哈利·波特与火焰杯
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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    CHAPTER NINE - THE DARK MARK
    第九章　黑魔标记
    
    
    Don't tell your mother you've been gambling," Mr. Weasley implored Fred and George as they all made their way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs.
    “你们赌钱的事可不要告诉你们的妈妈。”在大家慢慢走下铺着紫红色地毯的楼梯时，韦斯莱先生恳求弗雷德和乔治说。
    "Don't worry, Dad," said Fred gleefully, "we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated."
    “别担心，爸爸，”弗雷德开心地说，“这笔钱我们有许多宏伟的计划。我们才不想让它被没收呢。”
    Mr. Weasley looked for a moment as though he was going to ask what these big plans were, but seemed to decide, upon reflection, that he didn't want to know.
    韦斯莱先生迟疑了一下，大概是想询问他们宏伟的计划是什么，但他转念一想，似乎决定还是不问为好。
    They were soon caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to their campsites. Raucous singing was borne toward them on the night air as they retraced their steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over their heads, cackling and waving their lanterns. When they finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around them, Mr. Weasley agreed that they could all have one last cup of cocoa together before turning in. They were soon arguing enjoyably about the match; Mr. Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing with Charlie, and it was only when Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed. Hermione and Ginny went into the next tent, and Harry and the rest of the Weasleys changed into pajamas and clambered into their bunks. From the other side of the campsite they could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang.
    很快，离开体育馆返回营地的潮水般的人群就把他们包围了。当他们顺着被灯笼照亮的通道往回走时，夜空里传来粗声粗气的歌声，小矮妖们不停地在他们头顶上穿梭飞驰，挥舞着手里的灯笼，嘎嘎欢笑。最后，终于到了帐篷边，可是谁也不想睡觉。考虑到周围实在太喧闹了，韦斯莱先生便同意大家喝完一杯可可奶再进帐篷。立刻，大家就为刚才比赛的事争论来。关于撞人犯规的问题，韦斯莱先生和查理争得不可开交。最后金妮在小桌边睡着了，把一杯热巧克力全洒在了地上，韦斯莱先生这才命令大家停止对比赛的争论，进去睡觉。赫敏和金妮钻进了旁边的帐篷，哈利和韦斯莱家的男孩们换上睡衣，爬向他们的铺位。这时，他们仍能听见营地另一边传来的歌声和奇怪的撞击声，在夜空里久久回响。
    "Oh I am glad I'm not on duty," muttered Mr. Weasley sleepily. "I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating."
    “哦，幸亏我没有值班，韦斯莱先生睡意浓浓地嘟囔说，“幸亏用不着我去叫爱尔兰人停止欢庆胜利，不然真是难以想象。”
    Harry, who was on a top bunk above Ron, lay staring up at the canvas ceiling of the tent, watching the glow of an occasional leprechaun lantern flying overhead, and picturing again some of Krum's more spectacular moves. He was itching to get back on his own Firebolt and try out the Wronski Feint. . . . Somehow Oliver Wood had never managed to
    哈利睡在罗恩的上铺，他躺在床上，眼睛盯着帐篷里的帆布天花板，看着偶尔有一个小矮妖提着灯笼在上面飞过，掠过一道闪光，他脑海里又浮现出克鲁姆的一些精彩动作。他真渴望骑到自己的火弩箭上，尝试一下朗斯基假动作……奥利弗·伍德虽然设计了那么些动来动去的示意图，但不知怎的，他从来没有传授过这种假动作应该怎么做……哈利仿佛看见了自己穿着背后印着他名字的长袍，想象着听见十万观众的震耳欲聋的欢呼，而卢多·巴格曼的声音在整个体育馆内回荡：“奖杯颁给你……波特！”
    convey with all his wriggling diagrams what that move was supposed to look like.. . .
    哈利不知道自己到底有没有睡着——他一直幻想着像克鲁姆那样飞翔，也许就这样不知不觉地陷入了梦境——他只知道韦斯莱先生突然大喊起来。
    Harry saw himself in robes that had his name on the back, and imagined the sensation of hearing a hundred-thousand-strong crowd roar, as Ludo Bagman's voice echoed throughout the stadium, "I give you. . . Potter!"
    “起来！罗恩——哈利——快点儿，起来，有紧急情况！”
    Harry never knew whether or not he had actually dropped off to sleep - his fantasies of flying like Krum might well have slipped into actual dreams - all he knew was that, quite suddenly, Mr. Weasley was shouting.
    哈利猛地坐起身，脑袋撞在了帆布上。
    "Get up! Ron - Harry - come on now, get up, this is urgent!"
    “什——什么事？”他问。
    Harry sat up quickly and the top of his head hit canvas.
    隐隐约约地，他觉得事情有点不对劲。营地里的声音变了。歌声停止了，他听见了惊叫声和人们慌乱奔跑的声音。他从双人床上滑下来，伸手去拿衣服，可是韦斯莱先生说：“来不及了，哈利——随便抓一件外衣就出去吧，快点儿！”韦斯莱先生自己就是把牛仔服直接套在睡衣上的。
    "S' matter?" he said.
    哈利听从吩咐，急急忙忙奔出帐篷，罗恩跟在他身后。
    Dimly, he could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed.
    就着仍在燃烧的几堆火的火光，哈利看见人们纷纷朝树林里跑去，好像在逃避某个在营地上向他们移动的东西。那东西古怪地闪着光，还发出像打枪一般的声音。响亮的讥笑声、狂笑声、醉醺醺的叫嚷声，也都向他们移动过来。接着，一道绿色的强光一闪，照亮了周围的一切。
    The singing had stopped. He could hear screams, and the sound of people running. He slipped down from the bunk and reached for his clothes, but Mr. Weasley, who had pulled on his jeans over his own pajamas, said, "No time, Harry - just grab a jacket and get outside - quickly!"
    一群巫师紧紧挤作一团，每个人都把手里的魔杖向上指着，一起向前推进，慢慢地在场地上移动。哈利眯着眼睛仔细打量着……这些人似乎没有面孔……接着他才反应过来，他们的脑袋上戴着兜帽，脸上蒙着面罩。在他们头顶上方，四个挣扎着的人影在空中飘浮，被扭曲成各种怪异的形状，就好像地面上这些蒙面巫师是操纵木偶的人，而他们上方的那几个人是牵线木偶，被从魔杖里冒向空中的无形的绳子控制着。其中两个人影很小。
    Harry did as he was told and hurried out of the tent, Ron at his heels.
    更多的巫师加入到前进的队伍中，大声笑着，指着上面飘浮的几具躯体。随着游行队伍的不断壮大，帐篷被挤塌了。有一两次，哈利看见一个游行的人用魔杖把路边的帐篷点着了。几个帐篷都烧了起来。尖叫声更响亮了。
    By the light of the few fires that were still burning, he could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field toward them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting toward them; then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene.
    当空中飘浮的那几个人从燃烧的帐篷上经过、被火光突然照亮时，哈利认出了其中一个是营地管理员罗伯茨先生。另外三个看样子是他的妻子和孩子。下面的一个游行者用魔杖把罗伯茨夫人掉了个头朝下。罗伯茨夫人的睡衣垂落下来，露出一大堆花花哨哨的内裤，下面的人群开心地尖叫、起哄，她挣扎着想把自己的身体盖住。
    A crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. Harry squinted at them. . . . They didn't seem to have faces. . . . Then he realized that their heads were hooded and their faces masked. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground were puppeteers, and the people above them were marionettes operated by invisible strings that rose from the wands into the air. Two of the figures were very small.
    “真恶心。”罗恩嘟囔说，望着那个最小的麻瓜小孩——那小孩在离地面六十英尺的半空，开始像陀螺一样旋转起来，脑袋软绵绵地忽而歪向这边，忽而歪向那边，“太不像话了……”
    More wizards were joining the marching group, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled. Once or twice Harry saw one of the marchers blast a tent out of his way with his wand. Several caught fire. The screaming grew louder.
    赫敏和金妮匆匆向他们跑来，一边把外衣套在睡衣外面，韦斯莱先生跟在她们后面。就在这时，比尔、查理和珀西也从男孩子们的帐篷里出来了。他们穿戴整齐，袖子高高卷起，魔杖拿在手里。
    The floating people were suddenly illuminated as they passed over a burning tent and Harry recognized one of them: Mr. Roberts, the campsite manager. The other three looked as though they might be his wife and children. One of the marchers below flipped Mrs.
    “我们要帮助部里维持秩序！”韦斯莱先生的声音盖过了喧闹声，一边卷起了自己的袖子，“你们这些人——快进林子里去，走在一起，不要散开。等事情解决后我再去找你们！”
    Roberts upside down with his wand; her nightdress fell down to reveal voluminous drawers and she struggled to cover herself up as the crowd below her screeched and hooted with glee.
    比尔、查理和珀西已经朝迎面过来的游行队伍奔去了，韦斯莱先生赶紧追了上去。部里的工作人员从四面八方奔向出事地点。罗伯茨一家下面的那群人越走越近了。
    "That's sick," Ron muttered, watching the smallest Muggle child, who had begun to spin like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side.
    “快走。”弗雷德说着，一把抓住金妮的手，把她往树林里拖去。哈利、罗恩、赫敏、乔治在后面跟着。他们钻进树林时，都扭头朝身后望着，只见罗伯茨一家下面的队伍比刚才更庞大了。他们可以看见部里的巫师工作人员拼命想冲进去，接近中间那些戴兜帽的巫师，可是遇到了很大的困难。看样子他们似乎不敢施什么魔法，生怕会使罗伯茨一家摔下来。
    "That is really sick. . . ."
    原先照亮通往体育馆的彩灯现在已经熄灭了。树林里有一些黑乎乎的人影跌跌撞撞地走着，小孩子在哭闹，紧张、焦虑的叫喊声和说话声在他们周围寒冷的夜空中回荡。哈利感到自己被人群推来搡去，但他看不清这些人的面孔。然后，他听见罗恩痛苦地喊叫起来。
    Hermione and Ginny came hurrying toward them, pulling coats over their nightdresses, with Mr. Weasley right behind them. At the same moment, Bill, Charlie, and Percy emerged from the boys' tent, fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up and their wands out.
    “怎么回事？”赫敏紧张地问，猛地刹住脚步——哈利撞到了她身上，“罗恩，你在哪里？哦，我们太傻了——萤光闪烁！”
    "We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot - get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"
    她点亮了魔杖，用那道狭窄的光柱照着小路。罗恩躺在地上，蜷缩成一团。
    Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already sprinting away toward the oncoming marchers; Mr.
    “被树根绊倒了。”他气呼呼地说，从地上站了起来。
    Weasley tore after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction toward the source of the trouble. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was coming ever closer.
    “哼，长着那一双脚，很难不被绊倒。”一个拖腔拖调的声音在他们身后响起。
    "C'mon," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her toward the wood.
    哈利、罗恩和赫敏猛地转过身来。德拉科·马尔福独自一人站在近旁，靠在一棵树上，一副悠闲自得的样子。他抱着双臂，看样子刚才一直在透过树缝望着营地上的混乱场面。
    Harry, Ron, Hermione, and George followed. They all looked back as they reached the trees. The crowd beneath the Roberts family was larger than ever; they could see the Ministry wizards trying to get through it to the hooded wizards in the center, but they were having great difficulty. It looked as though they were scared to perform any spell that might make the Roberts family fall.
    罗恩对马尔福说了一句粗话，哈利知道，若是韦斯莱夫人在场，他是绝对不敢说这种话的。
    The colored lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around them in the cold night air. Harry felt himself being pushed hither and thither by people whose faces he could not see. Then he heard Ron yell with pain.
    “说话干净些，”马尔福说，浅色的眼睛在夜色中闪闪发亮，“我看你们最好还是抓紧时间逃跑吧！你们不希望她被人发现吧？”
    "What happened?" said Hermione anxiously, stopping so abruptly that Harry walked into her. "Ron, where are you? Oh this is stupid - lumos!"
    他冲赫敏点了点头，就在这时，营地那边传来一声巨响，如同扔响了一枚炸弹，一道绿光霎时照亮了他们周围的树木。
    She illuminated her wand and directed its narrow beam across the path. Ron was lying sprawled on the ground.
    “你这是什么意思？”赫敏不服气地问。
    "Tripped over a tree root," he said angrily, getting to his feet again.
    “格兰杰，他们找的就是麻瓜。”马尔福说，“难道你愿意在半空中展示你的衬裤？如果你愿意，就在这里待着吧……他们正朝这边走来，我们大家可以大笑一场了。”
    "Well, with feet that size, hard not to," said a drawling voice from behind them.
    “赫敏是个女巫。”哈利愤怒地吼道。
    Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned sharply. Draco Malfoy was standing alone nearby, leaning against a tree, looking utterly relaxed. His arms folded, he seemed to have been watching the scene at the campsite through a gap in the trees.
    “随你的便吧，波特，”马尔福说，脸上露出了狞笑，“如果你们觉得他们辨认不出泥巴种，就尽管待在这里好了。”
    Ron told Malfoy to do something that Harry knew he would never have dared say in front of Mrs. Weasley.
    “你说话注意点儿！”罗恩喊道。在场的都知道，“泥巴种”是一句很难听的话，用来骂那些父母是麻瓜的巫师。
    "Language, Weasley," said Malfoy, his pale eyes glittering. "Hadn't you better be hurrying along, now? You wouldn't like her spotted, would you?"
    “别理他，罗恩。”赫敏急忙说道，她看见罗恩向马尔福逼近一步，便赶紧抓住罗恩的胳膊，阻止了他。
    He nodded at Hermione, and at the same moment, a blast like a bomb sounded from the campsite, and a flash of green light momentarily lit the trees around them.
    树林另一边突然传来一声爆响，比他们听见的任何声音都震耳。旁边有几个人尖叫起来。马尔福轻轻地笑出了声。
    "What's that supposed to mean?" said Hermione defiantly. "Granger, they're after Muggles, "said Malfoy. "D'you want to be showing off your knickers in midair? Because if you do, hang around. . . they're moving this way, and it would give us all a laugh."
    “太容易受惊吓了，这些人，是吗？”他懒洋洋地说，“我猜你爸爸叫你们都藏起来吧？他准备做什么——去把那些麻瓜救出来？”
    "Hermione's a witch," Harry snarled.
    “你的父母呢？”哈利火了，说道，“在那边，蒙着面具，是不是？”
    "Have it your own way, Potter," said Malfoy, grinning maliciously. "If you think they can't spot a Mudblood, stay where you are."
    马尔福把脸转向哈利，脸上仍然微笑着。
    "You watch your mouth!" shouted Ron. Everybody present knew that "Mudblood" was a very offensive term for a witch or wizard of Muggle parentage.
    “我说……即使他们是那样，我也不想告诉你，对不对，波特？”
    "Never mind, Ron," said Hermione quickly, seizing Ron's arm to restrain him as he took a step toward Malfoy.
    “哦，快走吧，”赫敏用厌恶的目光看了马尔福一眼，说道，“我们去找找其他人吧。”
    There came a bang from the other side of the trees that was louder than anything they had heard. Several people nearby screamed. Malfoy chuckled softly.
    “把你那颗毛蓬蓬的大脑袋低下，格兰杰。”马尔福讥笑道。
    "Scare easily, don't they?" he said lazily. "I suppose your daddy told you all to hide?
    “快走。”赫敏又说了一遍，拉着哈利和罗恩继续上路了。
    What's he up to - trying to rescue the Muggles?"
    “我敢跟你打赌，他爸爸肯定是那些蒙面家伙当中的一个！”罗恩气愤地说道。
    "Where're your parents?" said Harry, his temper rising. "Out there wearing masks, are they?"
    “如果运气好，部里会抓住他的！”赫敏激动地说，“哦，我真不敢相信这件事。其他人上哪儿去了？”
    Malfoy turned his face to Harry, still smiling.
    弗雷德、乔治和金妮已不见踪影，小路上密密麻麻地挤满了人，一个个都紧张地扭过头，朝营地上发生骚动的方向张望。在小路边，一群身穿睡衣的少男少女挤成一团，吵吵嚷嚷地争论着什么。当他们看见哈利、罗恩和赫敏时，一个有着浓密鬈发的小姑娘转过身，很快地说：“马克西姆夫人在哪里？我们找不到她了——”
    "Well. . . if they were, I wouldn't be likely to tell you, would I, Potter?"
    “嗯——什么？”罗恩说。
    "Oh come on," said Hermione, with a disgusted look at Malfoy, "let's go and find the others."
    “噢……”说话的小姑娘又把身子转了回去，他们继续往前走时，清楚地听见她说了一句，“霍格沃茨。”
    "Keep that big bushy head down, Granger," sneered Malfoy.
    “布斯巴顿。”赫敏低声说。
    "Come on," Hermione repeated, and she pulled Harry and Ron up the path again.
    “对不起，你说什么？”哈利说。
    "I'll bet you anything his dad is one of that masked lot!" said Ron hotly.
    “他们肯定是布斯巴顿的，”赫敏说，“你知道……布斯巴顿魔法学院……我在《欧洲魔法教育评估》上读到过。”
    "Well, with any luck, the Ministry will catch him!" said Hermione fervently. "Oh I can't believe this. Where have the others got to?"
    “哦……原来……是这样。”哈利说。
    Fred, George, and Ginny were nowhere to be seen, though the path was packed with plenty of other people, all looking nervously over their shoulders toward the commotion back at the campsite. A huddle of teenagers in pajamas was arguing vociferously a little way along the path. When they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione, a girl with thick curly hair turned and said quickly, "O? est Madame Maxime? Nous l'avons perdue -"
    “弗雷德和乔治不可能走得太远。”罗恩说着，抽出魔杖，也像赫敏一样想把它点亮了，然后眯起眼睛顺着小路望去。哈利在外衣的口袋里寻找自己的魔杖——可是魔杖不见了。他找到的只有那架全景望远镜。
    "Er - what?" said Ron.
    “哎呀，糟糕，真不敢相信——我的魔杖丢了！”
    "Oh. . ." The girl who had spoken turned her back on him, and as they walked on they distinctly heard her say, "Ogwarts."
    “你在开玩笑！”
    "Beauxbatons," muttered Hermione.
    罗恩和赫敏把他们的魔杖高高举起，让细长的光柱照亮更多的地方。哈利在周围找了又找，可是怎么也找不到他的魔杖。
    "Sorry?" said Harry.
    “也许落在帐篷里了。”罗恩说。
    "They must go to Beauxbatons," said Hermione. "You know... Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.
    “会不会是刚才奔跑的时候，从你口袋里掉出来了？”赫敏焦急地问道。
    . . I read about it in An Appraisal ofMagical Education in Europe."
    “是啊，”哈利说，“很可能……”
    "Oh. . . yeah. . . right," said Harry.
    在魔法世界里，他总是把魔杖随时带在身上，此刻，在这样的情景下发现魔杖不见了，他感到自己很软弱无助。
    "Fred and George can't have gone that far," said Ron, pulling out his wand, lighting it like Hermione's, and squinting up the path. Harry dug in the pockets of his jacket for his own wand - but it wasn't there. The only thing he could find was his Omnioculars.
    突然，旁边传来一阵沙沙声，三个人都吓了一跳。家养小精灵闪闪正奋力从灌木丛中钻出来。她的动作非常古怪，似乎特别费劲，就好像有一个看不见的人正在把她拉回去。
    "Ah, no, I don't believe it. . . I've lost my wand!"
    “到处都是坏巫师！”她一边探着身子拼命要往前跑，一边慌慌张张地尖叫道，“人在高高的——高高的上面！闪闪要逃走！”
    "You're kidding!"
    她喘息，尖叫，与那股束缚她的力量博斗着，钻进了小路另一边的树丛里。
    Ron and Hermione raised their wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light farther on the ground; Harry looked all around him, but his wand was nowhere to be seen.
    “她是怎么回事？”罗恩好奇地望着闪闪的背影，“她为什么不能好好跑步呢？”
    "Maybe it's back in the tent," said Ron.
    “我猜她没有征得主人同意就擅自躲避了。”哈利说。他想起了多比：每当多比想做什么马尔福一家不喜欢的事情时，身为家养小精灵的他就不得不把自己痛打一顿。
    "Maybe it fell out of your pocket when we were running?" Hermione suggested anxiously.
    “你们知道吗，家养小精灵受到的是很不公正的待遇！”赫敏气愤地说道，“他们完全是奴隶！克劳奇先生强迫她爬到体育馆的最上面，她吓坏了，然后克劳奇先生又给她施了魔法，弄得她在人们开始踩踏帐篷时，也没有办法逃跑！为什么没有人站出来阻止这样的事呢？”
    "Yeah," said Harry, "maybe. .
    “我说，家养小精灵心里是快活的，是不是？”罗恩说，“你听见刚才比赛时闪闪说的话了吗……‘家养小精灵是不应该有乐趣的’……她就喜欢这样，被人使唤来使唤去……”
    He usually kept his wand with him at all times in the wizarding world, and finding himself without it in the midst of a scene like this made him feel very vulnerable.
    “正是你们这样的人，罗恩，”赫敏激烈地说，“维护着这种腐朽的不合理的制度，就因为你们太懒惰……”
    A rustling noise nearby made all three of them jump. Winky the house-elf was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes nearby. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back.
    又是一声惊天动地的爆响从树林边缘传来，在夜空中回荡。
    "There is bad wizards about!" she squeaked distractedly as she leaned forward and labored to keep running. "People high - high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"
    “我们还是走吧，好不好？”罗恩说，哈利看见他紧张地瞟了赫敏一眼。也许马尔福说的话有一定的道理，也许赫敏的处境比他们更危险。他们又出发了，哈利仍然在口袋里掏来掏去，尽管他知道魔杖不在身上。
    And she disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, panting and squeaking as she fought the force that was restraining her.
    他们顺着漆黑的小路走进越来越深的树林，一边继续寻找着弗雷德、乔治和金妮。路上，他们看到一群小妖精只顾对着一袋金币叽叽呱呱地说笑，仿佛对营地上的骚乱无动于衷，这些金币无疑是他们在比赛中赌博赢来的。他们又往前走了一段，走进了一片银色的柔光中。透过树林望去，他们看见三个修长美丽的媚娃站在一片空地上，旁边围着一群年轻巫师，都在用很响的声音说话。
    "What's up with her?" said Ron, looking curiously after Winky. "Why can't she run properly?"
    “我一年挣一百袋金币！”其中一个大声喊道，“我在处置危险生物委员会工作，专门屠杀火龙！”
    "Bet she didn't ask permission to hide," said Harry. He was thinking of Dobby: Every time he had tried to do something the Malfoys wouldn't like, the house-elf had been forced to start beating himself up.
    “呸！你才不是呢！”他的朋友嚷道，“你是破釜酒吧洗盘子的……我呢，我是专门猎杀吸血鬼的，我已经杀死了九十多个——”
    "You know, house-elves get a very raw deal!" said Hermione indignantly. "It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr. Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone do something about it?"
    第三个巫师插话了——他脸上的青春痘即使在媚娃发出的微弱银光中也看得很清楚：“我要成为有史以来最年轻的魔法部部长。”
    "Well, the elves are happy, aren't they?" Ron said. "You heard old Winky back at the match.. . 'House-elves is not supposed to have fun'. . . that's what she likes, being bossed around. . . ."
    哈利嘲讽地笑了起来。他认出了那个长青春痘的巫师：此人名叫斯坦·桑帕克，实际上是那辆三层骑士公共汽车上的售票员。他转身正想把这个告诉罗恩，却发现罗恩脸上的肌肉奇怪地耷拉着，接着，罗恩冲着那些人大声叫道：“我有没有告诉你们，我发明了一种飞天扫帚，一直能飞到木星上？”
    "It's people like you, Ron," Hermione began hotly, "who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to -"
    “哎呀，你怎么这样！”赫敏说。她和哈利使劲抓住罗恩的手臂，拉他转过身来，然后押着他走开了。当媚娃和她们那些崇拜者的声音完全听不见了，他们已经来到了树林的正中央。这里似乎只有他们几个，周围安静多了。
    Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood.
    赫敏环顾四周。“我想我们不妨就在这里等着，怎么样？我们能听见一英里以外的动静。”
    "Let's just keep moving, shall we?" said Ron, and Harry saw him glance edgily at Hermione. Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy had said; perhaps Hermione was in more danger than they were. They set off again, Harry still searching his pockets, even though he knew his wand wasn't there.
    她的话音刚落，卢多·巴格曼就从他们前面的一棵树钻了出来。
    They followed the dark path deeper into the wood, still keeping an eye out for Fred, George, and Ginny. They passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a sack of gold that they had undoubtedly won betting on the match, and who seemed quite unperturbed by the trouble at the campsite. Farther still along the path, they walked into a patch of silvery light, and when they looked through the trees, they saw three tall and beautiful veela standing in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom were talking very loudly.
    尽管两根魔杖发出的光线非常微弱，哈利还是看出巴格曼身上起了很大的变化。他看上去不再轻松愉快，脸色也不再红润，脚底下也不再装着弹簧。他显得脸色苍白，神情紧张。
    "I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!" one of them shouted. "I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."
    “谁在那边？”他说，冲他们使劲地眨着眼睛，想辩认出他们的脸，“你们独自在这里做什么？”
    "No, you're not!" yelled his friend. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron. . . .
    他们互相看着，都很吃惊。
    but I'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far -"
    “是这样——那边发生了骚乱。”罗恩说。
    A third young wizard, whose pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the veela, now cut in, "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."
    巴格曼盯着他。
    Harry snorted with laughter. He recognized the pimply wizard: His name was Stan Shunpike, and he was in fact a conductor on the triple-decker Knight Bus. He turned to tell Ron this, but Ron's face had gone oddly slack, and next second Ron was yelling, "Did I tell you I've invented a broomstick that'll reach Jupiter?"
    “什么？”
    "Honestly!" said Hermione, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, wheeled him around, and marched him away. By the time the sounds of the veela and their admirers had faded completely, they were in the very heart of the wood. They seemed to be alone now; everything was much quieter.
    “在营地里……有人抓住了一家麻瓜……”
    Harry looked around. "I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll hear anyone coming a mile off."
    巴格曼大声骂了一句。
    The words were hardly out of his mouth, when Ludo Bagman emerged from behind a tree right ahead of them.
    “该死！”他说，一副心烦意乱的样子，然后，他没有再说一个字，就噗的一声幻影移形了。
    Even by the feeble light of the two wands, Harry could see that a great change had come over Bagman. He no longer looked buoyant and rosy-faced; there was no more spring in his step. He looked very white and strained.
    “巴格曼先生对情况一无所知，是吗？”赫敏皱着眉头说。
    "Who's that?" he said, blinking down at them, trying to make out their faces. "What are you doing in here, all alone?"
    “可是，他以前是个了不起的击球手呢，”罗恩说，他在前面打头，沿着小路走入一小块空地，然后一屁股坐在树下的一片干草上，“他在温布恩黄蜂队的时候，那个队赢得了三连冠呢。”
    They looked at one another, surprised.
    他从口袋里掏出克鲁姆的小塑像，放在地上，注视着它走来走去。这个小模型像真的克鲁姆一样，走路也有点外八字，肩膀也有点向前弯曲，他的八字脚踩在地面上，比他骑飞天扫帚的样子逊色多了。哈利倾听着营地那边的声音。一切似乎平静多了，也许骚乱已经结束。
    "Well - there's a sort of riot going on," said Ron.
    “我希望其他人平安无事。”过了一会儿，赫敏说道。
    Bagman stared at him.
    “他们不会有事的。”罗恩说。
    "What?"
    “想象一下吧，如果你爸爸抓住卢修斯·马尔福就好了，”哈利说着，也在罗恩身边坐下，望着克鲁姆的小塑像在落叶上没精打采地走动，“他总是说要抓住马尔福的把柄。”
    "At the campsite. . . some people have got hold of a family of Muggles. . .
    “没错，那样一来，讨厌的德拉科就再也露不出那种奸笑了。”罗恩说。
    Bagman swore loudly.
    “唉，那些麻瓜太可怜了，”赫敏不安地说道，“如果人们没法把他们弄下来，怎么办呢？”
    "Damn them!" he said, looking quite distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small pop!
    “不会的，”罗恩向她保证说，“他们总有办法的。”
    "Not exactly on top of things, Mr. Bagman, is he?" said Hermione, frowning.
    “真是疯了，居然做出这样的事情，要知道今晚魔法部的所有官员都在这里啊！”赫敏说，“我是说，他们难道指望能轻易逃脱？你们说，他们是不是喝多了酒，还是——”
    "He was a great Beater, though," said Ron, leading the way off the path into a small clearing, and sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree. "The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them."
    她猛地停住话头，扭头朝身后望去。哈利和罗恩也迅速转过脑袋。听声音，好像有人高一脚低一脚地向他们这片空地走来。他们等待着，听着漆黑的树丛后跌跌撞撞的脚步声。可是，脚步声突然停止了。
    He took his small figure of Krum out of his pocket, set it down on the ground, and watched it walk around. Like the real Krum, the model was slightly duck-footed and round-shouldered, much less impressive on his splayed feet than on his broomstick. Harry was listening for noise from the campsite. Everything seemed much quieter; perhaps the riot was over.
    “你好？”哈利喊道。
    "I hope the others are okay," said Hermione after a while.
    没有声音。哈利站起来，回身望着树后。四下里黑乎乎的，稍远一点就看不见了，但他可以感觉到有人就站在他的视线之外。
    "They'll be fine," said Ron.
    “谁在那儿？”他问道。
    "Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy," said Harry, sitting down next to Ron and watching the small figure of Krum slouching over the fallen leaves. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."
    然后，没有一点征兆，一个声音突然划破了寂静。这声音和他们在树林里听见的其他声音都不一样，它发出的不是紧张的喊叫，而像是一句咒语。
    "That'd wipe the smirk off old Draco's face, all right," said Ron.
    “尸骨再现！”
    "Those poor Muggles, though," said Hermione nervously. "What if they can't get them down?"
    接着，从哈利的目光拼命想穿透的那一片黑暗中，冒出一个巨大的绿色闪闪的东西。它一下子跃上树梢，飞到了空中。
    "They will," said Ron reassuringly. "They'll find a way."
    “这是什么——”罗恩紧张地说，也赶紧跳了起来，抬头盯着那刚刚出现的东西。
    "Mad, though, to do something like that when the whole Ministry of Magic's out here tonight!" said Hermione. "I mean, how do they expect to get away with it? Do you think they've been drinking, or are they just -"
    哈利一开始以为又是小矮妖组成的图形，可是紧接着，他发现那是一个硕大无比的骷髅，由无数碧绿色的星星般的东西组成，一条大蟒蛇从骷髅的嘴巴里冒出来，像是一根舌头。就在他们注视的时候，骷髅越升越高，在一团绿莹莹的烟雾中发出耀眼的光，在漆黑的夜空衬托下，就像一个新的星座。
    But she broke off abruptly and looked over her shoulder. Harry and Ron looked quickly around too. It sounded as though someone was staggering toward their clearing. They waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven steps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.
    突然，他们周围的树林里爆发出阵阵尖叫声。哈利不明白叫声的由来，惟一可能的原因就是这个骷髅的突然出现。它现在已经升得很高，像一个恐怖的霓虹灯招牌一样，照亮了整个树林。哈利在黑暗中寻找那个变出骷髅的人，可是他一个人影也没看见。
    "Hello?" called Harry.
    “谁在那儿？”他又喊了一声。
    There was silence. Harry got to his feet and peered around the tree. It was too dark to see very far, but he could sense somebody standing just beyond the range of his vision.
    “哈利，快点儿，走吧！”赫敏抓住他的衣领，把他往后拖。
    "Who's there?" he said.
    “怎么回事？”哈利说，吃惊地看见赫敏脸色煞白，神情极为恐惧。
    And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any they had heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell.
    “这是黑魔标记，哈利！”赫敏呻吟般地说，一边拼命地拉着他，“神秘人的符号！”
    "MORSMORDRE!"
    “伏地魔的——”
    And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness Harry's eyes had been struggling to penetrate; it flew up over the treetops and into the sky.
    “哈利，快走吧！”
    "What the - ?" gasped Ron as he sprang to his feet again, staring up at the thing that had appeared.
    哈利转过身——罗恩赶忙从地上抄起他的克鲁姆小塑像——三个人开始穿过空地——可是他们慌慌张张地才走了几步，就听见一连串噗噗噗的声音，二十个巫师从天而降，把他们团团围住。
    For a split second, Harry thought it was another leprechaun formation. Then he realized that it was a colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.
    哈利转了个圈，立刻就注意到这样一个事实：这些巫师掏出了自己的魔杖，每根魔杖都指着他、罗恩和赫敏。
    Suddenly, the wood all around them erupted with screams. Harry didn't understand why, but the only possible cause was the sudden appearance of the skull, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood like some grisly neon sign. He scanned the darkness for the person who had conjured the skull, but he couldn't see anyone.
    他没有思索，赶紧喊了声：“快躲！”
    "Who's there?" he called again.
    他一把拉住另外两人，把他们拖倒在地。
    "Harry, come on, move!" Hermione had seized the collar of his jacket and was tugging him backward.
    “昏昏倒地！”二十个声音同时吼道——接着便是一连串耀眼的闪光，哈利感到他的头发在摇摆起伏，如同有一股强劲的风吹过空地。他微微把头抬起一点儿，看见一道道烧灼般的红光从巫师的魔杖里射出，在他们头顶上互相交错，撞在树干上，又被弹到了黑暗中——
    "What's the matter?" Harry said, startled to see her face so white and terrified.
    “住手！”一个他熟悉的声音喊道，“住手！那是我儿子！”
    "It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned, pulling him as hard as she could.
    哈利的头发不再波动了，他把头抬起一点儿，他前面的那个巫师已经放下了手里的魔杖。哈利翻过身来，看见韦斯莱先生大步朝他们走来，神情十分惊恐。
    "You-Know-Who's sign!"
    “罗恩——哈利——”他的声音有些颤抖，“赫敏——你们都没事吧？”
    "Voldemort's - "Harry, come on!"
    “闪开，亚瑟。”一个冷冰冰的、不带感情的声音说。
    Harry turned - Ron was hurriedly scooping up his miniature Krum - the three of them
    是克劳奇先生。他和部里的其他巫师官员都围了过来。哈利站起来面对着他们。克劳奇先生气得板紧了脸。
    started across the clearing - but before they had taken a few hurried steps, a series of popping noises announced the arrival of twenty wizards, appearing from thin air, surrounding them.
    “这是你们谁干的？”他厉声问道，犀利的眼睛在他们三人之间扫来扫去，“你们谁变出了黑魔标记？”
    Harry whirled around, and in an instant, he registered one fact: Each of these wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at himself, Ron, and Hermione.
    “我们没有！”哈利指着上面的骷髅，说道。
    Without pausing to think, he yelled, "DUCK!"
    “我们什么也没干！”罗恩说，他揉着自己的胳膊肘，气呼呼地望着父亲，“你们为什么要攻击我们？”
    He seized the other two and pulled them down onto the ground.
    “不要撒谎，先生！”克劳奇先生说。他仍然用魔杖指着罗恩，眼珠子瞪得都要暴出来了——他的样子有点疯狂。“你们是在犯罪现场被发现的！”
    "STUPEFY!" roared twenty voices - there was a blinding series of flashes and Harry felt the hair on his head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the clearing. Raising his head a fraction of an inch he saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness-- "Stop!" yelled a voice he recognized. "STOP! That's my son!"
    “巴蒂，”一个穿着长长的羊毛晨衣的女巫小声说道，“他们还是孩子，巴蒂，他们决不可能——”
    Harry's hair stopped blowing about. He raised his head a little higher. The wizard in front of him had lowered his wand. He rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding toward them, looking terrified.
    “你们三个，这个标记是从哪儿来的？”韦斯莱先生焦急地问。
    "Ron - Harry" - his voice sounded shaky - "Hermione - are you all right?"
    “那边，”赫敏用发抖的声音说，指着他们刚才听见声音的地方，“树后面有人……他们大声说话——念了一句咒语——”
    "Out of the way, Arthur," said a cold, curt voice.
    “哦，他们就站在那里，是吗？”克劳奇先生说道，又把暴突的眼睛转向赫敏，脸上写满了怀疑，“他们还念了一句咒语，是吗？你似乎对怎么变出标记知道得很清楚啊，小姐——”
    It was Mr. Crouch. He and the other Ministry wizards were closing in on them. Harry got to his feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage.
    可是除了克劳奇先生，那些部里的巫师官员似乎都认为哈利、罗恩和赫敏绝对不可能变出骷髅。他们听了赫敏的话，一个个又把魔杖举了起来，对准她所反指的方向，眯着眼朝黑黢黢的树丛中窥视。
    "Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between them. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"
    “我们来晚了，”那位穿羊毛晨衣的女巫摇了摇头，说道，“他们早就幻影移形了。”
    "We didn't do that!" said Harry, gesturing up at the skull.
    “我不这样认为，”一位留着棕色短胡子茬儿的巫师说话了——他正是阿莫斯·迪戈里，塞德里克的父亲，“我们的吓人高手一定钻进了这片树丛……我们很有可能抓住他们……”
    "We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"
    “阿莫斯，小心！”几位巫师齐声提醒道，只见迪戈里先生挺起胸膛，举起魔杖，大步穿过空地，消失在黑暗中。赫敏紧张地用手捂着嘴巴，望着他隐去的背影。
    "Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr. Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You have been discovered at the scene of the crime!"
    几秒钟后，他们听见了迪戈里先生的喊声。
    "Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown, "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to "Where did the Mark come from, you three?" said Mr. Weasley quickly.
    “成了！抓住了！这儿有人！昏迷不醒！是——哎哟——天哪……”
    "Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where they had heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees. . . they shouted words - an incantation -"
    “你抓住了一个人？”克劳奇先生喊道，完全是一种不相信的语气，“谁？是谁？”
    "Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how that Mark is summoned, missy -"
    他们听见树枝的折断声，落叶的沙沙声，然后是嘎吱嘎吱的脚步声，迪戈里先生从树丛后出来了。他手臂里抱着一个小小的软绵绵的身体。哈利一眼就认出了那块茶巾。是闪闪。
    But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that Harry, Ron, or Hermione had conjured the skull; on the contrary, at Hermione's words, they had all raised their wands again and were pointing in the direction she had indicated, squinting through the dark trees.
    克劳奇先生看着迪戈里先生把他的家养小精灵放在他脚下，他没有动弹，也没有说话。魔法部的其他官员都盯着克劳奇先生。有好几秒钟，克劳奇一动不动地站着，仿佛凝固了一般，苍白的脸上那双喷火的眼睛狠狠盯着地上的闪闪。然后，他似乎又回过神来。
    "We're too late," said the witch in the woolen dressing gown, shaking her head. "They'll have Disapparated."
    “这——不可能——不可能，”他一顿一顿地说，“不可能——”
    "I don't think so," said a wizard with a scrubby brown beard. It was Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. "Our Stunners went right through those trees. . . . There's a good chance we got them. . .
    他飞快地绕过迪戈里先生，大步朝闪闪被发现的地方走去。
    "Amos, be careful!" said a few of the wizards warningly as Mr. Diggory squared his shoulders, raised his wand, marched across the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness. Hermione watched him vanish with her hands over her mouth.
    “没有用的，克劳奇先生，”迪戈里先生冲着他的背影喊道，“那儿没有别人了。”
    A few seconds later, they heard Mr. Diggory shout.
    可是克劳奇先生似乎不想理睬他的话。他们听见他在那里走来走去，还听见他拨开灌木寻找时，把树叶弄得沙沙作响。
    "Yes! We got them! There's someone here! Unconscious! It's - but - blimey. .
    “有点令人尴尬，”迪戈里先生严厉地说，低头看着闪闪神志不清的身影，“巴蒂·克劳奇的家养小精灵……我的意思是……”
    "You've got someone?" shouted Mr. Crouch, sounding highly disbelieving. "Who? Who is it?"
    “别胡扯了，阿莫斯，”韦斯莱先生小声说道，“难道你当真认为是小精灵干的？黑魔标记是个巫师符号。是需要用魔杖的。”
    They heard snapping twigs, the rustling of leaves, and then crunching footsteps as Mr.
    “是啊，”迪戈里先生说，“她拿着魔杖呢。”
    Diggory reemerged from behind the trees. He was carrying a tiny, limp figure in his arms.
    “什么？”韦斯莱先生说。
    Harry recognized the tea towel at once. It was Winky.
    “这儿，你们瞧，”迪戈里先生举起一根魔杖，递给韦斯莱先生，“她手里拿着的。这就首先违反了《魔杖使用准则》的第三条：任何非人类的生物都不得携带或使用魔杖。”
    Mr. Crouch did not move or speak as Mr. Diggory deposited his elf on the ground at his feet. The other Ministry wizards were all staring at Mr. Crouch. For a few seconds Crouch remained transfixed, his eyes blazing in his white face as he stared down at Winky. Then he appeared to come to life again.
    就在这时，又是噗的一声，卢多·巴格曼先生幻影显形出现在韦斯莱先生旁边。巴格曼气喘吁吁，一副晕头转向的样子。他原地转着圈儿，瞪眼望着空中那碧绿色的骷髅。
    "This - cannot - be," he said jerkily. "No -"
    “黑魔标记！”他喘着气说道，转身询问地看着他的同事，差点踩在闪闪身上。
    He moved quickly around Mr. Diggory and strode off toward the place where he had found Winky.
    克劳奇先生空着手回来了。他的脸仍然惨白得可怕，双手和牙刷状的小胡子都在抽搐。
    "No point, Mr. Crouch," Mr. Diggory called after him. "There's no one else there."
    “你上哪儿去了，巴蒂？”巴格曼问道，“你为什么没来观看比赛？你的家养小精灵还给你占了个座位呢——我的天哪！”巴格曼这才发现闪闪就躺在他脚边，“她怎么啦？”
    But Mr. Crouch did not seem prepared to take his word for it. They could hear him moving around and the rustling of leaves as he pushed the bushes aside, searching.
    “我一直忙得要命，卢多，”克劳奇先生说，仍然是那样一字一顿，嘴唇几乎没有动，“我的家养小精灵被人施了昏迷咒。”
    "Bit embarrassing," Mr. Diggory said grimly, looking down at Winky's unconscious form.
    “被人施了昏迷咒？你是说，被你们这些人？为什么——”
    "Barty Crouch's house-elf. . . I mean to say..."
    巴格曼那张发亮的圆脸上突然露出恍然大悟的神情。他抬头望望骷髅，又低头看看闪闪，最后目光落在克劳奇先生身上。
    "Come off it, Amos," said Mr. Weasley quietly, "you don't seriously think it was the elf?
    “不可能！”他说，“闪闪？变出了黑魔标记？她不知道怎么变呀！首先，她得需要一根魔杖呀！”
    The Dark Mark's a wizard's sign. It requires a wand."
    “她确实需要一根魔杖，”迪戈里先生说道，“我发现她手里拿着一根，卢多。如果你没有意见，克劳奇先生，我认为我们应该听听她怎样为自己辩护。”
    "Yeah," said Mr. Diggory, "and she had a wand."
    克劳奇先生毫无反应，仿佛没有听见迪戈里先生的话，而迪戈里先生似乎把他的沉默当成了默许。他举起自己的魔杖，指着闪闪说道：“快快复苏！”
    "What?" said Mr. Weasley.
    闪闪有气无力地动了起来。那双铜铃般的棕色眼睛睁开了，她使劲眨了眨眼皮，神情一片茫然。在巫师们沉默的目光注视下，她颤巍巍地支撑着坐了起来。她看见了迪戈里先生的脚，然后她慢慢地、哆哆嗦嗦地抬起目光，望着他的脸，接着，又更缓慢地把目光投向上面的夜空。哈利可以看见，那飘浮的骷髅形象分别映在她两只呆滞的大眼睛里。她倒吸了一口冷气，目光迷乱地看着围在空地上的人们，然后突然害怕地哭了起来。
    "Here, look." Mr. Diggory held up a wand and showed it to Mr. Weasley. "Had it in her hand. So that's clause three of the Code of Wand Use broken, for a start. No non-human creature is permitted to carry or use a wand."
    “小精灵！”迪戈里先生严厉地问，“你知道我是谁吗？我是神奇动物管理控制司的成员！”
    Just then there was another pop, and Ludo Bagman Apparated right next to Mr. Weasley.
    闪闪开始在地上前后摇晃，她的呼吸不时被强烈的抽泣打断了。哈利一下子想起，多比因违抗命令而感到害怕时，也是这个样子。
    Looking breathless and disorientated, he spun on the spot, goggling upward at the emerald-green skull.
    “你也看见了，小妖精，就在刚才，有人在这里变出了黑魔标记。”迪戈里先生说道，“片刻之后，你被我们发现了，就在标记的下面！请你给我们一个解释！”
    "The Dark Mark!" he panted, almost trampling Winky as he turned inquiringly to his colleagues. "Who did it? Did you get them? Barry! What's going on?"
    “我——我——我没有，先生！”闪闪喘着大气说，“我不知道怎么变，先生！”
    Mr. Crouch had returned empty-handed. His face was still ghostly white, and his hands and his toothbrush mustache were both twitching.
    “你被发现的时候，手里拿着一根魔杖！”迪戈里先生咆哮道，在闪闪面前挥舞着那根魔杖。当那骷髅射向空地的绿光照在魔杖上时，哈利认出来了。
    "Where have you been, Barty?" said Bagman. "Why weren't you at the match? Your elf was saving you a seat too - gulping gargoyles!" Bagman had just noticed Winky lying at his feet. "What happened to her?"
    “呀——那是我的！”他说。
    "I have been busy, Ludo," said Mr. Crouch, still talking in the same jerky fashion, barely moving his lips. "And my elf has been stunned."
    空地上的人都转过脸来望着他。
    "Stunned? By you lot, you mean? But why - ?"
    “对不起，你说什么？”迪戈里先生不敢相信地问。
    Comprehension dawned suddenly on Bagman's round, shiny face; he looked up at the skull, down at Winky, and then at Mr. Crouch.
    “那是我的魔杖！”哈利说，“我把它丢了！”
    "No!" he said. "Winky? Conjure the Dark Mark? She wouldn't know how! She'd need a wand, for a start!"
    “你把它丢了？”迪戈里先生怀疑地重复了一句，“你是在坦白吗？你变出标记后，就把魔杖扔掉了？”
    "And she had one," said Mr. Diggory. "I found her holding one, Ludo. If it's all right with you, Mr. Crouch, I think we should hear what she's got to say for herself."
    “阿莫斯，想想你在跟谁说话！”韦斯莱先生非常生气地说，“难道哈利·波特会变出黑魔标记？”
    Crouch gave no sign that he had heard Mr. Diggory, but Mr. Diggory seemed to take his silence for assent. He raised his own wand, pointed it at Winky, and said, "Ennervate!"
    “噢——当然不会，”迪戈里先生含混地嘟囔道，“对不起……我气昏了头……”
    Winky stirred feebly. Her great brown eyes opened and she blinked several times in a bemused sort of way. Watched by the silent wizards, she raised herself shakily into a sitting position.
    “我没有把它扔在那里，”哈利用大拇指朝骷髅下面的树丛指了指，“我们刚走进树林，我的魔杖就不见了。”
    She caught sight of Mr. Diggory's feet, and slowly, tremulously, raised her eyes to stare up into his face; then, more slowly still, she looked up into the sky. Harry could see the floating skull reflected twice in her enormous, glassy eyes. She gave a gasp, looked wildly around the crowded clearing, and burst into terrified sobs.
    “这么说，”迪戈里先生说着，把目光又投向蜷缩在他脚边的闪闪，眼神变得冷酷了，“小妖精，是你发现这根魔杖的，是不是？你把它捡起来，以为自己可以拿它找点乐子，是不是？”
    "Elf!" said Mr. Diggory sternly. "Do you know who I am? I'm a member of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures!"
    “我没有用它变魔术，先生！”闪闪尖声说道，眼泪像小溪一样，顺着她被压扁的球状鼻子的两侧流下来，“我……我……我只是把它捡了起来，先生！我没有变出黑魔标记，先生，我不知道怎么变！”
    Winky began to rock backward and forward on the ground, her breath coming in sharp bursts. Harry was reminded forcibly of Dobby in his moments of terrified disobedience.
    “不是她！”赫敏说——她在这么些魔法部官员面前说话，显得非常紧张，但毫不退缩——“闪闪说话尖声细气的，我们刚才听见的那个念咒语的声音要低沉得多！”她转脸看着哈利和罗恩，请求得到他们的赞同，“根本不像闪闪的声音，对吗？”
    "As you see, elf, the Dark Mark was conjured here a short while ago," said Mr. Diggory.
    “对，”哈利点了点头，说道，“那声音绝对不是一个小精灵的。”
    "And you were discovered moments later, right beneath it! An explanation, if you please!"
    “是啊，那是人的声音。”罗恩说。
    "I - I - I is not doing it, sir!" Winky gasped. "I is not knowing how, sir!"
    “好吧，我们很快就会知道的，”迪戈里先生咆哮着，似乎没有听进他们的话，“有个简单的办法，可以发现魔杖上一次施的魔咒，小精灵，你知道吗？”
    "You were found with a wand in your hand!" barked Mr. Diggory, brandishing it in front of her. And as the wand caught the green light that was filling the clearing from the skull above, Harry recognized it "Hey - that's mine!" he said Everyone in the clearing looked at him.
    闪闪浑身发抖，拼命摇了摇头，耳朵啪啪地扇动着。迪戈里先生举起自己的魔杖，把它跟哈利的魔杖对接在一起。
    "Excuse me?" said Mr. Diggory, incredulously.
    “闪回闪咒！”迪戈里先生大吼一声。
    "That's my wand!" said Harry. "I dropped it!"
    哈利听见赫敏倒抽了一口冷气，同时看见一个十分恐怖的、吐着蛇信子的骷髅从两根魔杖相接的地方冒了出来，不过这只是他们头顶上空那个绿莹莹骷髅的影子。它仿佛是由浓浓的灰色烟雾构成的：是一个魔幻的幽灵。
    "You dropped it?" repeated Mr. Diggory in disbelief. "Is this a confession? You threw it aside after you conjured the Mark?"
    “消隐无踪！”迪戈里先生大喊一声，烟雾构成的骷髅化成一缕轻烟，消失了。
    "Amos, think who you're talking to!" said Mr. Weasley, very angrily. "Is Harry Potter likely to conjure the Dark Mark?"
    “这怎么说？”迪戈里先生摆出一种很残酷的得意神情，望着脚下的闪闪。闪闪仍然在剧烈地颤抖着。
    "Er - of course not," mumbled Mr. Diggory. "Sorry. . . carried away. .
    “不是我！”她尖声叫道，眼球惊恐地转动着，“不是我，不是我，我不知道怎么弄！我是一个好精灵，我没有摆弄魔杖，我不知道怎么弄！”
    "I didn't drop it there, anyway," said Harry, jerking his thumb toward the trees beneath
    “你被当场抓住了，小妖精！”迪戈里先生吼道，“被抓时手里拿着这根犯罪的魔杖！”
    the skull. "I missed it right after we got into the wood."
    “阿莫斯，”韦斯莱先生大声说，“你想想吧……会施那个魔咒的巫师只是凤毛鳞角……她是从哪儿学会的呢？”
    "So," said Mr. Diggory, his eyes hardening as he turned to look at Winky again, cowering at his feet. "You found this wand, eh, elf? And you picked it up and thought you'd have some fun with it, did you?"
    “也许迪戈里是在暗示，”克劳奇先生说，每个音节都透着冷冰冰的怒气，“暗示我定期教我的仆人变黑魔标记？”
    "I is not doing magic with it, sir!" squealed Winky, tears streaming down the sides of her squashed and bulbous nose. "I is. . . I is. . . I is just picking it up, sir! i is not making the Dark Mark, sir, i is not knowing how!"
    接着是一阵十分压抑的沉默。迪戈里先生仿佛吓坏了，“克劳奇先生……不是……绝对不是……”
    "It wasn't her!" said Hermione. She looked very nervous, speaking up in front of all these Ministry wizards, yet determined all the same. "Winky's got a squeaky little voice, and the voice we heard doing the incantation was much deeper!" She looked around at Harry and Ron, appealing for their support. "It didn't sound anything like Winky, did it?"
    “到现在为止，你用几乎很明显的语言，无端指控了这片空地上的两个人，他们是最不可能变出那个标记的！”克劳奇先生怒吼着说，“哈利·波特——还有我！我想你应该熟悉这个男孩的身世吧，阿莫斯？”
    "No," said Harry, shaking his head. "It definitely didn't sound like an elf."
    “当然——每个人都知道——”迪戈里先生嘟囔着，神情十分惶恐。
    "Yeah, it was a human voice," said Ron.
    “我相信你还记得，在我漫长的职业生涯中，有许多证据表明我一贯厌恶和仇恨黑魔法，以及所有玩弄这些法术的人，是不是？”克劳奇先生大声喊道，眼珠子又暴突出来。
    "Well, we'll soon see," growled Mr. Diggory, looking unimpressed. "There's a simple way of discovering the last spell a wand performed, elf, did you know that?"
    “克劳奇先生，我——我决没有暗示你跟这件事有关！”阿莫斯·迪戈里又嘟囔着说，他那棕色胡子后面的脸色已经涨得通红。
    Winky trembled and shook her head frantically, her ears flapping, as Mr. Diggory raised his own wand again and placed it tip to tip with Harry's.
    “你指控我的小精灵，就等于在指控我，迪戈里！”克劳奇先生嚷道，“不然她能从哪儿学会变这种魔法？”
    "Prior Incantato!" roared Mr. Diggory.
    “她——她也许是偶然从别处学会的——”
    Harry heard Hermione gasp, horrified, as a gigantic serpent-tongued skull erupted from the point where the two wands met, but it was a mere shadow of the green skull high above them; it looked as though it were made of thick gray smoke: the ghost of a spell.
    “说得对啊，阿莫斯，”韦斯莱先生说，“她也许是偶然从别处学会的……闪闪？”他和气地转向小精灵，可是她畏惧地退缩着，好像他也在冲着她嚷嚷似的，“你到底是在哪儿捡到哈利的魔杖的？”
    "Deletrius!" Mr. Diggory shouted, and the smoky skull vanished in a wisp of smoke.
    闪闪使劲拧着她身上的那块茶巾的贴边，她手指的劲儿太大了，贴边被拧得开了线。
    "So," said Mr. Diggory with a kind of savage triumph, looking down upon Winky, who was still shaking convulsively.
    “我——我是在……那儿捡到的，先生……”她低声说道，“那儿……在树林子里，先生……”
    "I is not doing it!" she squealed, her eyes rolling in terror. "I is not, I is not, I is not knowing how! I is a good elf, I isn't using wands, I isn't knowing how!"
    “明白了吧，阿莫斯？”韦斯莱先生说，“变出标记的人，不管他们是谁，在完事以后就幻影移开了，扔下了哈利的魔杖。他们干得真聪明，不用自己的魔杖，免得暴露身分。片刻之后，这个倒霉的闪闪无意间看到了魔杖，把它捡了起来。”
    "You've been caught red-handed, elf!" Mr. Diggory roared. "Caught with the guilty wand in your hand!"
    “这么说，她当时离真正的罪犯只有几步远？”迪戈里先生不耐烦地说道，“小妖精，你看见什么人没有？”
    "Amos," said Mr. Weasley loudly, "think about it. . . precious few wizards know how to do that spell. . . . Where would she have learned it?"
    闪闪抖得比刚才更厉害了。她那两个灯泡大的眼睛看着迪戈里先生，又看看卢多·巴格曼，再看看克劳奇先生。然后她吸了一大口气，说道：“我没有看见什么人，先生……一个人也没有……”
    "Perhaps Amos is suggesting," said Mr. Crouch, cold anger in every syllable, "that I routinely teach my servants to conjure the Dark Mark?"
    “阿莫斯，”克劳奇先生很生硬地说，“我完全知道，按照一般的程序，你要把闪闪带到你的司里审问，然而，我还是请你允许由我来处置她。”
    There was a deeply unpleasant silence. Amos Diggory looked horrified. "Mr. Crouch.. .
    迪戈里先生似乎不太赞成这个建议，但哈利清楚，克劳奇先生是魔法部里举足轻重的大人物，迪戈里先生不敢拒绝他。
    not. . . not at all.
    “你放心，她会受到惩罚的。”克劳奇先生冷冷地补充道。
    "You have now come very close to accusing the two people in this clearing who are least likely to conjure that Mark!" barked Mr. Crouch. "Harry Potter - and myself. I suppose you are familiar with the boy's story, Amos?"
    “主——主——主人……”闪闪抬头看着克劳奇先生，眼睛里含着泪花，结结巴巴地说，“主——主——主人，求——求——求求你……”
    "Of course - everyone knows -" muttered Mr. Diggory, looking highly discomforted.
    克劳奇先生瞪视着她，他的脸色变得僵硬起来，每根线条都显得十分突出，目光里没有丝毫怜悯。
    "And I trust you remember the many proofs I have given, over a long career, that I despise and detest the Dark Arts and those who practice them?" Mr. Crouch shouted, his eyes bulging again.
    “闪闪今晚的行为，令我感到十分震惊，”他慢慢地说道，“我叫她待在帐篷里。我叫她守在那里，我去解决骚乱。我发现她违抗了我。这就意味着——衣服！”
    "Mr. Crouch, I - I never suggested you had anything to do with it!" Amos Diggory muttered again, now reddening behind his scrubby brown beard.
    “不！”闪闪失声尖叫，一头扑在克劳奇先生的脚下，“不，主人！不要衣服，不要衣服！”
    "If you accuse my elf, you accuse me, Diggory!" shouted Mr. Crouch. "Where else would she have learned to conjure it?"
    哈利知道，释放一个家养小精灵的惟一方式，就是赐给他像样的衣服。闪闪紧紧攥住她的茶巾，伏在克劳奇先生的脚上哭泣，那样子真是可怜。
    "She - she might've picked it up anywhere -"
    “她当时是吓坏了！”赫敏狠狠地瞪着克劳奇先生，愤慨地说道，“你的家养小精灵有恐高症，而那些蒙面的巫师把人弄到空中悬着！她想逃脱他们也是情有可原的，你不能责怪她！”
    "Precisely, Amos," said Mr. Weasley. "She might have picked it up anywhere.. . . Winky?"
    克劳奇先生往后退了一步，摆脱了小精灵的纠缠。他低头审视着闪闪，那神情就好像她是什么肮脏腐烂的东西，正在玷污他擦得锃亮的皮鞋。
    he said kindly, turning to the elf, but she flinched as though he too was shouting at her. "Where exactly did you find Harry's wand?"
    “我不需要违抗我命令的家养小精灵，”他望着赫敏，冷冷地说，“我不需要一个忘记听从主人意旨、维护主人名誉的仆人。”
    Winky was twisting the hem of her tea towel so violently that it was fraying beneath her fingers.
    闪闪哭得伤心极了，她的哭声在空地上回荡着。又是一阵令人十分尴尬的沉默，最后韦斯莱先生轻声地说：“好吧，如果没有人反对的话，我就把我的人带回帐篷去了。阿莫斯，魔杖已经把它知道的都告诉我们了——如果你能把它还给哈利，就请——”
    "I - I is finding it. . . finding it there, sir. . . ." she whispered, "there . . . in the trees, sir.
    迪戈里先生把那根魔杖递给了哈利，哈利把它装进了口袋。
    "You see, Amos?" said Mr. Weasley. "Whoever conjured the Mark could have Disapparated right after they'd done it, leaving Harry's wand behind. A clever thing to do, not using their own wand, which could have betrayed them. And Winky here had the misfortune to come across the wand moments later and pick it up."
    “走吧，你们三个。”韦斯莱先生小声说道。可是赫敏似乎不愿动弹，她的目光仍然落在哭泣的小精灵身上。“赫敏！”韦斯莱先生说，口气更急迫了。赫敏转过身，跟着哈利和罗恩走出空地，在树林里穿行。
    "But then, she'd have been only a few feet away from the real culprit!" said Mr. Diggory impatiently. "Elf? Did you see anyone?"
    “闪闪会怎么样呢？”他们一离开空地，赫敏就问道。
    Winky began to tremble worse than ever. Her giant eyes flickered from Mr. Diggory, to
    “不知道。”韦斯莱先生说。
    Ludo Bagman, and onto Mr. Crouch. Then she gulped and said, "I is seeing no one, sir. .
    “他们怎么那样对待她！”赫敏气愤地说，“迪戈里先生一直管她叫‘小妖精’……还有克劳奇先生！他明明知道不是她干的，却还要把她开除！他根本不管她是多么害怕，多么难过——他根本就不把她当人！”
    . no one. .
    “咳，她本来就不是人嘛。”罗恩说。
    "Amos," said Mr. Crouch curtly, "I am fully aware that, in the ordinary course of events, you would want to take Winky into your department for questioning. I ask you, however, to allow me to deal with her."
    赫敏立刻转过来攻击他。
    Mr. Diggory looked as though he didn't think much of this suggestion at all, but it was clear to Harry that Mr. Crouch was such an important member of the Ministry that he did not dare refuse him.
    “那并不意味着她就没有感情，罗恩。他们那样真令人恶心，竟然——”
    "You may rest assured that she will be punished," Mr. Crouch added coldly.
    “赫敏，我同意你的看法，”韦斯莱先生赶紧说，示意她继续往前走，“但现在不是讨论小精灵的权益的时候。我希望我们尽快回到帐篷里。其他人怎么样了？”
    "M-m-master. . ." Winky stammered, looking up at Mr. Crouch, her eyes brimming with tears. "M-m-master, p-p-please. . ."
    “我们在黑暗里和他们走散了。”罗恩说，“爸爸，为什么大家都对那个骷髅那么紧张？”
    Mr. Crouch stared back, his face somehow sharpened, each line upon it more deeply etched.
    “回到帐篷以后，我再跟你们解释。”韦斯莱先生焦急地说。
    There was no pity in his gaze.
    可是到达树林边缘时，他们遇到了阻碍。一大群神色惶恐的巫师正聚集在那里，看见韦斯莱先生正朝他们走来，许多人便向前推挤。
    "Winky has behaved tonight in a manner I would not have believed possible," he said slowly. "I told her to remain in the tent. I told her to stay there while I went to sort out the trouble. And I find that she disobeyed me. This means clothes."
    “那边是怎么回事？”
    "No!" shrieked Winky, prostrating herself at Mr. Crouch's feet. "No, master! Not clothes, not clothes!"
    “那标记是谁变出来的？”
    Harry knew that the only way to turn a house-elf free was to present it with proper garments. It was pitiful to see the way Winky clutched at her tea towel as she sobbed over Mr. Crouch's feet.
    “亚瑟——会不会是——他？”
    "But she was frightened!" Hermione burst out angrily, glaring at Mr. Crouch. "Your elf's scared of heights, and those wizards in masks were levitating people! You can't blame her for wanting to get out of their way!"
    “当然不是他，”韦斯莱先生不耐烦地说，“我们也不知道是谁，看样子他们幻影移形了。好了，请大家让开，求求你们，我想回去睡觉了。”
    Mr. Crouch took a step backward, freeing himself from contact with the elf, whom he was surveying as though she were something filthy and rotten that was contaminating his over-shined shoes.
    他领着哈利、罗恩和赫敏穿过人群，回到营地。现在到处都安静了，再也没有那些蒙面巫师的影子，只有几个被摧毁的帐篷还在冒烟。
    "I have no use for a house-elf who disobeys me," he said coldly, looking over at Hermione. "I have no use for a servant who forgets what is due to her master, and to her master's reputation."
    查理从男孩子的帐篷里伸出脑袋。
    Winky was crying so hard that her sobs echoed around the clearing. There was a very nasty silence, which was ended by Mr. Weasley, who said quietly, "Well, I think I'll take my lot back to the tent, if nobody's got any objections. Amos, that wand's told us all it can - if Harry could have it back, please -"
    “爸爸，怎么回事？”他在黑暗中喊道，“弗雷德、乔治和金妮都平安回来了，可是他们几个——”
    Mr. Diggory handed Harry his wand and Harry pocketed it.
    “我把他们都带回来了。”韦斯莱先生说着，弯腰钻进了帐篷。哈利、罗恩和赫敏也跟着他钻了进去。
    "Come on, you three," Mr. Weasley said quietly. But Hermione didn't seem to want to move; her eyes were still upon the sobbing elf. "Hermione!" Mr. Weasley said, more urgently. She turned and followed Harry and Ron out of the clearing and off through the trees.
    比尔坐在小餐桌旁，用一条床单捂着手臂，鲜血正从那里不断地冒出来。查理的衬衫撕了个大口子，珀西炫耀着流血的鼻子。弗雷德、乔治和金妮看上去安然无恙，不过都惊魂未定。
    "What's going to happen to Winky?" said Hermione, the moment they had left the clearing.
    “你们抓住他们了吗，爸爸？”比尔问道，“那些变出那个标记的人？”
    "I don't know," said Mr. Weasley.
    “没有，”韦斯莱先生说，“我们发现巴蒂·克劳奇的家养小精灵拿着哈利的魔杖，但到底是谁变出了那个标记，我们一点儿也不知道。”
    "The way they were treating her!" said Hermione furiously. "Mr. Diggory, calling her 'elf' all the time. . . and Mr. Crouch! He knows she didn't do it and he's still going to sack her! He didn't care how frightened she'd been, or how upset she was - it was like she wasn't even human!"
    “什么？”比尔、查理和珀西异口同声地问。
    "Well, she's not," said Ron.
    “哈利的魔杖？”弗雷德说。
    Hermione rounded on him.
    “克劳奇先生的家养小精灵？”珀西问，口气十分震惊。
    "That doesn't mean she hasn't got feelings, Ron. It's disgusting the way -"
    韦斯莱先生在哈利、罗恩和赫敏的帮助下，把树林里发生的事情原原本本地告诉了大家。他们说完了，珀西气得直喘粗气。
    "Hermione, I agree with you," said Mr. Weasley quickly, beckoning her on, "but now is not the time to discuss elf rights. I want to get back to the tent as fast as we can. What happened to the others?"
    “要我说，克劳奇先生就应该赶走这样一个家养小精灵！”他说，“主人明确告诉她待着别动，她却逃跑了……还在这么多魔法部官员面前让主人难堪……如果她被带到神奇动物管理控制司接受审问，那就太——”
    "We lost them in the dark," said Ron. "Dad, why was everyone so uptight about that skull thing?"
    “她什么也没干——她只是不该在那个时候出现在那个地点！”赫敏厉声反击珀西，令珀西大吃一惊。赫敏跟珀西关系一向是很好的——实际上比其他人都好。
    "I'll explain everything back at the tent," said Mr. Weasley tensely.
    “赫敏，处在克劳奇先生那个位置的巫师，如果他的家养小精灵拿着一根魔杖到处胡作非为，这个责任他可担当不起！”珀西恢复了常态，自负地说。
    But when they reached the edge of the wood, their progress was impeded. A large crowd of frightened-looking witches and wizards was congregated there, and when they saw Mr.
    “她没有到处胡作非为！”赫敏嚷道，“她只是从地上捡起了魔杖！”
    Weasley coming toward them, many of them surged forward.
    “好了，好了，有谁能解释一下那个骷髅是什么东西？”罗恩不耐烦地说，“它并没有伤害什么人……为什么人人都那么大惊小怪？”
    "What's going on in there?"
    “我来告诉你吧，这是神秘人的符号，罗恩，”赫敏赶在别人前面回答道，“我在《黑魔法的兴衰》里读到过。”
    "Who conjured it?"
    “已经有十三年没看见它了，”韦斯莱先生轻声说，“人们自然很紧张……这简直就像是又看见了神秘人。”
    "Arthur - it's not - Him?"
    “我不明白，”罗恩皱着眉头说，“我的意思是……说到底，这只是半空中的一个影子……”
    "Of course it's not Him," said Mr. Weasley impatiently. "We don't know who it was; it
    “罗恩，神秘人和他的信徒每次杀了人，都要在空中显示黑魔标记。”韦斯莱先生说道，“它带来的恐惧……你不知道，你还太小。你想象一下，你回到家里，发现黑魔标记就在你家房子上空盘旋，你知道你进去后会看见什么……”韦斯莱先生打了个哆嗦，“这是每个人最恐惧的……是最恐惧的……”
    looks like they Disapparated. Now excuse me, please, I want to get to bed."
    接着是片刻的沉默。比尔拿开裹在手臂上的床单，察看伤口，说道：“唉，不管这个标记是谁变出来的，今天晚上可给我们帮了倒忙。那些食死徒一看见它就跑了。他们一个个匆匆幻影移形，我们还没来及接近他们，揭开他们脸上的面罩。不过，我们接住了罗伯茨一家，没让他们摔在地上。现在他们的记忆正在被修改。”
    He led Harry, Ron, and Hermione through the crowd and back into the campsite. All was quiet now; there was no sign of the masked wizards, though several ruined tents were still smoking.
    “食死徒？”哈利问，“食死徒是什么？”
    Charlie's head was poking out of the boys' tent.
    “这是神秘人的信徒对他们自己的称呼。”比尔说，“我认为我们今晚看见了他们这些人的残余——他们不知怎的逃脱了，没有被关进阿兹卡班。”
    "Dad, what's going on?" he called through the dark. "Fred, George, and Ginny got back okay, but the others -"
    “我们没法证明就是他们，比尔。”韦斯莱先生说。“不过很有可能。”他无奈地说。
    "I've got them here," said Mr. Weasley, bending down and entering the tent. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered after him.
    “对，我猜肯定是这样！”罗恩突然说道，“爸爸，我们在树林里遇见了德拉科·马尔福，他实际上差不多告诉了我们，他爸爸就是那些蒙面疯子当中的一个！我们都知道马尔福一家以前和神秘人很有交情！”
    Bill was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a bedsheet to his arm, which was bleeding profusely. Charlie had a large rip in his shirt, and Percy was sporting a bloody nose. Fred, George, and Ginny looked unhurt, though shaken.
    “可是伏地魔的信徒——”哈利说。大家都打了个寒噤——韦斯莱一家和魔法世界里的大多数人一样，一向避免说出伏地魔的名字。“对不起，”哈利赶紧说道，“神秘人的信徒想干什么，把麻瓜弄到半空悬着？我的意思是，这有什么意义呢？”
    "Did you get them, Dad?" said Bill sharply. "The person who conjured the Mark?"
    “意义？”韦斯莱先生干笑一声，说道，“哈利，那就是他们作乐的方式。过去神秘人当道的时候，他们杀害麻瓜一半都是为了取乐。我猜想他们今晚多喝了几杯酒，就忍不住想提醒我们一下：他们还有很多人在外逍遥。他们搞了一次愉快的小聚会。”他厌恶地说。
    "No," said Mr. Weasley. "We found Barry Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conured the Mark."
    “可是如果他们就是食死徒，为什么一看见黑魔标记就幻影移形了呢？”罗恩问，“他们应该很高兴看见它呀，对不对？”
    "What?" said Bill, Charlie, and Percy together. "Harry's wand?" said Fred.
    “你动脑子想一想吧，罗恩，”比尔说，“如果他们真是食死徒，神秘人失势之后，他们就会千方百计设法别被关进阿兹卡班，并编造各种谎话，说当初是神秘人强迫他们杀害和折磨别人的。我敢打赌，他们比我们这些人更害怕看见他回来。神秘人倒台后，他们百般否认自己跟他有关系，又重新过上了正常人的生活……我认为神秘人对他们不会很满意，你说呢？”
    "Mr. Crouch's elf" said Percy, sounding thunderstruck.
    “那么……变出黑魔标记的人……”赫敏慢慢地说，“这么做到底是为了表示支持食死徒，还是要把他们吓跑呢？”
    With some assistance from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Mr. Weasley explained what had happened in the woods. When they had finished their story, Percy swelled indignantly.
    “我们也是这样猜想的，赫敏，”韦斯莱先生说，“不过我要告诉你们一点……只有食死徒才知道怎样变出那个标记。我可以肯定，变出标记的人以前准是一个食死徒，尽管现在也许不是了……听着，时间已经很晚了，如果你们的妈妈听说了这些事情，肯定会担心得要命。我们抓紧时间睡几个小时，然后早早地弄到门钥匙，离开这里。”
    "Well, Mr. Crouch is quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" he said. "Running away when he'd expressly told her not to. . . embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry. . . how would that have looked, if she'd been brought up in front of the Department for the Regulation and Control -"
    哈利爬回到他的双层床上，脑袋里嗡嗡作响。他知道他应该感到精疲力竭才是：现在已是凌晨三点，可是他却感到异常清醒——清醒，而且担忧。
    "She didn't do anything - she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" Hermione snapped at Percy, who looked very taken aback. Hermione had always got on fairly well with Percy - better, indeed, than any of the others.
    三天前——现在感觉已是很久以前，实际上只过去了三天——他醒来时感到额头上的伤疤剧痛难忍。今晚，伏地魔的标记十三年来第一次出现在空中。这一切都意味着什么呢？
    "Hermione, a wizard in Mr. Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!" said Percy pompously, recovering himself.
    他想起了他离开女贞路前写给小天狼星的信。小天狼星收到没有？他什么时候会回信？
    "She didn't run amok!" shouted Hermione. "She just picked it up off the ground!"
    哈利仰面躺在床上，望着帆布篷顶，然而脑子里没有想象出什么东西帮助他入睡。
    "Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was?" said Ron impatiently. "It wasn't hurting anyone. . . . Why's it such a big deal?"
    帐篷里早就响起了查理的鼾声，过了很久哈利才终于昏昏沉沉地睡去。
    "I told you, it's You-Know-Who's symbol, Ron," said Hermione, before anyone else could answer. "I read about it in The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts."
    
    "And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years," said Mr. Weasley quietly. "Of course people panicked. . . it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."
    
    "I don't get it," said Ron, frowning. "I mean. . . it's still only a shape in the sky. .
    
    .
    
    "Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed," said Mr. Weasley. "The terror it inspired. . . you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside. . . ." Mr. Weasley winced. "Everyone's worst fear. . . the very worst..
    
    There was silence for a moment. Then Bill, removing the sheet from his arm to check on his cut, said, "Well, it didn't help us tonight, whoever conjured it. It scared the Death Eaters away the moment they saw it. They all Disapparated before we'd got near enough to unmask any of them. We caught the Robertses before they hit the ground, though. They're having their memories modified right now."
    
    "Death Eaters?" said Harry. "What are Death Eaters?"
    
    "It's what You-Know-Who's supporters called themselves," said Bill. "I think we saw what's left of them tonight - the ones who managed to keep themselves out of Azkaban, anyway."
    
    "We can't prove it was them, Bill," said Mr. Weasley. "Though it probably was," he added hopelessly.
    
    "Yeah, I bet it was!" said Ron suddenly . "Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods, and he as good as told us his dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!"
    
    "But what were Voldemort's supporters -" Harry began. Everybody flinched - like most of the wizarding world, the Weasleys always avoided saying Voldemort's name. "Sorry," said Harry quickly. "What were You-Know-Who's supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?"
    
    "The point?" said Mr. Weasley with a hollow laugh. "Harry, that's their idea of fun.
    
    Half the Muggle killings back when You-Know-Who was in power were done for fun. I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn't resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them," he finished disgustedly.
    
    "But if they were the Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark?" said Ron. "They'd have been pleased to see it, wouldn't they?"
    
    "Use your brains, Ron," said Bill. "If they really were Death Eaters, they worked very hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power, and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they'd be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they'd ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives. . . . I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?"
    
    "So. . . whoever conjured the Dark Mark. . ." said Hermione slowly, "were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?"
    
    "Your guess is as good as ours, Hermione," said Mr. Weasley. "But I'll tell you this. . .
    
    it was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. I'd be very surprised if the person who did it hadn't been a Death Eater once, even if they're not now. . Listen, it's very late, and if your mother hears what's happened she'll be worried sick. We'll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here."
    
    Harry got back into his bunk with his head buzzing. He knew he ought to feel exhausted:
    
    It was nearly three in the morning, but he felt wide-awake - wide-awake, and worried.
    
    Three days ago - it felt like much longer, but it had only been three days - he had awoken with his scar burning. And tonight, for the first time in thirteen years, Lord Voldemort's mark had appeared in the sky. What did these things mean?
    
    He thought of the letter he had written to Sirius before leaving Privet Drive. Would Sirius have gotten it yet? When would he reply? Harry lay looking up at the canvas, but no flying fantasies came to him now to ease him to sleep, and it was a long time after Charlie's snores filled the tent that Harry finally dozed off.
    
    
    

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