OK阅读网

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

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - The Beetle at Bay

第二十五章　无奈的甲虫

Harry's question was answered the very next morning. When Hermione's Daily Prophet arrived she smoothed it out, gazed for a moment at the front page and gave a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.

哈利的问题第二天就找到了答案。赫敏的《预言家日报》送来后，她打开报纸先看头版，突然尖叫起来，周围的人都朝她看。

'What?' said Harry and Ron together.

“怎么啦？”哈利和罗恩一齐问。

For answer she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards' faces and the tenth, a witch's. Some of the people in the photographs were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, looking insolent. Each picture was captioned with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.

她把报纸摊到桌上，指着占满头版的十张黑白照片，九个男巫和一个女巫的面孔，有的在无声哂笑，有的傲慢地用手指敲着边框。每张照片下注有姓名和被关进阿兹卡班的罪行。

Antonin Dolohov, read the legend beneath a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face who was sneering up at Harry convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett.

安东宁·多洛霍夫，一个男巫苍白、扭曲的长脸对着哈利冷笑，凶残杀害吉迪翁和费比安·普威特夫妇。

Algernon Rookwood, said the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to He Who Must Not Be Named.

奥古斯特·卢克伍德，一个头发油光光的麻脸男子倚在边框上，一副厌倦的表情，向神秘人泄露魔法部机密。

But Harry's eyes were drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face had leapt out at him the moment he had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though he had seen it sleek, thick and shining. She glared up at him through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Sirius, she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something - perhaps Azkaban - had taken most of her beauty.

但哈利的目光被那个女巫吸引了。第一眼看报纸时她的面孔就跳入了他的眼帘，她黑色的长发在照片上显得乱蓬蓬的，但哈利见过它光滑乌亮的样子。她厚眼皮下的眼睛瞪着他，薄嘴唇上浮现出一丝高傲的、轻蔑的微笑。像小天狼星一样，她还保留着一些俊美的痕迹，但某种东西——也许是阿兹卡班，已经夺走了她大部分的美丽。

Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent mca-pacitation of Frank and Alice LongbotWm.

贝拉特里克斯·莱斯特兰奇，酷刑折磨弗兰克和艾丽斯·隆巴顿夫妇，导致二人永久性残废。

Hermione nudged Harry and pointed at the headline over the pictures, which Harry, concentrating on Bellatrix, had not yet read.

赫敏推推哈利，指指照片上方的标题。

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

阿兹卡班多人越狱

MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT'

魔法部担心布莱克是食死徒的“号召人”

FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

“布莱克？”哈利大声说，“不是——？”

'Black?' said Harry loudly. 'Not - ?'

“嘘！”赫敏急道，“小声点儿——往下看！”

'Shhh!' whispered Hermione desperately. 'Not so loud - 'just read it!'

魔法部昨天夜间宣布阿兹卡班发生大规模越狱事件。

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.

部长康奈利·福吉在办公室接受采访时证实十名重犯于昨晚脱逃，他已向麻瓜首相通报了逃犯的危险性。

Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.

“非常遗憾，我们陷入了与两年半前杀人犯小天狼星布莱克脱逃时相同的处境，”福吉昨夜说，“而且我们不认为两次越狱没有联系。如此大规模的越狱令人怀疑有外面的接应，要知道布莱克作为从阿兹卡班脱逃的第一人，最有条件帮助他人越狱。逃犯中还包括布莱克的堂姐贝拉特里克斯·莱斯特兰奇。我们认为这些逃犯可能把布莱克当作领袖。但魔法部正不遗余力地追缉逃犯，并请公众保持警惕，切勿接近这些要犯。”

'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped,' said Fudge last night. 'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.'

“你看，哈利，”罗恩害怕地说，“所以他昨天晚上那么高兴……”

There you are, Harry,' said Ron, looking awestruck. That's why he was happy last night.'

“我不能相信，”哈利吼道，“福吉把越狱怪到小天狼星的头上？”

'I don't believe this,' snarled Harry, 'Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?'

“他还能怎么样？”赫敏挖苦地说道，“他能说‘对不起，邓布利多提醒过我，阿兹卡班的看守投靠了伏地魔。’——别哼哼，罗恩——‘现在伏地魔的得力助手也跑了’吗？他花了六个月对大家说你和邓布利多是骗子，不是吗？”

'What other options does he have?' said Hermione bitterly. 'He can hardly say, "Sorry, everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort" - stop whimpering, Ron - "and now Voldemort's worst supporters have broken out, too." I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?'

赫敏翻开报纸，开始读里面的报道，哈利环顾礼堂，他不明白其他学生为什么没有显得恐慌，或至少在议论这可怕的头版新闻，然而很少有人像赫敏那样每天拿报纸。他们还在聊着作业、魁地奇球和鬼知道是什么的废话，而墙外又有十个食死徒壮大了伏地魔的力量……

Hermione ripped open the newspaper and began to read the report inside while Harry looked around the Great Hall. He could not understand why his fellow students were not looking scared or at least discussing the terrible piece of news on the front page, but very few of them took the newspaper every day like Hermione. There they all were, talking about homework and Quidditch and who knew what other rubbish, when outside these walls ten more Death Eaters had swollen Voldemort's ranks.

他朝教工桌子望去，那儿是另一番景象：邓布利多和麦格教授在密切交谈，两人面容都异常严峻。斯普劳特教授把《预言家日报》靠在番茄酱的瓶子上，专心致志地读着第一版，勺子举在空中，连勺里的蛋黄滴到了腿上都没发觉。桌子另一头的乌姆里奇教授在大口地喝着麦片粥，她的癞蛤蟆眼第一次没有在礼堂里搜寻行为不当的学生。她皱着眉头吃饭，不时恶毒地朝邓布利多和麦格教授那边瞥上一眼。

He glanced up at the staff table. It was a different story there: Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were deep in conversation, both looking extremely grave. Professor Sprout had the Prophet propped against a bottle of ketchup and was reading the front page with such concentration that she was not noticing the gentle drip o egg yolk falling into her lap from her stationary spoon. Meanwhile, at the far end of the table, Professor Umbridge was tucking into a bowl of porridge. For once her pouchy toad's eyes were not sweeping the Great Hall looking for misbehaving students. She scowled as she gulped down her food and every now and then she shot a malevolent glance up the table to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking so intently.

“呃，天——”赫敏惊叫一声，还在看着报纸。

'Oh my - ' said Hermione wonderingly, still staring at the newspaper.

“又怎么了？”哈利忙问，心惊肉跳的。

'What now?' said Harry quickly; he was feeling jumpy.

“……太可怕了。”赫敏把第十版折过来，递给了哈利和罗恩。

'It's . . . horrible,' said Hermione, looking shaken. She folded back page ten of the newspaper and handed it to Harry and Ron.

魔法部职员死于非命

TRAGIC DEMISE OF MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER

圣芒戈医院昨晚保证对魔法部职员布罗德里克·博德之死作出全面调查。四十九岁的博德先生被一盆植物勒死在病床上，治疗师抢救无效。博德先生数周前在一次工作事故中受伤。

St Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderich Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a pot plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death.

出事时分管博德先生病房的治疗师梅莲姆·斯特劳带薪停职，未接受采访。但医院发言人称：“圣芒戈对博德先生之死深表遗憾，惨剧发生前他正在日渐康复。

Healer Miriam Strout, who was in charge of Mr Bodes ward at the time of the incident, has been suspended on full pay and was unavailable for comment yesterday, but a spokeswizard for the hospital said in a statement:

“我们对病房中的装饰物有严格规定，但斯特劳治疗师在圣诞节的忙碌中，忽视了博德先生床头植物的危险性质。随着博德先生语言和行动能力的恢复，她鼓励他亲自照料那盆植物，却没看出它不是无害的蟹爪兰，而是一枝魔鬼网。康复中的博德先生一碰到它，马上就被勒死了。

'St Mungo's deeply regrets the death of Mr Bode, whose health was improving steadily prior to this tragic accident.

“圣芒戈医院还不能解释这盆植物怎么会出现在病房里，希望知情者提供线索。”

'We have strict guidelines on the decorations permitted on our wards but it appears that Healer Strout, busy over the Christmas period, overlooked the dangers of the plant on Mr Bode's bedside table. As his speech and mobility improved, Healer Strout encouraged Mr Bode to look after the plant himself, unaware that it was not an innocent Flitterbloom, but a cutting of Devil's Snare which, when touched by the convalescent Mr Bode, throttled him instantly.

“博德……”罗恩说，“博德，挺耳熟的……”

'St Mungo's is as vet unable to account for the presence of the plant on the ward and asks any witch or wizard with information to come forward.'

“我们见过他，”赫敏小声说道，“在圣芒戈，记得吗？他住洛哈特对面的床，光躺在那儿瞪着天花板。我们还看到了魔鬼网，那个治疗师说它是圣诞礼物……”

'Bode . . .' said Ron. 'Bode. It rings a bell . . .'

哈利记起当时的情景，恐怖感涌上心头，像胆汁堵在他的喉咙。

'We saw him,' Hermione whispered. In St Mungo's, remember? He was in the bed opposite Lockhart's, just lying there, staring at the ceiling. And we saw the Devil's Snare arrive. She - the Healer - said it was a Christmas present.'

“我们怎么会没有认出魔鬼网呢……？以前见过的呀……我们本来可以阻止……”

Harry looked back at the story. A feeling of horror was rising like bile in his throat.

“谁想得到魔鬼网会伪装成盆栽植物出现在医院里？”罗恩尖刻地说，“这不怪我们，要怪那个送礼的！准是个蠢货，为什么不看看买的是什么呢？”

'How come we didn't recognise Devil's Snare? We've seen it before . . . we could've stopped this from happening.'

“得了吧，罗恩！”赫敏不安地说，“我想没人会把魔鬼网放在花盆里而看不出它想勒死碰它的人。这——这是谋杀……很聪明的谋杀……如果送植物的人没留下姓名，谁能查得出来？”

'Who expects Devil's Snare to turn up in a hospital disguised as a pot plant?' said Ron sharply. 'It's not our fault, whoever sent it to the bloke is to blame! They must be a real prat, why didn't they check what they were buying?'

哈利没在想魔鬼网，他记起受审那天乘电梯下到魔法部第九层时，从门厅进来的那个黄脸男子。

'Oh, come on, Ron!' said Hermione shakily. 'I don't think anyone could put Devil's Snare in a pot and not realise it tries to kill whoever touches it? This - this was murder . . . a clever murder, as well . . . if the plant was sent anonymously, how's anyone ever going to find out who did it?'

“我见过博德，”他缓缓地说，“跟你爸爸在魔法部……”

Harry was not thinking about Devil's Snare. He was remembering taking the lift down to the ninth level of the Ministry on the day of his hearing and the sallow-faced man who had got in on the Atrium level.

罗恩张大了嘴巴。

'I met Bode,' he said slowly. 'I saw him at the Ministry with your dad.'

“我在家听爸爸提到过他！他是个缄默人——他在神秘事务司工作！”

Ron's mouth fell open.

三人面面相觑，赫敏把报纸抽过去，翻到头版，瞪着十名越狱的食死徒瞧了一会儿，然后跳了起来。

'I've heard Dad talk about him at home! He was an Unspeakable

“你要干吗？”罗恩吃惊地问。

' - he worked in the Department of Mysteries!'

“发一封信，”赫敏说，把书包甩到肩上，“可能……嗯，我不知道……但值得试一试……只有我能够……”

They looked at each other for a moment, then Hermione pulled the newspaper back towards her, closed it, glared for a moment at the pictures of the ten escaped Death Eaters on the front, then leapt to her feet.

“我讨厌她那样，”罗恩嘟哝道，他和哈利也站起来，慢慢走出礼堂，“就告诉我们一次会杀了她吗？只需要十几秒钟——嘿，海格！”

'Where are you going?' said Ron, startled.

海格站在门口让一群拉文克劳的学生过去。他还像寻找巨人刚回来时那样伤痕累累，而且鼻梁上又多了一个新的伤口。

To send a letter,' said Hermione, swinging her bag on to her shoulder. 'It . . . well, I don't know whether . . . but it's worth trying . . . and I'm the only one who can.'

“你们好啊？”他想笑，但只是痛得咧了一下嘴。

'I hate it when she does that,' grumbled Ron, as he and Harry got up from the table and made their own, slower way out of the Great Hall. 'Would it kill her to tell us what she's up to for once? It'd take her about ten more seconds - hey, Hagrid!'

“你没事吧，海格？”哈利跟着他问，他沉重地走在拉文克劳的学生后面。

Hagrid was standing beside the doors into the Entrance Hall, waiting for a crowd of Ravenclaws to pass. He was still as heavily bruised as he had been on the day he had come back from his mission to the giants and there was a new cut right across the bridge of his nose.

“很好，很好，”海格假装快活地说道，还挥了挥手，差点打到了惊恐的维克多教授，“就是忙，你知道，还是那些事儿——备课——两只火蜥蜴的鳞烂了——我留用察看了。”他嘟哝道。

'All righ', you two?' he said, trying to muster a smile but managing only a kind of pained grimace.

“你留用察看了？”罗恩大声问，许多学生都好奇地回头看了看，“对不起——我是说——你留用察看了？”他压低了嗓门。

'Are you OK, Hagrid?' asked Harry, following him as he lumbered after the Ravenclaws.

“是啊，”海格说，“说实话，这是意料中的。你可能不理解，但那次调查结果不好……算了。”他长叹一声，“得再去给火蜥蜴抹点辣椒粉，不然它们的尾巴也要掉了。再见，哈利……罗恩……”

'Fine, fine,' said Hagrid with a feeble assumption of airiness; he w aved a hand and narrowly missed concussing a frightened-looking Professor Vector, who was passing. 'Jus' busy, yeh know, usual stuff

他沉重地走开了，出了前门，下了台阶，走进了潮湿的场地。哈利望着他，不知道自己还能承受多少坏消息。

' - lessons ter prepare - couple o' salamanders got scale rot - an' I'm on probation,' he mumbled.

海格留用察看的事几天就在学校里传开了，并不是每个人都感到难过，有些人，尤其是德拉科·马尔福，显得很高兴。至于不知名的魔法部职员在圣芒戈蹊跷身亡，似乎只有哈利、罗恩和赫敏才知道或关心。现在走廊里只有一个话题：十名在逃的食死徒。这个消息终于通过少数读报的人渗透到了校园里。谣传说霍格莫德有人认出了几个逃犯，还说逃犯藏在尖叫棚屋，可能会像小天狼星那样闯进霍格沃茨。

'You're on probation?' said Ron very loudly, so that many of the passing students looked around curiously. 'Sorry - I mean - you're on probation?' he whispered.

魔法家庭的孩子从小就听说过这些食死徒，他们的名字几乎和伏地魔一样恐怖，他们在伏地魔的恐怖统治下所犯的罪行众所周知。霍格沃茨的学生中就有受害者的家属，这些学生发现自己不情愿地成了走廊上注意的焦点：叔叔、婶婶和堂兄弟都死在一个逃犯手里的苏珊·博恩斯在草药课上痛苦地说，她现在深深体会到了哈利的感觉。

'Yeah,' said Hagrid. ' 'S'no more'n I expected, ter tell yen the truth. Yeh migh' not've picked up on it, bu' that inspection didn' go too well, yeh know . . . anyway,' he sighed deeply. 'Bes' go an' rub a bit more chilli powder on them salamanders or their tails'll be hangin' off 'em next. See yeh, Harry . . . Ron . . .'

“我不知道你怎么受得了，真可怕。”她坦率地说，往叫咬藤幼苗上加了太多的龙粪，使得它们难受地扭动尖叫起来。

He trudged away, out of the front doors and down the stone steps into the damp grounds. Harry watched him go, wondering how much more bad news he could stand.

哈利这些天在走廊上又成了小声议论和指指点点的对象，但他发现议论者的语气稍有变化。现在是好奇代替了敌意，有一两次他好像听到有人对《预言家日报》关于十名食死徒如何逃出阿兹卡班的说法表示不满。在困惑和恐惧中，这些怀疑者似乎转向了仅剩的一种解释，即哈利和邓布利多去年以来所讲的内容。

不仅学生的情绪变了，现在还经常能看到两三个教师在走廊上低声紧张地交谈，一见有学生走近就不说了。

The fact that Hagrid was now on probation became common knowledge within the school over the next few days, but to Harry's indignation, hardly anybody appeared to be upset about it; indeed, some people, Draco Malfoy prominent among them, seemed positively gleeful. As for the freakish death of an obscure Department of Mysteries employee in St Mungo's, Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to be the only people who knew or cared. There was only one topic of conversation in the corridors now: the ten escaped Death Eaters, whose story had finally filtered through the school from those few people who read the newspapers. Rumours were flying that some of the convicts had been spotted in Hogsmeade, that they were supposed to be hiding out in the Shrieking Shack and that they were going to break into Hogwarts, just as Sirius Black had once done.

“显然他们不能在教师休息室自由讲话了，”赫敏小声说，她和哈利、罗恩碰到麦格教授、弗立维和斯普劳特聚在魔咒课教室外，“乌姆里奇在那儿。”

Those who came from wizarding families had grown up hearing the names of these Death Eaters spoken with almost as much fear as Voldemorts; the crimes they had committed during the days of Voldemort's reign of terror were legendary. There were relatives cf their victims among the Hogwarts students, who now found themselves the unwilling objects of a gruesome sort of reflected fame as they walked the corridors: Susan Bones, whose uncle, aunt and cousins had all died at the hands of one of the ten, said miserably during Herbology that she now had a good idea what it felt like to be Harry.

“你说他们有新的消息吗？”罗恩回头望着三位教师。

'And I don't know how you stand it - it's horrible,' she said bluntly, dumping far too much dragon manure on her tray of Screechsnap seedlings, causing them to wriggle and squeak in discomfort.

“就算有，我们也不能听，是不是？”哈利气愤地说，“教育令……第多少号了？”

It was true that Harry was the subject of much renewed muttering and pointing in the corridors these days, yet he thought he detected a slight difference in the lone of the whisperers' voices. They sounded curious rather than hostile now, and once or twice he was sure he overheard snatches of conversation that, suggested that the speakers were not satisfied with the Prophet's version of how and why ten Death Eaters had managed to break out of the Azkaban fortress. In their confusion and fear, these doubters now seemed to be turning to the only other explanation available to them: the one that Harry and Dumbledore had been expounding since the previous year.

阿兹卡班越狱事件见报的第二天早上，学院的布告栏上又贴出了新的告示：

It was not only the students' mood that had changed. It was now quite common to come across two or three teachers conversing in low, urgent whispers in the corridors, breaking off their conversations the moment they saw students approaching.

霍格沃茨高级调查官令

They obviously can't talk freely in the staff room any more,' said Hermione in a low voice, as she, Harry and Ron passed Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout huddled together outside the Charms classroom one day. 'Not with Umbridge there.'

兹禁止教师向学生提供任何与其任教科目无关的信息。以上条例符合《第二十六号教育令》。

'Reckon they know anything new?' said Ron, gazing back over his shoulder at the three teachers.

签名：高级调查官　多洛雷斯·简·乌姆里奇

'If they do, we're not going to hear about it, are we?' said Harry angrily. 'Not after Decree . . . what number are we on now?' For new notices had appeared on the house noticeboards the morning after news of the Azkaban breakout:

这条最新法令在学生中引出了许多玩笑。李·乔丹向乌姆里奇指出依据新法令她不能责备弗雷德和乔治在后面玩噼啪爆炸牌。

BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS

“噼啪爆炸牌跟黑魔法防御术毫不相干，教授！那是跟您任教科目无关的信息！”

Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information

哈利再见到李时，他的手背鲜血淋漓，哈利建议用一点莫特拉鼠汁。

that is not strictly related to the subjects they are paid to teach.

哈利以为阿兹卡班越狱事件会使乌姆里奇收敛一点儿，以为她会为她亲爱的福吉眼皮底下出的这个大纰漏而感到羞愧。然而，这件事似乎只是使她更疯狂地想把霍格沃茨的生活控制在她的掌心里。她好像正下定决心近期内至少要解雇一个人，只不过是特里劳妮和海格谁先走的问题。

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree

现在每堂占卜课和保护神奇生物课都在乌姆里奇和她的写字板前进行。在香气熏人的塔楼楼顶的房间里，她坐在火炉边，不时打断特里劳妮教授越来越歇斯底里的讲课，问她鸟相学和七字学之类刁钻古怪的问题，坚持要她预知学生的回答，并要求她展示用水晶球、茶叶和魔文石占卜的能力。哈利觉得特里劳妮快要崩溃了，他有几次在走廊里碰到她（这本身就很反常，因为她一般只待在她的塔楼里），都见她在激动地自言自语，绞着双手，惊恐地回头张望，身上散发着一股强烈的烹调酒的味道。若不是太为海格担心，他都要为她难过了——可是如果两人中必须有一个丢掉工作，哈利只有一个选择。

Number Twenty-six.

不幸的是，哈利看不出海格比特里劳妮好到哪儿去。虽然他好像听了赫敏的劝告，圣诞节之后就没在课上用过比燕尾狗①（它除了尾巴分叉之外与小猎犬没什么区别）更吓人的东西，但他似乎也受了刺激。在课上心烦意乱，魂不守舍，经常忘了讲课的思路，答错问题，还老紧张地去瞟乌姆里奇。他跟哈利三人也疏远了一些，特别叫他们不要在天黑后去看他。

Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor

“如果被她抓到，我们都会完蛋。”他直截了当地说。他们不想进一步连累他，晚上就不再去他的小屋了。

This latest Decree had been the subject of a great number of jokes among the students. Lee Jordan had pointed out to Umbridge that by the terms of the new rule she was not allowed to tell Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snap in the back of the class.

哈利觉得乌姆里奇在一步步剥夺让他在霍格沃茨的生活中有意义的东西：访问海格的小屋、小天狼星的来信、他的火弩箭，还有魁地奇球。他只能用他惟一的方式报复：加倍投入D．A．的活动。

'Exploding Snap's got nothing to do with Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor! That's not information relating to your subject!'

哈利高兴地看到，得知十名食死徒在逃后，大家（连扎卡赖斯·史密斯）都训练得更刻苦了。然而谁的进步都没有纳威明显，残害他父母的凶手逃跑的消息使他发生了奇特的甚至有些吓人的变化。他一次都没有提过在圣芒戈病房里见过哈利等人的事，见他这样，他们也守口如瓶。他也从来不提贝拉特里克斯及其同伙的在逃，事实上，他在D．A．活动时几乎一句话都不说了，只是埋头苦练哈利教的每个魔咒，圆脸蛋绷得紧紧的，对受伤和事故都不以为意，练得比屋里任何人都卖力。他的进步快得令人害怕，当哈利教一种能把小魔咒反弹到敌人身上的铁甲咒时，只有赫敏比纳威先学会。

When Harry next saw Lee, the back of his hand was bleeding rather badly. Harry recommended essence of Murtlap.

其实哈利非常希望他在学习大脑封闭术上也能有纳威那样大的进步。第一次辅导很糟糕，以后也没有改善，相反，哈利觉得他的状态越来越坏了。

Harry had thought the breakout from Azkaban might have humbled Umbridge a little, that she might have been abashed at the catastrophe that had occurred right under the nose of her beloved Fudge. It seemed, however, to have only intensified her furious desire to bring every aspect of life at Hogwarts under her personal control. She seemed determined at the very least to achieve a sacking before long, and the only question was whether it would be Professor Trelawney or Hagrid who went first.

在学习大脑封闭术以前，他的伤疤偶尔也会痛，通常是在夜里，或是在他几次突然感应到伏地魔的思想和情绪之后。但现在伤疤几乎是不间断地刺痛，他经常感到一阵阵与他当时行为无关的烦恼或喜悦，总是伴随着伤疤的剧烈疼痛。他恐惧地觉得自己正在逐渐变成一种天线，能接收伏地魔情绪的微小波动。他能肯定这种灵敏度的提高是第一次跟斯内普学习大脑封闭术后开始的。而且，他现在几乎每天晚上都梦见自己在走廊里朝神秘事务司走去，最后总是渴望地站在那扇黑门前。

Every single Divination and Care of Magical Creatures lesson was now conducted in the presence of Umbridge and her clipboard. She lurked by the fire in the heavily perfumed tower room, interrupting Professor Trelawney's increasingly hysterical talks with difficult questions about ornithomancy and heptomology, insisting that she predicted students' answers before they gave them and demanding that she demonstrate her skill at the crystal ball, the tea leaves and the rune stones in turn. Harry thought Professor Trelawney might soon crack under the strain. Several times he passed her in the corridors - in itself a very unusual occurrence as she generally remained in her tower room - muttering wildly to herself, wringing her hands and shooting terrified glances over her shoulder, and all the while giving off a powerful smell of cooking sherry. If he had not been so worried about Hagrid, he would have felt sorry for her - but if one of them was to be ousted from their job, there could be only one choice for Harry as to who should remain.

“也许有点儿像生病，”听了哈利的倾诉之后，赫敏关切地说，“像发烧那样，要先加重再变好。”

Unfortunately, Harry could not see that Hagrid was putting up a better show than Trelawney. Though he seemed to be following Hermione's advice and had shown them nothing more frightening than a Crup - a creature indistinguishable from a Jack Russell terrier except for its forked tail - since before Christmas, he too seemed to have lost his nerve. He was oddly distracted and jumpy during lessons, losing the thread of what he was saying to the class, answering questions wrongly, and all the time glancing anxiously at Umbridge. He was also more distant with Harry, Ron and Hermione than he had ever been before, and had expressly forbidden them to visit him after dark.

“是斯内普的辅导使它加重的。”哈利断言，“伤疤疼得太难受了，而且我讨厌每天晚上走那条走廊。”他恼火地揉着额头，“我希望那扇门快打开，盯着它都看厌了——”

'If she catches yeh, it'll be all of our necks on the line,' he told ;:hem flatly, and with no desire to do anything that might jeopardise his job further they abstained from walking down to his hut :.n the evenings.

“这可不是开玩笑，”赫敏厉声说，“邓布利多不想让你梦见那条走廊，要不他也不会让斯内普教你大脑封闭术。你还得努点力。”

It seemed to Harry that Umbridge was steadily depriving him of everything that made his life at Hogwarts worth living: visits to Hagrid's house, letters from Sirius, his Firebolt and Quidditch. He took his revenge the only way he could - by redoubling his efforts for the DA.

“我努力了！”哈利火了起来，“你倒试试看，斯内普想进到你脑子里，这不是什么开心的事！”

Harry was pleased to see that all of them, even Zacharias Smith, had been spurred on to work harder than ever by the news that ten more Death Eaters were now on the loose, but in nobody was this improvement more pronounced than in Neville. The news of his parents' attackers' escape had wrought a strange and even slightly alarming change in him. He had not once mentioned his meeting with Harry, Ron and Hermione on the closed ward in St Mungo's and, taking their lead from him, they had kept quiet about it too. Nor had he said anything on the subject of Bellatrix and her fellow torturers' escape. In fact, Neville barely spoke during the DA meetings any more, but worked relentlessly on every new jinx and counter-curse Harry taught them, his plump face screwed up in concentration, apparently indifferent to injuries or accidents and working harder than anyone else in the room. He was improving so fast it was quite unnerving and when Harry taught them, the Shield Charm - a means of deflecting minor jinxes so that they rebounded upon the attacker - only Hermione mastered the charm faster than Neville.

“也许……”罗恩开口道。

Harry would have given a great deal to be making as much progress at Occlumency as Neville was making during the DA meetings. Harry's sessions with Snape, which had started badly enough, were not improving. On the contrary, Harry felt he was getting \vorse with every lesson.

“也许什么？”赫敏没好气地问。

Before he had started studying Occlumency, his scar had prickled occasionally, usually during the night, or else following one of those strange flashes of Voldemort's thoughts or mood that he experienced every now and then. Nowadays, however, his scar hardly ever stopped prickling, and he often felt lurches of annoyance or cheerfulness that were unrelated to what was happening to him at the time, which were always accompanied by a particularly painful twinge from his scar. He had the horrible impression that he was slowly turning into a kind of aerial that was tuned in to tiny fluctuations in Voldemort's mood, and he was sure he could date this increased sensitivity firmly from his first Occlumency lesson with Snape. What was more, he was now dreaming about walking down the corridor towards the entrance to the Department of Mysteries almost every night, dreams which always culminated in him standing longingly in front of the plain black door.

“不能关闭大脑也许不是哈利的错。”罗恩阴沉地说。

'Maybe it's a bit like an illness,' said Hermione, looking concerned when Harry confided in her and Ron. 'A fever or something. It has to get worse before it gets better.'

“你是什么意思？”赫敏问。

The lessons with Snape are making it worse,' said Harry flatly 'I'm getting sick of my scar hurting and I'm getting bored with walking down that corridor every night.' He rubbed his forehead angrily. 'I just wish the door would open, I'm sick of standing staring at it - '

“嗯，也许斯内普不是真想帮助哈利……”

That's not funny,' said Hermione sharply. 'Dumbledore doesn't want you to have dreams about that corridor at all, or he wouldn't have asked Snape to teach you Occlumency. You're just going to have to work a bit harder in your lessons.'

两人都瞪着罗恩，他意味深长地看着他们。

'I am working!' said Harry, nettled. "You try it some time - Snape: trying to get inside your head - it's not a bundle of laughs, you know!'

“也许，”他低声说，“他实际上是想把哈利的头脑打开得更大一点儿……让神秘人——”

'Maybe . . .' said Ron slowly.

“别胡说，罗恩，”赫敏生气地打断他，“你怀疑过斯内普多少次了，哪次是对的？邓布利多信任他，他为凤凰社工作，这就够了。”

'Maybe what?' said Hermione, rather snappishly.

“他以前是食死徒，”罗恩固执地说道，“我们从没见过他真正转变的证据……”

'Maybe it's not Harry's fault he can't close his mind,' said Ron darkly.

“邓布利多信任他，”赫敏坚持道，“要是我们不相信邓布利多，就没人可相信了。”

'What do you mean?' said Hermione.

有那么多烦心的事和要做的事——经常使五年级学生熬夜的惊人作业量、秘密的D．A．集会、斯内普的定期辅导——一月份过起来快得可怕。不知不觉中二月已经来临，带来了较为温暖湿润的天气，以及本学年的第二次霍格莫德之行。哈利自上次约定之后一直没什么时间跟秋说话，现在突然发现要跟她度过整整一个情人节。

'Well, maybe Snape isn't really trying to help Harry . . .'

2月14日早上，哈利特意打扮了一下，他和罗恩来到礼堂时正赶上猫头鹰送信，海德薇不在——他也没指望它来，但他们坐下时，赫敏从一只陌生的褐色猫头鹰嘴里抽出了一封信。

Harry and Hermione stared at him. Ron looked darkly and meaningfully from one to the other.

“还算及时！要是今天不来……”她急切地撕开信封，抽出一小张羊皮纸，读了起来，目光迅速地来回移动，脸上现出欣慰的表情。

'Maybe,' he said again, in a lower voice, 'he's actually trying to open Harry's mind a bit wider . . . make it easier for You-Know-

“哈利，”她抬头看着他，“这很重要……你中午能来三把扫帚找我吗？”

'Shut up, Ron,' said Hermione angrily. 'How many times have you suspected Snape, and when have you ever been right? Dumbledore trusts him, he works for the Order, that ought to be enough.'

“嗯……我不知道，”哈利没把握地说，“秋可能希望我一直陪着她。我们还没说过今天要干什么。”

'He used to be a Death Eater,' said Ron stubbornly. 'And we've never seen proof that he really swapped sides.'

“那就带她一起来好了。”赫敏急切地说，“你会来吗？”

'Dumbledore trusts him,' Hermione repeated. 'And if we can't trust Dumbledore, we can't trust anyone.'

“嗯……好吧，可为什么呢？”

“我现在没时间告诉你，我得赶快回信——”

With so much to worry about and so much to do - startling amounts of homework that frequently kept the fifth-years working until past midnight, secret DA sessions and regular classes with Snape - 'January seemed to be passing alarmingly fast. Before Harry knew it, February had arrived, bringing with it wetter and warmer weather and the prospect of the second Hogsmeade visit of the year. Harry had had very little time to spare for conversations with Cho since they had agreed to visit the village together, but suddenly found himself facing a Valentine's Day spent entirely in her company.

她匆匆走出礼堂，一手拿着信一手捏着片面包。

On the morning of the fourteenth he dressed particularly carefully. He and Ron arrived at breakfast just in time for the arrival of the post owls, Hedwig was not there - not that Harry had expected her - but Hermione was tugging a letter from the beak of an unfamiliar brown owl as they sat down.

“你去吗？”哈利问罗恩。

'And about time! If it hadn't come today . . .' she said, eagerly tearing open the envelope and pulling out a small piece of parchment. Her eyes sped from left to right as she read through the message and a grimly pleased expression spread across her face.

但罗恩沮丧地摇摇头。“我去不了霍格莫德，安吉利娜要训练一整天，好像会有用似的——我们是我见过的最差的队。你没看见过斯劳珀和柯克，太臭了，比我还臭。”他重重地叹了口气，“不知道安吉利娜为什么不让我离队……”

'Listen, Harry,' she said, looking up at him, 'this is really important. Do you think you could meet me in the Three Broomsticks around midday?'

“因为你状态好的时候挺不错的。”哈利烦躁地说。

'Well . . . I dunno,' said Harry uncertainly. 'Cho might be expecting me to spend the whole day with her. We never said what we were going to do.'

他觉得很难同情罗恩的处境，因为他自己几乎愿意花一切代价参加这次对赫奇帕奇的比赛。罗恩似乎觉出了哈利的语气，吃早饭时没再提魁地奇球，说“再见”的时候两人态度也有一点儿冷淡。罗恩去了魁地奇球场，哈利用饭勺当镜子理了理头发，一个人去门厅找秋，心里惴惴不安，不知道和她说些什么。

Well, bring her along if you must,' said Hermione urgently. 'But will you come?'

她站在栎木门旁，梳着长长的马尾辫，非常美丽。哈利的脚好像太大了，变得与身体不协调起来。他向她走过去的时候，他突然感到他的手臂在身边摆动得是那么蠢笨。

'Well . . . all right, but why?'

“嘿。”秋有点儿紧张地说。

'I haven't got time to tell you now, I've got to answer this quickly.'

“嘿。”哈利说。

And she hurried out of the Great Hall, the letter clutched in one hand and a piece of toast in the other.

两人对视了一会儿，哈利说：“那——我们走吧？”

'Are you coming?' Harry asked Ron, but he shook his head, looking glum.

“噢——好的……”

'I can't come into Hogsmeade at all; Angelina wants a full day's training. Like it's going to help; we're the worst team I've ever seen. You should see Sloper and Kirke, they're pathetic, even worse than I am.' He heaved a great sigh. 'I dunno why Angelina won't just let me resign.'

他们排到等待费尔奇签字出校的队伍中，偶尔接触到对方的目光，躲闪地笑笑，但没有说话。走到外面时哈利松了一口气，觉得默默走路要比尴尬地站在那儿自在一些。清风习习，路过魁地奇球场时，哈利瞥见罗恩和金妮在看台上空掠过，他心里一阵嫉妒……

It's because you're good when you're on form, that's why,' said Harry irritably.

“你很想打球，是吗？”秋说。

He found it very hard to be sympathetic to Ron's plight, when he himself would have given almost anything to be playing in the forthcoming match against Hufflepuff. Ron seemed to have noticed Harry's tone, because he did not mention Quidditch again during breakfast, and there was a slight frostiness in the way they said goodbye to each other shortly afterwards. Ron departed for the Quidditch pitch and Harry, after attempting to flatten his hair while staring at his reflection in the back of a teaspoon, proceeded alone to the Entrance Hall to meet Cho, feeling very apprehensive and wondering what on earth they were going to talk about.

他回过头，见她正望着他。

She was waiting for him a little to the side of the oak front doors, looking very pretty with her hair tied back in a long pony-tail. Harry's feet seemed to be too big for his body as he walked towards her and he was suddenly horribly aware of his arms and how stupid they must look swinging at his sides.

“是，”哈利叹道，“很想。”

'Hi,' said Cho slightly breathlessly.

“还记得我们第一次比赛吗，三年级的时候？”她问他。

'Hi,' said Harry.

“记得，”哈利笑道，“你老是挡着我。”

They stared at each other for a moment, then Harry said, 'Well - er - shall we go, then?'

“伍德叫你别讲绅士风度，该撞就把我撞下去。”秋怀念地微笑道，“我听说他被波特利队选走了，是吗？”

'Oh - yes . . .'

“不，是普德米尔联队，我去年在世界杯上见过他。”

They joined the queue of people being signed out by Filch, occasionally catching each others eye and grinning shiftily, but not talking to each other. Harry was relieved when they reached the fresh air, finding it easier to walk along in silence than just stand about looking awkward. It was a fresh, breezy sort of a day and as they passed the Quidditch stadium Harry glimpsed Ron and

“嗯，我在那儿看到过你，记得吗？我们在同一个营地。真棒，是不是？”

Ginny skimming along over the stands and felt a horrible pang that he was not up there with them.

魁地奇世界杯的话题伴着他们一直走出了校门。哈利简直不能相信跟她聊天这么轻松，不比跟罗恩、赫敏说话困难。他正开始感到自信和愉快时，旁边走过一大帮斯莱特林女生，里面有潘西·帕金森。

'You really miss it, don't you?' said Cho.

“波特和张！”潘西尖叫道，女生们一片哄笑，“啊，张，你的眼光不怎么样嘛……迪戈里至少长得还不错！”

He looked round and saw her watching him.

她们加快了步子，一边尖声议论，放肆地回头看哈利和秋，留下一阵难堪的沉默。哈利想不出魁地奇球还有什么可说的，秋有点儿脸红，看着自己的脚。

'Yeah,' sighed Harry. 'I do.'

“嗯……你想去哪儿？”进霍格莫德村时哈利问道。大街上全是学生，在街上溜达，看商店的橱窗，聚在一起玩闹。

'Remember the first time we played against each other, in the third year?' she asked him.

“哦……我无所谓，”秋耸了耸肩，“嗯……就逛逛商店怎么样？”

'Yeah,' said Harry, grinning. 'You kept blocking me.'

他们朝德维斯－班斯商店走去。橱窗里贴出了一张大告示，几个当地人正在围着看，哈利和秋走近时他们就让开了。哈利发现他再次面对着十个越狱的食死徒的照片，告示说（《魔法部令》）如有人能提供缉拿逃犯的线索，奖赏一千个加隆。

'And Wood told you not to be a gentleman and knock me off my broom if you had to,' said Cho, smiling reminiscently. 'I heard he got taken on by Pride of Portree, is that right?'

“真有意思，”秋也望着食死徒的照片，低声说，“你记得吗？小天狼星布莱克逃走的那次，霍格莫德村到处都是派来捉他的摄魂怪。现在十个食死徒在外面，却看不到摄魂怪……”

'Nah, it was Puddlemere United; I saw him at the World Cup last year.'

“哎，”哈利把目光从贝拉特里克斯·莱斯特兰奇的脸上移开，往大街上张望了一下，“是很奇怪……”

'Oh, I saw you there, too, remember? We were on the same campsite. It was really good, wasn't it?'

他并不为附近没有摄魂怪而遗憾，但想起来这个现象的确耐人寻味。他们不仅让食死徒逃掉，而且还不积极搜捕他们……他们现在好像真的脱离了魔法部的控制。

The subject of the Quidditch World Cup carried them all the way down the drive and out through the gates. Harry could hardly believe how easy it was to talk to her - no more difficult, in fact, than talking to Ron and Hermione - and he was just starting to feel confident and cheerful when a large gang of Slytherin girls passed them, including Pansy Parkinson.

他和秋走过的每个橱窗里都贴着十个食死徒的照片。走过文人居羽毛笔店时下起了雨，冰冷的雨滴打在哈利的脸上和脖颈里。

'Potter and Chang!' screeched Pansy, to a chorus of snide giggles. 'Urgh, Chang, I don't think much of your taste . . . at least Diggory was good-looking!'

“嗯……你想喝杯咖啡吗？”雨下得大起来，秋试探地问。

The girls sped up, talking and shrieking in a pointed fashion with many exaggerated glances back at Harry and Cho, leaving an embarrassed silence in their wake. Harry could think of nothing else to say about Quidditch, and Cho, slightly flushed, was watching her feet.

“好啊，”哈利环顾四周，“哪儿有——？”

'So . . . where d'you want to go?' Harry asked as they entered Hogsmeade. The High Street was full of students ambling up and down, peering into the shop windows and messing about together on the pavements.

“对了，附近有个很好的地方，你去过帕笛芙吗？”她高兴地说，带他拐到侧路上，走进了一家他从来没注意到的小茶馆。地方很小，雾气腾腾，好像所有东西都用褶边或蝴蝶结装饰着。哈利不快地想起了乌姆里奇的办公室。

'Oh . . . I don't mind,' said Cho, shrugging. 'Urn . . . shall we just have a look in the shops or something?'

“很可爱，是不是？”秋快乐地说。

They wandered towards Dervish and Banges. A large poster had been stuck up in the window and a few Hogsmeaders were looking at it. They moved aside when Harry and Cho approached and Harry found himself staring once more at the pictures of the ten escaped Death Eaters. The poster, 'By Order of the Ministry of Magic', offered a thousand-Galleon reward to any witch or wizard with information leading to the recapture of any of the convicts pictured.

“嗯……是。”哈利言不由衷地答道。

It's funny, isn't it,' said Cho in a low voice, gazing up at the pictures of the Death Eaters, 'remember when that Sirius Black escaped, and there were Dementors all over Hogsmeade looking for him? And now ten Death Eaters are on the loose and there are no Dementors anywhere . . .'

“看，情人节的装饰！”秋说，每个小圆桌上方都飞翔着金色的小天使，时而向人们撒下粉红的纸屑。

'Yeah,' said Harry, tearing his eyes away from Bellatrix Lestrange's face to glance up and down the High Street. 'Yeah, that is weird.

“啊……”

He wasn't sorry that there were no Dementors nearby, but now he came to think of it, their absence was highly significant. The) had not only let the Death Eaters escape, they weren't bothering to look for them . . . it looked as though they really were outside Ministry control now.

两人在仅剩的一张圆桌旁坐下，挨着雾蒙蒙的窗户。旁边就是拉文克劳球队队长罗杰·戴维斯，跟一个漂亮的金发姑娘在一起，两人握着手。哈利有些不自在，尤其是他发现屋里净是一对一对的，全都手拉着手。也许秋也希望他握着她的手。

The ten escaped Death Eaters were staring out of every shop window he and Cho passed. It started to rain as they passed. Scrivenshaft's; cold, heavy drops of water kept hitting Harry's face and the back of his neck.

“两位要点什么？”帕笛芙夫人说，她身材肥胖，梳着光亮的黑发髻，艰难地从两张桌子间挤过来。

'Um . . . d'you want to get a coffee?' said Cho tentatively, as the rain began to fall more heavily.

“请来两杯咖啡。”秋说。

'Yeah, all right,' said Harry, looking around. 'Where?'

在等咖啡的时候，罗杰·戴维斯和他的女友开始隔着糖罐接吻。哈利希望他们不要这样。他感到戴维斯在作出一个秋很快会希望他效仿的榜样。他的脸上发热，望着窗户，但是水汽太多，看不到外面的街道。为了推迟面对秋的时刻，他抬眼看着天花板，好像在研究上面的油漆，脸上被小天使撒了一把彩纸屑。

'Oh, there's a really nice place just up here; haven't you ever been to Madam Puddifoot's?' she said brightly, leading him up a side road and into a small teashop that Harry had never noticed before. It was a cramped, steamy little place where everything seemed to have been decorated with frills or bows. Harry was reminded unpleasantly of Umbndge's office.

又过了痛苦的几分钟，秋提起了乌姆里奇，哈利如释重负地抓住话头，两人愉快地骂了她一阵，但这个话题在D．A．活动时已经谈过很多了，所以没能聊多久。又是一阵沉默。哈利听到邻桌传来的吧嗒声，急于要找点儿别的话说。

'Cute, isn't it?' said Cho happily.

“嗯……你中午想跟我去三把扫帚酒馆吗？我要去见赫敏·格兰杰。”

'Er . . . yeah,' said Harry untruthfully.

秋扬起了眉毛。

'Look, she's decorated it for Valentine's Day!' said Cho, indicating a number of golden cherubs that were hovering over each of the small, circular tables, occasionally throwing pink confetti over the occupants.

“你要见赫敏·格兰杰？今天？”

'Aaah . . .'

“对，她叫我去的。你想跟我一起去吗？她说没关系。”

They sat down at the last remaining table, which was over by the steamy window. Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, was sitting about a foot and a half away with a pretty blonde girl. They were holding hands. The sight made Harry feel uncomfortable, particularly when, looking around the teashop, he saw that t was full of nothing but couples, all of them holding hands. Perhaps Cho would expect him to hold her hand.

“哼……她真好。”

'What can I get you, m'dears?' said Madam Puddifoot, a very stout woman with a shiny black bun, squeezing between their table and Roger Davies's with great difficulty.

但从秋的语气听来她一点儿也不觉得好，相反，她的声音冷冷的，一下子疏远起来。

Two coffees, please,' said Cho.

又是几分钟的沉默，哈利大口喝着咖啡，很快就该换杯了。邻桌罗杰和他女友的嘴唇好像粘在一起了。

In the time it took for their coffees to arrive, Roger Davies and his girlfriend had started kissing over their sugar bowl. Harry wished they wouldn't; he felt that Davies was setting a standard with which Cho would soon expect him to compete. He felt his face growing hot and tried staring out of the window, but it was so steamed up he couldn't see the street outside. To postpone the moment when he would have to look at Cho, he stared up at the ceiling as though examining the paintwork and received a handful of confetti in the face from their hovering cherub.

秋的手放在杯子旁，哈利感到越来越大的压力要求他去握住它。豁出去吧，他对自己说，恐惧与兴奋交织的感觉涌上心头，伸手握住它……真奇怪，只要越过一尺远的距离去碰碰她的手，竟比在空中抓高速移动的飞贼还难得多……

After a few more painful minutes, Cho mentioned Umbridge. Harry seized on the subject with relief and they passed a few happy moments abusing her, but the subject had already been so thoroughly canvassed during DA meetings it did not last very long. Silence fell again. Harry was very conscious of the slurping noises coming from the table next door and cast wildly around for something else to say.

但正当他伸出手时，秋的手却从桌面上拿下去了。她有些感兴趣地看着罗杰和女友接吻。

'Er . . . listen, d'you want to come with me to the Three Broomsticks at lunchtime? I'm meeting Hermione Granger there.'

“他约过我，”她轻声说，“罗杰，两个礼拜之前，但我拒绝了。”

Cho raised her eyebrows.

哈利抓住糖罐，掩饰刚才突然的冲动。他不明白她为什么要说这个。如果她想坐在那儿被罗杰热烈地亲吻，又为什么要跟他出来呢？

'You're meeting Hermione Granger? Today?'

他没有说话。小天使又撒下一把彩纸屑，有的飘到了哈利正要喝的最后一点儿冷咖啡里。

'Yeah. Well, she asked me to, so I thought I would. D'you want to come with me? She said it wouldn't matter if you did.'

“我去年和塞德里克来过这里。”秋说。

'Oh . . . well . . . that was nice of her.'

在他领会这句话的一两秒钟里，哈利的心结成了冰。周围都是接吻的情侣，小天使在他们的头顶飞翔，他无法相信她现在想谈塞德里克。

But Cho did not sound as though she thought it was nice at all. On the contrary, her tone was cold and all of a sudden she looked rather forbidding.

秋的声音高了一些。

A few more minutes passed in total silence, Harry drinking his coffee so fast that he would soon need a fresh cup. Beside them,

“我一直想问……塞德里克——他临死前提到我了吗？”

Roger Davies and his girlfriend seemed glued together at the tips.

这是哈利最不想谈的话题，更不想和秋谈。

Cho's hand was lying on the table beside her coffee and Harry was feeling a mounting pressure to take hold of it. Just do it, he told himself, as a fount of mingled panic and excitement surged up inside his chest, just reach out and grab it. Amazing, how much more difficult it was to extend his arm twelve inches and touch her hand than it was to snatch a speeding Snitch from midair . . .

“嗯——没有——”他低声说，“当时——他没有时间说话。嗯……你……你假期里看了很多魁地奇比赛吗？你支持龙卷风队，是不是？”

But just as he moved his hand forwards, Cho took hers off the table. She was now watching Roger Davies kissing his girlfriend with a mildly interested expression.

他装出轻松愉快的口气，却惊恐地发现她又眼泪汪汪了，就像圣诞节前那次D．A．集会之后一样。

'He asked me out, you know,' she said in a quiet voice. 'A couple: of weeks ago. Roger. I turned him down, though.'

“哎呀，”他着了慌，凑近一些，怕给别人听见，“现在不谈塞德里克好吗……我们聊点别的……”

Harry, who had grabbed the sugar bowl to excuse his sudden lunging movement across the table, could not think why she was telling him this. If she wished she were sitting at the next table being heartily kissed by Roger Davies, why had she agreed to come: out with him?

但这显然是句错话。

He said nothing. Their cherub threw another handful of confetti over them; some of it landed in the last cold dregs of coffee Harry had been about to drink.

“我以为，”她说，眼泪扑簌簌地掉到桌上，“我以为你会——会懂！我需要谈这个！你当然也——也需——需要！你亲眼看到的，是——是不是？”

'I came in here with Cedric last year,' said Cho.

就像一场噩梦，罗杰的女友甚至让自己脱了胶，回头看着秋哭泣。

In the second or so it took for him to take in what she had said, Harry's insides had become glacial. He could not believe she wanted to talk about Cedric now, while kissing couples surrounded them and a cherub floated over their heads.

“嗯——我谈过，”哈利小声说，“跟罗恩和赫敏，但是——”

Cho's voice was rather higher when she spoke again.

“呃，你跟赫敏·格兰杰谈！”她尖声说，满脸泪光，又有几对接吻的情侣分开来看着他们，“可是不愿跟我谈！也——也许我们最好……付——付账，你去见赫敏·格……格兰杰，你显然很想去！”

'I've been meaning to ask you for ages . . . did Cedric - did he - m - m - mention me at all before he died?'

哈利瞪着她，完全给弄懵了，她抓起一块有花边的餐巾擦了擦脸。

This was the very last subject on earth Harry wanted to discuss, and least of all with Cho.

“秋？”他无力地说，希望罗杰搂住他的女友继续吻她，免得她一直盯着他和秋。

'Well - no - ' he said quietly. There - there wasn't time for him to say anything. Erm . . . so . . . d'you . . . d'you get to see a lot of Quidditch in the holidays? You support the Tornados, right?'

“走啊！”她用餐巾捂着脸哭泣，“我不知道你为什么要约我出来，既然你马上又要去见别的女孩……赫敏后面还有几个？”

His voice sounded falsely bright and cheery. To his horror, he saw that her eyes were swimming with tears again, just as they had been after the last DA meeting before Christmas.

“不是这样的！”哈利终于明白了她气恼的原因，轻松地笑了起来，他马上发现这又是个错误，但为时已晚。

'Look,' he said desperately, leaning in so that nobody else could overhear, let's not talk about Cedric right now . . . let's talk about something else . . .'

“再会，哈利。”她演戏似的说，哽噎着跑到门口，扭开门冲进了瓢泼大雨中。

But this, apparently, was quite the wrong thing to say.

“秋！”哈利叫道，但门已经当啷一声关上了。

'I thought,' she said, tears spattering down on to the table, 'I thought you'd u - u - understand! I need to talk about it! Surely you n - need to talk about it t - too! I mean, you saw it happen, d - didn't you?'

茶馆里静悄悄的，所有眼睛都盯着哈利。他丢下一个加隆，甩掉头发上的彩纸屑，追了出去。

Everything was going nightmarishly wrong; Roger Davies's girlfriend had even unglued herself to look round at Cho crying.

雨哗哗地下着，看不到她的影子。哈利不明白是怎么回事，半小时前他们还很融洽呀。

'Well - I have talked about it,' Harry said in a whisper, 'to Ron and Hermione, but - '

“女人！”他恼火地咕哝道，手插在兜里，溅着水走在正被雨水冲刷着的街道上，“她为什么要谈塞德里克？为什么总要扯出一个让她变成自来水管的话题呢？”

'Oh, you'll talk to Hermione Granger!' she said shrilly, her face now shining with tears. Several more kissing couples broke apart to stare. 'But you won't talk to me! P - perhaps it would be best if we just . . . just p - paid and you went and met up with Hermione G - Granger, like you obviously want to!'

他朝右一拐，啪嗒啪嗒地跑了起来，几分钟后就来到了三把扫帚的门口。他知道见赫敏还太早，但想可能会碰到某个熟人打发这段时间。他甩掉挡在眼上的湿头发，环顾四周，看到海格一个人闷闷地坐在角落里。

Harry stared at her, utterly bewildered, as she seized a frilly napkin and dabbed at her shining face with it.

“嘿，海格！”他从桌子间挤过去，拉把椅子坐了下来。

'Cho?' he said weakly, wishing Roger would seize his girlfriend and start kissing her again to stop her goggling at him and Cho.

海格跳了起来，低头看着哈利，好像一下没认出来。哈利看到他脸上又添了两处伤口和几处青紫。

'Go on, leave!' she said, now crying into the napkin. 'I don't know why you asked me out in the first place if you're going to make arrangements to meet other girls right after me . . . how many ere you meeting after Hermione?'

“呃，是你啊，哈利，”海格说，“你好吗？”

'It's not like that!' said Harry, and he was so relieved at finally understanding what she was annoyed about that he laughed, which he realised a split second too late was also a mistake.

“挺好的，”哈利撒了个谎，事实上，在伤痕累累、面容愁苦的海格面前，他觉得自己没什么可抱怨的，“呃——你好吗？”

Cho sprang to her feet. The whole tearoom was quiet and everybody was watching them now.

“我？”海格说，“啊，我很好，哈利，很好……”

'I'll see you around, Harry,' she said dramatically, and hiccoughing slightly she dashed to the door, wrenched it open and hurried off into the pouring rain.

他盯着水桶那么大的白镴酒杯，叹了口气。哈利不知道说什么好。两人默默地坐了一会儿。海格突然说：“我们差不多，是吧，哈利？”

'Cho!' Harry called after her, but the door had already swung shut behind her with a tuneful tinkle.

“嗯——”哈利说。

There was total silence within the teashop. Every eye was on ?larry. He threw a Galleon down on to the table, shook pink confetti out of his hair, and followed Cho out of the door.

“嗯……我以前说过……都是外人，”海格明白地点点头，“又都是孤儿。嗯……都是孤儿。”

It was raining hard now and she was nowhere to be seen, he simply did not understand what had happened; half an hour ago they had been getting along fine.

他喝了一大口酒。

'Women!' he muttered angrily, sloshing down the rain-washed street with his hands in his pockets. 'What did she want to talk about Cedric for, anyway? Why does she always want to drag up a subject that makes her act like a human hosepipe?'

“有个好家庭大不一样，”他说，“我爸爸是好的，你爸妈也是好的，要是他们活着，生活就会不一样，是吧？”

He turned right and broke into a splashy run, and within minutes he was turning into the doorway of the Three Broomsticks. He knew he was too early to meet Hermione, but he thought it likely there would be someone in here with whom he could spend the intervening time. He shook his wet hair out of his eyes and looked around. Hagrid was sitting alone in a corner, looking morose.

“嗯……可能吧。”哈利谨慎地说，海格的心情似乎很奇怪。

'Hi, Hagrid!' he said, when he had squeezed through the crammed tables and pulled up a chair beside him.

“家庭，”海格阴郁地说，“不管你怎么说，血是很重要的……”

Hagrid jumped and looked down at Harry as though he barely recognised him. Harry saw that he had two fresh cuts on his face and several new bruises.

他擦去了眼中流出的一滴血。

'Oh, it's yeh, Harry,' said Hagrid. 'Yeh all righ?'

“海格，”哈利忍不住说，“你从哪儿受的这些伤？”

'Yeah, I'm fine,' lied Harry; but, next to this battered and mournful-looking Hagrid, he felt he didn't really have much to complain about. 'Er - are you OK?'

“啊？”海格似乎吓了一跳，“什么伤？”

'Me?' said Hagrid. 'Oh yeah, I'm grand, Harry, grand.'

“这么多！”哈利指着海格的脸说。

He gazed into the depths of his pewter tankard, which was the size of a large bucket, and sighed. Harry didn't know what to say to him. They sat side by side in silence for a moment. Then Hagrid said abruptly, 'In the same boat, yeh an' me, aren' we, 'Any?'

“呃，一般的磕磕碰碰，哈利，”海格轻描淡写地说，“我干的是粗活。”

'Er - ' said Harry.

他喝干了酒，把杯子放到桌上，站了起来。

'Yeah . . . I've said it before . . . both outsiders, like,' said Hagrid, nodding wisely. 'An' both orphans. Yeah . . . both orphans.'

“再见，哈利……多保重……”

He took a great swig from his tankard.

他笨重地走出了酒吧，一副潦倒的样子，消失在倾盆大雨中。哈利看着他走了，心里很难受。海格不开心，而且掩藏着什么，但他好像决心不接受帮助。这到底是怎么回事？可是他还没来得及往深处想，就听见有人叫他的名字。

'Makes a diff'rence, havin' a decent family,' he said. 'Me dad was decent. An' your mum an' dad were decent. If they'd lived, life woulda bin diff'rent, eh?'

“哈利！哈利，这边！”

'Yeah . . . I s'pose,' said Harry cautiously. Hagrid seemed to be in a very strange mood.

赫敏在房间另一头向他招手。他站起来，穿过拥挤的酒吧朝她走去。还隔着几张桌子时，他发现赫敏不是一个人。她身边坐着两位最让他想象不到的同伴：卢娜·洛夫古德和丽塔·斯基特——前《预言家日报》记者，天底下赫敏最不喜欢的人之一。

'Family,' said Hagrid gloomily. 'Whatever yeh say, blood's important . . .'

“你来得真早！”赫敏说，往旁边挪了挪，让他坐下来，“我以为你跟秋在一起，起码还要过一个小时才能来！”

And he wiped a trickle of it out of his eye.

“秋？”丽塔马上问，扭过身子贪婪地盯着哈利，“女孩子？”

'Hagrid,' said Harry, unable to stop himself, 'where are you getting all these injuries?'

她抓起鳄鱼皮手提包，在包里摸索着。

'Eh?' said Hagrid, looking startled. 'Wha' injuries?'

“哈利跟一百个女孩约会也不关你的事，”赫敏冷冷地对丽塔说，“你可以把那东西放下。”

'All those!' said Harry, pointing at Hagrid's face.

丽塔正要抽出一根绿色的羽毛笔，她的表情就像被迫喝了臭汁一样，把皮包又关上了。

'Oh . . . tha's jus' normal bumps an' bruises, Harry,' said Hagrid c.ismissively 'I got a rough job.'

“你们在做什么？”哈利坐下来，看着丽塔、卢娜和赫敏。

He drained his tankard, set it back on the table and got to his feet.

“你进来的时候十全十美小姐正要告诉我——”丽塔啜了一大口饮料，“我可以跟他说话吧？”她尖刻地问赫敏。

'I'll be seein' yeh, Harry . . . take care now.'

“可以。”赫敏淡淡地说。

And he lumbered out of the pub looking wretched, and disappeared into the torrential rain. Harry watched him go, feeling miserable. Hagrid was unhappy and he was hiding something, but he seemed determined not to accept help. What was going on? But before Harry could think about it any further, he heard a voice calling his name.

失业不适合丽塔。以前精心烫过的鬈发现已变直，乱糟糟地挂着。两寸长的尖指甲上的红指甲油已经剥落，眼镜上掉了两颗假珠宝。她又吸了一大口饮料，几乎不动嘴唇地说：“她很漂亮吧，哈利？”

'Harry! Harry, over here!'

“再提一句哈利的感情生活，交易就告吹。”赫敏恼火地说。

Hermione was waving at him from the other side of the room. He got up and made his way towards her through the crowded pub. He was still a few tables away when he realised that Hermione was not alone. She was sitting at a table with the unlikeliest pair of drinking mates he could ever have imagined: Luna Lovegood and none other than Rita Skeeter, ex-journalist on the Daily Prophet aid one of Hermione's least favourite people in the world.

“什么交易？”丽塔用手背擦着嘴问道，“你还没提过交易呢，一本正经小姐，你只是叫我过来。好了，总有一天……”她颤抖地吸了口气。

'You're early!' said Hermione, moving along to give him room to sit down. '] thought you were with Cho, I wasn't expecting you for another hour at least!'

“对，总有一天你还会写文章攻击我和哈利，”赫敏无动于衷地说，“为什么不找个在乎的人呢？”

'Cho?' said Rita at once, twisting round in her seat to stare avidly at Harry. 'A girl?'

“他们今年已经写了很多攻击哈利的文章，没用我帮忙，”丽塔从杯子上方瞟了他一眼，沙哑地低声问，“你感觉如何，哈利？被出卖了？心烦意乱了？被误解了？”

She snatched up her crocodile-skin handbag and groped within it.

“他感到愤怒，当然是这样，”赫敏斩钉截铁地说，“因为他把真相告诉过魔法部部长，可部长竟蠢得不相信他。”

'Its none of your business if Harry's been with a hundred girls,' Eermione told Rita coolly. 'So you can put that away right now.'

“你真的坚持认为，那个连名字都不能提的人回来了？”丽塔把眼镜往下推了推，锐利地盯着哈利，手指渴望地摸着鳄鱼皮包的搭扣，“你还抱着邓布利多的那套鬼话：神秘人回来了，你是惟一的见证人——？”

Rita had been on the point of withdrawing an acid-green quill from her bag. Looking as though she had been forced to swallow Stinksap, she snapped her bag shut again.

“我不是惟一的见证人，”哈利吼道，“还有十几个食死徒在场。想知道他们的名字吗？”

'What are you up to?' Harry asked, sitting down and staring from Rita to Luna to Hermione.

“非常愿意，”丽塔轻声说，又在皮包里摸索，看她那眼神，好像哈利是她见过的最美丽的东西似的。“一个醒目的大标题：波特控告……副标题：哈利·波特指出我们中间的食死徒。然后，在你的一张大照片下：神秘人袭击的幸存者——十五岁少年哈利·波特指控魔法界有名望人士是食死徒，舆论哗然……”

'Little Miss Perfect was just about to tell me when you arrived.' said Rita, taking a large slurp of her drink. 'I suppose I'm allowed to talk to him, am I?' she shot at Hermione.

速记羽毛笔已经在她的手上，正要放进嘴里，陶醉的表情从她脸上消失了。

'Yes, I suppose you are,' said Hermione coldly.

“当然，”她放下羽毛笔，狠狠剜了赫敏一眼，“十全十美小姐不希望登这篇文章，是不是？”

Unemployment did not suit Rita. The hair that had once been set in elaborate curls now hung lank and unkempt around her face. The scarlet paint on her two-inch talons was chipped and there were a couple of false jewels missing from her winged glasses. She took another great gulp of her drink and said out of the corner of her mouth, 'Pretty girl, is she, Harry?'

“实际上，”赫敏甜甜地说，“十全十美小姐正希望登这篇文章。”

'One more word about Harry's love life and the deal's off and that's a promise,' said Hermione irritably.

丽塔瞪着赫敏，哈利也愣住了。卢娜做梦似的轻声哼起了“韦斯莱是我们的王”，用插在棍子上的鸡尾酒洋葱搅动她的饮料。

'What deal?' said Rita, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. 'You haven't mentioned a deal yet, Miss Prissy you just told me to turn up. Oh, one of these days . . .' She took a deep shuddering breath.

“你希望我报道他说的关于那个连名字都不能提的人的情况？”丽塔激动地小声问赫敏。

'Yes, yes, one of these days you'll write more horrible stories about Harry and me,' said Hermione indifferently. 'Find someone who cares, why don't you?'

“对，”赫敏说，“真实报道。所有的事实。就像哈利讲的一样。他会提供全部细节，他会说出他在那儿看到的所有食死徒的名字，他会告诉你伏地魔现在是什么样子——哎，稳重一点儿。”她轻蔑地说，扔过去一块餐巾纸，因为听到伏地魔的名字，丽塔浑身一震，把半杯火焰威士忌都泼到了身上。

They've run plenty of horrible stories about Harry this year without my help,' said Rita, shooting a sideways look at him over the top of her glass and adding in a rough whisper, 'How has that made you feel, Harry? Betrayed? Distraught? Misunderstood?'

丽塔擦了擦她那脏兮兮的雨衣，仍然瞪着赫敏。然后她直率地说：“《预言家日报》不会登的。我想你也知道，没人相信他那个荒唐的故事，大家都认为他是妄想。如果你让我从那个角度来写——”

'He feels angry, of course,' said Hermione in a hard, clear voice. 'Because he's told the Minister for Magic the truth and the Minister's too much of an idiot to believe him.'

“我们不需要再来一篇说哈利疯了的文章！”赫敏生气地说，“已经够多的了，谢谢你！我想让他有机会说出真相！”

'So you actually stick to it, do you, that He Who Must Not Be Named is back?' said Rita, lowering her glass and subjecting Harry to a piercing stare while her finger strayed longingly to the clasp of the crocodile bag. 'You stand by all this garbage Dumbledore'5 been telling everybody about You-Know-Who returning and you being the sole witness?'

“那种文章没有市场。”丽塔冷淡地说。

'I wasn't the sole witness,' snarled Harry. There were a dozen-odd Death Eaters there as well. Want their names?'

“你是说《预言家日报》不会登，因为福吉不让他们登。”赫敏愤然道。

'I'd love them,' breathed Rita, now fumbling in her bag once more and gazing at him as though he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. 'A great bold headline: "Potter Accuses . . ." A sub-heading, "Harry Potter Names Death Eaters Still Among Us". And then, beneath a nice big photograph of you, "Disturbed teenage survivor of You-Know-Who's attack, Harry Potter, 15, caused outrage yesterday by accusing respectable and prominent members of the wizarding community of being Death Eaters . . ." '

丽塔狠狠地瞪了赫敏一会儿，然后往前凑过去，不带感情地说：“好吧，福吉靠着《预言家日报》，但这是另一回事。他们不会刊登说哈利好话的文章，没人要看，它跟公众心理相抵触。这次阿兹卡班越狱已经搞得人心惶惶，人们不愿相信神秘人回来了。”

The Quick-Quotes Quill was actually in her hand and halfway to her mouth when the rapturous expression on her face died.

“这么说《预言家日报》存在的目的就是说人们愿意听的话，是吗？”

'But of course,' she said, lowering the quill and looking daggers at Hermione, 'Little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out there, would she?'

丽塔坐直了身体，扬起眉毛，喝干了她的火焰威士忌。

'As a matter of fact,' said Hermione sweetly, 'that's exactly what Little Miss Perfect does want.'

“《预言家日报》存在的目的是把自己销出去，小傻瓜。”她冷冷地说。

Rita stared at her. So did Harry. Luna, on the other hand, sang 'Weasley is our King' dreamily under her breath and stirred her drink with a cocktail onion on a stick.

“我爸爸说那是一份糟糕的报纸。”卢娜突然插话说。她吮着鸡尾酒洋葱，用她那大大的、凸出的、有一点儿疯狂的眼睛盯着丽塔。“我爸爸总是登他认为人们需要知道的重要消息，他不在乎赚不赚钱。”

'You want me to report what he says about He Who Must Not Be Named?' Rita asked Hermione in a hushed voice.

丽塔轻蔑地看着卢娜。

'Yes, I do,' said Hermione. 'The true story. All the facts. Exactly a; Harry reports them. He'll give you all the details, he'll tell you the names of the undiscovered Death Eaters he saw there, he'll tell you what Voldemort looks like now - oh, get a grip on yourself,' she added contemptuously, throwing a napkin across the table, for, at the sound of Voldemort's name, Rita had jumped so badly she had slopped half her glass of Firewhisky down herself.

“我猜你爸爸办的是什么可笑的乡村小报吧？《与麻瓜交往二十五法》，还有下次飞蚤市场的日期？”

Rita blotted the front of her grubby raincoat, still staring at Hermione. Then she said baldly, The Prophet wouldn't print it. In case you haven't noticed, nobody believes his cock-and-bull story. Everyone thinks he's delusional. Now, if you let me write the story from that angle - '

“不是的，”卢娜把洋葱浸到她的那杯峡谷水中，“他是《唱唱反调》的主编。”

'We don't need another story about how Harry's lost his marbles!' said Hermione angrily. 'We've had plenty of those already, thank you! I want him given the opportunity to tell the truth!'

丽塔冷笑一声，惊得邻桌的人都回过头来。

There's no market for a story like that,' said Rita coldly.

“‘……他认为人们需要知道的重要消息’？”她挖苦道，“我可以用那破报上的货色给我的花园施肥。”

'You mean the Prophet won't print it because Fudge won't let them,' said Hermione irritably.

“你正好可以提高一下它的品位嘛，”赫敏愉快地说，“卢娜说她爸爸很愿意登采访哈利的文章。就在那儿发吧。”

Rita gave Hermione a long, hard look. Then, leaning forwards across the table towards her, she said in a businesslike tone, 'All right, Fudge is leaning on the Prophet, but it comes to the same thing. They won't print a story that shows Harry in a good light. Nobody wants to read it. It's against the public mood. This last Azkaban breakout has got people quite worried enough. People just don't want to believe You-Know-Who's back.'

丽塔瞪了她们两个一会儿，突然大笑起来。

'So the Daily Prophet exists to tell people what they want to hear, does it?' said Hermione scathingly.

“《唱唱反调》！”她嘎嘎地笑道，“登在《唱唱反调》上面，你认为大家会把他的话当真吗？”

Rita sat up straight again, her eyebrows raised, and drained her glass of Firewhisky,

“有的人不会，”赫敏冷静地说。“但《预言家日报》对阿兹卡班越狱事件的报道有很大的漏洞，我想有很多人会想有没有更好的解释，如果有另外一个说法，即使是登在一份……”她瞟了瞟卢娜，“嗯……一份特别的刊物上，我想他们也会愿意读的。”

The Prophet exists to sell itself, you silly girl,' she said coldly

丽塔没有马上答腔，而是偏着头精明地打量着赫敏。

'My dad thinks it's an awful paper,' said Luna, chipping into the conversation unexpectedly. Sucking on her cocktail onion, she gazed at Rita with her enormous, protuberant, slightly mad eye;. 'He publishes important stories he thinks the public needs to know. He doesn't care about making money.'

“好吧，假设我同意写，”她突然说，“给我多少稿酬？”

Rita looked disparagingly at Luna.

“我想爸爸不花钱请人写文章，”卢娜做梦似的说，“他们写是觉得光荣，当然，也是为了看到自己的名字上报纸。”

'I'm guessing your father runs some stupid little village newsletter?' she said. 'Probably, Twenty-five Ways to Mingle With Muggles and the dates of the next Bring and Fly Sale?'

丽塔好像又咽了一口臭汁，她转身冲着赫敏：“要我白写？”

'No,' said Luna, dipping her onion back into her Gillywater, 'he's the editor of The Quibbler.'

“是的，”赫敏喝了一口饮料，平静地说，“否则，你心里有数，我会去报告你是没有登记过的阿尼马格斯。当然，《预言家日报》也许会出很多钱请你从内部写一写阿兹卡班的生活……”

Rita snorted so loudly that people at a nearby table looked round in alarm.

丽塔似乎恨不得抓过赫敏杯子上的小纸伞塞到她的鼻子里。

' "Important stories he thinks the public needs to know", eh?' she said witheringly. 'I could manure my garden with the contends of that rag.'

“看来我没什么选择，是不是？”丽塔的声音有点儿颤抖。她重新打开鳄鱼皮包，抽出一张羊皮纸，举起了速记羽毛笔。

'Well, this is your chance to raise the tone of it a bit, isn't it?' said Hermione pleasantly. 'Luna says her father's quite happy to take Harry's interview. That's who'll be publishing it.'

“爸爸会很高兴的。”卢娜开心地说。丽塔嘴部的肌肉抽搐了一下。

Rita stared at them both for a moment, then let out a great whoop of laughter.

“好，哈利，”赫敏转向他说，“准备好把真相告诉公众了吗？”

'The Quibbler!' she said, cackling. 'You think people will take him seriously if he's published in The Quibbler!'

“嗯。”哈利说，看着丽塔铺开羊皮纸，把速记羽毛笔竖在上面。

'Some people won't,' said Hermione in a level voice. 'But the Daily Prophet's version of the Azkaban breakout had some gaping holes in it. I think a lot of people will be wondering whether there isn't a better explanation of what happened, and if there's an alternative story available, even if it is published in a - ' she glanced sideways at Luna, 'in a - well, an unusual magazine - I think they might be rather keen to read it.'

“问吧，丽塔。”赫敏平静地说，从杯底捞上来一颗樱桃。

Rita didn't say anything for a while, but eyed Hermione shrewdly, her head a little to one side.

①关于燕尾狗的详细描写，见《神奇动物在哪里》一书，人民文学出版社，2001年10月版。

'All right, let's say for a moment I'll do it,' she said abruptly. 'What kind of fee am I going to get?'

'I don't think Daddy exactly pays people to write for the magazine,' said Luna dreamily. They do it because it's an honour and, of course, to see their names in print.'

Rita Skeeter looked as though the taste of Stinksap was strong in her mouth again as she rounded on Hermione.

'I'm supposed to do this for free?'

'Well, yes,' said Hermione calmly, taking a sip of her drink. 'Otherwise, as you very well know, I will inform the authorities that you are an unregistered Animagus. Of course, the Prophet might give you rather a lot for an insider's account of life in Azkaban.'

Rita looked as though she would have liked nothing better than to seize the paper umbrella sticking out of Hermione's drink and thrust it up her nose.

'I don't suppose I've got any choice, have I?' said Rita, her voice shaking slightly. She opened her crocodile bag once more, withdrew a piece of parchment, and raised her Quick-Quotes Quill.

'Daddy will be pleased,' said Luna brightly. A muscle twitched in Rita's jaw.

'OK, Harry?' said Hermione, turning to him. 'Ready to tell the public the truth?'

'I suppose,' said Harry, watching Rita balancing the Quick-Quotes Quill at the ready on the parchment between them.

'Fire away, then, Rita,' said Hermione serenely, fishing a cherry out from the bottom of her glass.