HPMOR 第13章｜问错了问题（中英对照）

Elen sila J. K. Rowling omentielvo.

在我们相会的那一刻，一颗星辰正照耀着 J·K·罗琳。

EDIT: Don't panic. I solemnly swear that there is a logical, foreshadowed, canon-compliant explanation for everything which happens in this chapter. It's a puzzle, you're supposed to try to solve it, and if not, just read the next chapter.

编者按：别慌。我庄严起誓，本章发生的每一件事，都有一个合逻辑、早有铺垫、且不乱改原著设定的解释。这是个谜题，本来就该由你来试着破解；要是不想动脑，直接翻到下一章就行。

<em>"That's one of the most obvious riddles I've ever heard."</em>

「这是我听过的最明显的谜语了。」

As soon as Harry opened his eyes in the Ravenclaw first-year boys' dormitory, on the morning of his first full day at Hogwarts, he knew something was wrong.

这是哈利在霍格沃茨度过的第一个完整日子。当天清晨，他在拉文克劳一年级男生宿舍里睁开眼，立刻就意识到有什么不对劲。

It was quiet.

太安静了。

<em>Too</em> quiet.

安静得<em>过了头</em>。

Oh, right... There was a Quietus Charm on his bed's headboard, controlled by a small slider bar, which was the only reason it was ever possible for anyone to go to sleep in Ravenclaw.

哦，对了……他的床头板上有一道静音咒，靠一根小滑杆控制；拉文克劳的人之所以还能睡得着，全靠它了。

Harry sat up and looked around, expecting to see others rising for the day -

哈利坐起身来，环顾四周，满以为能看到别人也正起床迎接新的一天——

The dorm, empty.

宿舍里空无一人。

The beds, rumpled and unmade.

床铺乱糟糟的，没叠。

The sun, coming in at a rather high angle.

阳光从很高的角度斜斜地照进来。

His Quieter turned all the way up to maximum.

他的「静音器」被一路拨到了最大。

And his mechanical alarm clock was still running, but the alarm was turned off.

而他那台机械闹钟还在走，可闹铃却被关掉了。

He'd been allowed to sleep until 9:52 AM, apparently. Despite his best efforts to synchronize his 26-hour sleep cycle to his arrival at Hogwarts, he hadn't gotten to sleep last night until around 1AM. He'd been planning to wake up at 7:00AM with the other students, he could stand being a little sleep-deprived his first day so long as he got some sort of magical fix before tomorrow. But now he'd missed breakfast. And his very first class at Hogwarts, in Herbology, had started one hour and twenty-two minutes ago.

显然，有人让他一直睡到了上午 9:52。尽管他费尽力气，想把自己 26 小时的睡眠周期调到和抵达霍格沃茨的时间对得上，昨晚他还是拖到将近凌晨 1 点才睡着。他原本计划和其他同学一样 7 点起床；第一天稍微缺觉也能忍，只要在明天之前能找到某种魔法上的补救。可如今，他错过了早餐。而他在霍格沃茨的第一堂课——草药学——已经开课一小时二十二分钟了。

The anger was slowly, slowly wakening in him. Oh, what a nice little prank. Turn off his alarm. Turn up the Quieter. And let Mr. Bigshot Harry Potter miss his first class, and be blamed for being a heavy sleeper.

一股怒气在他心里一点一点、慢慢地苏醒。哦，多漂亮的恶作剧。关掉他的闹钟，拨大他的静音器，然后让那位了不得的「大人物」哈利·波特错过第一堂课，再给他扣上一顶「睡得死沉」的帽子。

When Harry found out who'd done this...

等哈利查出是谁干的……

No, this could only have been done with the cooperation of all twelve other boys in the Ravenclaw dorm. All of them would have seen his sleeping form. All of them had let him sleep through breakfast.

不对，这件事非得拉文克劳宿舍里另外十二个男孩全体配合才做得成。他们都会看见他熟睡的模样，也都眼睁睁看着他睡过了早餐。

The anger drained away, replaced by confusion and a horribly wounded feeling. They'd <em>liked</em> him. He'd thought. Last night, he'd thought they liked him. <em>Why...</em>

怒气一下子泄了，取而代之的是困惑和一种被深深刺伤的感觉。他们是<em>喜欢</em>他的——他这么以为。就在昨晚，他还以为他们是喜欢他的。<em>为什么……</em>

As Harry stepped out of the bed, he saw a piece of paper facing out from his headboard.

哈利下床时，看到床头板上贴着一张纸，正冲着他。

The paper said,

纸上写着：

<em>My fellow Ravenclaws,</em>

<em>各位拉文克劳同学，</em>

<em>It's been an extra long day. Please let me sleep in and don't worry about my missing breakfast. I haven't forgotten about my first class.</em>

<em>今天实在漫长得过分。请让我多睡一会儿，别担心我错过早餐。我并没有忘记我的第一堂课。</em>

<em>Yours,
Harry Potter.</em>

<em>你们的，
哈利·波特。</em>

And Harry stood there, frozen, ice water beginning to trickle through his veins.

哈利僵在原地，动弹不得，一股冰水开始顺着他的血管淌过。

The paper was in his own handwriting, in his own mechanical pencil.

纸上的字是他自己的笔迹，用的是他自己的自动铅笔。

And he didn't remember writing it.

而他完全不记得自己写过这张字条。

And... Harry squinted at the piece of paper. And unless he was imagining it, the words "I haven't forgotten" were written in a different style, as if he was trying to tell himself something...?

而且……哈利眯起眼，盯着这张纸。除非是他的错觉，「我没有忘记」这几个字用的是另一种笔迹，仿佛他正设法向自己传递某种信息……？

Had he <em>known</em> he was going to be Obliviated? Had he stayed up late, committed some sort of crime or covert activity, and then... but he didn't <em>know</em> the Obliviate spell... had someone else... what...

他是不是<em>预先知道</em>自己会被施遗忘咒？难道他熬了夜，干了什么见不得人的勾当，或者某种秘密活动，然后……可他并不会<em>放</em>遗忘咒……难道是别人……到底是怎么回事……

A thought occurred to Harry. If he <em>had</em> known he was going to be Obliviated...

哈利心里冒出一个念头。如果他<em>真的</em>事先知道自己会被施遗忘咒……

Still in his pyjamas, Harry ran around his bed to his trunk, pressed his thumb against the lock, pulled out his pouch, stuck in his hand and said "Note to myself."

哈利还穿着睡衣，绕过床跑到箱子前，把拇指按在锁上，掏出莫克皮袋，把手伸进去，说了一句「给我自己的留言。」

And another piece of paper popped into his hand.

又一张纸片跳进了他手里。

Harry took it out, staring at it. It too was in his own handwriting.

哈利把它掏出来，盯着看。上面同样是他的笔迹。

The note said:

字条上写着：

<em>Dear Me,</em>

<em>亲爱的自己，</em>

<em>Please play the game. You can only play the game once in a lifetime. This is an irreplaceable opportunity.</em>

<em>请玩这个游戏。一个人一辈子只能玩一次。这是无法重来的机会。</em>

<em>Recognition code 927, I am a potato.</em>

<em>识别码 927，我是一个土豆。</em>

<em>Yours,
You.</em>

<em>你的，
你自己。</em>

Harry nodded slowly. "Recognition code 927, I am a potato" was indeed the message he had worked out in advance - some years earlier, while watching TV - that only he would know. If he had to identify a duplicate of himself as being really <em>him,</em> or something. Just in case. Be Prepared.

哈利缓缓点头。「识别码 927，我是一个土豆」——这确实是他早在几年前看电视时就编好的暗号，只有他自己知道。万一哪天要辨认一个复制品是不是<em>他本人</em>，诸如此类。以防万一。时刻准备着。

Harry couldn't <em>trust</em> the message, there might be other spells involved. But it ruled out any simple prank. He had definitely written this and he definitely didn't remember writing it.

哈利<em>不敢</em>轻信这则留言，里面可能牵扯别的咒语。可它至少排除了一场简单的恶作剧：他确实写了这东西，也确实不记得自己写过。

Staring at the paper, Harry became aware of ink showing through from the other side.

盯着这张纸，哈利注意到背面透出墨迹。

He flipped it over.

他把纸翻了过来。

The reverse side read:

背面写着：

<em>INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE GAME:</em>

<em>游戏说明：</em>

<em>you do not know the rules of the game
you do not know the stakes of the game
you do not know the objective of the game</em><em>
you do not know who controls the game
you do not know how to end the game</em>

<em>你不知道游戏的规则，
你不知道这场游戏赌的是什么，
你不知道游戏的目的，
你不知道谁在操控游戏，
你不知道如何结束游戏。</em>

<em>You start with 100 points.
Begin.</em>

<em>你从 100 分开始。
开始吧。</em>

Harry stared at the "instructions". This side wasn't handwritten; the writing was perfectly regular, hence artificial. It looked as if it had been inscribed by a Quotes Quill, such as the one he'd bought to take dictation.

哈利瞪着这堆「说明」。这一面不是手写的；字迹规整得过了头，一看就是人工制品。看起来像是用速记羽毛笔写出来的——他就买过一支，用来记下别人说的话。

He had <em>absolutely no clue</em> what was going on.

他对眼前发生的这一切<em>毫无头绪</em>。

Well... step one was to get dressed and eat. Maybe reverse the order of that. His stomach felt rather empty.

好吧……第一步是穿好衣服、吃点东西。也许顺序该倒过来。他的肚子已经空得发慌。

He'd missed breakfast, of course, but he was Prepared for that eventuality, having visualised it in advance. Harry put his hand into his pouch and said "Snack bars", expecting to get the box of cereal bars he'd bought before departing for Hogwarts.

他当然错过了早餐，可他对这种情况早有准备，事先就在脑子里预演过。哈利把手伸进袋子里，说了一句「零食棒」，指望拿到出发去霍格沃茨前买的那盒麦片棒。

What popped up did not feel like a box of cereal bars.

可冒出来的东西，摸起来不像是那盒麦片棒。

When Harry brought his hand into his field of vision he saw two tiny candy bars - not nearly enough for a meal - attached to a note, and the note was inscribed in the same writing as the game instructions.

哈利把手举到眼前，看到两根小小的糖果棒——远不够填一顿肚子——还系着一张字条，字条上的字和游戏说明是同样的刻印体。

The note said:

字条上写着：

ATTEMPT FAILED: -1 POINT
CURRENT POINTS: 99
PHYSICAL STATE: STILL HUNGRY
MENTAL STATE: CONFUSED

尝试失败：-1 分
当前分数：99
身体状况：仍然饥饿
精神状态：困惑

"Gleehhhhh" Harry's mouth said without any sort of conscious intervention or decision on his part.

「咯——」哈利的嘴自顾自地发出这个声音，完全没经过他意识的干预或决定。

He stood there for around a minute.

他就那样站了大约一分钟。

One minute later, it <em>still</em> didn't make any sense and he <em>still</em> had absolutely no idea what was going on and his brain hadn't even <em>begun</em> to grasp at any <em>hypotheses</em> like his mental hands were encased in rubber balls and couldn't pick anything up.

一分钟之后，这事<em>仍旧</em>毫无道理，他<em>仍旧</em>完全不知道正在发生什么，他的脑子甚至还没<em>开始</em>去抓什么<em>假设</em>——就像他的心智之手被套进了橡胶球里，什么都抓不起来。

His stomach, which had its own priorities, suggested a possible experimental probe.

他的胃有着自己的优先级，提出了一项可能的实验。

"Ah..." Harry said to the empty room. "I don't suppose I could spend a point and get my box of cereal bars back?"

「呃……」哈利对着空荡荡的房间说，「我猜，我能不能花一分，把我的那盒麦片棒换回来？」

There was only silence.

回答他的只有沉默。

Harry put his hand into the pouch and said "Box of cereal bars."

哈利把手伸进袋里，说了一句「一盒麦片棒。」

A box that felt like the right shape popped up into his hand... but it was too light, and it was open, and it was empty, and the note attached to it said:

一个形状感觉是对的盒子跳进了他手里……可它太轻了，而且是开着的，里面是空的，系在上面的字条写着：

POINTS SPENT: 1
CURRENT POINTS: 98
YOU HAVE GAINED: A BOX OF CEREAL BARS

已花费分数：1
当前分数：98
你已获得：一盒麦片棒

"I'd like to spend one point and get the <em>actual cereal bars</em> back," said Harry.

「我想花一分，把<em>真正的麦片棒</em>换回来。」哈利说。

Again, silence.

依旧只有沉默。

Harry put his hand into the pouch and said "cereal bars".

哈利把手伸进袋里，说了一句「麦片棒。」

Nothing came up.

什么也没有冒出来。

Harry shrugged despairingly and went over to the cabinet he'd been given near his bed, to get his wizard's robes for the day.

哈利绝望地耸耸肩，走到床边分给他的那个柜子前，去拿今天要穿的巫师长袍。

On the floor of the cabinet, under his robes, were the cereal bars, and a note:

柜子底下，他的袍子下面，放着麦片棒，还有一张字条：

POINTS SPENT: 1
CURRENT POINTS: 97
YOU HAVE GAINED: 6 CEREAL BARS
YOU ARE STILL WEARING: PYJAMAS
DO NOT EAT WHILE YOU ARE WEARING YOUR PYJAMAS
YOU WILL GET A PYJAMA PENALTY

已花费分数：1
当前分数：97
你已获得：6 根麦片棒
你仍然穿着：睡衣
穿着睡衣时不得进食
否则将受到睡衣处罚

<em>And now I know that whoever controls the game is insane.</em>

<em>于是现在我明白了，无论是谁在操控这个游戏，他都不正常。</em>

"My guess is that the game is controlled by Dumbledore," Harry said out loud. Maybe <em>this</em> time he could set a new land speed record for being quick on the uptake.

「我猜，这游戏是邓布利多在操控。」哈利大声说。也许<em>这一次</em>，他能在「反应快」这件事上创下新的陆地速度纪录。

Silence.

沉默。

But Harry was starting to pick up the pattern; the note would be in the next place he looked. So Harry looked under his bed.

但哈利开始摸到规律了：字条准会出现在他接下来要看的地方。于是哈利往床底下看去。

HA! HA HA HA HA HA!
HA HA HA HA HA HA!
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
DUMBLEDORE DOES NOT CONTROL THE GAME
BAD GUESS
VERY BAD GUESS
-20 POINTS
AND YOU ARE STILL WEARING PYJAMAS
IT IS YOUR FOURTH MOVE
AND YOU ARE STILL WEARING PYJAMAS
PYJAMA PENALTY: -2 POINTS
CURRENT POINTS: 75

哈！哈 哈 哈 哈 哈 哈！
哈 哈 哈 哈 哈 哈 哈！
哈！哈！哈！哈！哈！哈！
邓布利多并不操控游戏
猜错了
大错特错
-20 分
而你仍然穿着睡衣
这是你的第四步
而你仍然穿着睡衣
睡衣处罚：-2 分
当前分数：75

Welp, that was a puzzler, all right. It was only his first day at school and once you ruled out Dumbledore, he didn't know the name of anyone else here who was this crazy.

好吧，这确实够让人摸不着头脑的。这才是他上学的第一天，一旦排除了邓布利多，他真想不出这地方还有哪个疯到这种程度的家伙。

His body more or less on autopilot, Harry gathered up a set of robes and underwear, pulled out the cavern level of his trunk (he was a very private sort of person and someone might walk into the dorm), got dressed, and then went back upstairs to put away his pyjamas.

哈利几乎全凭身体自己行动：他拢起一套袍子和内衣，抽出箱子里的「洞穴夹层」（他是个很注重隐私的人，保不齐有人会走进宿舍），换好衣服，然后回到楼上把睡衣收起来。

Harry paused before pulling out the cabinet drawer that held his pyjamas. If the pattern here held true...

在拉开装睡衣的那个抽屉前，哈利停住了。如果这里的规律也成立的话……

"How can I earn more points?" Harry said out loud.

「我要怎样才能多得几分？」哈利大声说。

Then he pulled out the drawer.

然后他拉开了抽屉。

OPPORTUNITIES TO DO GOOD ARE EVERYWHERE
BUT DARKNESS IS WHERE THE LIGHT NEEDS TO BE
COST OF QUESTION: 1 POINT
CURRENT POINTS: 74
NICE UNDERWEAR
DID YOUR MOTHER PICK THEM OUT?

行善的机会无处不在
而黑暗正是最需要光的地方
提问费用：1 分
当前分数：74
内裤不错
是你妈妈替你挑的吗？

Harry crushed the note in his hand, face flaming scarlet. Draco's curse came back to him. <em>Son of a mudblood -</em>

哈利把字条捏成一团，脸涨得通红。德拉科的咒骂回到他心头。<em>泥巴种的儿子——</em>

At this point he knew better than to say it out loud. He would probably get a Profanity Penalty.

到这一步，他已经学乖了，不会把这话说出口。他多半会被扣一笔「脏话罚分」。

Harry girded himself with his mokeskin pouch and wand. He peeled off the wrapper of one his cereal bars and threw it into the room's rubbish bin, where it landed atop a mostly-uneaten Chocolate Frog, a crumpled envelope and some green and red wrapping paper. He put the other cereal bars into his mokeskin pouch.

哈利带上莫克皮袋和魔杖，把自己武装妥当。他剥开其中一根麦片棒的包装纸，把它扔进房间的垃圾桶里——那包装纸落在一片几乎没动过的巧克力蛙、一个揉皱的信封和几张红绿包装纸上。他把其余的麦片棒放进莫克皮袋里。

He looked around in a final, desperate, and ultimately futile search for clues.

他环顾四周，做了一次最后的、绝望的、终究徒劳的线索搜寻。

And then Harry left the dorm, eating as he went, in search of the Slytherin dungeons. At least that was what he <em>thought</em> the line was about.

然后哈利离开宿舍，边走边吃，去寻找斯莱特林地牢。至少他是这么<em>猜</em>那句提示的意思。

Trying to navigate the halls of Hogwarts was like... probably <em>not</em> quite as bad as wandering around inside an Escher painting, that was the sort of thing you said for rhetorical effect rather than for its being true.

在霍格沃茨的走廊里找路，就像……大概<em>没有</em>在埃舍尔的画里乱转那么糟；那种说法，多半是为了修辞效果，而不是真那么回事。

A short time later, Harry was thinking that in fact an Escher painting would have both pluses and minuses compared to Hogwarts. Minuses: No consistent gravitational orientation. Pluses: At least the stairs wouldn't move around <em>WHILE YOU WERE STILL ON THEM.</em>

过了一会儿，哈利心想，跟霍格沃茨比起来，埃舍尔的画其实既有优点也有缺点。缺点：没有一致的重力方向。优点：至少楼梯不会<em>在你还站在上面的时候</em>移动。

Harry had originally climbed four flights of stairs to get to his dorm. After clambering down no fewer than twelve flights of stairs without getting anywhere near the dungeons, Harry had concluded that (1) an Escher painting would be a <em>cakewalk</em> by comparison, (2) he was somehow <em>higher</em> in the castle than when he'd started, and (3) he was so <em>thoroughly</em> lost that he wouldn't have been surprised to look out of the next window and see two moons in the sky.

哈利当初是爬了四段楼梯才回到自己宿舍的。可他一口气往下走了不下十二段楼梯，却离地牢仍差得老远。于是他得出结论：(1) 相比之下，埃舍尔的画简直是<em>小菜一碟</em>；(2) 不知怎么，他在这座城堡里的位置竟<em>更高</em>了；(3) 他彻底<em>迷</em>了路，以至于从下一扇窗户望出去，哪怕看见天上挂着两个月亮，他也不会觉得意外。

Backup plan A had been to stop and ask for directions, but there seemed to be an extreme lack of people wandering around, as if the beggars were all attending class the way they were supposed to or something.

备用方案 A 是停下来找人问路，可周围似乎极其缺人闲逛，仿佛其他人都规规矩矩地去上课了，诸如此类。

Backup plan B...

备用方案 B……

"I'm lost," Harry said out loud. "Can, um, the spirit of the Hogwarts castle help me or something?"

「我迷路了。」哈利大声说，「那个，嗯，霍格沃茨城堡的灵，能不能帮帮我什么的？」

"I don't think this castle has a spirit," observed a wizened old lady in one of the paintings on the walls. "Life, perhaps, but not spirit."

「我觉得这座城堡并没有灵。」墙上一幅画像里，一位枯瘦的老妇人开口说道，「它或许有生命，但说不上有灵。」

There was a brief pause.

短暂的停顿。

"Are you -" Harry said, and then shut his mouth. On second thought, no he was NOT going to ask the painting whether it was fully conscious in the sense of being aware of its own awareness.

「您是不是——」哈利说了一半，又闭上嘴。转念一想，不，他<em>绝不</em>会去问这幅画像，问它是否拥有那种能意识自身意识的完整自觉。

"I'm Harry Potter," said his mouth, more or less on autopilot. Also more or less automatically, Harry stuck out a hand towards the painting.

「我是哈利·波特。」他的嘴差不多是在自动地说。哈利也差不多是自动地把一只手朝画像伸了过去。

The woman in the painting looked down at Harry's hand and raised her eyebrows.

画像里的女人低头看着哈利的手，挑了挑眉毛。

Slowly, the hand dropped back to Harry's side.

那只手又慢慢地放回哈利身侧。

"Sorry," Harry said, "I'm sort of new here."

「抱歉，」哈利说，「我算是新来的。」

"So I perceive, young raven. Where are you trying to go?"

「我也看出来了，小渡鸦。你这是要去哪儿？」

Harry hesitated. "I'm not really sure," he said.

哈利犹豫了一下。「我也说不太准。」他说。

"Then perhaps you are already there."

「那你或许已经到了。」

"Well, wherever I <em>am</em> trying to go, I don't think <em>this</em> is it..." Harry shut his mouth, aware of just how much he was sounding like an idiot. "Let me start over. I'm playing this game only I don't know what the rules are -" That didn't really work either, did it. "Okay, third try. I'm looking for opportunities to do good so I can score points, and all I have is this cryptic hint about how darkness is where the light needs to be, so I was trying to go down but I seem to keep going up instead..."

「呃，不管我<em>想</em>去哪儿，我都觉得<em>这儿</em>不是……」哈利闭上嘴，意识到自己听起来有多像个笨蛋。「我重来。我在玩一个游戏，可我不知道规则——」那说法好像也不行，对吧。「好，第三次尝试。我在找行善的机会好拿分，而我就只有这么一句晦涩的提示，说什么黑暗正是最需要光的地方，所以我本想往下走，结果却好像一直在往上爬……」

The old lady in the painting was looking at him rather sceptically.

画像里的老太太相当狐疑地看着他。

Harry sighed. "My life tends to get a bit peculiar."

哈利叹了口气。「我的人生难免有点离奇。」

"Would it be fair to say that you don't know where you're going or why you're trying to get there?"

「说你既不知道自己要去哪儿、也不知道为什么要去那儿，这样讲算公平吗？」

"<em>Entirely</em> fair."

「<em>完全</em>公平。」

The old lady nodded. "I'm not sure that being lost is your most important problem, young man."

老太太点点头。「年轻人，我不觉得迷路是你最要紧的问题。」

"True, but unlike the more important problems, it's a problem I can understand how to solve and <em>wow</em> is this conversation turning into a metaphor for human existence, I didn't even realise that was happening until just now."

「说得对，但它跟那些更要紧的问题不一样，至少这是个我知道该怎么解决的问题。而且——<em>哇哦</em>，这场对话居然变成了对人类生存的一种隐喻，我直到刚才才意识到。」

The lady eyed Harry appraisingly. "You <em>are</em> a fine young raven, aren't you? For a moment I was starting to wonder. Well then, as a general rule, if you keep on turning left, you're bound to keep going down."

老妇人带着打量地看了哈利一眼。「你<em>确实</em>是只漂亮的小渡鸦，对吧？有一阵子我都要起疑了。那么，按一般规律，只要你一直往左拐，你就必定会一路向下。」

That sounded strangely familiar but Harry couldn't recall where he'd heard it before. "Um... you seem like a very intelligent person. Or a picture of a very intelligent person... anyway, have you heard of a mysterious game where you can only play once, and they won't tell you the rules?"

这话听起来莫名耳熟，可哈利想不起在哪儿听过。「嗯……你看起来是个很聪明的人。或者说，是一幅聪明人的画像……总之，你听说过一个神秘的游戏吗？只能玩一次，而且不告诉你规则。」

"Life," said the lady at once. "That's one of the most obvious riddles I've ever heard."

「人生。」老妇人脱口而出，「这是我听过的最明显的谜语了。」

Harry blinked. "No," he said slowly. "I mean I got an actual note and everything saying that I had to play the game but I wouldn't be told the rules, and someone is leaving me little slips of paper telling me how many points I've lost for violating the rules, like a minus two point penalty for wearing pyjamas. Do you know anyone here at Hogwarts who's crazy enough and powerful enough to do something like that? Besides Dumbledore, I mean?"

哈利眨了眨眼。「不是的，」他慢慢说道，「我的意思是我真的收到一张字条之类的东西，说我必须玩这个游戏，但不会告诉我规则；还有人不断给我留下一张张小纸条，告诉我因为违反规则被扣了多少分，比如因为穿睡衣被扣两分。你知道霍格沃茨这儿有谁疯得出这种主意，又有本事把它办到吗？我说的是，除了邓布利多以外？」

The picture of a lady sighed. "I'm only a picture, young man. I remember Hogwarts as it was - not Hogwarts as it is. All I can tell you is that if this were a riddle, the answer would be that the game is life, and that while we do not make all the rules ourselves, the one who awards or takes points is always you. If it is not riddle but reality - then I do not know."

画像里的妇人叹了口气。「我只是一幅画罢了，年轻人。我记得的是霍格沃茨<em>过去</em>的样子，而不是它现在的样子。我唯一能告诉你的是：假如这是个谜语，答案就是——这个游戏就是人生；而尽管规则不全是我们自己定的，可那个记分、扣分的，始终是你自己。假如这不是谜语而是现实——那我不知道。」

Harry bowed very low to the picture. "Thank you, milady."

哈利朝画像深深鞠了一躬。「谢谢您，夫人。」

The lady curtseyed to him. "I wish I could say that I'll remember you with fondness," she said, "but I probably won't remember you at all. Farewell, Harry Potter."

老妇人向他行了个屈膝礼。「但愿我能说，我会满怀好感地记住你，」她说，「可我多半根本不会记得你。再会了，哈利·波特。」

He bowed again in reply, and started to climb down the nearest flight of stairs.

他再次鞠躬作答，然后顺着最近的一段楼梯往下走。

Four left turns later he found himself staring down a corridor that ended, abruptly, in a tumbled mound of large rocks - as if there had been a cave-in, only the surrounding walls and ceiling were intact and made of quite regular castle stones.

拐过四个左弯之后，他发现自己正盯着一条走廊的尽头——那里突兀地堆着一大堆乱石，仿佛发生过坍塌，可周围的墙壁和天花板却完好无损，用的都是相当规整的城堡石料。

"All right," Harry said to the empty air, "I give up. I'm asking for another hint. How do I get to where I need to go?"

「好吧，」哈利对着空荡荡的空气说，「我认输。我要再讨一个提示。我怎样才能到该去的地方？」

"A hint! A hint, you say?"

「提示！你说提示？」

The excited voice came from a painting on the wall not far away, this one a portrait of a middle-aged man in the loudest pink robes that Harry had ever seen or even imagined. In the portrait he was wearing a droopy old pointed hat with a fish on it (not a drawing of a fish, mind, but a fish).

那兴奋的声音来自不远处墙上的一幅画，画中是一位中年男子，穿着哈利见过甚至想象过的最招摇的粉色长袍。在他的画像里，他戴着一顶耷拉着的旧尖顶帽，帽子上有一条鱼（可不是画上去的鱼，而是一条真鱼）。

"Yes!" Harry said. "A hint! A hint, I say! Only not just <em>any</em> hint, I'm looking for a <em>specific</em> hint, it's for a game I'm playing -"

「对对对！」哈利说，「提示！我说，提示！不过不是<em>随便</em>一个提示，我要的是<em>特定</em>的提示，是给我正在玩的这个游戏的——」

"Yes, yes! A hint for the game! You're Harry Potter, aren't you? I'm Cornelion Flubberwalt! I was told by Erin the Consort who was told by Lord Weaselnose who was told by, I forget really. But it was a message for <em>me</em> to give to you! For <em>me!</em> No one's cared about me in, I don't know how long, maybe ever, I've been stuck down here in this bloody useless old corridor - a hint! I have your hint! It will only cost you three points! Do you want it?"

「对对对！游戏的提示！你是哈利·波特，对吧？我是科尼利恩·弗拉伯沃尔特！是艾琳王妃告诉我的；她又是听韦斯尔诺斯勋爵说的，至于韦斯尔诺斯听谁说的，我真记不清了。反正这消息是<em>我</em>要转交给你的！给<em>我</em>的！我已经不知道多久没人理会过我了，也许从来就没有，我就被困在这条该死的、没用的老走廊里——一个提示！我这儿有你的提示！只要三分！你要不要？」

"Yes! I want it!" Harry was aware that he probably ought to keep his sarcasm under control but he just couldn't seem to help himself.

「要！我要！」哈利知道自己多半该收敛一下那股挖苦劲儿，可他就是忍不住。

"The darkness can be found between the green study rooms and McGonagall's Transfiguration class! That's the hint! And get a move on, you're slower than a sack of snails! Minus ten points for being slow! Now you have 61 points! That was the rest of the message!"

「黑暗就在那些绿色自习室和麦格教授的变形课之间！这就是提示！赶紧动起来，你比一麻袋蜗牛还慢！因为慢扣十分！现在你有 61 分了！这就是消息的其余部分！」

"Thank you," Harry said. He was really getting behind on the game here. "Um... I don't suppose you know where the message <em>originally</em> came from, do you?"

「谢谢你，」哈利说。他在这游戏里可真是越落越远了。「嗯……我说，你该不会知道这条消息<em>最初</em>是从哪儿来的吧？」

"It was spoken by a hollow voice that belled forth from a gap within the air itself, a gap that opened upon a fiery abyss! That's what they told me!"

「是空中的一道裂口里传出的一声空洞嗓音说的，那裂口通向一片火红的深渊！他们就是这么告诉我的！」

Harry was no longer sure, at this point, whether this was the sort of thing he ought to be sceptical about, or the sort of thing he should just take in stride. "And how can I find the line between the green study rooms and Transfiguration class?"

到这一步，哈利也说不准自己该怀疑这种事，还是该把它当成稀松平常。「那我怎样才能找到绿色自习室和变形课之间的那条界线？」

"Just spin back around and go left, right, down, down, right, left, right, up, and left again, you'll be at the green study room and if you go in and walk straight out the opposite side you'll be on a big curvy corridor that goes to an intersection and on the right side of that intersection will be a long straight hallway that goes to the Transfiguration classroom!" The figure of the middle-aged man paused. "At least that's how it was when <em>I</em> was in Hogwarts. This <em>is</em> a Monday on an odd-numbered year, isn't it?"

「你掉头，然后左、右、下、下、右、左、右、上、再左，就能到绿色自习室；进去以后笔直走到对面出口，就会来到一条弯弯绕的大走廊，通向一个路口；路口右边是一条笔直的长过道，直达变形课教室！」画中的中年人顿了顿。「至少<em>我</em>在霍格沃茨那会儿是这样。这<em>是</em>一个奇数年的星期一，对吧？」

"Pencil and mechanical paper," Harry said to his pouch. "Er, cancel that, paper and mechanical pencil." He looked up. "Could you repeat that?"

「铅笔和机械纸，」哈利对袋子说。「呃，撤销这句，纸和机械铅笔。」他抬起头，「你能再说一遍吗？」

After getting lost another two times, Harry felt that he was beginning to understand the basic rule for navigating the ever-changing maze that was Hogwarts, namely, <em>ask a painting for directions</em>. If this reflected some sort of incredibly deep life lesson he couldn't figure out what it was.

又迷路两次之后，哈利觉得自己开始摸清在这座变幻无常的霍格沃茨迷宫里寻路的基本规律了，那就是：<em>向画像问路</em>。如果这背后藏着什么深不可测的人生教训，他说不出那究竟是什么。

The green study room was a surprisingly pleasant space with sunlight streaming in from windows of green-stained glass that showed dragons in calm, pastoral scenes. It had chairs that looked extremely comfortable, and tables that seemed very well-suited to studying in the company of one to three friends.

那间绿色自习室出人意料地宜人，阳光从绘着龙的绿色彩绘玻璃窗里倾泻进来，龙们置身于宁静的田园场景中。里面的椅子看着极为舒适，桌子也像是很适合和一两个、三个朋友一起看书。

Harry couldn't <em>actually</em> walk straight through and out the door on the other side. There were <em>bookshelves</em> set into the wall, and he had to go over and read some of the titles, so as to not lose his claim to the Verres family name. But he did it quickly, mindful of the complaint about being slow, and then went out the other side.

哈利<em>其实</em>没办法径直穿过房间、从对面的门走出去。墙里嵌着<em>书架</em>，他得走过去扫一眼书名，才不至于辱没维雷斯家传的名声。不过他做得很快，心里记着那句嫌他慢的抱怨，然后从另一边出去了。

He was walking down the "big curvy corridor" when he heard a young boy's voice cry out.

他正沿着那条「弯弯绕的大走廊」走着，忽然听见一个男孩的喊叫声。

At times like this, Harry had an excuse to sprint all-out with no regards for saving energy or doing proper warmup exercises or worrying about crashing into things, a sudden frantic flight that nearly came to an equally sudden halt as he almost ran over a group of six first-year Hufflepuffs...

在这种时候，哈利总算有了拼尽全力狂奔的理由——不用管省力气、不用做正规的热身、也不用担心撞上什么。他这一阵突如其来的狂奔，几乎和它开始时一样突如其来地刹住，因为他差点撞上六个一年级的赫奇帕奇……

...who were huddled together, looking rather scared and like they desperately wanted to do something but couldn't figure out what, which probably had something to do with the group of five older Slytherins who seemed to be surrounding another young boy.

……这些赫奇帕奇挤作一团，显得相当害怕，又像是拼命想做点什么却不知道能做什么。这大概和那伙五个年纪更大的斯莱特林有关，他们似乎正围住另一个小男孩。

Harry was suddenly rather angry.

哈利突然有点火了。

"<em>Excuse me!</em> " shouted Harry at the top of his lungs.

「<em>让一让！</em>」哈利扯着嗓子喊道。

It might not have been necessary. People were already looking at him. But it certainly served to stop all the action cold.

这一喊也许并非必要。人们已经在看着他了。不过它确实让现场一下子僵住了。

Harry walked past the cluster of Hufflepuffs towards the Slytherins.

哈利从挤成一团的赫奇帕奇旁边走过，朝那些斯莱特林走去。

They looked down at him with expressions that ranged from anger to amusement to delight.

他们低头看着他，脸上有的愤怒，有的觉得好笑，还有的满心欢喜。

Part of Harry's brain was screaming in panic that these were much older and bigger boys who could stomp him flat.

哈利大脑的一部分正惊恐地尖叫：这些人比他大得多、壮得多，能一脚把他踩扁。

Another part said dryly that anyone caught seriously stomping the Boy-Who-Lived was in for a whole <em>world</em> of trouble, especially if they were a pack of older Slytherins and there were seven Hufflepuffs who saw it, and that the chance of them doing him any permanent damage in the presence of witnesses was nearly zero. The only real weapon the older boys had against him was his own fear, if he allowed that.

另一部分却冷冷地说，谁要是真敢把「大难不死的男孩」狠狠踩上一脚，可就要惹上<em>天大的麻烦</em>，尤其动手的是一伙年长的斯莱特林、旁边又有七个赫奇帕奇看着；当着一堆证人的面，他们几乎不可能对他造成什么永久伤害。这些大男孩真正能用来对付他的武器，只有他自己心里的恐惧——前提是他肯让这种恐惧占了上风。

Then Harry saw that the boy they had trapped was Neville Longbottom.

这时哈利看清，他们困住的那个男孩是纳威·隆巴顿。

Of course.

果然。

That settled it. Harry had decided to apologise humbly to Neville and that meant Neville was <em>his</em>, how <em>dare</em> they?

事情就这么定了。哈利已经决定要低声下气地向纳威道歉，那纳威就是<em>他</em>的人了；他们怎么<em>敢</em>？

Harry reached out and grabbed Neville by the wrist and <em>yanked</em> him out from between the Slytherins, the boy stumbling in shock as Harry pulled him out and in nearly the same motion pushed his own way through the same gap.

哈利伸手抓住纳威的手腕，一把<em>拽</em>他出来，把他从斯莱特林中间拖开；男孩惊愕地踉跄着被拉出来，而哈利几乎在同一瞬间，从同一条缝隙挤了进去。

And Harry stood in the center of the Slytherins where Neville had stood, looking up at the much older, larger, and stronger boys.

于是哈利站到了纳威刚才站的位置——斯莱特林的正中央，仰头看着这群比他年长、高大、健壮得多的男孩。

"Hello," Harry said. "I'm the Boy-Who-Lived."

「你们好，」哈利说，「我就是大难不死的男孩。」

There was a rather awkward pause. No one seemed to know where the conversation was supposed to go from there.

一阵相当尴尬的停顿。似乎没人知道，这场对话接下来该怎么接。

Harry's eyes dropped downwards and saw some books and papers scattered around the floor. Oh, the old game where you let the boy try to pick up his books and then knock them out of his hand again. Harry couldn't remember ever being the object of that game himself, but he had a good imagination and his imagination was making him furious. Well, once the larger situation was resolved it would be easy enough for Neville to come back and pick up his materials, provided that the Slytherins stayed too intent on him to think of doing anything to the books.

哈利的目光落向地面，看到书本和纸张散落一地。哦，就是那套老把戏：先让那男孩弯下腰去捡书，又把书从他手里打掉。哈利不记得自己曾经当过这套把戏的对象，可他很有想象力，而想象力正让他怒火中烧。也罢，等眼前的局面收拾好了，纳威回来捡他的东西应该不难，只要那些斯莱特林把心思都放在他身上，顾不上对书下手就行。

Unfortunately his straying eyes had been noted. "Ooh," said the largest of the boys, "did 'oo want the widdle books -"

不幸的是，他那走神的眼神被注意到了。「唷，」这帮男孩里个子最大的一个说，「你是不是想要那<em>些</em>小书书——」

"Shut up," Harry said coldly. <em>Keep them off balance. Don't do what they expect. Don't fall into a pattern that calls for them to bully you.</em> "Is this part of some incredibly clever plan that will gain you future advantage, or is it as pointless a disgrace to the name of Salazar Slytherin as it -"

「闭嘴，」哈利冷冷地说。<em>让他们失去平衡。别做他们预料的事。别陷进那种招人欺负的套路。</em>「这到底是某个日后能让你占到大便宜的天才计划的一部分，还是说，这只不过是对萨拉查·斯莱特林这个名字的毫无意义的玷污，就像——」

The largest boy shoved Harry Potter hard, and he went sprawling out of the circle of Slytherins onto the hard stone floor of Hogwarts.

最大的那个男孩狠狠地推了哈利·波特一把，害得他踉跄着摔出斯莱特林的圈子，趴倒在霍格沃茨坚硬的石头地板上。

And the Slytherins laughed.

那些斯莱特林哄笑起来。

Harry rose up in what seemed to him like terribly slow motion. He didn't know yet how to use his wand, but there was no reason to let that stop him, under the circumstances.

哈利爬了起来，只觉得自己的动作慢得可怕。他还没学会怎么用魔杖，可眼下他没打算让这点拦住自己。

"I'd like to pay <em>as many points as it takes</em> to get rid of this person," Harry said, pointing with his finger to the largest Slytherin.

「<em>不管要花多少分</em>，我都想除掉这个人，」哈利说，用手指指向那个最大的斯莱特林。

Then Harry lifted his other hand, said "Abracadabra," and snapped his fingers.

然后哈利抬起另一只手，说了一声「阿布拉卡达布拉」，打了个响指。

At the word <em>Abracadabra</em> two of the Hufflepuffs screamed, including Neville, three other Slytherins leapt desperately out of the way of Harry's finger, and the largest Slytherin staggered back with an expression of shock, a sudden splash of red decorating his face and neck and chest.

听到<em>阿布拉卡达布拉</em>这个词，两个赫奇帕奇尖叫起来，纳威也在其中；三个斯莱特林惊恐地往旁边闪开，躲开哈利的手指；而那个最大的斯莱特林带着一脸震惊踉跄后退，红红的一摊东西突然溅在他脸上、脖子上和胸前。

Harry had <em>not</em> been expecting <em>that</em>.

哈利<em>没</em>料到<em>会这样</em>。

Slowly, the largest Slytherin reached up to his head, and peeled off the pan of cherry pie that had just draped itself over him. The largest Slytherin held the pan in his hand for a moment, staring at it, then dropped it to the floor.

最大的那个斯莱特林慢慢地抬起手摸向头顶，把刚刚整个罩在他身上的樱桃派盘子揭了下来。他捏着那个盘子看了一会儿，然后把它丢到地上。

It probably wasn't the best time in the world for one of the Hufflepuffs to start laughing, but that was exactly what one of the Hufflepuffs was doing.

此刻大概不是世上最合适的时机，让某个赫奇帕奇笑出声来，可偏偏就有个赫奇帕奇在这么做。

Then Harry caught sight of the note on the bottom of the pan.

接着哈利瞥见了盘子底部的那张字条。

"Hold on," Harry said, and darted forward to pick up the note. "This note's for me, I think -"

「等等，」哈利说着，冲上前拾起那张字条，「这张字条是给我的，我想——」

"<em>You,"</em> growled the largest Slytherin, "<em>you, are, going, to -</em>"

「<em>你</em>，」最大的那个斯莱特林低吼道，「<em>你，要，被，——</em>」

"<em>Look</em> at this!" shouted Harry, brandishing the note at the older Slytherin. "I mean, just <em>look</em> at this! Can you believe I'm being charged 30 points for shipping and handling on one lousy pie? 30 points! I'm turning a loss on the deal even after rescuing an innocent boy in distress! And storage fees? Conveyance charges? Drayage costs? How do you get <em>drayage costs</em> on a <em>pie?</em> "

「<em>看</em>这个！」哈利朝那个年长的斯莱特林挥着字条大喊，「我说，你<em>看</em>看这个！你能相信吗，就为一个破派，他们收了我 30 分的运费和手续费？30 分！都算上我救下一个落难无辜男孩的功劳，这笔买卖我还是亏的！还有存储费？运输费？搬运费？一个派怎么会有<em>搬运费</em>？」

There was another one of those awkward pauses. Harry thought deadly thoughts at whichever Hufflepuff couldn't seem to stop giggling, that idiot was going to get him hurt.

又是一阵那种尴尬的停顿。哈利对那个怎么也停不下咯咯笑的赫奇帕奇冒出杀人的念头——那个白痴会害他受伤的。

Harry stepped back and shot the Slytherins his best lethal glare. "Now go away or I will just keep making your existence more and more surreal until you do. Let me warn you... messing with <em>my</em> life tends to make <em>your</em> life... <em>a little hairy.</em> Get it?"

哈利后退一步，朝那些斯莱特林投去他最凶悍的致命瞪视。「现在就走，否则我会一直把你们的存在整得越来越超现实，直到你们走为止。我警告你们……折腾<em>我</em>的日子，往往会让<em>你们</em>的日子……<em>变得有点『哈利』。</em>懂了吗？」

In a single terrible motion, the largest Slytherin whipped his wand out to point at Harry and in the same instant was hit on the other side of his head by another pie, this one bright blueberry.

就在一个可怕的瞬间，最大的那个斯莱特林猛地抽出魔杖指向哈利，而同一刻，他脑袋另一边又被一个派砸中，这回是鲜亮的蓝莓派。

The note on this pie was rather large and clearly readable. "You might want to read the note on that pie," Harry observed. "I think it's for you this time."

这个派上的字条相当大，字迹清清楚楚。「你也许该读读那个派上的字条，」哈利旁观道，「我觉得这回是给你的。」

The Slytherin slowly reached up, took the pie pan, turned it over with a wet glop that dropped more blueberry on the floor, and read a note that said:

那个斯莱特林慢慢抬起手，取下派盘，把它翻了过来，随着一声湿漉漉的「啪嗒」，更多的蓝莓滴到地上；他读起字条，上面写着：

WARNING
NO MAGIC MAY BE USED ON THE CONTESTANT
WHILE THE GAME IS IN PROGRESS
FURTHER INTERFERENCE IN THE GAME
WILL BE REPORTED TO THE GAME AUTHORITIES

警告
不得在参赛者身上使用魔法
游戏进行期间
对游戏的进一步干预
将被上报给游戏管理方

The expression of sheer bafflement on the Slytherin's face was a look of art. Harry thought that he might be starting to like this Game Controller.

那个斯莱特林脸上那种彻头彻尾的困惑表情，堪称一门艺术。哈利觉得自己也许开始喜欢这位「游戏操控者」了。

"Look," Harry said, "you want to call it a day? I think things are spiralling out of control here. How about you go back to Slytherin and I go back to Ravenclaw and we all just cool down a bit, okay?"

「听着，」哈利说，「你们今天就想收手了吗？我看这儿的事正一路失控。要不你们回斯莱特林，我回拉文克劳，大家都冷静冷静，好不好？」

"I've got a better idea," hissed the largest Slytherin. "How about if you accidentally break all your fingers?"

「我有个更好的主意，」最大的那个斯莱特林嘶声说道，「要不你『不小心』把自己所有的手指都掰断？」

"How in Merlin's name do you stage a believable accident after making the threat in front of a dozen witnesses, you <em>idiot</em> -"

「到底要怎样当着十几个证人的面放完狠话，再导演一场让人信服的事故，你这<em>蠢货</em>——」

The largest Slytherin slowly, deliberately reached out towards Harry's hands, and Harry froze in place, the part of his brain that was noticing the other boy's age and strength finally managing to make itself heard, screaming, <em>WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING?</em>

最大的那个斯莱特林慢条斯理、蓄意地朝哈利的手伸去，哈利僵在原地，他脑子里那个一直留意着对方年龄和力气的声音，终于冲破其他念头，尖叫起来：<em>我到底在干什么？</em>

"Wait!" said one of the other Slytherins, his voice suddenly panicky. "Stop, you shouldn't actually do that!"

「等等！」另一个斯莱特林喊道，声音突然慌张起来，「住手，你不该真的那么做！」

The largest Slytherin ignored him, taking Harry's right hand firmly in his left hand, and taking Harry's index finger in his right hand.

最大的那个斯莱特林不理他，用左手紧紧攥住哈利的右手，又用右手捏住哈利的食指。

Harry stared the Slytherin straight in the eyes. Part of Harry was screaming, this wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't <em>allowed</em> to happen, grownups would never let something like this <em>actually</em> happen -

哈利直直盯着那个斯莱特林的眼睛。哈利的一部分在尖叫：这事不该发生，这事<em>不该被允许</em>发生，大人绝不会让这种事<em>真的</em>发生——

Slowly, the Slytherin started to bend his index finger backwards.

那个斯莱特林开始慢慢地把他的食指往后掰。

<em>He hasn't actually broken my finger and it is beneath me to so much as flinch until he does. Until then, this is just another attempt to cause fear.</em>

<em>他还没真的掰断我的手指；在他折断之前，连皱一下眉都有失我的身份。到那时为止，这不过是又一次想让我害怕的尝试。</em>

"Stop!" said the Slytherin who had objected before. "Stop, this is a very bad idea!"

「住手！」先前出声反对的那个斯莱特林说道，「停手，这是个非常糟糕的主意！」

"I rather agree," said an icy voice. An older woman's voice.

「我倒也这么认为。」一个冰冷的声音说。那是位年长女人的嗓音。

The largest Slytherin let go of Harry's hand and jumped backwards as if burned.

最大的那个斯莱特林松开了哈利的手，仿佛被烫到一般向后跳开。

"Professor Sprout!" cried one of the Hufflepuffs, sounding as glad as anyone Harry had ever heard in his life.

「斯普劳特教授！」其中一个赫奇帕奇喊道，那声音听起来，像是哈利这辈子听过谁最高兴时才有的语气。

Into Harry's field of vision, as he turned, stalked a dumpy little woman with messily curled grey hair and clothes covered with dirt. She pointed an accusing finger at the Slytherins. "Explain yourselves," she said. "What are you doing with my Hufflepuffs and..." she looked at him. "My fine student, Harry Potter."

哈利转过头，只见一个矮胖的小个子女人大步走进视野。她灰白的卷发乱蓬蓬的，衣服上沾满泥土。她伸出一根手指，带着指责的意味指向那些斯莱特林。「解释一下吧，」她说，「你们在对我的赫奇帕奇做什么，还有……」她看向哈利，「我亲爱的学生，哈利·波特。」

<em>Uh oh. That's right, it was HER class I missed this morning.</em>

<em>糟糕。没错，我今天早上错过的是</em>她<em>的课。</em>

"He threatened to kill us!" blurted one of the other Slytherins, the same one who'd called for a halt.

「他威胁要杀死我们！」另一个斯莱特林脱口而出，正是刚才喊停的那个。

"What?" Harry said blankly. "I did <em>not!</em> If I was going to kill you I wouldn't make public threats first!"

「什么？」哈利茫然地说，「我<em>没有</em>！如果我真要杀你，我才不会先当众放狠话呢！」

A third Slytherin laughed helplessly and then stopped abruptly as the other boys shot him deadly glares.

第三个斯莱特林无可奈何地笑了起来，可当其他人向他投去致命的瞪视时，他立刻收住了。

Professor Sprout had adopted a rather sceptical expression. "What death threat would this be, exactly?"

斯普劳特教授露出一脸怀疑。「你说的死亡威胁，具体是哪一句？」

"The Killing Curse! He pretended to use the Killing Curse on us!"

「索命咒！他假装对我们用了索命咒！」

Professor Sprout turned to look at Harry. "Yes, quite a terrible threat from an eleven-year-old boy. Though still not something you should <em>ever</em> dream of pretending, Harry Potter."

斯普劳特教授扭头看向哈利。「是啊，这话从一个十一岁男孩嘴里说出来，可真够吓人。不过，哈利·波特，你也千万别<em>假装</em>施这种咒语。」

"I don't even know the <em>words</em> to the Killing Curse," Harry said promptly. "And I didn't have my wand out at any time."

「我连索命咒的<em>词儿</em>都不知道，」哈利立刻答道，「而且我自始至终都没把魔杖掏出来。」

Now Professor Sprout was giving Harry a sceptical look. "I suppose this boy hit <em>himself</em> with two pies, then."

这回斯普劳特教授给了哈利一个怀疑的眼神。「那我猜，这小子是被<em>自己</em>用两个派砸中了吧。」

"He <em>didn't</em> use his wand!" blurted one of the young Hufflepuffs. "I don't know how he did it either, he just snapped his fingers and there was pie!"

「他<em>没有</em>用魔杖！」其中一个年幼的赫奇帕奇脱口而出，「我也不知道他是怎么做到的，他只是打了个响指，派就出现了！」

"Really," said Professor Sprout after a pause. She drew her own wand. "I won't require it, since you do seem to be the victim here, but would you mind if I checked your wand to verify that?"

「是吗，」斯普劳特教授停顿片刻后说。她抽出自己的魔杖。「既然你在这儿似乎更像是受害者，我就不强制了，但你介不介意我检查一下你的魔杖来核实？」

Harry took out his wand. "What do I -"

哈利掏出魔杖。「我要做什——」

"<em>Prior Incantato,</em>" said Sprout. She frowned. "That's odd, your wand doesn't seem to have been used at all."

「<em>闪回前咒。</em>」斯普劳特说。她皱起眉头，「奇怪，你的魔杖似乎根本没被用过。」

Harry shrugged. "It hasn't, actually, I only got my wand and schoolbooks a few days ago."

哈利耸耸肩。「确实没有，我前几天才拿到魔杖和课本。」

Sprout nodded. "Then we have a clear case of accidental magic from a boy who felt threatened. And the rules plainly state that you are not to be held responsible. As for <em>you...</em>" she turned to the Slytherins. Her eyes dropped deliberately to Neville's books lying on the floor.

斯普劳特点点头。「那么，这是一个男孩在感到受威胁时引发的无意识魔法，情况很清楚。而校规也明文规定，不能为此追究你的责任。至于<em>你们……</em>」她转向那些斯莱特林。她的眼神刻意落到纳威扔在地上的书上。

There was a long silence during which she looked at the five Slytherins.

一阵漫长的沉默，她一直盯着那五个斯莱特林。

"Three points from Slytherin, <em>each</em>," she said finally. "And six from <em>him,</em>" pointing to the boy covered in pie. "Don't you <em>ever</em> meddle with my Hufflepuffs again, or my student Harry Potter either. Now <em>go.</em>"

「斯莱特林每人扣三分。」她终于开口，「再从<em>他</em>那里扣六分。」她指了指那个浑身上下沾满派的男孩，「<em>再也不许</em>招惹我的赫奇帕奇，也别碰我的学生哈利·波特。现在，<em>走。</em>」

She didn't have to repeat herself; the Slytherins turned and walked away very quickly.

她不必再说第二遍；那些斯莱特林转过身，飞快地走开了。

Neville went and started picking up his books. He seemed to be crying, but only a little. It might have been from delayed shock, or it might have been because the other boys were helping him.

纳威走过去开始捡起自己的书。他似乎哭了，但哭得不厉害。也许是因为延迟的惊吓，也许是因为别的男孩都在帮他。

"Thank you <em>very</em> much, Harry Potter," Professor Sprout said to him. "Seven points to Ravenclaw, one for each Hufflepuff you helped protect. And I won't say anything more."

「<em>非常</em>感谢你，哈利·波特，」斯普劳特教授对他说，「拉文克劳加七分，你保护的每一个赫奇帕奇各算一分。别的我就不多说了。」

Harry blinked. He'd been expecting something more along the lines of a lecture about keeping himself out of trouble, and a rather severe scolding for missing his very first class.

哈利眨了眨眼。他原本以为等来的会是更接近「别让自己惹麻烦」的说教，外加一顿因为他错过第一堂课而相当严厉的训斥。

Maybe he <em>should</em> have gone to Hufflepuff. Sprout was cool.

也许他<em>当初真该</em>去赫奇帕奇。斯普劳特太酷了。

"<em>Scourgify,</em>" Sprout said to the mess of pie on the floor, which promptly vanished.

「<em>清理一新。</em>」斯普劳特对地上那摊派说道，那摊东西立刻消失了。

And she left, walking along the hall that led to the green study room.

然后她离开了，沿着通往绿色自习室的那条走廊走去。

"How did you <em>do</em> that?" hissed one of the Hufflepuff boys as soon as she was gone.

「你是<em>怎么</em>做到的？」她刚一走，其中一个赫奇帕奇男孩便嘶声问道。

Harry smiled smugly. "I can make anything I want happen just by snapping my fingers."

哈利得意地笑了笑。「我只要打个响指，就能让任何我想做的事发生。」

The boy's eyes widened. "<em>Really?</em> "

那男孩瞪大了眼睛。「<em>真的？</em>」

"No," said Harry. "But when you're telling everyone this story be sure to share it with Hermione Granger in first-year Ravenclaw, she has an anecdote you might find amusing." He had absolutely no clue what was happening, but he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to add to his growing legend. "Oh, and what was all that about the Killing Curse?"

「假的，」哈利说，「不过你跟所有人讲这个故事的时候，记得也讲给拉文克劳一年级的赫敏·格兰杰听，她有件趣事，你可能会觉得好笑。」他完全不知道眼下发生了什么，可他不打算错过这个给自己不断壮大的传奇添砖加瓦的机会。「哦，对了，那索命咒是怎么回事？」

The boy gave him a strange look. "You really don't know?"

那男孩古怪地看了他一眼。「你真不知道？」

"If I did, I wouldn't be asking."

「我要是知道，就不会问了。」

"The words to the Killing Curse are," the boy swallowed, and his voice dropped to a whisper, and he held his hands away from his sides as if to make it very clear that he wasn't holding a wand, "<em>Avada Kedavra.</em>"

「索命咒的咒语是，」那男孩咽了一下口水，声音压低成耳语，双手远离身体两侧，仿佛要明明白白地表明他没握着魔杖，「<em>阿瓦达索命。</em>」

<em>Well of course they are.</em>

<em>呵，当然就是这句。</em>

Harry put this on his growing list of things to never ever tell his Dad, Professor Michael Verres-Evans. It was bad enough talking about how you were the only person to survive the fearsome Killing Curse, without having to admit that the Killing Curse was "Abracadabra."

哈利把这件事加进他那张不断变长的「永远、永远不能告诉老爸迈克尔·维雷斯-埃文斯教授」的清单里。谈论自己是怎么成为唯一一个从可怕的索命咒下幸存的人，已经够糟了，更别提还得承认：那索命咒的咒语就是「阿布拉卡达布拉」。

"I see," Harry said after a pause. "Well, that's the last time I ever say <em>that</em> before snapping my fingers." Though it <em>had</em> produced an effect that might be tactically useful.

「我明白了，」哈利停顿片刻后说，「好吧，这是我这辈子<em>最后</em>一次在打响指前说<em>那个词</em>了。」尽管，它<em>确实</em>产生了一个或许在战术上有用的效果。

"<em>Why</em> did you -"

「你<em>为什么</em>——」

"Raised by Muggles, Muggles think it's a joke and that it's funny. Seriously, that's what happened. Sorry, but can you remind me of your name?"

「由麻瓜抚养长大的呗，麻瓜以为那是个笑话，觉得挺好玩。说真的，事情就是这样。抱歉，可你能再提醒我一下你的名字吗？」

"I'm Ernie Macmillan," said the Hufflepuff. He held out his hand, and Harry shook it. "Honoured to meet you."

「我是厄尼·麦克米兰，」那个赫奇帕奇说。他伸出手，哈利和他握了握。「见到你很荣幸。」

Harry executed a slight bow. "Pleased to meet you, skip the honoured thing."

哈利微微鞠了一躬。「我也很高兴认识你，『荣幸』就免了吧。」

Then the other boys crowded round him and there was a sudden flood of introductions.

然后其他男孩都围了上来，一下子涌来一大堆自我介绍。

When they were done, Harry swallowed. This was going to be very difficult. "Um... if everyone would excuse me... I have something to say to Neville -"

等他们介绍完，哈利咽了口唾沫。这将会非常困难。「嗯……如果各位能恕我失陪……我有话想对纳威说——」

All eyes turned to Neville, who took a step back, his face looking apprehensive.

所有人的目光都转向纳威，他后退一步，脸上带着不安。

"I suppose," Neville said in a tiny voice, "you're going to say I should've been braver -"

「我猜，」纳威用细小的声音说，「你是要说，我本该更勇敢一点——」

"Oh, no, nothing like that!" Harry said hastily. "Nothing to do with <em>that</em>. It's just, um, something the Sorting Hat told me -"

「哦，不，不是那样的！」哈利连忙说，「跟<em>那件事</em>没关系。只是，嗯，有件分院帽<em>告诉</em>我的事——」

Suddenly the other boys looked <em>very</em> interested, except for Neville, who was looking even <em>more</em> apprehensive.

顿时，其他男孩都显得<em>非常</em>感兴趣，只有纳威不同，他看起来更加不安了。

There seemed to be something blocking Harry's throat. He knew he should just blurt it out, and it was like he'd swallowed a large brick that was just stuck in the way.

哈利的喉咙里像堵着什么。他知道自己只该一口气把话说出来，可那里仿佛卡着一块大砖头。

It was like Harry had to manually take control of his lips and produce each syllable individually, but he managed to make it happen. "I'm, sor, ry." He exhaled and took a deep breath. "For what I did, um, the other day. You... don't have to be gracious about it or anything, I'll understand if you just hate me. This isn't about me trying to look cool by apologising or your having to accept it. What I did was wrong."

哈利仿佛非得有意识地控制自己的嘴唇，把音节一个个往外挤，但他总算说了出来。「我，很，抱，歉。」他呼出一口气，又深吸一口。「为那天，呃，我做的事。你……不用特地大度什么的，就算你恨我，我也能理解。这不是为了让我靠道歉显得很酷，也不是非要你接受。我做的确实不对。」

There was a pause.

一阵沉默。

Neville clutched his books tighter to his chest. "Why did you do it?" he said in a thin, wavering voice. He blinked, as if trying to hold back tears. "Why does <em>everyone</em> do that to me, even the Boy-Who-Lived?"

纳威把书抱得更紧，贴在胸前。「你为什么要这么做？」他用细弱、颤抖的声音说。他眨了眨眼，像在强忍着眼泪。「为什么<em>每个人</em>都要这样对我，连大难不死的男孩也这样？」

Harry suddenly felt smaller than he ever had in his life. "I'm sorry," Harry said again, his voice now hoarsened. "It's just... you looked so scared, it was like a sign over your head saying 'victim', and I wanted to show you that things <em>don't</em> always turn out badly, that sometimes the monsters give you chocolate... I thought if I showed you that, you might realise there wasn't so much to be afraid of -"

哈利突然觉得自己比这辈子任何时候都矮小。「对不起，」哈利又说了一遍，声音现在沙哑了。「只是……你看起来太害怕了，就像你头顶上挂着一块写着『受害者』的牌子，而我想让你看看，事情<em>并不</em>总会变糟，有时候那些怪物也会给你巧克力……我当时想，只要让你看到这一点，你或许就会明白，其实没什么好怕的——」

"But there <em>is,</em>" whispered Neville. "You saw it today, there <em>is!</em> "

「可确实<em>有</em>，」纳威低声说，「你今天也看见了，确实<em>有</em>！」

"They wouldn't have done anything really bad in front of witnesses. Their main weapon is fear. That's why they target <em>you,</em> because they can see you're afraid. I wanted to make you less afraid... show you that the fear was worse than the thing itself... or that was what I told myself, but the Sorting Hat told me that I was lying to myself and that I really did it because it was fun. So that's why I'm apologising -"

「他们不敢当着证人的面真做出什么坏事。他们的主要武器是恐惧。所以他们才瞄准<em>你</em>，因为他们看得出你害怕。我想让你少一点害怕……让你看到，恐惧本身比那件事更可怕……又或者，那只是我这么安慰自己的话，可分院帽告诉我，我在骗自己，我那么做其实是因为觉得好玩。所以我才来道歉——」

"You hurt me," said Neville. "Just now. When you grabbed me and pulled me away from them." Neville held out his arm and pointed to where Harry had grabbed him. "I might have a bruise here later from how hard you pulled. You hurt me worse than anything the Slytherins did by bumping into me, actually."

「你伤到我了，」纳威说，「就刚才。你抓住我、把我从那群人里拖出来的时候。」纳威伸出胳膊，指了指哈利抓住他的地方。「你拽得那么用力，我这儿说不定会青一块。说真的，你伤得我比斯莱特林他们撞我还重。」

"<em>Neville!</em> " hissed Ernie. "He was trying to <em>save</em> you!"

「<em>纳威！</em>」厄尼嘶声说道，「他是在<em>救</em>你！」

"I'm sorry," whispered Harry. "When I saw that I just got... really angry..."

「对不起，」哈利低声说，「我一看那情形，就……特别生气……」

Neville looked at him steadily. "So you yanked me out really hard and put yourself in where I was and went, 'Hello, I'm the Boy-Who-Lived'."

纳威直直地看着他。「所以你就使劲把我拽出来，自己站到我的位置上，然后说，『你好，我是大难不死的男孩』。」

Harry nodded.

哈利点了点头。

"I think you're going to be really cool someday," Neville said. "But right now, you're not."

「我觉得你总有一天会变得很酷，」纳威说，「但现在，你还不酷。」

Harry swallowed the sudden knot in his throat and walked away. He continued down the corridor to the intersection, then turned left into a hallway and kept on walking, blindly.

哈利咽下喉咙里突然涌起的那股梗塞，转身走开了。他顺着走廊走到路口，然后左转进一条过道，一直往前走，漫无目的地走着。

What was he <em>supposed</em> to do here? Never get angry? He wasn't sure he could have done anything without being angry and who knows what would have happened to Neville and his books then. Besides, Harry had read enough fantasy books to know how <em>this</em> one went. He would try to suppress the anger and he would fail and it would keep coming out again. And after this whole long journey of self-discovery he would learn at the end that his anger was a part of himself and that only by accepting it could he learn to use it wisely. <em>Star Wars</em> was the only universe in which the answer actually <em>was</em> that you were supposed to cut yourself off completely from negative emotions, and something about Yoda had always made Harry hate the little green moron.

他在这里<em>该</em>怎么办？永远不发火？他不确定自己若不动怒，还能做成什么事，也说不准那样的话纳威和他的书会落得什么下场。再说，哈利读过的奇幻故事已经够多了，知道<em>这种</em>故事会怎么发展：他会试图压下怒火，会失败，怒火会一再冒出来；等到走完这场漫长的自我发现之旅，他终于会在结尾领悟到，愤怒是他自己的一部分，只有接纳它，他才能学会明智地使用它。<em>星球大战</em>是唯一一个宇宙，在那里答案<em>确实</em>就是要把自己与负面情绪彻底隔绝；而尤达身上总有某种东西，让哈利打心眼里讨厌那个绿皮肤的小笨蛋。

So the obvious time-saving plan was to skip the journey of self-discovery and go straight to the part where he realised that only by accepting his anger as a part of himself could he stay in control of it.

所以，那个显而易见的省时办法，就是跳过这场自我发现之旅，直接跳到那个领悟：只有把愤怒接纳为自己的一个部分，他才能真正控制住它。

The problem was that he didn't <em>feel</em> out of control when he was angry. The cold rage made him feel like he was <em>in</em> control. It was only when he looked back that <em>events as a whole</em> seemed to have... blown up out of control, somehow.

问题在于，他动怒的时候并不<em>觉得</em>自己失控。那股冰冷的怒火，反倒让他觉得自己<em>掌控</em>着一切。只有在事后回望时，<em>整个局势</em>才会似乎……不知怎么，已经脱缰失控了。

He wondered how much the Game Controller cared about that sort of thing, and whether he'd won or lost points for it. Harry himself felt like he'd lost quite a few points, and he was sure the old lady in the picture would have told him that his was the only opinion that mattered.

他不知道游戏操控者对这种事有多看重，也猜不出自己为此是得了分还是丢了分。哈利自己觉得，他怕是输掉不少分了；而他敢肯定，画像里那位老太太会对他说，他自己的看法才是唯一作数的。

And Harry was also wondering whether the Game Controller had sent Professor Sprout. It was the logical thought: the note had threatened to notify the Game Authorities, and then there Professor Sprout was. Maybe Professor Sprout <em>was</em> the Game Controller - the <em>Head of House Hufflepuff</em> would be the <em>last</em> person anyone would suspect, which ought to put her near the top of Harry's list. He'd read one or two mystery novels, too.

哈利还在琢磨，是不是游戏操控者派来了斯普劳特教授。这是很合乎逻辑的念头：字条威胁说要上报『游戏管理方』，然后斯普劳特教授就出现了。也许斯普劳特教授<em>就是</em>游戏操控者——<em>赫奇帕奇学院的院长</em>会是所有人<em>最后</em>才会怀疑的对象，这反倒该让她排在哈利怀疑名单的前列。他也读过一两本推理小说。

"So how am I doing in the game?" Harry said out loud.

「那我在游戏里表现得怎么样？」哈利大声说。

A sheet of paper flew over his head, as if someone had thrown it from behind him - Harry turned around, but there was no one there - and when Harry turned forwards again, the note was settling to the floor.

一张纸从他头顶飞过，像是有人从背后扔来的——哈利转过身，却不见人影——等他再转回前面时，那张字条正缓缓落到地上。

The note said:

字条上写着：

POINTS FOR STYLE: 10
POINTS FOR GOOD THINKING: -3,000,000
RAVENCLAW HOUSE POINTS BONUS: 70
CURRENT POINTS: -2,999,871
TURNS REMAINING: 2

风格加分：10
认真思考得分：-3,000,000
拉文克劳学院加分：70
当前分数：-2,999,871
剩余回合：2

"<em>Minus three million points?"</em> Harry said indignantly to the empty hallway. "That seems excessive! I want to file an appeal with the Game Authorities! And how am I supposed to make up three million points in the next two turns?"

「<em>负三百万分？</em>」哈利愤愤不平地对着空荡荡的走廊说，「这也太夸张了吧！我要向游戏管理方申诉！可我怎么在接下来的两回合里，补上这三百万分？」

Another note flew over his head.

又一张字条从他头顶飞过。

APPEAL: FAILED
ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS: -1,000,000,000,000 POINTS
CURRENT POINTS: -1,000,002,999,871
TURNS REMAINING: 1

申诉：失败
问错问题：-1,000,000,000,000 分
当前分数：-1,000,002,999,871
剩余回合：1

Harry gave up. With one turn remaining all he could do was take his best shot, even if it wasn't very good. "My guess is that the game represents life."

哈利放弃了。只剩一回合，他只能尽力一试，哪怕这一试并不怎么高明。「我的猜想是，这个游戏象征的是人生。」

A final sheet of paper flew over his head, reading:

最后一张纸从他头顶飞过，上面写着：

ATTEMPT FAILED
FAILED FAILED FAILED
AIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CURRENT POINTS: MINUS INFINITY
YOU HAVE LOST THE GAME

尝试失败
失败 失败 失败
啊啊啊啊——咿咿咿咿——
当前分数：负无穷
你输了游戏

FINAL INSTRUCTION:<em>
go to Professor McGonagall's office</em>

最终指示：
<em>去麦格教授的办公室</em>

The last line was in his own handwriting.

最后一行是他自己的笔迹。

Harry stared at the last line for a while, then shrugged. Fine. Professor McGonagall's office it would be. If <em>she</em> was the Game Controller...

哈利盯着最后一行看了一会儿，然后耸耸肩。好吧。那就去麦格教授的办公室。如果<em>她</em>就是游戏操控者的话……

Okay, honestly, Harry had absolutely no idea how he would feel if Professor McGonagall was the Game Controller. His mind was just drawing a complete blank. It was, literally, unimaginable.

好吧，说真的，哈利完全想象不出，如果麦格教授就是游戏操控者，自己会是什么感觉。他的脑子一片空白。这真的，完全无法想象。

A couple of portraits later - it wasn't a long trip, Professor McGonagall's office wasn't far from her Transfiguration classroom, at least not on Mondays on odd-numbered years - Harry stood outside the door to her office.

又经过几幅画像——这段路并不长，麦格教授的办公室离她的变形课教室不远，至少逢奇数年份的星期一确实如此——哈利站到了她办公室门前。

He knocked.

他敲了敲门。

"Come in," said Professor McGonagall's muffled voice.

「进来。」麦格教授那闷闷的声音说道。

He entered.

他走了进去。