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

英文中文双语对照双语交替

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CHAPTER ELEVEN - ABOARD THE HOGWART EXPRESS

第十一章　登上霍格沃茨特快列车

There was a definite end-of-the-holidays gloom in the air when Harry awoke next morning. Heavy rain was still splattering against the window as he got dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt; they would change into their school robes on the Hogwarts Express.

第二天早晨，哈利醒来时，家里笼罩着一种假期结束的沉闷气氛。大雨仍然啪啪地敲打着窗户，他穿上牛仔裤和一件毛衣。他们要在霍格沃茨特快列车上再换上校袍。

He, Ron, Fred, and George had just reached the first-floor landing on their way down to breakfast, when Mrs. Weasley appeared at the foot of the stairs, looking harassed.

他、罗恩、弗雷德和乔治下楼吃早饭，刚走到二楼的拐弯处，就见韦斯莱夫人突然出现在楼梯底下，一副心烦意乱的样子。

"Arthur!" she called up the staircase. "Arthur! Urgent message from the Ministry!"

“亚瑟！”她冲着楼上喊道，“亚瑟！魔法部有紧急口信！”

Harry flattened himself against the wall as Mr. Weasley came clattering past with his robes on back-to-front and hurtled out of sight. When Harry and the others entered the kitchen, they saw Mrs. Weasley rummaging anxiously in the drawers - "I've got a quill here somewhere!" - and Mr. Weasley bending over the fire, talking to -Harry shut his eyes hard and opened them again to make sure that they were working properly.

哈利紧贴在墙上，韦斯莱先生噔噔噔地从他身边跑过，一眨眼就不见了，他的长袍前后都穿反了。哈利和其他人走进厨房时，看见韦斯莱先生焦急地在抽屉里翻找着什么——“我记得这里有一支羽毛笔的！”——韦斯莱先生探身向着炉火，正在说话——

Amos Diggory's head was sitting in the middle of the flames like a large, bearded egg. It was talking very fast, completely unperturbed by the sparks flying around it and the flames licking its ears.

哈利使劲地把眼睛闭上又睁开，他还以为自己的眼睛出了毛病。

". . . Muggle neighbors heard bangs and shouting, so they went and called those what-d'you-call-'ems - please-men. Arthur, you've got to get over there --"

阿莫斯·迪戈里的头悬在火焰中间，像一只巨大的、长着胡子的鸡蛋。它正飞快地说着什么，火苗在它周围飞舞，火舌舔着它的耳朵，但它丝毫不受妨碍。

"Here!" said Mrs. Weasley breathlessly, pushing a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a crumpled quill into Mr. Weasley's hands.

“……住在附近的麻瓜们听见砰砰的撞击声和喊叫声，他们就去喊来了——你管他们叫什么来着——金察。亚瑟，你必须去一趟——”

"- it's a real stroke of luck I heard about it," said Mr. Diggory's head. "I had to come into the office early to send a couple of owls, and I found the Improper Use of Magic lot all setting off -- if Rita Skeeter gets hold of this one, Arthur --"

“给你！”韦斯莱夫人上气不接下气地说，把一张羊皮纸、一瓶墨水和一支皱巴巴的羽毛笔塞进韦斯莱先生手里。

"What does Mad-Eye say happened?" asked Mr. Weasley, unscrewing the ink bottle, loading up his quill, and preparing to take notes.

“——幸好我听说了这件事，”迪戈里先生的头说道，“我因为要派两只猫头鹰送信，不得不很早就到了办公室，我发现禁止滥用魔法办公室的人都出动了——如果丽塔·斯基特抓住这件事大做文章，亚瑟——”

Mr. Diggory's head rolled its eyes. "Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says he was creeping toward the house, but was ambushed by his dustbins."

“疯眼汉说发生了什么事？”韦斯莱先生说着，拧开墨水瓶的盖子，让羽毛笔吸足墨水，准备记录。

"What did the dustbins do?" asked Mr. Weasley, scribbling frantically.

迪戈里先生的头转了转眼珠。“他说听见有人闯进了他的院子。说他悄悄朝房子走去，可是遭到了他的垃圾箱的伏击。”

"Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell," said Mr.

“垃圾箱做了什么？”韦斯莱先生问，一边龙飞凤舞地记录着。

Diggory. "Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up -"

“发出一声可怕的巨响，然后把垃圾炸得到处都是，我知道的就是这些。”迪戈里先生说，“显然，当金察赶到的时候，有一个垃圾箱还在喷射垃圾——”

Mr. Weasley groaned.

韦斯莱先生发出一声呻吟。“那个闯进院子的人呢？”

"And what about the intruder?"

“亚瑟，你是了解疯眼汉的。”迪戈里先生的头说道，又滴溜溜地转起了眼珠，“有人会在半夜三更溜进他的院子？没准是一只在外面吃了败仗的野猫，漫无目的地在那里溜达，身上挂着土豆皮。可是如果禁止滥用魔法办公室的人抓住了疯眼汉，他可就倒霉了——想想他的前科记录——如果罪名不大，又是你们部门负责处理，我们就放他一马吧——让垃圾箱爆炸会受什么惩罚？”

"Arthur, you know Mad-Eye," said Mr. Diggory's head, rolling its eyes again. "Someone creeping into his yard in the dead of night? More likely there's a very shell-shocked cat wandering around somewhere, covered in potato peelings. But if the Improper Use of Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it -- think of his record -- we've got to get him off on a minor charge, something in your department -- what are exploding dustbins worth?"

“大概会受到警告吧。”韦斯莱先生说，一边仍然飞快地做着记录，他的眉头已经皱了起来，“疯眼汉没有使用魔杖吧？他事实上并没有攻击别人吧？”

"Might be a caution," said Mr. Weasley, still writing very fast, his brow furrowed.

“我敢说，他当时跳下床来朝窗外看，看到什么就让什么遭了殃。”迪戈里先生说，“可是他们很难证明，因为并没有人员伤亡。”

"Mad-Eye didn't use his wand? He didn't actually attack anyone?"

“好吧，我这就出发。”韦斯莱先生说着，把记录的羊皮纸塞进口，转身又冲出了厨房。

"I'll bet he leapt out of bed and started jinxing everything he could reach through the window," said Mr. Diggory, "but they'll have a job proving it, there aren't any casualties."

迪戈里先生转过头来，望着韦斯莱夫人。

"All right, I'm off," Mr. Weasley said, and he stuffed the parchment with his notes on it into his pocket and dashed out of the kitchen again.

“真是对不起，莫丽，”他说，语调平静多了，“这么早就来打扰你们……可是只有亚瑟才能替疯眼汉开脱，使他免受惩罚，本来疯眼汉今天就要开始新的工作了。真不明白他为什么要选择昨天夜里……”

Mr. Diggory's head looked around at Mrs. Weasley.

“哦，没关系，阿莫斯，”韦斯莱夫人说，“你想不想吃一片面包什么的再走？”

"Sorry about this, Molly," it said, more calmly, "bothering you so early and everything...but Arthur's the only one who can get Mad-Eye off, and Mad-Eye's supposed to be starting his new job today. Why he had to choose last night. ."

“哦，好吧。”迪戈里先生说。

"Never mind, Amos," said Mrs. Weasley. "Sure you won't have a bit of toast or anything before you go?"

韦斯莱夫人从餐桌上的一摞黄油面包上拿了一块，用火钳夹住，递进迪戈里先生嘴里。

"Oh go on, then," said Mr. Diggory.

“谢谢。”他含糊地说了一句，然后只听噗的一声轻响，他就消失了。

Mrs. Weasley took a piece of buttered toast from a stack on the kitchen table, put it into the fire tongs, and transferred it into Mr. Diggory's mouth.

哈利可以听见韦斯莱先生大声地向比尔、查理、珀西和两个女孩匆匆告别。五分钟后，他又回到了厨房，用一把梳子胡乱地划拉着头发，身上的长袍已经正过来了。

"Fanks," he said in a muffled voice, and then, with a small pop, vanished.

“我得赶快走了——祝你们这学期一切都好，孩子们。”韦斯莱先生一边对哈利、罗恩和一对双胞胎说着，一边将一件斗蓬披在肩上，准备幻影移形。“莫丽，你送孩子们去国王十字车站没问题吧？”

Harry could hear Mr. Weasley calling hurried good-byes to Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the girls. Within five minutes, he was back in the kitchen, his robes on the right way now, dragging a comb through his hair.

“当然没问题，”她说，“你去照管疯眼汉吧，我们不会有事的。”

"I'd better hurry - you have a good term, boys, said Mr. Weasley to Harry, Ron, and the twins, fastening a cloak over his shoulders and preparing to Disapparate. "Molly, are you going to be all right taking the kids to King's Cross?"

韦斯莱先生刚一消失，比尔、查理就走进了厨房。

"Of course I will," she said. "You just look after Mad-Eye, we'll be fine."

“有人提到疯眼汉？”比尔问道，“他又干什么了？”

As Mr. Weasley vanished, Bill and Charlie entered the kitchen.

“他说昨晚有人想闯进他的房子。”韦斯莱夫人说。

"Did someone say Mad-Eye?" Bill asked. "What's he been up to now."

“疯眼汉穆迪？”乔治若有所思地说道，一边往他的面包片上抹了一层橘子酱，“就是那个疯子——”

"He says someone tried to break into his house last night," said Mrs. Weasley.

“你们的爸爸对疯眼汉穆迪评价很高。”韦斯莱夫人严厉地说。

"Mad-Eye Moody?" said George thoughtfully, spreading marmalade on his toast. "Isn't he that nutter -"

“是啊，爸爸还收集插头呢，对吧？”等韦斯莱夫人离开房间后，弗雷德小声地说，“他们是同一类人……”

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody," said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

“穆迪当年是一个很伟大的巫师。”比尔说。

"Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?" said Fred quietly as Mrs. Weasley left the room. "Birds of a feather. . ."

“他不是邓布利多的老朋友，是吗？”查理说。

"Moody was a great wizard in his time," said Bill.

“邓布利多就不是你们所说的正常人，对吧？”弗雷德说，“我的意思是，我知道他是个天才，很了不起……”

"He's an old friend of Dumbledore's, isn't he?" said Charlie.

“疯眼汉是谁？”哈利问道。

"Dumbledore's not what you'd call normal, though, is he?" said Fred. "I mean, I know he's a genius and everything.. ."

“他现在退休了，以前在魔法部工作，”查理说，“我见过他一次，爸爸和他一起共事时带我去过。他是傲罗——最好的一个……专抓黑魔巫师的高手。”他看见哈利脸上困惑的神情，又接着说道：“阿兹卡班里的一半牢房都是被他填满的。不过他也给自己树了很多仇敌……主要是那些被他抓住的人的亲属……我听说，他上了年纪以后，变得越来越多疑，什么都不相信，走到哪儿都看见黑巫师。”

"Who is Mad-Eye?" asked Harry.

比尔和查理决定到国王十字车站送一送大家，而珀西一再道歉，说他实在太忙，脱不开身。

"He's retired, used to work at the Ministry," said Charlie. "I met him once when Dad took me into work with him. He was an Auror - one of the best. . . a Dark wizard catcher," he added, seeing Harry's blank look "Half the cells in Azkaban are full because of him. He made himself loads of enemies, though. . . the families of people he caught, mainly. . .

“这个时候我没有理由请假，”他对他们说，“克劳奇先生有许多事情都开始指望我了。”

and I heard he's been getting really paranoid in his old age. Doesn't trust anyone anymore. Sees Dark wizards everywhere."

“是啊，你知道吗，珀西？”乔治一本正经地说，“我猜想他很快就会知道你的名字了。”

Bill and Charlie decided to come and see everyone off at King's Cross station, but Percy, apologizing most profusely, said that he really needed to get to work.

韦斯莱夫人鼓起勇气，用了一下村邮电所的电话，预订了三辆普通的麻瓜出租车送他们去伦敦。

"I just can't justify taking more time off at the moment," he told them. "Mr. Crouch is really starting to rely on me."

“亚瑟本来想借部里的车送我们，”韦斯莱夫人小声对哈利说——这时他们站在大雨瓢泼的院子里，看着出租车司机把六只沉重的霍格沃茨皮箱搬进车里，“可是部里的车腾不出来……哦，天哪，他们看上去不大高兴，是吗？”

"Yeah, you know what, Percy?" said George seriously. "I reckon he'll know your name soon."

哈利没有告诉韦斯莱夫人，麻瓜出租车司机很少运送狂躁不安的猫头鹰，而小猪在那里一个劲儿地吵闹，声音震耳欲聋。更不用说弗雷德的箱子突然弹开，许多费力拔博士的自动点火、见水开花神奇烟火出人意料地炸响了，吓得那个搬箱子的司机大叫起来，而这时克鲁克山用尖利的爪子顺着那人的朋腿往上爬，使他的喊声里又多了一些痛苦。

Mrs. Weasley had braved the telephone in the village post office to order three ordinary Muggle taxis to take them into London.

由于大家和那些箱子一起挤坐在出租车后面，一路上很不舒服。克鲁克山受到了烟火的惊吓，好半天才恢复过来。当车子驶进伦敦时，哈利、罗恩和赫敏都被严重抓伤了。在国王十字车站下车时，大家都松了口气，尽管雨下得比刚才还大，兜头盖脸地朝他们浇来。他们提着箱子穿过繁忙的街道，走进车站，浑身都湿透了。

"Arthur tried to borrow Ministry cars for us," Mrs. Weasley whispered to Harry as they stood in the rain-washed yard, watching the taxi drivers heaving six heavy Hogwarts trunks into their cars. "But there weren't any to spare. . . . Oh dear, they don't look happy, do they?"

现在，哈利对登上9站台已经习惯了。其实很容易，只要径直穿过隔开第9和10站台的那堵仿佛很坚固的墙壁就行了。惟一需要当心的是，要做得不让人们看出来，以免引起麻瓜们的注意。他们今天是分组过去的。首先是哈利、罗恩和赫敏（他们是最显眼的，因为带着猫头鹰小猪和克鲁克山），他们悠闲地靠在隔墙上，漫不经心地聊着天，然后就侧身从墙里钻了过去……他们一钻过去，9又3/4站台出现在面前了。

Harry didn't like to tell Mrs. Weasley that Muggle taxi drivers rarely transported overexcited owls, and Pigwidgeon was making an earsplitting racket. Nor did it help that a number of Filibuster's Fabulous No-Heat, Wet-Start Fireworks went off unexpectedly when Fred's trunk sprang open, causing the driver carrying it to yell with fright and pain as Crookshanks clawed his way up the man's leg.

霍格沃茨特快列车已经停在那里了，这是一辆深红色的蒸汽机车，正在喷出滚滚浓烟，透过浓烟望去，站台上的许多霍格沃茨学生和家长仿佛是黑乎乎的鬼影。小猪听到烟雾中有许多猫头鹰的叫声，也吱吱叫着响应，吵得比刚才更厉害了。哈利、罗恩和赫敏开始寻找座位，很快，他们就把行李搬进了列车上的一个隔间。然后，他们跳回到站台上，向韦斯莱夫人、比尔和查理告别。

The journey was uncomfortable, owing to the fact that they were jammed in the back of the taxis with their trunks. Crookshanks took quite a while to recover from the fireworks, and by the time they entered London, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all severely scratched. They were very relieved to get out at King's Cross, even though the rain was coming down harder than ever, and they got soaked carrying their trunks across the busy road and into the station.

“我也许很快就能看到你们大家。”查理搂抱金妮跟她告别时，微笑着说。

Harry was used to getting onto platform nine and three-quarters by now. It was a simple matter of walking straight through the apparently solid barrier dividing platforms nine and ten. The only tricky part was doing this in an unobtrusive way, so as to avoid attracting Muggle attention. They did it in groups today; Harry, Ron, and Hermione (the most conspicuous, since they were accompanied by Pigwidgeon and Crookshanks) went first; they leaned casually against the barrier, chatting unconcernedly, and slid sideways through it. . . and as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.

“为什么？”弗雷德急切地问。

The Hogwarts Express, a gleaming scarlet steam engine, was already there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which the many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform appeared like dark ghosts. Pigwidgeon became noisier than ever in response to the hooting of many owls through the mist. Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off to find seats, and were soon stowing their luggage in a compartment halfway along the train. They then hopped back down onto the platform to say good-bye to Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie.

“你会知道的，”查理说，“千万别告诉珀西我提到这事儿……要知道，这是‘绝密情报，要等魔法部认为合适的时候才能公布’。”

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

“啊，我真希望我今年能回霍格沃茨上学。”比尔说。他两手插在口袋里，眼睛望着列车，神情有些惆怅。

"Why?" said Fred keenly.

“为什么？”乔治不耐烦地问。

"You'll see," said Charlie. "Just don't tell Percy I mentioned it.. . it's 'classified information, until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it,' after all."

“你们这一年会过得非常有趣，”比尔说，眼睛里闪着光芒，“我也许会请假来观看一部分……”

"Yeah, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year," said Bill, hands in his pockets, looking almost wistfully at the train.

“一部分什么？”罗恩问。

"Why?" said George impatiently.

可是就在这时，哨子吹响了，韦斯莱夫人把他们赶向车门。

"You're going to have an interesting year," said Bill, his eyes twinkling. "I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it."

“谢谢你留我们住下，韦斯莱夫人。”赫敏说。这时他们已经登上列车，关好车门，她从窗口探出身子跟韦斯莱夫人说话。

"A bit of what?" said Ron.

“是啊，谢谢你为我做的一切，韦斯莱夫人。”哈利说。

But at that moment, the whistle blew, and Mrs. Weasley chivvied them toward the train doors.

“哦，我很乐意的，亲爱的，”韦斯莱夫人说，“我想邀请你来过圣诞节，可是……我估计你们都情愿留在霍格沃茨，因为……这样或那样的原因。”

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione as they climbed on board, closed the door, and leaned out of the window to talk to her.

“妈妈！”罗恩烦躁地说，“到底是什么事情，你们三个都知道，就瞒着我们？”

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

“我估计你们今晚就会弄清楚了，”韦斯莱夫人微笑着说，“一定会很刺激的——告诉你们吧，我真高兴他们修改了章程——”

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'd invite you for Christmas, but...well, I expect you're all going to want to stay at Hogwarts, what with. . . one thing and another."

“什么章程？”哈利、罗恩、弗雷德和乔治同时问道。

"Mum!" said Ron irritably. "What d'you three know that we don't?"

“我敢肯定邓布利多教授会告诉你们的……好了，表现好一些，知道吗？听见没有，弗雷德？还有你，乔治？”

"You'll find out this evening, I expect," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling. "It's going to be very exciting - mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules -"

发动机的活塞发出响亮的嘶嘶声，火车开动了。

"What rules?" said Harry, Ron, Fred, and George together.

“快告诉我们霍格沃茨发生了什么事！”弗雷德冲着窗外大喊——韦斯莱夫人、比尔和查理正在急速地远去，“他们修改了什么章程？”

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you. . . . Now, behave, won't you? Won't you, Fred? And you, George?"

可是韦斯莱夫人只是笑着朝他们挥手。不等火车拐弯，她和比尔、查理就幻影移形了。

The pistons hissed loudly and the train began to move.

哈利、罗恩和赫敏回到他们的隔间，密集的雨点噼噼啪啪地敲打着玻璃窗，使他们很难看清楚外面的景物。罗恩打开自己的箱子，抽出他那件紫色的礼服长袍，盖在小猪的笼子上，它的叫声太吵人了。

"Tell us what's happening at Hogwarts!" Fred bellowed out of the window as Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie sped away from them. "What rules are they changing?"

“巴格曼倒愿意告诉我们霍格沃茨发生的事情，”他在哈利身边坐了下来，闷闷不乐地说，“记得吗，就在世界杯赛上？可是我自己的亲妈却不肯说。真不知道——”

But Mrs. Weasley only smiled and waved. Before the train had rounded the corner, she, Bill, and Charlie had Disapparated.

“嘘！”赫敏突然小声说，她用一根手指按住嘴唇，指着他们旁边的那个隔间。哈利和罗恩仔细一听，一个熟悉的拖腔拖调的声音从敞开的门口飘了进来。

Harry, Ron, and Hermione went back to their compartment. The thick rain splattering the windows made it very difficult to see out of them. Ron undid his trunk, pulled out his maroon dress robes, and flung them over Pigwidgeon's cage to muffle his hooting.

“……你们知道吗，我父亲真的考虑过要把我送到德姆斯特朗，而不是霍格沃茨。他认识那个学校的校长。唉，你们知道他对邓布利多的看法——那人太喜欢泥巴种了——德姆斯特朗根本不允许那些下三滥的人入学。可是我妈妈不愿意我到那么远的地方上学。父亲说，德姆斯特朗对黑魔法采取的态度比霍格沃茨合理得多。德姆斯特朗的学生真的在学习黑魔法，不像我们，学什么破烂的防御术……”

"Bagman wanted to tell us what's happening at Hogwarts," he said grumpily, sitting down next to Harry. "At the World Cup, remember? But my own mother won't say. Wonder what --"

赫敏站起身，踮着脚走到隔间门边，把门轻轻拉上，不让马尔福的声音传进来。

"Shh!" Hermione whispered suddenly, pressing her finger to her lips and pointing toward the compartment next to theirs. Harry and Ron listened, and heard a familiar drawling voice drifting in through the open door.

“这么说，他认为德姆斯特朗比较适合他喽？”赫敏气呼呼地说，“我倒希望他早到那里去上学，我们就用不着忍受他了。”

". . . Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore - the man's such a Mudblood-lover - and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riffraff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defense rubbish we do. . . ."

“德姆斯特朗也是一所魔法学校吗？”哈利问。

Hermione got up, tiptoed to the compartment door, and slid it shut, blocking out Malfoy's voice.

“对，”赫敏轻蔑地哼了一声，说道，“它的名声坏透了。照《欧洲魔法教育评估》上的说法，这所学校对黑魔法非常重视。”

"So he thinks Durmstrang would have suited him, does he?" she said angrily. "I wish he had gone, then we wouldn't have to put up with him."

“我好像听说过，”罗恩含糊地说，“它在哪儿？哪个国家？”

"Durmstrang's another wizarding school?" said Harry.

“唉，不会有人知道，不是吗？”赫敏扬起眉毛，说道。

"Yes," said Hermione sniffily, "and it's got a horrible reputation. According to An Appraisal ofMagical Education in Europe, it puts a lot of emphasis on the Dark Arts."

“哦——为什么呢？”哈利问。

"I think I've heard of it," said Ron vaguely. "Where is it? What country?"

“各个魔法学校之间始终存在着激烈的竞争。德姆斯特朗和布斯巴顿愿意把它们的校址隐藏起来，这样就没有人能窃取它们的秘密了。”赫敏一本正经地回答。

"Well, nobody knows, do they?" said Hermione, raising her eyebrows.

“别胡扯了，”罗恩说着笑了起来，“德姆斯特朗肯定跟霍格沃茨差不多大——你怎么能把一座大城堡隐蔽起来呢？”

"Er - why not?" said Harry.

“可霍格沃茨就是隐蔽着的。”赫敏说道，显得有些诧异，“大家都知道啊……噢，凡是读过《霍格沃茨，一段校史》的人都应该知道。”

"There's traditionally been a lot of rivalry between all the magic schools. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons like to conceal their whereabouts so nobody can steal their secrets,"

“那就只有你了，”罗恩说，“你再接着说——你怎么能把霍格沃茨这样一座大城堡隐蔽起来呢？”

said Hermione matter-of-factly.

“它被施了魔法，”赫敏说，“麻瓜望着它，只能看见一堆破败的废墟，入口处挂着一个牌子，写着危险，不得进入，不安全。”

"Come off it," said Ron, starting to laugh. "Durmstrang's got to be about the same size as Hogwarts -- how are you going to hide a great big castle?"

“这么说，在一个外人看来，德姆斯特朗也是一堆废墟？”

"But Hogwarts is hidden," said Hermione, in surprise. "Everyone knows that.. . well, everyone who's read Hogwarts, A History, anyway."

“大概是吧，”赫敏耸了耸肩膀，说道，“或者它被施了驱逐麻瓜咒，就像世界杯赛的体育馆一样。为了不让外国的巫师发现它，还可以使它变得不可标绘——”

"Just you, then," said Ron. "So go on - how d'you hide a place like Hogwarts?"

“这又是什么意思？”

"It's bewitched," said Hermione. "If a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a moldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE."

“是这样，你可以给建筑物施一个魔咒，别人就无法在地图上把它标绘出来了，明白吗？”

"So Durmstrang'll just look like a ruin to an outsider too?"

“嗯……你最好再说明白点儿。”哈利说。

"Maybe," said Hermione, shrugging, "or it might have Muggle-repelling charms on it, like the World Cup stadium. And to keep foreign wizards from finding it, they'll have made it Unplottable -"

“不过我认为德姆斯朗大概在北部很远的地方，”赫敏若有所思地说，“一个非常寒冷的地方，因为他们的校服还包括毛皮斗篷呢。”

"Come again?"

“啊，设想一下会发生什么事吧，”罗恩很神往地说，“把马尔福从冰川上推下去，弄得就像一次意外事故，这大概不会很难……真遗憾，他妈妈这么喜欢他……”

"Well, you can enchant a building so it's impossible to plot on a map, can't you?"

列车不断地往北行驶，雨下得越来越大，越来越猛。天空一片漆黑，车窗上覆盖着水气，所以大白天也点起了灯笼。嘎啦嘎啦，供应饭的小推车顺着过道推过来了，哈利买了一大摞坩埚蛋糕，让大家一起分享。

"Er. . . if you say so," said Harry.

下午，他们的几位朋友过来看望他们，有西莫·斐尼甘、迪安·托马斯，还有纳威·隆巴顿——这是一个圆脸的男孩，记性差得要命，是他那令人敬畏的巫师奶奶把他拉扯大的。西莫还戴着他的爱尔兰徽章，它的一些魔力似乎正在慢慢消退。它仍然在尖叫“特洛伊！马莱特！莫兰！”但声音有气无力，好像已经精疲力竭了。过了半个小时左右，赫敏对他们没完没了地谈论魁地奇感到厌倦了，就又开始埋头阅读《标准咒语（四级）》，并试着学习一种飞来咒。

"But I think Durmstrang must be somewhere in the far north," said Hermione thoughtfully.

大家兴奋地回顾世界杯赛时，纳威在一旁眼巴巴地听着。

"Somewhere very cold, because they've got fur capes as part of their uniforms."

“奶奶不想去，”他可怜巴巴地说道，“不肯买票。啊，听起来可真够刺激的。”

"Ah, think of the possibilities," said Ron dreamily. "It would've been so easy to push Malfoy off a glacier and make it look like an accident... . Shame his mother likes him. .

“没错，”罗恩说，“你看看这个，纳威……”

. ."

他在行李架上的箱子里翻了一会儿，抽出那个威克多尔·克鲁姆的小塑像。

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Harry bought a large stack of Cauldron Cakes for them to share.

“哇，太棒了。”当罗恩把克鲁姆放在他胖乎乎的手掌上时，纳威羡慕地说道。

Several of their friends looked in on them as the afternoon progressed, including Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom, a round-faced, extremely forgetful boy who had been brought up by his formidable witch of a grandmother. Seamus was still wearing his Ireland rosette. Some of its magic seemed to be wearing off now; it was still squeaking "Troy - Mullet - Moran!" but in a very feeble and exhausted sort of way.

“我们在上面看见了他，离得很近，”罗恩说，“我们坐在顶层包厢——”

After half an hour or so, Hermione, growing tired of the endless Quidditch talk, buried herself once more in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, and started trying to learn a Summoning Charm.

“你这辈子也就这一次了，韦斯莱。”

Neville listened jealously to the others' conversation as they relived the Cup match.

德拉科·马尔福出现在门口，身后站着克拉布和高尔，他们是他的死党，块头大得吓人，一副凶神恶煞的样子。这个夏天他们俩似乎又长高了至少一英尺。显然，他们通过隔间的门偷听了刚才的谈话，迪安和西莫没有把门关严。

"Gran didn't want to go," he said miserably. "Wouldn't buy tickets. It sounded amazing though."

“我们好像并没有邀请你们进来，马尔福。”哈利冷冷地说。

"It was," said Ron. "Look at this, Neville. . .

“韦斯莱……那是什么？”马尔福指着小猪的笼子问道。罗恩的礼服长袍的一只袖子从笼子上挂下来，随着火车的运行摇摆不停，袖口上仿佛发了霉的花边非常显眼。

He rummaged in his trunk up in the luggage rack and pulled out the miniature figure of Viktor Krum.

罗恩想把长袍藏起来，可是马尔福的动作比他更快，一把抓住袖子，使劲一拉。

"Oh wow," said Neville enviously as Ron tipped Krum onto his pudgy hand.

“你们看看这个！”马尔福开心极了，把罗恩的长袍举起来，给克拉布和高尔看，“韦斯莱，难道你想穿这样的衣服，嗯？我的意思是——它们在十八世纪九十年代左右还是很时髦的……”

"We saw him right up close, as well," said Ron. "We were in the Top Box -"

“吃屎去吧，马尔福！”罗恩说——他脸涨得跟礼服长袍一个颜色，一把从马尔福手中夺过长袍。马尔福发出一串高声的嘲笑，克拉布和高尔也跟着傻笑起来，声音粗野刺耳。

"For the first and last time in your life, Weasley."

“怎么……你也想参加，韦斯莱？你也想试试身手，给你的家庭增添一份光荣？你知道，这事儿跟钱也有关系呢……如果你赢了，就有钱买几件体面的长袍了……”

Draco Malfoy had appeared in the doorway. Behind him stood Crabbe and Goyle, his enormous, thuggish cronies, both of whom appeared to have grown at least a foot during the summer. Evidently they had overheard the conversation through the compartment door, which Dean and Seamus had left ajar.

“你在胡扯些什么？”罗恩气恼地问道。

"Don't remember asking you to join us, Malfoy," said Harry coolly.

“你想参加吗？”马尔福又说了一遍，“我猜想你会的，波特？你从不错过一个炫耀自己的机会，是不是？”

"Weasley. . . what is that?" said Malfoy, pointing at Pigwidgeon's cage. A sleeve of Ron's dress robes was dangling from it, swaying with the motion of the train, the moldy lace cuff very obvious.

“要么解释一下你的话，要么就走开，马尔福。”赫敏把目光从《标准咒语（四级）》上抬起，不耐烦地说道。

Ron made to stuff the robes out of sight, but Malfoy was too quick for him; he seized the sleeve and pulled.

一丝喜悦的微笑掠过马尔福苍白的脸。

"Look at this!" said Malfoy in ecstasy, holding up Ron's robes and showing Crabbe and Goyle, "Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean - they were very fashionable in about eighteen ninety. . .

“莫非你不知道？”他高兴地说道，“你爸爸和你哥哥都在魔法部工作，你居然会不知道？我的天哪，我爸爸好久以前就告诉我了……是听康利奈·福吉说的。反正，爸爸接触的都是魔法部的高层人物……大概你爸爸的级别太低了，没有权利知道，韦斯莱……对，是这样……他们大概从不在他面前谈论重要的话题……”

"Eat dung, Malfoy!" said Ron, the same color as the dress robes as he snatched them back out of Malfoy's grip. Malfoy howled with derisive laughter; Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly.

马尔福又放声大笑起来，一边对克拉布和高尔做了个手势，三个人一起消失了。

"So. . . going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know. . . you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won. . . ."

罗恩站起来，狠狠地把隔间的门关上，他用的力气太大了，门上的玻璃撞碎了。

"What are you talking about?" snapped Ron.

“罗恩！”赫敏责备道。她抽出魔杖，低声念了一句：“修复如初！”那些碎玻璃片就自动拼成一块完整的玻璃，重新回到了门框上。

'Are you going to enter?' Malfoy repeated. "I suppose you will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"

“真倒霉……就好像他什么都知道，我们全蒙在鼓里……”罗恩气愤地吼了起来，“‘爸爸接触的都是魔法部的高层人物’……我爸爸随时都能提升……他只是喜欢现在这个位置……”

"Either explain what you're on about or go away, Malfoy," said Hermione testily, over the top of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4.

“他！影响我的情绪！才不会呢！”罗恩说道，拿起剩下的一块坩埚蛋糕，一把捏成了泥酱。

A gleeful smile spread across Malfoy's pale face "Don't tell me you don't know?" he said delightedly. "You've got a father and brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My God, my father told me about it ages ago. . .

在接下来的旅程中，罗恩的情绪一直很不好。当他们换上校袍时，他沉默不语；当霍格沃茨特快列车终于放慢速度、停靠在漆黑的霍格莫德车站时，他仍然阴沉着脸。

heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry. . . . Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley. . . yes.

车门打开了，空中传来了隆隆的雷声。赫敏用斗篷兜住克鲁克山，罗恩仍旧把他的礼服长袍罩在小猪的笼子上。他们下了火车，在倾盆大雨中低着头，眯着眼。雨下得又急又猛，就好像一桶桶冰冷的水不断浇在他们头上。

. . they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him. . . ."

“你好，海格！”哈利看见站台那头一个巨大的身影，大声喊道。

Laughing once more, Malfoy beckoned to Crabbe and Goyle, and the three of them disappeared.

“你好，哈利！”海格粗声大气地回答，挥了挥手，“如果我们没被淹死的话，就在宴会上见吧！”

Ron got to his feet and slammed the sliding compartment door so hard behind them that the glass shattered.

按照惯例，一年级新生由海格从湖上摆渡过去，进入霍格沃茨城堡里。

"Ron!" said Hermione reproachfully, and she pulled out her wand, muttered "Reparo!" and the glass shards flew back into a single pane and back into the door.

“哦，我真不敢想象，在这样的天气摆渡过湖。”赫敏浑身颤抖，激动地说道。

"Well.. . making it look like he knows everything and we don't.. . ." Ron snarled.

这时他们随着人流一点点地挪动脚步，走过漆黑的站台。车站外面，一百辆没有马拉的马车在等候着他们。哈利、罗恩、赫敏和纳威赶紧爬上其中一辆，这才感到松了口气。门砰的一声关上了，片刻之后，随着一阵剧烈的颠簸，长长的马车队顺着通往霍格沃茨城堡的小道辘辘出发了，一路噼里啪啦地溅起水花。

"Father's always associated with the top peopie at the Ministry.'. . . Dad could've got a promotion any time... he just likes it where he is. . . ."

"Of course he does," said Hermione quietly. "Don't let Malfoy get to you, Ron -"

"Him! Get to me!? As if!" said Ron, picking up one of the remaining Cauldron Cakes and squashing it into a pulp.

Ron's bad mood continued for the rest of the journey. He didn't talk much as they changed into their school robes, and was still glowering when the Hogwarts Express slowed down at last and finally stopped in the pitch-darkness of Hogsmeade station.

As the train doors opened, there was a rumble of thunder overhead. Hermione bundled up Crookshanks in her cloak and Ron left his dress robes over Pigwidgeon as they left the train, heads bent and eyes narrowed against the downpour. The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads.

"Hi, Hagrid!" Harry yelled, seeing a gigantic silhouette at the far end of the platform.

"All righ', Harry?" Hagrid bellowed back, waving. "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown!"

First years traditionally reached Hogwarts Castle by sailing across the lake with Hagrid.

"Oooh, I wouldn't fancy crossing the lake in this weather," said Hermione fervently, shivering as they inched slowly along the dark platform with the rest of the crowd. A hundred horseless carriages stood waiting for them outside the station. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville climbed gratefully into one of them, the door shut with a snap, and a few moments later, with a great lurch, the long procession of carriages was rumbling and splashing its way up the track toward Hogwarts Castle.