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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

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CHAPTER FIVE - WEASLEYS' WIZARD WHEEZES

第五章　韦斯莱魔法把戏

Harry spun faster and faster, elbows tucked tightly to his sides, blurred fireplaces flashing past him, until he started to feel sick and closed his eyes. Then, when at last he felt himself slowing down, he threw out his hands and came to a halt in time to prevent himself from falling face forward out of the Weasleys' kitchen fire.

哈利越转越快，胳膊肘紧紧地贴在身体两侧，无数个壁炉飞速闪过，快得简直看不清楚。最后他感到有些恶心，闭上了眼睛。随后，就在他觉得自己快要吐了的时候，他猛地伸出双手，及时刹住。还好，他差点儿脸朝下摔倒在韦斯莱家厨房的壁炉外面。

"Did he eat it?" said Fred excitedly, holding out a hand to pull Harry to his fee "Yeah," said Harry, straightening up. "What was it?"

“他吃了吗？”弗雷德兴奋地问，一边伸过一只手，把哈利拉了起来。

"Ton-Tongue Toffee," said Fred brightly. "George and I invented them, and we've been looking for someone to test them on all summer. . . ."

“吃了，”哈利说着，站起身子，“那是什么东西？”

The tiny kitchen exploded with laughter; Harry looked around and saw that Ron and George were sitting at the scrubbed wooden table with two red-haired people Harry had never seen before, though he knew immediately who they must be: Bill and Charlie, the two eldest Weasley brothers.

“肥舌太妃糖，”弗雷德眉飞色舞地说，“乔治和我发明的，整个夏天，我们一直想找个人试一试……”

"How're you doing, Harry?" said the nearer of the two, grinning at him and holding out a large hand, which Harry shook, feeling calluses and blisters under his fingers. This had to be Charlie, who worked with dragons in Romania. Charlie was built like the twins, shorter and stockier than Percy and Ron, who were both long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather-beaten and so freckly that he looked almost tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.

小小的厨房里爆发出一阵大笑，哈利环顾四周，看见罗恩和乔治坐在擦得干干净净的木桌旁，旁边还有两个红头发的人，哈利以前没有见过，不过他马上就知道了，他们一定是韦斯莱兄弟中最大的两个：比尔和查理。

Bill got to his feet, smiling, and also shook Harry's hand. Bill came as something of a surprise. Harry knew that he worked for the wizarding bank, Gringotts, and that Bill had been Head Boy at Hogwarts; Harry had always imagined Bill to be an older version of Percy: fussy about rule-breaking and fond of bossing everyone around. However, Bill was - there was no other word for it - cool. He was tall, with long hair that he had tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang dangling from it. Bill's clothes would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that Harry recognized his boots to be made, not of leather, but of dragon hide.

“你好吗，哈利？”两兄弟中离哈利最近的那个咧开嘴笑着，伸出他那只大手。哈利握了握，感到自己的手指触摸到的是许多老茧和水泡。这一定是查理，他在罗马尼亚研究火龙。查理的身材和那双胞胎差不多，比豆芽菜一般的珀西和罗恩要矮、胖、结实一些。他长着一副好好先生似的阔脸，饱经风霜，脸上布满密密麻麻的雀斑，看上去几乎成了棕黑色。他的手臂肌肉结实，一只手臂上有一道被火灼伤的发亮的大伤疤。

Before any of them could say anything else, there was a faint popping noise, and Mr.

比尔站了起来，笑着，也同哈利握了握手。比尔的样子多少令人感到有些意外。哈利知道他在古灵阁，即巫师银行工作，而且上学的时候还是霍格沃茨学校男生学生会主席。哈利一向以为比尔是珀西的翻版，只是年龄大几岁而已，也是那样对违反校规大惊小怪，喜欢对周围的每个人发号施令。今天一看，才知道不是这样，比尔一副——没有别的词的可以形容——很“酷”的样子。他个子高高的，长长的头发在脑后扎成一个马尾巴，耳朵上还戴着一只耳环，上面悬着一个小扇子似的东西。比尔的那身衣服，即使是去参加摇滚乐音乐会也不会显得不合适。不过哈利看出来了，他的那双靴子不是牛皮而是龙皮做的。

Weasley appeared out of thin air at George's shoulder. He was looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him.

大家还没来得及说话，就听见一阵轻微的爆裂声，韦斯莱先生在乔治身边突然冒了出来。他气坏了，哈利从没见过他这么生气。

"That wasn't funny Fred!" he shouted. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

“这不是开玩笑的事情，弗雷德！”他嚷道，“你到底给那个麻瓜男孩吃了什么？”

"I didn't give him anything," said Fred, with another evil grin. I just dropped it....

“我什么也没有给他，”弗雷德脸上带着坏笑说，“我只是不小心撒在地上……谁叫他自己捡起来吃的，这可不能怪我。”

It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."

“你是故意把它弄撒的！”韦斯莱先生怒吼道，“你知道他肯定会吃的，你知道他在减肥——”

"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet -"

“他的舌头肿得多大？”乔治急切地问。

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly.

“一直肿到四尺多长，他父母才让我把它缩小了！”

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!"

哈利和韦斯莱兄弟又一次哈哈大笑起来。

Harry and the Weasleys roared with laughter again.

“这不是开玩笑！”韦斯莱先生大声嚷道，“这种行为严重损害了巫师和麻瓜的关系！我一生致力于反对虐待麻瓜的工作，结果我自己的儿子——”

"It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons "We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly.

“我们不是因为他是麻瓜才给他的！”弗雷德气愤地说。

"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git," said George. "Isn't he, Harry?"

“是啊，我们捉弄他是因为他专门欺负人。”乔治说，“是吗，哈利？”

"Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley," said Harry earnestly.

“没错，他就是那样，韦斯莱先生。”哈利很认真地说。

"That's not the point!" raged Mr. Weasley. "You wait until I tell your mother -"

“问题不在这里！”韦斯莱先生气呼呼地说，“你们等着吧，我要告诉你们的妈妈——”

"Tell me what?" said a voice behind them.

“告诉我什么？”他们身后传来一个声音。

Mrs. Weasley had just entered the kitchen. She was a short, plump woman with a very kind face, though her eyes were presently narrowed with suspicion.

韦斯莱夫人正巧走进厨房。她是一个矮矮胖胖的女人，面容非常慈祥，不过此刻眼睛眯着，露出怀疑的神色。

"Oh hello, Harry, dear," she said, spotting him and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband. "Tell me what, Arthur?"

“你好，哈利，亲爱的。”她看见哈利，微笑着打了个招呼。接着，她又把目光投到丈夫身上，“告诉我，亚瑟，怎么回事？”

Mr. Weasley hesitated. Harry could tell that, however angry he was with Fred and George, he hadn't really intended to tell Mrs. Weasley what had happened. There was a silence, while Mr. Weasley eyed his wife nervously. Then two girls appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Mrs. Weasley. One, with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Harry's and Ron's friend, Hermione Granger. The other, who was small and red-haired, was Ron's younger sister, Ginny. Both of them smiled at Harry, who grinned back, which made Ginny go scarlet - she had been very taken with Harry ever since his first visit to the Burrow.

韦斯莱先生迟疑着。哈利可以看出，他尽管对弗雷德和乔治很生气，却并不真的打算把事情告诉韦斯莱夫人。韦斯莱先生紧张地望着妻子，一时间没有人说话。就在这时，两个女孩子出现在韦斯莱夫人身后的厨房门口。一个长着非常浓密的棕色头发，两个门牙很大，这是哈利和罗恩的好朋友赫敏·格兰杰。另一个身材矮小，一头红发，是罗恩的小妹妹金妮。两个女孩都朝哈利露出了微笑，哈利也对她们笑着，这使金妮立刻羞红了脸——自从哈利第一次拜访陋居以来，金妮就对他非常迷恋。

"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated, in a dangerous sort of voice.

“快说，亚瑟，怎么回事？”韦斯莱夫人又问了一句，口气有点儿吓人。

"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr. Weasley, "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them -"

“没什么，莫丽，”韦斯莱先生含糊地说，“弗雷德和乔治刚才——我已经教训过他们了——”

"What have they done this time?" said Mrs. Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes -"

“他们这次又干了什么？”韦斯莱夫人说道，“如果又和韦斯魔法把戏有关——”

"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway.

“罗恩，我们带哈利去看看他睡觉的地方好不好？”赫敏在门口说。

"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron, "in my room, he slept there last -"

“他知道他睡在哪儿，”罗恩说，“在我的房间，他去年就睡在那儿——”

"We can all go," said Hermione pointedly.

“我们都去看看。”赫敏严厉地说。

"Oh," said Ron, cottoning on. "Right."

“噢，”罗恩这才心领神会，“好吧。”

"Yeah, we'll come too," said George.

“对了，我们也去。”乔治说。

"You stay where you are!" snarled Mrs. Weasley.

“你们不许动！”韦斯莱夫人大吼一声。

Harry and Ron edged out of the kitchen, and they, Hermione, and Ginny set off along the narrow hallway and up the rickety staircase that zigzagged through the house to the upper stories.

哈利和罗恩小心翼翼地侧身溜出了厨房，和赫敏、金妮一起，穿过狭窄的过道，踏上摇摇晃晃的楼梯。那楼梯曲里拐弯，通向上面的几个楼层。

"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as they climbed.

“韦斯莱魔法把戏是什么东西？”他们上楼时，哈利问道。

Ron and Ginny both laughed, although Hermione didn't.

罗恩和金妮都大笑起来，只有赫敏没笑。

"Mum found this stack of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George's room," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know.

“妈妈打扫弗雷德和乔治的房间时，发现了那一沓订货单，”罗恩小声说，“长长的好几页价格表，上面都是他们发明的玩艺儿。搞笑的玩艺儿，你知道。假魔杖啦，魔法糖啦，一大堆东西。真是太棒了，我从来不知道他们一直在搞发明……”

Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that . . ."

“好长时间了，我们总是听见他们房间里有爆炸的声音，但从来没想到他们真的在做东西，”金妮说，“我们还以为他们只是喜欢听响儿呢。”

"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually making things," said Ginny. "We thought they just liked the noise."

“不过，那些东西大多数——唉，实际上是全部——都有点儿危险。”罗恩说，“你知道吗，他们计划把这些东西拿到霍格沃茨去卖，挣一笔钱。妈妈听说以后，简直气疯了。警告他们不许再搞这类玩艺儿，还把他们的订货单烧了个精光……她一直就在生他们的气，他们的O. W. Ls成绩也让她失望。”

"Only, most of the stuff - well, all of it, really - was a bit dangerous," said Ron, "and, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burned all the order forms.... She's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected."

O. W. Ls是普通巫师等级考试，是霍格沃茨学校的学生十五岁时参加的一种考试。

O.W.L.s were Ordinary Wizarding Levels, the examinations Hogwarts students took at the age of fifteen.

“那一次吵得可凶了。”金妮说，“妈妈想让他们今后进魔法部工作，像爸爸那样，可他们对她说，他们只想开一家玩笑商店。”

"And then there was this big row," Ginny said, "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open a joke shop."

就在这时，二楼平台上的一扇门打开了，从里面伸出一张脸来，戴着牛角边的眼镜，表情很不耐烦。

Just then a door on the second landing opened, and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.

“你好，珀西。”哈利说。

"Hi, Percy," said Harry.

“噢，你好，哈利。”珀西说道，“我不明白是谁弄出这么大的响动。你知道，我正在这里工作呢——我要为办公室赶写一份报告——可是老有人在楼梯上轰隆隆地乱跑，使我很难集中精力。”

"Oh hello, Harry," said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here, you know I've got a report to finish for the office - and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs."

“我们没有轰隆隆地乱跑，”罗恩恼火地说，“我们在走路。如果我们打扰了魔法部的最高机密工作，那么很抱歉。”

"We're not thundering, "said Ron irritably. "We're walking. Sorry if we've disturbed the top-secret workings of the Ministry of Magic."

“你在忙些什么？”哈利问。

"What are you working on?" said Harry.

“为国际魔法合作司写一份报告。”珀西得意地说，“我们准备按标准检验坩埚的厚度。有些外国进口产品的埚底太薄了——渗漏率几乎以每年百分之三的速度在增长——”

"A report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation," said Percy smugly.

“真了不起，这份报告会改变世界的。”罗恩说，“我想，《预言家日报》会在头版头条登出来：坩埚渗漏。”

"We're trying to standardize cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade too thin - leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year -"

珀西的脸涨成了粉红色。

"That'll change the world, that report will," said Ron. "Front page of the Daily Prophet, I expect, cauldron leaks."

“你尽管挖苦嘲笑吧，罗恩，”他激动地说道，“可是必须颁布施行某种国际法，不然我们就会发现市场上充斥着优劣产品，埚底薄，脆弱易碎，严重危害——”

Percy went slightly pink.

“好了，好了。”罗恩说着，又抬脚往楼上走。珀西重重地关上卧室的门。哈利、赫敏和金妮跟着罗恩，又爬了三层楼梯，仍然能听见下面厨房里传来的喊叫声。似乎韦斯莱先生已经把太妃糖的事告诉了韦斯莱夫人。

"You might sneer, Ron," he said heatedly, "but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger -"

罗恩睡觉的那个顶楼房间和哈利上次来住的时候没什么差别：还是到处都贴着罗恩喜欢的魁地奇球队——查德里火焰队的海报，那些队员们在墙壁和倾斜的天花板上飞来飞去，不停地挥手致意。窗台上还是放着金鱼缸，里面原先养着蛙卵，现在却是一只大得吓人的青蛙。罗恩那只老掉牙的老鼠斑斑不见了，取而代之的是那只到女贞路给哈利送信的灰色小猫头鹰。它在一只小笼子里跳上跳下，叽叽喳喳地叫个不停。

"Yeah, yeah, all right," said Ron, and he started off upstairs again. Percy slammed his bedroom door shut. As Harry, Hermione, and Ginny followed Ron up three more flights of stairs, shouts from the kitchen below echoed up to them. It sounded as though Mr.

“闭嘴，小猪。”罗恩说着，侧身从两张床中间挤了过去，房间里一共放了四张床，挤得满满当当。“弗雷德和乔治也和我们一起住在这里，因为比尔和查理把他们的房间占了，”他对哈利说，“珀西硬要一个人占一个房间，因为他要工作。”

Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley about the toffees.

“对了——你为什么管那只猫头鹰叫小猪？”哈利问罗恩。

The room at the top of the house where Ron slept looked much as it had the last time that Harry had come to stay: the same posters of Ron's favorite Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons, were whirling and waving on the walls and sloping ceiling, and the fish tank on the windowsill, which had previously held frog spawn, now contained one extremely large frog. Ron's old rat, Scabbers, was here no more, but instead there was the tiny gray owl that had delivered Ron's letter to Harry in Privet Drive. It was hopping up and down in a small cage and twittering madly.

“因为它有点儿傻头傻脑，”金妮说，“原先的名字是朱薇琼。”

"Shut up, Pig," said Ron, edging his way between two of the four beds that had been squeezed into the room. "Fred and George are in here with us, because Bill and Charlie are in their room," he told Harry. "Percy gets to keep his room all to himself because he's got to work."

“是啊，那个名字倒是一点儿也不傻。”罗恩讽刺地说道，“是金妮给它起的，”他对哈利解释道，“金妮觉得这名字特别可爱，我想把它换掉，已经来不及了，猫头鹰只认这个名字，叫它别的，它一概不理。所以现在它就成了小猪。埃罗尔和赫梅斯讨厌它，我只好把它养在这儿。说实在的，我也蛮讨厌它的。”

"Er - why are you calling that owl Pig?" Harry asked Ron.

朱薇琼快活地在笼子里蹿来蹿去，发出刺耳的鸣叫。哈利太了解罗恩了，知道对他的话不能当真。原先，他也是整天抱怨他那只老耗子斑斑，可是当他以为赫敏的猫克鲁克山咬死了斑斑时，他别提多难过了。

"Because he's being stupid," said Ginny, "Its proper name is Pigwidgeon."

“克鲁克山呢？”哈利又问赫敏。

"Yeah, and that's not a stupid name at all," said Ron sarcastically. "Ginny named him,"

“大概在外面的园子里吧。”她说，“它喜欢追赶地精，它以前从没见过这玩艺儿。”

he explained to Harry. "She reckons it's sweet. And I tried to change it, but it was too late, he won't answer to anything else. So now he's Pig. I've got to keep him up here because he annoys Errol and Hermes. He annoys me too, come to that.

“看来，珀西挺喜欢工作的，是吗？”哈利在一张床上坐下，看着天花板的海报上那些查德里火炮队队员嗖嗖地飞来飞去。

Pigwidgeon zoomed happily around his cage, hooting shrilly. Harry knew Ron too well to take him seriously. He had moaned continually about his old rat, Scabbers, but had been most upset when Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, appeared to have eaten him.

“喜欢？”罗恩愁闷地说，“如果爸爸不把他硬拉回来，他根本不肯回家。他是个工作狂。你千万别引他谈起他们老板。克劳奇先生认为……我是这样对克劳奇先生说的……克劳奇先生是这样想的……克劳奇先生告诉我……他们现在随时都会宣布正式聘用他。”

"Where's Crookshanks?" Harry asked Hermione now.

“你暑假过得好吗？”赫敏问，“你收到我们寄给你的好吃的和其他东西了吗？”

"Out in the garden, I expect," she said. "He likes chasing gnomes. He's never seen any before."

“收到了，太感谢了。”哈利说，“多亏那些蛋糕，我才死里逃生。”

"Percy's enjoying work, then?" said Harry, sitting down on one of the beds and watching the Chudley Cannons zooming in and out of the posters on the ceiling.

“对了，你有没有收到——”罗恩刚说到一半，赫敏瞪了他一眼，他便不往下说了。哈利知道罗恩想打听一下小天狼星的情况。罗恩和赫敏都积极参加了帮助小天狼星逃脱魔法部追捕的行动，所以他们像哈利一样关心他教父的安危。可是，当着金妮的面谈论他是不明智的。只有他们和邓布利多教授知道小天狼星是怎样逃跑的，并相信他是无辜的。

"Enjoying it?" said Ron darkly. "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him.

“我想他们大概吵完了。”赫敏看到金妮好奇地望望罗恩，又望望哈利。她为了掩饰这片刻的尴尬，说道，“我们下去帮你妈妈准备晚饭，好吗？”

He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. According to Mr. Crouch ... as I was saying to Mr. Crouch ... Mr. Crouch is of the opinion ... Mr. Crouch was telling me ... They'll be announcing their engagement any day now."

“行，好吧。”罗恩说。四个人离开了罗恩的房间，回到楼下，发现韦斯莱夫人正一个人在厨房里忙碌，情绪坏到了极点。

"Have you had a good summer, Harry?" said Hermione. "Did you get our food parcels and everything?"

“我们在外面的园子里吃饭，”他们进去以后，她说道，“这里可容不下十一个人。姑娘们，你们能把这些盘子端出去吗？比尔和查理在摆桌子呢。你们两个，拿刀叉。”她一边吩咐罗恩和哈利，一边用魔杖点了点水池里的一堆土豆，可是没想到她用的劲儿大了一点，土豆自动脱皮的速度太快，一个个都蹿到墙上和天花板上去了。

"Yeah, thanks a lot, " said Harry. "They saved my life, those cakes.

“哎呀，天哪。”她恼火地说道，又用魔杖对着一个侧立的簸箕点了一下。簸箕立刻就跳了起来，在地板上滑来滑去，把土豆一个个撮了起来。“这两个家伙！”她恶狠狠地说，一边从碗柜里抽出许多大锅小锅，哈利知道她指的是弗雷德和乔治。“真不知道他们会变成什么样儿。没有一点雄心壮志，整天就知道变着法儿闯祸……”

"And have you heard from -?" Ron began, but at a look from Hermione he fell silent.

韦斯莱夫人把一口黄铜大炖锅砰地扔在厨房的桌子，将魔杖伸进去呼呼地转着圈儿。随着她的搅拌，一股奶油酱从魔杖头上喷了出来。

Harry knew Ron had been about to ask about Sirius. Ron and Hermione had been so deeply involved in helping Sirius escape from the Ministry of Magic that they were almost as concerned about Harry's godfather as he was. However, discussing him in front of Ginny was a bad idea. Nobody but themselves and Professor Dumbledore knew about how Sirius had escaped, or believed in his innocence.

“他们不是不聪明，”她把炖锅放在炉子上，又用魔杖捅了一下，把火点着了，继续气呼呼地说着，“可那些聪明用的不是地方，除非他们很快振作起来，改邪归正，不然会倒大霉的。从霍格沃茨飞来给他们告状的猫头鹰，比其他所有人的加起来都多。如果他们照这样下去，最后准会被送进滥用魔法办公室。”

"I think they've stopped arguing," said Hermione, to cover the awkward moment, because Ginny was looking curiously from Ron to Harry. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"

韦斯莱夫人又用魔杖捅了一下放刀具的抽屉，抽屉猛地弹开了。哈利和罗恩赶紧跳开，只见抽屉里蹿出来好几把刀子，在厨房里飞过，开始嚓嚓地切起土豆来。那只簸箕刚才已经把土豆又倒进了水池。

"Yeah, all right," said Ron. The four of them left Ron's room and went back downstairs to find Mrs. Weasley alone in the kitchen, looking extremely bad-tempered.

“我真不明白我们什么地方教育得不对。”韦斯莱夫人说着，放下魔杖，又拽出几只炖锅，“好多年来一直是这样，出了一个乱子又一个乱子，根本听不进——哦，又不对！”

"We're eating out in the garden," she said when they came in. "There's just not room for eleven people in here. Could you take the plates outside, girls? Bill and Charlie are setting up the tables. Knives and forks, please, you two," she said to Ron and Harry, pointing her wand a little more vigorously than she had intended at a pile of potatoes in the sink, which shot out of their skins so fast that they ricocheted off the walls and ceiling.

她从桌子拿起她的魔杖，结果魔杖发出一声刺耳的尖叫，变成了一只巨大的橡皮老鼠。

"Oh for heaven's sake," she snapped, now directing her wand at a dustpan, which hopped off the sideboard and started skating across the floor, scooping up the potatoes. "Those two!" she burst out savagely, now pulling pots and pans out of a cupboard, and Harry knew she meant Fred and George. I don't know what's going to happen to them, I really don't.

“又是他们搞的假魔杖！”她嚷嚷道，“我对他们说过多少遍了，不要把这些玩艺儿到处乱放！”

No ambition, unless you count making as much trouble as they possibly can...."

她抓起真魔杖，一转身，发现炉子上的奶油酱已经冒烟了。

Mrs. Weasley slammed a large copper saucepan down on the kitchen table and began to wave her wand around inside it. A creamy sauce poured from the wand tip as she stirred.

“走吧，”罗恩从打开的抽屉里抓了一把餐具，急急地对哈利说，“我们去帮帮比尔和查理吧。”

"It's not as though they haven't got brains, she continued irritably, taking the saucepan over to the stove and lighting it with a further poke of her wand, "but they're wasting them, and unless they pull themselves together soon, they'll be in real trouble. I've had more owls from Hogwarts about them than the rest put together. If they carry on the way they're going, they'll end up in front of the Improper Use of Magic Office."

他们撇下韦斯莱夫人，出了后门，进了园子。

Mrs. Weasley jabbed her wand at the cutlery drawer, which shot open. Harry and Ron both jumped out of the way as several knives soared out of it, flew across the kitchen, and began chopping the potatoes, which had just been tipped back into the sink by the dustpan.

刚走几步，他们就看见了赫敏的那只姜黄色的、罗圈腿的猫克鲁克山。它匆匆地在园子里跑来跑去，瓶刷子似的尾巴高高地竖着，正在追赶一个东西。那东西粘满泥巴，活像一个长了腿的土豆。哈利一眼就认出那是个地精。身高不足十英寸，坚硬的小脚啪哒啪哒地走得飞快，穿过园子，一头钻进散放在门边的一只惠灵顿皮靴里。克鲁克山把一只爪子伸进了靴子，想抓住地精。哈利听见地精在里面疯狂地咯咯大笑。就在这时，房子的另一头传来一声震耳欲聋的撞击声。他们走进园子，这才发现这番骚动是怎么引起的。他们看见比尔和查理都拔出了魔杖，正在调动两只破破烂烂的旧桌子在草坪上飞着，互相撞击着，每只桌子都想把对方从空中打落。弗雷德和乔治在一旁欢呼，金妮哈哈大笑，赫敏在篱笆边徘徊，看样子又觉得好玩，又感到紧张，不知如何是好。

"I don't know where we went wrong with them," said Mrs. Weasley, putting down her wand and starting to pull out still more saucepans. "It's been the same for years, one thing after another, and they won't listen to - OH NOT AGAIN!"

梆的一声，比尔的桌子击中了查理的桌子，把它的一条腿打掉了。这时，头顶上传来一阵清脆的撞击声。他们同时抬起头，看见珀西的脑袋从三楼的窗口探了出来。

She had picked up her wand from the table, and it had emitted a loud squeak and turned into a giant rubber mouse.

“你们能不能小声点儿？”他吼道。

"One of their fake wands again!" she shouted. "How many times have I told them not to leave them lying around?"

“对不起，珀西，”比尔笑嘻嘻地说，“坩埚底怎么样啦？”

She grabbed her real wand and turned around to find that the sauce on the stove was smoking.

“很糟糕。”珀西没好气地说，砰的一声关上窗户。比尔和查理轻声笑着，用魔杖指引桌子稳稳地降落到草地上。然后，比尔用魔杖轻巧地一点，把那根桌腿重新接上，又凭空变出了桌布。

"C'mon," Ron said hurriedly to Harry, seizing a handful of cutlery from the open drawer, "let's go and help Bill and Charlie."

七点钟的时候，两张桌子在韦斯莱夫人妙手做出的一道道美味佳肴的重压之下，累得直哼哼。韦斯莱一家九口，还有哈利和赫敏都坐了下来，在明净的深蓝色的夜空下吃饭。对一个整个夏天都吃着越来越不新鲜的蛋糕的人来说，现在他就像进了天堂一样。起先，哈利只顾大吃鸡肉、火腿馅饼、煮土豆和沙拉，根本顾不上说话。

They left Mrs. Weasley and headed out the back door into the yard.

在桌子的那一头，珀西正在告诉父亲他撰写坩埚底厚度报告的情况。

They had only gone a few paces when Hermione's bandy-legged ginger cat, Crookshanks, came pelting out of the garden, bottle-brush tail held high in the air, chasing what looked like a muddy potato on legs. Harry recognized it instantly as a gnome. Barely ten inches high, its horny little feet pattered very fast as it sprinted across the yard and dived headlong into one of the Wellington boots that lay scattered around the door.

“我对克劳奇先生说，我星期二就能完成，”珀西挺得意地说，“比他预期的要快一些，但我想一切都争取主动。我如果按时完成，他会感到很满意的，因为目前我们司里事情特别多，都忙着筹备世界杯呢。我们从魔法体育运动司得不到我们所需要的支持。卢多·巴格曼——”

Harry could hear the gnome giggling madly as Crookshanks inserted a paw into the boot, trying to reach it. Meanwhile, a very loud crashing noise was coming from the other side of the house. The source of the commotion was revealed as they entered the garden, and saw that Bill and Charlie both had their wands out, and were making two battered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air. Fred and George were cheering, Ginny was laughing, and Hermione was hovering near the hedge, apparently torn between amusement and anxiety.

“我喜欢卢多这个人，”韦斯莱先生温和地说，“多亏了他，替我们弄到这么好的世界杯球赛票。我原先帮过他一个小忙：他弟弟奥多出了点儿麻烦——把一架割草机弄出了许多特异功能——是我把整个事情摆平的。”

Bill's table caught Charlie's with a huge bang and knocked one of its legs off. There was a clatter from overhead, and they all looked up to see Percy's head poking out of a window on the second floor.

“是啊，当然啦，巴格曼是挺可爱的，”珀西不以为然地说，“可是拿他和克劳奇先生一比，我真不明白他是怎么当上司长的！如果克劳奇先生发现我们司里有人失踪，一定会着手调查，而不会听之任之。你知道，伯莎·乔金斯已经失踪一个多月了！到阿尔巴尼亚度假，再也没有回来。”

"Will you keep it down?!" he bellowed.

“是啊，我向卢多询问过这件事。”韦斯莱先生说着，皱起眉头，“他说在这之前，伯莎就失踪过好多次——不过说句实话，如果是我司里的人，我会感到担心……”

"Sorry, Perce," said Bill, grinning. "How're the cauldron bottoms coming on?"

“唉，伯莎这个人确实让人很伤脑筋。”珀西说道，“我听说这些年，她从一个部门被赶到另一个部门，惹的麻烦比做的事情还多……但是不管怎么说，巴格曼还是应该想办法找找她。克劳奇先生个人一直很关注这件事，你知道，伯莎以前在我们司工作过一段时间，我认为克劳奇先生还是很喜欢她的——可巴格曼总是哈哈一笑，说伯莎大概是看错了地图，没有到阿尔巴尼亚，而是到了澳大利亚。不过，”珀西派头十足地叹了口气，深深地饮了一口接骨木花酒，“我们国际魔法合作司要做的事情实在太多了，没有闲工夫替别的部门找人。你知道，世界杯之后，我们还要组织一项大型活动。”

"Very badly," said Percy peevishly, and he slammed the window shut. Chuckling, Bill and Charlie directed the tables safely onto the grass, end to end, and then, with a flick of his wand, Bill reattached the table leg and conjured tablecloths from nowhere.

珀西煞有介事似的清了清喉咙，扭过头望着桌子这边哈利、赫敏坐的位置。“你知道我说的是什么，爸。”他微微抬高了嗓门，“这是最高机密。”

By seven o'clock, the two tables were groaning under dishes and dishes of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, and the nine Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were settling themselves down to eat beneath a clear, deep-blue sky. To somebody who had been living on meals of increasingly stale cake all summer, this was paradise, and at first, Harry listened rather than talked as he helped himself to chicken and ham pie, boiled potatoes, and

罗恩翻了翻眼珠，低声对哈利和赫敏说：“自打他开始工作以来，就一直想逗我们问他那是什么。大概是一次厚坩埚展览会吧。”

salad.

在桌子中央，韦斯莱夫人正在和比尔争论那枚耳环的事，看来这耳环是最近才戴上的。

At the far end of the table, Percy was telling his father all about his report on cauldron bottoms.

“……上面还带着一个可怕的大长牙。真的，比尔，银行里的人怎么说？”

"I've told Mr. Crouch that I'll have it ready by Tuesday," Percy was saying pompously.

“妈，银行里的人根本不关心我穿什么衣服，只要我找回许多财宝就行。”比尔耐心地说。

"That's a bit sooner than he expected it, but I like to keep on top of things. I think he'll be grateful I've done it in good time, I mean, its extremely busy in our department just now, what with all the arrangements for the World Cup. We're just not getting the support we need from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Ludo Bagman -"

“你的头发也难看得要命，亲爱的，”韦斯莱夫人说着，一边慈爱地抚摸着自己的魔杖，“我真希望你能让我修剪一下……”

"I like Ludo," said Mr. Weasley mildly. "He was the one who got us such good tickets for the Cup. I did him a bit of a favor: His brother, Otto, got into a spot of trouble - a lawnmower with unnatural powers - I smoothed the whole thing over."

“我喜欢。”坐在比尔旁边的金妮说道，“妈，你太落伍了。而且，和邓布利多教授的头发比起来，这根本不算长……”

"Oh Bagman's likable enough, of course," said Percy dismissively, "but how he ever got to be Head of Department ... when I compare him to Mr. Crouch! I can't see Mr. Crouch losing a member of our department and not trying to find out what's happened to them.

在韦斯莱夫人旁边，弗雷德、乔治和查理正在热烈地讨论世界杯赛。

You realize Bertha Jorkins has been missing for over a month now? Went on holiday to Albania and never came back?"

“肯定是爱尔兰队胜出，”查理嘴里塞满了土豆，嘟嘟囔囔地说，“他们在半决赛时打败了秘鲁队。”

"Yes, I was asking Ludo about that," said Mr. Weasley, frowning. "He says Bertha's gotten lost plenty of times before now - though must say, if it was someone in my department, I'd be worried. . . ."

“可是保加利亚队有威克多尔·克鲁姆呢。”弗雷德说。

"Oh Bertha's hopeless, all right," said Percy. "I hear she's been shunted from department to department for years, much more trouble than she's worth ... but all the same, Bagman ought to be trying to find her. Mr. Crouch has been taking a personal interest, she worked in our department at one time, you know, and I think Mr. Crouch was quite fond of her - but Bagman just keeps laughing and saying she probably misread the map and ended up in Australia instead of Albania. However" - Percy heaved an impressive sigh and took a deep swig of elderflower wine - "we've got quite enough on our plates at the Department of International Magical Cooperation without trying to find members of other departments too. As you know, we've got another big event to organize right after the World Cup."

“克鲁姆是不错，但他只是一个人，受尔兰队有七个好手呢，”查理不耐烦地说。“不过，我真希望英格兰队能够出线。真是太丢脸了。”

Percy cleared his throat significantly and looked down toward the end of the table where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting. "You know the one I'm talking about, Father." He raised his voice slightly. "The top-secret one."

“怎么回事？”哈利急切地问。他暑假里一直守在女贞路，与魔法世界完全隔绝，想起来真是懊恼透顶。

Ron rolled his eyes and muttered to Harry and Hermione, "He's been trying to get us to ask what that event is ever since he started work. Probably an exhibition of thick-bottomed cauldrons."

哈利自从在霍格沃茨上一年级时起，就进了格兰芬多的魁地奇球队。他还拥有世界上最棒的飞天扫帚火驽箭。对于哈利来说，骑着扫帚飞行是魔法世界里最轻松自然的事，他好像天生就具有这种本领。他在格兰芬多球队里担任找球手。

In the middle of the table, Mrs. Weasley was arguing with Bill about his earring, which seemed to be a recent acquisition.

“输给了特兰西瓦尼亚队，十比三百九十。”查理愁眉苦脸地说，“表现糟糕透了。威尔士队败给了乌干达，苏格兰队被卢森堡队打得落花流水。”

". . . with a horrible great fang on it. Really, Bill, what do they say at the bank?"

韦斯莱先生变出了一些蜡烛，把渐渐暗下来的园子照亮了，然后大家开始享用自己家里做的草莓冰淇淋。大家都吃完了，飞蛾低低地在桌子上飞舞，温暖的空气中弥漫着青草和金银花的香气。哈利觉得自己吃得很饱。他坐在那里，望着几只地精被克鲁克山紧紧追赶着，它们一边飞快地穿过蔷薇花丛，一边疯狂地大笑。这一刻，哈利真是从心底里感到满足。

"Mum,.no one at the bank gives a damn how I dress as long as I bring home plenty of treasure," said Bill patiently.

罗恩小心地抬头望望桌子周围，看家里人是不是都忙着聊天，然后用很轻的声音对哈利说：“你说——你最近收到过小天狼星的来信吗？”

"And your hair's getting silly, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, fingering her wand lovingly." I wish you'd let me give it a trim. . . ."

赫敏抬头张望了一下，仔细听着。

"I like it," said Ginny, who was sitting beside Bill. "You're so old-fashioned, Mum.

“收到过，”哈利小声说道，“两次。看来他一切都好。我昨天给他写了封信。我住在这里的这段时间，他会给我回信的。”

Anyway, it's nowhere near as long as Professor Dumbledore's...."

他突然想起了他给小天狼星写信的原因，真想告诉罗恩和赫敏他伤疤又疼起来的事，告诉他们那个把他惊醒的噩梦……但是他又觉得现在这么幸福、满足，他不想让他们担心。

Next to Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and Charlie were all talking spiritedly about the World Cup.

“看看时间吧，”韦斯莱夫人突然说道，一边看了看她的手表，“你们应该上床睡觉了，你们大家——明天凌晨要起床去看比赛。哈利，你把学习用品的采购单子留下来，我明天到对角巷去替你买来。我反正要给其他人买的。等世界杯结束后大概就来不及了，上次的比赛持续了整整五天。”

"It's got to be Ireland," said Charlie thickly, through a mouthful of potato. "They flattened Peru in the semifinals."

“哇——真希望这次也这样！”哈利激动地说。

"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though," said Fred.

“噢，我可不希望。”珀西假正经地说，“我一下子离开五天，那我的文件筐里还不堆满了文件啊，想到这点，真让我不寒而栗。”

"Krum's one decent player, Ireland has got seven," said Charlie shortly. "I wish England had got through. That was embarrassing, that was."

“是啊，说不定又有人将龙粪塞在信封里寄给你呢，珀西。”弗雷德说。

"What happened?" said Harry eagerly, regretting more than ever his isolation from the wizarding world when he was stuck on Privet Drive.

“那是从挪威寄来的肥料样品！”珀西说着，满脸涨得通红，“不是给私人的！”

"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," said Charlie gloomily.

“其实，”大家起身离开桌子时，弗雷德悄悄对哈利说，“那是我们寄给他的。”

"Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."

Harry had been on the Gryffindor House Quidditch team ever since his first year at Hogwarts and owned one of the best racing brooms in the world, a Firebolt. Flying came more naturally to Harry than anything else in the magical world, and he played in the position of Seeker on the Gryffindor House team.

Mr. Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden before they had their

homemade strawberry ice cream, and by the time they had finished, moths were fluttering low over the table, and the warm air was perfumed with the smells of grass and honeysuckle. Harry was feeling extremely well fed and at peace with the world as he watched several gnomes sprinting through the rosebushes, laughing madly and closely pursued by Crookshanks.

Ron looked carefully up the table to check that the rest of the family were all busy talking, then he said very quietly to Harry, "So - have you heard from Sirius lately?"

Hermione looked around, listening closely.

"Yeah," said Harry softly, "twice. He sounds okay. I wrote to him yesterday. He might write back while I'm here."

He suddenly remembered the reason he had written to Sirius, and for a moment was on the verge of telling Ron and Hermione about his scar hurting again, and about the dream that had awoken him ... but he really didn't want to worry them just now, not when he himself was feeling so happy and peaceful.

"Look at the time," Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, checking her wristwatch. "You really should be in bed, the whole lot of you you'll be up at the crack of dawn to get to the Cup. Harry, if you leave your school list out, I'll get your things for you tomorrow in Diagon Alley. I'm getting everyone else's. There might not be time after the World Cup, the match went on for five days last time."

"Wow - hope it does this time!" said Harry enthusiastically.

"Well, I certainly don't," said Percy sanctimoniously. "I shudder to think what the state of my in-tray would be if I was away from work for five days."

"Yeah, someone might slip dragon dung in it again, eh, Perce?" said Fred.

"That was a sample of fertilizer from Norway!" said Percy, going very red in the face.

"It was nothing personal!"

"It was," Fred whispered to Harry as they got up from the table. "We sent it."