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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 FIFTEEN - BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG

第十五章　布斯巴顿和德姆斯特朗

Early next morning, Harry woke with a plan fully formed in his mind, as

第二天一早，哈利醒来时，脑子里已经形成了一个完整的计划，就好像他睡着时脑子也没休息，整夜都在盘算这件事。他从床上起来，在黎明苍白的微光中穿好衣服，没有唤醒罗恩，独自离开宿舍，来到空无一人的公共休息室。他昨晚的占卜课家庭作业还留在桌上，他拿起一张羊皮纸，写了下面这封信：

though his sleeping brain had been working on it all night. He got up, dressed in the pale dawn light, left the dormitory without waking Ron, and went back down to the deserted common room. Here he took a piece of parchment from the table upon which his Divination homework still lay and wrote the following letter:

亲爱的小天狼星：

Dear Sirius, I reckon I just imagined my scar hurting, I was half asleep when I wrote to you last time. There's no point coming back, everything's fine here. Don't worry about me, my head feels completely normal.

我想，我的伤疤疼大概是心理作用，我上次给你写信时还没有完全睡醒。你没有必要回来，这里一切都好。不要为我担心，我的头一点儿也不疼了。

Harry He then climbed out of the portrait hole, up through the silent castle (held up only briefly by Peeves, who tried to overturn a large vase on him halfway along the fourth-floor corridor), finally arriving at the Owlery, which was situated at the top of West Tower.

哈利

The Owlery was a circular stone room, rather cold and drafty, because none of the windows had glass in them. The floor was entirely covered in straw, owl droppings, and the regurgitated skeletons of mice and voles. Hundreds upon hundreds of owls of every breed imaginable were nestled here on perches that rose right up to the top of the tower, nearly all of them asleep, though here and there a round amber eye glared at Harry. He spotted Hedwig nestled between a barn owl and a tawny, and hurried over to her, sliding a little on the dropping-strewn floor.

随即，他从肖像画后的洞口爬了出去，在寂静的城堡里一直往上走（只被皮皮鬼阻挡了片刻，在五楼的走廊上，皮皮鬼想把一只大花瓶推到他身上），最后来到位于西塔楼最顶层的猫头鹰棚屋。

It took him a while to persuade her to wake up and then to look at him, as she kept shuffling around on her perch, showing him her tail. She was evidently still furious about his lack of gratitude the previous night. In the end, it was Harry suggesting she might be too tired, and that perhaps he would ask Ron to borrow Pigwidgeon, that made her stick out her leg and allow him to tie the letter to it.

棚屋是一个圆形的石头房间，非常阴冷，刮着穿堂风，因为那里的窗户上都没有安玻璃。地板上到处都是稻草和猫头鹰粪便，以及猫头鹰吐出的老鼠和田鼠骨头。在直达塔楼最顶处的栖枝上，栖息着成百上千只猫头鹰，各个品种应有尽有。哈利看见海德薇栖息在一只谷仓猫头鹰和一只黄褐色猫头鹰之间，便匆匆走过去，脚踩在洒满鸟粪的地上差点儿滑倒了。

"Just find him, all right?" Harry said, stroking her back as he carried her on his arm to one of the holes in the wall. "Before the dementors do."

他磨了半天嘴皮子，才说服海德薇醒过来望着自己，因为它不停地在栖枝上移来移去，把尾巴冲着哈利。显然，它还在因为他昨晚不知好歹的表现而生气。最后，哈利说它大概太累了，他最好去向罗恩借来小猪用一下，海德薇这才伸出腿来，让哈利把信栓上。

She nipped his finger, perhaps rather harder than she would ordinarily have done, but hooted softly in a reassuring sort of way all the same. Then she spread her wings and took off into the sunrise. Harry watched her fly out of sight with the familiar feeling of unease back in his stomach. He had been so sure that Sirius's reply would alleviate his worries rather than increasing them.

“一定要找到他，好吗？”哈利说，抱着它走向墙上的一个洞口，一边抚摸它的后背，“要赶在摄魂怪前面。”

"That was a lie, Harry," said Hermione sharply over breakfast, when he told her and Ron what he had done. "You didn't imagine your scar hurting and you know it."

海德薇咬了咬他的手指，也许比平时咬得更用力一些，但它仍然轻轻叫了几声，仿佛是叫他放心。然后，海德薇展开双翅，飞进了晨曦之中。哈利望着它飞得看不见了，内心产生了那种很不踏实的感觉。他一直以为小天狼星的回信肯定会减轻他的担忧，没想到他的担忧反倒增加了。

"So what?" said Harry. "He's not going back to Azkaban because of me."

“你在撒谎，哈利，”早饭桌上，当哈利把他做的事情告诉赫敏和罗恩后，赫敏尖锐地指出，“你的伤疤根本不是心理作用，你知道的。”

"Drop it," said Ron sharply to Hermione as she opened her mouth to argue some more, and for once, Hermione heeded him, and fell silent.

“那又怎么样？”哈利说，“他不能因为我而再回到阿兹卡班。”

Harry did his best not to worry about Sirius over the next couple of weeks. True, he could not stop himself from looking anxiously around every morning when the post owls arrived, nor, late at night before he went to sleep, prevent himself from seeing horrible visions of Sirius, cornered by dementors down some dark London street, but betweentimes he tried to keep his mind off his godfather. He wished he still had Quidditch to distract him; nothing worked so well on a troubled mind as a good, hard training session.

“别说了。”赫敏张嘴还要辩论，罗恩很不客气地阻止了她。赫敏破天荒第一次听从了他，不再说什么了。

On the other hand, their lessons were becoming more difficult and demanding than ever before, particularly Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts.

在接下来的两个星期里，哈利尽量不去为小天狼星担心。诚然，当每天早晨送信的猫头鹰到来时，他还是忍不住焦虑地东张西望。而每天深夜入睡前，他也无法不让自己幻想小天狼星在伦敦某条阴暗的街道上，被摄魂怪们副得走投无路的可怕情景；不过在整个白天，他还是尽量不去牵挂自己的教父。他真希望他仍然能靠魁地奇转移注意力，没有什么比健康的、大运动量的训练更能排解内心的烦恼焦虑了。而另一方面，他们的功课越来越难，要求越来越高，特别是穆迪的黑魔法防御术课。

To their surprise, Professor Moody had announced that he would be putting the Imperius Curse on each of them in turn, to demonstrate its power and to see whether they could resist its effects.

令他们吃惊的是，穆迪教授宣布说他要轮流对每个同学念夺魂咒，以演示这个咒语的魔力，看他们能不能抵御它的影响。

"But - but you said it's illegal, Professor," said Hermione uncertainly as Moody cleared away the desks with a sweep of his wand, leaving a large clear space in the middle of the room. "You said - to use it against another human was -"

“可是——可是你说过它是非法的，教授，”当穆迪一挥魔杖，让课桌纷纷靠边，在教室中央留出一大片空地时，赫敏没有把握地说，“你说过——把它用在别人身上是——”

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, his magical eye swiveling onto Hermione and fixing her with an eerie, unblinking stare. "If you'd rather learn the hard way - when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely - fine by me. You're excused. Off you go."

“邓布利多教授希望教你们感受一下，”穆迪说——他那只带魔法的眼睛转过来，并且阴森森地、一眨不眨地盯着赫敏，“如果你愿意通过更残酷的方式学习——等着别人给你念这个咒语，把你完全控制在手心里——那很好。我同意。你可以走了。”

He pointed one gnarled finger toward the door. Hermione went very pink and muttered something about not meaning that she wanted to leave. Harry and Ron grinned at each other. They knew Hermione would rather eat bubotuber pus than miss such an important lesson.

他伸出一只粗糙的手指，指着教室的门。赫敏满脸涨得通红，喃喃地嘀咕了一句什么，好像是说她并不想离开。哈利和罗恩相对笑了一下。他们知道赫敏宁可去吃巴波块茎的脓水，也不愿错过这样重要的一课。

Moody began to beckon students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse upon them.

穆迪开始招呼同学们轮流上前，给他们念夺魂咒。哈利看到，在咒语的影响下，同学们一个接一个地做出了最反常的举动。迪安·托马斯一蹦一跳地在教室里转了三圈，嘴里唱着国歌。拉文德·布朗模仿一只松鼠。纳威表演了一系列十分惊人的体操动作，这是他在正常状态下绝对做不到的。他们似乎没有一个人能够抵挡这个咒语，都是在穆迪消除咒语后才恢复了正常。

Harry watched as, one by one, his classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem.

“波特，”穆迪声音隆隆地说，“轮到你了。”

Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. Not one of them seemed to be able to fight off the curse, and each of them recovered only when Moody had removed it.

哈利上前走到教室中央，走到穆迪刚才挪开课桌腾出的空地上。穆迪举起魔杖，指着哈利，说道：“魂魄出窍！”

"Potter," Moody growled, "you next."

那真是一种最奇妙的感觉。哈利只觉得轻飘飘的，脑海里的思想和忧虑一扫而光，只留下一片矇矇眬眬的、看不见摸不着的喜悦。他站在那里，感到特别轻松，无忧无虑，只模模糊糊地意识到大家都在注视着他。

Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and said, '1mperio!"

然后，他听见了疯眼汉穆迪的声音，在他空荡荡的脑袋里某个遥远的角落里回响：跳到桌子上去……跳到桌子上去……

It was the most wonderful feeling. Harry felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in his head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. He stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching him.

哈利顺从地弯下膝盖，准备跳了。

And then he heard Mad-Eye Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of his empty brain: Jump onto the desk. . . jump onto the desk. . .

跳到桌子上去……

Harry bent his knees obediently, preparing to spring.

可是为什么呢？

Jump onto the desk....

他脑袋后面又有一个声音苏醒了。

Why, though? Another voice had awoken in the back of his brain.

这么做太傻了，那个声音说。

Stupid thing to do, really, said the voice.

跳到桌子上去……

Jump onto the desk....

不，我不想跳，谢谢，另外那个声音说，语气更坚定了一些……不，我真的不想跳……

No, I don't think I will, thanks, said the other voice, a little more firmly. . . no, I don't really want to.

跳！快跳！

Jump! NOW!

接下来，哈利便感到一阵剧痛。他跳了，同时又试图不让自己跳——其结果就是他一头撞在桌子上，把桌子撞翻了，腿上钻心地疼，看来他的两个膝盖骨都摔裂了。

The next thing Harry felt was considerable pain. He had both jumped and tried to prevent himself from jumping - the result was that he'd smashed headlong into the desk knocking it over, and, by the feeling in his legs, fractured both his kneecaps.

“好，这才像话！”穆迪那隆隆的声音说。

"Now, that's more like it!" growled Moody's voice, and suddenly, Harry felt the empty, echoing feeling in his head disappear. He remembered exactly what was happening, and the pain in his knees seemed to double.

忽地，哈利觉得他脑海里那只空谷回音般的空洞感消失了。他十分清楚地记得刚才发生的事，膝盖越发疼痛难忍。

"Look at that, you lot. . . Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it!

“看看吧，你们大家……波特抵挡了！他抵挡了，他差点儿打败了它！我们再试一次，波特，你们其他人注意看好——望着他的眼睛，那是关键所在——很好，波特，非常好！他们别想轻易控制你！”

We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention - watch his eyes, that's where you see it - very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"

“听他说话的口气，”一小时后（穆迪坚持让哈利连续测试了四次，直到哈利能够完全摆脱那个咒语），哈利一瘸一拐地走出黑魔法防御术课的教室，嘴里嘀咕道，“你还以为我们随时都会受到攻击呢。”

"The way he talks," Harry muttered as he hobbled out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class an hour later (Moody had insisted on putting Harry through his paces four times in a row, until Harry could throw off the curse entirely), "you'd think we were all going to be attacked any second."

“是啊，没错。”罗恩说，他每走一步就抬脚一跳。他对付这个咒语的困难比哈利大得多，不过穆迪向他保证，咒语的影响到吃午饭时就会消失。“说话像个偏执狂……”罗恩扭头望望，确信穆迪肯定听不见了，才接着说下去，“难怪他们巴不得把他从魔法部赶出去呢。你有没有听见他告诉西莫，愚人节那天一个女巫在他后面喝个倒彩，他是怎么对付那个女巫的？我们要做的事情那么多，哪有时间研究怎样抵挡夺魂咒啊？”

"Yeah, I know," said Ron, who was skipping on every alternate step. He had had much more difficulty with the curse than Harry, though Moody assured him the effects would wear off by lunchtime. "Talk about paranoid. . ." Ron glanced nervously over his shoulder to check that Moody was definitely out of earshot and went on. "No wonder they were glad to get shot of him at the Ministry. Did you hear him telling Seamus what he did to that witch who shouted 'Boo' behind him on April Fools' Day? And when are we supposed to read up on resisting the Imperius Curse with everything else we've got to do?"

所有四年级的同学都注意到，他们这学期要做的功课明显增加了。当同学们格外大声地抱怨麦格教授布置的变形课家庭作业太多时，麦格教授解释了原因。

All the fourth years had noticed a definite increase in the amount of work they were required to do this term. Professor McGonagall explained why, when the class gave a particularly loud groan at the amount of Transfiguration homework she had assigned.

“你们正在进入你们魔法教育的一个重要时期！”她告诉他们，两只眼睛在方方的镜片后面威严地闪着光，“你们的O. W. Ls考试就要临近了——”

"You are now entering a most important phase of your magical education!" she told them, her eyes glinting dangerously behind her square spectacles. "Your Ordinary Wizarding Levels are drawing closer --"

“我们要到五年级才参加级别考试呢！”迪安·托马斯气愤地说。

"We don't take O.W.L.s till fifth year!" s aid Dean Thomas indignantly.

“也许是这样，托马斯，不过请相信我，你们需要做好充分准备！在这个班里，始终只有格兰杰小姐一个人能把刺猬变成一只令人满意的针垫。托马斯，我应该提醒你一句，你的针垫在有人拿着针靠近它时，仍然会害怕得蜷缩起来！”

"Maybe not, Thomas, but believe me, you need all the preparation you can get! Miss Granger remains the only person in this class who has managed to turn a hedgehog into a satisfactory pincushion. I might remind you that your pincushion, Thomas, still curls up in fright if anyone approaches it with a pin!"

赫敏的脸又涨得通红，竭力不让自己表现出太得意的样子。

Hermione, who had turned rather pink again, seemed to be trying not to look too pleased with herself.

哈利和罗恩没想到，在第二堂占卜课上，特里劳妮教授居然对他们说，他们的家庭作业获得了高分，这使他们觉得特别可笑。她高声选读了他们预言的许多部分，并表扬他们能够勇敢地接受即将发生的可怕事情——可是，当她要求他们再对下下个月的命运作个预测时，他们就觉得不怎么可笑了。他们俩再也想不出机关报的灾难事件了。

Harry and Ron were deeply amused when Professor Trelawney told them that they had received top marks for their homework in their next Divination class. She read out large

另一方面，宾斯教授——教他们魔法史的鬼魂，这周布置他们写一篇关于十八世纪妖精叛乱的论文。斯内普教授逼着他们研究解药。他们不敢掉以轻心，因为斯内普教授暗示说，他将在圣诞节前给他们中间的一个人下毒，看看他们的解药是否管用。弗立维教授要求他们另外再读三本书，为学习飞来咒做准备。

portions of their predictions, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of the horrors in store for them - but they were less amused when she asked them to do the same thing for the month after next; both of them were running out of ideas for catastrophes.

就连海格也给他们增加了负担。炸尾螺长得很快，尽管谁都没有弄清它们到底喜欢吃什么。海格非常高兴，作为“项目”的一部分，他建议他们每隔一天到他的小屋去观察炸尾螺，并记录下它们不同寻常的行为。

Meanwhile Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic, had them writing weekly essays on the goblin rebellions of the eighteenth century. Professor Snape was forcing them to research antidotes. They took this one seriously, as he had hinted that he might be poisoning one of them before Christmas to see if their antidote worked. Professor Flitwick had asked them to read three extra books in preparation for their lesson on Summoning Charms.

“我不去，”当海格以圣诞老人从口袋里掏出一只特大玩具的神情提出这个建议时，德拉科·马尔福毫不含糊地说道，“我在课堂上就看够了这些讨厌的东西，谢谢。”

Even Hagrid was adding to their workload. The Blast-Ended Skrewts were growing at a remarkable pace given that nobody had yet discovered what they ate. Hagrid was delighted, and as part of their "project," suggested that they come down to his hut on alternate evenings to observe the skrewts and make notes on their extraordinary behavior.

海格脸上的微笑隐去了。

"I will not," said Draco Malfoy flatly when Hagrid had proposed this with the air of Father Christmas pulling an extra-large toy out of his sack. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."

“按我说的办，”他咆哮道，“不然我就学穆迪教授的样儿……我听说你变成白鼬还蛮不错的，马尔福。”

Hagrid's smile faded off his face.

格兰芬多的学生们哄堂大笑。马尔福气红了脸，但他显然对穆迪惩罚他的那一幕记忆犹新，便不敢再顶嘴了。下课后，哈利、罗恩和赫敏兴高采烈地回到城堡。看到海格镇压了马尔福的嚣张气焰，真是大快人心，更何况马尔福去年曾千方百计想弄得海格被学校开除。

"Yeh'll do wha' yer told," he growled, "or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book. . . . I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy."

他们来到门厅时，发现再也无法前进，因为一大群学生都挤在大理石楼梯脚下竖起的一则大启事周围。罗恩是他们三个人中最高的，他踮起脚尖，越过前面人的头顶，把启事上的文字大声念给他们两个听：

The Gryffindors roared with laughter. Malfoy flushed with anger, but apparently the memory of Moody's punishment was still sufficiently painful to stop him from retorting.

三强争霸赛

Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the castle at the end of the lesson in high spirits; seeing Hagrid put down Malfoy was particularly satisfying, especially because Malfoy had done his very best to get Hagrid sacked the previous year.

布斯巴顿和德姆斯特朗的代表将于10月30日星期五傍晚六时抵达。下午的课程将提前半小时结束——

When they arrived in the entrance hall, they found themselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase. Ron, the tallest of the three, stood on tiptoe to see over the heads in front of them and read the sign aloud to the other two:

“太棒了！”哈利说，“星期五的最后一堂课是魔药课！斯内普来不及给我们大家下毒了！”

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL END HALF AN HOUR EARLY -- "Brilliant!" said Harry. "It's Potions last thing on Friday! Snape won't have time to poison us all!"

届时请同学们把书包和课本送回宿舍，到城堡前面集合，迎接我们的客人，然后参加欢迎宴会。

STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE THE WELCOMING FEAST.

“只有一个星期了！”赫奇帕奇学院的厄尼·麦克米兰从人群里挤出来，两眼闪闪发光，说道，“也不知道塞德里克是不是知道了。我去告诉他一声……”

"Only a week away!" said Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff, emerging from the crowd, his eyes gleaming. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him. . . ."

“塞德里克？”厄尼匆匆走开后，罗恩有些茫然地说。

"Cedric?" said Ron blankly as Ernie hurried off.

“就是迪戈里，”哈利说，“他肯定准备参加争霸赛。”

"Diggory," said Harry. "He must be entering the tournament."

“那个白痴，他也想当霍格沃茨的勇士？”罗恩说。他们推开叽叽喳喳的人群，朝楼梯走去。

"That idiot, Hogwarts champion?" said Ron as they pushed their way through the chattering crowd toward the staircase.

“他可不是白痴。你只是因为他在魁地奇比赛中打败了格兰芬多才不喜欢他的。”赫敏说，“我听说他是个很出色的学生——还是级长呢。”

"He's not an idiot. You just don't like him because he beat Gryffindor at Quidditch,"

听她的口气，好像这就说明了一切。

said Hermione. "I've heard he's a really good student - and he's a prefect."

“你是因为他长得帅才喜欢他的。”罗恩尖刻地说。

She spoke as though this settled the matter.

“对不起，我不会仅仅因为别人长得帅就喜欢他们！”赫敏气愤地说。

"You only like him because he's handsome," said Ron scathingly.

罗恩假装大咳一声，声音怪怪的，听起来很像“洛哈特！”

"Excuse me, I don't like people just because they're handsome!" said Hermione indignantly.

门厅里出现的这则启事，对住在城堡里的人产生了明显的影响。在接下来的一星期里，哈利不管走到哪里，人们似乎都只谈论一个话题：三强争霸赛。谣言在学生中间迅速传来传去，像传染性很强的细菌：谁会争当霍格沃茨的勇士，争霸赛会有哪些项目，布斯巴顿和德姆斯特朗的学生与他们有什么不同。

Ron gave a loud false cough, which sounded oddly like "Lockhart!"

哈利还注意到，城堡似乎正在进行彻底的打扫。几幅肮脏的肖像画被擦洗干净了，那些被擦洗的人物对此十分不满。他们缩着身子坐在像框里，闷闷不乐地嘟囔着，每次一摸到脸上新露出的粉红色嫩肉，就疼得龇牙咧嘴。那引起盔甲突然变得锃光瓦亮，活动的时候也不再嘎吱嘎吱响了。看门人阿格斯·费尔奇一看到有学生忘记把鞋擦干净，就凶狠地大发雷霆，吓得两个一年级的女生犯了歇斯底里症。

The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect upon the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where Harry went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts

其他教工也显得格外紧张。

champion, what the tournament would involve, how the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang differed from themselves.

“隆巴顿，请你行行好，千万别在德姆斯特朗的人面前露馅儿，让他们看出你连一个简单的转换咒都没有掌握！”快下课时，麦格教授厉声吼道。那节课上得特别不顺利，纳威无意中把自己的耳朵嫁接到一棵仙人掌上了。

Harry noticed too that the castle seemed to be undergoing an extra-thorough cleaning.

10月30日那天早晨，他们下楼吃早饭时，发现礼堂在一夜之间被装饰一新。墙上挂着巨大的丝绸横幅，每一条代表着霍格沃茨的一个学院：红底配一头金色狮子的是格兰芬多，蓝底配一只古铜色老鹰的是拉文克劳，黄底配一只黑獾的是赫奇帕奇，绿底配一条银色蟒蛇的是斯莱特林。在教师桌子后面，挂着那条最大的横幅，上面是霍格沃茨的纹章：狮、鹰、獾、蛇联在一起，环绕着一个大字母H。

Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their subjects, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly and wincing as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and Argus Filch, the caretaker, was behaving so ferociously to any students who forgot to wipe their shoes that he terrified a pair of first-year girls into hysterics.

哈利、罗恩和赫敏在格兰芬多的餐桌旁坐下，紧挨着弗雷德和乔治。这次两个双胞胎又是很反常地避开众人，压低声音商量着什么。罗恩领头朝他们走去。

Other members of the staff seemed oddly tense too.

“这是不太愉快，我承认，”乔治沮丧地对弗雷德说，“可是如果他不当面跟我们谈，我们就只好把信寄给他了。或者把信直接塞进他手里。他不可能永远躲着我们。”

"Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!" Professor McGonagall barked at the end of one particularly difficult lesson, during which Neville had accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus.

“谁在躲着你们？”罗恩说着，在他们旁边坐了下来。

When they went down to breakfast on the morning of the thirtieth of October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each of them representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffiindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around a large letter H.

“希望你能躲着我们。”弗雷德说，似乎很不高兴受到打扰。

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down beside Fred and George at the Gryffindor table. Once again, and most unusually, they were sitting apart from everyone else and conversing in low voices. Ron led the way over to them.

“什么事情不太愉快？”罗恩问乔治。

"It's a bummer, all right," George was saying gloomily to Fred. "But if he won't talk to us in person, we'll have to send him the letter after all. Or we'll stuff it into his hand. He can't avoid us forrever.

“有你这样一个好管闲事的傻弟弟。”乔治说。

"Who's avoiding you?" said Ron, sitting down next to them.

“你们俩对三强争霸赛有办法了吗？”哈利问道，“还想混进去参加吗？”

"Wish you would," said Fred, looking irritated at the interruption.

“我去问过麦格教授：勇士是怎么选出来的，可是她不肯告诉我，”乔治怨恨地说，“她只是叫我闭上嘴巴，专心给我的浣熊变形。”

"What's a bummer?" Ron asked George.

“不知道争霸赛都有哪些项目？”罗恩若有所思地说，“你知道吗，我敢打赌我们也能做，哈利。我们以前做过那么危险的事……”

"Having a nosy git like you for a brother," said George.

“你们没有当着裁判团的面，是吧？”弗雷德说，“麦格说，裁判将根据勇士们完成项目的质量给他们评分。”

"You two got any ideas on the Triwizard Tournament yet?" Harry asked. "Thought any more about trying to enter?"

“谁是裁判？”哈利问。

"I asked McGonagall how the champions are chosen but she wasn't telling," said George bitterly. "She just told me to shut up and get on with transfiguring my raccoon."

“噢，参赛学校的校长肯定是裁判团成员，”赫敏说——大家都十分吃惊地扭过头来望着她，“因为在1792年的争霸赛中，勇士们要抓的一头鸡身蛇尾怪物不受控制，横冲直撞，三位校长都受了伤。”

"Wonder what the tasks are going to be?" said Ron thoughtfully. "You know, I bet we could do them, Harry. We've done dangerous stuff before. . . ."

她注意到大家都在盯着她，便又摆出那副不耐烦的表情，因为居然没有一个人像她一样读过那么多书。她说：“这些都写在《霍格沃茨，一段校史》里呢。不过，当然啦，那本书并不完全可靠。也许叫它《一部被修改的霍格沃茨校史》更加合适，或者叫它《一部带有偏见和选择性的霍格沃茨校史，学校的阴暗面被掩盖了》。”

"Not in front of a panel of judges, you haven't," said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

“你在说什么呀？”罗恩说，不过哈利仿佛知道她接下来要说什么了。

"Who are the judges?" Harry asked.

“家养小精灵！”赫敏说道，两眼灼灼放光，“在长达一千多页的《霍格沃茨，一段校史》这本书里，只字不提我们在共同压迫着一百个奴隶！”

"Well, the Heads of the participating schools are always on the panel," said Hermione, and everyone looked around at her, rather surprised, "because all three of them were injured during the Tournament of 1792, when a cockatrice the champions were supposed to be catching went on the rampage."

哈利摇了摇头，低头给自己盛炒鸡蛋。他和罗恩的消极态度丝毫没有动摇赫敏为家养小精灵追求公正待遇的决心。诚然，他们都付了两个银西可购买S. P. E. W.的徽章，但他们这么做只是为了使她闭嘴。然而，他们的银西可是白白浪费了，赫敏不仅没有因此安静下来，反而吵得更厉害了。从那以后，她就一直缠着哈利和罗恩，先是要求他们佩戴徽章，接着又要求他们去说明别人这么做。她还养成了一个习惯，每天晚上在格兰芬多公共休息室里喋喋不休、不依不饶地缠着别人，拿着储钱罐在别人鼻子底下使劲摇晃着。

She noticed them all looking at her and said, with her usual air of impatience that nobody else had read all the books she had, "It's all in Hogwarts, A History. Though, of course, that book's not entirely reliable. A Revised History of Hogwarts would be a more accurate title. Or A Highly Biased and Selective History of Hogwarts, Which Glosses Over the Nastier Aspects of the School."

有一些人，比如纳威，无奈地付了钱，只是为了让赫敏别再恶狠狠地瞪着自己。也有个别人似乎对她说和话略有兴趣，但不愿意积极参加活动，为此奔走游说。许多人把整个这件事当作一个玩笑。

"What are you on about?" said Ron, though Harry thought he knew what was coming.

此刻，罗恩正冲着向他们洒下秋日阳光的天花板翻着眼睛，弗雷德突然对他的熏咸肉产生了浓厚的兴趣（两个双胞胎都不肯购买S. P. E. W.徽章）。乔治则朝赫敏探过身子。

"House-elves!" said Hermione, her eyes flashing. "Not once, in over a thousand pages, does Hogwarts, A History mention that we are all colluding in the oppression of a hundred slaves!"

“听我说，赫敏，你有没有到下面的厨房里去过？”

Harry shook his head and applied himself to his scrambled eggs. His and Ron's lack of enthusiasm had done nothing whatsoever to curb Hermione's determination to pursue justice for house-elves.

“没有，当然没有，”赫敏干脆地说，“我认为学生是不应该——”

True, both of them had paid two Sickles for a S.P.E.W. badge, but they had only done it to keep her quiet. Their Sickles had been wasted, however; if anything, they seemed to have made Hermione more vociferous. She had been badgering Harry and Ron ever since, first to wear the badges, then to persuade others to do the same, and she had also taken to rattling around the Gryffindor common room every evening, cornering people and shaking the collecting tin under their noses.

“噢，我们去过，”乔治说着，指了指弗雷德，“去过好多次，为了偷一点东西吃。我们遇见过他们，他们很开心。他们认为自己得到了世界上最好的工作——”

"You do realize that your sheets are changed, your fires lit, your classrooms cleaned, and your food cooked by a group of magical creatures who are unpaid and enslaved?" she kept saying fiercely.

“那是因为他们没有受过教育，并且被灌输了一些错误思想！”赫敏激动地说，可是，她下面的话被头顶上一阵突如其来的嗖嗖声淹没了，这声音说明猫头鹰们送信来了。哈利立刻抬起头来，看见海德薇正朝他飞来。赫敏也马上停止了说话，她和罗恩焦急地望着海德薇，只见它扑棱棱地落到哈利的肩膀上，收起双翅，疲倦地伸出一条腿。

Some people, like Neville, had paid up just to stop Hermione from glowering at them. A few seemed mildly interested in what she had to say, but were reluctant to take a more active role in campaigning. Many regarded the whole thing as a joke.

哈利抽出小天狼星的回信，然后把他那份熏咸肉的皮递到海德薇嘴里，海德薇感激地吃着。哈利张望了一下，确信弗雷德和乔治又在埋头商量三强争霸赛的事了，便把小天狼星的信小声念给罗恩和赫敏听。

Ron now rolled his eyes at the ceiling, which was flooding them all in autumn sunlight, and Fred became extremely interested in his bacon (both twins had refused to buy a S.P.E.W. badge). George, however, leaned in toward Hermione.

哈利，我理解你的苦心。

"Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?"

我在乡下，隐蔽得很安全。我希望你把霍格沃茨发生的每件事情都写信告诉我。不要使用海德薇，要不停地换其他猫头鹰。别为我担忧，你自己多加小心。别忘了我说的关于你那伤疤的话。

"No, of course not," said Hermione curtly, "I hardly think students are supposed to -"

小天狼星

"Well, we have," said George, indicating Fred, "loads of times, to nick food. And we've met them, and they're happy. They think they've got the best job in the world -"

“为什么要不停地换猫头鹰？”罗恩低声问。

"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed!" Hermione began hotly, but her next few words were drowned out by the sudden whooshing noise from overhead, which announced the arrival of the post owls. Harry looked up at once, and saw Hedwig soaring toward him. Hermione stopped talking abruptly; she and Ron watched Hedwig anxiously as she fluttered down onto Harry's shoulder, folded her wings, and held out her leg wearily.

“海德薇会引人注目的，”赫敏立刻说道，“她太显眼了。一只雪白猫头鹰一而再、再而三地回到他的藏身之处……我的意思是，猫头鹰可不是当地普通的鸟，对吧？”

Harry pulled off Sirius's reply and offered Hedwig his bacon rinds, which she ate gratefully. Then, checking that Fred and George were safely immersed in further discussions about the Triwizard Tournament, Harry read out Sirius's letter in a whisper to Ron and Hermione.

哈利把信卷了起来，塞进他的长袍里面。他不知道自己是放心了，还是比以前更担心了。他想，小天狼星能够顺利回来而没被抓住，总是一件好事。同时他也无法否认，他一想到小天狼星现在离他近了许多，确实感到十分宽慰，至少他每次写信用不着等待那么久才收到回信了。

Nice try, Harry.

“谢谢，海德薇。”哈利抚摸着它，说道。海德薇困倦地叫了几声，把它的喙伸进哈利盛桔子汁的高脚酒杯里蘸了蘸，然后又起飞了，看样子是急着赶回猫头鹰棚屋好好地睡一觉。

I'm back in the country and well hidden. I want you to keep me posted on everything that's going on at Hogwarts. Don't use Hedwig, keep changing owls, and don't worry about me, just watch out for yourself Don't forget what I said about your scar.

那天，空气里弥漫着一种有所期待的喜悦情绪。课堂上，没有人专心听课，大家都想着今天晚上布斯巴顿和德姆斯特朗的人就要来了。就连魔药课也不像平常那样难以忍受了，因为要提前半个小时下课。当铃声早早地敲响后，哈利、罗恩和赫敏匆匆赶到格兰芬多塔楼，按吩咐放下他们的书包和课本，穿上斗篷，然后三步并作两步地冲下楼梯，来到门厅。

Sirius "Why d'you have to keep changing owls?" Ron asked in a low voice.

学院院长们正在命令自己的学生排队。

"Hedwig'll attract too much attention," said Hermione at once. "She stands out. A snowy owl that keeps returning to wherever he's hiding. . . I mean, they're not native birds, are they?"

“韦斯莱，把帽子戴正，”麦格教授严厉地对罗恩说，“佩蒂尔小姐，把头发上那个荒唐可笑的东西拿掉。”

Harry rolled up the letter and slipped it inside his robes, wondering whether he felt more or less worried than before. He supposed that Sirius managing to get back without being caught was something. He couldn't deny either that the idea that Sirius was much nearer was reassuring; at least he wouldn't have to wait so long for a response every time he wrote.

帕瓦蒂不高兴地皱着眉头，把一只大蝴蝶头饰从辫梢上取了下来。

"Thanks, Hedwig," he said, stroking her. She hooted sleepily, dipped her beak briefly into his goblet of orange juice, then took off again, clearly desperate for a good long sleep in the Owlery.

“大家跟我来，”麦格教授说，“一年级的同学在前面……不要拥挤……”

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival that evening of the people from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited their bags and books as they had been instructed, pulled on their cloaks, and rushed back downstairs into the entrance hall.

他们鱼贯走下台阶，排着队站在城堡前面。这是一个寒冷的、空气清新的傍晚，夜幕正在降临，一轮洁白的、半透明的月亮已经挂在了禁林上空。哈利站在罗恩和赫敏中间，在正数第四排，他看见丹尼斯·克里给和其他一年级新生站在一起，激动得浑身颤抖。

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines.

“快六点了，”罗恩看了看手表，望着通向前门的车道，说道，“你说他们会怎么来？乘火车吗？”

"Weasley, straighten your hat," Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

“我想不会。”赫敏说。

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.

“那怎么来？飞天扫帚？”哈利抬头望着星光闪烁的天空，猜测道。

"Follow me, please," said Professor McGonagall. "First years in front. . . no pushing..

“我认为不会……从那么远的地方……”

“门钥匙？”罗恩说，“或者他们可以幻影显形——也许在他们那个地方，不满十七岁的人也允许幻影显形？”

They filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. Harry, standing between Ron and Hermione in the fourth row from the front, saw Dennis Creevey positively shivering with anticipation among the other first years.

“在霍格沃茨的场地内不许幻影显形，我还要对你说多少遍？”赫敏不耐烦地说。

"Nearly six," said Ron, checking his watch and then staring down the drive that led to the front gates. "How d'you reckon they're coming? The train?"

他们兴奋地扫视着渐渐黑下来的场地，可是不见任何动静。一切都是沉寂、宁静的，和平常没什么两样。哈利开始感到冷了。他真希望他们能快一点儿……也许外国学生在准备一次富有戏剧性的入场式……他想起了在魁地奇世界杯决赛前，韦斯莱先生在营地说的话：“总是这样的——每当我们聚到一起，就忍不住要炫耀一番……”

"I doubt it," said Hermione.

就在这时，和其他教师一起站在后排的邓布利多喊了起来——

"How, then? Broomsticks?" Harry suggested, looking up at the starry sky.

“啊！如果我没有弄错的话，布斯巴顿的代表已经来了！”

"I don't think so. . . not from that far away.. .

“在哪儿？”许多学生急切地问，朝不同方向张望着。

"A Portkey?" Ron suggested. "Or they could Apparate - maybe you're allowed to do it under seventeen wherever they come from?"

“那儿！”一个六年级学生喊道，指着禁林上空。

"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds, how often do I have to tell you?" said Hermione impatiently.

一个庞然大物，比一把飞天扫帚——或者说是一百把飞天扫帚——还要大得多，正急速地掠过深蓝色的天空，朝城堡飞来，渐渐地越来越大。

They scanned the darkening grounds excitedly, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quite as usual. Harry was starting to feel cold. He wished they'd hurry up. .. . Maybe the foreign students were preparing a dramatic entrance. . . . He remembered what Mr. Weasley had said back at the campsite before the Quidditch World Cup:

“是一条龙！”一个一年级新生尖叫道，激动得不知该怎么办了。

"always the same - we can't resist showing off when we get together. .."

“别说傻话了……是一座房子在飞！”丹尼斯·克里维说。

And then Dumbledore called out from the back row where he stood with the other teachers -"

丹尼斯的猜测更接近一些。……当那个黑乎乎的庞然大物从禁林的树梢上掠过、被城堡窗口的灯光照着时，他们看见一辆巨大的粉蓝色马车朝他们飞来。它有一座房子那么大，十二匹带翅膀的马拉着它腾空飞翔，它们都是银鬃马，每匹马都和大象差不多大。

Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

马车飞得更低了，正以无比迅疾的速度降落，站在前三排的同学急忙往后退——然后，惊天动地的一阵巨响，吓得纳威往后一跳，踩到一个斯莱特林五年级同学的脚——只见那些马蹄砰砰地落在地面上，个个都有菜盘子那么大。眨眼之间，马车也降落到地面，在巨大的轮子上震动着，同时那些金色的马抖动着它们硕大的脑袋，火红的大眼睛滴溜溜地转着。

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

哈利刚来得及看见车门上印着一个纹章（两根金灿灿的十字交叉的魔杖，每根上都冒出三颗星星），车门就打开了。

"There!" yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

一个穿着浅蓝色长袍的男孩跳下马车，弯下身子，在马车的地板上摸索着什么，然后打开一个金色的旋梯。他毕恭毕敬地往后一跳，哈利看见一只闪亮的黑色高跟鞋从马车里伸了出来——这只鞋子就有儿童用的小雪橇那么大——后面紧跟着出现了一个女人，块头之大，是他这辈子从未见过的。这样，马车和那些银鬃马为什么这么大就不言自明了。几个人惊得倒吸了一口冷气。

Something large, much larger than a broomstick - or, indeed, a hundred broomsticks - was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

哈利这辈子只见过一个人的块头能跟这个女人相比，那就是海格，他怀疑他们俩的身高几乎没有差别。然而不知怎的——也许是因为他已经习惯了海格——这个女人（此刻已到了台阶下面，正转过身来看着睁大眼睛静候着的人群）似乎更加大得离奇。当她走进从门厅洒出的灯光中时，大家发现她有着一张很俊秀的橄榄色的脸，一双又黑又大水汪汪的眼睛，还有一只很尖的鼻子。她的头发梳在脑后，在脖子根部绾成一个闪亮的发髻。她从头到脚裹着一件黑锻子衣服，脖子上和粗大的手指上都闪耀着许多华贵的蛋白石。

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years, losing her head completely.

邓布利多开始鼓掌，同学们也跟着拍起了巴掌，许多人踮着脚尖，想把这个女人看得更清楚些。

"Don't be stupid. . . it's a flying house!" said Dennis Creevey.

她的脸松驰下来，绽开一个优雅的微笑，伸出一只闪闪发光的手，朝邓布利多走去。邓布利多虽然也是高个子，但吻这只手时几乎没有弯腰。

Dennis's guess was closer. . . . As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, they saw a gigantic, powderblue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

“亲爱的马克西姆夫人，”他说，“欢迎您来到霍格沃茨。”

The front three rows of students drew backward as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed - then, with an almighty crash that made Neville jump backward onto a Slytherin fifth year's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon its vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large, fiery red eyes.

“邓布利多，”马克西姆夫人用低沉的声音说，“我希望您一切都好。”

Harry just had time to see that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms (two crossed, golden wands, each emitting three stars) before it opened.

“非常好，谢谢您。”邓布利多说。

A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from the carriage, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then Harry saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage - a shoe the size of a child's sled - followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman he had ever seen in his life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.

“我的学生。”马克西姆夫人说着，用一只巨大的手漫不经心地朝身后挥了挥。

Harry had only ever seen one person as large as this woman in his life, and that was Hagrid; he doubted whether there was an inch difference in their heights. Yet somehow -maybe simply because he was used to Hagrid - this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large.

哈利刚才只顾盯着马克西姆夫人，这时才注意到大约十二三个男女学生已经从马车上下来了，此刻正站在马克西姆夫人身后。从他们的模样看来，年龄大概都在十八九岁左右，一个个都在微微颤抖。这是不奇怪的，因为他们身上的长袍似乎是精致的丝绸做成的，而且谁也没有穿斗篷。有几个学生用围巾或头巾证裹住了脑袋。从哈利可以望见的情形看（他们都站在马克西姆夫人投下的巨大阴影里），他们都抬头望着霍格沃茨，脸上带着警车的神情。

As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large, black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose.

“卡卡洛夫来了吗？”马克西姆夫人问道。

Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

“他随时都会来。”邓布利多说，“您是愿意在这里等着迎接他，还是愿意先进去暖和暖和？”

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many of them standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this woman.

“还是暖和一下吧。”马克西姆夫人说，“可是那些马——”

Her face relaxed into a gracious smile and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, though tall himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

“我们的保护神奇生物老师会很乐意照料它们的，”邓布利多说，“他处理完一个小乱子就回来，是他的——嗯——他要照管的另一些东西出了乱子。”

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

“是炸尾螺。”罗恩嘻嘻笑着对哈利小声说。

"Dumbly-dort," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

“我的骏马需要——嗯——力气非常大的人才能照料好，”马克西姆夫人说道，似乎怀疑霍格沃茨的保护神奇生物老师能否胜任这项工作，“它们性子很烈……”

"In excellent form, I thank you," said Dumbledore.

“我向你保证，海格完全能够干好这项工作。”邓布利多微笑着说。

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her.

“很好，”马克西姆夫人说，微微鞠了一躬，“您能否告诉这个海格一声，这些马只喝纯麦芽威士忌？”

Harry, whose attention had been focused completely upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that about a dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what

“我会关照的。”邓布利多说，也鞠了一躬。

Harry could see of them (they were standing in Madame Maxime's enormous shadow), they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

“来吧。”马克西姆夫人威严地对她的学生们说。于是霍格沃茨的人群闪开一条通道，让她和她的学生走上石阶。

"As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

“你认为德姆斯特朗的马会有多大？”西莫·斐尼甘探过身子，隔着拉文德和帕瓦蒂问哈利和罗恩。

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

“啊，如果它们比这些马还大，恐怕连海格也摆弄不了啦，”哈利说，“我是说如果他没有被他那些炸尾螺咬伤的话。不知道它们出了什么乱子？”

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime. "But ze 'orses -"

“大概是逃跑了。”罗恩满怀希望地说。

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them," said Dumbledore, "the moment he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other - er - charges."

“哦，千万别这么说，”赫敏打了个冷战，说道，“想想吧，这些家伙在场地上到处乱爬……”

"Skrewts," Ron muttered to Harry, grinning.

他们站在那里，等着德姆斯特朗代表团的到来，已经冻得微微有些发抖了。大多数人都眼巴巴地抬头望着天空。一时间四下里一片寂静，只听见马克西姆夫人的巨马喷鼻息、跺蹄子的声音。就在这时——

"My steeds require - er - forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job.

“你听见什么没有？”罗恩突然问道。

"Zey are very strong. . . ."

哈利仔细倾听。一个很响很古怪的声音从黑暗中向他们飘来：是一种被压抑的隆隆声和吮吸声，就像一个巨大的吸尘器沿着河床在移动……

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job," said Dumbledore, smiling.

“在湖里！”李·乔丹大喊一声，指着湖面，“快看那湖！”

"Very well," said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

他们站在俯瞰场地的草坪的坡上，可以清楚地看到那片平静的黑乎乎的水面——不过那水面突然变得不再平静了。湖中央的水下起了骚动，水面上翻起巨大的水花，波浪冲打着潮湿的湖岸——然后，就在湖面的正中央，出现了一个大漩涡，就好像一个巨大的塞子突然从湖底被拔了出来……

"It will be attended to," said Dumbledore, also bowing.

一个黑黑的长杆似的东西从漩涡中凡慢慢升起……接着哈利看见了船帆索具……

"Come," said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

“是一根桅杆！”他对罗恩和赫敏说。

"How big d'you reckon Durmstrang's horses are going to be?" Seamus Finnigan said, leaning around Lavender and Parvati to address Harry and Ron.

慢慢地，气派非凡地，那艘大船升出了水面，在月光下闪闪发亮。它的样子很怪异，如同一具骷髅，就好像它是一艘刚被打捞上来的沉船遗骸，舷窗闪烁着昏暗的、雾蒙蒙的微光，看上去就像幽灵的眼睛。最后，随着稀里哗啦的一阵溅水声，大船完全冒了出来，在波涛起伏的水面上颠簸着，开始朝着湖岸驶来。片刻之后，他们听见扑通一声，一只铁锚扔进了浅水里，然后又是啪的一声，一块木板搭在了湖岸上。

"Well, if they're any bigger than this lot, even Hagrid won't be able to handle them,"

船上的人正在上岸，哈利他们可以看见这引起人经过舷窗灯光时的剪影。哈利注意到，他们的身架都跟克拉布和高尔差不多……然而当他们更走近些、顺着草坪走进门厅投出的光线中时，哈利才发现他们之所以显得块头很大，是因为都穿着一种毛皮斗篷，上面的毛蓬乱纠结。不过领着他们走向城堡的那个男人，身上穿的皮毛却是另一种：银白色的，又柔又滑，很像他的头发。

said Harry. "That's if he hasn't been attacked by his skrewts. Wonder what's up with them?"

“邓布利多！”那男人走上斜坡时热情地喊道，“我亲爱的老伙计，你怎么样？”

"Maybe they've escaped," said Ron hopefully.

“好极了，谢谢你，卡卡洛夫教授。”邓布利多回答。

"Oh don't say that," said Hermione with a shudder. "Imagine that lot loose on the grounds. . . ."

卡洛夫的声音圆润润甜腻腻的。当他走进从城堡正门射出的灯光中时，他们看见他像邓布利多一样又高又瘦，但他的白头发很短，他的山羊胡子（末梢上打着小卷儿）没有完全遮住他那瘦削的下巴。他走到邓布利多面前，用两只手同邓布利多握手。

They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky.

“亲爱的老伙计霍格沃茨，”他抬头望着城堡，微笑着说。他的牙齿很黄，哈利还注意到他尽管脸上笑着，眼睛里却无笑意，依然是冷漠和犀利的，“来到这里真好啊，真好啊……威克多尔，快过来，暖和一下……你不介意吧，邓布利多？威克多尔有点儿感冒了……”

For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then - "Can you hear something?" said Ron suddenly.

卡卡洛夫示意他的一个学生上前。当那男孩走过时，哈利瞥见了一个引人注目的鹰钩鼻和两道又粗又黑的眉毛。他不需要罗恩那样使劲地捅他的胳膊，也不需要别人在周围窃窃私语，就已认出了那个身影。

Harry listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed.

“哈利——是克鲁姆！”

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"

From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water - except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks - and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor. .

What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool. . . and then Harry saw the rigging....

"It's a mast!" he said to Ron and Hermione.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them, Harry noticed, seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle... but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, he saw that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied. Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle

they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and Harry noticed that his smile did not extend to his eyes, which remained cold and shrewd. "How good it is to be here, how good.. . . Viktor, come along, into the warmth. . . you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

Karkaroff beckoned forward one of his students. As the boy passed, Harry caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. He didn't need the punch on the arm Ron gave him, or the hiss in his ear, to recognize that profile.

"Harry - it's Krum!"