harry took a great breath and slid under the surface - and now, sitting on the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath, he heard a chorus of eerie voices singing to him from the open egg in his hands:

你只有一个钟头的时间，

"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you re searching, ponder this:

要寻找和夺回我们拿走的物件，　　过了一小时便希望全无，

Wove taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour- the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it wont come back"

它已彻底消逝，永不出现。

Harry let himself float back upward and broke the bubbly surface, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

哈利让自己浮上去，钻出漂满泡泡的水面。他甩了甩头，把头发从眼睛上甩掉。

"Hear it?" said Myrtle.

“听见了吗？”桃金娘问。

"Yeah ... 'Come seek us where our voices sound .. .' and if I need persuading ... hang on, I need to listen again...."

“听见了……‘寻找我们吧，在我们声音响起的地方……’其实这个用不着说……等一等，我需要再听一遍……”

He sank back beneath the water. It took three more underwater renditions of the egg's song before Harry had it memorized; then he trod water for a while, thinking hard, while Myrtle sat and watched him.

他再次钻进水里。金蛋的歌声在水下演唱了三次，哈利才把它牢记在心。然后他一边踩水，一边使劲地思索，桃金娘就坐在那里望着他。

"I've got to go and look for people who can't use their voices above the ground. . . ."

“我必须去寻找那些不能在地面上发出声音的人……”他慢慢地说道，“嗯……那可能是谁呢？”

he said slowly. "Er . . . who could that be?"

“你真笨，不是吗？”

"Slow, aren't you?"

他从没见过桃金娘这么开心过，除了那天赫敏服了复方汤剂后，脸上变得毛茸茸的，还长了一条猫尾巴。当时桃金娘也高兴得心花怒放。哈利望着洗澡间，思索着……如果声音只在水下才能听见，那么一定是属于某种水下动物。他把这个想法告诉了桃金娘，桃金娘嘲笑他。

He had never seen Moaning Myrtle so cheerful, apart from the day when a dose of PolyJuice Potion had given Hermione the hairy face and tail of a cat. Harry stared around the bathroom, thinking ... if the voices could only be heard underwater, then it made sense for them to belong to underwater creatures. He ran this theory past Myrtle, who smirked at him.

“啊，迪戈里也是这么想的。”她说，“他躲在那里，自言自语，琢磨这个问题，琢磨了好长时间。好长好长时间……几乎所有的泡泡都消失了……”

"Well, thats what Diggory thought," she said. "He lay there talking to himself for ages about it. Ages and ages . . . nearly all the bubbles had gone. ..."

“水下……”哈利慢慢地说，“桃金娘……湖里除了巨乌贼外，还生活着什么动物？”

"Underwater ..." Harry said slowly. "Myrtle . . . what lives in the lake, apart from the giant squid?"

“噢，种类多着呢。”她说，“我有时也到湖里去……有时别无选择，有人在我没防备的时候冲了我的厕所……”

"Oh all sorts," she said. "I sometimes go down there . . . sometimes don't have any choice, if someone flushes my toilet when I'm not expecting it...."

哈利克制着不去想桃金娘随着厕所的秽物冲进下水道、流到湖里的情景。他说：“那么，那里的什么东西能发出人的声音呢？慢着——”

Trying not to think about Moaning Myrtle zooming down a pipe to the lake with the contents of a toilet. Harry said, "Well, does anything in there have a human voice?

哈利的目光落到墙上那幅酣睡的美人鱼的图画上。

Hang on -"

“桃金娘，那里没有人鱼吧，有吗？”

Harry's eyes had fallen on the picture of the snoozing mermaid on the wall.

“喔，很好，”她说道——厚厚的镜片闪闪发亮，“迪戈里花的时间要长得多！而且当时她还是醒着的，”——桃金娘用脑袋指了指美人鱼，愁苦的脸上带着非常反感的表情——“咯咯笑着，搔首弄姿，炫耀她的鳍……”

"Myrtle, there aren't merpeople in there, are there?"

“这就对了，是吗？”哈利兴奋地说，“第二个项目是到湖里去找美人鱼，然后……然后……”

"Oooh, very good," she said, her thick glasses twinkling, "it took Diggory much longer than that! And that was with her awake too" - Myrtle jerked her head toward the mermaid with an expression of great dislike on her glum face - "giggling and showing off and flashing her fins.. .."

他突然反应过来自己在说什么，兴奋的情绪一下子就从他心里溜走了，就好像一下子被人掏去了心似的。他不太擅长游泳，一直很少训练。达力小时候上过游泳课，但佩妮姨妈和弗农姨父无疑是希望哈利有朝一日被淹死，从来没有让他学过游泳。在这个浴池里游一两个来回还行，可那个湖非常宽非常深……人鱼肯定生活在水底最深处……

"Thats it, isn't it?" said Harry excitedly. "The second tasks to go and find the merpeople in the lake and ... and ..."

“桃金娘，”哈利慢慢地说，“我该怎么呼吸呢？”

But he suddenly realized what he was saying, and he felt the excitement drain out of him as though someone had just pulled a plug in his stomach. He wasn't a very good swimmer; he'd never had much practice. Dudley had had lessons in his youth, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, no doubt hoping that Harry would drown one day, hadn't bothered to give him any. A couple of lengths of this bath were all very well, but that lake was very large, and very deep . . . and merpeople would surely live right at the bottom. . . .

听了这话，桃金娘眼里突然又冒出了泪水。

"Myrtle," Harry said slowly, "how am I supposed to breathe?"

“缺心眼！”她嘟囔着，在长袍里摸索着寻找手帕。

At this, Myrtle's eyes filled with sudden tears again.

“什么缺心眼？”哈利问，觉得摸不着头脑。

"Tactless!" she muttered, groping in her robes for a handkerchief.

“你竟然在我面前讨论呼吸！”她尖声叫道，声音在洗澡间里发出响亮的回音，“明知道我不能……明知道我……好长好长时间……都没有……”

"What's tactless?" said Harry, bewildered.

她把脸埋在手帕里，大声地擤着鼻子。哈利想起桃金娘一直对自己已经死了这件事非常敏感，而他认识的其他鬼魂都没有这样大惊小怪的。

"Talking about breathing in front of me!" she said shrilly, and her voice echoed loudly around the bathroom. "When I can't. . . when I haven't. . . not for ages ..."

“对不起，”他不耐烦地说，“我不是故意的——我只是忘记了……”

She buried her face in her handkerchief and sniffed loudly. Harry remembered how touchy

“噢，是啊，很容易忘记桃金娘已经死了，”桃金娘说，一边哽咽着，用红肿的眼睛望着他，“即使在我活着的时候，也没有一个人牵挂我。他们花了好长好长时间才发现了我的尸体——我知道，我就坐在那里等着他们。奥利夫·洪贝娃走进盥洗室——‘你又在这里生闷气吗，桃金娘？’她说，‘迪佩特教授叫我来找你——’这时她突然看见了我的尸体……哦，她直到临死都忘不了那一幕，我可以保证……我到处跟踪她，提醒她。我记得，在她哥哥婚礼上——”

Myrtle had always been about being dead, but none of the other ghosts he knew made such a fuss about it.

然而哈利没有听，他又在思索人鱼的那首歌了。“我们抢走了你最心爱的宝贝”，这似乎是说它们要偷走他的什么东西，他必须夺回来。它们要拿走的是什么呢？

"Sorry," he said impatiently. "I didn't mean - I just forgot. . ."

“——后来，当然啦，她找到魔法部，阻止我跟踪她，我就只好回到这里，住在我的厕所里。”

"Oh yes, very easy to forget Myrtle's dead," said Myrtle, gulping, looking at him out of swollen eyes. "Nobody missed me even when I was alive. Took them hours and hours to find my body - I know, I was sitting there waiting for them. Olive Hornby came into the bathroom - Are you in here again, sulking, Myrtle?' she said, 'because Professor Dippet asked me to look for you -' And then she saw my body . . . ooooh, she didn't forget it until her dying day, I made sure of that... followed her around and reminded her, I did.

“不错，”哈利淡淡地说，“好吧，我总算取得了很大的进展……再把眼睛闭上，好吗？我要出来了。”

I remember at her brother's wedding -"

他从浴池底捡起金蛋，爬了上来，擦干身子，重新穿上睡衣和晨衣。

But Harry wasn't listening; he was thinking about the merpeople's song again. "We've taken what you II sorely miss." That sounded as though they were going to steal something of his, something he had to get back. What were they going to take?

“你还会时不时地到我的盥洗室来看我吗？”哭泣的桃金娘看到哈利拿起隐形衣，忧伤地问。

"--and then, of course, she went to the Ministry of Magic to stop me stalking her, so I had to come back here and live in my toilet."

“嗯……我争取吧。”哈利说，但他暗想，只有当城堡里的所有厕所都被土封死了，他才可能再去光顾桃金娘的盥洗室。“再见，桃金娘……谢谢你给我的帮助。”

"Good," said Harry vaguely. "Well, I'm a lot further on than I was. . . . Shut your eyes again, will you? I'm getting out."

“再会了。”她惆怅地说。哈利穿上隐形衣时，看见她哧溜一下又钻回水龙头里去了。

He retrieved the egg from the bottom of the bath, climbed out, dried himself, and pulled on his pajamas and dressing gown again.

来到外面漆黑的走廊上，哈利又检查了一下活点地图，看看有没有什么风吹草动。还好，图上费尔奇和他的猫洛丽丝夫人的那两个小点，还安安稳稳地待在他们的办公室里呢……城堡赶里一片寂静，只有皮皮鬼在活动，但他是在楼上的奖品陈列室里大闹……哈利刚要迈步返回格兰芬多塔楼，突然地图上有个什么东西吸引了他的视线……这实在太蹊跷了。

"Will you come and visit me in my bathroom again sometime?" Moaning Myrtle asked mournfully as Harry picked up the Invisibility Cloak.

活动的不止皮皮鬼一个。还有一个小点在底层左手拐角的一个房间里动来动去——那是斯内普教授的办公室。但小点旁注的名字不是“西弗勒斯·斯内普”

"Er . . . I'll try," Harry said, though privately thinking the only way he'd be visiting Myrtle's bathroom again was if every other toilet in the castle got blocked. "See you.

……而是巴蒂·克劳奇。

Myrtle... thanks for your help."

哈利盯着那个小点。克劳奇先生据说是生了重病，不能上班，也不能参加圣诞舞会——可是，他凌晨一点偷偷溜进霍格沃茨来做什么呢？哈利仔细注视着那个小点在房间里移来移去，这里停停，那里站站……

"Bye, 'bye," she said gloomily, and as Harry put on the Invisibllity Cloak he saw her zoom back up the tap.

哈利迟疑着，思索着……然后，他的好奇心占了上风。他转了个身，朝最近的楼梯走去。他要看看克劳奇先生在做什么。

Out in the dark corridor, Harry examined the Marauders Map to check that the coast was still clear. Yes, the dots belonging to Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, were safely in their office . .. nothing else seemed to be moving apart from Peeves, though he was bouncing around the trophy room on the floor above. ... Harry had taken his first step back toward Gryffindor Tower when something else on the map caught his eye . . .

哈利蹑手蹑脚地往楼下走，尽量不发出声音，但肖像画里的几个人还是听见了地板的吱呀声和他睡衣的悉卒声，都好奇地转过脸来。到了楼下，他悄悄顺着走廊走到一半，然后撩开墙上的一幅挂毯，沿着一道更狭窄的楼梯往下走。这是一条近路，可以通到两层楼以下。他不停地扫一眼地图，一边暗自纳闷……向来严谨自律、遵纪守法的克劳奇先生怎么会在半夜三更溜进别人的办公室呢，这不符合他的性格呀……

something distinctly odd.

哈利一心琢磨着克劳奇先生的古怪行为，没有集中思想走路，结果，在楼梯上走到一半的时候，他的一条腿突然陷进了一个捉弄人的台阶，那是纳威经常忘记跳过的。哈利笨手笨脚地晃动一下，那只金蛋，仍然湿漉漉地沾着洗澡水，突然从他胳膊下面滑落了。他赶紧探身去抓，来不及了，金蛋顺着长长的楼梯滚了下去，每下一级台阶，都发出当啷一声巨响，像敲响了一只大鼓——隐形衣也滑脱了——哈利赶紧一把抓住，结果活点地图从他手里飘了出去，落到六级台阶以下。哈利陷在齐膝深的恶作剧台阶里，够不到它。

Peeves was not the only thing that was moving. A single dot was flitting around a room in the bottom left-hand corner - Snapes office. But the dot wasn't labeled "Severus Snape" ... it was Bartemius Crouch.

金蛋滚到楼梯底部，从挂毯下面钻了出去，弹开了，开始在下面的走廊里尖声惨叫。哈利掏出魔杖，挣扎着去触碰活点地图，想让它变成一张白纸，可是它太远了，他够不着——

Harry stared at the dot. Mr. Crouch was supposed to be too ill to go to work or to come to the Yule Ball - so what was he doing, sneaking into Hogwarts at one o'clock in the morning? Harry watched closely as the dot moved around and around the room, pausing here and there. ...

哈利用隐形衣重新裹住自己，直起身子，紧紧地闭上眼睛，心惊胆战地倾听着……几乎是一眨眼的工夫，就听——

Harry hesitated, thinking . . . and then his curiosity got the better of him. He turned and set off in the opposite direction toward the nearest staircase. He was going to see what Crouch was up to.

“皮皮鬼！”

Harry walked down the stairs as quietly as possible, though the faces in some of the portraits still turned curiously at the squeak of a floorboard, the rustle of his pajamas. He crept along the corridor below, pushed aside a tapestry about halfway along, and proceeded down a narrower staircase, a shortcut that would take him down two floors.

毫无疑问，这是看门人费尔奇警惕的叫声。哈利可以听见他急速的、踢踢踏踏的脚步声越来越近，他气喘吁吁的声音因为愤怒而提高了。

He kept glancing down at the map, wondering ... It just didn't seem in character, somehow, for correct, law-abiding Mr. Crouch to be sneaking around somebody else's office this late at night....

“这里吵吵囔囔的在做什么？想把城堡里的人都吵醒吗？我一定要抓住你，皮皮鬼，我要抓住你，你……咦，这是什么？”

And then, halfway down the staircase, not thinking about what he was doing, not concentrating on anything but the peculiar behavior of Mr. Crouch, Harrys leg suddenly sank right through the trick step Neville always forgot to jump. He gave an ungainly wobble, and the golden egg, still damp from the bath, slipped from under his arm. He lurched forward to try and catch it, but too late; the egg fell down the long staircase with a bang as loud as a bass drum on every step - the Invisibility Cloak slipped - Harry snatched at it, and the Marauder s Map fluttered out of his hand and slid down six stairs, where, sunk in the step to above his knee, he couldn't reach it.

费尔奇的脚步声停住了。只听咔哒一声，是金属互相碰撞的声音，惨叫声停止了——费尔奇捡起金蛋，把它合上了。哈利一动不动地站着、倾听着，一条脚仍然死死地卡在带魔法的台阶里。现在，费尔奇随时都会掀开挂毯，以为会看见皮皮鬼……其实根本没有什么皮皮鬼……但如果他往楼梯上走，就会看见活点地图……不管有没有隐形衣，地图上都会显示“哈利·波特”就站在他现在的位置上。

The golden egg fell through the tapestry at the bottom of the staircase, burst open, and began wailing loudly in the corridor below. Harry pulled out his wand and struggled to touch the Marauder s Map, to wipe it blank, but it was too far away to reach -Pulling the cloak back over himself Harry straightened up, listening hard with his eyes

“金蛋？”费尔奇在楼梯下面轻声说道，“我的宝贝猫儿！”——看来洛丽丝夫人也和他在一起——“这是三强争霸赛的线索啊！属于学校的一位勇士！”

screwed up with fear. . . and, almost immediately -"

哈利觉得脑袋发晕，心脏跳得跟打鼓一样——

PEEVES!"

“皮皮鬼！”费尔奇喜悦地大叫，“你偷东西了！”

It was the unmistakable hunting cry of Filch the caretaker. Harry could hear his rapid, shuffling footsteps coming nearer and nearer, his wheezy voice raised in fury.

他在下面一把扯开挂毯，哈利看见了他那可怕的、皮肉松垂的脸和那双暴突的浅色眼睛，正朝上面瞪着漆黑的、（对他来说）空无一人的楼梯。

"What's this racket? Wake up the whole castle, will you? I'll have you, Peeves, I'll have you, you'll... and what is this?"

“躲起来了，是吗？”他小声说，“我要来抓你，皮皮鬼……你居然偷了三强争霸赛的线索，皮皮鬼……邓布利多这次决不会轻饶了你，你这个肮脏的、偷鸡摸狗的、专搞恶作剧的野鬼……”

Filch's footsteps halted; there was a clink of metal on metal and the wailing stopped -Filch had picked up the egg and closed it. Harry stood very still, one leg still Jammed tightly in the magical step, listening. Any moment now, Filch was going to pull aside the tapestry, expecting to see Peeves . . . and there would be no Peeves ... but if he came up the stairs, he would spot the Marauder's Map . . . and Invisibility Cloak or not, the map would show "Harry Potter" standing exactly where he was.

费尔奇开始往楼梯上爬，后面跟着他那只瘦骨如柴、毛色暗灰的猫。洛丽丝夫人那双灯泡般的大眼睛和它主人的一模一样，此刻正死死地盯着哈利。哈利以前就曾怀疑隐形衣对猫类不起作用……他恐惧得简直要晕倒了，注视着身穿旧法兰绒晨衣的费尔奇一步步逼近——他拼命挣扎，想把被卡住的脚拨出来，结果反而越陷越深——现在，费尔奇随时都会看见地图，或者走过来撞在他身上——

"Egg?" Filch said quietly at the foot of the stairs. "My sweet!" - Mrs. Norris was obviously with him - "This is a Triwizard clue! This belongs to a school champion!"

“费尔奇？出了什么事？”

Harry felt sick; his heart was hammering very fast -"

费尔奇停下脚步，转过身去，这时他和哈利只差几级台阶了。楼梯底下站着一个人，如果有谁能使哈利的处理更加险恶，就只有这个人了：是斯内普。他穿着一件灰色的衬衫式长睡衣，脸色铁青。

PEEVES!" Filch roared gleefully. "You've been stealing!"

“是皮皮鬼，教授，”费尔奇恶狠狠地小声说，“他把这只蛋从楼梯上扔了下来。”

He ripped back the tapestry below, and Harry saw his horrible, pouchy face and bulging, pale eyes staring up the dark and (to Filch) deserted staircase.

斯内普快步上楼，停在费尔奇身边。哈利咬紧牙关，他相信自己怦怦的心跳声随时都会暴露他的存在……

"Hiding, are you?" he said softly. "I'm coming to get you, Peeves. . . . You've gone and stolen a Triwizard clue, Peeves... . Dumbledore'll have you out of here for this, you filthy, pilfering poltergeist. ..."

“皮皮鬼？”斯内普轻声说，眼睛盯着费尔奇手中的金蛋，“可是皮皮鬼不可能闯进我的办公室……”

Filch started to climb the stairs, his scrawny, dust-colored cat at his heels. Mrs.

“这只金蛋原先在你的办公室吗，教授？”

Morris's lamp-like eyes, so very like her masters, were fixed directly upon Harry. He had had occasion before now to wonder whether the Invisibility Cloak worked on cats. . .

“当然不是，”斯内普厉声地说道，“我听见了一阵砰砰乱响，还有惨叫声——”

. Sick with apprehension, he watched Filch drawing nearer and nearer in his old flannel dressing gown - he tried desperately to pull his trapped leg free, but it merely sank a few more inches - any second now, Filch was going to spot the map or walk right into him -"

“没错，教授，那正是金蛋——”

Filch? Whats going on?"

“——我就过来调查一下——”

Filch stopped a few steps below Harry and turned. At the foot of the stairs stood the only person who could make Harry's situation worse: Snape. He was wearing a long gray nightshirt and he looked livid.

“——是皮皮鬼扔的，教授——”

"Its Peeves, Professor," Filch whispered malevolently. "He threw this egg down the stairs."

“——我在过我的办公室时，我看见火把亮着，一个柜门开着一条缝！有人在里面找东西！”

Snape climbed up the stairs quickly and stopped beside Filch. Harry gritted his teeth, convinced his loudly thumping heart would give him away at any second. . . .

“可是皮皮鬼不可能——”

"Peeves?" said Snape softly, staring at the egg in Filch's hands. "But Peeves couldn't get into my office. . . ."

“我知道他不可能，费尔奇！”斯内普的声音又严厉起来，“我用咒语把我的办公室封死了，只有巫师才能闯进去！”斯内普抬头望望楼梯上面，目光径直穿过哈利的身体，然后他又低头望着下面的走廊，“我要你过来帮我搜查那个闯进来的人，费尔奇。”

"This egg was in your office. Professor?"

“我——好的，教授——可是——”

"Of course not," Snape snapped. "I heard banging and wailing -"

费尔奇眼巴巴地望着楼梯上面，目光直接穿透了哈利。哈利看得出来，他很不甘心放弃这个堵截皮皮鬼的好机会。快走吧，哈利不出声地祈求道，跟斯内普一起走吧……走吧……洛丽丝夫人在费尔奇的腿边探头探脑……哈利明显感觉到它能闻出他身上的气味……唉，他为什么要往浴池里放那么多带香味的浴液呢？

"Yes, Professor, that was the egg -"

“是这样的，教授，”费尔奇垂头丧气地说，“校长这次恐怕得听我的了。皮皮鬼偷了一个学生的东西，我这次可能有机会把他永远赶出城堡——”

"- I was coming to investigate -"

“费尔奇，我不管那个讨厌的专爱恶作剧的鬼魂。我的办公室遭到了——”

"- Peeves threw it. Professor -"

蹬。蹬。蹬。

"- and when I passed my office, I saw that the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody has been searching it!"

斯内普猛地停住话头。他和费尔奇都低头望着楼梯下面。透过他们俩脑袋之间的缝隙，哈利看见疯眼汉穆迪一瘸一拐地出现了。穆迪在衬衫式长睡衣外面披着他那件旧旅行斗蓬，像往常一样拄着拐杖。

But Peeves couldn't -"

“睡衣晚会，嗯？”他粗声粗气地朝楼梯上面说。

"I know he couldn't, Filch!" Snape snapped again. "I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break!" Snape looked up the stairs, straight through Harry, and then down into the corridor below. "I want you to come and help me search for the intruder, Filch."

“斯内普教授和我听见了一些声音，教授，”费尔奇立刻说道，“是专爱搞恶作剧的皮皮鬼，像往常一样乱扔东西——后来斯内普教授发现有人闯进了他的办公——”

"I - yes, Professor - but -"

“闭嘴！”斯内普压低声音对费尔奇说。

Filch looked yearningly up the stairs, right through Harry, who could see that he was very reluctant to forgo the chance of cornering Peeves. Go, Harry pleaded with him silently, go with Snape . . . go. . . Mrs. Norris was peering around Filch's legs....

穆迪朝楼梯前又移动了一步。哈利看见穆迪那只带魔法的眼睛扫过斯内普，然后，毫无疑问地落到了自己身上。

Harry had the distinct impression that she could smell him.. . . Why had he filled that bath with so much perfumed foam?

哈利的心可怕地狂跳了一下。穆迪的目光能够穿透隐形衣……只有他才能把这奇怪的一幕尽收眼底：斯内普穿着他的衬衫式长睡衣，费尔奇手里紧紧攥着金蛋，他——哈利，在他们后面，陷在楼梯里出不来。穆迪的嘴巴——那道歪斜的大口子吃惊地张大了。一时间，他和哈利径直瞪着对方的眼睛。然后穆迪闭上嘴巴，又将他的蓝眼睛转到了斯内普身上。

"The thing is, Professor," said Filch plaintively, "the headmaster will have to listen to me this time. Peeves has been stealing from a student, it might be my chance to get him thrown out of the castle once and for all -"

“我没有听错吧，斯内普？”他慢慢地问，“有人闯进了你的办公室？”

"Filch, I don't give a damn about that wretched poltergeist; it's my office that's -"

“那无关紧要。”斯内普冷冷地说。

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.

“恰恰相反，”穆迪粗声吼道，“那非常重要。谁会闯进你的办公室呢？”

Snape stopped talking very abruptly. He and Filch both looked down at the foot of the stairs. Harry saw Mad-Eye Moody limp into sight through the narrow gap between their heads. Moody was wearing his old traveling cloak over his nightshirt and leaning on his staff as usual.

“大概是一个学生吧，”斯内普说。哈利可以看见一根血管在斯内普油亮亮的太阳穴上可怕地跳动着，“这种事情以前就发生过。我私人储藏室里的魔药配料不见了……毫无疑问，学生想制作违禁魔药……”

"Pajama party, is it?" he growled up the stairs.

“你认为他们在寻找魔药配料，嗯？”穆迪问，“你的办公室里没有藏着别的东西吧？”

"Professor Snape and I heard noises, Professor," said Filch at once. "Peeves the Poltergeist, throwing things around as usual - and then Professor Snape discovered that someone had broken into his off -"

哈利看见斯内普土灰色的面孔变成了一种难看的砖红色，太阳穴上的那根血管跳得更快了。

"Shut up!" Snape hissed to Filch.

“你知道我什么也没藏，穆迪，”他用一种低沉而阴险的声音说，“你不是亲自把我的办公室搜了个底朝天吗？”

Moody took a step closer to the foot of the stairs. Harry saw Moodys magical eye travel over Snape, and then, unmistakably, onto himself.

穆迪的脸扭曲着，挤出一个笑容。“这是傲罗的特权，斯内普。邓布利多叫我密切监视——”

Harrys heart gave a horrible jolt. Moody could see through Invisibility Cloaks... he alone could see the full strangeness of the scene:

“邓布利多恰好很信任我，”斯内普咬牙切齿地说，“我不相信是他吩咐你搜查我办公室的！”

Snape in his nightshirt, Filch clutching the egg, and he, Harry, trapped in the stairs behind them. Moody's lopsided gash of a mouth opened in surprise. For a few seconds, he and Harry stared straight into each other's eyes. Then Moody closed his mouth and turned his blue eye upon Snape again.

“邓布利多当然相信你，”穆迪吼道，“他是个很轻信的人，是吗？总认为应该给人第二次机会。可是我——我认为有些污点是洗不掉的，斯内普。有些污点是永远也洗不掉的，你明白我的意思吧？”

"Did I hear that correctly, Snape?" he asked slowly. "Someone broke into your office?"

斯内普突然做了一件非常奇怪的事。他猛地用右手抓住左胳膊，就好像胳膊突然疼痛难忍似的。

"It is unimportant," said Snape coldly. "On the contrary," growled Moody, "it is very important. Who'd want to break into your office?"

穆迪大笑起来。“回去睡觉吧，斯内普。”

"A student, I daresay," said Snape. Harry could see a vein flickering horribly on Snape's greasy temple. "It has happened before. Potion ingredients have gone missing from my private store cupboard ... students attempting illicit mixtures, no doubt...."

“你没有权利支使我去任何地方！”斯内普嘶嘶地说，松开胳膊，似乎对自己感到很恼火，“我和你一样有权在夜里巡视这所学校！”

"Reckon they were after potion ingredients, eh?" said Moody. "Not hiding anything else in your office, are you?"

“那你就尽管巡视吧，”穆迪说，但他的声音充满威胁，“我早就知道总有一天会在漆黑的走廊里碰到你……随便说一句，你的东西丢了……”

Harry saw the edge of Snapes sallow face turn a nasty brick color, the vein in his temple pulsing more rapidly.

哈利恐惧地看见，穆迪指着还躺在六级台阶以下的活点地图。趁斯内普和费尔奇低头看着它时，哈利把谨慎抛到九霄云外。他在隐形衣下面举起两只手臂，拼命朝穆迪挥动，想引起他的注意，一边用口型夸张地说：“是我的！我的！”

"You know I'm hiding nothing, Moody," he said in a soft and dangerous voice, "as you've searched my office pretty thoroughly yourself."

斯内普伸手去捡起地图，他的脸上慢慢出现了一种可怕的、若有所悟的表情——

Moodys face twisted into a smile. "Auror's privilege, Snape. Dumbledore told me to keep an eye -"

“羊皮纸飞来！”

"Dumbledore happens to trust me," said Snape through clenched teeth. "I refuse to believe that he gave you orders to search my office!"

地图嗖地蹿到空中，从斯内普张开的手指间滑过，飞下了楼梯，落在穆迪手里。

"Course Dumbledore trusts you," growled Moody. "Hes a trusting man, isn't he? Believes in second chances. But me - I say there are spots that don't come off, Snape. Spots that never come off, d'you know what I mean?"

“我弄错了，”穆迪不动声色地说，“这是我的——一定是我早些时候丢的——”

Snape suddenly did something very strange. He seized his left forearm convulsively with his right hand, as though something on it had hurt him.

可是斯内普的黑眼睛看看费尔奇怀里的金蛋，又看看穆迪手里的地图，哈利看得出来，他把这两件事联系起来了，只有斯内普能做到这点……

Moody laughed. "Get back to bed, Snape."

“波特。”他轻声说。

"You don't have the authority to send me anywhere!" Snape hissed, letting go of his arm as though angry with himself. "I have as much right to prowl this school after dark as you do!"

“什么意思？”穆迪平静地问，一边把地图折起来放进口袋。

"Prowl away," said Moody, but his voice was full of menace. "I look forward to meeting you in a dark corridor some time.... You've dropped something, by the way. ..."

“波特！”斯内普怒气冲冲地说道，而且他居然转过头，直直地望着哈利所在的地方，仿佛他突然能看见他了，“那只金蛋是哈利的，那张羊皮纸也是哈利的，我以前看见过，我认出来了！波特在这里！波特，穿着他的隐形衣！”

With a stab of horror. Harry saw Moody point at the Marauders Map, still lying on the staircase six steps below him. As Snape and Filch both turned to look at it, Harry threw caution to the winds; he raised his arms under the cloak and waved furiously at Moody to attract his attention, mouthing "It's mine! Mine!"

斯内普像瞎子一样张开双手，朝楼梯上走来。哈利相信看到他已经很大的鼻孔张得更大了，想嗅出哈利所在的位置——哈利陷在楼梯里动弹不得，只好把身体拼命往后仰，不让斯内普指尖碰到他，可是随时都——

Snape had reached out for it, a horrible expression of dawning comprehension on his face -"

“那里什么也没有，斯内普！”穆迪吼道，“不过我倒乐意告诉校长，你是怎样动不动就怀疑哈利·波特的！”

Accio Parchment!"

“什么意思？”斯内普又转头望着穆迪，双手仍然张开着，离哈利的胸脯只差几寸。

The map flew up into the air, slipped through Snapes outstretched fingers, and soared down the stairs into Moodys hand.

“我的意思是，邓布利多很有兴趣知道谁对那个男孩不怀好意！”穆迪说，又一瘸一拐地朝楼梯前挪动了几步，“而且，斯内普，我也……很有兴趣……”火把的光掠过他扭曲破损的脸，使那些伤疤和鼻子上的大洞显得比以往更深、更阴森可怖了。

"My mistake," Moody said calmly. "It's mine - must've dropped it earlier -"

斯内普低头望着穆迪，哈利看不见他脸上的表情。一时间，谁也不动，谁也不说话了。然后，斯内普慢慢放下双手。

But Snape's black eyes were darting from the egg in Filch's arms to the map in Moodys hand, and Harry could tell he was putting two and two together, as only Snape could. . .

“我只是觉得，”斯内普说，竭力使自己的语气显得平静，“如果波特又在半夜里闲逛……这就是他的一个令人遗憾的坏习惯了……应该阻止他。为了——为了他自身的安全。”

.

“啊，我明白了，”穆迪轻声说，“你把波特的利益放在心头，是吗？”

"Potter," he said quietly.

片刻的静默。斯内普和穆迪仍然凝视着对方。洛丽丝夫人喵的大叫一声，仍然在费尔奇的腿边探头探脑，寻找哈利身上泡泡浴香的来源。

"What's that?" said Moody calmly, folding up the map and pocketing it.

“我想回去睡觉了。”斯内普突然说。

"Potter!" Snape snarled, and he actually turned his head and stared right at the place where Harry was, as though he could suddenly see him. "That egg is Potters egg. That

“你今晚只有这个想法最合理。”穆迪说，“好了，费尔奇，你能不能把那只金蛋给我——”

piece of parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before, I recognize it! Potter is here! Potter, in his Invisibility Cloak!"

“不行！”费尔奇说，一边牢牢地搂着金蛋，就像搂着他的头生儿子，“穆迪教授，这是皮皮鬼偷东西的证据！”

Snape stretched out his hands like a blind man and began to move up the stairs; Harry could have sworn his over-large nostrils were dilating, trying to sniff Harry out -trapped.

“这是他从一位勇士那里偷的，这是那位勇士的东西。”穆迪说，“拿过来吧。”

Harry leaned backward, trying to avoid Snapes fingertips, but any moment now-"

斯内普一言不发地快步下楼，从穆迪身边走过。费尔奇对洛丽丝夫人发出咂嘴的声音，猫茫然地又注视了哈利几秒钟，才转身跟着主人下去了。哈利的心仍然狂跳着，他听见斯内普顺着走廊远去。费尔奇把金蛋递给穆迪，也走开了，一边还低声对洛丽丝夫人嘀咕道：“没关系，亲爱的……我们一早就去找邓布利多……告诉他皮皮鬼干的好事……”

There's nothing there, Snape!" barked Moody, "but I'll be happy to tell the headmaster how quickly your mind jumped to Harry Potter!"

一扇门砰地响了一声。现在只剩下哈利和穆迪面面相觑。穆迪把拐杖拄在楼梯的最底层，费力地往楼梯上爬，朝哈利走来，每走一步，都发出一个空洞的声音：蹬，蹬，蹬。

"Meaning what?" Snape turned again to look at Moody, his hands still outstretched, inches from Harry's chest.

“真够危险的，波特。”他低声说。

"Meaning that Dumbledore's very interested to know who's got it in for that boy!" said Moody, limping nearer still to the foot of the stairs. "And so am I, Snape . . . very interested...." The torchlight flickered across his mangled face, so that the scars, and the chunk missing from his nose, looked deeper and darker than ever.

“是啊……我——嗯……谢谢你。”哈利有气无力地说。

Snape was looking down at Moody, and Harry couldn't see the expression on his face. For a moment, nobody moved or said anything. Then Snape slowly lowered his hands.

“这是什么东西？”穆迪说着，从口袋里掏出活点地图展开来。

"I merely thought," said Snape, in a voice of forced calm, "that if Potter was wandering around after hours again ... it's an unfortunate habit of his ... he should be stopped.

“霍格沃茨的地图。”哈利说。他希望穆迪赶紧把他从楼梯里拉出来，他的腿疼得要命。

For - for his own safety."

“梅林的胡子，”穆迪瞪着地图，低声说，那只带魔法的眼睛疯狂地乱转，“这……这张地图可不同一般，波特！”

"Ah, I see," said Moody softly. "Got Potter's best interests at heart, have you?"

“是啊，它……很管用。”哈利说。他已经疼得眼泪直流了，“嗯——穆迪教授，你能不能帮我一把——？”

There was a pause. Snape and Moody were still staring at each other, Mrs. Norris gave a loud meow, still peering around Filch's legs, looking for the source of Harry's bubble-bath smell.

“什么？噢，好的……好的，没问题……”

"I think I will go back to bed," Snape said curtly.

穆迪抓住哈利的双臂用力一拉。哈利的腿从那捉弄人的台阶里解脱了出来，他爬到上面一级台阶上。穆迪仍然盯着地图。

"Best idea you've had all night," said Moody. "Now, Filch, if you'll just give me that egg-"

“波特……”他慢吞吞地说，“你有没有碰巧看见是谁闯进了斯内普的办公室？我的意思是，在这张地图上？”

"No!" said Filch, clutching the egg as though it were his firstborn son. "Professor Moody, this is evidence of Peeves' treachery!"

“嗯……我看见了……”哈利承认道，“是克劳奇先生。”

"It's the property of the champion he stole it from," said Moody. Hand it over, now."

穆迪那只带魔法的眼睛在地图上嗖嗖地来回扫动。他突然显得很警觉。

Snape swept downstairs and passed Moody without another word. Filch made a chirruping noise to Mrs. Norris, who stared blankly at Harry for a few more seconds before turning and following her master. Still breathing very fast. Harry heard Snape walking away down the corridor; Filch handed Moody the egg and disappeared from view too, muttering to Mrs. Norris. "Never mind. my sweet.. . we'll see Dumbledore in the morning ... tell him what Peeves was up to...."

“克劳奇？”他说，“你——你能肯定吗，波特？”

A door slammed. Harry was left staring down at Moody, who placed his staff on the bottommost stair and started to climb laboriously toward him, a dull clunk on every other step.

“绝对肯定。”哈利说。

"Close shave. Potter," he muttered.

“哦，他已经不在了，”穆迪说道，眼睛仍然在地图上扫来扫去，“克劳奇……真是非常——非常有意思……”

"Yeah ... I - er ... thanks," said Harry weakly.

有那么一分钟的时间，他什么也没说，只是盯着地图。哈利看得出来，这个消息对穆迪来说意味着一些什么，他很想知道到底是怎么回事。他不知道自己敢不敢问一问穆迪。他有点儿害怕穆迪……不过穆迪刚才帮助他躲过了一大堆麻烦呀……

"What is this thing?" said Moody, drawing the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and unfolding it.

“嗯……穆迪教授……你认为克劳奇先生为什么要搜查斯内普的办公室？”

"Map of Hogwarts," said Harry, hoping Moody was going to pull him out of the staircase soon; his leg was really hurting him.

穆迪那只带魔法的眼睛从地图上抬起，牢牢地微微颤抖地盯着哈利。这是一种具有穿透力的凝视，哈利感到穆迪在审视他，在考虑要不要回答他，在考虑告诉他多少。

"Merlins beard," Moody whispered, staring at the map, his magical eye going haywire.

“这么说吧，波特，”穆迪最后小声说，“他们说疯眼汉这老家伙一心痴迷着抓黑巫师……但是我跟巴蒂·克劳奇相比，简直不算什么——不算什么。”

"This . .. this is some map. Potter!"

他继续盯着地图。哈利急不可耐地想了解更多的情况。

"Yeah, its . . . quite useful," Harry said. His eyes were starting to water from the pain. "Er - Professor Moody, d'you think you could help me - ?"

“穆迪教授？”他又问，“你认为……这件事会不会和……也许克劳奇先生认为有一些异常的……”

"What? Oh! Yes . . . yes, of course . .."

“比如什么？”穆迪尖锐地问。

Moody took hold of Harrys arms and pulled; Harrys leg came free of the trick step, and he climbed onto the one above it. Moody was still gazing at the map.

哈利不知道自己敢坦白多少。他不想让穆迪猜到，在霍格沃茨以外还有人向他提供情报，那会使穆迪提出一些牵扯到小天狼星的问题，很难回答。

"Potter ..." he said slowly, "you didn't happen, by any chance, to see who broke into Snapes office, did you? On this map, I mean?"

“我不知道，”哈利含糊地说，“最近总发生一些怪事儿，是不是？《预言家日报》上写着呢……世界杯赛上的黑魔标记，还有食死徒什么的……”

"Er . . . yeah, I did . . ." Harry admitted. "It was Mr. Crouch."

穆迪那两只不对称的眼睛都睁大了。

Moodys magical eye whizzed over the entire surface of the map. He looked suddenly alarmed.

“你是个目光很敏锐的孩子，波特。”他说。那只带魔法的眼睛又转回去，盯着活点地图。“克劳奇大概也是这样的思路，”他慢悠悠地说道，“很有可能……最近风言风语的，有一些古怪的谣传——当然啦，丽塔·斯基特又起了推波助澜的作用。我想，这使许多人惶惶不安。”一丝阴森的笑容使他歪斜的嘴变得扭曲了。“如果我对什么事恨之入骨的话，”他低声道，不像是对哈利说话，更像是在自言自语，那只带魔法的眼睛盯着地图的左角，“那就是让一个食死徒逍遥在外……”

"Crouch?" he said. "You're - you're sure. Potter?"

哈利愣愣地望着他。穆迪的意思难道真的是哈利所想的那样吗？

"Positive," said Harry.

“那么，我想问你一个问题，波特。”穆迪以一种公事公办的口吻说。

"Well, he's not here anymore," said Moody, his eye still whizzing over the map. "Crouch . .. that's very - very interesting... ."

哈利的心往下一沉。他早就知道他是逃不过去的。穆迪肯定要问他这张地图是从哪儿弄来的，因为这是一件令人起疑的魔法物品——如果老实交代地图是怎么落到他手里，那就不仅会给他自己带来麻烦，还会牵连他的父亲、弗雷德和乔治·韦斯莱，以及卢平教授——他们上学期的黑魔法防御术课老师。穆迪在哈利面前挥动着地图，哈利鼓足勇气，做好了准备——

He said nothing for almost a minute, still staring at the map. Harry could tell that

“这个能借我用一用吗？”

this news meant something to Moody and very much wanted to know what it was. He wondered whether he dared ask. Moody scared him slightly. . . yet Moody had just helped him avoid an awful lot of trouble. . . .

“噢！”哈利说。

"Er ... Professor Moody . . . why d'you reckon Mr. Crouch wanted to look around Snapes office?"

他很喜欢这张地图，但另一方面，看到穆迪没有追问地图是从哪里弄来的，他又感到松了口气，而且毫无疑问，他还欠着穆迪一份人情呢。

Moodys magical eye left the map and fixed, quivering, upon Harry. It was a penetrating glare, and Harry had the impression that Moody was sizing him up, wondering whether to answer or not, or how much to tell him.

“行，没问题。”

"Put it this way. Potter," Moody muttered finally, "they say old Mad-Eye's obsessed with catching Dark wizards . . . but I'm nothing - nothing - compared to Barty Crouch."

“好孩子，”穆迪粗声粗气地说，“我可以拿它派大用场……这大概正是我想找的东西……好了，上床睡觉去吧，波特，快点儿，走吧……”

He continued to stare at the map. Harry was burning to know more.

两人一起走到楼梯上面，穆迪仍然在仔细研究着地图，似乎这是一个他以前从未见过的宝物。他们默默地走向穆迪办公室的门口，然后穆迪停住脚步，抬头望着哈利。

"Professor Moody?" he said again. "D'you think... could this have anything to do with .

“你有没有想过以后当一名傲罗，波特？”

. . maybe Mr. Crouch thinks there's something going on. ..."

“没有。”哈利说，感到很吃惊。

"Like what?" said Moody sharply.

“你需要考虑一下了，”穆迪说，他点着头，若有所思地看着哈利，“真的……噢，顺便说一句……我猜你今晚不只是拿着金蛋散步吧？”

Harry wondered how much he dare say. He didn't want Moody to guess that he had a source of information outside Hogwarts; that might lead to tricky questions about Sirius.

“嗯——不是，”哈利咧嘴笑着说，“我在琢磨线索呢。”

"I don't know," Harry muttered, "odd stuffs been happening lately, hasn't it? It's been in the Daily Prophet... the Dark Mark at the World Cup, and the Death Eaters and everything...."

穆迪朝他眨眨眼睛，那只带魔法的眼睛又疯狂地转个不停。

Both of Moody's mismatched eyes widened.

“半夜溜达是不会给你什么灵感的，波特……明天早晨见……”

"You're a sharp boy. Potter," he said. His magical eye roved back to the Marauder's Map.

他转身进了办公室，一边低头钻研活点地图，一边回手把门关上了。

"Crouch could be thinking along those lines," he said slowly. "Very possible. . . there have been some funny rumors flying around lately - helped along by Rita Skeeter, of course. It's making a lot of people nervous, I reckon." A grim smile twisted his lopsided mouth. "Oh if there's one thing I hate," he muttered, more to himself than to Harry, and his magical eye was fixed on the left-hand corner of the map, "its a Death Eater who walked free. ..."

哈利慢慢地走回格兰芬多塔楼，一路沉思着：斯内普、克劳奇，这一切都意味着什么呢……克劳奇既然能够随心所欲地溜进霍格沃茨，那他为什么又要装病呢？他认为斯内普在办公室里藏了什么呢？

Harry stared at him. Could Moody possibly mean what Harry thought he meant?

还有，穆迪认为他——哈利应该成为一名傲罗！这想法真有趣……然而……十分钟后，当哈利把金蛋和隐形衣放回箱子里，悄悄钻进四柱床时，他又想，他还要检查一下其他傲罗身上有多少伤疤，再决定以后当不当傲罗。

"And now I want to ask you a question. Potter," said Moody in a more businesslike tone.

Harrys heart sank; he had thought this was coming. Moody was going to ask where he had got this map, which was a very dubious magical object - and the story of how it had fallen into his hands incriminated not only him, but his own father, Fred and George Weasley, and Professor Lupin, their last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Moody waved the map in front of Harry, who braced himself-"

Can I borrow this?"

"Oh!" said Harry.

He was very fond of his map, but on the other hand, he was extremely relieved that Moody wasn't asking where he'd got it, and there was no doubt that he owed Moody a favor.

"Yeah, okay."

"Good boy," growled Moody. "I can make good use of this . .. this might be exactly what I've been looking for. . . . Right, bed, Potter, come on, now. ..."

They climbed to the top of the stairs together, Moody still examining the map as though it was a treasure the like of which he had never seen before. They walked in silence to the door of Moody's office, where he stopped and looked up at Harry.

"You ever thought of a career as an Auror, Potter?"

"No," said Harry, taken aback.

"You want to consider it," said Moody, nodding and looking at Harry thoughtfully. "Yes, indeed ... and incidentally ... I'm guessing you werent Just taking that egg for a walk tonight?"

"Er - no," said Harry, grinning. "I've been working out the clue."

Moody winked at him, his magical eye going haywire again. "Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas, Potter. . .. See you in the morning...."

He went back into his office, staring down at the Marauders Map again, and closed the door behind him.

Harry walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, lost in thought about Snape, and Crouch, and what it all meant.... Why was Crouch pretending to be ill, if he could manage to get to Hogwarts when he wanted to? What did he think Snape was concealing in his office?

And Moody thought he. Harry, ought to be an Auror! Interesting idea.. . but somehow.

Harry thought, as he got quietly into his four-poster ten minutes later, the egg and the cloak now safely back in his trunk, he thought he'd like to check how scarred the rest of them were before he chose it as a career.

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