9
CHAPTER NINE: THE MIDNIGHT DUEL
第９章午夜决斗
Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.
哈利以前一直不相信，他竟然会认识一个男孩，他恨这家伙比恨达力还要厉害，他是在遇到德拉科马尔福之后才相信这一点的。
Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much.
不过，一年级的格兰芬多学生只有药剂课是和斯莱特林的学生在一起上的，所以他们要忍受马尔福还不算困难。至少起初是这样的。
Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday -- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.
后来有一天，他们发现格兰芬多的公共休息室里贴出了一张启事，看了之后全都唉声叹气。星期四就要开始上飞行课了——格兰芬多的学生要和斯莱特林的学生一起上课。
"Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."
「真倒霉，」哈利沮丧地说，「果然不出我的所料。骑着一把飞天扫帚在马尔福面前出洋相。」
He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.
他一直在盼望学习飞行，这愿望比什么都强烈。
"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."
「你是不是会出洋相还不一定呢。」罗恩理智地说，「我知道马尔福总是吹嘘，说他玩魁地奇玩得特棒，但我敢打赌他只是在说大话。」
Malfay certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.
马尔福整天大谈特谈飞行。他大声抱怨说一年级新生没有资格参加学院魁地奇球队，他还讲了许多冗长的、自吹自擂的故事，最后总是以他惊险地躲过一架麻瓜的直升飞机为结束。
He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom.
不过，说这种大话的并不止他一个人：听西莫斐尼甘的口气，似乎他童年时代的大部分时间都是骑着飞天扫帚在旷野里飞来飞去。就连罗恩，只要有人愿意听，也会说起他有一次骑着查理的破扫帚，差点儿撞上了一架悬挂式滑翔机。
Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly. Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly. Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.
每个来自巫师家庭的人都喋喋不休地谈论着魁地奇。罗恩为了一场足球，已经与同宿舍的迪安托马斯大吵了一架。罗恩不明白，全场只有一只球，而且谁也不许飞，这种比赛有什么令人激动的。哈利无意中看见罗恩用手在迪安那张西哈姆足球队的海报上捅来捅去，想让队员们都动起来。
Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.
纳威这辈子还没有骑过飞天扫帚呢，因为他奶奶从来不让他接近飞天扫帚。哈利私下里觉得他奶奶是很有道理的，纳威即使两只脚都老老实实地踩在地上，还总能制造层出不穷的事故呢。
Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book -- not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.
对于飞行，赫敏格兰杰差不多和纳威一样紧张。这种本领你是不可能从书上看到并用心记住的——她不是没有试过。星期四早晨吃早饭的时候，她不停地对他们念叨她从一本名叫《魁地奇溯源》的图书馆藏书中看来的一些飞行指导，把他们烦得够呛。纳威则全神贯注地听着她说的每一个字，眼巴巴地希望听到一点有用的知识，待会儿可以帮助他牢牢地坐在飞天扫帚上。不过，当邮差到来打断了赫敏的演讲时，其他人还是感到非常高兴的。
Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.
自从上次海格的那封短信之后，哈利一直再没有收到过信，不用说，这一点马尔福很快就注意到了。马尔福的猫头鹰倒是经常给他从家里捎来大包小包的糖果，他总是在斯莱特林的饭桌旁得意洋洋地把它们拆开。
A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.
一只猫头鹰从纳威的奶奶那里给他带来了一个小包裹。纳威激动地打开，拿给大家看一个大弹子那么大的玻璃球，里面仿佛充满了白色的烟雾。
"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things -- this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red -- oh..." His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "You've forgotten something..."
「这是记忆球！」他解释说，「奶奶知道我总是没记性——它会告诉你是不是有什么事情你忘记做了。瞧，你把它紧紧握住，像这样，如果它变红了——哦……」他顿时拉长了脸，因为记忆球突然红得发亮，「……你就是忘记了什么事情……」
Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.
纳威拼命回忆他忘记了什么，就在这时，德拉科马尔福经过格兰芬多院的饭桌，猛地将记忆球从他手里夺了过去。
Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfay, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.
哈利和罗恩一跃而起。出于某种原因，他们多少有些希望跟马尔福干一架。可是，麦格教授总能比别的老师更敏锐地察觉到出了乱子，她一眨眼的工夫就出现了。
"What's going on?"
「怎么回事？」
"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."
「马尔福抢了我的记忆球，教授。」
Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.
马尔福阴沉着脸，迅速把记忆球扔回到桌上。
"Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.
「等着瞧。」他说完便匆匆溜走了，克拉布和高尔紧随其后。
At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.
那天下午三点半，哈利、罗恩和格兰芬多的其他学生匆匆走下台阶，来到门前的场地上，准备上他们的第一堂飞行课。这是一个晴朗的、有微风的日子，当他们快步走下倾斜的草地、向场地对面一处平坦的草坪走去时，小草在他们脚下微微起着波浪。草坪那边就是森林，远处黑黑的树木在风中摇曳。
The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.
斯莱特林的学生都已经在那里了，还有二十把飞天扫帚整整齐齐地排放在地上。哈利曾经听弗雷德和乔治韦斯莱抱怨过学校里的飞天扫帚，说有的扫帚在你飞得太高时会簌簌发抖，还有的呢，总是微微地偏向左边。
Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.
他们的老师霍琦夫人来了。她一头短短的灰发，两只眼睛是黄色的，像老鹰的眼睛一样。
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
「好了，你们大家还等什么？」她厉声说道，「每个人都站到一把飞天扫帚旁边。快，快，抓紧时间。」
Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.
哈利低头看了一眼他的飞天扫帚，它又破又旧，一些枝子横七竖八地戳了出来。
"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'
「伸出右手，放在扫帚把的上方，」霍琦夫人在前面喊道，「然后说：『起来！』」
"UPF everyone shouted.
「起来！」每个人都喊道。
Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.
哈利的扫帚立刻就跳到了他手里，但这样听话的扫帚只有少数几把。赫敏格兰杰的扫帚只是在地上打了个滚，而纳威的扫帚根本纹丝不动。哈利心想，也许扫帚也像马一样，能够看出你内心的胆怯。纳威的声音微微发颤，再明显不过地说明他希望稳稳地站在地面上。
Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.
接着，霍琦夫人向他们示范怎样骑上扫帚而不从头上滑下来。她在队伍里走来走去，给他们纠正手的握法。哈利和罗恩听见她批评马尔福一直做得不对。心里不由得暗暗高兴。
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle -- three -- two --"
「好了，我一吹口哨，你们就两腿一蹬，离开地面，要用力蹬。」霍琦夫人说，「把扫帚拿稳，上升几英尺，然后身体微微前倾，垂直落回地面。听我的口哨——三——二——」
But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.
然而，纳威太紧张了，生怕被留在地面上，于是他不等哨子碰到霍琦夫人的嘴唇，就使劲一蹬，飞了上去。
"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle -- twelve feet -- twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and -- WHAM -- a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.
「回来，孩子！」霍琦夫人喊道，可是纳威径直往上升，就像瓶塞从瓶子里喷出来一样——十二英尺——二十英尺。哈利看见他惊恐、煞白的脸望着下面飞速远去的地面，看见他张着大嘴喘气，从扫帚把一边滑下来，然后——砰——一声坠落，一声猛烈的撞击，纳威面朝下躺在地上的草丛中，缩成一团。他的飞天扫帚还在越升越高，然后开始缓缓地朝禁林方向飘去，消失不见了。
Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.
霍琦夫人弯腰俯视纳威，她的脸和纳威的一样惨白。
"Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy -- it's all right, up you get."
「手腕断了。」哈利听见她小声地说，「好了，孩子——没事儿了，你起来吧。」
She turned to the rest of the class. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."
她转身对班上其他同学说：「我送这孩子去医院，你们谁都不许动！把飞天扫帚放回原处，不然的话，不等你们来得及说一句『魁地奇』，就被赶出霍格沃茨大门了。走吧，亲爱的。」
Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.
纳威脸上挂着一条条泪痕，他抓着手腕子，一瘸一拐地和霍琦夫人一同离去了。霍琦夫人用胳膊搂着他。
No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.
他们刚走得听不见了，马尔福就放声大笑起来。
"Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins joined in.
「你们看见他那副面孔了吗，那个傻大个？」其他斯莱特林的学生也随声附和。
"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.
「闭嘴，马尔福。」帕瓦蒂佩蒂尔厉声地说。
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."
「嗬，护着隆巴顿？」潘西帕金森说，她是一个长相丑陋的斯莱特林女生。「没想到你居然会喜欢胖乎乎的小泪包，佩蒂尔。」
"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."
「瞧！」马尔福说着，冲过去抓起草地上的什么东西，「是那个大傻瓜隆巴顿的奶奶捎给他的。」
The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.
他举起记忆球，它在阳光下闪闪发光。
"Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.
「拿过来，马尔福。」哈利低声说。 大家都停止了说话，注视着。
Malfoy smiled nastily.
马尔福丑恶地狞笑着。
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find -- how about -- up a tree?"
「我想把它放在一个什么地方，让隆巴顿去捡。放在一棵树上，怎么样？」
"Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"
「拿过来！」哈利大喊，可是马尔福已经跳上他的扫帚，起飞了。他以前的话并不是吹牛——他确实飞得好——他悬浮在与一棵栎树的树梢平行的高度，大声叫道；「过来拿吧，波特！」
Harry grabbed his broom.
哈利抓起他的扫帚。
"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move -- you'll get us all into trouble."
「不行！」赫敏格兰杰喊道，「霍琦夫人叫我们不要动——你会给我们大家带来麻烦的。」
Harry ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him -and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught -- this was easy, this was wonderful. He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.
哈利没有理她。血撞得他的耳膜轰轰直响。他骑上飞天扫帚，用力蹬了一下地面，于是他升了上去，空气呼呼地刮过他的头发，长袍在身后呼啦啦地飘扬——他心头陡然一阵狂喜，意识到自己发现了一种他可以无师自通的技能——这么容易，这么美妙。他把飞天扫帚又抬起了一些，让它飞得更高。他听见她面上传来女孩子们的尖叫声和大喘气声，还听到罗恩发出的敬佩的喊叫。
He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.
他猛地把扫帚转过来，对着空中的马尔福。马尔福显得大吃一惊。
"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"
「拿过来，」哈利喊道，「不然我就把你从扫帚上撞下去。」
"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.
「哦，是吗？」马尔福说。他想发出嘲笑，但脸上的表情却很紧张。
Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfay like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.
哈利好像天生就知道应该怎么做。他将身体前倾，用双手紧紧抓住扫帚，于是，扫帚就像标枪一样朝马尔福射去。马尔福勉强闪身躲过；哈利又猛地调转回身，稳稳地抓住扫帚。下面有几个人在鼓掌。
"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.
「这里可没有克拉布和高尔为你保驾，马尔福。」哈利喊道。
The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.
马尔福似乎也产生了同样的想法。
"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.
「给，看你能不能接住！」他大叫一声，把玻璃球高高地扔向空中，然后迅速朝地面降落。
Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down -- next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball -- wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching -- he stretched out his hand -- a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.
哈利看见玻璃球仿佛是以慢动作升上了天空，随即开始坠落。他前倾身体，把飞天扫帚指向下面。一眨眼的工夫，他就加速俯冲下去，追赶玻璃球。风在他耳边呼啸，混杂着下面观众的尖叫声，只见他伸出手去，在离地面一英尺的高度接住了玻璃球。他及时把扫帚把扳直，然后他轻轻倒在草地上，手心里稳稳地攥着那只记忆球。
"HARRY POTTER!"
「哈利波特！」
His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them. He got to his feet, trembling.
他的心突然往下一沉，比他刚才俯冲的速度还快。麦格教授正向他们跑来。哈利从地上站起来，浑身发抖。
"Never -- in all my time at Hogwarts --"
「我在霍格沃茨这么多年……从来没有……」
Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "-- how dare you -- might have broken your neck --"
麦格教授简直惊讶得说不出话来，她的眼镜片闪烁着愤怒的光芒，「你怎么敢……你会摔断脖子的……」
"It wasn't his fault, Professor --"
「不是他的错，教授……」
"Be quiet, Miss Patil
「住嘴，佩蒂尔小姐……」
"But Malfoy --"
「可是马尔福……」
"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."
「别说了，韦斯莱先生。好了，波特，跟我来。」
Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it. He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?
麦格教授大步朝城堡走去，哈利机械地跟在后面。他离开时发觉马尔福、克拉布和高尔脸上露出了得意的神情。他只知道他要被开除了。他想说几句话为自己辩护，但他的嗓子似乎出了毛病。麦格教授大步流星地朝前走，看也不看他一眼，他必须小跑着才能跟得上。他现在完了。他来了还不到两个星期。再过十分钟，他就要收拾东西滚蛋了。达力一家看见他出现在大门口，会说什么呢？
Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him. She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.
两人登上大门前的台阶，登上里面的大理石楼梯，麦格教授还是一言不发。她拧开一扇扇门，大步穿过一道道走廊，哈利可怜兮兮地跟在后面。教授大概是要带他去见邓布利多吧。他想起了海格，虽然被开除了，但还是获准作为狩猎场看守继续留在了学校里。也许他可以给海格当个助手。他仿佛看见自己拎着海格的口袋，拖着沉重的脚步在场地里走来走去，眼巴巴地看着罗恩和其他人成为巫师，他一想起这些就觉得胃拧成了一团。
Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.
麦格教授在一间教室外面停住脚步。她推开门，把头伸了进去。
"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"
「对不起，弗立维教授，可以让伍德出来一会儿吗？」
Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?
伍德？哈利迷惑不解地想，难道是木头拐杖，她要用它来教训他？1
But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwicles class looking confused.
谁知伍德原来是一个人，一个高大结实的五年级男生，一脸茫然地走出弗立维的教室。
"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.
「你们两个，跟我走。」麦格教授说，三个人一起在走廊里大步前进，伍德好奇地打量着哈利。
"In here."
「进去。」
Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.
麦格教授指着一间教室叫他们进去，里面只有皮皮鬼一个人，正忙着在黑板上写骂人的话。
"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.
「出去，皮皮鬼！」她大吼一声。皮皮鬼把粉笔当啷一声扔进垃圾箱，然后骂骂咧咧地冲出教室。麦格教授把门重重地关上，转过身来，面对两个男孩。
"Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood -- I've found you a Seeker."
「波特，这是奥利弗伍德。伍德……我替你发现了一个找球手。」
Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.
伍德脸上的表情从困惑转为喜悦。
"Are you serious, Professor?"
「你当真吗，教授？」
"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"
「绝对当真。」麦格教授干脆地说，「这孩子是个天才。我从来没见过这样的事情。波特，你是第一次骑飞天扫帚吗？」
Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.
哈利默默地点点头，一点儿也不明白是怎么回事，但看来他不会被开除了，他的双腿又开始慢慢恢复了知觉。
"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."
「他俯冲五十英尺，伸手抓住了那东西，」麦格教授对伍德说，「一点儿皮肉划伤都没有。查理韦斯莱也做不到这点啊？」
Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.
伍德现在的表情，就好像他所有的梦想一下子全变成了现实。
"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.
「看过魁地奇比赛吗，波特？」麦格教授问。
"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.
"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light -- speedy -- we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor -- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."
「他的体型正适合当一个找球手，」伍德说，在哈利的周围绕着圈子打量着他，「轻盈……敏捷……我们必须给他弄一个像样的扫帚，教授……我看，就来一把光轮2000或横扫七星吧。」
"I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks...."
「我要去跟邓布利多教授谈谈，看我们能不能破格使用一年级新生。确实，我们需要一支比去年更棒的魁地奇队。上次比赛被斯莱特林队打得惨败，我几个星期不敢和斯内普照面……」
Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.
麦格教授从眼镜上方严厉地瞅着哈利。
"I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."
「我希望听到你在刻苦训练，波特，不然我就改变主意，要惩罚你了。」
Then she suddenly smiled.
接着，她又突然绽开笑容。
"Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."
「你父亲会为你骄傲的，」她说，「他以前就是一个出色的魁地奇球员。」
"You're joking."
「你在开玩笑。」
It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.
这是吃晚饭的时间，哈利对罗恩讲了他和麦格教授离开场地后发生的事情。罗恩正要把一块牛排腰子馅饼往嘴里送，送到一半就忘记了。
"Seeker?" he said. "But first years never -- you must be the youngest house player."
「找球手？」他说，「可是一年级学生从不……你一定是许多年以来年龄最小的院队选手了。」
"In about a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."
「是一个世纪以来。」哈利说着，用手撮起馅饼塞进嘴里。经过下午这场惊心动魄的遭遇，他觉得特别饿。「伍德告诉我的。」
Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.
罗恩太诧异，太震惊了。他只是坐在那里，呆呆地望着哈利。
"I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."
「我下星期开始训练。」哈利说，「千万别跟任何人说，伍德想保密呢。」
Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.
这时，弗雷德和乔治韦斯莱走进了饭厅。他们一眼看见哈利，便快步走了过来。
"Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too -- Beaters."
「好样儿的，」乔治低声说，「伍德告诉我们了。我们也是学院队的——是击球手。」
"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."
「告诉你们，我们今年肯定要拿下魁地奇杯。」弗雷德说，「自从查理走了之后，我们就没有赢过，不过今年，我们球队一定会大展辉煌的。你肯定很棒，哈利，伍德跟我们说这件事时，激动得简直语无伦次。」
"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."
「不过，我们得走了，李乔丹认为他发现了一条新的秘密通道，可以通到学校外面。」
"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."
「我猜就是马屁精格雷戈里雕像后面的那条通道吧，我们进校的第一个星期就发现了。再见。」
Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
弗雷德和乔治刚刚离去，某个很不受欢迎的人就露面了：马尔福。
"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"
「在吃最后的一顿饭吗，波特？你什么时候乘火车返回麻瓜那里？」
"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.
「现在你回到地面上了，又有你的小不点儿朋友陪伴左右。你的胆子就大多了。」哈利冷冷地说。当然啦，克拉布和高尔根本不能算小不点儿，但由于主宾席上坐满了老师，他们俩不敢造次，只好阴沉着脸，把手指捏得吧吧晌。
"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only -- no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"
「我随时愿意单独与你较量，」马尔福说，「如果你没意见，就在今晚。巫师之间的决斗。只用魔杖——不许接触。怎么啦？我猜，你还没听说过巫师决斗吧？」
"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"
「他当然听说过。」罗恩说着，突然转过身来。「我是他的助手，你的助手是谁？」
Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.
马尔福看着克拉布和高尔，把他俩挨个儿掂量一番。
"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."
「克拉布。」他说，「就在午夜，怎么样？我们在奖品陈列室和你们见面，那里从来不锁门。」
When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.
马尔福走后，罗恩和哈利面面相觑。
"What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"
「巫师之间的决斗是怎么回事？」哈利问，「你说做我的助手，这又是什么意思？」
"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."
「噢，如果你死了，助手就接着上。」罗恩轻描淡写地说，终于又开始吃他那已经冷却的馅饼。他捕捉到了哈利脸上的神情，便又急忙补充道，「不过你知道，人们只有跟真正的巫师进行正规的决斗时才会死。你和马尔福充其量只能向对方发射发射火花。你们俩懂的魔法太少，不会真正伤着对方的。不过，我敢说他还以为你会拒绝呢。」
"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"
「如果我挥动魔杖，一点儿反应也没有，怎么办呢？」
"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.
「那就扔掉魔杖，对准他鼻子揍一拳。」罗恩建议道。
"Excuse me."
「对不起，打扰一下。」
They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.
他们俩抬头一看，原来是赫敏格兰杰。
"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.
「能不能让人在这里消消停停地吃饭？」罗恩说。
Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. "I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying --"
赫敏没有理他，却对哈利说：「我忍不住偷听了你和马尔福说的……」
"Bet you could," Ron muttered.
「我就知道你会这样。」罗恩咕哝道。
"--and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."
「……夜里你绝对不能在学校乱逛，想想吧，如果你被抓住，会给格兰芬多丢掉多少分啊，而且你肯定会被抓住的。你真的太自私了。」
"And it's really none of your business," said Harry.
「这事真的与你无关。」哈利说。
"Good-bye," said Ron.
「再见。」罗恩说。
All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them." There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. On the other hand, Malfoys sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.
以决斗来结束一天，这无论如何也不能算是美妙圆满的，哈利躺在床上想。他早就听见迪安和西莫进入了梦乡（纳威还没有从医院里回来）。罗恩一晚上都在给他出谋划策，例如：「如果他想给你念咒语，你最好躲开，因为我不记得怎样挡住咒语。」他们很可能会被费尔奇或洛丽丝夫人抓住，哈利觉得自己是在与命运作对，今天又要违反一条校规了。另一方面，马尔福讥讽的脸不断在黑暗里显现——这是哈利面对面打败马尔福的一个大好机会，他不能放过。
"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."
「十一点半了，」终于，罗恩低声说道，「我们得走了。」
They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."
他们穿上长袍，拿起魔杖，蹑手蹑脚地穿过城堡上的房间，走下旋转楼梯，进入格兰芬多的公共休息室。壁炉里还有一些余火在闪烁着微光，扶手椅仿佛都变成了一团团黑乎乎的影子。他们刚要走到肖像通道，就听见离他们最近的一张椅子上有人说话：「我不敢相信你竟然这么做，哈利。」
A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.
一盏灯噗的一闪亮了，是赫敏格兰杰。她穿着粉红色的睡袍，皱着眉头。
"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"
「你！」罗恩恼怒地说，「回去睡觉！」
"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy -- he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."
「我差点儿就告诉你哥哥了，」赫敏不客气地回敬，「珀西——他是级长，他会阻止这一切的。」
Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering. "Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.
哈利无法相信居然有这样好管闲事的人。「走吧。」他对罗恩说。他推开胖夫人的肖像，从洞口爬了进去。
Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.
赫敏可不会这么轻易让步。她跟着罗恩爬进洞口，像一只发怒的母鹅压低声音朝他们嚷嚷：
"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."
「你难道不关心格兰芬多，只关心你自己吗？我不想让斯莱特林再赢得学院杯赛冠军，不想让你把我用转移咒语从麦格教授那里弄来的分数全部丢光。」
"Go away."
「走开。」
"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so --"
「好吧，不过我警告你，等你明天坐火车回家时，你别忘了我说的话，你真是太……」
But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.
至于太怎么样，他们就不知道了。赫敏转向胖夫人的肖像，想重新钻回去，却发现自己面对的画上已空空如也。胖夫人深夜出去串门儿了，赫敏被关在了格兰芬多城堡外面。
"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.
「哎呀，现在我怎么办呢？」她扯着嗓子问。
"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we 3 re going to be late."
「那是你的问题。」罗恩说，「我们得走了，快要迟到了。」
They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.
还没等他们走到走廊尽头，赫敏就赶上来了。
"I'm coming with you," she said.
「我和你们一起去。」她说。
"You are not."
「你不许去。」
"D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."
「你们难道以为我会站在这外面，等费尔奇来把我抓住吗？如果他发现了我们三个人，我就把实情告诉他，就说我在试图劝阻你们，到时侯，你们可以为我的话作证。」
"You've got some nerve --" said Ron loudly.
「你胆子倒不小……」罗恩大声说。
"Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. I heard something."
「闭嘴，你们两个！」哈利严厉地说，「我听见有声音。」
It was a sort of snuffling.
是一种呼哧呼哧的声音。
"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.
「是洛丽丝夫人吗？」罗恩屏住呼吸问道，眯起眼睛看着暗处。
It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.
不是洛丽丝夫人，是纳威。他蜷缩在地板上，睡得正香，但他们一走近，他就猛地惊醒了。
"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."
「谢天谢地，你们找到了我！我在这外面待了好几个小时。我记不得那道新口令了，没法上床睡觉。」
"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."
「小声点儿，纳威。口令是『猪鼻子』，可现在对你也没有用了。胖夫人不知到什么地方去了。」
"How's your arm?" said Harry.
「你的胳膊怎么样了！」哈利问道。
"Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."
「没事儿，」纳威说着，举起胳膊给他们看。「庞弗雷夫人一眨眼就把它治好了。」
"Good - well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later --"
「不错……好了，纳威，你听着，我们要去一个地方，待会儿见……」
"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."
「别撇下我！」纳威说着，从地上爬了起来，「我不想一个人待在这里，血人巴罗的鬼魂已经两次从这里经过了。」
Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.
罗恩看了看表，又愤怒地瞪着赫敏和纳威。
"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.
「如果你们两个有谁害得我们被抓住了，我就一定要学会奇洛提到的那种妖怪咒，用在你们身上。」
Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.
赫敏张了张嘴，大概是想告诉罗恩怎样使用妖怪咒，可是哈利朝她「嘘」了一声，叫她安静，然后招呼大家快走。
They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows.
他们沿着走廊轻快地走着，月光从高高的窗口洒进来，一道道地横在地上。
At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.
每一次拐弯，哈利都以为要撞上费尔奇或洛丽丝夫人了，还好，他们的运气不错。他们匆匆登上楼梯，来到三楼，蹑手蹑脚地朝奖品陈列室走去。
Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by.
马尔福和克拉布不在。陈列奖品的水晶玻璃柜在月光下熠熠闪亮。黑暗中，奖杯、盾牌、奖牌和雕像闪着银色和金色的光。四个人贴着墙向前移动，眼睛紧盯着房间两头的门，哈利拿出他的魔杖，以防马尔福突然冲进来，和他决斗。时间一分一秒过去。
"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.
「他迟到了，也许他因为害怕，不敢来了。」罗恩悄声说。
Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.
这时，隔壁房间里传来一个声音，吓得他们跳了起来。哈利刚举起魔杖，就听见有人说话了——不是马尔福。
"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."
「到处闻闻，我亲爱的，他们可能躲在哪个角落里。」
It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.
是费尔奇在对洛丽丝夫人说话。哈利吓坏了，疯狂地朝另外三个人挥动着魔杖，叫他们尽快地跟着他；他们悄没声儿地走向那扇远离费尔奇声音的门。纳威的长袍刚刚掠过拐角，他们就听见费尔奇走进了奖品陈列室。
"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."
「他们就在这里的什么地方，」他们听见他低声嘟哝，「大概躲起来了。」
"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.
「这边走！」哈利不出声地对大家说。 他们都吓傻了，悄悄儿地沿着一道摆满盔甲的走廊往前走，可以听见费尔奇离他们越来越近了。突然，纳威忍不住发出一声恐怖的尖叫，撒腿就跑……他被绊了一下，赶紧一把搂住罗恩的腰，两人一起跌倒在一套盔甲上。
The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.
顿时，咣啷啷，哗啦啦，那声音足以吵醒整个城堡。
"RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -- they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going -- they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.
「快跑！」哈利大喊一声，四个人顺着走廊全速跑去，不敢回头看费尔奇是不是跟上来了。 他们绕过门柱，跑过一道又一道走廊。哈利跑在最前面，他不知道他们在哪里，也不知道在往哪里跑。最后他们在上魔术课的教室附近出来了，他们知道，这里离奖品陈列室有好几英里呢。
"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.
「我想，我们已经把他甩掉了。」哈利喘着粗气说。他靠在冰冷的墙上，擦着额头上的汗。纳威弯着身子，气急败坏，呼哧呼哧地喘着。
I -- told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I -- told -- you."
「我……告诉过……你们，」赫敏气喘吁吁地说着，用手抓住胸前的衣缝，「我……告诉过……你们。」
"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."
「我们必须返回格兰芬多城堡，」罗恩说，「越快越好。」
"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you -- Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."
「马尔福骗了你，」赫敏对哈利说，「你明白了吧？他根本不打算上那儿和你会面——费尔奇知道有人要去奖品陈列室，一定是马尔福向他透露了消息。」
Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.
哈利认为赫敏可能是对的，但他不想对她这么说。
"Let's go."
「我们走吧。」
It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.
然而事情不那么简单。他们刚走了十来步，就听见一扇门的球形把手嘎啦啦一响，什么东西从他们面前的一间教室里蹿了出来。
It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.
是皮皮鬼。他一看见他们，就开心地尖声怪叫。
"Shut up, Peeves -- please -- you'll get us thrown out."
「闭嘴，皮皮鬼……求求你……你会害得我们被开除的。」
Peeves cackled.
皮皮鬼咯咯地笑着。
"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."
「讨厌的新生，半夜三更到处乱逛。啧，啧，啧，淘气，淘气，你们会被抓起来的。」
"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."
「不会的，只要你不出卖我们，皮皮鬼，求求你。」
"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."
「应该告诉费尔奇，应该。」皮皮鬼一本正经地说，但他眼睛里却闪烁着调皮的光芒。「这是为你们好，知道吗？」
"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.
「滚开。」罗恩凶狠地说，使劲打了皮皮鬼一下——这就酿成了大错。
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR"
「学生不睡觉！」皮皮鬼吼了起来，「学生不睡觉，在魔咒课的走廊里！」
Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door -- and it was locked.
他们一低头闪过皮皮鬼，没命地逃着，一直逃到走廊尽头，重重地撞在一扇门上——门是锁着的。
"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"
「完了！」罗恩呜咽着说。他们绝望地推着那扇门。「我们完蛋了！死到临头了！」
They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.
他们听见了脚步声，费尔奇正在循着皮皮鬼的声音尽快赶来。
"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"
「哦，快过来。」赫敏粗暴地说。她夺过哈利的魔杖，敲了敲门锁，低声说道：「阿拉霍洞开！」
The lock clicked and the door swung open -- they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.
锁咔哒一响，门突然开了——他们一拥而入，赶紧把门关上，将耳朵贴在上面，听着。
"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."
「他们往哪边跑了，皮皮鬼？」只听费尔奇说，「快点儿，告诉我。」
"Say 'please."'
「说『请』。」
"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"
「别跟我捣乱，皮皮鬼，快说，他们去哪儿了？」
"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.
「如果你不说『请』，我就不会对你说什么话。」皮皮鬼用他那恼人的连哼带唱的声调说。
"All right -please."
「好吧——请你告诉我。」
"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"
「什么话！哈哈！我告诉过你，如果你不说『请』，我就不会对你说『什么话』！哈哈！哈哈哈哈！」
And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.
他们听见皮皮鬼飞快地离去，费尔奇恼羞成怒地咒骂着。
"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay -- get off, Neville!"
「他以为这扇门是锁着的，」哈利低声说，「我想我们不会有事了。走开，纳威！」
For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "What?"
纳威一直在拉扯哈利长袍的袖子。「怎么啦？」
Harry turned around -- and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare -- this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.
哈利一转身——看见了，清清楚楚地看见了。一时间，他相信自己一定是走进了一场噩梦——在已经发生了这么多事情之后，这简直太过分了。
They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.
他们并不是像他以为的那样在一个房间里，他们是在一条走廊里，是四楼的那条禁止入内的走廊。现在他们知道这里为什么禁止入内了。
They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.
他们正面对着一条怪物般的大狗的眼睛，这条狗大得填满了从天花板到地板的所有空间。它有三个脑袋，三双滴溜溜转动的凶恶的眼睛，三个鼻子——正朝他们的方向抽搐、颤抖，还有三个流着口水的嘴巴，口水像黏糊糊的绳子，从泛黄的狗牙上挂落下来。
It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.
它一动不动地站在那里，六只眼睛都盯着他们。哈利知道，他们之所以还没死，惟一的原因就是他们的突然出现使它大吃了一惊。但它正在迅速回过神来，那一声声震耳欲聋的咆哮意味着什么，是再清楚不过的了。
Harry groped for the doorknob -- between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.
哈利摸索着去拧门把手——在费尔奇和死亡之间，他宁愿选择费尔奇。
They fell backward -- Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared -- all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.
他们一步步后退——哈利砰地把门关上。他们回到走廊里，撒腿就跑，简直是在飞奔。费尔奇一定忙着到别处去寻找他们了，他们没有看见他的踪影，何况也根本顾不上了——他们只想着尽可能远地逃离那个怪物。他们一直跑到八楼胖夫人的肖像前才停住脚步。
"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.
「你们都上哪儿去了？」胖夫人问道，看着他们耷拉在肩膀上的长袍，以及他们大汗淋漓的通红脸庞。
"Never mind that -- pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward.
「别问啦，『猪鼻子，猪鼻子』。」哈利喘着气说，肖像向前旋转着开了。
They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.
他们跌跌撞撞地爬进公共休息室，浑身发抖地瘫倒在扶手椅里。
It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.
有好一会儿，谁都没有说话。纳威呢，他看上去似乎永远也不会说话了。
"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."
「他们到底想干什么？把那么一个玩艺儿关在学校里！」最后，罗恩说道，「如果有哪只狗需要训练，就是那只了。」
Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again.
赫敏的气喘匀了，但她的坏脾气也回来了。
"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on."
「你们，你们几个，长着眼睛是干什么用的？」她气冲冲地说，「你们没看见它站在什么上面吗？」
"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."
「地板上？」哈利猜测，「我没有看它的脚，我光顾着看它的脑袋了。」
"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."
「不，不是地板上。它站在一个活板门上。它显然是在看守什么东西。」
She stood up, glaring at them.
她站起身，愤怒地瞪着他们。
"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed -- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."
「我希望你们为自己感到得意。我们都差点被咬死——或者更糟，被学校开除。好了，如果你们不反对的话，我要去睡觉了。」
Ron stared after her, his mouth open.
罗恩盯着她的背影，吃惊地张大嘴巴。
"No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you.
「去睡吧，我们不反对。」他说，「这叫什么事儿？就好像我们把她硬拉去似的。」
But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something.... What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide -- except perhaps Hogwarts.
可是，赫敏的话使哈利回到床上后又陷入了沉思。那只狗在看守着什么——海格是怎么说的？如果你想藏什么东西，古灵阁是世界上最安全的地方——大概除了霍格沃茨吧。
It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby littie package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.
看来，哈利似乎已经弄清了713号地下金库那只肮脏的小包裹的下落。
1 一种表面粗硬，外形不规则的小甜饼。