哈利·波特与密室 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 英文  中文  双语对照  双语交替 首页  目录  上一章   下一章

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CHAPTER ELEVEN THE DUELING CLUB

第十一章　决斗俱乐部

Harry woke up on Sunday morning to find the dormitory blazing with winter sunlight and his arm reboned but very stiff. He sat up quickly and looked over at Colin’s bed, but it had been blocked from view by the high curtains Harry had changed behind yesterday. Seeing that he was awake, Madam Pomfrey came bustling over with a breakfast tray and then began bending and stretching his arm and fingers.

星期天一早，哈利一睁眼，看见冬目的阳光照得宿舍里亮堂堂的。他发现他的胳膊又长出了新骨头，但十分僵硬。他猛地坐起身，朝科林的床上望去，可是哈利床前昨天新换上的长长的帘子，把科林的床完全遮住了。庞弗雷夫人看到哈利醒了，便端着早餐托盘，轻快地走过来，然后开始拉曲伸展他的胳膊和手指。

“All in order,” she said as he clumsily fed himself porridge lefthanded. “When you’ve finished eating, you may leave.”

“长得不错，”她说，这时哈利笨拙地用左手拿勺喝粥，“你吃完就可以走了。”

Harry dressed as quickly as he could and hurried off to Gryffindor Tower, desperate to tell Ron and Hermione about Colin and Dobby, but they weren’t there. Harry left to look for them, wondering where they could have got to and feeling slightly hurt that they weren’t interested in whether he had his bones back or not.

哈利尽可能麻利地穿上衣服，匆匆赶向格兰芬多塔楼，巴不得赶紧跟罗恩和赫敏说说科林和多比的情况，可是他们不在那儿。哈利又出去寻找，心里纳闷，他们能去哪儿呢？他觉得有点儿委屈，他们竟然丝毫也不关心他的骨头长好了没有。

As Harry passed the library, Percy Weasley strolled out of it, looking in far better spirits than last time they’d met.

哈利经过图书馆时，珀西韦斯莱正从里面出来，神态很悠闲，情绪似乎比他们上次见面时好多了。

“Oh, hello, Harry,” he said. “Excellent flying yesterday, really excellent. Gryffindor has just taken the lead for the House Cup — you earned fifty points!”

“喂，你好，哈利，”他税，“昨天飞得真棒，简直太过瘾了，格兰芬多刚刚在学院杯上得了头名——你赢了五十分！”

“You haven’t seen Ron or Hermione, have you?” said Harry.

“你看见罗恩和赫敏没有？”哈利问。

“No, I haven’t,” said Percy, his smile fading. “I hope Ron’s not in another girls’ toilet. . . .”

“没有，没看见，”珀西说，脸上的笑容隐去了，“我希望罗恩没有再钻女厕所……”

Harry forced a laugh, watched Percy walk out of sight, and then headed straight for Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. He couldn’t see why Ron and Hermione would be in there again, but after making sure that neither Filch nor any prefects were around, he opened the door and heard their voices coming from a locked stall.

哈利勉强笑了一下，看着珀西离去，然后他走向哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室。他说不清罗恩和赫敏为什么又会到这里来，但当他确信费尔奇和年级长都不在周围时，便推开了房门。他听见一个小单间里传出了他们的声音。

“It’s me,” he said, closing the door behind him. There was a clunk, a splash, and a gasp from within the stall and he saw Hermione’s eye peering through the keyhole.

“是我。”他说，反手关上了门。只听小单间里传出当啷当啷、哗啦哗啦的声音，接着是一声惊呼，他看见赫敏的眼睛正透过钥匙孔往外张望。

“Harry!” she said. “You gave us such a fright — come in — how’s your arm?”

“哈利！”她说，“你把我们吓了一跳。进来——你的胳膊怎么样了？”

“Fine,” said Harry, squeezing into the stall. An old cauldron was perched on the toilet, and a crackling from under the rim told Harry they had lit a fire beneath it. Conjuring up portable, waterproof fires was a speciality of Hermione’s.

“挺好。”哈利说着，挤进了小单间。只见抽水马桶上架着一只坩埚，哈利听到马桶下面传出噼噼啪啪的声音，便知道他们在下面生了一把火。用魔法变出可携带的防水的火，这是赫敏的拿手好戏。

“We’d’ve come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion,” Ron explained as Harry, with difficulty, locked the stall again. “We’ve decided this is the safest place to hide it.”

“我们本来要去看你的，但我们决定先把复方汤剂熬起来再说。”罗恩说，这时哈利挺费劲地把小单间重新锁上。

Harry started to tell them about Colin, but Hermione interrupted.

“我们认为躲在这里最安全了。”哈利刚要跟他们谈谈科林的事情，赫敏打断了他，“我们已经知道了，今天早晨听麦格教授告诉弗立维的。所以我们才决定还是先——”

“We already know — we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That’s why we decided we’d better get going —”

“我们最好赶紧让马尔福坦白交待，越快越好。”罗恩气冲冲地说，“你知道我是怎么想的吗？自从魁地奇比赛之后，他就一直闷闷不乐，他是把气撒在科林身上了。”

“The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better,” snarled Ron. “D’you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin.”

“还有一件事，”哈利看着赫敏把一束束的双耳草撕碎了扔进汤剂，说道，“多比半夜里来看我了。”

“There’s something else,” said Harry, watching Hermione tearing bundles of knotgrass and throwing them into the potion. “Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night.”

罗恩和赫敏惊讶地抬起头来。哈利把多比告诉他的——或者说没告诉他的事情原原本本地跟他们说了。罗恩和赫敏听得目瞪口呆。

Ron and Hermione looked up, amazed. Harry told them everything Dobby had told him — or hadn’t told him. Hermione and Ron listened with their mouths open.

“密室以前曾经打开过？”赫敏说。

“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?” Hermione said.

“这下就清楚了，”罗恩用得意的语气说，“卢修斯马尔福一定是在这里上学的时候就打开过秘室，现在他又教亲爱的小德拉科这么做。这是很显然的。不过，我真希望多比告诉过你那里面关着什么怪物。我真不明白，它在学校里偷偷地走来走去，怎么就没有人发现呢？”

“This settles it,” said Ron in a triumphant voice. “Lucius Malfoy must’ve opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he’s told dear old Draco how to do it. It’s obvious. Wish Dobby’d told you what kind of monster’s in there, though. I want to know how come nobody’s noticed it sneaking around the school.”

“也许它可以使自己隐形，”赫敏说着，把一些蚂蟥捅进锅底，“或者它能把自己伪装起来——变成一件盔甲或别的什么。我在书里读到过变色幽灵的故事……”

“Maybe it can make itself invisible,” said Hermione, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron. “Or maybe it can disguise itself — pretend to be a suit of armor or something — I’ve read about Chameleon Ghouls —”

“你书读得太多了。”罗恩说，把一些死草蛉虫倒在蚂蟥上面。他把装草蛉虫的空口袋揉成一团，转过脸来看哈利。“所以多比不让我们上火车，还弄断了你的胳膊……”他摇了摇头，“你知道吗，哈利？如果他一直不停地抢救你，就会要了你的命。”

“You read too much, Hermione,” said Ron, pouring dead lacewings on top of the leeches. He crumpled up the empty lacewing bag and looked at Harry.

星期一早晨，科林克里维遭到袭击、现在像死人一样躺在病房里的消息，一下子传遍了学校。顿时，学校里谣言纷飞，人人疑神疑鬼。一年级新生现在总是三五成群地紧紧簇拥在一起活动，好像生怕如果他们单独行动，就会受到袭击。

“So Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm. . . .” He shook his head. “You know what, Harry? If he doesn’t stop trying to save your life he’s going to kill you.” The news that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying as though dead in the hospital wing had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumor and suspicion. The first years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.

金妮在魔咒班上与科林克里维同桌，这会儿心烦意乱得厉害。弗雷德和乔治为了使她高兴，轮流披着羽毛或变出满身疥疮，从塑像后面跳出来逗她，哈利觉得这种做法是在帮倒忙。后来，珀西气得语无伦次，对他们说他要写信给他们的妈妈韦斯莱夫人，告诉她金妮夜里都做噩梦，他们这才停止了胡闹。

Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin Creevey in Charms, was distraught, but Harry felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking turns covering themselves with fur or boils and jumping out at her from behind statues. They only stopped when Percy, apoplectic with rage, told them he was going to write to Mrs. Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares.

在这段时间里，大家瞒着老师，叽叽喳喳地交换护身符、驱邪物及其他保护自己的玩艺儿。这种做法很快就风靡学校，纳威隆巴顿买了一只臭气熏天的大洋葱、一枚尖尖的紫水晶和一条正在腐烂的水螈尾巴。结果格兰芬多的其他男生们告诉他，他实际上并没有危险——他是纯正血统，因此不会受到袭击。

Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school. Neville Longbottom bought a large, evil-smelling green onion, a pointed purple crystal, and a rotting newt tail before the other Gryffindor boys pointed out that he was in no danger; he was a pureblood, and therefore unlikely to be attacked.

“他们先对费尔奇下手，”纳威说，他圆圆的脸上充满了恐惧，“大家都知道，我差不多就是个哑炮。”

“They went for Filch first,” Neville said, his round face fearful. “And everyone knows I’m almost a Squib.” In the second week of December Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Ron, and Hermione signed her list; they had heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck them as very suspicious. The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion and try to worm a confession out of him.

十二月的第二个星期，麦格教授像往常一样过来收集留校过圣诞节的同学名单。哈利、罗恩和赫敏在名单上签了字；他们听说马尔福准备留下，觉得很值得怀疑。过节期间正好可以使用复方汤剂，把马尔福的真话套出来。

Unfortunately, the potion was only half finished. They still needed the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and the only place they were going to get them was from Snape’s private stores. Harry privately felt he’d rather face Slytherin’s legendary monster than let Snape catch him robbing his office.

不幸的是，汤剂还没有完全熬好。他们还需要双角兽的角和非洲树蛇的皮，而这些东西只有在斯内普的私人储藏室里才能弄到。哈利暗地里觉得，他宁愿面对斯莱特林的神奇的怪物，也不愿在斯内普办公室里偷东西时被斯内普抓住。

“What we need,” said Hermione briskly as Thursday afternoon’s double Potions lesson loomed nearer, “is a diversion. Then one of us can sneak into Snape’s office and take what we need.”

“我们需要声东击西，”赫敏干脆地说，这时离星期四下午的两节魔药课越来越近了，“有人打掩护，然后某个人就可以溜进斯内普的办公室，拿到我们想要的东西。”

Harry and Ron looked at her nervously.

哈利和罗恩紧张地看着她。

“I think I’d better do the actual stealing,” Hermione continued in a matter-of-fact tone. “You two will be expelled if you get into any more trouble, and I’ve got a clean record. So all you need to do is cause enough mayhem to keep Snape busy for five minutes or so.”

“我认为最好由我着手去偷，”赫敏用公事公办的口吻接着说，“你们俩如果再惹麻烦，就要被开除了，而我没有前科记录。所以，你们只要把课堂搅得一阵大乱，让斯内普有五分钟时间忙得脱不开身。”

Harry smiled feebly. Deliberately causing mayhem in Snape’s Potions class was about as safe as poking a sleeping dragon in the eye.

哈利勉强地笑了一下，在斯内普的魔药课上故意捣乱生事，就像去捅一只熟睡的巨龙的眼睛，真是太危险了。

Potions lessons took place in one of the large dungeons. Thursday afternoon’s lesson proceeded in the usual way. Twenty cauldrons stood steaming between the wooden desks, on which stood brass scales and jars of ingredients. Snape prowled through the fumes, making waspish remarks about the Gryffindors’ work while the Slytherins sniggered appreciatively. Draco Malfoy, who was Snape’s favorite student, kept flicking puffer-fish eyes at Ron and Harry, who knew that if they retaliated they would get detention faster than you could say “Unfair.”

魔药课是在一个大地下教室里上的。星期四下午的课开始的时候就像往常一样。木桌之间竖着二十个坩埚，桌上放着铜天平和一罐一罐的配料。斯内普在一片烟雾缭绕中来回巡视，粗暴地对格兰芬多学生的工作提出批评，斯莱特林学生在一旁幸灾乐祸地窃笑。德拉科马尔福是斯内普的得意门生，他不停地用他的金鱼眼睛朝罗恩和哈利翻白眼。罗恩和哈利知道，如果他们以眼还眼，就会立刻被关禁闭，连句“冤枉”都来不及喊。哈利的肿胀药水熬得太稀了，他的心思全都用在了更重要的事情上面。他在等赫敏的信号，斯内普停下来嘲笑他的稀汤寡水时，他几乎根本没听。斯内普转过身子，去找碴儿欺负纳威了，赫敏迎住哈利的目光，点了点头。哈利迅速弯腰藏到他的坩埚后面，从口袋里掏出一串弗雷德的费力拔烟火，用魔杖飞快地点了一下。烟火开始嘶嘶作响，迸出火星。哈利知道自己只有几秒钟的时间，便直起身，瞄准目标，把烟火掷了出去。烟火准确地落进了高尔的锅里。

Harry’s Swelling Solution was far too runny, but he had his mind on more important things. He was waiting for Hermione’s signal, and he hardly listened as Snape paused to sneer at his watery potion. When Snape turned and walked off to bully Neville, Hermione caught Harry’s eye and nodded.

高尔的汤药炸开了，劈头盖脸浇向全班同学。大家在飞溅的肿胀药水的袭击下，纷纷尖声大叫。马尔福被浇了一脸，鼻子像气球一样膨胀起来；高尔用手捂着眼睛，跌跌撞撞地乱窜，眼睛肿得有午餐的盘子那样大。斯内普拼命想使大家安静，弄清事情原委。在这一片混乱中，哈利看见赫敏悄悄溜出了教室。

Harry ducked swiftly down behind his cauldron, pulled one of Fred’s Filibuster fireworks out of his pocket, and gave it a quick prod with his wand. The firework began to fizz and sputter. Knowing he had only seconds, Harry straightened up, took aim, and lobbed it into the air; it landed right on target in Goyle’s cauldron.

“安静！安静！”斯内普咆哮道，“被药水溅到的同学，都到我这里来领消肿剂。等我弄清楚是谁干的……”

Goyle’s potion exploded, showering the whole class. People shrieked as splashes of the Swelling Solution hit them. Malfoy got a faceful and his nose began to swell like a balloon; Goyle blundered around, his hands over his eyes, which had expanded to the size of a dinner plate — Snape was trying to restore calm and find out what had happened. Through the confusion, Harry saw Hermione slip quietly into Snape’s office.

哈利忍着笑，看着马尔福急急忙忙冲上前去，他的鼻子肿成了一个小西瓜，脑袋被坠得耷拉着。全班一半的同学都乱糟糟地挤向斯内普的桌子，有的人胳膊肿得像棒槌，举都举不动，有的人嘴巴肿得老高老大，根本没法说话。这时，哈利看见赫敏又溜回了地下教室里，她的衣服前面鼓起了一块。当每个人都喝了解药，各种各样的肿胀都消退之后，斯内普快步走到高尔的坩埚前，用勺子舀出扭成麻花的黑色的烟火灰烬，教室里突然鸦雀无声。

“Silence! SILENCE!” Snape roared. “Anyone who has been splashed, come here for a Deflating Draught — when I find out who did this —”

“我一旦查清这是谁扔的，”斯内普压低声音说道，“我就一定要开除那个人。”

Harry tried not to laugh as he watched Malfoy hurry forward, his head drooping with the weight of a nose like a small melon. As half the class lumbered up to Snape’s desk, some weighted down with arms like clubs, others unable to talk through gigantic puffedup lips, Harry saw Hermione slide back into the dungeon, the front of her robes bulging.

哈利拼命使自己脸上现出一副困惑的表情。斯内普正盯着他呢，谢天谢地，幸亏十分钟后，下课铃响了。

When everyone had taken a swig of antidote and the various swellings had subsided, Snape swept over to Goyle’s cauldron and scooped out the twisted black remains of the firework. There was a sudden hush.

“他知道是我，”三个人急急忙忙返回哭泣的桃金娘的盥洗室，“我看得出来。”

“If I ever find out who threw this,” Snape whispered, “I shall make sure that person is expelled.”

赫敏把新的配料扔进坩埚，兴奋地搅拌起来。“两个星期之内就能熬好。”她高兴地说。

Harry arranged his face into what he hoped was a puzzled expression. Snape was looking right at him, and the bell that rang ten minutes later could not have been more welcome.

“斯内普没法证明是你干的，”罗恩安慰哈利说，“他能怎么样呢？”

“He knew it was me,” Harry told Ron and Hermione as they hurried back to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. “I could tell.”

“你了解斯内普，他不会善罢甘休的。”哈利说，这时锅里的汤药咕嘟咕嘟地冒着气泡。

Hermione threw the new ingredients into the cauldron and began to stir feverishly.

一星期后，哈利、罗恩和赫敏正穿过门厅，突然看见一小群人聚集在布告栏周围，读着一张刚刚被钉上去的羊皮纸上的文字。西莫斐尼甘和迪安托马斯一副很兴奋的样子，招呼他们过去。

“It’ll be ready in two weeks,” she said happily.

“他们要开办决斗俱乐部！”西莫说，“今天晚上第一次聚会。我不反对学一些决斗的课程，有朝一日可能会派上用场……”

“Snape can’t prove it was you,” said Ron reassuringly to Harry. “What can he do?”

“什么，你以为斯莱特林的怪物会决斗吗？”罗恩说，但他也很感兴趣地读着那则告示。“总会有用的。”他对哈利和赫敏说，这时他们正朝着礼堂走去。“我们去吗？”

“Knowing Snape, something foul,” said Harry as the potion frothed and bubbled. A week later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were walking across the entrance hall when they saw a small knot of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of parchment that had just been pinned up. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas beckoned them over, looking excited.

哈利和赫敏都赞成去，于是，晚上八点，他们又匆匆回到礼堂。长长的饭桌消失了，沿着一面墙出现了一个镀金的舞台，由上空飘浮的几百支蜡烛照耀着。天花板又一次变得像天鹅绒一般漆黑，全校的同学几乎都来了，挤挤挨挨的，每个人都拿着自己的魔杖，满脸兴奋。

“They’re starting a Dueling Club!” said Seamus. “First meeting tonight! I wouldn’t mind dueling lessons; they might come in handy one of these days. . . .”

“不知道由谁来教我们，”他们侧着身子挤进叽叽喳喳的人群，赫敏说道，“有人告诉我，弗立维年轻的时候曾是决斗冠军，也许就是他来教我们吧。”

“What, you reckon Slytherin’s monster can duel?” said Ron, but he, too, read the sign with interest.

“只要不是——”哈利的话没说完，转成了一句呻吟，只见吉德罗洛哈特走上舞台，穿着紫红色的长袍，光彩照人，他身边的人不是别人，正是斯内普，还穿着他平常那身黑衣服。洛哈特挥手叫大家安静，然后大声喊道：“围过来，围过来！每个人都能看见我吗？都能听见我说话吗？太好了！

“Could be useful,” he said to Harry and Hermione as they went into dinner. “Shall we go?”

“是这样的，邓布利多教授允许我开办这家小小的决斗俱乐部，充分训练大家，以防你们有一天需要自卫，采取我曾无数次使用的方式保护自己——欲知这方面的详情，请看我出版的作品。

Harry and Hermione were all for it, so at eight o’clock that evening they hurried back to the Great Hall. The long dining tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited.

“我来介绍一下我的助手斯内普教授，”洛哈特说着，咧开大嘴笑了一下，“他对我说，他本人对决斗也略知一二，他还慷慨大度地答应，在上课前协助我做一个小小的示范。我说，我可不愿意让你们这些小家伙担心——等我跟他示范完了，我还会把你们的魔药老师完好无损地还给你们，不用害怕！”

“I wonder who’ll be teaching us?” said Hermione as they edged into the chattering crowd. “Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young — maybe it’ll be him.”

“如果他们拼个两败俱伤，岂不是太好了？”罗恩在哈利耳边小声嘀咕。

“As long as it’s not —” Harry began, but he ended on a groan: Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum and accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black.

斯内普的上嘴唇卷了起来。哈利不明白洛哈特为什么还笑眯眯的；如果斯内普用那样的眼神看着他，他早就撒开双腿，拼命朝相反方向跑去了。洛哈特和斯内普转身面向对方，鞠了个躬。至少洛哈特是鞠躬了，两只手翻动出很多花样，而斯内普只是很不耐烦地抖了一下脑袋。然后，他们把各自的魔杖像箭一样举在胸前。

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called, “Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!

“正如你们所看到的，我们用一般的决斗姿势握住魔杖，”洛哈特对寂静的人群说道，“数到三，我们就施第一道魔法。当然啦，我们谁都不会取对方的性命。”

“Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions — for full details, see my published works.

“我可不敢打赌。”哈利看着斯内普露出了牙齿，低声说。

“Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape,” said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. “He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don’t want any of you youngsters to worry — you’ll still have your Potions master when I’m through with him, never fear!”

“一——二——三——”两人同时把魔杖猛地举过肩膀。

“Wouldn’t it be good if they finished each other off?” Ron muttered in Harry’s ear.

斯内普喊道：“除你武器！”忽然闪过一道耀眼的红光，洛哈特被击得站立不稳。他猛地朝后飞出舞台，撞在墙上，然后滑落下来，蜷缩在地板上。

Snape’s upper lip was curling. Harry wondered why Lockhart was still smiling; if Snape had been looking at him like that he’d have been running as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

马尔福和另外几个斯莱特林的学生鼓掌喝彩。赫敏踮着脚跳上跳下。“你们认为他没事吗？”她用手指捂住嘴巴，尖叫着问道。

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

“管他呢！”哈利和罗恩同时说道。

“As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position,” Lockhart told the silent crowd. “On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course.”

洛哈特踉踉跄跄地站了起来，他的帽子掉了，波浪形的鬈发根根竖立。

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” Harry murmured, watching Snape baring his teeth.

“好，大家都看到了吧！”他歪歪倒倒地重新登上舞台，说道，“这是一种缴械魔咒——正如你们看到的，我失去了我的魔杖——啊，谢谢你，布朗小姐。是的，斯内普教授，向他们展示这一招，这个主意真妙，不过，我这么说你可别介意，刚才你要来这么一手的意图很明显。如果我想要阻止你，是不用吹灰之力的。我倒认为，为了增长他们的见识，不妨让他们看看……”

“One — two — three —”

斯内普一脸杀气。洛哈特大概也注意到了，只听他说：“示范到此结束！现在我到你们中间来，把你们都分成两个人一组。斯内普教授，如果你愿意帮助我……”

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried: “Expelliarmus!” There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

他们在人群中穿行，给大家配成对子。洛哈特让纳威和贾斯廷·芬列里组成一对，可是斯内普先走到哈利和罗恩面前。“梦之队应该打散了，我认为，”他讥笑着说，“韦斯莱，你可以和斐尼甘组成一对。波特——”

Malfoy and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Hermione was dancing on tiptoes. “Do you think he’s all right?” she squealed through her fingers.

哈利下意识地朝赫敏靠拢。

“Who cares?” said Harry and Ron together.

“我并不这样认为。”斯内普说道，脸上冷冰冰地笑着，“马尔福，上这儿来。让我们看看你能把大名鼎鼎的波特造就成一个什么样的人。至于你，格兰杰小姐——你可以和米里森小姐配对。”

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

马尔福趾高气扬地走了过来，脸上得意地笑着。他身后跟着一个斯莱特林女生，她的模样使哈利想起了他在《与母夜叉一起度假》里看到过的一幅画。她长得又高又壮，敦敦实实，肥厚的下巴气势汹汹地向前伸着。赫敏勉强地朝她笑了笑，她理都不理。

“Well, there you have it!” he said, tottering back onto the platform. “That was a Disarming Charm — as you see, I’ve lost my wand — ah, thank you, Miss Brown — yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don’t mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy — however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see . . .”

“面对你们的搭档！”洛哈特回到舞台上，喊道，“鞠躬！”

Snape was looking murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed, because he said, “Enough demonstrating! I’m going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you’d like to help me —”

哈利和马尔福几乎没有点头，他们目不转睛地盯着对方。

They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Snape reached Harry and Ron first.

“举起魔杖，做好准备！”洛哈特大声说道，“等我数到三，就施魔法，解除对方的武器——只是解除武器——我们不希望出事故。一——二——三——”

“Time to split up the dream team, I think,” he sneered. “Weasley, you can partner Finnigan. Potter —”

哈利猛地把魔杖举过肩头，但是马尔福在刚数到“二”时就动手了。他的魔杖狠狠地击中了哈利，哈利只觉得自己仿佛被一只炖锅打中了脑袋。他踉跄了一下，还好，似乎一切还都在运转，于是哈利抓紧时机，用魔杖直指马尔福，大叫一声：“咧嘴呼啦啦！”一道银光击中了马尔福的肚子，他弯下腰，呼哧呼哧地喘气。

Harry moved automatically toward Hermione.

“我说了，只是解除武器！”洛哈特在上面惊恐地对着激战的人群喊道。

“I don’t think so,” said Snape, smiling coldly. “Mr. Malfoy, come over here. Let’s see what you make of the famous Potter. And you, Miss Granger — you can partner Miss Bulstrode.”

马尔福跪倒在地；哈利用胳肢魔法击中了他，他笑得浑身瘫软，简直没法动弹。哈利犹豫着，隐约觉得不应该趁马尔福倒在地上时对他施魔法，这是违反比赛道德的，然而他错了。只见马尔福一边拼命地喘息着，一边把魔杖对准哈利的膝盖，连笑带喘地说：“塔朗泰拉舞！”立刻，哈利的双腿便不受控制地抽动起来，像是在跳一种快步舞。

Malfoy strutted over, smirking. Behind him walked a Slytherin girl who reminded Harry of a picture he’d seen in Holidays with Hags. She was large and square and her heavy jaw jutted aggressively. Hermione gave her a weak smile that she did not return.

“停下！停下！”洛哈特尖叫道。

“Face your partners!” called Lockhart, back on the platform. “And bow!”

可是斯内普把大权揽了过去。“咒立停！”他喊道。

Harry and Malfoy barely inclined their heads, not taking their eyes off each other.

哈利的双脚停止了跳舞，马尔福也不再狂笑，他们俩总算都抬起头来。

“Wands at the ready!” shouted Lockhart. “When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents — only to disarm them — we don’t want any accidents — one . . . two . . . three —”

一股绿莹莹的烟雾在整个会场上空弥漫着。纳威和贾斯廷双双躺在地板上，气喘吁吁；罗恩抓住脸色死灰的西莫，为他那根破魔杖闯下的大祸连连道歉；而赫敏和米里森还在行动——米里森夹住赫敏的脑袋，赫敏痛苦地轻轻叫唤，她们两个人的魔杖都被遗忘在地板上了。哈利急忙跳上前去，把米里森拉开了。这很不容易，米里森的块头比他大多了。

Harry swung his wand high, but Malfoy had already started on “two”: His spell hit Harry so hard he felt as though he’d been hit over the head with a saucepan. He stumbled, but everything still seemed to be working, and wasting no more time, Harry pointed his wand straight at Malfoy and shouted, “Rictusempra!”

“天哪，天哪，”洛哈特说着，在人群里跳来跳去，看着人们决斗的后果，“你站起来，厄尼……留神，福西特小姐……使劲捏住，血马上就能止住，布特……”

A jet of silver light hit Malfoy in the stomach and he doubled up, wheezing.

“我认为，我最好教你们怎样阻止不友好的魔法。”洛哈特神色慌张地站在礼堂中央，说道。他朝斯内普瞥了一眼，只见斯内普的黑眼睛里闪着寒光，便立刻将目光移开了。“请自愿上来一对——隆巴顿和芬列里，你们怎么样？”

“I said disarm only!” Lockhart shouted in alarm over the heads of the battling crowd, as Malfoy sank to his knees; Harry had hit him with a Tickling Charm, and he could barely move for laughing. Harry hung back, with a vague feeling it would be unsporting to bewitch Malfoy while he was on the floor, but this was a mistake; gasping for breath, Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry’s knees, choked, “Tarantallegra!” and the next second Harry’s legs began to jerk around out of his control in a kind of quickstep.

“这主意可不好，洛哈特教授。”斯内普说，同时像一只恶毒的大蝙蝠一样在舞台上轻快地滑过。“隆巴顿即使用最简单的咒语也能造成破坏。我们将把芬列里的残骸装在一只火柴盒里，送进医院病房。”纳威粉红色的圆脸红得更厉害了。“马尔福和波特怎么样？”斯内普狞笑着说。

“Stop! Stop!” screamed Lockhart, but Snape took charge.

“太妙了！”洛哈特说，他示意哈利和马尔福走到礼堂中央，人们往后退着给他们腾出空间。

“Finite Incantatem!” he shouted; Harry’s feet stopped dancing, Malfoy stopped laughing, and they were able to look up.

“好了，哈利，”洛哈特说道，“当德拉科用他的魔杖指着你时，你就这么做。”

A haze of greenish smoke was hovering over the scene. Both Neville and Justin were lying on the floor, panting; Ron was holding up an ashen-faced Seamus, apologizing for whatever his broken wand had done; but Hermione and Millicent Bulstrode were still moving; Millicent had Hermione in a headlock and Hermione was whimpering in pain; both their wands lay forgotten on the floor. Harry leapt forward and pulled Millicent off. It was difficult: She was a lot bigger than he was.

他举起自己的魔杖，左右挥舞一番，想变幻出复杂的花样，却不小心把它掉在了地上。斯内普在一旁嗤嗤冷笑，洛哈特赶忙捡起魔杖，说：“唉哟——我的魔杖有点儿兴奋过度了。”

“Dear, dear,” said Lockhart, skittering through the crowd, looking at the aftermath of the duels. “Up you go, Macmillan. . . . Careful there, Miss Fawcett. . . . Pinch it hard, it’ll stop bleeding in a second, Boot —

斯内普走近马尔福，低头对他耳语了几句。马尔福也嗤嗤冷笑起来。哈利紧张地抬头望着洛哈特，说道：“教授，你能再向我演示一下那种阻止咒语的方法吗？”

“I think I’d better teach you how to block unfriendly spells,” said Lockhart, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. He glanced at Snape, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away. “Let’s have a volunteer pair — Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you —”

“害怕了？”马尔福压低声音说，不让洛哈特听见。

“A bad idea, Professor Lockhart,” said Snape, gliding over like a large and malevolent bat. “Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We’ll be sending what’s left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox.” Neville’s round, pink face went pinker. “How about Malfoy and Potter?” said Snape with a twisted smile.

“你做梦吧。”哈利从嘴角进出这几个字。

“Excellent idea!” said Lockhart, gesturing Harry and Malfoy into the middle of the hall as the crowd backed away to give them room.

洛哈特快活地拍打着哈利的肩膀。“就照我刚才那样去做，哈利！”

“Now, Harry,” said Lockhart. “When Draco points his wand at you, you do this.”

“什么，把魔杖掉在地上？”可是洛哈特根本不听他的。

He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action, and dropped it. Snape smirked as Lockhart quickly picked it up, saying, “Whoops — my wand is a little overexcited —”

“三……二……一……开始！”他喊道。

Snape moved closer to Malfoy, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Malfoy smirked, too. Harry looked up nervously at Lockhart and said, “Professor, could you show me that blocking thing again?”

马尔福迅速举起魔杖，大吼一声：“乌龙出洞！”他魔杖的头爆炸了。哈利惊恐地注视着，只见一条长长的黑蛇突然从里面蹿出来，重重地落在他俩中间的地板上，然后昂起蛇头，准备进攻。人群尖叫着，迅速向后闪退，让出空地。

“Scared?” muttered Malfoy, so that Lockhart couldn’t hear him.

“不要动，波特。”斯内普懒洋洋地说，显然，他看到哈利一动不动地站在那里，和发怒的蛇大眼瞪小眼，感到心里很受用。“我来把他弄走……”

“You wish,” said Harry out of the corner of his mouth.

“让我来！”洛哈特喊道。他举起魔杖，威胁地向蛇挥舞，突然，只听嘭的一声巨响，蛇不仅没有消失，反而蹿起一丈多高，又重重地落回到地板上。它狂怒不已，嘶嘶地吐着信子径直朝贾斯廷芬列里游来，接着，它昂起脑袋，露出毒牙，摆出进攻的架势。

Lockhart cuffed Harry merrily on the shoulder. “Just do what I did, Harry!”

哈利不明白自己为什么会这样做，他甚至没有意识到自己决定这样做。他只知道他的双腿自动朝前挪动，就像踩着小脚轮似的，然后他傻乎乎地冲蛇喊道：“放开他！”奇迹发生了——简直不可思议——那条蛇瘫倒在地板上，柔顺得像一堆又粗又黑的浇水软管，眼睛盯在哈利身上。哈利觉得自己的恐惧一点儿点儿地消失了。他知道蛇不会再袭击任何人了，至于是怎么知道的，他说不上来。

“What, drop my wand?”

他抬头看着贾斯廷，咧开嘴笑着。他以为会看到贾斯廷脸上露出放松、困惑或感激的表情——而决不可能是愤怒和惊恐的。

But Lockhart wasn’t listening.

“你以为你在玩什么把戏？”他喊道，不等哈利来得及说话，贾斯廷就转身冲出了礼堂。

“Three — two — one — go!” he shouted.

斯内普走上前去，挥了挥他的魔杖，蛇化成一缕黑烟，消失了。斯内普也用一种令他感到意外的目光看着他：那是一种又狡猾、又老谋深算的目光，哈利很不喜欢。他还隐隐约约地意识到四周的人群都在不祥地窃窃私语。就在这时，他觉得有人拽了拽他的衣服后襟。

Malfoy raised his wand quickly and bellowed, “Serpensortia!”

“走吧，”罗恩在他耳边说，快走——走吧……”

The end of his wand exploded. Harry watched, aghast, as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them, and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor.

罗恩领着他走出礼堂，赫敏脚步匆匆地走在他们身边。当他们出门时，人们纷纷向两边退让，好像生怕沾惹上什么似的。哈利完全不明白到底是怎么回事，罗恩和赫敏也不作任何解释，只是一路拽着他走，一直来到空无一人的格兰芬多公共休息室。然后，罗恩把哈利推进一张扶手椅，说道：“你是个蛇佬腔。为什么不告诉我们？”

“Don’t move, Potter,” said Snape lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of Harry standing motionless, eye to eye with the angry snake. “I’ll get rid of it. . . .”

“我是个什么？”哈利问。

“Allow me!” shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang; the snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, hissing furiously, it slithered straight toward Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

“蛇佬腔！”罗恩说，“你会跟蛇说话！”

Harry wasn’t sure what made him do it. He wasn’t even aware of deciding to do it. All he knew was that his legs were carrying him forward as though he was on casters and that he had shouted stupidly at the snake, “Leave him alone!” And miraculously — inexplicably — the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a thick, black garden hose, its eyes now on Harry. Harry felt the fear drain out of him. He knew the snake wouldn’t attack anyone now, though how he knew it, he couldn’t have explained.

“我知道了，”哈利说，“我的意思是，这是我第二次这么做了。有一次在动物园里，我无意中把一条大蟒放了出来，大蟒向我表哥达力扑去——这事情说来话长，当时那条大蟒告诉我，它从未去过巴西，我就不知不觉把它放了出来，我不是有意的。那时候我还不知道自已是个巫师……”

He looked up at Justin, grinning, expecting to see Justin looking relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful — but certainly not angry and scared.

“一条大蟒告诉你，它从未去过巴西？”罗恩用徽弱的声音问道。

“What do you think you’re playing at?” he shouted, and before Harry could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the hall.

“怎么啦？”啥利说，“我敢打赌，这里的许多人都能做到这一点。”

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Snape, too, was looking at Harry in an unexpected way: It was a shrewd and calculating look, and Harry didn’t like it. He was also dimly aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls. Then he felt a tugging on the back of his robes.

“哦，他们可做不到，”罗恩说，“这不是一种稀松平常的本领。哈利，这很糟糕。”

“Come on,” said Ron’s voice in his ear. “Move — come on —”

“什么很糟糕？”哈利问，开始觉得心头生起怒火。“所有的人都出了什么毛病？听着，如果不是我叫那条蛇不要袭击贾斯廷——”

Ron steered him out of the hall, Hermione hurrying alongside them. As they went through the doors, the people on either side drew away as though they were frightened of catching something. Harry didn’t have a clue what was going on, and neither Ron nor Hermione explained anything until they had dragged him all the way up to the empty Gryffindor common room. Then Ron pushed Harry into an armchair and said, “You’re a Parselmouth. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“哦，这就是你对他说的话？”

“I’m a what?” said Harry.

“你这是什么意思？你当时也在场，你听见我说话的。”

“A Parselmouth!” said Ron. “You can talk to snakes!”

“我听见你用蛇佬腔说话，”罗恩说道，“就是蛇的语言。你说什么都有可能。怪不得贾斯廷惊恐万状呢，听你说话的声音，就好像你在怂恿那条蛇似的。那是令人毛骨悚然的，你知道。”

“I know,” said Harry. “I mean, that’s only the second time I’ve ever done it. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once — long story — but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to — that was before I knew I was a wizard —”

哈利目瞪口呆地望着他。

“A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?” Ron repeated faintly.

“我说的是另一种语言？可是——我没有意识到——我怎么可能说另一种语言，自己却不知道呢？”

“So?” said Harry. “I bet loads of people here can do it.”

罗恩摇了摇头。他和赫敏都显得心情沉重，就好像有人死了似的。哈利不明白有什么事情这么可怕。

“Oh, no they can’t,” said Ron. “It’s not a very common gift. Harry, this is bad.”

“你愿不愿告诉我，阻止一条丑陋的大蛇把贾斯廷的脑袋咬掉，这有什么不对呢？”他说，“只要贾斯廷没有加入无头鬼的行列，我是怎么做的又有什么关系呢？”

“What’s bad?” said Harry, starting to feel quite angry. “What’s wrong with everyone? Listen, if I hadn’t told that snake not to attack Justin —”

“关系重大，”赫敏终于压低声音说话了，“因为能跟蛇说话是萨拉查斯莱特林的著名本领。所以，斯莱特林学派的象征才是一条蛇啊。”

“Oh, that’s what you said to it?”

哈利张大了嘴巴。

“What d’you mean? You were there — you heard me —”

“正是这样，”罗恩说，“现在，全校的人都会认为你是他的曾曾曾曾孙什么的……”

“I heard you speaking Parseltongue,” said Ron. “Snake language. You could have been saying anything — no wonder Justin panicked, you sounded like you were egging the snake on or something — it was creepy, you know —”

“但我不是啊。”哈利说。他产生了一种他无法解释得清的恐慌。

Harry gaped at him.

“你会发现这一点很难证明，”赫敏说，“他生活在大约一千多年以前，就我们了解的所有情况看，你很可能是他的传人。”

“I spoke a different language? But — I didn’t realize — how can I speak a language without knowing I can speak it?”

那天夜里，哈利好几个小时睡不着觉。他透过床四周帷布的缝隙，注视着片片雪花飘过城堡的窗户，感到心头一片茫然。他可能是萨拉查·斯莱特林的后裔吗？毕竟，他对父亲的家庭一无所知。德思礼夫妇总是禁止他询问有关他那些懂魔法的亲戚的情况。哈利悄悄地试着用蛇佬腔说话，但怎么也说不出来。似乎只有与一条蛇面对面的时候，他才能做到这点。

Ron shook his head. Both he and Hermione were looking as though someone had died. Harry couldn’t see what was so terrible.

“可是我属于格兰芬多啊，”哈利心想，“如果我有斯莱特林血统，那顶分院帽就不会把我放在这儿了……”

“D’you want to tell me what’s wrong with stopping a massive snake biting off Justin’s head?” he said. “What does it matter how I did it as long as Justin doesn’t have to join the Headless Hunt?”

“哈哈，”他脑海里一个难听的小声音说，“可是分院帽本来是想把你放在斯莱持林的，你难道不记得了？”

“It matters,” said Hermione, speaking at last in a hushed voice, “because being able to talk to snakes was what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That’s why the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent.”

哈利翻了个身。第二天他会在草药课上见到贾斯廷，到时候他要向贾斯廷说明他是在把蛇喝退，而不是在怂恿它进攻，其实（他用拳头敲打着枕头，愤愤地想），这连傻瓜也应该看得出来啊。

Harry’s mouth fell open.

然而，第二天早晨，从夜里就开始下的雪变成了猛烈的暴风雪。这样，本学期的最后一节草药课便被取消了。斯普劳特教授要给曼德拉草穿袜子、戴围巾，这是一项需要慎重对待的工作，她不放心交给别人去办。现在，让曼德拉草快快长大，救活洛丽丝夫人和科林克里维的性命，是至关重要的。

“Exactly,” said Ron. “And now the whole school’s going to think you’re his great-great-great-great-grandson or something —”

哈利坐在格兰芬多公共休息室的炉火旁，心中十分烦恼，而罗恩和赫敏趁着不上课的工夫，在玩一种魔法棋的游戏。

“But I’m not,” said Harry, with a panic he couldn’t quite explain.

“看在老天的份上，哈利。”赫敏看到罗恩的一个主教把她的骑士从马上摔下来，拖出了棋盘，便有些气急败坏，“如果你把这事看得这样重要，就去找找贾斯廷。”

“You’ll find that hard to prove,” said Hermione. “He lived about a thousand years ago; for all we know, you could be.”

于是，哈利站起身，从肖像洞口出去，心想，贾斯廷会在哪儿呢？由于厚密的、灰暗的雪花在天空飘舞，封住了每扇窗户，城堡比平常白天要昏暗许多。哈利浑身颤抖着走过正在上课的教室，断断续续地听到了一些里面的情况。麦格教授正朝一个人大喊大叫，从声音听，那人把他的朋友变成了一只獾。哈利克制住想去看一眼的冲动，继续往前走。他想，贾斯廷也许利用这会儿不上课的时间在补习功课呢，于是决定先到图书馆找找看。

Harry lay awake for hours that night. Through a gap in the curtains around his four-poster he watched snow starting to drift past the tower window and wondered . . .

真的，图书馆后排坐着一群赫奇帕奇的学生，他们本来也应该上草药课的，但是，看样子他们并不是在温习功课。哈利站在一长溜一长溜高高的书架之间，可以看到他们的脑袋凑在一起，似乎正在交谈着一个有趣的话题。他看不出贾斯廷是不是在他们中间。他正要朝他们走去，突然，他们说的几句话飘进了他的耳朵。他停住脚步，躲在隐形书区里，侧耳倾听。

Could he be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin? He didn’t know anything about his father’s family, after all. The Dursleys had always forbidden questions about his wizarding relatives.

“所以，不管怎么说，”一个人高马大的男孩子说，“我叫贾斯廷躲在我们的宿舍里。我的意思是，如果波特认准了要把他干掉，他最好暂时隐蔽起来。当然啦，贾斯廷自从不小心对波特说漏了嘴，说他是个天生的麻瓜之后，就一直预料到会发生这样的事。贾斯廷居然还对波特说他曾经上过伊顿公学。对于斯莱特林的后裔，这种话可是不能随便乱说的，是吧？”

Quietly, Harry tried to say something in Parseltongue. The words wouldn’t come. It seemed he had to be face-to-face with a snake to do it.

“这么说，厄尼，你能肯定就是波特？”一个梳着金色马尾辫的姑娘急切地问。

But I’m in Gryffindor, Harry thought. The Sorting Hat wouldn’t have put me in here if I had Slytherin blood. . . .

“汉娜，”大个子男孩严肃地说，“他是蛇佬腔。大家都知道，这是黑巫师的标志。你难道听说过哪个正派巫师能跟蛇说话吗？他们管斯莱特林本人就叫蛇语通。”

Ah, said a nasty little voice in his brain, but the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in Slytherin, don’t you remember?

听了这话，大家七嘴八舌地小声议论开了。厄尼接着往下说：“还记得墙上写的话吗？‘与继承人为敌者，警惕。’波特与费尔奇吵了一架，很快我们就得知，费尔奇的猫遇难了。那个一年级新生克里维，在魁地奇比赛中惹恼了波特，趁他躺在烂泥里的时候给他照相。我们接着便了解到，克里维也遇难了。”

Harry turned over. He’d see Justin the next day in Herbology and he’d explain that he’d been calling the snake off, not egging it on, which (he thought angrily, pummeling his pillow) any fool should have realized. By next morning, however, the snow that had begun in the night had turned into a blizzard so thick that the last Herbology lesson of the term was canceled: Professor Sprout wanted to fit socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation she would entrust to no one else, now that it was so important for the Mandrakes to grow quickly and revive Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey.

“不过，他看上去总是那么友好。”汉娜犹豫不决地说，“还有，对了，当年是他使神秘人消失的。他不可能那么坏，对吧？”

Harry fretted about this next to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, while Ron and Hermione used their time off to play a game of wizard chess.

厄尼神秘地压低声音，赫奇帕奇们凑得更紧了，哈利倒着身子挪近一些，以便能听清厄尼的话。

“For heaven’s sake, Harry,” said Hermione, exasperated, as one of Ron’s bishops wrestled her knight off his horse and dragged him off the board. “Go and find Justin if it’s so important to you.”

“谁也不知道，当年他遭到神秘人袭击时，是怎么死里逃生的。我的意思是——那件事发生的时候，他还是个婴儿。他应该被炸成碎片才是啊。只有真正威力无穷的黑巫师才能逃脱那样的咒语。”他的声音压得更低了，简直跟耳语差不多，他说：“大概正是因为这点，神秘人才想首先把他弄死，他不希望又出现一个‘魔头’跟他较量。我不知道波特还有什么别的法术瞒着大家。”

So Harry got up and left through the portrait hole, wondering where Justin might be.

哈利听不下去了。他清了清嗓子，从书架后面走了出来。他如果不是感到这么气愤，就会发现眼前的景象十分滑稽：一看见他，每个赫奇帕奇都吓得呆若木鸡，厄尼的脸上顿时血色全无。

The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime because of the thick, swirling gray snow at every window. Shivering, Harry walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Professor McGonagall was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned his friend into a badger. Resisting the urge to take a look, Harry walked on by, thinking that Justin might be using his free time to catch up on some work, and deciding to check the library first.

“你们好，”哈利说，“我在找贾斯廷·芬列里。”

A group of the Hufflepuffs who should have been in Herbology were indeed sitting at the back of the library, but they didn’t seem to be working. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Harry could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. He couldn’t see whether Justin was among them. He was walking toward them when something of what they were saying met his ears, and he paused to listen, hidden in the Invisibility section.

赫奇帕奇学生们最担心的事情显然得到了证实。他们都惊恐地看着厄尼。

“So anyway,” a stout boy was saying, “I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter’s marked him down as his next victim, it’s best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin’s been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter he was Muggle-born. Justin actually told him he’d been down for Eton. That’s not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin’s heir on the loose, is it?”

“你找他做什么？”厄尼用颤抖的声音问道。

“You definitely think it is Potter, then, Ernie?” said a girl with blonde pigtails anxiously.

“我想告诉他，在决斗俱乐部里，那条蛇究竟是怎么回事。”哈利说。

“Hannah,” said the stout boy solemnly, “he’s a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that’s the mark of a Dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue.”

厄尼咬了咬惨白的嘴唇，然后深深地吸了口气，说：“当时我们都在场。我们看见了是怎么回事。”

There was some heavy murmuring at this, and Ernie went on, “Remember what was written on the wall? Enemies of the Heir, Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch’s cat’s attacked. That first year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know — Creevey’s been attacked.”

“那么你们有没有注意到，我对蛇说话之后，他它就退回去了？”哈利说。

“He always seems so nice, though,” said Hannah uncertainly, “and, well, he’s the one who made You-Know-Who disappear. He can’t be all bad, can he?”

“我只看见，”厄尼固执地说，尽管他全身不停地发抖，“你用蛇佬腔说话，催着蛇向贾斯廷进攻。”

Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously, the Hufflepuffs bent closer, and Harry edged nearer so that he could catch Ernie’s words.

“我没有催蛇向他进攻！”哈利气得声音发抖，“蛇连碰都没有碰到他！”

“No one knows how he survived that attack by You-Know-Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark wizard could have survived a curse like that.” He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper, and said, “That’s probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn’t want another Dark Lord competing with him. I wonder what other powers Potter’s been hiding?”

“就差一点儿点儿。”厄尼说，“假如你想打我的主意，”他急匆匆地说，“我不妨告诉你，你可以追溯到我家九代的巫师，我的血统和任何人一样纯正，所以——”

Harry couldn’t take anymore. Clearing his throat loudly, he stepped out from behind the bookshelves. If he hadn’t been feeling so angry, he would have found the sight that greeted him funny: Every one of the Hufflepuffs looked as though they had been Petrified by the sight of him, and the color was draining out of Ernie’s face.

“我才不关心你有什么样的血统呢！”哈利狂怒地说，“我为什么要去袭击麻瓜？”

“Hello,” said Harry. “I’m looking for Justin Finch-Fletchley.”

“我听说你恨那些和你住在一起的麻瓜。”厄尼迅速说道。

The Hufflepuffs’ worst fears had clearly been confirmed. They all looked fearfully at Ernie.

“和德思礼一家住在一起，不恨他们是不可能的。”哈利说，“我倒希望你去试试看。”他猛地转身，怒气冲冲地走出图书馆，平斯夫人正在擦一本大咒语书的镀金封面，抬头不满地瞪视着他。哈利跌跌撞撞地冲进走廊，根本没注意往哪里走，他实在是气糊涂了。结果，他一头撞上了一件东西，那东西又高大又壮实，把他顶得向后跌倒在地。“哦，你好，海格。”哈利说着，抬起头来。

“What do you want with him?” said Ernie in a quavering voice.

海格的脸被一顶沾满雪花的羊毛盔式帽遮得严严实实，但除了他，不可能是别人，因为那穿着鼹鼠皮上衣的身躯，几乎把走廊完全填满了。他的一只戴着手套的大手里拎着一只死公鸡。

“I wanted to tell him what really happened with that snake at the Dueling Club,” said Harry.

“好吗？哈利？”他说，一边把盔式帽往上拉了拉，以便说话，“你怎么没有上课？”

Ernie bit his white lips and then, taking a deep breath, said, “We were all there. We saw what happened.”

“取消了。”哈利说着，从地上爬起来，“你到这里来做什么？”

“Then you noticed that after I spoke to it, the snake backed off?” said Harry.

海格举起那只软绵绵的公鸡。“是这学期被弄死的第二只了，”他解释说，“要么是狐狸，要么就是一个吸血的妖怪，我需要校长允许我在鸡棚周围施个咒语。”

“All I saw,” said Ernie stubbornly, though he was trembling as he spoke, “was you speaking Parseltongue and chasing the snake toward Justin.”

他用沽着雪花的浓眉下面的眼睛更仔细地看了看哈利。

“I didn’t chase it at him!” Harry said, his voice shaking with anger. “It didn’t even touch him!”

“你真的没事吗？你看上去很生气，很不开心。”

“It was a very near miss,” said Ernie. “And in case you’re getting ideas,” he added hastily, “I might tell you that you can trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks and my blood’s as pure as anyone’s, so —”

哈利没有勇气把厄尼和其他赫奇帕奇的学生刚才议论他的话再说一遍。

“I don’t care what sort of blood you’ve got!” said Harry fiercely. “Why would I want to attack Muggle-borns?”

“没什么。”他说道，“我得走了，海格，下一节是变形课，我得去拿我的书。”

“I’ve heard you hate those Muggles you live with,” said Ernie swiftly.

他走开了，脑海里还想着厄尼议论他的话。

“It’s not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them,” said Harry. “I’d like to see you try it.”

“贾斯廷自从不小心对波特说漏了嘴，说他是个天生的麻瓜之后，就一直预料到会发生这样的事……”

He turned on his heel and stormed out of the library, earning himself a reproving glare from Madam Pince, who was polishing the gilded cover of a large spellbook.

哈利重重地踏上楼梯，转向另一道走廊。这里光线特别昏暗，一块窗户玻璃松动了，一股凛冽的狂风吹进来，把火炬扑灭了。他走到一半，突然被躺在地板上的什么东西绊倒了。

Harry blundered up the corridor, barely noticing where he was going, he was in such a fury. The result was that he walked into something very large and solid, which knocked him backward onto the floor.

他转过脸，眯起眼睛，看看是什么绊倒了他，顿时，他仿佛觉得他的胃液化成了水。

“Oh, hello, Hagrid,” Harry said, looking up.

贾斯廷芬列里躺在地板上，浑身冰冷、僵硬，一种惊恐万状的神情凝固在他脸上，他的眼睛呆滞地盯着天花板。这还不算完，他旁边还有一个人物，哈利从未见过这样离奇怪异的景象。

Hagrid’s face was entirely hidden by a woolly, snow-covered balaclava, but it couldn’t possibly be anyone else, as he filled most of the corridor in his moleskin overcoat. A dead rooster was hanging from one of his massive, gloved hands.

那是差点没头的尼克，他不再是乳白色和透明的了，而变得浑身乌黑，烟雾缭绕，一动不动地平躺着悬浮在离地面六英寸的地方。他的脑袋掉了一半，脸上带着与贾斯廷一模一样的惊恐表情。

“All righ’, Harry?” he said, pulling up the balaclava so he could speak. “Why aren’t yeh in class?”

哈利赶紧站起来，呼吸急促，心脏狂跳，像一面小鼓在胸腔里敲击。他迷乱地在空荡荡的走廊里四下张望，只见一行蜘蛛急匆匆地拼命逃走了。他听不见别的声音，只有走廊另一头教室里隐约传来老师的说话声。

“Canceled,” said Harry, getting up. “What’re you doing in here?”

他可以逃走，没有人知道自己曾经来过这里。但他不可能让他们躺在这儿，自己一走了之，他必须找人帮忙。会有人相信他与这件事无关吗？他站在那里，惊慌失措。就在这时，他旁边的一扇门砰地被撞开，专爱恶作剧的皮皮鬼一头冲了出来。

Hagrid held up the limp rooster.

“啊，原来是小不点儿波特！”皮皮鬼咯咯地笑着，连蹦带跳地从哈利身边走过，把哈利的眼镜撞歪了。“波特在做什么？波特为什么鬼鬼祟祟——”

“Second one killed this term,” he explained. “It’s either foxes or a Blood-Suckin’ Bugbear, an’ I need the headmaster’s permission ter put a charm around the hen coop.”

皮皮鬼一个空心跟斗翻了一半，突然停住不动了。他头朝下看到了贾斯廷和差点没头的尼克。他赶紧麻利地站直身子，深深吸了口气，没等哈利来得及拦住他，他就直着嗓子尖叫起来：“动手啦！动手啦！又动手啦！是人是鬼都不能幸免啊！快逃命吧！动——手啦！”

He peered more closely at Harry from under his thick, snowflecked eyebrows.

咣啷——咣啷——咣啷——

“Yeh sure yeh’re all righ’? Yeh look all hot an’ bothered —”

走廊里的门一扇接一扇地被推开，人们蜂拥而出。在那难熬的几分钟里，场面极其混乱，贾斯廷有被人挤扁的危险，不停地有人站到了差点没头的尼克的身体当中。哈利发现自己被挤到了墙边。

Harry couldn’t bring himself to repeat what Ernie and the rest of the Hufflepuffs had been saying about him.

这时，老师们大声喊叫着，维持秩序。麦格教授一路跑来，后面跟着她班上的学生，其中一个的头发还是黑一道白一道的。麦格教授用魔杖敲出一声巨响，大家顿时安静下来，她命令每个人都回到自己的教室。人们刚刚散得差不多了，赫奇帕奇的厄尼就气喘吁吁地赶到了现场。

“It’s nothing,” he said. “I’d better get going, Hagrid, it’s Transfiguration next and I’ve got to pick up my books.”

“当场抓住了！”厄尼脸色煞白，戏剧性地用手指着哈利，大声喊道。

He walked off, his mind still full of what Ernie had said about him.

“够了，厄尼！”麦格教授严厉地说。

“Justin’s been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter he was Muggle-born. . . .”

皮皮鬼在头顶上飘来飘去，俯视着整个场面。这时候咧开嘴巴，露出一脸坏笑，皮皮鬼一向惟恐天下不乱。当老师们弯腰查看贾斯廷和差点没头的尼克时，皮皮鬼突然唱了起来：哦，波特，你这个讨厌鬼，看你做的好事，你把学生弄死了，自己觉得怪有趣——

Harry stamped up the stairs and turned along another corridor, which was particularly dark; the torches had been extinguished by a strong, icy draft that was blowing through a loose windowpane. He was halfway down the passage when he tripped headlong over something lying on the floor.

“别闹了，皮皮鬼！”麦格教授吼道，皮皮鬼冲哈利吐着舌头，急促地后退着逃走了。

He turned to squint at what he’d fallen over and felt as though his stomach had dissolved.

贾斯廷被弗立维教授和天文学系的辛尼斯塔教授抬到医院病房去了，但是，似乎谁也不知道该拿差点没头的尼克怎么办。最后，麦格教授凭空变出一把大扇子，递给厄尼，吩咐他把差点没头的尼克扇上楼梯。厄尼照办了，扇着尼克朝前走，像一艘没有声音的黑色气垫船。走廊里只留下哈利和麦格两人。

Justin Finch-Fletchley was lying on the floor, rigid and cold, a look of shock frozen on his face, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And that wasn’t all. Next to him was another figure, the strangest sight Harry had ever seen.

“跟我来，波特。”她说。

It was Nearly Headless Nick, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of shock identical to Justin’s.

“教授，”哈利赶紧说，“我发誓我没有——”

Harry got to his feet, his breathing fast and shallow, his heart doing a kind of drumroll against his ribs. He looked wildly up and down the deserted corridor and saw a line of spiders scuttling as fast as they could away from the bodies. The only sounds were the muffled voices of teachers from the classes on either side.

“这事儿我可管不了，波特。”麦格教授简短地回答。

He could run, and no one would ever know he had been there. But he couldn’t just leave them lying here. . . . He had to get help. . . . Would anyone believe he hadn’t had anything to do with this?

他们默默地拐了个弯，教授在一个奇丑无比的巨大的石头怪兽面前停住了脚步。

As he stood there, panicking, a door right next to him opened with a bang. Peeves the Poltergeist came shooting out.

“冰镇柠檬汁！”她说。这显然是一句口令，只见怪兽突然活了起来，跳到一旁，它身后的墙壁裂成了两半。哈利尽管为即将到来的命运忧心忡忡，却也忍不住暗暗称奇。墙后面是一道旋转楼梯，正在缓缓地向上移动，就像自动扶梯一样。哈利和麦格教授一踏上去，就听见后面轰隆一声，墙又合上了。他们旋转着越升越高，越升越高，最后，感到有些头晕的哈利看见前面有一道闪闪发亮的栎木门，上面是一个狮身鹰首兽形状的黄铜门环。

“Why, it’s potty wee Potter!” cackled Peeves, knocking Harry’s glasses askew as he bounced past him. “What’s Potter up to? Why’s Potter lurking —”

哈利知道他被带到了哪里。这一定是邓布利多住的地方。

Peeves stopped, halfway through a midair somersault. Upside down, he spotted Justin and Nearly Headless Nick. He flipped the right way up, filled his lungs and, before Harry could stop him, screamed, “ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!”

Crash — crash — crash — door after door flew open along the corridor and people flooded out. For several long minutes, there was a scene of such confusion that Justin was in danger of being squashed and people kept standing in Nearly Headless Nick. Harry found himself pinned against the wall as the teachers shouted for quiet. Professor McGonagall came running, followed by her own class, one of whom still had black-and-white-striped hair. She used her wand to set off a loud bang, which restored silence, and ordered everyone back into their classes. No sooner had the scene cleared somewhat than Ernie the Hufflepuff arrived, panting, on the scene.

“Caught in the act!” Ernie yelled, his face stark white, pointing his finger dramatically at Harry.

“That will do, Macmillan!” said Professor McGonagall sharply.

Peeves was bobbing overhead, now grinning wickedly, surveying the scene; Peeves always loved chaos. As the teachers bent over Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, examining them, Peeves broke into song:

“Oh, Potter, you rotter, oh, what have you done,

You’re killing off students, you think it’s good fun —”

“That’s enough, Peeves!” barked Professor McGonagall, and Peeves zoomed away backward, with his tongue out at Harry.

Justin was carried up to the hospital wing by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sinistra of the Astronomy department, but nobody seemed to know what to do for Nearly Headless Nick. In the end, Professor McGonagall conjured a large fan out of thin air, which she gave to Ernie with instructions to waft Nearly Headless Nick up the stairs. This Ernie did, fanning Nick along like a silent black hovercraft. This left Harry and Professor McGonagall alone together.

“This way, Potter,” she said.

“Professor,” said Harry at once, “I swear I didn’t —”

“This is out of my hands, Potter,” said Professor McGonagall curtly.

They marched in silence around a corner and she stopped before a large and extremely ugly stone gargoyle.

“Lemon drop!” she said. This was evidently a password, because the gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Even full of dread for what was coming, Harry couldn’t fail to be amazed. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. As he and Professor McGonagall stepped onto it, Harry heard the wall thud closed behind them. They rose upward in circles, higher and higher, until at last, slightly dizzy, Harry saw a gleaming oak door ahead, with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

He knew now where he was being taken. This must be where Dumbledore lived.

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