Harry and Dumbledore approached the back door of the Burrow, which was surrounded by the familiar litter of old Wellington boots and rusty cauldrons; Harry could hear the soft clucking of sleepy chickens coming from a distant shed. Dumbledore knocked three times and Harry saw sudden movement behind the kitchen window.
哈利和邓布利多朝陋居的后门走去，那里仍然像以前一样乱糟糟地堆放着许多旧靴子和生锈的坩埚。哈利听见远处棚子里传来鸡睡着时发出的轻轻咕咕声。邓布利多在门上敲了三下，哈利看见厨房的窗户后面突然有了动静。
“It is I, Dumbledore, bringing Harry.”
“是我，邓布利多，带着哈利。”
“Who’s there?” said a nervous voice he recognized as Mrs. Weasley’s. “Declare yourself!”
“是谁？”一个声音紧张地问，哈利听出是韦斯莱夫人，“报上尊姓大名！”
The door opened at once. There stood Mrs. Weasley, short, plump, and wearing an old green dressing gown.
门立刻就开了。门口站着韦斯莱夫人，矮矮胖胖的，身上穿着一件旧的绿色晨衣。
“Harry, dear! Gracious, Albus, you gave me a fright, you said not to expect you before morning!”
“哈利，亲爱的！天哪，阿不思，你吓了我一跳，你说过你们明天早晨才会来的！”
“We were lucky,” said Dumbledore, ushering Harry over the threshold. “Slughorn proved much more persuadable than I had expected. Harry’s doing, of course. Ah, hello, Nymphadora!”
“我们运气不坏，”邓布利多把哈利让进屋里，说道，“斯拉格霍恩很容易就说通了，根本不像我原来想的那么困难。当然啦，这都是哈利的功劳。啊，你好，尼法朵拉！”
Harry looked around and saw that Mrs. Weasley was not alone, despite the lateness of the hour. A young witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and mousy brown hair was sitting at the table clutching a large mug between her hands.
哈利环顾了一下周围，才发现尽管天色已经很晚了，韦斯莱夫人却并不是独自一人。一个年轻的女巫正坐在桌旁，两只手里捧着一个大茶杯。她心形的面孔显得有些苍白，头发是灰褐色的。
“I’d better be off,” she said quickly, standing up and pulling her cloak around her shoulders. “Thanks for the tea and sympathy, Molly.”
“我得走了，”她仓促地说，起身用斗篷裹住肩膀，“谢谢你的茶，谢谢你的安慰，莫丽。”
“Hello, Professor,” she said. “Wotcher, Harry.”
“你好，教授。”她说，“你好，哈利。”
Harry thought she looked drawn, even ill, and there was something forced in her smile. Certainly her appearance was less colorful than usual without her customary shade of bubble-gum-pink hair.
哈利觉得她神情憔悴，甚至有些病态，笑容里也带着一些勉强的成份。她的头发不再是平常那种泡泡糖般的粉红色，这无疑使她的模样逊色了不少。
“Hi, Tonks.”
“你好，唐克斯。”
“Please don’t leave on my account,” said Dumbledore courteously, “I cannot stay, I have urgent matters to discuss with Rufus Scrimgeour.”
“请别因为我的缘故而离开。”邓布利多谦恭有礼地说，“我不能久待，我还有要紧的事情跟鲁弗斯·斯克林杰商量呢。”
“Dear, why not come to dinner at the weekend, Remus and Mad-Eye are coming…?”
“亲爱的，周末来吃晚饭吧，莱姆斯和疯眼汉都来——”
Tonks hurried past Dumbledore and Harry into the yard; a few paces beyond the doorstep, she turned on the spot and vanished into thin air. Harry noticed that Mrs. Weasley looked troubled.
唐克斯匆匆地从邓布利多和哈利身边走进院子，下了几级台阶，原地转了个身，便一下子消失了。哈利注意到韦斯莱夫人显得很烦恼。
“No, no, I need to get going,” said Tonks, not meeting Dumbledore’s eyes. “‘Night…”
“不是，不是，我确实要走了，”唐克斯躲避着邓布利多的目光说，“晚安——”
“Well, I shall see you at Hogwarts, Harry,” said Dumbledore. “Take care of yourself. Molly, your servant.”
“好了，我们在霍格沃茨再见，哈利，”邓布利多说，“好好照顾自己。莫丽，有事尽管吩咐。”
“No, really, Molly… thanks anyway… Goodnight, every-one.”
“不了，莫丽，真的不了…非常感谢…祝你们大家晚安。”
“Yeah, I am,” said Harry, suddenly realizing just how hungry he was.
“是啊，饿了。”哈利这才发现他确实饿坏了。
As Harry sat down, a furry ginger cat with a squashed face lumped onto his knees and settled there, purring.
哈利刚坐下，一只扁平脸、毛茸茸的姜黄色的猫就跳上了他的膝头，趴在他腿上呼噜呼噜地叫着。
“You’re like Ron,” she sighed, looking him up and down. “Both of you look as though you’ve had Stretching jinxes put on you. I swear Ron’s grown four inches since I last bought him school robes. Are you hungry, Harry?”
“你跟罗恩一样，”她上上下下地打量着他，说道，“你们俩都好像中了伸长咒似的。我敢说，自从我上次给罗恩买校袍到现在，他长了整整四英寸。你饿了吗，哈利？”
He made Mrs. Weasley a bow and followed Tonks, vanishing at precisely the same spot. Mrs. Weasley closed the door on the empty yard and then steered Harry by the shoulders into the full glow of the lantern on the table to examine his appearance.
他朝韦斯莱夫人鞠了一躬，紧跟在唐克斯后面，就在同一个地方消失了。院子里没了人，韦斯莱夫人关上门，扶着哈利的肩膀，把他领到桌上那盏灯的灯光下，仔细端详着他的模样。
“Sit down, dear, I’ll knock something up.”
“坐下吧，亲爱的。我这就给你做点儿吃的。”
“So Hermione’s here?” he asked happily as he tickled Crookshanks behind the ears.
“赫敏也在这儿？”他挠着克鲁克山的耳朵根，高兴地问。
“Oh yes, she arrived the day before yesterday,” said Mrs. Weasley, rapping a large iron pot with her wand. It bounced onto the stove with a loud clang and began to bubble at once. “Everyone’s in bed, of course, we didn’t expect you for hours. Here you are…”
“是啊，她是前天来的。”韦斯莱夫人说着用魔杖敲了敲一只大铁锅。铁锅咣当一声跳到了炉子上，立刻开始翻滚冒泡。“当然啦，这会儿大家都睡觉了，我们以为你过几个小时才会来呢。给——”
“Bread, dear?”
“要面包吗，亲爱的？”
“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley.”
“谢谢，韦斯莱夫人。”
She waved her wand over her shoulder; a loaf of bread and a knife soared gracefully onto the table; as the loaf sliced itself and the soup pot dropped back onto the stove, Mrs. Weasley sat down opposite him.
她把魔杖朝肩膀后面一挥，一块面包和一把刀子就优雅地飞到了桌上。面包自动切成了片，汤锅又飞回去落在炉子上。韦斯莱夫人在哈利对面坐了下来。
“So you persuaded Horace Slughorn to take the job?”
“这么说，是你说服霍拉斯·斯拉格霍恩接受了那份工作？”
Harry nodded, his mouth so full of hot soup that he could not speak.
哈利点了点头，他嘴里满是热汤，说不出话来。
She tapped the pot again; it rose into the air, flew toward Harry, and tipped over; Mrs. Weasley slid a bowl nearly beneath it just in time to catch the stream of thick, steaming onion soup.
她又敲了敲铁锅。铁锅升到空中，朝哈利飞来，然后又歪向一边，韦斯莱夫人赶紧把一只碗塞在下面，正好接住了它倒出来的浓浓的、热气腾腾的洋葱汤。
“He taught Arthur and me,” said Mrs. Weasley. “He was at Hogwarts for ages, started around the same time as Dumbledore, I think. Did you like him?”
“他以前教过亚瑟和我。”韦斯莱夫人说，“很多年以前他就在霍格沃茨，我想，他和邓布利多差不多同时间进校的。你喜欢他吗？”
His mouth now full of bread, Harry shrugged and gave a non-committal jerk of the head.
哈利嘴里又塞满了面包，只好耸耸肩膀，不置可否地甩了一下脑袋。
“I know what you mean,” said Mrs. Weasley, nodding wisely. “Of course he can be charming when he wants to be, but Arthur’s never liked him much. The Ministry’s littered with Slughorn’s old favorites, he was always good at giving leg ups, but he never had much time for Arthur… didn’t seem to think he was enough of a highflier. Well, that just shows you, even Slughorn makes mistakes. I don’t know whether Ron’s told you in any of his letters… it’s only just happened… but Arthur’s been promoted!”
“我明白你的意思。”韦斯莱夫人心领神会地点点头，“不错，如果他愿意，是可以使自己变得很有魅力的，但亚瑟从来就不太喜欢他。魔法部里有许多他过去的得意门生，他总是愿意给学生开小灶，但从来不肯在亚瑟身上多花时间——他似乎认为亚瑟没有什么抱负。嘿，这就证明，就连斯拉格霍恩也会看走了眼。不知道罗恩是不是已经写信告诉你了——这还是最近的事呢——亚瑟提升了！”
It could not have been clearer that Mrs. Weasley had been bursting to say this.
显然，韦斯莱夫人一直迫不及待地要说这件事。
“That’s great!” he gasped.
“太棒了！”他喘着气说。
Harry swallowed a large amount of very hot soup and thought he could feel his throat blistering.
哈利赶紧吞下一大口滚烫的热汤，觉得喉咙里都被烫出了泡。
“You are sweet,” beamed Mrs. Weasley, possibly taking his watering eyes for emotion at the news. “Yes, Rufus Scrimgeour has set up several new offices in response to the present situation, and Arthur’s heading the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. It’s a big job, he’s got ten people reporting to him now!”
“你真可爱。”韦斯莱夫人笑眯眯地说，她大概以为哈利眼泪汪汪是因为听了喜讯激动的，“是啊，为了对目前的局势做出反应，鲁弗斯·斯克林杰又新设了几个部门，亚瑟现在主管‘伪劣防御魔咒及防护用品侦察收缴办公室’。这个工作很重要，现在手下有十个人呢！”
“What exactly –?”
“那究竟是——”
“Well, you see, in all the panic about You-Know-Who, odd things have been cropping up for sale everywhere, things that are supposed to guard against You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. You can imagine the kind of thing… so-called protective potions that are really gravy with a bit of Bubotuber pus added, or instructions for defensive jinxes that actually make your ears fall off… Well, in the main the perpetrators are just people like Mundungus Hotelier, who’ve never done an honest day’s work in their lives and are taking advantage of how frightened everybody is, but every now and then something really nasty turns up. The other day Arthur confiscated a box of cursed Sneakoscopes that were almost certainly planted by a Death Eater. So you see, it’s a very important job, and I tell him it’s just silly to miss dealing with spark plugs and toasters and all the rest of that Muggle rubbish.” Mrs. Weasley ended her speech with a stern look, as if it had been Harry suggesting that it was natural to miss spark-plugs.
“噢，是这样，神秘人搞得大家人心惶惶，到处都有人弄一些稀奇古怪的东西出来卖钱，说是能够抵御神秘人和食死徒。你能想象那种玩意儿——所谓的防身药剂，实际上就是肉汤加上一点儿淋巴脓，还有防御魔咒的操作指南，实际上只会让你掉了耳朵…唉，一般来说，做这些坏事的只是蒙顿格斯·弗莱奇那样的人，他们一辈子没有一天好好干活的，现在利用人们的恐惧心理趁火打劫。可是偶尔也会碰到真正的恶性事件。那天，亚瑟收缴了一箱施了魔咒的窥镜，几乎可以肯定是某个食死徒安置在那里的。所以你看，这是一项很重要的工作，我跟他说，现在再惦记着火花塞、烤面包炉以及麻瓜们的其他破烂，就显得太可笑了。”韦斯莱夫人说到最后，眼神变得严厉起来，似乎是哈利提出应该惦记火花塞的。
“It’s been like that for a while now,” said Mrs. Weasley, in an unconvincingly casual voice, “ever since You-Know-Who came back into the open. I suppose everybody’s in mortal danger now… I don’t think it can be just our family… but I don’t know anyone else who’s got a clock like this, so I can’t check. Oh!”
“它这个样子有一段时间了，”韦斯莱夫人用一种装出来的轻描淡写的口气说，但装得不像，“自从神秘人公开复出以后，它就是这样。我想现在每个人都处于致命危险中…不可能只是我们家里的人…但我不知道谁家还有这样的钟，所以没法核实。哦！”
She turned to look at a large clock that was perched awkwardly on top of a pile of sheets in the washing basket at the end of the table. Harry recognized it at once: it had nine hands, each inscribed with the name of a family member, and usually hung on the Weasleys’ sitting room wall, though its current position suggested that Mrs. Weasley had taken to carrying it around the house with her. Every single one of its nine hands was now pointing at mortal peril.
她扭头去看那个大钟，那大钟放在桌边洗衣篮里的一大堆床单上，显得很不协调。哈利一眼就认了出来：它有九根指针，每根针上都刻着家里一位成员的名字，平常总是挂在韦斯莱家客厅的墙上。它现在放在这里，可见韦斯莱夫人在家里走到哪儿就把它带到哪儿。眼下，那九根针都指着致命危险。
“Is Mr. Weasley still at work?” Harry asked.
“韦斯莱先生还在上班吗？”哈利问。
“Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, he’s a tiny bit late… He said he’d be back around midnight…”
“是啊。说实在的，有点儿晚了…他说大概午夜前后回来的…”
“He’s coming!”
“他回来了！”
With a sudden exclamation she pointed at the clock’s face. Mr. Weasley’s hand had switched to traveling.
她突然尖叫一声，指着钟面。韦斯莱先生的那根指针突然跳到了在路上。
“What do you like me to call you when we’re alone together?”
“我们独自在一起时，你喜欢我叫你什么？”
And sure enough, a moment later there was a knock on the back door. Mrs. Weasley jumped up and hurried to it; with one hand on the doorknob and her face pressed against the wood she called softly, “Arthur, is that you?”
果然，片刻之后，后门传来了敲门声。韦斯莱夫人一跃而起，匆匆过去开门。她用手握住球形把手，把脸贴在木门上，轻轻喊道：“亚瑟，是你吗？”
“All right, all right… What is your dearest ambition?”
“好吧，好吧…你最大的抱负是什么？”
“Oh, honestly…”
“哦，说实在的…”
“Molly! I’ve got to ask you your question first!”
“莫丽！我先要问问你那个问题！”
“Mollywobbles,” whispered a mortified Mrs. Weasley into the crack at the edge of the door.
“莫丽小颤颤。”韦斯莱夫人不好意思地对着门边的那道裂缝小声说。
“To find out how airplanes stay up.”
“弄清飞机怎么能待在天上。”
“Yes,” came Mr. Weasley’s weary voice. “But I would say that even if I were a Death Eater, dear. Ask the question!”
“是，”门外传来韦斯莱先生疲倦的声音，“但假如我是一个食死徒，也会这么说的，亲爱的。快问问题！”
“Arthur, really, this is just silly…”
“亚瑟，说真的，这太荒唐了…”
Even by the dim light of the lantern Harry could tell that Mrs. Weasley had turned bright red; he himself felt suddenly warm around the ears and neck, and hastily gulped soup, clattering his spoon as loudly as he could against the bowl.
即使就着昏暗的桌灯，哈利也能看出韦斯莱夫人的脸一下子涨得通红。他自己也觉得耳朵和脖子都在发烧，赶紧大口地喝汤，尽量把勺子在碗里碰得丁当作响。
“Molly!”
“莫丽！”
Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned the doorknob, but apparently Mr. Weasley was holding tight to it on the other side, because the door remained firmly shut.
韦斯莱夫人点点头，转动把手想把门打开，但显然韦斯莱先生在外面紧紧地攥住了门把手，门仍然纹丝不动。
Mrs. Weasley opened the door to reveal her husband, a thin, balding, red-haired wizard wearing horn-rimmed spectacles and a long and dusty traveling cloak.
韦斯莱夫人打开门，她丈夫出现了，一位秃顶、红发的瘦巫师，戴着一副角质架眼镜，身穿一件灰扑扑的旅行斗篷。
“Correct,” said Mr. Weasley. “Now you can let me in.”
“正确，”韦斯莱先生说，“现在你可以让我进来了。”
“I still don’t see why we have to go through that every time you come home,” said Mrs. Weasley, still pink in the face as she helped her husband out of his cloak. “I mean, a Death Eater might have forced the answer out of you before impersonating you!”
“我还是不明白，为什么你每次回家都要来这么一套。”韦斯莱夫人说着帮丈夫脱下斗篷，她的脸仍然微微泛红，“我的意思是，食死徒会先逼你说出答案，然后再冒充你的！”
“I know, dear, but it’s Ministry procedure, and I have to set an example. Something smells good… onion soup?”
“我知道，亲爱的，但这是魔法部规定的，我必须做出表率。什么东西这么好闻——洋葱汤？”
Mr. Weasley turned hopefully in the direction of the table.
韦斯莱先生眼巴巴地朝桌子上望了过去。
They shook hands, and Mr. Weasley dropped into the chair beside Harry as Mrs. Weasley set a bowl of soup in front of him too.
他们握了握手，韦斯莱先生坐到哈利旁边的椅子上，韦斯莱夫人在他面前也放了一碗热汤。
“Thanks, Molly. It’s been a tough night. Some idiot’s started selling Metamorph-Medals. Just sling them around your neck and you’ll be able to change your appearance at will. A hundred thousand disguises, all for ten Galleons!”
“谢谢，莫丽。今天晚上真够呛。一个白痴居然卖起了变形勋章。说是只要把它挂在脖子上，你就能随心所欲地改变相貌。千万张面孔，变化无穷，只卖十个加隆！”
“Harry! We didn’t expect you until morning!”
“哈利！我们还以为你明天早晨才能来呢！”
“No, we got wind of a nasty backfiring jinx down in Elephant and Castle, but luckily the Magical Law Enforcement Squad had sorted it out by the time we got there…”
“不是，我们得到情报，说大象城堡那儿有人施了一个危险的回火咒，幸好，等我们赶到那儿的时候，魔法法律执行队已经把事情解决了…”
“Of course I am!” said Mr. Weasley. “The boys wouldn’t do anything like that now, not when people are desperate for protection!”
“当然能肯定！”韦斯莱先生说，“那两个小子现在不会做出那种东西的，现在人们都在不顾一切地寻求保护！”
“Mostly you just turn a fairly unpleasant orange color, but a couple of people have also sprouted tentacle like warts all over their bodies. As if St. Mungo’s didn’t have enough to do already!”
“一般来说只会将面孔变成一种难看的橘黄色，不过也有两个人全身长出了触角般的肉瘤。就好像圣芒戈魔法伤病医院还不够忙乱似的！”
“And what really happens when you put them on?”
“那么实际上戴了以后会怎么样呢？”
“So is that why you’re late, Metamorph-Medals?”
“所以你才回来得这么晚，就为了变形勋章？”
“It sounds like the sort of thing Fred and George would find funny,” said Mrs. Weasley hesitantly. “Are you sure…?”
“这类玩意儿，像是弗雷德和乔治感兴趣的东西。”韦斯莱夫人迟疑地说，“你能肯定不是——”
“Bed,” said an undeceived Mrs. Weasley at once. “I’ve got Fred and George’s room all ready for you, you’ll have it to yourself.”
“睡去吧。”心明眼亮的韦斯莱夫人立刻说道，“我已经把弗雷德和乔治的房间给你准备好了，你一个人住在里面！”
“Why, where are they?”
“为什么，他们俩呢？”
Harry stifled a yawn behind his hand.
哈利用手捂住了一个哈欠。
“Oh, they’re in Diagon Alley, sleeping in the little flat over their joke shop as they’re so busy,” said Mrs. Weasley. “I must say, I didn’t approve at first, but they do seem to have a bit of a flair for business! Come on, dear, your trunks already up there.”
“噢，他们在对角巷呢，现在生意这么忙，他们就睡在笑话商店楼上的小套房里。”韦斯莱夫人说，“我不得不说，我起先并不赞成，但他们似乎确实有点儿生意头脑！来吧，亲爱的，你的箱子已经搬上去了。”
Fred and George’s bedroom was on the second floor. Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at a lamp on the bedside table and it ignited at once, bathing the room in a pleasant golden glow. Though a large vase of flowers had been placed on a desk in front of the small window, their perfume could not disguise the lingering smell of what Harry thought was gunpowder. A considerable amount of floor space was devoted to a vast number of unmarked, sealed cardboard boxes, amongst which stood Harry’s school trunk. The room looked as though it was being used as a temporary warehouse.
弗雷德和乔治的卧室在三楼。韦斯莱夫人用魔杖指了指床头柜上的一盏台灯，它立刻就亮了，给房间里洒下一片温馨柔和的光。那扇小窗户前面的桌上放着一大瓶鲜花，但它们的香味并不能掩盖残留在房间里的气味——哈利认为是火药味。地板上一大片地方都堆放着许多没有标名的密封的硬纸箱，哈利上学用的箱子也在其中。这个房间看上去像是一个临时仓库。
“‘Night, Mr. Weasley,” said Harry, pushing back his chair. Crookshanks leapt lightly from his lap and slunk out of the room.
“晚安，韦斯莱先生。”哈利说着推开椅子站了起来。克鲁克山敏捷地从他腿上跳了下去，溜出了房间。
Harry saw Mrs. Weasley glance at the clock in the washing basket as they left the kitchen. All the hands were once again at mortal peril.
离开厨房时，哈利看见韦斯莱夫人扫了一眼放在洗衣篮里的大钟。所有的指针又全部指向了致命危险。
“G’night, Harry,” said Mr. Weasley.
“晚安，哈利。”韦斯莱先生说。
Hedwig hooted happily at Harry from her perch on top of a large wardrobe, then took off through the window; Harry knew she had been waiting to see him before going hunting. Harry bade Mrs. Weasley good night, put on pajamas, and got into one of the beds. There was something hard inside the pillowcase. He groped inside it and pulled out a sticky purple-and-orange sweet, which he recognized as a Puking Pastille. Smiling to himself, he rolled over and was instantly asleep.
海德薇在一个大衣柜顶上朝哈利高兴地叫了几声，然后便振翅飞出了窗外，哈利知道它一直在等着见他一面之后才去觅食。哈利向韦斯莱夫人道了晚安，换上睡衣上了一张床。枕头里有个硬东西，他把手伸进去一摸，掏出来一块黏糊糊的、一半紫色一半橘黄色的糖，他认出来了，是吐吐糖锭。他暗暗笑了笑，翻了个身，立刻睡着了。
“Ron, don’t hit him!” said a girl’s voice reproachfully.
“罗恩，别打他！”一个女孩子的声音责备道。
“We didn’t know you were here already!” said a loud and excited voice, and he received a sharp blow to the top of the head.
“我们不知道你已经来了！”一个声音激动地大声说，接着哈利的头顶上狠狠地挨了一巴掌。
Harry’s hand found his glasses and he shoved them on, though The light was so bright he could hardly see anyway. A long, looming shadow quivered in front of him for a moment; he blinked and Ron Weasley came into focus, grinning down at him.
哈利总算摸到了眼镜，赶紧戴上，不过光线太强烈了，他还是什么都看不见。一个模模糊糊的长长的影子在他面前晃了一会儿，他眨了眨眼睛，才看清是罗恩·韦斯莱，正笑眯眯地低头看着他呢。
Seconds later, or so it seemed to Harry, he was awakened by what sounded like cannon fire as the door burst open. Sitting bolt upright, he heard the rasp of the curtains being pulled back: The dazzling sunlight seemed to poke him hard in both eyes. Shielding them with one hand, he groped hopelessly for his glasses with the other.
几秒钟后，至少哈利感觉是这样，他被一声炮火般的巨响惊醒，房门被突然撞开了。他腾地坐直身子，听见了窗帘被拉开的刺耳声音：明晃晃的阳光刺得他两只眼睛生疼。他用一只手挡住眼睛，用另一只手慌乱地摸索他的眼镜。
“All right?”
“你好吗？”
“Wuzzgoinon?”
“怎么回事？”
“Not bad,” said Ron, pulling over a cardboard box and sitting on it. “When did you get here? Mum’s only just told us!”
“还行，”罗恩说着拖过一个硬纸箱，坐在上面，“你什么时候来的？妈妈刚告诉我们！”
“About one o’clock this morning.”
“大概凌晨一点钟吧。”
“Never been better,” said Harry, rubbing the top of his head and slumping back onto his pillows. “You?”
“从来没这么好过。”哈利说完揉了揉头顶，重新跌回到枕头上，“你呢？”
“Nothing much, I’ve just been stuck at my aunt and uncle’s, haven’t I?”
“没发生什么呀，我一直闷在我姨妈姨父家里，不是吗？”
“Same as usual,” said Harry, as Hermione perched herself on the edge of his bed, “they didn’t talk to me much, but I like it better that way. How’re you, Hermione?”
“跟平常一样，”哈利说，赫敏在他床沿上坐了下来，“他们不怎么跟我说话，我倒情愿这样。你怎么样，赫敏？”
“Oh, I’m fine,” said Hermione, who was scrutinizing Harry as though he was sickening for something. He thought he knew what was behind this, and as he had no wish to discuss Sirius’s death or any other miserable subject at the moment, he said, “What’s the time? Have I missed breakfast?”
“噢，我挺好的。”赫敏说，她一直在仔细地端详哈利，就好像他有什么不对劲的地方似的。哈利知道赫敏心里在想什么，但他眼下不想谈论小天狼星的死，不想谈论任何令人难过的话题，于是他说：“什么时间了？你们已经吃过早饭了吧？”
“Oh,” said Ron, looking disappointed. “We thought –“
“噢，”罗恩显出一副失望的样子，“我们还以为——”
“It wasn’t that exciting. He just wanted me to help him persuade this old teacher to come out of retirement. His name’s Horace Slughorn.”
“那也没什么刺激的。他只是让我帮他说服那个退休的老教师重新出来工作。那人名叫霍拉斯·斯拉格霍恩。”
“Were the Muggles all right? Did they treat you okay?”
“那些麻瓜们怎么样？他们待你还好吧？”
“Don’t worry about that, Mum’s bringing you up a tray; she reckons you look underfed,” said Ron, rolling his eyes. “So, what’s been going on?”
“不用担心，妈妈会给你端上来的。她认为你看上去营养不够。”罗恩说着翻了翻眼珠，“好了，快说吧，到底发生了什么事？”
“Come off it!” said Ron. “You’ve been off with Dumbledore!”
“得了吧！”罗恩说，“你跟邓布利多一起出去了！”
Hermione flashed a warning look at Ron, and Ron changed tack at top speed.
赫敏警告地瞪了罗恩一眼，罗恩赶紧换了一种说法。
“It’s the way she talks to me… you’d think I was about three!”
“她对我说话的那种方式——好像把我当成了三岁的孩子！”
“Yeah… yeah, now Umbridge has left, obviously we need a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, don’t we? So, er, what’s he like?”
“是啊…是啊，现在乌姆里奇走了，我们的黑魔法防御术显然需要一位新老师，对不对？那么，嗯，他长得什么样儿？”
“Dunno,” said Harry. “He can’t be worse than Umbridge, can he?”
“不知道，”哈利说，“总不会比乌姆里奇还要糟糕吧？”
“No, of course not! So, um, did Slughorn seem like he’ll be a good teacher?”
“没有，绝对没有！那么，嗯，斯拉格霍恩看上去会是个好老师吗？”
“I know someone who’s worse than Umbridge,” said a voice from the doorway. Ron’s younger sister slouched into the room, looking irritable. “Hi, Harry.”
“我知道有一个人比乌姆里奇还糟糕。”门口传来一个声音。罗恩的妹妹没精打采地走进房间，一脸气呼呼的样子。“你好，哈利。”
She was watching him as though expecting strange symptoms to manifest themselves at any moment. She rearranged her features hastily in an unconvincing smile.
赫敏注视着他，似乎他随时都会显露出某种奇怪的症状。这时她赶紧调整了一下面部表情，露出一个不自然的微笑。
“What’s up with you?” Ron asked.
“你这是怎么了？”罗恩问。
“What’s she done now?” asked Hermione sympathetically.
“她这次又怎么啦？”赫敏同情地问。
“I know,” said Hermione, dropping her voice. “She’s so full of herself.”
“我知道，”赫敏压低了声音说，“她心里只想着她自己。”
“He looks a bit like a walrus, and he used to be Head of Slytherin,” said Harry. “Something wrong, Hermione?”
“他长得有点儿像海象，以前当过斯莱特林学院的院长。”哈利说，“有什么不对吗，赫敏？”
“– we thought it’d be something like that.”
“——我们就猜到会是这种事情。”
“It’s her,” said Ginny, plonking herself down on Harry’s bed. “She’s driving me mad.”
“是她，”金妮说着一屁股坐在哈利的床上，“她简直要把我逼疯了。”
“You did?” said Harry, amused.
“是吗？”哈利觉得怪好玩的。
“Oh, that’s right, defend her,” snapped Ginny. “We all know you can’t get enough of her.”
“嗬，行啊，你护着她。”金妮不客气地回嘴说，“我们都知道你怎么也看不够她。”
Harry was astonished to hear Hermione talking about Mrs. Weasley like this and could not blame Ron for saying angrily, “Can’t you two lay off her for five seconds?”
哈利听见赫敏这么谈论韦斯莱夫人，感到非常吃惊，所以也就怪不得罗恩生气地说：“你们俩能不能有五秒钟不要谈她？”
But his question was answered before he could finish it. The bedroom door flew open again, and Harry instinctively yanked the bedcovers up to his chin so hard that Hermione and Ginny slid off the bed onto the floor.
他的问题还没有问出来就得到了答案。卧室的门又一次被猛地推开了，哈利本能地拽过床单盖到了下巴。他使的劲儿太大了，赫敏和金妮都从床上滑到了地板上。
This seemed an odd comment to make about Ron’s mother. Starting to feel that he was missing something, Harry said, “Who are you…?”
这么说罗恩的妈妈可有点儿莫名其妙，哈利这才发觉自己是听岔了，便问道：“你们说的是——？”
A young woman was standing in the doorway, a woman of such breathtaking beauty that the room seemed to have become strangely airless. She was tall and willowy with long blonde hair and appeared to emanate a faint, silvery glow. To complete this vision of perfection, she was carrying a heavily laden breakfast tray.
一个年轻女子站在门口，她真是美艳惊人，房间里一下子变得让人透不过气来。她身材修长苗条，披着一头金黄色的秀发，周身似乎散发出淡淡的银光。而且，她手里还用托盘端着一顿丰盛的早餐，使得整个画面更加完美。
As she swept over the threshold toward him, Mrs. Weasley was revealed, bobbing along in her wake, looking rather cross.
她轻快地跨过门槛朝哈利走来，这才露出了紧跟在她身后的韦斯莱夫人，她的神情显得很恼怒。
“‘Arry,” she said in a throaty voice. “Eet “as been too long!”
“阿利法国姑娘芙蓉按照法语的习惯叫哈利，将”H“省略了。”她用沙哑的喉音说，“好久没见了！”
“There was no need to bring up the tray, I was just about to do it myself!”
“用不着你把托盘端上来，我正想自己端呢！”
“Oh… is she here too?” Harry croaked.
“噢…她也在这儿吗？”哈利哑着嗓子问。
“No, no, silly boy,” said Fleur with a tinkling laugh, “I mean next summer, when we… but do you not know?”
“不，不，傻孩子，”芙蓉发出一串银铃般的笑声，“我是说明年夏天，我们——难道你还不知道吗？”
Fleur turned back to Harry, swinging her silvery sheet of hair so that it whipped Mrs. Weasley across the face.
芙蓉转向了哈利，一甩瀑布般的银色秀发，发梢扫在韦斯莱夫人的脸上。
“Eet was no trouble,” said Fleur Delacour, setting the tray across Harry’s knees and then swooping to kiss him on each cheek: he felt the places where her mouth had touched him burn. “I ‘ave been longing to see ‘im. You remember my seester, Gabrielle? She never stops talking about ‘Arry Potter. She will be delighted to see you again.”
“没关系，”芙蓉·德拉库尔说着把托盘放在哈利的膝头，俯身在他的两边腮帮子上各亲了一下。哈利觉得被她嘴唇触到的地方在火辣辣地发烧。“我一直盼着见到你。你还记得我妹妹加布丽吗？她一刻不停地谈着哈利·波特。她再次见到你肯定会很高兴的。”
“Bill and I are going to be married!”
“比尔和我要结婚啦！”
Her great blue eyes widened and she looked reproachfully at Mrs. Weasley, who said, “We hadn’t got around to telling him yet.”
她那双大大的蓝眼睛睁得更大了，责怪地看着韦斯莱夫人，韦斯莱夫人说：“我们还没有抽出空儿来告诉他呢。”
She swooped down upon him and kissed him again.
她又俯身亲了亲他。
“Oh,” said Harry blankly. He could not help noticing how Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny were all determinedly avoiding one another’s gaze. “Wow. Er… congratulations!”
“噢！”哈利茫然地说。他不由地注意到韦斯莱夫人、赫敏和金妮都故意躲避着彼此的目光。“哇，嗯——祝贺你们！”
“Bill is very busy at ze moment, working very ‘ard, and I only work part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish, so he brought me ‘ere for a few days to get to know ‘is family properly. I was so pleased to ‘ear you would be coming… zere isn’t much to do ‘ere, unless you like cooking and chickens! Well… enjoy your breakfast, ‘Arry!”
“眼下比尔很忙，工作很辛苦，我只在古灵阁上半天班，补习我的英语，所以他就把我带到这儿来住几天，多了解了解他的家人。听说你要来，可把我高兴坏了——在这里没有多少事情可做，除非你喜欢烧菜，喜欢鸡！好了——美美地吃你的早餐吧，阿利！”
With these words she turned gracefully and seemed to float out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
说完，她优雅地一转身，一阵风似的飘出了房间，轻轻地关上了房门。
Mrs. Weasley made a noise that sounded like, “tchah!”
韦斯莱夫人发出一个声音，听着好像是“去！”
“Mum hates her,” said Ginny quietly.
“妈妈讨厌她。”金妮小声说。
“I do not hate her!” said Mrs. Weasley in a cross whisper. “I just think they’ve hurried into this engagement, that’s all!”
“我没有讨厌她！”韦斯莱夫人气恼地压低声音说，“我只是认为他们的订婚太仓促了，仅此而已！”
“They’ve known each other a year,” said Ron, who looked oddly groggy and was staring at the closed door.
“他们已经认识一年了。”罗恩说，他脸上神情恍惚，呆呆地望着关上的房门。
“Well, that’s not very long! I know why it’s happened, of course. It’s all this uncertainty with You-Know-Who coming back, people think they might be dead tomorrow, so they’re rushing all sorts of decisions they’d normally take time over. It was the same last time he was powerful, people eloping left, right, and center…”
“是啊，那并没有多长时间！当然啦，我也明白为什么会是这样。都是因为神秘人回来了，大家人心惶惶，都有一种朝不保夕的感觉，所以，本来需要时间好好考虑的事情，全都匆匆忙忙就做了决定。上次神秘人得势的时候就是这样，到处都有人私奔——”
“Don’t you get used to her if she’s staying in the same house?” Harry asked.
“她跟你住在同一幢房子里，你还没有习惯她吗？”哈利问。
“Including you and Dad,” said Ginny slyly.
“包括你和爸爸。”金妮调皮地说。
“Yes, well, your father and I were made for each other, what was the point in waiting?” said Mrs. Weasley. “Whereas Bill and Fleur… well… what have they really got in common? He’s a hardworking, down-to-earth sort of person, whereas she’s…”
“是啊，没错，但你们的父亲和我是天生的一对，还需要等什么呢？”韦斯莱夫人说，“可是比尔和芙蓉…唉…他们到底有什么共同之处呢？比尔是一个勤勤恳恳、脚踏实地的人，芙蓉却——”
“Stop calling her that, Ginny,” said Mrs. Weasley sharply, as Harry and Hermione laughed. “Well, I’d better get on… Eat your eggs while they’re warm, Harry.”
“不许那么叫她，金妮。”韦斯莱夫人严厉地说，而哈利和赫敏都笑出了声，“好了，我得赶紧…快把鸡蛋趁热吃了吧，哈利。”
“A cow,” said Ginny, nodding. “But Bill’s not that down-to-earth. He’s a Curse-Breaker, isn’t he, he likes a bit of adventure, a bit of glamour… I expect that’s why he’s gone for Phlegm.”
“是一个懒婆娘，”金妮点点头抢着说道，“不过，比尔并不是那么脚踏实地。他是个解咒员，对吗，他喜欢来点儿冒险，来点儿精彩…所以他才会喜欢黏痰芙蓉（Fleur）的名字法语读音与黏痰（Phlegm）英语读音相近…”
Looking careworn, she left the room. Ron still seemed slightly punch-drunk; he was shaking his head experimentally like a dog trying to rid its ears of water.
她说完便离开了房间，看上去忧心忡忡的。罗恩仍然显得有点儿神情恍惚，他试探性地晃了晃脑袋，像一条狗想甩掉耳朵上的水珠似的。
“Well, you do,” said Ron, “but if she jumps out at you unexpectedly, like then…”
“唉，习惯是习惯了，”罗恩说，“可是如果她在你没防备的时候突然跳出来，就像刚才那样…”
“It’s pathetic,” said Hermione furiously, striding away from Ron as far as she could go and turning to face him with her arms folded once she had reached the wall.
“活该！”赫敏气呼呼地说。她大步离开了罗恩，一直走到房间那头的墙边，转身抱起双臂瞪着他。
“You don’t really want her around forever?” Ginny asked Ron incredulously. When he merely shrugged, she said, “Well, Mum’s going to put a stop to it if she can, I bet you anything.”
“你不会真的希望她在这里永远住下去吧？”金妮不敢相信地问罗恩。看到罗恩只是耸了耸肩，她又说：“嘿，妈妈会想办法阻止这件事的，信不信由你。”
“How’s she going to manage that?” asked Harry.
“她怎么可能办到呢？”哈利问。
“Yeah, that’ll work,” said Ron sarcastically. “Listen, no bloke in his right mind’s going to fancy Tonks when Fleur’s around. I mean, Tonks is okay-looking when she isn’t doing stupid things to her hair and her nose, but…”
“是啊，想得真妙。”罗恩讽刺道，“听着，只要有芙蓉在，没有哪个头脑正常的人会喜欢唐克斯。我是说，如果唐克斯不把她的头发和鼻子搞得一团糟的话，她的样子还不算难看，可是——”
“She’s a damn sight nicer than Phlegm,” said Ginny.
“她比黏痰好看多了。”金妮说。
“Not you as well!” said Hermione bitterly.
“想不到你也这样！”赫敏尖刻地说。
“She keeps trying to get Tonks round for dinner. I think she’s hoping Bill will fall for Tonks instead. I hope he does, I’d much rather have her in the family.”
“她三天两头请唐克斯来吃饭。我想她是希望比尔能爱上唐克斯。我也巴不得这样，我情愿让唐克斯成为我们家的一员。”
“Fleur’s not stupid, she was good enough to enter the Triwizard Tournament,” said Harry.
“芙蓉也不傻，她很优秀，还参加了三强争霸赛呢。”哈利说。
“And she’s more intelligent, she’s an Auror!” said Hermione from the corner.
“而且她更有智慧，她是个傲罗！”赫敏从墙角那儿说道。
“No,” said Harry, wishing he hadn’t spoken, “I was just saying, Phlegm… I mean, Fleur…”
“不是，”哈利后悔自己不该说话，“我只是说，黏痰——我是说芙蓉——”
“I suppose you like the way Phlegm says ”Arry,’ do you?” asked Ginny scornfully.
“我想，你大概是喜欢黏痰叫你‘阿利’时的那副腔调吧，是不是？”金妮轻蔑地问。
“That’s not fair,” snapped Hermione. “She still hasn’t got over what happened… you know… I mean, he was her cousin!”
“这么说不公平。”赫敏厉声说道，“她仍然没有从那件事情当中缓过来…你知道的…我是说，他毕竟是她的亲戚啊！”
“She hasn’t been much of a laugh lately,” said Ron. “Every time I’ve seen her she’s looked more like Moaning Myrtle.”
“她最近不大逗人开心了。”罗恩说，“我每次看见她，她都显得更像哭泣的桃金娘了。”
“I’d much rather have Tonks in the family,” said Ginny. “At least she’s a laugh.”
“我宁愿让唐克斯上我们家来。”金妮说，“她至少还能逗人开心。”
Harry’s heart sank. They had arrived at Sirius. He picked up a fork and began shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth, hoping to deflect any invitation to join in this part of the conversation.
哈利的心往下一沉。他们终于谈到小天狼星了。他拿起叉子，狼吞虎咽地吃起了炒鸡蛋，希望别人不再邀请他加入这部分谈话。
“Tonks and Sirius barely knew each other!” said Ron. “Sirius was in Azkaban half her life and before that their families never met –“
“唐克斯和小天狼星根本就算不上认识！”罗恩说，“在唐克斯出生后的一半时间里，小天狼星都待在阿兹卡班，而且在那之前他们两家从没碰过面——”
“Well, she was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange, wasn’t she? I think she feels that if only she had finished her off, Bellatrix couldn’t have killed Sirius.”
“唉，当时是她在对付贝拉特里克斯·莱斯特兰奇，对吧？她大概以为，如果她能把贝拉特里克斯干掉，她就不会杀死小天狼星了。”
“How does she work that one out?” asked Harry, in spite of himself.
“她怎么会得出那样的结论呢？”哈利忍不住问道。
“That’s not the point,” said Hermione. “She thinks it was her limit he died!”
“关键不在这里，”赫敏说，“唐克斯认为小天狼星的死都是她的责任。”
“It’s survivor’s guilt,” said Hermione. “I know Lupin’s tried to talk her round, but she’s still really down. She’s actually having trouble with her Metamorphosing!”
“这就是幸存者的内疚心理。”赫敏说，“我知道卢平想把她开导过来，但她仍然情绪低落。她现在甚至不能得心应手地搞她的易容术了！”
“That’s stupid,” said Ron.
“那太荒唐了。”罗恩说。
“She only wants me there so she doesn’t have to be alone with Phlegm!” said Ginny crossly. She swung her long red hair around in a very good imitation of Fleur and pranced across the room with her arms held aloft like a ballerina.
“她只是不想跟黏痰单独待在一起，才叫我下去的！”金妮恼火地说。她把长长的红头发往后一甩，那样子活脱脱一个芙蓉，然后像芭蕾舞演员那样悬着两个手臂，翩翩然地飘出了房间。
“Ginny,” she whispered, “come downstairs and help me with the lunch.”
“金妮，”她小声说，“下楼来帮我做午饭。”
“Nor did I,” said Hermione, “but I suppose if you’re really depressed…”
“我也没想到，”赫敏说，“但我猜想，如果你的心情非常糟糕…”
“With her…?”
“她的什么？”
“Now!” said Mrs. Weasley, and withdrew.
“快来！”韦斯莱夫人说完就关门走了。
Harry took advantage of the temporary silence to eat more breakfast. Hermione was peering into Fred and George’s boxes, though every now and then she cast sideways looks at Harry. Ron, who was now helping himself to Harry’s toast, was still gazing dreamily at the door.
哈利利用这短暂的沉默，加紧吃他的早餐。赫敏在查看弗雷德和乔治的那些箱子，偶尔也朝哈利这边瞥上几眼。罗恩一边吃着哈利的面包，一边仍然神思恍惚地盯着房门。
“She can’t change her appearance like she used to,” explained Hermione. “I think her powers must have been affected by shock, or something.”
“她不能像过去那样改变她的容貌了，”赫敏解释道，“大概因为受了惊吓什么的，使她的法术打了折扣。”
The door opened again and Mrs. Weasley popped her head in.
门又被推开了，韦斯莱夫人探进头来。
“I’m talking to this lot!” said Ginny, outraged.
“我在跟大伙儿说话呢！”金妮生气地说。
“You lot had better come down quickly too,” she said as she left.
“你们大家最好也赶紧下来。”她临出门时又说了一句。
“I didn’t know that could happen,” said Harry.
“没想到还会有这种事情。”哈利说。
“Your mum said the shop’s going well,” said Harry. “Said Fred and George have got a real flair for business.”
“你妈妈说小店生意不错，”哈利说，“还说弗雷德和乔治挺有生意头脑的。”
“What’s this?” Hermione asked eventually, holding up what looked like a small telescope.
“这是什么？”赫敏举起一个小望远镜似的东西，问道。
“Dunno,” said Ron, “but if Fred and George left it here, it’s probably not ready for the joke shop yet, so be careful.”
“不知道，”罗恩说，“不过既然弗雷德和乔治把它留在这儿，它恐怕还不能拿到笑话商店里去卖，你可得小心点儿。”
“And what about Percy?” asked Harry; the third-eldest Weasley brother had fallen out with the rest of the family. “Is he talking to your mum and dad again?”
“珀西怎么样了？”哈利问，韦斯莱家的这位三儿子曾经同家人闹翻了，“他跟你爸爸妈妈说话了吗？”
“That’s an understatement,” said Ron. “They’re raking in the Galleons! I can’t wait to see the place, we haven’t been to Diagon Alley yet, because Mum says Dad’s got to be there for extra security and he’s been really busy at work, but it sounds excellent.”
“这么说太轻描淡写了。”罗恩说，“他们现在是大把地捞钱啊！我真想赶紧去看看那个地方。我们还没有去过对角巷呢，妈妈说为了安全起见，爸爸也得一起去，而现在爸爸工作忙得要命，不过这个安排听起来真棒！”
“Nope,” said Ron.
“没有。”罗恩说。
“But he knows your dad was right all along now about Voldemort being back…”
“可是他现在知道，你爸爸关于伏地魔会回来的说法是对的——”
“Dumbledore says people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong than being right,” said Hermione. “I heard him telling your mum, Ron.”
“邓布利多说，人们容易原谅别人的错误，却很难原谅别人的正确。”赫敏说，“我听见他跟你妈妈说的，罗恩。”
“Sounds like the sort of mental thing Dumbledore would say,” said Ron.
“这一听就是邓布利多的至理名言。”罗恩说。
“You kept that quiet!” said Ron.
“你跟我们保密！”罗恩说。
Ron choked on his bit of toast, and Hermione gasped.
罗恩被嘴里的面包噎住了，赫敏吃惊地倒抽了一口气。
“He’s going to be giving me private lessons this year,” said Harry conversationally.
“他今年要给我单独上课呢。”哈利引出了话题。
“I only just remembered,” said Harry honestly. “He told me last night in your broom shed.”
“我刚想起来。”哈利如实地说，“他昨晚在你们家的扫帚棚里告诉我的。”
Neither Ron nor Hermione spoke. Harry had the impression that both had frozen. He continued, still speaking to his fork, “You know, the one they were trying to steal at the Ministry.”
罗恩和赫敏都没有说话。哈利感觉到他们俩都惊呆了。他眼睛盯着叉子继续说：“你们知道，就是他们想从魔法部偷走的那个。”
“Nobody knows what it said, though,” said Hermione quickly. “It got smashed.”
“可是谁也不知道那上面写着什么。”赫敏立刻说道，“它被打碎了。”
“Blimey… private lessons with Dumbledore!” said Ron, looking impressed. “I wonder why he’s…?”
“天哪…邓布利多给你单独上课！”罗恩一副肃然起敬的样子，说道，“不知道他为什么…？”
His voice tailed away. Harry saw him and Hermione exchange looks. Harry laid down his knife and fork, his heart beating rather fast considering that all he was doing was sitting in bed. Dumbledore had said to do it… Why not now? He fixed his eyes on his fork, which was gleaming in the sunlight streaming into his lap, and said, “I don’t know exactly why he’s going to be giving me lessons, but I think it must be because of the prophecy.”
罗恩的声音低了下去。哈利看见他和赫敏交换了一下目光。哈利放下刀叉，他的心跳加快，而他现在只是坐在床上，什么也没做。邓布利多说过可以告诉他们…为什么不是现在呢？他眼睛盯着叉子，阳光洒在他的腿上，照得叉子闪闪发亮，他说：“我不知道他到底为什么要给我上课，但我想肯定是因为那个预言球。”
“The Prophet’s got it right,” said Harry, looking up at them both with a great effort: Hermione seemed frightened and Ron amazed. “That glass ball that smashed wasn’t the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore’s office, he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said,” Harry took a deep breath, “it looks like I’m the one who’s got to finish off Voldemort… At least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives.”
“《预言家日报》说得没错，”哈利说着费力地抬起头望着他俩：赫敏看上去很惊慌，罗恩则是一副惊愕的样子，“那个打碎的玻璃球并不是预言的惟一记录。我在邓布利多的办公室里听说了事情的来龙去脉，那个预言就是说给他听的，所以他能够告诉我。从那个预言来看，”哈利深深地吸了一口气，“似乎我就是那个结果伏地魔的人…至少，它说我们俩不可能同时活着。”
“Although the Prophet says…” began Ron, but Hermione said, “Shh!”
“不过《预言家日报》说——”罗恩的话没说完，赫敏就制止了他，“嘘！”
“Hermione!” shouted Harry and Ron; the breakfast tray slid to the floor with a crash.
“赫敏！”哈利和罗恩同时喊起来，早餐托盘咣啷一声滑到了地板上。
The three of them gazed at one another in silence for a moment. Then there was a loud bang and Hermione vanished behind a puff of black smoke.
三个人面面相觑了一会儿。突然，砰的一声巨响，赫敏消失在一大团黑烟的后面。
“I squeezed it and it… it punched me!” she gasped.
“我一挤，它就——它就给了我一下！”她喘着气说。
Hermione emerged, coughing, out of the smoke, clutching the telescope and sporting a brilliantly purple black eye.
赫敏从黑烟里出现了，不停地咳嗽着，手里仍抓着那个望远镜，一只眼睛变成了乌眼青。
And sure enough, they now saw a tiny fist on a long spring protruding from the end of the telescope.
果然，他们这才看见望远镜的顶端伸出一根长长的弹簧，上面有一只小小的拳头。
“Oh well, never mind that now!” said Hermione hastily. “Harry, oh, Harry…”
“噢，没关系，现在先不管它！”赫敏赶紧说道，“哈利，哦，哈利…”
“When we heard Dumbledore was collecting you in person, we thought he might be telling you something or showing you something to do with the prophecy,” said Ron eagerly. “And we were kind of right, weren’t we? He wouldn’t be giving you lessons if he thought you were a goner, wouldn’t waste his time… he must think you’ve got a chance!”
“当我们听说邓布利多要亲自去接你时，我们就猜想他大概会跟你说一些、或给你看一些跟预言有关的东西，”罗恩急急地说道，“我们没有猜错吧？如果他认为你注定要完蛋，他就不会给你上课，不会浪费他的时间了——他肯定认为你还是有希望取胜的！”
“Don’t worry,” said Ron, who was plainly trying not to laugh, “Mum’ll fix that, she’s good at healing minor injuries…”
“别担心，”罗恩说，他显然在拼命忍住笑，“妈妈会给你治好的，她治疗小伤小痛最拿手了——”
She sat down on the edge of his bed again.
她又在哈利的床边坐了下来。
“We wondered, after we got back from the Ministry… Obviously, we didn’t want to say anything to you, but from what Lucius Malfoy said about the prophecy, how it was about you and Voldemort, well, we thought it might be something like this… Oh, Harry…” She stared at him, then whispered, “Are you scared?”
“从魔法部回来以后，我们心里就在嘀咕…当然啦，我们什么都不想跟你说，但听了卢修斯·马尔福说的关于那个预言、关于你和伏地魔的话之后，唉，我们就已经猜到可能会是这样…哦，哈利…”她望着他，又低声问道，“你害怕吗？”
“Not as much as I was,” said Harry. “When I first heard it, I was… but now, it seems as though I always knew I’d have to face him in the end…”
“不像当时那么害怕了。”哈利说，“我第一次听见它时，确实…不过现在，我觉得我好像早就知道我最后要跟他面对面地较量的…”
“… and evasive enchantments generally,” concluded Hermione. “Well, at least you know one lesson you’ll be having this year, that’s one more than Ron and me. I wonder when our O. W. L. results will come?”
“…还有其他高深莫测的魔法。”赫敏终于说完了，“好了，你至少知道你今年要上的一门课了，比罗恩和我都多一门。不知道我们的O.W.Ls成绩什么时候寄来？”
Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.
哈利并没有认真地听。他感到全身暖融融的，而且这暖意跟阳光毫无关系，堵在他胸口的那块东西似乎正在渐渐融化。他知道罗恩和赫敏并没有把内心的恐惧都显露出来，但看到他们仍然和他站在一起，说着安慰和鼓励的话，而没有把他当成异类或危险分子，远远地躲开，他觉得这价值是他无法用语言向他们表达的。
“That’s true,” said Hermione. “I wonder what he’ll teach you, Harry? Really advanced defensive magic, probably… powerful countercurses… anti-jinxes…”
“对，”赫敏说，“不知道他会教你什么，哈利？大概是绝顶先进的防御魔法…特别厉害的限免咒…反恶咒…”
“Can’t be long now, it’s been a month,” said Ron.
“不会太久的，已经有一个月了。”罗恩说。
“Today?” shrieked Hermione. “Today? But why didn’t you… oh my God… you should have said…”
“今天？”赫敏惊叫起来。“今天？那你为什么不早——哦，天哪——你应该早点告诉——”
“Hang on,” said Harry, as another part of last night’s conversation came back to him. “I think Dumbledore said our O. W. L. results would be arriving today!”
“等一等，”哈利突然想起昨晚的另一段对话，说道，“邓布利多好像说我们的O.W.Ls成绩今天就能寄到！”
“I’m going to see whether any owls have come…”
“我去看看有没有猫头鹰飞来…”
She leapt to her feet.
她腾地跳了起来。
But when Harry arrived downstairs ten minutes later, fully dressed and carrying his empty breakfast tray, it was to find Hermione sitting at the kitchen table in great agitation, while Mrs. Weasley tried to lessen her resemblance to half a panda.
可是，十分钟后，当哈利穿戴整齐、端着空托盘下楼时，却发现赫敏焦虑不安地坐在厨房的桌子旁，韦斯莱夫人正在试着给她治疗，想使她的那只眼睛看上去不再那么像熊猫眼。
“It just won’t budge,” Mrs. Weasley was saying anxiously, standing over Hermione with her wand in her hand and a copy of The Healer’s Helpmate open at “Bruises, Cuts, and Abrasions’. “This has always worked before, I just can’t understand it.”
“它就是不肯让步，”韦斯莱夫人发愁地说，她站在赫敏面前，一手拿着魔杖，一手拿着一本《疗伤手册》，翻到“碰伤、割伤和擦伤”那一部分，“以前总是挺管用的，我真闹不明白。”
“It’ll be Fred and George’s idea of a funny joke, making sure it can’t come off,” said Ginny.
“这就是弗雷德和乔治想出来的恶作剧点子，确保它不会褪色。”金妮说。
“But it’s got to come off!” squeaked Hermione. “I can’t go around looking like this forever!”
“它怎么能不褪色呢！”赫敏尖叫起来，“我这副样子永远没法见人了！”
“Yes, I can hardly breathe for laughing,” snapped Hermione.
“是啊，我笑得都喘不过气来了。”赫敏没好气地说。
“You won’t, dear, we’ll find an antidote, don’t worry,” said Mrs. Weasley soothingly.
“不会的，亲爱的，我们会找到解药的，别担心。”韦斯莱夫人安慰她道。
“Bill told me “ow Fred and George are very amusing!” said Fleur, smiling serenely.
“比尔告诉过我，弗雷德和乔治非常风趣！”芙蓉优雅地微笑着说。
She jumped up and started walking round and round the kitchen, twisting her fingers together.
她一跃而起，在厨房里一圈一圈地踱着步，手指互相绞在一起。
“Don’t, don’t, don’t!” said Hermione, flapping her hands hysterically. “I know I’ve failed everything!”
“不，不，不要说了！”赫敏歇斯底里地拍打着双手说，“我知道我每门都不及格！”
“Yes, dear, I’d have noticed,” said Mrs. Weasley patiently. “But it’s barely nine, there’s still plenty of time…”
“是的，亲爱的，如果有我会注意到的。”韦斯莱夫人耐心地说，“现在还不到九点呢，仍然有许多时间…”
“What happens if we fail?” Harry asked the room at large, but it was again Hermione who answered.
“如果不及格怎么办呢？”哈利问大家，但又是赫敏抢着回答了。
“Mrs. Weasley, you’re quite, quite sure no owls have arrived this morning?”
“韦斯莱夫人，你绝对能够肯定，今天早晨没有猫头鹰飞来吗？”
“Hermione, will you shut up, you’re not the only one who’s nervous!” barked Ron. “And when you’ve got your eleven “Outstanding O. W. L. s…'”
“赫敏，你能不能闭嘴，又不是只有你一个人感到紧张！”罗恩吼道，“等你拿到十一个O.W.Ls‘优秀’…”
“I know I messed up Ancient Runes,” muttered Hermione feverishly, “I definitely made at least one serious mistranslation. And the Defense Against the Dark Arts practical was no good at all. I thought Transfiguration went all right at the time, but looking back –“
“我知道我的古代魔文考砸了，”赫敏心烦意乱地嘟囔道，“肯定至少有一处完全译错了。还有黑魔法防御术的实践课，我也考得一塌糊涂。我当时觉得变形术考得还可以，但现在回想一下——”
Harry’s stomach squirmed. He wished he had eaten less breakfast.
哈利的胃里开始翻腾，他后悔不该吃那么多早饭。
“We discuss our options with our Head of House, I asked Professor McGonagall at the end of last term.”
“跟院长商量我们选修哪些课，我上学期结束时问过麦格教授。”
“At Beauxbatons,” said Fleur complacently, “we ‘ad a different way of doing things. I think eet was better. We sat our examinations after six years of study, not five, and then…”
“在我们布斯巴顿，”芙蓉只顾得意地说，“情况完全不一样，我认为那样更好。我们不是五年级就考试，而是学满六年再考，然后——”
Mrs. Weasley squeezed past them and opened the kitchen window. One, two, three, the owls soared through it and landed on the table in a neat line. All three of them lifted their right legs.
韦斯莱夫人挤过他们身边，打开了厨房的窗户。一只、两只、三只猫头鹰从窗口飞了进来，落在桌子上，整整齐齐地站成一排，步调一致地抬起了右腿。
She gripped both Harry and Ron tightly around the elbows.
她紧紧地抓住哈利和罗恩的胳膊肘。
Fleur’s words were drowned in a scream. Hermione was pointing through the kitchen window. Three black specks were clearly visible in the sky, growing larger all the time.
芙蓉的话被一声尖叫吞没了。赫敏指着厨房的窗户外。天空上出现了三个清清楚楚的小黑点，而且越来越大了。
Harry moved forward. The letter addressed to him was tied to the leg of the owl in the middle. He untied it with fumbling fingers. To his left, Ron was trying to detach his own results; to his right, Hermione’s hands were shaking so much she was making her whole owl tremble.
哈利凑上前去。中间的那只猫头鹰腿上绑的信封上写着他的名字。他用不听使唤的手指把信封取了下来。在他左边，罗恩也在手忙脚乱地解下他的考试成绩；在他右边，赫敏的手抖得太厉害了，连带得她那只猫头鹰也全身发抖了。
“They’re definitely owls,” said Ron hoarsely, jumping up to join Hermione at the window.
“肯定是猫头鹰。”罗恩哑着嗓子说，跳过去和赫敏一起站在窗口。
“And there are three of them,” said Harry, hastening to her other side.
“一共有三只。”哈利说着也奔过去站在赫敏的另一边。
“One for each of us,” said Hermione in a terrified whisper. “Oh no… oh no… oh no…”
“我们每人一只，”赫敏惊慌地小声说，“哦，不…哦，不…哦，不…”
“Oh no!” squealed Hermione.
“哦，不！”赫敏尖叫道。
The owls were flying directly at the Burrow, three handsome tawnies, each of which, it became clear as they flew lower over the path leading up to the house, was carrying a large square envelope.
猫头鹰径直朝陋居飞来，是三只漂亮的黄褐色猫头鹰，当它们降低高度、在通向房子的那条小路上空飞过时，他们看清了每只猫头鹰都抓着一个方方的大信封。
Acceptable (A)
及格（Ａ）
Astronomy A
天文学：Ａ
Outstanding (O)
优秀（Ｏ）
Harry read the parchment through several times, his breathing becoming easier with each reading. It was all right: he had always known that he would fail Divination, and he had had no chance of passing History of Magic, given that he had collapsed halfway through the examination, but he had passed everything else! He ran his finger down the grades… he had passed well in Transfiguration and Herbology, he had even exceeded expectations at Potions! And best of all, he had achieved “Outstanding” at Defense Against the Dark Arts!
哈利拿着羊皮纸反复看了几遍，他的呼吸越来越自如了。还好，他早就知道他的占卜课不会及格，而魔法史考试进行到一半时他病倒了，肯定没有希望通过，其他几门功课居然都过关了！他的手指在成绩单上滑过…变形术和草药学成绩不错，就连魔药学也得了个“良”！最棒的是，他的黑魔法防御术竟然得了“优秀”！
Exceeds Expectations (E)
良好（Ｅ）
Transfiguration E
变形术：Ｅ
Fail Grades:
不合格成绩：
History of Magic D
魔法史：Ｄ
Divination P
占卜学：Ｐ
Herbology E
草药学：Ｅ
Nobody in the kitchen spoke. At last, Harry managed to detach the envelope. He slit it open quickly and unfolded the parchment inside.
厨房里谁也没有说话。最后，哈利终于把信封解了下来。他赶紧撕开信封，展开里面的羊皮纸。
He looked around. Hermione had her back to him and her head bent, but Ron was looking delighted.
他扭头看去，赫敏背对着他，低着脑袋，罗恩倒是满脸喜色。
Pass Grades:
合格成绩：
Care of Magical Creatures E
保护神奇生物：Ｅ
Poor (P)
差（Ｐ）
Troll (T)
极差（Ｔ）
Dreadful (D)
很差（Ｄ）
Potions E
魔药学：Ｅ
Defense Against the Dark Arts O
黑魔法防御术：Ｏ
Ordinary Wizarding Level Results
普通巫师等级考试成绩
Harry James Potter has achieved:
哈利·詹姆·波特成绩如下：
Charms E
魔咒学：Ｅ
“Knew you’d be top at Defense Against the Dark Arts,” said Ron, punching Harry on the shoulder. “We’ve done all right, haven’t we?”
“我就知道你会在黑魔法防御术上拔尖，”罗恩捶了一下哈利的肩膀，说道，“我们都干得不错，是不是？”
“Only failed Divination and History of Magic, and who cares about them?” he said happily to Harry. “Here… swap…”
“只有占卜课和魔法史没及格，谁在乎那些玩意儿？”他高兴地对哈利说，“给——交换——”
Harry glanced down Ron’s grades: There were no “Outstandings” there…
哈利低头看了一眼罗恩的成绩单：没有一个“优秀”…
“Hermione?” said Ginny tentatively, for Hermione still hadn’t turned around. “How did you do?”
“赫敏？”金妮试探地叫道，因为赫敏仍然没有转过身来，“你成绩怎么样？”
“Oh, come off it,” said Ron, striding over to her and whipping her results out of her hand. “Yep… ten ‘Outstandings’ and one ‘Exceeds Expectations’ at Defense Against the Dark Arts.” He looked down at her, half-amused, half-exasperated. “You’re actually disappointed, aren’t you?”
“哦，得了吧，”罗恩三步并作两步走到她跟前，一把从她手里抢过成绩单，“嘿——十个‘优秀’，一个‘良好’——是黑魔法防御术。”他半是好笑、半是恼火地低头看着她。“你竟然还觉得失望，是吗？”
“Well, we’re N. E. W. T. students now!” grinned Ron. “Mum, are there any more sausages?”
“太好了，我们现在是N.E.W.Ts的学生了！”罗恩笑着说，“妈妈，还有香肠吗？”
Hermione shook her head, but Harry laughed.
赫敏摇了摇头，哈利笑了起来。
“Well done!” said Mrs. Weasley proudly, ruffling Ron’s hair. “Seven O. W. L. s, that’s more than Fred and George got together!”
“不错！”韦斯莱夫人骄傲地说，揉了揉罗恩的头发，“O·W·L·s过了七门，比弗雷德和乔治加在一起还多！”
“I — not bad,” said Hermione in a small voice.
“我——还好。”赫敏小声说。
Harry looked back down at his results. They were as good as he could have hoped for. He felt just one tiny twinge of regret… This was the end of his ambition to become an Auror. He had not secured the required Potions grade. He had known all along that he wouldn’t, but he still felt a sinking in his stomach as he looked again at that small black E.
哈利又低头看着他的成绩单。他考得不错，跟他所预想的差不多。他只是感到有一点小小的遗憾…他想要成为一名傲罗的理想破灭了。他的魔药学成绩没有达到要求。他早就知道会是这样，但此刻再一次看着那个黑色的小字母“Ｅ”，他仍然感到心里沉甸甸的。
It was odd, really, seeing that it had been a Death Eater in disguise who had first told Harry he would make a good Auror, but somehow the idea had taken hold of him, and he couldn’t really think of anything else he would like to be. Moreover, it had seemed the right destiny for him since he had heard the prophecy a few weeks ago… Neither can live while the other survives… Wouldn’t he be living up to the prophecy, and giving himself the best chance of survival, if he joined those highly trained wizards whose job it was to find and kill Voldemort?
说来奇怪，最初告诉哈利他会成为一名出色的傲罗的，是一个伪装的食死徒，但不知怎的，这个想法在哈利心里生了根，他想象不出除此之外他还愿意做什么。而且，自从一个月前听了那个预言之后，这似乎已是他注定的命运…两个人不能都活着…如果他加入那支足智多谋、以追捕和消灭伏地魔为己任的巫师队伍，他岂不是就能实施那个预言，给自己一个最大的生存机会吗？
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