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哈利·波特与混血王子
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

英文中文双语对照双语交替

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CHAPTER EIGHT SNAPE VICTORIOUS

第八章　斯内普如愿以偿

Harry could not move a muscle. He lay there beneath the Invisibility Cloak feeling the blood from his nose flow, hot and wet, over his face, listening to the voices and footsteps in the corridor beyond. His immediate thought was that someone, surely, would check the compartments before the train departed again. But at once came the dispiriting realization that even if somebody looked into the compartment, he would be neither seen nor heard. His best hope was that somebody else would walk in and step on him.

哈利全身一点儿也动弹不得。他躺在隐形衣下面，感觉到热乎乎的鲜血从鼻子里流出来，糊在他的脸上。他听着外面过道里的脚步声和说话声，先是想道：在火车再次出发之前，肯定会有人来检查每一个车厢吧？可是，紧接着他又万分沮丧地意识到，即使有人往车厢里看一眼，也不会看见他或听见他的声音。他只能希望有人会走进来，踩在他身上。

Harry had never hated Malfoy more than as he lay there, like an absurd turtle on its back, blood dripping sickeningly into his open mouth. What a stupid situation to have landed himself in . . . and now the last few footsteps were dying away; everyone was shuffling along the dark platform outside; he could hear the scraping of trunks and the loud babble of talk.

哈利躺在那里，像一只可笑的、四脚朝天的乌龟，鼻血直接淌进了他张开的嘴巴里，令他感到恶心，他从来没有像此刻这样恨透了马尔福。他现在的处境多么狼狈啊……这时，最后一阵脚步声也消失了，大家拖着疲倦的脚步走在外面漆黑的站台上，他可以听见箱子拖在地上的声音和同学们大声的说话声。

Ron and Hermione would think that he had left the train without them. Once they arrived at Hogwarts and took their places in the Great Hall, looked up and down the Gryffindor table a few times, and finally realized that he was not there, he, no doubt, would be halfway back to London.

罗恩和赫敏肯定以为他撇下他们自己下车了。等他们到了霍格沃茨，在大礼堂里坐下来，朝格兰芬多的桌子扫视了几遍之后，才会发现他不在那儿，而那个时候，他已经在返回伦敦的半路上了。

He tried to make a sound, even a grunt, but it was impossible. Then he remembered that some wizards, like Dumbledore, could perform spells without speaking, so he tried to summon his wand, which had fallen out of his hand, by saying the words “Accio Wand !” over and over again in his head, but nothing happened.

他拼命想发出点儿声音，哪怕是一声嘟囔，可是怎么也发不出来。接着他想起有些巫师，比如邓布利多，可以不出声地念咒语，他便试着在心里一遍遍地默念“魔杖飞来！魔杖飞来！”想把从他手里掉落的魔杖召唤回来。然而，什么反应也没有。

He thought he could hear the rustling of the trees that surrounded the lake, and the far-off hoot of an owl, but no hint of a search being made or even (he despised himself slightly for hoping it) panicked voices wondering where Harry Potter had gone. A feeling of hopelessness spread through him as he imagined the convoy of thestral-drawn carriages trundling up to the school and the muffled yells of laughter issuing from whichever carriage Malfoy was riding in, where he could be recounting his attack on Harry to Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson.

他仿佛听见了湖边树叶的沙沙声和远处一只猫头鹰的叫声，但是并没有人来检查车厢，甚至（他有点看不起自己居然存有这种希望）没有人惊慌地询问哈利·波特怎么不见了。他想象着夜骐拉的车队慢慢朝学校移动，马尔福坐在马车里发出一阵阵刺耳的大笑，他肯定在跟他那些斯莱特林的同学们讲述他是怎么教训哈利·波特的……想到这儿，一种绝望的情绪在他心头蔓延开来。

The train lurched, causing Harry to roll over onto his side. Now he was staring at the dusty underside of the seats instead of the ceiling. The floor began to vibrate as the engine roared into life. The Express was leaving and nobody knew he was still on it. . . .

火车猛地动了一下，震得哈利翻滚过去，侧身躺着。现在他不再瞪着天花板了，而是面对着黑黢黢的座位下面。发动机启动了，地板微微震颤着。特快列车正在驶离站台，而没有一个人知道哈利还在……

Then he felt his Invisibility Cloak fly off him and a voice overhead said, “Wotcher, Harry.”

突然，他感觉到隐形衣被掀开了，头顶上一个声音说道：“你好，哈利。”

There was a flash of red light and Harry’s body unfroze; he was able to push himself into a more dignified sitting position, hastily wipe the blood off his bruised face with the back of his hand, and raise his head to look up at Tonks, who was holding the Invisibility Cloak she had just pulled away.

一道红光闪过，哈利的身体解咒了。他坐起来，尽量使自己显得体面一些，并赶紧用手背把鲜血从受伤的脸上擦去，抬头看着唐克斯。唐克斯手里拿着她刚才揭开的隐形衣。

“We’d better get out of here, quickly,” she said, as the train windows became obscured with steam and they began to move out of the station. “Come on, we’ll jump.”

“我们最好赶紧离开这儿。”她说道，这时车窗已被蒸气罩住，变得模模糊糊，火车开始驶离站台，“快，我们跳车。”

Harry hurried after her into the corridor. She pulled open the train door and leapt onto the platform, which seemed to be sliding underneath them as the train gathered momentum. He followed her, staggered a little on landing, then straightened up in time to see the gleaming scarlet steam engine pick up speed, round the corner, and disappear from view.

哈利匆匆跟着她来到过道里。唐克斯拉开车门，纵身跳到了站台上。随着火车加速，下面的站台似乎在向后滑动。哈利也跟着她跳了下去，落地时差点儿摔倒。他直起身子，正好看见鲜红耀眼的蒸汽机车加快了速度，拐过一个弯道，消失了。

The cold night air was soothing on his throbbing nose. Tonks was looking at him; he felt angry and embarrassed that he had been discovered in such a ridiculous position. Silently she handed him back the Invisibility Cloak.

夜晚凉飕飕的空气扑面而来，使哈利突突跳痛的鼻子感到很舒服。唐克斯正看着他。他觉得又恼火又尴尬，居然在这种狼狈的状况下被人发现。唐克斯默默地把隐形衣递给了他。

“Who did it?”

“谁干的？”

“Draco Malfoy,” said Harry bitterly. “Thanks for . . . well . . .”

“德拉科·马尔福，”哈利恨恨地说，“谢谢你……嗯……”

“No problem,” said Tonks, without smiling. From what Harry could see in the darkness, she was as mousy-haired and miserablelooking as she had been when he had met her at the Burrow. “I can fix your nose if you stand still.”

“没什么。”唐克斯面无笑容地说。哈利就着夜色看去，发现她和上次他在陋居看见她时一样，灰褐色的头发，面容憔悴。“你站着别动，我把你的鼻子治好。”

Harry did not think much of this idea; he had been intending to visit Madam Pomfrey, the matron, in whom he had a little more confidence when it came to Healing Spells, but it seemed rude to say this, so he stayed stock-still and closed his eyes.

哈利不太赞成这个主意。他本来打算去找校医庞弗雷夫人的，在用咒语疗伤方面，他对她更有信心一些。但是这么说似乎不太礼貌，所以他一动不动地站住了，闭上了眼睛。

“Episkey,” said Tonks.

“愈合如初！”唐克斯说。

Harry’s nose felt very hot, and then very cold. He raised a hand and felt it gingerly. It seemed to be mended.

哈利感到鼻子一下子变得火辣辣的，接着又变得冰凉凉的。他抬起手小心地摸了摸。鼻子似乎已经愈合了。

“Thanks a lot!”

“太感谢了！”

“You’d better put that cloak back on, and we can walk up to the school,” said Tonks, still unsmiling. As Harry swung the cloak back over himself, she waved her wand; an immense silvery four-legged creature erupted from it and streaked off into the darkness.

“你最好把隐形衣披上，我们可以步行去学校。”唐克斯说，脸上还是毫无笑容。

“Was that a Patronus?” asked Harry, who had seen Dumbledore send messages like this.

哈利把隐形衣重新披在身上时，唐克斯挥了一下魔杖。一头巨大的银白色四脚动物从魔杖里冒了出来，飞快地跑进了夜色中。

“Yes, I’m sending word to the castle that I’ve got you or they’ll worry. Come on, we’d better not dawdle.”

“那是守护神吗？”哈利问，他曾经看见邓布利多用这种方式传递消息。

They set off toward the lane that led to the school.

“对，我通知学校说我已经找到你了，免得他们着急。走吧，最好别再耽搁了。”

“How did you find me?”

他们朝那条通向学校的小路走去。

“I noticed you hadn’t left the train and I knew you had that cloak. I thought you might be hiding for some reason. When I saw the blinds were drawn down on that compartment I thought I’d check.”

“你是怎么找到我的？”

“But what are you doing here, anyway?” Harry asked.

“我注意到你没有下车，而且知道你有隐形衣。我就猜到你不知为什么藏了起来。后来我见那个车厢拉着帘子，我就觉得应该进去检查一下。”

“I’m stationed in Hogsmeade now, to give the school extra protection,” said Tonks.

“可是，你在这里做什么呢？”哈利问。

“Is it just you who’s stationed up here, or — ?”

“我目前守在霍格莫德，给学校增加一些保护。”唐克斯说。

“No, Proudfoot, Savage, and Dawlish are here too.”

“守在这里的只有你一个人，还是——？”

“Dawlish, that Auror Dumbledore attacked last year?”

“不，普劳特、塞维奇和德力士也都在这里。”

“That’s right.”

“德力士，就是邓布利多上次打击的那个傲罗吗？”

They trudged up the dark, deserted lane, following the freshly made carriage tracks. Harry looked sideways at Tonks under his cloak. Last year she had been inquisitive (to the point of being a little annoying at times), she had laughed easily, she had made jokes. Now she seemed older and much more serious and purposeful. Was this all the effect of what had happened at the Ministry? He reflected uncomfortably that Hermione would have suggested he say something consoling about Sirius to her, that it hadn’t been her fault at all, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was far from blaming her for Sirius’s death; it was no more her fault than anyone else’s (and much less than his), but he did not like talking about Sirius if he could avoid it. And so they tramped on through the cold night in silence, Tonks’s long cloak whispering on the ground behind them.

“是的。”

Having always traveled there by carriage, Harry had never before appreciated just how far Hogwarts was from Hogsmeade Station. With great relief he finally saw the tall pillars on either side of the gates, each topped with a winged boar. He was cold, he was hungry, and he was quite keen to leave this new, gloomy Tonks behind. But when he put out a hand to push open the gates, he found them chained shut.

他们顺着马车刚压出的车辙，艰难地走在漆黑荒凉的小路上。哈利从隐形衣下侧脸看着唐克斯。去年，她是那么爱打听别人的事情（有时候甚至有点惹人讨厌），那么爱笑，那么爱讲笑话。现在她好像一下子老了好几岁，显得严肃和刚毅多了。这难道都是部里发生的那件事带来的后果吗？他不安地想到，赫敏肯定会建议他对唐克斯说一些安慰的话，说小天狼星的死根本不能怪她，但是，他没有勇气这么说。他丝毫不认为小天狼星的死是唐克斯的过错，她的责任不比任何人大（更不比他的大），但是他实在不愿意谈到小天狼星，能回避就尽量回避。于是，他们默默地走在寒冷的夜色中，唐克斯的斗篷拖在身后的地上，发出沙沙的响声。

“Alohomora!” he said confidently, pointing his wand at the padlock, but nothing happened.

哈利以前都是坐的马车，从不知道霍格沃茨离霍格莫德车站有多远。当他终于看见学校大门两边高高的、顶上装饰着带翼的野猪石柱时，总算松了口气。

“That won’t work on these,” said Tonks. “Dumbledore bewitched them himself.”

他又冷又饿，而且巴不得赶紧离开这位陌生的、脸色阴沉的唐克斯。可是当他伸手推大门时，发现大门用链条锁住了。

Harry looked around.

“阿拉霍洞开！”他用魔杖指着门锁，很有把握地喊道，但大门毫无反应。

“I could climb a wall,” he suggested.

“这个对它不会管用的。”唐克斯说，“邓布利多亲自给它施了魔法。”

“No, you couldn’t,” said Tonks flatly. “Anti-intruder jinxes on all of them. Security’s been tightened a hundredfold this summer.”

哈利转过脸来。

“Well then,” said Harry, starting to feel annoyed at her lack of helpfulness, “I suppose I’ll just have to sleep out here and wait for morning.”

“我可以翻墙进去。”他提议道。

“Someone’s coming down for you,” said Tonks. “Look.”

“不行，绝对不行，”唐克斯面无表情地说，“墙上都施了反侵入咒。今年夏天，安全措施加强了一百倍。”

A lantern was bobbing at the distant foot of the castle. Harry was so pleased to see it he felt he could even endure Filch’s wheezy criticisms of his tardiness and rants about how his timekeeping would improve with the regular application of thumbscrews. It was not until the glowing yellow light was ten feet away from them, and Harry had pulled off his Invisibility Cloak so that he could be seen, that he recognized, with a rush of pure loathing, the uplit hooked nose and long, black, greasy hair of Severus Snape.

“那好，”哈利对她这样袖手旁观感到有点生气，说道，“我想我只能睡在外面，等明天早上再说了。”

“Well, well, well,” sneered Snape, taking out his wand and tapping the padlock once, so that the chains snaked backward and the gates creaked open. “Nice of you to turn up, Potter, although you have evidently decided that the wearing of school robes would detract from your appearance.”

“有人来接你了。”唐克斯说，“看。”

“I couldn’t change, I didn’t have my —” Harry began, but Snape cut across him.

远处城堡脚下出现了一盏摇摇晃晃的提灯。哈利高兴极了，他觉得他甚至能够忍受费尔奇呼哧带喘地批评他迟到，并叫嚷着说如果定期给他动点儿酷刑，他的时间观念就会增强了。闪亮的橙黄色灯光离他只有十来步远了，哈利脱掉隐形衣好让来人看见他，这时他才认出了斯内普那个被灯光从下面照亮的鹰钩鼻和那一头乌黑油腻的长发，他顿时产生了一种强烈的厌恶感。

“There is no need to wait, Nymphadora, Potter is quite — ah — safe in my hands.”

“很好，很好，很好，”斯内普讥笑道，一边抽出魔杖，在锁上敲了一下，链条便像蛇一样缩了回去，大门吱吱嘎嘎地开了。“你总算露面了，波特，不过你显然认为穿上校袍会有损你的容颜。”

“I meant Hagrid to get the message,” said Tonks, frowning.

“我没法换衣服，我的箱子——”

“Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it instead. And incidentally,” said Snape, standing back to allow Harry to pass him, “I was interested to see your new Patronus.”

哈利的话没说完，就被斯内普打断了。

He shut the gates in her face with a loud clang and tapped the chains with his wand again, so that they slithered, clinking, back into place.

“没必要再等了，尼法朵拉。波特在我手里非常——嗯——安全。”

“I think you were better off with the old one,” said Snape, the malice in his voice unmistakable. “The new one looks weak.”

“我本来是把消息告诉海格的。”唐克斯皱着眉头说。

As Snape swung the lantern about, Harry saw, fleetingly, a look of shock and anger on Tonks’s face. Then she was covered in darkness once more.

“海格像波特一样，他没能准时参加开学宴会，所以我就代收了。顺便说一句，”斯内普退后一步，把哈利让了过去，“我对你的新守护神很感兴趣。”

“Good night,” Harry called to her over his shoulder, as he began the walk up to the school with Snape. “Thanks for . . . everything.”

他当着唐克斯的面哐当一声关上了大门，又用魔杖敲了敲链条，随着一阵金属的碰撞声，链条又像蛇一样蹿回了原处。

“See you, Harry.”

“我认为还是原来的那个更好，”斯内普说道，声音里毫无疑问透着恶意，“新的这个看上去没什么力气。”

Snape did not speak for a minute or so. Harry felt as though his body was generating waves of hatred so powerful that it seemed incredible that Snape could not feel them burning him. He had loathed Snape from their first encounter, but Snape had placed himself forever and irrevocably beyond the possibility of Harry’s forgiveness by his attitude toward Sirius. Whatever Dumbledore said, Harry had had time to think over the summer, and had concluded that Snape’s snide remarks to Sirius about remaining safely hidden while the rest of the Order of the Phoenix were off fighting Voldemort had probably been a powerful factor in Sirius rushing off to the Ministry the night that he had died. Harry clung to this notion, because it enabled him to blame Snape, which felt satisfying, and also because he knew that if anyone was not sorry that Sirius was dead, it was the man now striding next to him in the darkness.

斯内普把提灯一晃，哈利看见唐克斯脸上闪过一丝愤怒，但紧接着她就又被黑暗笼罩了。

“Fifty points from Gryffindor for lateness, I think,” said Snape. “And, let me see, another twenty for your Muggle attire. You know, I don’t believe any House has ever been in negative figures this early in the term: We haven’t even started pudding. You might have set a record, Potter.”

“晚安，”哈利跟着斯内普一起朝学校走去时，扭头对唐克斯喊道，“谢谢……谢谢你做的一切。”

The fury and hatred bubbling inside Harry seemed to blaze white-hot, but he would rather have been immobilized all the way back to London than tell Snape why he was late.

“再见，哈利。”

“I suppose you wanted to make an entrance, did you?” Snape continued. “And with no flying car available you decided that bursting into the Great Hall halfway through the feast ought to create a dramatic effect.”

斯内普一时间没有说话。

Still Harry remained silent, though he thought his chest might explode. He knew that Snape had come to fetch him for this, for the few minutes when he could needle and torment Harry without anyone else listening.

哈利觉得自己身体里释放出非常强烈的仇恨，他简直不敢相信斯内普竟然感觉不到这些仇恨在烧灼着他。他们从第一次见面起，他就讨厌斯内普，而斯内普对待小天狼星的态度，又使哈利永远也不可能原谅他。

They reached the castle steps at last and as the great oaken front doors swung open into the vast flagged entrance hall, a burst of talk and laughter and of tinkling plates and glasses greeted them through the doors standing open into the Great Hall. Harry wondered whether he could slip his Invisibility Cloak back on, thereby gaining his seat at the long Gryffindor table (which, inconveniently, was the farthest from the entrance hall) without being noticed. As though he had read Harry’s mind, however, Snape said, “No cloak. You can walk in so that everyone sees you, which is what you wanted, I’m sure.”

不管邓布利多怎么说，哈利在暑假里反复思忖之后得出了这样的结论：斯内普不怀好意地讥讽小天狼星，说凤凰社的其他成员都在跟伏地魔战斗，而他却躲在安全的地方，后来正是斯内普的这番话促使小天狼星在那天夜里冲进魔法部，丢掉了性命。哈利抱着这种想法不放，他这样就可以把责任怪罪到斯内普身上，这使他感到解恨，而且他知道，如果有谁对小天狼星的死无动于衷，那就是此刻在黑暗中走在他身边的这个男人。

Harry turned on the spot and marched straight through the open doors: anything to get away from Snape. The Great Hall, with its four long House tables and its staff table set at the top of the room, was decorated as usual with floating candles that made the plates below glitter and glow. It was all a shimmering blur to Harry, however, who walked so fast that he was passing the Hufflepuff table before people really started to stare, and by the time they were standing up to get a good look at him, he had spotted Ron and Hermione, sped along the benches toward them, and forced his way in between them.

“因为迟到，格兰芬多扣掉五十分。”斯内普说，“还有，让我想想，因为你穿着麻瓜衣服，再扣掉二十分。我想，还没有哪个学院在学期刚刚开始——甜点还没有端上来——就被扣了分数呢。你大概是创纪录了，波特。”

“Where’ve you — blimey, what’ve you done to your face?” said Ron, goggling at him along with everyone else in the vicinity.

哈利内心的愤怒和仇恨简直白热化了，他宁愿全身僵硬地返回伦敦，也不愿告诉斯内普他迟到的原因。

“Why, what’s wrong with it?” said Harry, grabbing a spoon and squinting at his distorted reflection.

“我猜你是想来一个登场亮相吧？”斯内普继续说道，“你弄不到会飞的汽车，就以为在宴会进行到一半时冲进大礼堂也会产生戏剧性的效果。”

“You’re covered in blood!” said Hermione. “Come here —”

哈利仍然保持着沉默，尽管他觉得肺都要气炸了。他知道斯内普来接他就是为了这个，他可以有几分钟时间激怒和折磨哈利，而不会被任何人听见。

She raised her wand, said “Tergeo!” and siphoned off the dried blood.

他们终于来到了城堡的台阶上，当那两扇橡木大门打开、露出里面铺着石板的宽大门厅时，一阵阵欢声笑语和杯盘碰撞的声音通过大礼堂敞开的门，传到了他们的耳朵里。哈利心想，不知道他能不能偷偷披上隐形衣，神不知鬼不觉地溜到格兰芬多的长桌旁坐下。很不方便的是，格兰芬多的桌子在大礼堂的最里头。

“Thanks,” said Harry, feeling his now clean face. “How’s my nose looking?”

然而，斯内普似乎猜到了哈利的心思，他说：“不许穿隐形衣。你就这样走进去，让大家都看看你，我相信这正是你想要的效果。”

“Normal,” said Hermione anxiously. “Why shouldn’t it? Harry, what happened? We’ve been terrified!”

哈利原地转了个身，大步穿过敞开的大门，只要能离开斯内普就行。大礼堂里有四张学院餐桌，顶头还有一张教工餐桌，空中像往常一样装饰着许多飘浮的蜡烛，照得下面的盘子闪闪发亮。然而，所有这些在哈利眼里只是亮晃晃的模糊一片。他走得飞快，当人们开始盯着他看时，他正在穿过赫奇帕奇餐桌，而当人们站起来打量他时，他已经看见了罗恩和赫敏。他快步从一条条长凳旁奔过，挤到他们俩中间坐了下来。

“I’ll tell you later,” said Harry curtly. He was very conscious that Ginny, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were listening in; even Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had come floating along the bench to eavesdrop.

“你去哪儿了——天哪，你的脸怎么了？”罗恩说，他和近旁的每个人都睁大了眼睛瞪着哈利。

“But —” said Hermione.

“怎么啦，有什么不对吗？”哈利说着抓起一把汤勺，眯起眼睛打量映在上面的那张变形的脸。

“Not now, Hermione,” said Harry, in a darkly significant voice. He hoped very much that they would all assume he had been involved in something heroic, preferably involving a couple of Death Eaters and a dementor. Of course, Malfoy would spread the story as far and wide as he could, but there was always a chance it wouldn’t reach too many Gryffindor ears.

“你满脸都是血！”赫敏说，“来——”

He reached across Ron for a couple of chicken legs and a handful of chips, but before he could take them they vanished, to be replaced with puddings.

她举起魔杖，念道：“旋风扫净！”那些干硬的血痂就被吸走了。

“You missed the Sorting, anyway,” said Hermione, as Ron dived for a large chocolate gateau.

“谢谢。”哈利摸着干干净净的脸说，“我的鼻子看上去怎么样？”

“Hat say anything interesting?” asked Harry, taking a piece of treacle tart.

“很正常，”赫敏担忧地说，“你的鼻子怎么了？哈利，出什么事了，真把我们吓坏了！”

“More of the same, really . . . advising us all to unite in the face of our enemies, you know.”

“待会儿再告诉你们。”哈利简短地说了一句。他警觉地发现金妮、纳威、迪安和西莫都在听着，就连格兰芬多的鬼魂——差点没头的尼克也顺着长凳飘过来想偷听。

“Dumbledore mentioned Voldemort at all?”

“可是——”赫敏说。

“Not yet, but he always saves his proper speech for after the feast, doesn’t he? It can’t be long now.”

“先不说了吧，赫敏。”哈利用一种神秘的、意味深长的口吻说。他真希望他们都以为他去做了一件很勇敢的事，最好是面对两个食死徒和一个摄魂怪。当然啦，马尔福肯定会逢人便讲这个故事，但说不定不会传到太多的格兰芬多同学的耳朵里。

“Snape said Hagrid was late for the feast —”

他隔着罗恩去拿两根鸡腿和一把炸薯条，可是没等拿到手，它们就没了，取而代之的是甜点心。

“You’ve seen Snape? How come?” said Ron between frenzied mouthfuls of gateau.

“你错过了分院仪式。”赫敏说，罗恩伸手去够一大块巧克力蛋糕。

“Bumped into him,” said Harry evasively.

“帽子说了什么有趣的话没有？”哈利一边问一边拿过一块蜂蜜馅饼。

“Hagrid was only a few minutes late,” said Hermione. “Look, he’s waving at you, Harry.”

“还是跟以前大同小异……建议我们团结起来，共同面对我们的敌人，你知道的。”

Harry looked up at the staff table and grinned at Hagrid, who was indeed waving at him. Hagrid had never quite managed to comport himself with the dignity of Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House, the top of whose head came up to somewhere between Hagrid’s elbow and shoulder as they were sitting side by side, and who was looking disapprovingly at this enthusiastic greeting. Harry was surprised to see the Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney, sitting on Hagrid’s other side; she rarely left her tower room, and he had never seen her at the start-of-term feast before. She looked as odd as ever, glittering with beads and trailing shawls, her eyes magnified to enormous size by her spectacles. Having always considered her a bit of a fraud, Harry had been shocked to discover at the end of the previous term that it had been she who had made the prediction that caused Lord Voldemort to kill Harry’s parents and attack Harry himself. The knowledge had made him even less eager to find himself in her company, but thankfully, this year he would be dropping Divination. Her great beaconlike eyes swiveled in his direction; he hastily looked away toward the Slytherin table. Draco Malfoy was miming the shattering of a nose to raucous laughter and applause. Harry dropped his gaze to his treacle tart, his insides burning again. What he would not give to fight Malfoy one-on-one . . .

“邓布利多提到伏地魔了吗？”

“So what did Professor Slughorn want?” Hermione asked.

“还没有，不过他总是在宴会结束后才正式讲话的，对吧？快了。”

“To know what really happened at the Ministry,” said Harry.

“斯内普说海格也没准时参加宴会——”

“Him and everyone else here,” sniffed Hermione. “People were interrogating us about it on the train, weren’t they, Ron?”

“你看见斯内普了？怎么会呢？”罗恩狼吞虎咽地吃着蛋糕，问道。

“Yeah,” said Ron. “All wanting to know if you really are ‘the Chosen One’ —”

“正好碰到他了。”哈利含糊其词地说。

“There has been much talk on that very subject even amongst the ghosts,” interrupted Nearly Headless Nick, inclining his barely connected head toward Harry so that it wobbled dangerously on its ruff. “I am considered something of a Potter authority; it is widely known that we are friendly. I have assured the spirit community that I will not pester you for information, however. ‘Harry Potter knows that he can confide in me with complete confidence,’ I told them. ‘I would rather die than betray his trust.’ ”

“海格只迟到了几分钟。”赫敏说，“看，哈利，他正冲你招手呢。”

“That’s not saying much, seeing as you’re already dead,” Ron observed.

哈利朝教工餐桌望去，海格果然在冲他招手，他便也朝海格笑了笑。海格和威严的麦格教授总是显得很不协调，麦格教授是格兰芬多的院长，他们坐在一起时她的头顶只齐到海格的臂肘和肩膀之间。此刻，她看见海格这样热情洋溢地打招呼，露出了不满的神情。

“Once again, you show all the sensitivity of a blunt axe,” said Nearly Headless Nick in affronted tones, and he rose into the air and glided back toward the far end of the Gryffindor table just as Dumbledore got to his feet at the staff table. The talk and laughter echoing around the Hall died away almost instantly.

哈利惊讶地看到，坐在海格另一边的竟然是占卜课老师特里劳妮教授。她平常很少离开她塔楼上的房间，哈利以前从没在开学宴会上看见过她。

“The very best of evenings to you!” he said, smiling broadly, his arms opened wide as though to embrace the whole room.

她的模样还像以前一样古怪，身上戴着闪闪发亮的珠子，裹着长长的披肩，一双眼睛被眼镜放大了许多倍。哈利以前一直把她看成一个骗子，没想到在上学期快要结束时，他得知竟然就是她说出了那个预言，导致伏地魔杀死了哈利的父母，并对哈利本人下了毒手。知道这件事后，哈利更不愿意跟她待在一起了，幸好，他这学期不再选修占卜课了。她那双大得吓人的、灯泡般的眼睛朝他这边望了过来，哈利赶紧把目光转向斯莱特林的桌子。

“What happened to his hand?” gasped Hermione.

德拉科·马尔福正在描述他怎么砸烂了一只鼻子，博得了一阵刺耳的笑声和掌声。哈利垂下眼睛望着那块蜂蜜蛋糕，心里又是怒火燃烧。他真恨不得跟马尔福面对面地干上一仗……

She was not the only one who had noticed. Dumbledore’s right hand was as blackened and dead-looking as it had been on the night he had come to fetch Harry from the Dursleys. Whispers swept the room; Dumbledore, interpreting them correctly, merely smiled and shook his purple-and-gold sleeve over his injury.

“那么斯拉格霍恩教授想要什么？”赫敏问。

“Nothing to worry about,” he said airily. “Now . . . to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you . . .”

“想要知道部里到底发生了什么事。”哈利说。

“His hand was like that when I saw him over the summer,” Harry whispered to Hermione. “I thought he’d have cured it by now, though . . . or Madam Pomfrey would’ve done.”

“不光他，这里的每个人都想知道，”赫敏轻蔑地说，“火车上总有人审问我们，是吧，罗恩？”

“It looks as if it’s died,” said Hermione, with a nauseated expression. “But there are some injuries you can’t cure . . . old curses . . . and there are poisons without antidotes. . . .”

“没错，”罗恩说，“大家都想知道你是不是真的就是‘救世之星’——”

“. . . and Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop called Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.

“就连鬼魂们对这个话题也有很多议论。”差点没头的尼克插进来说道，他那颗仅连着一点皮的脑袋朝哈利偏了过来，在轮状皱领上危险地摇晃着，“我差不多被看成是波特权威，大家都知道我们的关系很好。不过，我向鬼魂们保证，我绝不会缠着他打听情况的。‘哈利·波特知道他可以绝对信任我，对我推心置腹。’我告诉他们说，‘我宁死也不会背叛他的信任。’”

“Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise.

“那不能说明什么问题，因为你已经死了。”罗恩尖锐地指出。

“We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year. Professor Slughorn” — Slughorn stood up, his bald head gleaming in the candlelight, his big waistcoated belly casting the table below into shadow — “is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post of Potions master.”

“又来了，你总是像钝斧头一样伤人。”差点没头的尼克委屈地说完，便升到空中，朝格兰芬多餐桌的那头飘去。就在这时，邓布利多在教工餐桌后面站了起来，回荡在大礼堂里的说笑声几乎立刻就平息下来。

“Potions?”

“祝大家晚上好！”他慈祥地微笑着说，一边张开双臂，似乎要拥抱整个礼堂。

“Potions?”

“他的手怎么啦？”赫敏惊愕地问。

The word echoed all over the Hall as people wondered whether they had heard right.

注意到这点的不只是她一个人。邓布利多的右手仍然像那晚他到德思礼家接走哈利时的一样，焦黑干枯，毫无生机。礼堂里一片窃窃私语。邓布利多知道大家在议论什么，他只是笑了笑，抖抖紫色和金色相间的衣袖，遮住了那只受伤的手。

“Potions?” said Ron and Hermione together, turning to stare at Harry. “But you said —”

“不用担心。”他轻描淡写地说，“好了……新同学们，欢迎入学；老同学们，欢迎回校！等待你们的是新一学年的魔法教育……”

“Professor Snape, meanwhile,” said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, “will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

“我暑假里看见他时，他的手就是这样。”哈利小声对赫敏说，“我本来以为他早就治好了……或者庞弗雷夫人给他治好了。”

“No!” said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defense Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn’t it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?

“那只手看上去像是死了。”赫敏脸上带着难受的表情说，“有些伤永远治不好……古老的咒语……还有一些魔药是没有解药的……”

“But Harry, you said that Slughorn was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts!” said Hermione.

“……管理员费尔奇让我告诉大家，今年绝对禁止学生携带从韦斯莱魔法把戏坊购买的任何笑话商品。

“I thought he was!” said Harry, racking his brains to remember when Dumbledore had told him this, but now that he came to think of it, he was unable to recall Dumbledore ever telling him what Slughorn would be teaching.

“想要参加学院魁地奇球队的同学，像往常一样把名字报给院长。我们还在物色新的魁地奇比赛解说员，有意者也到院长那儿报名。

Snape, who was sitting on Dumbledore’s right, did not stand up at the mention of his name; he merely raised a hand in lazy acknowledgment of the applause from the Slytherin table, yet Harry was sure he could detect a look of triumph on the features he loathed so much.

“今年，我们很高兴地迎来了一位新的教师。斯拉格霍恩教授，”斯拉格霍恩站了起来，他那光秃秃的脑袋在烛光下闪闪发亮，穿着马甲的大肚子在桌上投下一大片阴影，“是我以前的一位同事，他同意重操旧职，担任魔药课教师。”

“Well, there’s one good thing,” he said savagely. “Snape’ll be gone by the end of the year.”

“魔药课？”

“What do you mean?” asked Ron.

“魔药课？”

“That job’s jinxed. No one’s lasted more than a year. . . . Quirrell actually died doing it. . . . Personally, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for another death. . . .”

这个词在整个礼堂里回荡，大家都怀疑自己是不是听错了。

“Harry!” said Hermione, shocked and reproachful.

“魔药课？”罗恩和赫敏异口同声地说，同时都偏过脑袋来瞪着哈利，“可是你原来说——”

“He might just go back to teaching Potions at the end of the year,” said Ron reasonably. “That Slughorn bloke might not want to stay long-term. Moody didn’t.”

“与此同时，斯内普教授，”邓布利多提高声音盖过了人们的议论，“将担任黑魔法防御术课的教师。”

Dumbledore cleared his throat. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not the only ones who had been talking; the whole Hall had erupted in a buzz of conversation at the news that Snape had finally achieved his heart’s desire. Seemingly oblivious to the sensational nature of the news he had just imparted, Dumbledore said nothing more about staff appointments, but waited a few seconds to ensure that the silence was absolute before continuing.

“不！”哈利的声音太响了，许多脑袋都朝他这边转了过来。但他不管，他只是愤怒地瞪着教工餐桌。怎么到头来还是把黑魔法防御术的教职给了斯内普？这么多年来大家不是都知道，邓布利多不相信他能胜任这份工作吗？

“Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength.”

“可是，哈利，你说过斯拉格霍恩要教黑魔法防御术的！”赫敏说。

The silence seemed to tauten and strain as Dumbledore spoke. Harry glanced at Malfoy. Malfoy was not looking at Dumbledore, but making his fork hover in midair with his wand, as though he found the headmaster’s words unworthy of his attention.

“我以为是他！”哈利说。他拼命回忆邓布利多什么时候告诉过他，然而，现在仔细想来，他根本记不起邓布利多跟他说过斯拉格霍恩要教哪门课。

“I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle’s magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them — in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others’ safety.”

斯内普坐在邓布利多的右侧，他听见邓布利多提到自己的名字时并没有站起来，只是懒洋洋地抬了抬一只手，表示听见了斯莱特林餐桌上的喝彩声，可是哈利清清楚楚地看见，他恨之入骨的那张脸上透着一丝得意洋洋的喜色。

Dumbledore’s blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more.

“也好，这件事有一点好处，”哈利咬牙切齿地说，“斯内普不到一年就会滚蛋。”

“But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be wellrested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!”

“你这是什么意思？”罗恩问。

With the usual deafening scraping noise, the benches were moved back and the hundreds of students began to file out of the Great Hall toward their dormitories. Harry, who was in no hurry at all to leave with the gawping crowd, nor to get near enough to Malfoy to allow him to retell the story of the nose-stamping, lagged behind, pretending to retie the lace on his trainer, allowing most of the Gryffindors to draw ahead of him. Hermione had darted ahead to fulfill her prefect’s duty of shepherding the first years, but Ron remained with Harry.

“那份工作是被施了恶咒的。没有一个人能超过一年……奇洛连命都搭进去了。我个人衷心希望再发生一桩命案……”

“What really happened to your nose?” he asked, once they were at the very back of the throng pressing out of the Hall, and out of earshot of anyone else.

“哈利！”赫敏惊恐地责备道。

Harry told him. It was a mark of the strength of their friendship that Ron did not laugh.

“到了期末，他大概又回去教他的魔药课了。”罗恩理智地说，“那个叫斯拉格霍恩的家伙大概不愿意长期待在这儿，穆迪就是这样。”

“I saw Malfoy miming something to do with a nose,” he said darkly.

邓布利多清了清嗓子。

“Yeah, well, never mind that,” said Harry bitterly. “Listen to what he was saying before he found out I was there. . . .”

在下面说话的不止哈利、罗恩和赫敏，整个礼堂里的人听到斯内普终于如愿以偿的消息，都在议论纷纷。邓布利多似乎没有意识到他刚才公布的消息有多么轰动，他没有再说教师职务的事，而是等了几秒钟，确保大家完全安静下来后才继续说话。

Harry had expected Ron to be stunned by Malfoy’s boasts. With what Harry considered pure pigheadedness, however, Ron was unimpressed.

“这座礼堂里的每个人都知道，伏地魔和他的随从再次兴风作浪，并且势力在不断壮大。”

“Come on, Harry, he was just showing off for Parkinson. . . . What kind of mission would You-Know-Who have given him?”

邓布利多说话时，礼堂里一片紧张的、揪心的沉默。哈利扫了一眼马尔福。马尔福没有看着邓布利多，而是用魔杖把他的叉子悬在半空中，仿佛他觉得校长的话根本不值得一听。

“How d’you know Voldemort doesn’t need someone at Hogwarts? It wouldn’t be the first —”

“我需要格外强调的是，目前局势非常危险，我们霍格沃茨的每个人都需要万分谨慎才能保证自身的安全。城堡的魔法防御工事在暑假期间被加强了，我们得到了新的、更有效的保护，但是我们每一位师生仍然必须时刻提高警惕，丝毫不能掉以轻心。因此，我要求你们必须严格遵守老师制定的每一条安全规定，不管那些条条框框可能有多么烦人——特别要遵守熄灯后不得起床外出的规定。我恳请你们，不管在校内还是校外，只要发现任何异常或可疑的情况，都要立刻向教工汇报。我相信你们，为了自己和他人的安全，一定会约束自己的行为的。”

“I wish yeh’d stop sayin’ tha’ name, Harry,” said a reproachful voice behind them. Harry looked over his shoulder to see Hagrid shaking his head.

邓布利多的蓝眼睛扫过所有的学生，然后脸上又露出了微笑。

“Dumbledore uses that name,” said Harry stubbornly.

“好了，你们的床铺在等待着你们，像你们期望的那样温暖和舒适，我知道你们现在的当务之急是好好休息，准备明天上课。所以，让我们道一声‘晚安’吧。嘟嘟！”

“Yeah, well, tha’s Dumbledore, innit?” said Hagrid mysteriously. “So how come yeh were late, Harry? I was worried.”

像往常一样，一张张板凳被推到了身后，发出刺耳的摩擦声，几百名学生开始鱼贯离开大礼堂，朝宿舍走去。

“Got held up on the train,” said Harry. “Why were you late?”

哈利并不急着离开，他不愿跟那些瞪大眼睛盯着他看的同学挤在一起，也不愿意挨近马尔福，让他有机会把踩鼻子的故事再讲一遍，所以他就假装系鞋带，故意落在后面，让大多数格兰芬多同学都走到他前面去了。赫敏早已跑去履行她级长的职责，去照顾那些一年级新生了，只有罗恩留下来陪着哈利。

“I was with Grawp,” said Hagrid happily. “Los’ track o’ the time. He’s got a new home up in the mountains now, Dumbledore fixed it — nice big cave. He’s much happier than he was in the forest. We were havin’ a good chat.”

“你的鼻子到底是怎么了？”等那些挤出礼堂的人群已经远远离开，不再会有人听见他们说话时，罗恩问道。

“Really?” said Harry, taking care not to catch Ron’s eye; the last time he had met Hagrid’s half-brother, a vicious giant with a talent for ripping up trees by the roots, his vocabulary had comprised five words, two of which he was unable to pronounce properly.

哈利把事情告诉了他。罗恩没有笑，这显示了他们的友谊是多么牢固。

“Oh yeah, he’s really come on,” said Hagrid proudly. “Yeh’ll be amazed. I’m thinkin’ o’ trainin’ him up as me assistant.”

“我看见马尔福在那里假装对付一只鼻子。”他愤愤不平地说。

Ron snorted loudly, but managed to pass it off as a violent sneeze. They were now standing beside the oak front doors.

“是啊，好了，不去管它了。”哈利气恼地说，“你听听他在发现我之前说的那些话吧……”

“Anyway, I’ll see yeh tomorrow, firs’ lesson’s straight after lunch. Come early an’ yeh can say hello ter Buck — I mean, Witherwings!”

哈利本来以为罗恩听了马尔福那些吹牛的话会感到很震惊。可是罗恩竟然觉得无动于衷，哈利觉得他简直是变成榆木脑袋了。

Raising an arm in cheery farewell, he headed out of the front doors into the darkness.

“得了，哈利，他只是在帕金森面前炫耀自己……神秘人会派给他什么任务呢？”

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Harry could tell that Ron was experiencing the same sinking feeling as himself.

“你怎么知道伏地魔不需要在霍格沃茨安插一个什么人呢？这可不是第一次——”

“You’re not taking Care of Magical Creatures, are you?”

“我希望你别再说那个名字了，哈利。”他们身后响起了一个责备的声音。哈利扭头一看，海格正在那里摇着头。

Ron shook his head. “And you’re not either, are you?”

“邓布利多就直呼其名。”哈利固执地说。

Harry shook his head too.

“是啊，但那是邓布利多呀，对不？”海格神秘兮兮地说，“你怎么会迟到的，哈利？我真担心哪。”

“And Hermione,” said Ron, “she’s not, is she?”

“在车上耽搁了。”哈利说，“你为什么迟到？”

Harry shook his head again. Exactly what Hagrid would say when he realized his three favorite students had given up his subject, he did not like to think.

“我跟格洛普在一起，”海格高兴地说，“忘记了时间。现在，他在山里有了一个新家，邓布利多安排的——是一个漂亮的大山洞。他比待在禁林里的时候开心多了。我们好好地聊了一会儿。”

“真的？”哈利说道，他尽量不去看罗恩的眼睛。罗恩上次看见海格同母异父的弟弟——那个专会把大树连根拔起的凶狠的巨人时，他的词汇量只有五个单词，而且其中两个的发音还不准。

“是啊，他进步可大了。”海格骄傲地说，“你会感到吃惊的。我在考虑把他培养成我的助手。”

罗恩很响地哼了一声，不过总算及时地把它变成了一个响亮的喷嚏。这时他们已经站在橡木大门旁了。

“好了，我们明天见，午饭后的第一节课，早点过来，可以跟巴克——我是说蔫翼打个招呼！”

他喜滋滋地举起一只胳膊和他们告别，然后便出了大门，融进了夜色中。

哈利和罗恩面面相觑。哈利看得出来，罗恩的心情跟他一样沮丧。

“你不准备选保护神奇生物课了，是吗？”

罗恩摇了摇头。

“你也不选了，是吗？”

哈利也摇了摇头。

“赫敏呢？”罗恩说，“她也不选了？”

哈利又摇了摇头。当海格发现他最喜欢的三个学生都不再上他的课时，他会说什么呢？对此哈利不愿意去想。