OK阅读网

哈利·波特与阿兹卡班的囚徒
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

英文中文双语对照双语交替

首页目录上一章下一章

CHAPTER TWELVE THE PATRONUS

第十二章　守护神

Harry knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop him from being angry with her. He had been the owner of the best broom in the world for a few short hours, and now, because of her interference, he didn't know whether he would ever see it again. He was positive that there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt now, but what sort of state would it be in once it had been subjected to all sorts of anti-jinx tests?

哈利知道赫敏是好意，但还是忍不住生她的气。他曾经在短短几个小时之内拥有世界上最好的飞天扫帚，而现在，由于她的插手，他不知道到底能不能再见到这把扫帚。他肯定这火弩箭现在没有什么不对头的地方，但是，如果它经受了各种各样反邪的测试，谁知道它会变成什么模样呢？罗恩也对赫敏大为生气。就他而论，将一把崭新的火弩箭加以拆卸，那无异是犯罪性破坏。赫敏仍旧相信她这样做是要争取最好的结果，但她开始尽量不去公共休息室了。哈利和罗恩以为她是到图书馆避难去了，也就没有设法说服她回来。总而言之，元旦以后不久，其他学生都回校了，格兰芬多塔楼重新拥挤喧闹起来，哈利和罗恩倒对此感到高兴。

Ron was furious with Hermione too. As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand- new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room. Harry and Ron supposed she had taken refuge in the library and didn't try to persuade her to come back. All in all, they were glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after New Year, and Gryffindor Tower became crowded and noisy again. Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started.

学期开始前夕，伍德把哈利找到外面去了。

"Had a good Christmas?" he said, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the dementors come to the next one... I mean... we can't afford you to -- well --"

“圣诞过得好吗？”他说。然后不等哈利回答，他就坐下来，压低声音说：“上次比赛以后，你知道，哈利，我一直在琢磨，圣诞节也没闲着。如果下次比赛的时候摄魂怪又到场……我意思是说……我们不能让你……唔……”伍德停下来不说了，一副尴尬样子。

Wood broke off, looking awkward.

“我正努力准备呢。”哈利迅速地说，“卢平教授说他会教我如何抵挡这些摄魂怪。我们这星期就应该开始了，他说他圣诞节以后有时间。”

"I'm working on it," said Harry quickly. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas."

“啊，”伍德说，表情明朗起来，“好吧，这样的话——我真的不想失去你这样的找球手，哈利。你订购新的飞天扫帚了吗？”

"Ah," said Wood, his expression clearing. "Well, in that case -- I really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?"

“没有。”哈利说。

"No," said Harry.

“什么！你最好快一点，你也知道——你可不能骑着那流星和拉文克劳比赛啊！”

"What! You'd better get a move on, you know -- you can't ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!"

“他得到一把火弩箭作为圣诞礼物了。”罗恩说。

"He got a Firebolt for Christmas," said Ron.

“火弩箭？不！当真吗？一把——真的火弩箭？”

"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A -- a real Firebolt?"

“别兴奋，奥利弗，”哈利阴郁地说，“现在可没有了。被没收了。”于是他解释说火弩箭现在正接受检查看是否附有邪术。

"Don't get excited, Oliver," said Harry gloomily. "I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated." And he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes.

“附有邪术？怎么会附有邪术？”

"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"

“小天狼星布莱克，”哈利消沉地说，“人们认为他在追捕我。于是麦格教授就认为有可能是他送给我的。”

"Sirius Black" Harry said wearily. "He's supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it."

伍德手一挥，把一个著名杀手追杀他的找球手没当一回事儿，说：“但是布莱克不可能买到一把火弩箭！他一直在逃跑之中！全国上下都在搜寻他！他怎么能走进魁地奇精品专卖店去买飞天扫帚？”

Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"

“我知道，”哈利说，“但是麦格教授仍旧要把它拆卸了——”

"I know," said Harry, "but McGonagall still wants to strip it down --"

伍德脸色苍白起来。

Wood went pale.

“我去和她谈，哈利。”他允诺道，“我要让她讲理……一把火弩箭，我们队的……她和我们一样，也希望格兰芬多院赢呀……我要让她头脑清楚些……一把火弩箭……”

"I'll go and talk to her, Harry," he promised. "I'll make her see reason.... A Firebolt... a real Firebolt, on our team... She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do.... I'll make her see sense. A Firebolt..."

第二天，学校开始上课了。寒冷的一月份上午在操场上待两个小时，这是大家最不愿意做的事了；但海格升起了一堆大火，里面都是火怪，让大家取乐，而且学生们上了一节好得非同寻常的课，收集枯枝败叶来保持火势，喜爱火焰的蜥蜴在烧得碎裂、白热的木块上蹿来跳去。新学期的第一节占卜课可就比这差劲多了：特里劳妮教授现在教他们手相学，她不失时机地告诉哈利，他手上的生命线是她所曾见过的最短的。

Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs. The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen.

哈利喜欢上的课是黑魔法防御术。他同伍德谈过以后，就急于开始学抵挡摄魂怪的办法。课后哈利提醒卢平答应教他抵挡摄魂怪这件事。

It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen to get to; after his conversation with Wood, he wanted to get started on his anti-dementor lessons as soon as possible.

“啊，对，”卢平说，“让我看看……星期四晚上八点钟怎么样？魔法史课的教室应该够大了……我得仔细考虑该怎么做……我们不能带一个真正的摄魂怪来实习……”

"Ah yes," said Lupin, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end of class. "Let me see... how about eight o'clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough.... I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this.... We can't bring a real dementor into the castle to practice on...."

“他仍旧满脸病容，是不是？”罗恩说，他们在走廊里走着，要去吃午饭。

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" said Ron as they walked down the corridor, heading to dinner. "What d'you reckon's the matter with him?"

“你认为他怎么了？”

There was a loud and impatient "tuh" from behind them. It was Hermione, who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armor, repacking her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn't close.

他们身后传来一声响亮而不耐烦的“嘟”声。那是赫敏，她一直坐在一套盔甲下面，整理着她的书包。书太多，书包合不拢了。

"And what are you tutting at us for?" said Ron irritably.

“你对我们嘟什么呀？”罗恩不耐烦地问她。

"Nothing," said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder.

“没什么。”赫敏高傲地说，又把书包放回到肩膀上。

"Yes, you were," said Ron. "I said I wonder what's wrong with Lupin, and you --"

“不对，有什么的。”罗恩说，“我刚才说不知道卢平有什么不对劲，你就——”

"Well, isn't it obvious?" said Hermione, with a look of maddening superiority.

“啊，那还不明显吗？”赫敏说，带着一股让人气得要发疯的优越感。

"If you don't want to tell us, don't," snapped Ron.

“要是你不想告诉我们，那就别说。”罗恩厉声说。

"Fine," said Hermione haughtily, and she marched off.

“好。”赫敏傲慢地说，说完就走了。

"She doesn't know," said Ron, staring resentfully after Hermione. "She's just trying to get us to talk to her again."

“她也不知道，”罗恩说，愤怒地瞪着赫敏，“她只想让我们再和她说话罢了。”

At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when he arrived, but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited only five minutes when Professor Lupin turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk.

星期四晚上八点钟，哈利离开格兰芬多塔楼到了魔法史课的教室。他到的时候，教室里又暗又空，他用魔杖点上灯，只等了五分钟，卢平教授就来了，带着一个很大的包，把它放到了宾斯教授的讲台上。

"What's that?" said Harry.

“那是什么？”哈利问。

"Another boggart," said Lupin, stripping off his cloak. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real dementor. The boggart will turn into a dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."

“另外一个博格特。”卢平说，脱下他的斗篷，“星期二以来，我一直在整个城堡细细寻找，我很走运，找到了这个躲在费尔奇先生档案柜里的博格特。这是我们能够到手的最近似真的摄魂怪的东西。这个博格特看见你的时候就会变成摄魂怪，所以我们可以用它来练习。我们不用它的时候，我可以将它藏在我的办公室里；我桌子下面有一个碗橱，它会喜欢的。”

"Okay," said Harry, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real dementor.

“好的。”哈利说，设法说得好像他一点也不胆怯，只是对卢平找到这样一个好的代替品而高兴。

"So..." Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same. "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry -- well beyond ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."

“那……”卢平教授拿出自己的魔杖，示意哈利照做。“我马上要演示并且教你的咒语是一种极高深的魔法，哈利——大大高于普通巫师的水平。它叫做守护神魔咒。”

"How does it work?" said Harry nervously.

“它怎么起作用呢？”哈利紧张不安地问道。

"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus," said Lupin, "which is a kind of anti- dementor -- a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor."

“唔，当它正确起作用的时候，它就会召唤来一个守护神。”卢平说，“守护神是一种抵御摄魂怪的东西——是一种护卫，在你和摄魂怪之间起到盾牌的作用。”

Harry had a sudden vision of himself crouching behind a Hagridsized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued, "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the dementor feeds upon -- hope, happiness, the desire to survive -- but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."

哈利突然想象自己蹲在海格那样的巨人后面，手里拿着一根大棒。卢平教授继续说道：“守护神是一种正面力量，它所倡导的东西正是摄魂怪的食粮——希望、快乐、活下去的愿望——但它不能像真正的人那样感到绝望，因此摄魂怪就没法伤害它。不过我必须警告你，哈利，这种咒语对你来说可能过于高深。许多资深巫师使用这种咒语时都感到困难。”

"What does a Patronus look like?" said Harry curiously.

“守护神看起来是什么样子的？”哈利好奇地问道。

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."

“每一个样子都不同，跟召唤它的巫师有关。”

"And how do you conjure it?"

“您是怎么召唤它的呢？”

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

“用一种咒语，这种咒语只有在你集中思想的时候才起作甩，你应该竭尽全力回忆某一件快乐的事情。”

Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to him at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick.

哈利搜索枯肠，寻找快乐的回忆。在德思礼家的遭遇肯定和快乐的回忆没有关系。最后，他就努力回想第一次骑上飞天扫帚的情景。

"Right," he said, trying to recall as exactly as possible the wonderful, soaring sensation of his stomach.

“对。”他说，尽量准确地回想当时往上升时那种奇妙的快感。

"The incantation is this --" Lupin cleared his throat. "Expecto patronum!"

“咒语是这样的——”卢平清了清嗓子，“呼神护卫。”

"Expecto patronum, " Harry repeated under his breath, "expecto patronum."

“呼神护卫，”哈利低声重复道，“呼神护卫。”

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?"

“努力只回忆你的快乐事件吧？”

"Oh -- yeah --" said Harry, quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride. "Expecto patrono -- no, patronum -- sorry -- expecto patronum, expecto patronum"

“哦——是的。”哈利说，迅速地强迫自己又去想第一次骑扫帚飞行的事。

Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.

“呼神叫——不对，护卫——对不起——呼神护卫，呼神护卫。”

"Did you see that?" said Harry excitedly. "Something happened!"

他魔杖的末端突然飞快地喷出什么东西，看起来像是一缕银色的气体。

"Very good," said Lupin, smiling. "Right, then -- ready to try it on a dementor?"

“看见那个了吗？”哈利兴奋地说，“有动静了。”

"Yes," Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding.... Any second now, he might hear his mother again... but he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn't want to... or did he?

“很好，”卢平微笑着说，“那么——那就拿一个摄魂怪来试试，准备好了吗？”

Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.

“好了。”哈利说，紧紧抓住魔杖，慢慢走到这间没有人的教室中央。他努力回想那次飞行，但是总有什么别的回忆来打扰……现在每时每刻，他都有可能再次听到妈妈的尖叫……但他不应该想这些事，要不然他又会听到她的声音了，而他并不要……他要吗？

A dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry, one glistening, scabbed hand gripping its cloak. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out. The dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing a deep, rattling breath. A wave of piercing cold broke over him --

卢平抓住那包装箱的盖子一拉。一个摄魂怪慢慢地从箱子里出来了。它那戴着头巾的面孔朝着哈利，一只发光、结痂、腐烂的手抓住它的斗篷。教室四周的灯光摇曳了一下，熄灭了。摄魂怪从箱子里走出来，开始迅速无声地走向哈利，一面深深地吸了一口气。一阵彻骨的寒冷向他袭来——

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto --"

“呼神护卫！”哈利大叫，“呼神护卫！呼神护卫——”

But the classroom and the dementor were dissolving.... Harry was failing again through thick white fog, and his mother's voice was louder than ever, echoing inside his head -- "Not Harry! Not Harry! please -- I'll do anything!"

这间教室和那个摄魂怪都在融化……哈利又在浓密的白雾之中向下坠落，妈妈的声音比什么时候都要响亮，这声音在他脑子里回荡着——“别动哈利！别动哈利！求你了——我什么都答应——”

"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

“闪开——闪开，丫头——”

"Harry!"

“哈利！”

Harry jerked back to life. He was lying flat on his back on the floor. The classroom lamps were alight again. He didn't have to ask what had happened.

哈利回到现实中来了。他仰面朝天躺在地板上。教室里的灯又亮了。他不必问刚才发生了什么事。

"Sorry," he muttered, sitting up and feeling cold sweat trickling down behind his glasses.

“抱歉。”他咕哝道，坐了起来，觉得冷汗在眼镜后面往下流。

"Are you all right?" said Lupin.

“你没事吧？”卢平问。

"Yes..." Harry pulled himself up on one of the desks and leaned against it.

“没事……”哈利勉强坐到一张桌子上，靠在那里。

"Here --" Lupin handed him a Chocolate Frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had."

“吃吧——”卢平递给他一块蛙形巧克力，“在我们再试以前把它吃了。我没指望你第一次就行。说实在的，要是你成功了，我倒会感到惊讶的。”

"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting off the Frog's head. "I could hear her louder that time -- and him -- Voldemort

“更糟了，”哈利咕哝道，把青蛙的头咬了下来，“这次我听到她的声音更响了——还有他的——伏地魔——”

Lupin looked paler than usual. ,

卢平比平时更加苍白。“哈利，要是你不想继续，我会很理解的——”

"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand --"

“我要继续！”哈利狂怒地说，把剩下的蛙形巧克力全都塞到嘴里，“我必须这样做！要是在我们和拉文克劳队比赛的时候，摄魂怪又出现了怎么办？我不能再掉下来了。如果我们比赛失败，我们就失去魁地奇奖杯了！”

"I do!" said Harry fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth. "I've got to! What if the dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!"

“那么好吧……”卢平说，“你也许要选择另外一种回忆，快乐的回忆，我的意思是说，换一种，再一心一意地想着……你刚才的回忆似乎不够强烈……”

"All right then... " said Lupin. "You might want to select 'other memory, a happy memory, I mean, to concentrate on.... That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough...."

哈利苦苦思索，然后决定格兰芬多院去年赢得学院杯冠军这件事肯定够得上是快乐的回忆。他又紧握魔杖，站到教室中央。

Harry thought hard and decided his feelings when Gryffindor had won the House Championship last year had definitely qualified as very happy. He gripped his wand tightly again and took up his position in the middle of the classroom.

“准备好了吗？”卢平问，抓紧了箱子盖。

"Ready?" said Lupin, gripping the box lid.

“准备好了。”哈利说，一面拼命让自己脑子里充满格兰芬多获胜的快乐回忆，而不去想箱子盖打开以后会发生什么倒霉事。

"Ready," said Harry; trying hard to fill his head with happy thoughts about Gryffindor winning, and not dark thoughts about what was going to happen when the box opened.

“开始！”卢平说，拉开那盖子。这间教室顿时又一次变得冰冷黑暗。摄魂怪向前滑行，格格作响吸着气，一只腐臭的手向哈利仲了过来——

"Go!" said Lupin, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Harry -

“呼神护卫！”哈利大叫道，“呼神护卫！呼神护卫——”

"Expecto patronum!" Harry yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto Pat --"

白色的雾气使他理智迷失了……他周围有模模糊糊的大身影在移动……然后传来了新的声音，是男人大叫的声音，惊慌失措——“莉莉，带上哈利快逃！是他！逃！快跑！我来抵挡他——”有人跌跌撞撞地冲出房间……一扇门爆裂开来……一阵尖声大笑……

White fog obscured his senses... big, blurred shapes were moving around him... then came a new voice, a man's voice, shouting, panicking --

“哈利！哈利……醒来……”卢平用力拍哈利的脸。

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off --"

这次哈利在一分钟以后才明白自己为什么躺在满是灰尘的教室地板上。“我听见我爸的声音了，”哈利低声咕哝道，“这是我第一次听到他——他设法自己对抗伏地魔，让我妈有时间逃……”哈利突然明白自己脸上泪水和汗水混在了一起。他尽量低头，在袍子上擦干泪水和汗水，假装是在系鞋带，不让卢平看见。

The sounds of someone stumbling ftom a room -- a door bursting open -- a cackle of high- pitched laughter --

“你听到詹姆了？”卢平问，声音很怪。

"Harry! Harry... wake up...."

“是的……”脸擦干了，哈利抬起头。“啊——你不认识我爸，对不对？”

Lupin was tapping Harry hard on the face. This time it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor.

“我——说实话，我认识，”卢平说，“在霍格沃茨我们是朋友。听着，哈利——也许我们今天应该到此为止。这种魔咒太高深了……我不应该建议你经历这些事情……”

"I heard my dad," Harry mumbled. "That's the first time I've ever heard him -- he tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it...."

“不！”哈利说。他又站了起来。“我要再试一次！我想的事情不够快乐，所以才会这样子……坚持下去……”他又搜索枯肠。真正快乐的回忆……他能够使之化为一个好的、强大的守护神的回忆……他第一次发现自己是巫师，而且要离开德思礼一家到霍格沃茨来上学！如果这还不是快乐的回忆的话，他就不知道什么才是快乐的回忆了……他努力回忆他知道自己要离开德思礼家时的感觉，哈利站起来，再次面对那个包装箱。

Harry suddenly realized that there were tears on his face mingling with the sweat. He bent his face as low as possible, wiping them off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see.

“准备好了吗？”卢平说，看上去好像这样做是违背了他的正确判断似的。“努力集中想了吗？好——开始！”他第三次揭开了包装箱的盖子，摄魂怪从箱子里升起，寒冷和黑暗充满了教室——

"You heard James?" said Lupin in a strange voice.

“呼神护卫！”哈利大吼道，“呼神护卫！呼神护卫！”

"Yeah..." Face dry, Harry looked up. "Why -- you didn't know my dad, did you?"

哈利脑子里的尖叫又开始了——但是这次听起来好像是来自一台声音没调好的收音机。声音弱了些、响了些、又弱了些……他仍旧能看到摄魂怪……它停住了……然后一个巨大的银色影子从哈和的魔杖末端射了出去，盘旋在哈利和摄魂怪之间，尽管哈利觉得两条腿软得不行，可是他毕竟还自己站着……虽然他不知道还能站多久……

"I -- I did, as a matter of fact," said Lupin. "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry -- perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is ridiculously advanced.... I shouln't have suggested putting you through this...."

“滑稽滑稽！”卢平吼着，往前跳去。一声响亮的噼啪声，哈利那雾蒙蒙的守护神和摄魂怪一起消失了，他一下子坐进椅子里，累得好像刚跑完了一英里似的，两条腿直抖。他从眼角看见卢平教授用魔杖把那博格特逼回了包装箱，那博格特又变成一个银色的球体。

"No!" said Harry. He got up again. "I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is.... Hang on...."

“棒极了！”卢平说，大步走到哈利坐的地方。“棒极了，哈利！这肯定是好的开始！”

He racked his brains. A really, really happy memory... one that he could turn into a good, strong Patronus...

“我们能再试一次吗？就一次好吗？”

The moment when he'd first found out he was a wizard, and would be leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn't a happy memory, he didn't know what was.... Concentrating very hard on how he had felt when he'd realized he'd be leaving Privet Drive, Harry got to his feet and faced the packing case once more.

“现在不行，”卢平坚决地说，“今晚已经够你受的了。喏——”他递给哈利一大块蜂蜜公爵店里最好的巧克力。“把它全吃了，要不然庞弗雷夫人要找我算账了。下星期这时候怎么样？”

"Ready?" said Lupin, who looked as though he were doing this against his better judgment. "Concentrating hard? All right -- go!"

“好。”哈利说。他咬了一口巧克力，看着卢平熄灭那些随着摄魂怪的消失而复明的灯。他忽然有个想法。“卢平教授？”他说，“如果您认识我爸爸，那您也一定认识小天狼星布莱克了。”

He pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the dementor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark

卢平迅速回过身来。“你怎么会想起这个？”他尖锐地问。

'EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry bellowed. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM! "

“没什么——我的意思是说，我刚刚知道他们在霍格沃茨也是朋友……”

The screaming inside Harry's head had started again -- except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio -- softer and louder and softer again -- and he could still see the dementor -- it had halted -- and then a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry's wand, to hover between him and the dementor, and though Harry's legs felt like water, he was still on his feet -- though for how much longer, he wasn't sure --

卢平的脸色不紧张了。“是的，我认识他，”他简短地说，“要不然就是我认为我认识。你不如快走吧，哈利，时间不早了。”

"Riddikulus!" roared Lupin, springing forward.

哈利离开那教室，沿着走廊走去，转过拐角，然后在一套盔甲后面绕了一个弯，坐在它的底座上吃完他的巧克力，心想他刚才没有提到布莱克就好了，因为卢平显然对这个话题不感兴趣。然后哈利的思绪又回到了他父母身上……他觉得很累，还有一种奇异的空虚感，尽管他刚刚吃饱了巧克力。在脑子里听到了父母临终时的声音虽然可怕，但哈利这还是他惟一一次听到他爸爸的声音。不过，要是他分一半心思想再听听父母的声音，他就永远不能产生一个合适的守护神……“他们已经死了，”他严厉地告诉自己，“他们死了，听他们的回声并不能让他们回来。要是你想要魁地奇杯，那你不如把自己控制好。”他站起来，把最后一小块巧克力塞到嘴里，回到格兰芬多塔搂去了。

There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the dementor; he sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again.

学期开始一星期以后，拉文克劳和斯莱特林赛了一场。斯莱特林赢了，但比分很接近。照伍德的说法，对格兰芬多队来说这是好消息，因为，如果格兰芬多胜了拉文克劳，那它还能占居第二。因此他把训练时间增加到每周五次。这意味着加上卢平的防御摄魂怪课，哈利每周只有一个晚上能用来做作业了，何况卢平的加课本身就比六次魁地奇训练还要累人。即使如此，哈利也没有显得像赫敏那样累；赫敏选课太多，课程的重负终于在她身上显露出来了。每天晚上，赫敏总是必然出现在公共休息室的一角，面前的几张桌子上摊着各种课本：算术图表、各种魔法词典、麻瓜举起重物的图解，还有各种范围广泛的笔记；她很少和别人说话，若是有人打扰她，她说起话来就恶声恶气的。

"Excellent!" Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat. "Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!"

“她是怎么对付的呀？”一天晚上罗恩对哈利咕哝道，此时哈利快要写完一篇斯内普布置的关于种种不可检测的毒药的论文。哈利抬头看去，赫敏坐在一大堆摇摇欲坠的书后面，人都快看不见了。

"Can we have another go? Just one more go?"

“对付什么？”

"Not now," said Lupin firmly. "You've had enough for one night. Here --"

“她要上那么多课呀！”罗恩说道，“今天早上，我听到她和维克多教授谈话，维克多就是那个教算术占卜的女巫。她们在说昨天的功课，但是赫敏昨天是不可能去上算术占卜课的，因为她和我们一起上了保护神奇生物课！而且厄尼麦克米兰告诉我说，赫敏从来没有错过一堂麻瓜研究课，但这门课有一半时间是和占卜课冲突的，而她也从来没有耽误过一堂占卜课！”

He handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate.

哈利这会儿没有时间去探讨赫敏那张行不通的时间表，他必须把斯内普的论文写好。然而，两秒钟以后，又有人来打扰他了，这人是伍德。

"Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"

“坏消息，哈利。我刚才去看了麦格教授，谈那火弩箭的事。她——哦——有一点对我生气的意思，告诉我说分清事情的轻重。好像认为我把赢得奖杯看得比让你活下去还要重。就是因为我告诉她，哪怕那飞天扫帚把你摔下地我也不在乎，只要你能骑着它首先抓到金色飞贼就行。”伍德摇摇头，简直不能相信的样子。“说实在的，她对我大喊大叫的那副样子……你还以为我说了什么可怕的东西呢。然后我问她，这东西还要在她手里多久……”他把脸皱起来，学着麦格教授的严厉声调，“‘只要有必要，伍德……’我想你是不是该订购一把新扫帚，哈利。《分类飞天扫帚》后面就有一张订购表……你不妨订一把光轮2001，就像马尔福的那把。”

"Okay," said Harry. He took a bite of the chocolate and watched Lupin extinguishing the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the dementor. A thought had just occurred to him.

“我不买马尔福认为好的东西。”哈利干脆地说。

"Professor Lupin?" he said. "If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

一月份不知不觉地变成了二月份，寒冷的天气却没有变。和拉文克劳队的比赛越来越近了，但是哈利仍旧没有订购新的扫帚。他现在每次变形课后都向麦格教授询问有关火弩箭的消息，罗恩总是满怀希望地站在哈利背后，赫敏则把脸扭向一边飞快地跑过他们身边。

Lupin turned very quickly.

“不行，波特，你现在还不能拿回去。”还没有等哈利开口，麦格教授就这样第十二次告诉他。“我们已经检查了多数通常使用的咒语，但弗立维教授认为这把扫帚可能带有一种抛掷符咒。我们一检查完，我就会告诉你的。现在，请别纠缠我了。”

"What gives you that idea?" he said sharply.

更加糟糕的是，哈利的防御摄魂怪的课程进行得不像他希望的那样顺利。那博格特摄魂怪接近他的时候。他有好几次能够产生一种模糊的银色影子，但他的守护神太弱，不能赶走摄魂怪。那团影子只能盘旋，就像一朵半透明的云彩。哈利努力让它待在那里，因此而筋疲力尽。哈利对自己生气，由于心里想再听到父母的声音而有一种负罪感。

"Nothing -- I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too...."

“你对自己期望过高了，”卢平教授严厉地说，这时他们已经上了四星期的课。“对一个十三岁的巫师来说，即使是一团模糊的守护神也是巨大的成就。你现在不会昏过去了，是不是？”

Lupin's face relaxed.

“我认为守护神会——打败摄魂怪或是——”哈利没精打采地说，“让它们消失——”

"Yes, I knew him," he said shortly. "Or I thought I did. You'd better be off, Harry, it's getting late."

“真正的守护神能做到这一点，”卢平说，“但你已经在很短时间里有了很大成就了。如果你们下一次比赛的时候，摄魂怪又出现在你面前，你就能够不让它们靠近，能够赢得时间让你回到地面来。”

Harry left the classroom, walking along the corridor and around a corner, then took a detour behind a suit of armor and sank down on its plinth to finish his chocolate, wishing he hadn't mentioned Black, as Lupin was obviously not keen on the subject. Then Harry's thoughts wandered back to his mother and father...

“您说过要是它们数目多就更难对付。”哈利说。

He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full of chocolate. Terrible though it was to hear his parents' last moments replayed inside his head, these were the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child. But he'd never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half wanted to hear his parents again....

“我对你完全有信心。”卢平微笑着说，“喏——奖你一杯饮料。从三把扫帚那里买来的，你以前怕是没喝过——”他从公文包里拿出两个瓶子。“黄油啤酒！”

"They're dead," he told himself sternly. "They're dead and listening to echoes of them won't bring them back. You'd better get a grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup."

哈利脱口就说，“对，我喜欢这种东西！”卢平扬起一条眉毛。“哦——罗恩和赫敏给我从霍格莫德村带回来过。”哈利马上撒谎道。

He stood up, crammed the last bit of chocolate into his mouth, and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

“我明白了，”卢平说，但他仍旧有点怀疑的样子，“唔——让我们祝愿格兰芬多打败拉文克劳！作为老师，我倒是不该偏袒哪一方的……”他匆忙加上一句。

Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. Slytherin won, though narrowly. According to Wood, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a leek. This meant that with Lupin's anti-dementor classes, which in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Even so, he was showing the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. Every night, without fail, Hermione was to be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted.

他们默默地喝着黄油啤酒，直到哈利问出好些时候他心里一直想问的问题。“摄魂怪头巾下面是什么？”

"How's she doing it?" Ron muttered to Harry one evening as Harry sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape. Harry looked up. Hermione was barely visible behind a tottering pile of books.

卢平教授沉思着放下酒瓶。“哼……唔，真正知道的人是无法告诉我们的。你知道，摄魂怪只有在使用它们最后最坏的武器的时候才放下头巾的。”

"Doing what?"

“那是什么？”

"Getting to all her classes!" Ron said. "I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't 've been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!"

“人们叫它摄魂怪的吻。”卢平说，略带一点嘲讽的笑容。“这是摄魂怪对那些它们想彻底毁灭的人做的事。我想头巾下面总会有类似嘴那样的东西，因为它们把下巴压在牺牲品的嘴上，然后——吸出牺牲品的灵魂。”

Harry didn't have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione's impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape's essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood.

哈利不觉吐出一点黄油啤酒来。“什么——它们杀——？”

"Bad news, Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She -- er -- got a bit shirty with me. Told m' I'd got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first." Wood shook his head in disbelief. "Honestly, the way she was yelling at me... you'd think I'd said something terrible... then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it. He screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall's severe voice. 'As long as necessary, Wood'... I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There's an order form at the back of Which Broomstick... you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy's got."

“哦，不是的，”卢平说道，“比杀死还要糟。你知道，只要你的脑子和心脏还在工作，你就能没有灵魂而活下去。但你不再有自我感觉了，你也没有了记忆，没有了……什么都没有了。根本没有机会复原。你就是——就是活着罢了，行尸走肉而已。你的灵魂就此……万劫不复。”卢平又喝了一点黄油啤酒，然后说：“这就是小天狼星布莱克的未来命运。今天早晨的《预言家日报》是这么说的。魔法部已经答应摄魂怪们捉到布莱克以后就这样做。”

"I'm not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good," said Harry flatly.

哈利想着从嘴里把人的灵魂吸走的事，不觉坐在那里目瞪口呆了一会儿。不过他想到了布莱克。“他活该。”他忽然说。

January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn't ordered a new broom. He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of the Firebolt after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face averted.

“你这样想吗？”卢平轻轻地问，“你真的认为有人活该这样吗？”

"No, Potter, you can't have it back yet," Professor McGonagall told him the twelfth time this happened, before he'd even opened his mouth. "We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me."

“是的，”哈利不管不顾地说，“对……做了某些事的……”

To make matters even worse, Harry's anti-dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the boggart-dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the dementor away. All it did was hover, like a semitransparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear his parents' voices again.

他原想把他在三把扫帚偷听到的关于布莱克的对话、关于布莱克背叛他父母的事告诉卢平，但是这样一来势必要暴露出他未经许可就擅自去了霍格莫德村的事，而且他知道卢平对此未必会在意。因此他喝完黄油啤酒，谢了卢平，就离开了魔法史教室。

"You're expecting too much of yourself," said Professor Lupin, sternly in their fourth week of practice. "For a thirteen-year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?"

哈利恍恍惚惚地希望他没有问摄魂怪头巾下面有什么这个问题，因为这个答案是如此可怕，他沉浸在灵魂被吸走会有什么感觉的想法里，所以在楼梯上竟和麦格教授撞个正着。

I thought a Patronus would -- charge the dementors down or something," said Harry dispiritedly. "Make them disappear --"

“看看你在往哪里走，波特！”

"The true Patronus does do that," said Lupin. "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, You will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground."

“对不起，教授——”

"You said it's harder if there are loads of them," said Harry.

“我刚才到格兰芬多的公共休息室里去找你。唔，给你，我们凡是想得到的事都做过了，好像这把扫帚根本没有什么不正常的地方——你在什么地方有个很好的朋友呢，波特……”哈利张大了嘴。她正把他的火弩箭拿出来，它看上去和以前一样漂亮。

"I have complete confidence in you," said Lupin, smiling. "Here -- you've earned a drink - something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before --"

“我可以拿回去了吗？”哈利低声问道，“当真能拿了？”

He pulled two bottles out of his briefcase.

“当真。”麦格教授说，她真的在微笑。“我敢说星期六比赛以前你就想试试它了，对不对？还有，波特——努把力打赢啊，好不好？要不然我们就连续八年拿不到奖杯了，这是斯内普教授昨晚好心地提醒我的……”

"Butterbeer!" said Harry, without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

哈利一句话也说不出来，他拿了火弩箭回身上楼到格兰芬多塔楼去了。他拐过一个弯的时候，看见罗恩向他箭也似的冲过来，笑得嘴都合不上了。

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

“她给你了吗？太棒了！听着，我可以试试吗？明天？”

"Oh -Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade," Harry lied quickly.

“好……干什么都行……”哈利说，一个月以来，他的心情从来没有这样轻松。“你知道吗——我们应该和赫敏讲和。她只是想帮忙罢了……”

I see," said Lupin, though he still looked slightly suspicious. "Well -- let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher... " he added hastily

“好的。对了，”罗恩说，“她现在在公共休息室——在工作，为了换换口味。”

They drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something he'd been wondering for a while.

他们回到通往格兰芬多楼的走廊，看见纳威隆巴顿正在央求卡多根爵士，卡多根似乎不让他进去。

"What's under a dementor's hood?"

“我写下来了，”纳威含着眼泪说，“但是我一定是把那张纸丢在什么地方了！”

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully.

“说得跟真的似的！”卡多根爵士大吼，然后，他看到了哈利和罗恩，“晚安，优秀的年轻侍者！把这个傻瓜用铁链子锁起来，他打算强行进入里面的房间呢！”

"Hmmm... well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon."

“哦。住嘴吧。”罗恩说，他和哈利、纳威站在了一起。

"What's that?"

“我忘记了口令！”纳威凄惨地告诉他们，“我让他告诉我本周要用什么口令，因为他一直更换口令，现在那些口令把我弄糊涂了！”

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," said Lupin, with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and -- and suck out his soul."

“奇身怪皮。”哈利对卡多根爵士说，爵士看上去极其失望，不情愿地放他们进了公共休息室。

Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer.

突然传来一阵兴奋的喃喃声，大家都回过头来，然后哈利便被争着要看火弩箭的人包围起来了。

"What -- they kill --?"

“你从哪里得到的，哈利？”

"Oh no," said Lupin. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no. .. anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever... lost."

“让我骑一下好吗？”

Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry have given the dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

“你骑过没有，哈利？”

Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black.

“拉文克劳输定了，他们用的都是横扫七星！”

"He deserves it," he said suddenly.

“我就拿一下行吗，哈利？”

"You think so?" said Lupin lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves that?"

大家传看着火弩箭，并且从每一个角度欣赏它。这样大约十分钟以后，人群就散开了。哈利和罗恩能够看清赫敏了，她是惟一没有向他们冲过来的人。她俯身向着作业，小心地避开他们两人的目光。哈利和罗恩走近她的桌子，最后她总算抬起头来了。

"Yes," said Harry defiantly. "For... for some things..."

“我拿回来了。”哈利说，对她咧开嘴笑着，把火弩箭举了起来。

He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he'd overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks, about Black betraying his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he'd gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn't be very impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic classroom.

“看见啦，赫敏？这把扫帚什么毛病也没有！”罗恩说。

Harry half wished that he hadn't asked what was under a dementor's hood, the answer had been so horrible, and he was so lost in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you that he walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs.

“唔——本来也许有毛病呢！”赫敏说，“我意思是说，至少现在你知道它是安全的了！”

"Do watch where you're going, Potter!"

“对，我想是这样的，”哈利说，“我还是把它放到楼上才好——”

"Sorry, Professor --"

“我来拿！”罗恩急切地说，“我必须给斑斑喂耗子补药了。”他拿着火弩箭，举着它上了男生宿舍的楼梯，仿佛它是玻璃做的。

"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room, Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all. You've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter...."

“那我可以坐下吗？”哈利问赫敏。

Harry's jaw dropped. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever.

“我想可以。”赫敏说，从一把椅子上挪走一大块羊皮纸。

"I can have it back?" Harry said weakly. "Seriously?"

哈利看了看那张零乱的桌子，又看了看那篇长长的、墨迹未干的算术占卜论文，再看看那篇更长的麻瓜研究论文（“说明麻瓜为什么需要电力”），还有赫敏正在推敲的魔文翻译。

"Seriously," said Professor McGonagall, and she was actually smiling. "I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't you? And Potter -- do try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the eighth year. in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night...."

“你怎么能把这么多东西都对付下来呢？”哈利问她。

Speechless, Harry carried the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he saw Ron dashing toward him, grinning from ear to ear.

“哦，唔——你知道——用功呗。”赫敏说。

"She gave it to You? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?"

哈利凑近了才发现她看上去几乎和卢平一样疲乏。“你为什么不少学两门课呢？”哈利问，看着她拿起一本本书寻找她的魔术词典。

"Yeah... anything," said Harry, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. "You know what -- we should make up with Hermione.... She was only trying to help...."

“我做不到！”赫敏说，显得大为惊讶。

"Yeah, all right," said Ron. "She's in the common room how working, for a change --"

“算术占卜看上去很可怕。”哈利说，拿起一张看上去很复杂的数字表。

They turned into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville Longbottom, pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance.

“哦，不。算术占卜好奇妙！”赫敏真诚地说，“算术占卜是我喜爱的一门课！它的……”

"I wrote them down!" Neville was saying tearfully. "But I must've dropped them somewhere!"

但哈利从来没有弄懂算术占卜奇妙在哪里。正在此刻，男生宿舍的楼梯上传来一声被闷住的叫喊。整个公共休息室没有人说话了，大家满怀恐惧她盯着门口看。匆忙的脚步声，越来越响——然后，罗恩跳进了大家的视线，随身还掩着一条床单。

"A likely tale!" roared Sir Cadogan. Then, spotting Harry and Ron: "Good even, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"

“看！”他咆哮着，大步走到赫敏桌边，“看！”他大叫，在她面前抖着那条床单。

"Oh, shut up," said Ron as he and Harry drew level with Neville.

“罗恩，什么——？”

"I've lost the passwords!" Neville told them miserably. "I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!"

“斑斑！看！斑斑！”

"Oddsbodikins," said Harry to Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt.

赫敏躲开罗恩，完全不知所措。哈利往罗恩拿着的那条床单上看去。上面有些红色的东西。看上去很可怕，像是——

"Where'd you get it, Harry?"

“血！”罗恩在大家的一片惊慌的静寂中大叫，“它死了！你们知道地板上还有什么吗？”

"Will you let me have a go?" "Have you ridden it yet, Harry?"

“不，不知道。”赫敏说，声音都抖了。

"Ravenclaw'll have no chance, they're all on Cleansweep Sevens!"

罗恩把什么东西扔在赫敏的译文上面。赫敏和哈利俯身向前。散在那奇形怪状、长而尖的字迹上的是长长的几根姜黄色猫毛。

"Can I just hold it, Harry?"

After ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was Passed around and admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and Harry and Ron had a clear view of Hermione, the only person who hadn't rushed over to them, bent over her work and carefully avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron approached her table and at last, she looked up.

"I got it back," said Harry, grinning at her and holding up the Firebolt.

"See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it!" said Ron.

"Well -- there might have been!" said Hermione. "I mean, at least you know now that it's safe!"

"Yeah, I suppose so," said Harry. "Id better put it upstairs."

"I'll take it!" said Ron eagerly. "I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic."

He took the Firebolt and, holding it as if it were made of glass, carried it away up the boys' staircase.

"Can I sit down, then?" Harry asked Hermione.

"I suppose so," said Hermione, moving a great stack of parchment off a chair.

Harry looked around at the cluttered table, at the long Arithmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, at the even longer Muggle Studies essay ("Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity" and at the rune translation Hermione was now poring over.

"How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry asked her.

"Oh, well -- you know -- working hard," said Hermione. Close-up, Harry saw that she looked almost as tired as Lupin.

"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" Harry asked, watching her lifting books as she searched for her rune dictionary.

"I couldn't do that!" said Hermione, looking scandalized.

"Arithmancy looks terrible," said Harry, picking up a very complicated-looking number chart.

"Oh no, it's wonderful!" said Hermione earnestly. "It's my favorite subject! It's --"

But exactly what was wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry never found out. At that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring, petrified, at the entrance. Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder -- and then Ron came leaping into view, dragging with him a bedsheet.

"LOOK!" he bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table.

"LOOK!" he yelled, shaking the sheets in her face.

"Ron, what --?"

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like --

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N -- no," said Hermione in a trembling voice.

Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. Hermione and Harry leaned forward. Lying on top of the weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs.