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 首页  目录  上一章   下一章

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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - THE YULE BALL

第二十三章　圣诞舞会

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays. Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else. Gryffindor Tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Fred and George had had a great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center, and George confided to Harry that he and Fred were now working on developing something else. Harry made a mental note never to accept so much as a crisp from Fred and George in future. He still hadn't forgotten Dudley and the Ton-Tongue Toffee.

尽管老师们给四年级学生假期里布置了一大堆家庭作业，但学期结束后，哈利根本没有心思做功课。在圣诞节前的那个星期，他和大家一起尽情玩耍。格兰芬多塔楼里的人几乎和放假前差不多，而且塔楼似乎缩小了，因为住在里面的人都比平常吵闹多了。弗雷德和乔治的金丝雀饼干销路很好，在刚放假的一两天，动不动就有人忽地一下，全身长出羽毛。不过很快格兰芬多的同学们就吸取了教训，对别人递过来的食物非常警惕了，以免中间藏着一块金丝雀饼干。乔治很信任地告诉哈利，他和弗雷德正在研制另外一种新产品。哈利告诫自己，以后千万不能接受弗雷德和乔治递过来的任何东西，哪怕是一个土豆片。他仍然没有忘记德思礼一家和肥舌太妃糖的事。

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

大雪纷纷飘落在城堡和场地上。布斯巴顿那辆浅蓝色的马车看上去像冬天里一只挂霜的大南瓜，旁边那个洒了糖霜的姜饼小房子便是海格的小木屋；德姆斯特朗大船的船舷上结了一层冰，变得光滑透亮，帆索上也染了一层白霜。下面厨房里的家养小精灵们忙得不亦乐乎，准备了多种口味的热腾腾的炖菜和甜美的布丁，只有芙蓉·德拉库尔能够找到借口抱怨几句。

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening (Ron skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur). "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

“霍格沃茨的食物都太油腻了，”一天晚上，他们离开礼堂（罗恩躲在哈利的身后，生怕被芙蓉看见）时，听见她皱着眉头这么说，“我的礼袍都要穿不下了！”

"Oooh there's a tragedy," Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

“哦，那可太悲惨了，”赫敏看着芙蓉走出礼堂进入门厅，毫不客气地说，“她一天到晚净想着自己，是不是？”

"Hermione - who are you going to the ball with?" said Ron.

“赫敏——你要跟谁一起去参加舞会？”罗恩问。

He kept springing this question on her, hoping to startle her into a response by asking it when she least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, "I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me."

他总是这样出其不意地向她提出这个问题，指望她在最没有防备的时候，一惊之下说出实话。可是赫敏只是皱了皱眉头，说道：“我不告诉你，你会取笑我的。”

"You're joking, Weasley!" said Malfoy, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"

“你在开玩笑，韦斯莱！”他们身后突然响起马尔福的声音：“怎么，难道居然有人邀请那家伙参加舞会？那个大板牙泥巴种？”

; Harry and Ron both whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoys shoulder, "Hello, Professor Moody!"

哈利和罗恩猛地转过身，赫敏却朝马尔福身后的什么人挥手致意，一边大声地说：“你好，穆迪教授！”

Malfoy went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.

马尔福的脸刷地白了，往后跳了一步，慌里慌张地四下张望，寻找穆迪，却见穆迪还坐在教工桌子旁，吃他的那一份炖菜呢。

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" said Hermione scathingly, and she, Harry, and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

“你是个浑身抽搐的小白鼬，是不是，马尔福？”赫敏尖刻地说完，便于工作和哈利、罗恩走上大理石楼梯，一边开心地放声大笑。

"Hermione," said Ron, looking sideways at her, suddenly frowning, "your teeth ..."

“赫敏，”罗恩说，一边侧过脸望着她，突然皱起眉头，“你的牙齿……”

"What about them?" she said.

“怎么啦？”赫敏说。

"Well, they're different. . . I've just noticed. . . ."

“我的天，它们不一样了……我刚注意到……”

"Of course they are - did you expect me to keep those fangs Malfoy gave me?"

“它们当然不一样了——怎么——你指望我一直留着马尔福给我的那些长牙吗？”

"No, I mean, they're different to how they were before he put that hex on you. . . .

“不对，我的意思是，它们跟马尔福给你施那个魔法以前的样子也不一样了……它们都……整整齐齐的，而且——而且大小也正常了。”

They're all... straight and - and normal-sized."

赫敏突然非常调皮地笑了，于是哈利也注意到了：赫敏的笑容确实和他记忆中的大不一样了。

Hermione suddenly smiled very mischievously, and Harry noticed it too: It was a very different smile from the one he remembered.

“是这样的……我去找庞弗雷夫人缩小那些中了魔法的长牙时，她举着一面镜子对我说，当牙齿恢复到以前的正常状态时就叫她停住。”赫敏说道，“我就……让她做过头了一点儿。”她笑得更开心了。“爸爸妈妈不会高兴的。好多年来，我一直劝说他们让我把牙齿缩小，但他们希望我坚持戴那套矫正畸齿的钢丝架。你们知道，他们都是牙医呀，他们认为牙齿和魔法不应该——快看！小猪回来了！”

"Well. . . when I went up to Madam Pomfrey to get them shrunk, she held up a mirror and told me to stop her when they were back to how they normally were," she said. "And I just. . . let her carry on a bit." She smiled even more widely. "Mum and Dad won't be too pleased. I've been trying to persuade them to let me shrink them for ages, but they wanted me to carry on with my braces. You know, they're dentists, they just don't think teeth and magic should - look! Pigwidgeons back!"

罗恩的小猫头鹰在挂满冰柱的扶手顶上疯狂地扑扇着翅膀，它腿上系着一卷羊皮纸。路过的人们都指着它哈哈大笑，一群三年级女生停下脚步，说：“哦，快看那只小不点儿猫头鹰！它多么可爱啊！”

Ron's tiny owl was twittering madly on the top of the icicle-laden banisters, a scroll of parchment tied to his leg. People passing him were pointing and laughing, and a group of third-year girls paused and said, "Oh look at the weeny owl! Isn't he cute?"

“这只小笨鸟！”罗恩咬牙切齿地说，三步并作两步走赶上楼去，一把抓住小猪，“你应该把信送给收件人！不能在这里炫耀！”

Stupid little feathery git!" Ron hissed, hurrying up the stairs and snatching up Pigwidgeon. "You bring letters to the addressee! You don't hang around showing off!"

小猪高兴地叫着，它的脑袋从罗恩的拳头上伸出来。那些三年级的女生似乎都吓坏了。

Pigwidgeon hooted happily, his head protruding over Ron's fist. The third-year girls all looked very shocked.

“快走开！”罗恩恶狠狠地对她们说，一边挥舞着那只捏着小猪的拳头。小猪扑扇着翅膀，挣扎着朝空中飞去，叫得比以前更欢快了。罗恩从小猪腿上扯下小天狼星的回信。“在这里——拿去吧，哈利。”罗恩压低声音说，这时那些三年级女生正在散去，一个个都显得很气愤。哈利把它塞进口袋里，然后三个人匆匆赶向格兰芬多塔楼去看信。

"Clear off!" Ron snapped at them, waving the fist holding Pigwidgeon, who hooted more

公共休息室里的每个人都忙着释放假期里多余的精力，根本顾不上观察别人在做什么。罗恩、哈利和赫敏避开众人，坐在一扇正被大雪慢慢覆盖的昏暗的窗户旁，哈利出声地念道：

happily than ever as he soared through the air. "Here - take it, Harry," Ron added in an undertone as the third-year girls scuttled away looking scandalized. He pulled Sirius's reply off Pigwidgeons leg. Harry pocketed it, and they hurried back to Gryffindor Tower to read it.

亲爱的哈利，祝贺你成功穿越了树蜂。那个把你名字投进火焰杯的人不管是谁，现在都会感到心里很不是滋味了！我本来想建议你使用一种“眼疾咒”因为龙的眼睛是它最薄弱的地方——

Everyone in the common room was much too busy in letting off more holiday steam to observe what anyone else was up to. Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat apart from everyone else by a dark window that was gradually filling up with snow, and Harry read out:

“克鲁姆就是这样做的！”赫敏低声说——

Dear Harry, Congratulations on getting past the Horntail. Whoever put your name in that goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy right now! I was going to suggest a Conjunctivitus Curse, as a dragon's eyes are its weakest point - "That's what Krum did!" Hermione whispered -but your way was better, I'm impressed.

但你的办法更妙，我很欣赏。但是哈利，你不要沾沾自喜。你只完成了一个项目。迫使你参加三强争霸赛的人不管是谁，他要想置你于死地还有很多机会。提高警惕——特别是当我们上次谈到的那个人在场的时候——随时保持警醒，使自己避免一切麻烦。保持联系，我仍然希望你一有异常情况就写信告诉我。

Don't get complacent, though. Harry. You've only done one task; whoever put you in for the tournament's got plenty more opportunity if they're trying to hurt you. Keep your eyes open -particularly when the person we discussed is around and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble.

“他说话的口气和穆迪一模一样，”哈利小声说，一边把信重新塞进长袍里面，“‘随时保持警惕！’就好像我整天闭着眼睛走路，四处碰壁似的……”

Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual.

“可是他说得对啊，哈利，”赫敏说，“你还有两个项目要完成呢。你真的应该看看那只金蛋，琢磨琢磨它到底是什么意思了……”

Sirius "He sounds exactly like Moody," said Harry quietly, tucking the letter away again inside his robes. "'Constant vigilance!' You'd think I walk around with my eyes shut, banging off the walls. ..."

“赫敏，时间还早着呢！”罗恩把她驳了回去。“想下盘棋吗，哈利？”

"But he's right, Harry," said Hermione, "you have still got two tasks to do. You really ought to have a look at that egg, you know, and start working out what it means. . . ."

“行，没问题。”哈利说。他转眼看见赫敏脸上的神情，赶紧又说：“好了好了，这里乱成这样，我怎么可能集中思想呢？在这些噪音中，我连金蛋的叫声都听不见。”

"Hermione, he's got ages!" snapped Ron. "Want a game of chess, Harry?"

“唉，你说得也对。”赫敏叹了口气，坐下来看他们下棋。最后，罗恩用一对横冲直撞的卒子和一个心狠手辣的主教将死了哈利，场面惊心动魄。

"Yeah, okay," said Harry. Then, spotting the look on Hermione's face, he said, "Come on, how'm I supposed to concentrate with all this noise going on? I won't even be able to hear the egg over this lot."

圣诞节那天早晨，哈利猛地惊醒。他一边睁开眼睛，一边猜想着是什么使自己突然惊醒了。他看见一个长着两只又大又圆的绿眼睛的东西，正在黑暗中瞅着他，那东西离他很近很近，几乎鼻子尖碰鼻子尖了。

"Oh I suppose not," she sighed, and she sat down to watch their chess match, which culminated in an exciting checkmate of Ron's, involving a couple of recklessly brave pawns and a very violent bishop.

“多比！”哈利喊道，一边急忙从小精灵面前挪开，慌乱中差点儿从床上摔下来，“不要这样！”

Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose.

“多比很抱歉，先生！”多比惊慌地尖叫着，向后一跳，用细长的手指捂住嘴巴，“多比只想祝哈利·波特圣诞快乐，还给他带来一件礼物，先生！哈利·波特说过的，多比可以随时过来看他，先生！”

"Dobby!" Harry yelled, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed.

“行了，没关系。”哈利说，他呼吸仍然比平时急促，心跳倒恢复了正常，“以后——以后只要捅捅我就行了，好不好，不要那样弯腰盯着我……”

"Don't do that!"

哈利拉开四柱床周围的帷帐，从床边的桌子上拿起眼睛戴好。他的喊声把罗恩、西莫、迪安和纳威都惊醒了。他们都从自己的帐子缝中朝外望着，一个个睡眼惺忪，头发乱蓬蓬的。

"Dobby is sorry, sir!" squeaked Dobby anxiously, jumping backward with his long fingers over his mouth. "Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter 'Merry Christmas' and bring him a present, Sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!"

“有人攻击你吗，哈利？”西莫睡意未消地问。

It's okay," said Harry, still breathing rather faster than usual, while his heart rate returned to normal. "Just - just prod me or something in future, all right, don't bend over me like that. .."

“没有，是多比，”哈利小声说，“接着睡觉吧。”

Harry pulled back the curtains around his four-poster, took his glasses from his bedside table, and put them on. His yell had awoken Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. All of them were peering through the gaps in their own hangings, heavy-eyed and tousle-haired.

“不睡了……礼物！”西莫看见他床脚的一大堆东西，说道。罗恩、迪安和纳威也认为既然已经醒了，就下床把礼物拆开看看吧。哈利转过脸来望着多比，只见多比局促不安地站在他的床边，仍然为惊扰了他而诚惶诚恐。他那只茶壶保暖套顶端的环扣里系着一个圣诞节小纪念品。

"Someone attacking you, Harry?" Seamus asked sleepily.

“多比可不可以把他的礼物送给哈利·波特？”他尖声尖气地试探着问道。

"No, it's just Dobby," Harry muttered. "Go back to sleep."

“当然可以，”哈利说，“嗯……我也有东西要送给你呢。”

"Nah . . . presents!" said Seamus, spotting the large pile at the foot of his bed. Ron, Dean, and Neville decided that now they were awake they might as well get down to some present-opening too. Harry turned back to Dobby, who was now standing nervously next to Harrys bed, still looking worried that he had upset Harry. There was a Christmas bauble tied to the loop on top of his tea cozy.

这是说谎，他并没有给多比买东西，但他迅速打开箱子，从里面抽出一双疙里疙瘩、卷成一团的袜子。这是他最旧最难看的一双袜子，暗黄色的，原先是弗农姨父的。这双袜子之所以这样疙里疙瘩，是因为一年多来哈利一直用它们包裹他的窥镜。现在他抽出窥镜，把袜子递给了多比，说道：“对不起，我忘记把它们包起来了……”

"Can Dobby give Harry Potter his present?" he squeaked tentatively.

多比却高兴得眉飞色舞。

"'Course you can," said Harry. "Er. . . I've got something for you too."

“袜子是多比最喜欢最喜欢的东西，先生！”他说着，脱掉脚上那双不配对的袜子，换上弗农姨父的，“我有七只了，先生……可是先生……”他把两只袜子使劲往上拉，一直拉到他短裤的裤脚，这时他突然睁大眼睛，吃惊地说：“店里的人弄错了，哈利·波特，他们给了你两只一样的！”

It was a lie; he hadn't bought anything for Dobby at all, but he quickly opened his trunk and pulled out a particularly knobbly rolled-up pair of socks. They were his oldest and foulest, mustard yellow, and had once belonged to Uncle Vernon. The reason they were extra-knobbly was that Harry had been using them to cushion his Sneakoscope for over a year now. He pulled out the Sneako-scope and handed the socks to Dobby, saying, "Sorry, I forgot to wrap them..."

“啊，糟糕，哈利，你怎么没注意到这一点呢？”罗恩说，他从堆满包装纸的床上朝哈利咧嘴笑着，“喂，多比——这个给你——你拿着这两只袜子，把它们搭配一下混着穿。这是你的毛衣。”

But Dobby was utterly delighted.

他扔给多比一双紫色的袜子，这是他刚才从礼物包里拆出来的，还有韦斯莱夫人寄来的手编毛衣。多比简直高兴坏了。

"Socks are Dobby's favorite, favorite clothes, sir!" he said, ripping off his odd ones and pulling on Uncle Vernon's. "I has seven now, sir. . . . But sir ..." he said, his eyes widening, having pulled both socks up to their highest extent, so that they reached to the bottom of his shorts, "they has made a mistake in the shop, Harry Potter, they is giving you two the same!"

“先生太好心了！”他尖叫着说道，朝罗恩深深地鞠了一躬，眼睛里又充满了泪水，“多比知道先生一定会成为一个伟大的巫师，因为他是哈利·波特最伟大的朋友，但多比没想到先生竟然和哈利·波特一样慷慨，一样高贵，一样无私——”

"Ah, no, Harry, how come you didn't spot that?" said Ron, grinning over from his own bed, which was now strewn with wrapping paper. "Tell you what, Dobby - here you go - take these two, and you can mix them up properly. And here's your sweater."

“只是一双袜子罢了。”罗恩说，他的耳朵边微微有些泛红，但他还是显得非常高兴。“哇，哈利——”他打开哈利送给他的礼物，是一顶查理火炮队的帽子，“真酷啊！”他把帽子胡乱套在头上，帽子和他的头发顿时发生了激烈的冲突。

He threw Dobby a pair of violet socks he had just unwrapped, and the hand-knitted sweater Mrs. Weasley had sent, Dobby looked quite overwhelmed.

这时，多比递给哈利一个小包裹，里面竟然也是——袜子。

"Sir is very kind!" he squeaked, his eyes brimming with tears again, bowing deeply to Ron. "Dobby knew sir must be a great wizard, for he is Harry Potter's greatest friend, but Dobby did not know that he was also as generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless -"

“多比自己织的，先生！”小精灵开心地说，“他用自己的工钱买了毛线，先生！”

"They're only socks," said Ron, who had gone slightly pink around the ears, though he looked rather pleased all the same. "Wow, Harry -" He had just opened Harry's present, a Chudley Cannon hat. "Cool!" He jammed it onto his head, where it clashed horribly with his hair.

左脚的袜子是鲜红色的，上面有飞天扫帚的图案，右脚则是绿色的，上面的图案是金色飞贼。

Dobby now handed Harry a small package, which turned out to be - socks.

“真是……真是……太好了，谢谢你，多比。”哈利说着就把袜子穿上了，这使多比又一次高兴得热泪盈眶。

"Dobby is making them himself, sir!" the elf said happily. "He is buying the wool out of his wages, sir!"

“多比必须走了，先生，我们已经在厨房里准备圣诞宴会了！”多比说着，便匆匆离开了宿舍，临出门时朝罗恩和其他人挥手告别。

The left sock was bright red and had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of Snitches.

与多比那双不配对的袜子相比，哈利的另外几件礼物要称心得多了——但德思礼家送的除外——只有一张纸巾，创历史最低纪录——哈利猜想他们大概还没有忘记肥舌太妃糖的事。赫敏送给哈利一本书，名叫《英国和爱尔兰的魁地奇球队》；罗恩送了一口袋鼓鼓囊囊的粪蛋；小天狼星新送的是一把轻便削笔刀，上面还附带着能开各种锁、能解各种结的小玩艺儿；海格送了一大盒子糖果，哈利爱吃的口味应有尽有：比比多味豆、巧克力蛙、吹宝超级泡泡糖、滋滋蜜蜂糖。当然啦，韦斯莱夫人照例每年都寄来一个包裹，里面有一件新毛衣（绿色的，上面是一条龙的图案——哈利猜想查理已经把树蜂的事原原本本告诉了她），以及一大堆自制的肉馅饼。

"They're . . . they're really . . . well, thanks, Dobby," said Harry, and he pulled them on, causing Dobby's eyes to leak with happiness again.

哈利和罗恩在公共休息室里与赫敏碰头，一起下楼吃早饭。他们几乎整个上午都待在格兰芬多塔楼里，同学们都在美滋滋地欣赏自己收到的礼物。然后他们回到礼堂里享受了一顿丰富的午餐，包括至少一百只火鸡和一大堆圣诞布丁，还有堆积如山的克里比奇巫师小脆饼干。

"Dobby must go now, sir, we is already making Christmas dinner in the kitchens!" said Dobby, and he hurried out of the dormitory, waving good-bye to Ron and the others as he passed.

下午，他们来到外面的场地上。雪地白皑皑的，几乎没有人踩过，只有德姆斯特朗和布斯巴顿的学生们回城堡时踏出的一道深深的足迹。赫敏只愿意观看哈利以及韦斯莱兄弟打雪仗，自己不肯参加，五点钟的时候，她就说要回楼上为舞会做准备了。

Harry's other presents were much more satisfactory than Dobby's odd socks - with the obvious exception of the Dursleys', which consisted of a single tissue, an all-time low -Harry supposed they too were remember ing the Ton-Tongue Toffee. Hermione had given Harry a book called Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Ron, a bulging bag of Dungbombs; Sirius, a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot; and Hagrid, a vast box of sweets including all Harrys favorites: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizbees.

“什么，你需要三个小时？”罗恩不敢相信地望着她问。他这样一分神，就被乔治扔过来的一个大雪球狠狠打中了面颊。“你和谁一起去？”他冲着赫敏的背影喊道，但赫敏只是挥了挥手，就踏着石阶进了城堡。

There was also, of course, Mrs. Weasley's usual package, including a new sweater (green, with a picture of a dragon on it - Harry supposed Charlie had told her all about the Horntail), and a large quantity of homemade mince pies.

今天没有圣诞茶点，因为舞会上有宴席。到了七点，天色昏暗下来，不太容易瞄准目标了，其他人便放弃了打雪仗，一起返回公共休息室。胖夫人和她的朋友——楼下的维奥莱特一起坐在镜框里，两个人都晕乎乎醉醺醺的，她画像的底部扔着好几个空了的酒心巧克力盒子。

Harry and Ron met up with Hermione in the common room, and they went down to breakfast together. They spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

“鲜艳之光，没错，是这样！”她听了他们的口令，咯咯笑着向前转开，让他们进去了。

They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione chose to watch Harry and the Weasleys' snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.

哈利、罗恩、西莫、迪安和纳威在楼上的宿舍里换上各自的礼袍，一个个都显得局促不安，但谁也没有像罗恩那样沮丧，他在墙角的长镜子前打量着自己，脸上是一副惊恐的表情。他的礼袍就像一条裙子，这是一个无法回避的事实。为了给袍子增加一点男子气，他孤注一掷，给那些褶皱和花边念了一道切割咒。还算管用，至少衣服上的花边没有了，但他的活儿干得并不利索，当几个男生动身下楼时，他的领口袖口仍然泛着毛边，真令人泄气。

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.

“我真闹不明白，你们俩是怎么把全年级最漂亮的姑娘弄到手的。”迪安低声嘟囔着。

There was no Christmas tea today, as the ball included a feast, so at seven o'clock, when it had become hard to aim properly, the others abandoned their snowball fight and trooped back to the common room. The Fat Lady was sitting in her frame with her friend Violet from downstairs, both of them extremely tipsy, empty boxes of chocolate liqueurs littering the bottom other picture.

“异性相吸嘛。”罗恩闷闷不乐地回答，一边把袖口的线头揪掉。

"Lairy fights, that's the one!" she giggled when they gave the password, and she swung forward to let them inside.

公共休息室里看上去怪怪的，里面的人们不再是青一色的黑袍，而是穿着五颜六色的礼袍。帕瓦蒂在楼梯下面等着哈利。她看上去确实非常漂亮，穿着扎眼的粉红色长袍，乌黑的秀发用金丝带编成辫子，手腕上的金手镯闪闪发亮。哈利见她没有发出咯咯的傻笑，不由松了口气。

Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was

“你——嗯——很漂亮。”他很不自然地说。

just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them look more manly, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuffs. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed as the boys set off downstairs.

“谢谢。”她说。“帕德玛在门厅里与你碰头。”她又对罗恩说。

"I still can't work out how you two got the best-looking girls in the year," muttered Dean.

“好吧。”罗恩说，一边东张西望，“赫敏呢？”

"Animal magnetism," said Ron gloomily, pulling stray threads out of his cuffs.

帕瓦蒂耸了耸肩。“我们下去吧，好吗，哈利？”

The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Parvati was waiting for Harry at the foot of the stairs. She looked very pretty indeed, in robes of shocking pink, with her long dark plait braided with gold, and gold bracelets glimmering at her wrists. Harry was relieved to see that she wasn't giggling.

“好吧。”哈利说，他真希望能够留在公共休息室里。哈利在钻出肖像画洞口时碰见了弗雷德，弗雷德冲他调皮地眨眨眼睛。

"You - er - look nice," he said awkwardly.

门厅里也挤满了学生，都在来回打转，等待八点钟的到来，那时礼堂的大门才会敞开。有些人要与其他学院的舞伴碰头，便侧着身子在人群里挤来挤去，寻找对方的身影。帕瓦蒂找到了她的妹妹帕德玛，领着她过来见哈利和罗恩。

"Thanks," she said. "Padma's going to meet you in the entrance hall," she added to Ron.

“你好。”帕德玛说，她长得和她姐姐一样漂亮，穿着一件艳绿色的长袍。不过，她似乎对罗恩做她的舞伴没有什么兴致。她乌黑的眼睛上下打量着罗恩，目光停留在他礼袍上起毛的领子和袖口处。

"Right," said Ron, looking around. "Where's Hermione?"

“你好，”罗恩说，但眼睛并不看着她，而是在人群里东张西望，“哦，糟糕……”

Parvati shrugged. "Shall we go down then, Harry?"

他微微弯下膝盖，躲在哈利身后，因为芙蓉·德拉库尔走过来了。她穿着银灰色的缎子长袍，真是美艳惊人，身边陪伴她的是拉文克劳学院魁地奇队的队长罗杰·戴维斯。等他们走远了，罗恩才又挺直身子，越过人群朝远处眺望。

"Okay," said Harry, wishing he could just stay in the common room. Fred winked at Harry as he passed him on the way out of the portrait hole.

“怎么不见赫敏？”他又说道。

The entrance hall was packed with students too, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. Parvati found her sister, Padma, and led her over to Harry and Ron.

一群斯莱特林学生沿着台阶从他们的地下公共休息室里上来了。走在最前面的是马尔福，他穿着一件黑天鹅绒的高领礼袍，哈利觉得他活像一个教区牧师。潘西·帕金森则穿着满是褶边的浅粉红色长袍，她紧紧吊着马尔福的胳膊。克拉布和高尔都是一身绿色，像两块长满青苔的大石头，哈利满意地看到他俩都没能找到舞伴。

"Hi," said Padma, who was looking just as pretty as Parvati in robes of bright turquoise.

橡木前门被打开了，大家转过头去，看见德姆斯特朗的学生和卡卡洛夫教授一起走了进来。克鲁姆走在最前面，身边是一位哈利不认识的穿蓝袍子的漂亮姑娘。越过他们的头顶，哈利看见城堡前面的一块草坪被变成了一个岩洞，里面闪烁着星星点点的仙女之光——这意味着有几百个活生生的仙女，她们或坐在魔法变出的玫瑰花丛里，或在雕像上面扑扇着翅膀，那些雕像似乎是圣诞老人和他的驯鹿。

She didn't look too enthusiastic about having Ron as a partner, though; her dark eyes lingered on the frayed neck and sleeves of his dress robes as she looked him up and down.

这时，麦格教授的声音响起：“请勇士们到这边来！”

"Hi," said Ron, not looking at her, but staring around at the crowd. "Oh no ..."

帕瓦蒂调整了一下她的手镯，脸上露出灿烂的笑容。她和哈利对罗恩和帕德玛说了一句“待会儿见”，就向前走去了，叽叽喳喳的人群闪出一条通道，让他们经过。麦格教授穿着一件红格子呢的长袍，帽檐上装饰着一圈很难看的蓟草花环。她叫他们站在门边等候，让其他人先进去。等同学们都坐定以后，他们再排着队走进礼堂。芙蓉·德拉库尔和罗杰·戴维斯站在离门最近的地方。戴维斯似乎不敢相信自己有这么好的运气，竟能得到芙蓉这样的舞伴，他简直无法把目光从她身上挪开。塞德里克·迪戈里和秋·张也站在哈利旁边。哈利移开目光，这样他就不用跟他们说话了。他的目光落在了克鲁姆身边那个姑娘身上。突然，他吃惊得张大嘴巴。

He bent his knees slightly to hide behind Harry, because Fleur Delacour was passing, looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin, and accompanied by the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Roger Davies. When they had disappeared, Ron stood straight again and stared over the heads of the crowd.

是赫敏。

"Where is Hermione?" he said again.

但她看上去一点儿也不像赫敏。她对她的头发做了一些手脚，它们不再是乱蓬蓬的，而是变得柔顺而有光泽了，在脑后挽成一个高雅的发髻。她穿着一件用飘逸的浅紫光蓝色的面料做成的长袍，而且不知怎的，她的气质也不一样了——也许只是因为卸掉了她平常总挎在身上的二十多本厚书吧。她也微笑着——当然啦，有点儿紧张——但那对缩小的门牙看上去更小了。哈利真不明白他以前怎么就没有注意到。

A group of Slytherins came up the steps from their dungeon common room. Malfoy was in front; he was wearing dress robes of black velvet with a high collar, which in Harry's opinion made him look like a vicar. Pansy Parkinson in very frilly robes of pale pink was clutching Malfoy's arm. Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-colored boulders, and neither of them, Harry was pleased to see, had managed to find a partner.

“你好，哈利！”她说，“你好，帕瓦蒂！”

The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn't know. Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights - meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.

帕瓦蒂用一种毫不掩饰的怀疑目光盯着赫敏。这样做的不止她一个。礼堂的门打开时，图书馆里那些克鲁姆追星俱乐部的成员大步走过，都朝赫敏投来极度憎恨的目光。潘西·帕金森挽着马尔福的胳膊走过，瞪眼望着赫敏，就连马尔福似乎也找不出一句话来侮辱她。而罗恩呢，径直从赫敏身边走了过去，看也没看她一眼。

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"

大家都在礼堂里落座后，麦格教授叫勇士和他们的舞伴两个两个地排好队，跟着她进去。他们鱼贯而入，朝礼堂前头一张坐着裁判的大圆桌走去，礼堂里的人们热烈地鼓起掌来。

Parvati readjusted her bangles, beaming; she and Harry said, "See you in a minute" to Ron and Padma and walked forward, the chattering crowd parting to let them through. Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim other hat, told them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down. Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies stationed themselves nearest the doors; Davies looked so stunned by his good fortune in having Fleur for a partner that he could hardly take his eyes off her. Cedric and Cho were close to Harry too; he looked away from them so he wouldn't have to talk to them. His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped.

礼堂的墙壁上布满了闪闪发亮的银霜，天花板上是星光灿烂的夜空，还挂着好几百只槲寄生小枝和常春藤编成的花环。四张学院桌子不见了，取而代之的是一百张点着灯笼的小桌子，每张桌子旁坐着十来个人。

It was Hermione.

哈利集中思想，小心着不要绊倒。帕瓦蒂似乎很开心。她朝每个人露出灿烂的微笑，一个劲儿地领着哈利往前走。哈利觉得自己就像一条马戏团的狗，由她领着表演把戏。走近主宾席时，他看见了罗恩和帕德玛。罗恩正眯着眼睛注视着赫敏走过。帕德玛绷着脸，似乎在生气。

But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow - or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty

勇士们来到主宾席前面，邓布利多高兴地笑着，但卡卡洛夫看到克鲁姆和赫敏越走越近，脸上却露出和罗恩一模一样的表情。卢多·巴格曼今晚穿着艳紫色的长袍，上面印着大大的黄星星，他和同学们一样热烈地拍着巴掌。马克西姆夫人脱去了她平常的黑缎子制服，穿着一件淡紫色的飘逸长袍。可是，哈利突然注意到克劳奇先生没有来。桌旁的第五个座位上坐着珀西·韦斯莱。

or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling - rather nervously, it was true - but the reduction in the size of her front teeth was more noticeable than ever; Harry couldn't understand how he hadn't spotted it before.

勇士们及舞伴走到桌旁，珀西拉开他身边的一个空椅子，目光炯炯地望着哈利。哈利明白了他的意思，就在珀西旁边坐了下来。珀西穿着一件崭新的藏青色礼袍，脸上一副得意洋洋、自命不凡的样子。

"Hi, Harry!" she said. "Hi, Parvati!"

“我被提升了，”珀西没等哈利开口就说道——听他的口气，你还以为他刚被选为宇宙的最高统治者呢，“我现在是克劳奇先生的私人助理了，我代表他来这里。”

Parvati was gazing at Hermione in unflattering disbelief. She wasn't the only one either; when the doors to the Great Hall opened, Krum's fan club from the library stalked past, throwing Hermione looks of deepest loathing. Pansy Parkinson gaped at her as she walked by with Malfoy, and even he didn't seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her. Ron, however, walked right past Hermione without looking at her.

“他为什么不来？”哈利问。他可不愿意整个宴会都听珀西没完没了地唠叨坩埚底的厚度。

Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.

“我很遗憾，克劳奇先生情况不好，十分不好。自从世界杯赛后，他就一直不对劲儿。这并不奇怪——工作太辛苦了。他不像以前那样年轻了——尽管，当然啦，他仍然非常出色，他的头脑仍然和以前一样敏锐。但是世界杯对整个魔法部来说是一次可怕的失败，克劳奇先生因为他的那个家养小精灵，叫闪闪还是什么的，行为不轨，他个人的情绪受到很大刺激。自然啦，他事后立刻就把她开除了，可是——唉，正像我刚才说的，他上了年纪，需要得到照顾。我想自从那个家养小精灵走了之后，他发现家里的舒适度一落千丈。后来我们又要筹备三强争霸赛，还要处理世界杯的后事——那个名叫斯基特的可恶女人到处散布谣言——唉，可怜的人，他正在安安静静地过一个圣诞节，他太需要休息了。我很高兴他知道他有一个值得依赖的人，可以代他处理一些事情。”

The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

哈利很想问一问，克劳奇先生是否不再管珀西叫“韦瑟比”了，但他抵挡住了这种诱惑。

Harry concentrated on not tripping over his feet. Parvati seemed to be enjoying herself; she was beaming around at everybody, steering Harry so forcefully that he felt as though he were a show dog she was putting through its paces. He caught sight of Ron and Padma as he neared the top table. Ron was watching Hermione pass with narrowed eyes. Padma was looking sulky.

金光闪亮的盘子里还没有食物，但每个人面前都摆着一份小菜单。哈利毫无把握地拿起自己的菜单，四下里望了望——没有侍者。只见邓布利多仔细看了看他那份菜单，然后对着他的盘子，非常清晰地说：“猪排！”

Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Ron's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely.

猪排立刻就出现了。桌上的其他人恍然大悟，纷纷仿效，给盘子里点了自己喜欢的食物。哈利抬眼望了望赫敏，想看看她对这种更为复杂的新式就餐有何感受——这肯定意味着家养小精灵要付出更多的劳动，是不是？——然而，破天荒第一次，赫敏似乎把S.P.E.W.忘到了脑后。她和威克多尔·克鲁姆正谈得投机，似乎根本没注意自己在吃什么。

But Mr. Crouch, Harry suddenly realized, was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley.

哈利突然想到他以前居然从未听见过克鲁姆说话，但他现在确实在说话，而且说得兴高采烈。

When the champions and their partners reached the table, Percy drew out the empty chair beside him, staring pointedly at Harry. Harry took the hint and sat down next to Percy, who was wearing brand-new, navy-blue dress robes and an expression of such smugness that Harry thought it ought to be fined.

“啊，我们也有一个城堡，我觉得没有这里的大，也不如这里舒服。”他对赫敏说，“我们的只有四层楼，而且只有在施魔法时才能点火。但我们的场地要比这里宽敞——不过冬天白昼很短，不能在场地上玩。到了夏天，我们每天都在外面飞来飞去，飞过湖面，飞过山脉——”

"I've been promoted," Percy said before Harry could even ask, and from his tone, he might have been announcing his election as supreme ruler of the universe. "I'm now Mr.

“行了，行了，威克多尔！”卡卡洛夫说着，笑了一声，但他冰冷的眼睛里并无丝毫笑意，“不要再泄露更多秘密了，不然你这位迷人的朋友就会知道我们在什么地方了！”

Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him."

邓布利多笑了笑，眼睛闪闪发光。“伊戈尔，这样严守秘密……人们会以为你不欢迎别人去参观呢。”

"Why didn't he come?" Harry asked. He wasn't looking forward to being lectured on cauldron bottoms all through dinner.

“哎呀，邓布利多，”卡卡洛夫说，咧开大嘴，露出一口黄牙，“我们都想保护自己的私人领地，是不是？我们难道不需要小心守护我们受托保管的学校殿堂吗？只有我们自己知道学校的秘密，我们难道不应该为此感到自豪吗？我们难道不应该保守这些秘密吗？”

"I'm afraid to say Mr. Crouch isn't well, not well at all. Hasn't been right since the World Cup. Hardly surprising - overwork. He's not as young as he was - though still quite brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. But the World Cup was a fiasco for the whole Ministry, and then, Mr. Crouch suffered a huge personal shock with the misbehavior of that house-elf of his, Blinky, or whatever she was called. Naturally, he dismissed her immediately afterward, but - well, as I say, he's getting on, he needs looking after, and I think he's found a definite drop in his home comforts since she left. And then we had the tournament to arrange, and the aftermath of the Cup to deal with - that revolting Skeeter woman buzzing around - no, poor man, he's having a well earned, quiet Christmas. I'm just glad he knew he had someone he could rely upon to take his place."

“哦，我做梦也不敢断言我知道霍格沃茨的所有秘密，伊戈尔。”邓布利多友善地说道，“比如说吧，就在今天早晨，我上厕所时拐错了弯，发现自己来到了一个以前从未见过的、布置非常精美的房间，里面摆着各种各样精致豪华的便壶。等我回去仔细调查时，却发现这个房间消失了。但我必须密切注意。它大概只在清晨五点半时才能进入。或者只在弦月时出现——也可能是在找厕所的人膀胱涨得特别满的时候。”

Harry wanted very much to ask whether Mr. Crouch had stopped calling Percy "Weatherby"

哈利对着他那盘匈牙利烩牛肉偷偷笑着。珀西皱起了眉头，但哈利可以发誓邓布利多几乎不易察觉地朝自己眨了一下眼睛。

yet, but resisted the temptation.

与此同时，芙蓉·德拉库尔正在对罗杰·戴维斯批评霍格沃茨的装潢布置。

There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Harry picked his up uncertainly and looked around - there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"

“这不算什么，”她看了看礼堂周围星光闪烁的墙壁，轻蔑地说，“在布斯巴顿城堡，我们的礼堂在圣诞节时摆满了冰雕。当然啦，它们不会融化……就像巨大的钻石雕像，在礼堂里闪闪发光。食物也是超一流的。我们还有山林仙女合唱团，我们吃饭的时候，她们就唱小夜曲给我们听。我们墙边根本没有这些丑陋的盔甲，如果哪个专门搞恶作剧的鬼魂闯进布斯巴顿，肯定会被赶出去，就像这样。”她不耐烦地用手拍了一下桌子。

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Harry glanced up at Hermione to see how she felt about this new and more complicated method of dining - surely it meant plenty of extra work for the house-elves? - but for once, Hermione didn't seem to be thinking about S.P.E.W. She was deep in talk with Viktor Krum and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating.

罗杰·戴维斯看着她说话，脸上带着如痴如醉的神情，有好几次叉子都拿歪了，没有把食物送进嘴里。哈利觉得戴维斯只顾盯着芙蓉看，根本没有听清她在说些什么。

It now occurred to Harry that he had never actually heard Krum speak before, but he was

“对极了！”戴维斯忙不迭地响应，一边模仿芙蓉，也用手拍了一下桌子，“就像这样。没错。”

certainly talking now, and very enthusiastically at that.

哈利环顾着礼堂。海格坐在别外一张教工桌子旁。他又穿上了那件难看的毛绒绒的棕色西装，正抬眼望着主宾席呢。哈利看见海格挥了挥手，他扭过头，看见马克西姆夫人也朝海格挥手致意，她的蛋白石饮品在烛光下熠熠闪亮。

"Veil, ve have a castle also, not as big as this, nor as comfortable, I am thinking," he was telling Hermione. "Ve have just four floors, and the fires are lit only for magical purposes. But ve have grounds larger even than these - though in vinter, ve have very little daylight, so ve are not enjoying them. But in summer ve are flying every day, over the lakes and the mountains -"

这时，赫敏正在教克鲁姆把她的名字念准。他一直叫她“赫米－翁”。

"Now, now, Viktor!" said Karkaroff with a laugh that didn't reach his cold eyes, "don't go giving away anything else, now, or your charming friend will know exactly where to find us!"

“赫－敏。”她慢慢地、一字一顿地说。

Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Igor, all this secrecy ., . one would almost think you didn't want visitors."

“赫－米－恩。”

"Well, Dumbledore," said Karkaroff, displaying his yellowing teeth to their fullest extent, "we are all protective of our private domains, are we not? Do we not jealously guard the halls of learning that have been entrusted to us? Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school's secrets, and right to protect them?"

“差不多了。”赫敏说。她碰到哈利的目光，笑了笑。

"Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," said Dumbledore amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."

东西都吃完了，邓布利多站起身，叫同学们也站起来。然后他一挥魔杖，把有的桌子都嗖地飞到墙边，留出中间一片空地。他又变出一个高高的舞台，贴在右墙根边，上面放着一套架子鼓、几把吉他、一把鲁特琴（诗琴）、一把大提琴和几架风琴。

Harry snorted into his plate of goulash. Percy frowned, but Harry could have sworn Dumbledore had given him a very small wink.

这时，古怪姐妹一起涌上舞台，观众们爆发出雷鸣般的热烈掌声。她们的毛发都特别浓密，穿着故意撕得破破烂烂的黑色长袍。她们拿起各自的乐器，哈利兴致盎然地注视着她们，几乎忘记了下面要做什么。他突然发现其他桌子的灯笼都熄灭了，另外几位勇士和他们的舞伴都站了起来。

Meanwhile Fleur Delacour was criticizing the Hogwarts decorations to Roger Davies.

“快点儿！”帕瓦蒂小声说，“我们应该跳舞了！”

"Zis is nothing," she said dismissively, looking around at the sparkling walls of the Great Hall. "At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we 'ave ice sculptures all around ze dining chamber at Chreestmas. Zey do not melt, of course . . . zey are like 'uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place. And ze food is seemply superb. And we 'ave choirs of wood nymphs, 'oo serenade us as we eat. We 'ave none of zis ugly armor in ze 'alls, and eef a poltergeist ever entaired into Beauxbatons, 'e would be expelled like zat."

哈利站起来时踩在了袍子上，差点儿绊了一跤。古怪姐妹奏出一支缓慢、忧伤的曲子。哈利走进灯火通明的舞池，小心地避开众人的目光（他可以看见西莫和迪安在朝他招手，偷偷地取笑他），接着帕瓦蒂抓住他的两只手，一只放在她的腰际，另外一只被她紧紧捏在手里。

She slapped her hand onto the table impatiently.

还好，并没有原先想象的那样糟糕，哈利想道，一边慢慢地原地转圈（帕瓦蒂操纵着他）。他的目光盯着旁观者的头顶上方，很快，许多人也进入了舞场，勇士不再是大家注意的中心。纳威和金妮在近旁跳舞——他可以看见金妮频频地皱眉、躲闪，因为纳威踩了她的脚——邓布利多正跟马克西姆夫人跳华尔兹呢。和她一比，他简直成了一个小矮人，他的尖帽子顶刚刚碰到她的下巴。不过，对于这么大块头的女人来说，她的舞步可真够优雅的。疯眼汉穆迪十分笨拙地和辛尼斯塔教授跳两步舞，辛尼斯塔教授紧张地躲避着他的木头假腿。

Roger Davies was watching her talk with a very dazed look on his face, and he kept missing his mouth with his fork. Harry had the impression that Davies was too busy staring at Fleur to take in a word she was saying.

“袜子很漂亮，波特。”穆迪经过时，粗声粗气地说，他那只带魔法的眼睛穿透了哈利的长袍。

"Absolutely right," he said quickly, slapping his own hand down on the table in imitation of Fleur. "Like that. Yeah."

“哦——是啊，家养小精灵多比给我织的。”哈利说着，露出了微笑。

Harry looked around the Hall. Hagrid was sitting at one of the other staff tables; he was back in his horrible hairy brown suit and gazing up at the top table. Harry saw him give a small wave, and looking around, saw Madame Maxime return it, her opals glittering in the candlelight.

“他真是太恐怖了！”帕瓦蒂看着穆迪噔噔地走开，小声说道，“我认为不应该允许那样的眼睛存在！”

Hermione was now teaching Krum to say her name properly; he kept calling her "Hermy-own."

哈利听见风琴奏出最后一个颤抖的音符，不由松了口气。古怪姐妹停止了演奏，礼堂里再次爆发出热烈的掌声，哈利立刻松开了帕瓦蒂。

"Her-my-oh-nee," she said slowly and clearly.

“我们坐下吧，好吗？”

"Herm-own-ninny."

“哦——可是——这支曲子很好听呢！”帕瓦蒂说，这时古怪姐妹又开始演奏一首新曲子了，节奏比刚才快得多。

"Close enough," she said, catching Harry's eye and grinning.

“不好，我不喜欢。”哈利撒谎道。他领着帕瓦蒂出了舞场，朝罗恩和帕德玛坐的桌子旁走去。路上经过弗雷德和安吉利娜身边，他们俩跳得太奔放了，周围的人们纷纷向后闪开，以免被撞伤了。

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.

“怎么样？”哈利问罗恩，一边坐下来，打开一瓶黄油啤酒。

The "Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.

罗恩没有回答。他气呼呼地瞪着在近旁跳舞的赫敏和克鲁姆。帕德玛交叉着双臂，跷着二郎腿坐着，一只腿随着音乐的节拍抖动着。时不时地，她用不满的目光朝罗恩翻个白眼，罗恩完全把她冷落在一边了。帕瓦蒂在哈利的另一侧坐下来，也交叉起双臂，跷起二郎腿，几分钟后，就有一个布斯巴顿的男生过来请她跳舞。

"Come on!" Parvati hissed. "We're supposed to dance!"

“你不介意吧，哈利？”帕瓦蒂说。

Harry tripped over his dress robes as he stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; Harry walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, carefully avoiding catching anyone's eye (he could see Seamus and Dean waving at him and sniggering), and next moment, Parvati had seized his hands, placed one around her waist, and was holding

“什么？”哈利说，他正注视着秋·张和塞德里克呢。

the other tightly in hers.

“噢，没什么。”帕瓦蒂干脆地说，就和布斯巴顿的男生一起离去了。曲子结束后，她也没有回来。

It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Harry thought, revolving slowly on the spot (Parvati was steering). He kept his eyes fixed over the heads of the watching people, and very soon many of them too had come onto the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby - he could see Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet - and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime. He was so dwarfed by her that the top of his pointed hat barely tickled her chin; however, she moved very gracefully for a woman so large. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg.

赫敏过来了，坐在帕瓦蒂空出来的椅子上。她跳舞跳得脸上微微有些泛红。

"Nice socks. Potter," Moody growled as he passed, his magical eye staring through Harry's robes.

“你好。”哈利说。罗恩一声不吭。

"Oh - yeah, Dobby the house-elf knitted them for me," said Harry, grinning.

“真热，是不是？”赫敏说道，用手掌给自己扇着风，“威克多尔去拿饮料了。”

"He is so creepy!" Parvati whispered as Moody clunked away. "I don't think that eye should be allowed."

罗恩酸溜溜地看了她一眼。“威克多尔？”他说，“他有没有让你叫他‘威基’？”

Harry heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more, and Harry let go of Parvati at once.

赫敏吃惊地看着他。“你怎么啦？”她问。

"Let's sit down, shall we?"

“如果你不知道，”罗恩刻薄地说，“我也不想告诉你。”

"Oh - but - this is a really good one!" Parvati said as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster.

赫敏吃惊地望着他，又看看哈利，哈利耸了耸肩。

"No, I don't like it," Harry lied, and he led her away from the dance floor, past Fred and Angelina, who were dancing so exhuberantly that people around them were backing away in fear of injury, and over to the table where Ron and Padma were sitting.

“罗恩，你怎么——”

"How's it going?" Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer.

“他是德姆斯特朗的人！”罗恩厉声地说，“他是哈利的竞争对手！是霍格沃茨的竞争对手！你——你这是——”罗恩显然在搜肠刮肚，寻找足以形容赫敏的滔天大罪的有力字眼，“你这是亲敌和为，这就是你干的好事！”

Ron didn't answer. He was glaring at Hermione and Krum, who were dancing nearby. Padma was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, one foot jiggling in time to the music.

赫敏吃惊地张大嘴巴。

Every now and then she threw a disgruntled look at Ron, who was completely ignoring her.

“别说傻话了！”过了片刻她说道，“亲敌！谁是敌人？说实在的——看见他来了，是谁激动得控制不住自己？是谁一心想得到他的签名？是谁在宿舍里摆着他的模型？”

Parvati sat down on Harry's other side, crossed her arms and legs too, and within minutes was asked to dance by a boy from Beauxbatons.

罗恩决定不理睬这些话。“他大概是趁你们俩都在图书馆时邀请你的吧？”

"You don't mind, do you, Harry?" Parvati said.

“是啊，没错。”赫敏说，面颊上的红晕更加鲜艳了，“那又怎么样？”

"What?" said Harry, who was now watching Cho and Cedric.

“事情是怎么发生的——你动员他参加‘呕吐’？”

"Oh never mind," snapped Parvati, and she went off with the boy from Beauxbatons. When the song ended, she did not return.

“没有，才不是！如果你真想知道，我告诉你吧，他——他说每天都上图书馆来，就是为了能跟我搭上话，但他一直鼓不起勇气！”

Hermione came over and sat down in Parvati's empty chair. She was a bit pink in the face from dancing.

赫敏说得很快，脸红得更厉害了，几乎和帕瓦蒂的长袍一个颜色。

"Hi," said Harry. Ron didn't say anything.

“是吗，哼——那是他自己这么说。”罗恩尖酸地说。

"It's hot, isn't it?" said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. "Viktors just gone to get some drinks."

“那么他是什么意思呢？”

Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

“那还不明显？他是卡卡洛夫的学生，是不是？他知道你整天跟谁泡在一起……他只是想接近哈利——窃取他的情报——或者靠近哈利身边，给他施一个毒咒——”

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" she said.

赫敏气坏了，好像罗恩扇了她一记耳光。她说话时声音微微发颤。

"If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you."

“告诉你一个情报吧，他从来没问过哈利一个字，从来没有——”

Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged.

罗恩以光的速度改变战术。

"Ron, what - ?"

“那么，他希望你帮助他搞清那只金蛋是什么意思！我猜想，你们在温暖舒适的图书馆里会面，两颗脑袋紧紧挨着——”

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You -you're -" Ron was obviously casting around for words strong enough to describe Hermione's crime, "fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

“我从来没有帮助他研究那只金蛋！”赫敏简直怒不可遏了，“从来没有。你怎么能说出这样的话来——我希望哈利在比赛中取胜，哈利知道这一点，是不是，哈利？”

Hermione's mouth fell open.

“你的表现方式可有些古怪。”罗恩讥讽道。

"Don't be so stupid!" she said after a moment. "The enemy! Honestly - who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph?

“整个这次争霸赛就是让大家结交外国巫师，并和他们建立友谊！”赫敏激动地说。

Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

“不，才不是呢！”罗恩大喊，“是为了赢得比赛！”

Ron chose to ignore this. "I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

人们转过脸来瞪着他们。

"Yes, he did," said Hermione, the pink patches on her cheeks glowing more brightly. "So what?"

“罗恩，”哈利小声说，“我认为赫敏和克鲁姆在一起并没什么要紧——”

"What happened - trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

可是罗恩对哈利的话也不予理睬。

"No, I wasn't! If you really want to know, he - he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able to pluck up the courage!"

“你为什么不去找威基，他找不到你会发愁的。”罗恩说。

Hermione said this very quickly, and blushed so deeply that she was the same color as Parvati's robes.

“不许叫他威基！”

"Yeah, well - that's his story," said Ron nastily.

赫敏一跃而起，怒气冲冲地穿过舞场，消失在人群中。罗恩望着她的背影，脸上带着一种愤怒和解恨交织的神情。

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

“你还准备请我跳舞吗？”帕德玛问他。

"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with. . . . He's just trying to get closer to Harry - get inside information on him - or get near enough to jinx him -"

“不。”罗恩说，仍然瞪着赫敏的背影。

Hermione looked as though Ron had slapped her. When she spoke, her voice quivered.

“很好。”帕德玛没好气地说，然后便站起来去找帕瓦蒂和那个布斯巴顿男生了。那个男生立刻招来他的一个朋友，加入他们一伙。那动作之快，哈利简直敢说他是念了飞来咒，让那个人嗖地飞过来的。

"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one -"

“赫－米－恩在哪里？”一个声音说。

Ron changed tack at the speed of light.

克鲁姆来到他们桌旁，手里攥着两瓶黄油啤酒。

"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means! I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions -"

“不知道。”罗恩倔头倔脑地说，抬头望着他，“你把她丢了，是吗？”

"I'd never help him work out that egg!" said Hermione, looking outraged. "Never. How could you say something like that - I want Harry to win the tournament. Harry knows that, don't you, Harry?"

克鲁姆的脸又阴沉下来。

"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.

“好吧，如果你看见她，就说我拿了饮料。”他说完就没精打采地走了。

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" said Hermione hotly.

“你和威克多尔·克鲁姆交上朋友啦，罗恩？”

"No it isn't!" shouted Ron. "It's about winning!"

珀西匆匆赶过来，搓着两只手，一副自以为了不起的派头。“太好了！这才是最关键的，你知道——为了国际魔法界的合作！”

People were starting to stare at them.

珀西坐在了帕德玛空出来的座位上，这使哈利有些烦。主宾席上现在没有人了：邓布利多教授正和斯普劳特妮教授跳舞，卢多·巴格曼和麦格教授跳舞；马克西姆夫人和海格跳着华尔兹在学生中间穿梭，在舞场上划出一道很宽的轨迹；卡卡洛夫不知上哪儿去了。又一支曲子结束了，大家再次鼓起掌来，哈利看见卢多·巴格曼吻了一下麦格教授的手，便穿过人群回去了，这时弗雷德和乔治追上去跟他说话。

"Ron," said Harry quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum -"

“你说，他们在做什么呢，干扰魔法部的高级官员？”珀西警惕地望着弗雷德和乔治，小声地说道，“一点儿也不尊重……”

But Ron ignored Harry too.

卢多·巴格曼很快就摆脱了弗雷德和乔治，他看见了哈利，挥了挥手，朝他们的桌子走来。

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are," said Ron.

“我的两个弟弟没有打扰你吧，巴格曼先生？”珀西立刻说道。

"Don't call him Vicky!"

“什么？没有，没有！”巴格曼说道，“没有，他们只是又告诉我一些他们那些假魔杖的事。问我能不能在销路方面给他们一些提示。我答应帮他们和佐料玩笑商店的两个联络人取得联系……”

Hermione jumped to her feet and stormed off across the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd. Ron watched her go with a mixture of anger and satisfaction on his face.

珀西听了这话很不高兴，哈利可以打赌，珀西一回家就会迫不及待地把这一切告诉韦斯莱夫人。弗雷德和乔治希望向大众推销他们的产品，如此看来，他们最近又有了一些更加雄心勃勃的计划。巴格曼张了张嘴，想问哈利几句话，但珀西转移了他的注意力。

"Are you going to ask me to dance at all?" Padma asked him.

“你觉得争霸赛的情况怎么样，巴格曼先生？我们司感到非常满意——火焰杯出了点儿故障，”他扫了哈利一眼，“令人感到遗憾，这个自不必说，但从那以后，似乎一切都很顺利，你认为呢？”

"No," said Ron, still glaring after Hermione.

“啊，是啊，”巴格曼愉快地说，“真是太好玩了。老巴蒂在做什么？他不能来，实在遗憾。”

"Fine," snapped Padma, and she got up and went to join Parvati and the Beauxbatons boy, who conjured up one of his friends to join them so fast that Harry could have sworn he had zoomed him there by a Summoning Charm.

“哦——我相信克劳奇先生很快就会恢复健康，”珀西不耐烦地说道，“在此之前，我非常愿意把无人管理的工作抓起来。当然啦，并不都是参加舞会什么的。”他傲慢地笑了笑，“唉，他不在期间出现的各种事情，我都不得不替他处理——你听说了阿里·巴什尔在向国内走私飞毯时被抓获的事吗？此外，我们还一直在说服特兰西尼亚人在《国际禁止决斗法》上签字。我在新年和他们的魔法合作司司长有一个约会——”

"Vare is Herm-own-ninny?" said a voice.

“我们去散散步吧，”罗恩低声对哈利说，“离开珀西……”

Krum had just arrived at their table clutching two butterbeers.

于是，哈利和罗恩假装去拿饮料，离开了桌子，侧着身子绕过舞场，悄悄溜出门，来到门厅里。前门敞开着，他们走下台阶时，玫瑰花园里的仙女之光闪闪烁烁。他们发现周围都是低矮的灌木丛、装饰华丽的曲折小径和巨大的石雕像。哈利可以听见哗啦哗啦的溅水声，像是一个喷泉，间或可以看见人们坐在镂花的板凳上。他和罗恩顺着一条曲折小径，在玫瑰花丛中穿行，但没走几步，就听见一个令人不快的熟悉声音。

"No idea," said Ron mulishly, looking up at him. "Lost her, have you?"

“……不明白为什么要这样大惊小怪，伊戈尔。”

Krum was looking surly again.

“西弗勒斯，你不能假装这一切没有发生！”卡卡洛夫的声音听上去惶恐而沙哑，好像生怕被人听见似的，“几个月来，它变得越来越明显了。我现在非常担心，我不能否认——”

"Veil, if you see her, tell her I haff drinks," he said, and he slouched off.

“那就逃跑吧，”斯内普的声音不耐烦地说道，“逃跑吧——我会为你开脱的。但是我想留在霍格沃茨——”

"Made friends with Viktor Krum, have you, Ron?"

斯内普和卡卡洛夫转过一个弯。斯内普手里拿着魔杖，把玫瑰花丛向两边轰开。他板着脸，表情很难看。许多花丛里传出尖叫声，几个黑乎乎的身影从里面蹿了出来。

Percy had bustled over, rubbing his hands together and looking extremely pompous.

“拉文克劳扣去十分，福西特！”斯内普凶狠地说——一个女生从他身边跑过，“赫奇帕奇也扣去十分，斯特宾斯！”又一个男生追着那女生而去。“还有你们俩在做什么？”他一眼瞥见哈利和罗恩在前面的小径上，问道。哈利发现卡卡洛夫看见他们站在这里，显得有些惊慌。他不安地伸手去摸他的山羊胡子，然后又把胡须缠在手指上。

"Excellent! That's the whole point, you know - international magical cooperation!"

“我们在散步。”罗恩不客气地对斯内普说，“这并不犯法吧？”

To Harry's displeasure, Percy now took Padma's vacated seat. The top table was now empty; Professor Dumbledore was dancing with Professor Sprout, Ludo Bagman with Professor McGonagall; Madame Maxime and Hagrid were cutting a wide path around the dance floor as they waltzed through the students, and Karkaroff was nowhere to be seen. When the next song ended, everybody applauded once more, and Harry saw Ludo Bagman kiss Professor McGonagall's hand and make his way back through the crowds, at which point Fred and George accosted him.

“那就接着散步吧！”斯内普气呼呼地嚷道，然后大步流星地从他们身边走过，长长的黑袍在身后飘荡。卡卡洛夫也跟着斯内普匆匆走开了。哈利和罗恩继续沿着小径漫步。

"What do they think they're doing, annoying senior Ministry members?" Percy hissed, watching Fred and George suspiciously. "No respect..."

“卡卡洛夫干吗忧心忡忡的？”罗恩小声问。

Ludo Bagman shook off Fred and George fairly quickly, however, and, spotting Harry, waved and came over to their table.

“他和斯内普什么时候开始互相用教名称呼了？”哈利慢慢地说。

"I hope my brothers weren't bothering you, Mr. Bagman?" said Percy at once.

这时，他们来到一个很大的石雕驯鹿旁边，他们越过石鹿看见一个高高的喷泉水花迸溅，闪闪发光。两个模模糊糊的巨大人影坐在一张石凳上，望着月光下的泉水。接着，哈利听见海格在说话。

"What? Oh not at all, not at all!" said Bagman. "No, they were just telling me a bit more about those fake wands of theirs. Wondering if I could advise them on the marketing. I've promised to put them in touch with a couple of contacts of mine at Zonko's Joke Shop. ..."

“我一看见你，心里就明白了。”他用一种很异样的嘶哑声音说。

Percy didn't look happy about this at all, and Harry was prepared to bet he would be rushing to tell Mrs. Weasley about this the moment he got home. Apparently Fred and George's plans had grown even more ambitious lately, if they were hoping to sell to the public. Bagman opened his mouth to ask Harry something, but Percy diverted him.

哈利和罗恩呆住了。看来，这一幕似乎是他们不应该惊扰的……哈利环顾四周，又回头望望小径，看见芙蓉·德拉库尔和罗杰·戴维斯隐藏在近旁的一片玫瑰丛里。他拍了拍罗恩的肩膀，朝那两个人扭了扭头，意思是他们可以从那条路溜走，不会引起别人的注意（在哈利看来，芙蓉和戴维斯正忙得很呢）。可是罗恩一看见芙蓉就惊恐地睁大眼睛，拼命地摇头，拉着哈利躲进了驯鹿后面更幽深的阴影中。

"How do you feel the tournament's going, Mr. Bagman? Our department's quite satisfied -the hitch with the Goblet of Fire" - he glanced at Harry - "was a little unfortunate, of course, but it seems to have gone very smoothly since, don't you think?"

“你明白了什么，海格？”马克西姆夫人问，她低沉的嗓音里带着一种嗬嗬的声音。

"Oh yes," Bagman said cheerfully, "it's all been enormous fun. How's old Barty doing?

哈利真的不想再听下去了。他知道在此情景中，海格肯定讨厌别人偷听（肯定讨厌）——如果可能的话，他会用手堵住耳朵，嘴里大声地嗡嗡叫，但是那样做也不合适。于是他强迫自己对驯鹿背上爬行的一只甲虫发生兴趣，可是，甲虫并没有那么好玩，海格下面的话还是钻进了他的耳朵。

Shame he couldn't come."

“我明白了……明白你和我一样……是你母亲还是父亲？”

"Oh I'm sure Mr. Crouch will be up and about in no time," said Percy importantly, "but in the meantime, I'm more than willing to take up the slack. Of course, it's not all attending balls" - he laughed airily - "oh no, I've had to deal with all sorts of things that have cropped up in his absence - you heard Ali Bashir was caught smuggling a consignment of flying carpets into the country? And then we've been trying to persuade the Transylvanians to sign the International Ban on Dueling. I've got a meeting with their Head of Magical Cooperation in the new year -"

“我——我不懂你是什么意思，海格……”

"Let's go for a walk," Ron muttered to Harry, "get away from Percy. ..."

“是我母亲，”海格轻声地说，“她是英国仅存的几个之一。当然啦，我对她已经记不太清了……她离开了，知道吗。大概在我三岁的时候。说实在话，她不太像一个母亲。唉……她们天性里没有母性，是不是？不知道她后来怎么样了……据我所知，大概已经死了……”

Pretending they wanted more drinks. Harry and Ron left the table, edged around the dance floor, and slipped out into the entrance hall. The front doors stood open, and the fluttering fairy lights in the rose garden winked and twinkled as they went down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. Harry could hear splashing water, which sounded like a fountain. Here and there, people were sitting on carved benches. He and Ron set off along one of the winding paths through the rosebushes, but they had gone only a short way when they heard an unpleasantly familiar voice.

马克西姆夫人一声不吭。哈利不由自主地把目光从甲虫上挪开，越过驯鹿的茸角尖梢眺望着，倾听着……他以前从未听海格谈起过自己的童年。

"... don't see what there is to fuss about, Igor."

“母亲离开后，爸爸伤心极了。我爸爸是一个小矮个儿。我六岁的时候，如果他把我惹恼了，我就把他举起来放在衣柜顶上，总是把他逗得哈哈大笑……”海格低沉的嗓音更哽咽了。马克西姆夫人听着，一动不动，似乎在凝望着银色的喷泉。“爸爸把我带大……可是，唉，他死了，就在我上学之后。打那以后，我就靠自己闯荡了。邓布利多给了我很大帮助，说真的，他对我非常好……”

"Severus, you cannot pretend this isn't happening!" Karkaroffs voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. "It's been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned, I can't deny it _"

海格掏出一块印着圆点点的丝绸大手帕，响亮地擤着鼻子。

"Then flee," said Snapes voice curtly. "Flee - I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts."

“就这样……行了……我的情况说完了。你呢？你是从哪边得到的遗传？”

Snape and Karkaroff came around the corner. Snape had his wand out and was blasting rosebushes apart, his expression most ill-natured. Squeals issued from many of the bushes, and dark shapes emerged from them.

不料马克西姆夫人突然站了起来。

"Ten points from Ravenclaw, Fawcett!" Snape snarled as a girl ran past him. "And ten points from Hufflepuff too, Stebbins!" as a boy went rushing after her. "And what are you two doing?" he added, catching sight of Harry and Ron on the path ahead. Karkaroff, Harry saw, looked slightly discomposed to see them standing there. His hand went nervously to his goatee, and he began winding it around his finger.

“太冷了。”她说——其实，不管气温多低，都不会像她的声音这样寒冷刺骨，“我想进去了。”

"We re walking," Ron told Snape shortly. "Not against the law, is it?"

“嗯？”海格困惑地说道，“不，你别走！我——我以前从没碰见过另外的人！”

"Keep walking, then!" Snape snarled, and he brushed past them, his long black cloak billowing out behind him. Karkaroff hurried away after Snape. Harry and Ron continued down the path.

“另外的人？你说清楚！”马克西姆夫人说，语气冷冰冰的。

"What's got Karkaroff all worried?" Ron muttered.

哈利真想告诉海格最好不要回答。他站在阴影里咬紧牙关，心里存有一丝希望，但愿海格别说傻话——然而无济于事。

"And since when have he and Snape been on first-name terms?"said Harry slowly.

“另外一个混血巨人啊，那还用说！”海格说。

They had reached a large stone reindeer now, over which they could see the sparkling jets of a tall fountain. The shadowy outlines of two enormous people were visible on a stone bench, watching the water in the moonlight. And then Harry heard Hagrid speak.

“你好大的胆子！”马克西姆夫人尖叫起来。“我这辈子从没有受过这种侮辱！混血巨人？我？我只是——我只是骨架子大！”她的声音像雾角一样划破宁静的夜空。哈利听见芙蓉和罗杰从他近身后的玫瑰花丛里蹿了出来。

"Momen' I saw yeh, I knew," he was saying, in an oddly husky voice.

马克西姆夫人气冲冲地走开了，一路愤怒地拨开花丛，惊得一群群五颜六色的小仙女飞向空中。海格仍然坐在长凳上，望着她的背影。天太黑了，看不清他脸上的表情。然后，过了一分钟左右，他站起来，大踏步地走了。他没有返回城堡，而是朝着他小屋的方向，走向外面漆黑的场地。

Harry and Ron froze. This didn't sound like the sort of scene they ought to walk in on, somehow. . . . Harry looked around, back up the path, and saw Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies standing half-concealed in a rosebush nearby. He tapped Ron on the shoulder and jerked his head toward them, meaning that they could easily sneak off that way without being noticed (Fleur and Davies looked very busy to Harry), but Ron, eyes widening in horror at the sight of Fleur, shook his head vigorously, and pulled Harry deeper into the shadows behind the reindeer.

“快点儿，”哈利声音很低地对罗恩说，“我们走吧……”

"What did you know, 'Agrid?" said Madame Maxime, a purr in her low voice.

可是罗恩没有动弹。

Harry definitely didn't want to listen to this; he knew Hagrid would hate to be overheard in a situation like this (he certainly would have) - if it had been possible he would have put his fingers in his ears and hummed loudly, but that wasn't really an option.

“怎么啦？”哈利望着他，问道。

Instead he tried to interest himself in a beetle crawling along the stone reindeer's back, but the beetle just wasn't interesting enough to block out Hagrid's next words.

罗恩转过脸看着哈利，脸上的表情非常严肃。

"I jus' knew . . . knew you were like me. . . . Was it yer mother or yer father?"

“你原先知道吗？”他小声问，“海格是个混血巨人？”

"I - I don't know what you mean, 'Agrid. ..."

“不知道。”哈利说，耸了耸肩，“那又怎么样？”

"It was my mother," said Hagrid quietly. "She was one o' the las' ones in Britain.

从罗恩看他的目光中，哈利立刻明白了：他又一次暴露了自己对魔法世界的无知。他在德思礼家里长大，巫师们认为理所当然的许多事，对他来说都是新奇的发现，但随着时间一年年过去，这种大惊小怪的情况越来越少了。此刻他突然醒悟：大多数巫师发现某个朋友的母亲是个巨人时，都不会问“那又怎么样？”的。

'Course, I can' remember her too well. . . she left, see. When I was abou' three. She wasn' really the maternal sort. Well. . . it's not in their natures, is it? Dunno what happened to her . . . might be dead fer all I know. ..."

“进去我再跟你解释。”罗恩轻声说，“走吧……”

Madame Maxime didn't say anything. And Harry, in spite of himself, took his eyes off the

芙蓉和罗杰·戴维斯不见了，大概是钻进了更隐秘的树丛里。哈利和罗恩回到了礼堂。帕瓦蒂和帕德玛和一大群布斯巴顿的男生一起，坐在远处的一张桌子旁，赫敏又和克鲁姆一起跳舞了。哈利和罗恩在一张远离舞场的桌子旁坐下。

beetle and looked over the top of the reindeer's antlers, listening. ... He had never heard Hagrid talk about his childhood before.

“说吧。”哈利催促罗恩，“巨人有什么问题？”

"Me dad was broken-hearted when she wen'. Tiny little bloke, my dad was. By the time I was six I could lift him up an' put him on top o' the dresser if he annoyed me. Used ter make him laugh. . . ." Hagrid's deep voice broke. Madame Maxime was listening, motionless, apparently staring at the silvery fountain. "Dad raised me . . . but he died, o' course, jus' after I started school. Sorta had ter make me own way after that.

“是这样，他们都……他们都……”罗恩搜索枯肠，找不到一句合适的话，“……都不太好。”他有气无力地说。

Dumbledore was a real help, mind. Very kind ter me, he was. . . ."

“谁在乎呢？”哈利说，“海格没有哪里不好！”

Hagrid pulled out a large spotted silk handkerchief and blew his nose heavily.

“我知道是这样，但是……天哪，怪不得他始终不说。”罗恩说着，摇了摇头，“我一直以为他是小时候不小心中了歹毒的膨胀咒什么的，不愿谈起……”

"So ... anyway . . . enough abou' me. What about you? Which side you got it on?"

“即便他母亲是个巨人，那又有什么要紧呢？”哈利说。

But Madame Maxime had suddenly got to her feet.

“嗯……认识他的人都觉得没关系，因为他们知道他没有危险性。”罗恩慢慢地说，“但是……哈利，巨人是很凶狠的。就像海格说的，这是他们的天性，他们就像巨怪一样……生来就喜欢杀人，这点大家都知道。不过，现在英国已经没有巨人了。”

"It is chilly," she said - but whatever the weather was doing, it was nowhere near as cold as her voice. "I think I will go in now."

“他们上哪儿去了？”

"Eh?" said Hagrid blankly. "No, don go! I've - I've never met another one before!"

“噢，他们慢慢灭绝了，还有一大批被傲罗杀死了。不过，国外应该还有巨人……他们多半都躲在大山里……”

"Anuzzer what, precisely?" said Madame Maxime, her tone icy.

“我不知道马克西姆想骗谁。”哈利说，一边注视着马克西姆夫人独自坐在裁判桌旁，一副闷闷不乐的样子，“如果海格是混血巨人，那她肯定也是。骨架子大……比她骨架子更大的只有恐龙了。”

Harry could have told Hagrid it was best not to answer; he stood there in the shadows gritting his teeth, hoping against hope he wouldn't - but it was no good. "Another half-giant, o' course!" said Hagrid.

在舞会剩下来的时间里，哈利和罗恩一直坐在角落里谈论巨人，谁也没有心思跳舞。哈利克制着自己不去注视秋·张和塞德里克，那会使他产生踢东西的强烈冲动。

"'Ow dare you!" shrieked Madame Maxime. Her voice exploded through the peaceful night air like a foghorn; behind him. Harry heard Fleur and Roger fall out of their rosebush.

午夜十二点，古怪姐妹停止了演奏，大家最后一次对她们报以热烈掌声，然后开始朝门厅走去。许多人希望舞会能延长一些时候，可是哈利正巴不得回去睡觉呢。在他看来，这个晚上过得并不开心。

"I 'ave nevair been more insulted in my life! 'Alf-giant? Moi? I 'ave - I 'ave big bones!"

出门来到门厅里，哈利和罗恩看见赫敏正在跟克鲁姆告别，然后克鲁姆就返回德姆斯特朗的船上去了。赫敏冷冷地扫了罗恩一眼，一句话没说，就与他们擦肩而过，上了大理石阶。哈利和罗恩跟在她后面，但刚上楼梯一半，哈利就听见有人喊他。

She stormed away; great multicolored swarms of fairies rose into the air as she passed, angrily pushing aside bushes. Hagrid was still sitting on the bench, staring after her.

“喂——哈利！”

It was much too dark to make out his expression. Then, after about a minute, he stood up and strode away, not back to the castle, but off out into the dark grounds in the direction of his cabin.

是塞德里克·迪戈里。哈利可以看见秋·张在下面的门厅里等他。

"C'mon," Harry said, very quietly to Ron. "Let's go. . . ."

“怎么？”哈利冷淡地问，塞德里克上楼朝他跑来。

But Ron didn't move.

塞德里克似乎有话不便当着罗恩的面说，罗恩耸了耸肩，显得很不高兴，继续朝楼上走去。

"What's up?" said Harry, looking at him.

“听着……”塞德里克等罗恩走远了，压低了声音说道，“你告诉了我巨龙的事，我欠你一份人情。你知道那只金蛋吗？你打开你的金蛋时，它会发出惨叫吗？”

Ron looked around at Harry, his expression very serious indeed.

“是啊。”哈利说。

"Did you know?" he whispered. "About Hagrid being half-giant?"

“那好……去洗个澡，明白吗？”

"No," Harry said, shrugging. "So what?"

“什么？”

He knew immediately, from the look Ron was giving him, that he was once again revealing his ignorance of the wizarding world. Brought up by the Dursleys, there were many things that wizards took for granted that were revelations to Harry, but these surprises had become fewer with each successive year. Now, however, he could tell that most wizards would not have said "So what?" upon finding out that one of their friends had a giantess for a mother.

“洗个澡，然后——嗯——带着金蛋，然后——嗯——在热水里仔细琢磨。它会帮助你思考……相信我的话吧。”

"I'll explain inside," said Ron quietly, "c'mon. . .."

哈利不解地望着他。

Fleur and Roger Davies had disappeared, probably into a more private clump of bushes.

“你听我说，”塞德里克说，“用级长的盥洗室。在六楼糊涂波里斯雕像左边的第四个门。口令是新鲜凤梨。我得走了……愿意跟我说晚安吗——”

Harry and Ron returned to the Great Hall. Parvati and Padma were now sitting at a distant table with a whole crowd of Beauxbatons boys, and Hermione was once more dancing with Krum. Harry and Ron sat down at a table far removed from the dance floor.

他又咧嘴对哈利笑了一下，然后匆匆下楼，找秋·张去了。

"So?" Harry prompted Ron. "What's the problem with giants?"

哈利独自回到格兰芬多塔楼。那真是一个古怪透顶的忠告。凭什么洗个澡就能弄清楚那只惨叫的金蛋是什么意思？难道塞德里克在捉弄他？他想让哈利出洋相，这样对比之下，秋·张就会更喜欢他了？

"Well, they're . . . they're . . ." Ron struggled for words. ". . . not very nice," he finished lamely.

胖夫人和她的朋友维奥莱特在肖像画洞口的像框里呼呼大睡。哈利不得不大喊“仙境之光”才把她们唤醒。她们被吵醒后非常恼火。哈利钻进公共休息室，看见罗恩和赫敏正吵得不可开交。他们面对面站着，隔着十来步远，朝对方大喊大叫，两个人都面红耳赤。

"Who cares?" Harry said. "There's nothing wrong with Hagrid!"

“我说，如果你不愿意这样，你知道怎样解决这个问题，是不是？”赫敏嚷道，她的头发已从高雅的发髻里散开，她有脸因为愤怒而扭曲了。

"I know there isn't, but. . . blimey, no wonder he keeps it quiet," Ron said, shaking his head. "I always thought he'd got in the way of a bad Engorgement Charm when he was a kid or something. Didn't like to mention it. ..."

“哦，是吗？”罗恩也朝她嚷道，“怎样解决？”

"But what's it matter if his mother was a giantess?" said Harry.

“下次再有舞会，你就赶在别人之前邀请我，别等到没办法了才想到我！”

"Well... no one who knows him will care, 'cos they'll know he's not dangerous," said Ron slowly. "But. . . Harry, they're just vicious, giants. It's like Hagrid said, it's in their natures, they're like trolls . . . they just like killing, everyone knows that.

罗恩的嘴巴蠕动着，却发不出声音，就像一条出水的金鱼。这时赫敏猛地转身，气呼呼地登上女生宿舍楼梯，回去睡觉了。罗恩转进头来望着哈利。

There aren't any left in Britain now, though."

“你看看，”他结结巴巴地说，看样子完全被惊呆了，“你看看——这叫什么事儿——完全没有抓住问题的实质——”

"What happened to them?"

哈利没有吭声。他很珍惜现在他和罗恩又说话了，因此他谨慎地保持沉默，没有说出自己的观点——实际上，他认为跟罗恩比起来，赫敏才更准确地抓住了问题的实质。

"Well, they were dying out anyway, and then loads got themselves killed by Aurors.

There're supposed to be giants abroad, though. . . . They hide out in mountains mostly. .

. ."

"I don't know who Maxime thinks she's kidding," Harry said, watching Madame Maxime

sitting alone at the judges' table, looking very somber. "If Hagrid's half-giant, she definitely is. Big bones . .. the only thing that's got bigger bones than her is a dinosaur."

Harry and Ron spent the rest of the ball discussing giants in their corner, neither of them having any inclination to dance. Harry tried not to watch Cho and Cedric too much; it gave him a strong desire to kick something.

When the Weird Sisters finished playing at midnight, everyone gave them a last, loud round of applause and started to wend their way into the entrance hall. Many people were expressing the wish that the ball could have gone on longer, but Harry was perfectly happy to be going to bed; as far as he was concerned, the evening hadn't been much fun.

Out in the entrance hall, Harry and Ron saw Hermione saying good night to Krum before he went back to the Durmstrang ship. She gave Ron a very cold look and swept past him up the marble staircase without speaking. Harry and Ron followed her, but halfway up the staircase Harry heard someone calling him.

"Hey-Harry!"

It was Cedric Diggory. Harry could see Cho waiting for him in the entrance hall below.

"Yeah?" said Harry coldly as Cedric ran up the stairs toward him.

Cedric looked as though he didn't want to say whatever it was in front of Ron, who shrugged, looking bad-tempered, and continued to climb the stairs.

"Listen ..." Cedric lowered his voice as Ron disappeared. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Well... take a bath, okay?"

"What?"

"Take a bath, and - er - take the egg with you, and - er - just mull things over in the hot water. It'll help you think. . . . Trust me."

Harry stared at him.

"Tell you what," Cedric said, "use the prefects' bathroom. Fourth door to the left of that statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Password's 'pine fresh.' Gotta go ... want to say good night -"

He grinned at Harry again and hurried back down the stairs to Cho.

Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower alone. That had been extremely strange advice.

Why would a bath help him to work out what the wailing egg meant? Was Cedric pulling his leg? Was he trying to make Harry look like a fool, so Cho would like him even more by comparison?

The Fat Lady and her friend Vi were snoozing in the picture over the portrait hole. Harry had to yell "Fairy lights!" before he woke them up, and when he did, they were extremely irritated. He climbed into the common room and found Ron and Hermione having a blazing row. Standing ten feet apart, they were bellowing at each other, each scarlet in the face.

"Well, if you don't like it, you know what the solution is, don't you?" yelled Hermione; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger.

"Oh yeah?" Ron yelled back. "What's that?"

"Next time there's a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!"

Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water as Hermione turned on her heel and stormed up the girls' staircase to bed. Ron turned to look at Harry.

"Well," he sputtered, looking thunderstruck, "well - that just proves - completely missed the point -"

Harry didn't say anything. He liked being back on speaking terms with Ron too much to speak his mind right now - but he somehow thought that Hermione had gotten the point much better than Ron had.

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