哈利·波特与阿兹卡班的囚徒 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 英文  中文  双语对照  双语交替 首页  目录  上一章   下一章

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CHAPTER EIGHT FLIGHT OF THE FAT FADY

第八章　胖夫人逃走

In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin.

很快，黑魔法防御术就成为多数人喜爱的一门课了。只有德拉科马尔福和他那一帮子斯莱特林院的人说卢平教授的坏话。“看看他的袍子，”卢平教授走过的时候，马尔福会大声说，“他穿得像我们家里的小精灵。”

"Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old houseelf "

但除了他们以外，没有人在意卢平教授的袍子有补丁又毛了边。他以后的几堂课都和第一堂课一样地生动有趣。在博格特以后，他们研究了红帽子，这是一种妖怪一样令人不愉快的小家伙，什么地方有谁流血了，它们就在什么地方潜伏着，在城堡主楼里，在荒无人迹的战场的坑洼里，它们等着要猛烈攻击那些迷路的人。他们从红帽子又到了卡巴，这是一种爬行的水生动物，看上去像有鳞的猴子，双手有蹼，忙着要扼死不知深浅地走在它们池塘里的涉水者。

But no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed. His next few lessons were just as interesting as the first. After boggarts, they studied Red Caps, nasty little goblin like creatures that lurked wherever there had been bloodshed: in the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields, waiting to bludgeon those who had gotten lost. From Red Caps they moved on to kappas, creepy. water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands itching to strangle unwitting waders in their ponds.

哈利但愿自己对其他课程也这样有兴趣。最糟的是魔药课。这些天来，斯内普特别想报复，大家都清楚这是为什么。关于博格特现形为斯内普，纳威让它穿上他祖母的衣服这个故事在校园里不胫而走，传得飞快。斯内普似乎不觉得这有什么好笑。一提到卢平教授的名字，他的眼睛里就闪现着威胁的光芒，他现在比以前更加欺负纳威了。

Harry only wished he was as happy with some of his other classes. Worst of all was Potions. Snape was in a particularly vindictive mood these days, and no one was in any doubt why. The story of the boggart assuming Snape's shape, and the way that Neville had dressed it in his grandmother's clothes, had traveled through the school like wildfire. Snape didn't seem to find it funny. His eyes flashed menacingly at the very mention of Professor Lupin's name, and he was bullying Neville worse than ever.

哈利也越来越怕在特里劳妮教授令人窒息的教室里所上的课，在那里他们要解读各种倾斜的形状和象征，每次特里劳妮教授那双大眼睛泪汪汪地看着他的时候，他都要假装不在意。他没法喜欢特里劳妮教授，尽管班上多数学生尊敬她，甚至还有点敬畏。帕瓦蒂帕蒂尔和拉文德布朗喜欢在午饭时分到特里劳妮教授的教室去，回来的时候，总是一险令人心烦的优越感，好像他们知道了别人不知道的事情一样。不管什么时候，只要他们对哈利说话，他们的声音就变得轻轻的，就好像他已经停尸在床了。

Harry was also growing to dread the hours he spent in Professor Trelawney's stifling tower room, deciphering lopsided shapes and symbols, trying to ignore the way Professor Trelawney's enormous eyes filled with tears every time she looked at him. He couldn't like Professer Trelawney, even though she was treated with respect bordering on reverence by many of the class. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown had taken to haunting Professor Trelawney's tower room at lunch times, and always returned with annoyingly superior looks on their faces, as though they knew things the others didn't. They had also started using hushed voices whenever they spoke to Harry, as though he were on his deathbed.

没有人真正喜欢保护神奇生物课，这门课在充满行动的第一课后，变得十分沉闷。海格好像失去了信心。现在他们一课又一课地学习如何照顾弗洛伯毛虫，它们一定是现有的最烦人的生物。

Nobody really liked Care of Magical Creatures, which, after the action-packed first class, had become extremely dull. Hagrid seemed to have lost his confidence. They were now spending lesson after lesson learning how to look after flobberworms, which had to be some of the most boring creatures in existence.

“为什么要有人去烦神照顾它们呢？”罗恩在又花了一个小时把切细的莴苣往弗洛伯毛虫黏滑的喉咙里塞的时候这样说。

"Why would anyone bother looking after them?" said Ron, after yet another hour of poking shredded lettuce down the flobberworms' throats.

然而，十月初，哈利有了让他专心的事情，这类事情很有趣，足以弥补他那些没上好的课给他带来的烦恼。魁地奇季节赛临近了，一个星期二晚上，格兰芬多队的队长奥利弗伍德召集了一次会议，讨论新季节的战术。

At the start of October, however, Harry had something else to occupy him, something so enjoyable it more than made up for his unsatisfactory classes. The Quidditch season was approaching, and O1iver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor team, called a meeting on Thursday evening to discuss tactics for the new season.

一个魁地奇队有七名队员：三名追球手，他们的任务是把鬼飞球（一个足球大小的红色球）投进球场两端五十英尺高的环形圈里去而得分；两名击球手，他们装备有厚重的球拍以便抵挡游走球（两个发出嗡嗡声四处飞舞、伺机攻击球员的沉重黑球）；一名守门员，他守卫球门；还有一名找球手，他的任务最困难，他要寻找并抓到金色飞贼，这是一个带翼的、胡桃大小的小球，抓住它比赛就结束了，得到这个小球的队就可以额外加一百五十分。

There were seven people on a Quidditch team: three Chasers, whose job it was to score goals by putting the Quaffle (a red, soccer-sized ball) through one of the fifty-foot-high hoops at each

奥利弗伍德是个粗壮结实的十七岁少年，现在上七年级，这也是他在霍格沃茨的最后一年。在越来越暗的魁地奇球场边上寒冷的更衣室里，他对他的六名队友说着话，声音里带着一种静静的绝望。

end of the field; two Beaters, who were equipped with heavy bats to repel the Bludgers (two heavy black balls that zoomed around trying to attack the players); a Keeper, who defended the goal

“这是我们赢得魁地奇杯的最后一次机会——我的最后一次机会，”他对队友们说，在他们面前大步走来走去，“今年年底我就要离开学校了。我再也不能在这里比赛了。

posts, and the Seeker, who had the hardest job of all, that of catching the Golden Snitch, a tiny, winged, walnut-sized ball, whose capture ended the game and earned the Seeker's team an extra one hundred and fifty points.

“到现在为止，格兰芬多已经七年没有赢了。好吧，我们过去运气极坏——受了伤——然后去年又取消了锦标赛……”伍德咽了一口口水，好像这番记忆仍旧能给他的喉咙带来硬块似的。“但是我们也知道，我们有着本校——最佳——球队的称号。”他说，一手握拳，敲在另一只手上，眼睛里又闪现着昔日那种躁狂的光芒。

Oliver Wood was a burly seventeen-year-old, now in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. There was a quiet sort of desperation in his voice a's he addressed his six fellow team members in the chilly locker rooms on the edge of the darkening Quidditch field.

“我们有三名最佳追球手。”伍德指着艾丽娅斯平内特、安吉利娜约翰逊和凯蒂贝尔。“我们有两名战无不胜的击球手。”

"This is our last chance -- my last chance -- to win the Quidditch Cup," he told them, striding up and down in front of them. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it."

“别说了奥利弗，你弄得我们不好意思了。”弗雷德和乔治这两个韦斯莱兄弟一起说，假装脸红了起来。

"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world -- injuries -- then the tournamentgetting called off last year Wood swallowed, as though the memory still brought a lump to his throat. "But we also know we've got the best-ruddy-team-in-the-school," he said, punching a fist into his other hand, the old manic glint back in his eye. "We've got three superb Chasers."

“我们还有一名找球手，他总是能赢得比赛！”伍德低沉地说，以一种狂怒而骄傲的神气瞪眼看着哈利。“还有我。”他加上一句，作为事后想起的内容。

Wood pointed at Alicia Spinner, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell.

“我们认为你也是很好的，奥利弗。”乔治说。

"We've got two unbeatable Beaters."

“极好的守门员。”弗雷德说。

"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us," said Fred and George Weasley together, pretending to blush.

“要点是，”伍德继续说，又大步走来走去，“过去两年的魁地奇杯上应该有我们队的名字。自从哈利加入我们队以来，我一直认为奖杯是我们手到擒来的东西。但是我们没有得到这个奖杯，今年是我们看到奖杯有我们名字的最后一次机会了……”

"And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!" Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a kind of furious pride. "And me," he added as an afterthought.

伍德说得那样情绪低落，就连弗雷德和乔治也不禁同情起他来了。

"We think you're very good too, Oliver," said George.

“奥利弗，今年是我们的年。”弗雷德说。

"Spanking good Keeper," said Fred.

“我们会赢的，奥利弗！”安吉利娜说。

"The point is," Wood went on, resuming his pacing, "the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally see our name on the thing...."

“肯定的。”哈利说。

Wood spoke so dejectedly that even Fred and George looked sympathetic.

这支球队满怀信心地开始了训练，每周三次。天气越来越冷，越来越潮湿，夜晚也更加黑暗了。但是，不管有多少泥浆，有风还是雨，都不能动摇哈利的美好的预见：他们队最终会赢得那个巨大的魁地奇银杯。

"Oliver, this year's our year," said Fred.

一天晚上，哈利在训练以后回到格兰芬多院的休息室，感到又冷又僵，但是对练习的情况还是很满意的，他发现休息室里的人们嗡嗡地谈论着什么，都很兴奋。

"We'll do it, Oliver!" said Angelina.

“发生了什么事？”他问罗恩和赫敏，这两个人坐在壁炉旁边最好的两个座位上，正在比较天文学课上的几张星象图。

"Definitely," said Harry.

“第一个霍格莫德周末，”罗恩指着旧布告板上的一张通知说，“十月底。

Full of determination, the team started training sessions, three evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind, or rain could tarnish Harry's wonderful vision of finally winning the huge, silver Quidditch Cup.

万圣节前夕。”

Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly.

“太棒了，”弗雷德说，他是跟着哈利走到肖像画上的洞里的，“我必须到佐科店去一下，我的臭弹快没了。”

"What's happened?", he asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside and completing some star charts for Astronomy.

哈利一屁股坐到罗恩旁边的一张椅子上，他亢奋的情绪渐渐消沉下去了。赫敏似乎看穿了他的心思。“哈利，我敢说你下一次就能去了。”她说，“他们肯定很快就会抓住布莱克的，人家已经有一次看见他在什么地方了。”

"First Hogsmeade weekend," said Ron, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board. "End of October. Halloween."

“布莱克不会笨到那样，不会妄想在霍格莫德干什么事的。”罗恩说，“问问麦格这次你能不能去，哈利，下一次还不知道要等到什么时候——”

"Excellent," said Fred, who had followed Harry through the portrait hole. "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets."

“罗恩！”赫敏说，“哈利是应该待在学校里的——”

Harry threw himself into a chair beside Ron, his high spirits ebbing away. Hermione seemed to read his mind.

“他不能是惟一留校的三年级学生，”罗恩说，“去问问麦格，去呀，哈利——”

"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time," she said. "They're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already."

“对，我想我会去问的。”哈利下定决心说。

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade," said Ron. "Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be for ages --"

赫敏开口想说什么，但这时克鲁克山轻快地跳到她的膝上，嘴里叼着一只很大的死蜘蛛。

"Ron!" said Hermione. "Harry's supposed to stay in school-"

“它一定要在我们面前吃东西吗？”罗恩咆哮道。

"He can't be the only third year left behind," said Ron. "Ask McGonagall, go on, Harry --"

“聪明的克鲁克山，是你自己捉的吗？”赫敏说。

"Yeah, I think I will," said Harry, making up his mind.

克鲁克山慢慢咀嚼着那只蜘蛛，它的黄眼睛盯着罗恩。

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but at that moment Crookshanks leapt lightly onto her lap. A large, dead spider was dangling from his mouth.

“就让它待在那儿，拜托了。”罗恩气呼呼地说道，又去弄那张星象图了。“斑斑睡在我书包里呢。”

"Does he have to eat that in front of us?" said Ron, scowling.

哈利打哈欠。他真想去睡觉，但他的星象图还没有完成。他把书包拉过来，拿出羊皮纸、墨水和羽毛笔，开始做作业。

"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?" said Hermione.

“你要是愿意的话，可以抄我的。”罗恩说，一挥而就地标出他星象图上最后一颗星，然后把星象图推给哈利。

Crookshanks; slowly chewed up the spider, his yellow eyes fixed insolently on Ron.

赫敏是不赞成抄袭的，因此她噘起嘴，但什么也没有说。克鲁克山仍然眼睛一眨不眨地看着罗恩，一面轻轻摇动它那多毛的尾巴尖。然后，它一声不吭地来了个突然袭击。

"Just keep him over there, that's all," said Ron irritably, turning back to his star chart. "1've got Scabbers asleep in my bag."

“哦！”罗恩吼起来，一把抢过他的书包，这时，克鲁克山的四只爪子已经牢牢地抓住书包了，而且开始凶恶地撕咬起来。“放开，你这蠢畜生！”

Harry yawned. He really wanted to go to bed, but he still had his own star chart to complete. He pulled his bag toward him, took out parchment, ink, and quill, and started work.

罗恩努力把书包从克鲁克山爪子下面夺回来，但它紧抓不放，满嘴冒沫。

"You can copy mine, if you like," said Ron, labeling his last star with a flourish and shoving the chart toward Harry.

“罗恩，别伤害它！”赫敏尖叫道。整个休息室都在看热闹。罗恩拿着书包飞快地转了一圈，克鲁克山仍旧抓住不放，斑斑从书包顶端跳了出来——“抓住那只猫！”罗恩大叫。这时，克鲁克山放开了书包，跳到桌子上，追赶那吓坏了的斑斑。

Hermione, who disapproved of copying, pursed her lips but didn't say anything. Crookshanks was still staring unblinkingly at Ron, flicking the end of his bushy tail. Then, without warning, he pounced.

乔治韦斯莱猛冲过去想抓住克鲁克山，但是没抓着；斑斑在二十双腿之间飞跑，一下子就冲到一个五斗橱下边去了。克鲁克山猛然停住，低低地蹲着，开始用前爪狂怒地伸到五斗橱下面去掏。

"OY!" Ron roared, seizing his bag as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. "GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

罗恩和赫敏连忙跑过去；赫敏抓住克鲁克山的腰部，然后费力地举起它放到了别的地方；罗恩趴在地上，费了很大劲才抓住斑斑的尾巴，将它拽了出来。

Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but Crookshanks clung on, spitting and slashing.

“看看！”他狂怒地对赫敏说，一面拎着斑斑在她面前摇晃，“它已经皮包骨头了！你别让那只猫靠近它！”

"Ron, don't hurt him!" squealed Hermione; the whole common room was watching; Ron whirled the bag around, Crookshanks still clinging to it, and Scabbers came flying out of the top -

“克鲁克山并不知道它做错了呀！”赫敏说，声音发抖，“所有的猫都抓耗子，罗恩！”

"CATCH THAT CAR' Ron yelled as Crookshanks freed himself from the remnants of the bag, sprang over the table, and chased after the terrified Scabbers.

“这只畜生真有点怪！”罗恩说，一面努力说服那正在疯狂挣扎的斑斑回到他的书包里去。“它听见我说斑斑在我的书包里了！”

George Weasley made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed; Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot beneath an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched low on his bandy legs, and started making furious swipes beneath it with his front paw.

“哦，这就胡说八道了，”赫敏不耐烦地说，“克鲁克山会嗅到它的气息，罗恩，你以为它还会——”

Ron and Hermione hurried over; Hermione grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and heaved him away; Ron threw himself onto his stomach and, with great difficulty, pulled Scabbers out by the tail.

“那只猫就是盯着斑斑不放！”罗恩说，没有去理会周围的人，他们都开始笑起来。“斑斑是先在这里的，而且它病了！”

"Look at him!" he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. "He's skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!"

罗恩大步走过公共休息室，上楼到男生宿舍去了。

"Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" said Hermione, her voice shaking. "All cats chase rats, Ron!"

第二天，罗恩仍旧生赫敏的气。在整个草药课上，他几乎没有和赫敏说话，尽管他、哈利和赫敏是三人一组进行实验的。

"There's something funny about that animal!" said Ron, who was trying to persuade a frantically wiggling Scabbers back into his pocket. "It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!"

“斑斑怎么样了？”赫敏胆怯地问道，此时他们正在剥豆荚，并且把发亮的豆子放到一只木桶里去。

"Oh, what rubbish," said Hermione impatiently. "Crookshanks could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think --"

“它躲在我床底下呢，一直在发抖。”罗恩生气地说，手一抖，没有投中，把豆子撒在了暖房地板上。

"That cat's got it in for Scabbers!" said Ron, 'ignoring the people around him, who were starting to giggle. "And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!"

“当心，韦斯莱，当心！”斯普劳特教授嚷道，这时豆子就在他们眼前开花了。

Ron marched through the common room and out of sight up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

下堂课是变形课。哈利下定决心要在课后问麦格教授他到底能不能和大家一起到霍格莫德去，因此他就在教室排起了队，想着他应该怎么说。然而，队伍前面发生的骚乱让他分了心。

Ron was still in a bad mood with Hermione next day. He barely talked to her all through Herbology, even though he, Harry, and Hermione were working together on the same puffapod.

拉文德布朗好像在哭。帕瓦蒂手臂环着她的肩，正在向西莫斐尼甘和迪安托马斯解释着什么，这两人都一本正经的。

"How's Scabbers?" Hermione asked timidly as they stripped fat pink pods from the plants and emptied the shining beans into a wooden pail.

“什么事呀，拉文德？”赫敏焦急地问道，这时，她、哈利和罗恩加入到了人群中。

"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking, " said Ron angrily, missing the pail and scattering beans over the greenhouse floor.

“今天早上她接到家里的一封信，”帕瓦蒂悄声说道，“她的兔子宾基被狐狸咬死了。”

"Careful, Weasley, careful!" cried Professor Sprout as the beans burst into bloom before their very eyes.

“哦，”赫敏说，“真遗憾，拉文德。”

They had Transfiguration next. Harry, who had resolved to ask Professor McGonagall after the lesson whether he could go into Hogsmeade with the rest, joined the line outside the class trying to decide how he was going to argue his case. He was distracted, however, by a disturbance at the front of the line.

“我早应该知道的！”拉丈德悲哀地说，“你们知道今天是什么日子吗？”

Lavender Brown seemed to be crying. Parvati had her arm around her and was explaining something to Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were looking very serious.

“哦——”

"What's the matter, Lavender?" said Hermione anxiously as she, Harry, and Ron went to join the group.

“十月十六日！‘你害怕的那件事，它会在十月十六日发生！’记得吗？她说得对，她说得对！”

"She got a letter from home this morning," Parvati whispered. "It's her rabbit, Binky. He's been killed by a fox."

现在，全班人都聚集在拉文德身边了。西莫严肃地播着头。赫敏迟疑着，然后她说：“你——你怕宾基被狐狸吃了吗？”

"Oh," said Hermione, "I'm sorry, Lavender."

“唔，不一定是被狐狸啊，”拉文德说，泪光莹莹地抬头看着赫敏，“但我显然担心它会死。是不是？”

"I should have known!" said Lavender tragically. "You know what day it is?"

“哦。”赫敏说。她又停了一下，然后——“宾基是只老兔子吗？”

"Er --"

“不——不！”拉文德抽泣着说，“它还是只小兔呢！”

"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!"

帕瓦蒂的手臂在拉文德的肩上围得更紧了。

The whole class was gathered around Lavender now. Seamus shook his head seriously. Hermione hesitated; then she said, "You -- you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?"

“那你为什么怕它死呢？”赫敏说。

"Well, not necessarily by a fox," said Lavender, looking up at Hermione with streaming eyes, "but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't l?"

帕瓦蒂瞪着她。

"Oh," said Hermione. She paused again. Then

“好吧，让我们来逻辑地看这个问题，”赫敏转向大家说，“我意思是说，宾基甚至不是今天死的，对不对，拉文德今天才得到消息——”拉文德大声哀哭起来。“——而且她不可能一直在担心这件事，因为这件事让她真正震惊——”

"Was Binky an old rabbit?"

“别理赫敏，拉文德。”罗恩大声说，“她认为别人的宠物不要紧。”

"N -- no!" sobbed Lavender. "H -- he was only a baby!"

这时，麦格教授打开了教室的门，幸而是在这个时刻打开，因为赫敏和罗恩两人正怒目相视，等到走进教室以后，这两人分别坐在哈利两旁。整个课上彼此都不和对方说话。

Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders.

下课铃响了，哈利还是没有下决心去问麦格教授，倒是她首先提起了霍格莫德这个话题。

"But then, why would you dread him dying?" said Hermione.

“请等一会儿！”她叫道，因为整个班级都要离开教室了。“你们都是我这个学院的，你们应该在万圣节前夕以前把申请表交给我。不交表，就别去霍格莫德。所以啊，你们都别忘了！”

Parvati glared at her.

纳威举手。“教授，我——我想我那份表丢掉了——”

"Well, look at it logically," said Hermione, turning to the rest of the group- "I mean, Binky didn't even die today, did he? Lavender just got the news today-" Lavender wailed loudly. "- and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come as a real shock --"

“你奶奶直接把表交给我了，隆巴顿，”麦格教授说，“她好像认为这样做放心些。好吧，没什么了。你们可以离开了。”

"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender," said Ron loudly, "she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much."

“去问呀。”罗恩嘶声对哈利说。

Professor McGonagall opened the classroom door at that moment, which was perhaps lucky; Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and when they got into class, they seated themselves on either side of Harry and didn't talk to each other for the whole class.

“哦，不过——”赫敏开口说。

Harry still hadn't decided what he was going to say to Professor McGonagall when the bell rang at the end of the lesson, but it was she who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first.

“去呀，哈利。”罗恩固执地说。

"One moment, please !" she called as the class made to leave. "As you're all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!"

哈利等到大家都走了，才紧张地走到麦格教授的桌子面前。

Neville put up his hand.

“唔，波特？”

"Please, Professor, I -- I think I've lost

哈利深深地吸了口气。

"Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Longbottom," said Professor McGonagall. "She seemed to think it was safer. Well, that's all, you may leave."

“教授，我的姨妈和姨父——哦——忘了给我的申请表签名。”他说。

"Ask her now," Ron hissed at Harry.

麦格教授从她的方形眼镜上方看着他，但是什么也没有说。

"Oh. but --" Hermione began.

“那么——哦——您认为行不行——我意思是说——我能不能——要是我到霍格莫德去，行不行呢？”

"Go for it, Harry," said Ron stubbornly.

麦格教授收回了目光，开始翻弄桌子上的纸张了。“我怕是不行，波特，”她说，“你听到我刚才说什么了。不交表，就别去。这是规定。”

Harry waited for the rest of the class to disappear, then headed nervously for Professor McGonagall's desk.

“可是——教授，我的姨妈和姨父——您知道的，他们都是麻瓜啊，他们并不真正理解——理解霍格沃茨的表格和人员。”哈利说，罗恩在一边使劲点着头鼓励他。“如果您说我可以去——”

"Yes, Potter?" Harry took a deep breath.

“但是我不会这样说的。”麦格教授说。她站了起来，把她的纸张整齐地放到抽屉里。“申请表明白地说必须得到家长或者是监护人的同意。”她回身看着他，脸上有一种古怪的表情。“我很抱歉，波特，但这是我的最后决定。你还是赶快走吧，要不然你下一课要迟到了。”

"Professor, my aunt and uncle -- er -- forgot to sign my form," he said.

没法挽救了。罗恩骂了麦格教授许多难听的话，弄得赫敏很恼火；赫敏脸上露出“终于圆满了结了”的表情，让罗恩更加冒火。班级里的同学纷纷高兴地大声谈论他们一旦到了霍格莫德，首先就要做什么。对此，哈利只能默默忍受。

Professor McGonagall looked over her square spectacles at him but didn't say anything.

“总会有一场盛宴的，”罗恩说，想让哈利高兴起来，“你知道，万圣节前夕的晚宴。”

"So -- er d'you think it would be all right mean, will It be okay if I -- if I go to Hogsmeade?"

“是啊，”哈利阴郁地说，“很棒的。”

Professor McGonagall looked down and began shuffling papers on her desk.

万圣节盛宴总是很棒的，但是，如果哈利是和大家一起在霍格莫德待了一天之后，再参加这次盛宴，那这场盛宴的滋味无疑会好得多。不管谁说什么，都不能让哈利心情好一点。迪安托马斯长于使用羽毛笔，他曾提出让他在申请表上模仿弗农姨父的签字，但是哈利已经告诉麦格教授了，说他的那张表没有签字，这样做就不会有什么好处。罗恩半心半意地建议他穿隐形衣，但是赫敏对这个主意迎头痛击，她提醒罗恩说，邓布利多说过，摄魂怪是能够看透隐形衣的。珀西说的话则可能是最不能安慰哈利的了。

"I'm afraid not, Potter," she said. "You heard what I said. No form, no visiting the village. That's the rule."

“他们一说到霍格莫德就大惊小怪的，但是我告诉你，哈利，那儿并不像人们说的那么好。”他认真地说，“那糖果店倒是相当好，但佐科笑话店简直就是危险的地方；对，还有那间尖叫棚屋倒是一直值得一看。不过说真的，哈利，除了这些地方以外，你没有错过什么了不得的东西。”

"But -- Professor, my aunt and uncle -- you know, they're Muggles, they don't really understand about -- about Hogwarts forms and stuff," Harry said, while Ron egged him on with vigorous nods. "If you said I could go --"

万圣节前夕的那天早晨，哈利和大家一起醒来下楼去吃早饭，他的心绪恶劣极了，不过表面上他尽量装得和平常一样。

"But I don't say so," said Professor McGonagall, standing up and piling her papers neatly into a drawer. "The form clearly states that the parent or guardian must give permission." She turned to look at him, with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? "I'm sorry, Potter, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be late for your next lesson."

“我们会从蜂蜜公爵那里给你带许多糖果回来的。”赫敏说，为他感到极其难过。

There was nothing to be done. Ron called Professor McGonagall a lot of names that greatly annoyed Hermione; Hermione assumed an "all-for-the-best" expression that made Ron even angrier, and Harry had to endure everyone in the class talking loudly and happily about what they were going to do first, once they got into Hogsmeade.

“是啊，带许多。”罗恩说。由于哈利情绪低落，他和赫敏终于忘了他们关于克鲁克山的争吵。

"There's always the feast," said Ron, in an effort to cheer Harry UP. "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."

“别为我担心。”哈利说，他希望自己说得很随意的样子。“晚宴的时侯见面。玩个痛快。”

"Yeah," said Harry gloomily, "great."

他陪他们到了前厅，看管人费尔奇站在大门里面，拿着一张长长的名单核对着一个个人，怀疑地看着每一个人的脸，提防着任何不应该去的人溜出去。

The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lot better if he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone else. Nothing anyone said made him feel any better about being left behind. Dean Thomas, who was good with a quill, had offered to forge Uncle Vernon's signature on the form, but as Harry had already told Professor McGonagall he hadn't had it signed, that was no good. Ron halfheartedly suggested the Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione stamped on that one, reminding Ron what Dumbledore had told them about the dementors being able to see through them. Percy had what were possibly the least helpful words of comfort.

“留下来了，波特？”马尔福大叫，他和克拉布、高尔都站在队伍里。“害怕遇到摄魂怪吗？”

"They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, Harry, it's not all it's cracked up to be," he said seriously. "All right, the sweetshop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit, but really, Harry, apart from that, you're not missing anything."

哈利不理睬他，独自走上大理石楼梯，穿过没有人走动的走廊，回到格兰芬多塔楼。

On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast, feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his best to act normally.

“口令？”那胖夫人问道，她刚从小睡中醒来。

"We'll bring you. lots of sweets back from Honeydukes," said Hermione, looking desperately sorry for him.

“吉星高照。”哈利无精打采地说。

"Yeah, loads," said Ron. He and Hermione had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of Harry's difficulties.

肖像画打开了，他从洞里爬进去，进了公共休息室。那里满是一二年级的学生，都在谈笑，有几个大一点的学生显然多次去过霍格莫德，对那里已经没有新鲜的感觉了。

"Don't worry about me," said Harry, in what he hoped was at, offhand voice, "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."

“哈利！哈利！你好，哈利！”这是科林克里维，二年级学生，极其敬佩哈利，凡有和哈利说话的机会，他从不放过。“你不去霍格莫德，是吗，哈利？为什么不去啊？嘿——”科林急切地四顾他的同学，“你愿意的话，来和我们坐在一起，好吗？”

He accompanied them to the entrance hall, where Filch, the caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.

“哦——不，谢谢，科林。”哈利说，他不想让一大堆人眼巴巴地看着他额头上的伤疤。“我——我必须到图书馆去，必须到那里去完成作业。”这样说了之后，他别无选择，只能向后转。又从肖像画上的洞里出去了。

"Staying here, Potter?" shouted Malfoy, who was standing in line with Crabbe and Goyle. "Scared of passing the dementors?"

“干吗老把我叫醒？”他走开以后，胖夫人追着他的背影叫道。

Harry ignored him and made his solitary way up the marble staircase, through the deserted corridors, and back to Gryffindor Tower.

哈利无精打采地走向图书馆，但在半路上改变了主意：他不想干正经事。他回过身来，迎面遇到了费尔奇，他显然刚送走去霍格莫德的最后一批人。

"Password?" said the Fat Lady, jerking out of a doze.

“你在干吗？”费尔奇怀疑地问。

"Fortuna Major," said Harry listlessly.

“没干吗。”哈利老实说。

The portrait swung open and he climbed through the hole into the common room. It was full of chattering first and second years, and a few older students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often the novelty had worn off

“没干吗！”费尔奇往地上唾了一口，他的下巴令人不愉快地抖动着。“说得倒像真的似的！你一个人在这里偷偷摸摸地走着，你怎么没跟你那些讨厌的朋友在一起，现在正在霍格莫德买臭弹和打嗝粉，还有飞鸣虫呢？”哈利耸了耸肩膀。“好吧，回到你该去的公共休息室去！”费尔奇厉声说，他站在那里瞪着哈利，直到哈利走得看不见了为止。

"Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!"

但是哈利没有回到公共休息室去，他登上一道搂梯，迷迷糊期地想着是不是到猫头鹰栖息出没的地方去看看海德薇，于是他沿着另外一条走廊走去，这时，一个房间里有人招呼他：“哈利？”

It was Colin Creevey, a second year who was deeply in awe of Harry and never missed an opportunity to speak to him.

哈利回身看是谁，只见是卢平教授，正在他办公室的门口四处张望。

"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry? Why not? Hey" -- Colin looked eagerly around at his friends -- "you can come and sit with us, if you like, Harry!"

“你在干什么？”卢平问，口气和费尔奇完全不同，“罗恩和赫敏呢？”

"Er -- no, thanks, Colin," said Harry, who wasn't in the mood to have a lot of people staring avidly at the scar on his forehead. "I -- I've got to go to the library, got to get some work done."

“霍格莫德。”哈利说，尽量说得很随意。

After that, he had no choice but to turn right around and head back out of the portrait hole again.

“啊。”卢平说。他对哈利看了一会儿。“你为什么不进来呢？我刚刚收到为我们的下一课准备的格林迪洛。”

"What was the point waking me up?" the Fat Lady called grumpily after him as he walked away.

“什么东西？”哈利问。他跟随卢平进了办公室。办公室角落里放着一个很大的水箱，一个长着尖尖的小角、病恹恹的绿色家伙把脸紧贴在玻璃上，它做着鬼脸，不断伸曲着细长的爪子。

Harry wandered dispiritedly toward the library, but halfway there he changed his mind; he didn't feel like working. He turned around and came face-to-face with Filch, who had obviously just seen off the last of the Hogsmeade visitors.

“水怪，”卢平说，若有所思地看着格林迪洛，“我们对付它应该不会有多大困难，毕竟我们有过卡巴了。秘诀在于破坏它的紧握。你注意到那长得不正常的爪子了吗？强壮，但是脆弱。”

"What are you doing?" Filch snarled suspiciously.

那格林迪洛龇出绿色的牙齿，然后把自己埋在水箱角落里的一团乱糟糟的水草里了。

"Nothing," said Harry truthfully.

“喝杯荼吗？”卢平说，四处找着水壶，“我方才正在想着泡一杯呢。”

"Nothing!" spat Filch, his jowls quivering unpleasantly. "A likely story! Sneaking around on your own -- why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

“好的。”哈利尴尬地说。

Harry shrugged.

卢平用魔杖轻敲水壶，壶嘴便突然喷出一股蒸气来。

"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" snapped Filch, and he stood glaring until Harry had passed out of sight.

“坐下。”卢平说，揭开垃圾桶的盖子，“我只有袋泡茶，恐怕——不过我敢说你对茶叶已经觉得够烦了吧？”

But Harry didn't go back to the common room; he climbed a staircase, thinking vaguely of visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig, and was walking along another corridor when a voice from inside one of the rooms said, "Harry?"

哈利看着他。卢平的眼睛闪闪发光。

Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

“您怎么知道这件事的？”哈利问道。

"What are you doing?" said Lupin, though in a very different voice from Filch. "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

“麦格教授告诉我的。”卢平说，递给哈利一杯茶，茶杯上有个缺口。“你不害怕吧，害怕吗？”

"Hogsmeade," said Harry, in a would-be casual voice.

“不。”哈利说。

"Ah," said Lupin. He considered Harry for a moment. "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson." "A what?" said Harry. I

有那么一会儿工夫，他想告诉卢平他在木兰花新月街看见那条狗的事，但后来又决定不说了。他不想让卢平认为他是懦夫，特别是卢平已经认为他不能对付博格持了。

He followed Lupin into his office. In the corner stood a very large tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly fingers.

哈利心里想的可能有一部分在脸上的表情中流露出来了，因为卢平说：“你在担心什么事吗，哈利？”

"Water demon," said Lupin, surveying the grindylow thoughtfully. "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle."

“没有。”哈利说了个谎。他喝了一点荼，看着那格林迪洛对他挥舞着一只拳头。“有，”他突然说，把茶放在了卢平的桌子上，“您还记得我们对付博格特的那天的事吗？”

The grindylow bared its green teeth and then buried itself in a tangle of weeds in a corner.

“记得。”卢平慢慢地说。

"Cup of tea?" Lupin said, looking around for his kettle. "I was just thinking of making one."

“您为什么不让我和博格特斗呢？”

"All right," said Harry awkwardly.

卢平扬起了眉毛。“我原来以为这原因是明摆着的，哈利。”他说，声音里透着惊讶。

Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the spout.

哈利原来以为卢平不会承认这件事，因此也大吃一惊。

"Sit down," said Lupin, taking the lid off a dusty tin. "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid -- but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"

“为什么？”他又问。

Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling.

“好吧，”卢平说，眉头略略皱着，“我假定如果博格特面对着你，就会以伏地魔的形象出现的。”

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked.

哈利瞪眼。不但这样的回答是他没料到的，而且卢平说出了伏地魔的名字。哈利知道的惟一曾大声说出这个名字的人（哈利自己除外）是邓布利多教授。

"Professor McGonagall told me," said Lupin, passing Harry a chipped mug of tea. "You're not worried, are you?"

“显然，我错了。”卢平说，仍然对哈利皱着眉头，“但是我认为，伏地魔在教员休息室里现形不是好主意。我想大家会吓得要命的。”

"No," said Harry.

“我首先想到的的确是伏地魔，”哈利诚实地说，“但是，然后我——我想起了那些摄魂怪。”

He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog he'd seen in Magnolia Crescent but decided not to. He didn't want Lupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin alreadv seemed to think he couldn't cope with a boggart.

“我明白了，”卢平沉思着说道，“唔，唔，我有印象。”哈利脸上露出惊讶的表情，卢平对此微微一笑。“这说明你最怕的东西是——恐惧。很聪明，哈利。”对这句话，哈利不知道说什么才好，他只得去喝茶。“那你一直在想我不相信你能够斗博格特？”卢平精明地问。

Something of Harry's thoughts seemed to have shown on his face, because Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Harry?"

“唔……是的。”哈利说，他突然感到高兴了许多。“卢平教授，您知道那摄魂怪——”

"No," Harry lied. He drank a bit of tea and watched the grindylow brandishing a fist at him. "Yes," he said suddenly, putting his tea down on Lupin's desk. "You know that day we fought the boggart?"

有人在门上敲了一下，哈利的话被打断了。“进来。”卢平大声说。

"Yes," said Lupin slowly.

门开了，斯内普走了进来。他手上拿着一个高脚杯，微微冒着热气，看见哈利，他停住脚步，黑眼睛眯了起来。

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" said Harry abruptly.

“啊，西弗勒斯，”卢平微笑着说，“多谢。把它放在书桌上好吗？”

Lupin raised his eyebrows.

斯内普把还冒着热气的杯子放下来，他的目光在哈利和卢平之间来回移动。

"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry," he said, sounding surprised.

“我正在让哈利看我的格林迪洛。”卢平指着那水箱高兴地说。

Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was taken aback.

“令人着迷。”斯内普说道，却并没有往那里看，“你应该直接喝下去，卢平。”

"Why?" he said again.

“是，是，我会喝的。”卢平说。

"Well," said Lupin, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

“我做了满满一锅呢，”斯内普说，“要是你还要的话。”

Harry stared. Not only was this the last answer he'd expected, but Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Harry had ever heard say the name aloud (apart from himself) was Professor Dumbledore.

“明天我很可能还要喝一点。多谢，西弗勒斯。”

"Clearly, I was wrong," said Lupin, still frowning at Harry. "But I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."

“别客气。”斯内普说，但他眼睛里有一种神色是哈利不乐意看的。

"I didn't think of Voldemort," said Harry honestly. "I -- I remembered those dementors."

斯内普退出房间的时候，脸上没有微笑，还一副有所戒备的样子。哈利好奇地看着那个高脚杯。卢平微笑着。

"I see," said Lupin thoughtfully. "Well, well... I'm impressed." fie smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is -- fear. Very wise, Harry."

“斯内普教授好心为我调制了一服药剂，”他说，“我对调制药剂一直不大在行，而这一服又特别复杂。”他拿起高脚杯，闻了闻。“可惜不能放糖。”他又加了一句，啜饮了一口，发起抖来。

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he drank some mot,, tea.

“为什么——”哈利张口问。

"So you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the boggart?" said Lupin shrewdly.

卢平看看他，回答了这个没有问完的问题。“我一直觉得不大好，”他说，“只有这服药才能起到作用。我很幸运，能和斯内普教授一块儿工作；能够调制这种药剂的男巫实在不多。”卢平教授又啜饮了一口，哈利恨不得从他手里夺下这只高脚杯。

"Well... yeah," said Harry. He was suddenly feeling a lot happier. "Professor Lupin, you know the dementors --"

“斯内普教授对黑魔法很感兴趣呢。”他脱口而出。

He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“是吗？”卢平说，对这句话好像不大感兴趣，随即又喝了一大口。“有人认为——”

"Come in," called Lupin.

哈利犹疑了一下，然后不顾一切地说下去，“有人认为他极其想教黑魔法防御术，为了得到这个职位不惜代价。”

The door opened, and in came Snape. He was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his black eyes narrowing.

卢平一口喝干了药，做了个鬼脸。“真难喝。”他说，“好啦，哈利。我还是回去工作的好。晚宴时侯再见。”

"Ah, Severus," said Lupin, smiling. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

“好吧。”哈利说，把他的空茶杯放下了。那只已经喝空的高脚杯还在缓缓地冒着气。

Snape set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Harry and Lupin.

“看，”罗恩说，“我们带给你这么多糖果，再多就带不了了。”

"I was just showing Harry my grindylow," said Lupin pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

一大捧糖果暴雨似的落到哈利膝上。这是薄暮时分，罗恩和赫敏刚刚在公共休息室露面。他们的脸已被冷风吹成粉红色，看上去好像是痛痛快快地玩了一阵子。

"Fascinating," said Snape, without looking at it. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

“多谢，”哈利说，捡起一袋小巧的胡椒小顽童，“霍格莫德怎么样？你们都去了哪些地方？”

"Yes, Yes, I will," said Lupin.

听听就知道了——什么地方都去了。德维斯和班斯、魔法设备店、佐科笑话店，还去了供应泛泡沫黄油啤酒的三把扫帚以及别的许多地方。

"I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued. "If you need more.

“那邮局，哈利！大约有二百只猫头鹰，都坐在架子上，都有颜色代码，就看你的信需要走多快了！”

"I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus."

“蜂蜜公爵有一种新的牛奶软糖，他们在分发免费的样品呢，这里有一点，你看——”

"Not at all," said Snape, but there was a look in his eye Harry didn't like. He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.

“我们认为我们看到了一个吃人妖魔，真的，三把扫帚那里各种各样的都有——”

Harry looked curiously at the goblet. Lupin smiled.

“真想给你带些黄油啤酒，真能让你暖和起来——”

"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me," he said. "I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed it. "Pity sugar makes it useless," he added, taking a sip and shuddering.

“你在家做了些什么？”赫敏问，很焦急的样子，“做完什么作业了吗？”

"Why --?" Harry began. Lupin looked at him and answered the unfinished question.

“没有，”哈利说，“卢平在他的办公室里给我沏了一杯茶。接下来斯内普进来了……”他把有关那只高脚杯的事全部告诉他们了。

"I've been feeling a bit off-color," he said. "This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it."

罗恩的嘴张得大大的。“卢平喝了吗？”他喘气，“他疯了？”

Professor Lupin took another sip and Harry had a crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands.

赫敏看了一下表。“我们还是下楼吧，要知道，再有五分钟，晚宴就开始了……”

"Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts, he blurted out.

他们急急忙忙地穿过肖像画上的洞，加入到人群中去了，一路上还在说着斯内普。

"Really?" said Lupin, looking only mildly interested as he took another gulp of potion.

“不过要是他——你们知道——”赫敏放低了声音，一面紧张地四处张望，“如果他在设法——毒卢平——他不会当着哈利的面这样做的。”

"Some people reckon --" Harry hesitated, then plunged recklessly on, "some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

“对，可能是这样。”哈利说。

Lupin drained the goblet and pulled a face.

这时他们已经走到了前厅，正在穿行进入礼堂。礼堂里挂着成百上千只南瓜灯，还有一群振翼飞舞的蝙蝠和许多喷吐火焰的橘色飘带，它们在天花板下面懒洋洋地飘荡，像是灿烂的水蛇。

"Disgusting," he said. "Well, Harry, I'd better get back to work. see you at the feast later."

食物是精美的，就连赫敏和罗恩这样把蜂蜜公爵的糖果吃得肚子快要爆裂的人，也每样食物都要了第二份。哈利一直偷眼看着教员席。卢平教授看上去很高兴，而且像平时一样正常，他正在和小个子魔咒教师弗立维教授活跃地谈话。哈利顺着桌子往下看，一直看到斯内普坐的地方。是他的想象还是斯内普瞥卢平的眼光比平时不大正常呢？晚宴以霍格沃茨的幽灵提供的文娱节目作为结束。幽灵们从墙上和桌子上突然出现，来作一种列队滑行；格兰芬多院的差点无头的尼克成功地重现了他当年被杀头的情况。

"Right," said Harry, putting down his empty teacup.

这个晚上过得真愉快，哈利的情绪很好，马尔福在大家离开礼堂时在人群中高声叫道：“摄魂怪向你致意，哈利！”就连这样，也没有扫他的兴。

The empty goblet was still smoking.

哈利、罗恩和赫敏跟随格兰芬多的其他人沿着通常的路线一起去到格兰芬多塔楼。但是等他们走到胖夫人肖像面前时，却发现走廊里挤了许多人。

"There you go," said Ron. "We got as much as we could carry."

“大家为什么都不进去呢？”罗恩好奇地说。

A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into Harry's lap. It was dusk, and Ron and Hermione had just turned up in the common room, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'd had the time of their lives.

哈利越过人头向前看去。那张肖像画好像是关闭着的。

"Thanks," said Harry, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps. "What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?"

“请让我过去。”珀西的声音，他从人群中神气地走出来。“干吗堵在这儿啊？你们大家总不见得都忘了口令吧——对不起，我是男生学生会主席——”

By the sound of it -- everywhere. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places besides.

人群静了下来，是从最前面开始安静下来的，所以这就像一阵寒流在走廊里散布开来一样。他们听到珀西说话，声音突然尖起来：“谁去请一下邓布利多教授。快！”

"The post office, Harry! About two hundred owls, all sitting on shelves, all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get there!"

人们都回过头来，站在最后的人踮起了脚。

"Honeydukes has got a new kind of fudge; they were giving out free samples, there's a bit, look --"

“出什么事啦？”金妮说，她刚到。

"We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at the Three Broomsticks --"

过了一会儿，邓布利多教授到了，他急忙走向那幅肖像画；格兰芬多院的学生都挤在一起让他过去，哈利、罗恩和赫敏靠得更紧了一些，想看清楚麻烦出在哪里。

"Wish we could have brought you some butterbeer, really warms you up --"

“哦，天哪——”赫敏惊叫，抓紧了哈利的手臂。那胖夫人已经从肖像画上消失了，肖像画遭到了恶意破坏，帆布小片在地上到处都是，大块画布则被完全从画框上撕走了。

"What did you do?" said Hermione, looking anxious. "Did you get any work done?"

邓布利多对被损坏的画迅速地看了一眼。“麦格教授，请马上到费尔奇那里去，告诉他在城堡里每幅画上寻找那位胖夫人。”

"No," said Harry. "Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office. And then Snape came in...."

“你会走运的！”一个嘶哑的声音说。那是捉弄人的皮皮鬼，他在人群的头顶上跳着，很高兴的样子，看到破坏和忧愁的景象，他向来如此。

He told them all about the goblet. Ron's mouth fell open.

“你这是什么意思，皮皮鬼？”邓布利多镇静地问道。

"Lupin drank it?" he gasped. "Is he mad?"

皮皮鬼的笑容消退了一点。他不敢嘲笑邓布利多。他转而采取一种油滑的腔调，听起来倒比那嘶哑的声音要好些。“不好意思，校长先生。不想被人看见。她弄得一塌糊涂了。看见她跑过五楼那张风景画，先生，躲在树木中间，哭着说什么可怕的事情。”他高兴地说。“可怜的东西。”他加了一句，却全无可怜别人的意思。

Hermione checked her watch.

“她说了是谁干的吗？”邓布利多安静地问。

"We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in fiveminutes They hurried through the portrait hole and into the crowd, still discussing Snape.

“哦，说了，教授头子。”皮皮鬼说，神气像是怀中抱着一枚大炸弹似的。“她不让他进去，他非常恼火，你明白。”皮皮鬼在空中翻跟斗，从他自己的双腿中间对邓布利多咧着嘴笑。“他脾气可真坏，这个小天狼星布莱克。”

"But if he -- you know" -- Hermione dropped her voice, glancing nervously around -- "if he was trying to to poison Lupin -- he wouldn't have done it in front of Harry."

"Yeah, maybe," said Harry as they reached the entrance hall and crossed into the Great Hall. It had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant watersnakes.

The food was delicious; even Hermione and Ron, who were full to bursting with Honeydukes sweets, managed second helpings of everything. Harry kept glancing at the staff table. Professor Lupin

looked cheerful and as well as he ever did; he was talking animatedly to tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. Harry moved his eyes along the table, to the place where Snape sat. Was he imagining it, or were Snape's eyes flickering toward Lupin more often than was natural?

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

It had been such a pleasant evening that Harry's good mood couldn't even be spoiled by Malfoy, who shouted through the crowd as they all left the hall, "The dementors send their love, Potter!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindors along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" said Ron curiously.

Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed.

"Let me through, please," came Percy's voice, and he came bustling importantly through the crowd. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password -- excuse me, I'm Head Boy --"

And then a silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They heard Percy say, in a suddenly sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe.

"What's going on?" said Ginny, who had just arrived.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was.

"Oh, my --" Hermione grabbed Harry's arm.

The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely.

Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying toward him.

"We need to find her," said Dumbledore. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice.

It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" said Dumbledore calmly, and Peeves's grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. Instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle. "Ashamed, Your Headship, sit. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," he said happily. "Poor thing," he added unconvincingly.

"Did she say who did it?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

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